#Another has t played since finishing Fontaine

[cerealmonster15]

also no one I know of the small circle of Genshin players irl is keeping up with the main story right now so I have to go through the most jarring situations sometimes and then just Move On With My Life without DMing someone 8000 times in a row??? Okay.

[farfromsugafanfic]

Sutures - Chapter Eight: Bypass

Genre: Soulmates AU, Idiots to Lovers, slight Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Yoongi/Named Reader

Warnings (chapter specific): angst, invasions of privacy and personal space

Synopsis: “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” –Jean de la Fontaine

There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?

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You awoke with a pounding headache. Looking down at your phone, you noticed the reason why: around 10 text messages from Namjoon. 

Most of them were just general greetings or texts to wake you up, but one of them piqued your interest. 

Namjoon (6:50 am): I would come wake you up, but I think Yoongi is going through something related to the whole soulmate thing. I don't want it to hurt if I touch you.

Did it hurt for other people to touch Yoongi? Even in innocent ways? You felt guilt run down your spine, despite knowing it wasn't your fault. It made you wonder if it was related to the fact that you felt safest when you were in his arms, no one else could compare.

You sent him a quick text to let him know you were awake, before rubbing your temples and rubbing your eyes. You pulled your hair into a ponytail and changed into a simple pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Normally, on a flight, you wore sweats or leggings, but because you were bound to run into paparazzi, you wanted to look at least presentable.

You already felt your stomach turning. You hadn't been on a plane for two years--since you last visited your family in the US--and you remembered the way your heart beat out of your chest at take off and you were convinced you would never touch the ground.

When you finally emerged from your room, you found the members waiting in the living room. All but one set of eyes darted to you when you walked into the room, Yoongi appeared immersed in his phone. 

"Hey Sumi," Jimin said. "I saved you a banana." 

"Oh, that's sweet, Jimin," you said. "But, I'm not really hungry." 

Yoongi's eyes were on you now. You felt as his eyes took in your face: still red eyes, bare skin, and the baby hairs that curled around your ears. You forced yourself not to look in his direction, despite everything telling you to meet his eyes. Even your neck ached as you kept yourself from turning it. 

"Are you sure?" Jimin asked. 

"Yeah, honestly, don't worry about it." 

---

"All right, the members will all go through the main entrance," their manager explained. "Fans and reporters are already waiting, so as soon as BTS is out. We will drive around and--Sumi--you will go through the side entrance. Hopefully, this will prevent too much issue and we and we can all get on the plane without too much hassle."

Everyone nodded, but you still felt doubt in the pit of your stomach. You watched as the van approached the main airport entrance. The screams were louder than the radio and nearly deafening as the van came to a stop. 

Despite the tinted windows, you still ducked down behind the seat and waited as the members climbed out. Screams and camera flashes were all you could hear and you were thankful that you weren't the one facing the crowd. Yet, your heart still panged as you thought about the members essentially distracting everyone so you could get through without being swamped. 

"We have a bodyguard for you," Se-jin, the band's manager said. "If anything happens, he'll make sure you get through the crowd and onto the plane. Everyone is already pre-checked, so you should be able to pretty much walk on the plane." 

You nodded, clasping your passport and ticket tightly in your hand. The van stopped at the side entrance and you climbed out. No one was outside of it, except for airport security, so you rushed to grab your suitcase and head inside the airport. 

"Good luck," Se-jin said, giving you a sympathetic look as you approached the entrance. 

You walked through the door and they came out of nowhere. Paparazzi mostly, their cameras blinding you as you attempted to move forward. 

"Sumi! Is it true you cheated on Park Minki?" 

"Do you really love Yoongi?" 

"Sumi! Look here!" 

"Sumi, talk to us!" 

The whirlwind of flashes and yells were too much for your headache and you closed your eyes for just a moment. When you opened them, you felt yourself colliding with another figure, your shoulder slamming into their bicep, which resulted in hot coffee on your white T-shirt. 

"I'm so sorry, Sumi," the figure said. 

You turned to look at them, only to have a camera snapped in your face. Blinded, you turned around and stumbled towards where you remembered the security clearance to be. You felt someone grab your arm lightly and looked up to see the bodyguard they'd assigned you leading you through the mess. 

---

"What happened?" Namjoon asked as the bodyguard ushered you through the first class curtain and into your seat. 

"Paparazzi spilled coffee on her so he could get a shot," the bodyguard said, standing at the doorway of first class and watching as you sat down in the window seat next to Taehyung. 

"Sumi, are--?"

Taehyung was interrupted by the intercom and the captain telling everyone to buckle in and stay in the seats as the plane prepared to take off. 

Your heart was already beating so quickly it almost felt like when you and Yoongi were separated the morning you found out he was your soulmate. You thought you were dying as your heart beat so quickly. 

You closed your eyes and took a breath as the plane engine rumbled behind you and the plane began accelerating down the runaway. 

“Tae," you said, your voice sounded desperate and as if you were about to cry. "C-Can you hold my hand? Just until the seatbelt sign is off?"

Taehyung didn't respond, but took hold of your hand and intertwined your fingers. You sat for a few seconds as the plane jolted into the air. 

"Ah!" Tae pulled his hand away. His palm was red and his hand shook in shock. You reached to examine his hand. "No, no," he said. 

"Did--did I do that?" 

"I think so," he said. "I know you didn't mean to."

"I'm sorry." 

You sighed and brought your knees to your chest and rested your head on them as you glanced out the window. You were almost above the clouds, the plane skimming the very tops. Watching the clouds--while it didn't necessarily relax you--it did allow you to get out of your mind enough until the seatbelt light clicked off. 

You unhooked your seatbelt and walked past the members and to the first class bathroom. You were stunned when you entered to find it at least double the size of the typical economy class bathroom, but the thought soon passed as you caught sight of yourself in the mirror. 

A large brown stain nearly covered the entire front of your T-shirt and your hair was falling out of its ponytail. You sighed, realizing you hadn't grabbed a new shirt out of your carry on. You unlocked the door and pushed it open, only to reveal Yoongi standing in the doorway. 

His hands rested on either side of the door and he looked up at you, your eyes meeting for the first time since the fight. 

You backed into the bathroom and Yoongi followed you in, closing and locking the door behind him. "Take your shirt off," he said. 

"What?" You instinctively crossed your arms as he reached from the hem of your T-shirt. 

"Did it burn you?" 

You uncrossed your arms and allowed him to lift your shirt over your head. He tossed it aside and unbuttoned his own as he looked over your torso. No burns, only the fading hickeys he'd left earlier in the week. 

He finished unbuttoning his flannel--revealing his own white T-shirt underneath--and draped it over your shoulders and began to button it.

"Won't they notice when we get to Japan that I'm wearing your shirt?" 

"Probably."

"What's happening? I hurt Tae and Namjoon mentioned something about not being able to touch you," you said, focusing down on his hands as they finished buttoning the flannel. He was careful not to allow his touches to linger too long, but whenever he pulled away, it felt as if your heart was going to come out of your chest and follow him.

He rolled up the sleeve of his T-shirt exposing a fresh red burn that looked much like the one you'd unintentionally given Taehyung. 

"It happened when Namjoon tried to wake me up," he said. "I think it has to do with the argument we got into last night." 

Your gaze fell to the floor as he mentioned the argument. "So, do we have to work it out, or is it a permanent thing until we figure out how to sever the connection?" 

"I don't know," Yoongi said. "But, I have a fan meeting tomorrow and I feel like my flesh will burn off by the end."

You smirked and couldn't help the chuckle in the back of your throat. "Is that the only reason you're here? So, your hand doesn't burn off?" 

Yoongi's eyes widened. You realized the harshness of your words only after you had said them, but you didn't regret them. You straightened your back and kept your eyes locked on his. 

When he grabbed your hand, your muscles relaxed and the exhaustion you'd felt from the previous days overwhelming you. Your eyelids drooped and you barely felt how your head came to rest just below his collarbones and his arms interlocked at the small of your back. 

"No, I really am sorry, Sumi," he said, his voice barely audible over the sound of the plane's engine. "I regretted everything as soon as I said it. I was unfair." 

You opened your eyes, but couldn't bring yourself to look at him. You simply caught a look at yourself in the mirror. Yoongi's flannel coming down to your thighs and the way your arms wrapped around him completely. 

"I shouldn't have said anything to him," you said. "I wasn't thinking."

"Shhh," Yoongi said, one of his hands coming to play with your falling out ponytail. "Jimin told me you were crying last night." You didn't respond but rather turned your face into his chest. "Don't cry over me, okay? Especially if I'm being stupid like that. I'm not worth it."

Tears tickled your eyes. "You said I was stupid--" 

"I didn't mean it. Sumi, you speak two languages and you teach English. You're so smart and you don't even know it. I never should've said anything." 

You pulled away from him, but the air felt lighter around you. You glanced at yourself in your mirror. 

"My god," you said, in English, pulling out your ponytail and allowing your hair to fluff out around your face. You used your hands to smooth back the hair, but stopped when he placed his hands on top of yours. 

"Let me do it," he said. Yoongi took hold of the hair tie and did the same motion with his hands, but due to his vantage point, he was able to pull your hair tighter. 

"How about on our day off in Japan I take you on a proper date?" he asked, tying up your hair. 

"I'd like that," you said, turning around and smiling up at him. 

He only responded with the smile you'd come to love.

[aph1wonderland]

Achilles Come Down(Songfic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_V76Dm42bY

(by Gangs Of Youths) Happy late birthday Kay {1/11}]

Achilles

Achilles

Achilles come down, won't you

Get up off

Get up off the roof?

She heard stories, how people get visions blessed by archons, when they know they have lost something dear to them. It's selfish for her to claim she has so much, but how can she bare face with the honorless daughter who selfishly granted a wish to her desperate mother? To be given freedom, but at what cost? The obedient daughter can no longer learn because her household refused her to excel in her gifts they sold her.

You're scaring us

And all of us

Some of us love you

Achilles, it's not much but there's proof

She could only acknowledge the sacrifices of her mother’s paranoia and insanity driving her to act out of her driven mind. Forced to push her first daughter gifted to leave the nest before the danger of a curse to seal her away. What a feeling she learned when fought as a child, not entirely understanding why her fragile and injured mother could dare teach her violent arts of breaking bones. No matter what she could with the trait passed down to obey like she did, the inhuman strength was supposed to be her brother’s. Was she supposed to be a man, or play a coward of a woman like she was last time she saw her.

You crazy assed cosmonaut

Remember your virtue

Redemption lies plainly in truth

Perhaps it was insane to teach her child to fight and out of turn for her to act this way on the day she was supposed to depart away to Fontaine.  To run, a virtue truly from her heart, passion but plainly she didn’t know how to fly by herself if she nested warmly alone in her noble home. But maybe it was a better hesitation than she thought distracted by the differences of Liyue Harbor the sounds, the unknown to the factors of cultures shifted from them and herself. 

Just humour us

Achilles

Achilles come down

Won't you get up off

Get up off the roof

She was bringing too much attention to herself. A distraction to few of the many bustling crowds, it did not help if she was holding her vision from Inazuma. The crafted origin of her homelands if only it was possible to cover it up, but she cannot do anything to god blessed item. Afraid to break such a glorified object that could possibly bring her even more fear brought among her. She could not say much but the expensive silks of her layers of clothing on her and mora tied as the side of her sash. Perhaps this was a better choice to exchange for more temporary stability.

Achilles

Achilles

Achilles come down, won't you

Get up off

Get up off the roof?

Parting for her meticulous layers, as if she felt bare to foreign weather. It was an uncommonly shifted need to adapt. To live is to survive the world that felt dangerous in the as if shores she arrived at the port, soaking her soles. As the hydro element felt attuned as she gazed over it, perhaps she mistaken it for cryo for a few seconds. The newly acquired clothing felt perhaps embarrassing to be seen wearing it, but it must be done. Exposing skin could throw them off of her, needing eyes to attend too afforded a pair of glasses to wear. No longer blinded and blurred by the setback. 

The self is not so weightless

Nor whole and unbroken

Remember the pact of our youth

She planned back to see the village of her mother, in which she thought would be best to rely on them for a settlement. As quick she wanted to live again, the feeling of the forest life once again she’ll dearly make it possible to work away her favor and honor. The face of her selfish wish from her mother’s demands, for once she’ll do her justice in living in the truth then the lie. She was the selfish one in the end to drink the god’s gift in the journey of living outside the box.

Where you go

I'm going

So jump and I'm jumping

Since there is no me without you

The hardest part was truly talking to the leader of the community of Qingce Village. Basic knowledge of contract is the word of the old in Liyue, for that it must be fair to do so as a way to be accepted. As long as she can work what she can there’ll be no one to stop her from becoming something unexpected. Perhaps if she’ll survive the jump she’s making herself take, someday she’ll see her mother smile once more. One day she will not need to hear rumors of the walls that could speak about her siblings and the warmth of the sun not the gaze of cold expectations.

Soldier on

Achilles

Achilles come down

Won't you get up off

Get up off the roof?

As if her eyes hesitated at the time she heard from the old woman, she warmly laughed off her noble character she played. She felt warm, her own layer of her mask cracking and her face wrinkling in confusion. Perhaps one day she’ll understand why she left, accepted into the community and warm tears to the location to her new home. Gazing at the moon and the stars  among the indigo sky, on the roof. Feeling alone at the end of the ledge wondering why does she feel this sadness?

Loathe the way they light candles in Rome

But love the sweet air of the votives

Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone

Engage with the pain as a motive

It had been an additional two years she had hesitated a few times to work her way into the community  once again, when the old woman told her to visit the night of the lantern festival and live a bit. Scolding her for something as tedious as working too much for others and not herself. She wishes to stay, tending her home, to the children in the village. Listen over to the elderly and middle aged for things to do, when she returns from the commissions in the early morning before. She could not see herself anymore as a woman who could stand sitting looking beautiful in wealth in silken in silence without someone or a book in hand. Yet here she is fidgeting to do something in Liyue Harbor, gazing at the port away from the festivity waiting for it to end. Hands shaking over the candle lights, flashing sounds of fireworks behind her. 

Today of all days

See

Leaning against the stone fencing far away from the peaceful cold tones wondering about Inazuma. Her 2nd younger sister, Kaori was already sent to Fontaine after her brother 3rd youngest Daichi was prepared. Who knows where, but hope the best for him. That his wife would not stop him from doing what he loved in the end. Becoming an alchemist and a doctor, something she felt taken from her life however perhaps this is the exchange of her natural build taking away his inhuman strength. She loved every single child born in that house. Chie, she has yet to entirely meet, but she must have been close to a mischievous child she was when she was younger running in the fields. Last time she remembered from her nanny telling her before sending her off from the interception of her mother that week she fled.

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above

Thinking about it now she was alone on the side of this world, the chills returned. It felt suffocating and an uncomfortable delusion to find herself drowning in the sea of doubt. The constellation of her verse was a siren, or a mermaid. They long and lost their dreams and here she was living the dream not of hers but someone else's, what could she say now but choke back the mourning not of death but the new life given to her. Perhaps she’ll love the gods for this life for hers, the opportunities to breath in the beauty of Liyue. Live for the virtues of Justice, but for now she shall wait for the day to be taken back home, not alone but with others in strength. 

Achilles

Achilles

Achilles

Jump now

You are absent of cause

Or excuse

She flinched when she turned to look to the side to see a tall man, he was beautiful. Awed at the sight of the strangely encapsulating man who was glowing entrancingly from the lights and the moon as well. Mostly his vision of his eyes from the mid ranged distance, she panicked once again when he caught her staring. Flustered in beyond her life had she met a man who made her feel so out of place. He was confused why she suddenly looked away, “Miss? Perhaps you are a traveler? Considering I have yet to see you before in this country? Have finished experiencing the festival in Liyue?” She froze, right the festival that is taking place right now. Was she dreading for so long to not realize the time?

So self-indulgent

And self-referential

No audience could ever want you

One thing is for sure she was embarrassed herself once again, no way to correct the fact she had nothing to tell this man to answer that. “Perhaps you are asking for an introduction from a stranger like myself, but it does not seem fair if you do not return the favor first. In all honesty I did not partake in the event, I tend to busy myself too much in working around Liyue as an Adventurer from the guild. Well I don’t know how to experience these events. It’s best for me not to attend and perhaps ruin it all. Good night Sir.” She shouldn’t bother this man at all, leaving was the only thing on her mind.

You crave the applause

Yet hate the attention

Then miss it, your act is a ruse

“Would it be possible for me to guide you through the festival? Of course I am Zhongli of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, a consultant, may I ask for the name of your Miss?” She stopped, “I would not mind if you were to show me the knowledge of yours of your beloved Liyue. I am Kay of Haru, please do not mind my hesitancy and not honor among me to be called anything as Miss. Kay is enough for me to be called in such a fluency.” Returning a feeble gaze up to him, taking him as her guide for that night to return alive that day. 

It is empty, Achilles

So end it all now

It's a pointless resistance

For you

Achilles

Achilles

Just put down the bottle

Don't listen to what you've consumed

Open to opportunities and refreshed and ready to work her life for another day to look for Mister Zhongli had inspired her to take on learning the world the best she can starting with Liyue. From the whole trip listening to him speak the loveliest tunes of a tone, enchanted possibly. Yet she began to notice how little time she spent on her commissions in which she decided to ask Katherine in a few hours for more things to do. In which she began to enjoy the thrill of control she realized of her life envirgated by the thought itself grew her confidence and growth in her skills. Passing 5 years had affected her bond with Mister Zhongli to increase in size on her personal affections to his personal side of feelings towards simple things in life. Someone who could answer her curiosities in the best way they could and confide, not once thought about leaving the country of Liyue.

It's chaos, confusion

And wholly unworthy

Of feeding and it's wholly untrue

Yet with few time he found her as often as he could in Liyue in finding her in returning to Katherine filing in the many commissions built as she carried on her shoulders. He gave her glaze lilies on her birthday each year, not sure how he knew, but perhaps the old woman told him. Cooking was one her specialties in which she began collecting recipes after trying to find a way to return back to Mister Zhongli to acknowledge his distaste in seafood as a reminder. Perhaps he was too addicting to let go, however was that alright to call him something close to a friend. Would that be alright with him?

You may feel no purpose

Nor a point for existing

It's all just conjecture and gloom

Yet she would miss him as much as she thought when Childe took on his arrival. Perhaps the fact alone that she took on now is the gnawing hunger, she was childish to share a desire of hers with him. Considering the truth, he always found her and never the other way around. She did not see him that much anymore, feeling like a distant memory that returns every week he does. Never once complained for the fact she enjoyed his company, for the returning fact, she was lonely.

And there may not be meaning

So find one and seize it

Do not waste your self on this roof

Perhaps for once a longing will not leave her and let her stay on the roof of her home given to her and the children of those who breathed in this village. The moon was always lucky to know it was never alone, possibilities of her insecurities to eat her. Was she not worthy to know the fact she is not considered in the spotlight, but entirely on being known? Still he gave her glaze lilies on her birthday.

Hear those bells ring deep in the soul

Chiming away for a moment

Feel your breath course frankly below

See life as a worthy opponent

Driven to bite back the petty thieves in Liyue with her strength reporting to the adventurer’s guild and stealing treasures and effort from others. She did not like them, she made sure to take note of base locations from each leader she fought, monsters she battled and planned meticulously in a clean beat down. Same old same old, spending Mora on things she could think of. To one she could tend to a bird; Kyu a loving bird with a blank expression but a silent affectionate one in the end of it all, who carries packages and wordless secrets of her loneliness. Perhaps her own feelings she can express is what tearing her apart over and over again. Life was hers to learn more of as her commissions made her wander to Monstadt’s region but never once thought about entering into the city of freedom.

Today of all days

See

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above

Crowned by an overture bold and beyond

Ah, it's more courageous to overcome

She faced Childe in a confrontation when Mister Zhongli brought him over for dinner that week at her home. Why did it take a year for her to finally meet Childe, Mister Zhongli? She frowned, but bonded slowly with Childe, he was pretty sketchy around her, but nonetheless she wasn’t alone if Childe actually had something to confide with family. Considering they had similar visions from the same values of Justice but different archons blessed. He gave white lies with reason, sometimes it was cruel to keep to himself. While Kay herself was one who hesitates but nevertheless her strength is for the good reasons that are proven. Yet even the harder things get she won’t give in so easily she rather die fighting for things that are right, failing to do so does not mean she’ll stop. The moment she’ll stop if she dies breathing blood. Perhaps that’s why she talks with him often, even that does not satisfy her.

You want the acclaim

The mother of mothers (it's not worth it Achilles)

More poignant than fame

Or the taste of another (don't listen Achilles)

But be real and just jump

You dense motherf*cker (you're worth more, Achilles)

You will not be more

Than a rat in the gutter (so much more than a rat)

You want my opinion (no one asked your opinion)

My opinion you've got

You asked for my counsel (no one asked for your thoughts)

I gave you my thoughts

Be done with this now

And jump off the roof

Can you hear me Achilles?

Mister Zhongli lowered his visits to her compared to Childe who was able to find him whenever he needed to talk to him. However another person, the traveler, arrived in Liyue a few weeks ago. However Mister Zhongli had briefly mentioned her if they needed any assistance. Not sure how to feel if he was using her, unsure if their bond would be truly mended and here she was letting him into her own heart every time he came. Why does she hesitate when it comes to him? Someone who could destroy all her defenses and weaken her to the point she doesn’t help but stutter. She’s not sure if Mister Zhongli realizes as she doesn’t entirely, she is hurting. She is selfish to continue this cycle she let herself eat till he leaves her. This is not entirely healthy, she’s disgusted to look how encapsulated when it comes to him. Perhaps it’s better to give up before it ruins her, she thought. She’s selfish to think he would see her again. Does this mean she’s drowning by the sea  with no shores for her to rely on.

I'm talking to you

I'm talking to you

I'm talking to you

I'm talking to you

Achilles come down

Achilles come down

“Kay.” She stood by the cliffs and turned around to see Mister Zhongli with the Traveler. She is confused yet a bit sad by her own thoughts of self pity. “Mister Zhongli. It’s been too long hasn’t it?” The Traveler worriedly looked in between them. “Hello dear Traveler, I hope you’ve been well, I hope I did well to help you in Liyue.” She ignored the fact Zhongli was about to respond to her, but ended letting him continue since the Traveler nudged him to do so. “I apologize, if I left you too much in the dark. Perhaps we could mend for a few moments with a story to tell. I will confess the fact I was not honest in my reasons for disappearing too much.” Her eyes conflicted, whether or not he was truly speaking his mind, but knowing him for years regardless of his disappearance. She sighs, bitterly but allowing his invitation to tell about the salt goddess that late evening. 

Throw yourself into the unknown

With pace and a fury defiant

Clothe yourself in beauty untold

And see life as a means to a triumph

Today of all days

See

One thing she could even do was not judge him, but comfort him as a human like she was born to do. Sure she was angry, but nothing could compare over the immortal and emotional wounds that cut deeply over time and left a swollen temperament of a situation. She cannot help but relate once again leaving her fragile over the fact she wasn’t smart enough to understand him, but connect through the empathic nature she was. In the end she knew she'd join the Traveler to Inazuma to finish her parting justice for her country. Perhaps one day she’ll understand to feel more, if they joined them. Perhaps she’ll tell people in Liyue about her choice in following the Traveler.

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above

Crowned by an overture bold and beyond

Ah, it's more courageous to overcome

She loved this man to the end of her aging life, even if he would not take it for granted compared to her existence. After following her beloved traveler to the end of their journey, healing her country she must take over duties as next head with the revived honor of her clan. She realizes Mister Zhongli will wait for her, not the reason she wants to believe. In which she cannot return the sentiment that he plans to give back in the end. That is not the love she needed from him, nor can force it. For that she will settle for another, her children will remember the age or gods in her place. She will heal and forgive him over and over again. For she will love him to not feel forgotten for eternity. Perhaps he was right to compare her to glaze lilies on her birthdays.

[the-kings-of-games]

GX Month 2020

SUper late and I’m too lazy to do anything (as always), but this seems like fun to think about. So let’s go!

Day 1 (August 31): “Game on!” (It’s Judai/Jaden Yuki’s birthday today! Let’s celebrate!): 

Jaden is a great protagonist. I love dumb but OP main characters, especially when they got lucky-go attitudes. 

Day 2 (September 1): “Red, Yellow, Blue!” (Ah, the tier system at Duel Academy. Which dorm is your favorite?): 

I’m attached to Slifer Red, lol. They got a cat for mascot, what more do I need? Also, they serve tempura for lunch.

Day 3 (September 2): “Rule the School” (These kids might be saving the world, but they’re still students with homework to do and exams to pass. Celebrate the school life today!):

Don’t know what to put here, but I was a terrible student because I didn’t study or do things in a timely manner. Do better than me, kids. 

Day 4 (September 3): “Sometimes I Can’t Believe We’re Related” (10Join! Today is all about the iconic brother-sister pair, Fubuki Tenjoin/Atticus Rhodes and Asuka Tenjoin/Alexis Rhodes!):

I love this sibling pair! ^^ Alexis is really cool, and Atticus is so far out of the left field. I really thought Atticus was going to be cool like his sister, or edgy like Zane, but nah, this guy is, like, I just want to support my sister and play this ukulele. They make such a contrasting pair, so it adds to the humor.

Day 5 (September 4): “Pass The Salt” (No story is perfect. So what is something you wish you could have seen in the story of GX?)

I can’t think of anything. 

Day 6 (September 5): “Going Down With The Ships!” (You know what I’m talking about. We all have an armada parked in the bay, but there’s that one ship, that one ship, that you would die for. Today is all about OTPs and OT3s!)

I really like Rivalshipping. I don’t really have that many ships for GX. 5D’s and Zexal are more of my jam. 

Day 7 (September 6): “Bring the THUNDER” (Ichi! Juu! Hyaku! Sen! Chazz it up! Today the world does in fact revolve around Jun Manjoume/Chazz Princeton.)

HANDS DOWN, one of my two top choices for favorite rival. (Jack’s the other.) My favorite things about Chazz are his name, his energy, and that fact that he’s a baby brother. He’s so cute! ^^ I just want to make fun of him.

Day 8 (September 7): “The Power of Friendship!” (Favorite dynamic duo, two characters you think would have been friends if only they met, how friendship saves the day, or maybe a friendship fail. It’s up to you!):

Chazz and Pharoah, lol. I need Chazz to hold that cat and pet it. Why didn’t he? :’(

Day 9 (September 8): “Born to be Bad” (Inherently evil, brainwashed, misguided, or misunderstood. GX boots a colorful cast of villainy. Who’s your favorite bad guy?):

I haven’t finished season 4 yet, but Nightshroud. 

Day 10 (September 9): Free Day/Introductions (Tell us about yourself and your GX experience! Your favorites, why you like it, how you got into it. Or leave the day open to do whatever you want!):

I’m known as kappa. I got Hulu, and Hulu has almost all the YGO series excluding VRAINS and SEVENS which is fine because I also have Crunchyroll and the internet, lol; so, I watched all the YGO series simultaneously, skipping back and forth between series. I did not watch any of them in order. GX was number 5 or 6, but it’s the one series I’m putting off. 

Day 11 (September 10): “Cyber Legacy” (No Yu-Gi-Oh! show is complete without a pair of brothers. Today’s stars are Sho Marufuji/Syrus Truesdale and Ryo Marufuji/Zane Truesdale!):

I love these guys! It was great to see them grow and become their own people. ^^ They had, I think, the most realistic relationship.

Day 12 (September 11): “But What If We Had Bikes?” (That’s right! It’s time for the GX crew to rev it up on their very own D-Wheels/Duel Runners!):

I CANNOT DRAW. SORRY LMAO

Day 13 (September 12): “And You Are…?” (Got a favorite OC? Or one you’ve been hiding in the closet? Introduce them to the world today!):

I only have a Rivalshipping OC baby. Her name is Mira Princeton, and she has Jaden’s brown hair and Chazz’s dark eyes (with a bit of a golden glow). Since both her parents can see spirits, it’d make sense that she can too, lol. Her companion is Yata-Garasu, a rare card that her mama won at a tournament. She likes pink and flowers. She is very close to Aster and calls him Uncle Aster. She’s four, and most of her life, she knows her dad as the “Slifer slacker but a really good duelist.” 

I love her. :)

Day 14 (September 13): “The Perfect Formula” (He duels with the power math and science! Today, show the world that you still remember Daichi/Bastion Misawa!)

Bastion is a funny character. “Everything is science. I’m going to disappear for several months. Don’t forget to forget me,” I think. 

Day 15 (September 14): “Insert pun here” (It’s meme day! Recreate your favorites! Make some shitposts! Be the troll you’ve always wanted to be!):

Bastion: SIr, I’m afraid your DNA is backwards.

Jaden: AND?

Day 16 (September 15): “Creation and Destruction” (The Gentle Darkness and the Light of Destruction. The eternal struggle. And also the Darkness that tried to drown the world. Huh. Feels a little unbalanced.):

It’s pretty cool to have darkness and light reverse, and then watch as darkness conflict with itself, lmao. The Light of Destruction would be a chaotic good, and the Gentle Darkness as chaotic neutral. (Don't quote me on that, I don’t do personality quizzes.) 

Day 17 (September 16): “Putting the D in Destiny” (Pro duelist by day and crime fighting vigilante by night. Today is Edo/Aster Phoenix’s day!):

He’s great. I like him. He’s the precursor to Declan Akaba’s D/D/D archetype. Maybe not. Can you believe that he actually said “Shmaden Shmuki on national TV???? LMAO

Day 18 (September 17): “In Another Life” (It’s AU day!):

Currently trying to write a fantasy-ish AU in which Jun marries the Supreme King. Trust me, I have no idea what I’m doing.

Day 19 (September 18): “I Was Here Too!” (GX has a vast array of unique characters, some of which we only saw once. Pick a “one shot” character and show them off!):

I really like Princess Rose. She was pretty, and her spirit monsters care for her. I appreciate that. 

Day 20 (September 19): Free Day 2/Support Fellow Creators (Show some love for your favorite creators, or leave the day free for whatever you please!):

Literally @ everyone whose work(s) and/or post(s) I’ve reblogged. Keep up the good work!

Day 21 ( September 20): “Prehistoric Predators” (The dino duelist with a fossil in his leg. Today is all about Kenzan Tyranno/Tyranno Hassleberry!):

Dino DNA is so funny; I’m sorry, Hassleberry, but I don’t like dinosaurs. At least you were cute as one. 

Day 22 (September 21): “Stop Blowing Holes In My Ship!” (Some ships are popular and some are…not. Today is all about rare pairs and crack ships! Give those underdogs some love!):

Tanya/Bastion is kind of cute. And I guess Chazz/Atticus too. ^^ 

Day 23 (September 22): “And For Today’s Lesson…” (The teachers at Duel Academy have their work cut out for them, but they still take care of their students. Show the DA staff some love today!):

Fonda Fontaine!

Day 24 (September 23): “Legend of the Seven Gems” (Resurrect the greatest light in history today with Johan/Jesse Anderson and the Crystal Beasts!):

Johan is very cute! I’m so glad they gave him a Southern accent in the dub. ^^ It makes him extra soft and lovable. I can’t believe that Johan/JIm is called Cowboyshipping, but I love that name so much.

Day 25 (September 24): “For The Glory of Academia!” (We got to see Asuka/Alexis and Edo/Aster over in Fusion Dimension, but what about the rest of the cast? Show us some Fusion counterparts today! What are these dorks up to and what part do they play in the war?):

I’m bad at rewriting canon. ^^: Sorry. 

Day 26 (September 25): “Dream Team From Overseas” (Austin O’Brien/Axel Brody, Jim “Crocodile” Cook, and Amon/Adrian Gecko. Today is all about them!)

I absolutely love Jim Cook, from him being Australian to having a crocodile as his best friend to getting burned with a mysterious object to cowboy hat. xD 

Day 27 (September 26): “Duel Monster Spirit Day!” (The world of GX is full of spirits. Do something fun to celebrate your favorite!):

Mine would be Scapeghost and Rose Garden Maiden! 

Day 28 (September 27): “Gold Eyes in The Darkness” (Today’s all about the Supreme King! Unleash the Darkness and create your content!):

I like his aesthetic. I’m into Chazz/Supreme King for sure.

Day 29 (September 28): “Don’t Forget Me!” (Have an underappreciated character you wish you’d seen more of? Give them some love today!):

Miss Dorothy! She’s wonderful, she’s friend shaped. 

Day 30 (September 29): Free Day 3 (Share anything. Anything at all. It’s free game.): 

The Chazz/Supreme King fic I’m working on: The Supreme King’s Husband (Prologue)

Day 31 (September 30): “Gotcha!”:

Is this a Pokemon reference? O_o

[recommendedlisten]

There was no rest for the weary music writers of the world this week, as it was another heaping offering of new music from all directions. The latest recommended listen album came by way of Potty Mouth, who’ve finally returned after six long years to deliver their sophomore shock to the system SNAFU. Nobody probably would have predicted that the National would be back so soon with their latest effort, however, offering a peak into its soul with its first single. Chatter on Charli Bliss’ highly anticipated new album continued, as did that of Field Medic in spite of his disenchantment, and a self-immolating American Pleasure Club. Meanwhile, a brilliant single from Channel Tres and a new one from Gemma played it cool.

Here’s the best of the rest from the week of March 3rd, 2019…

Fontaines D.C. - “Roy’s Tune” [Partisan Records]

Punks out of Ireland always seem to hold their native land with both an adoring reverence and bitter disdain, with the first half realized out of a love of its people and the potential for its culture to be something so much bigger, and the second being the downsides of when those in power do very little to support either in minding their priorities onto government wealth and shotty politics. Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. are the latest to lend their voices to the plight of rock music as a savior from the country’s ills, and with “Roy’s Tune”, the latest listen from the rising band’s forthcoming debut Dogrel, due out on May 12th, they continue onward in surveying its bleak scene set on lead single “Big” with a melancholic, grey sky drift of guitars moving further in. “I like the way they treat me but I hate the way they use her / I hate the way they use her,” solemnly sings frontman Grian Chatten. Its video, directed by Liam Papadachi, stars Dafhyd Flynn (Michael Inside) in a slice of life portrait of that daily struggle, good and bad. Fontaines D.C. will no doubt be continuing to build buzz on the road in the coming week at this year’s SXSW, and embark on a U.S. tour with fellow isle post-punks Idles later this spring.

The Get Up Kids - “Satellite” [Polyvinyl Records]

Darling emo veterans the Get Up Kids found a fitting home last year when they signed to Polyvinyl Records and put out Kicker, their first new music since the 7 year stretch of silence between 2011′s post-reunion comeback There Are Rules and the now. Fortunately for longtime listeners, Kicker had more in common with the band’s early batch of punchy, fervent guitar punk than the proggy experimental departures of that album, and there’s going to be more of that on the horizon when they release their sixth studio effort Problems on May 10th. What’s been a tale of the best of both worlds with the Get Up Kids’ music these days is how they’ve rediscovered how to faithfully bring their signature sound into the present using their grown-up lens, as is the case with the album’s lead single “Satellite”. It’s a song about feeling isolated and anxious within a crowd, which frontman Matt Pryor pulled inspiration from in his own stage habits and observing those of his contently introverted 14-year-old son. In its video directed by Kerstin Ebert, we watch a cute cardboard creature contend with just that in the big city noise of their daily life.

Greys - “These Things Happen” [Carpark Records]

Is there something in the water, or does it sounding like the spirit of the‘60s and ‘70s is bleeding its way back into today’s modern punk and indie rock landscape? Bands like Culture Abuse and Angel Du$t have trimmed down their hardcore weight in favor of breezy flower punk, and further down this read, there’s more evidence of tie dyed fashion coming back into style by way of Ezra Koenig’s design. Toronto’s Greys have gradually chiseled away at the gravely post-hardcore the burst onto the scene, and with 2016′s two-fer Outer Heaven and Warm Shadow, they turned their amplifications toward an experimental dreamy gaze further out into the atmosphere. Age Hasn’t Spoiled You, their third proper full-length set for release May 10th, could see them returning to the earth, but not in the way you might anticipate. Its first singles “These Things Happen” simmers in a radiation of psychedelic feedback and harmonious comedowns as frontman Shehzaad Jiwan searches for footing amidst the confusion of our current political climate. “Look at the road behind you / See how far you’ve come from home,” he sings, not necessarily as a fete, but in perspective of how lost we’ve gotten.

Age Hasn't Spoiled You by Greys

Laura Stevenson - “Value Inn” [Don Giovanni Records]

At month’s end, punk songwriter Laura Stevenson will release her fifth studio effort The Big Freeze, an album that while recorded in between the familiar space of her childhood home, feels both vast in its exploration of space and vulnerability compared to all of her work preceding it. She tore the walls right down with a bout of long distance pining on its first single “Living Room, NY”, and on her latest preview “Value Inn”, Stevenson again delivers an emotional wrecking ball into her surrounding interiors. Though this time, it’s not much about seeking comfort in the arms of another as it is an escape from the outside world altogether. ”The song is about going somewhere deliberately to disappear and to harm yourself. And in that isolated place, the loneliness is so extreme that the world feels completely empty, and you are the only one who can pull yourself back out,” she elaborates. Recently, Stevenson wrote a piece for the Talkhouse on her battle with dermatillomania that adds even further context to the listen, further devastated by acoustic reverb and her pierced words. The Big Freeze will without a doubt be Stevenson’s career-defining moment because of this honesty.

Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan - “I” [Three Lobed Records]

In the spring of 2017, Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist Mary Lattimore and Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan turned to an improvised experimental collaboration to rediscover their version of beauty in a world on fire on the heels of a traumatic 2016. The finished result, New Rain Duets, will see the light of day for the rest of us who need it on March 22nd. We’ve already heard the warmly buzzing sprawl of “III”, one of four instrumental compositions that make up the listen, and now the pair have shared the album’s opening part “I”. This one nearly doubles in length at 11-minutes long as it hesitantly tip-toes its way out of the dark by way of Lattimore’s harpsichord ornation before McCaughan illuminates the path her arpeggios dance with sprightly synthesizers. Let this be your reminder to move your clocks forward this weekend for an extra hour of daylight...

New Rain Duets by Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan

Pile - “Bruxist Grin” [Exploding In Sound Records]

With bands like Kal Marks and Krill no longer with us (or are they?) and Speedy Ortiz splintered across the northeast, it would seem that Pile are the last band standing from Boston’s DIY scene of the early decade, and for good reason at that. The big-riffed shredding of their early work that never ceased to get compared to ‘90s indie veterans amplified has steadily meticulated itself into its own rock formation over the years, especially as lead singer Rick Maguire does his own aging process justice in his songwriting. That Converge brought them out on tour in support of 2017′s The Dusk In Us is all the seal of approval you need to know that they’re their hometown’s modern day heroes in guitar-slinging. On May 5th, they’ll return with their 7th full-length effort Green and Gray, and its anxiety-filled first listen “Bruxist Grin” makes the most out of Maguire’s twisted up emotions. Guitars cranking and cymbals stomping overhead target a panic attack straight toward his chest, and that there’s a cohesive formation in this imminent chaos is what puts his mind on the defense.

Green and Gray by Pile

Vampire Weekend feat. Steve Lacy - “Sunflower” [Columbia Records]

The details behind the long-awaited new album from Vampire Weekend are making themselves known little by little, as we now know that their fourth studio effort entitled Father of the Bride will be released May 5th. Its official cover art is also a departure from the granular Insta-portrait aesthetic of its predecessors, and shares more in common with patchouli-minded Paint design you'd have found if you wandered into a Dancing Bear store circa ‘96. VW’s hippie prep makeover extends beyond just the visual, however, and into the band’s evolved sound, with one of its two leadoff singles in “Harmony Hall” being spirited by a Dead live jam, and all the more blazoned on “Sunflower” and “Big Blue”, LP4′s latest coupling of singles. The former sees the Internet’s guitar guru Steve Lacy joining Ezra Koenig and company for a brief, but far out journey that leans into free form jazz and psychedelic spheres tripped on in ‘70s FM waves, but without getting lost in the haze. But who knows -- Maybe all the scat-bat-doo-bopping will get a 15-minute-long extended jam once Vampire Weekend begin their summer tour...