#is it the best song in the world? no. it's a pretty typical piece of idol music. but its very dear to me.

[snowflop]

I forgot YouTube has a recap feature, yippee! I love music :)

[honeyhenry]

Apple Pie and You and I

A little story of the Seresins aka Hangman being a softie for his girl. Fluff, no warnings, please enjoy!

Jake Seresin, a lone star state boy through and though, always found himself feeling closer to home with a warm apple pie and a country song playing with a gentle thrum on his Pop’s old record player in the room next door.

The only time he felt closer to a sense of home was with you - his lovely lady who had managed to lure and capture the Hangman hook line and sinker by batting her pretty lashes and making him work hard for her attention. It had taken him 3 weeks of smirks that turned to smiles, and insistence that turned into nothing shy of begging, for you to agree to a date. The only holding back he’d done was in omitting to state the thought that had urged him to act in the first place; “Oh, she's gonna be my wife someday.”

The typically cocksure brazen pilot hadn’t the need to utter those words for another 14 months, past the utterly exclusive dating period, nor in between months of loved up sweetness and the pained inevitability of month-long deployments. He’d told you the very moment after his 1 month deployment - which had extended into 7 and a half weeks - of a monogamous routine, where a few pictures and fond memories were just not cutting it any more.

The tarmac had scratched the khaki material of his bags as he'd dropped them with a heavy thud to the ground, only eager to reach your arms sooner. Your little sundress catching in the soft wind, the warmth of the sun heating your cheeks and nose as he engulfs you in his arms, holding tight before he'd pulled his head away to take a proper long look at your pretty face - and then brought your lips to his. He'd kissed you over and over and over, the smile on his face growing every time, your eyes clear and watering, having waited for this moment.

And quietly, once the decision was made to catch your breaths, he'd whispered, lips ghosting over yours, that you were it for him. That he was going to marry you.

According to the Navy, Hangman had no one at home, no next of kin unless you provided the contacts of his parents down in their ranch a few states away should there ever be the need for the passing over of belongings and dog tags to fatefully occur. But Jake Seresin? He had a whole life to get back to; one he needed to kick start with a ring and a question.

The ring itself would be an heirloom, no doubt about it, and had required a trip back to Texas to see his family and share with them his upcoming plans. Having met you a handful of times over Christmas and on big family birthdays, the Seresins were entirely on board. Jake's Momma had given him a close hug with tears in her eyes while his Dad and siblings cheered and grinned the classic Seresin smile. Their family often grew each year, but his Momma and Grammie had worried that their headstrong, flirtatious boy would get too caught up in the ways of the world to settle down. He was a softie at heart, and you had been the best thing to ever happen to him.

They adored you. Enough for Grammie to take her grandson into her study, and open the jewellery box safely nestled inside a locked cupboard door. "This one is a diamond", she'd said as she'd taken out a piece." It's been in the family since before I was born. It's even got the family name engraved inside." Jake had taken it, listening respectfully to his Grammie but still lost in the thought of how the ring would look so beautiful on your finger. Thinking of you being his, forever.

That had been 18 months ago now, and the glinting stone on your ring finger, alongside a shiny golden wedding band, showing that all had gone to plan. Hangman proudly wears his ring too, occasionally looping it around his dog tags if need be. However currently, in the Lone Star state, the dog tags are off and his ring fits snugly on his fourth finger as he holds you close.

It's campfire night at the ranch, and you sit on his lap, curled in and admiring the way his face has caught the sun, inspecting every detail of him in the glow of the fire he had helped to start. He looks between his family; uncles, cousins, grandparents, now and then but his main focus is always you. Your hands clasp his left one as he uses the other to nurse a beer after working up a sweat teaching his youngest nephews to play football earlier that day. It had been so endearing to watch as you'd prepared the barbecue and baked fresh cookies using the special Seresin recipe, with his Momma and sisters.

"I got the recipe from your Mom, for the cookies, so we can have them at home." You'd whispered sweetly as the chatter around the fire continued. "Do you know", Jake murmured, looking deep into your eyes as his green ones pierced into your soul. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Your giggle had been soft and the eye roll that followed made Jake smirk lovingly. Still in awe of how he got the girl that barely spoke to him but was still batting her lashes and playing hard to get. He brings your hand to his lips, kissing the point just above where your rings lay on your finger.

"The kids'll love 'em. You're gonna be a great Mom." He stops smirking and now looks at you, fully focused with a soft, genuine smile. Placing the beer down, he rests his hand on your stomach, underneath the sweatshirt of his you've borrowed that splashes the words University of Texas, Austin on the front. It's old and thinning out but it smells of Jake, so it's something you will happily bask in and nap in and snuggle in until you have to leave his family home once more.

"Shhhh. I already think Grammie knows", you scold him. And she does. Grammie knows and as his Momma watches the two of you interact now, she's certain that she knows too. Call it a Mother's instinct. Jake's little check-ins throughout the day had not gone unnoticed, nor had your daily naps that you blamed on the heat, despite it only being the middle of May.

"But Grammie knows everything, a few more days and I can finally tell 'em all. Been dyin' to sweetheart." His hand rubs your stomach gently, not to raise suspicion but also to comfort you. Sure, as the cookies and apple pie were brought out, he had felt a little nostalgia, but with you in his lap wearing his ring, and his baby in your belly, Jake Seresin had never felt more at home than in that moment.

[rorywritesjunk]

Master Post

Hullo! I am Rory. I write about Buggy from One Piece and One Piece Live Action. I decided to cobble a list of things. Unless otherwise specified, the fics can be read as either Anime Buggy or Live Action Buggy. Also I really like using song lyrics as titles so that's a thing. (Also my main account is @thehohwitch) *I take requests, but I won't write about s-xual assault, *ncest, cheating, or age big age gaps (at least within a five year difference) things like that. I primarily write F reader with Buggy but I'm happy to write male as well, as well as nonbinary and trans. My turn around for requests is at max ten days (unless something comes up). I get them written in the order received. Works are under the cut! (Updated 2/2/24)

For Chapter Fics, please go here! *Fics in that link feature my OCs Sunny, Cupcake, and Birdie, as well as anything that is several chapters.

For one-shots, look below the cut!

Buggy is the Ultimate Girl Dad Headcanons Headcanons pt 1 Headcanons pt 2 (More indepth) Headcanons pt 3 (More!) Lil Buggy's Big Adventure (One-shot) One Shots "Pampering Buggy" PG-13 A fic of you pampering Buggy after he has a frustrating day.

"I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical" Soft R Buggy wakes you up to help him with his makeup and he sometimes get grabby.

"All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me" Soft R, sequel to "...oh so typical" It was Buggy’s turn to do your makeup.

"I will never ask you for anything, Except to dream sweet of me" PG-ish Look, everyone has some kind of secret. You just didn’t want Buggy to find this one out. "We’ll cry later or cry now, but baby, Heartbreak feels so good" PG-13ish Buggy messes up, there’s a fight, and he realizes how much you mean to him.

"So let’s set out to sea, love, ‘cause you are my medicine" PG-13ish Buggy has another frustrating day so you cook him some comfort food.

"I have seen no other Who compares with you" PG-13. Buggy decides you need your own ‘look’.

"best be prepared to get all that you bargained for" PG to PG-13. Buggy isn’t used to the gentle touch you give him since you joined his crew three months ago.

"there’ll be space for you always in my harmony" PG. Buggy finds out you have a hidden talent. "Home is wherever I’m with you" PG-13ish. You wanted to keep your relationship a secret but Buggy just wants you to join his crew.

"And all of my wildest dreams They just end up with you and me" PG. Richie is a pretty boy, yes he is, but so is Buggy. "I know it’s just a number but you’re the eighth wonder" R-ish. Buggy loves that you have a pair of glasses for every day of the week. "breathe the freezing crystal air, watch my baby crack a smile" G-PGish. You and Buggy agreed on exchanging just one gift for the Winter Solstice, but he’s a pirate and doesn’t follow the rules.

"Suppose I never ever let you Kiss me so sweet" PG-13ish Your healing powers are limited to one person a day but that doesn’t keep Buggy from demanding you heal him. "Dancing kisses on my cheek, it’s the wonders that I seek" PG-13 Buggy just wanted your birthday to go smoothly.

"So hold my hand, I’ll walk with you my dear" PG-13ish It’s the three year anniversary since everything changed in Buggy’s life for the worst.

"Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen" PG-13 You decide to ask Buggy an important question but he has major doubts. "Close my eyes for a while Force from the world a patient smile" PG Buggy says something he regrets to his older sister.

NSFW One Shots

"I’m aiming for full control of this love" NC-17. Buggy has a fantasy that you decide to try involving Mihawk and Sir Crocodile.

"Like lighting when I’m swimming in the sea" R. Buggy never made time for sex until he met you well into his 30’s.

"You’re the only thing I wanna touch" NC-17. Buggy only comes up for air every so often and it’s a beautiful sight.

"You’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when" NC-17. Buggy’s been a bit of a brat today and you’ve had enough. "The stroke of your fingers The scent of your lingers" NC-17. You meet Alvida and get a bit of a crush, and Buggy is a rather supportive boyfriend with that.

[renardiererin]

two: vicious

you dated rintarou suna for a little over a year. everything was so picture perfect-- retrospectively staged to get you too caught up in his shallow, strategized acts of "affection" to notice what kind of a guy he really is. he's in a band; a pretty popular one, at that. he's the lead singer/guitarist, and half the internet is in love with him. every red flag you excused as typical male behavior. every problematic response to a fan's message or an article making him look bad, you just brushed off as the hate getting to him. you kept trying to look for the best in the worst, but every time you defended him it just turned the hate towards you. it caused quite the commotion. after you broke up, you decided to be private about it. keep your feelings to yourself-- and your best friend who came over with ice cream every night for 15 straight days-- and quietly carried the burden of the relationship you devoted an entire year of your life to. he started going to therapy, as per your advice, and started being nicer to his fanbase. all of it was forced by his management team to stop the bad press he was getting left and right, and it worked. the world stopped fighting against him, and he turned into a rock god. beloved by people all around the planet. he turns up at hospitals every couple of weeks to hang out with his fans there in order to make himself look good-- he won't do it if there's no press--, he started donating to charities, advocating for climate change (and by advocating, he was just reposting shit on his social media. hey, at least he's using his platform!), etc. the world treated him like an angel. you're not so sure that's true, though. you knew him for three years despite only dating for one, and you know rintarou like the back of your hand. if he's an angel, he's lucifer on a redemption arc. rintarou suna is the most cunning, machiavellian, cryptic, self-motivated, vicious man you've ever known. every girl he's seen with in public-- and it's a new one every week-- all have reputations for being "smart," yet all of them clearly neglect intuition if they're dating somebody like him. he's called you drunk a couple times since the breakup, whenever he gets insecure, and always ends the voicemail by pouting about how you don't love him and then some girl is pictured half naked leaving his house the next morning. he just runs to whoever's convenient. it's like he doesn't remember that night when he said it was you and him for life, because now he's kind of acting like you died. he stopped reaching out, moved on with his life after a week or two, and when he gets asked about your breakup in interviews he just furrows his eyebrows and says: "i'm sorry, who?" it's like he doesn't even feel remorseful. does he really regret nothing? maybe he doesn't think he hurt you. he wrote one song about the breakup, ending with the closing line: "wish you the best," so maybe he thinks that's his apology and you've forgiven him. maybe you were only the next one of his victims to take his love songs as a promise. you really just feel sorry for whatever girl he chooses to take advantage of next, because when she breaks he won't come back to pick up the pieces.

masterlist

taglist: @alienvarmint @kiyoily (raine ik you didnt actually ask but i <3 u so youre here anyway)

[periprose]

Hello dear! My request for you is: TASM Peter Parker + IDFC by Blackbear. I think the music fits perfectly in the dilemmas of Peter and fem!reader. What do you think? Thanks ;)

ahhh this is the best idea ever!! I love this song lol thank you for requesting it!

note: I'm writing Peter as the person feeling the emotions of the song

/

Peter watches as you get more inebriated. God, how many drinks could you throw back, the burning amber liquid seeming to have no effect on your throat?

His jaw clenches as he watches you giggle, snort, stumble over your words towards Flash. Flash Thompson, big blonde jock, not worthy of your attention, not like this. Flash would never know how much pining and groveling Peter had done just to get you to look at him the same way.

And last week? You did. You smiled at him, as if he was the only person in the world, the only guy worthy of your attention. You smiled and Peter's stomach exploded with butterflies and nausea and all those typical feelings that Uncle Ben had always told him would happen.

You certainly don't remember any of that right now. You're drunkenly giggling- your face reaches closer to Flash's own at the dinner table, and Peter cringes as he tries to look away, heart shattering as Flash combs back a piece of your hair. He knows- he knows- you might as well have been another pretty girl at Flash's disposal, and that he would never treasure you as you should be.

Flash licks his lips, and Peter feels himself give in. To the anger that he swore he'd never feel- the agony he feels because he's always thought you liked him. That one day, you would put a resolution to this dynamic you had with him- he just never thought it would be like this.

Peter gets going. He takes his bag, his camera, everything he brought for your stupid party, and heads out the front door, slamming it a little too hard.

Flash moves, perturbed. "Looks like that psycho is getting into one of his moods again."

"Oh, no..." You don't know why Peter's run out the door like that, but you let go of Flash, who to his credit, doesn't really mind.

"Peter, Peter!" You call after him, wrapping your arms around yourself. It's cold outside and your drunken stupor does not help.

He stops in the middle of the sidewalk. The street light illuminates him, and you don't notice how Peter's hand is balled into a fist.

"Hey. Why are you leaving, what happened?" You look up at him in confusion.

Peter can tell you're still too drunk to really talk things out with him. The fact that you're even pretending to care with him right now hurts. But despite that... he still wants you to lie to him. To be compassionate- even if Peter knows it's fake, he feels like it's better than nothing.

Unfortunately, you're still rather drunk, and Peter has to steady you with the most chaste of touches. He watches as you stumble over your words, not once, not twice, but three times of trying to work up something to say. And he just... he doesn't want your half-assed, drunken pity.

He knows for a fact you don't love him. That it was a fake dynamic concocted by his own idiocy.

"P-Peter?" You mumble up at him. "I don't want you to be unhappy with me. What's wrong?"

Peter shuts his eyes, feeling embarrassed to have to comfort you, but he doesn't know what else to do.

"Nothing's wrong. I didn't have anything to do at the party, so I thought I'd go back home." Peter shrugs as if it was completely nonchalant on his part. "No offense, but I was bored out of my mind. And I don't fucking care enough to exchange niceties and make other people feel comfortable."

You flinch, and Peter feels bad for just a moment. Just a second. Becuase you're not sober, so you're not in the best state of mind.

But he's been playing the fool this entire time, and he thinks it would be nice if you felt the same for a bit. Just for a day or two. He really doesn't care to see what you get up to at your fun, cool party, with fun, cool drinks and slutty, slutty hook ups.

"I... I'm sorry. If I knew that..." You swallow, looking down at the sidewalk, feeling humiliated by Peter's comments. You've always tried to be a good friend for him- you've always wanted to do right by him.

But something about the coldness in his tone right now tells you to back off. And you do so, with a lump in your throat.

"I would tell you to stay, but, um..." You shake your head. "Have a safe walk home."

Peter nods tightly and moves quickly, telling himself that he doesn't care. He didn't see the tears hanging from your eyelashes. He does not care especially because you're willing to tamper with his feelings so much.

He thinks that you'll be fine. You'll have Flash whispering sweet nothings into your ear, pressing kisses on your cheek and neck, and you won't ever pay him mind ever again. He represses the urge to go and make things right- go and fix things so you won't end up with a douche like Flash.

Peter knows no one has ever cared about him. He knows he's a bit of a nerd, an anti-social weirdo, and even if you made the effort to bridge the gap... he feels it's better this way. Why change?

He works on not giving a fuck. He pretends to not care when Aunt May asks how the party was. He does not lie awake thinking about you in the throes of passion, mouth open, chest flushed and red as Flash begins his disgustingly inelegant thrusts. Especially because it should've been him doing that, him and you together, and since it isn't- he doesn't fucking care.

/

Peter is surprised to see you sitting at his dinner table the next morning.

He's half asleep, but entirely awake when he sees you. Your eyes are bright, misty, a little teary- you have clearly been waiting for him. It looks as if you've spent some time regretting what you did to him.

Good, Peter thinks. Good that you understand how I felt for once.

"Aunt May let you in?" Peter asks, and you meekly nod. Peter doesn't have it in him to scoff at you- you're too clearly upset and he, try as he might not to care, still doesn't want to see you cry.

He thinks for a moment that you might've done so last night.

"Peter. Please, talk to me." You stand up from the table, but Peter isn't really listening, because he's grabbing cereal and a bowl, and trying to ignore you.

"You said everything you needed to say yesterday." Peter shrugs.

"No way. We didn't even get to talk about anything before you ran off." You cross your arms, but your gaze is still soft. "What did I do wrong? Tell me, so I can make things right."

"Sure, tell me a few more of your pretty little lies. That'll help." Peter scoffs with a heaping amount of pessimism, and you look even more hurt than you did yesterday.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Really?" Peter shuts the fridge a little too hard after pulling out the milk. "Okay, play dumb. I don't really care anymore. You've been out all night, probably fucking Flash, and you want me at your beck and call to be... what? Some sort of pushover? Do you have any idea how ruthless it is to mess with people's feelings?"

You gasp, but Peter isn't finished.

"You never loved me. You never even liked me." He shakes his head, getting a resolute look of sadness on his face. "You know how hard it is to be me? Be a fucking loser who has to try so hard to even get people to like him a little bit?"

Peter bites back some of his resentment, knowing that he doesn't want your pity. "Never mind. I don't care, just live your life without me."

"Peter. How can you just-" You inhale, a tight short breath that has Peter feeling that maybe he said too much.

Oh well. Seeing you again had ignited those angry feelings, and even if he pretended not to care- he still needed to speak on it.

"Me and Flash aren't anything. We didn't even kiss, for crying out loud-" You run your hand through your hair, feeling insane. "I'm sorry. I should've watched how close I was to him. I got a little bit too drunk."

"Yeah, you did." Peter snaps back.

"I really, really like you, asshole." You shut your eyes, feeling bile in your throat from how Peter seems to be judging you so harshly. "I thought I did. I don't know anymore. I pretended not to give a fuck because you always- you seem so aloof, Peter, and it was easier to pull away because I didn't want to get hurt- but I'm actually fucking scared of losing you. I guess I should've made that more obvious."

Peter pauses. Feels his heart thump a little harder, this time with immense regret. He loves you, he knows he does, and hearing the same thing from you? The same feeling of inadequacy, of wanting to be enough but having to pretend not to care?

Peter grabs your arm as you try to leave. You're stubborn, but he shakes his head- he looks remorseful.

"I'm sorry." He pulls you into a hug, one that you don't respond to for a moment, until you tentatively hug him back. "I am an asshole. I love you a lot, you must know that. It's not an excuse- I just wanted you to feel as bad as I did."

"Well, mission accomplished." You mumble into his chest. "I'm sorry, too."

"I thought I was like, some fool that was easily duped by a pretty girl like you." Peter admits, and you laugh. "No, really. You're too good for me."

"Let me decide that, Peter." You shake your head at him. "Come on. Why don't we try this again?"

Peter agrees, and thinks now is a better moment than ever to do what he wanted to do yesterday. He combs back your hair behind your ear, pressing a kiss there, and then leans in and kisses you, relishing in the fact that you tipped your head back so easily. Just for him, no one else.

[sylvienerevarine]

Sophrine Aulette's Skyrim Encyclopedia (Part 2)

ok i guess i'm not done with this series yet. it may take a while. i keep thinking of new jokes.

Part 1 is here.

--

Blades

If you’ve ever met a Blade, no you haven’t (that was a joke, because they’re secretive). The Blades were originally founded as a dragon-slaying organization, but eventually expanded into other areas like bodyguarding and espionage. They got their name from using swords, which generally have blades.

Some notable Blades include:

Caius Cosades, who according to my Nana Sylvie’s memoirs never wore a shirt and drank a lot of skooma

Baurus, a fellow from the end of the 3rd Era who impressively survived the entire Oblivion Crisis

My distant great-aunt Sacha Llervu, Martin Septim’s best friend, who had a knack for closing Oblivion Gates and committing petty crimes

Delphine Fitzhubert, who is sort of my friend, except she’s still cross with me for being polite to some dragons. She’ll come around eventually.

Draugr

A draugr is a person who was alive at some point, but is now an undead sort of thing with a terrible complexion. There are a few different stories about how draugr came to be–many of them worked for dragon priests and became undead so they could keep doing their old jobs forever, and apparently some on Solstheim were cursed because they ate other people. Nasty stuff. Unless you’re Bosmer, I guess.

The good news about draugr is that they’re not terribly bright, as is proven by the fact that they can’t solve the puzzles in Nordic ruins. If you know the voice-projecting Shout like I do, you can just call “Who wants free mead?” from somewhere else in the room, and then sneak by while they’re trying to find the free mead.

Palace of Kings

I’m not allowed in here anymore (see Stormcloaks).

Stormcloaks

The Stormcloaks are a political movement based out of Windhelm, and are led by Ulfric Stormcloak (which is how they got their name). They have some pretty good ideas (make Skyrim independent, stop religious persecution, annoy the Thalmor) and some very bad ones (being horrible to Dunmer and Argonians and anyone who isn’t a Nord, really).

I once met Jarl Ulfric and pointed out some of these bad ideas to him, and he banned me from his palace. There’s gratitude for you.

Talos

You probably know about Talos from the park in Whiterun, where that fellow Heimskr is always shouting about what a good lad he was. There are two main theories about where Talos came from: either he was born in Atmora and moved to Skyrim as a young man to take Dragonborn lessons, or he was born in High Rock and did a lot of complicated political things. My grandparents favor the second explanation, since they’re very patriotic.

Wherever he came from, we know that Talos later went around conquering and uniting any piece of land he came across, and set up what we now know as the Third Empire. Somewhere along the way he changed his name to Tiber Septim, in order to match what the money was called.

Many people believe that after Talos died, he was promoted to a member of the Divines. Just in case any of the Thalmor are reading this, I’m legally required to state that this did not happen and humans can’t become gods, because we simply don’t have the intelligence for it. Unlike the average Thalmor officer.

The Throat of the World

The Throat of the World is the tallest mountain in Skyrim and by extension Tamriel. They might have higher mountains in places like Akavir or Atmora, but no one really bothers about those places. It’s unclear how the TotW got its name, since people’s throats aren’t typically very pointy or covered in snow. My guess is that someone from the Bards’ College thought it up. The only place on the Throat to get a bite to eat is High Hrothgar, the home of the Greybeards. While the monks don’t offer much in the way of conversation, they’re very kindly old men, and won’t shout at you for accidentally falling asleep in their library and drooling on their copy of Songs of the Return.

[tiredgeekgirl]

trolls 3 reviewww

so i've kind of had an off and on obsession with the trolls franchise since i saw the first film in 2016 as an almost 12-year-old who thought it was going to be the worst movie ever, and then after i watched it I was very pleasantly surprised, and it became one of my favorite films at the time

like I said the obsession's been on and off and while my opinion of the first movie has changed and I don't love it nearly as much as I did before, the franchise still holds a special place in my heart and makes me very happy, and I was so excited to see the third movie after I saw the trailers for it in theaters

anyway here are my overall thoughts:

• BRANCH-CENTRIC STORYLINE!!! Branch is my favorite character in this franchise and I loved seeing a plotline focused on him and his backstory. the "singing killed my grandma" line from the first film is still very funny, but honestly this movie actually made me a little emotional with the flashbacks we got, and said flashbacks shed some light on how sad his backstory actually is

• this movie was shockingly funny, of course there was some typical potty humor and a few questionable jokes, but overall a lot of the visual gags and jokes in this film were actually pretty hilarious, especially the scenes with Bruce/Spruce's family

• one of my main reasons for loving this franchise is Branch and Poppy's relationship, and they were SO freaking cute in this film, idc I'm a hopeless romantic and I loved seeing moments of these two as a canon couple

• I literally had a new favorite character every 5 seconds, from Branch's brothers to the new villains to a lot of the little background characters, and ofc it was also super fun to see this movie bring the Bergens back, it's super weird that the second movie kind of just ignored their existence entirely when they were one of the main plot points in the first film (at least that's what I've heard, I've never actually seen trolls world tour and I do not plan on it)

• THE MUSIC!!! I'm low-key kind of obsessed with white girl music from the early 2000s, so seeing the NSYNC reference at the end made me very happy, and I also just loved all the music in general in this film, Better Place (that song's been on repeat for me for about a week now LOL)

there were a few things I didn't love, namely Tiny Diamond's role in the film, I hate him and if you had taken him out of the film entirely the plot would not have changed whatsoever. luckily he wasn't even actually in it that much and some of his lines were actually kind of funny, but even when he was being his typical annoying self he didn't take away from the plot too much, which was nice. still, he's one of the main reasons I don't want to watch the second movie. and of course, like I mentioned earlier, there's some potty humor and suggestive jokes I didn't care for, but honestly the positives way outweigh the negatives with this film.

overall, i absolutely adored this movie! as a long-time fan I think it's the best piece of trolls media we've ever gotten, and even if you hate the franchise (which I completely understand regardless of my love for it), I feel like you would still enjoy this film, even if just for the visuals and character designs. solid 9/10 movie, would definitely recommend. think I'm going to go watch it again honestly LOL

[twogyuu]

stay where you are (i'll come back to you)

Pairing: Renjun x fem!reader (ft. donghyeok)

Synopsis: You wished he had told you sooner - maybe then, it would've been a little easier to let go. Maybe then, you would've stayed instead of going. 

Genre: Fluff, smidgen of angst at the end, farm!au, farmer!renjun, songwriter!reader, implied childhood friends, mutual pining, other best friend!donghyeok

Warnings: Mentions of throwing rocks at Jungwoo (i'm sorry my dude 😅) 

WC: ~900

A/N: It's 3AM and I don't know what I'm doing (do I ever?) but here's a first shot at stepping out my comfort zone of SVT before the year ends 😳 Didn't tag my usual crew so y'all aren't spammed with non-SVT content. Scene inspired by this moment in AIB season 2 and the demo of Graduation. Title inspired by Closer by RM ft. Paul Blanco. We'll see where this goes - maybe my only NCT piece, maybe not ._. I'm kinda embarrassed so gonna go hide now lolol.

Your fingers flowed across the last few keys of your grandfather’s piano, your voice following in suit, its pitch rising with the notes. The old wooden thing had been pushed up against the faded white and pink floral wallpaper of your family’s living room as long as Renjun could remember. Its corners were chipped, the yellow surface was faded and worn, similar to the stained keys from various accidents over the years. The lower G key was colored with red Sharpie, fingerprints stamped into the ink – Renjun only remembered because he solely got in trouble for it after Donghyeok dared him. 

So if you take up all your chances, use mine.

If you’ll be there for the rest of my life.

You paused after finishing the last part, your fingertips settling on the white keys. The last few notes of your song hung in the air between you and him, only the sound of crickets chirping and the light tinkle of the wind chime on your porch filling the air. The soft yellow light from the lamp on the side tables casted a pretty glow on your skin, making you look almost . . . ethereal. It very well could’ve been the sweat from the humidity of the day, but Renjun liked to think it was shadows and luminescence highlighted the best features of your face. The smile on your face was the finishing touch – it was something between being pleased, but shy; satisfied with what you’ve written, but scared that you’ve finally revealed it to the world (well, Renjun).

Typically, you were bold and rowdy – it’s why you and Donghyeok got along so well. You weren’t afraid to stand up for those you loved and your values, despite hundreds of people being against you. Renjun remembered when the three of you were twelve and you told off Jungwoo for picking on Donghyeok – you threw a couple rocks too. 

It was because of that, moments like this were all the more precious and beautiful. You were beautiful. You weren’t loud or throwing rocks at someone. Your mouth wasn’t running nor were you bantering with Donghyeok again. It was a side of you Renjun only saw on the rare occasion; the occasion being whenever you share your music with him. This side of you was quiet and vulnerable, but your voice in combination with the piano spoke volumes. Despite being lost in your thoughts and your emotions, you seemed happy and at peace. None of it took away from your usual valor.

It was just . . . different. 

And pretty. 

Your eyes diverted from the piano, flickering to the side to look at your best friend. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you shrugged timidly, followed by a soft chortle. 

“How was it?” you asked. 

Renjun smiled, his lips pressing into a thin line, then growing into a small toothy grin. Before he could catch himself, he blurted, “You're pretty.”

“Huh?” your breath hitched. 

He looked away, the smile falling from his face. Renjun blinked owlishly a few times before turning back to you. He did not just tell you that. 

It’s not that you weren’t pretty – you just weren’t supposed to know he thought that about you. 

At least . . . not yet. 

“It was pretty,” Renjun chuckled nervously. He pointed at the piano. “Y-your song.”

You let out a small breath, clearing away the racing thoughts in your mind. “Really?”

“Truly.”

“You think it’s like . . . MS Entertainment tier pretty?” you chortled. “For the songwriting competition?”

“I . . . don’t see why not,” Renjun replied, he pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. “I think . . . it’s my favorite. Nostalgic – makes me warm inside.”

You let out a breath of relief, nodding. You dropped your gaze to your fingers in your lap, curling around nothing, your nails grazing across your jeans. It was your favorite piece to date – if it’s Renjun’s favorite too, there was a chance right? You’d have to ask Donghyeok to listen to it too later.

Renjun’s not sure what took over him, but he took in a sharp breath and willed himself to look you in the eye. 

“But . . . uh,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “You are pretty.” 

Your expression softened, eyes wide and shrinking away from him a little. Heat was already spreading across your cheeks, your lips held agape like goldfish.

“You look the prettiest now,” he said more confidently. Perhaps you were dreaming, but you could’ve sworn there was a glint of tenderness in his eyes. It was different from the moments when he did look at you when he was happy to see you after a long day in the fields. 

“You’re prettiest when you let go . . . prettiest when you sing.”

“Renjun,” you said softly. 

He smiled. “I hope to see it more often.”

Though his comment made your heart flutter, there was a small sense of guilt that came with it. 

Pursuing your dreams of songwriting meant leaving the farm. 

Leaving the farm meant leaving your family. 

Donghyeok. 

Renjun. 

You weren’t sure if you were ready for that. 

At least . . . not yet. 

You wondered if he knew what he was wishing for when he told you.

[foibles-fables]

tag game (Horizon)

stolen from @hellcheercaine!!! Thanks for the excuse to put off starting work for another few minutes.

1.ride or die ship (your otp): Aloy/Talanah. my rotten soldiers my sweet cheeses my good-time gals

2. most annoying ship: nah you know I don't play that game <3

3. second favourite ship: Aloy/Yarra

4. favourite platonic relationship: Aloy and Erend, Talanah and Milu, Aloy and Sylens

5. underrated ship: gonna say Aloy/Yarra here too. Also Fashav/Kotallo, Beta/Milu, Alva/Seyka (thoughts of an angsty Loyalist!Federa fic won't leave my brain ALONE)

6. overrated ship: see question 2 bls

7. one thing i would change in canon: Oh man. There are...many things, lmao. The clear and obvious one is having Talanah join the base (as we now know was the original intention [rolling_in_the_deep.mp3]). But since that one is a given--completely toss the Zeniths out of HFW. Ground the narrative conflict in gathering the subfunctions, the collapsing biosphere, and Regalla's rebellion instead. Bring GAIA back only at the very end. Save the Zeniths for the major H3 antagonist instead, negating the need for Nemesis as the Bigger Fish. How absolutely baller would it have been if the Beta reveal came as a post-credits stinger instead? (Gerard's voice: "Are you ready to finally make yourself useful, Beta?" and then a camera pan over the face of a Sobeck clone, GOD)

8. something canon did right: The entirety of "Deep Secrets of the Earth" in HZD was a masterclass in storytelling. Every part of exploring PZD HQ was remarkable. The datapoints, the juxtaposition of "The Bad News" with "The Good News," the latter of which as the culminating reveal of the mystery that's been building throughout the entire narrative--it's pretty much perfection.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: may I present to y'all my AO3 trashpile

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): ALVA. My personal shining star amongst the HFW companions. I'm also contractually obligated to say Talanah here, even if I want to shake her by the shoulders sometimes (affectionate)

11. the character i relate to the most and why: This is a tough one. I see pieces of myself in a number of the characters, but I'm not sure if there's one that I'm like, yes, that is ME. I could prrooobably say Alva again? But it's not a definitely one-to-one.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: All the homies hate Ted Faro, that's for sure. But that's low-hanging fruit. So I'll give Amadis as well, though not for the seemingly-obvious reason--I cannot stand the sole purpose for which he was written, from the comic all the way through his weird unsatisfying ending in HFW. He's a repeated character with a repeated conflict that was already handled much more compellingly through Nil and is rendered useless and storyless by the end of Need to Know. Bringing him back in H3 would be the sorest mistake the narrative could make aside from a sacrificial ending for Aloy. He's just unneeded character bloat in an already-admittedly-bloated cast.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: You will make some of your very best friends here. Everyone is creative and hilarious and so smart. We all connect to the Horizon universe in a different way, and sharing your enthusiasm with others is what just makes the world feel even richer than what you could have imagined.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I typically don't browse AO3 directly!

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: you're gonna make me pick ONE?? oh man, okay. so this changes by the day, and today I'll say Oceanator's "I Would Find You" is THEE Hawk and Thrush anthem.

tagging: since I stole this untagged, I challenge YOU to do the same! Choose your fandom and talk about it!

[solarsonicsoda]

Ranking TV Theme Tunes - Intro

Many many years ago, I made a tier list of all the theme tunes from loads of cartoons and live-action shows I watched back in the day. I thought this was neat, but I always thought I could do more. It's not like it was a small tier list either! But all the same, it ate away at me. One day, I decided I was gonna do something about it.

I compiled more shows. I asked friends, I took note of shows mentioned in videos I saw, I remembered more from my own experience - the number kept rising. One-hundred. Hundreds. I was building a pretty big collection. I shared my plan with more friends, and more and more of them had suggestions. But then they asked me: "How many are you doing?"

I hadn't considered this before. How many was I going to do? When I told them the current number, they all told me the same thing:

"STOP"

I ignored them, obviously. However, I made a compromise. I'll get to 500, and then I'll stop. A completely reasonable number, I thought... and in terms of reaching it, I was! It was easy, even. Yet, I did come to realise, that it might be slightly too many to ever truly cover as I originally planned, at least in a reasonable time. This brings us to today, and a brand new method for this plan.

I'll be rating themes here show-by-show, and giving them a letter grade for our tier list. I'll first cover my original 500 (with a few stragglers that fit among them), and from there potentially expand. The ground rules and caveats are as follows:

Each theme is rated on the song alone. No personal opinion on the show, the intro video, anything! I will comment on these, but they may not skew my view! These ratings will be go: S, A, B, C, D, and F. Try to remember that C is a passing grade! If your favourite intro gets a C, that means I thought it was Alright!

Shows with more than one theme will be given a final aggregate tier rating, based on each individual theme's rating.

Shows which get an entirely different name from season to season will be treated as unique shows, however shows where this only sometimes happens, or said seasons are simply shorter arcs, will not. For example, every Pokemon show is counted as a unique show, but Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is not, and neither is every season of Ninjago. Reboots will typically be treated as a separate show.

Shows which share a theme or have practically the same themes will be taken as one single entry, though acknowledged as seperate shows. For example, Digimon Adventure 02 will be treated as the same as Digimon Adventure.

I will be counting the British and American themes only, and mainly the original themes they aired with in these countries. That is to say: yes, I'm using the One Piece Pirate Rap.

The shows selected will be of the family entertainment variety. The audience of each show may vary, but it's all about where they may have aired. I think the best way to explain this is that shows such as The Simpsons do not qualify, though I will be counting The Flintstones. You may dispute some of my discretion here, and that's fine, but it's just what makes sense to me

I am, sadly, British, but we have some absolutely banging TV and it is grossly underrated on all sorts of old TV retrospectives and stuff! My 500 aims to fix that, with a great deal of shows from British channels throughout the years. There's plenty of stuff from America too, most of which we had here too as imports, and shows from around the world in similar situations such as from Canada, Italy, Australia, France, etc. However, I'm definitely limited by what I see! If I haven't seen/heard-of something and neither have my friends, it probably won't be in that list! To rectify this, feel free to send me suggestions! Please try to do this with as much information as possible, and links are super welcome!

The shows are also spread out across time. We have themes as old as the 50s, and as new as 2023! I tried to take a good spread but through a combination of personal bias/nostalgia and sheer quantity, the 2000s is probably the most-represented era. This was hard to help, but again, send more suggestions!

There will be some shows that you have never heard of! If they seem really, really obscure? Probably me or a friend watched it, and we will not hear anything bad about it. Gotta have variety!

But with that said, stay tuned for some fierce theme tune rating! And if I miss a theme or make a mistake, let me know nicely! I have NOT seen all these shows, and some I know next-to-nothing about, so take it easy, and help me out!

Hope you enjoy!

[animehouse-moe]

Jujustu Kaisen: The Brilliance Behind Alisa Okehazama's 'Hollow Purple'

First, let's just appreciate how incredibly well S1 captured Gojo's infamous Hollow Purple technique. Absolutely loved it when I first saw it, and I love it more and more each time I go back to watch it. Similarly, I end up falling deeper and deeper in love with Alisa Okehazama's titular track for the moment, despite my initial distaste. I think it's a song that many might write off, that they may feel is "disappointing". But truthfully, putting it more into context with the story, and with Gojo, I think it's probably the best track Okehazama could have made for The Strongest, and I'd love to tell you why.

Anyways, as a refresher for how this tracked is used in the anime. We begin right from the beginning of the track as Gojo's revealed to have made it through the curtain, but soon skips further into the track for a more "build up" moment. From there, tensions rise and we pretty well follow the overall flow of the track until the biggest moment.

So what is it that makes Hollow Purple an actually good track?

The Story

To many that have listened to it frequently, I'm sure you've all wondered about why the latter half/end of the track sounds so unlike the rest of the OST in style? Why, it's just a more typical electronic-sounding track that has a surprisingly upbeat feel, of course it'd feel out of place with the rest of the OST.

But that's exactly why it's like that. Is Gojo known (in this season) to have ever despaired? To be on the ropes, to struggle with an opponent or enemy?

No! Of course he hasn't. After all, he's the strongest. That's why this song is like this, that's why it's a great addition to this OST and probably the closest to perfect you can get for Gojo.

This track is the story of the despair and challenges of the Tokyo and Kyoto students and staff, that is evaporated by Gojo's presence alone. It's a track that builds up from the moment of the reveal, changing the pace of the music as we head further and further into the song. It takes the tension of the moment, the overwhelming power and intensity that Gojo brings, and creates a backdrop for his entrance.

Gojo is the shining light of the Jujutsu World, the self-proclaimed but unanimously agreed upon strongest. He would never suffer, never struggle or despair, so of course his moment in his track would convey this. Of course his piece would bring the energy, bring the excitement and wipe the challenges of characters like Yuji right off the map with Hollow Purple. It's the capstone of the Kyoto exchange event and is the defining track for Gojo through season one.

It perfectly defines his role in the world and how allies see him. The song is a reflection of the exertion of Gojo's power in the Jujutsu world. And it's just plain amazing when you come to understand that. The hype, the excitement that the music conveys in the moment, it's so incredibly fun. Because that's what Season 1 Gojo was: fun.

Also, if it wasn't clear, this thought was definitely sparked by the hollow purple of S2. I didn't hate it, but I do have a bone to pick with re-using the OST from an earlier moment in the soundtrack. It's Gojo's defining moment, the sequence that earns him the title of The Strongest, and it's weakened by re-use and the subpar music composition of this second season.

[adultswim2021]

Robot Chicken #80: “Especially the Animal Keith Crofford” | September 20, 2009 - 11:30PM | S04E19

Hey gang, we’re going to untasty this Tuesday with this bad blog entry I wrote last night, then forgot about and didn’t publish. For those of you who love reading me struggle to type out complete sentences for zero clicks, check this out: 

After watching this episode, I decided to take a luxurious bath before writing about it, allowing me to let the juicy comedy morsels marinate in my valuable mind. After the bath, while I was waiting to stop being wet, I went to consult the wiki to remind me what sketches were on it (I used my bath time to think about sexual stuff instead). I ran into a sketch that I swore up and down wasn’t in the version of the episode I saw. It featured Ghost Rider being irresponsible on his motorcycle because of a song. I checked the episode again, confident that it was cut on HBOMax. Shockingly, it was there all along. It’s very common for a Robot Chicken sketch to wash over me and leave me feeling next-to-nothing, but I usually remember enough about it to adequately ID it while perusing the wiki. That’s really something, I guess. 

As for the rest of the episode, it was a fairly mixed bag. Most of it was pretty typical Robot Chicken shit. I’ll highlight two sketches in this paragraph that I kinda liked: The Superman sketch, whose premise was actually pretty fun. That’s the one where baby Superman is in his pod, being nice, and listening to his dad’s educational tape before reaching Earth. There’s good lines in it. I also sorta liked the horror plumber sketch, which hit some satisfying notes for me. Not too bad. 

The absolute best sketch in this, and it might actually be in the running for my favorite Robot Chicken sketch: The Cloverfield sketch. In it, the Cloverfield monster gets scolded for evoking 9/11, and is told that his attacks are “too soon”. He eventually feels bad and starts trying to rebuild the towers, topped with an American flag. He wins the crowd back, who cheer for him. The inexplicable reference to the Mean Joe Greene commercial from the 70s at the end really tickled me, with the monster throwing the huge jersey on top of the crowd. I laughed a genuine laugh!

The episode ends with it’s customary season-capping navel-gaze sketch. Featuring a parody of Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful World”, it rivals Sealab’s “We’re Only Joking” for being disgustingly self-congratulatory. It’s only a little bit better written than that song, which is damning it with the faintest of praise. Seriously, click that link and rewatch that thing. Ignore the retards who are puffing it up in the comments for being refreshingly cancellable; it's one of the most strikingly poorly-written pieces of comedy to ever air on television.

The episode ends with Mike Lazzo (not real) doing a lot of unfunny dances, and announcing that the show is canceled. If only!

MAIL BAG

I got some Mail Bags.

We haven't chatted in a long while but do you remember the part in Home Movies where McGuirk slices up those doors with two katanas and then said, "spaghetti time"? Did you like that scene. Break it down.

Hello, I remember you well, and I cherish you. I remember this moment, because I remember it receiving backlash from the one message board I posted at, for having McGuirk be too wacky. I remember thinking it just felt like a forced way to connect his subplot to the skunk scouts subplot.

In my opinion, he should've had a big gun instead, and that's what causes everyone to run out in terror. He can explain to his friends (who are children) that he found out he could get a huge gun for all of his swords on a trade in. Then he suicides by cop in front of them and the rest of the season is about Brendon starting a cool gore website and using his video of McGuirk getting blasted, and they change the name of the show to HOME PAGE

Tasty Tuesday! No blogs today! I need to enjoy my tyuesday

If it's any consolation to you, I'm not having fun tonight, I'm mostly feeling extremely sleepy. Goodnight everyone (voice becomes supernaturally deep) what do you think I'll dream about

[looseygoosey66]

JUNE 2013 COVER STORY – Pearl Jam Guitarist Stone Gossard Making Time for ‘Moonlander’

“We live and we die by time. And we must not commit the sin of losing our track on time.” ~ Chuck Noland: “Cast Away”

Time is an amazing thing. It is precious and it can be fleeting. It seems the older you get, the faster time flies by and your life is measured by what you do with that time.

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard certainly makes the best of his time. Not only is he in one of the world’s biggest rock bands and constantly touring, but he also has Brad, a side band with his friends Regan Hagar and Shawn Smith. More importantly, Gossard is a father and husband.

“My typical day isn’t always music,” Gossard said from his home in Seattle. “I usually get up, drink way too much coffee, make sure my daughter eats her cereal and I brush her hair before school. Then I take her to school, run some errands, then come home, walk the dog with my wife, then have lunch, pick up my daughter from school and come home and play. Then it’s diner and a movie and off to bed. That is the excitement of my day now. I love it.”

“Then again,” Gossard continued, “the typical day could mean getting up, flying to South America to play some shows, write some music or go to the recording studio.”

Gossard has found the time and the perfect way to merge the love of his family with his music on his sophomore solo album Moonlander. The album will be released on Pearl Jam’s own Monkeywrench Records on June 25. Gossard started releasing singles 10 weeks prior to the official release date.

“We knew we needed some art work to go with the album so we came up with the idea of an original piece of art to go with each single we put out every week. When you have an album and you don’t plan on playing a lot of shows, if any at all, you have to do something special with promoting the album to draw interest and have a destination to generate interest so people can hear it. I don’t know if this idea will work, but it was fun.”

The art work incorporated with the single was provided by Gossard and his daughter.

“My daughter loves to paint and draw and when she would, I would as well. I hope the pieces convey a sense of freedom from formal rules and of playfulness that comes from hanging with your lovely 5-year old.”

The weekly single idea grew when Gossard’s wife found Washington state craft maker, Terri Swinhart at Once Upon a Drawing (http://once-upon-a-drawing.blogspot.com), they sent one of the drawings to the artist and she created a “softie” which goes with each single and which Gossard signed and gave away in weekly contests.

“My wife found Terri Swinhart online and we sent her a drawing my daughter did to see if she could make something for us and when we got it back the softie was dead on. It was mind blowing. She does a great rendition of the art work.”

When working on a solo album time is a luxury Gossard does have. It’s been 12 years since he released his solo debut Bayleaf and the 11 tracks for Moonlander were recorded over an 8-year span, 2003-2011.

“Over the last year, I went through all of my old demos and recordings that weren’t used as Pearl Jam or Brad songs and picked my favorites. With the help of Floyd Reitsma (Studio Litho engineer), Pete Droge (Executive Producer), and Hans Teuber (multi-instrumentalist and long time Hank Khoir collaborator) I went about trying to finish them. There was lots of re-singing tracks, fleshing out and re-editing, adding new instruments…”

As most guitarists do, Gossard would save any guitar riffs to his computer for possible future use. Over eight years of doing this, the hard drive became pretty packed with riffs, songs, or lyrics Gossard had to sift through.

“As a guitar player if you come up with a little something you want to save it just in case, even though about 90 percent of the time you know it won’t be used. But you keep it because…I don’t know. “

As a music veteran of over 25 years and being in some of rock’s seminal bands (Green River, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog), Gossard doesn’t find it time consuming going through all the files when trying to record a song for an album.

“I never had a problem focusing on a project, whether it is Brad or Pearl Jam, you just get in and listen. I don’t find it hard going back through these pieces of music. I make quick decisions to get things done. I had this record done about five years ago, but as I listened to it then, the album wasn’t a good as I wanted it to be. So I put it back in the cooker again to make sure I had everything I wanted before releasing it.”

For the most part putting out a record is about timing but when you are in the position Gossard is in, one doesn’t have to worry about getting a solo record out or putting one out if at all. But when you are an artist who is always creating, you know when the time is right to showcase your work.

“I just had these moments about everything that were recurring where I would think about these songs I was working on. I would always go back and work on them if the studio was available and work on overdubs, guitar parts or just listen until I got what I wanted.”

To get what he wanted, Gossard enlisted an impressive collections of friends/musicians to play on the album. Moonlander features appearances from Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden), Matt Chamberlain, Regan Hagar (Brad, Malfunkshun, Satchel), Pete Droge, Brandon Harper, Gregg Keplinger, Keith Lowe, Barbara Ireland (The Fags) and Hans Teuber.

“I have been so fortunate. If I’d look back and thought about the people I’ve played with and got to meet. With all the twists and turns I have been through in my life in music, I am so blessed to play with people like Ed [Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder], Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age or Shawn Smith [Satchel, Pigeonhead, Brad] and the list goes on and on. I am a little bit numb to it because it just seems natural. I don’t know how to explain it…I am truly blessed…I don’t know what I did exactly, but it has been incredible. “

Gossard has always been one to recognize and use his fortunes to help people, communities and the world. Gossard has supported and/or worked with amazing foundations.

“I’ve always been conscious of philanthropy even before the success. It’s about giving back, creating a better place for everyone. It comes in waves for me with my schedule. It’s very important to me. At the end of the year I do what I can to give back and help those people in need. It’s something I’ve been involved with and do it when I can. I wish I had more time to do it on a more consistent basis.”

With his new album Moonlander and his daughter hand in hand, Gossard continues to give back with his music and time, finding the littlest things in life mean the biggest.

“I think my idea of fun these days is the simplest things. Staying with my daughter, going to the beach to throw rocks in the ocean, teaching her how to fish, watch her play…that’s a big night out for me. Hanging out with the wife and my daughter…when you have a kid you can’t be more in love.”

ALBUM REVIEW

Stone Gossard - Moonlander

(Monkeywrench)

A dozen years after his funky first solo album Bayleaf, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard returns with Moonlander.

The captivating 11 tracks from the album were recorded from 2003-2011. Scouring through his hard drive of old demos and recordings that weren’t used as Pearl Jam or Brad songs, Gossard compiled enough material for Moonlander.

With the help of musicians/friends – Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden), Matt Chamberlain, Regan Hagar (Brad, Malfunkshun, Satchel), Pete Droge, Brandon Harper, Gregg Keplinger, Keith Lowe, Barbara Ireland (The Fags) and Hans Teuber – the songs show Gossard stretching his legs as a solo artist, and most notably his confident singing voice. In addition, the songs come to life with the help of Floyd Reitsma (Studio Litho engineer), Pete Droge (Executive Producer), and Hans Teuber (multi-instrumentalist and long time Hank Khoir collaborator).

Gossard stays true to his love for funky riffs on the opener “I Want Something Different,” which contains a blistering soulful guitar lead. The title track is a playful homage to Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust-era complete with the bells and whistles in the sound effects. The first single “Both Live” is so infectious you will be singing the chorus (“I gotta go, I gotta swim, I gotta use my fins”) long after the song is over. “Your Flames” and “Battle Cry” are two gorgeous slow burners finding Gossard’s warm vocals envelope you with his storied lyrics.

“I Don’t Want To Go To Bed” starts off slow with janglely guitar strums then catches on with a soaring chorus while “Remain” is a straight-forward story teller ballad. The sleeper hit of Moonlander is the fun, quirky ass-shaking groove of “Witch Doctor.”

Moonlander is a journey in funky quirkiness, Americana, pop, rock and jazz musicianship all wrapped in Gossard’s unique (and somewhat puzzling) song lyrics. In short, Stone Gossard has hit the mark with this one.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 2; with our heads held high

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 2935

song recommendation: "Be the Light" by ONE OK ROCK

________________________________________________________

The streets were still empty and silent. I felt like I was completely alone in this world, especially after the only people I managed to find had died right next to me.

None of this made any sense. Shibuya was way too busy all the time, how did things end up like this?

Was this a nightmare? A very gruesome one? How could I wake up, if the shock from those explosions wasn’t enough to jolt me awake?

Maybe if I went back to sleep in this 'dream world' I could wake up back in the real world. I had been staying with Mizuki ever since coming to Tokyo, but it would be a very long walk back with no one to give me a lift. Still, I didn’t have any other choices left.

----------

I don’t know how much time had passed, but I knew I had been walking for hours. Both my phone and the one I picked up during that game – unsure if I could, but I’m not going back there – had run out of battery.

I put it back inside my pocket and, looking up again, I saw some red lines coming down from the sky in the far distance – I had a bad feeling in my gut about them.

Upon arriving at Mizuki’s apartment, I knocked on the front door and was surprised to see it open slowly, completely unlocked. I called in for anyone, but just like the streets outside, the apartment was empty. The main window was left open, with a cold breeze coming through the sheer curtains, as the living room was dimly lit by the moonlight outside.

A wave of sadness and worry hit me. The only people I knew in this city were also gone without notice. ' What the hell was I going to do, all alone in a huge city like this?' I could only hope they all were doing fine, even though they must be lost in another part of the city. ' Just please be alive.'

I felt exhausted. Physically, from the long walk back to this apartment, and mentally, from the horrifying experience I had in that parking garage. Just thinking about those scenes for mere seconds made me nauseous, I could still smell the blood from their bodies… Or maybe it was the blood that had stained my clothes.

None of the lights or water dispensers were working anymore, so I couldn’t even take a shower. I cleaned myself the best I could with some wet wipes I found in the bathroom and changed into a set of clean clothes. Laying down on a bed, I felt a couple of tears forming in my eyes again, but my body gave in to exhaustion before I could start crying, and I fell asleep.

----------

Picking up my phone was the first thing I did every morning, but my phone wasn’t turning on. Neither was the weird phone right beside mine on the bedside table. That phone… It meant I didn’t wake up from a nightmare. So, it wasn’t a nightmare. It was the real world.

I didn’t even know what time it was, but as I got to the living room the sun was shining brightly through the window, so it must have been around noon. Meaning it had been many, many hours since I last ate something.

My stomach grumbled when I reached into the fridge, but the only stuff in there had to be cooked. I was never a fan of raw eggs, and the pieces of meat smelled pretty bad, even though they were far from expiring. I grabbed some chips from the counter instead, trying to satiate my hunger at least a little bit. I would have to go out again and look for something to eat.

Grabbing a small backpack from the wardrobe, I put a few more snacks inside, along with a clean jacket I had brought with me. It was time to see that apocalyptic scene outside again.

Before, I had been so excited to be in Shibuya for the first time – but in my current situation, this meant I had no idea where to go. I didn’t even know where the convenience stores were in this area. People told me before that Japan was full of 'konbinis', but I was yet to find one near the apartment building.

I didn’t know how far I had walked, and I certainly had been lost, but somehow I found a huge department store. 'With these many floors, there must be somewhere to get food!' At the entrance, there was a huge map on the wall listing down what each floor of this building was for, so at least I wouldn’t have to look into every single shop there.

Going up the stairs, I heard some noise coming in from a furniture store – Chattering? People? I quickly walked inside, full of curiosity, and noticed a group of people sitting down at a small dinner table. I peeked from behind a wall, observing them eating what looked like real, good food, though I couldn’t make out any words they were saying.

One of them – a man with blonde, spiky hair and a black floral shirt – stopped eating and looked around, quickly noticing me. Then, a man with fluffy hair wearing a yellow shirt came over and stopped in front of me. We stared at each other in silence, his mouth was opening and closing fast, like he was still thinking about what to say.

'You… Do you know anything about this?' He finally spoke. He didn’t explain what he meant by 'this', but I just knew he was talking about the whole situation happening in Tokyo right now.

'Sorry, I don’t know anything either. I don’t even know my way around Shibuya.' He looked down a bit disappointed.

The blonde man came up to us, asking 'Who is this, Arisu?', to which the other guy, Arisu , replied he didn’t know either, and that I must have just arrived in this 'world' like them. I tried to ask them what they meant, and they invited me over to have a discussion with the others at the table.

'Have you eaten anything? The canned tamagoyaki is still warm, you can have it if you’d like.' Arisu offered me a can and a pair of chopsticks, I thanked him and sat down on the couch near the table. It tasted good! Really good!

We introduced ourselves to each other – their names were Arisu, Karube, Chota, and Shibuki – and they began asking me questions about my experience in this 'world'. I explained I came to visit my friends during college break, and yesterday was my first time in Shibuya. I had known before my arrival that it was extremely crowded near the station, so I was extremely confused when I found no one on the streets, not knowing if there was some kind of event going on. The three men shared the same experience, but the woman remained silent.

'Isn’t it strange? When everyone disappeared from this world, it was yesterday for the four of us, but it was three days ago for Shibuki. Why at different times?' Arisu brought up a new subject and I watched him as he talked, 'And even the vegetables were rotten. It was only a few days since everyone disappeared. What could be the reason?'

'Maybe the way time passes is different than normal?' Shibuki finally spoke up, 'I don’t really know, but even among us, the time when people disappeared is different, right?'

'Did we time travel while we were in the restroom?' Chota said and I looked at him in surprise, 'What? I was also in a restroom when people disappeared!', we both looked at each other with surprised wide eyes.

'That’s impossible. Time traveling does not exist.' Karube told Chota.

'But it’s also impossible for people to disappear. How do you explain the game and people disappearing, then?'

I shivered a bit at Chota’s words. 'They had also been in a game before? So… did they also see people die?' Arisu reached for his pocket and picked up a playing card, a three of clubs, and I thought about the seven of diamonds card I had inside my backpack.

They began talking about games, game masters, microchips, virtual realities… I was barely picking up anything they were saying, still replaying the events of yesterday’s game in my head. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Chota groaning in pain, touching his leg.

'I don’t think VR can cause burns like that.' Arisu was looking at his friend with a worried expression on his face.

'It must be God. This must be the work of Go-' Chota stopped talking when he noticed me leaving the empty can of tamagoyaki and the chopsticks on the table, 'Sorry, I think I need some fresh air right now, I’m going outside for a bit' I said in a low voice, bowed to them and walked outside.

I didn’t want to join their conversation, I just needed some time to think by myself.

'I have managed to find more people, and they seem nice, compared to the ones I met yesterday. But… Why is it a group of four people again? Are we gonna be forced into a game together, and will we have to watch each other die, too?' My thoughts were spiraling as I walked around the building with no destination in mind, just breathing in the smell of the plants decorating the place, which looked like they hadn’t been watered in days.

I came back to my senses and thought I could go for some 'shopping' since I was already here. Walking back to the stairs, trying to remember what shops were on which floors, I almost bumped into Arisu. I apologized with a quick bow, but he dismissed me saying it was fine. He offered to escort me around since he remembered me mentioning I didn’t know my way around this place.

We hung out for a while, going into a shoe store and I replaced my worn-out converse shoes that were hurting my toes, with a fitting comfortable pair of running shoes. Time seemed to go by fast, as the sun had already begun to set. Karube came up to us at some point, saying he wanted to talk to Arisu in private. I left them near the stairs and went back to the furniture store where I first met them. Shibuki showed me the bedroom area of the store and told me I could pick any of the beds to sleep on for the night.

I wasn’t feeling very tired yet. Instead, I asked where they had picked up all that food from earlier, and she guided me to a convenience store inside the building. Shibuki was already picking up some more cans and cups of instant meals, saying I could stay for 'dinner' with them if I wanted to. I kindly accepted her invitation, happy that I was finally around nice people I could talk to.

That night went by smoothly. At the dinner table (with me sitting on the couch again), they explained to me about the visa system, saying they were supposed to join another game in two days. 'This meant I, too, would need to join another game in six days. Oh, god, please, no!' But soon they weren’t talking about games anymore, rather, they were sharing funny experiences of their daily lives before all of this started. I couldn’t join their conversation, as my life had always been kinda boring, but I didn’t feel left out or uncomfortable, laughing along with them.

When we all decided to go to sleep, Arisu, Karube, and I went up to the bedroom area and claimed our single beds. Shibuki said she and Chota were going somewhere else, as she had to take care of his injury and change his bandages before they could go to bed. We waved at them and tucked under our blankets to sleep.

----------

The following day, I woke up pretty late again, as I didn’t have my phone with a loud alarm clock to keep me from sleeping until noon anymore. I looked around and noticed Arisu and Karube weren’t in the bedroom area. Picking up my backpack and walking towards the entrance to the furniture store, the air smelled like hot noodles and soup, and it wasn’t long until I found Shibuki and Chota sitting in front of a portable stove.

They called my name, saying lunch was almost ready. I walked over to them, asking about Arisu and Karube, to which Chota replied they were 'doing grocery shopping'. Shibuki handed me a hot cup of noodles and some chopsticks, I thanked her and decided I was going to eat while walking around the building, saying goodbye to them.

'Could there be more people left in this city, still?'

Going towards the entrance of the building to observe the streets outside, I passed by Karube and Arisu, waving at them since my mouth was full of noodles. The streets were as empty as ever. The silence that, at first, was so depressing and scary now made me feel a little calmer, peaceful even. I would gladly take any silence like this over the explosions sound from that game. 'I guess I could take a walk outside, who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky to find someone else again.'

I threw away the empty cup and chopsticks in a garbage can outside and began my stroll around the city I did not know at all . Bad idea? Maybe.

This time, I chose to walk over to the more unfamiliar streets, not following the paths that lead to the parking garage or to my friend’s apartment. ' I just hope I don’t get lost again, without being able to return to the department store.'

These streets were full of very tall buildings – more department stores, art galleries, something I think was a hospital, parking garages, apartment complexes… Wait. Hold on a second. One of those apartment complexes seemed to have lights on! It was very easy to spot, considering all the others around it were pitch black. Curious, I walked near the entrance, and I was delighted to find some people inside.

'Toei Sendagaya Apartment'

Rushing in, I noticed a round white table in front of them with a bunch of phones on top, and a sign that said 'One per person'. Memories came back to me; my first game had started right after I picked up one of those phones. I didn’t want to be in a game again, at least not so soon, I still had many days left on my visa.

Walking back to where I came from, I stopped right in front of a wall made of red lasers that I hadn’t seen before. A man’s voice came from behind me, saying 'It’s too late now, you’re already part of the game. Or you can go through that barrier and see for yourself what happens.'

'No way' , I thought, 'I wasn’t going to take this risk' . Hesitantly, I turned back and picked up a phone from the table. The screen showed 'FACIAL RECOGNITION IN PROGRESS. PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT' once again, but this time, it didn’t immediately go to that home screen.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY 6 PARTICIPANTS

PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THE GAME COMMENCES

TWENTY MINUTES UNTIL REGISTRATION CLOSES

I moved to the back, leaning over a wall, and looked over at the people around me. A man wearing a black bandana smirked at me, I guessed he was the one who talked to me earlier. There was a middle-aged woman with glasses staring down at the phone in her hands, a man in a black business suit looking very calm in the corner, and a man with a blue plaid shirt and a dark blue cap, looking a bit anxious. 

'The phone said six participants, am I missing someone?'

I would still have to wait twenty minutes until the game began, doing absolutely nothing here. I quietly hummed to some songs I liked to pass time while I observed more people coming in to play the game.

Two young girls, a man in an office worker uniform, a man in a white hoodie… who took a small device out of his pocket and plugged it into an electrical outlet on the wall. I had no idea what that was, it looked like a small walkie-talkie but without the antenna. He held up an iPod and fixed his earphones before leaning against a wall and staring down at the floor.

A woman quickly walked in, wearing a pink tank top and a teal jacket. The man with the dark blue cap walked over to her, shyly trying to ask her if she knew where all the people in Tokyo had gone to. Before she could answer, they got interrupted by a big man walking right in between them, picking up a phone and moving beside the guy with the black bandana. I noticed they were also wearing blue wristbands, just like that guy who died during my first game. Could they have known him as well?

The last two people to come in through the entrance were Arisu and Karube. I was surprised to see them, but I wondered what they were doing here, since they still had two more days on their visas. That same feminine voice from before spoke through my phone:

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 14 PARTICIPANTS

THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE

[pricetheghost0]

Tw sh, cringe

Words: 3700

Kenma x depressed reader

Your parents were like most other parents. They were nice enough every now and then but they still had their quirks.

Your dad was aloof like a cat who couldn't care less about you existing or not. He only showed that he cared when he found out the first time about your self harm.

Your mom was the type to switch things up. Occasionally she would want to hug you or make you food. Most of the time though, she would argue and put you down. She called you a bitch, a whore, a useless brat, etc. This drove you crazy when she acted nice.

On a typical Tuesday during the first week of school, you woke up and went downstairs. You were dressed and physically ready. Mentally you wish you could just stay in bed for the rest of your life. Your mother had your lunch ready and you slapped together a piece of toast and jelly.

As you ate in the car you put an earbud in to listen to (your favorite playlist). You can't stand the radio.

Your pov

I swear to God, if I have to hear "happy" by Pharrell Williams one more time, I'm gonna fucking lose it. It's so repetitive and annoying. No one is that happy. Well… unless you are on drugs… then maybe.

We finally made it. I'm a freshman which is super cringy. Most of them run around the halls as if they are happy to be in school.

I step out of the car and see the sign for Nekoma high school. I grab my stuff and head inside.

Time skip to lunch cuz I'm hungry

I sit under a tree and start listening to music so I can calm my dying social battery. It is pretty warm outside making a sweater and thigh highs seem a tad odd. Of course I switched my happy and bubbly personality on so people don't question it too much.

I had my best friend with me. She is moving soon but I knew she could get the school to think this is just my style since she is a super popular senior. bsf/n never knew why I would cover up. For all she knew, it really is my style.

I couldn't possible flat out tell her "I know we are sad you are moving away but I just wanna let you know I cut myself for fun". I know she'd feel guilty and take my blades away. That sounds like too much of a pain.

As me and bsf/n were sharing songs with each other, a guy came up to us. He seemed too cocky for me and I went back to looking at my phone.

"Hey Kuroo! Whatcha doin without kenma?" Bsf/n said standing up and hugging him.

"He wanted to be alone to play games. Something about a social battery. I wasn't really listening though." Kuroo shrugged with a sigh.

I let out a small laugh. So he's a bit like me. He seems to have more confidence though since he told his friend to leave him alone.

"Who's this? Why is she laughing at my pain?" Kuroo joked.

"This is y/n. She also talks about social batteries but she usually whispers way too quietly for me to hear. What is a social battery?" Bsf/n asked.

"If I talk to too many people in a day I get tired and lowkey wanna beat the shit outta the next person that looks at me. That's only when it dies tho." I said still not paying attention to the beanstalk in front of me.

"Did Kenma wanna punch me then?!" Kuroo asked, looking in my direction. I ignored him. My battery was dead and I was over it.

"Heyyyyy answerrrr!" Kuroo pouted like a baby. I needed a way to stop my anger. I wanted to stab him. He talks way too much and I'm not interested.

"I'll see you later bsf/n." I got up and grabbed my stuff.

"O-ok. Are you alright?" She said with a caring tone.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kuroo was worried.

"I'm fine. I just think I started early." I had to make some kinda excuse. This was good enough because kuroo wouldn't dare question me.

"Do you need anything?" Bsf/n asked while ready to give me the world.

"Not right now." I walked away and went straight to the bathroom. I locked the stall door and took out my blade. It was in a pencil case that I put back in my bag.

I rolled my sleeve up to show scabs and scars all over my upper forearm. For the people who cut their wrists… for the love of god grow up.

I sliced and made a few cat scratches which weren't good enough. I dabbed the blood away with the thinnest toilet paper you could ever find. I take a quiet deep breath. I steady the blade and swipe it.

I had forgotten this was a new blade.

Fuck.

I reached beans for the first time. It hurt like a bitch. I can't lie. It is kinda pretty as blood fills it. The cut was in the fattiest area of my forearm. This probably saved me a trip to the hospital.

My arm is still throbbing so I made the executive decision to stop before things got outta hand. I stopped the bleeding for the most part and pulled my sleeve down. After putting everything away, I flushed the toilet and washed my hands.

It was my free period and I sure as hell didn't want to talk to people so I headed up to the roof. What kid would be up there when it's this hot?

I walk up the shit ton of stairs with my 2 ton back pack. I open the door to the roof and I sit in the shade. Then I made eye contact with a cat???? Nope it's just a middle schooler who got lost.i look back down at my phone and load up subway surfers. It's an OK game. It's good for passing time while listening to music.

"Why are you here?" The kid asks quietly.

"Shouldn't I be asking that? Aren't you a middle schooler?" I asked not looking up from my game.

"WHAT? I'm not a middle schooler though." The guy said.

"Oh… sorry. I'm up here cuz my social battery died. Then this guy named kuroo came to talk to my friend and he's exaughsting." I ranted.

"He really is that's why my social battery dies so often." He said with a small laugh

"You know him?" I asked while immersed in the game.

"Yeah. He's my friend. Oh, my names-" the guy couldn't finish his sentence.

"FUCK" right before I beat my high score I lost.

"... Kenma… u good?" He finished and looked up from his phone as I smacked the wall with my arm out of pure rage.

"Well hi kenma, my name is y/n. I almost beat my high score." I said wanting to cry out of anger.

"What are you playing?" Kenma asked.

"Subway surfers. Y'know, something to pass the time." I shrugged lowkey embarrassed that I was playing a game for 9 year olds.

"What's your high score?" Kenma tilted his head.

"583,857" I said, questioning why I'm answering all his questions.

"Really? Well mines 826,291." He boasted. This lowkey pissed me off but before I knew it he spoke again. "Hey ummm… I think you hit the wall too hard. Your arm is bleeding."

"Oh shi- what the fuck." I panicked. It was like I thought he would know what happened. He did have his suspicions because a lot of people who have social batteries get roped into self harm of some kind. Your stupid panicking only proved him right.

He went into his back and grabbed a fresh bandage and jacket he usually kept for himself and handed it to me and left. He didn't want to say anything since he knew how awkward it is to talk about. He had the bad luck of Kuroo finding out. Of course, knowing kuroo, the poor guy is usually never left alone except for when they are at school when kuroo assumes it's safe.

I was shocked and knew he knew. I didn't know if I should have felt greatful or upset that he didn't say anything. I chose to be grateful since it made me realize he wouldn't tell anyone. Not to mention the fact that he probably does the same or at least used to because he had his in his bag. I made sure the area was clear and started wrapping my arm.

Kenma pov

Kuroo is probably looking for me. It's pretty sad he burnt 2 people out. He is probably coming up here now to get me to play volleyball with him.

That's when I noticed y/ns arm was bleeding. It wasn't too much blood but it would've been rough to keep it unbandaged. I knew she couldn't walk around with a bloody sweater because that would draw way too much attention. Just thinking of it makes me sick. I opened the door and low and behold I saw kuroo and bsf/n that were about to open the door. I didn't want them seeing y/n like this so I guarded the door.

I talked with the two idiots questioning if I saw you. I told them I didn't and after a little bit we walked away. I knew you would be able to wrap it up pretty quickly and move on.

Time skip to the end of school 😮‍💨

Who knows what pov this is

You finished class and saw bsf/n waiting for you.

"Hey y/nnnn…" she paused. "Isn't that Kenmas jacket? Hold on, follow me."

She grabbed my hand without me being able to answer and before I knew it we were at the gym.

"Heyyyyy bsf/nnnnn." a guy screamed and came running at us then stopped. "Wait… who's his pretty girl you have with you. Wait…" he snaps his head at Kenma. "ISN'T THAT YOUR JACKET?! YOU TRAITOR!"

"So what if it's my hoodie Yamamoto? I spilled my apple juice on her sweater." Kenma covered for me.

Both the team and bsf/n gasped. They were shocked that Kenma was nice to someone for once.

"Wait… when were you together?" Kuroo questioned.

"Stairwell when I was going to the roof" kenma covered again.

"That was right after I left." I said lowkey panicking because there were so many eyes on me and I kept feeling phantom blood flowing down my arm.

Something about them was kinda comforting. I already played volleyball in middle school even though that team sucked major ass, I still knew a lot about the game.

—--------------------------

After a few weeks I became more comfortable with the team. I could stay clean a little easier but I ended up slicing my upper thighs a lot. I run out of space a lot because I only like Styros which take up a lot of space. The team still had no clue even tho I was 99% sure Kenma knew.

I came to their games and cheered them on. Then I became their team's manager. Granted it was a tad late but it wasn't bad. Everyone welcomed me and me and Kenma grew closer. We shared games and tips for said games. We had a lot of fun but it seemed like he looked sad every now and then. Ironically, it was alway right after I cut myself. Maybe it was his intuition.

—-----------------

It was a normal day at practice. It was amazing how fast these guys could be. They slammed the ball down so hard I thought it could easily knock someone out. (Rip daichi even though it wasn't the spikes fault) I watched in awe and got water for the team. After a little bit they were practicing their spikes and sets and I was chasing balls down. I didn't mind it. It was good exercise but it did irritate my cuts a shit ton. They burned so bad it made me a bit angry.

As I was grabbing a ball I heard Kenma yell "WATCH OUT Y/N". I was a little shocked he could be this loud. I was too busy focusing on the fact that Kenma yelled to move out of the way. All of a sudden a ball smacked my thigh as hard as it could from Kuroos spike.

It hurt.

It hurt so bad.

My knees buckled from the pain and I landed on the floor. Kenma knew what just happened and ran to me. I couldn't help but cry as the whole team surrounded me. Before I knew it, Kenma sent everyone away as he yelled "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER". Everyone was shocked that he could be so aggressive. It took a second for people to leave my side. They knew he was serious with the way he was acting so they couldn't defy him.

"I know it hurts but I am not that strong so can you help me help you walk." Kenma said quietly and I nodded.

Kenma pov

I set the ball for Kuroo which I had done all of the time and of course it was perfect. All of a sudden I noticed the ball was going to hit y/n. I yelled because I knew she had to have run out of space on her arm and I knew she still harmed herself. I didn't want the ball to hit her wounds. I promised myself that if I saw her bleeding again I would talk to her about it and I didn't want that moment to come so soon. It made me nervous.

Then bam. The ball hit her tight and she ended up on the ground.

Shit shit shit shit shit. It definitely hit her where she began harming.

I ran over to her and she started crying. I ran my hands through her hair as I noticed the whole team ran over to us. I panicked because I didn't want them to see any blood that might come from her thigh so without realizing it, I yelled at them to go away. Thank God they left but now I have to worry about y/n.

Shit I can't carry her. I'm the size of a raw spaghetti noodle. There is no way I'll let anyone else see this though.

Y/n's pov

I was helped up and Kenma put his arm around me with my arm around his neck.

"I'm sorry if this is really awkward." Kenma blushed a tiny bit.

"Haha I should be the one that's embarrassed since I only got it with a spike while you guys get hit all of the time." I laughed a little.

When we reached the club room that was fairly close to where we were, Kenma sat me down on a chair and closed the door. He looked serious and I got nervous. I've never seen him like this.

"Um so I really don't know how to bring this up any easier." Kenma said as he grabbed a first aid kit from the cabinet next to him.

"What do you mean?" I tried to cover up the nervousness.

"I know about your self harm. That's why this hurt so bad." Kenma looked down.

"O-oh" my heart is now beating in my throat and I try to get up so I can leave this situation.

"I'm really sorry but you are bleeding on the floor. So unless you want to draw more attention… you might wanna wait here." Kenma said really embarrassed as he was shaming himself for looking at your thigh and for mentioning self harm at all.

"Shit… I wanna throw up. This is so awkward." You felt lowkey disgusted that he had to say anything but also that he knew about it.

Kenma, being the awkward person he is, handed you a trashcan in case you actually were going to throw up.

"I noticed since I do it too. I get a vibe and it was proven with your facial expressions and personality as well as the dead giveaway being the way you dressed. I'm really sorry this is so awkward. I don't have to wrap them up if you don't want me to since they are on your thigh." Kenma said as his emotions spiraled.

"You what?..." I was shocked by his confession about him doing the same thing as me. Kenma just nodded and showed the scars on his stomach.

"Kenma…" I said quietly while my pride flowed out in my tears.

"Yes y/n? Oh sorry I can get out" kenma started opening the door.

3rd pov???

"Can I please have a hug?" You just needed some comfort. At this point you would hug a complete stranger. You needed to calm down in a way self harm couldn't help you.

"Sure" , Kenma smiled a little and closed the door again. He walked over to you and got on his knees so he could be on your level. He gave you the 1st hug you've received in a long time. You didn't know how much you actually needed this until this moment. Of course he was careful to not get your blood all over him but he needed his hug as much as you did.

After a while he left you to bandage yourself up and clean the floor. Thank God you only bled on the club room floor since your skirt collected the rest of the blood. The problem was that since you bled on your skirt, it was now a bit shiny and crunchy. You panicked and didn't know what to do.

You slowly opened the door and saw Kenma being your little guard dog while looking at the team practicing.

"You alright now?" Kenma asked with a caring tone.

"Yea but is it noticeable I got blood on my skirt? It helps that it's black but still…" you asked not really wanting to be more of a burden. You felt like you were an attention whore at this point.

Kenma felt like it was super awkward to look at your skirt but he checked anyway because he knew his second opinion would be important.

"Um… it is kinda noticeable. Sorry." Kenma said quickly, looking away.

"Shittt" you panicked not knowing what to do.

"Here lemme see." Kenma walked into the room and closed the door again. He opened his locker and handed you an extra pair of sweatpants. You were the same height so it was the perfect idea. He also handed you a shirt to match the pants. You hadn't changed out of your uniform since it was too awkward for you to do.

He left the room and let you get changed. You walked out and joined Kenna to walk down and continue the hour left of practice.

“Y/nnnn are you ok?!?!” Yamamoto yelled.

“I’m so sorry y/n!” Kuroo apologized like I was a monarch that was going to behead him.

“I’m fine I’m fine.” I smiled.

“Wait. Why are you wearing Kenma’s clothes againnnnn.” Yamamoto pouted.

“A while ago my dog bit me really bad and it was still healing. When I got hit it opened up again. The skirt was gross so Kenna was nice enough to lend me these.” You noticed you were going to get attention anyway but for some reason, being near Kenna calms you down.

Kuroo apologized again and Yamamoto was still pouting about not being able to give you his clothes.

The team carried on like usual and you were fine. The coach made you sit out for the rest of the practice to only get water and to take notes on their weaknesses. You were good enough at analyzing that he let you help him coach the guys to be better. This low key gave you a power trip.

——————————————————————

You grew even closer to Kenna and you always have game and movie nights where you would just lie around and eat and chill. Kenmas mother is super nice and would always make you guys amazing snacks and give movie recommendations. The team was jealous but you both ignored it.

You relapsed less but it was still a problem. Kenma was worried about hurting you but he knew bringing it up every time would be hard for you. Every now and then he would bandage your arms and attempt to help you feel better. Of course since he didn’t really know what to do he would just wrap you up in blankets and give you your favorite snacks and candy.

After a few months you were super comfortable with each other. You also helped him through bad days. You would do the same things he did by wrapping him in blankets and giving him bite sized homemade apple pies. Before you knew it you two were dating. You were quiet but chaotic together. The team was half jealous and half happy about the news.

You had loads of inside jokes and that made people jealous but who cares as long as you two were happy.

Once Kenma came over to your house your dad ignored and kinda glared at Kenma. Your mother scolded you for having a guy over right after he left for the bathroom. Kenma was angry but he knew he had no power over them. Once he left the bathroom you told him not to worry since your mother got mad over everything. This made him angrier but he just hugged you instead.

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Years later you moved out together and are now super happy. Neither of you relapsed in a long time and you were both super proud. You pursue your dream job and Kenma is a popular streamer. You lived well and had two adorable dogs. Your dog is a (your fav dog) and (another fav dog). Kenma has a calico cat that bosses the dogs around all of the time. You could never ask for more. 🥺

[methed-up-marxist]

There are many albums in the DSBM subgenre that are pretty much perfect. For me, this style of music is emotion in its purest form and truest sound. Thy Light is a band that is particularly well known in the underground and for good reason. "Suici.De.pression" is a demo, but it really feels more like a full-length to me. It's about 45 minutes in length and the production quality is above most demo tapes, especially in this genre. There are some demos that have very good production quality, and this is certainly one of them. Released in 2007, "Suici.De.pression" has become a classic in DSBM, and it's quite easy to see why.

Right away when the demo begins, it is clear that Thy Light's goal is to captivate the listener with a beautiful depression, so to speak. It kicks off with "Suici.De.Pression (Introduction to My End)" which is a very simple ballad-like piano intro. It kind of reminds me of early Cradle of Filth in the atmosphere and structure, being a very mesmerizing, simplistic and haunting way to begin an album. There are a good deal of clean parts on this album, a perfect example would be the beginning of "In My Last Mourning...". These clean sections really help to enhance the true beauty that is radiated throughout the album. The guitars are some of the best I have ever heard on a DSBM release. Paolo Bruno is one of the greatest guitarists I've heard in this type of music. Like most of the other musicians, he doesn't do anything too flashy or technical and that's what really helps the atmosphere. These guitars work in unison with some of the most effective vocals I've ever heard. Instead of going for the typical howl we hear with a lot of these bands, he adopts a more "Filosofem" era Burzum vocal style. It's best described as a combination of a shriek and whisper, and they are used very well. "In My Last Mourning..." almost contains a duality effect, in that it goes from quite slow paced to double bass drumming and probably the fastest playing on the album. Even at it's fastest, however, this album is still a very slow piece of melancholic black metal.

The production, as aforementioned, is amazing. It's pretty much flawless, even. The keyboards are not too loud and unlike a lot of bands that use either a keyboard as the main instrument, or a guitar as the main instrument, Thy Light takes both of them and evenly distributes the roles of these two instruments throughout the album. "A Crawling Worm in a World of Lies", which happens to be the first Thy Light song I ever heard, is a perfect example of this. There is a beautiful keyboard melody that is instantly recognizable, and it is accompanied by a somber guitar that actually changes quite a bit throughout the song. Another interesting fact about this album is it's not even all that repetitive. Sure, there is definitely some repetition to be heard as there should be, seeing as it's a major factor in DSBM. However, right when the riff gets repetitive, a new one emerges and takes its place. This is especially a good introductory album for people who want to give the DSBM genre a try, because unlike a lot of albums in this genre that might seem too repetitive at first, this one doesn't fully have that affect, and that's definitely a good thing. The drums are programmed, which is another common trait of the genre, but they do not sound cheap or fake like certain artists who use them do. They are also mixed very well and don't run too far in front of the mix or walk too far behind it.

Being only a demo and still being of such quality, it is clear that Thy Light have earned the right to be among the elite in this genre. They even further proved this when they put out their first full-length "No Morrow Shall Dawn" two years ago. Hopefully, Paolo won't commit suicide and this band will still be around for awhile longer to put out more amazing material!