#oooh this is exactly my type of jam

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Sugar - Secret (Single) and Sweet Lips (album)

Honestly they started off really well! Secret was nice, and the first three songs on the album were great, and then Sweet Day brought it all down and it never really went back up. Man of Man was definitely the standout, I really really enjoyed it. If their group has a dedicated rapper then I feel bad for her, she only got raps in like three or four songs. Like, Mr. Unnamed Rapper had as many rap lines as she did! I feel like they put all the creativity into the first songs and then just shoved all the rest into the end of the album. The guitar lines were great throughout though, whoever the producer is knows how to use guitar. Average score of 6.7 which is lower than M.I.L.K, but the songs that I enjoyed most from this album were better than my favorites from M.I.L.K

Secret

Apparently this song 1) has a MV and 2) won a MAMA which is pretty cool, that’s why I’m even watching it in the first place

The MV was nothing special by modern sensibilities, but the choreo looked fun

Styling was pretty girl crush

As usual, the intro for some reason is way better than the rest of the song

Still, the song was alright, I vibed, and this could definitely get stuck in my head

7/10

남 의 남자 (Man of Man)

Groovy

Whatever happened to this type of synth sound anyway? Did music just collectively decide to “grow out of” fun synths?

“Did you enjoy that?” Yeah, I did actually, this is fun

r&b tendencies, with that ridiculous synth in the background

Oooh this guitar is actually really good. This is a good song.

9/10

현명한 이별 (Wise Farewell)

This is the only one on the album with an MV, so I guess it’s the TT

Wait why do they look like they’re in a laundry machine and why are they so sad

I love the guitar

I’m torn between enjoying this song and not enjoying this song

The dance scenes are pretty cool

The vocals feel kind of anime outro to me, but the guitar is super classical

7/10, wish I had a better quality version

No Way

Dude how is every song so far totally different? This album is like a breath of fresh air compared to M.I.L.K

They do love their clean guitar plucks though

Pre-chorus is cool, chorus is fun

What is it with introducing a rock guitar just for the rap break? And why do they always introduce unnamed male rappers into a girl group song? This is exactly like M.I.L.K

Ohhh but we do keep the guitar around for the next chorus, that’s cool

And now he’s rapping over the clean guitar! I like the trade-offs

8/10, this won me over

Sweet Day

Here we go, this is the slow jam we were all waiting for

And as usual with slow jams, I have no comments, because I just do not find this style of music very interesting

I wonder if the album cover art is actually the members’ lips, that would be kinda cool but also a little weird

5/10, blindingly average

달콤한 상상 (Sweet Imagination)

I think she’s speaking English in the intro but I couldn’t catch what she said

Oh I heard that growl on the “oh baby,” that’s cool

I’m getting ‘Cause I’m Your Girl vibes from this song

The ad-libs are the best part of the song but honestly… I’m not convinced

6/10

Accident

Bassy

Yeah, you can tell we’ve hit the middle of the album when the songs start to blend into each other

Thing is, if you gave this an MV and put it at the beginning of the album I’d be like “yeah that’s title track material”

It does sound very Destiny’s Child to me for some reason

A purely instrumental bridge with vocalizations in the background? I guess that’s cool

And the synth continues into this verse, nice

6/10, mid, I want something creative and interesting to catch my attention. I just listened to Kiss of Life’s new album earlier today and every song was super distinct and had its own identity. I guess that’s easier for an EP to do though, to be fair.

The Boy Is Mine

Woah that title though haha

“Hey baby wassup?”

“How old are you? 21?? Girl you growin too fast! Nah I’m just playin with you babe”

Seriously though what’s up with introducing these random male rappers? I guess in this case though he’s just speaking

This instrumentation feels super broadway to me

Bit of vocal growl

Well this chorus kind of came out of nowhere

Strings? Don’t really fit imo

Mmm we love the whispers

Okay wait the bass with these strings in the post-chorus and rap section is great. Plus the vocalizing over the rapper? Good stuff

You can tell by my increase of comments that I’m liking this one more

Yeah I still don’t buy the chorus. It feels completely out of place compared to the moody verses

That outro was hot

8/10

Prism

Hmm

These vocals are very different from what we’ve had so far

Almost j-pop? Anime? AKB?

Nothing about the instrumentation sticks out to me though. The bass exists, the strings exist, the background exists, I guess it feels prism-y but it’s not doing anything special for me.

NMIXX CHANGE UP holy shit

Dude what the actual hell, at least Nmixx have the decency to try and make it sound cohesive

This song is so blindingly mid that even the nmixx moment was mid

5/10

The Way

Liking this guitar

Aaaaand there it goes, now we’re in slow jam town

I guess the harmonies are cute

The guitar is back, I like it

It feels a bit too loud in the mix during the chorus but I think I like that

Okay frfr though why does this remind me of Pomp and Circumstance

I guess the outro was okay

6/10

Only One

The chorus is not the same song as the verse and you cannot convince me otherwise

Oooh a proper girl group rap break, we haven’t had one of those yet have we?

The violins here feel super cheesy

The voice doubling on the “you are the only one” is cool

We love singing over a rap break

Yeah think song just gets better as it goes on I guess. Still not amazing but I’ll give it

7/10

Baby Boy

I don’t know what to make of this intro yet

This is quite the extended intro too

The guitar in my right ear is so pretty, can we get more of that in the mix?

Also they’re definitely taking advantage of the stereo audio here which kind of annoys me, I much prefer mono

Forgettable chorus

Okay for real though if there was a song on this album that was exclusively guitar, I’d vibe so hard to that. They do the guitars so well

Another proper rap break, I guess they just saved them for the end of the album lol

7/10

Temptation

Last song on the album, let’s see what we get

Not impressed by the intro so far

This feels almost In Love With A Ghost for some reason?

This song does not feel like it should be called “Temptation,” where’s the sultry and the seduction?

I guess there’s a bit of bow-chicka-wow-wow

Yeah I am not impressed by this as the last song

Oh, there’s our unnamed male rapper!

Random ballad section for the bridge

6/10

[foreignswaggersession]

Review - Golden Child - Game Changer (Part I)

Ever since the Re-boot era started, I’ve been a sad Goldenness. Despite their increased sales and public recognition, I haven’t been able to get excited about a Golcha title track since “Genie”. I feel like the Negative Nancy of the fandom, unable to muster anything nice to say when presented with yet another gloomy dark concept from my comfort faves. It’s just me and maybe 3 other people who prefer the Bright Child era from 2017-2018 (“It’s U” is still their best title track please argue with the wall). Now, Golcha has never slacked on their b-sides - one always makes the top 3 of my year-end lists – but I miss the days of actually enjoying and praising their releases (and I do love my choreo). All I wanted was for Golden Child to be fun again. Well, my prayers have finally been answered with their best album yet, Game Changer.

Game Changer is exactly what it says it is. Golcha is back to being fun and exciting, giving us an album to close out the hot girl summer. I’m used to getting heat from Golden Child in 3-5 song increments, but this is the first time I’ve gotten 10 🔥🔥🔥 tracks all at once. I’m quite overwhelmed, tbh, so this will be a 2-part review (yes we are discussing every song).

Part I – Group Songs

Ra Pam Pam – I finally like a Golcha title track on first listen again! It’s like Woollim realized that “Burn It” was boring af and learned how to make Golcha sound mature while giving me something to dance to. K-pop’s been chasing the Latin trend recently, and “Ra Pam Pam” is a sexy yet powerful Caribbean-inspired summer hit. The “wooooh oooh teong bin i bameul chaeweo / wooooh oooh garojilleojilleo yeah” has been stuck in my head since it came out. Of course, the “ra pam pam” hook gives me “damdadidam” feels – a queen citing a queen for inspiration, we love to see it.

Bottom of the Ocean – Who put country in my k-pop? Golden Child always has a song pandering to the Bright Child stans, and I’ll always love them for it. This is a bright and fun summer jam (even if it sounds like it could be in a Ford commercial with the constant cowbell). Honestly, I did not have Woollim catering to the English-speaking market on my bingo card, but it’s a pretty good addition to the current crop of English-language songs. Because it’s in English (their pronunciation is great, btw), the lyrics have been killing me – “I wanna see what her mama made” – I cannot. Anyway, “Bottom of the Ocean” is cheesy, it’s cute, and it scratches my old-school Golcha itch.

Fanfare – OMFG. Golden Child’s last album had the dance bangers “Cool Cool” and “Round and Round,” and they somehow combined the two to form the perfect song with “Fanfare”. I already think disco is the greatest genre of all time, and the bass line, piano chords, and horns make this song shine. How can you not dance to this? If Woollim loved me I would get a dance mv for this, but at least there’s choreo since they’re promoting it as the b-side. Side note –whatever they’re putting in Jibeom’s vocals is bad for my blood pressure, he’s coming for my bias list.

Spell – Lordy, not two GOAT songs on one album – they’re spoiling me now. This is the type of high-octane track I love from this group (“Eyes On You” is still my favorite Golcha song…but “Spell” is coming for that spot). “Spell” has “Fanfare”-level energy on a galactic level. The vocals and vocal layering are insane – I’m so impressed with each member’s range, especially with the ad-libs (and Daeyeol at the end is 😍). Full8loom, the production team responsible for “Don’t Run Away” and the best of WJSN, never ever disappoints. Also let’s talk about these lyrics … talmbout some “if you want / you can use me / if you nod your head.” Why are they wildin’ like this? (I’m very much here for it tho)

I Know – Aw yeah, “All Day” 2.0, let’s get it. These types of ballads are where Golden Child’s strong vocal line shines – most groups of their size can’t say that most of their members can sing (y’all know I’m right, don’t lie). The instrumental has a strong beat to keep the song from being dull, and the music builds through the verses and pre-chorus to make the release of the chorus feel like a relaxing exhale. “I Know” is a warm closer to the album that proves that Golden Child have mastered the ballad genre.

Part 2

[stillebesat]

The Interview (5/5)

Sanders Sides: Logan, Patton, Virgil, Roman Blurb: A normal day at StoryTime! Inc. takes an unexpected turn when Logan goes to investigate why his coworkers have made a bet using Crofters as the prize. Fic Type: General, Human!AU Warnings: None

To Catch Up: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 

Logan hadn’t meant to stay for the entire negotiations on Roman’s commission. He could have easily excused himself from the room as soon as he’d pulled up the proper forms for Virgil to read through, negotiate, and then sign.

After all, he had his own pile of work that needed to be seen to before the day was over and Roman was quite capable of hiring his own employees. 

And yet.

He couldn’t help but be intrigued by what Virgil requested in exchange for each character piece that his brother wanted.

Virgil hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d followed Thomas from the beginning, and Logan should have realized when their new hire admitted to having theories on there being Two Princes at StoryTime! that he would be familiar with their work and placement within the company as well.

For Virgil had set to bartering with his brother like they were traders arguing over goods in the market. 

And those goods...were their respective skill sets. For every artwork Roman wanted, Virgil had ended up negotiating what had amounted to practically a month’s worth of various lessons from The Prince himself. That didn’t mean just learning more drawing or animating techniques. Their new hire had also convinced Roman to give him a handful of acting lessons, one singing lesson, a sneak peak at a couple of scripts his brother was working on, and a copy of Roman’s Broadway performances Logan had secretly recorded before they’d been hired onto StoryTime!.

How Virgil knew about those recordings Logan had no idea. He��d kept those tapes under wraps...so he’d thought. 

But not once did a monetary value cross Virgil’s lips as the price for his work as he carefully took notes on his beat up phone of every detail his brother wanted.

Logan was sure their new hire could have used the cash, but to have him seeking to improve his skills was admirable. Plus, the amount of questions he asked showed that Virgil was willing to put in the work to make Roman happy, though it was very apparent that his brother, from the ragged state of his usually perfectly styled hair, hadn’t expected him to go into quite so much detail about what he wanted in each artwork. 

Virgil pulled at the tie around his neck, loosening it to the point where it looked more like a shiny ribbon than a tie. “But Princey.” He argued, his eyes sparking with the fire Logan had seen down below as he leaned forward, pushing the sleeves of his suit up. “You have to pick one face of the Mayor.”

Roman buried his head in his hands. “I knoooooow, Stormcloud! Stop badgering me. I didn’t expect that I would need to!” 

Virgil scoffed, tapping his phone screen. “You didn’t expe--have you ever done commissions before, Romanji? You’re basically the driving force of StoryTime! and you can’t decide on a face? Where is this ‘You push on! No matter the hardship! No matter the voice that tells you you can’t!” 

His brother pointed a finger at Virgil without looking up. “Don’t you DARE quote Psycho Godfather Wars at me! GAH!” 

Logan fought back a laugh as he shook his head, pulling the portfolio closer to him. “Honestly Roman, the solution to which face of the Mayor should wear is simple.” 

“Simple!” Roman scoffed, twisting in his chair to him, throwing his arms out. “How can such a choice be considered simple!”

He raised an eyebrow. Well, it would have been a simple solution if he hadn’t distracted Roman from looking through Virgil’s entire portfolio. A pity. He would need to ensure his brother properly looked through it later tonight. “Virgil’s portfolio already contains the answer to your problem.”

“My artwork? Sure it’s--” Virgil ran a hand through his hair, flushing. “ah...g-good and all, but I don’t see how--”

Artists. Logan flipped open the page to the green basilisk from earlier, sliding it to them with a faint smile. 

Virgil stared at it wide eyed before face palming. “OF COURSE!” 

“Of course?” Roman leaned forward. “How does--” 

Virgil shook his head. “It will probably take a bit of trial and error.” He said leaning forward. “But” He shifted the paper, so Roman could see the basilisk’s scales switch from green to white. “If I can get it to work on the head--”

“We can have the Mayor wear both faces at once! Virgil you genius!” Roman clapped him on the back before eagerly pulling the artwork to him. “How in the world did you do this? You gotta teach me!”

“Te--Teach you?” Virgil managed, going pale as he rubbed the spot Roman had touched.

Logan sat back, adjusting his glasses as his brother nodded, his eyes racing over the page while he shifted the paper back and forth. “It’s an ink right? But almost like paint--this is like ah!” Roman snapped his fingers. “Specs! Do you remember in school--with the gel pens?”

How could he forget? Logan pulled the pages of Virgil’s contract from the printer, ensuring they were all there and in order before he tapped them into a neat pile. “You mean the markers you filled with glitter that--”

“Caused Miss Mary Lee to sparkle for a month straight when one exploded? YES!” Roman chuckled. “She banned me from markers for the rest of the school year.” 

Which was unfortunate because she couldn’t tell him and Roman apart so Logan too had been banned from them that year. He quirked an eyebrow. “Not that it stopped you from ruining the crayons, the colored pencils, the regular pencils, every pen you touched, the chalk, the--”

“Seriously?” Virgil’s brought a fist to his lips, but not before a soft laugh broke free. “Princey, are you sure you’re not a Demon? A Destroyer of Creativity?”

Roman shot to his feet with an offended gasp. “HOW DARE YOU! I AM--”

“Definitely all those and more.” Logan interceded as Virgil jerked back, wide eyed. “At least, he was as a child.” He allowed. “He’s improved slightly since then.” He smirked, raising an eyebrow to Roman. “Slightly.” 

His brother jerked a hand to his heart as if he’d been stabbed. “Traitor! I haven’t broken a pen in-” 

“He’s not dead, Reese.” Patton’s tiny voice piped up from Logan’s watch. 

“Wanna bet your famous pasta on that?” Her voice asked into the silence. “He’s totally been taken by a Vampire.” 

“Vampire?” Virgil asked, glancing around for the source of the voices.

Roman’s lowered his hands, a smirk playing on his lips. “Oooh? You didn’t tell me the others are interested in our new hire.” 

Virgil paled. “Others?” 

Logan exhaled, silencing his watch. He had stayed too long. He should have realized his team would get suspicious with his long absence. “And if I say yes?”

Roman’s smile grew, humor dancing in his eyes as he leaned in. “Then I would ask why exactly did you go find my new hire, Lo?”

Logan shrugged a shoulder, moving to stand so he was on the same eye level as Roman. He would need to tread carefully here. But it wasn’t like Virgil wouldn’t find out eventually. “As I told Virgil earlier, it was noted that he’d been outside for quite some time.” 

“And you went to investigate?” His brother raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “You don’t go outside Specs.”

Logan rolled his eyes, fiddling with his glasses. “You know for a fact that I do.”

“Not before dusk. Maybe you’re a vampire after all.” 

Of course his brother would make them go through such a silly conversation. He turned away, breaking eye contact as he slipped Virgil’s contract into a folder and handed it to Roman “Make sure Virgl reads, negotiates the proper terms and signs this before he leaves as I regrettably-” and it was regrettable as watching Virgil interact with Roman was far more fascinating than crunching numbers and managing budgets. “-have to return to my own department.” 

“Right right, but don’t ignore the fact that you’re avoiding my accusation brother dear.” Roman grinned, taking the contract with a nod. “Did you actually become a vampire and not tell me? Rude!”

Hardly. Though with everyone’s apparent obsession with the creatures Logan could foresee their MC being a vampire in StoryTime!’s next movie. “As Virgil can attest, I was fine standing in the sun. So obviously, I am not a vampire.” 

 “I dunno…” Virgil licked his lips, a careful humor all too similar to Roman’s sparking in his mismatched eyes as he pushed down his sleeves. “The forums did circle that particular rumor around for a while a couple years ago about you, Specs. But what is this...uh...bet? Why did you come outside to..well...see me…” He tilted his head, rubbing his arm as he studied Logan. “If you don’t usually leave?” 

Roman suddenly smirked, laying the contract on the desk near his commission notes. “Ooooh. If I didn’t know better I would say this probably involves….” He paused for dramatic effect. “Cofters.”

Despite himself, Logan flinched. “No!” He denied, though from the way Roman’s eyes lit up, he’d negated the accusation too quickly for it to be believable. 

Virgil frowned, looking between the two. “Crofters? The Movie?”

“The jam.” Roman clarified. “Lo here’s obsessed with the stuff. Come on.” He advanced around the desk as Logan took two short steps backwards towards the door to stay out of range. “Tell us brother mine. Why did Crofters make you go outside for my interviewee?”

 Logan cleared his throat. “For the record I didn’t know who Virgil was or his purpose for being here when I ventured outside.”

“But you had your suspicions.” Their new hire said, shifting in his seat. “You asked if I was here for an interview.”

Logan nodded. “Yes, your portfolio was enough of an indication of that and Roman has lost people in his department recently, so it was a simple enough conjecture to assume you were here to interview with him.” 

“Even so, dozens upon dozens of people holding portfolios have passed beneath our windows.” Roman stated, gesturing out his own windows. “Why then would you choose to interfere with my interview when you told, nay, you promised me you wouldn--”

“Alright!” Logan shook his head, spreading his arms in surrender. “I admit Crofters was the motivator for why I went outside but it had nothing, and I repeat, nothing.” He met Virgil’s mismatched eyes. “To do with me hiring you. You earned your spot at StoryTime!, Virgil. You have the talent and skill of one who’s worked with us for years. There’s no doubt there. Crofters had nothing to do with it.” He gestured to his watch. “While there are friendly bets that take place among the people who work here; policy, as is more fully outlined in your contract, dictates that said bets never involve work related matters. Since you are our new hire, no bets can be made about you or your work from here on out.”

Virgil let out an unsteady breath, giving a shallow nod. “Okay...good..yah...good to know…” He pulled the tie from around his neck, twisting it among his fingers. “So you...so this...bet?” 

“Was between Patton and Reese on whether or not you would come inside the building, nothing more.” Logan said simply.

Roman blinked. “Come inside? Why wouldn’t he come inside?”

“Because the forums made you out to be freaking terrifying, Princey.” Virgil muttered.

His brother inhaled...hesitated then sheepishly shrugged. “Okay, That I can’t deny. I have a vision after all! I can’t settle for second rate!”  

That was accurate on both accounts. Hence Roman’s intense pre-interview requirements for each application. Logan shifted a step closer to the door. “Regardless, your loitering outside drew their attention and so the bet was made.” 

“Right on me...coming inside.” Virgil ran his fingers through his hair, the careful humor coming back into his eyes. “So who won?” 

Roman snapped his fingers. “Patton.” 

Logan nodded, not at all surprised he had guessed correctly. “Yes. He was quite adamant that Virgil would come inside. Offering up six jars of Crofters and his triple death by chocolate brownies before I was made aware of the situation.” 

His brother whistled, clapping Virgil on the shoulder. “SIX. EmoKnightmare you already have Patton’s heart! He never goes above three.” 

Virgil flushed, fidgeting in his chair. “So...Reese?” 

“Bet that you would not come in, yes, but do not take that to heart.” Logan said. “She enjoys being contrary as you’ll find out soon enough.” Once Virgil signed the paperwork and finished the basic training, he would be given a full tour around StoryTime! and introduced to the various teams. After all, Virgil couldn’t become part of the FamILY if he didn’t meet everyone. 

“Ten more minutes and I’m calling it. R.I.P to Specs. He had a good run.” Reese piped up from the watch. 

Logan exhaled, straightening his tie. “That, I believe, is my cue to go assure the others that I am not dead and not a vampire.” 

Virgil smirked, shoulders relaxing. “Being a vampire technically means you’re dead, well undead, but go off I guess.” 

Logan rolled his eyes. “Finish your commission talk you two, and Roman.” He pointed a finger at his brother. “I expect Virgil’s signed contract on my desk before I leave.”

“Easy enough.” Roman winked returning to his chair. “Considering you never leave.” 

He wasn’t going to live that down anytime soon was he? Logan gave them a nod. “Virgil, it’s been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing your work here at StoryTime!.”

“Ah..yah..thanks…” Virgil rubbed the back of his head, giving him a half smile. “Cya around Specs.”

With the niceties over, Logan slipped outside, heading back to his own office. Of how he had expected his day to go, this momentary distraction with Virgil had been-

“HE LIVES!!” Callie cheered as he entered the room.

“I do indeed...why would you assume I did not?” Logan asked, briefly meeting Patton’s worried gaze and offered him a small smile. 

Patton straightened, giving him a blindingly wide grin in return as he laid his sketchpad on the nearest desk.

“Because you were gone for forever that’s why!” Reese stated swiveling to him. “Soooo?” 

“So?” Logan rolled down his sleeves as she threw her hands out with a scoff. 

“Weeeeelllll, what happened Specs? Is the kid any good at all or did you just want Patton to win the bet?” 

“Virgil has been hired on as StoryTime!’s newest member of the FamILY.” He said matter of factly, glancing to Patton and Callie as they cheered.

“YES!” Patton pumped his fist. “I knew you could do it, kiddo!” He stood, looking around. “Where is he? Can I meet him?”

Like he would be able to stop Patton from darting off to find him even if he said no. “He’s finishing filling out the forms with Roman now, so I wouldn’t interrupt them just yet. BUT.” Logan adjusted his glasses, looking to each of them in turn. “Virgil was hired based on his skills, not because I wanted Patton to win the bet. It could have easily been you, Reese, if he had been found lacking.” 

Reese groaned, dropping her head to her desk with a thud. “That doesn’t make me feel better, Specs. I had could have had six. SIX. Jars of Crofters and the triple death by chocolate brownies on my desk tomorrow morning. But Noooooo. You’ve deprived me of the simple joys in life.” 

Dramatic as always. “You didn’t lose everything, Reese.” He said, waiting until she lifted her head before he continued. “Virgil didn’t enter the building until I invited him in.” 

“What?!” Callie gasped, eyes going wide. “No!”

Reese cackled, grinning like a demon. “YES! That means candy for me!” She spun to Callie, holding out her hand. “A handful of your-” Her lips twisted. “Christmas candy, Cals. As agreed.” 

“I can’t believe he’s a vampire! He was out in the sun.” She whispered, unknowingly echoing Logan’s earlier point as she pulled open a drawer in her desk. 

“Well maybe he’s a hybrid.” Reese threw out. “Times have changed since the world went from black and white to color and ARE THOSE FREAKING CANDY CANES?” 

Callie blinked, holding up a dozen multicolored candy canes towards Reese. “Yes?”

“Why in the world do you have those HERE already?!” She practically screeched. “EW!! Cal! That’s an affront to all things Thanksgiving!”

Laughter danced in Callie’s eyes as she shook her head. “No it’s not. I thought it was rather festiv--”

Logan turned to Patton and tilted his head towards the door in a silent question. 

Patton nodded and the two of them slipped out of the room while the girls were distracted with their argument over when holidays should be celebrated. 

“So? How did it go really?” Patton asked as soon as they entered Logan’s office, eagerly taking a seat. “You took quite a while to look through the kid--ah Virgil’s work before you both came inside and then you well.” He made a small poofing noise. “Vanished.” 

“It went…” Logan ran his fingers along his tie as he sat down. “Well. Virgil was nervous to face my brother and so I offered to look through his portfolio for him and after what I saw….” He looked up. “I hired him on the spot.” He confided quietly.  

Patton gasped, nearly falling off his chair as he leaned forward to grab Logan’s hands, eyes wide with concern. “You?!--but after last time, you knew Roman--” 

“Would be upset and he was as expected.” Logan twisted his wrists so his fingers twined with Patton’s. “But the risk I took was calculated and you know how good I am at math.” He said. “Roman was quick to change his tune when he realized that Virgil was none other than his beloved EmoKnightmare478.” 

”WHAT?!” Patton shrieked, bouncing in his chair, squeezing Logan’s hands. “That--How COOL! Was Roman excited?”

Logan didn’t hold back his smile. Really the odds of Virgil being the interview had been beyond extraordinary. He was sure Roman would be gushing about this for weeks. “Beyond excited. He’s commissioning Virgil to draw the entire Nightmare Before Christmas cast in the Sallyized Jack style.”

Patton’s eyes went wide behind his glasses. “Whoa.” He breathed. 

“Exactly. Which is why I didn’t return right away, I was overseeing their negotiations…the kid--” Logan let out a breath, squeezing Patton’s hands. “He’s got quite the unique outlook. He has amazing, innovative designs of his own make and an active eye to StoryTime!’s future that could help us continue to reach out to more audiences and I just--” 

“You just?” Patton encouraged, softly, eyes shimmering as he glanced to the door, more than likely itching to go meet Virgil in person though his hands remained steady in Logan’s.

He shrugged. “I think he’ll fit in quite well here. Plus, he and Roman are actually getting along and that’s...big.” His brother didn’t always warm up quickly to the new hires and he and Virgil already had quite the dynamic going. 

“If Roman likes him, then I’m sure he’ll fit in just fine here with the rest of us, Lo.” Patton said, giving him a sly wink as he gestured to the three jars of Crofters sitting on his desk. “We’ll make the kiddo feel like he’s part of the FamILY in no time. I promise.”

End

Taglist in Reblog

[oyanachi]

Oyas sides #2

And here we go again! A lot is happening lately in my life, so I kinda of lot of issues resurfacing...

It’s actually pretty weird for me to write about my own life and thoughts. I’m really not the type to talk about myself.

Loyalty! Stop putting my IRL friends first! I just can’t focus on anything else because of that.

Loyalty: But they’re your friends! They are asking for you!

But I have prior commitments and promises I’ve made to other people.

Ambition: Thanks goodness! Finally! You’re saying it!

Loyalty: You haven’t seen them for months. They’re happy to see you around and they finally get to see you more since you moved in this city. Of course you have to see them and take care of them!

And when do I have the time to take care of everything else? It’s not because I don’t know those people personally or IRL that I can’t take care of the fandom I’m part in for instance. I engage in this stuff, I have to do it.

Curiosity: And as usual nobody talks about our master’s thesis… which is at a standstill as well!

Ambition: Short movies scripts! Just sayin’! Talking about being on the sidelines…

Let’s not talk about that, please.

Curiosity: You, Loyalty, are putting everything aside in the name of friendship! They had merely read one new book this month. No new anime, no new popularizers’ videos…

Ambition: No new scriptwriters podcast either…

Curiosity: Exactly! We’ve only see one movie! How am I supposed to collect information and knowledge like this?

Loyalty: Their friends have also many, maaaaany knowledge to bring to us! And besides learning, when friends are in need, we have to be there for them. We can’t let them down.

Ambition: Who’s down seriously? We eat, we talk, we laugh… great!

Loyalty: Woh, okay… and what about L, who’s across the Atlantic lockdown in a foreign country? What about E who was in need of masks you sewed for her? And what about M who’s always been asking to see you for months since the French lockdown is over?

But…

Loyalty : No! Don’t say it. It’s always been for work you’ve seen each other since. Don’t make me believe you’ve spent real time just for her. You only see people for your own interest. Now you’ve moved in this city, take the time to see your friends just for them.

Ambition: Excuse-me but how could you pull apart friends from our own interest since, let me remind you, we’re working in creative industries? Duh!

Like I said, let’s not talk about that.

Curiosity: “Duh”? You serious saying that? I’ve collected thousands and thousands of words in English and you just say “duh”? I’m feeling attacked right now.

Loyalty: Ah ah! I like the meme reference.

Curiosity: Internet culture. I have to know that. But don’t try to change the topic, Loyalty! They’re on nerves because of you!

Loyalty: They decided to make it a point of honor to care about their friends, that’s a value dear to them. Are you trying to tell me I’ve been fooled this whole time?

No! Of course, not. My friends are important. But… but my kind of small Internet social life is important as well.

Loyalty: Your friends are here right now and right here. You know you won’t be here next year. You will be so, so, so far away, you know it’s gonna be a long and tiring year. You need to take care of those who are right in front of you.

The point is you always putting friends first whenever they show up completely messes up my schedule. And everything I planned is running late because whenever I got the time to actually do something, there’s a friend, which is a very nice surprise, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a friend and you make me say yes right away, not thinking twice.

Loyalty: So… if there wasn’t any plan you wouldn’t feel like that. Right?

May…be? Listen, I don’t know. I just know I’ve always several things to do and I’m a planner. Planning is my jam to feel clean and ready.

Loyalty: Caution! You’re the one making them to always have a plan. You’re the one who wants to stick to the plan, right?

Caution: … Right.

Ambition: We haven’t hear you yet. You should be bothered about Loyalty jumping into your precious schedule, aren’t you?

*Caution raises their eyes*

Curiosity: Why are you keeping it quiet?

Caution: I keep it quiet because if I was shouting, I would be the loudest.

And painful to hear.

Caution: Also that.

Curiosity: Ambition and I are already upset. I can’t even imagine how you are doing right now. And yet, you’re still somehow? How do you do that?

Caution: I’ve reach such a limit of annoyance, I transcended it.

All: Oooh...

Ambition: But hey! That does mean you’re definitely on our side.

Curiosity: Side, lol.

Ambition: You do feel bothered by Loyalty and their sacrosanct friendship.

Don’t be scornful like this, please.

Loyalty: I’m just implementing what I’ve been told.

Caution: And I’m just planning because it’s what makes them feel safer.

Loyalty: Why can’t you just put friends in your schedule, then?

Caution: You have to be kidding me. *inhales, exhales* Friends can’t be a regular box put somewhere on Sunday between 5pm and 7pm. That wouldn’t make any sense at all!

Loyalty: Put extra boxes just in case.

Caution: I would need to put them every day ‘just in case’. Nonsense.

Loyalty: I won’t get rid of our friends. That’s out of the question!

Caution: Nobody told you that! I don’t want that either! Could you imagine if we didn’t care about our friends at all? We would be forgotten and have to survive alone in the world!

Ambition *mumbling*: Sounds like I’m not the only one to care about friends for my own interest…

Loyalty: So… you are on my side?

Caution: No!

Loyalty: Oh come on! Why then?

Caution: Because it’s always happening out of nowhere! That’s stressful and... unsettling. How do I handle that?

I’m tired. I’m going to bed.

Curiosity: What? But it’s only 6pm…

I’m drained by your fight, pals. I can’t make my mind on what I should do right now. I just spend my whole time going round in circles, listening to you… I need some rest.

*Silence*

Curiosity: There lies the problem… Listen, Loyalty, we only ask for balance actually. We just want you to understand that each of us has their goals. But you’re playing solo.

Ambition: And lately it has been a nightmare for all of us to manage to do what we want because you always take control.

Loyalty: You… sure about what you’re saying? Because Caution is the one who’s in control usually. They’re the planner.

Caution: And yet, you made them say yes whenever you wanted. Ambition and Curiosity are right. You didn’t ask lately, you just do whatever you wanted to do, not asking for our point of view.

Loyalty: And you would have say yes? You, of all of us?

Caution: Well…

Ambition: I have to join Loyalty on this. Sometimes, Caution, you can be… let’s say…

Curiosity: A real pain in the ass.

Ambition: Yes. Ah ah! You can be very strict on what we can do when and where. But sorry not sorry, sometimes I just can’t help it. You put my spontaneity down… Sometimes…

Caution: Okay… Since when this talk just turn to be my indictment?

Curiosity: We’re just addressing the same issue. You’re part of it, either you want it or not. We all are part of it actually. Because we need to remind that we’re all one and we can’t decide over everyone else. Sometimes, your spontaneity is hard to handle as well, Ambition. I think we can all agree on that.

*Caution and Loyalty nod*

Loyalty: They’re stuck doing nothing because we stand in the way of each other… You’re right. I should have asked you before making a decision. We should work together, not against each other. I’m sorry.

Thanks, Loyalty. And thank you all. I guess we also have to learn saying no isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Loyalty: Jeez, you bet, pal!

[eerythingisshaka]

#SundaySweat

[Winston Duke x Reader]

Word Count: 3.7K

Warnings: Smut, y’know?

A/N:  Congrats to Winston Duke on the Kimbo Slice biopic, will definitely be in attendance once all is said and done.  HOWEVER,  WInston Duke’s Insta stories are getting a little hot.  Very innocent, but HOT!  He’s working out, gaining some lbs, sweating his ass off, grunting through his reps and we are here for it!  So here is a fic based on a recent story he shared with us that he captioned #SundaySweat.  

Winston squats, thrusting the kettlebell in the air as he stands; repeating the motion over and over again.  Sweaty is an understatement to describe how much fluid his body is secreting under the strain of his personal training.  He is not bothered about looking too macho or saving face to make it look easy, no, he pushes himself to the brink; breaking his body for the pleasure of coming out on the other side fit for his new role that he has every intention of embodying to his fullest extent.  He grunts audibly as his muscles contract to power through his movements.  His eyes squinting as the perspiration overwhelmed his brow, running into his eyes with a burning sensation that only gives him more motivation to go on; if he ain’t dripping by the end of it, he wasn’t working hard enough.

Winston drops the kettlebell on the rubberized floor, howling without apology as his endorphins disseminates throughout his limbs.  That was his 3rd set of 20 completed after finishing his left side; he was planning for at least five total sets when his phone began to ring in his ears.

Going over to his phone, he picks it up to see your name displayed for a FaceTime request.  Winston, still catching his breath, takes the call.

“Hey, baby.”  he huffs.  

“What’s up with you?  I called you earlier, you didn’t pick up?”  you ask.  You knew he was in beast mode for his new movie, but you still bust his balls when you can.

“Well, I’m at the gym.  I have about 30 minutes left before I can get away.  Did you need something?”  he asks, wiping sweat from his face.

“Just you is all.”  you say with a sigh.  You look around a park as life goes on around you without a thought.  You took some time for yourself today doing laps around the park but you were so over today, and Winston is great at filling the boring parts of life.

“Aww, do you miss me, my love?”  He holds the phone up to his face a little closer for attempted privacy  as he spoke sweetly to you.

You nod, “Mhm...we’ve been like two ships passing in the night lately.  You get home, I’m sleep.  I wake up, you’re gone.  I can’t stand this type of scheduling for you.”

He nods, blinking slowly, “I know (Y/N), it’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”

“Yeah, E! True Hollywood Story.  But at least I can see your face in my hands one way or another now.” you say lightly touching the glass of your phone keeping you from his skin.  You cross the parking lot to make your way to your car.

“Ohh no, you wouldn’t want me now, I’m a mess right now.  Whew, sweaty, it’s not a good look.”  Winston waves his hand in front of his face as if he got a whiff of himself.

You smile shaking your head, “Nah, that’s how I like you.  Maybe it’s pheromones or some shit but when you’re hot and sweaty after doing some work, I just...light up or something.  Reminds me of when I used to be the one that did that to you…”

Winston shows that gap you’ve ran your tongue over countless times.  His whole face smiles as he marinates on your statement.  “Used to?  Who said that?”

You shrug getting in your car to sit, smirking as you tease.  “Come on, Winston, you are going to have to do more than what a boxer does to train now, and I know they do that whole ‘no sex’ rule to save your energy, keep you aggressive, or whatever the fuck.”

Winston stares at you a moment.  You’re not sure if he is offended or you just reminded him of something.  “Winston, what are you doing?  Is the connection laggin?”  you ask moving the phone around in the air.

He shakes his head, running his thumb along his bottom lip.  You count the crinkles in his forehead subconsciously, wishing you could massage them smooth; every feature of this man turned you on, as they were stereotypically imperfect and unwanted.  But he displays them proudly.

“Hey, baby?”  he asks.

“Yeah?”  you reply as you lean against you car door window, entranced.

“You look so beautiful.”  his voice purrs saying this.  You watch his round brown eyes dart up and down the screen.  He knew just what to say and exactly how to say something to gas you up and feel like his precious jewel.

You hide your smile, looking away. “Thank you, I know,”  you say trying to sound cool and unphased.

“You were running outside in that today?”  he asks.  You had a lavender purple sports bra on and matching leggings with a black waistband and mesh panels.

You look down at yourself, brushing your hand across your the top of your breasts, “Mhmm, it’s hot out today, and burned some calories myself.  Gotta stay right, keep it tight!”

Winston screws his face up making an O with his mouth, “Oooh, don’t say that now.”

“What?”  you ask.

He points at you through the screen, “You are outside looking like that without me to admire fully and missing the tightness you have worked hard on, I won’t have it.”

You suck your teeth, “Please, at least somebody can admire it for once.  As for my tightness....well, you don’t need to worry about that until after the movie wraps, right?”

Winston blows a raspberry at the screen, “To hell with that!  You’re speaking nonsense, that’s not in my contract.  I’m only playing a fighter, remember?”  he says annoyed.

You hold your hand up, “What can I say?  You need to stay in character, and this…” you grab a titty and kiss it, “can stay right here, waiting for you.”

“Mm, do that again.”  Winston requests.

You pick your titty up, kissing it again.  “That what you mean?”

Winston emits a guttural groan, “Come on, show me something.”

You scoff at him, “Um, I am not pulling my breast out for someone to see behind you, nah sir.”

Winston looks around getting up.  You see equipment and coming lights pass him before he passes through a door to a quieter room “Ok, now go ahead.  Show me what I’ve been missing.”

You laugh,  “Where did you go? “

“The locker room.  What I'm doing is probably the most innocent thing to go down in here.  Now don't be shy…” he murmurs getting comfortable.

You look away hiding your face a moment before turning back to your phone.  You pull the short zipper in front of your sports bra down, before reaching into one cup to pull one titty out.

Winston licks his lips, putting one hand to the side of his face, “Woooow, mama look at you.”

You smirk, his reaction motivating you as your caress your areola, stimulating your nipple to perk up.  “All that’s missing is them lips baby.  I know you hungry after all that work you put in.”

“I gotta have a taste, baby.  Are you headed home?”  Winston asks as he opens his locker.

You put your titty back, starting the car up, “Mhmm, when should I expect you?”

Winston starts getting a bag out of his locker, putting a towel on his shoulder, “I’m headed there now.”  

“Ok, don’t wreck yourself tryna rush.  I want you to take your time...understand?”

Winston smiles crookedly, “Oh, I have every intention on it.”

Driving home, your cat is starting to percolate at just the thought of what’s headed its way later.  You turn on some twock jams get yourself in a headspace of bad bitch-ness, to pop that ass on him.

Pulling up to the driveway, you see his car in front of the house.  Did this nigga really beat me home?  You thought to yourself.  No way in hell, he would’ve had to been speeding; his gym is like 15 minutes further away than the park is.  

You make your way to the door, putting the key in the door the only find out the door is unlocked already.  Confused and now on edge, you ease the door open, peeking inside.

“Hello?  Winston, is you in here?”  No one responds.  Your place is quiet, seems undisturbed.  You step fully into the house.  As you close the door, you’re suddenly wrapped up in a hold that shook you up.

“I know you said to take my time, but I got ahead of myself.”  Winston purrs in your ear.  He kicks the front door closed behind him as his hands travel the front of your body; massaging you greedily.  You tense your body up to try to fight back your arousal.  “Wait, wait.  I wanted to shower first.  I’m still sweaty, Winston.”

Gripping your hips, Winston grinds his hard on between your cheeks, breaking your train of thought.  He kisses your shoulder up to you neck before saying.  “There’s no reason to cool down when shits already getting hot.”  His hand snakes down your belly to your crotch, taking a handful of your throbbing pussy.  “We’re just going to get dirty again, anyway.”

You move your hips with the motion of his fingers swirling your vulva on top of your thin legging material; reaching for Winston’s face as you turn to kiss him him aggressively.   You were more than ready to bust it open, but you needed to play him.  You push your elbows back to knock him off of you as you prance to the kitchen.

“Leave me be, Winston!  I need something to give me energy first!”  you yell behind you.

Winston tales you, “I’m not thinking about food right now, I don’t see how you would be.”

You make it to the kitchen island and reach into the fruit bowl to grab an apple.  Swiftly, you turn around and hold it in front of his face.  Winston looks at it, then back at you; scoffing as he leans his hands on either side of you against the island.  While you still hold it, he bites about half the damn apple in one go.  Your mouth hangs open at the power of his jaws, the width of his mouth, and his lips curling around the fruit before being coated with its juices, that are now running down your arm.  Winston notices, leaning down to catch the Apple juice with the drag of his tongue.  The stimulation drives your mind into an animalistic state, as he is pulling out all the tricks.  You toss the apple away to grab his face, licking him from chin to his lips, sucking the sweetness off him like the summer treat he was; pushing your hips against his bulge.

Winston turns his face from you still trying work down that Apple. “Not fair!  My mouth is your weakness and I can't fight back?”

As he chews, you say, “But I knew you were starving!  Can’t do much with that mouth when its already full.”   You feel a pang of true hunger  as you reach behind for the bowl and grab yourself a banana.

“Now let me get a couple bites in and maybe we will see what we’re up for.” Turning back to him, you concentrate on peeling it, side after side after side, until all of its raw uncut length is extended towards your mouth.  You really could not wait to bite into it, mouth open, you look up subconsciously and pause.  Winston is still chewing but appears to be almost done.  He grabs your wrist firmly, shaking his head side to side.  “Don’t you dare.”

You smile, shaking his hold off and grabbing the neck of his tank.  Pulling him in closer, you look him dead in round brown specs as you slowly sheath your mouth around the banana.  Taking a bite and not breaking eye contact you bite the tip off baring your teeth, moaning as you knock it back.

“Mmm, this is sooo good.  I’m going to take my time with this.”  you tease, pulling the peels down a little further.

Quicker than you could say Tobago, Winston grips you under your cheeks sitting you on the island.  Your legs spread like biscuits.

“Lay back.”  Winston commands.

You protest, “Uh uh!  I’m still eating.”

“Take a break, I gotta eat too.”  Winston’s tone deepens.  The baritone shakes your core as you imagination runs wild.  You take one more bite and lean back on your elbows.

“I don’t understand why you won’t let me just wash up!”

Winston’s hands travel up your thighs, “How much do these leggins cost?”

The question takes you out a minute, “Uhhh. I think $50-”  

Suddenly you feel a jerk, followed by a rip.

“WINSTON!  What the fuck!”  you look down as he has turned your leggings into thigh highs.

Winston gives a hearty belly laugh as he lights up at your reaction, “I love how you are so obsessed with eradicating panty lines from your life, you rarely wear them.”

Kneeling down, he lines his face up to your vulva so all you see is his eyes between your thighs.  He studies your opening like a safe to crack.  His fingers trail down from your clit, along your labia, spreading the lubrication from your opening, and back up again.  Winston holds your leg over his shoulder as he kisses your inner thigh with that luscious mouth of his.  You feel vibrations from his mouth as he hums against you.  That coupled with his manual stimulation took your focus off of your fruit snack and back to your human sized one.

“Oooh, Winton, don’t tease me please.  I won’t last much.”  you moan.

Winston pulls his mouth from your thigh, taking his fingers in to taste your dripping anticipation.  “That’s ok, because I have plenty in me to last for the both of us.”  With that, he takes his tongue out wide to slide across every inch of your pussy.  You stretch your arms out to grab ahold of something, anything that will keep you planted to earth; knocking over the fruit bowl in the process.  Your spine threatens its integrity as Winston sensational head game makes your back curl in defense against the arousal.  

“Shiiiit, right there, baby, stay…”  you fade out as you sit up to watch him.  His eyes are aimed on you as he works his neck to keep up with his tongue strokes, making every effort to drive you insane.  His arms reach up to the top of your bra, attempting to pull it down.  You take the cue and sit up to pull your bra clean off, before leaning back so he can massage your titties the way he needed.  Then Winston fixed his lips around your clit, vacuum sealing it to to suck your very soul from it.

This was not fair to you as you came full force, curling your toes up so hard you felt a cramp coming on.

“Ohhh, ok, ok!  You bout to give me a damn charlie horse, damn!”  you day, slapping his head to tap out.

Winston pulls from you, planting a couple kisses on your pussy for good measure before standing up to take his shirt off, “You know I didn’t have this gap before you, right?”

You still trying to catch your breath, “What you mean?”

“You know how kids suck their thumb, and shifts their teeth?”  He asks resting a hand on your thigh as he steps between you.

“Nigga, I know you not saying...shut the fuck up!  You play too much!”  you exclaim.   Sitting up you reach around the waistband of his shorts, tugging them down, barely able to get past his erection, until they fall around his ankles.  You hug his torso to plant two hard slaps on his cheeks, squeezing them roughly.

“Ahh!! Cut it out, (Y/N)!  You’re really going to get it now.  You need to remember to stretch so you don’t cramp up.”  He says as he put his arms under your legs to rest your ankles on his shoulders.  You put your arms around his neck sucking plentiful lips, “That’s what I’m tryna do.  Put that fat ass to work on me, baby.”

You lick your hand and reach down to work his length some, causing a low humming grunt from Winston.  “Mmm, fuck, baby.  Go ahead, let me in.”

Running his tip against your lubricated lips, you still feel highly sensitive from him sucking you off earlier.  Biting back, you line him up to slowly enter you.  Winston can’t hold back the natural gravity of pleasure as his hips dip to push further into you, stretching you out.  You take your hand away, beginning to shake as you hold onto his neck for dear life.

“Ooooh, Winston.  Ahhh…”  You moan.  Looking at him descend into inch by inch was almost enough to make you come again, so you look away to Winston’s face.  His mouth is hanging open as he looks into your eyes, stopping.  He brings his face to your neck to kiss on your clavicle.

“Come on, you gotta move baby.”  You beg feeling your walls contracting for friction.  Winston continues to kiss on your neck as he pulls back, dipping his hips before pushing back into you to graze your G-spot.  Your head falls back as he begins his strokes.  The position he has you in makes you have to completely hold on to him for full support or you’re falling back and busting your head.  Winston picks up his pace, making your pussy start to talk back now.

“This dick exciting you like that baby?”  Winston groans in your ear.

Putting a death grip around his neck, you say, “Fuuuck.  Yes, Winston.  Your dick feels so good.  Ah shit!”

Stirring your insides like mac and cheese, his pace hits his peak as he drills into you.  A ballerina couldn’t match the point of your toes as he sent your body into oblivion again.  You claw his back, biting down on his shoulder to bury your cries of pleasure.  Winston huffs and grunts loudly before he loses his rhythm too much, slamming his last stroke into you.  Balls deep, you lean back for air as he pulls out completely.  

Winston looks down at his dick, “Damn, look at all that cream we made, eh?”  You look down to see his frosted dick; like a call of the wild, you slide off the island dropping to your knees.

“Let me clean that off for you, daddy.”  you purr, massaging his cornucopia thighs as you take him in your mouth.  You tongue dances around his tip as as you suck it, working his length in deeper and deeper with every bob.  Looking up at him he almost looked near tears, as you slumped, soaking his wood just right.  He bites his lip to stifle his moans as his hips try to pace with your mouth.

“Ohhh, your mouth feels so good.”  He reaches for your head, gripping your hair.  “MORE than good...it’s great.”

You almost laugh on his dick for the nostalgia of childhood cereal being compared to head; but instead focus on keeping your throat wide, relaxing your jaw to deep throat him as best you could.  You feel his muscles tighten in his thighs as he tries to hold back his orgasm, his fingers tightening his grip on your roots.

Winston lets out a audible groan at your skills now.  “Ahhhh, FUCK!  You’re so damn nasty with that pretty mouth; you almost got me there.”  Pulling your mouth away you say, “Not before I get one more nut, nigga.  You owe me back pay.”

Winston chuckles, “Be careful what you wish for.  Turn around.”  he instructs.

You quickly get on all fours, arching to bring your hips to their full peak.  Winston grips both cheeks, kneading them before you feel his tongue on your vulva again.  You shake automatically, still sensitive from the stimulation, you grasp at the floor unsuccessfully for support as the tip of his tongue relentlessly rolls against your clit repeatedly while he hums into your pussy.  Coming back up for air, he lines himself up against you again.  “You know the food is good when it gets you singing, right?”  Winston asks while slipping his tip between you folds.

Your laugh at him turns into sharp gasp as his girth stretches your walls out once more.  This time he starts at a steady pace as you have physically gotten accustomed to his length but your nervous system was having a problem trying to deal.  

You were somewhere between cheering and weeping, “Ooooh Winston, baby please, I’m cu-”  the sound you let out next made up for your subsequent speechlessness.

Winston grips your leggings-turned-thigh highs like reigns, growling as he digs you out while your tightness bears down on him.  “Keep that arch for me, baby.  You got this, it's all yours.”

His motivations were all you needed to straighten up and power through as he seemed close.  Throwing it back on him drove Winston nuts.

“I know you been wanting to come, fill me up baby.  Fill my guts os I don’t be hungry, baby.”  You moan.  Your own dirty talk caused yet another wave to wash over you as you came on his dick again, walls caving in around him.

“Ohhh Goddamit, gimme that shit!!”  you screech like a banshee

Winston babbles in moans and grunts, completely lost of the English language until instinct takes over so that he holds you down winding his hips against you, intensifying your orgasm until he shoots your insides up with all he had built up within him.  Winston’s weight slowly collapses on you and you slide down with him, still inside you.  Your breaths match up as you two slowly come down.

“No workout can compare to your body of work, baby.”  Winston says, kissing behind your ear before slowly pulling out or you.  “I think we earned a shower.”

You shake your head, or at least you think you did, not having full feeling back in your body yet, “I don’t mind being dirty a little while longer.”

I think I was hungry when I wrote this.  I been wanting to do smut with food like they used to do in the 90s, whipped cream and shit, so this is me experimenting.

Shoutout to @jackburtonsays , honey I will message you if you do not see this because you asked for a fic, I just so happened to feel like doing it.

Other Works

King Kil’mawalls  

T’akia

Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

Commencement Day

Song of Stevens

The Coffee Prince

Wakanda Got Y’all

If I Could Do It All Again

[janamelie]

Series V Rimmer

This is intended as a way to collect some of the observations which I and many others have made about Rimmer in Series V on both LJ and Tumblr regarding how easily he can be read as struggling with his repressed homosexuality and attraction to Lister.  If that isn’t your cup of tea, then don’t read.

I don’t claim to have come up with it all myself.  If you recognise a particular point which you feel originated with you, link me and I’ll add the link to the post.

This isn’t really intended as serious meta. I’m not trying to convince people who disagree. It’s just a bit of fun.

If a quote is in bold, it’s my emphasis added.

Holoship

Ah yes, the episode in which Rimmer has sex with and falls in love with a beautiful woman - on the surface.

To me, the relationship comes across more as a previously polyamorous and unemotional woman developing feelings for a closeted gay man who’s so flattered by her attentions that he mistakes gratitude and affection for romantic love.

The deleted scene where she literally has to drag him to her bedroom is a good demonstration of this.  Please note, I do think the sex was consensual, but Rimmer comes across as more “Oh, alright then”, when given some of his previous verbal references to sex, you might expect him to be a bit more enthusiastic.

And then there’s the scene where Nirvanah asks him why he doesn’t have regular sex twice a day like the crew of the Enlightenment.  Rather than simply saying that he can’t have sex because he’s the only soft-light hologram on Red Dwarf or because all his crewmates are male, this is his response: “Well I mean some people -- sad, lonely people -- find that people just aren't attracted to them in that kind of way.”

People.  Not women.

The Inquisitor

Not much material here as this is a Lister and Kryten-centric episode, but we do still get this gem from alternate Rimmer:

RIMMER: Look, they come here with some cock-and-bull story, they're chained together like Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis -- I say open the door to oblivion and kick 'em through.

SECOND LISTER: Rimmer, no one's killin' no one, alright?

LISTER: Yeah, right!

RIMMER: Look, they're from some freaky alternative dimension, they've come here to hijack this ship and do... oooh, weird things to us.  

Come on, did anyone hear that line and think he meant anything other than anal probes? :p

Terrorform

In which Rimmer gets kidnapped and threatened with buggery by his own Self-Loathing Beast (voiced by Chris) and is saved by Lister telling him he loves him.

What?  I’m describing the plot. :p

To be honest, this one is so self-evident to me that I’ll simply add some episode quotes:

DRUID: In accordance with the appetites of the Dark One, the vicious ruler of this domain, we, the hooded legions, proffer up this sacrifice to slake the vile depraved thirstings of the Unspeakable One. 

Who turns out to be Rimmer’s Self-Loathing Beast i.e. himself.

RIMMER: This Master character -- and I acknowledge that I may not want to know the full answer to this one -- but why does he want me oily in particular? Obviously, whatever he has in mind is facilitated by my being slippery and pliant, yes?

RIMMER: Why're you all looking at me like that?  Like, as if this is all my fault?  Have you any idea what kind of day I've had?  I've been kidnapped, stripped, oiled, menaced, manacled, licked, nibbled, chained, tortured, humiliated, and I nearly had a knobbly thing the size and shape of a Mexican agave cactus jammed up where only customs men dare to probe.

CAT: Don't you know what this place is?

RIMMER: Yes, it's a hell hole.  It's a nightmare.  It's a stinking infested pit of putridness.

LISTER: Rimmer, it's _your mind_.

Quarantine

The main thing which stands out to me here is the gingham outfit.  I stress that I do realise that a penchant for female drag and being a gay man are not the same thing at all.  

However, it seems to me to be exactly the kind of stereotype which young Rimmer would have picked up in the 1950s type environment of Io and therefore which his subconscious might project onto himself once the holovirus takes over.

And if it’s simply a symptom of the holovirus, why was Dr Lanstrom dressed in fairly nondescript clothing?

Demons And Angels

Oh God, where do I start? :p

Actually, with the Highs.  As @allsortsofsmeg put it elsewhere, they were all shown to be flowery and romantic, but High Lister and High Rimmer are alone when they make this declaration to each other, which serves no obvious plot purpose:

HIGH LISTER: Have I told thee today how much I love thee, brother?  How much my heart glimmers like a newborn star when I gaze upon thine beauteous countenance?

HIGH RIMMER: Thy love refreshes and cleanses me like a babbling mountain stream, brother.

And then, of course, we have Low Rimmer, who isn’t just LGBT-coded, he’s canonically LGBT. 

LISTER: Holy smeg!

LOW RIMMER: Hello, my pretty.

LISTER: What do you want with me?

LOW RIMMER: I want to hurt you.

LISTER: Why?

LOW RIMMER: Because I'm not a very nice person.

LOW RIMMER produces an iridescent blue whip-like object, and lashes

LISTER with it.  LISTER clutches at his head where the lash struck him.

LISTER: A holo-whip!

LOW RIMMER: I'm going to lash you to within an inch of your life.  And then I'm going to have you.

Honestly, if anyone has an explanation for this which isn’t that he’s a deeply closeted man whose repressed desire and love for Lister are manifesting in these two “worst” and “best” versions of himself, then let’s hear it.

(And don’t come at me with “It’s a sitcom, they just thought it would be funny” because frankly, what’s funny about it?)

Back To Reality

The major indication here, as many have pointed out, is the fact that when Rimmer thinks he has a more successful half-brother in the hallucination, he’s driven to attempt suicide.

Hello?  Regular Rimmer has three more successful brothers and has never shown any suicidal tendencies outside of this episode.

If, on the other hand, his repressed desire for Lister is now even more taboo because he thinks they’re brothers, that is a fresh blow to his psyche which could credibly lead to despair.

The final scene of “Back To Reality” is a quiet, subdued affair as the relieved crew prepare to blast off in Starbug and Rimmer looks the calmest that he has for the whole of Series V, as though his temporary relief at not being related to the man he loves has given him peace for the time being.

It won’t last, of course, because he’s Rimmer.

Feel free to add your own contributions in the comments. :)

[tomioneer]

the yyh marathon continues 10 with episodes 31-33

CHU CHU CHU CHU

no, I’m not making train noises

he’s amazing.

i love chu’s stupid hair, I really do. it’s so fun to like, watch move around 

10/10 would date someone with that style ponytail. not the mohawk though, that’s too tall.

better and bigger and BUFFER than I remember damn son

speaking of sons.

soft yusuke

pure, blessed, angel baby yusuke

you’ve realized by now, of course, that I prefer his hair down, but did you ALSO KNOW that i prefer this child is garishly bright coats

no wonder I love napping!yusuke so much and remember these early matches so fondly despite what horrible shit the other kids go through

reminder that they are ALL children

except for rinku. honestly, in retrospect, presumably full-demon rinku is probably older than any of them? 

except for kurama. because. youko.

hiei is somewhere between actually fourteen in human years and like. 300 in demon years, probably.

I feel like kurama, an apparently four tailed fox (I maintain this is a lie, as kitsune can willfully appear to have less tails than they actually possess) is like. four or five hundred human years old at least

koto is a standard kitsune, by the way--transforms into a pretty girl, has one tail in her human form, and is a red fox.

I digress.

chu. chu is an adult. chu is not fourteen, so I can enjoy his shirtlessness without any qualms

koto,  oh my god: “well, they’ve burned their skin, shortened their breath, and somehow lost their shirts. altogether I’d call it a successful fight!”

relatable

they’re laughing, and it’s honestly adorable. 

they’re not hysterical, koto, they’re bonding. 

yusuke used to fight because he had nothing better to do and nothing worth staying out of trouble for, to his perception. maybe he thought it better to get killed in a fight than end up like his mom??? I can’t say

and he certainly never understood keiko’s vested interest in him

he fell in love with that kind of fighting, the carefree brawls where he always came out on top, and used them as a way to prove himself

but now he understands fighting at another level entirely, where his life really is in danger, and the stakes are higher than he’d previously imagined they could be. this isn’t about territory or revenge, he’s been saving lives

and he loves it, and so does this random stranger he’s ended up fighting

of course chu comes back as an ally later

he’s one of the first people yusuke’s ever understood on such a resonant level

thanks for the dramatic preview, kurama, but I really wouldn’t call them perfectly matched

in a fight bewtween two people of equal skill, the bigger one usually wins

or so says anita blake in laughing corpse, a book I havne’t read in ten years lol

so I have a thing for supernatural detectives, sue me

I ran out of ice cream ten episdes and 2 days ago. in retrospect, It hought I was going through these episodes faster than that

knife-edge death match

why is he australian

have I asked that yet, because I’m asking

koenma doens’t like the sound of that but I rmember how this goes and I LOVE IT

shizuru makes a dick measuring joke

watching chu remove his shoes is my new sexuality

btw if you don’t know what ‘toe off your shoes is’ in fanfiction, please watch this sequence because chu does it and yusuke does not

yusuke, I will say again, is a CHILD

yusuke loves the rules of this fight and if it weren’t amanga where he’s not aloud to use the same sort of fight more than once for fear of boring readers, I guarnatee ytou yusuke would do this more often

I can’t believe yusuke and chu are both just standing there in that position waiting with their feet on the sharpened edges of knife blades while the cimmitte decides whether or not a death match is allowed in a death match

yusuke is so small

ominous dark clouds that I missed bc I was typing lol

boys just punch okay

oooh and they even light the fight fo us, interesting

koenma somehow doesn’t recognize someone he knows and has known for years, according to the genkai tournament arc.

yusuke has to reach a lot farther to hit chu

karasu showed up like the little bitch he is

are those tiny eyeglasses on his mask, because if so that is BEYOND STUPID

karasu has a crush on yusuke, I know because his eyes shone and he’s gay

no, I don’t ship it

I could almost ship yusuke and chu though lol

I DO half-ship chu and koto

what the hell, I count them both

ship count: 6/400

kuwabara: I could watch them fight for hours... 

keiko, immediately: I can’t watch them fight anymore!

knowing how this match ends really makes it funny that  the dub, when those plant zombies showed up, had yusuke ask Kurama if he should headbutt them  

shizuru makes an totally unacceptable, but still funny, joke about yusuke having died once already (because they don’t know he pretty much died a second time against rando, and a third time against suzaku)

keiko runs off and shizuru chases her

is this why shizuru meets sakyo? he left his viewing room earlier so I bet it is

I remember shipping them as a kid, let’s see how that goes this time

this is pretty cool actually

she dresses like a first calss gay, honestly

I wishi I could pull that sort of look off

SAKYO hey who guessed he’d show up here , not me

he is beautiful

I actually forgot that this whole time, my favorite fight was going on

I can’t beleive keiko actually got into the fighter’s area and made it onto the field that girl is fucking unstoppable

Keiko, crying: Kuwabara, you have to make them stop fighting!

Kuwabara, clueless: no way, why would I wanna do that?

classic

I read a theory online that kuwabara used to be friends with keiko and yusuke when they were all little, and it has totally changed the way I see it whenever these two interact.

kuwabra genuinely tries to explain this fighter’s mindset to a noncombatant. he is a good, patient boy

yusuke is loving this fight

so is chu

rinku’s internal observations are completely different��in the subtitles, saying that chu still has something hidden up his sleeve and it waitinf or the right time to use it, where in english he says that hie wishes the reast of team urameshi had given such a good fight, so rinku could have ‘given his yo-yo a workout’ which is a terrible euphemism for... using his yo yo weapons.

I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more shots of their feet against knives, bleeding

as I went  to type that, we get the first shot of exactly that, as yusuke goes in for his own headbutt to counter chu’s

which was aparently the ‘secret weapon’ rinku meant in the subs

yusuke has beautiful eyes

chu’s head BROKE THE FLOOR

yusuke called chu mate, I dig it

yusuke and kuwabara are cute and gay

oh, they are extra gay when they do sidehugs

I can’t believe that of this whole team only two people are left

yusuke is my hero

he just yelled loudly enough to shup up the entire arena of spectators

“if you idiots got something to say, say it! but say it to my face, or else say it to my fist.” 

that’s a badly written but highly epic and kickass line

I have NO IDEA what chu just said because the audio broke and he has am AUSTRALIAN ACCENT

son of a--

the narrator just fucking punned

yusuke flipped off the toguro kyoudai, and the screen does the dramatic stylized freeze, and the narrator goes, “yusuke may be flippant now”

YOU SUCK

but also it’s a good joke I hate it

where did keiko go during the dramatic pan over the team anyway, she was down there with them.

I rewound and she is Not There.

WHYYYY did they even make Chu say anything??? he doesn’t in the japanese version, there are no subs for him

I really miss the old ED. I love the images for this one, the keiko focus. but. it doesn’t have the same energy. it’s not a jam

now that I thinka bout it, the photograph at the end of that ED could only have been taken in universe on the return trip from the tournament, so I should never have worried that hiei or kurama or kuwabara actually died.

I’m so glad for this arc if only because it’s means all these casual clothes for our cast, and I love that

look how high wasted yusuke’s jeans are, I love it, Ireally do. BOYS , wear high waisted jeans.

during purely internal monolgue, dub yusuke gives a fraction of the information sub yusuke gives by just saying “damn it” instead of “I can’t focus my reiki, why??”

kuwabara’s outside, coincidentally passing by where yusuke is, because hs’ not psychic and ISN’T LOOKING FOR HIM cuz he’s not gay

look, I realize I’m calling yusuke and kuwabara gay a lot. I don’t mean literally gay. 

they are obviously bisexual, or pan, or demi.

I just mean they fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, which is in my region frequently shortened to “gay”

Kuwabara immediaetly ruins my theory by straight up admitting to looking for yusuke and wondering why he wasn’t left a note

kuwabara (paraphrased): I wanna have a team meeting

yusuke, a smarty who already knows he ain’t straight: have a meeting with yourself, then. you’ll learn a lot.

kuwabara, who clearly needs more time: what does that mean?

justas I was about to say tha tI couldn’t beleive they just--left genkai in the room alone, we see that genkai is actually stalking her student now that she’s bored of intimadting kuwabara

we just--that’s the ichigaki team

those poor men

those three poor, wonderul men

I remember nothing about those two demon members of the team but now I’m getting flashes of--delaying hiei and kurama?

thank you kurama, you nerd, for bothering to do research on the next team

yusuke, who now trains on his own time even after running out of reiki: why am I so damn tired?

is this. a filler villain? or did togashi really come up with a character who manifests rubgy balls and calls himself rugby

WHY is the dub so far off the sub right now? there’s no lip flap to match!!

this is awful

buys a fucking gymnast

well he lasted for three minutes before getting killed by his own teammate

GENKAI SPEAKS BLESS HER

oh man yusuke thought is was genkai and is now confused as fuck by this young voice amazing

but why the fuck does she sound young, when she hasn’t exerted herself at all that day

she just, fucking tells them about hiei fucking up his arm

baby YOU KNEW you were making that trade, you KNEW

botan looks a lot like sailor moon right now

keiko confimrs that she is aware yusuke has the hots for her, but also that she can see how happy he is here in the tournament

shizuru’s ass is AMAZING

it’s shocking to think neither hiei nor kurama could tell toguro was alive when they were just a room away from him

why are yususke’s eyes glowing

that whole team is huge, how did rugby even make it on that team lol

‘don’t you have a team?’ “of course I do, but they’re extremely lazy” amazing.

I mean, we know they brothers are famous, but it makes so much more sense WHY they are famous--having previously WON the dark tournament

I wouldn’t be opposed to a movie or something about that tournament, honestly. I want to se more of toguro when he was human. 

I wonder how genkai feels weatching him do this

toguro is sort of like an early saitama, if you strip away personality. their drive at this point is similar from what I know of OPM. 

okay so the dub has creepy-possessive implcations thanks to toguro saying (about yusuke) “that boy is reserved for me”. the SUB on the other hand--toguro just says, ‘it’s a bad day to be a large guy, huh?’ which is fucking. amazing. bold. iconic.

yusuke is sitting next to the previous LOVE of toguro’s LIFE, and he doesn’t even notice her. just yusuke. I guess amask really can hide everything?

I’m stunned they aren’t having more trouble  about sittin ght eaudience that was calling for their blood yesterday.

of course yusuke and his friends have to deal with an extra match lol. 

okay but what’s up with this reigun thing. I don’t remember it at all. 

I guess we just really need to see genkai fight.

i do love and admire her a lot.

on the other hand, I do NOT want to see the vs. dr. ichigaki fight. I remember it pretty well I think? and it was just so--upsetting. 

did we uh. ever get a NAME for the younger toguro brother???

[a-splash-of-stucky]

Not Your Type

Pairings: Engineer!Wanda x Actress!Reader

Summary: Your friends cannot believe that you, of all people, ended up with a geek.

Warnings: Implied/referenced sex, potentially some language,

Notes: For @bookybuns‘ fic fest. My prompt was: S/he is really nerdy and you’re really popular and everyone’s confused as to how you two are in a relationship.

Okay, I kinda feel like this prompt is perhaps more suited to a high school/college AU, but that’s not my jam, so I took it down another road. Takes place in a modern/no powers AU — hopefully it still works!

I will be completely honest: my initial idea was for a pre-serum!Steve x Reader one-shot, but when I started writing, it didn’t work out. After much deliberation, discarded drafts and tears later, here is what I came up with. My first Wanda x Reader fic. Enjoy :)

The arrival of your guests is signalled by the loud ringing of your buzzer. You dash over to the door, throwing it open with a dramatic flourish.

“Enter, good fellows,” you say solemnly, adding to your theatrics with an exaggerated bow. Bucky snorts, stepping past you and making a beeline for the TV to get the DVD set up. Tonight is movie night, and as it’s Sam’s turn to pick, you're all being subjected to yet another re-watch of Forrest Gump.

Steve brushes past you, Natasha hot on his heels. He has a carrier bag filled to the brim with various kinds of junk food in one hand. “You in a medieval play or something?” Steve asks amusedly, as he brings the bag over to the coffee table.

“Nah,” you drawl, moving to help Sam bring in the pizza boxes, kicking the door shut with your foot. “But we’re thinking of it. Maria’s got some ideas for a script,”.

Natasha sets two bottles of vodka — the good stuff, imported from Russia — down on the coffee table, then curls up on the overstuffed armchair that she always claims on movie nights. “Why do you look so happy, Y/N?” she asks curiously, folding her fingers under her chin, “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“Oh, nothing,” you reply airily, even though that’s an outright lie. You tug on the neckline of your oversized sweater, readjusting it self-consciously in the hopes that no one will spot the purpling hickey on your collarbone.

“Nothing?” Nat echoes, picking up on the unusual tone in your voice. “You’re not acting like it. I think something’s up,”.

“Someone remind her that this is not a detective show,” Sam sighs, as he helps you set out the boxes of pizza. You force out a laugh, hoping that it will be enough to throw Nat off your scent.

“Is it something to do with work? You got a big part for once, or something?” asks Steve, who is busy arranging the rest of the food on the remaining space on the coffee table.

“Yeah,” you reply immediately, mentally thanking Steve for coming to your rescue, albeit unknowingly. You fill in the terse silence that follows by helping Steve and Sam finish laying out the array of food. This ensures that your back is turned to Nat, preventing her from being able to see your face and make any further deductions. Why does she have to be so good at reading you?

“Can you tell us anything about it?” Bucky calls, talking over his shoulder as he turns the TV on and starts to tinker with the settings.

“Uh—I’m...not allowed to say anything,” you mumble haltingly.

“When’s that ever stopped you from telling us before?” Steve asks, one eyebrow quirking up in surprise.

“Yeah, you literally give jack shit about confidentiality agreements, Y/N,” Bucky adds.

Damn, they’ve got you there. You hesitate for a moment, chewing on the inside of your cheek as your brain scrambles to come up with a response. A startled yelp escapes your throat when you feel a hand on your shoulder, yanking aside the neckline of your sweater—

—to expose the hickey and therefore the secret you’d been fighting to keep.

“Oh my god,” Nat breathes, seeing straight through your sham and figuring out exactly what your secret is. “You got laid, Y/N, and laid good,”.

“Natasha!” Steve cries exasperatedly, standing up to go sit on the couch.

Bucky snickers, “Oh, don’t be such a prude, Stevie. You take pictures of half-naked people on a weekly basis,”. He’s done fiddling with the settings on your sound system now, so stands up to grab a slice of pizza.

“That’s different!” Steve splutters indignantly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “That’s for work, Bucky, this is Y/N’s private life,”.

“Which we all now want to know about,” Sam adds, as he takes a slice of pizza for himself and plops down on the floor beside you. “C’mon, Y/N, spill the beans. Who was it?” he asks, elbowing you playfully in the ribs.

“No one,” you reply curtly, swatting his arm away and turning your gaze to the TV, where Forest Gump is waiting to be played. “Can we start the movie yet?”

“Oh, she’s avoiding us, now!” Bucky chuckles, “Now I really wanna know what this is about,”. Heat begins to rise in your cheeks as you feel everyone’s questioning gaze being turned on you. You’re in the hot seat tonight, it would seem.

“Was it a one-night stand?” Steve asks curiously, “Never would’ve thought of you as a one night stand kinda gal,”.

“Nu-uh, look at this face,” Sam interjects, poking his index finger into your cheek to emphasise his point. “That’s the face of a girl who’s got something way more meaningful than a one-nighter,”.

“You’re seeing someone!” Nat squeals excitedly, practically bouncing in her chair with glee, “C’mon, c’mon, please tell us who,”.

“I shall not,” you say, miming the act of zipping your lips shut and throwing away the key.

“Get her phone,” Bucky says suddenly, whipping his head from side to side in search of it. Your eyes widen, heart doing a terrifying flip in your chest. You go to grab it from where it lies on top of the side-table beside the couch, but Nat beats you to it, easily snagging it from where she sits on the armchair.

“You don’t know my—,”

“I’m in,” she crows triumphantly, flipping the phone around to show everyone your home screen.

“How the hell do you know my passcode?” you ask bewilderedly, standing up and walking over to Nat in the hope of snatching your phone out of her hand whilst she’s distracted. You have no such luck; she plants her foot on your thigh to keep you a distance away, waggling her eyebrows in a most infuriating manner when you growl at her.

“Honey, everyone knows your password,” Steve says gently, “You’re kinda predictable like that,”.

“I fucking hate you all,” you grumble, watching helplessly as Nat taps away at your screen, looking through your messages. It’s clear that you’ve lost this fight. Bucky drapes his arms across the back of the sofa, peering down interestedly over her shoulder.

“Guys, can we just—.”

“Oooh, Wanda? Is that her name?” Nat asks, her eyes gleaming with mischief when she lifts them to meet your murderous glare.

“Maybe,” you say, dragging the two syllables out. You’re hopping from foot to foot agitatedly, praying that the gang will drop this line of enquiry sometime soon. Preferably right fucking now.

The issue is not in you being unwilling to tell your friends about your new relationship. No, you’re more than ready — have been more than ready for the last couple of weeks, in fact, almost bursting at the seams in your eagerness.

The problem is that you and Wanda have not yet had a discussion about making your relationship publicly known. Although you’re fairly certain that the two of you are on the same page, you don’t want to tell your closest friends about your budding relationship without her consent. It’s just not right.

“Maybe?” Steve murmurs.

“It’s a yes, Steve,” Sam says, pointedly avoiding your stare as he rips open a crisp packet.

“It’s a maybe,” you insist.

“Yep, that’s a definite yes,” Bucky comments, his eyes flickering over your face, assessing your expression.

“Fuck you,” you growl half-heartedly, no heat behind your words. How is it that they’re reading you like an open book? You’re an actress, for crying out loud, you should have an amazing poker face.

Maybe they just know you too well. Yeah, it’s probably that.

“You can’t, unfortunately,” Bucky sighs, as Natasha hands you your phone. “Can’t fuck me when you’ve got a girlfriend, Y/N, unless your morals are shittier than I expected,”.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” you huff, stalking over to the end of the couch not currently occupied by Steve and flopping onto it.

“Who is she?” Steve asks curiously, turning to face you.

“Yeah, what does she work as? How did you meet? Give us the details, Y/N, c’mon,” Sam pleads.

You groan resignedly, pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration. It seems that movie night has morphed into gossip night. What more could you expect with this lot, really?

“She works in Stark Industries, in the R&D labs,” you reply, “She does…calculations and shit like that,”.

A silence descends over the room after your explanation, four perplexed pairs of eyes focused on you. The intensity of their gaze and the wave of confusion radiating off of everyone is uncomfortable enough to make you fidget under their scrutiny.

“What?” you snap.

Sam is the first to break out of his stupor. He clears his throat. “You’re dating…a math geek?”

Something in his tone immediately sets you on edge, your metaphorical claws coming out in anticipation of an attack. “What’s wrong with that?” you ask defensively.

Bucky is the one to answer you. “Um, hi, hello, who are you and what have you done with Y/N?”

“What?” you squawk, utterly puzzled by your friends’ reactions to your news. This is not how you pictured things going; you’re so confused. “Guys, I seriously don’t get it? What’s wrong? What’re you on about?”

“Y/N, you’ve hated maths for as long as we’ve known you. Longer, probably,” Natasha says.

“So? I can hate maths but not hate Wanda,” you point out.

“But that’s not my point,” she continues, “What I’m trying to say is that not once in your life have you ever had enough patience to deal with nerds,”.

“You are the girl who told Mr Coulson in maths to shove a stick up his ass in senior year,” Sam muses, pointing at you with what is possibly his fourth slice of pizza.

“And you teased Peter for trying too hard in physics for all of sophomore year,” Bucky adds.

“Oh!” Steve exclaims, “And you weren’t particularly nice to Scott—,”

“Okay, I get the fucking idea,” you snap.

And the truth is, they do have a point. A very good one, at that.

Wanda is not the kind of girl you pictured yourself ending up with at this stage in your life. Your teenage self would not have hesitated to scorn her in some way. Back in high school, you had been one of the popular girls, reputed for always being up for a good time on the weekends. To add to your stereotypical popular girl image, you were always surrounded by a gaggle of adoring friends. You might, at some points in your high school years, been unnecessarily mean to the smart kids in school — mostly because you were jealous of their ability to perform so well. Drama and theatre had always been your passion, and you did not have a single drop of academic ability in you. You hated learning with a vengeance and devoted very little time to studying, which in turn meant that you were scraping by each test by the skin of your teeth.

Wanda, by contrast, is something of a mathematical prodigy — working in the Stark Industries R&D department, one would expect nothing less. After finishing high school two years early, she was offered a full scholarship at the National University of Wakanda, one of the world’s leading institutions in engineering. Wanda graduated with first-class honours for the three undergraduate programs she participated in, and was promptly snatched up by Stark the moment she set foot in the working world.

The two of you could not have been more different if you’d tried.

“Is this the kind of stuff she deals with?” Steve asks, snapping you out of your thoughts. He twists around, reaching behind him to grab a sheaf of papers from the decorative side table beside the couch. “Didn’t think they were anything at first, then I saw the Stark logo and thought—hey!” he protests, as Sam snatches the papers out of his hands.

He whistles through his teeth, one eyebrow arching so high it’s a wonder that it’s still on his forehead at all. “Trajectory calculations, maximum speed estimates, idealised weight distribution—Y/N, this sounds like some pretty intense stuff,” Sam observes.

“I know,” you sigh, “We’re dating, remember? We’ve talked about her work before,”.

“She just…doesn’t seem like your type,” Bucky comments offhandedly, perching himself on the armrest of Nat’s chair.

“What d’you mean?” you ask, defensive shields up again, fists raised in the figurative sense.

“She’s academically gifted and you’re—well, not. You literally hate this kind of shit,” Bucky reminds you.

“I—she’s not a nerd just because she’s smart,” you cry exasperatedly, “And even if she was a nerd, I can like whoever I want! She’s a nice person, okay?”

“We just thought you’d be avoiding people like her,” Nat says, “That you’d end up with someone different. Wouldn’t have pegged—,”

“—me, for going after someone like Wanda? A math geek?”. You laugh bitterly, shaking your head in disappointment, “Guess I’m not as predictable as you expected, huh? Who would’ve thought that I, a girl who can barely recite her twelve times-tables, who’s mated math with a passion their entire life, who’s hated school her entire life would end up with someone like Wanda,” you say mockingly. “Look, let’s just drop the subject, alright?”

“When do we get to meet her?” Sam asks.

“Yeah, you seem to like her a lot. Why haven’t you introduced us?” Bucky adds.

You massage your temples gently, feeling a minor headache setting in from the onslaught of questions.

“First off, we’ve literally only been seeing each other for the last four months. In that time, you’ve been away careening through the hills of Scotland with nothing but a film camera,” you say, pointing towards Bucky. “You’ve had to finish writing a book, you’ve been going crazy prepping for NYFW and you’ve literally had about a million commissions to finish,” you add, pointing to Sam, Nat and Steve in turn. “There just hasn’t been an opportunity for me to do introductions,”.

“Jeez, we really need to make more time to see each other,” Nat says.

“Secondly,” you continue, folding your arms over your chest, “I was afraid of this. Of you all being judgemental and mean and — look, she’s not the most confident of girls, okay? I don’t…I really like her, guys,”

“We’re not that terrible,” Bucky mutters.

“You kinda are,” Steve teases. The statement earns him a murderous glare from Bucky.

“Well, hey, how’s about this weekend you bring her over to our place?” Sam suggests, “We’re having a dinner for my birthday—,”.

“Your birthday’s next week, bird-brain,” Bucky interrupts.

“I know, that,” Sam huffs, annoyed. “I’m going back to see my ma for my birthday, so we’re celebrating it here early, or did you forget, old man?”

“Why you—,”

“Okay!” you interrupt, holding both hands up in surrender, “I’ll do it. I’ll talk to Wanda, see what she thinks, and then bring her over if she says yes. Can we watch the goddamn movie now?”

—————————————

Wanda comes over about an hour after everyone has left. You’re half-asleep on your couch when you hear her key jingling in the lock.

“Hey,” she chirrups, as she shrugs off her coat. “How was it? Did you have fun?”. Beneath her coat, you see that she has on a pair of black pants and a burgundy blouse. She must have stayed late at work and then come straight here.

“It was okay,” you sigh, slowly moving into an upright position make room on the couch for her. Wanda kicks off her shoes and curls up against your side with her head resting on your shoulder.

“What’s up?” Wanda asks, squeezing your thigh, “You seem a little off,”.

“Do you think we’re compatible?” you ask abruptly. “As in, together, do you think we—are we a good match?”

The hesitation and doubt in your tone triggers her suspicions. Wanda sits up and turns to look at you. “Y/N?” she murmurs concernedly, reaching up to cup your cheek, “What’s going on?”

“They found out. About you and me,” you say, the words coming out in a rush.

Her eyebrows pull together in confusion. “…okay? So what’s the big deal?” Wanda asks.

You sigh, scrubbing one hand over your face frustratedly. “It’s—okay, basically, they said some things that made me…I guess, doubt the future of our relationship,” you explain.

Wanda nods thoughtfully. “What did they say?”

You proceed to tell her — in great detail — the events that took place in the last couple of hours. Wanda makes muted humming noises every now and then to show that she is listening intently.

“So yeah. I just—what they said left me a bit shaken up,”, you say, “What bugs me is the fact that they implied that…it’s surprising for someone like me to end up with someone like you,”.

“Someone like me?” Wanda echoes, tilting her head to the side.

“A math genius. A nerd, I guess,” you clarify. “I was never…academically inclined in school. And these guys grew up with me — they know that I was hopeless. I was always the popular girl, y’know? Good at drama — the subject, that is — but a failure at everything else,” you say bitterly.

“And that matters because?” Wanda prompts, letting her voice trail off at the end.

“Babe,” you huff, “Do you get what I’m tryna say? Like, I literally had to do re-sits just to pass. I was — and I hate to admit this — the kind of girl that used to pick on nerds,”. The confession sends a hot rush of shame through your system. High school was not your finest years; you did some pretty bitchy things back then.

“Well, I think we’ve been working out fine,” Wanda declares, as she pulls herself into your lap, thighs bracketing yours and hands resting on your shoulders. “What does it matter what they say?”

“But I used to be a bitch—,”

“But that’s not who you are now,” Wanda reminds you, brushing her thumb against the crook of your neck soothingly. “We all made mistakes in our past. I don’t care who you were back then, all I know is that the Y/N I’m in love with, is sweet and kind and loving and—,”

“Okay, okay, point taken,” you giggle.

“I was gonna say an asshole,” Wanda teases. You roll your eyes, shaking your head in amusement.

“Okay, no, but seriously,” she continues, tone taking on a more sombre note, “I don’t care what you were like back then. That’s not who you are now, and you realise your mistakes and frankly, that’s good enough for me,”.

“I’m not the same girl anymore,” you agree, “God, you are so smart, did you know that?”

Wanda snorts. “With three degrees? Hell yeah, I think so,”.

The two of your burst out laughing, Wanda burying her face into the side of your neck as her entire body quakes with giggles. “So what d’you say?” you ask, once you’ve both calmed down enough to speak coherently. “Sam’s invited us over for a dinner party at his house this weekend, shall we go?”

“Sure,” Wanda agrees, shrugging indifferently, “I finally get to meet these guys, it’ll be fun!”

“You might change your mind once you actually, meet them,” you warn. “I told them to be nice, but—,”

“I can take care of myself, Y/N,” Wanda sighs, petting you on the cheek. “Besides, remember what you always say? If I’m happy and you’re happy, then who gives a damn about what anyone else says?”

The corner of your lip tugs up at the endearment in her voice. “You’re happy?” you echo, nuzzling a little into her touch.

Wanda nods, an elated smile pulling at her lips. “I am,” she murmurs, leaning forward to rest her forehead against yours, “I really am,”. You tip your head up, just enough to graze your lips against hers. It’s a soft kiss to reinforce the words that you’ve shared with each other tonight; a declaration of your undying devotion to and faith in one another.

“You know what’d make me happier?” you mumble, barely breaking the kiss to speak.

A pause, then, “Sex?”

“Mind reader,” you chuckle, as you press another kiss to her lips — a little dirtier this time, your tongue darting out to flick over her bottom lip.

“What d’you want?” Wanda breathes, tantalisingly trailing her fingers down your arms, “A bath together? Take this to the bedroom?”

It is at this moment that a particularly wide yawn decides to break free, the wall of fatigue hitting you like a tonne of bricks. Wanda laughs fondly. “Okay, I think maybe save sex for the morning, bed right now?” she suggests as she clambers off you, grabbing your wrists to help you up.

“Mmm, I think I’m about ready to pass out,” you agree, nodding sleepily.

“I shall lull you to sleep by talking about the entry angle calculations I was doing today,” Wanda promises.

“Hell yes,” you groan approvingly, “Talk nerdy to me,”.

“Babe!” Wanda whines, “You’re not supposed to use that line anymore!”

—————————————

It’s a few days later and the two of you are in your car, driving over to Sam and Natasha’s house. You can tell that Wanda is nervous because she won’t stop plucking at the hem of her shirt.

“What if they don’t like me?” she asks suddenly.

You turn to face her as best as you can whilst still keeping one eye on the road. “They will,” you say simply, reassuring her with a pat on the thigh.

“But what if they don’t?” she frets, “What if I geek out? What if—,”

“Wanda,” you say sharply, cutting through the cloud of panic she’s stirred up around herself. “Stop worrying, okay? They’re nice, I promise,” you say. “Well, nice, is relative, I guess. They can be assholes when they want to be,” you amend.

“But they said you and I weren’t meant to be together!” Wanda protests.

“That is not what they said,” you say gently, “Don’t exaggerate. They just…think we’re an odd match. I’m sure they’ll come ‘round. Just be Wanda and you’ll be fine,”.

“Just be me,” she repeats, nodding her head resolutely, talking more to herself than to you.

“Exactly,” you murmur, taking your hand off her thigh and placing it back on the steering wheel.

“But don’t leave me alone with Nat. She scares me,”.

—————————————

Wanda is sat next to you on the couch. Sam and Bucky are engaging in a heated argument over the latest episode of The Avengers, which ended with The Hulk stealing a quinjet and flying off to god-knows-where.

“I think that’s gonna be the end of him for this season,” Bucky insists.

“No way!” Sam protests, “He’s like, everyone’s favourite character. They have got to have something big planned for him,”.

“If you think about the larger scale of things,” Wanda interrupts smoothly, “I believe it’s more likely that they’ll bring him back in the next season,”.

“I like this one,” Bucky says approvingly, flashing Wanda a lopsided grin.

“But, with that being said, I don’t think that’s the end of him for this season. Maybe they’ll do like…a special episode? I mean, they’re only on episode three, right?” Wanda continues.

“Exactly!” Sam cries.

“A mediator. I like you,” Steve says lazily. He’s in the kitchen with Natasha, heating something up in the oven.

“Anyone who can get Barnes and Wilson to shut up for more than two minutes is a god-send,” Nat chimes in.

It seems that your fears as to whether or not Wanda would be accepted by your group of friends have been unfounded. She’s clicked with them from pretty much the second she walked through the door. You have a feeling that your friends — Nat and Sam in particular — might still have a hard time accepting the fact that the two of you are now a package deal, but at least they like her. That’s always a good start.

“Anyone for a pre-dinner shot?” Nat asks, coming into the living room with a bottle of tequila in one hand, a stack of shot glasses in the other. Sam and Bucky immediately agree, but your girlfriend hesitates.

“Oh, no thank you,” Wanda says, “Uh—I don’t drink,”.

“How the hell do you survive with Y/N?” Sam asks incredulously, as he accepts a shot glass from Natasha. “She is literally the biggest party animal out of all of us,”.

“Am not,” you grumble.

“Oh, it’s no big deal, really,” Wanda assures him, ignoring you completely, “She goes out with you guys, and then I take care of her afterwards. I like it, she’s funny when she gets drunk,”.

Bucky laughs, “This is true. Y’know, I have a video of her singing Bohemian Rhapsody in—,”

“You promised me you’d delete that!” you cry indignantly.

“Really?” Wanda laughs, turning to Bucky, “Yeah, I have a couple of videos like that too, I can show you them—,”.

“You will not show them anything,” you growl threateningly.

“Show us!” Nat urges, bounding over to Wanda’s side as the latter pulls her phone out of her pocket. Steve, Sam and Bucky crowd in too.

“I hate you all,” you mutter, even though you’re secretly happy to see them getting along.

—————————————

Dinner turns out to be much more pleasant than you thought it would be. Sam and Natasha are currently in the kitchen packing away the leftovers, whilst the rest of you have retreated to the living room. You’re perched on the armrest of Sam’s ugly ass vinyl armchair, which Wanda has chosen to sit on.

“So, Wanda, Y/N tells us you work in Stark Industries?” Steve asks, as he flops down on the couch, pushing aside Bucky’s legs to make room for himself.

“Yep,” Wanda replies, “I’m in the R&D department,”.

“So what’s that like?” Bucky asks, turning his head to face her, “Do you actually get to work with the big man, or are you just in your own world doing calculations and shit?”

“It’s a bit of both,” Wanda admits, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “I don’t get to talk to Tony often, but I’ve met him a couple of times,”.

“What d’you think of him?”

“He’s a little…much, sometimes,” Wanda confesses.

Steve snorts, “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard too,” he says. “So what’re you working on now?”

Wanda sits up straighter, eyes sparkling with excitement. “I’m actually involved in a couple of projects. The one we’re most buzzed about is the new arc reactor tech,” Wanda says, hands gesturing excitedly as she gets into a rhythm. “So Stark Tower is powered by this enormous arc reactor, which is basically an alternative energy source. Tony’s idea is to use this tech to power space exploration, which in turn means that I’ve been up to my elbows in projectile and trajectory calculations, trying to—,” Wanda cuts herself off suddenly, a pink tinge starting to colour the tops of her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she mutters sheepishly, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers in the way she does when she’s panicking, “You were probably expecting a shorter answer. I geeked out a bit there,”

“No, it’s completely fine!” Steve assures her, “This is actually kinda interesting,”.

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees, “I’ve always had a thing for science. Stevie and I once went to the Stark Expo a few years back. The one where they demoed the flying car?”

“Oh, that one!” Wanda exclaims, “Tony still hasn’t given up on it, y’know? He’s even thinking about making it semi-autonomous,”

“Really?” Bucky hums, “So how’d that work then?”

Wanda picks up her purse and rummages around for a scrap of paper and a pen. She flattens the paper out on the coffee table and begins to sketch out a diagram — you can’t really make out what it is from your vantage point. “So, this is what the average car looks like, right?” she begins, adding a few lines to the sketch, “Now let me show you how a floating car differs…”

You tune out her voice as you cast a glance over Steve and Bucky. Both are leaning forward to get a closer look at her diagram, wearing curious expressions on their faces. They ask questions every now and then, which Wanda answers eagerly. She is in her element, talking about the thing that she loves most and in all honesty, you couldn’t be happier for her. Confident that she can stand to be without your presence for a second, you slip into the kitchen to check up on Nat and Sam.

“Y/N!” Sam calls, smiling as you walk in, “We were just talkin’ about you, actually,”.

“That’s…not always a good thing,” you reply, picking up a spoon to scrape the last of the lasagna into a container.

“Oh no, it was all good,” Nat assures you, talking over her shoulder as she washes dishes by the sink, “We were just saying how cute the two of you are,”.

Your heart leaps with joy. “You think we’re cute?” you ask, aiming to keep your tone nonchalant despite the fact that you’re squealing internally, overjoyed that Wanda has won Nat’s affection — no simple feat.

“I think you’re great for each other,” Sam says, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the two of you are like polar opposites, but—,”

“They say opposites attract for a reason, no?” Nat interrupts, casting you a mischievous wink. “I hope she sticks around, Y/N,”.

“Yeah,” you murmur, your eyes flicking up to look at Wanda, who is laughing at something Bucky just said, the corners of her eyes crinkling up in a most adorable manner. “I hope so too,”.

————————————— Tagging: @feelmyroarrrr @rda1989 @bidianaprinxe @lumelgy @hollycornish @youtubehelpsmesurvive @knock-around-meg-blog @amour-quinn @moonbeambucky @aquabrie @sanjariti @srgntjbarnes @ssweet-empowerment @kudosia

[sleeplesswritersaito]

Reckless (Jungkook, you)

"Thank Kronos the weekend is finally here," you said, stretching your arms over your head, bending left and right as you walked, relieving the tension in your back. They had given you Thursday and Friday off to train and prepare so, even though it was only Wednesday, it was the weekend in your book.

The sports festival was just around the corner and everyone had ardently been preparing for it every day now for almost a month. It was a school tradition and a highly anticipated day where a lot of sports and events would take place, and all classes were cancelled. Each program would compete against each other for a department paid three days and two nights outing. The students who weren't participating in the activities would form organisation committees and cheering teams.

Because some departments were smaller than others or had less willing participants, the contemporary dance and architecture departments had wound up together, which allowed both Jimin and you to be on the same team. He would be participating in the archery event, while you had volunteered to do be part of the hurdles team. You had been on the track and field team during your high school years, but had decided joining the university team was too much to handle with your architecture projects. However, you were still active, going for a run twice a week, every weekend and whenever Jimin wanted to. "I think we did a good job," Jimin replied, looking around as he packed his bag, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything on the field. You had just finished your individual practice after helping out your joint departments' decoration committee. They had decided last minute on making a cold drink and snack stand for people to cool off at, except they had to design, assemble and decorate it all in days left before the event. The group had been short on hands so the two of you had joined them for a few hours after class.  

"One last lap and then we go?" You asked once you had both packed your bags. It was a quarter past seven pm but the sun was still up, an advantage of spring arriving.

"How about a race?" He asked, tying his shoe laces in anticipation.

"You're on," you replied, dropping your bag near his, walking up to crouch down beside him, on the right side of the soccer field.

"The first one to the goalpost wins," you said, pointing to the soccer net at the end of the field.

"On three, two, one, go," he counted down and you both started running, building up speed and reaching peak speed near the middle of the field.

As you often did when you ran full speed, you felt like you were flying, the wind brushing against your cheeks, running through your hair. However, that moment was suddenly cut short, sending you stumbling on the track. You went down with a yelp and, ahead of you, you saw Jimin slow down and stop at the noise, coming back towards you when he saw you crouched down.

"What happened?" He asked once he reached you, crouching beside you to have a look at your ankle, which you were currently holding.

"I think I sprained it," you said as you looked down, uncovering it. "I tripped on my laces and my ankle went wayside trying to keep me balanced. It's a pretty stupid way to have an injury."

"And to boot, it happens five days before the sports festival," Jimin said. "Can you stand?" He asked, offering you his arm.

"Yeah, I'm good," you said, standing up as you both started walking. 

"Liar," he said, calling you out on your limp.

"Am not," you said, leaving his side and trying to walk on your own. Two steps and a couple of winces later, he stepped up to you, putting your arm around his shoulder so he could support the most of your body weight.

"Are too."

"It'll be fine after I rest," you defended as he looked at you with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what," he said. "You're exactly like my other friend. Always so stubborn and lying that he's fine when he isn't. I should set you up together so you guys can finally realize how infuriating you both are."

"You know I'm free," you said with a wink. Being close, you often joked about setting each other up, occasionally actually setting each other up, though the resulting relationships weren't always as ideal as imagined.

"I'll make sure to get you guys in contact then," he said with a chuckle. "Don't be surprised if he texts you this weekend. You can even meet after the festival, if you and your ankle are up to it."

"I'll be fine if I rest over the weekend," you said with a light shove. "Don't worry about the festival. I'll make sure to come in first place." ---

"You won't be running," Jimin said decisively, arms crossed over his chest. "I'll tell Wendy to run for you."

"I'm fine," you said, shrugging his comment off. "The race starts in five minutes anyway, and she's part of the cheering squad. We can't just drop a bomb on her like that."

"Sure we can," he replied. "She did some sports before, I'm sure she'll be fine and I'm sure she won't mind." 

"I'll run, Jimin," you said. "Stop worrying. It's not even 100m of hurdling; I'll be fine."

"I don't trust you will," he answered, pointing the ankle brace peaking out from over the top of your running shoe. "When you told me it'd heal over the weekend I didn't believe you and with reason. I'm no doctor but the bruising was already pretty bad by the time I brought you home. I'm not going to let you run on an injured ankle."

"It's fine," you said although you knew it wasn't. You had tested it out yesterday and, while you would walk, jumping strained your ankle and it jammed when you overworked it too much. However, you weren't the type to let yourself be bested by an occasionally aching joint.

"Here, I'll even take it off to run," you said, bending down to take off your shoe and ankle brace. "Just to prove I don't need it to win a medal."

"If you need it don't take it off," Jimin exclaimed in concern as you threw it at him, putting your shoe back on. "If you're going to run injured at least run safely." 

"It was for extra measure," you said. "I don't really need it and I'm not letting you stop me from running my race, Park."

Before he could retort, a pair of students came up to the both of you to tell you that you had to get ready for your respective events. The hurdles athletes had to go warm up and get ready, while the archery team had a practice period of thirty minutes before their competition started. They had trained after school for it and Jimin had been chosen as a member, scoring in the eight to ten points on average.

"See you later," you said, waving as you left him there, your ankle brace in hand, to thoughtlessly follow his fellow student to the designated practice area. "Make sure to win!" 

---

"Hey Kook!" Someone called out to him in a voice he recognized as Taehyung's.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked between pants, wiping the sweat off his brow as he lay in the cool grass, the breeze doing wonders to cool down his burning forehead. He had a headache forming and it was probably due to the empty stomach he was running on. He hadn't had much sleep over the weekend and has trained late into the night yesterday to make sure he was ready for today. Also, he had maybe, just maybe, overdone it by putting in too much effort during his activities today. Plus, he hadn't had any time to eat, not that he was very hungry at the moment. Really, there were probably more reasons to it than he would have liked to admit. 

"I was going to as you a favor, but seeing the state you're in, I think I better thinking twice about it," the brunet said, sitting down beside his friend, who sat up to meet him, blinking away the black spots in his vision.

"I'm good," the younger male replied. "What can I do for you? Run your race?"

"How did you know?" Taehyung asked, face morphing into a mask of surprise. 

"I remember you telling me about your bad knees during class some time ago," he replied. "You said they wouldn't stop you from becoming a firefighter, but that your joints ached from time to time. I’m guessing they blocked after our dance?" 

"Oooh," his friend said, half in awe half teasing. "That's police officer Jeon Jungkook and his amazing memory and deduction skills for you."

"Shove off," he replied with a grin. His upper-classmen, friends and fellow classmates always teased him for it. "When's your race?" 

"Forget about it," Taehyung said. "You aren't in good enough shape to do it. You've probably overworked yourself. Again. What events did you do this morning? Your own sprint followed by our department morning dance event and now you want to run? With no break in between? You're crazy to think I'd let you run. Or more like I was crazy enough to think of asking you. You look like you need to inhale an entire oxygen tank. You're looking pretty pale and you're sweating buckets."

"Come on man, I'll be fine. It's just a little bit of running. I won't allow us to get less than a gold medal for the relay race," Jungkook argued, playfully shoving his friend. "You know our departments are always first. I just need to drink a bit of water and I'll be fine." 

"It's okay to break tradition once in a while," the elder replied, getting up. "I'll ask Hyunsik to run for me." 

"No offense to him," Jungkook said, grabbing his friends' arm to get on his feet, coughing a few times when his breath caught in his chest. "But I'm faster."

---

"I knew this was going to happen," Taehyung said as he jogged alongside the stretcher two ER students were moving. The event managers had asked the medical students to be on standby for injuries or other things gone wrong, like students overestimating themselves. This situation was a prime example of the latter. 

"Hey, are you still alive over there?" He asked over the male students' shoulder, limping along as one of his knees jammed. He was the one closest to him, the girl at the feet of the stretcher in front.

"He's going to be fine in a bit," the student answered as passed through the university's main doors, making a beeline for the closest door to the infirmary.

Taehyung arrived a few minutes later because of his knee, but when he got there, people were already bustling about, a few surrounding his childhood friend. Two were massaging his limbs -arms and legs-, the other was fanning him, another was bringing over an actual metal fan from the other side of the room to cool him down, and the last was feeding Jungkook oxygen through a mask.

"Maybe it'd be better to take some layers off if he's too hot," Taehyung said, taking support at the base of the bed.

His friend had been faint-headed because of the heat and all the moving around, or so he had heard. They also suspected lack of nutrients. Although he had left later than his friend this morning, since they shared a residence, he also knew Jungkook had come back later than he had fallen asleep, which had been pretty late seeing as he had been up playing video games.

When the younger feebly protested to the tug of his clothes, Taehyung said; "I know you have a lava hot body, don't try to hide it. Your date isn't even in the room right now, so fret not, friend. I have you covered. We just need to cool you down."

When his friend kept insisting on keeping his clothes on, Taehyung let the subject go. "Fine, your socks and your shirt are your pride. I get it. I told you not to run," he said more seriously. "I should've insisted more than that."

"We won first though," Jungkook joked, though his voice sounded thin and his breath was labored. 

"Is that really what's important right now?" Taehyung asked, slapping his friends' shin. "You're always overexerting yourself. It's time to rest a bit, look back and reconsider your attitude. I know you always give it your all, but have you ever considered that maybe, sometime's it's better to live life moderately rather than at its fullest?"

"You've become a philosopher now?" Jungkook mocked through the oxygen mask as the med students sat him up, actively massaging his nape to insure good blood circulation to the brain.

"Shut up and rest," Taehyung spat back, massaging his own knee, hoping to alleviate its tension. He looked behind him and sat down at the free bed, so as to not overwork his other knee. "I'm leaving once they tell me you're good. Someone needs to go claim that medal." 

---

Hey, I don't think I'll be able to meet you on time, you typed as you walked, using the wall as support. I've been held back a bit.

You received a message a few seconds later, your phone vibrating in your hand: Same here. I injured myself and I think I might have to rain check. Sorry.

The day after having sprained your ankle, you had woken up to a text message from an unknown number, saying they had gotten your number from a friend that said you would be a good match. Just like Jimin had predicted. You both had kept texting throughout the day, as you went about your daily activities, and had ended up texting late into the night.

You had woken up the next morning, slightly regretful, but had continued to talk like you didn't mind. Because of conflicting schedules, you hadn't been able to meet up, but you had talked every day, answering when you weren't busy. He was nice to talk to, you came to realize.

Is it serious? You texted back, biting your nail anxiously, leaning against the wall. You always had been one to concern yourself more about others than yourself. 

Him: Not really..? I'm resting in the infirmary. My friend just left. 

You: You don't seem sure haha Where are you? I'm on my way

Him: Trying to make up for our missed first date already? ;) 

You snickered at the answer, texting it was because of an injury, before making your way to the nurse's desk. 

"Can I have an ice pack to go please?" You asked. "It's for a sprained ankle." 

"Are you sure you're good to go?" She asked, going in the back room to get one, handing you the bag of ice as she came out. "You came in limping and I heard from a friend that it wasn't an easy fall and that I should keep you here for a while."

"It's alright," you said, scratching the back of your neck in embarrassment. Had news really travelled that fast? 

You knew it hadn't been a good idea to run the race, even more so without your ankle brace, but you had stubbornly thrown that at Jimin and it had been too late to back down and you were too prideful to take it back. You had given the race your all, ignoring the throb in your ankle as you jumped over the hurdles, not once making them topple over. However, your mind and body had different thoughts and, near the end of the race, as you landed after your last hurdle, your ankle gave out from under you, sending you tumbling and ultimately sprawling over the finish line.

As your friends rushed over to you to check up on you and to congratulate you on your miraculous third place, you had scratched your head sheepishly, asking one of them to help you up. After seeing your purple and progressively swelling ankle, one of your friends hurried to give you a piggy back ride and rush you to the infirmary. You had told Jackson to leave you at the elevator door, saying you didn't want to be a more of a bother and had ushered them back out on the field, telling him to claim your medal in your stead and to stop worrying.

"Oh, you must be Jackson's nurse friend. I think he mentioned you a few times. I told him not to make a fuss," you said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry if he was a bother."

"Oh no," she replied. "He's like a little brother to me, its alright. He wasn't more annoying than usual. Still, you should stay around for a while."

"I'll take advantage of one of your beds then. Thanks for the ice pack," you said, slowly inching away as you nodded as thanks.

"It's nothing," she replied with a smile. "The infirmary was supposed to be empty all day, in the best of cases, but a handful of you ended up here. If ever you need something else, don't hesitate to come back to the front desk."

"Will do," you said with a nod, heading towards the spot he had texted you.

"Hello?" You asked cautiously, peeking through the alleys of beds as you limped your way to the south end of the nurse's office.

"I'm here," someone said from behind the curtains. A hand appeared at the end of the bed you were conveniently in front of, pulling the curtain away to reveal a boy your age. He was lying down on the bed, a towel over his forehead, an IV bag hanging overhead on his right. 

"You said it wasn't serious, but you receiving IV fluids says otherwise" you said, putting the bag of ice on the bedside table and then looking for a chair to sit on. You didn't want to selfishly hog an entire bed for a single ankle. 

"It's looks more serious than it actually is," he replied, removing the towel from his forehead and propping himself up on the bed, extending a hand. "Since this is the first time we meet in person, let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Jungkook Jeon from the police department." 

"Y/N Y/LN, architecture," you said, shaking his hand and then pointing to the right program name of the two embroided on the sleeve of your shirt. The university had made custom shirts for each team, with colors and designs on the back fit for each program, last names printed over the heart. Yours was yellow with a ribbon wrapped cube surrounded by a ring, his was dark blue with a police badge printed on the front, under his name. 

"What's up with the ankle?" He asked as you set your leg up on the foot of his bed, the chair situated near his torso. In the five days you had had to virtually acquaint yourselves to each other, you had mentally become quite close, comfortable even. "Is it the injury you mentioned? No offense, but it looks pretty bad."

"None taken," you said as you dropped the ice bag on your ankle, hissing as the cold dug its way through your skin. "And it looks worse than I thought. My injuries aren't usually this bad."

"You say that as if you usually get injured," he said, wordlessly bending over to put the towel he had kept on his forehead under the ice pack to help counter the cold.

You leaned back into the chair before replying. "Jimin says I push myself too hard and that's why I get injuries. Most of the time it's a few bruises or a sprain that leaves after a good night's sleep, not week long sprains." 

"Shouldn't you be more careful? Ankles are more fragile than you think and they're pretty useful for day to day life. It'd suck to have them permanently injured." 

"You're sounding like Jimin," you teased. "And I don't always injure my ankles. What about you mister IV? What are you here for?" 

"Low blow," he chuckled, though he replied once you raised your eyebrow at him. "Slight dehydration and lack of food."

"And you dare say that isn't serious?" You exclaimed, slapping his arm before crossing them over your chest again. "What kind of policeman doesn't look after himself? I thought you were eating between your training sessions."

"Hey, it just slipped my mind," he tried justifying. "I ate all week, I just forgot to eat breakfast before leaving this morning."

"And then you say I should take better care of myself," you laughed. "Speak for yourself, officer."

“Yes ma’am,” he replied with a laugh that brightened the room.

---

"Hey, is Y/N still in the infirmary?" Jimin asked the nurse breathlessly, hands on his knees as he tried finding his breath again. He had run up the two flights of stairs in a hurry, too impatient to wait for the elevator, and had then sprinted down a hallway, full speed ahead.

"Pardon, who?" She said, looking up from her desk.

"Y/N," he repeated. "I heard she came in with a sprained ankle, something like -he checked his phone- two hours ago."

"Oh, her," the girl said, eyes lighting up in recognition. "Yes, she should still be here. I saw her head towards the South side, near the windows overlooking the field."

"Alright thank you," the blond said, waving her thanks as he headed in the direction she had indicated.

After his own archery event, he had been too busy celebrating his silver medal with his friends that he hadn't checked his phone. It wasn't until he had seen Jackson on stage receiving Y/N's medal beside him that he had known something was wrong. As they had descended the stage, Jackson asked him if he had seen his message yet. When Jimin replied that he hadn't, Jackson had briefed him in a hurry and the shorter male had sprinted to the infirmary.

"I'm so sorry I'm late are you-" he said, the words dying down as he took in the scene.

"Shh," you said, a finger over your lips as you ushered him with the other. "Did Jackson give you my medal?"

"Yeah," he trailed off in a daze, searching through his pockets to hand it to you.

"Nice," you commented as you got it, looking over it on both sides, fingers tracing through the curves and indents of the smooth metal. Although you had held a medal at a race not too long ago, it was nice to feel the weight of one in your hand again.

"Should I be asking questions?" Jimin finally asked, pointing to your other hand as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"You can ask but I wouldn't be able to answer," you replied, also looking down at you and Jungkook's intertwined hands. "I don't know if it's a sleeping habit of his or if this is him being sly, but this happened after he fell asleep."

"I'm sure it did," Jimin said with a knowing look as he sat down beside you, nudging you with his shoulder.

"What are you trying to imply," you asked, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Are you saying there has to be an ulterior motive to holding hands with someone?"

"I wouldn't dare," he said, raising his arms in mock surrender. " Pretend as though I said nothing"

"Good."

"Here, switch places with me," he told you, motioning for you to take the bed. "Take a nap; I'll even hold his hand if you want. You must be tired from your injury and not having been able to rest."

"It's okay," you declined politely.

Jungkook had fallen asleep during a talking break and you had just let him be, occasionally rearranging the ice pack on your foot, completely discarding it when it had melted too much. Before you had the chance to get up to get another one, his hand had found your wrist and then your hand, tugging it towards him. You had turned back to check if he had woken up, but when you had found his eyes still closed and his chest rising at the same speed as before, you had simply sat back down, taking out your phone to play some games.

"I don't mind holding hands with him. I'll just sleep when I get home later."

"Alright," he said, a smile making his way to his face as he saw, behind you, Jungkook biting down on his lips to keep a neutral face. "I'll let the couple-to-be be lovey dovey."

You hit his bicep with your arm. "Shut up! Don't you have other things to do except spout nonsense. What about your event? How did it go?"

"I won silver," he said, keeping your attention on him as Jungkook opened his eyes to look over you fondly. "As promised."

The End

A/N: And that’s another wrap! I think this is the fastest I’ve ever writing a story so far. It took something like a week? A week and a half? Anyways, that’s really quick for me, so I’m really happy I was able to release a story I’m proud of in such a short amount of time. Anyway, seeing Jungkook in that Burn the Stage episode hurt my heart. I understand where he’s coming from though, since I’m a bit similar, so I projected his ambition and recklessness into a story. I hope you enjoyed :) I also hope he takes better care of his body and health and the six other boys too!

[chaquismaliq]

Acoustic Adventures: Chaquis Maliq STEM Music Teacher  while Touring

I know this is long overdue, but I remembered to finish this entry. Enjoy!

Girls Rock Charleston

I performed at @scyouthaction Girls Rock #Charleston and had a blast with them. We they joined in with the impromptu call and responses to fit the program and they all loved it. I think we jammed longer than most performances are set to go on, and they asked the greatest questions during Q & A.

Then I made it a point to make sure I got to see them perform for their Girls Rock Summer Camp Show! Their camp was only 1 week long and some have never played and instrument! My teeth were showing through the entire show. 😁😍The lyricism that they all put together, whether it was a poem, song, or skit... was outstanding! ❤️❤️ (I tried to post 10 videos at once here and it failed ... this post has been sitting waiting to post since Sunday)

A post shared by Chaquis Maliq (@chaquismaliq) on Jul 3, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

Being a Teacher for a Week

So, while I was heading to Chicago, ECM calls me to teach for a week at their summer camp. It’s like 1 week and half before the class, if that. However, I did ask for this particular week since it was open back in MARCH (when my pilot was successful) , and so did my coach. No one ever responded until the end of JUNE. 

Anyway, I cannot imagine being a teacher for 9 months every single day out of the year. After being told how to teach my classes to incorporate coding, I simply pitched my music class within 24 hours of being requested to teach 8 hours a day for a week. Am I going to tell you exactly what I did? Absolutely not. However, the staff was excited by the pitch and found plenty of ways to sabotage it. I’m sure you thought this was going to be some beautiful introduction to this blog entry, and I do not apologize for it not being. This blog is to take you on my journey and find out what really goes on to a certain extent. 

Classes

I had 5 or 6 periods a day with about 13 students in each class. The weird thing is that the classes are a filled with random ages, ranging from around 7 - 14. I must say I was surprised that I handled these classes as if Teaching in the manner was something I did on a regular basis.

Okay let me tell you this one thing about a team looking for name. The kids were about 9 years old. Only one girl in the group and of color, the rest were all boys. So, one of the boys said, “Black Panther” as a team name. 

Me: 

Student: Why not?

Me: Because it’s inappropriate for this class.

Student: I don’t get it.

Me: you will.

So anyway, the student came back the next day and said:

I know why you said it was inappropriate. I asked my dad and he told me. Then another boy chimes in and said: I googled it. And they talked about it for a few seconds. Both of these students were caucasian boys. I was just relieved to know that the conversation could remain peaceful and respectful. And these were children. We can’t even get adults to have this much compassion or empathy in most cases.

The Video below will show you some of the highlights of how my week went with these loveable children.

  Denver (The Last Dinosaur)

So yeah, my first time in Denver. Ummmm I have a lot of health issues I was born with, and Denver is not somewhere I could live because of the invisible altitude. I was miserable some of the time. But I did enjoy myself lol! 

A post shared by Chaquis Maliq (@chaquismaliq) on Sep 2, 2017 at 2:38pm PDT

I like to have fun on tour/vacation. If it means to sacrifice eating out the entire time and to get groceries instead ( I don’t trust nobody food anyway lol), then I will, shall, and have. I’ve been a healthy eater the majority of my life. But now I’m ovo vegetarian. Meaning that eggs are the only animal products I eat. Anyway I said that I would find an electric skillet or this trip and beyond. I sure did. and if I could have fit my personal blender in my carry on, I would have brought that too.

These are vegan items cooked in the skillet and in the hotel.

I stayed at the Hyatt. Don’t think because you’re probably saying: “Oooh she ghetto...” What’s the difference in you microwaving frozen foods in your hotel room? And why is there a refrigerator option for reservations...hmmmmm? And if you’ve ever stayed in a Resort, you’d know that most of them come with dishes and the whole nine.

Anyhow...... sitting there watching Food Network in the room and guess WHAT?! Miss Robbie Montgomery is on there with Sweetie Pies talking about how she used to cook in the hotel rooms while touring with Tina Turner, because during those times the weren’t allowed to eat in most of the restaurants in the city they performed in. Miss Robbie said, “ We had electric skillets...”

I was treated to an Indian Restaurant and a cool vegan restaurant too.

Mercury Lounge 

This was a journey. Got lost getting to the venue lol. Well, at least I didn’t have to carry my equipment. That made it a lot easier and I’m grateful. This venue, Mercury Lounge was pretty cool. The entire vibe and the crowd was so genuine. It was a listening environment and they kept asking me to sing more. No this wasn’t the festival type that you’re used to seeing me talk about, which I love, but it’s always nice to do a listening room show. Oh, as you can see, I did not have my cajon. I used my carry on suitcase as the cajon. Gotta keep the traveling expenses down as much as possible. 

I also got to meet an artist friend, TheVoice who is from Denver. She came out to the show and we had a nice car ride conversation about life and music. 

A post shared by Chaquis Maliq (@chaquismaliq) on Aug 31, 2017 at 8:35pm PDT

The next day was A Taste of Colorado, where I got to see SHEILA E.! I didn’t have front row seats like my artist friend The Voice Robinson though  LOL! Spent the day exploring and being treated and got a decent view from the back, so it would be easier to leave to get rest and catch my flight home.

Okay I’ve got to get ready for a show. Don’t forget to check out my Documentary on ROKU TV and Amazon Prime! New music is out too! Thank you for keeping up with Acoustic Adventures and for supporting!

- Chaquis Maliq 05.24.2018  I’ll proof some other time :-)

TOUR DATES : ChaquisMaliq.com/tour

[sarohara]

You: Hey

Stranger: hey

You: Wyd/

You: ?*

Stranger: i'm jake, you?

Stranger: also j chilling here

You: Well, i actually asked "what r you doing" but it's alright

You: Ohhhhhh

You: nvm

Stranger: LOL

You: Well, i'm Sarah

Stranger: nice to meet you sarah

Stranger: and wyd? 😂

You: nice to meet u as well lol

Stranger: also how old are you?

You: I'm just listening to music 😂

You: I'm 16

You: wbu?

Stranger: oh cool i'm 17

Stranger: i'm listening to music too

Stranger: whatchyu listenin to?

You: Oh what song?

You: oHH

You: Hm, Take me Home, i guess

Stranger: oh i don't think you'd like it 😂 it's not pleasant

Stranger: Take me home!! love that song

Stranger: it's amazing

You: Ohhhh i think the sameee

You: About Take me home, sure

You: Tell what r u listening, pls

Stranger: I'm listening to this

Stranger: Currently going through some grief, and this helps, in some weird twisted way

You: Wait

You: is the lyric?

Stranger: wait sorry?

You: is that the lyrics of the song?

Stranger: oh no, that's just my thoughts

You: Ohhhhh

Stranger: did you try taking a listen?

You: Yea 😂

Stranger: not exactly the sweetest shit huh 😂

You: 😂😂😂

You: Well...

Stranger: Haha it's okay, I'm listening to it bc it ain't that

You: ahahha oke then, but do u wanna talk about that?

Stranger: Hmm we don't have to, there's dark stuff, and I don't wanna put that on ya

You: Don't worry but if u don't want to, it's okay :)

Stranger: Okay you're nice and I appreciate that :)

You: Oh thanks dude :)

Stranger: Tell me what's on your mind, how's life been for you?

You: Well...

You: Overwhelmed, I would say

Stranger: Why?

You: But nothing much, u know...it's just life, is what it is

Stranger: Well, what's been bothering you?

You: A lot of things but at the same time, its everything okay..

You: u know, idk, i'm bad at this

Stranger: That's fine, that's not bad

Stranger: I think if you can accept the terrible aspects of life, you're halfway on overcoming them

Stranger: So you're on track, I think

You: Oh wow

You: philosopher :) lol

You: but idk, maybe

Stranger: Hah 😂

Stranger: I guess you could call me that, i'm flattered

You: AHAHAHAH

You: Glad to know 😂

You: and thanks for asking :)

Stranger: Oh yeah ofc

Stranger: Lmk if you wanna share, this philosopher's got a lot to say 😂

You: 😂😂😂😂

You: Got it, sage

Stranger: 😂

Stranger: You amuse me 😂

You: 😂

You: I'm happy now

Stranger: Wait I never asked, where are you from?

Stranger: Aww I'm glad :)

You: :))

You: I'm from Brazil

You: wbu?

Stranger: Oh wow that's so cool

Stranger: Are you latina?

Stranger: I'm from NY!

You: well, depends on what u consider latina😂

You: But yea, i guess...

You: Ohhh Ny, that's so cool

Stranger: wait what does that mean haha?

Stranger: and yup! i love it here

You: Nvm, i was just kidding 😂

Stranger: ohhh haha ok

Stranger: i bet you're cute

You: Ohh thanks :) but i don't think so

You: But i'm sure ur

Stranger: 😂

Stranger: thanks, but i don't think so either

Stranger: so i think we both won :))

You: 😂😂

You: Yea, twins

You: well, how r things over there?

You: covid and stuff

Stranger: Well not too good tbh

Stranger: things are pretty terrible in a lot of ways rn

Stranger: but like you said, it's ok

You: well, just like in the whole world, right?

You: Not so ok but ok

Stranger: world, life, everything 😂

You: 😂😂😂 definition of = suckssss

Stranger: LOL YOU KNOW IT

You: 😂😂

Stranger: It really be rough

Stranger: what's your life like? relationships, school, hobbies, etc?

You: Well, it depends like... relationships= only my friends, school= not so bad

You: I dance so...it's my hobbie

You: Like, i dance hip hop, classes and stuff

Stranger: you dance??

Stranger: wow

Stranger: 😍 😍 😍

You: Yea, at least I used to dance 😂

You: Whaaat

Stranger: Nothing, it's just cuteee 🥵😉

You: Ohhh 😂

You: Wbu, tell me

Stranger: Sing, play piano, and paint

You: Ohh that's awesome, and rlly cute

You: 😂

Stranger: Aww thanks 🥰

You: Aw :)

Stranger: Wow this just got cute

Stranger: here take some 😘

You: taking 😂

You: u know what

Stranger: yeah?

You: ur the first person in a long time I met rlly nice here

Stranger: awww

Stranger: ugh take some more 😘

Stranger: sweet girl

You: Yeaa that's cute, I 😂

You: Sweet words, i would say

You: I'm not that sweet oke?

Stranger: you seem sweet oke?

Stranger: she's cute, she dances, and she's sweet, and she's nice

Stranger: 🤤 🤤 🤤

You: oh oke i'll change your mind one day 😂

You: Ohhh that was sweet 😂

Stranger: I think the emoji you're looking for is: " 😘"

Stranger: 😂 😂 😂

You: 😂😂😂😂

You: oh yea, ur right, thanks

Stranger: still waiting 🙄

You: I use 😂 for everything lol

You: oh yea hold on

You: reformulating

Stranger: 😂😂

You: Ohhh that was sweet 😘

You: AHAHAHAH

Stranger: oh DAMN 🥰 🥰 🥰

Stranger: you got me blushin

You: Stop it 😂

Stranger: sweet babygirl 😘

You: Oh <3 😂

You: tbh, i don't have any emojis here...i'm on the laptop so..😂

Stranger: ahhh no worries ahaha

You: ahahah oke

Stranger: i wish you were here w me, you seem so sweet

You: Well, where's your mask?

Stranger: I HAVE IT ON

You: 😂

Stranger: but i'd take it off if you were here -_-

You: Oh yea, i can imagine it 😂

Stranger: After all, you gotta leave room for 😘

You: I'll take a flight oke?

You: Funny lol

Stranger: Oh please do baby 😂

Stranger: Also if we accidentally disconnect, just type "jakesarah" in the interests

Stranger: Okay make sure to fly here using a pigeon tomorrow

You: No way Jakeeee 😂

Stranger: Yes way Sarahhh

Stranger: ride that pigeon

You: Oke copy that!!😂

Stranger: What are you bringing for me?

You: Paçoquita

You: A lot of things, don't worry

Stranger: oooh what's that?

Stranger: and what else :)

You: Hm how can i explain...

Stranger: Tryyy

You: It's basically a peanut jam (???) idk maaaan

You: something like that, trust me

Stranger: Oh that sounds niceee, sounds tasty

You: Wait, actually not a jam, just a peanut candy

You: Yeaa it's rlly good

Stranger: oh wow, candy!

Stranger: i love candy

Stranger: Hmm what else?

Stranger: Are you bringing kisses?

You: Ohhh who doesn't, right?

You: Oh 😂 u got meee

Stranger: you better bring plenty 😂 😂 😂

You: Funny 😂

Stranger: Oh well, you won't?

Stranger: Don't worry. I'll bring enough for both of us

Stranger: ;)

You: Well, I'll think about it 😂

You: Waittt whaaat

Stranger: Did google translate fail LOL?

You: Actually, Omegle translate to English again😂

Stranger: LOL

Stranger: I said don't worry, I'll bring enough for the both of us :)

You: I hadn't seen you typed in Portuguese, I just saw it now 😂

Stranger: OH

Stranger: omg

You: Yeaaa i knowww

You: I'm so proud 😂

Stranger: of me? 😂

You: Yea sure 😂

Stranger: 😂 😂 😂

Stranger: of who?

You: You duhhh

You: 😂

Stranger: AWW

Stranger: she sweet <3

You: not so sweet oke 😂

Stranger: yes so sweet 😘

You: i'll change your mind, trust me 😂

Stranger: with kisses? ;)

Stranger: im sure those wouldn't be sour :)

You: Well, i'll think about it 😂

Stranger: 😂 😂 😂

You: sour 😂 awfuul

Stranger: hahaa 😂

You: 😂

You: hey, what time is it over there?

Stranger: it's 8:31

Stranger: wbu?

You: 9:31

You: pm, sure

Stranger: ahhh, that's neat

Stranger: you go to bed when?

You: Soon, i guess

You: but not now

Stranger: What are you gonna do before?

You: Well...

You: talk to u..maybe

You: keep talking actually lol

Stranger: Ah that's nice :)

You: :))

You: can i ask if u have insta?

Stranger: I do, yeah

Stranger: I don't share social media here, if that's ok

Stranger: i hope you don't mind

You: Ohhh

You: Nah, it's totally okay :)

Stranger: Thanksss

Stranger: You probably do, right?

You: what do u think? lol

You: yea, i do

Stranger: Ahaha yeah i guessed

Stranger: I'm not a big fan of social media, you?

You: i'm not that big fan but yea, i use it a lot lol

You: makes any sense?

You: 😂

Stranger: Ahhh yeah haha

Stranger: i do too

Stranger: addiction lol

You: yea, that sucksss 😂

You: but what can i do, right?

Stranger: Is your acct public?

Stranger: Yeah haha, i feel ya

You: Private actually

You: bcz u know...like omegle and stuff

Stranger: HAHA you come here a lot then?

You: I wouldn't make it public

You: Actually i dont oke?

You: Like, just sometimes

You: but still

Stranger: Ahh yeah i know what you mean

Stranger: i only come here sometimes too

Stranger: not too often tho lol

Stranger: what do you usually come here for? how is it usually?

You: Mhm i can imagine it😂

You: Idk, I just come here to talk and meet some people, idk, it's pretty random yea

Stranger: huh, that's nice

Stranger: How does it usually go

You: and I've met a lot of friends here, that's the good part

You: Well*

Stranger: Ah, good friends?

You: Wait, not "a lot", i met a lot of people but friends, only 3, i guess...

Stranger: Oh, are they nice?

Stranger: I've usually not kept contact except with one girl i met a few months ago

You: Yea, they're...like u know

You: Ohh gotcha u

Stranger: wait what? 😂

You: what what 😂

Stranger: "like u know"

Stranger: what do u mean lol

You: Ohh yea, like 😂 funny story, actually not that funny

You: Oh nvm

Stranger: Wait tell me lol

Stranger: im curious

You: It's nothing much oke? Just like, i had a friend that i met here and

You: and he disappeared 😂 that's it

Stranger: LOL 😂 😂 😂

Stranger: you got ghosted poor u

You: Yea i guess 😂 poor me

Stranger: it be rough huh

Stranger: i mean i don't use it much, bc most people aren't as nice as you or that other girl i met

Stranger: that other girl's a little too nice though if you know what i mean 😏 and i love it haha

You: 😂😂😂 ahahahahah yeaa!! i got it!!

Stranger: she's the sweetest girl ever haha

You: Aww :) Have u said this to her?

Stranger: Oh yeah I have, and trust me I've showed that I mean it 😉

You: Showed what? 😂

You: Anyways, that's so cute :)

Stranger: LOL not "images" lol

Stranger: just doing stuff for her that's a little special if ya know what i mean

You: I didn't mean it LOL

You: when did you guys meet?

Stranger: hmm, in april

Stranger: we're not dating lol

Stranger: and it's not like, one-on-one either. So it's just nice

You: one-on-one lol

You: nice description😂

Stranger: LOL no, i mean, there's no solo commitment like we can still see other people 😂

You: Ohhhh wait

You: is it like open relationship?😂 no way...

Stranger: AHAHA well there's not a "relationship"

Stranger: it's more of a friends-with-benefits type of situation

You: it's anything but relationship 😂

Stranger: lmao basically yeah 😂

You: Got it huh 😂

Stranger: Hey i mean it's still nice

Stranger: we have feelings for each other and we express them and that's nice

You: Yeaa, i know well lol

Stranger: lol wdym?

You: Nothing (??) 😂

Stranger: Ahaha okay babe

You: Babe awful 😂

Stranger: Babygirllll

Stranger: lol u mad at me?

You: Wow, i thought u were typing an essay

You: Mad? Whaat 😂

Stranger: OH LOL

Stranger: i wasn't haha

You: ahahahah i realized

You: wyd now?

Stranger: same as before haha, relaxing in bed

Stranger: talking to a nice girl named sarah :)

Stranger: you?

You: I'm flattered 😂

You: talking to a kind of nice guy called Jake :) and same as before, listening to music

Stranger: "kind of nice" 😂

Stranger: flattered too ig haha

You: ahahahah i was just kidding 😂

You: ur rlly nice

Stranger: says you! the sweet girl :)

You: 😂😂 oh stop it!!

You: hey stranger

You: i gtg sleep now...wake up at 5 and stuff

Stranger: yeah stranger?

Stranger: oh shit haha okay

Stranger: you gtg now?

You: as i said...yep 😂

You: yea shit lol

Stranger: oh well, okay then, ig this is it

You: but anyway, it was nice talking to u :) thanks for the time :))

You: "jakesarah" in the interests oke?

You: bye uuu

Stranger: ohh

Stranger: it was nice talking to you too

Stranger: feeling: heartbroken 😂

Stranger: jk bye!

You: oh me too, trust me lol

You: bye u :)

[efortmanteau]

Mouth Dreams!

MOUTH DREAMS IS OUT!!!!!! 

Neil Cicierega has produced another mashup album in the Mouth series, so it’s time for me to do a blind album listen. 

I’m just listening to the full album file on Neil’s website while I type so I can’t see track titles… so I’ll guess at them! A fun little mini game.

You can listen online or download the album on Neil’s site: http://www.neilcic.com/mouthdreams/

1. Yahoooooooo! Prelude

The first song is just the Yahoo! jingle with the “hooooo” increasingly long

And eventually going into a round!

I’m not sure what the orchestral backing is, probably from a movie

2. Intro to Mouth Dreams

Intro to The Twilight Zone but the words are all over the place lol

Hey! “Mouth Dreams” that’s the title of the album! Gee willickers!

3. We Will Sponge You

We Will Rock You by Queen… oh.

It’s the intro to Spongebob Squarepants

Alright hell yeah

This is so stupid but so well done dear lord

4. Folsom Prison Baby Blues

Oh no… that emo band… I forget them

HOOBASTANK that’s it. The Reason

I don’t actually know this other song.

Oh jk he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

I think that’s Johnny Cash? Idk the title of the song though.

JUSTIN BEIBER’S BABY

Alright we’re fucking around with “baby” lyrics?

“My momma was a train” lol

“When I was just a train”

“I shot a traaaaaain” yes yes yes

Okay, I looked up the Johnny Cash song to come up with a track title guess.

5. Can’t Touch This Psycho Killer OR Bed’s On Fire

Can’t Touch This! I think the song is called Superfreak though?

Hmmm what’s this other song…

Bed’s on fire

Psycho killer… bed’s on fire… looooool

Ok that song is maybe called Psycho Killer

I’m just waiting for fa-fa-fa-fa-faaaa-fafa-faaaa-fafa-faaaaa-FIRE

Hell yeah saxophone

Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah to the cadence of runrunrunrunrunnnnn

6. Harpsichord Interlude?

Harpsichord?

I can’t quite make out the lyrics cuz they’re slowed down…

Get Happy, alright

I’m not sure if this is the same song of the last thing was an interlude but it seems like the harpsichord thing persisted soooo maybe the same?

Well maybe this is the only lyric now

The word “happy” has no meaning to my ears any more

Hmm techno kinda beats in the back… reminds me of the back of a Black Eyed Peas song or something

7. Ribs OR Everybody Wants Chili’s Baby Back Ribs

Dreamy triplets

I want my baby back ribs?????

Oh shit what is that guitar riff…

Haaaaaaaaa Chiliiiiiii’s baby back riiiiibs

I don’t wantcha I don’t needcha… oh gosh

THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

Hahaha the Lion King has snuck in here for “In The Jungle”

OH the guitar backing is Everybody Wants To Rule The World (or whatever the real song title is)

8. Dream Stew

Dream On by Aerosmith

This was in the trailer, yes

Brain Stew by Green Day

My mouth my mouth my mouth

“My face is… my face” is the perfect amount of clunky

9. Do Wanna Miss A Thing

Everclear? Everlong? 

I think it’s the Foo Fighters???

Lol the vibrato on this other song is wild

“I don’t miss you baby and I do wanna miss a thing” looool

Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing… idk the band off hand

10. Sleeping With My Clothes On

Lol just… staccato beats with the bass dropping whenever it wants

Blink 182?? Own Worst Enemy?

I see sleeping with clothes on and I raise you... wearing PJs all day (like me)

11. That’s Amore OR Drunk Italians

ITALIAN PIZZA PIE

Lol the lyrics are of course backwards

The wiggly accordion...

BELLS

We’re just tossing noun phrases around like a juggler

Fading out in nightmarish ways as we transition to the next song...

PiiIiIiiIIIzzA

12. Stacy’s Mom’s Pool

“stop.”

Uhhh is this Weezer?

Omg Stacy’s MOM

It think it’s Say It Ain’t So by Weezer

We’re gonna hear a lot about this pool

Hmm it’s not Say It Ain’t So…

It might be In My Mind

More dreamy transitions

13. Noogie OR Cookie

Omg what is this Amazonian flute

Ooooh funky

SHAQ??

The siiiize of these eeeyeeeees

Is this “How I Beat Shaq” ??

Nah, I think this is a song I don’t know

I did it all for the noogie!

Idk if the backing song is the same song as the front… I’m just not familiar with these ones

Surrender… my cookie!

I feel like the Home Improvement jingle is gonna slip in here

14. Never mind i think this is one long song

Han Solo?

This is maybe a different song

Some sort of Star Wars word soup with a CAKE-esque bass backing?

Is this a child’s chorus? Sesame Street?

I wonder who did the Star Wars song… 

Oh maybe this is one long song after all…

14. Crazy: Now On VHS

This sounds like a VHS jingle…

Oh lol there it is

Yep yep yep yep yep give me them ALL Neil!

Oh good the loooooong note

Ooh what just came in?

She Drives Me Crazy? Ooh Ooh?

Oh yeah, nailed it… but idk the band again

Lol there’s like 20 more minutes we’re only ⅔ through or so

Ooh I like whatever this four note repetition is

15. Now On VHS! Interlude

And now… our feature presentation…

The Outsiders??

Pony Boy?

We’re just… naming things?

I assume this is one of those old VHS pre-movie commercials where someone is talking about what a great deal this 3-pack of discs is or something

BUMBLEBEE TUNA

Tag urself.... I’m DEATH

I’m literally loling at DEATH

Kid Cuisineeeee

Lonesome guitar coming in…

And… LOL

Rick Astley and A CROWD OF BOOS

Lean in, Neil. Embrace the chaos.

Never Gonna Give You Up is a pretty good song actually

Oh the guitar might be Hurt by… whoever did that

16. Closer To Fireflies

Drop the Arctic Monkeys you coward

Fireflies and Suffocate Me instead

That’s not the title… Fuck you like an animal…

I’d like to------make myself believe (not------PENETRATE YOU) but I see where this came from

Closer To God, that’s right

This and the Spongebob one are my favs so far

17. Benny And The Best

Benny And The Jets…

Uhhh I’m not sure about the punk song

The Best? The Best? The Best? Arouuuund? Is this also the Foo Fighters? U2?

I’m not sure this is its own song

18. Factory With A Girl

UHHH this stressful video game music…

It’s like the factory song from cartoons, not a video game specifically

Fell In Love With A Girl

Oooh jk this my fav, it’s so jazzy

Oh god the manic energy of the “ahhhhhh” part

I think Jet is the band?

This makes me want to walk down the street in a zoot suit snapping every other beat

19. WAHNNABE

WHAT IS IT GOOOOOD FOR

Wait omg it’s WAH

WAH-NNABE

WAH Wario?

WAH… what is it good for loooool

20. Feel Good LLC

Sheep noises?

FEEL GOOD intro laugh

Oh this is unhinged

Omg that music in the back sounds like what going crazy is like, it’s like an evil carnival

The Gorillaz, always good

Lol the sheep noises at the end

21. Irony On Elm Street

Ironic by Alanis Morrisette… okay

He died the next day… then turned 98…

It’s an old man in your chardonnay

IT’S LIKE RAIN omg idk the backing but it’s ominous

I swear to god this backing is from like Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween or something

Kissed his spoons goodbye

I think it’s whatever horror movie has Jason who I think is the one in the hockey mask?

It’s exactly like 10,000 spoons

22. idk

The winds of Skype

Uhhh some kind of 80s ballad is fading in

SMASH MOUTH YOU’RE HERE

All Star is warbled

WAKE UP

23. Britney’s Fifth

Beethoven’s Fifth?

IT’S BRITNEY, BITCH

Oh fuck yes this is one million percent my jam

24. Hall Of Weezer

HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING

Omg I love classical mashups

BANJO KAZOOIE SLEEPING NOISE OMG

Oh lol this is Weezer Say It Ain’t So

Oh gosh the tempo speed up is impressive for the Weezer song which is usually at a steady tempo! Dear god how long did this take to sync…

Modem load up noise… nice

And that’s the album! I might respond to myself and add a retrospective later once I find the track titles.

[iztarshi]

The Eleventh Hour -- Episode 47

"Justin: Taako doesn’t get the appeal. I mean, they can do magic, he can do magic. He feels like they’re just about equal."

The Taako approach to religion.

"Almost your entire lives" is a LOT longer than they have any reason to know. But, huh, they're unique in any reality. I wonder why? Making the relics seems like something they chose, but being unique isn't really something you CAN choose?

Oh… Istus wants to employ them? Interesting. Not that they don't need all the help they can get.

Also, the idea that they've been standing AGAINST these things for almost their entire lives… either making the relics happened early or they, uh, were corrupted by something other than these guys.

Which does seem fairly likely since, as I've said, these guys are not evil? But on the other hand… and I do come back to the Philosopher's Stone because it's the only one I was spoiled on the creator of… it's very Taako? Like, it can actually be a really sophisticated tool, but the corruption, the stuff it tries to tempt you with, is sugary and sparkly and overwhelming. Cities of candy or gemstones or gold. If we're talking about what people hunger for, then that's kind of what Taako hungers for, you know?

Istus is reminding me of Lucrecia a bit? She's fond of them, she's in authority over them, and they are REALLY HARD to hold a serious conversation with.

Oooh, presents. Which are probably for the finale.

…I feel like she didn't trust Taako not to open his at the wrong time? Merle could technically use his ANY time he really needed nine seconds, Taako's won't open until it IS the right time.

And Magnus gets the BEST thing, because it's both relevant to the current story AND a super cool weapon! But, he needed one. I mean, rail-splitter is cool and all but we were out of tree jokes.

Awww, Magnus wants to know if she can change other things in their pasts. Which is. Yeah. The chalice is going to be really tempting, isn't it?

She offers them time to make their final decision, too, which sounds like something they'll need.

Yeah, they took the well short cut, and I think Taako is just… I was going to say showing off, wanting to use his umbrella instead of the rope, but I think he's just avoiding exertion.

"Isaak: Oh, I know exactly the types of men that you are, I seen it. You're the types of men that abuse every drop of power ever given to them. Men - [Magnus: no!] men like me, you're bankrobbers, you're bullies and thieves and liars and swindlers."

I love that Magnus is protesting and the others are just like, yep, true.

Interesting, though, that in the arc where it seemed like there were no consequences there still WERE. They've acted badly, knowing it wouldn't matter, and someone saw them. But they DO intend to do the right thing with the cup.

"Justin: And I pull out my um plastic sheriff’s badge and attempt to bluff him that we are also law enforcement which... I get a +3."

*covers eyes* Taako. Taako. Sweetheart. AREN'T YOU JUST PROVING HIS POINT?

"June: I’m the Temporal Chalice, I guess you’d call me. In a way I have June which sounds a lot more sinister than it is. I just needed a place to hide out for a while until the right folks came along."

Ahhhhhh. What a nice cup? We've had stuff like the sash talking through Sloane before, but it was violent. The cup is… yeah… nice. Did the red-robe-ghost protect it from the corruption?

"June: Well that’s kind of hard to explain. I don’t remember being made, but I remember- well, I remember two things. I was made to want to be used, and to make other people want to use my power, but I remember before all this, before I was a cup, and before I was torn into seven parts, and jammed into dishes, and gloves, and what have you, I was something– incredible. I could breathe life into entire realities, and shape existence at my master’s will."

So, that's a big part of the mystery, but it doesn't… I don't have any theories about it.

Ooooor maybe she's just more cunning than the other relics, because she IS trying to get them to use her.

Yeaaaah, more cunning, and also a way to set up Griffin doing some character stuff instead of a saving throw.

They've all got stuff in their pasts they'd like to change -- well, I know Taako and Magnus do, not so sure about Merle -- so this should be GOOD.

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #230

“Steph and Gem, Hg, Lie and Doc in Wine Country”

[gem] -wakes up in the tunnel and sees she is in one piece-

[Steph] -totally not looming in the distance of the tunnel peeking at gem-

[Steph] -totally-

[gem] -now that gem has full energy again a rush of white mist rushes past steph it's the guardians heading back to the house-

[Steph] -nervously slinks down tunnel to gem-

[gem] -sees steph and waves-

[Steph] -nervous smile- hey-- sorry.. sorry for up and bolting the other day--

[Gem] it's ok i figure my guardians just scared you so what can i do for you?

[Steph] Just.. Wanted to see you. Got you a flower? *bitches like flowers, becky lemme smash

-steph offers a simple poppy to Gem-

[Gem] -her eyes turn a light pink and she excepts the flower- thank you

[CP] Is lazing about on Lie's roof-

[Doc] Is walking by with a grin - Hi Cp!

[CP] Flips Doc off-

[Splender] - That's not very nice CP...

[Doc] Ah, I'm used to it. It's a lovely day out isn't it?

[CP] - The fuck do you want now?

[Doc] Nothing. We just visited Kore and we're both all charged up.

[CP] - Have they finally gotten rid of those stupid fucking statues?

[Doc] Of course not! They love us!

[CP] Growls-

[Splender] - Doc, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I should go check on Pinwheel

[Doc] Sure! Go ahead! Thank you for coming with me. It was fun.

[Splender] Waves farewell before teleporting off-

[Doc] You're such a pill, he loved the carvings they did of him. I've never seen him so excited and happy. Especially after I updated their server to get the colors update intalled.

[CP] - He see's drawings of himself all the time

[Doc] But this one is special, they did all kinds of spiral knots with his tentacles and even rubbed it with dye to get the colors right.

[CP] - The colors he sees all the time from the kids drawing pictures of him

[Doc] waves a hand- Bah. We had fun, and he made the little Testificate kids in the city happy too. They've been dressing up as us to play. It's adorable.

[CP] - They what?

[Doc] You know how kids are. They want to be like their idols.

[CP] Groans loudly-

[Lie] Sticks her head out the door- What's he groaning about now?

[Doc] I'm telling him adorable children stories about TLOT's Testificates.

[Lie] - Ah, alright.  Do you want any food Doc?  I'm just making lunch

[Doc] Nah, thank you though.

[Notch] Comes around the house at a quick pace- Doc!

[Doc] Hmm?

[Notch] I got the call. Hg is ready to come back.

[Doc] Ah, I guess I'm going right back out. I had a little excursion planned anyway...

[CP] - Good, you'll be leaving me alone then

[Doc] I was planning on it. You always make him cry anyway. I hoping Lie would accompany me.

[Lie] - Me?  Why?

[Doc] Because I think you'll like what I have planned.

[Lie] - What about CN?

[Doc] Cp doesn't want to go. He can keep an eye on him. It's not like he's destructive.

[Lie] - If you're sure...

[CP] - Oh fuck you!

[Doc] It's going to require a little bit of in and out though. Cp? Do you want to just grab HG and scare the fuck out of Jeb again?

[CP] - ...  Fine

[Notch] Jeb said he was up and around. I guess now is good.

[CP] Creates an opening and quickly passes through.  There's  a bit of screaming from the other end before CP reemerges with HG-

[Doc] tp's Hg to hir to get him down-

[HG] hi doc

[Doc] Good to see you back! How are you feeling? I planned a little excursion for us, but it's nowhere near where you were. So it was easier to come back here first.

[Lie] Grabs some food and offers it to HG-

[Doc] No! Don't eat. We're getting lunch out too.

[HG] oh ok no food here

[Lie] - Oh, alright...

[Doc] I asked Splender to do me a favor a while back so we should be able to go right to where I was planning. Lie? You ready? I'm sure you want me too.... change my clothes...

[Lie] - Yes please, let's try not to draw too much attention.  HG?  Do you have anything cleaner?

[HG] no this is all I have

[Lie] - Hmmm, Doc?  A little help?

[Doc] Sourly strips off hir coat and gloves - Hmm? Oh, yeah. Hang on...

[Doc] Actually wait... no. He'll fit right in where we're going. In fact Lie, you should put on some of your work clothes.

[Lie] - I don't really have any designated work clothes...

[Doc] Pulls out a red and black bundle- I've been saving this... I guess you can have it... - Xe passes the bundle to Lie. It's a red and back checkered shirt. If the resolution was higher, it would probably be plaid. - The shirt you have on is too nice.

[Lie] - Alright, just give me a chance to get some longer pants on- She retreats into the house to change

[Doc] Takes a copy of hir coat and changes it to black before stripping the tails off to make a short jacket.

[Lie] Returns with the new shirt hanging open on top of her usual shirt and her jeans-

[Doc] That's better, let me check the exit, so we aren't spotted. - Xe gets down into a bit of a crouch and violently headbangs forward. The space in front of hir seems to shatter into a small hole and xe looks out through it before turning back. -Coast is clear. Let's go! - Xe struggles to widen the hole and hold it. - Go quickly!

[Lie] Quickly slips through-

[HG] -goes though quickly-

-On the other side, the smell of fall hits them abruptly as they emerge from a small broken tv. It's hidden in some bracken by the side of a narrow but well paved road. The leaves are turning in the trees above them and the ground is carpeted with them as well. There's just the tiniest nip of cold in the air.

[Lie] Slips on her sunglasses- Oh no, we forgot about HG's eyes!

[Doc] Pulls out hir contacts, and fusses with them before blinking them in. - Eh, I can just copy yours. Unless you want some contacts HG?

[HG] no sunglasses will be fine

[Doc] Clicks at Lie and hands the spare glasses to him. - We have a little bit of a walk but I didn't want to risk anyone seeing us come in. Try to remember where the tv is.

[Lie] - I can leave a small trail of plants

[HG] -starts looking at the trees- the trees are more then one color are they sick?

[Lie] - It's fall, at this time of the year the trees...  Go to sleep, until spring arrives

[HG] well as long as they will be ok

[Doc] Just nothing too showy, I don't want anyone to stop and pick them. And Hg, this is also the time people harvest the plants, so they can save the seeds until it's time to plant again in the spring. - Xe's ambling along and the leaves are crunching pleasntly beneath hir boots.

[Lie] - Oh don't worry, this is normal

[HG] how many seeds do people get do you think we could get some if they have extra

[Doc] Most likely. We'll see what's there. This is an odd little area. It's mostly for tourists but it's also farm country.

[HG] -bounces a little at the word farm-

[Lie] - Just no watering HG, it will raise a lot of questions if you do

[HG] awe ok

[Doc] There's a little break in the trees and some familiar noise. The trees on the side of the road open up onto a field with several different types of cows roaming around.

[HG] are those cows they don't look exactly like the ones from home

[Lie] - Yes, out here there's a lot of different types of cows

[Doc] Follows the road as it dips down and around the side of a hill. A dirt parking lot opens out to several small businesses in houses and a large barn. Behind the building, and partially in sight, is a field of ripe pumpkins and fancy gourds.  There are tables out front with corn in many colors and jars of jam, jelly and honey for sale. There are people milling around, but not too many.

[Lie] - Oooh, it's been awhile since I've even thought about corn

[Doc] It looks interesting. What can you do with it?

[HG] is corn a plant and if so can we get some to plant?

[Doc] Yes and yes.

[Lie] - It's used in a lot of things, it's actually the only plant solely dependent on human's for it's ability to spread around.  You can feed it to animals...  Actually, you've had a product of corn Doc, it's kernels are used to make popcorn

[Doc] Oh! The little crunchy things that look like clouds.

[Doc] Pick some out, I'm paying.

[HG] gowning corn sound  like a job I wouldn't mind doing

[Lie] - Got it- She goes to the table and picks out some ears and a few small bags of seeds.  She grins as she see's a bag of "rainbow corn"

[Doc] Is looking at some of the honey jars. - Why are they different colors?

[Lie] - Because of where the hives are located and what the bee's mostly ate from

[HG] bees?

[Lie] - The real world equivalent of Touchies

[Doc] Ah, then I'll get some of that too. Xe grabs a jar and the corn and pulls out some actual money to pay for it. - And three tickets please.

[Lie] - Tickets?

[HG] tickets?

[Doc] Tickets. - Xe takes the little bits of paper and goes where the woman is indicating, behind the barn. Xe quietly stows hir spoils in hir inventory and looks to see their reaction.

-In the space is a variety of goats, full size and miniature, playing happily, as well as two ponies and a bored looking llama. There are some ducks as well passing easily under the wooden fence, and quacking for a handout. A younger lady takes the bits of paper and opens the gate to let them inside, where there are already some children and parents petting the animals.

[HG] i want to pet these cute animals

[Lie] Immediately goes towards the ponies, as small goats bump into her as well-

[Doc] Well go ahead. The tickets are to help the keepers pay for their feed.

[HG] -goes over to pet a goat-

[Lie] Pulls a bit of sugar from her inventory and slips it to the ponies-

[Minature goat] Bounces happily around Hg's feet and tries to nibble on his pants leg-

[Doc] Is having a bit of a staring contest with the llama-

-One pony is rather onry at the moment do to some flies and stomps it's feet-

[HG] -pets the goat as it nibbles he doesn't mind-

[Doc] Glad I have good shoes on. I know how painful those hooves can be...

[Lie] - Speaking of, how's Deer doing?

[Doc] She kicked me in the face. But I got her hooves taken care of.

[Lie] - Well I'm glad to hear she's okay, but she really kicked you in the face?

[Doc] It was a reflex, nothing malicious.

[Lie] - Good

[HG] -is trying to pets some of the ducks-

[Ducks] Are a little bit elusive because HG isn't trying to feed them.

[Baby goat] MAaaaaa

[Doc] Well that's almost familiar...

[HG] -has a huge smile on his face as he tries to pet as many animals as he can-

[Lie] Laughs a little- Yes, but I don't think they are as big

[Doc] Not yet at least. Hah.

[Goats] Mob Hg a little bit because he's being so affectionate.

[Doc] Looks at the ponies- Those don't look like colts..?

[Ponies] Snort and shift around, one kicks out a little-

[Lie] - Why are you so onry, huh?

[Lie] - No, these are ponies, smaller horses usually used with children

[HG] -is trying to pet all the goats at once-

[Doc] Oh, well they're cute. - chuckles- I just imagined what Stevie would have looked like riding one while he was a kid. Trying to keep up with his big brother.

[Lie] - Well, we do have a lot of children in the village...

[Doc] Should I work on the horse code to see if I can make them smaller?

[Lie] - If you want, there is a size smaller than this to

[Doc] You know, you could just let TLOT size down some of the horses you have.

[Lie] Gives Doc a look-

[Doc] Returns the look with interest - crazy horse lady.

[Lie] - Shush

[HG] -walks a little away from the goats to see if they will follow-

[Doc] You guys ready to go eat?

[Goats] Some follow Hg curiously-

[Lie] - Yeah, I could use some food

[HG] doc lie look i made animal friends

[Lie] - Yup, that you did

[Doc] Aww, and they're so cute.

[Assorted goats] - Maaaaa

[HG] do you think there is a mod with goats or somewhere in the in this world we could tame one?

[Lie] - I mean, we could buy one...

[Doc] You want to buy a goat? I don't know if they're for sale?

[Lie] - Maybe not here, but somewhere, we can look around online for one

[HG] they are so cute i would want one if we could get one

[Doc] Nods understandingly- you can buy anything online. Lets go get food.

[Lie] - Yeah, let's go

[HG] -pets the goats each one more time-

[Doc] Leaves the pen with an appreciative nod at the ticket girl and walks across the pumpkin patch towards one of the houses. People are picking out pumpkins and carrying them to a grubby scale to pay for them as they pass.

[Lie] - Guess it's getting close to Halloween...

[HG] what's Halloween?

[Lie] - A holiday where you get to dress up, sometimes you get candy to

[HG] that sounds like fun

[Lie] - Oh it can be, CP mentioned to me that it's one of the only times the creepy pasta's can freely wander around

[Doc] Xe walks up the wooden steps and opens the door. Inside is a long wooden bar and a bunch of cafe tables. There are pastries for sale in the glass counter and racks and racks of wine bottles behind it. The air is thick with the smell of fresh bread and there are baskets of colorful grapes on a table near the counter. A couple sits at one of the tables staring into eachothers eyes as they share a bottle of wine and a family is muching on pastries near the huge glass window at the back of the room. Outside the view is of a small lake bordered by the rows of corn.

[Lie] - Aw, this is a quaint little place

[HG] this place is nice

[Doc] Everything smells so good. Some of this is familiar, but I don't know what these are. - pokes a grape-

[Lie] - Grapes, a fruit which grows on vines.  It's made into wine

[HG] fruit like apples does that mean we could plant them?

[Lie] - Yes, but we'd have to build trellises for them to grow on

[HG] i don't know what those are but if it needs them i wouldn't mind building them

[Lie] - It can probably be accomplished with fence posts and strings

[Doc] Picks up a bunch of dark purple grapes and goes to look in the case and order some basic things.

[Doc] Do you guys want anything specific?

[HG] i don't know what kinds of food they have here

[Lie] - Nah, just get me something you think I'll like

[Doc] Pastries, wine, cheese, lots of fresh bread...

[Clerk] We have coffee, cocoa and tea too.

[Lie] - Do you have any cherry based pastries?  I'll take one of those if you do

[Doc] Is pointing at things. - Looks like there's danishes. Let's have two of those, and these... You guys have a seat and enjoy the view, I've got this.

[Lie] - You sure?

-Distantly there's the sound of geese honking as they fly over head-

[Doc] Well you can get the drinks I guess. - Theres three mugs on the counter already, they're thick white ceramic and steaming gently. - I figured you guys wouldn't want to get drunk.

[Lie] Looks at the contents-

-Two of them are cocoa, one is coffee.

[Lie] - Um, Doc?

[HG] -takes one of the cocoas-

[Doc] Oh! You need tea don't you... dammit. Hg, you get two. I made her pour them, it's not right to waste it.

[Lie] Asks the clerk for a non-caffeinated herbal tea instead-

[HG] -grabs the second cup of cocoa as well- this smells like coco beans

[Clerk] Fusses around and makes a cup of chamomile instead.

[Lie] - That's because it's cocoa, it's made from the beans

[Doc] Motions to the remaining cup and the one that was just placed with a tea bag string over the side of it.

[HG] coco does smell good and taste good so this must be good

[Lie] Thanks the clerk and takes the last two cups- HG and I will find seats, take your time Doc

[Doc] I won't be long.

[Lie] Urges HG to follow her as they look for a small table near a window-

-Outside the wind has picked up a little and the shutters rattle against the old wood-

[HG] -is looking out the window as he follows lie-

[Lie] Chooses a table and sits down-

[HG] -sits down and takes a sip of the cocoa- oh this is both hot and taste good

[Doc] Joins them after a moment with the clerk helping hir carry their food. There's a cheese tray with crackers and a big loaf of fresh bread that's all veined through with yellow cheese as well, little butter pats, Lie's danishes, three cups of applesauce that smells of spices and was likely made in the next room, and some curls of thin-sliced ham.

[Lie] - Good choices, these look really good

[Doc] Slides into the booth and warms hir hands on the coffee cup before thanking the clerk. - Ah... it's been so stressful the last few times I went out...

[HG] this all looks so good

[Doc] I know sitting out here being sick and feeling like crap sucks. Lie and I both suffered through it too. I wanted to take you someplace nice to celebrate afterwards.

[Lie] - It's a good idea- She sips her tea

[HG] well i am having a lot of fun today

[Doc] Me too, you're both most plesant company. -  Takes a knife and cuts a bit from the bread loaves to make a little sandwich.

[Lie] Picks up one of her Danish's and starts eating-

[Doc] It's weird and complicated out here. I can't even look at things too closely without getting hung up on all the details.

[Lie] - Makes me glad that this is where I originated from

[HG] -takes a piece of cheese ad tries it- it's more complicated but i also get excited to see all the plants i have never seen before

[Doc] I have no regrets. I love my home. And I have no shame about stealing a thing here and there and sneaking it back to add to my hoarde.

[Lie] - So I've noticed

[Doc] Grins- What can I say, I'm a dragon at hearts.

[HG] i am all for a hoarde if it means more plants and animals

[Doc] Ha! Nice to see we're all on board. As long as we keep the balance of predators and prey from getting out of balance, I'm all for diversity. - Chomps on hir sandwich

[Lie] Looks out the window to just watch the scenery-

[HG] -makes a sandwich like docs so he can try it-

-The corn is moving with the breeze and rippling in gentle waves over the hillside below. The ducks have taken to the pond and are diving for little fish in the sparkling blue waters, and there's the happy sounds of goats and ponies being fed next door.

[Lie] - You know, I've been in the game so long that this all feels kinda surreal

[Doc] Bites down on a grape and makes a suprised face as it gives with a wet squish. - Yeah, we're spoiled. The weather on the server is rainy, but steady in every other way. It's usually just warm. This is what you make wine with? It tastes odd.

[HG] odd like how?

[Lie] - And at least we don't get natural disasters on the server

[Doc] I don't know, just nothing at all like anything alcoholic I've ever had. - at Lie- Yeah! I've done a little bit of reading on that kind of thing. Earthquakes are freaky, the ground just like.. moves suddenly! It's scary to think about. And lava that actually bubbles up out of the ground out of control instead of staying in nice pools?! - Xe holds a grape out to Hg, - you try one.

[Lie] - Wine is fermented, and there's another type of grape as well, there are white grapes which are actually green

[HG] -takes the grape and eat it- it's sweet

[Doc] Yeah, I've seen TLOT make the touchie wine before. But it's still sweet after it's fermented. That's why it caught me off guard.

[Doc] Is quietly taking samples of the cheeses.

[HG] -drinks more cocoa-

[Lie] - So do we have anything else planned for today?

[Doc] Not really. Just a quiet lunch and we'll have to walk back anyway. - Xe finishes hir coffee with a satisfied smile. - we can always pack up the leftovers to take with.

[Lie] - Alright, it does look like it might start raining soon...

[HG] -finishes the first cup and start on the second cup he has-

[Doc] Yeah, I just got over being sick. Fucking Dn... Hows the little NOTCH?

[HG] Dn?

[Lie] - He's one reason why CP was outside

[Doc] Yeah. My NOTCH made an appearance and bullied his way into my personal space. He's a dirtbag with a heart of ice.

[HG] he sounds mean i don't want to meet him

[Doc] He's just cold and rude. He's not openly violent thankfully. But yeah, you probably don't want to meet him.

[Lie] - Mine showed up as well, he's just a child though

[HG] -eats some sandwich-

[Doc] Runs a spoon around the edge of hir applesauce bowl to get the last smudges. - Yeah... I know you wanted to have a kid at some point, but this is ridiculious.

[Lie] - It feels more like baby sitting, not actually mine

[HG] -tries some apple sauce- this tastes like apples and something else

[Doc] It is babysitting, as ar as I'm concerened. Same. It's kinda spicy?

[Lie] - It's probably cinnamon that you're tasting

[Doc] Well it tastes good, and I'm full.

[HG] what is cinnamon? -finishes the apple sauce he has-

[Doc] I know it's a spice.

[Lie] - Mmhm

[HG] well my hunger is full now as well

[Lie] - Same, should we start heading back

[Doc] Okay, we can go. My inventory is mostly full, you guys take some of the leftovers.

[Lie] With a resigned sigh Lie does so-

[Doc] Picks up the table a bit and takes the wooden charger back to the counter. - Should we get a bottle of wine to take with?

[HG] yes and we do this again sometime

[Lie] - I don't think that's necessary...

[Doc] Okay. We've got some nice spoils as it is. - Xe heads out with them. It's gotten a little chillier outside as they head back down the road.

[Lie] Pulls her flannel shirt a bit closer-

[HG] -picks up one yellow one orange and one red leaf as they walk-

-It's getting a bit darker and the sky is lit up with hues of gold, rose and purple. -

[Doc] Is looking for Lie's trail of flowers- Sheesh.... I might need a torch...

[Lie] - Come on, we shouldn't be to far

[HG] i could run us there

[Lie] - No, that's alright

-Night falls and their shadows grow in front of them and then melt away into the surrounding darkness. -

[Doc] Takes hir contacts out and searches for the flowers with the feeble glow from hir eyes.

[Lie] Removes her sunglasses, in the fading light the glow from her hair is growing more apparent-

[Doc] Stubs hir foot on the old tv with a small cry- fuck!

[Lie] - Found it

[HG] -take his sun glasses off as well so he can see-

[Doc] Fiddles with the tv but is having some trouble with the portal- Dammit, we need to get back a bit from the road. - Xe picks up the tv and tromps deeper into the woods.

[Lie] Follows and makes sure the path behind them is covered-

[HG] -puts the three leafs in his innovatory-

[Doc] Finds a break in the trees that opens into a field, in the distance three horses watch them suspiciously, as Doc climbs over the rustic old fence.

[Lie] - Doc don't you dare leave that tv in there!

[Doc] Well I can't open the crate with the crowbar that's inside of it Lie! No matter what I do I have to leave it out here, and I need space for a runnning start if you want to get home at all.

[Lie] - But those horses are bond to investigate it once we leave, which means, knowing horses, they'll break it and potentially get hurt from it!

[HG] I can get you to go fast in a short distance

[Doc] At Hg- trust me, no.  Well find a stump outside the paddock where you can elevate it a bit. The farmer is bound to see it and dispose of it then.

[Lie] - I don't know...  This is a big field...

[Doc] Do you want to go home?

[HG] I want to go home

[Lie] - Well yes...  Wait a minute, why don't we just have CP make the opening from the other end?

[Doc] Because I'm not in the mood to hear him bitch and it still won't get rid of the tv.

[Lie] Groans-

[Lie] - Fine- She creates a stump, wide enough that the horses will have a very difficult time getting to the tv

[Doc] Checks to make sure there aren't any lights nearby and backs up from the fence. - Be ready to race in after me- Xe hunkers down and runs full force at the tv from several hundred feet away-

[Lie] Readies herself-

[HG] -readies him self to run in full speed-

[Doc] Leaps at the halfway mark and shifts in the air using hir back feet to get an extra burst of speed, as xe leaps the fence, tears a hole in reality in front of the tv and shoots inside-

[Lie] Darts inside after them-

[HG] -runs in at blur speed-

[Doc] Goes skidding across Lie's yard and gets tangled up in the swings under her bridge-

-The portal snaps closed behind them-

[Lie] Stops soon after leaving the portal-

[Lie] - Ah, home again

[HG] -runs around the swings and in a circle before coming to a stop-

[Doc] Embarassed dragon smile- Sorry Lie.

[CP] Hears the noise and steps out onto the bridge and looks over the edge- The fuck are you doing now?

[Doc] Shifts back to hir normal self and is left hanging with the swing around hir belly-nooooothing.

[CP] Hops down, his expression like that of a cat which caught the canary as he picks his wife up-

[Doc] You look happy. Did Mb come over for a fight?

[CP] - Nope

[Doc] Okay. Well I'm glad you're in a good mood for a change. - Xe turns to Hg- Thanks for going out with us. I know you won't be able to make portals yet, but we'll schedule some practice. - Xe pats the other brine on the shoulder - Have fun then, I'm heading home. - Xe hops off the swing and starts to walk away.

[CP] - Watch your feet

[Doc] I know about the honesty blossoms Cp. I'm not going to walk in them-

[CP] - Oh that's not what I'm talking about

[Doc] Looks down. - You're right. My boots are muddy. But I'm going to clean up before I change back into my regular clothes.

[CP] - Yeah I think that's the least of your problems

[Doc] Cp, are you being nasty for no reason again?

[CP] - Oh I did nothing this time

[Doc] I think I'm missing something here. If you played a mean prank while I was gone...

[CP] - I did nothing, as I've already stated, however...  Well, Splender is in a bit of a panic right now

[Doc] Oh gods... why?!

[CP] Grins broadly- He can't find Pinwheel

[Doc] He should check under his bed.

[CP] - The path to the mainland was left up

[Doc] Shrugs- I guess I'll go help him find her then. She's deadly as fuck and a bit hard to miss. But she is intelligent. There's always the chance she'll come home on her own when she gets hungry or tired.

[CP] - Up to you, but I'm keeping my wife inside

[Doc] If you wish, but again. Pinwheel isn't stupid, she's just easily stressed out. - gives the creepypasta a knowing look- She's not a monster Cp.

[CP] - She also likes to bite

[Doc] And you like to punch- walks away-