#just saw that post on my dash for the third time and I’m like bro come ON.

[dykeogenes]

besties idc how cringe you think it is, at the end of the day those “instagram poets” are sharing their work and expressing themselves while you make fun of them for daring to make the wrong kind of art, or for making it wrong. & the idea of a world where the basic human desire to create and share stories has a skill prerequisite sounds pretty pathetic to me.

[morning-might-arrive]

Here’s the continuation of my last post. Thank you so much to everyone who liked and reblogged! This is becoming a lot longer than I thought, so there will be another part soon. Feedback is appreciated!

A series of misunderstandings involving a limousine and Spectra’s blog lead Jackson to the realization that he has way more friends than he thought.

Wednesday

Jackson sighed as he silenced his blaring alarm clock. 7:00 am. As he walked to the bathroom to get ready, he was suddenly struck by a memory.

“It’s nothing personal, normie. You just look like such a freak.” Manny told him as he shoved him off of the lunch table. Jackson looked towards the other mansters, but they said nothing. So they all agreed. Even Clawd. 

He cringed. He’d had to eat lunch in a bathroom stall that day. He looked at his reflection, desperately wishing he could change it. He sighed and got dressed. He had to leave early since he now had no car and his parents weren't home. He plugged his headphones into his phone. Holt had gotten them into this situation, only fitting that he deal with it.

Holt Hyde cursed under his breath as he walked to school. Although the weather was warming, mornings in March were still frigid. He sighed in relief as he approached Monster High.

“Heya there, sweetpea,” Operetta drawled in greeting as Holt waltzed through the front doors of the school. 

“What’s good, Oppy?” Holt responded, his usual loud and energetic self even at the early hour.

“Just peachy keen like always, hun. Say, you seen the Ghostly Gossip lately?” She asked.

“Nah, we usually stay away from that garbage ever since that story about us and Frankie. Humiliated the poor ghoul and almost tanked our relationship. It really ain’t cool what they're doin’.” He replied nonchalantly. 

“Oh. Okay. Well sugar, you know you can tell me anythang you wanna, right?” She continued.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks Oppy.” That was kinda weird for the rough and tumble ghoul to say, but honestly Holt was just glad their botched attempt at dating didn’t mess up their friendship. Oppy was a cool ghoul. 

“What’s the word, cool cats?” Came a new voice.

“Johnny!”

“Johnny.”

Johnny spirit sauntered casually down the main corridor of Monster High, and students jumped out of his way as if he had the plague. He put his arm around Operetta’s shoulder. “Hey, babe.”

Holt snorted. “I’ll never get why everyone lets you float around like you own the place.”

Johnny shrugged. “Guess they don’t have a choice. Besides, I never see you doing anything about it,” he replied with a bit of challenge in his tone. Holt rolled his eyes.

“You know you don’t scare us, Spirit. Anyway, it seems like Oppy’s got you on a leash without our help.”

Johnny bristled at that “Y’know Hyde, I’m gettin’ real sick of-”

“Why don’t we scamper on down to the catacombs and finish that new song we been workin on, sugarpie?” Operetta cut in. She really didn’t want to deal with a fistfight this early.

The couple walked away and Holt made toward the auditorium. He found the symphony on stage setting up and dashed up to join them, plugging his guitar into its amp. Jennifire was nearby greasing the corks on her clarinet. He huffed and sat down next to her.

“Another run in with the phantom pianist?” She asked, not even looking up.

“That guy is such a jerk!”

She chuckled and shook her head. “You boys are so easily provoked; I may never understand it. My brothers were just the same. He has done not to insight your anger.”

Holt really hated to admit it, but she was right. Johnny really didn't scare Holt, and he knew a little better than to try that tough guy act on Jackson. Plus, it was kinda funny seeing guys like Heath and Manny faint when he walked past them.

“Your emotions run like wildfire, I am very impressed you came to terms so easily with your end.” She continued.

Wait. What. “My what now?”

“Of course, it must be so hard for you to talk about. I am sorry.” A tear fell from her eye and promptly turned to smoke upon hitting her face.

“Jen, are you okay?” Holt asked, facing her.

She smiled. “Yes, I will be okay. So kind of you to think of me.”

“Okay, Okay, enough chit chat. Places people!” The director yelled as he approached the stage. Well. That was weird. Holt took his place in the stool beside the amp and looked up as the director began counting them off.

After an awkward hour of rehearsal, they were dismissed to second period. Holt emerged out into the crowd of students in the hall. Jennifire was nowhere to be found, so he made his way toward the art room. His Spotify playlist suddenly changed to a song by Pierce the Veil. He pulled out his phone to skip it and saw he had a message from Jackson. He scoffed. If D-low had told him what was wrong, would he be asking? JJ could be so oblivious. Maybe it was just a normie thing. 

He took his usual seat in front of his canvas and continued his painting for this week. 

“Psst, Holt.” he heard a whisper. He turned and met the shiny magenta eyes of retired popstar Catty Noir. “We’re turning up at Cleo’s place on Saturday, you in?”

“Yeah totally- oh, nevermind. We can’t make it, we kinda got a...thing that day.”

“Oh,” she said, looking kind of taken aback. “It’s that soon?” 

“What was that?”

“ I said I’ll see you soon!” she hastily corrected herself as she got up and turned in her painting, promptly leaving the art room. Man, everyone's acting off today. He touched up his work and quickly followed suit.

He basically had the rest of the period to himself, so he decided to riff on his guitar for a little bit. He couldn’t do it in the building anymore ever since that one time Headmistress Bloodgood caught him, so he moved to the front steps and set his bag beside him.

“Hey Holt!”

Holt turned towards the front of the school. “Frankie Fine-Stein! Where have you been hiding?” Her skin glowed a light mint green and her eyes sparked in the sun. Just as bootiful as ever. She sat on the step beside him.

“I was actually just in the library. I found this book about the original Jekyll and Hyde. It was way harsh; It said that Edward Hyde trampled a child in the streets of London, is that true?”

“Nuh-uh! Those stuffy normie’s didn’t like that grandpa’s were different so they dragged their reputation through the dirt!” Holt declared passionately. “Some of the people they charged him with killing didn’t even exist in the first place! Then they made Dr. Jekyll out to be a complete basket case and threw them both in jail! That is until they got bailed out by our great-great-grandma, Lucy.”

“Oh, man. I didn’t know any of that!” Frankie replied. She actually knew all about it, she had heard the exact same thing from Jackson before. They were both incredibly salty about the smear campaign launched against their great-great-grandparents that made their family flee to America in the first place, and you could hardly bring it up around them without a passionate rant. Frankie felt a little bad about bringing up something she knew was a sore subjet for them, but she had to make sure Spectra and the other ghouls didn’t get caught. It was for their own good, right?

Her phone buzzed in her lap and she glanced down. “Spectra got something, meet us back in the library.” Clawdeen. Frankie jumped up. “Sorry, Holt, I really gotta go.”

Holt watched her go in curiosity. He checked the time and quickly jumped up himself and dashed back inside the building. The only way to not be late now was to go through Section C, the so-called “vampires only” hallway. It really irked them when other monster’s used it, but he didn’t really care when it was either that or detention. As he made his way through he felt someone glaring at him, and met eyes with a large group of the former prep-school vampires. He braced himself, but instead of giving him grief like they usually did, they just let him pass. They were acting weird, but so was everyone else. Oh well, he didn’t really have time to think about it now.

Holt’s third period was Chemistry 2 with Mr. Hack. No thanks. Science was never his strong suit. Plus, there was seriously something off about this particular teacher. He just took a little too much pleasure in the cutting open of living things for Holt’s liking. He pulled out his phone.

“Keep an eye out. Today’s been weird, Bro.” He typed the message out and then disconnected his phone from his headphones. The world went dark.

Jackson blinked a few times. What was that ringing sound? “Oh, shOOT!” He bolted through the closest door- which just happened to be the right one- and took his seat as the bell finished ringing.

Mr. Hack passed out a hefty amount of worksheets to the class. “Okay class: no whispering, no talking, no looking around, no coughing or sneezing, no you can’t use the bathroom, and if I catch you on your cell phone the whole class gets detention. You have until the end of the class to complete the worksheets or it's a 0 for today.”

Everyone groaned. Good old Mr. Hack. Charming and likeable. Jackson tried to ignore the stares and whispers in his direction as he did his work. He knows he’s different, don’t they ever get tired of reminding him? Were they all paying more attention to him than usual, or was it just his imagination? He blazed through his work in about 20 minutes, it was just some simple thermodynamics equations. He looked up and noticed that Mr. Hack was asleep. Typical. Half the class were on their phones and the other half were talking amongst themselves. He pulled his phone out and saw Holt’s message.

Huh. Maybe it wasn’t just his imagination then, everyone was acting a little odd. Granted, every day at Monster High was pretty weird. Last week they had lost their school crest in a rollerblading contest and the school nearly toppled over, so maybe he could just ignore whatever this was.

The bell finally rang for lunch. He set his work on Mr. Hack’s desk as he jolted awake and practically ran from the room. He shot Clair a text

“Okay, transportation is set and decorations bought. Am I forgetting anything?”

“Measurements, goofy.” She responded almost instantly.

“Oh, right. I can get a tape measure from the woodshop teacher and get them during lunch.”

“Have you told the other monsters about Saturday?”

“No. I just don’t know how they’ll react, y’know?”

“Aren’t they always telling you about how you don’t belong? So why would they care?”

“Yeah you’re probably right. It’s just a difficult situation.”

“Yeah, I hear you. Let me know how it goes.”

Looking down at his phone, he didn’t notice Draculara until he bumped her as he passed.

“So sorry!” He exclaimed. 

“It’s alright.” She reassured him as she walked away. She made her way to the library where her friends were already gathered around in a circle. Spectra floated in the center.

“What’s this all about?” Draculara asked.

“While Frankie had Holt distracted, Spectra looked in his locker.”

“Well what did she find?” Cleo demanded.

“Just this. It appears to be a receipt for some kind of car rental.”

Clawd glanced at his phone. “Heath says Jackson is in the boys locker room right now taking measurements of himself and writing them down.” He told the group.

“Then what Spectra said is true.” Fraknie finally admitted. The room fell into extended silence.

“Well we can at least show Jackson he means something to us.” Draculara spoke up.

“Yeah,” Frankie agreed, “we can do something nice for him and Holt.”

“What are we going to do? Hijack the gym and throw a huge party during lunch?” Cleo asked sardonically.

“You’re on a roll Cleo! It’ll be closed tomorrow, but we can do it Friday!” Clawdeen agreed.

Cleo smiled. Very well then. Friday would be a day for the monster history books.

[puppy-phum]

2020 – a (content creator) year in review

I decided to make this into a mix of these two games I was (kinda?) tagged into so thank you for @leonzhng and @tiesanjiao ♥ I hope you don’t mind me doing it like this ^^ all the questions were just so interesting that I wanted to try!

(bc of the amount of questions, I’m placing them under a cut so that I don’t flood anyone’s dash) 

Me

(this is the 2020 year in review that hanyi tagged me to ♥ sorry am so late!)

Top 5 Movies you saw this year

wow tbh I didn’t watch many movies this year as I realized yesterday when I was thinking about this for certain reasons. Or at least I feel like I didn’t watch that many? Nothing really stuck with me it seems.

Because of this, I will only mention two: Parasite and The Old Guard. Those were both wonderful in their own ways and I’m very happy I got to watch them both ^^

Top 5 TV shows you watched this year

this one is difficult bc I watched so many (and forgot even more?) but:

The Lost Tomb Reboot (my introduction to DMBJ. this drama stole my heart and helped me through the tough autumn semester!) 

Joy of Life (it’s nuts that this happened during 2020? it feels like it was ages ago)

Kingdom (such a positive surprise and I really hope we get more of this :o I really recommend!)

Detective L (easy, nice aesthetics, amazing costumes. Bai Yu was a delight as Luo Fei)

Sand Sea (I am still baffled by how much I loved this bc I had so many doubts? am happy I did tho)

Bonus: Guardian (bc it has come to stay and the rewatch has been so emotional but so rewarding)

Top 5 songs of 2020

this is a tough one too bc I’ve heard so much new music during 2020 but I will try to put it simply:

Black Swan by BTS (I absolutely adore this song. I listened to it on repeat when it came out at the beginning of the year, I have cried for it a ton, I enjoy every stage I see for it and it’s just a masterpiece. it has also helped a bit with my writing struggles that I’ve felt creeping up on me lately)

Always by By The Coast (an amazing song that always leaves me in my feels. inspires me a lot all the time)

Love me or Leave me by DAY6 (this whole album was a masterpiece and I listened to it on loop for like. two weeks? this was my favorite song on it even if I adored the rest too, especially Zombie)

all of my life by Park Won (listened to this a lot in relation to my xicheng and the wedding I finally got to write for them ;; that’s one good thing that came out of this year tbh)

雨人 by 刘畅 (Liu Chang) (with the Reboot’s ending song, this one is my favorite on that ost. I love Liu Chang’s voice, I loved Liu Sang as a character and as I said, I loved Reboot as a drama. I get super emotional about this ost so I think it defined this year a lot for me)

Top 5 books you read in 2020  

All For The Game -trilogy (listened to these as audiobooks but that counts right?)

The Song of Achilles (as an audiobook too and really adored the reader’s voice)

The Smoke Thieves -series (I really just binge read the two first books in this series and am so excited for the next one!)

Call Down The Hawk (love love love)

Guardian novel (am not very into these novels usually but I was positively surprised this time? it was so cool to finally get the original story and compare it with the drama version)

5 positive things that happened in 2020

joined mdzsnet and met all the amazing ppl there and got to become part of this loving community and :’) I’m so thankful, it’s been a joy

learned more about editing? or started doing it regularly. I still can’t do shit but am having fun learning more all the time and I really hope that maybe the upcoming year I can switch to PS and try out giffing?

went to Halsey’s concert! it was in february so a bit before all the hassle with covid happened over here ;; it was super cool and so nice and I just. I love Halsey

fell into the DMBJ hellhole which am very much enjoying. it’s a great universe and the story is so good and the dramas have been so fun to watch and. it feels like a good continuation to The Untamed somehow haha (also brought me a new friend! you’re amazing ashen!! ♥)

started therapy and it’s been... a journey. but towards something better I think? it’s something I would’ve needed ages ago but it’s better late than never I suppose

My Creations

(this is the other part where ali was being super sweet and mentioned me ♥ thank you for being so awesome!)

1. first creation and most recent creation of 2020: wow it’s been a while since I’ve looked at this horrible creation but here ya go jkdhgk [x]. I’ve come a long way from this (and my xicheng has come a long way from this too). most recent one is this xiaoge edit that I absolutely adore [x]. 

2. one of your favorite creations from 2020: this wwx edit that was part of my agust d2 edit series [x]. I loved to give him blue instead of his typical red. 

3. a new style you tried this year and a gifset edit that uses it: this [x] wwx edit which I don’t know if I like or not but I was playing around with the font and all the effects instead of just normal screenshots + coloring. also I just adore the quote. 

4. a creation to be proud of: I could mention that xiaoge here but in addition, I will also say this wu xie edit for reboot [x]. I managed to capture my vision so well, I was surprised. for cql, this songxiao edit [x]. I loved how it turned out in the end. 

5. a creation that took forever: this wangxian edit [x]. like I’ve said several times, I lost sleep bc of it. I just kept struggling with the third pic and how to place the text there D: 

6. your creation from 2020 that received the most notes: this lwj/wangxian edit [x]. I had many ideas for this edit when I first started making it and I never managed to capture my vision in the way I first intended... the pictures I was supposed to use just never fit quite right sigh. I dunno why it was this one that gained all the notes in the end bc I personally think I have better ones too but am still thankful :’D 

7. a creation you think deserved more notes: as said, dmbj fandom on tumblr is very small so I really want to say the two already mentioned ones (wu xie and xiaoge) and then my pingxie edits [x] [x]. also these wwx edits which I personally am very happy about [x] [x]. and from my agust d2 series, this yun bros one [x].

8. a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: really just dmbj this year and I’ve already linked all of my creations for that :’D tho I have plans for another pingxie edit and a liu sang edit! oh and maybe I could mention guardian here with this shen wei [x]. I had so much fun while making it (also the quote just haunted me relentlessly until I gave it a moment). 

9. a creation you made that breaks your heart: this must be my easter islanders (lwj and jc) edit [x] that just. awoke many thoughts in me? I’m going to put a link to the version where you can read my ramblings underneath :’D 

10. a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: my creation for the creator (gif?) challenge that was going around! [x] it was simple and nice to do and I loved the result. also, it was nice to work with jl for a change :’) 

11. a favorite creation created by someone else: oh wow ok so this is going to be rough bc I have so many favorites ;; you can look at this post here [x] to see more! 

but to love my two taggers am going to say these [x / x] [x] [x] [x] [x] by hanyi (I always love your edits, the colors you choose, the thoughts you put into them (and your humor too!). there are so many cool things you’ve done that I just stay in awe of! I adore all of it ;; ♥) and these [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] by ali (I love all of your gifsets so much, they have such pretty colors and such good scenes, and I am thankful every day that you make all the amazing dmbj content, pls never stop ;; I should go through all of your creations properly one day! I noticed you have sand sea stuff too and let me scream?) ^^ ♥

12. your favorite content creators and blogs that you appreciate: this is going to be a huge list and I’ve already made my love heard for some but no hurt in doing it again so @i-am-just-a-kiddo @ashenwren @tiesanjiao @kholran @lzswy @englishbunnyrocks @leonzhng @aheartfullofjolllly @yibobibo @inkblue-black @cross-d-a @bloody-bee-tea @fytheuntamed @mdzsnet @lifegoesmon @creeds-eagle @underaswift-sunrise @sarawatsaraleo @lan-xichens @mylastbraincql @wangxianbunnydoodles @manhasetardis @distantsnows @ohsehuns @minmoyu @linglynz @highwarlockkareena @yiqiie @aowyn @alienwlw @wangxiians @kingbadcat @sassyassassy @tytangfei @lanzhannnn @skzmxtp @leoyunxi @yoonqiful @softjeon @rapbabenamjoon @ronan-adam @miyakuli @pavusdorian @arsuf @brolinskeep @gawincaskeyy and so many others! (sorry for all the random ppl on this list that I’ve never even talked to ^^’ just know that you make my dash a wonderful place! ♥) 

I won’t tag anyone separately here but everyone who’s already been tagged or sees this is free to do this (or link me posts if you’ve done these already!) ♥ have a nice day everyone! 

[fwoopersongs]

何必诗债换酒钱 - Notes

Clean version here and thoughts under the cut.

I saw the song translation notes made by @shelterfromrain​ a while back and thought, wow! what a fantastic idea it is to share the results of the rabbit holing (that you inevitably end up engaging in when doing this) and leave a record for your future self while at it too! Currently some of the song and poetry translations on fwoopersongs do have little notes, but those were casually written on the fly and after so long, the thought process behind certain choices often get forgotten, which is such a waste... Long story short - I’m doing it this way from now on!

This song was requested by @peerlesssqq on twitter - which may or may not have bumped it up by like a year on my list (yes, I’ve been sitting on it since 2018 and you’ll see why) - and I had WAY more fun than expected, so 谢啦 ~ It was a delight to receive your DM request. I was happy for days!

Some background: 《何必诗债换酒钱》 is the theme song of 【文定乾坤】- a collection of musical works that feature notable contributors to Chinese literature in ancient times, poets and the like. Oh, and I did notice that the MV on bilibili looks like it could be a promo for a webtoon or game. Who knows? I’ll be checking out the rest of the songs, that’s for sure!

The following part of this post will be my thoughts for first the title, then each section - the intro, verse 1 & 2 and the chorus, ending off with some final comments.

Disclaimer first though (otherwise later you read already then feel like beating me up): Everything in this post is only my interpretation of the song. I have quite limited familiarity with mainland literature and culture, so of course don’t expect much xD Here you’ll only find a story-loving banana who jiak-ed kantang too much in her youth and now regrets it a whole lot. 说好了哈 I’m pants at analysis, worse at Chinese, and am not at all good with words ok?

Title

So《何必诗债换酒钱》, let’s start off with the word here that’s unfamiliar to most of us:

诗债 | shī zhài or a debt of poems/poetry debt is a legit thing! - All you authors and artists out there might be familiar with it - It’s what you call the resulting debt when a poet promises to write something for another person but hasn’t done it yet. Procrastination has apparently always been the curse of content creators.

In fact, in the Bai Juyi’s poem that came up on the 诗债 baidu page《晚春欲携酒寻沉四著作先以六韵寄之》- possibly addressed to a friend he owes - he was complaining of illness, old age and writer’s block. But then oh, he goes on and then I passed by a party where they had drinks, and was quite up to my gills & totally out of it for some time, and THAT’S why I’ve done you dirty and owe you ever so many poems. I don’t really understand the last two lines but apparently he then offers to bring a drink for this person he’s talking to, mentions a wish to meet a winter goddess (????? pretty girl? or the snow? idk which), and starts reminiscing the times that were like a precious string of pearls they had singing at Yang Pass. Most likely farewells, but without context I just don’t get it. Anyway bribery and misdirection huh? I see what you did there bro, and I’m sure the person you attempted to distract saw it coming too...

何必 | hé bì, is a rhetorical question of Must you really? In the case of this word, 何 functions as roughly ‘is it that’ and 必 as ‘it must be so’.

换酒钱 | huàn jiǔ qián is of course, exchange for money to purchase wine.

‘Must you really promise poems in exchange for money to buy wine?’ then is the literal translation of 何必诗债换酒钱.

So here is the question: Is alcohol worth a poetry debt? Onwards to the answer!

Intro

生就诗骨 算来三百篇  Born and already a poet to the bones, (with) three hundred works counting up to now. 

浪掷秦淮长安 风流李杜王白  Spending lavishly in Qinhuai and Chang’an, free/unrestrained as Li and Du, Wang and Bai;

余下十分 便随意肩上担  whatever left is divided in ten parts, casually thrown over a shoulder

权作金玉铜板 相谢好人间  and taken for jade, gold and coin, a big thank you to this good world!

I interpreted the 生 in the first line as 天生 i.e. innate, natural born talent, so this first line describes someone born with a gift for poetry with ‘three hundred’ works to their name. Although... that three hundred should not be taken too literally, it’s more likely to be an allusion to collected works like the 16th century anthology of poems, Three Hundred Tang Poems. After all, Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei and Bai Juyi are the most famous Tang Dynasty poets… and they were all name-dropped in the next line!

浪掷 | làng zhì was a new phrase for me, and means something like spending freely and lavishly or willfully wasted. Of course Chang’an was the capital during the Tang Dynasty and it was the world's most populous city at the time. One can only imagine how prosperous it must have been… and what fun things were there to spend your money on! The banks of Qinhuai river and that general area was once a gathering place for noble/wealthy families, scholars looking for a good time (and some say, the red light district xD). Though by Sui/Tang, that area was no longer doing as well due to political shifts. So the mental image I got from 浪掷秦淮长安 is of someone gallivanting through places of interest, from the bustling and prosperous to the dilapidated.

风流 | fēng liú is as always, hard to translate with no full equivalent in english. The feel it gives me ranges from, ‘cool, dashing bloke on a galloping horse with their cloak/robes/hair flowing elegantly in the wind’ to ‘pleasure seeking dandy who totally knows how to enjoy life, all the courtesans know him by courtesy name!’.

The third line started with 余下十分, which will not make any sense - why leftover? Divide what by ten? - until its put in context with the following:

Three hundred poems 算来三百篇 + 权作金玉铜板 pretend they are gold/jade/money (权作 | quán zuò just means to take one thing for another temporarily.)

The load thrown over the shoulder 肩上担

Spendthrift behaviour on tour 浪掷秦淮长安

The TITLE: bro so u wanna promise poetry in exchange for money to drink? why.

Let’s take those precious poems that can be exchanged for gold - a whole bagful of scrolls, and now I’m so rich I can scatter my money down the streets of entertainment districts and the capital! The very image of a 风流 poet, reckless and free spirited.

// Folks, please learn from this silly girl and do not read songs (or poems) line by line. They need to be appreciated at a distance, not one inch from your eyeballs.

Verse 1

两分与月 劳烦身前打点 Two parts to the moon, (may I) trouble you to take care of me while I’m alive.

哪处巍峨峰峦 ��借我悬来观 Wherever there are majestic peaks and ranges, do lend me (your light) to hang and see by.

三分典高楼 好与长风赴宴 Three parts pawned for the tall building, good for attending the banquet alongside the wind,

遍寻可爱星子 唾手一把玩 searching for charming little stars, easily caught to play with.

Now we get to see how the poet is spending his ‘wealth’. This verse is a lot more literal as compared to the introduction, so there’s not much to say.

打点 used here is so interesting! Because it’s what you call bribing someone in a superior position to smoothen your path ahead (so to speak). Thanks to a childhood of tvb drama, I vaguely associate the type of people who would 打点 with rich merchant or minor noble fathers who want to give their sons an easier time at court. Either that or lower ranked officials with less moral scruples. Anyway, what’s being said in the song is something like: here is 20% dear moon, I’ll have to trouble you to bless me for the rest of this lifetime, and also please lend me your light to see by when I have need of it at scenic spots *for art*. The moon is a muse for many poets in all its forms after all… 明月, 圆月, 孤月, 残月, 冷月, 江月, 秋月 and so on.

Actually that whole sentence 劳烦身前打点 is so playful and fun that I put it in quotation marks to emphasize it. We’ve only just begun. Is the speaker already drunk?

And with the third line, 30% has been spent. Just noting here that 典 | diǎn can be read as pawn or mortgage. Another interesting thing to note would be that this imagery of ascending a tall building 高楼 and reaching out for stars 星子 in the last two lines of Verse 1 brings to mind one particular poem, famously attributed to Li Bai. Following translation by yours truly.

《夜宿山寺》- Overnight at the Mountain Temple 危楼高百尺 | dangerously towering a hundred feet high 手可摘星辰 | the stars are within reach 不敢高声语 | one dares not raise their voice 恐惊天上人 | for fear of disturbing the deities

Though the two probably have nothing to do with each other, doesn’t the reverence in the tone of this one bring out the playful irreverence of the other? So. Much. Fun. I adore the whole feel of 遍寻可爱星子 唾手一把玩 SO MUCH.

Verse 2

两分与桥 歇脚南北行船 Two parts to the bridge where travellers on foot and by boat from the north and south can rest,

欣然八方风物 闲话半日茶碗 delighted by the scenery all around, idly chatting half the day away over bowls of tea.

三分典流水 润色枯瘦石山 Three parts for the running water, moistening the gaunt stone mountains

又将天地一展 伸手 试浓淡 and again spreading heaven and earth wide, reaching out to test the viscosity (of the water).

It took a few listens, but in the end I really enjoyed the aesthetics here. And again, this verse is quite straight to the point albeit with two things I cannot understand.

The first point of confusion for me is why the lyricist chose to use 桥 | qiáo, a bridge as the place for people to rest on their journeys. I assumed here that this in reference to a pier or dock, assumed also that he is donating funds for this structure to be built or repaired. However, if that were the case 坞 | wù would have been enough - 船坞 was supposedly invented only in the Song Dynasty though, so maybe that’s why another word was chosen. But it’s not like there is any incidence of 桥 being used to mean ‘dock’ either!

The second thing that confuses me is the use of 典 for 流水. In verse one, that 典 was referring to the poetry works sold to reserve the venue for a banquet. That usage was apt. Here I suspect it might be for parallel structure, because there is no alternative reading for 典 that might allow one to use their 30% 三分 to do anything to flowing water 流水. That’s the literal reading, of course.

If we’re taking this a little less literally, it can be interpreted as borrowing the scenery (figuratively, since the place would not belong to anyone in the way you might own a property) to admire. It also expands on the second line’s mention of the surrounding view 欣然八方风物; there is running water which completes 润色 and brings the appearance of the gaunt and rocky mountains 枯瘦石山 closer to perfection.

润色 | rùn sè means to polish, to bring to greater heights. When you say something has been 润色 it is made more brilliant and closer to perfection by that addition. It can also mean moisten.

We always hear ‘rivers and mountains like a painting’ 江山如画 - originating from Su Dongpo’s《念奴娇·赤壁怀古》- used when the scenery is wonderful, because how often is real life as ideal as what we can imagine and depict? And that is exactly what is described here. The feeling out if the ‘water’ is concentrated or diluted 试浓淡 is used in answer to 一展 unfurling. 浓淡 of ink to 一展 of painting scroll. The land and sky seem like an ink wash painting, so beautiful that the viewer cannot help but reach out to run their hand through the water.

Chorus

Chorus Part 1

若趁游兴直到酣 If we take advantage of our wanderlust and go roaming till it is sated,

千字文章不值钱 classics and essays shan’t be worth a coin.

诗换花 词换雪 A poem for a flower! A song for snow!

再作檄文斗天官 Another denunciation for those heavenly officials!

Starting off with three new terms for me: 游兴 | yóu xìng means enthusiasm for travel. 酣 | hān can mean having a great time drinking, or being very satisfied and satiated. 檄文 | xí wén is a type of official document written for important announcements, declaration of war, or denunciation and condemnation of certain people or actions.

While I still feel this need to go out to see the world, I shall keep on the road until I am satisfied. Who cares about writing, who cares for study, it’s all worthless to me. I do what I want. And what I want is to write a little poem in exchange for a flower, some lyrics for a flake of snow. I’ll even write a denunciation against those officials in heaven (immortals). Fight me!!!!

I point again at Verse 1 with climbing the tower to play with stars. It’s no longer just playing nearby, now he wants a go at the gods.

Among the four parts of the chorus, this one is the simplest for sure. The lines mean exactly what is said. It also feels the most chaotic and mischievous. Is the speaker drunk? Is he high on something? One thing’s for sure. He’s out of money.

Chorus Part 2

何愁不得一样我 Why feel troubled that (I) cannot have another just like me?

知交尽向话中添 for one who understands you and is understood, look entirely towards stories to fill that place

唐解元 嵇中散 people like Tang Bohu (first in provincial examinations) and proud, upright and stubborn Ji Kang

且驰大梦任疯癫 Just chase that great dream, allow yourself to go mad.

I feel like the first two lines are quite straightforward, though they might not appear so on first reading: How could there be a need to feel sad or troubled that I have no like-minded equal. To find a true friend who understands you without need for words, and whom you understand in return, all you need to do is turn to those tales and stories 话中 for people to fill 添 that place.

唐解元 - People like Tang Yin, courtesy name: Bohu 唐寅, 字伯虎 (1470–1524 AD), noted painter, calligrapher and poet of the Ming Dynasty. Tang Yin led a life full of ups and downs that really cannot be covered in a paragraph’s worth of song translation notes. You can check out his wiki page if you’re curious though! There’s a little more on him where I cover the last line of this section. He is addressed as 解元 | jiè yuán here which is the term for the top scorer of the provincial examinations (second stage in the Imperial examination ladder). It is also an honorific for scholars. Tang Bohu is both.

嵇中散 - People like Ji Kang, courtesy name: Shuye 嵇康, 字叔夜, (223–262 AD), one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove - a group of friends who wisely kept themselves aloof from the dangerous politics of the Court, and devoted themselves to art, refinement and debate, of the Three Kingdoms period. He was a Daoist philosopher, musician, writer and poet.  

An accomplished musician, the qin composition 廣凌散 | guǎnglíng sàn is attributed to Ji Kang, though some versions of the story claim he learned it from a ghost while stopping at a pavillion on his way home. 嵇中散 was one of the names he was known by because of his appointment to the position of Attendant Counsellor, 中散大夫 | zhōng sàn dàfū, a civil official unspecified duties in the court of Cao Wei.

When Ji Kang was sentenced to death for his attempt to testify for a wrongly accused friend, three thousand scholars petitioned for his pardon to no avail. It’s said that at the execution ground, while they waited for the appointed hour, he had his favourite qin brought out and played a brilliant interpretation of Guanglin San that is now forever lost.

Do go read about them both if you have the time!

I would like to point out for the last line that 任 is to allow, to indulge, and it’s just such a heady sensation to say 任疯癫 - indulge in the madness! throw yourself in and don’t look back!

There is an easter egg here too. A nod to a poem by Tang Yin which can be read as his stance on his lifestyle choice after the alleged accusations of bribery in the final step of the Imperial examinations left him disgraced, and unable to pursue a civil career. Thematically the line does not call back to the poem at all, similarities end with the choice of words: chasing the dream 驰大梦 and indulging madness 任疯癫.  I leave an excerpt below. Translation again by me.

《桃花庵歌》- Song of a Plum Blossom Cottage // 若将花酒比车马 | if tawdriness and wine were compared against fine carriage and steed 他得驱驰我得闲 | he would have to drive and work hard for speed whilst I have my idle rest 别人笑我太疯癫 | others mock me for my madness 我笑他人看不穿 | i am amused for they do not perceive 不见五陵豪杰墓 | can’t you see that at the Emperors’ mausoleums and heroes’ graves 无花无酒锄做田 | there are no flowers, no wine, only land ploughed for farming

The second part of the chorus isn’t related to the first, but it has the same theme of showcasing the untamable (unhinged xD) spirit of the speaker. This time, the people he admires ‘intellectual equals’ and kindred spirits are featured, the 任性 feeling here has been pushed to greater heights.

Chorus Part 3

敢夸洒落何须酒 If one dares to boast of carefreeness, why, they hardly need wine.

不煮黄粱也称仙 Even without brewing millet they would still be called Immortal.

镜湖桌 白梅盏 The tables in the mirror-like lake, white plum blossoms in the cups,

等来春风恰开宴 await the spring breeze which arrives just in time for the feast to start!

Li Bai is regarded as both the god of poetry 诗仙 and god of drunkards wine 酒仙 because he wrote some of his greatest poems while drinking. The first two lines seem to be gently poking fun at that. Like hey, if you dare to claim to be all groovy, surely you have no need for alcohol? Just like how an immortal would still be an immortal without wine, your writing talent should not need any stimulants. This would be the time to mention that 黄粱 | huáng liáng is also known as millet, a type of grain that can be used to brew wine.

洒落 | sǎ luò has a few meanings, like shower down or blame, but the relevant one here would be 洒脱 generous, uninhibited and open. For me it feels similar to 风流 in that there is that ‘free, and exhilaratingly unrestrained’ element. 洒落 is in the most positive sense, being always open to having a good time, but without that dissolute or vaguely whirlwind-romance like connotation of 风流.

It feels like the intensity is letting up a little here - this is a light-hearted and frivolous song all the way through, but the words 洒落, 称仙 and imagery of a clear lake, white plum blossoms and the crisp spring breeze are grounding and sweet. Spirited in a different way from before.

Chorus Part 4

四角天地也醺然 The four corners and heaven and earth are also tipsy,

醉极自有桃李搀 when I’ve overindulged, my students will be there to help.

快意只 笔下讨 Gratification can only be claimed from beneath the brush;

何必诗债换酒钱 is falling into poetry debt worth that money for drink?

New words: 醺然 | xūn rán just means drunk. A new word for me though! 桃李 | táo lǐ is literally peach 桃 and plum 李 (李花, also known as 玉梅) flowers, and is a metaphor for students. The term originates from a story in 《韩诗外传》which was set in the Wei Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn period (771 to 476 BCE). There was once a highly ranked official who was sacked from his post and left for the north. He met another gentleman and remarked that the people he helped before did not lift a finger when he was in need. This person replied that, if someone were to plant peach and plum trees in spring, he could relax under their shade in the Summer and taste their fruit in the Autumn. But if that person were to plant weeds, nothing can be done with their leaves in Spring and there would only be burrs to hurt himself on in Autumn. Clearly the people the unfortunate gentlemen had helped before were not worth his effort. Students ought to be carefully selected and carefully cultivated as one would a tree.

Reading the four corners and heaven and earth 四角天地 are also tipsy 也醺然, I imagine the world sort of spinning around the speaker because he is drunk. But that’s okay, because his students (or the trees xD) will be there to support him.

快意 | kuài yì is the feeling of sudden relaxation, and then lightheartedness and joy. In this line, I felt like the intention would be closer to 畅快，爽快 and so chose gratification, because really writing is like scratching an itch isn’t it? Pleasure from satisfaction of a desire. Phrasing it as 笔下讨 is so very fitting though, because 讨 can be interpreted - somewhat contradicting - as either to demand or to beg. What could be more gratifying than having squeezed out the perfect sentence or word under your figurative pen?

So so so after all that, 何必诗债换酒钱? What do you think, is alcohol worth the poetry debt? Is Mr. Poet actually drunk and about to dig himself a deeper hole of owed poems to get even MORE drunk, or has he just been thinking about it all along? :)

Thoughts

This has been such a fun adventure following our madcap big spender from the shining Chang’an to the inviting Qinhuai, shadow of great poets in tow and all. We’ve done everything from talking to the moon and seeing the sights by her light, to boating down a river, dragging fingers through the water. It was sort of like being on a backpacking tour, except with with someone contemplating opening (or perhaps regretting opening this can of worms?) poetry commissions instead of singing in the streets?

Dear reader, if you’ve reached this point of my post, thank you. I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do now!

[pendragonfics]

a strange fear gripped me (and i just couldn't ask)

- ̗̀  Bruce Banner Bingo 2019  ̖́-

Paring: Bruce Banner/Reader

Square filled: wedding day 

Tags: female reader, post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Uncle Happy Hogan, Professor Hulk, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Post-Canon Fix-It

Summary: At the Stark house by the lake, Morgan organises an event for her toys, inviting you and Bruce Banner along.

Word Count: 2,419

Current Date: 2019-08-14

Work Text:

As per the invitation - handwritten, with the best penmanship that her gel pen could muster - you arrived at the back porch of Pepper’s house, wearing your nice outfit. You had been tempted to just turn up in normal clothes, but she’d have said over the phone in her most grown-up voice, that “weddings were for fancy clothes!”

The fanciest thing you had on hand was a black pair of slacks and a white top. You wondered if she minded if you were in the same colour as the bride, but then again, if she was being that strict, you’d be chastised for wearing pants. When you get to the house, Happy is sat on the front porch, in his usual suit. The only thing different is he’s wearing a handmade flower crown, the circlet slightly askew upon his balding head. He checks his phone, but as you near, he gives you a wry smile.

“Welcome to the wedding,” he says. His tone is dry as ever, but the fact that he’s playing along reminds you of all the years he humoured Tony with every finicky detail. “Invitation?”

You pass him the paper and notice he has another invitation beside his feet.

“Morgan roped in another person to play marriage with?” You ask.

Happy’s smile is wry. “That sounds about right.” He laughs. “But I’m under strict instruction not to disclose the guest list.”

You roll your eyes. “It seems like we’re equally wrapped around the kid’s finger.” You smile, noticing a trail of coloured in paper confetti. “I suppose that’s the way to the event?”

“Yep,” Happy pops the p. He gives you another smile and returns his gaze to the screen in his hands. “Enjoy.”

Stepping around him, you follow the litter of crayon on torn printer paper to mimic rose petals, to the rear of the house. You’d only been to the Stark house three times; when you came to check on Tony post-snap, and pre-Morgan, for her third birthday party, and … Tony’s funeral. If it weren’t for the fact that you’d promised to Pepper to be around more, for Morgan’s sake, you’d have a hard time being on the property.

Out the back has had a little girl makeover. It doesn’t matter that she’s the kid of a billionaire and the CEO of Stark Industries, there are sheets hanging from the rafters to mimic a tent, cushions sourced from the lounge room all over the garden path, and toys on the grass in a mock arrangement.

Hell, this almost looked like it was a proper wedding.

On the lawn was a pumpkin patch doll, one of those plastic robot dogs from the early 2000’s, a handful of Ken and Barbie dolls - it almost made you wonder which of the toys were getting hitched.

“Aunt __________!” Morgan cried out, running from inside the house. She almost tripped over the threshold, but incorporating her stumble into her step, you soon had a kid torpedoing into your torso for a tight hug.

“Hey, kiddo,” you muss her hair. “What’s crackalacking?”

“You’re so weird,” she chortles. “But you’re here now! We can make it happen!”

You peel off Pepper’s daughter from your form. “I hope I haven’t made you wait too long M. Traffic was horrendous.”

She laughs again. It’s nice to hear her laugh, even though it’s been less than a year since her dad passed away. “No, we haven’t waited long! But now you’re here we can have some fun!”

You watch as she runs as quickly as she came back into the house, and obscured by the security tint window, you stay where you stand, unsure what’s happening next. A beat passes, and you glance down to a Ken doll, naked except for a pair of pink board shorts. You’re sure you had the same doll as a kid yourself. But Morgan is quick in her movements, because not a minute later, you hear gentle protesting, and see...

Oh.

It had most certainly been a hot minute since you last saw Dr Bruce Banner.

Last time you saw him, it had been in Sokovia. The last time you were an actively serving Avenger. You’d broken it off with him because you knew what he and Tony were doing with the Ultron software was reckless, and after the fight against the bots, he flew off into the sun. You vaguely remember him when you materialised for the battle against Thanos, and he looked just like this.

“You’re looking a little green, doc,” you look over his body, unsure what you’re seeing. He was both Hulk...and Banner? To be honest, he looked like a DeviantArt fan nightmare, except there was a hint of sexiness that made you question your taste and life choices. “Morgan, what -,”

“Morgan, sweetie, why is _________ here?” Green Bruce said at the same time.

“For the wedding! And now you’re both here, don’t forget to have a good time.” She says, beaming.

You quietly take a perch on one of the three lawn chairs on the right. Bruce takes the other two.

As Morgan fussed over some dolls that had fallen over, you turn to Bruce, “Want to explain to me why you’re all spinach, no puff?” You whisper.

“I’m, er, - they call me Professor Hulk.” He replies. Even though he’s built like that, his voice is still hesitant. “My physical state is an equilibrium of all parts of my psyche.”

He sounds like Bruce, and smiles like Bruce, but...he doesn’t look like Bruce at all.

You scoff quietly. “I don’t know if you’re taking constructive criticism, but -,”

The music starts up. In her small hands, Morgan holds an Iron Man helmet, a mark you recognise from one of Tony’s earlier designs. From the open mouth, it plays a wedding march, and she approaches the both of you. It would look comical, but she held it like a motorcycle helmet, beside her overalls-clad side.

“Hey, stand up!” She stage-whispers, and you and Green - no - Professor Hulk follow her instruction. Ushering you both around, she places the helmet on a chair and picks up the cabbage patch doll from the ground.

It’s only when she starts reciting some words - familiar because you’ve been to a fair few ceremonies over the years - that you realise what’s happening.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to make Aunt _________ and Uncle Bruce get married-,”

Professor Hulk’s eyes are wide. “Woah, woah, Morgan -- you can’t marry people.” He says, hands raised as if to placate the eight-year-old before you. “I - we didn’t agree to be married.”

“But it’s a wedding!” Morgan reasons. “You’re here to married.”

“Do you have a license?” You ask, bewildered.

From the pocket of her overalls, she withdraws a printed A4 sheet. “Yeah!” She passes it to you. It’s from a kid’s website, printed in pink ink that reads, in Comic Sans font, Morgan Stark is a cool girl and a cooler marriage officiant! beside the coolgirlgames dot com smiley face logo. You show the sheet to Professor Hulk, and slowly, he wipes a hand over his face. “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s a - a cool license, but Morgan, _________ and I didn’t agree to be married.”

She looks almost like she’s about to cry.

You take the silence as an opportunity to speak up. Lowering yourself to your knees, you gather Morgan in for a hug, holding her close. “Uncle Bruce is right, sweetheart. I - we might have felt the same feelings that people who get married do — but that was a long time ago, and we both changed.”

Morgan sniffs, wiping at her eyes. “But Mommy said that true love lasts forever.”

“You wanted to get married?” Professor Hulk asks you, bewildered.

You glance over your shoulder, taking him in. He looks like Hulk’s nerdy cousin, and if it weren’t for the fact that Bruce’s eyes were looking out from that face, you wouldn’t be able to recognise him.

“I would have said yes if you asked,” you mumble. “… but you never did. And then there was the whole Ultron thing, and next thing I know you’re AWOL, and -,” you feel tears pricking at your eyes. You blink them away, determined not to cry. “But like I said. People change.”

The door opens again, and Pepper Potts steps out. She’s always been a strong woman, and even in her own home, she’s wearing an LBD and heels, her crisp strawberry blonde hair ironed to perfection. All of this you notice in a fraction of a second, because her façade is broken when she sees her daughter, crying in your arms.

“Oh my goodness Morgan, you-,” she takes the scene in, dismounting the porch toward her daughter. Pepper’s heels wobble on the path, and Morgan flies into her arms. “I thought this was for your toys, I said -,”

“But they love each other,” Morgan pleads, sniffing.

Pepper leads her daughter inside, perhaps to give her a stern talking-to. You wondered briefly if you had made the incident worse, but those thoughts were dashed as soon as you felt a hand upon your shoulder. Looking up, you take him in. At this angle, you feel as if you’re Morgan; Professor Hulk towers taller than the average adult, taller than the lofty Pepper Potts. Looking at him, you feel dwarfed, like a deer in the headlights. Bruce should know better than to be a fusion of Hulk around you; you had such a good relationship with the green guy, and you missed him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” you plead, shrugging off his hand.

“You wanted to marry me?” Bruce’s voice crackles.

But you don’t answer him. It’s hard to, because your mind is racing, and your blood is running so fast that you can hear it in your ears, rushing around. You go to leave, but once again, Professor Hulk’s hand holds you back.

“Let me go.”

“_________-,”

“You don’t get to turn up and act like it’s okay to resume where we left off!” you raise your voice, wrenching your arm from his grip. But it’s tight, with all the strength that you remember the Hulk having. “You don’t get to just say that and act like you’re still in a relationship. Because I spent years searching for you. I did not stop. Do you know how fucking hard it was, feeling like a failure? And when I hung my boots up, you’re back on Earth, just to fight Thanos and muck around with your - your biology when that fails.”

If you were a cartoon, you’re sure that your ears would be smoking.

He lets go of your arm. You turn, pacing like a wild beast.

“I wasn’t sure how to say those things,” Professor Hulk whispers, “that you loved-,”

“I still love you, you idiot!” you yell.

You hear a silence fall across the lake house. From inside, where you’re sure that Pepper is trying to console her daughter, and Happy has perhaps moved out of earshot. The forest is silent, the wind dropping off. There’s no birdsong. There’s just the words that came from your mouth, echoing in both of your ears.

I still love you, you idiot!

You wipe a hand over your forehead, shocked that those words came out. Pinching at the bridge of your nose, you compose yourself, readying yourself to face Professor Hulk, and what he has to say to your outburst. But there’s a small part of yourself holding back. That can’t do it. Because that part is the lovestruck little person, the voice that made you search all of space and time and everything in between for the man you lost following Sokovia.

“_________,” he whispers.

“I - I’ve got to go,” you shake your head. But there isn’t a bone in your body that wants to move. You don’t move an inch, can’t move an inch, aren’t sure you ever will move an inch. “Bruce -,”

He gathers you in his arms.

It’s then you melt. You fold into his arms like a spool of cotton candy into a puddle, and he scoops you in, holding you tight. His smell is confusing, and yet, it’s the comfort of Hulk’s arms around you with Bruce’s temperament that feels like…home.

You look up; his neck craned toward yours, hesitant.

And almost like there hasn’t been any time lost between you both, you give in. Upon the balls of your feet, you reach up as far as you can, and, as soft as ever, your lips brush his cheek.

The strangest thing is, you don’t believe in miracles, or true love. That was just a story. You’d trained alongside Sam Wilson in the military, and with every gruelling day of work, there was no silver lining. Especially when Riley died. There was only the next day, and the day after that, and after the funeral, you filed for release from service.

It was a fluke that you were at Sam’s meeting the same day that the Captain America swung by. It happened to be a coincidence that you and Sam were able to help him, and Ms Romanov, with the HYDRA infestation within their government agency. It was chance that you and Sam were enlisted into the Avengers Initiative. It had been the best luck that you met Bruce Banner while training Upstate…and the worst luck that soon after, he disappeared into space.

And right now, before you, there was another sort of miracle, a moment that any other person in their life wouldn’t believe to be happening.

As Professor Hulk stood before you, there was a quirk, just like when you first encountered Hulk in his de-Hulking stage. You’re not sure how it happened, but with a ripple of skin, the shifting of his skeleton, and crackling of bone, Professor Hulk was getting smaller, less green, and more -

“I - What happened to me?” he says.

You can’t believe your eyes. Because just where Professor Hulk, a mix of both Bruce Banner and the gamma radiated creature within, was just standing, is now Bruce. Just Bruce. His clothes are too big, and his glasses too, and swimming in his clothes, he looks to you, unsure of what just happened.

“I’m sorry?” you supplement.

Morgan bursts out from the house, her once-teary face transformed into something of pure joy. “You’re Uncle Bruce again!” she cries out, jubilant. “It worked! It worked!”

You blink. “Oh, honey - Morgan, this was a coincidence, not -,”

“It was true love’s kiss!”

[marshmellowtea]

hey!! im gonna send you a lot of charas, you can answer them as you want, I just wanna make sure you have enough to answer all you want!! seishi, nikei, ayumu, marin maki, komaeda, makoto, mikan and sayake, please!

aaaaaaaa anon ur so sweet ilysm ;o; 

i’ll probably have to divide these into a couple posts so i can break it into chunks for myself but i’ll start off with seishi, nikei, and ayumu here :’0 

also putting this under a cut so i hopefully don’t break anyone’s dashes 

seishi 

favorite thing about them 

he’s just,, baby?? he’s just baby hdfjaslkdfsdf i don’t even know how to describe it. i was attached to him the moment i saw him and the more i watched of him the more in love i fell he’s such a precious dork,, 

least favorite thing about them 

idk if this actually counts because this is more of a criticism of his writing than anything but it’s so annoying how people just default him to “standard evil villain” after the katagiri zen reveal like no,, there’s so much more that can be done with him,, how dare you,, 

favorite line 

tbh as much as i’m disappointed (read: angry) with the direction voices was going to go, “did you just call us horny?” is still an ICONIC line fhaslksdfjlksdf i love it so much 

brOTP 

him and marin! also him and mikoto,, and him and nico,, tbh him and any girl is good he just vibes “let’s go wlw let’s go!!”, y’know? i also like him and nikei being like. adopted brothers or adopted cousins tbh it’s really cute 

OTP 

seishi/akira/ayumu/saiji. yes that it as an ot4. yes it counts come at me bro. any seishi/rebirth boy ship is good tho 

nOTP 

i,, really don’t like seishi/girls fjadsklfjsadf feels bad man 

random headcanon 

he has TRAUMA dammit!! i hc that he has a backstory similar to maki’s in that he was forced into being an assassin at a young age so it wasn’t really his choice to get involved in all this. i’ve kinda ran that idea into the ground at this point though so here’s a lighter headcanon: when he was 14, he reeeaaaally wanted to be a cat. like, to the point where he’s embarrassed to look back on those days because oh my god he really straight up tried to act like a cat 24/7 huh? kinda ties into another headcanon of mine that he’s less mature than he lets on and tends to go through periods of feeling kinda childlike but ssshh shsh shsh shush

unpopular opinion 

he’s a good boy with a morally dubious job and that doesn’t make him automatically evil. y’all are just unimaginative, uncreative and mean >:( 

song i associate with them 

coughs at my seishi and zen playlists uhh there’s a lot tbh but the songs most strongly connected with him in my mind are “this is how you spell haha we destroyed the hopes and dreams of a generation of faux romantics” by los campesinos! and “i’ve got all this ringing in my ears and none on my fingers” by fall out boy (and yes those are two songs with very long titles i know hdfaklsjdflsd ;w;) 

favorite picture of them 

aaaa rebirth doesn’t have a lot of good cgs to pull from across either of its canons and idk if fanart counts so,, but gosh i really love his surprised sprite. he’s like :o. he’s so baby i love him so much 

nikei 

favorite thing about them 

he’s so interesting. it’s clear a lot of work went into his character, and it’s always a fascinating struggle to try and write him. i think it might be a bit easier after chapter four is fully translated but still there’s a lot of complexity to him and it’s interesting trying to break down his outer shell and get inside his head, y’know? also, he’s adorable. i wanna squish his cheeks. 

least favorite thing about them 

oh my GOD does my boy stress me out. i hate seeing him being mean to my other favorite characters and i’m always just like baby why are you like this please don’t ohmygod?? i’m gonna have to watch chapter four with my hands covering my eyes hasdfjslkdf i hate betrayal plots :’) 

favorite line 

this is kinda hard actually hasdkflsjdfk but “and she threw them away just like that? girl, are you a genius or an idiot, make up your mind!” from the third trial is reALLY GOOD FHKJDFLKDSF on a more heartbreaking note though him apologizing before he dies is just,, god. god.

brOTP 

him and the other voids!! they’re a family fight me. and him and seishi, ofc. i also like him and setsuka a lot though,, after chapter six i’m doubling down on my “she’s his mom!!” stance okay. i also like him and yoruko because i think they could have a fun dynamic (and maybe a soft dynamic with older yoruko,, maybe,,)(what i’m saying is that he gains another mom okay. let me project my mommy issues in peace) 

OTP 

i,, actually largely headcanon him as aro so there’s not a lot of ships with him i’m super passionate about?? i still kinda like him and setsuka in aus and such but other than that i mostly dropped all my ships for him after chapter six cuz it’s no big loss to me. though,, i’m not gonna lie, i still have a HUGE soft spot for sorakei. after seeing his free time events they just,, grew on me and i’d think they’d be really cute together c’mon guys can we make it happen- :’0 

nOTP 

nikei/mikado nikei/mikado nikei/mikado LIKE CAN WE PUT IT TO REST ALREADY I ACTUALLY HATE IT 

random headcanon 

his hair is actually naturally super curly and he straightens it every morning so other people don’t realize this. the other voids think it looks really cute pre-straightener but he thinks it makes it hard for others to take him seriously which is why he goes to such lengths to try to hide it basically he does NOT appreciate the cooing he gets from emma, thank you very much. hgalsdjfadlfkl

unpopular opinion 

i’m not actually sure if this counts cuz i don’t see this on tumblr at least but i don’t think we should take what he says to emma and hajime in the void theater at face value. i think despite what he says he actually does care about them in his own way, he just doesn’t really show it well because he doesn’t like to be vulnerable around others. he’s an asshole sometimes (actually a lot of the time hadsflkjsdflk), but that doesn’t mean he’s unfeeling or unable to care about people. 

song i associate with them 

once again side eyes my nikei playlist ahdfslksdfjslkfd a part of me doesn’t want to spoil one of the songs on it because i do eventually wanna release it to the public but i really just,, i really gotta go with “are you satisfied?” by marina. it’s just too perfect and i think of him every time i hear it now 

favorite picture of them 

honestly? his first tts avatar. no talk him. him angy his last tts avatar upsets me though LEAVE HIM BE LINUJ

ayumu 

favorite thing about them 

AAAAAAAAAA BOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND he’s so sweet such a good boy!! i like that he’s empathetic towards others cuz of his luck and he cares about how it affects them. i like that he’s soft and definitely a good cuddle partner. i love that he’s a trans icon even if that’s not really the intent i don’t care he just vibes trans so well (gal or guy or nonbinary but i tend to stick with the trans guy headcanon cuz haha i transmasc-)  

least favorite thing about them 

i kinda wish he had more of a canon sarcastic side? i mean i’m gonna continue to write him that way lol but c’mon there had to have been times where his luck is just so wildly terrible that his inner hinata jumps out and he makes a quip about it hfkajsdfksdf 

favorite line 

aaaaaa his little hope speech during in voices’ chapter one trial makes me soft,, i love him so much,, i also like him shutting aruma down when she’s being too horny hdlkajdsflksdf it’s really good 

brOTP 

ngl i tend to ship him with most of the class so,, like,, i also brotp him with the whole class,, dalfksdlfkasdf 

OTP 

see above but my favorite of those pairings are ayumu/seishi, ayumu/akira and ayumu/mikoto 

nOTP 

when i’m headcanoning him as a trans guy: nico, misuzu, and kasumi cuz i hc them as lesbians. when i’m headcanoning her as a trans girl: seishi. kind of a nonissue when i go with a nonbinary headcanon though 

random headcanon 

he plays minecraft with akira a lot, but they always have to play in create mode where you can’t really die otherwise it’s just a montage of ayumu dying over and over again, pfft. even with unlimited life though he still usually ends up stuck somewhere and akira has to come dig him out and since akira’s a rude boy he’s always laughing his ass off as he’s doing it smh >:0

unpopular opinion 

it’s,, silly to be mad about his “secretly a boy” twist on the same level as you’re mad about the v3 protag twist,, it’s a fangan and not even that well known of one at that like it doesn’t really have the power to “break down barriers” like that or whatever tf you’re expecting hdsflkajsfdlksdf 

song i associate with them 

he’s another character i have a playlist for ahdflaksdjflaksd but “this is home” by cavetown and i cry every time :’) 

favorite picture of them 

once again there’s not a lot of canon art to pull from but i do adore the promo art of him with his “male” and “female” versions :’0 

[neuroticphysiologist]

"First Demolition Derby, Check."

For FabFiveFeb - Alan

@gumnut-logic

Giving this a try...

Prompts: "dirt road", "I wish"

This is a flashback, going back to Alan's high school days, let's say eleventh grade, and I have my OCs here as his schoolmates. This was also before the Alan and Kayo moments, or Alan and Tintin moments, if you're thinking about the classic.

Bear with me, guys, this theme is new to me. I've been writing random fan fics for almost a decade, but for this fandom, I would like to give it a try.

And yes, first person POV, which I'm comfortable with.

I'm a bit nervous posting this tho...

Rated T.

***

Alan

This was when my schoolmates saw me drive like a real racer.

Our old fellow Rick took us to his dad's old abandoned racing track. His dad was a racer in the mid 21st century and he also modified his car with technology from 2040. Rick really got his racing attitude from his dad, and he said that he wanted to be like him someday.

The racing track is Rick's practice field, and he can now use it with his friends for small fun racing. There were also old trucks and buses at the side, those were used for racing now, instead of secondhanded cars.

Going back, Mike picked three of the best junior racers of Rick's track. Luther, or Leather Luther as  they call him during races, is of course, the guy who usually wears leather jackets. He is known for his agility when it comes to driving. Next we have Ted the Flash, who obviously likes to go fast. Then the co-owner of the racing track himself, Rick, or Rad Ricky. And two more to go to occupy the trucks.

Mike looked at me and my closest friend Skye like he adored two lovers. Here's a brief story about me and Skye.

We met during English class in seventh grade. We almost have the same interests and we go on random adventures together. She's the only one who knows that I'm from International Rescue, since she got into a major invention mishap with Otis that took them to outer space, and I rescued them along with John. That was a test rocketship that they modified. Oh, and Otis knows me too.

We stay together as friends. Sometimes my brothers tease me because they think that we're a perfect match. We always hang out, those were the moments that we get to know each other better. We never thought about serious relationship because, of course, age, and her parents did not approve of that yet. Anyways, Skye's the coolest friend I've ever had.

Okay, going back, Mike picked her, aka Sassy Skye, since he knows that she rides motorbikes and going fast too. And he picked me too, which I don't want to, first of all. My schoolmates have never seen me race. Yeah, I like to go fast, but not as fast as I go when I fly Thunderbird 3, since I don't want to blow my cover.

"Okay, fine," I said. "But this is the last time you're gonna see me race."

I'm used to driving on the asphalt, but this was my first driving on the dirt road.

The three hurriedly picked their old favorite. What  Skye got was a zombie-themed truck, and what's left for me is a grayish bus that looks like a truck for food delivery or something like that. Then we are ready to roll, with all systems go and engines roaring like... a cat, I guess. Since you know, old buses?

Mike waved the flag and the race started. We accelerated, but it turns out that my truck is slower than I thought. Damn, they got me a truck with the lowest horsepower out of all five. I wish this could go a little faster... actually, a lot faster.

"Alan, that shit has a turbo power you can use," Mike called. "I just modified that."

"Oh," I replied back. "Why didn't you say so?"

Here goes...

It went as fast as Rick's favorite truck. There we go!

Leather Luther bumped into Ted and he lost the race because his opponent was stronger. Looks like it turned into a demolition derby.

"You again, you old bastard?" Luther yelled. "That was the third time!"

Ted dashed off with a cackle.

The fight was on, and Skye and I were trying to avoid the wrestle.

Oops, too late.

Ted bumped onto my truck. I tried my best to get away and pass him. I achieved the obstacle, and it's now down to me, Rick, and Skye.

"Can't believe you got me, Tracy!"

But then, Rad Ricky crashed the windows from Skye's bus. He took her down, luckily she landed safely. She stormed out of her bus and threw her helmet at Rick's truck. "You nasty son of a bitch!"

It was down to me and Rick. Tough race though, it was novice versus expert of the track. I did what I can to pass him but he bumps onto me. Alright, the fight is on.

I tried to get away, but we kept on bumping, until we accidentally hit a stadium light. It fell, caused some sparks, and it landed near my truck. I got away from Rick, he accidentally went off the track, and now I took the lead. Except that the back of my truck is on fire because of the broken stadium light that fell on it.

I looked around my spot if there's a gallon of water or fire extinguisher to stop it. I tried to hit the brakes but they're stuck. I accidentally broke the emergency brake too. My only option is to get out of the truck but I was going too fast and I'm trying to find a way to stop it.

The crew chased me, and Skye hopped on my truck.

"Alan, your truck is on fire!"

"I know!" I yelled. "I have to stop this first, but my brakes aren't working!"

"Try to break the turbo power to slow it down."

"Oh, right!"

I grabbed an axe to break the turbo power machine, and it worked. The truck is moving slower.

"It worked," I said. "But we still have to make this thing stop."

Skye had a quick view at where I'm going. "Hey, how about a hay?"

"That would work."

"Otis and Luther got extinguishers ready."

"Great. Let's get out of here!"

We jumped off the truck and it stopped when it reached a bunch of hay. Then Otis and Luther hurriedly put out the fire. The race is over.

"That... was... fuckin' awesome!" Ted jumped up.

"Awesome?" I stared at him. "My truck was on fire!"

"Don't worry, Alan," Rick said. "We've been through that before. Otis' truck was on fire in the middle of the race. He jumped off and almost sprained his ankle, but he's okay. That's why we have our extinguishers ready."

Mike exclaimed. "What's awesome is you won. That was your first race here, but you won!"

"And you're one of the few guys who beat Ricky in a truck race," Luther added.

"You did a cool move back there too," Skye held my hand.

"Thanks, guys," I smiled.

Our conversations continued and Rick wanted to talk to me more.

"Maybe next time, Alan, wanna go?"

"Hmm... maybe?"

"We'll decide when will be our next race."

Not that easy as I expected like from one of my favorite video games, but that went well.

(End of flashback)

"And you guys were safe?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Rick got that all covered."

"Why didn't you tell me about that before? Your truck was on fire, Alan."

"Sorry, Scott. I thought you're gonna be mad at me for driving a truck at maximum power and accidentally got it on fire."

"Well at least you're okay, and they were prepared. Although, we can improve your car's settings while waiting for Virgil and Gordon."

"Wow, thanks, bro!"

***

I tried my best... apologies for some confusion.

[xaz-fr]

The Story So Far

@deadpool-scar-bro @hikayelastoria @cornsnoot-fr @redlion-fr @mushroomdraggo @murdoch-fr @tales-around-sornieth @frxemriss @rainhearts-hatchery @rexcaliburr-fr @starry-ampelope @plainstriderbard @reanimatedfr @ally-fr @golden-lionsnake​ @rookfern​ (let me know if you’d like to be added to the lore pinglist)

dragons are dragons unless said otherwise

I’ve only been waiting months to post this one off. God damn.

The Girl in my Dreams

She was on her knees in the middle of a field. The grass waved and the clouds raced across the sky. Blood dripped out of her nose and down into her mouth turning her lips and tongue into wet rubies. Her eyes rolled in their sockets searching and never finding. Her wings were pulled in close, afraid of being taken away by the wind. He saw a hand that was and wasn't his own reach out to her from his body. She focused on him and more blood spilled out of her mouth, dribbling down her chin and throat. Weakly she reached out for him too, her perfect green eyes had racing clouds across them, begging him to help her.

Najaïr woke with a hard gasp, thrashing in his nest of bamboo leaves, throwing it about. It woke everyone else up as he got his feet up under himself. “What? What's wrong?” Bonten demanded with tired aggression, his tail spade coiling dangerously but his eyes were lidded.

Najaïr stood there, breathing hard and looked up at the sky. It was barely morning. The clouds racing across the sky were just starting the pinken. He saw one that was almost the shape of the Windsinger. “Just Najaïr, uuuhg,” Zephyer groaned and curled back up with Jeddie and Green.

“Najaïr?” her jerked when Kala touched her wing to his shoulder. “You alright?”

He stared at her, not understanding what he'd even seen. “No,” he said.

“Uhg. What else is new? Everyone go back to sleep,” Bonten resumed his sleeping ball state.

“You could stand to show some compassion for the Shard of the Windsinger,” Maral hissed but as usual everyone ignored her.

Najaïr turned to Kala and pressed against her chest, his wings sagging. She wrapped her wing around him with worry. He didn't care Boten acted so flippant. He knew the Spiral wasn't really asleep. He knew he’d wake up later with him draped across his horns because Bonten was worried. “I dreamed about that strange not Beastclan girl again,” he said softly. “She was hurt. She needed my help. She was in so much pain,” he whimpered.

“It was just a dream,” Maral said, flittering over to the two of them to hover in place. “Dreams shouldn't be taken with too much weight because you aren't a Water dragon.”

“I wasn't asking your opinion on my dreams,” Najaïr hissed back. He hated her rigid mindset. For someone who claimed to worship the Windsinger she certainly was unbending in what she accepted.

“What happened?” Kala asked him gently, rubbing her head against his comfortingly. He stumbled through explaining it. “That sounds awful.”

“She needs my help.”

“She's not real.”

“I've had quite enough you telling me my dreams are meaningless, Maral,” Najaïr growled in a very Bonten way. He snatched her out of the air with a switch claw swipe, instantly wrapped her in a bubble of Wind magic and threw her away from the campsite. The Wind bubble would protect her from any fall damage and keep her from flying back to them. He was so tired of Maral's hard and fast ironclad opinions on things.

“Najaïr!” Kala scolded him harshly.

“She is real,” Najaïr said. “She saw me. She needs my help,” he insisted.

“That doesn't mean you can just toss Maral away-

Najaïr jerked out of Kala's wing grasp. He went over to Boten and nosed in his sleeping nest. The feathered Spiral grumbled but eventually woke up and greeted Najaïr by constricting himself around his head. “I'm trying to get my beauty sleep here, kid. What do you want?” Najaïr didn't answer because if he moved his jaw he'd stretch Bonten out and hurt him. Bonten realized that quickly and loosened himself.

“I need to find the girl in my dreams.”

“Sure. Great. Whatever. You're a big kid, Najaïr. Do what you want. Uhg, you woke me up a second time to tell me this?”

“So you wouldn't worry about me.”

Bonten soured. “I don't worry about you.” Najaïr didn't call his bluff. It'd do him no good. 

“Okay,” Najaïr said and left Bonten to sleep. He looked back at Kala and she had nothing for him. He shook out his wings before doing something that should have been impossible for dragons of his type: powered lift from a standing position. The land receded beneath him until the others were specks in the landscape. He turned towards the Steppe, pumped his wings twice and summoned a strong breeze to carry him into the rising sun.

—

He didn't sleep until he found the spot. Or as close to the spot as he could find. The place of his dreams where there was nothing. Nothing but the land and the sky and not even Wind clans had dug into the hard, pitiless, ground here. He waited, watching the sun rise and fall twice and stayed awake even during the nights. He couldn't sleep. He wouldn't. He couldn't miss her.

On the third day a figure appeared on the horizon. They were small but winged. At first he mistook them for a Wildclaw but they moved strangely. Then he realized… that was the shape from his dreams. He lurched to his feet and raced towards it across the dry plain, his claws kicking up dirt. He hadn't gotten too close when the figure collapsed to their knees. 

He stopped running and immediately took flight, skimming across the top of the Steppe, his claws catching the grass. He checked his speed abruptly, his wings throwing wind across her face.

She looked up at him and it was just like his dreams. She was bleeding from the nose and it ran down her chin and starting to dribble down her throat. She looked like a centaur with two legs and wings like a dragon with curved horns that looked purposefully cut into like they'd once fit something over them. She looked at him and there was recognition. Her eyes mirrored the clouds above, racing overhead, dashed apart by the strong windas. “You,” she said weakly.

He stepped forward and put his wing up to shield her from the wind. Her eyes moved like the Wind, like his eyes did. “I found you,” he said softly and lowered his head down to her. He didn't know what or who she was other than the girl he had dreams about. That was enough. That told him enough.

“And I found you,” she whispered and to his surprise burst into tears, her tears mixing with the blood. He curled his great body around her. “I found you. I found you. I found you,” she sobbed, a smile across her bloody face. She reached up and touched his face like he was a fragile vase. “I have been searching so long for you. I found you,” she touched his beard.

“Do… you know who I am?”

“My Charge. Who else is insignificant to me. My Charge. Finally. I have looked so long for you,” she cooed weakly and ran her fingers across his face. Where she touched the feathers immediately shed off his scales. He shook his head in confusion.

He curled around her protectively. “I… think you are mine too,” he told her quietly, like a secret, keeping her fragile body protected from the chill winds. He knew as soon as he said it it was true. This was his Charge. This was what he'd been dreaming of and why. “I am Najaïr, Shard of the Windsinger.”

“Layali, progenitor,” his eyes widened.

“Where is your clan?”

“Far away. I left them to find you.” She held his great head in both hands tenderly. “Oh I have been searching for you so long,” she was so relieved. “The Windsinger sent me to find you. Sent me to keep a piece of him safe.”

“You’re hurt,” he said and touched her back.

“Yes.”

“What happened? Why are you bleeding? Can I help you?” he worried over her.

“Bandits. They stole my horn caps that help me breathe,” she said.

“You have trouble breathing?”

“Yes. I need to breathe magical imbued air. But… I'm not in pain right now,” she stroked his cheek. “You just being so near- you just do it because you're a Shard.” She gave a great sigh of relief. “I’m so glad I found you, Najaïr,” he liked the way she said his name.

“I am too,” he pressed his forehead against her small forehead. He closed his eyes and for the first time in a long time did not feel the insistant restlessness he did. The desire to move and travel and never stay still. Curled around Layali he felt peaceful. He licked her face, making her giggle as his great tongue cleaned her face of blood and tears with little effort.

They stayed like that until the sun grew high in the sky, she did not bleed, she did not complain of pain, “I should take you to go rest, eat. The Snakes are a ways off but we can fly.”

“I don't think I am strong enough to fly,” she said, curled up around his head. She was covered in the feathers he'd rapidly molted when she touched him.

“Then I will carry you,” and he got up. The wind returned to their pocket of still air and tugged on layali’s hair. “Also… I'm sorry. What are you? I mean your form. It's like nothing I've seen,” he said apologetically.

“Oh,” she looked down at herself. “It is called humi,” she looked back up. “Most of my clan looked like this. Or similar to this. It's a bit more… dexterous to look like this,” she lifted one of his great claws. Or rather he let her. He did most of the lifting. “No claws,” she gave his claws a little wiggle. He smiled a dragon’s smile.

“Well you won't be any more unwelcome to Bonten than I am.”

“Is that bad?” she released his claw.

“No. He's just… moody.”

“Oh,” and she allowed him to pick up her small form. As he did more and more feathers fell away from his body, revealing a pattern he couldn't even remember having. A series of pink rosettes on his yellow hide. He didn't know what was happening or why but he hardly cared. He'd found the girl in his dreams and his Charge all in one. All was right in the world. He held her against himself securely but not too tightly.

“Not too tight?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. She smiled when he got into his back legs and with a single flap of his wings was airborne. She held tight to him as he started flying back to the Reedcliff Ascent where the Bamboo Snakes, and especially Bonten, were probably out of their mind in worry.uu7u

[eun-binnies]

get to know me tag!

answer these questions then tag people you would like to get to know better!

thanks for tagging me bex @uwujpgs i love u lots n lots n lots oml one of my fav mutuals

nickname: san, sandy cheeks, sandy buttcheeks

height: the doctor says that i’m five foot eight but i’m closer to five foot nine with shoes on a daily basis LOL

time: wait what??? is it asking for the time rn bc it’s currently 3:32pm when i’m making this post (prob won’t be posted until a while later tho LOL)

fave bands/artists: this is a question i like to avoid LOL i listen to too many things so i’ll provide genres and then list out a few artists/bands/groups that i stan!

- kpop (of course): astro (ult), nct dream (a close second to astro), monsta x (a close third to nct dream LOL), gfriend, RED VELVET, sunmi && more!

- uhh... songs on the radio now / that were mainstream? (idk bro this is a “genre” comprising of MANY): billie eilish, migos, ariana grande (occasionally but not all the time), drake, aminé, etc etc y’all get the gist

- french (LOL IK): edith piaf, joe dassin, jacques brel, && more

- piano: shostakovich, beethoven, mozart, debussy, haydn && more

- broadway!!!!!!!: dear evan hansen and hamilton are my TOP two

you’re welcome y’all i basically summarized my entire spotify library

song stuck in my head: it’s always either dear diary by yeri or would u by red velvet like literally sm station songs are BOOOOPS.

last movie i saw: uhh... I DON’T REMEMBER LOL I USUALLY WATCH TV SHOWS AND SUCH

other blogs: oop it’s @ncitysofthourz i write blurbs n stuff on there shhhh

do i get asks: ehhh just once in a while LOL not quite often

why i chose this username: i chose eun-binnies because 1. i was a eunwoo & bin stan at first (because i started this blog after watching my id is gangnam beauty,,,, aka me being googly eyes for eunwoo and then finding astro) so i wanted to make my username about them! 2. it has a dash because .. apparently i thought it looked weird w/o it LOOOOL

following: like. 280-something? i don’t remember my bro aahha

what i’m wearing: soft cozy sweater w/ ripped jeans n some vans heh

dream job: ok actually like a pediatrician is like my. ACTUAL GOAL but if i had the opportunity to go into any field i want then i would choose to become a musician or a marine biologist !!!

favorite food: i really can’t choose. i’d eat almost anything LOL. maybe crab actually!

play any instruments: piano, violin, and some guitar!

hair color: brown but! i did have ombre tips at one point (yike middle school)

language you speak: english, vietnamese, french, and learning korean rn!

most iconic song: sorry sorry by super junior IS the MOST ICONIC song and anyone can fight me on that

random fact: i have sleep apnea so. sometimes i just stop breathing while sleeping OOPS (i promise i’m okay moots don’t worry)

describe yourself in aesthetic things: books on books on books, painting at a park, sitting in a cute coffee shop while doing hw, sleeping in, fairy lights, polaroids on the walls, & waves crashing (did i do this right???!!!)

so ! @astro-lovelies @enchanting-exo @just-an-aroha @teddybear-shownu @goldflare-web @soulclub (rae did u get tagged yet) and anyone else who wants to do it bc we ARE on 80 year old memory once again 

[tybalt-you-saucy-boi]

Hello! I was curious to know what some of your favorite Mindcrack moments are in all of their years of existing?

Bro. You are in for a motherfucking LIST.

Off the bat, every single Team Canada Prank. I’ve practically memorized the Sky Shrooms and King of the Ladder episodes. That moment when Guude realized Etho was part of the prank and said “We? Who’s we?” and Etho stuttered and fell backwards off the mushrooms to his death was the first moment in my life that I truly felt alive. #TheOfficeIsAGoodShow #RealMenUseTheirRingFinger

Von Swaying Guude’s house changed my whole outlook on Minecraft. How could someone make something so darn ugly and yet so beautiful? It’s the epitome of doing something for the sole purpose of shit starting creating and having fun rather than aiming for perfect and never finishing. Zisteau is a great addition to any video 10/10 educational content

Just about every moment in Guude/Nebris/Pakratt/Arkas’ TerraFirmaCraft Reloaded series. Had to pause videos multiple times to write down quotes and even then I passed up some good ones! I fully intend on rewatching the series from each perspective. Arkas getting slain by bear, Guude and Arkas secretly growing mushrooms and getting high, Pakratt confusing dolomite and diorite, literally everything Arkas does, THE COWS, that last episode of absolute chaos wtf Pakratt

UHC #ForTheKidsSeven with Single Malt scotch’s skyblock base and rampant cheating from every team except Nebris’. I fucking LOVED that near-kill with the anvil, and all the chaos as the border shrank. Four players stuck in a 1x1 column! The arrow volley between SMS and SkyblockJr. Can this happen every UHC?

Speaking of UHC, Etho and BdoubleO’s epic fight in season 11! He was absolutely on the ball with those potions, I was sure he’d die before he could use them all. And Etho’s fight with Guude right before that was hilarious! Guude high as fuck on percocets and Etho like completely confused at what Guude was doing. The original UHC skybase by Zisteau #I’mALavaExpert and Anderz reaction to the skybase, and then to Guude’s dogs

The whole portal thing in season 3 with Pause, Kurt, and Beef too! That has remained one of my favourite UHC moments since I saw it, there is nothing more classic. Every single season I hope someone will make a portal for no reason and end up in someone else’s base with them. #TheWolfTheWolfAmazing!

Zisteau’s E-Pranker Montage. I legitimately cry every time I watch it, particularly during 0.5 (the fourth prank) when he rebuilds Bdubs’ first house from his Building With BdoubleO series. Bdubs’ moment of realization hits me like a train even though I know it’s coming. Like, if someone built my first Minecraft base to prank me I think I would die on impact, but like in a good way.

And back to UHC! Season 14 episode 5. HOOOOOOLY FUCK! 2spooky4me should have totally been a UHC team! Remember when Zisteau played UHC? It just isn’t UHC without him to be honest. And besides the #BadYouTubers and #ImALavaExpert moments from Super Hostile and Ninja Turtles, Parkas had a great season as well! Shit, everyone was awesome! Parkas listening in on BTC finding a silverfish, Doc listening in on Ole Yeller right before Zisteau-ing himself and swearing, Baj hiding nether wart, every single drunken drink Genny did, Parkas towers “we should smelt some stone to make bricks”, snnnnowballs! :D, HEY JSANO! WHY YOU RUNNING JSANO?, “ooooh, we’re right behind you haha” “BTC, they’re actually here.” Pakratt was slain by generikb, Avidya’s spooky voice echoing around Seth and Anderz “You wouldn’t hurt an old teammate, would you?” “I dunno. It’s been awhile.” Just. God this was a good season.

Season 19 with Vechs and BTC! You’ve heard all the famous quotes, “how did I get stuck with you of all people” “Vechs, Vechs. I don’t hate you anymore” “He’s not dying. He’s just mad right now.” “Did it come from your hand, knocking a teammate off the ledge?” “THAT WAS A MOD!” etc etc. I also like MC’s half heart midnight desert dash, although it took a good 10 years of my life from the stress. Oblivious Pakratt running away from his teammates as they yell after him and then wondering why he hasn’t found anyone yet. Seth’s reaction to MC’s diamonds. Coe’s post commentary, again, you know the quotes: “Left. Chicken. Right. Chicken.” “This bucket has wheels!” “Are you gonna put that dirt in a chest?!” etc. Kurt finding Beef “Sharpness Five diamond sword!” and PiMP turning around. F1 and PiMP in general. SwedishZen and Millbee with the melons.

Obligatory mentions: “NOOO YOUR DOGS KILLING ME!!!!”, 2Germans1Hole, Zisteau crafting a clock and finding every excuse to use it during the game so that those 4 gold didn’t go to waste, Rob’s jukebox battles, Anderz fighting spiders when a creeper wanders into his hole, Bdubs’ “real” season 9 ending, Nebris going God-mode “HIT ME ALL YOU LIKE”, Nebris and Pause double kill, Nebris and Pyro double kill with Bdubs watching and cleaning up at half a heart and then Etho cleaning up again and finding the potions B left and Bdubs interrupting his video to do facecam to explain that he’s a nice guy who shares and leaves gifts for others (basically whenever Bdubs does facecam in UHC. Let’s face it, when Bdubs whips out the cam you know you’re in for a good show), Team Uppercats season 10. All of it.

Trouble in Terrorist Town when Pyro and Coe pull a long con on Pause and Guude in like episode 9 during the last round. I had to pause the video to take it all in, I was just in awe. That series is one of my favourites! I always watch from Pause.

In original DvZ when BTC got warned for breaking a cake. Also Pause’s helmet!

Team Canada CTM uhhh forgot which series, but Pause and Beef getting stuck in a hole, Etho dying, placing TNT over their heads, and singing “Pause and Beef, best of friends” while Beef panics.

Etho calling Pause fat as a joke and Pause taking it serious and then Etho going “wait, are you actually fat?’ lmao.

Pause yelling about vacations on episode 37 of the podcast with BdoubleO “STOP TELLING PEOPLE I’M GOING ON VACATION IT’S NOT A VACATION!!!!!!!” and every time he’s yelled about vacations or muted his mic.

Baj reading a question and mid sentence switching to talking about the curry he had last night, and then there’s a pause and the rest of Nancy Drew fucking loses it.

On the podcast, Kurt’s “Wake me up, boys!” That whole episode was a blast!

The whole “sitting or standing?” debate and the guests’ reactions to it.

Doc accidentally killing Notch on the Mindcrack server, and Dinnerbone confused about him not dropping an apple.

Doc’s zombie death loop from season 4 with Anderz saving the day and then promptly dying.

B-Team mafia in survival of the fittest, Etho killing Genny, and B and Etho teaming up afterwards. Also B and Pungence talking excitedly at the end was adorable, you can really tell they’re brothers lol. And Etho drinking out of the outhouse! Bdubs’ comment on that video killed me lol. And Etho forgetting his push-to-talk and failing to team up with Doc.

The whole got-dang B-Team trial.

End of season 3 tour “On a scale from Baj to Anderz” “Arkas, say something about your build.” Arkas: “Hello.”

The original Death Games, when Etho reveals his secret to Nebris particularly, and all the trash talking. Also Millbee, MC, and Nebris coming to kill him and Kurt logging on in the middle of it.

Prop hunt, and all the wiener and erect jokes. “Am I erect?” “I just saw a can spying on me while I was trying to put my wiener in the toilet!”

Pause and Rob getting girlfriends in Orespawn, and Rob naming his after Pause, and Pause murdering his.

Andrea talking about waking up with spiders in her mouth in an old Triple Eh Mondays episode.

Nebris “sensually” feeding Beef a banana (and practically begging to do it to) on the Mindcrack marathon, and Beef completely ruining the mood lol

Zisteau accidentally launching CaptainSparklez back into a lava tree column and “Dude, it’s okay. You can just kill me” after Jordan’s hit him about 40 times.

#ForTheHorse

MC accidentally killing his one and only teammate JSano during UHC season 22

Sevadus and Seth playing blindfolded lego with Chad’s underwear on Sev’s head, lots of swearing, bugs in the lego, “Are you sure it’s the grey lego?”, “I don’t think I like kids anymore” etc

All the Pyro and Baj burns on Quiplash, ie “What’s something that absolutely does not make you think of a penis in any way?” “Baj”

Coe and Pak playing that stupid horse/giraffe volley ball game with the stretchy legs and neck, and Coe doing the silly accent

Bdubs calling Nebris a psychopath in Nebs’ first FTB episode because he jumped a dangerous ledge for 2 (TWO) pieces of glowstone dust

Nebs coming outta nowhere and jumping in Etho’s car when he was about to test his race track

The first few episode of CrackPack and the battle between Etho and BTC, and Beef and Nebris

The first building game with potatoes on sticks, the second accidentally dirty and racist building game with bloody toilet capsules, the third actually dirty building game with a viking hat with a penis inside

God, I could go on forever, but I’ve already spent over an hour and a half on this.

[eggoreviews]

Viddy Games Monthly #1 - February 2019

Is this really late? Sure Is!

Here's something new I'm trying! In this 'issue' (lol):

NEW RELEASES - A look back at everything exciting that dropped this month, from Resident Evil 2 to the new 2D Mario!

NEWS - January is usually pretty dry for viddy games, but there's some interesting stuff still!

Release dates, updates and more!

NEW RELEASES

Fitness Boxing (RD: January 4th - Nintendo Switch)

And here we have Nintendo’s first real attempt in this console generation to draw in the fitness crowd they catered to so well with the Wii. Except, Fitness Boxing feels a lot more technical and niche than those other titles from a decade ago. Fitness Boxing’s main draw is teaching you how to improve your boxing form, meaning it’s definitely not one to play with the family unless you’re all die hard boxing fans. But if you’re less interested in picking up the technical aspects, Fitness Boxing works just as well as a fitness companion, coming packed with its own motivational trainer (I haven’t picked this game up purely because it would feel like I’m cheating on the Wii Fit Trainer. Plus this basically dashes all hope of Wii Fit Switch so I’ll need to mourn that for a hot minute).

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey (RD: January 11th - Nintendo 3DS)

As the 3DS reaches the end of its lifespan and its screentime in the Nintendo Directs gets shorter, this Mario & Luigi title could well be one of the last RPGs we see on the system. In this enhanced remaster, the worlds of turn based RPG and 2D platformer collide and, coupling this fact with some odd setpieces including Bowser’s literal stomach, also make for one of the weirdest games on the system. Despite this, there’s no doubt that it works. With the addition of the Bowser Jr.’s Journey expansion, there’s undoubtedly a wealth of content to explore here, especially if you’re new to this oddly charming RPG spin-off.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (RD: January 11th - Nintendo Switch)

The latest in a long line of Wii U ports, Nintendo has bundled up Mario U and Super Luigi U and released it yet again on the Switch. This is by no means a bad thing, as we had yet to see a 2D Mario on the system, but the general consensus seems to be that the play time is much shorter than the price would have you believe. Of course, if you’re a die hard Mario fan, there’s no doubt you’ve already picked this up and it’s definitely worth a go if you didn’t have a chance to play on Wii U. Alongside this, new features include new playable characters and helpful items for if you’re like me and are terrible at platformers (I welcome these changes). But really, I think the talk of the town was the fact they patched in Blue Toad before release when everyone got sad that he was absent. Thanks Nintendo.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (RD: January 11th - Windows, Xbox One, PS4, Switch)

An enhanced port with updated HD graphics to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this beloved entry in Bandai Namco’s Tales series. This edition comes packed with a beefy selection of new content, including all that was exclusive to Japan at the time of the PS3 port’s release. Generally, this game scored high at the time of its release, being cited as an interesting and unique JRPG that was made all the better by its trademark combat system that has been carried throughout the series.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 3: Broken Toys (RD: January 15th - Windows, Xbox One, PS4, Switch)

Against all the odds, the critically acclaimed Walking Dead game series has somehow survived the closure of its creator, Telltale Games, continuing under Skybound Entertainment. The series continues to shine in critic reviews, which thankfully continues into the penultimate episode, Broken Toys. With a firm release date of the final episode being March 26th, we won’t have to wait long to finally witness the end of Clementine’s story.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (RD: January 18th - Nintendo Switch)

The third entry in the No More Heroes series has finally arrived 9 years after its second effort, though this time to mixed reviews. The gameplay fans of the series are used to has been totally overhauled this time around, instead throwing Travis into a possessed game console containing six wildly different, self-contained video games. This time, the gameplay is entirely from a top-down perspective. Some enjoyed this radical change of pace for the series, but other fans of Travis believed the drastic change was a little too jarring to enjoy in contrast to this entry’s predecessors.

Resident Evil 2 remake (RD: January 25th - Windows, PS4, Xbox One)

The highly anticipated remake of Capcom’s horror classic finally dropped this month, and let’s be honest, it’s everything fans wanted. The controversial move to ditch the usual fixed camera the early RE games are known for so the game could be built in Capcom’s home-grown Resident Evil 7 engine was what made the game so immersive and genuinely terrifying. With tons of gameplay tweaks, Capcom managed to tread the line between creating a fresh experience and staying faithful to the original game. Entirely different puzzle solutions, new dialogue and a whole new playable character in Sherry Birkin ensures that those who know the original inside out will still have more to discover, but the return of each horrifying boss and setpiece in glorious HD puts the nostalgia into overdrive. Plus, the tofu block came back so really there’s nothing to gripe at.

Kingdom Hearts III (RD: January 29th - Xbox One, PS4)

Here it is. The game fans have been waiting 14 years for. The one that ties every character and confusing plot arc together and says ‘Merry christmas, Baymax is in this game now!’

With a few fan favourite worlds returning among a handful of new ones, Kingdom Hearts has finally launched itself into the current gen with a heartfelt tale of friendship and big hair. There really is very little to say about this, because we all knew it was going to be good.

Also out this month:

First person shooter Bright Memory released this month to positive reception, despite controversy around the stolen assets used by the devs.

Charming adventure game Vane dropped this month, allowing players to explore a beautiful world as a boy who can turn into a bird.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the critically acclaimed combat flight sim series, released for PS4 and Xbox One, with some great VR content.

Life Is Strange 2 Episode 2 - Rules released this month, continuing the heartfelt tale of two brothers on the run

Gothic Indie RPG Sunless Skies released at the very end of January, showing a detailed focus on narrative and exploration

NEWS

What’s been happenin’? Probably a lot, but this is what I picked up on!

Metroid Prime 4 has gone a bit wonky

As everyone has probably heard by now, the long awaited Metroid Prime 4 has officially been halted and restarted, as announced in a commendably transparent video Nintendo published on their YouTube channel last month. Basically, they weren’t happy with how development was going so they’ve gone back to square one, this time with the help of past Prime developers Retro Studios. Honestly, this is a really good sign, as it shows how committed Nintendo are to creating a solid game to stand next to the other three. Plus, this makes a Prime trilogy switch port way more likely in my eyes, so hooray for that.

Piranha Plant got here early!

At the tail end of January, those who redeemed their plant boi codes turned on Smash and suddenly got the gratefully received ‘Piranha Plant joins the battle’ message! I can confirm I made a bit of a weird dolphin noise when I saw he’d turned up before the estimated February release. In another post, I’ll be breaking down his moveset in a bit more detail, so keep an eye out for that if you’re a fellow plant connoisseur!

Sony patents retro back-compatibility for PS5?

A new patent Sony put through last month that they tried to sneak by us MAY hint at retro back-compatibility for their next system, spanning all four of their home consoles. If this news is true, this could give Sony a massive edge in the next console gen, as remasters and retro games become increasingly popular, as well as the fact that people are unlikely to want to leave the considerable PS4 library behind. So at the very least, we can hope for PS4 games to be playable on the PS5.

Cross platform achievements could be a thing!

A since removed GDC listing teased the possible integration of Xbox Live onto iOS, Android and, interestingly, the Nintendo Switch! At a base level, this would very probably mean that achievements between these two consoles would be cross compatible, or at least viewable on either console. While nothing is confirmed just yet, this could be a sign of the growing partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo.

Nintendo is really lovin’ their mobile games!

With Switch sales beginning to level out ever so slightly, Nintendo seems to be turning to the mobile market. A mobile Mario Kart was announced a couple of years ago, but now it finally has a name, Mario Kart Tour. It’s now slated for a Summer 2019 release. Alongside this, Nintendo have announced Dr. Mario World for mobile, as well as rumours bubbling under that Dragalia Lost could be seeing a localised port for Canada and Europe.

New Nintendo Selects for the States!

Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and Star Fox 64 3D have arrived in America as Nintendo Selects, thankfully proving that Nintendo aren’t quite willing to let the 3DS die just yet. Not to be that guy, but Majora’s Mask over in Europe as a select would be pretty great. Pls.

Indie Highlights

And finally, Nintendo has dropped another Indie Highlights on us, featuring the likes of Wargroove, When Ski Lifts Go Wrong, Forager and the (long awaited?) Goat Simulator port. Worth a look if you’re looking for something a little wackier to play this month!

That’s all the headlines for this month!

FREE VIDYA

Are you subscribed to whatever online service your console has? Then oh boy, you got some free stuff!

NES Nintendo Switch Online - Blaster Master & Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

This month, Nintendo added the ever wonderful and upsettingly hard Zelda II to their retro lineup, along with lesser known run-and-gun platformer Blaster Master.

PlayStation Plus - Steep & Portal Knights

It’s a good month for snowboard enthusiasts over on the PS4 this month, as Ubisoft’s open world sports game Steep joins the lineup. Alongside this, the artistically charming RPG Portal Knights was free last month. January also marked the final month of PS Plus support for the Vita and PS3, with Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion & Super Mutant Alien Assault joining the Vita lineup and Zone of the Enders HD Collection and Amplitude free for PS3 owners

Xbox Game Pass

January was a hecking good month for members of the Xbox game pass, with the entire Life Is Strange saga joining the service, along with other quality games such as Just Cause 3, Farming Simulator 17, Absolver, Aftercharge and ARK: Survival Evolved.

RELEASE DATES

Yoshi’s Crafted World

Nintendo released a story trailer for Yoshi’s creative new outing, showing off Baby Bowser and Kamek as the game’s villains. The release date set for this uniquely cardboard platformer is March 29th, so fans won’t have to wait long!

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn

Breathing new life into the 3DS is this enhanced port of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, which originally released on the Wii in 2010. Featuring all new content that wasn’t available the first time around, fans of the Kirby series will be able to pick this up from March 8th.

Final Fantasy remasters

After the exciting announcement in September that beloved Final Fantasy games would be coming to other consoles in 2019, Square Enix have finally announced release dates for a couple of these titles. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will hit the Switch and Xbox One on April 16th, while Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age arrives on both of these consoles on April 30th.

RUMOURS

Welcome to probably the most controversial segment of this, the rumour-y bit! Just a pre-warning that nothing talked about here is by any means confirmed, so keep your expectations tempered.

SNES for Switch Online?

A recent datamine into the NES Switch Online app has apparently revealed a list of 20 SNES games in the code that could be coming to the system in the future, including Mario World, Kirby Superstar, A Link to the Past and Super Metroid. I’m hesitant to say this is true because nothing has been said on Nintendo’s end yet, but considering the lack of content for Switch Online as of yet, I’d say it’s fairly likely in any case. If this is true, we can all hope for DK Country and EarthBound also because pls Nintendo.

Smash Ultimate Fighter Pass Leak

There have been two notable datamines in the past month that could reveal our four remaining DLC fighters for Smash Ultimate. The first uncovered three names in the coding for the game, Plant (obviously referring to Piranha Plant), Jack (Likely Joker from Persona 5) and Brave (Speculated to be Erdrick from the Dragon Quest series). The reason why Brave is so heavily speculated to be Erdrick is because, in Japan, the hero class Erdrick belongs to in Dragon Quest is called ‘Yusha’, which translates to brave in English. Alongside this, one of the heads of development for Smash Ultimate, Shinya Kumazaki, recently posted a photo of the iconic shield from Dragon Quest with the caption ‘the brave’s shield’, which naturally sent the internet into meltdown. Personally, I think Erdrick is pretty much a dead cert for the DLC roster at this point, especially after that Instagram tease.

Thanks for reading!

In the next issue, most likely in the first week of March, I’ll be reviewing the likes of Jump Force, Metro Exodus, Far Cry New Dawn and Anthem, plus giving you a rundown of anything game-y that happens in February! Plus, the new game of the month feature will begin next time, as I explain my choice for January’s best game. Have a fun day. Stay hydrated.

[a-salty-alto]

SUPPORTIVE SIBS AND JEALOUS STEVE PLS MAKE THAT A THING THAT HAPPENS

[A/N]: Ask and ye shall recieve anon! Anon’s refrencing this post. If you have no clue what my Triplet AU is, here’s the original post, and here’s the tag.

The Avengers were gathered in the lab trying to track down AIM, who had been stealing parts for something, and escaping before the Avengers could get there. They’re all ready to go as soon as they get a call for another AIM attack, so for now all they could do was watch as Iron Man, Tonio, and Tony work together to figure out how AIM is making so many clean getaways.

Steve had no clue what they’re saying at all. Even Bruce seemed to be lost, because when the Starks get in the zone they only need to say maybe every third word out loud. Anyway, Steve just stared at Tony’s face scrunched up in concentration and tried to avoid sighing happily at every little movement Tony made. Sam had been telling him to cut that shit out and make a move for weeks.

Steve still made a little gasp of delight when he saw Tony’s eyes widen and he smiled and he made a “eureka” face. Steve loved the look of pure joy on Tony’s face and the excited flash of brilliance he got when he had a breakthrough.

Tony dashed over to the computer, allowing Steve to appreciate the tight jeans he always wore, and  typed some sort of algorithm out. Within moments a map of the city opened up and Tony gestured to it excitedly.

“Tony you’re a genius.” Tonio said, while Tony shrugged.

“It isn’t anything you or Tasha couldn’t do.”

Iron Man put a large gauntleted hand on Tony’s shoulder

“Don’t sell yourself short, Tony, you’re fantastic.” Tony blushed, and muttered something under his breath along the lines of:

“Maybe not in front of the other Avengers guys.”

That’s when Steve started thinking.

On the one hand, Tonio and Tasha tended to compliment  and brag about Tony a lot so it wasn’t weird that Iron Man would too. He was close to the three of them. Hell, Steve wanted to shower Tony with compliments all the time.

Then again Steve was very very very head over heels for Tony, so maybe he was an outlier here? Or was he representative of the data?

Not that the only people who would compliment Tony were people who were in love with him. Or that Steve only thought Tony was amazing because he was in love with him.

Where was this train of thought going again?

Steve shook his head to clear it as the Avengers went out to deal with AIM. He was probably overreacting.

*

A few days later, the Avengers were able to use what the Starks had discovered to stop some of AIM’s thefts, but they were no closer to figuring out what they were up to

Steve was a little annoyed, and mulling over AIM and Iron Man and Tony when he spotted a newspaper stand across the street.

“Oh what is this nonsense.” He said taking a look at the front page of some magazine.

Iron Man flew over and landed behind Steve

“C’mon, Winghead, you know you’ve just gotta ignore the stupid tabloids. Whatever it says is probably 100% pure crap.” He said.

“I’ll say.” Steve angrily turned around and showed the magazine to his teammate. The cover of the was an image of Tonio from a gala last week.

“Oh Cap, that is not the worst picture of Tonio ever taken. He’s actually got his clothes on in this one.”

“Not that, this!” Steve pointed to the blurb in the corner read The Hottest Stark’s best looks from the Charity Gala. “Tonio is not the hottest Stark. It’s Tony”

Iron Man stared at Steve in silence before nodding vigorously.

“Finally, another Intellectual. Anthony Edward Stark is the best looking of all the Starks. That is Iron Man’s official opinion and any time I say otherwise I am lying.”

At the time, Steve was happy for Iron Man’s enthusiastic agreement.

It wasn’t until later when he overheard Tony excitedly talking to Tonio.

“He said I’m the good looking one!” Tony bragged.

“Of course he did,” Tonio chuckled in response.

Steve promptly walked quickly in the other direction, thoughts buzzing through his head.

Were they talking about Iron Man? Could Iron Man really openly say one of his bosses was better than the others? The Starks wouldn’t fire him over something so petty, but Iron Man should probably be more neutral, if for no other reason than Tonio and Tasha would prank him mercilessly.

Steve’s thoughts from the other day came flooding back. Was Iron Man in love with Tony? Did Tonio and Tasha know, and that was why they didn’t even joke about his reaction? Or were they together and keeping it a secret and only Tasha and Tonio knew.

Steve was pacing back and forth through the tower living room when and so lost in thought that he didn’t even hear Tony come up behind him until Tony shouted his name.

“Tony!” Steve stammered. “Uh um, do you need something?”

“Y-yeah. I’ve got those notes you missed from Professor Pym’s class while you were out, you know, saving the city.” Tony said, handing Steve a folder of neatly typed notes.

“Oh. Thanks.” Steve said.

“Do you want to go to a cafe or something?” Tony blurted out. “You know in case I did the thing again, with the notes. I can walk you through them.”

Tony was actually kind of terrible with notes. He tended to overestimate Steve’s base knowledge  and would leave out key information from the notes that he just assumed Steve would know already. Steve didn’t really mind though, because it meant he and Tony could spend hours together going over them.

“Yeah. Sure.” Steve said.

Tony looked at him expectantly for a solid minute.

“Oh! Oh you mean right now,” Steve stuttered, “Yeah, just, just give me a moment.”

*

Steve suggested a place in Brooklyn for it’s quiet atmosphere and not because he specifically wanted someplace far enough away that he could convince Tony to ride on the back of his bike.

Not at all.

Unfortunately, their Not-Study-Date was interrupted before it could even begin when something exploded as they were driving out.

“Thousand bucks says it’s AIM” Tony drawled.

“You don’t need that money.” Steve said as he turned the bike.

He dropped Tony off on the other side of the police perimeter with the bike and rushed in to join the fray. The other Avengers were there and so were a dozen AIM goons.

If Steve hit a little harder than he should’ve well, he was really looking forward to that Not-Study-Date. The AIM guys were fine. As unfashionable as their beekeeper suits were, they could at least take a hit.

“Captain,” Iron Man said, as they finished.up, “where’s Tony?”

“I left him over by the police perimeter.”  Steve explained.

Iron Man gave a curt nod and flew away. Steve sprinted after him to find Iron Man holding Tony bridal style and checking him over.

“I’m fine, jeez” Tony giggled. “You worry too much.”

“Can’t blame me for making sure. You can get into a lot of trouble if you’re left on your own.”

“Oh and you can’t?”

The whole scene looked… kind of intimate.

“Hey Cap!” Tony called as Iron Man set him down. “Wanna get back to what we were doing?”

“No.” Steve said. “I’m tired, I think I’m going to head back to the tower.”

Steve ignored Tony calling his name as he ran back to the Tower.

*

There was a soft knock at Steve’s door. Tony was standing in the hall and looking around nervously.

“Steve! You left the your bag. And your bike keys. And your bike. I didn’t bring your bike all the way up here obviously though I was thinking it could probably use some repairs or maybe upgrades and I brought it down to the lab if you don’t min-”

“Thanks Tony.” Steve said. Tony’s babbling trailed off to into an awkward silence.

“Can, I come in?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know, are you a vampire?”  Steve joked.  Tony visibly relaxed and stepped into the room.

“So, our date kind of got cut short by AIM. And I was wondering if you’d let me make it up to you.”

Before Steve could even blink, Tony stood up on his tiptoes and kissed him.

Steve kissed back for a few seconds before pushing Tony away.

“No. We can’t, Iron Man-” Steve started before Tony interrupted him

“You’re in love with Iron Man?”

“No, you are.” Steve sputtered. Tony’s brown eyes widened in shock.

“You think I’m in love with Iron Man?” Tony’s face was a mixture of disgust and shock. Steve could hear sniggering down the hall.

“You’re brother and sister do remember I have super hearing, right?” Steve asked. Tony blushed as footsteps the laughter and accompanying footsteps faded down the hall.

“I am very sorry for them,” Tony sighed, “and I am 100% not in love with Iron Man. He’s like a brother to all of us.”

“So you’re interested in me?” Steve asked slowly.

“Very much so.” Tony said blushing.

“Well,” Steve coughed, “We’re gonna be a thing, then let’s do this right. How about dinner, tomorrow night at 6?”

Tony beamed and Steve’s heart melted.

“Sounds good Steve.”

*

“I can’t believe he actually thought you were in love with Iron Man!” Tasha had been laughing about this for thirty minutes straight.

“Yeah and it’s your fault! You’re always bragging about me and coddling me as Iron Man.” Tony pouted.

“Awww,” Tasha said, coming around to give Tony a hug, “can’t we just want to show off our awesome little bro and make sure he’s okay?”

“Ten seconds,” Tony muttered, “You’ve got ten seconds on me.”

“Ten seconds and four inches.” Tonio corrected.

“I will hit you. You’re shins are not protected.”  

Tonio ruffled Tony’s hair as Tony glared at the two of them.

[randomaliha]

A, C, N, X

Thanks! :) 

A - ships that I currently like a lot.

I always have a bunch of ships I’m invested in to some degree (most sort of casual or in the background) but my main one right now is stucky so prepare yourself for a ramble, my friend. I’m a sucker for ships that span a long time frame because you get so much richness and development. So, Steve and Bucky meet as kids in 1930s Depression-era New York. They grow up together but get separated for the first time when Bucky gets drafted for the war. It’s a whole time period that’s really evocative, with heaps of scope for stories about discovering each other and ~feelings and trying to work jobs and live together and Bucky trying to find Steve a date but no one wants to date Steve but p.s. Bucky’s pretty much taking him on dates all the time soooo yeah. Then we get this second act where Steve has been transformed and Bucky has been captured and experimented on, so they’ve both changed – except for the way they feel about each other. They spend the rest of the war fighting together until Bucky is presumed killed (Steve couldn’t save him! Steve will never fail him like that again! Is what Steve says to himself every night I’m guessing!) and right after that Steve sacrifices himself and puts his plane into the ice. Ultimately, of course, the war was bigger than both of them. And that should have been the end of it, an amazing but tragic journey for those two kids from Brooklyn. But we get another act, another page, in which they find each other again and Steve breaks through Bucky’s 65 years of brainwashing pretty much by existing. Two bits I absolutely love in this third act: the first time they cross paths again since 1945 is in TWS, when Bucky/the soldier comes to kill Fury at Steve’s apartment. At that moment, ‘Its been a long, long time’ by Kitty Kallen plays on Steve’s record player, a romantic af song from 1945 about lovers reuniting after the end of the war. Never thought that you would be/Standing here so close to me… You’ll never know how many dreams I've dreamed about you/Or just how empty they all seemed without you/So kiss me once then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again/It’s been a long, long time. Wow what a totally platonic bros reunion song. And second, when they’re fighting aboard the carrier and Bucky’s struggling with his programming, Steve says “finish it. Cos I’m with you, to the end of the line” which…. you know, he’s telling Bucky/the soldier to kill him because Steve won’t kill Bucky. Will not. Full stop. He’s with Bucky even if Bucky’s not really there anymore, even if being there for Bucky means dying. And the thing about it is, that’s a promise they made to each other. To be there til the end of the line. We see Bucky say it to Steve in a flashback, it’s how Bucky has always felt about Steve, a promise he’s made to Steve as much as to himself, to be there for Steve always, and on that carrier Steve is returning that love and that unwavering loyalty. And that promise is what finally gets through to Bucky and breaks decades of brainwashing. I MEAN. This devotion to each other is absolutely core to their characters. Those birds are in love. (If Infinity War kills one of them or separates them again I will be mad as hell, dishonour on all marvel’s (cash) cows.)

C - a ship I have never liked and probably never will

I feel like all my NOPE ships are in Star Wars. Rey/Kylo is the biggest nope in the galaxy and I hated their scenes in tlj. Actually, Kylo really reminds me of Anakin in the prequels, but worse. Kylo is that kid who got a chip on his shoulder when he was a teenager and has never moved past it, and now he’s a selfish tool who causes suffering and kills people because he got his feelings hurt and it makes him so angry but he’s just misunderstood and deep down he’s a nice guy if people would just do what he wants. In a high school AU this would be the character that would need to be on some kind of fbi watch list, and I hate that Star Wars writers can’t come up with a better characterisation when they’re trying to write a complex character who turns to the dark side. Things don’t go right for angry young white man; he kills everyone? That’s basically it? Some fans might point to the influence of Palpatine and Snoke as playing a role but there are plenty of characters in the SW universe who got dealt a shitty hand in life and got tempted by the dark side and didn’t go over. Basically Anakin wasn’t good enough for Padme or Obi-Wan (nooope nope nope) and Kylo isn’t anywhere near good enough for Rey or indeed anyone in the galaxy. 

N - 3 things you wish you saw more of in your fandom(s)

1. I just found a bunch of meta posts for Bucky/stucky that included timelines and costume research and meta and it was amazing and super exciting. So I guess more of that in all my fandoms but yeah, I love world-building, I love being able to fit a character into a setting and a world, and get more context on who they are, so discussion of that stuff is great and I find it really helps and inspires me as a fic writer.

2. drabbles on my dash. Can we bring back 100 word drabbles as a thing we post on tumblr? I tend to only read longer fics on ao3 but 100 word drabbles are perfect little mouthfuls for your dash, like a gifset. Also they are a damn art form and I love them.

3. Rare pairs maybe? (says every rare pair fan ever) 

X - a trope you are certain to love in any fandom

Misunderstandings that lead to mutual pining and loads of shivery tension and a big beautiful reveal. I WILL ALWAYS READ SUCH PERFECT GOODNESS.

Tagging anyone on my dash who wants to do this or send me an ask?

[coolmiddlename]

I don't think you ever did your final write up on season 8 Kitty, you gonna get back to that?

aww man, i didnt finish it because i think ive done a pretty great job expressing my thoughts on season 8. it was freaking amazing? but im gonna write up some of what i planned for that post here.

favourite episodes:

two swords is good because it introduces us to the more violent fern and shows finn being a doctor for shits and giggles (foreshadowing?). i get good feelings from this ep. and these days, also sad ones.

high strangeness - tree trunks is pretty entertaining by herself but this episode had a glorious combination of comedy, quiet pain, and…. strangeness. seeing tree trunks be ooo’s greatest activist was nothing short of a golden meme factory. and it was a lttle sad seeing pb explain what it was all about, perhaps even questioning her own sanity here… as for the candy attacking the aliens, if you remember all of pen ward’s previous work, you sure do get a Little Pink Best Buds vibe.

jelly beans have power - yknow when they ended pb’s arc w the whole Being A Pragmatic Coldass back in the Cooler, i wondered if she was going to stay interesting or get boring. well, lets just say the AT crew have exceeded my expectations. not to mention season 8 SURE BRINGS UP A LOT OF COMPETITION in the whole “morally questionable science lady” area. after the whole King of Ooo stuff the princess has been trying to rebuild her relationship with her citizens, and to see her hot-headedness make it crumble apart… well it must have been like looking into your soul and seeing something dreadful.

All of Islands - yes this is cheating. do i give a fuck? no. uhhhh what were my fave eps? hide and seek was the part where i went “this is the best adventure time has ever been”. martin and minnie was not only realistic, making minnie my favourite side character to ever get that little screentime, it also hit all the right emotional notes as well as having a dash of humor. the light cloud kinda highlighted the differences between the humans and the oooish people, it made us all appreciate the wacky land of ooo I feel. finn could have had his life as a human and lived with his parents, but he would have possibly died during the plague, and he’d have never had all the amazing adventures that made him who he is. anyway finn’s kinda my second or third favourite character now which is a significant jump from a few years ago. 

all of elements because i just dont care. highlights: skyhooks was deeply ominous and had marshmalline humming greensleaves which is pretty gay, bespoken for looked like it was gonna be shitposty but ended up making betty of all people a compelling, sympathetic, and unpredictable character… the third one had the ice kingdom which i think is my second-favourite location… cloudy i didnt like on my first rewatch but on our rewatch i learnt to appreciate it for the heart-to-heart bro chat that it was… slime central had funky skating (slime kingdom ftw) and the BEST humor in the miniseries alongside jake fucking dying, happy warrior is my least favourite of the eps but thats because it was setup for the much more magnificient hero heart which is my favourite… the reason for that is because it’s worth the most analysis and has the heaviest atmosphere. from lsp eating marceline’s face to finn holding back his fear to pb going fucking nuts and all those chilling candy zombies, this was the climax of the miniseries for sure. skyhooks II was a cooldown after the climax and a sort of resolution. it could have been better but the way i think of it, we haven’t seen all the resolution yet. highlights? lsp being the hero (lol) and pb and marcy’s kingdom-takeover song. pb’s actions in elements make me think that the power made her exemplify all her negative, controlling traits. she tried to take over the other kingdoms to make people “happy” and they ended up losing all their individuality. remind you of The Thin Yellow Line? the same sorta goes for FP but not really cos FP’s only negative trait is her awful temper.

abstract because i fucking love jake. i know some people found this ep disappointing but i did not.

ketchup for best filler ep because it looked GORGEOUS, it made me SMILE, it had backstory and the tale of what Marceline did in Elements presented in such a charming way, we even saw BMO spin a tale about her mom…  I’m heartbroken that we probably wont be seeing any more guest animated episodes because this is my favourite one yet. 

whispers. I TOO AM DOOM. *thunk thak thunk thank splat*

three buckets is the best episode in the best season of adventure time, and i think it beats out The Lich as my favourite season finale. it’s sad, it’s dark, it’s sweet, it’s hilarious, it’s ominous, theres nothing to dislike about it. my favourite part was the last few minutes starting from when fern left finn alone in the cave. he freaks out for a while which makes us wonder if he might actually die in here, then the robot arm in a surprising twist turns out to have a pb-siri that thanks finn for what hes done which is cute. and finn discovers his salvation in the rock drill and fucking weed whacker. then he fights his clone  fern now COMPLETELY off the deep end, and just when finn is giving up,  well…

“What are you doing?”

“Weed whacking!”

“…What are you?”

“A weed whacker :D”

“It doesn’t have to have this… finnality!”

“F A T A L I T Y”

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

i think the end of this ep is more defined by what isn;t said than what is said. finn is so shocked that he can’t even talk. bmo gives us one final bout of dark humor. then we switch to…. Fern……. finally free of his shell but a mere ghost of what he was…. his look of pure rage as he gets picked up by who we believe could be a scholar of Golb…. uncle fucking gumbald. 

What a DEVASTATING finale,  and what a fantastic setup for the final arc of Adventure Time!

a comment i had to make about the last few eps is: it’s suspicious that we didnt get a followup for PB after Elements. but even though Peebles wasn’t in these eps, she didn’t feel absent either. especially with Marceline’s story in Ketchup, Fern’s remembering what he did in Whispers, and literally everything in the last 3 minutes of Three Buckets, i feel that there’s something big building up for her. we’ve yet to see the consequences Elements had on PB who was out of everyonne the most dangerous elemental, the one who took her powers to the furthest extreme. considering what happened in Jelly Beans Have Power, iiiii expect this followup to be soon. maybe it’ll be big? maybe it’ll be quiet. either way i look forward. and if i’m disappointed? well it’s happened before.

altogether season 8 is my favourite in the show for obvious reasons. i dont think season 9 has the possibility of topping it but i really cant wait to see what we get next either way, just in case it manages to be even better.  

no matter how adventure time ends, though, i think it’s going to hold a place in my heart for a long time.

[recommendedlisten]

It was a week for lovers, cynics, and uh, Run for Cover Records in a large, respect, too. The latter gave us this week’s latest recommended listen with the future-minded emo rap entry point into Wicca Phrase Springs Eternal’s universe on Suffer On, alongside the dangerous desires emerging from American Pleasure Club’s latest vision, romantic euphoria in physical sky form from Westkust, and Field Medic leaving their mark on the heart with their organic visuals. Anti-Valentine’s Day listens saw SASAMI exploring the freedom of solitude, Tamaryn playing the part of an angel of desire unrequited, Nanami Ozone letting go of getting mixed up in something, and Potty Mouth predicting an inevitable doom for those starry-eyed endorphins. Meanwhile, La Dispute coped with heavier forms of loss with deeper meditation. Brace yourself, because there’s even more songs about love and losing it where that came from.

Here’s the best of the rest from the week of February 10th, 2019…

Cold Cave - “Promised Land” [Heartworm Press]

Valentine’s Day week have some sort of morbid significance for even a dark-hearted goth fashionista such as Wes Eisold, as it’s consistently been a time where you can expect him to release new music in some form. Usually, it’s been through his industrial electronic complex Cold Cave, but last year, he switched predictability up with the heavy listmaking return of his hardcore punk band American Nightmare. It’s Cold Cave who are back in 2019, however, with “Promised Land”, the first new music from the project since last spring’s “You & Me & Infinity”. Produced by Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs,) it hear Eisold lurking over propulsive IDM beat, new wave synths, a plunging piano riff and his constant Amy Lee’s backing vocals ascending from the underworld. Cold Cave will be embarking on a full band U.S. tour (featuring Eisold, Lee, CEREMONY’s Anthony Anzaldo, Nils Blue and Ryan McMahon) starting this week, with ADULT. and Vowws in tow.

Promised Land by Cold Cave

Dark Blue - “Let Me Tell You a New Story” [12XU]

Philly post-punk romanticists Dark Blue -- the dapperly ghoulish supergroup of John Sharkey III of Clockcleaner, Mike Sneeringer of Purling Hiss, and Andy Nelson of CEREMONY -- are looking toward March 22nd for the arrival of their third studio effort Victory Is Rated. Back in January, they previewed the album with its leadoff single “Waterford Crystal”, a listen rich with sharp, prismatic riffs and Madchester scene theatrics amid Sharkey’s grumbling baritone. Its latest, “Let Me Tell You a Story”, is a brighter turn around its corners with jangled guitars sparkling over a bulging rumble of feedback, which prove to be the perfect medium for Sharkey’s howls of pining to see their way through. “Oh baby, let me tell you a new story / Let me tell you of a story on Monday, Tuesday, and weekends, too / I’ll stay here forever / Forever and a day with you,” his voice croons, and when Kurt Vile’s trumpet solo hits, there is no denying that Dark Blue have poured their everything into getting your attention here.

Victory Is Rated by Dark Blue

Hand Habits - “what lovers do” [Saddle Creek]

Hand Habits, the creative moniker of rising exploratory songwriter Meg Duffy, will be releasing their sophomore effort placeholder on March 1st on Saddle Creek, a perfect home for their style of warm, dreamswept indie-folk that puts them in good company along the likes of Big Thief and Tomberlin. We’ve already heard two awe-striking examples of Duffy’s ability to turn a maelstrom of complex emotions on love and loss into gently powerful reflections on the album’s title track and “can’t calm down”. Its latest in “what lovers do” is a slocore-like slowburn where the desire for someone out of reach fans the flames that divide building connection and tempting a long con toward fate .That placeholder was written in the wake of raging California wildfires is observed in the way guitars plume like smoke and there’s a majesty in the destruction. "When the shame baton gets passed back and forth between parties, who is the fool? I could never claim to have a complete understanding,” tells The Fader of the listen.

Jenny Lewis - “Heads Gonna Roll’ [Warner Bros. Records]

This spring, indie scene queen Jenny Lewis will return with her first new album in five years with On the Line. It’s first single arrived at the end of January with the intoxicatingly booming “Red Bull & Hennessy”, and now we get to hear the LP’s opener with recent live staple “Heads Gonna Roll”. As with most of the album, it features guest features from some VIP names in Ringo Starr on drums, Don Was from ‘80s funk rockers (Was) Not Was, and Benmont Trench, keyboardist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Though their execution is done in perfection, the song is entirely Lewis’ to define in only the way she can by walking her storytelling through a hazy, glamorous symphony that doesn’t forget every specific memory of a past tryst. “Smoking Marlboro cigarettes / Almost makes me forget about / Riding on a private jet with you / I hope the sycophants in Marrakesh / Make you feel your very best / Anonymity must make you blue,” she sings. There’ll be none of that later on this month when she she hits the stage on tour.

pronoun - “stay” [Rhyme & Reason]

pronoun is Alyse Vellturo, a Brooklyn-based musician who makes urgent, indulgent indie pop-rock that was born out of breakup and has since caught a cult following in punk circles where she’s toured with a clash of like-minded sounds like Citizen, Turnover, Angel Du$t, and Oso Oso. Her style, though intimate in its fly-on-the-wall eavesdropping into Vellturo’s mind, takes on a bigger-than-life quality because of the way there’s just a one-human force behind it all, and “stay” -- the lead single from her forthcoming debut album i’ll show you stronger, due out on May 24th -- we’re swept away into the eye of her emotive windstorm. “Here comes the deafening silence / I can hear every heart beating / Except for fucking yours and now I'm stuck here and I'm feeling / Like I'm standing in the middle of the road,” he words dash over dotted lines without breath. “Feels like I'm standing in the middle and an eighteen wheeler washed over me.” Her anxious trail of thoughts coupled with shimmering guitar work and the occasional angle colors way outside of brain wavelength in a way where the inevitable collision is nothing short of spectacular.

Sir Babygirl - “Crush On Me” [Father / Daughter Records]

The new year introduced us to Sir Babygirl, the DIY experimental pop project of Kelsie Hogue. Her sound looks toward mainstream influences such as Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen for the blueprints of pop perfection, and then deconstructs them into her own mold as an artist through a homemade work built around guitar loops, synth samples and electronic drums that create earworms with culturally astute commentaries, such as the recent standout “Everyone Is a Bad Friend”. Her debut album Crush On Me was just released yesterday, and along with it, arrives the video for its title track. The listen itself isn’t exactly the same version as you’ll hear on the LP, as that one is a demo that’s just as irresistible with its trap-driven clacking where as this version twirls through ambient feedback loops and an echo chamber of its cheery chorus. Dan Carr directed the visuals, an uncanny watch of a literal meta take on the song title that dizzies the eyes in Hogue’s reflection.

Weyes Blood - “Everyday” [Sub Pop]

The music of Natalie Mering, better known as Weyes Blood, has been smoldering with precision from the psychedelic energy of Southern California’s avant-pop waves for the better part of this decade, with three acclaimed full-lengths officially released under her name. Her forthcoming effort Titanic Rising, due out on April 5th, will be her first for the indie major Sub Pop, and thus far, her latest sonic transformation is shaping up to sound like she’s ready for bigger stages with it. The announcement comes with the album’s second single“Everyday” joining the previously-released cosmic country ballad ‘Andromeda” that has Mering pairing together her free spirit folkisms with a Harry Nillson-esque grandeur, and lamenting a case for love. “It's true, it's true / I see you everyday / But that's not enough,” she sings with sunshine radiance in spite of romance’s rough rodeo. “I got this seeker running along a lonely line / Always trying to make my keeper mine.” Adam Gerber directed the track’s accompanying visuals, which plays on ‘70s stoned out summer camp tropes before turning into a blood bath.

[undercovermcdfan]

dashes and tallies | Vylance, Hatch Marks AU

prompt: Red tallies appear for every person you’ve loved, black for every person you’ve loved that has died, and a white tally for when you meet your soulmate

a/n: so this takes place in the same universe of hatch marks, except I’m focused on Vylance this time! Don’t worry—if I can finally drag myself from this rut, I wanna make a part 2 to Hatch marks. Also BIG shout out to @crybabytime for not only drawing a fantastic comic based off the first fic (I’m in tears) HERE but being the MVP friend and helping me sort much of the HCs put into this fic??? LIKE??? ur da best & really so amazing thank you

warning(s): mention of other relationships (garrance), alcohol consumption, adult themes, again me crying because this au is so cheesy??

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“H-hello? Hello? Uh… um, Vylad? This is Laurance!”

Part of Vylad, a part deep deep deep down wished he hung up the phone the moment he heard the desperate voice that wasn’t his brother on the other end. A part overruled by common courtesy to stay on the line despite the panic setting in and his heart still for but a moment.

Garroth always been a good brother—not the outstanding sort but he wasn’t cruel like their third brother, the middle one, Zane. Simply just a guy who saw life without much worry. And though he loved the elder brother dearly, sometimes…

Sometimes…

Garroth’s antics led to situations like this and Vylad questioning why he went out of his way to help.

You know why, his thoughts shot back, his subconscious pushing back as the memory of Laurance’s thankful when Vylad agree that yes, he’ll fetch his drunken brother from causing more havoc at Dante’s birthday bash, floated into mind. Leaning his head against the cool glass of the uber car’s window, he watched as the quiet residential streets of where his apartment build bled to the lively heart of the city, bright lights and all.

Frankly, there’s a special hell for people like him but he didn’t have the luxury of waiting from his own passing, no, whatever gracious being that watched over him from above must’ve thought his suffering was amusing.

To find attraction in another person was a natural occurrence—and for the longest, Vylad thought he must’ve been one of the lucky individuals who didn’t have to go through it romantically. He seen the trouble love could cause, and as the years went, his skin went unblemished with a marking. Acquaintances never crossed the threshold into friendship, and because his life enveloped by the overprotective mother and embarrassed step-father, he never sought out opportunity to find any meaningful connections.

All this, living in apartment without Garte’s heavy breathing down his neck or his mother’s insistence he kept close, with Garroth who went from a distant brother that would appear every now and again between extracurricular activities to being as much of best friend a sibling could be… this was new.

They met Laurance through Cadenza, the heiress to the Zvahl corporation—a new competition that even made Garte sweat in nervousness. From Joh’s innovative and charming persona that wooed many sponsors away from the Ro’meaves Inc. to the brilliant, outspoken daughter who already gracing business magazine covers to… the mysterious adopted son who kept out of the spot light and rumored buzzed among the old money elites his family surrounded themselves with. Cadenza was bright-eyed, beautiful girl, but Garte muttered under his breath, “Watch yourselves. She’s a cunning one.” She worked the party, occasionally returning to them with a gleaming smile and checking in, sweet compliments rolling off the tongue.

The third work around, she brought him.

Fiddling with his cufflinks and before they stepped into ear shot, Vylad could tell the two were in a heated discussion. To this day, he wondered: did he share a distain for his family? Did he hate the outfit he wore? Or the party in general? The mystery man Cadenza brought looked out of place, uncomfortable.

And it’s when he felt that heart racing, tied-tongue feeling.

“Hello.” A bright smile not unlike Cadenza’s, though more forced, as he offered an outreach hand to Garroth, who was just as much swept up in the man’s grace, “I’m Laurance.”

His hand was warm, firmly shaking Vylad’s after Garroth and a simple nod towards Zane when his apathetic brother opts to grunted a “hello” rather than taking his hand.

After the greeting, a brief formal chat, Laurance was eventually lead away by his oldest brother. It’s then when Vylad realized there was an almost pull… a small flicker of jealousy of wishing he stepped up first and did so. But that was out of character, he was the quiet, well behaved step-child of Garte who held nothing in power but his name, not the privileged heir that was Garroth.

Vylad sighed.

A few days after that fancy dinner, Garroth pulled him aside, “Hey, Vylad could you clear out for an afternoon? I’m inviting Laurance over and…”

To his credit, Laurance and Garroth have been dating for months now and apart from a few run ins here and there, once in their apartment lobby and once after Laurance dropping off Garroth off, the two sharing a parting kiss before they said their goodbyes, Vylad steered clear of Laurance.

In person.

Sadly, online, it was a different story. He never really found much use with keeping up with any of his accounts but after the dinner and a moment of weakness, he accepted Laurance’s obligatory friend request.

Some days he thought, his actions might border strange—he’d never like a photo or post Laurance made, but would linger for a thoughtful moment or two. Eyes lit up when the other mentioned a show he enjoyed, or funny pictures he taken, or the more candid pictures he retweeted from his friends and…

“Garroth has rather good taste, doesn’t he?” Zianna, his mother, exclaimed excitedly once to him as she scrolled through Laurance’s profile. She claimed it was her ‘motherly’ duty to just see what kind of men her precious eldest got involved with but Vylad knew it was her being nosy without directly pestering his brother.

Though—if they were talking from an aesthetically pleasing point of view, Vylad readily agreed Laurance did look good. He struck as a natural at posing in his candid picture and the sort of smile that warm, easy, infectious if you saw him in real life. The kind of smile Vylad liked to see more in person, if… he ever worked the courage.

Well, unless I commit to this plan of getting in and getting out as fast as possible… this could be my chance to talk to him. He fiddled with his scarf, readjusting it to properly cover his neck. I should stop thinking like this. Laurance… is Garroth’s… We aren’t high school rivals, no need to boyfriend steal.

Even if I saw him first. Even if he might be my…  

He paused.

I can’–

“Sir,” the gruff voice of the driver impatiently grunted, “your destination. Sir.”

Vylad sighed, reaching into his wallet.

“VYLAD,” Dante managed to startled him despite the loud pulsating music that filled the small space of Dante’s apartment. With glasses that lit up in the dark, a skewed birthday hat and stripped down to a tank top and… swimming shorts? the extroverted blue haired man all but threw himself at Vylad the moment he saw him, “DUDE I THOUGHT YOU WEREN’T GOING TO MAKE IT.”

Vylad grimaced and glanced around. Not many familiar faces—Lucinda, a popular fashion guru who slung an arm around a pretty redhead girl, a woman named Katelyn who he remembered seeing in Zane’s office (never happily) sulking on a couch and… he sighed when he saw a familiar Zenix and Sasha dart through the crowd, a third person hot on their tail as the two laugh obnoxiously.

Not exactly my scene. “I wasn’t planning to. I’m here to pick up my brother—have you seen him?”

Dante furrowed his brow, “WHAT?”

“My brother. Garroth? You know, MY BRO— “

Dante held up a hand, cutting him off as he shook his head, “You don’t need to yell, I—okay, sorry. Forgot, bad sense of humor,” he rolled his eyes, just as Vylad’s stare held its scowl, “You can find Garroth… um. Actually, last I saw him, he was hanging in the hot tub with Aphmau but… okay wait, follow me!”

This was tiring.

This was terrible.

Following Dante through the crowd, he continued find words to describe how this party, disco lights reflecting pretty colors and the room felt almost suffocating with the strange smell in the air—

Oh. Well there goes for avoiding Laurance.

Dante tapped Laurance’s shoulder, throwing an arm around him for side hug as he leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Beside him, a white-haired man almost as tall as Laurance’s lanky stature fidgeted with a red cup for a moment before sharing a look with Laurance and striding off in direction of Katelyn on the couch.

“Vylad, this is Lau— “

Laurance, shoving Dante’s face away, and turning enough to properly see Vylad, he gives a bright smile, more genuine than the one when they first met. “We already met. Now scram, dude—I heard K.C. was looking for you.”

“Ehhh,” Dante hung off Laurance’s shoulder, pouting, “Why do you treat me like this? Before Travis and Garroth, I use to be your main man!”

“And you still are. Just need you to be less clingy,” he managed to detached from Dante’s grasp and with a defeated look, the birthday boy conceded his defeat.

Not without the dramatics though, “Whatever. You still owe me an after-Birthday hangover breakfast tomorrow morning. I’m getting that breakfast burrito supreme!” And like a bumbling gazelle, Dante was gone.

In that moment, Vylad was acutely aware of a few things. His heart loud beats could drown out the music. Laurance was just as tall as his memory serves him. And the tongue-tied feeling wasn’t a one-time thing.

“Vylad, I’m so sorry for this short notice,” Laurance started, digging his pocket to pull out a familiar black smart phone, “Garroth… is somewhere. He told me something a hot tub and kind of handed me this and his wallet.”

Dropping the phone and case in his hands, Vylad pocketed them immediately, before shrugging, “It’s no issue. It’s better if I take him home before he really does something stupid…” Vylad paused, noticing the look in Laurance’s eyes, “…What did my brother do?”

“A lot of things. I have things to explain and apologize for to my sister and her girlfriend type things,” Laurance shook his head, massaging his temple before giving a sheepish smile, “No offense. To your brother, I mean. Garroth is usually such a… great guy. I guess alcohol is his vice.”

Vylad frowned, concerned for what his brother might’ve done rivaled concerned what his brother might’ve done to Laurance. Or said. Or whatever reason that caused this sour expression. “I apologize. He’s never was one to handle his drink.” Vylad couldn’t handle holding contact with Laurance for so long, his gaze connected for a moment with those baby blues before scanning the crowd.

“Or bottle, for the matter.” Laurance muttered, voice muffled by the music.

“What?”

He waved his hand, before resting it on his shoulder, “Never mind me. I’m a bit on the tipsy side of things but… I think it’s time for us to find that heir and drag him home before he breaks something else.”

“Break something else?” Vylad tilted his head suspiciously and in worry, looking up at Laurance.

Laurance, on the other hand, cracked a wide smile, teeth and all before pressing his lips together with his pointer finger, “Shh. I left some cash in Dante’s room for what Garroth broke—not even Dante know it’s broken yet,” his blue eyes sparkled with mischief, “I’m trusting you to keep my secret.” Because he lowered his voice, Laurance had to lean closer and Vylad could only jerk his head up and down, nodding Yes, not trusting his words.

Satisfied with the answer, Laurance grabbed his hand, pulling him deeper into the crowd— “Usually it would be faster to separate and find him but Dante sometimes invite shady people. Or Zenix might pick you as a pickpocket victim. Either way, just stay close.”—and again, Vylad could only nod yes, stumbling in after him.

“B-But, Laurance,” Garroth whined, his arms looped around him in a similar manner Dante did to Laurance before. Yet Laurance looked unbothered. “Please. Don’t… do that.” Garroth poked at Laurance’s cheek for his frown.

“Garroth, I—okay, fine,” Laurance said defeated, as he combed through his boyfriend’s blond hair, “This’ll be a conversation for tomorrow.”

“Yes. My win.”

Vylad stopped watching in the mirror as the two proceed to share another kiss, sinking lower in his front seat. He questioned whether letting Laurance ride back to the apartment was a good idea—but one look, the kind that conveyed ‘I’m tired of this’ coupled with Garroth’s clinginess, Vylad conceded quickly.

Watching the street lights go by, he could only think of one thing: fuck.  

The sight was strange, seeing Laurance standing there, squinting at the bottle in hand.

But what made Vylad hesitate from going back into his room and instead take a brave step forward was because at that moment, even with his drunken brother sleeping not so quietly on the couch… Laurance looked… lonely?

“Um…” Vylad licked his lips, gesturing to the bottle in the other’s hand, “I thought you said you drank enough for tonight.”

Laurance laughed, a soft one, settling on the floor and patting the space beside him. “Nope. I’m sure I said I was tipsy… but our little search party for the prince in distress kind of sobered me up,” he paused, leaning against the couch with his expression falling into something more complicated, “And after tonight…? I need it.”

Vylad settled beside him, eyeing the bottle still. It wasn’t one of their finer ones, and it wouldn’t be a reason to pry the bottle away from Laurance but he felt off. Yet, he didn’t speak up as Laurance cracked it open and took a small swig.

Silence settled between them, Vylad sneaking glancing at Laurance and Laurance staring blankly ahead. It was only broken when he suddenly offered Vylad a sip with “a penny for your thoughts?”

“Oh, um,” Vylad quickly shook his head, “No, no. I only drink when I have to. For, um, business dinner stuff.”

“Smart boy,” Laurance grinned at him, lifting the bottle again and squinted it, “this taste fine, but I understand why, after seeing what happens to your brother.”

“What happened at Dante’s was nothing to what I heard he done in college,” Vylad shrugged leaning his cheek against the couch as he stared at his resting brother that occasionally tossed and turned, “The frats would throw wild parties and… Garroth is a little too gullible at times.”

Laurance snorted, before taking another swig effortlessly, “After tonight, I believe you completely.”

“And you’re right.”

He gave Vylad a raised brow. “You were right because Garroth is probably the reason why I… don’t casually drink.”

Seeing the genuine smile, then the laughter that followed warmed him in a way he couldn’t described, and he was right; Laurance’s smile was infectious. He could feel the corners of his lips lifting, then chuckling.

“Aw man! I mean,” Laurance as he started to calm down, he shot him an amused look, “sometimes the most fun drunks are the serious ones, you know. And if not, if you had his carefree dancing skills…” Laurance whistled, raising the bottle, “Man, you’d be the life of the party.”

“Really?” Vylad with a deadpanned look.

“Okay,” Laurance had a playful smile, lowered the bottle and turning more towards him, “my sense of ‘life of the party’ might be a little skewed.”

He continued with the look.

“Okay…” Laurance raised his hands in defeat, “I mean, at least he had fun at the end of the day.” Vylad nodded, content with his win and soon, he finds conversation flowed easily between them.

The two traded facts about each other, as their conversation turned from Garroth to each other, and Laurance admitting his curiosity.

“You barely use your accounts, nor ever online.”

“It’s mostly for my freelance work and how people can easily contact me.”

“Freelance? Don’t work for your dad?”

“Yes and no— “

And their discussions continued like for a long while.

Vylad grown a little confident as Laurance put away the bottle, and find himself scooting closer and closer. Their voices grew soft, cushioned by the need of sleep but their want to talk. It wasn’t long until the two were within each other’s space rather than starting off with him by Garroth and Vylad by the end of the couch.

The only noise now that disturbed the air was Garroth’s snore. While minutes ago, Vylad felt a second away from sleep, now sat attentive and hands balled in his lap as Laurance, eyes half lidded, continue to lean close.

So close.

What are you doing? He thinks to himself, as Vylad tilted his face up, almost entranced by how Laurance looked and suppressed the chill that ran down his back as a finger trailed down his jaw, cupping his chin.

Vylad wasn’t well versed in social cues but he knew when a kiss was coming. The way their bodies shifted closer, the way weight Vylad didn’t know existed lifted from his shoulder, and he wondered if Laurance could hear his thundering heart.

He closed his eyes and he started to lean in.

What are you doing?

“W-wait,” a hand stops his moving in, and Vylad’s eyes fly open, cheeks flushed red flushed even redder. “I… I can’t do this, Vylad. Your brother. He’s right there.”

“…” Vylad recoiled even more, unable now to meet with Laurance’s eyes but the other still attempted to touch his hand.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t m-mean to lead you on. I just,” Laurance then touched his cheek in a gesture to look up but Vylad away further, rising to his feet, “This is my fault. I’m so—wait, Vylad, wait!”

He always prided himself of his quickness and while he felt nothing but shame at this moment, Vylad was already in his room by the time a slightly swaying Laurance could get to his feet.

“Vylad, I’m sorry!” was the last he heard before he locked the door.

Leans against it, almost straining to hear the other side of the dense door. No movement. Not a peep.

His hands lifted to his neck, before tearing off the scarf his wore over it. Vylad walked over to his mirror and craning it slightly, he checked the tally on it.

White.

He wondered if it was normal for it to feel like it’s tingling, the pull to Laurance was still there. He felt… regretful more than angry. And because of that, he felt more shame with how he regretted not going in for the kiss, to kiss his brother’s boyfriend, without a shed of remorse.

He squeezed his eyes shut, settling on his bed before flopping back.

“Well I guess avoiding him has gotten way easier,” he mumbled to himself, while Vylad didn’t see Laurance’s face, he’d imagine something close to guilt and heartbreak for Garroth’s sake, that he almost…

He squeezed his eyes tighter.

What was I thinking?

Laurance leaned his forehead against the door, his hand on the handle.

The moment it slammed shut and the audible click of the locking mechanism… Laurance felt the plead die at his throat.

Vylad looked… almost in pain the moment his eyes opened and realized what they were about to do. Humiliation. It was a gut reaction, for the last second before they could press their lips together, he remembered Garroth.

His… well, his soon to be ex, boyfriend. After tonight.

During the night, since the moment Garroth admitted the reason why he hadn’t shown Laurance his tallies was because… he didn’t have a white one to match Laurance’s white. He never directly lied to Laurance’s face, saying he did have a red one, to match Laurance’s red but.

That would explain so much.

He remembered his father once described, finding your soulmate, there was a natural pull to each other.

And Laurance was fond of Garroth, given different circumstances, he’d even say he’d grow to love the blond. But as he returned to the couch, he cask a look the resting blond as he sorts through his thoughts.

He felt connected to Vylad within a few hours versus the months he spent time with Garroth.

A pull.

He would even come to say, the pleasure of getting to know the quiet Ro’meave felt more fun than he had at the party. And the near kiss…

Laurance touched his own lips, frowning. They looked really soft. I wonder if they feel the same.

He glanced towards the hallway Vylad ran down, still frowning. I’m so screwed. What have I done?

Laurance didn’t know for sure.

But he wanted to know; the night of the dinner, he only gotten two new tallies. A red and a white.

If Garroth wasn’t the white…

“I hope I’m not wrong.”