#I FORGOT TO ADD THE SECOND PART OF THIS SET. HERE U GO MULTIPLE DAYS LATER LOL

[danieyells]

Because of you, tumblr keeps advertising ObeyMe! to me. I'm starting to crack under the pressure to play it 😔 Can you at least sum up what I'm gonna be getting myself into? How's the gameplay? I've never played this kind of game before

8D tbf it may have had been doing that regardless apparently people were seeing the ads when it first came out BUT. OKAY SUMMARY TIME.

So, Obey Me!, is not an otome game by traditional standards and, instead, simply follows a storyline with a good amount of romance in it. I believe it was first advertised(and its title in the play store originally referred to it as) an otome game and, instead, it now advertises itself properly as a story and card game.

Obey Me! follows your adventure in a place called The Devildom–essentially Hell, though I believe Hell is a separate part of it between itself and the Human World, I DIGRESS–where you’ve been brought as an exchange student to the Royal Academy of Diavolo, essentially a college for demons.

Mind, you had no awareness or say in this situation, but suck it up because you’re here for a year.

This is Diavolo! You can’t kiss him. Yet. I suspect we will eventually. But he’s basically why you’re here.

Story-wise your job is to develop an immunity to demonic influence and attend your classes(no, you don’t actually get to do so, though there are references to/talk of it) for a year stay in the Devildom. Afterwards, you’ll write a paper about your experience and you’ll be able to go home.

The exchange program is Diavolo’s attempt at starting peaceful and cooperative relations between the three worlds–The Human World, of which you are from, The Devildom, where Diavolo rules over all Demonkind, and the Celestial Realm, populated by angels and ruled over by who I like to call The Celestial Father, but most people just call god.

Don’t worry though! You won’t be thrown into the Devildom without help! After all, demons eat humans and their souls! You are overseen by Mammon, the Avatar of Greed, essentially your sidekick throughout the story. After Lucifer, his older brother and the Avatar of Pride, shoves you off onto the unwilling Mammon, you’re sent to the brothers’s home dorm, The House Of Lamentation, to get settled.

As you can tell by the names and ways I identify them, there are seven brothers and they’re all representative of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In order of oldest to youngest, we have Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride and Diavolo’s right hand man, Mammon, the Avatar of Greed and the one responsible for you here in the Devildom, Leviathan(or just Levi), the Avatar of Envy and a shut-in otaku, Satan, the Avatar of Wrath and the most normal-seeming one, Asmodeus,(or just Asmo) the Avatar of Lust and most charming of the seven(in a sense,) Beelzebub(or just Beel), the Avatar of Gluttony who is just as self-explanatory as Asmo, and Belphegor(everyone calls him Belphie), the Avatar of Sloth and the demon sent to the Human World in exchange for you. Suffice to say…you won’t see him much.

Oddly enough, before you woke up in the Devildom, you heard a boy’s voice begging you to help them. A demon trapped them–and you’re the only one they can rely on to save them, the voice said… .

HERE’S A READMORE BECAUSE IT GETS LONGER.

During your stay with the Seven Rulers of the Underworld(the aforementioned brothers,) you’ll get involved in their many chaotic family affairs, learning about them, making pacts with them, helping them, and romancing them along the way. Kinda.

The romance aspect has little effect on the game thus far aside from the phone calls you get every five intimacy levels. The more otome aspects are mostly in these calls, some of the texts you exchange, and in sidestories on Devilgram(the Devildom version of Instagram, obviously) you unlock by earning certain cards and raising intimacy scores. The main story does have a little bit of it(namely in the form of Mammon), but it mostly focuses on you making pacts with the brothers and helping them with their interfamilial issues and lives.

The story isn’t done and is likely not particularly near being done considering the game came out like two months ago and we get an update, thus far, once a month(but we’ve had a few events in between to keep ourselves entertained and busy with stories!)

NOW THEN ONTO GAMEPLAY… . If you’ve never played a gacha game before it’s basically a cashgrab whaletrap system where you randomly draw, in this case, cards for use in gameplay or collection. You get the best cards through premium pulls(i.e. paying real money but you actually earn the premium currency pretty easily in this game, not to mention you get one free pull of the two main paid gachas every…other day? I set mine so i get one every other day.) But you can get good cards through the regular currency pulls as well as actual gameplay.

You variously strengthen and level up the cards through battles(more below,) as well as drawing the same card multiple times(strengthens their ability), and through the Devil’s Tree, where you can also unlock more chats, calls, backgrounds and music for your home screen, and items. Using grimm(the regular currency) you can level up your cards quickly, and using grimm and items you get through gameplay and to-do “quests” you can advance spaces in a card’s Devil’s Tree and power them up as well. It’s pretty simple stuff!

So your gameplay is in the form of simple little dance battles in which you summon the demons you’ve pulled from Nightmare(the gacha system) to battle for you. They take care of most of it–all you have to do is collect hearts that pop up on the screen and tap on them when their meters are full to use charged attacks in essence. Very simple and pretty repetitive. There are special abilities in your(and the enemies’s) charged attacks that can add some difficulty beyond simple upscaling(namely if they have paralyze as an ability which makes things very inconvenient.)

These dance battles have a timer of 40 seconds and typically last about a minute tops. So things are pretty quick and easy as far as gameplay goes. You read the story, you make some choices(the story is linear and thus far doesn’t branch based on these decisions and you can also go back and redo the decisions as well as read chats and answer calls to redo decisions for new dialogue and sometimes intimacy points as well), you do some dance battles. That’s basically it.

:D JOBS is how you get money most easily as well as the occasional free affection items and affection boosts. All you have to do is send each of the brothers to work a job(they have favorite jobs as well as thus-far-mostly-secret combinations they can work in that you can watch secret conversations they have at their workplace in) and you’ll be notified when they’re done and you need to pick them up. If you do each job enough you’ll unlock another jobsite with greater profits(and more time between when you need to come get the little shits!)

Oh! But there’s a bit more I forgot to mention! Namely :D JOBS and Surprise Guests!

Surprise Guests come in two forms! The actual surprise kind which will pop up sometimes after a dance battle and the not-surprise kind which come up about twice a day on the home screen!

Oh, I forgot to mention the homescreen too. You can set one of the brothers to stay on the home screen and greet you when you go to it or open the app! The notifications are also voiced by them! If they have a little speech bubble over their head like so, you can engage them as Surprise Guests.

You can also poke them on the home screen and they’ll talk a little! Usually about the other brothers or that you’re touching them.

NOW THEN ONTO SURPRISE GUESTS. AKA THE FUN PART ASIDE FROM THE STORY ITSELF.

As I said, after each dance battle there’s a chance you’ll get a surprise guest–one of the three demons you used in the battle!

From here you can give them food, items, medicine, or whip them--they all have preferences of what they like to be given as well! You can buy these things on Akuzon–which is the Devildom equivalent of Amazon which they clearly only used to avoid copyright, given Amazon is evil already–using premium currency or additional currency called Ravens(which you get through Surprise Guests, collecting cards over 10 times, earn in to-do quests, or get from :D JOBS.)  However you can also get them for free from :D JOBS, to-do quests, and sometimes they’ll send them to players through the mail system.

Alongside material items, you can touch them to praise them for a job well done(or comfort them after a battle you didn’t do perfectly in.)  Demons love being pet apparently!

Do this well, and you’ll get an intimacy boost! The first 5~7 surprise guests you get three hearts for the day will give you gifts–either AP(stamina), grimm(standard currency), or ravens.

↓this should be animated. If it’s not. . .gdi.

You can also get them on the home screen and you get different, more affectionate/romantic dialogue when you do well on home screen affections. I believe these are also influenced by your intimacy score.

↓again, this should be a gif. . .not sure if moving atm 

You can tap or rub the screen, as well as shake your phone or hit ‘Ignore’ to get a response out of them as well as giving them snacks and items. (They mostly don’t seem to like the phone being shaken or being ignored but I’ve also gotten neutral reactions from both rather than negative ones.) You can interact with their head/hair, face, arms, or chest(i think their hand counts as their arm so in the cases of Lucifer and Satan who always have their hand on their chest, be careful lol.) You can do bad, neutrally, or good in the end. You never lose intimacy points so don’t worry too much if you wanna fuck with em and see their reactions lol you’ll have chances to redeem yourself.

I THINK THAT’S IT. 8D i say give it a try if only for the fun characters or the story, and if you don’t like then nbd, right? 'u’ come to hell with ussss

[henqiguai]

haikyuu!! fic rec

i’ve been consuming unreasonable amounts of hq!! fic these past few months... here’s a rec list of ~70 fics for 16 ships. 

(edit: if the links aren’t working, right-click to open the fic in a new tab. sorry;;)

❤ = favorite

❤ ❤ ❤ = god-tier 

*

Bokuto/Akaashi (otp: my head, his heart)

the better boyfriend battle by norio (M)  ❤

Summary:  It's two days after their first date anniversary, so Bokuto ruins Akaashi's life.

i put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight by carafin (G)  ❤

Summary:  In which Bokuto Kotarou is woefully inept at conveying his feelings, and Akaashi Keiji has a sort-of superpower. Sort of.

Karma by dgalerab (T)

Summary: Akaashi pulls a muscle and Bokuto offers to help him with yoga. Akaashi knows a bad idea when he sees it, and he really only agrees because he's suddenly acquired a deeply rooted desire to see Bokuto do yoga.For multiple reasons.

Maybe We’re Airborne, Baby by sterlinglee (T)

Summary: Realizing he's got it bad for his setter is the easy part. Getting his feelings across might be the hardest thing Bokuto's ever done, not counting his literature final or putting out the flames on that birthday cake he tried to bake for Akaashi last year, or—or a lot of things, actually.But the point still stands. Reaching out to Akaashi is a leap in the dark, and he wants it more than he's ever wanted anything (especially the smoking remains of a cake he baked before he really understood his feelings, but knew that it's what you attempt with your own two hands that matters).

snowflakes by arsenicjay (T)

Summary: Bokuto is a simple wizard with simple needs; a nice date, a little romance, and he's all good to go.Or, Akaashi and Bokuto spend a day in Hogsmeade just before Christmas.

stating the obvious by ThinkingCAPSLOCK (G)

Summary:  There's a lot of things Bokuto isn't sure about now that he's in university. His program, his new team, his future. There's only one thing he's absolutely sure of. He is not dating Akaashi Keiji. Not even a little bit.

Year-Round Love by masi (G)

Summary:  In his first year of university, Bokuto realizes that he really adores Akaashi.

Rest of the rec list under the cut!

*

Aone/Futakuchi (otp: teddy and polar bear)

Got You by garbagecannot (T)

Summary:  So Aone kind of wants to see Futakuchi scream. Just for kicks. And he feels kind of awful about it.

*

Bokuto/Kuroo (ohohotp: best friends best boyfriends)

Seven Years by xwynn (G)

Summary:  Bokuto has a secret that's seven years too late.

*

Ennoshita/Tanaka (otp: it’s too early for the world to end)

baby, our love is fireproof by earlgrey_milktea (T)

Summary:

[10:52 pm] [to: noya-san] im gonna tell him [10:54 pm] [from: noya-san] U GOT TIHS GO GET UR BOY [10:56 pm] [to: noya-san] IM GONNA GET MYSELF THE BOY [10:56 pm] [from: noya-san] GET TEH BOY [10:57 pm] [to: noya-san] GET THE BOY [11:04 pm] [from: noya-san] GET THE BOY

or, the story of how tanaka tried to light a flame in ennoshita's heart and ended up setting everything else on fire instead.

hold your breath, it gets better by harklights (T)

Summary: But if there was one thing Ennoshita could trust about the world, it was that people wanted. They wanted things to bend to their will, other wills to bend to their will, odds to work in their favor, luck on their side, a shortcut, a fun time, insurance and assurance both. A security lock to be made extra sturdy against possible thefts. A frail book with tattered binding that wanted augmentation before it frayed and spilled its pages everywhere, succumbed to age. A girl’s pocket mirror that reflected falling cherry blossoms every time she opened it to look at herself. Vanity, maybe, although it had been too cute when she first saw herself and gasped.“A flying carpet,” the man before the counter wishes.“A… flying carpet,” Ennoshita slowly repeats.

Practice Makes Perfect by ToBeOrNotToBeAGryiffindor (G)

Summary: Ennoshita Chikara has had a few confessions, but this one takes the cake.

"Enno-san, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "You like guys, right?" "Yeahhhh. . ." "I think I might like a guy. What do I do?"

Why is this my life?

one step, two step by Authoress (T)

Summary:  Tanaka's made enough of a mess trying to confess to Ennoshita, he doesn't need his attention-hungry kitten getting in the mix too.

*

Hinata/Kageyama (otp: as long as i’m here, you’re invincible)

baby, i can give you wings by Metis_Ink (T)  ❤

Summary: In which there are superpowers, cats, rainstorms, realizations, split-second jealousy, embarrassing volleyparents, killer whales, electric Kuroos, unstable emotions, bad romance movie mentions, some angst, some fluff, but mostly a lot of awkward high schoolers.

The minute Kageyama walks into the gym and sees Hinata hovering eight feet over the nets he knows he’s screwed.

*

Daichi/Kuroo (otp: city boy country boy)

If I Could Change Your Mind by tookumade (G)

Summary:

“I’m kind of excited to meet him,” Bokuto says, roughly an hour before Karasuno are scheduled to arrive. “He sounds interesting.”

Kuroo raises an eyebrow at him. “I just told you that there’s not a lot about him that stands out—how is that interesting?”

“You’ve told me a lot about how he apparently doesn’t stand out,” Bokuto replies easily. “You don’t usually talk about someone so much."

(Or, Sawamura Daichi shows up like a breath of fresh air, and Kuroo Tetsurou doesn't stand a chance.)

*

Daichi/Suga (otp: honey i’m home)

Add New Contact by booksong (G)

Summary: "Daichi was leaning contemplatively on the sill of his open window, waiting for the icy breeze he was letting into his room to wake him up to how utterly stupid he was being. He’d always hated stories, real or fictional, about people doing ridiculous and self-destructive things for love, but now here he was, palming his smartphone idly and wondering with complete seriousness if it would survive an eight meter drop with substantial but repairable damage."

(Or; All Daichi's electronics are endangered the moment he realizes he can't get that sweet, patient, ridiculously attractive IT tech off his mind.)

cool teens don’t wear skinny jeans by ebenroot (T)

Summary: 'He was supposed to ask Suga for his number or ask if he was busy next Friday night and if he was interested in seeing a movie or something. Instead, he said in a slightly cracking and not at all calm voice, “I think I lost my kids.”

or

that fic where babysitter no. 1 Daichi loses three kids in the city, gets into a bunch of shenanigans, and tries to ask Suga on a date.

forever is a long time but i don’t mind spending it with you by Interconnected_3 (G)

Summary: “What else?” Daichi blinks. “What else is there? Do you want me to tell you how you like your coffee?” He grins teasingly. “I don’t know, how do I like my coffee? By the way, you’re missing something.” “Cream and two and a half sugars- wait, I’m missing something?” “Yup,” Suga says. “You forgot to mention that we’re dating.” “Well, god, Suga, judging from how we’ve been kissing and holding hands for three years and in this bed for the past nine hours since last night, I couldn’t possibly tell.”

in which daichi finally gets the day off and teaches a romantically-frustrated suga how to be honest with himself. 

extreme fluff

i do (cherish you) by gabstar (T)

Summary: The first time Daichi suggests it, it’s a joke.

“Sugawara Koushi,” he says solemnly. He’s bent on one knee, the floor is still sticky with sweat post-practice. He offers up the lost ring, found while mopping off gym floors. “Will you marry me?”

((Five times Daichi asks Suga to marry him, plus once where he finally, finally says yes.))

in the shadow of the mountain by laubear (T)  ❤

Summary:  After graduation, Daichi and Suga climb a mountain to see whether it will make them the grown-ups they’re supposed to be.

when all the songs are through by thewindraiser (T)

Summary: Daichi is out for lunch with some of his colleagues when he spots it.

The ring.

you better go catch it by laubear (G)

Summary:  Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes those desperate measures involve compromising perfectly good scientific data, but Daichi’s learned to stop being surprised when it comes to Suga.

you can only take what you can carry by skittidyne (T)

Summary: Suga pulled Noya down from the chair. Daichi finally decided enough was enough. He knew he was just doing it to draw him in, and damn it, it worked (just like it always worked against him), because there was no way he was letting Suga get into one of Kuroo and Bokuto’s competitions.

Suga had their libero thrown over one shoulder by the time Daichi reached them. “Daichi-san! Look!” Noya chirped, waving the arm that wasn’t wrapped around the vice-captain.

Suga put up his free arm, flexing, and gave Daichi a wink.

(( or, alternatively: "do you even lift, bro?" ))

*

Hanamaki/Matsukawa (otp: i wear my boyfriend’s clothes, i look incredible)

and indeed there will be time by pickledplumes (T)

Summary: Between volleyball and the looming end of their high school years, Hanamaki thinks he’s already dealing with more than enough, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, no one else gets the memo.

-Alternatively: “I am not in love with my best friend!” says Hanamaki Takahiro. Nobody buys his bullshit.

hang out fall in love by carafin (T)

Summary: In which Hanamaki's humble medical practice is threatened by an intractable asshole a witch doctor who's just moved into the shop down the street. Medical/Witchcraft AU.

As far as Hanamaki’s concerned, and as far as bad life decisions go, setting up your witch clinic right next to an actual, proper, medical clinic is practically akin to setting up an all-you-can-eat buffet right next to a gym. Or a sex toy shop next to a church. Or a vegetable patch next to a goat farm. Or – yeah, the point is, this Matsukawa guy has totally cornered the market in Terrible-Life-Decision-Making-Skills.

lost with you (take my hand) by airblends (T)

Summary:  When a missed stop or ten lead to an involuntary day trip to Kyoto for Matsukawa and Hanamaki, they find that maybe the journey really is its own reward sometimes.

poolside by tothemoon (T)  ❤

Summary: At eighteen, it'd been a matter of wading.

At twenty-five, Hanamaki tries not to fall in headfirst.

plus one by orphan_account (G)

Summary: "Did you know we're dating?"

"What? Says who?"

"Says everyone apparently."

"Oh," Hanamaki frowns for a few seconds before shrugging and turning his attention back to the chocolate fountain. "Nice."

that’s what you get (for waking up in vegas) by skittidyne (T)

Summary: “There was an Elvis?” Hajime asks.

“He was the officiator. It’s the cliché, right?”

“…Officiator of what?” Tooru asks with a look down at Takahiro’s hand.

“You can borrow my phone to pull pictures from for our wedding album.” Issei reaches over and grasps the hand with the ring on it. Everyone is staring at their clasped hands like a three-headed lobster just crawled onto the table. “You were both the best men and I was very, deeply touched by how affected you both were at the ceremony,” he says in a perfect deadpan.

(( or: iwaizumi does not want to be the responsible one, and thus they suffer the consequences, or, perhaps, 'suffer' is a bit too strong of a word ))

Wet Your Whistle by darkmagicalgirl (E)

Summary:  Hanamaki gets a job as a bartender. Matsukawa likes his uniform. (Alternatively: Matsukawa tries to ignore his huge crush on his friend-with-benefits. He fails.)

*

Iwaizumi/Konoha (otp: ace and jack of all trades; alternatively: otp: i know fukurodani and seijou probably have never breathed the same air just let me have this)

Ace and Jack by masi (M)

Summary:  Iwaizumi and Konoha are neighbors and teammates. Maybe friends too. They get along most of the time.

*

Kenma/Kuroo (otp: backbone, brain, heart) 

Cat’s Out of the Bag by shions_heart (T)

Summary: When Kuroo Tetsurou drunkenly proposes to his best friend Kozume Kenma during the midnight release of Kenma's first ever video game, Kenma doesn't think anything could be more embarrassing.

But when the proposal ends up going viral, Kenma's forced to confront feelings about his friend that he's kept locked away for a long time.

Collecting Days by pickledplumes (G)

Summary: 

The silence of the crowd as they recite their vows and say I do is deafening, their cheers as he and Tetsurou kiss even more so, and Kenma thinks some distant version of him would have shied away and ran; but right now he’s in the arms of the only man he’s ever loved, locked in the most passionate kiss he’s ever known, and he feels like he can take on the world.

curiosity kills by newamsterdam (T)  ❤

Summary: Kenma rescues a cat.

Later on, the cat saves him in return.

i built you a home in my heart by newamsterdam (M)

Summary:

Yaku doesn’t let Kuroo derail him. “You don’t even have that excuse. And I’ve known you and Kenma too long to think that these feelings didn’t exist, before today.”

There’s a truth in what he says. Kuroo’s chest feels too small to contain his heart, beating giddily against his ribs. Even if he falls into his usual back and forth with Yaku, everything is different today.

“It’s not like that,” he says softly. He cups both hands around his mug, looking into the dregs of his coffee. “It’s like… I couldn’t even let myself think of it before, you know? I couldn’t let my mind even go there, because it would’ve been unbearable, to know and not be able to do anything about it.”

Yaku shakes his head, kicking at Kuroo’s legs under the table. “Oh my god,” he says. “You’re going to be hopeless now, aren’t you?”

Five years after high school— what changes, what doesn't, and what really matters, in the end.

love’s not the way to treat a friend by girltalk (T)

Summary: There’s really nothing quite as revelatory as the silent minutes spent in bed during the aftermath of a wet dream involving you and your high-school best friend.

(i must profess) by sadaf (T)

Summary:  “No!” Kenma says, voice high and through clenched teeth as Kuroo offers it to him. “Put- put that away! Put that away!”

mr. steal yo man by saintjoy (T)

Summary:  Lev's got it bad for Kenma. Unfortunately, he's already got one hell of a boyfriend.

Show a Little Faith by minijhi (G)

Summary: 

“Why are you sending me a singing Valentine telegram?" Kenma asks, mouth flattened. "It’s six months until Valentine’s Day.”

“I bought a dwarf over the summer to use as cupid.” Kuroo says. “I figured he could use some practice.”

-

Presenting Kenma as the Boy-Who-Lived, whose living becomes a lot more interesting when Ravenclaw Prince Kuroo Tetsurou starts sending him singing telegrams about defeating the Dark Lord.

Static by icespyders (G)  ❤❤❤

Summary: 

stat•ic /ˈstadik/ adj. : 1. lacking in movement, action, or change; 2. concerned with bodies at rest or forces in equilibrium n. : crackling or hissing noises on a telephone, radio, or other telecommunications system.

He hadn't taken it well when Kuroo went away.

The Wedding Hall Shuffle by icespyders (T)  ❤

Summary: Box steps for a waltz are easy, even if you've never done them before, even if you learned at a strangers' wedding from another stranger, even if you're not quite sure what you're doing. But love? Love is something else, something without regimented one-two-three-four patterns, without rules.

Maybe it's silly, but Kenma thinks he might be figuring it out.

*

Kyoutani/Yahaba (otp: mad dog and puppy)

all you have is your fire by knightswatch (T)

Summary: 

Shigeru is quickly hurtling toward the point where he’s going to have to change the relationship that he’s built with Kyoutani in ways that he can’t take back, and it’s one of the reasons that he isn’t particularly looking forward to his birthday.

No matter how he feels, Shigeru knows he can’t afford to be in love. Or at least, he can’t afford to act on it.

Close to the Chest by darkmagicalgirl (T)  ❤❤❤

Summary:  It takes Yahaba thirteen years to realize he's different from the other kids, one to figure out how to hide it, and two more to learn to be happy just the way he is. Yahaba's journey ft. an extremely annoyed Kyoutani, best friend in the world Watari, and loads and loads of good senpai Oikawa.

Mixed Signals by snoqualmie (T)

Summary:  Feelings are definitely a thing he’s having. Kyoutani is really sweet. He’s family oriented and he prefers novels with female leads and he’s in all honors classes. He kind of has a big head, totally has a big smile, definitely has a big heart. His eyes are nice, he’s got that dimple. Yahaba groans and rubs his fists into his eyes.

Room to Grow by kiyala (G)  ❤❤❤

Summary:  Kyoutani and Yahaba have enough on their minds in third year, as ace and captain of the volleyball team, butting heads both on and off the court while trying to improve their game so the team has a shot of winning this year. When they find a puppy abandoned in a park, their lives only get even more complicated.

the sunset hours by commovente (T)

Summary: 

set in an alternate sendai city where everything is almost exactly the same, except every day during sunset, each person's heart is visible to everyone else, in whatever form that may be, for better or for worse.

in which kyoutani has an actual puppy dog heart, yahaba is the most unconventional disney character alive, and oikawa is still the best senpai.

or: the story of yahaba's adventures in the big city.

This World is Just Illusion by shions_heart (T)

Summary: Yahaba Shigeru was a scientist set to work on and administer the SS-415 Serum to the test subject Kyoutani Kentarou. But when the experiment fails, he's forced to relocate with an unstable Kyoutani and make a new home for them.

(Or the story of how the Mad Dog gang was formed.)

*

Lev/Yaku (otp: angry small and dirty large)

Touch by Mysecretfanmoments (T)

Summary:  After a twisted ankle and an uncomfortable realization, Yaku starts to see a different side of Lev—one he doesn't want to kick at all. (Or, well... not often.)

Yaku and the Beanstalk by Mysecretfanmoments (T)

Summary: 

Yaku Morisuke is many things: a libero, a caretaker, a good student. He's also about to find Lev Haiba stuck in a vending machine.

(In which Yaku accidentally recruits Lev to the volleyball team and can't get rid of him after.)

*

Oikawa/Suga (otp: 100 days with mr. refreshing)

all the small things by Authoress (T)

Summary:

Sugawara Koushi.

Oikawa’s brain supplies the name of the person standing at the other end of the aisle before Oikawa can even register him, attuned to spitting out facts about other volleyball players on a second’s notice, even after all these years. Karasuno High vice-captain. 174 cm…no, more like 176 now. Skilled at raising morale and bringing an element of surprise to their strategy. Troublesome. Refreshing. Setter.

The enemy.

*

Oikawa/Ushijima (otp: don’t you ever forget my worthless pride & prejudice)

A Fish out of Water by masi (M)

Summary:  Ushijima is having a hard time adjusting to life in Tokyo.

This Insignificant Pride and Prejudice by Mysecretfanmoments, Pouler (T)  ❤❤❤

Summary:  Oikawa Tooru graduated high school with the burning desire to succeed in his college career. He'd hoped that might include taking down his arch-nemesis along the way, but when he finds that his college team hosts an offensively familiar face, he can't help but think that the universe might be conspiring against him. After all, what could be worse than playing on the same team as Ushijima?

it’s kind of like a promise by songtofly (T)  ❤

Summary:  Devotion, Ushijima Wakatoshi learns, is a two-way street.

like someone in love by masi (T)

Summary:  Oikawa tries to resolve an unexpected Ushiwaka-related problem carefully and calmly.

#notalovestory by iiejn, readerofsaph (T)

Summary: 

Oikawa Tooru, Japan's representative pretty boy actor, lands the best movie role of his career yet. Shame about who else is acting in it, too.

Dearest Oikawa,

I am sorry that you hit me at the party last week. I am confident that your reputation will survive the backlash. Hopefully we will be able to speak on better terms the next time we meet.

Yours, Ushijima Wakatoshi

On A Willful Afternoon When I Thought Love Could Choose by Zee (E)

Summary: Ushijima gets stuck in a repeating time loop on the day his university's team must play Oikawa's. Shenanigans ensue.

Planting Season by masi (T)

Summary:  After graduation, Ushijima runs into Oikawa again.

Searching Happiness by sunspearing (T)  ❤

Summary:  The five times Oikawa tries to call it quits, and the one time Ushijima does.

*

Semi/Shirabu (otp: loving is easy, teasing is easier)

don’t let this magic die  by oilpaints (T)

Summary: 

Shirabu glances out the window, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain, and the even sounds of Semi’s breathing. Only now, as he glances around the cramped, dimly-lit room and spots Semi’s bag, already open and spilling out clothes onto the floorboards, does he realizes just what he’s gotten himself into.

It’s just four days, he reminds himself. Four days of sharing a room with Semi, of all people, but still — he’s been through worse, right? Right.

SPOILER:

Actually, whether he’s right or wrong is up for debate, because everything goes about just as well as anyone would expect. (Which is to say: surprisingly, nobody dies, Shirabu learns more about Semi Eita than he ever would have bargained for, and that, maybe, he’s not so bad.

Maybe.)

face to the sun by oilpaints (G)

Summary: 

Shirabu Kenjirou, as told by friends both old and new.

Kawatabi clicks his tongue. “I still don’t get why you were born in spring,” he says. “You’re so bitter and cold. More of a winter child, if you ask me.”

Shirabu just shrugs lightly, lips tugged upwards in a faint smile. “But I didn’t ask you,” he says. “And besides, spring is all about new beginnings, isn’t it?”

Impulse by Metis_Ink (T)  ❤❤❤

Summary: 

"Semi’s not sure how subtle the team is trying to be, but there must be some ungodly conspiracy pointed against him. It’s working in the sense that Semi is half aware that maybe this rivalry with Shirabu is a lot more troublesome than it seems, but really, that’s all he's getting."

Or

Second year Semi Eita faces the downward spiral that is his life following the arrival of some first year setter who's way too cocky for his own good.

Scarf Trick by togekissies (G)

Summary: The last thing Shirabu wants to do is run into a naggy upperclassman after a long day.

seven day’s luck by togekissies (T)

Summary: 

(semishira week fic collection)

One: Semi and Shirabu go on a date. Two: Shirabu can't stand executive meddling more than he can't stand Semi. Three: Shirabu and Semi are just kids at reform school, discussing treason on the roof in the way only prideful teenagers can. Four: Semi is a nostalgic loser. Shirabu pushes him in a creek. Five: Semi steals some intel. Shirabu doesn't like patching him up.

*

Tsukishima/Yamaguchi (otp: when did you ever get so cool?)

blue summer sky by deanpendragon (T)  ❤❤❤

Summary:  In which Tadashi manages his grandfather's pet store and Tsukishima works at the music shop next door. Lots of exclamation points, dialogue, obvious crushes, internal (and overexcited) monologuing, animal trivia and terrible puns ensue.

by any other name by memorde (T)

Summary: 

A Concise Guide to Dealing with People Asking if your Best Friend and/or Crush is Single:

Panic

Lie

Run

campfire in your chest by deanpendragon (M)  ❤❤❤

Summary:  Kei realizes in their second year of high school that he's probably been in love with Yamaguchi since they were ten. However hopeless he might be in handling that situation, Kei prays he's at least not as hopeless as Hinata and Kageyama. But he just might be.

let’s keep this professional by laubear  ❤

Summary: 

When the first sincere gesture of Tsukishima Kei’s life costs him his glamorous job as a sports agent, only a wide-eyed, freckled accountant volunteers to jump ship with him. But if the two of them can save the careers of volleyball’s legendary Oddball Duo, things might just work out after all.

Or, the story of how Tsukishima Kei got fired, got married, adopted a kid, and fell in love. In that order.

levels of investment by skittidyne (T)

Summary: 

Yamaguchi was far less nervous in practice than any games, and he’d gotten far more skilled at serving in a few short months, so Tsukishima was utterly unprepared for the feeling of a volleyball slamming into the back of his head.

There was a beat of silence.

The ball had enough of an angle to bounce off his head and over to the other side of the net, landing neatly in front of a stunned Sugawara.

(( or: Ennoshita plots for the future, Suga wants to mess around and is intent on dragging everyone down to his level, Noya tries to become a spiker, Kiyoko is a good senpai, Yamaguchi cries, and Tsukishima wonders if he's been dropped off in the Twilight Zone without his notice ))

These Words You Don’t Hear by ohhello (E)

Summary:  Tadashi is convinced entering into his third year at Karasuno means that he is one year closer to losing what he holds most dear: his team, his friends, and most importantly his daily moments with Kei. While Tadashi wrestles with his fear of lasts, Kei struggles with how to offer him firsts.

[sneakyhomunculous]

RPT Phoenix Report: Back to Back!

Part 3: Crunch Time

So to recap I finished day 1 6-2

WWL WWLWW

This is a reasonably happy 6-2! 

You have the 

LLWWWWWW  Ecstatic 6-2

WWWWWWLL So tilted you may not even show up for day 2 6-2

Mine fell somewhere in the middle of the extremes.

But of course, 6-2 is 6-2. And my breakers should be pretty strong + the tournament is quite small compared to recent PTs. Multiple X-4s should make T8

Myself Jarvis Allen Knox and Mark have dinner at a nice Thai place. 

Unfortunately we waited like 90 minutes for a table, but in the end it was worth it as we just hung out at a bar next door. and the food ended up being really good.

We don’t get back to the house until pretty late, and we are greeted with Tom Ross laying out the UW Pioneer deck 

“To fix it up for the GP Tomorrow”

Instead of going to sleep I watch Tom cut multiple supreme verdicts, go up to 4 mystical disputes main, add a horribly awry to the main, sneak a tomik in the SB, along with many other hilarious changes.

He ended up registering 4 disputes main loooool IDK what his list was exactly but he ended up playing vs tons of aggro and still going 7-2. 

Not sure how he finished up day 2; some middling finish I think. Turns out mystical dispute is worse than supreme verdict against mono red and black.

I get to bed a bit late but wake up feeling good.

We get over the Breakfast Club earlier today with time to eat. 

I already know I’m in pod 3 with Oli2 Efro Cain Lauphiette Bloody Sadowsky and Murahashi.

We get to the site right at 9 again and I find myself in a decent seat. I have Oli 3 my left and Efro 4 away. I’m being fed by Joel Sadowsky with me feeding Bloody.

I don’t know a ton about these players preferences or limited abilities, but I do know that Oli and Efro are both very good and I am happy to be seated away from them.

This draft was a bit wild; I open Setessan Champion and take it over who cares i forgot.

I 2nd pick Alirios over some weaker cards i don’t remember, a pretty weak pack. I think there may have been like a red omen and something else but it was easy Alirios and I always want to be blue anyway.

3rd pick I happily take Mire’s Grasp over nothing

4th pick I am greeted with a Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Not the best card or anything, but i have a setessan champion and love drafting 3-4 color UG decks so this got me excited.

I fill out this pack with an icthymorphosis, a satyr grovedancer, a late cling to dust, and i know a nexus wardens tabled. I also have a memory drain a brine giant and an altar of the pantheon to keep an eye on.

Going into pack 2 I’m not really sure if I’ll be UG or GB or some combo inbetween, but I really want to be green bc of Champion.

I open Thassa’s intervention in an otherwise unexciting pack so I take that. I like this card more than most people I imagine; I think it’s very good.

I am passed lots of really good cards, but I ignore them bc there is an illysian carytid.

I’ve drafted this deck enough to know how important carytid is; and my spidey senses just tell me that I need to be base green and stay as wide open as possible to playing the gooooods that I will be receiving much too late.

Unfortunately the rest of this pack is pretty weak. I pickup a nylea’s intervention like 5th and somewhere in here I get a riptide turtle a mystic repeal a relentless pursuit 2 omen of the hunts a hierophant a 2nd altar of the pantheon and a watcher of tomorrows. Nothing exciting but I’m realllllly set up to splash anything ever.

In pack 3 I open Eat to Extinction and nothing, easy pick.

I’m finally rewarded and passed Calix, Destiny’s Hand. I already have a ton of enchantments with a few of them being removal like ichthymorphosis and mire’s grasp.

Unfortunately the rest of the pack sort of fades, I get a late Drag to the underworld and tymaret, as well as a return to nature a 2nd relentless pursuit a Nyleas Huntmaster a 6/7 colossus and another brine giant.

When building my deck I end up waffling between a lot of different configurations, but in the end I realize to make my mana really good I need to cut tymaret and drag and just splash black. 

Bc I’m lacking esape and ways to deal with it I splash the cling to dust, one of my favorite cards in the set.

My final deck is like 7 forests 6 islands 2 swamps 1 plains 1 carytid 1 dryad 2 omens and nyleas intervention for fixing. I have thassas intervention, relentless pursuit, setessan champion, cling, Calix for card advantage, and then i have grasp icthymorphosis eat to extinction mystic repeal for removal. Round it out with alirios dryad wardens turtle and some big dumb creatures; I quite like my deck and I even have lots of playable sb options.

R9 Joel Sadowsky

This match was a real banger and I wish i could remember the details better.

Joel was feeding me and he has a pretty strong RG deck. He has multiple incendiary oracles and is quite aggressive overall.

He draws his Mythic Phoenix in all the games, and he also has Typhon and maybe chimera as well (i think it may have actually been rage hound not chimera) But anyway he is beating down and escaping.

In g1 I think I assemble ichthymorphosis on one of the escape creatures and I get Calix going while eat to extinctioning a different escape creature. I just survive at a low life total and bury him in Calix cards.

In g2 I feel like I am constantly fighting to get on equal footing but if I can just put my foot down I will be ahead. Unfortunately things just keep snowballing with phoenix and then wings of hubris and I ultimately can’t deploy my cards fast enough and am forced to make suboptimal plays and blocks and eventually die to the wings.

G3 was just great. 

There is a ton of back and forth and on the last turn I leave myself dead to phoenix with only a black up, and he has it and pumps it and goes to extend his hand to say GGs lol; but i cling a creature in his yard to stay at 1 life and untap and deal with phoenix. I have to fade wings for a turn or two but then I can cling again and on the last turn he ends up being able to put me to exactly 1 again after I cling for a 3rd time. 

Clinggggggoat

7-2

I’m feeling good and hoping to fade Oli2 and Efro. I find out Efro lost but Oli2 has a busted white pious wayfarer deck, thats bad news.

I see the pairings and am relieved to see it is Lauphiette and not Oli, but that relief is short lived as Lauphiette begins giving me the business.

R10 Lauphiette Kincey

G1 is a really back and forth affair where Lauphiette sticks a commanding presence on a flier for a turn, but I peel the land I need to Nylea’s intervention it away. He then lagona bands the presence back, but I am able to keep his fliers at bay mostly and he seems to be taking things slow. Turns out he has Shatter the Sky and has been sandbagging a bit.

Luckily I have too, and after drawing a card from Shatter and for my turn I rebuild quickly, and I am able to hold off his presence + leftovers.

G2 and 3 are just a lesson in what happens when your opponent knows how to sideboard and u are playing a 22 land deck or whatever.

Lauphiette boards in multiple memory drains to go with his thassas’ intervention/denial/denies and I just struggle to resolve any of my good cards.

I fight my best, but in g2 he has deny for my t3 champion and then I have pretty awkward mana and never really get much going.

In g3 we hilariously play draw go for like 8 turns when he breaks first casting a big thassas intervention, i respond with my own big intervention but he counters it. I untap and go for champion which he counters, but i stick Calix.

Unfortunately Calix is not jace the mind sculptor and he just easily beats it with a bunch of fliers. Ultimately my deck was just too much air and he has all vexing gulls and counterspells and despite me fighting like hell thru all of it; he is going to kill me with damage while I also have 0 cards in my library and nowhere close to killing him. 

7-3

I’m feeling a bit down after this loss as I know I can’t afford to lose again. It sucks that magic tie breakers work this way, but if I would’ve lost in like R12-13 instead I wouldn’t have felt as bad knowing I probably had another loss to give.

I regroup, convincing myself my deck is absolutely busted. (Deep down I know I just need to win this round bc I am not losing in constructed.)

R11 Brenton Murahashi

Brenton is also RG and his deck seems quite good as well, but it is a different kind of good. He is like multiple warbriars blessings and lots of escape creatures and he is just a RG removal plus large creatures deck. 

The lack of aggression helps me in this match as I’m able to win the 2 games I do somewhat trivially.

G1 I just have a really strong start and have Calix going on an empty board for way too long, and feel like i am 100% to win from t6 until I actually win t18.

G2 I feel ahead but I just draw a lot of timely basic lands in a row and succumb to some medium beats after losing my good cards to warbriars blessings.

G3 I feel really ahead, but he has some serious suprise burst damage with Phoenix and I think wings as well; deja vu. 

CLINGGGGOAT does not care.

As a matter of fact he actually has dreamstalker manticore with me at 3 life. Draws from no hand and smiles a bit and says go. I have cling in my hand but am just holding onto it for dear life always leaving up 5 mana and 2 black. In my upkeep he fires off an omen of the forge. I give a wince and he targets me with the dreamstalker trigger.

Trigger resolves, I am at 2. Omen resolves, targetting me. 

one second.......

CLINGGGGGOAT!

I clean up over a couple turns always leaving up cling.

8-3

I am obviously feeling really good here as I know I am just 7 wins away from the trophy and I have 6 teferi’s 3 dig thru times 4 wraths 26 lands and ~20 opts.

I am immediately suprised to see I am paired vs Sebastian Pozzo. He was in Pod 1 and I thought he was 8-0 overnight, but I was mistaken and he was 7-1 then 1-2 the draft.

R12 Sebastian Pozzo on Sultai Delerium

Sebastian’s list looks pretty stock (Similar to Joel Larson’s) and one thing I have going for me is that he cares way more about world’s and probably spent a lot of time testing standard instead of pioneer.

G1 is a real banger as he t2 scavenging ooze and I just chill out and counter lots of things that matter like a grisly salvage and some planeswalkers. But meanwhile he is exiling all my dig food and I am stuck with a dig in my hand and my life total somewhat dwindling down around 10.

I wrestle control of the game but promptly get emrakuled. The unfortunate thing is I timed a T3feri poorly and left him able to bounce his Emrakul. I don’t think I made any obvious mistakes and I was aware of emrakul and my teferi, but I couldn’t help but think I may have fucked it off somewhere as he is taking my turn.

Luckily he can’t devastate me too bad. He does get to spew some of my cards then go for a dig thru time grabbing 2 lands (He almost had to give me a spell! first 6 we flipped were 1 land and 5 bangers). And he bounces his emrakul and says go to my own turn.

I draw a supreme verdict and am able to + teferi and verdict his emrakul away on the way back down.

He can’t really do much with my turn and I am sort of home free. His deck still has 2 URO a Ballista a tracker another JVP and maybe 1-2 other relevant cards.

Over the next few turns I am just blasting castle tokens into play 2 at a time then eventually 3 at a time. I finally find a t5eferi after he has cracked 7 clues and cast 100 uro. I counted his deck at some point and he had 23 cards to my 19; but he was worried (I believe incorrectly) too much about me ultimating my t5eferi and he was just maximizing every clue and URO with no regards for milling. I never came close to ultimating t5eferi bc he resolved a ballista for 4 or so with 12ish lands. But my 15ish castle tokens were doing just fine protecting my already high life total. 

We fight over ballista with my t5eferi and other cards but he was still drawing with uro and trackers, until he finally counts his library and its 9 cards to my 12.

My deck still has 2 verdicts another t5eferi and t3feri (I have both of those in play as well with some reasonable amounts of loyalty but not really threatening ultimate t5feri bc his ballista still around with 3-4 counters)

Upon recounting his deck he gives me a big sense of relief by conceding. He checked the clock and it was getting around 15 minutes, and he knew he would just be wasting time trying to fight thru triple castle and all these tokens with no real good cards left in his deck.

I was pretty sure this was the case, but the way he had been playing really made me think I was missing something. I kept racking my brain for how he was going to get another emrakul or something but the 1 he had was already exiled to lantern and yeah, turns out he was drawing dead.

Open decklists are great, but when u are against a deck with a bunch of 1 ofs like sultai delerium, while also not having played the matchup that much, that 1 minute of review really shrivels up as u sit there wondering why the hell this man is drawing cards with NO REGARDS FOR HUMAN LIFE!

In SBing i try to go quickly as I don’t want Sebastian to feel I got him by wasting time in any way, and also bc if I get beat by a quick TS + Tracker/dispute draw I can fight to win g3 in 10 min or whatever.

G2 is quite interesting as well but the turns are complicated and despite time ticking sebastian is still having to take some time to think. The climax is with only a couple of minutes left he assembles the 4th type with fabled passage thru a lantern and is able to traverse for emrakul threatening to cast it next turn thru a castle garenbrig if he has a land. But i have a cycler plus a teferi in play and with my cycler i find a dig thru time which finds an ashiok and a counterspell and I know it’s over.

I ashiok his graveyard and he concedes (I would likely not be able to kill him in time this game, but I was up 1-0 and he just saved us all some time and conceded)

9-3

No breaks... Next round is up.

R13 Zachary Kiihne Rimrock RED

Zach is great. I don’t actually know him well, but we battled a lot on the ladder of Arena on the Mythic Invy qualifier month. He ended up making it I believe, while I couldn’t close and finished 13th. We played lots of my WW vs his GW tokens where he was inherently favored, but the games were always complex and large board states and he always played quickly and seemed to know where the games were going.

Keeping up that pace at the PT, Zach just fires everything right off!

in G1 I keep a sketchy hand and he has the exact start to punish me. He just plays creature creature creature shock and I do find my 4th land in time but the problem is I don’t have a verdict, and when i draw on t4 it is not verdict and i die. If it was verdict I would also likely die bc I was so low anyway. WTF M8??

Luckily Dream Trawler does not care what happens in g1

in G2 and G3 I use some 2 mana interaction to survive to trawler and I kill him with them. He did have to mulligan and keep a really land heavy hand in one of the games and it hurt him.

There was an interesting spot in g2 where i had both t3feri and t5feri and he had chandra torch of defiance, exiled a card and it was lightning strike. He lightning striked my t5eferi down, then plays another card. A Judge was nearby and came and stopped our game and informed us you can in fact NOT play magic cards exiled with chandra thru T3feri. What a dumb fucking card!

The judge decides we can just back up to the point of exiling, so instead I take 2. Either way I was casting Dig thru time end of turn and going to win trivially but this way I got to keep my t5eferi in play! Thanks Judge and T3feri!!

And yeah again g3 was just him flooding and me playing trawler at a really high life total.

10-3

I finally get a bit of a break as Zach played lightning speed and we got things over with quick. I get some food and get myself amped up for these next few crucial matches.

R14 Connor Cole

Connor is a local Texan who I actually met playing at I believe SCG Dallas recently. He won a PTQ and ended up joining our local Houston guys Slack team and then went on to crush the first 13 rounds of the PT!!!

Unfortunately he ran into the Buzz Saw here; and I had to show him what the last few rounds of a PT are like.

But no jokes aside, Connor is gas and plays really well. He ended up finishing 12-4 and tiebreaker stung into 9th :( But he qued for the final and I expect big things from him in the future.

Our match was a feature, but we were the backup and they had some audio issues.

I actually just threw away the first game being overconfident in my deck. It’s funny when playing a deck like UW control my instincts are to just man up and trust the shit out of my deck. By that I mean I maximize my mana and effeciency even if I am not getting the most out of my cards, bc i trust with all these teferi’s and digs and cyclers I will be able to gain some advantage/find what i need later so long as I am surviving and hitting lands.

My mistake was maximizing mana and a dig thru time where I exiled my elspeth. At the time I was at 9 life and I had already cast a dig hitting some weak sauce, so I figured I would find my absorb or 2 counters and lock the game, but instead i found opt and charm and i fluttered around with my t5eferi as well and could not beat his running burn spells putting me to exactly 0.

If I would’ve just taken 2 seconds to realize I am in no real rush (he was on E or maybe had 1 card) I should’ve just realized I was almost 0% to lose if I just didn’t exile my own Elspeth.

Moral of the story is don’t trust your stupid deck when you already have everything you need!!!

G2 is an absolute nailbiter as I play elspeth and think I’m cruising to Trawler, but chainwhirler eats it promptly.

I then have my 2nd elspeth but 2nd chainwhirler dashes that as well.

I still slam trawler and think It’s mostly very safe, as connor just has chainwhirler kari zev and soul scar mage with me at 9.

But he slams Chandra and minuses on my trawler. I count it up and thank the lord somehow he only has 8 damage. So i give my trawler hexproof keeping a dig thru time, and he puts me to 1. I untap and attack chandra draw and dig before damage, and I have a lot of combo’s that will keep me alive easily. Any  interaction should be good enough and I leave myself 5 mana. I find a verdict and something else gassy so I just go up to 6 from trawler, verdict and then untap with elspeths ready to come back from the yard and I gain 5 and am out of range and clean up shortly after.

G3 is a bit less scary. He does put up a fight but I feel miles ahead at all points having 2 mana interaction and then also hittings lands and playing cards before trawlering on 6 while still quite healthy.

11-3

Now I’m really feeling hyped as I know I have a win and in and I’m just 4 wins from the Trophy!!!

I refocus and am very confident I will win the next round.

R15 Raja Sulaiman WB Gideon Midrange

I don’t know my opponent, but I do know he has a sweet deck. I am looking at the list trying to figure out if I’m extremely happy or a bit sad and can’t really tell. I lean towards happy but could totally see getting annihilated as well.

Luckily the match is mostly uneventful. I lose g1 to double TS Heart History Gideon...

But again, 

Dream Trawler does not care what happens in g1.

12-3

We did it! Back to back PT T8s!! 

Unfortunately the next 20min were very unpleasant instead of happy, but that’s ok. 

The pairings for R16 makeup for it!

I’m at table 1, paired against my teammate Allen Wu who has enough wins to T8 this PT and the next!

I know Allen does not care much for any bullshit, so I am actually a bit worried he is going to want to play me. 

Yes we are teammates, but Allen cares [almost] solely about maximizing his chances of winning the tournaments. I respect him a lot, and I also respect this approach. 

One of 3 things happened; 

-Allen valued his time too much to battle me here for extremely minimal gains.

-Allen thinks there is some chance losing would make him the 2 seed while drawing just locks the 1 seed (I think he was locked 1 seed even if he played me and lost); 

-Allen thinks I/my deck suck and he wants me in the T8

I’m leaning towards some combination of all 3, but who cares he offered to draw and I ACCCCCCEPT!

The final standings shake out with Allen 1 Jacob 2 Me 3. I am playing the 6, Huey, and my teammate Tommy is 7 battling Jacob on my side of the bracket.

My other teammate Corey is battling PETERRR in the 4/5 match.

Our team has 4 people in the T8!!! I know we are like 7% of the tournament, but thats 50%!

Also shoutout to Mark who I believe lost a win and in R15 or so.

Our squad obviously had a really strong showing, with 4 in the T8 and Corey winning it all. But we also just had really solid winrates in limited and constructed despite playing lots of different decks.

This is getting obscenely long. 

This night was actually really annoying bc I spent it telling the same story over and over;

And also on twitter watching lots of people I’ve never met talk about how much of an asshole I am, or how much I cheat, or how bad I am, or whatever is getting the most likes.

I mostly shook it off. I got to tell the story to all the people I care about, and have dinner with a large portion of my team. I had already played my QF matchup post board a bit with Allen before the tournament, so I knew my plans.

Unfortunately it didn’t help me in the games.

I get to bed at a reasonable time and have to be at the site for like 9:15. I’m there before 9 and when I ask if I can go to starbucks I am told yes of course go ahead, but please stay around. And then immediately someone else tells me I won’t be playing until around 11 probably :0

I get starbucks and get back to battle Jacob some in his QF matchup. Mostly to just warmup and help him out, but also to get a feel for he and Tommy’s decks incase I beat Huey. 

We only get a few games in before finding out my match is actually 3rd not 4th, and these BO3 are going quick and I’m about to be up.

While the other match is finishing, we present and draw our hands and get ready to start right when the other match finishes.

I am greeted with 2 censor Opt Farmland Hallowed Fountain Glacial Fortress Supreme Verdict. Not quite the nuts, but a solid A. I’m on the play and Huey mulligans to 5.

We finally start our game and this one hurt. I opt t1 and hit a teferi and keep it, then immediately draw my 4th land so i say go with censor up ready to cycle farmland, huey goes for sylvan scrying before playing land after t1 grazer got him to 2, and i censor it and he says go missing a land drop with 3 cards in his hand.

From here I play teferi to get the jayemdae tomb one every 4 turns going; Huey draws a thespians stage but can’t muster anything else, so he now has 2 UG lands a stage and 3 cards vs my censor cycle land another land and teferi.

Over the next 3-4 turns I draw 2 cards with teferi cycle this farmland and another, opt and charm, and the only playable card I find is a mystical dispute. I draw seal away and all 4 of my verdicts lol.

Huey goes for Granted with 3 mana up, and i have no choice but to dispute and hope to censor after he pays 2 for 1ing myself. I can’t be granted for distortion without a t5eferi in play or any pressure at all.

He responds by cycling vizier to make a mana, and pays for dispute with 1 mana still up. This now means I have to cycle censor looking for a hard counter but i brick. He gets distortion.

The game weirdly goes on for like 8 more turns. He just keeps making more fields with stages but I amass narset elspeth t3feri t5feri. He finally has to go for it despite not having a way to kill me, so he goes for distortion into string strings last card granted for ugin to wipe my planeswalkers; but I’m able to make a 1/1 and chip ugin down to 2. Unfortunately I draw a land, he +s on my token and i make another then draw another land. ANd now I am dead to the fae coming into play, back to hand, finding Jace and having double walker going. I just got beat at my own game!!! He didn’t even breach me!

But yeah, I am feeling a bit frustrated to lose the game despite knowing how bad G1 is. 

When he mulled to 5 and got his scrying censored I believe I was a massive favorite, probably somewhere in the 70s or 80s at least and I just drew only the dead cards.

But now we board in 9-10 cards and regroup!

G2 was really great, and I made like 1 mistake a turn. 

I asked a lot of really good players what they would do on all these turns and almost all of them would make the same mistakes I did. 

Except for Allen; 

and Drunk Tom Ross!

Tom let me know how bad I fucked up, and I really appreciate that. 

Tom said many different things like “awww u really fucked up. U fucked it up bad. Damn u fucked it up”

The games are obviously on camera, but in G2 Huey goes for field + copy it with stage, I field of ruin the stage. 

So his board is forest untapped Lotus Field tapped with 4 cards in hand.

I have T5feri my 4th and 5th land, 2 mystical disputes and absorb.

I untap and draw Elspeth.

The question is should I play it?

Huey has 4 disenchants, 2 disputes, 1 ugin, 1 jace, 1 thought distortion and maybe 1 more card he could bring in.

For the most part his plan is still the same, build up his mana and try to find a window to either thought distortion me, or strings my lands/his lands to make sure he resolves his key card(s).

But I just felt with the 2 disputes and t5eferi I was going to be able to apply meaningful pressure fast enough to not risk tapping out here.

In my head he could just granted for distortion then sort of ignore elspeth for a few turns and fire a distortion then kill me, but that is so unrealistic. First he has to not board the distortion in (I was thinking he like 80% brings it in. Allen brought his in and we felt like that was just correct so I assumed Huey likely would) and then he also has to somehow have perfect mana to get to 6 and then distort me and kill me before dying to this SIX MACHINE elspeth? Its stupid and I shouldve just probably played elspeth.

Not doing so was playing scared/too safe. But it really isn’t that bad or that big of a deal. If huey has a natural 2nd stage into strings I can easily just be dead. But it’s really low % and this is a tough matchup of magic the gathering vs a great player where you can’t just tiptoe around making suboptimal plays bc it makes you feel safe.

Lots of people hesitated and said don’t play it. Tom would have blown like a .40 BAC minimum when I asked him, and he immediately said to play Elspeth.

Anyway Huey untaps and just plays a temple scryland and keeps the card on top, and says go.

So now he has forest lotus field untapped and 4 cards with a banger on top.

My turn.

I draw damping sphere!

I have t5eferi damping sphere elspeth 2 dispute absorb and my 5th land.

Now a a few things go thru my mind here. Huey has 2 disputes but the way he’s played this game make me feel like it’s somewhat unlikely he has one. 

However, if I go for t5feri and he does dispute it’s really ugly. I can go for elspeth with dispute up but that feels too weak.

My options I am actually considering are just jam sphere and counter a disenchant, or jam teferi and have double dispute up if he doesn’t have dispute.

I think it’s somewhat close, but in hindsight it’s actually just an easy T5feri. 

Unfortunately I go for damping sphere which is where Tom says nooooooo u fucked up bad, u really fucked it up.

And Huey immediately floats 3 GREEN? I say ok and he natural states my damping sphere.

Now this is a bit weird to me. I mean he floated 3 green immediately; but he has a forest up. And he has 2 disputes in his deck...

So now I am paranoid that he hasnt a 2nd disenchant. 

But it’s Huey, and it’s a PT T8. I start thinking maybe he is leveling me and trying to get me not to counter it bc he has no dispute and no 2nd disenchant.

Ultimately my plan when playing it was to just fire off a counterspell on disenchant bc if he does have a dispute or 2nd one he will only have 2 cards, and i can just untap t5feri with counterspell. But if he doesn’t successfully kill sphere I am just going to win easily.

So I absorb.

Huey bins the natural state and before he can cast his other one a judge intervenes.

There is a damping sphere in play when i absorb; so obviously I can’t do this bc it should cost 4. I just totally forgot that part of the card even existed. I haven’t cast it in the entire tournament, and in my mind it was just strip mine lotus fields to wastes. 

Even with the speed of everything and huey snap disenchanting I could have seen myself forgetting to count the sphere tax to itself, but I literally just forgot it even had that text for a second there.

Huey also forgot it. The judges stopped us and then asked me what I was thinking, so I just repeated a lot of what I just typed; all the shit I was thinking about him floating green instead of blue etc. then they came back and gave us warnings and said to carry on. Huey apologizes after the game bc he said he totally forgot himself but it looks bad bc he wanted me to absorb bc he had another disenchant.

Anyway, we backup and I have a dead damping sphere and 3 mana up with absorb Huey now knows about. I also have the 2 disputes.

Huey untaps and immediately taps field and forest and plays hidden strings. THen he looks at me lol. I say are you targetting your lands?? He says yes

So yeah, now I am looking at this absorb he knows about. He only has like what 3 cards behind this strings. It’s going to put him to 7 mana. What can he even do? There is no way he’s killing me thru 2 dispute. If he has breach natural i let it resolve, then i dispute strings. If he pays he has 0 mana left and i dispute again untap teferi + and have absorb gg yo

If he has the natural distortion then obviously I need to counter this. But he has ONE and i just showed him absorb. I am thinking to myself, dont be a fool! his hand is probably granteds and pore over the pages and hes trying to bait u into countering this stupid strings!

So I let it resolve, and I get distorted.

This was not a good play!

I could have just disputed the strings. This virtually counters it bc he only had 1 field. So while he couldve paid for dispute, it wouldve tapped him out, and strings resolves untapping only 4 mana. So from there i still have another dispute and he can’t reasonably do anything.

Instead I am empty handed and in dire straights. I do peel t5eferi immediately but i hit land off of it and draw only lands next turn as well, meanwhile huey sets up to kill me over 2 turns and does so.

what a tilting match :(

It really hurts to make such critical mistakes in these high stakes matches, but Magic is really hard and I forgive myself pretty quickly.

I had good reasons for making the plays that I did, but they were just a bit faulty; 

WRONG!

I feel like if I had more time to think things through, or if there were less pressure of the stakes I maybe would have just slammed T5eferi and even Elspeth t4. But i definitely don’t have a good excuse for not disputing strings. Just Huey being Huey and somehow levelling me into punting it all off after i showed him my absorb.

But yeah GG’s YO I ended up 6th for 10k bc Allen lost too :( and 18 points.

I have a really good shot at Rivals now so I am pumped for the PT final and next RPT!

Shoutout again to Corey for winning and all of team 5% for crushing and being gas.

Also shoutout to all the grinders out there still on the outside looking in. 

I see you!

Hopefully I’ll have more reports soon...

PT Finals Victory Report, RPT2 Victory Report...

Let’s get it!!!

[a-rush-of-dreams-to-the-head]

part 5

Will POV

Will is sitting down to eat breakfast with Guy. He's got the usual of toast and juice, not feeling confident venturing into the local delicacies this morning, and Guy is making do with a large black coffee. They hadn't really talked much, as Guy seemed to be engrossed in reading some book on mechanical stuff, but as Jonny shakily slipped into the seat next to Guy the two look at each other worriedly. Jonny is staring into the distance and alternates between shuddering and a horrified expression.

"Jon, are you OK?" Will starts.

"Yep. Sure. Great... I'm great." Jonny doesn't look great. There's no colour in his cheeks but green and Will can see this heighten as he glances at the food on the table. Will is about to say something else when Jonny makes a low sound of disgust and folds his arms across the table, resting his face on top staring directly downward the "eugghhh" sounds emaninating almost like sobbing. Guy tries to lighten the mood.

"So, did you fix your guitar yet?" The noises get louder and higher pitched. Guy just rolls his eyes, chugs the remainder of his coffee and stalks off to his room. Will is awkwardly patting Jonny on the back from across the table.

"Why don't you go and see where Y/N is at, that'll cheer you up." Jonny's red-flushed face springs up instantly.

"I'd rather not thanks!" With this it instantly descends back onto his arms. Will frowns, not quite knowing what to do.

"Look Jon, just tell me what's bothering you so much." His voice hardens. "Is it Chris?" Jonny says something but all Will hears is a mumble through arms and table. "Try that again?"

"I said, yes - if you must know." Wills eyes narrow.

"Has he done something to Y/N?" A ruby blush forms on Jonny's cheeks and the guitarists face contorts in almost pain.

"I guess you could say that." Wills heart drops, it better not be what it sounds like.

"Does... Did Chris book Y/N her own room?" Jonny hesitates and then shakes his head. 

"It...um... Didn't look like it" Will looks entirely unimpressed, bordering on angry and Jonny gives up holding back and lets it all spill out. "OhgodWillitwassohorrible... I mean he's my best friend and I DID NOT NEED TO...Eugh it just feels so wrong and Y/N

..." His head half slams against the table as he whines into it. "I never needed to see that, I've seen enough of that girl... Oh god it feels illegal and I ... I" Will calmly let's Jonny finish his outburst and as he sags, deflated, into his chair let's his expression rest into that of cold calm calculation. Jonny clocks it. "Are..um.. are you OK Will?" Will doesn't respond, simply places down the piece of toast he was eating and takes a deep breath inward, nostrils flaring. Jonny looks more and more concerned the more seconds pass without Will moving. Suddenly the reason for Will’s emotional state dawns on him and he swallows, hard.  Will is silently cursing himself for trusting his front man and supposed friend. He has to work hard to suppress all the emotions that come to mind when he considers him... Doing that. Will wants you protected, Will wants you safe, Will does not want Chris' hands all over you. That man needs to be forced to control himself if he can't manage it himself, he thinks darkly and his expression turns slightly sinister, whatever it takes.

**

"Right before we finish up, has anyone got anything else to add?" Just as Will asks Chris stumbles through the door, a red slap mark visible on his cheek. He falls into one of the empty chairs and Will stares daggers at him across the table. Jonny rolls his eyes and gets up to leave. 

"Aren't we meant to be doing the set list?" Chris asks. Will scoffs and also leaves his chair.

"Yeah, two hours ago. I don't have time to wait, Guy can fill you in." With that and a tell tale nostril flare, the drummer leaves the room - with Jonny hot on his heels. Guy looks with curiosity at Chris' injury.

"Who'd you piss off this time?" Chris winces at the memory.

"Well I thought one of the girls from catering was into me." He grimaces. "She was not into me." Guy laughs at this, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

"Dude I swear you have no game." Chris' eyes glint dangerously.

" 'S not what that girl from the party would say. What was her name again... Monica? Was it Monica? Something like that." Guy's smile has been wiped entirely off his face at the memory of Chris swooping in on a girl he'd had a crush on for months and collecting a token one night stand to add to his collection. He tried to not let Chris see how much the comment affected him and attempts a jibe back.

"She was pissed and a slag Chris, not exactly an achievement. Just accept it, girls don't just fall at your feet anymore. You've lost it." Chris squares his jaw challengingly.

"Pick me out any sober, normal girl you like and I'll prove you wrong Berryman." Guy smirks back.

"I think I'll take you up on that"

 "Left hand side, about 15 people along - the one by herself with the eyes"

Chris had half a plan. He'd make sure to pay special attention to the girl during the concert, then he'd either try and catch her as she left, or try and get her backstage somehow - he hadn't quite decided. Guy had been as difficult as possible in choosing a girl pretty far into the show so he'd have to work fast. He moved quickly toward the left-hand side of the stage, trying to look casual. His eyes contacted hers as he sang and moments later he saw her collapse directly onto the ground. Oh.

  **

  Give me one, cause one is best

In confusion, confidence

Give me strength, reserve control

Give me heart and give me soul.

~~An extract from Politik by Coldplay

 You had known fully well that by not taking clothes into the bathroom you'd have to walk across half your hotel room in only a towel, and yet you did it anyway. You tried to ignore the way Chris' eyes darkened as you slid from behind the door and instead focused on making it to your suitcase. As you went to bend down to open it you felt a very warm, very male, body behind you. Chris wraps his arms around you from behind and hums happily into your ear, sending shivers down your spine. You try to restrain yourself and catch a glance of the clock, reading 9:57.

"Um Chris?" You squeak and he hums again in response. "Don't you have a band meeting at 10?" You feel his arms tense slightly before relaxing once again.

"I can think of things I'd rather do." His words so close to your ear are almost unbearable but you don't want him to fall out with his friends and have to fight your urges.

"They'll be pissed.” You remind him and he doesn't respond. "Chris, I promise I'll make it up to you." You lean your head back to rest on his chest. "Later." You see the deliberation in his eyes and as you look up at him he heavily brings his mouth down on yours for a quick, hard kiss.

"mmm…You better." With that he gently releases you and begins to pull on clothes.

 *****

 You take so long dressing you miss breakfast, which disappoints you greatly. Chris and the band have already taken off to prepare the stage for tonight and as Chris promised to send a car for you this evening you find yourself with not much to do to fill your time. You try and write something in the diary you've been failing to keep for years but can't really think of anything good - and you keep getting interrupted by texts from Chris.

 SEXY: don't think I'll forget about ur promise darling xx

YOU: wouldn't dream of it :-p xx

SEXY: this sound check is so boring xx

SEXY: will is driving me up the wall xx

YOU: play nice and u might get rewarded ;-) xx

SEXY: what u do to me is worrying xxx

YOU: good, I hope? xx

SEXY: you don't know the half of it xx

SEXY: play nice and you might find out xxx

You sigh. If you didn't change the subject soon you'd lose all control you had left.

YOU: is Jonny OK? xx

SEXY: won't talk about it to me xD xx

SEXY: will is v. pissy tho, idk y xx

YOU: b extra nice. xx

SEXY: I'll tryyy xx

 Will was so kind and lovely to you, you couldn't understand why he and Chris had so many altercations. You'd never seen any in the flesh, but Chris always seemed to be moaning about Will doing something or another - though mostly just in passing. He didn't really talk about his friends much in the present tense, at least not to you. He told you old tour stories and tales from his university days, but nothing recent. Nothing even slightly recent. You guessed that maybe they'd all got a bit more responsible on this tour, and so hadn't done much worth telling and so hadn't really been bothered by it. You did find it sometimes hit you that Chris was 29, compared to your 19. He sometimes made references for things before you were born and you worried that he would easily bore of you and your immature ways. To you he seems so sophisticated and organised, he knows what he wants to do in his life and is right in the middle of doing it. He knows all about fine wine, fancy dining, can speak multiple languages - he's just so grown up. The last boy who had been interested in you tried to win your favour with a game of beer pong, so this was certainly a step up. You hold Chris in the highest esteem, he is measured, controlled, kind and yet so fun and spontaneous at the same time. He is just as perfect as you always thought he would be and it is like a dream to be with him.

 SEXY: do you have the dress on you? Xx

 Shit. Totally forgot about that.

 YOU: how bad would it be for me to say no? xx

SEXY: a problem easily solved babe xx

SEXY: a lady can't wear the same dress twice anyway xx

Oh god, what was he going to do.

YOU: I got some stuff to wear dw xx

SEXY: leave it with me xx

YOU: Chris I can dress myself :-P xx

SEXY: ur job is to put the clothes on xx

SEXY: I endeavour to undo ur hard work xx

SEXY: so I may as well provide the clothes ;-) xx

 Well you can’t say no to that.

 You leave Chris' hotel room and catch a glance at yourself in the mirror as you do. The fuchsia silk, box pleat dress barely grazes your knees and your white ankle strap heels give you an extra inch of height you're not used to. You had been slightly worried when the concierge had arrived with the fancy "Nanushka" box - a store you had seen the outside out from your taxi ride and resolved that you'd never have enough money to enter - but the dress was beautiful and you had text Chris to try and thank him. Sure, he hadn't replied yet, but the car would be here soon so you had to get a move on. You had discovered the pockets seen into the sides of your dress, and so slipped your still silent phone inside as you let the door lock shut behind you.  Your hair is gently flowing in a sheet behind you, with two small plaits emerging by your temples and meeting at the back of your head to hold it back. You had managed to remember your makeup when you packed, so your eyelids are dusted with white and silver and your lips darkened slightly. You have never been amazing at full makeup transformations, but you liked what you could do and you feel as if you've done a good job. You seem to fit in among the regular clientele of the hotel as you make your way towards where Chris had told you the car would wait. As you step outside you take the sunglasses from your hand and slip them over your eyes. It's not that late yet, and the Hungarian sun is still viscous. Luckily for you, your car seems to have just pulled up at the valet entrance. You had made Chris describe the exact male and model, so you didn't accidentally get into someone else’s, and you are 99% sure this matches up. The driver hurries out.

"Madám YL/N?" He questions hesitantly,

To avoid the language barrier you nod, and he opens the back door - looking quickly and resolutely at the floor. You brush it off as some sort of cultural difference and settle in the soft leather of the back seats. You check your phone again. Nothing. Not even a single text. You try to hold down the disappointment. Ever since you and Chris had been talking you were convinced it was a joke and the doubts still longer slightly in your mind. You can't comprehend why he would ever want you. He could have pretty much anyone he wanted, and yet here you were in a car paid for by him, going to his concert, in a dress he bought you. Thinking about that again makes you frown. Although the concierge had tried to hide it you had caught a glance at the bill in the bottom of the bag. Doing the math in your head the 126 thousand Hungarian Forint was over three thousand pounds. Three thousand pounds! That didn't even count the heels, or the concierge fee. Part of you was desperately excited at Chris' habit of eccentric spending on you, but most of you felt mildly uncomfortable. There's no way you could do anything like that for him, you've barely seen three thousand pounds let alone spent it on a gift. You are simply petrified he's going to get bored of you; you have a perfect, kind, loving boyfriend and you feel like any second you could lose him.

 The car pulls up to a side entrance to a huge stadium. Your door is opened and you slip out, thanking the driver. Two men are standing in front of the door. One looks up and you recognise him to be Matt. He looks taken aback for a second and the man next to him is alerted to your presence, growing as he looks you up and down. His eyes linger slightly before elbows him hard before smiling rather unnervingly at you.

"Hey, nice to see you again." His eyes are fixed onto your own and you attempt a smile back. He notices your tension and hurries to move his Hungarian co-worker out of the way to open the door. "I got stuck on ID today, so lucky for you I can let you in." The smile is back and it's really starting to worry you. You open your mouth to thank him but you are interrupted. "Oh! I've been told to direct you to Chris' dressing room. You're a bit early so you might have to wait for a bit, I have no idea where he's at." You nod and he seems too eager to personally show you the way. You are left, sat on a chair in a pretty small, yet we lit dressing room, awaiting Chris.

 **

 As you sit, your mind wanders. Your hands toy absentmindedly with the neckline of you dress, wishing it was an inch or two higher. It's not that you don't like it. Not at all. You just aren't really used to wearing such... Out there... Clothing. Greys and pastels were your usually colours of choice and the reddish pink that currently encapsulates you is a step out of your comfort zone. Not that you've been anywhere near your comfort zone for weeks. You still felt partially like you were in a dream that was going to end any second now, and your whole body is shaking with nerves. The texts you have been getting from Chris today have been extremely... Well... Suggestive doesn't really cover it. You are torn between thinking it's his idea of a funny joke and taking him seriously. Either way it's made the reality of the entire situation much more doubtful to you. The romantic side of your mind tries to convince you that it all makes sense, he was drawn to you in that crowd and somehow had decided he likes you enough to keep you around, but you just can't fully make it all click in your head. You get tired of sitting and stand to inspect a rather abstract painting hanging on the far wall of the room.

 You are midway through deciphering one of the splodges when you hear the door open. A quick check over your shoulder confirms it's Chris. His expression changes to one of smug desire so quickly that you don't really register the sour scowl present before. His smile gave you butterflies and you suddenly remember how nervous you are and try to hide the shaking that threatens to overtake you. Chris doesn't seem to notice and steps into the room, firmly clicking the door shut behind him.

"Hey there beautiful." Your eyes are drawn to his lips as he speaks and you attempt a reply, feeling as faint as the day you met.

"Hey there yourself" You smile gently, eyes widening the closer he gets to you. "How was sound check in the end?' 

"Boring, as usual with added bonus boring." He replies as if his eyes aren't admiring the handiwork of his fashion sense. You laugh softly and his eyes rise to meet yours again. You are still stunned by just how blue they are in person. You'd seen Chris' eyes in many a situation and you are enthralled with how different they can look. Sometimes you see stormy seas, sometimes soft, calm ponds, but today you see mesmerising whirlpools. You just can't look away and don't even hear as he asks you a question. Eventually he notices your predicament and slowly moves closer to you, a smirk growing on his face. He brings one finger up to softly poke you between the eyes.

"You know I never found out if you set me as your screensaver again on your new phone." A quick blush from you answers that question and the dark smirk grows further. You blush further at being caught lost in his eyes, but Chris seems to find this endearing and laughs at you. He gently places his arms around your hips. "You know I really missed you today." You blink in surprise. He leans down to whisper in your ear. "Really missed you." You pull back to check for truthfulness in his face, but he seems genuine. A hesitant smile blossoms back at him. 

"I missed you too." You say and his eyes dilate at your words before roaming your outfit again for a while, while your heart rate increases by the second.

"Did I mention how good that dress looks on you?" His voice is low and gives away a portion of the desire he feels. His face moves tantalising close to yours, studying your features intently before continuing. "I vote we see if it looks even better off." The enthusiastic nod seems to be automatic, you made up your mind a while ago. You are, however, taken aback by the directness of his offer, but bring your hands into Chris' hair as he begins to kiss you. Your mind feels frozen but your body is driving itself, reacting perfectly in time with the man trying to manoeuvre you toward a wall. Once he manages this, he takes his time in making his way across your face and neck until he gets inpatient and begins to wrestle with the zip on your back. By this point you are entirely beyond rational thought and hook your hands under his shirt in return. When your cold hands reach his skin he growls and practically throws you onto the corner sofa.

 ***

Checking the time hadn't been Chris' first priority. You are biting gently on his lips, sat on his stomach with your hands in his hair. The next thing you know he has let out a shout and has slipped out from under you, manically throwing on clothes from a rail that you had previously knocked over. He doesn't say a word, just leaves with your lipstick still covering him and his hair directly giving away his previous activities.

"Chris!" You shout after him as the door slams behind him, the feeling of the lazy kisses from just moments before a ghost on your lips. You look around the dressing room, your clothes are scattered across the floor along with his. You're alone.

 You sigh as you get up and make yourself decent again. You note that the zip is slightly torn thanks to Chris's rough treatment in his impatience. Despite how truly amazing the last fifteen minutes of your life was you feel somewhat used and dejected. What if you weren't good? What if you were bad? You don’t want to leave the room and watch the show, instead your mind takes you into a spiral of worry for hours until the door clicks open and Chris walks in looking guilty... and sweaty.

"Y/N I'm so sorry!!" He rushes over but stops short of where you're sitting, as if he doesn't know how to handle this. You get up to aid the poor man. The look on his face dispels any doubts you hold for now.

"It's okay, Chris." You smile, putting your arms around him and looking up. "It wasn't your fault." You murmur quietly as he brings his mouth down onto yours as if picking up where he left off. He pushes you back against the wall and you nibble his lip like you were before he left. You barely hear the footsteps getting closer. His hands move from your shoulders to your back, from your back to your waist and from your waist they move downwards agonisingly slowly, sending your delirious mind into a frenzy, your hands gripping his golden curls just a little tighter by the second. Footsteps draw closer and you're dangerously close to being undressed again when a knock on the door stops Chris in his tracks.

"Chris c'mon we've gotta go!" Guy's voice sounds from behind the wall, "Will's gettin' pissy enough as it is!"

"I'll be right out." Chris calls back and you hear the footsteps begin to fade.

"You know, I haven't seen Guy since I got back." You smile and move towards the door, figuring you should probably thank him for the bass lessons - even if you are terrible.

"Where're you going?" Chris's eyes widen in panic and he quickly moved in front of you to block the door.

"To say hi?"  You shrug as if it's obvious.

"You can't right now." He demands childishly.

"Why?"

Realising his mistake his face changes to the lustful smirk he had on before. "Because I want you all to myself." He purrs, moving towards you and positioning his hands hands low on your hips. You roll your eyes and kiss him quickly and deeply before pushing him gently away.

"Chris we need to be more careful." You murmur, not really wanting to stop what you're doing but knowing that if Guy had walked in it would've caused all sorts of mess for everyone.

"I know, baby we will. Let's get back to the hotel, yeah?"