#I KNOW toasty has seen this already but the ENTIRE WORLD MUST SEE IT AS WELL

[oreoskys]

direct aftermath

👥 aha aha aha >:)))

ask game here

oh wowww i wonder who this is for 🙄 ok but on a more serious note, i have a hc that tom really enjoys touching kro’s wings! whether it’s because of his love for animals or because of how shiny and pretty kro’s feathers are in the sun, he can’t help himself but be drawn to them.

but upon knowing that kro literally PURRS when he touches their wings?!?! oh tom’s gonna be ALL over them.

visuals for how it went the first time:

[mackeydoodledoo]

The Fifth Lord: Chapter 4

Pairing: Alcina Dimitrescu and (Fem!Dragon)Reader [non-romantic], Bela Dimitrescu x (Fem!Dragon)Reader

Summary: Your name is Y/n Dracul; The only ‘mutant’ that doesn’t have the Cadou Parasite. You already have some sort of power that impressed Mother Miranda; you were the first known Human-Dragon Hybrid. Although you have your own house, “House Dracul”. Your ‘house’ itself is basically an unused wing of Castle Dimitrescu.

Warnings: Heartbreak, sadness, game spoilers [I’m sure everyone has watched or played Village]

A/N: So like- The fly Bela left Y/n is all nice ‘n toasty (Y/n can produce body heat to keep it warm) when they’re outside of the castle. 

“Fairy Tail Main Theme - Slow Ver.” Yasaharu Takanashi [Play this when Cassandra says, “Y/n...”]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

You lost two of your favorite people in the world, one of them being the love of your life. however, that couldn’t be on your mind at the moment. You have a mission; protect Cassandra. You continue down the hall slowly, trying to inhale the air; attempting to pinpoint Cassandra’s location by scent. Once you reach the end, you’re met with the House Dimitrescu house crest on the door. You take Bela’s key and unlock the it. 

“Lady Cassandra?” You call out

No answer...

"Lady Cassandra!!" You call out to her

But no answer.

Damnit... Crying doesn’t help when you’re trying to track a scent... But, she must be in an area where she can't hear me... Or she’s thinking I’m Ethan... Or both.

You noticed how your crying stuffed your nose and blurred your vision ever so slightly. 

"Lady Cassandra!!" You scream, in an attempt for her to come to you

Again, no response.

She's close though.... God please be okay....

You take the doorway straight across from the entry hall from the hidden doorway. 

"Lady Cassandra?" You call out to her, opening the door

She wasn't anywhere to be seen in that room however, look under a fireplace and see a hole; big enough for someone to crawl through.

It's getting stronger...

Without even crawling, you maneuver into the hole and into the armory room.

"Lady Cassandra," you sigh in relief, running over to her

"My lord, what the hell are you doing here?" She asks, turning to you

"Ethan Winters- in our castle- he killed Bela and-and Daniela, he's coming here next," you say, “I must get you to a safe place...”

Before you could continue explaining, the door opens from the other room.

It's his scent... I have to get Lady Cassandra out of here.

"I have to get you out of here," you state, looking for a way out of the armory other than the one you came through

"Like hell I’m running away," Cassandra says, materializing into her fly swarm

"No! Lady Cassandra!" You say, “I have to get you to Alcina!”

But she didn’t listen to you. 

“I was worried my sisters have gotten to you first,” Cassandra laughs, taunting Ethan

“Cassandra!” You yell, “No!”

You try to hold her back and for the both of you to head for the exit. However, she elbows you in the gut and pushes you off of her. You’re knocked into a couple of armor sets.

“Cassandra!” You yell once more, “You must get out of here!”

“I told you already my lord I am going to finish what my sisters could not!” She growls at you

It’s not that Lady Cassandra... I can’t afford to lose you... My Lady cannot afford to lose you too...

However, what you notice is what Ethan is carrying in his hand. You forcibly move out from the fallen armor pieces and lunge at him.

“Cassandra!” You yell, “His hand! He has a pipe bomb!!” 

However, Winters throws the pipe bomb towards the crevice in the wall. At that point you tried to pick yourself back up to reach for Cassandra instead of Winters.

“Look out!” You scream, your arm outstretched to Cassandra

“What?” Cassandra asks you, confused 

However, just before you could reach her, the pipe bomb goes off, knocking the both of you away from each other. You get knocked into some barrels and you wheeze out for air. Cassandra’s screams of pain are muffled. 

“Lady.... Cassandra... We.. Have to... R-run...” You groan

“You’ve ruined the hunt!” Cassandra snarls at Ethan

Once you gained your bearings and your vision, you look up and notice Cassandra getting shot at. The screams and pained grunts had sent something up your spine and to your legs.

“Lady Cassandra!” You yell, forcing yourself up from the debris of wood

A bullet grazes your shoulder as you shield Cassandra from oncoming bullets. You let out a frustrated growl as you begin emitting body heat in an attempt to reverse the decreasing metabolism on Cassandra. However, you coil one arm around Cassandra as the both of you begin falling to the ground. 

“Get away from her!” You scream

However, your other arm throws a fireball at Ethan. He dodges but faints in the process.

“Come on heat,” You tell your own body, “Don’t let Cassandra die on me!”

“Y/n...” Cassandra says, hugging you, “Stop...”

“I’m not going to watch you die in front of me!” You scream, a fire emitting your entire body

“You’re... Warm...” Cassandra says weakly, “I don’t feel how painful the fire is...”

You let out a human scream as you continue to try and warm Cassandra with your dragon-like fire based abilities.

“Y/n.... It’s no use...” Cassandra says weakly once more, “Stop before you overwork yourself...”

“I cannot watch you die too!” You yell, confessing why you were so persistent on getting her out, “I watched Daniela die... I had come too late for Bela... I can’t let the same thing happen to you...”

“I. Y/n.. It’s okay. I Can’t turn back.. Anyway..” She groans

“We’ll figure something out but for now I have to get you out of here and to get you to-”

“I’ll be able to see my sisters... Won’t I?” She asks you, tears forming into her eyes

You pull away from her to look at her; she’s continuing to crystalize, “You will...”

You try to smile for her but it only turns into an ugly crying frown. You were still trying to emit enough body heat for her however the constant incoming cold air doesn’t help your case.

“It’s okay y/n,” She smiles at you

She smiles as she begins allowing her body to go limp.

“No no no no no no no...” You stutter, trying to figure out how to get her out of the armory

“Tell mother that I... I’m sorry...” She says before reaching out to your hand, “I’ll be seeing my idiot sisters soon...”

Before you could touch her hand she crumbles in your lap and in your arms. You pick the torso up from the pile. You let out strangled gasps as you begin sobbing once more, clutching the torso. 

Damnit damnit damnit.... Not Lady Cassandra too! DAMNIT ALL!!!!

Deja vu, you hear a gun cock behind you. You look up and slowly turn your head to Ethan; severely burned.

“Thanks to you, I’m never getting out of here!” He yells

“Thanks to you.... The family I’ve ever loved is gone...” You growl, smoke coming out of your mouth

He immediately puts his gun away at the sight of the combusting gas in your mouth. 

“You’re going to pay,” Your two voices coming out of your mouth

You were caught off guard when he was running towards the other side of the room. You were questioning him why he was reaching for an animal skull mount. You only watch him run out of the armory. Your own body goes limp when you look back at Cassandra’s crystal torso but still having your fingers firmly holding onto it for dear life. 

“I’m sorry too Lady Cassandra,” you choke on a sob, rocking the torso back and forth, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you...”

You finally leave the armory and make your way to the bedchamber. You kick open the door, startling Alcina. She stands and begin turning her body to face you however, she stops when she hears your knees make impact with the ground. 

“I... Couldn’t save.. H-her...” You stutter over your words, “I-I tried all I could- I. I tried to get her out I really tried...”

Your voice trails off as Alcina walks up to you, taking the torso from your hands.

“’Tell Mother that I’m sorry’,” You say, “Those were Cassandra’s last words...”

You could easily tell that Alcina had been crying. She hides it well. But you? You were a crybaby. As soon as you smelled Bela’s remains, that was it for you. You haven’t recovered yet. You strongly believed you never will.

“Where is Winters now?” Alcina asks, gently but firmly

“I don’t know...” You sigh, hanging your head low, “I was still in shock... Cassandra and Daniela died in front of me... I found Bela too late...”

“I’ll go and find him,” Alcina says, walking past you, “You stay as long as you need dear. You’ve done all you could. Let me finish things here...”

You hear the door shut as you let your body fall onto the floor, seeing Daniela and Cassandra’s remains from across the room.

“Why does everyone I want to protect die in front of me?” You ask yourself, looking at Daniela and Cassandra

You didn’t realize how much time had passed until you jolt your head up when you hear roaring, faint roaring.

My Lady... She must have found Winters.... 

You exit the bedchambers and begin trudging through the halls, where the roars and gunshots were getting louder. You were exhausted; from crying for the last several hours. You just wanted everything to be over and for you to go back to the way things were. However, you could never go back to the way things were. Because, the people you cared about most in the world were non longer there with you. 

“Only The Lady is left...” You say to yourself, entering the hall, “I have to get to her...”

You run across the angel statue hall and push through the heavy doors.

Chapter 5

[evolutionsvoid]

As I have mentioned in a previous entry, the Underworld is not fully a place filled with fire and brimstone, but it does contain volcanic areas. Think of it as just another ecosystem that exists within an underground world. Just like how we have swamps, deserts and forests, they have fungal forests, geode canyons and lava rivers! So if you are visiting the Underworld in hopes of seeing some of this molten material, you are going to need a guide to direct you to the regions where it is prevalent! Be sure to bring plenty of heat protection and tough clothing, as these habitats are a bit harsh! Obviously the sheer heat is one factor, but all the rock that surrounds these places are quite sharp! Pretty much the whole habitat is made of igneous rock, and there is plenty of obsidian and other sharp stones to make the floor like razors! Honestly, I did most of my research and observing from a far distance away, practically sitting in the neighboring cavern and peeking through whatever tunnels offered a clear view. I am a bit sad my body cannot handle these places, because what glimpses I got were fascinating! Lava flowing like rivers of water, branching and winding through the rock beds! Great pools of magma the size of lakes, boiling and bubbling! Fire falls pouring over cliffs, creating a blinding spectacle found nowhere else! Quite incredible, but incredibly dangerous! I would be a pile of ash in seconds if I set root in such a place! In fact, I am pretty sure only demons and shades can truly dwell in these regions, save for any magic users who can create a resistance to the extreme heat. When it comes to these toasty places, the denizens of the Underworld have two different types of molten habitats: lava rivers and magma pools. Those who are savvy with the terms "lava" and "magma" are probably pretty heated with me seemingly using the two interchangeably. However, I must object! Though they may seem wrong to us up above, things are little different down below! Surface dwellers designate lava as the stuff that reaches the surface, while the magma remains down below. For a people who live entirely underground, those definitions don't really help. Instead, they differentiate the two through movement, or lack thereof. Lava is the molten stuff that flows, much like a river or stream. Magma sits where it is at and goes nowhere, like a lake or pond. Think of it like lentic and lotic systems for water, but magma is lentic and lava is lotic! I think I am explaining this right... Anyways! Despite the harsh heat and seemingly barren landscape, these molten regions can also be filled with life! If you know a thing or two about fungi, then you know they won't be stopped by mere heat! Many species of fungus grow here, with some looking quite similar to the ones found in volcanic deserts! Where fungus arises, other creatures will follow, using these mushrooms and molds as the foundation of the food web. Many of these species I refer to live upon the shores of these molten bodies, but what about within it? Turns out, there are indeed creatures that swim through the lava and magma, like the magnificent Pteramafic! These creatures are often jokingly called "lava fish" by us folk up above, but it seems this nickname for the Pteramafic may be fitting! Studies and dissections of these creatures have shown a lot of similarities to fish, mainly those who have no jaws. It is believed that these are some ancient fish species that long separated themselves from the water-lovers up above, and have settled in a hotter home. They have fins, bones and scales, but much of the details in their anatomy and make up is quite different. The most obvious difference is that they can swim through lava! Insane! I can't even begin to describe how specialized their bodies must be to pull off such a feat! The scales they have are tougher than metal, and their fins are arranged like claws to help pull them through thicker bits of magma. Their rostrums have greatly elongated to create a horn-like structure, which helps them slice through the boiling lava. Much like their jawless brethren, they possess no mandibles or likewise features. Instead, they are filter feeders, who strain the molten rock for some kind of mineral or nutrients that they can digest. With this diet, they must swim and burrow through the lava and magma to get their fill, which makes them appear as speedsters! It was quite a sight to watch these bizarre fish tear through the fiery streams, their beautiful dorsal fins looking like sails of some boat trapped in purgatory.  

With their homes made in the flowing lava and bubbling magma, the Pteramafic are obviously endearing to the people of the Underworld. Those who worship fire and believe it to be the source of their soul and life no doubt find some holiness in those who literally live in flame. The Pteramafic is seen as the messenger of Pyrogohna, being believed to be one of the few creatures who can actually swim down to the realm of the Gods Below. They relay information and knowledge from the upper layers down to the Goddess of Fire, filling her in on what her children up above are doing. It is believed that these fish are how Pyrogohna knows how to pace her dance, to ensure that the Underworld thrives. Thus, it is forbidden to bring harm to these creatures, as striking down a messenger of the Gods Below is surely one of the greatest sins. Though there is no hunting allowed of the Pteramafic, one may find their parts and pieces showing up in temples. I asked about this, after I saw a priest cloaked in the hide of a lava fish. While the people may not bring harm to these fish, they are allowed to harvest those that have already died. However, this collection can only be done by the priests of Pyrogohna, and the carcass must be brought to one of her temples. There it will be honored for its service, and then its body will be stripped for parts. Its hide and armor are fashioned into garb, its fins into banners and its horn into holy staffs and instruments. These items can only be held by honored members of the temple and Fire Dancers, and often they aren't even allowed to leave the premises. I got to see some of these crafts when Leyick took me to one of the worships, and they were gorgeous to behold! However, I was informed not to even go near these things, as they were meant only for the priests and preachers, and certainly not for outsiders. That turned out to be quite easy, as the hectic worship of Pyrogohna didn't really leave a whole lot of time for inspecting and studying. I was too busy getting pulled into dances and desperately trying not die of exhaustion. My adventures and studies have given me a body built with unstoppable endurance and incredible stamina, but it sure didn't seem like it that day! In my defense, it was a whole lot of dancing in a very hot room. You try doing a two hour country dance in a sauna and I am sure you will be just as winded as I! I must note that during my study of the Pteramafic I was musing about the culture significance of the Pteramafic. The fact that they were a holy species with such protection was fascinating to me, but then Vespar mentioned something that got me wondering. She made a comment that suggested that the Pteramafic was inedible for demons, shades and....well, pretty much anything. A creature built to survive molten temperatures and eat slag isn't exactly something that would show up at the dinner table. No doubt the meat would be poisonous to many species, so I had to wonder if this informed anything. Were the Pteramafic seen as holy before or after they found out you couldn't eat them? It sounds absolutely silly to say aloud, but I am curious. Perhaps it is just pure coincidence, or maybe this helped shape their views of the species. Hard to say, and probably isn't my place to really debate this. I would bring it up to my guides, but I think it would just give them more ammo to make fun of me.     Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian -------------------------------------------------------- Any lava place has got to have lava fish! And yes, I am aware real lava and magma doesn't function like this, but it is a sin practically every fantasy world commits, so I think its fine. Since we are the Underworld, that means we need prehistoric fish, so why not the pteraspis?    

[tooruluv]

Tooru Oikawa x F!Reader ( part 10 )

❝ my love for him is much like winter, a skeleton for the world to see. too bad he never liked the cold. ❞

description: being the neighbor and lifelong best friend of tooru oikawa definitely had it’s perks. you were never an outcast, always had a seat at lunch, got into volleyball games for free. the problem was, however, that being in love with him outweighed those perks. you would never tell him that, though, even if it hurt like hell.

genre: best friends to lovers, angst, unrequited love, fluff if you squint hard enough

word count: 2,005

warnings/notes: hi guys. only two more parts...that’s crazy... anyway. this one has some underage drinking and maybe some kisses lol. jk....unless... anyway. enjoy.

tag list: @afuckingunicornn​​​​​​​ @maii-flowers​​​​​​​ @clandestinerays​​​​​​​ @brownandchill​​​​​​​ @readeretal​​​​​​​ @wedojustbevibin​​​​​​​ @shigarakiskitten​​​​​​​ @shittykawaa​​​​​​​ @saeranoppa​​​​​​ @srirachibi​​​​​​ @tpwkatsumu​​​​​ @sempiternal-amour​​​​​ @bokutos-h0e​​​​​ @pinknugget​​​​​ @intheawks​​​​​ @tori218​​ @seikamuzu​​ @alexthe80swhore​​ @ghostly-toastie​ @bumbledunce​ @pineapplelantern​

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Tooru Oikawa didn’t get jealous. One of the various traits that he gained by not having any serious relationships (and simply because he was awesome). However, he had a terrible feeling in his gut the minute he watched you meet another guy on your porch.

“You must be Oikawa.” The man said from his position beside you. You mumbled something, but Oikawa couldn’t hear.

“That is me. And you are…?”

“Kuroo.” The man didn’t move from the porch, hands in his jacket pockets and smirk-like smile plastered on his face. Oikawa expected him to come down, shake his hand as an introduction. Instead, Kuroo just gave a slight nod of his head. “See ya later.”

And with that, you scooped Kuroo into your house. Oikawa saw red.

“I told you that you didn’t have to talk to him.” You told Kuroo, scrolling on the TV to find a good movie to watch.

“I wanted to see how he’d react.” He shrugged and chuckled a little to himself. “He got jealous.”

“He did not.”

“He did too.”

“Oikawa doesn’t get jealous. He was probably just confused, since he’s never met you before.”

“Babe, he was just jealous. That face he made? Jealousy.”

“Ew don’t call me babe.”

“You don’t like it?”

You paused. “Just… don’t call me babe.”

“You do like it!”

You used to watch movies with Oikawa every Saturday. It was a tradition for as long as you could remember. But since the silence between you both, it hadn’t happened. Instead, Kuroo had decided to take over and watch movies with you.

He always let you pick the movie.

Hajime Iwaizumi wanted you to marry Tooru Oikawa. It was a secret of course, he would never tell either of you. And maybe it was because he wanted to be the best man, or maybe it was because he had watched you both pine over each other his entire life, but he did. He wanted you both to just confess, get the emotions out, and just be in love.

God, he hated being the best friend sometimes.

He sat and watched as Oikawa stared directly at you while practicing. You were waiting for Iwaizumi, a promised dinner in order, and decided to just wait in the gym. It wouldn’t be the first time you waited in the practice gym while they finished up.

“Hey, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi threw a ball at his friend. “How hard are you going to stare at her?”

“Hm?”

He threw another ball. It may have been a little bit harder that time.

Tooru Oikawa didn’t get jealous. So, why, he wondered, was he jealous when he watched you eat with Kuroo.

You even wore his hoodie.

Oikawa sat with the volleyball team, a team dinner for “bonding” as coach had claimed. They were in the corner, and you were sitting by the window. Unexpected.

You had Kuroo’s hoodie on.

“Staring again.” Iwaizumi muttered to him. Oikawa didn’t listen.

A laugh between you and Kuroo. Your hand on his. Kuroo had called you “babe”.

Why did you have Kuroo’s hoodie on?

“Stop calling me that!” you giggled, pushing his arm as he continued to call you “babe”.

“I can’t! Not when it makes you blush that hard.”

You haven’t gone to a volleyball game in weeks. It was another kink in your normal routine, your normal schedule.

It felt weird to go without the jersey.

So, during their latest game, instead of being at the game, you were sitting at Sana’s. You let her do your makeup, you took pictures of her products she used on the daily. It was just a lot of Girly Things, something you definitely were not used to.

“You can date him, you know.” Sana said as she fixed some of your makeup that got messed up when you laughed earlier. “Tooru, I mean. I don’t mind.”

“I…”

“Just. I want you to know that you can date him despite us being friends now.” She continued, looking over your face. “I don’t want me dating him holding you back.” She paused, only for a moment. “Oh! Or is it Kuroo that’s holding you back?”

You bit the inside of your mouth. “I don’t think it’s Kuroo.”

“Then what is?”

“Me.”

“Are you and Kuroo…together?” Oikawa asked you.

You two had a new theme after school. On Mondays, Oikawa would walk beside you in silence on your way home. He was waiting for you to make a move first, waiting to see when you would talk to him and be his go to again.

“I… what?” You gaped. “No. We’re not. Why would you…”

“I heard him call you “babe”. I just wanted to ask.”

“’Kawa.” You stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face him. His chest almost collided directly into your face. He waited for you to continue. “I’m telling you right now that I am not dating anyone, or planning to date anyone for that matter.” You looked between his eyes, back and forth. “Kuroo was the one who picked me up from the school after you yelled at me in the gym, he’s been a good friend.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You apologize too much.”

“I don’t think I’ve apologized enough.”

“Can I ask you something?” you haven’t moved, not yet.

“Yes, of course. Anything.”

“How did you know?” You asked. A question that had been burned into your skull. “How did you know that I was in love with you?”

Oikawa chuckled. “Was.”

“Hm?”

“You just said, “I was in love with you”. Was.”

You shook your head. “Do you want me to say it?”

“Say what?”

“Oh, nice try.” You rolled your eyes, and he smiled. You knew he was messing with you the minute he brought it up. “Seriously, how did you know?”

“I…I don’t know. I kind of figured after Sana broke up with me, and I was pissed off to I just let out all the accusations I could.” He was no longer looking at you. “I’m sorry.”

“There you go apologizing again.” You started to walk again. He followed. “How about this: what do you think about Saturday movie night?”

He nearly tripped over himself. “Yes. Yes I agree.”

Oikawa showed up at your house before dark. You knew that it was because he didn’t know if he would be staying over, or if it was just movie night and then you would kick him out. Either way, your mom was surprised.

“I didn’t know you two would be back to old habits so soon?”

“Well,” you held up the glasses of alcohol you already had on hand. “Old habits die hard.”

“Don’t kill yourselves. And clean up when you’re done!”

You sat a little bit further away from him than usual. He compensated by putting the popcorn bowl in the middle, trying to make it seem normal.

But, after a few drinks and some liquid courage, you shrugged. You moved the popcorn bowl to the ground and placed yourself directly beside him. His warmth was nice. Welcoming.

“Hey, ‘Kawa.”

“Hey, nut.”

He giggled, a little drunk soft giggle that made your stomach churn. He put his arm on the back of the couch, above your shoulders. You giggled back and laid your head into his side.

“More!” you cheered and drank straight out of the bottle.

It was late. Too late. And, to quote what they say on How I Met Your Mother: nothing good ever happens after 2 am.

You both were drunk. Not just tipsy, and not in a way that would even make sense. But both of you were completely gone, and you couldn’t even see what was on the TV anymore. And Oikawa’s a lightweight anyway.

“You’re cute.” you told Oikawa, a bit of a slur to your words.

“So are you.”

“You told me that you love me.” you were looking up at him, your head on his lap and his hands limp as they laid around your head. 

“I did, didn’t I?” he giggled, looking down at you.

“Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Are you in love with me?”

He sent you the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen. “Are you in love with me?”

Before your sane part of you told you no, and exactly when that drunk part of you said “fuck yeah it’s time”, you leaned up and kissed him.

Oikawa kissed back instantly, his lips molding into yours as perfect puzzle pieces. You moved up, straddling his hips and bringing you closer to him. He kept his hands on your outer thigh, quickly catching your lips as you kissed.

You were like this for a while, kissing and only taking breaks to smile into the kiss or to breathe. Until, finally, a little window of sobriety made you pull away.

You stayed on his lap, arms on his arms, with him looking up at you now.

“Sorry.”

“Now look who’s apologizing.” Oikawa smiled.

Oikawa stayed the night, though on the couch. You went to your room.

What the fuck just happened?

You told Iwaizumi the next morning. Like a schoolgirl who just had her very first kiss and had to run to her closest friend.

He came over so fast you swear he had super powers.

“Why do you still love him?” was the question Iwaizumi asked you as he laid in your room. Just like old times.

To which you only had one answer. “Because I don’t know how not to.”

[groundzero-jpg]

instagram famous™

While drunk, you upload a selfie taken with a sleeping Bakugou on Instagram. You wake up to uncontrollable pings from your phone the next morning. The photo has gone viral. U.A. wants to turn this into a publicity stunt. Bakugou wants to kill you.

Over the course of your studies at U.A, you’d come to the conclusion that accidentally getting sucked into the bakusquad would eventually, probably, become the bane of your existence. From jumping over fences after class instead of using the goddamn open gate, to smuggling stray kittens through the broken lock on Mina’s window “just because”, you’d been dragged through it all.

As usual, your “Again? Where the hell did you guys even-” went unheard as you watched your friends excitedly dig bottle after bottle of alcohol out from Kirishima’s tiny backpack like it was a clown car.

There’s suddenly a cup in your hands.

“To saturday night with the squad!” Mina announces quickly as she thrusts her cup forward, meeting four identical ones in the center as the alcohol flies. Kirishima starts hollering loudly like quiet hours don’t exist, Sero snickering at Kaminari’s imitation of him a moment later. You roll your eyes fondly but resign yourself to your fate as you clink your cup with theirs.

“To saturday night!” you repeat, followed by four cheers.

“Tch,” Bakugou says from beside you. His arms are crossed, no cup in sight.

“C’mon,” You nudge playfully as Bakugou sends you an annoyed look.

“Yeah, c’mon bro!” Kirishima goads as he knocks back a shot, arm slinging over Kaminari’s shoulder. “It might be the last time we get to do this!”

You can’t help but pout. “Don’t say that, Kiri.”

“I don’t care about any of these dumbass extras, but you!” Bakugou growls as he snatches your cup away from you before you can take a sip. “Don’t you remember the last fucking time I let you get drunk?”

Last time? You frown. You try and think back to it through Mina’s snickering but it’s all fuzzy. Blank. Nada. “No?”

Kaminari grins wide and opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Bakugou’s got his entire hand over Kaminari’s face, blasting him into the opposite wall.

“C’mooooon Katsuki,” you moan as you try and take your cup back, but everytime you reach for it, it gets lifted higher. “We’re graduating soon!”

“Like I give a flying fuck,” Bakugou scoffs as he throws back your entire cup himself in one shot instead.

“Hey!”

When the cup comes down, Bakugou is left panting, wiping the excess alcohol off his lips with the back of his sleeve and leaving you a flustered mess at the sight.

Sero pops up behind you. “Here!” He offers. “A cup of water instead.” The smirk he gives you when your boyfriend isn’t looking says otherwise.

You almost die trying to hold in your snicker.

You spend the rest of the night accepting ‘water’ from Mina, Sero, Kirishima and Kaminari, almost killing yourself trying not to gag at the taste after your 4th cup while simultaneously struggling to maintain your fake-ass facade that it really was just some goddamn water babe, stop hovering!

It’s nearing 2am in the morning when Bakugou finally starts nodding off on the couch, his usual 8:30pm bedtime catching up with him. He leaves the group with one last threat before he lets himself. “You fuckers better not draw on my face or some shit or I’ll fucking kill you.”

You’re fucking tipsy out of your mind but you’ve always been a good actress. “Aw babe,” You laugh, snuggling into his side and doing your best to act like you’re normal even though your vision is starting to blur. “I won’t let them.”

He looks at you for a moment through squinted eyes, almost suspiciously, before he grunts. “Wake me up if you go back to your room. I’ll walk you.”

For a moment, you almost feel bad tricking him, but then you remember what he did to your cat plushie the last time you woke up earlier than him and made him cuddle with it instead so you could get up to pee.

“Love you,” you say sweetly. He just grunts in response before closing his eyes.

Five minutes later, he’s out like a light.

“Drink! Drink! Drink!” the boys mouth silently, taking turns slapping you on the back as Mina hands you a cup of straight vodka, silently hollering as you down it and finally, finally this time, openly gag.

As it progresses far into the night, everyone starts dropping off one by one like flies - Mina on the other couch, Kaminari half under the coffee table, Kirishima on the floor hugging his backpack and Sero hugging Kaminari’s foot. Somehow, you’re the last person standing.

“To my best friends,” you whisper to yourself, giggling uncontrollably as you knock back a final shot. You can’t even walk straight as you stumble over towards each of them, pressing a kiss to all of their cheeks before you finally reach your boyfriend.

He looks almost peaceful while he’s asleep, head nodding off to one side. The usual scowl on his face is nowhere to be seen as he lets out soft snores. You smile to yourself once more before you drop next to him on the couch, curling into his side and under his arm where it’s nice and toasty warm. His arm automatically tightens around you. Everything is spinning.

Before you even know what you’re doing, you’ve got your phone pulled up, front camera facing the two of you as you press your face into his neck, snuggling closer.

Snap!

How you even had the hand-eye coordination to press your thumb to the right button while intoxicated was a mystery.

When you look at the picture, your eyes start watering for no reason, heart swelling with nothing but drunken affection for the boy next to you. There’s only one thought in your mind, repeating like a mantra in your head: The press is all wrong. Katsuki’s nothing more than a grumpy kitten! The world must know!!!!

The Instagram app looks much more complicated than you remember. Too many filters. Too many buttons. Why is the upload button moving?

It takes you four tries to press it, but when you finally do, you, too, are out like a light.

💥 💥 💥

Ping! Ping! Ping! ...Ping! Pingpingpingpingpingping! Ping! Pingping! PING!

“Babe, that better not be your fucking phone!” Bakugou curses as he sits up abruptly, jostling you awake as you’re forced upwards too, having had your head on his chest just a moment ago.

“What?” You moan. There’s a sharp pain as you curl forward to clutch your head. “Owww, fuck. Don’t talk so loudly.”

There’s a groan from somewhere on the other side of the coffee table.

“What the-” Bakugou stops in the middle of trying to drown your pinging phone in a pile of blankets to turn to look at you in disbelief instead. “Are you hungover?!”

Suddenly, last night hits you like a truck.

“W-What? No, of course not!” you deny, straightening up a little too quickly. Bakugou growls as your sharp wince says otherwise.

“I told you not to fucking drink!”

“I didn’t drink!”

“Are you stupid?!”

“Guys,” Sero moans from the floor, sounding like he’s on the verge of passing into the afterlife. “Not now.”

Ping! Ping! Ping!

“Bakubro, please,” Kaminari pleads. You can’t even see his head from where it’s under the coffee table. “I don’t care whose phone that is. Burn it.”

You’re all a fucking mess. The sun outside is too bright.

“No, stop! I’ll turn it off,” you groan as you force Bakugou to hand it over. Your bleary eyes can’t even focus properly as you unlock it through sheer memory of where all the buttons are. But halfway through entering your phone password, your entire phone freezes, displaying a screenful of Instagram notifications that all say the same thing.

You almost choke on your spit.

Instagram 2m ago james0589, uabigfan, and 2,382,475 others liked your photo.

Instagram 3m ago allmight4ever commented on your post: “Is this the same guy who had to be chained down at the UA sports festival?!”

Instagram 5m ago sarahjj42 commented on your post: “wth he looks like a completely different person when he’s sleeping! so cute!”

Instagram 8m ago ultimefresh1997 commented on your post: “are they dating????”

Instagram 7m ago ground.zero.fanpage and 8,491 others followed you.

Instagram 21m ago yuptideofficial and 6,362 others followed you.

Next to each notification is a tiny version of the same damn picture over and over again. It’s so small that you can barely make it out. You don’t even remember taking the stupid picture, but it’s unmistakable.

Your wide-eyed face says it all.

“Give me that!” Bakugou snarls, finally running out of patience and snatching it out of your hand before you can even react. The moment he scans the contents of the screen, his eyes are as wide as yours. “What the hell?!”

“Oh my god,” Mina cackles from the other couch as she stares at her own phone. “Oh my god!”

“What?” Kirishima asks as he sits up sleepily. “What are you guys laughing at?”

“Guys, please. It’s not even eight yet,” Sero groans. “It’s too early, goddammit.”

“Not early enough for this!” Mina cackles as she shoves her phone into Sero’s face. The bright screen has him shielding his eyes for a moment before the words on the screen register in his brain. His jaw drops.

Your phone pings again.

Instagram 30 seconds ago official.pinky has liked your photo.

“What did you do?!” Bakugou snarls as he grabs the front of your t-shirt.

You smile sheepishly as you rub your hands together weakly to ask for forgiveness. Because god damn, you’re going to need it. “I... I kind of don’t remember?”

It’s silent for a moment before Bakugou explodes. “THIS IS WHY I TOLD YOU NOT TO DRINK!!”

💥 💥 💥

You really thought the two of you had already done everything there is to possibly do together.

You two had broken into the teacher’s lounge in the middle of the night before to make pancakes and then make out afterwards when the stove in the dorms had broken down for God’s sake.

But sitting side-by-side at the principal’s office surrounded by All Might, Present Mic, and Aizawa staring down at both of your phones opened up to your respective Instagram accounts has proven you wrong.

Your phones sit innocently on Nezu’s desk like they’re trying to shame you. You can’t believe All Might is looking at your Instagram account. You sink lower into your chair.

@ officialgroundzero | 15 posts | 2.8m followers | 7 following @ official.yn | 128 posts | 2.6m followers | 84 following

Principal Nezu looks simultaneously disappointed as fuck and highly amused at the same time.

“So according to your memory, you only had approximately 400 followers prior this morning? And this is the first photo of its kind on either of your accounts?” Nezu clarifies, rubbing his chin in deep thought as he reaches out a paw to scroll through your account once again. They’re all photos of either food, or you and your friends messing around. You just wish you’d deleted the video of you and Kaminari twerking in the classroom from last year.

Bakugou scoffs from beside you. “She has shit memory.”

“Not true!” You hiss.

Present Mic leans over your head to peer at your phone screen as Nezu scrolls through. “Well a majority of the comments seem to be positive feedback! That’s the best outcome we could have hoped for, am I right?”

Aizawa sighs and rubs his forehead. “It’s too fucking early for this.”

“But look, young Bakugou’s publicity has been positively impacted as well.” All Might adds. “Two point eight million followers is an amazing feat on its own!”

Bakugou would deny flushing red at the positive attention from his childhood idol, but it happened, okay. If only it was socially acceptable to snatch your phone out of the principal’s hand to take a picture of the rare sight.

Suddenly, Nezu slams his paws on the table, startling the both of you. There’s a scary grin on his face. “Let’s test a theory.”

Two minutes later, the five of you are huddled around Bakugou as he scrolls through his phone’s photos, scowling and grumbling in embarrassment every once in a while when a particularly domestic or cheesy photo of the two of you comes up.

“Ooh, what about this one?” Present Mic asks excitedly as he singles out a picture of the two of you that Kirishima had taken at the park a few months ago. It’s blurry, because it’s the two of you on one of those spinning wheel contraptions, except you’re screaming and holding on for dear life while Bakugou is using his quirk to make it spin at ungodly speeds.

“No, not good enough,” Nezu exclaims, hyperfocused as he continues the search. “We need better!”

“What the fuck is this even for,” Bakugou mutters under his breath as he continues to scroll at Nezu’s insistent demands.

“Your good publicity!” Nezu hisses. “Now keep looking!”

If Bakugou had cat ears, they would’ve flattened to his skull.

All Might and Aizawa end up suggesting two more photos, but apparently, a picture of a bouquet he’d gotten you for Valentine’s day last year and a picture of you decorating the classroom’s chalkboard in hearts with Bakugou’s name in them still weren’t good enough.

It’s only when Nezu slams a paw down on Bakugou’s wrist five minutes later, startling the shit out of him, does he find the perfect picture.

“This one,” Nezu says evilly.

💥 💥 💥

“This filter looks better, in my professional opinion,” Present Mic sniffs. “But go off, I guess.”

Present Mic gets shushed violently as you continue adjusting the colours and the lighting until it’s aesthetically pleasing with just the right amount of focus. You stick your tongue out as you work, ignoring the way Bakugou grumbles everytime you change something. “And... there!”

Nezu grins taking the phone from you to marvel at your work as if it was him who’d just spent the last 15 minutes perfecting the crap out of that photo. “It’s perfect!” He exclaims. “The perfect display of youthful high school romance, a budding relationship between two young adults on the verge of entering the real world! But simultaneously, the perfect amount of anonymity and mystery, opening up the opportunity to build on your individual fame as upcoming pro-heroes, not to mention U.A.’s reputation! This is the perfect first photo!”

You and Bakugou exchange scared looks.

Nezu grins. “Young Bakugou, if you would do the honours,” he says like Bakugou has an option to choose not to when in fact, he really, really doesn’t.

He sighs as he reaches out to press the upload button.

Immediately after it uploads, it’s followed by ten pings in a row before it’s finally his phone’s turn to freeze completely.

Nezu laughs maniacally.

“Babe, I’m going to kill you,” Bakugou wheezes. You manage to jump out of your chair just as he explodes it into a million pieces.

“KATSUKI!” You scream.

“Forget the chair!” Nezu yells excitedly. “Look at all these likes!”

💥 💥 💥

The walk is almost silent as the two of you shuffle across campus back to the dorms. Bakugou just wants to burn something or hurt someone or something, because what the hell had just happened?

He’s startled out of his thoughts by your hand on his bicep. Unprepared, he stumbles backwards, right into your arms. You use the momentum to press a giant kiss onto his cheek.

Snap!

Wh-

“Well, that’s the next Instagram photo taken care of,” You grin cheekily before you take off, suddenly sprinting across the field to get away.

“I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!”

💥 💥 💥

A look into Bakugou’s Instagram account, 6 months later:

[lorrainecparker]

Cine Gear Expo: Cool Stuff

Cine Gear Expo, the two-day show on the Paramount lot in Hollywood, is the best place to see industry tools, many of which you’ll be hard-pressed to find at NAB or IBC.

A camera crane and a banner? It must be Cine Gear Expo time again!

Yesterday I covered Cine Gear’s three big camera-related announcements; today I’ll look at some of the other interesting things I ran across or that people steered me to.

Studio air conditioning

It was a toasty weekend in L.A., and this hydra-headed ductwork in Stage 14 helped keep things from getting too hot. See? I promised you “cool stuff”, and I delivered! <rimshot> Thank you, thank you, I’m here all week…

ARRI

ARRI Alexa 65

Alexa 65 is ARRI’s large-format, rental-only camera. The 2.11:1 aspect ratio sensor is 54.12×25.58mm and packs 6560×3100 photosites (by comparison, a “Super35mm” sensor is typically less than 25mm wide and 14mm high). Yes, it’s bigger and  heavier and its sensor captures a prodigious amount of data, but its control layout, menus, and workflow are just like those of an Alexa XT. Why mess with success?

ARRI large-format lenses, and one Cooke

More ARRI large-format lenses

ARRI Look Library

A swatch book for looks? The ARRI Look Library is a complete set of 87 Alexa Mini /Amira Premium LUTs spanning a wide variety of looks, and it comes with a swatch book: each look is shown on a head shot, a street scene, and a car image, so you and your director can pick a look you like and load it into camera. Looks come in three different strengths and are tweakble, too. Alexa Minis and Amira Premiums shipped after May 1st already include the Look Library; you can upgrade earlier cameras (once they have SUP 5 installed) for around €280 if I recall correctly. And there’s even an iPhone app—no camera necessary if you just want to, uh, take a look (pun intended).

Lens Evaluation

Stay focused!

The Fujinon booth included a lens projector and Matthew Duclos of Duclos Lenses described how to use a projector to evaluate lenses.

Matthew Duclos adjusting zoom and focus, as seen by the camera…

…and how the scene looked to the eye.

While resolution measurement, brightness falloff, and image circle are easily understood, the projector holds surprises. Any geometric distortion you see on a projector is the inverse of what you’ll see while shooting with that lens: if the projector shows pincushioning, you’ll get barrel distortion instead. It makes sense when you think about it—the projector pushes the light of a rectilinear reticle out through the lens, the camera pulls the light of the real world in.

Lighting

Carpetlight

Carpetlight: the name pretty much sums it up. It’s an array of dimmable bi-color LEDs (daylight/tungsten) on fabric, using conductive threads for power. You can hang it, drape it, even tie it in knots, as with that drape on the right side of the booth.

Carpetlight at full brightness: That’s full sunlight falling on it at the front.

Hive Lighting

Hive Lighting has been providing power-efficient plasma lighting for a while, but the new-this-year WASP 100-C is a 5-color LED fixture. It’s fully dimmable, white-light tweakable from 1650K–8000K (plus any saturated color you’d like in 6º increments), and can be set up manually or over DMX.

WASP 100-C controls

The business end of the WASP

The WASP can drive a mini Source Four front end

You can fit a variety of lenses, reflectors, Chimeras, and other light shapers. The unit runs very cool. It’s about $1000.

LightBlade LEDs

LightBlade LEDs are a co-production of NBCUniversal and Cineo Lighting. From the press release:

At Cine Gear, three different NBCUniversal LightBlade configurations will be on display:  the LB50 stand-alone linear source, the LB1K, an integrated 4′ x 4′ soft source, and the LightBlade Ladder Light, which continues the familiar form factors of NBCUniversal’s backdrop lighting system. The lightweight 1.5″ x 48″, 50 watt light engines are designed to operate in a variety of physical layouts, including stand-alone operation.  NBCUniversal LightBlade products are versatile, lightweight, silent and flicker-free, and built to endure the wear and tear of staging and production.

NBCUniversal LightBlade products feature reference-quality variable white light from 2700K to 6500K. They have superior color rendering with typical CRI>90, R9>95, and a saturated color engine that works creatively with high-CRI white light. Additional products are being developed for use on location and on stage.

Yes, there’s a website, but at press time it only had three bullet points and a phone number. Presumably there will be more posted once products get closer to shipment.

And it wasn’t just LightBlade and the WASP; high-output, high-saturation, variable-color (yet tunable for “white” light) LEDs in sticks, tubes, blobs, and panels were all over the show.

Cameras & Rigs

Redrock Micro Retroflex / Sony A5100 (?) / Veydra 50mm

I always get a kick out of Redrock Micro’s Retroflex rigs. They convert small, EVF-less hybrid cameras into eye-level Super8-styled shooters.

Panaflex Platinum loading demo

The S.O.C. gave loading demos on a Panaflex Platinum. Film loading is still a useful skill… but for how much longer will that be true?

Zacuto GH5 cage (with optional top handle)

I’m usually ambivalent about Zacuto rigging, but they’ve done it right with this GH5 cage. With the accessory shoe unavailable (it’s where the GH5’s XLR adapter attaches), many hybrid camera cages use the 1/4″x20 tripod socket as their sole mounting point, with perhaps a couple of additional points of contact to keep the camera from rotating. But that’s not enough to prevent “oilcanning”, the flexing of the camera on its mounting point. What to do?

Zacuto GH5 cage left side

Zacuto GH5 cage right side

Zacuto adds two more hardpoints, bolted to the carry-strap eyelets, for a rigid three-point mount. That is how it’s Supposed To Be Done. As a bonus, the right grip is left unobstructed for a comfortable handhold; you can fly the caged GH5 at eye level about as easily as an uncaged GH5. Well done.

Steadicam M-1 Volt

The Steadicam M-1 Volt marries the passive inertial stabilization of the M-1 with the active servo stabilization of the Volt. It flies just like a normal Steadicam, but when you’re hands-off, it holds its orientation, without bobble or drift.

The inertial brains live in that slab beneath the power distro

Simple controls, tweakable on the fly

Roll and pitch servos gently keep the camera aimed yet allow the usual inputs when you want to steer

Mark Weingartner told me he thought it was likely the most significant advance in Steadicams since, um, the original Steadicam itself. I tend to agree.

Chin-cam from Radiant Images

I don’t know what it’s really called, but this odd rig captures the P.O.V. of your chin and feeds a Codex recorder on a backpack frame. It’s the sort of oddball rig that Radiant Images seems to specialize in.

Lunch

Death by chocolate-dipped strawberries

It’s not a proper shoot—or a show—without craft services. Ingallina’s Box Lunch handed out samples; I enjoyed a fresh and tasty pesto tortellini / mozzarella / tomato skewer.

Daylight Displays and HDR

SmallHD 3203 HDR. 32 inches, 1500 nits

SmallHD and Boland were showing field monitors in full sunlight.

I should also mention that Canon showed two HDR displays—inside, not in sunlight—including one that peaked at 2000 nits and could maintain that level across the entire screen, without dimming. Freaking gorgeous—as it should be, for $50,000.

Canon ran an HDR demo reel in which every single shot was properly graded: high brightness and wide color were used as accents, and no shot was “turned up to 11” just because it could be. Seeing HDR used with that level of restraint gives me hope for the future.

More Anamorphics

Atlas Orion anamorphic image, shot off a monitor

Anamorphics, cheap? Atlas Lens Co. showed their first Orions, a set of three 2x anamorphic primes for $8000 each ($24,000 for the set). The lenses cover Alexa open gate, open to T2, and focus down to 2.75 feet (40mm and 65mm) or 3.3 feet (100mm).

Orion 65mm on a GH5 via PL-to-MFT adapter

I pixel-peeped the lens on the GH5 using focus mag. Plenty of character, but not too much. Not quite as crisp as a Cooke but consistent at all apertures, so you won’t need to stop down for sharpness. That means plenty of shallow-focus, wide-aperture oval bokeh to enjoy. PL or EF mount, interchangeable. And if that’s not enough, three additional focal lengths are under design, too. Sweet.

DIT-Cart-In-A-Box

Acromove ThunderPack

Acromove is the new identity for Athens, Greece-based Motion FX. The ThunderPack line is a range of DIT-cart-in-a-Pelican-case products: power, storage, I/O, and networking in a robust carry-on form factor.

Acromove ThunderPack top panel

Li-ion batteries are caged on the left, with disconnect switches allowing air transport. Weather-shielded connectors allow video and data I/O, power in and out, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, SAS, HDMI, etc. Two antennas provide a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Acromove ThunderPack with solar-power array

This particular pack runs full-tilt for about six hours on battery power alone while driving a MacBook Pro, LTO drive, and card reader. With the solar panel for trickle-charging, it’ll  run all day long. You can also feed it AC if you have that luxury.

ThunderPack drive array

ThunderPack spec sheet

Panavision

Panavision HDR EVF

Panavision demonstrated an HDR EVF for the Millenium DXL camera. The OLED EVF peak around 600 nits and can maintain 300 nits across the entire screen. It looks fabulous—more importantly, it brings the HDR viewing experience directly to the camera, so the DP or operator can see the effect that really bright wall sconce in the background has on the perception of the picture.

PX-Pro color filter demo: unfiltered spectrum above, filtered below

Panavision also showed their PX-Pro color spectrum filter, the spectral shaping filter—doing things like cutting excess IR—used in front of the sensor. The PX-Pro uses absorptive dyes, not reflective layers, so it’s much less prone to angular color shifts, as the demo above shows. Panavision extols the PX-Pro’s characteristics of making “colors appear smoother and have more transition with less red contamination. This is very helpful in tertiary and complex colors in skin tones as well as improved transitions in lens flares and shadow-to-light gradients.”

Panavision Millenium DXL

Both the HDR EVF and the PX-Pro are used on the Millenium DXL, Panavision’s large-format production camera introduced last year. Michael Cioni tells me there are now “several dozen” of these cameras in daily use.

DJI

DJI Spark responding to hand gestures

DJI’s new Spark drone was a crowd-pleaser with its gestural interface. The $500 Spark is more of a consumer item than a pro cine tool, but it was still fun to see it respond like a well-trained dog, rising and falling on command and settling gently onto an upturned palm.

RED

RED No. 13, because it’s not a proper show unless there’s some weird and scary-looking RED camera somewhere

RED was in Stage 2 along with DJI and Panavision, and RED is probably why there were waiting lines to get in; the fire marshal didn’t want an overcrowded venue.

Hawk65 anamorphics on the RED booth

AirHollywood

AirHollywood aircraft cabin

AirHollywood brought an aircraft cabin to the Paramount lot.

AirHollywood aircraft cabin, reverse angle

AirHollywood aircraft cabin, exterior view

Yes, it’s a cabin built onto a flatbed: why go to the set when you can have the set come to you?

If you’re prefer to go to the set, AirHollywood has aircraft-themed shooting stages in the LA area, Victorville CA, and Atlanta GA. And when you’re done shooting, take  a trip back to the “decadence of the 1970s” with the Pan Am Experience. I am not making this stuff up.

End Credits

A tip of the hat to Jim Rolin of Videofax for the tipoffs on the ARRI Look Library and Atlas Orion lenses (Videofax has orders in for the Orions), and to Mark Weingartner, ASC regarding the Steadicam M-1 Volt. Thanks, guys!

As to the hat being tipped, maybe it’s this one…

  Disclosure: I went to Cine Gear Expo on my own dime (actually, it cost a considerable number of dimes once flights, hotel, and car were included). There’s no relationship between me and any of the companies mentioned, and no one paid me anything for coverage. However, as the Ingallina folks gave me free food, I figured I should at least include a picture of their dessert strawberries.

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