#Looks weird on a transparent background but looks normal in-game

[icedmetaltea]

Sprites 3.0!

Was still pretty happy with Kit so I didn't redo hers but if I do end up making new outfits for each part maybe I'll give her different hair or maybe a new uniform?? Idk.

Originals below cause differences aren't super obvious (they're the wrong size bc I didn't realize how they'd fit into renpy till testing it lol)

(I lost Jack's happy sprite sadge)

[istherewifiinhell]

scheduled hopefully for appropriate insanity causing hours

304 cant believe everyone in gin.tama just lives like this. the. speech convictions dramatic childhood flashbacks promises lifestyle. not just for main characters i guess (is this guy the shogun.....)

yay yay yippppppe the guys. yay ayay yippeee flashbacks. DONT DIE.

kaaaaaaruga. always suspected. if i understood her more id be obsessed. Confirmed. 2 second in pulling that. i was waiting for ur weakness bullshit. BEAT UP UR OLDER BROTHER. (<- comma. gay? ) kagura born on this planet.... half a second of taka.gin grappling could sustain me for a life time (gin puts his hands on him to throw him) hey fellas i know this is the Sword Penis show but have u considered going at it meg.op. style. for me?

omg baby flashback leftest infighting. sugi ur not the most oppressed person in the world u know. well u would say that scholarship baby zura. diddddddd they shape each others ideologies like that. where they reading theory together as shitty little kids -> well prob not this show but lets indulge

oh right gin former. ghost eating thing. showing up to the school yard beef with a real sword.

HI SHOU.YOU. HI. his little pogchamps

loveeee how they do the blood in this show looks like velvet, alll dark shimmery. also the editing. wooooo.

bushido speech. this shit is cool actually. also leon.ardo the ninja turtle would love it (03)

zura giving him fooooood oh no. little. verbal redirects of kindness transparency

NOOOO SUGI beats gin for the first time clip NO NONO SUGI LAUGHING SLOW MO CLIP (already tearing up)

ahhhh the position of the school and the attitudes of the backgrounder kids actually very affecting and interesting isnt it.... shou.youuuuuuuu the man(thing) that u are....

ep. 305

theeeeee babies. the babies.... the babiest guys. so so charmedddd by them charmeddd again by how. unexpected? maybe. sugi and zura stick together.... the remainers..... kidtoki why are uuuu such a perfectly cromulent. thing. little. video game character ass look. perfect. shitty cool affect. wanna pinch his little cheeks 10/10 letting this kid be the leader of the playground gang.

shou.youuuuuu shou.youuuuuu. such a. believably. man with his complexities but hes being around children so (friendly voice) 'thats right. what do you think' sooooo. yeah immediately believes 100 thousand percent he means everything he says so truly yeah i probably would get. horrible weird trauma give the givens too

THROW THE SWORDS AWAY YAYYYYYY. flashback. ohhhhhhh sugi. i little. weird bitch (said in. desperate scrambling fondness. i love the things that are wrong with him)

gin boots are so hot...

SOMEONE INTIMATE TO CUT AND CURSE!!!!!!! ohhhhh babes (what could i possible say abt it that hasnt been said) well i hope they fuck themselves to death about it

fightscene styles gt vs tf <- place holder i left for myself. that will be extricated to a diff post.

gin scrambling in the blood and dirt under all the promises he has given his loved one. YES BABE. thats exactly what ur supposed to be going

ohhhhhh godddddddd the fucking beheading scene back to back from both of their perspectives oh jesus fuck oh hell. im going to. cut and curse at someone else. i guess. THANKS HIM. THANKS HIM FOR IT. (crying) cool. thats normal. i feel normal about the man (shou.you)(gin)

what the fuck. oboro real? thats fucked up. THATS WHO TAKES THE EYE? (knew this techincally) WHO THE FUCK IS OBORO. (am seeing him) why is he a grown ass man i thought he was a kicked dog of a boy.

SUGI. SUGI YOU DUMB BITCH (loves him)(loves intractable positions)(loves the emotional incommunicability of reality)(loves an emotional confliction you can never resolve and just have to die about) he did it to save u fucking losers. cause his fucking teacher dad man asked him too. and thanked him for the service. ohhhhh u miserable fucks

why did you SAVE US. say it like that. damn.

oh youd do anything. youd kill shou.you. youd kill sugi himself. just to save the student your teacher loved. okay. okay. jesus. so you are the same. so your exactly the same person. your saying things that dont even make sense youve both lost any plane of reality cause you cant separate the things youve lost from the things you have. the very people youve saved are now reflected in those youve lost and youll both kill them to keep them alive. okay. no yeah thats fine cool lol.

(i guess sugis version would technically be said in reverse, you cant separate what youve have from what youve lost and the very person you lost are reflect in the one who saved you. and to keep him alive (crying gin.toki) youd kill him)

and MOST IMPORTANTLY. because you are the same person. you see yourself in him and him in yourself and u cant figure out where you end and he begins and your diametric opposed mirror reflection goals that lead you to taking. the exact same actions. okay. lol. OKAY. lol.

WHO THE FUCK IS OBORO. GET OUT OF HERE FREAK. i was talking.

id alt. im always saying this. or even just. Why is Oboro.

ep 306

heyyyyyy kagura! hiiiiii. youre not dead yay! hi. older brother. youre still here.

squints ohhhh these are. the cops? mayo man and. is this the other canonical gay sex haver or. (only has the normalest of second hand knowledge)

'if im just gonna end up as fertilizer anyway, i dont care if my path there is paved by roses or thorns.' damn dude. get out of the fucking. whatever ur in. and go become a metal music lyricist. what the fuck

oh shin.pachi. ur in this show.

googling. cant figure it out. whoever this green zombie bitch is sounds familiar. wish he had a name or smth.

damn there really is space in this show huh. thats crazy thats crazy. planet of the big hats vs planet of. umbrellas? anyone wanna watch space military anime.....

shogun 'i will protect the country were my friends live' what kagura said abt the planet. 'and to fulfill that goal, you'll even endure the deaths of your friends here?' gestures at the shou.you trolley problem. wow. that is tidy. good job recursive gin.tama

why do you grip that broken sword. you killed your teacher. you battled your friend. - my enemy is right here. WEVE NEVER CHANGED. weve all been fighting our own selves. ill stop him. even if it means having to kill him. but im also the one who understands how he feels better than anyone else

ohhhhhh gin. tama. ohhhhh gin. toki. i love u. i love u so much for just. saying insane thesis shit. like. yeah! YEAH OKAY! yeah thats. making out sloppy style with the narrative theming <- what do i mean by that.

be it killing him or protecting him. their both my job (gets so hard i pass out)

gin: says the most homoerotic twisted identity shit ive ever heard in my life that rests solely on. how unextractable gin. and sugi both are from each other due to. their love of shou.you. and thus. reflectionally. each other. oboro: his students are burning with hatred. <- IS HE STUPID?

and second question. upon reflection, looking at this grown ass man thing. do we have a classic ninja turtles adult beefing with teenagers situation. please tell me yes i will roast this man to shit.

(sugi also say gay twisted identity shit) [impact image font] we are. we are going to beat you to death.

[ending bumper comedy thing] u cannot deny their commitment to the bittism. need this shit for my annoying nitpick continuity fandoms. yeah no it was cause he pooped his pants. he shitted and farted.

[random4fun]

Here's a couple pieces of Norman that will appear in game. I love making game art.

The game will be called "Norman's Normal Life". It's being made in Scratch Studio.

Also, I had to go back and save them as Normal PNGs for this post because the transparent background made the drawing look weird lmao

It's supposed to look like sketches since these are sketches of Norman made by Norman in the drawing activity.

[thgreatestblue]

false god [part I]

➜ pairing: kokushibou x fem!reader ➜ warnings: mentions of torture, blood, prostitution. ➜ words: 4,7k ➜ a/n: hello everyone! I decided to split this fic in two parts or else it was going to be too much. I was so excited with this idea that I got carried away (as always). I even thought about only posting the ending, but i figured if i was really writing this concept, then I would commit to it! i hope you enjoy it! ➜ ao3

➜ false god [part II] summary: Turning a blind eye was easier when the money was enough to not send you to a brothel ever again, even if it meant looking away when blood was shed. Head above water and you will never drown. The mantra kept you safe for 3 years, but then six eyes pinned you down, and you found yourself swimming in an ocean you swore you weren’t ever diving in.

I.  

If it wasn't for the long and heavy curtains, the house would have been a really pretty and enjoyable place. However, you highly suspected that if it wasn't for the appearances, the house wouldn't even have windows to start with, so you weren't complaining. Although it was hard to see with only a small candle in your hands — the flame barely illuminating the few steps in front of you — you had grown used to the darkness by now. The last 3 years had taught you enough, and you knew the place like the palm of your hand. 

But what you didn't know was where Muzan’s daughter had hidden this time. It was a fairly common game you two played when her father wasn't home, one that allowed the poor girl to run free through the corridors with no fear of running into her father — that in the last few weeks has been more violent and angry than you've ever seen. If it was scary for you, that knew what Muzan truly was; you couldn't imagine what the girl felt seeing her father losing the facade; teeths becoming sharper at each smile, eyes glowing redder at each glance. 

You didn't know what had happened for the so composed and cold-hearted Muzan to start falling apart at the seams, as far as you knew, he never acted that way before; even the rest of the servants had started to gossip about his weird composure. Now, more often than not, you could hear screams filling the hallways like whispers from ghosts, haunting the poor souls that were still lucky to be alive in a place like this. It would give all your body goosebumps, a weird aftertaste that was bitter than any drink you could swallow down. 

You turn another corner, still trying to find the little girl. She was a sweet and well mannered girl, so easy to look after that you didn't think it was normal. How her eyes were always looking around, her tongue never daring to say more than the necessary, so quiet that most of the time you forget she was still in the room; her mother was the same. 

Two beautiful things that over time started to look more like paintings than real human beings, for society to appreciate, portraying a family that was as perfect as the colors Muzan chooses to show. And for their safety, you hoped they would stay just like that. Everybody at the house knew she wasn't really his daughter — you didn't want to think what happened to the real father, then. 

For the sake of their sanity, they didn't know what Muzan really was. Many of the servants didn't know either. And for some time, you wondered if it would have been a blessing being ignorant like that, not knowing what really took place in a house like this. Behind closed doors things could get even more terrifying, that even you couldn't imagine — no that you wanted, anyway. 

Turning a blind eye to the situation was something you had struggled with in the first year; the amount of blood and organs you had to clean was alarming, the unspoken fear that would be in the tip of everyone’s tongue but never daring to escape; it was heavy the air every time he walked in, but for most of the servants the fear was inexplicable. Not for you though, always going to sleep with the fear that your blood would be the next staining the floor of his office. 

It wasn't as if you had had a choice, neither Daki nor Muzan gave you one. It was keeping a secret or dying with it — and you wanted to live enough to see yourself out of this place, far away from these atrocities. Although it wasn't the best opinion, definitely wasn't the worst. Anything other than going back to the brothels of Yoshiwara; to the hands of strangers; to the dark nights where all you could do was scrub your skin until it was burning red. 

It was a time of your life you didn't like to revisit; it was locked away in the deepest of your mind, but somehow the key would always find its way back to your hand. It was inevitable to think about those years you spent on your knees, selling your body so you could eat the next day. Though, now that you worked for Muzan, those thoughts that haunted you as you laid your head on the pillow were replaced by blood, screams of agony and guts - you’re not sure which was worse. 

The candle burns quickly in your hand, you were running out of time to find the small girl. Although you had come up with a few rules to turn this game a little bit easier — like not entering any room, not hiding inside any closet — the child still put up a challenge; and again, you didn't want to think why she was so good at hiding.

“Ah! There you are!” You could see, even with the thin light, a silhouette that you were very familiar with by now. The dark hair almost blends with the background; she is gripping the candle with both hands, not looking at you even when you call her name, “I think this time you outdone your…”

As soon as you reach the little girl, you can feel the atmosphere change. There’s a dense feeling settling in your chest that spreads throughout your body like fire, almost pulling you down to your knees. The hair on the back of your neck stands up almost instantly, and you don't need to see what it is causing to know exactly what it is. The fear on the girl's face is enough to tell you that she had seen a Demon. 

“Stay behind me, honey.” You whisper as you put your body in front of her’s, eyes trying to focus on the figure by the end of the corridor. The little girl immediately grabs your leg, hiding behind it, you can feel her small body shaking against you. 

Not so far away, you catch a glimpse of a big silhouette walking towards you, it’s so massive that you can’t help but take a step back. It wasn't everyday you saw another Demon walking in those hallways, if ever. Besides Muzan, you only knew Daki by name; she has been the one who brought you to this place, after all. 

In the back of your mind you kept telling yourself if anything went wrong, it was still midday. You could open the curtains and stand in the sun; though you didn't know if you would be fast enough to avoid a tragedy. 

As the Demon stepped closer, the fragile flame from your candle trembles, even the fire was nervous at the change of events. The silence is maddening, all your instincts are screaming run! run! but you can’t move a foot. It takes only a few more steps for the figure to finally be illuminated by the light, the anticipation making your heart beat furiously against your ribcage. 

You weren't sure what you were expecting, but it definitely wasn't the man in front of you. His face is the first thing that the light reaches — and if you could hear the sound of your heart beating just a second ago, now it goes completely silent. 

His face is a shade so light that for a moment you thought it was transparent; so pale, but it looked soft to the touch. There’s a red mark that reminds you of flames covering half of the right side of his forehead, and another one on the left side of his cheeks, that goes down to his neck. However, what was more unsettling about him was his eyes. There are six of them, bright yellow irises surrounded in scarlet bloody sclera, staring directly at you. 

With only the candle light to illuminate the hallway, the scenario you found yourself in should’ve been a nightmare, but there was something about the Demon in front of you that made it tolerable. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, a polished posture you don't really see very often. How he didn't look like he was about to rip you apart - or maybe that was worse, because you didn't know what to expect from him.

It made you wonder who he was when still human. His hair was a shade darker than the shadows, perfectly framing his face; the ponytail was tied up on the top of his head, the rest of it falling graciously on his back, long and smooth. He was a very beautiful and elegant man; but even with the whole picture, those eyes were still unsettling, 

“I’m looking for Muzan-sama.” His voice is strong and heavy, cutting through the silence of the hallway like a thunder cuts through the night to announce the upcoming rain. The little girl yelps, gripping your thigh even harder. 

You immediately bow, prefering to stare at his feet than to stay under his intense gaze, “I’m afraid he’s not at home right now...My lord.” You decide to refer to him in a polite way, and he seems pleased by it. 

Not only was he a Demon, but he seemed important, more important than Daki for the looks of it. He wore a black and purple kimono; the material, even in the thin light, looked expensive. However, what made him hold such a powerful presence, was the katana attached to his waist. And if his six eyes weren't enough, there were more of them carving the handle of the sword. 

“And who are you?” The Demon asks, voice low and firm, making you shiver slightly. His eyes are fixed on your face, making you feel even more uneasy under his stare. He takes a few steps closer, the overpowering aura paralysing you right in the spot for a second. 

“I’m Y/N,” You answer, trying your best not to sound too scared. And quickly adds, not daring making him wait, “And this is Muzan-sama’s daughter.”

You put your hand at the top of the little girl’s head, her shakiness is palpable even from far away, and you can’t blame her. Despite living among Demons, you had wished she would grow up oblivious to what went down in this household. Apparently, an illusion can never last forever, only the truth remains untouched in eternity. You try your best to calm her down by running your fingers through her hair. Even though the wax of the candle burns your hand, you can stop gripping it, anything to help you stay calm. 

As if he was in a trance, he stops. Slowly catching your movements with his eyes, “Are you his wife?” 

The question takes you by surprise, and you have to blink a few times, raising your eyebrows in the process. Thank Gods I'm not, it’s the first thing that crosses your mind. However, the hesitation in his voice is concerning; and you have a hard time trying to swallow down what that could possibly imply. 

“No, I’m just a servant… My lord.” Telling him the truth was the only thing you could do right now.

If he decided to kill you because you weren't important, it was your fault for not trying to escape sooner. You had hoped this wasn't going to be the way you would end, but perhaps you had sold your fate on the day you saw Daki eating another girl.

The demon nods, and takes a few more steps closer. You involuntarily flinch, feeling his presence and intimidating aura hitting you like a train. Your breath gets caught on your throat as you watch his hand moving closer to your face. The nails of the little girl on your thing were definitely drawing blood right now. 

But instead of ripping your head off, he touches your cheek.

You didn't notice you had closed your eyes, but they snap open at the gentle touch. Your eyes grow wide at each suffocating second his fingers hover over your skin. Goosebumps spread all over your body as his strong fingers wrap around your chin, forcing you to look at him, at his six eyes. They seem to be studying you, hovering around your eyes, your cheeks, your mouth. 

It feels like you’re on display all over again. When men would come to the brothel and choose the girl they were going to use just by her looks; if she still had teeths, if they were still tight enough, if their good reputation was still intact. It made you want to choke each one of them, making them swallow down each word they had ever said until they were suffocating with their own nastiness. Right now, though, you just fell silent, letting him analyse your face as much as he wanted. You knew you would be dreaming with those yellow orbs from now on. 

“Tell him I’ll be waiting in his office.” He says, slowly easing the grip, giving your face one last look before finally letting go of your chin, and you averts your eyes as soon as his touch isn't on you anymore. 

The only movement your body manages to do is nod, all the rest goes numb with the tension that settles in your bones. Your breathing becomes shallow, body too paralized to function properly. There’s a growing pain on your jaw from clenching your teeth too hard. You and the little girl stay frozen in place as you watch him turning away, walking back from the direction he had come. 

A cold sensation settles on the pitch of your stomach as you watch the Demon walk away. If you were to trust your guts, this definitely wasn't the last time you would be seeing him. And for better or for worse, your guts were never wrong. 

II.

Walking through the hallways of Muzan’s house was different since the day you encountered that Demon. Each time turning a corner, you would hold your breath, take a double look at the shadows, looking for any sign of the man; as if he would appear from the dark and drag you to join him — no one was going to miss you anyway. Even after weeks, you could still feel his gaze hovering around your skin, the feeling of having so many eyes on you was maddening. But the worst was his touch, still managing to linger on your chin, ghostly haunting your days, and mostly your nights. 

Muzan’s daughter seemed to have forgotten the encounter; she didn't say a single thing about it, even after you took her to the kitchen to give her some tea. She was shaking so much you were afraid she would pass out. However, when you asked her about, she just shook her head, saying she was afraid because the man was intimidating. You wondered if her mind had just erased the few important details or if she was pretending that nothing was wrong for her own sanity. Either way, your heart aches for the little girl, but there was nothing you could do. 

Head above water and you will never drown. It has become your mantra since the first time you sold your body, since the first time you laid your eyes on a Demon - when you sold your soul to stay alive. It sure makes the food you eat taste bitter and the pillow on which you lay your head feels like a stone; but at least you are alive, right? 

You could only hope that the Demon Slayers were going to put an end to this, sooner or later. If the rumors were true, then things finally started to move, and by Muzan’s temper getting worse by each day, they were making some progress.

You just had to control your emotions, and pray that Muzan wasn't going to lash any of his anger on you; living with him for a few years made you realize that even the best servants could suffer a tragic destiny, no one was safe here. No one was ever safe around a Demon, after all. 

“Muzan-sama, do you need anything else?” 

It was still morning outside; a very pretty day from the glimpse you caught as you passed a slightly open curtain. As much as you wanted to leave the house and enjoy the sun, mornings like those were the worst for Muzan; where the small amount of light would make him so angry that you had lost account of how many times you had to clean his office after some unfortunate soul left a tiny ray of light enter the room. 

Muzan seemed to be in a good mood today; a rarity nowadays. He was wearing that same dangerous smile from the day he met you, plotting something in his mind and letting it show through his face; and if you were to guess, it wasn't a good sign. He had called for you, asked to pour him a drink — at this point you knew it was blood, just in some fancy bottle — and now was staring at you. 

“I heard you meet Kokushibou, Y/N… What do you think about him?”

“Who?” 

There’s a nagging feeling growing in the back of your mind as you watch Muzan dangerously smile at you. You had never heard that name before, but somehow your mind pictured the Demon from the other day straight away. If this conversation was about him, then you were definitely with a few problems. 

“Tall, long hair, six eyes… Does it ring a bell?” Muzan’s tone is playful, swinging the glass in his hand.

“He seems...” You hesitate, remembering his six eyes fixed on your face, his strong hand gripping your chin, and the intense threatening aura exhaling from him. You swallow down, but your throat feels dry, “...Strong.” 

“Always so observant,” He laughs, drinking a sip from the glass, “Of course he’s strong. He’s the upper moon one, stupid human.”

Wrong answer. Your mind screams, ready to push the alert button as soon as his features change in the slightest. The first time you encountered him you couldn't even speak, couldn't even breathe. The intensity of his threatening aura was so strong that you wanted to puke, scream, run away; but your feet never moved. It took you a long time to even manage to move a muscle when in his presence — all the time he acted amused, and you didn't expect less from a monster savouring the distress of a mere human.

You knew the Demon… Kokushibou was powerful just by his presence, but everything made sense now; the authoritarian semblance of dominance each of his movements seemed to carry, how different his aura was from Daki; even though she was powerful, she still acted like a self absorbed teenager. 

“But I’m asking about your first impression,” If he was angry, you couldn't tell, the way Muzan quickly changed emotions was scary, but most of the time, dangerous, “What do you really think about him?”

“He seems to be respectful and polite…” It wasn't a complete lie; Kokushibou did look like he was someone important in his other life, his clothes were clean and tidy. And not trying to kill you that day was a bonus, “And definitely more civil than Daki.”

Muzan laughs again, showing off his teeth, but seeming content with your answer. He studies you while drinking another sip from the glass, and you try to do your best by staying still, but under his gaze no one could ever remain calm, or sane. Your heart beats fast in your chest as the minutes drag by. It’s agonizing, staying in the same room as him for longer than necessary. 

“Well, I called you here to say that I don't need your services anymore.” He finally drops the bomb on your lap, and you can’t do much then stare at the explosion forming on your hands. 

“Did I do something wrong, Muzan-sama?” You ask, but your voice is weak. 

Panic starts to settle on your stomach, did you say something you shouldn't? Have you done something that he didn't like? Did he see through your facade and now was going to kill you? A torrent of thoughts starts to flood your mind as anxiety settles under your skin, making you sweat. 

“No, actually you're more than perfect.” Muzan says, rather uninterested “But i don't care about that child anymore, so i don't see why keep pretending”

A cold shiver runs down your spine as he says those words as if he was getting rid of trash. Somehow, in the back of your mind, you knew this moment was going to happen. It was a matter of time until Muzan decided to drop the act and move on as if nothing happened. 

He didn't care about anyone but himself. You could only hope he was merciful enough to kill them quickly, heart breaking with the thought of that little girl seeing him as the monster he truly was in her final moments before her death. What a nightmare, what twisted fucking world. 

“You've been great. It's a shame you don't want to become a demon, could be one of the best and easily one of my favorites.”

“It is an honor to hear that, Muzan-sama.” You don’t sound like yourself; you can’t even process what he’s saying while you think about mother and daughter, years trying their best to please Muzan only to find death by his own hands. Tears threaten to fall from your eyes but you hold them as much as you can, it would only piss him off seeing you being emotive, caring about someone. 

“Then why don't you want to turn into one?” 

When you don't answer, he sighs loudly, closing the book he was reading. The sound takes you out of your thoughts, making you jump; heartbeat on your ears. He murmurs something under his breath, you’re so lucky you don’t have any idea, before getting up. With his back to you, he studies the painting on the wall of his office. It’s a strange combination of flowers and blood, but it strangely suits him.

“Since you've a good reputation, I’ve already guaranteed another job for you.” Muzan turns his head, 

“Thank you so much…” You try to say between the cacophony of thoughts swinging around your head. It’s hard to keep the tears from falling down, it’s hard to think about anything else than the poor family being torn apart for his amusement. 

“Pack your things, you're going to work for Kokushibou now.”

There’s a painful pause on your heart, and you could swear you were going to collapse right in the moment. Your mind goes blank, fear crossing your eyes as you remember his touch on your chin, the cold yet burning feeling of his stare on each part of your face. 

“You just said you think he’s respectful, do you have a problem with him that you didn't tell me about it?” Muzan turns his head, red eyes glowing in the thin light of the room; it’s deadly.

“I don't, Muzan-sama. It’s going to be a honor.” You lie, because that’s the only thing you can do right now. 

“Well then, you're dismissed.”

You don’t know how you made it to your room, how you packed your things and cleaned the room you called home for years, one last time. It felt like you were numb to everything, still not being able to process what was happening, where you were going, and who you were going to be working for. At some point your cheeks were thick with tears but you didn't feel sad for yourself, not entirely, it was how abrupt the world was. How abrupt things changed and you couldn't have a single say about it. 

That’s why you never got attached to anyone, that’s why you never let your guard down. And even when you didn’t have any type of attachment, the world still manages to pull the rug beneath your feet. You don't even try to look for the little girl — not that you had the opportunity, either way. 

As you stare at the view from the window of the train, you can at least relax for the first time in years. Not being surrounded by the overpowering aura that Muzan always carried with himself was so relieving that you could feel yourself taking a few deep breaths, smelling the air of the mountains. Trying to enjoy the ride as much as you could, you didn't want to think about what kind of place Kokushibou lived, or how your life would be once you step in. 

It was night when you arrived at the designed station, it was far away from the city, and you were already missing the noise and the traffic, but maybe changing scenarios was something good - you had to keep telling yourself to be positive about this. It couldn't be worse than living with Muzan, right? Right.

You were welcomed by an old lady, she was waiting for you at the platform, waving at you as you got off the train. Since you didn't have many belongings, you only brought a small suitcase with you. 

“You must be Y/N, nice to meet you.” She gently says, smiling at you. 

“Yes, I am. Nice to meet you too.” You bow in respect. The old lady pats your head and you immediately feel safer. If the rest of the servants were like her, then maybe Kokushibou was indeed a respectful man.

The tension building up on your body slowly started to calm down as the servant explained what you would have to do. It was easy and simple, washing the bed sheets, cleaning the house, taking care of the garden. You never imagined yourself working under such a mundade setting like this; it was going to be interesting, to say the least. 

However, the odd feeling that something was wrong still lingered — your gut still poking you with worries and alerts — and you couldn't just ignore it, but for now, you tucked it underneath your hopes, wishing it was enough to keep them at bay. 

The wagon stopped in front of an elegant archway, and as you helped the old lady get down from it, you studied the beautiful front yard, with a colorful garden and a variety of trees. There was a pathway of cobblestones that led to the house; witch was big and very tradicional. 

Walking in silence towards the house, your eyes flew around, trying to enjoy each glimpse of nature. It has been so long since you have seen so many different colors, vibrant even under the moonlight. You touch a few flowers, fingers brushing against the delicate petals; the smell of them cleans your mind, making a tiny smile tug on the corner of your lips.

However, as soon as your eyes drifted back to the house, the tiny smile died on your lips, sending you back to reality. Kokushibou was standing right in front of the porch, his hand was resting on his sword. You held your breath as you finally arrived at the house, bowing as soon as you were introduced. 

Kokushibou studied you for a long moment before saying “Welcome, Y/N.” 

[grigori77]

2020 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 2)

20.  ONWARD – Disney and Pixar’s best digitally animated family feature of 2020 (beating the admittedly impressive Soul to the punch) clearly has a love of fantasy roleplay games like Dungeons & Dragons, its quirky modern-day AU take populated by fantastical races and creatures seemingly tailor-made for the geek crowd … needless to say, me and many of my friends absolutely loved it.  That doesn’t mean that the classic Disney ideals of love, family and believing in yourself have been side-lined in favour of fan-service – this is as heartfelt, affecting and tearful as their previous standouts, albeit with plenty of literal magic added to the metaphorical kind.  The central premise is a clever one – once upon a time, magic was commonplace, but over the years technology came along to make life easier, so that in the present day the various races (elves, centaurs, fauns, pixies, goblins and trolls among others) get along fine without it. Then timid elf Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) receives a wizard’s staff for his sixteenth birthday, a bequeathed gift from his father, who died before he was born, with instructions for a spell that could bring him back to life for one whole day.  Encouraged by his brash, over-confident wannabe adventurer elder brother Barley (Chris Pratt), Ian tries it out, only for the spell to backfire, leaving them with the animated bottom half of their father and just 24 hours to find a means to restore the rest of him before time runs out.  Cue an “epic quest” … needless to say, this is another top-notch offering from the original masters of the craft, a fun, affecting and thoroughly infectious family-friendly romp with a winning sense of humour and inspired, flawless world-building.  Holland and Pratt are both fantastic, their instantly believable, ill-at-ease little/big brother chemistry effortlessly driving the story through its ingenious paces, and the ensuing emotional fireworks are hilarious and heart-breaking in equal measure, while there’s typically excellent support from Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine from Seinfeld) as Ian and Barley’s put-upon but supportive mum, Laurel, Octavia Spencer as once-mighty adventurer-turned-restaurateur “Corey” the Manticore and Mel Rodriguez (Getting On, The Last Man On Earth) as overbearing centaur cop (and Laurel’s new boyfriend) Colt Bronco.  The film marks the sophomore feature gig for Dan Scanlon, who debuted with 2013’s sequel Monsters University, and while that was enjoyable enough I ultimately found it non-essential – no such verdict can be levelled against THIS film, the writer-director delivering magnificently in all categories, while the animation team have outdone themselves in every scene, from the exquisite environments and character/creature designs to some fantastic (and frequently delightfully bonkers) set-pieces, while there’s a veritable riot of brilliant RPG in-jokes to delight geekier viewers (gelatinous cube! XD).  Massive, unadulterated fun, frequently hilarious and absolutely BURSTING with Disney’s trademark heart, this was ALMOST my animated feature of the year.  More on that later …

19.  THE GENTLEMEN – Guy Ritchie’s been having a rough time with his last few movies (The Man From UNCLE didn’t do too bad but it wasn’t exactly a hit and was largely overlooked or simply ignored, while intended franchise-starter King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was largely derided and suffered badly on release, dying a quick death financially – it’s a shame on both counts, because I really liked them), so it’s nice to see him having some proper success with his latest, even if he has basically reverted to type to do it.  Still, when his newest London gangster flick is THIS GOOD it seems churlish to quibble – this really is what he does best, bringing together a collection of colourful geezers and shaking up their status quo, then standing back and letting us enjoy the bloody, expletive-riddled results. This particularly motley crew is another winning selection, led by Matthew McConaughey as ruthlessly successful cannabis baron Mickey Pearson, who’s looking to retire from the game by selling off his massive and highly lucrative enterprise for a most tidy sum (some $400,000,000 to be precise) to up-and-coming fellow American ex-pat Matthew Berger (Succession’s Jeremy Strong, oozing sleazy charm), only for local Chinese triad Dry Eye (Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding, chewing the scenery with enthusiasm) to start throwing spanners into the works with the intention of nabbing the deal for himself for a significant discount.  Needless to say Mickey’s not about to let that happen … McConaughey is ON FIRE here, the best he’s been since Dallas Buyers Club in my opinion, clearly having great fun sinking his teeth into this rich character and Ritchie’s typically sparkling, razor-witted dialogue, and he’s ably supported by a quality ensemble cast, particularly co-star Charlie Hunnam as Mickey’s ice-cold, steel-nerved right-hand-man Raymond Smith, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery as his classy, strong-willed wife Rosalind, Colin Farrell as a wise-cracking, quietly exasperated MMA trainer and small-time hood simply known as the Coach (who gets many of the film’s best lines), and, most notably, Hugh Grant as the film’s nominal narrator, thoroughly morally bankrupt private investigator Fletcher, who consistently steals the film.  This is Guy Ritchie at his very best – a twisty rug-puller of a plot that constantly leaves you guessing, brilliantly observed and richly drawn characters you can’t help loving in spite of the fact there’s not a single hero among them, a deliciously unapologetic, politically incorrect sense of humour and a killer soundtrack.  Getting the cinematic year off to a phenomenal start, it’s EASILY Ritchie’s best film since Sherlock Holmes, and a strong call-back to the heady days of Snatch (STILL my favourite) and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.  Here’s hoping he’s on a roll again, eh?

18.  SPONTANEOUS – one of the year’s biggest under-the-radar surprise hits for me was one which I actually might not have caught if things had been a little more normal and ordered.  Thankfully with all the lockdown and cinematic shutdown bollocks going on, this fantastically subversive and deeply satirical indie teen comedy horror came along at the perfect time, and I completely flipped out over it.  Now those who know me know I don’t tend to gravitate towards teen cinema, but like all those other exceptions I’ve loved over the years, this one had a brilliantly compulsive hook I just couldn’t turn down – small-town high-schooler Mara (Knives Out and Netflix’ Cursed’s Katherine Langford) is your typical cool outsider kid, smart, snarky and just putting up with the scene until she can graduate and get as far away as possible … until one day in her senior year one of her classmates just inexplicably explodes. Like her peers, she’s shocked and she mourns, then starts to move on … until it happens again.  As the death toll among the senior class begins to mount, it becomes clear something weird is going on, but Mara has other things on her mind because the crisis has, for her, had an unexpected benefit – without it she wouldn’t have fallen in love with like-minded oddball new kid Dylan (Lean On Pete and Words On Bathroom Walls’ Charlie Plummer). The future’s looking bright, but only if they can both live to see it … this is a wickedly intelligent film, powered by a skilfully executed script and a wonderfully likeable young cast who consistently steer their characters around the potential cliched pitfalls of this kind of cinema, while debuting writer-director Brian Duffield (already a rising star thanks to scripts for Underwater, The Babysitter and blacklist darling Jane Got a Gun among others) show he’s got as much talent and flair for crafting truly inspired cinema as he has for thinking it up in the first place, delivering some impressively offbeat set-pieces and several neat twists you frequently don’t see coming ahead of time.  Langford and Plummer as a sassy, spicy pair who are easy to root for without ever getting cloying or sweet, while there’s glowing support from the likes of Hayley Law (Rioverdale, Altered Carbon, The New Romantic) as Mara’s best friend Tess, Piper Perabo and Transparent’s Rob Huebel as her increasingly concerned parents, and Insecure’s Yvonne Orji as Agent Rosetti, the beleaguered government employee sent to spearhead the investigation into exactly what’s happening to these kids.  Quirky, offbeat and endlessly inventive, this is one of those interesting instances where I’m glad they pushed the horror elements into the background so we could concentrate on the comedy, but more importantly these wonderfully well-realised and vital characters – there are some skilfully executed shocks, but far more deep belly laughs, and there’s bucketloads of heart to eclipse the gore.  Another winning debut from a talent I intend to watch with great interest in the future.

17.  HAMILTON – arriving just as Black Lives Matter reached fever-pitch levels, this feature presentation of the runaway Broadway musical smash-hit could not have been better timed. Shot over three nights during the show’s 2016 run with the original cast and cut together with specially created “setup shots”, it’s an immersive experience that at once puts you right in amongst the audience (at times almost a character themselves, never seen but DEFINITELY heard) but also lets you experience the action up close.  And what action – it’s an incredible show, a thoroughly fascinating piece of work that reads like something very staid and proper on paper (an all-encompassing biographical account of the life and times of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton) but, in execution, becomes something very different and EXTREMELY vital.  The execution certainly couldn’t be further from the usual period biopic fare this kind of historical subject matter usually gets (although in the face of recent high quality revisionist takes like Marie Antoinette, The Great and Tesla it’s not SO surprising), while the cast is not at all what you’d expect – with very few notable exceptions the cast is almost entirely people of colour, despite the fact that the real life individuals they’re playing were all very white indeed.  Every single one of them is also an absolute revelation – the show’s writer-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (already riding high on the success of In the Heights) carries the central role of Hamilton with effortless charm and raw star power, Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash, Murder On the Orient Express) is duplicitously complex as his constant nemesis Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (In the Heights, Moana, Bull) oozes integrity and nobility as his mentor and friend George Washington, Phillipa Soo is sweet and classy as his wife Eliza while Renée Elise Goldsberry (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Jacks, Altered Carbon) is fiery and statuesque as her sister Angelica Schuyler (the one who got away), and Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter) consistently steals every scene he’s in as fiendish yet childish fan favourite King George III, but the show (and the film) ultimately belongs to veritable powerhouse Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting, The Good Lord Bird) in a spectacular duel role, starting subtly but gaining scene-stealing momentum as French Revolutionary Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, before EXPLODING onto the stage in the second half as indomitable third American President Thomas Jefferson.  Not having seen the stage show, I was taken completely by surprise by this, revelling in its revisionist genius and offbeat, quirky hip-hop charm, spellbound by the skilful ease with which is takes the sometimes quite dull historical fact and skews it into something consistently entertaining and absorbing, transported by the catchy earworm musical numbers and thoroughly tickled by the delightfully cheeky sense of humour strung throughout (at least when I wasn’t having my heart broken by moments of raw dramatic power). Altogether it’s a pretty unique cinematic experience I wish I could have actually gotten to see on the big screen, and one I’ve consistently recommended to all my friends, even the ones who don’t usually like musicals.  As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t need a proper Les Misérables style screen adaptation – this is about as perfect a presentation as the show could possibly hope for.

16.  SPUTNIK – summer’s horror highlight (despite SERIOUSLY tough competition) was a guaranteed sleeper hit that I almost missed entirely, stumbling across the trailer one day on YouTube and getting bowled over by its potential, prompting me to hunt it down by any means necessary.  The feature debut of Russian director Egor Abramenko, this first contact sci-fi chiller is about as far from E.T. as it’s possible to get, sharing some of the same DNA as Carpenter’s The Thing but proudly carving its own path with consummate skill and definitely signalling great things to come from its brand new helmer and relative unknown screenwriters Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev.  Oksana Akinshina (probably best known in the West for her powerful climactic cameo in The Bourne Supremacy) is the beating heart of the film as neurophysiologist Tatyana Yuryevna Klimova, brought in to aid in the investigation in the Russian wilderness circa 1983 after an orbital research mission goes horribly wrong.  One of the cosmonauts dies horribly, while the other, Konstantin (The Duelist’s Pyotr Fyodorov) seems unharmed, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s now the host for something decidedly extraterrestrial and potentially terrifying, and as Tatyana becomes more deeply embroiled in her assignment she comes to realise that her superiors, particularly mysterious Red Army project leader Colonel Semiradov (The PyraMMMid’s Fyodor Bondarchuk), have far more insidious plans for Konstantin and his new “friend” than she could ever imagine. This is about as dark, intense and nightmarish as this particular sub-genre gets, a magnificently icky body horror that slowly builds its tension as we’re gradually exposed to the various truths and the awful gravity of the situation slowly reveals itself, punctuated by skilfully executed shocks and some particularly horrifying moments when the evils inflicted by the humans in charge prove far worse than anything the alien can do, while the ridiculously talented writers have a field day pulling the rug out from under us again and again, never going for the obvious twist and keeping us guessing right to the devastating ending, while the beautifully crafted digital creature effects are nothing short of astonishing and thoroughly creepy.  Akinshina dominates the film with her unbridled grace, vulnerability and integrity, the relationship that develops between Tatyana and Konstantin (Fyodorov delivering a beautifully understated turn belying deep inner turmoil) feeling realistically earned as it goes from tentatively wary to tragically bittersweet, while Bondarchuk invests the Colonel with a nuanced air of tarnished authority and restrained brutality that made him one of my top screen villains for the year.  One of 2020’s great sleeper hits, I can’t speak of this film highly enough – it’s a genuine revelation, an instant classic for whom I’ll sing its praises for years to come, and I wish enormous future success to all the creative talents involved.

15.  THE INVISIBLE MAN – looks like third time’s a charm for Leigh Whannell, writer-director of my ALMOST horror movie of the year (more on that later) – while he’s had immense success as a horror writer over the years (co-creator of both the Saw and Insidious franchises), as a director his first two features haven’t exactly set the world alight, with debut Insidious: Chapter III garnering similar takes to the rest of the series but ultimately turning out to be a bit of a damp squib quality-wise, while his second feature Upgrade was a stone-cold masterpiece that was (rightly) EXTREMELY well received critically, but ultimately snuck in under the radar and has remained a stubbornly hidden gem since. No such problems with his third feature, though – his latest collaboration with producer Jason Blum and the insanely lucrative Blumhouse Pictures has proven a massive hit both financially AND with reviewers, and deservedly so.  Having given up on trying to create a shared cinematic universe inhabited by their classic monsters, Universal resolved to concentrate on standalones to showcase their elite properties, and their first try is a rousing success, Whannell bringing HG Wells’ dark and devious human monster smack into the 21st Century as only he can.  The result is a surprisingly subtle piece of work, much more a lethally precise exercise in cinematic sleight of hand and extraordinary acting than flashy visual effects, strictly adhering to the Blumhouse credo of maximum returns for minimum bucks as the story is stripped down to its bare essentials and allowed to play out without any unnecessary weight.  The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elizabeth Moss once again confirms what a masterful actress she is as she brings all her performing weapons to bear in the role of Cecelia “Cee” Kass, the cloistered wife of affluent but monstrously abusive optics pioneer Aidan Griffin (Netflix’ The Haunting of Hill House’s Oliver Jackson-Cohen), who escapes his clutches in the furiously tense opening sequence and goes to ground with the help of her closest childhood friend, San Francisco cop James Lanier (Leverage’s Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter Sydney (A Wrinkle in Time’s Storm Reid).  Two weeks later, Aidan commits suicide, leaving Cee with a fortune to start her life over (with the proviso that she’s never ruled mentally incompetent), but as she tries to find her way in the world again little things start going wrong for her, and she begins to question if there might be something insidious going on.  As her nerves start to unravel, she begins to suspect that Aidan is still alive, still very much in her life, fiendishly toying with her and her friends, but no-one can see him.  Whannell plays her paranoia up for all it’s worth, skilfully teasing out the scares so that, just like her friends, we begin to wonder if it might all be in her head after all, before a spectacular mid-movie reveal throws the switch into high gear and the true threat becomes clear.  The lion’s share of the film’s immense success must of course go to Moss – her performance is BEYOND a revelation, a blistering career best that totally powers the whole enterprise, and it goes without saying that she’s the best thing in this.  Even so, she has sterling support from Hodge and Reid, as well as Love Child’s Harriet Dyer as Cee’s estranged big sister Emily and Wonderland’s Michael Dorman as Adrian’s slimy, spineless lawyer brother Tom, and, while he doesn’t have much actual (ahem) “screen time”, Jackson-Cohen delivers a fantastically icy, subtly malevolent turn which casts a large “shadow” over the film.  This is one of my very favourite Blumhouse films, a pitch-perfect psychological chiller that keeps the tension cranked up unbearably tight and never lets go, Whannell once again displaying uncanny skill with expert jump-scares, knuckle-whitening chills and a truly astounding standout set-piece that easily goes down as one of the top action sequences of 2020. Undoubtedly the best version of Wells’ story to date, this goes a long way in repairing the damage of Universal’s abortive “Dark Universe” efforts, as well as showcasing a filmmaking master at the very height of his talents.

14.  EXTRACTION – the Coronavirus certainly has threw a massive spanner in the works of the year’s cinematic calendar – among many other casualties to the blockbuster shunt, the latest (and most long-awaited) MCU movie, Black Widow, should have opened to further record-breaking box office success at the end of spring, but instead the theatres were all closed and virtually all the heavyweights were pushed back or shelved indefinitely.  Thank God, then, for the streaming services, particularly Hulu, Amazon and Netflix, the latter of which provided a perfect movie for us to see through the key transition into the summer blockbuster season, an explosively flashy big budget action thriller ushered in by MCU alumni the Russo Brothers (who produced and co-wrote this adaptation of Ciudad, a graphic novel that Joe Russo co-created with Ande Parks and Fernando Leon Gonzalez) and barely able to contain the sheer star-power wattage of its lead, Thor himself.  Chris Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a former Australian SAS operative who hires out his services to an extraction operation under the command of mercenary Nik Khan (The Patience Stone’s Golshifteh Farahani), brought in to liberate Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal in his first major role), the pre-teen son of incarcerated Indian crime lord Ovi Sr. (Pankaj Tripathi), who has been abducted by Bangladeshi rival Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli).  The rescue itself goes perfectly, but when the time comes for the hand-off the team is double-crossed and Tyler is left stranded in the middle of Dhaka with no choice but to keep Ovi alive as every corrupt cop and street gang in the city closes in around them.  This is the feature debut of Sam Hargrave, the latest stuntman to try his hand at directing, so he certainly knows his way around an action set-piece, and the result is a thoroughly breathless adrenaline rush of a film, bursting at the seams with spectacular fights, gun battles and car chases, dominated by a stunning sustained sequence that plays out in one long shot, guaranteed to leave jaws lying on the floor.  Not that there should be any surprise – Hargrave cut his teeth as a stunt coordinator for the Russos on Captain America: Civil War and their Avengers films.  That said, he displays strong talent for the quieter disciplines of filmmaking too, delivering quality character development and drawing out consistently noteworthy performances from his cast.  Of course, Hemsworth can do the action stuff in his sleep, but there’s a lot more to Tyler than just his muscle, the MCU veteran investing him with real wounded vulnerability and a tragic fatalism which colours every scene, while Jaiswal is exceptional throughout, showing plenty of promise for the future, and there’s strong support from Farahani and Painyuli, as well as Stranger Things’ David Harbour as world-weary retired merc Gaspard, and a particularly impressive, muscular turn from Randeep Hooda (Once Upon a Time in Mumbai) as Saju, a former Para and Ovi’s bodyguard, who’s determined to take possession of the boy himself, even if he has to go through Tyler to get him.  This is action cinema that really deserves to be seen on the big screen – I watched it twice in a week and would happily have paid for two trips to the cinema for it if I could have.  As we looked down the barrel of a summer season largely devoid of blockbuster fare, I couldn’t recommend this enough.  Thank the gods for Netflix …

13.  THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – although it’s definitely a film that really benefitted enormously from releasing on Netflix during the various lockdowns, this was one of the blessed few I actually got to see during one of the UK’s frustratingly rare lulls when cinemas were actually OPEN.  Rather perversely it therefore became one of my favourite cinematic experiences of 2020, but then I’m just as much a fan of well-made cerebral films as I am of the big, immersive blockbuster EXPERIENCES, so this probably still would have been a standout in a normal year. Certainly if this was a purely CRITICAL list for the year this probably would have placed high in the Top Ten … Aaron Sorkin is a writer whose work I have ardently admired ever since he went from esteemed playwright to in-demand talent for both the big screen AND the small with A Few Good Men, and TTOTC7 is just another in a long line of consistently impressive, flawlessly written works rife with addictive quickfire dialogue, beautifully observed characters and rewardingly propulsive narrative storytelling (therefore resting comfortably amongst the well-respected likes of The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball and The Social Network).  It also marks his second feature as a director (after fascinating and incendiary debut Molly’s Game), and once again he’s gone for true story over fiction, tackling the still controversial subject of the infamous 1968 trial of the “ringleaders” of the infamous riots which marred Chicago’s Diplomatic National Convention five months earlier, in which thousands of hippies and college students protesting the Vietnam War clashed with police.  Spurred on by the newly-instated Presidential Administration of Richard Nixon to make some examples, hungry up-and-coming prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is confident in his case, while the Seven – who include respected and astute student activist Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and confrontational counterculture firebrands Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Succession’s Jeremy Strong) – are the clear underdogs.  They’re a divided bunch (particularly Hayden and Hoffman, who never mince their words about what little regard they hold for each other), and they’re up against the combined might of the U.S. Government, while all they have on their side is pro-bono lawyer and civil rights activist William Kunstler (Mark Rylance), who’s sharp, driven and thoroughly committed to the cause but clearly massively outmatched … not to mention the fact that the judge presiding over the case is Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), a fierce and uncompromising conservative who’s clearly 100% on the Administration’s side, and who might in fact be stark raving mad (he also frequently goes to great lengths to make it clear to all concerned that he is NOT related to Abbie).  Much as we’ve come to expect from Sorkin, this is cinema of grand ideals and strong characters, not big spectacle and hard action, and all the better for it – he’s proved time and again that he’s one of the very best creative minds in Hollywood when it comes to intelligent, thought-provoking and engrossing thinking-man’s entertainment, and this is pure par for the course, keeping us glued to the screen from the skilfully-executed whirlwind introductory montage to the powerfully cathartic climax, and every varied and brilliant scene in-between.  This is heady stuff, focusing on what’s still an extremely thorny issue made all the more urgently relevant and timely given what was (and still is) going on in American politics at the time, and everyone involved here was clearly fully committed to making the film as palpable, powerful and resonant as possible for the viewer, no matter their nationality or political inclination.  Also typical for a Sorkin film, the cast are exceptional, everyone clearly having the wildest time getting their teeth into their finely-drawn characters and that magnificent dialogue – Redmayne and Baron Cohen are compellingly complimentary intellectual antagonists given their radically different approaches and their roles’ polar opposite energies, while Rylance delivers another pitch-perfect, simply ASTOUNDING performance that once again marks him as one of the very best actors of his generation, and there are particularly meaty turns from Strong, Langella, Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (as besieged Black Panther Bobby Seale) and a potent late appearance from Michael Keaton that sear themselves into the memory long after viewing. Altogether then, this is a phenomenal film which deserves to be seen no matter the format, a thought-provoking and undeniably IMPORTANT masterwork from a master cinematic storyteller that says as much about the world we live in now as the decidedly turbulent times it portrays …

12.  GREYHOUND – when the cinemas closed back in March, the fate of many of the major summer blockbusters we’d been looking forward to was thrown into terrible doubt. Some were pushed back to more amenable dates in the autumn or winter (which even then ultimately proved frustratingly ambitious), others knocked back a whole year to fill summer slots for 2021, but more than a few simply dropped off the radar entirely with the terrible words “postponed until further notice” stamped on them, and I lamented them all, this one in particular.  It hung in there longer than some, stubbornly holding onto its June release slot for as long as possible, but eventually it gave up the ghost too … but thanks to Apple TV+, not for long, ultimately releasing less than a month later than intended.  Thankfully the film itself was worth the fuss, a taut World War II suspense thriller that’s all killer, no filler – set during the infamous Battle of the Atlantic, it portrays the constant life-or-death struggle faced by the Allied warships assigned to escort the transport convoys as they crossed the ocean, defending their charges from German U-boats.  Adapted from C.S. Forester’s famous 1955 novel The Good Shepherd by Tom Hanks and directed by Aaron Schneider (Get Low), the narrative focuses on the crew of the escort leader, American destroyer USS Fletcher, codenamed “Greyhound”, and in particular its captain, Commander Ernest Krause (Hanks), a career sailor serving his first command.  As they cross “the Pit”, the most dangerous middle stretch of the journey where they spend days without air-cover, they find themselves shadowed by “the Wolf Pack”, a particularly cunning group of German submarines that begin to pick away at the convoy’s stragglers.  Faced with daunting odds, a dwindling supply of vital depth-charges and a ruthless, persistent enemy, Krause must make hard choices to bring his ships home safe … jumping into the thick of the action within the first ten minutes and maintaining its tension for the remainder of the trim 90-minute run, this is screen suspense par excellence, a sleek textbook example of how to craft a compelling big screen knuckle-whitener with zero fat and maximum reward, delivering a series of desperate naval scraps packed with hide-and-seek intensity, heart-in-mouth near-misses and fist-in-air cathartic payoffs by the bucket-load.  Hanks is subtly magnificent, the calm centre of the narrative storm as a supposed newcomer to this battle arena who could have been BORN for it, bringing to mind his similarly unflappable in Captain Phillips and certainly not suffering by comparison; by and large he’s the focus point, but other crew members make strong (if sometimes quite brief) impressions, particularly Stephen Graham as Krause’s reliably seasoned XO, Lt. Commander Charlie Cole, The Magnificent Seven’s Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Just Mercy’s Rob Morgan, while Elisabeth Shue does a lot with a very small part in brief flashbacks as Krause’s fiancée Evelyn. Relentless, exhilarating and thoroughly unforgettable, this was one of the true action highlights of the summer, and one hell of a war flick.  I’m so glad it made the cut for the summer …

11.  PROJECT POWER – with Marvel and DC pushing their tent-pole titles back in the face of COVID, the usual superhero antics we’ve come to expect for the summer were pretty thin on the ground in 2020, leading us to find our geeky fan thrills elsewhere. Unfortunately, pickings were frustratingly slim – Korean comic book actioner Gundala was entertaining but workmanlike, while Thor AU Mortal was underwhelming despite strong direction from Troll Hunter’s André Øvredal, and The New Mutants just got shat on by the studio and its distributors and no mistake – thank the Gods, then, for Netflix, once again riding to the rescue with this enjoyably offbeat super-thriller, which takes an intriguing central premise and really runs with it.  New designer drug Power has hit the streets of New Orleans, able to give anyone who takes it a superpower for five minutes … the only problem is, until you try it, you don’t know what your own unique talent is – for some, it could mean five minutes of invisibility, or insane levels of super-strength, but other powers can be potentially lethal, the really unlucky buggers just blowing up on the spot.  Robin (The Hate U Give’s Dominique Fishback) is a teenage Power-pusher with dreams of becoming a rap star, dealing the pills so she can help her diabetic mum; Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one of her customers, a police detective who uses his power of near invulnerability to even the playing field when supercharged crims cause a disturbance.  Their lives are turned upside down when Art (Jamie Foxx) arrives in town – he’s a seriously badass ex-soldier determined to hunt down the source of Power by any means necessary, and he’s not above tearing the Big Easy apart to do it. This is a fun, gleefully infectious rollercoaster that doesn’t take itself too seriously, revelling in the anarchic potential of its premise and crafting some suitably OTT effects-driven chaos brought to pleasingly visceral fruition by its skilfully inventive director, Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Nerve, Viral), while Mattson Tomlin (the screenwriter of the DCEU’s oft-delayed, incendiary headline act The Batman) takes the story in some very interesting directions and poses fascinating questions about what Power’s TRULY capable of.  Gordon-Levitt and Fishback are both brilliant, the latter particularly impressing in what’s sure to be a major breakthrough role for her, and the friendship their characters share is pretty adorable, while Foxx really is a force to be reckoned with, pretty chill even when he’s in deep shit but fully capable of turning into a bona fide killing machine at the flip of a switch, and there’s strong support from Westworld’s Rodrigo Santoro as Biggie, Power’s delightfully oily kingpin, Courtney B. Vance as Frank’s by-the-book superior, Captain Crane, Amy Landecker as Gardner, the morally bankrupt CIA spook responsible for the drug’s production, and Machine Gun Kelly as Newt, a Power dealer whose pyrotechnic “gift” really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Exciting, inventive, frequently amusing and infectiously likeable, this was some of the most uncomplicated cinematic fun I had all summer.  Not bad for something which I’m sure was originally destined to become one of the season’s B-list features …

[transhoverfish]

What are everyone's "abilities" in Survivors? Ryley has good hearing and Milo glows but what do the others have?

!!! YOU HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT MY AU !!! THE FLOODGATES OF YELLING HAVE OPENED!!

OK SO. as u mentioned ryley has good hearing and milo glows. basically,

ryley = good hearing

milo = glowy boy

emily = electric detection (cooler than i describe rn my vocabulary is small)

danby = like emily's but reverse. controls electromagnetic things

roman = night vision

jochi = the most superpower like one, he got quick regeneration.

avery = telepathy!

bart = also kind of telepathy but more like future telepathy. he has future vision.

and i. never thought of one for ozzy actually and at this point i have no idea what to give them that wouldn't have been brought up prior so. u know genetics are weird! they just dont have anything ig. nobody look at me LABDKABDLABD

AND ALSO paul and marg have powers! paul got that peeper enzyme carrier thing, and marg got the very funny power of feeling others emotions. yes that includes the fish. yes this is one of the primary reasons she didnt kill paul over a decade of dealing w him. yes she hates it.

and the vesper haven't been sick long enough to develop anything! or at least thats what im going with bc i havent thought of anything for them yet 😔

AND NOW: LONGER EXPLANATIONS. IM GONNA GET CARRIED AWAY SO ITS UNDER A READ-MORE.

first off on the list: bart! so bart.. kinda has futuristic visions?? but the things he sees are not set in the stone,, as in if he dreams about smth (a lot like ryley can!) it is possible to change those events! most of these visions/telepathy type stuff were bc of the emperor and warpers, and also al-an! once the sea emp died and the warpers all calmed down his powers kind of go away a bit. i think i wrote al-an sort of mentioning it in one chap of awa?? but its only kind of implied. so he has rlly similar powers to avery except he can't tell what others are thinking and he can only kind of tell how his closest friends r feeling. so right now bart pretty much doesn't have powers! he can communicate w the warpers and sea emps much easier than the others tho (he's the only one that can talk to warpers! im not sure he'd get along w them after being hunted down by them for like 12 years though KABDLSBRLSHD)

avery has telepathy! this is because when he first shows up he jokes about having telepathy and i was like "haha. WAIT." and then he got telepathy! i realize its a bad idea to not come up with their powers until as im writing but uhhh well. i never said i was a fantastic writer who's smart. KANROSHROSBF.

he also kind of had marg's empathy ability but wayyy dialed back. he can only tell how other humans are feeling and he can only vaguely understand it as opposed to feeling the emotions himself like marg does. so he can kind of tell how others are feeling and he can tell what theyre thinking about! unless of course for plot convince he can't. strong emotions, especially strong negative emotions (ie. fear) can overwhelm him and makes his powers stop working. and if someone is convinced they're right then he wont b able to tell they're lying/hiding something! yay plot convenience!!

roman has night vision. i have no way of making this sound cool he just straight up can see really well in the dark. like a cat. most of the powers were based off where they originally landed and what would help them in that area! and roman landed in the sparse reef, which is so dark all the time i cry thinking about it. so he has night vision! his poor eyesight is probably all kinds of fucked up now tho.

jochi has regeneration abilities! now i know this might sound a bit much but he just heals from cuts and stuff faster and like. he bones heal fast. and he's more likely to survive smth that might usually kill someone, but its like a 10% higher chance of living nothing too much. he doesn't rlly get scars as much as the others, and its healed his old ones a bit more! this is by far the most unrealistic power of them all, but ya know its alien fish planet game who cares. basically bc his life support systems failed his spine got all fucked up and he got infected faster bc he was barely alive for the first few days and spent a lot of time w bart who was looking after him. power helped fix his back, but he still has a rlly bad limp and pretty much constant pain. big mood there khasar 😔✊

emily can detect electromagnetic waves! works best underwater. kind of like ryley's, but instead of hearing noises she can only hear anything electric, like vehicles or ampeels or heartbeats. gets all fucked up during thunderstorms though sadly. she's the only other one that can kind of hear warpers and can tell when ones about to warp around but she cant actually talk back to them. pretty sick if u ask me tho.

danby has p similar powers to her bc ampeels also spawn in the bulb zone. except he can sense them at a much smaller distance, cant hear warpers, and can control the waves around him! mostly just his own tho. so like, he can quiet his heartbeat or make it stop all together. scary power that he does not know how to control. uh oh. but he can also control other creatures a bit! he's very good at hiding bc of this, which is nice bc he loves to hide from scary things. very big mood once again.

milo is glowing powers! looks a lot like the transparency of a ghost levi or a crabsquid, although he isn't as see through as them. you can def make out like veins but not bones or organs. his powers are activated by touch, the more force behind will create more glow and more transparency! a poke = goes away within a few seconds, a slap = stays for a minute or so. instead of bruises, he just glows until the bruise would normally go away. he's basically a living glowstick. i have another joke for this but i cannot physically convince myself to type it bc its some shit emily would say to him and i cannot embarrass him like that LABDLABDKABAKD

andd ryley's super hearing! can hear basically everything within a mile radius at all times. im bad at math and i don't know the metric system but i think that's like around 1k meters. wait does the metric system use mile already. no. ONCE AGAIN NEVER SAID I WAS SMART.

OK ANYWAYS back on track! this means he can hear about half of the crater at all times. he's gotten p good at blocking out background noise and anything far away. typically only hears everything within like 300 meters of himself. so when he does get back to just hearing everything its like. u ever take out headphones in a busy place and everything kinda hurts for a few seconds bc its so much noise. yeah like that but 500x worse. he's able to concentrate on specific areas within this 1 mile field but if its far away it fucks him up good for a lil while. sorry ryley :(

and then the other two degasi! as mentioned before, paul can carry enzyme like the peepers, but he also can kind of make some himself! only small amounts and it works a bit less than the peeper enzyme does. he does not have to cough it up though thankfully it just like. idk how to describe this idea it can just kind of leave through his skin?? he has like no control over his power at all it just kind does its own thing and he deals w it. this is primarily how he and marg survive for so long w/o dying to kharra!

and finally marguerit! highly empathetic abilities that allow her to feel the emotions of anything around her! i thought it would be funny as hell to give MARGUERIT of all ppl Big Emotion Disease. this is a big reason why she has had yet to murder paul and why she's a lot less murderer like in the au. its hard to kill someone if you. you know. can feel exactly what they are. probably the reason she adopted Dog Bart/Legally Preston Emotionally Not. saw sad puppy and felt too bad to leave him. like paul, she has basically no control over it and is one of the reasons she does NOT want to go back to the survivors base and be around so many other ppl, she'd be feeling like, 13 ppl's emotions at one time. all these powers have fucked up drawbacks dont they??

once again sam, robin, jeff, maxim, and ozzy are (for now at least) not gonna have any powers! mutations are weird and ozzy just didn't get anything, and the vesper haven't been sick long enough for any yet!

OK THATS ALL. HOLY SHIT SORRY FOR YELLING FOR 15 MINUTES. GOT CARRIED AWAY. hopefully that explains everything tho OABEOABROANRJS OK BYE MY PHONE IS ALMOST DEAD

[radramblog]

Full-Art Basic Lands

Magic is inherently a game about customizability and aesthetic, and nowhere is this best displayed than in one’s choices for Basic Lands. From longtime players flexing their Beta sets, to the cheeky people running exclusively white-bordered ones, to newbies and people who don’t care as much just grabbing what they can from the nearest land station.

However, a full discussion of basic lands would be highly impractical for this kind of post, seeing as there are 244 different arts for Plains alone, and I only have so much time in a day. However, what I did want to discuss is the different varieties of some of the most coveted basics in Magic- the Full-Arts. There’s a lot more types now than there used to be, so they’re worth discussing at length. Also, they’re freaking cool- expect a fair chunk of gushing in this post.

(Update: I forgot just how many sets had FABLs at this point, so this ends up being a two-parter. The other half’s already written, at least, and it’s probably going up on Thursday seeing as that’s going to be a very fucky day for me. It’s just, like, nobody wants to read 3000 words of this in one sitting, I think.)

Unglued

The first iteration of what could be called full-art lands was in Magic’s first Silver-Bordered parody set, Unglued. Considering what these look like, though, it might not be appropriate to call the Unglued lands full-art, as maybe “alternate border” is a better description. The framing of the art on these cards is, well, frame-like, with a verticality that reminds of a tall window or Egyptian cartouche.

I believe these ones used to be somewhat divisive, and I can see why. As much as the frame is interesting, it is also fairly distracting, and the dull brown of the Land frame doesn’t look particularly great when extended. And while the taller frame well suits the art for most of the cards, the Plains looks a little weird next to the very tall trees and forbidding rock faces of the other four arts. Interestingly, the Plains is also the cheapest of the five, though this is probably owing to this version being reprinted in The List for…some…reason. And not the rest. Huh.

 Unhinged

Much like Unglued, Unhinged is a parody set, and the basics that come with it served as experimentation on the design much like the joke cards toyed with potential future card mechanics. Unlike the Unglued lands, though, the Unhinged Basics are pretty universally agreed to be fucking gorgeous.

Almost the entire card is dominated by the art of the card, with a thin frame and border the only dividers between art and edge. The modern land frame looks much more interesting than the old-border one, frankly, meaning that the parts of the card that aren’t art just look a little bit better. And that art…John Avon is an absolutely excellent landscape painter, and his skill is in full swing here. There’s intense colours and hundreds of subtle details, with the vastness of each land’s world conveyed through either an aerial or first-person perspective. The Forest and Swamp are impossibly deep, the Plains and ocean impossibly vast, the Mountain impossibly tall.

For a while, these were the de facto full-art basics, to the point where the MTGO Cube tournaments gave them to your decks by default. They’ve well earned that title, frankly, as there aren’t a lot of Magic cards that look as good as these do.

 Zendikar

Zendikar is the first Standard set to have come with an alternate style of basic, an choice made to support the set’s Landfall theme and adventurous world. For the first time, the full-art lands were made to convey landscapes utterly alien to earth, worldbuilding in much the same way as those from previous Planes like Mirrodin and Alara. This also means it was the first set with full-arts that also had more than one art per basic, adding collectability and variety to this and many future sets.

The landscapes of the Zendikar full-arts are bizarre and otherworldly, with floating rocks (and the infamous “cup Island”) and impossibly gnarled and branching trees. The violence of the plane’s Roil is conveyed through crashing mountains, steaming vents, and tornadoes of water. While previous lands have had charm, these have character.

It was the Zendikar basics that were the defaults when I started playing Magic, since the Unhinged ones were prohibitively expensive and the Unglued ones were that and also not everyone liked them. Even then they were pricy, not 4 years since their printing. It’s also worth noting that these were the first iterations of full-art basics that would get a normal-frame version, the art compacted into a standard Basic shell- obviously they don’t look as good, but in pieces of art designed for a portrait, the cropped landscape doesn’t quite work.

 Judge Promos 2014

There isn’t a lot to say about these, seeing as they’re basically irrelevant to most players. They’re the only other set of basics in the “Modern” (8th Edition-Conspiracy) frame as full arts, and they make up a panorama which is fairly cool. They’re pretty, sure, but not especially notable.

Also, fuck Terese Nielsen. And fuck TERFs in general. 

 Battle for Zendikar

I remember these fondly, seeing as the were the first that came out since I started playing, and the Fat Packs containing a solid block of them sold out almost immediately. I did manage to pick one up for Oath of the Gatewatch, though. This was the first set in the current frame, with a border that’s only tapered at the top and the black bottom section for collector information. Hot take, but I think these look better framewise than Zendikar.

As far as art goes, each land type has 4 new arts and 1 reprinted (yes, including Cup Island), and I think some amount of the unique character of Zendikar was lost in the 6 years between releases. Much of the violence and chaos of the originals is missing, and there’s more of an emphasis on the amazing vistas of the plane- brighter skies, even on some of the Swamps, and relatively fewer of the Hedrons which dominated the landscape.

However, I’d argue this works thematically for the set. Original Zendikar was about exploring this dangerous, rugged world, where survival is not guaranteed and landmarks were just as likely to float away or collapse as they were to remain standing. But Battle for Zendikar is a war story, of fighting against an insurmountable force- thus, the basics are here to show that the world and all its beauty are worth fighting for.

 Oath of the Gatewatch

This is kind of a special case, seeing as the Plains, Islands, Swamps, Mountains, and Forests from this set were the same as those in Battle for Zendikar. However, Oath of the Gatewatch added a new basic “type”, in the typeless Wastes, along with two different art treatments representing the devastation in the wake of two Eldrazi Titans, Ulamog and Kozilek.

There’s a clear winner here. The desolation of Ulamog is chalky, dry, and skeletal, and while it’s kind of disquieting, it holds no candle to the utter unreality of the bismuth landscape left by Kozilek. It’s ultimately just so much more of an interesting piece of art, a world as alien to us as the Wastes were to the game of Magic. There’s a reason that was the version they chose to put in the old border in Time Spiral: Remastered.

 Amonkhet

For a world as monobiomic as Amonkhet, the basic land art is surprisingly varied. I was wondering how they’d make Forest work on a desert plane with one main city. Unfortunately, the full-art land art is somewhat less interesting. Amonkhet, like most sets, has 4 arts per basic land type, but in this case, only one of those is full-art, making packs marginally more of a gamble.

I see what they were going for. The visions of Nakhtamun presented by these cards are relatively peaceful, with the Throne of the God Pharoah in the background adding this ominous mood, as the Second Sun slowly creeps towards it. It is somewhat jarring, though, when you realize that all of these pieces are apparently taken from the same angle, meaning that that section of the city must be a bit of a hodge-podge.

These arts are basically fine. I don’t have a huge issue, but I wish there was a bit more variety, especially considering the gorgeous shots in some of the other basics from the set. You could have put the Monuments in the background instead of the Bolas horns, like some of those other basics do, but I suppose that wouldn’t do for the next set, would it.

Hour of Devastation

The full-art lands of Hour of Devastation are the same shots as from Amonkhet, but after the God-Pharoah’s return has laid waste to Nakhtamun and its people. The rivers run red with blood, the sky is an ominous haze, swarms of insects ravage the clouds, and those big buildings acting like mountains are, uh, kinda broken.

I will confess a love for these cards, if only because the non-Swamp ones are a great thematic choice for basics in a Black-based multicolour deck. In addition, and this is kind of a unique, personal bias, but: When the Sealed League for this set came around, foils of these were given out to players as promotion, but the batch we got at our local was heavily, heavily overprinted. Thus, I have a single copy of the Forest from this set that looks utterly gorgeous, this incredible darkness only pierced by the glow of the horns that are somehow more foreboding than the night surrounding them. It’s been in my Sultai EDH deck ever since.

 Unstable

Much in the vein of its predecessors, Unstable has basic lands trying out a new Thing than the others, and in this case the basics aren’t just full-art, they’re borderless. And they got John Avon back for them, so the art is as incredible as Unhinged was.

One interesting thing about these is the haze of colour in the background of the art pieces. The Forest has this green glow, and the tinge of the clouds in the Swamp and Mountain lean black and red respectively. This helps a lot in these cards, letting the semi-transparent frame blend into the art, helping that seamless feel.

My main, and probably only, issue with these basics is the holographic rarity stamp present on every rare since Magic 2015, as while these obviously would be and did become valuable, they’re still just basics. The only real money in Unstable, sure, but I don’t think that’s deserving of the stamp, which is kind of distracting. It’s absence would also have allowed the bottom border to be even lower, were WoTC willing to compress the collector’s information to a single line. It is a missed opportunity, but not especially much of one.

[0poole]

Some Retrospective Thoughts on Gen 7

Galar’s making me go nuts. You already know. Let’s look back on Alola because why not. I feel like I have stuff to say about it. Also, I just watched the last episode of the Alolan Anime, so there’s that.

Whenever I first think back to Gen 7, I think “Eh, it was alright. Nothing special, I guess.” The Pokemon were decent, apart from being almost universally slow, apart from like 3 speed demons, the starters weren’t much, the story was alright, the location was alright, etc. etc. 

Then, I ACTUALLY think back, and I realize… I have no idea why I was thinking that. This generation was actually amazing.

First of all, they finally put the motif of the Sun and Moon into game types. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air after they tried to use the fucking dimensions in 3D space for titles in Gen 6 (Loved that gen too, but seriously “Life” and “Death” would both be more fitting and not as strange. Maybe they don’t want “Death” as a title tho). Really fits in with how naturally themed everything is too, which is obviously for the best, since this is the most “natural” game to date. Even though we technically already had an America-based region in Unova, Hawai’i is so unique in its own right it definitely fits for a region. I’m usually the type who doesn’t like super overt themes in things, and kind of just wants a very generalized experience, but it’s probably for the good of everyone that they don’t actually follow through with that idea. 

Probably the biggest thing to come out of this generation is the new habit of them posting short little videos on Youtube revealing new Pokemon/features/etc. Obviously they were super trigger happy with them then, but now it seems they’ve taken a step back a little. I do love this idea, though, because it actually hypes me up more than anything else ever could. I remember before, even though I was kinda-sorta trying to follow the updates on Gens 4-6, I never really felt like I could, and even though I was going to get the games no matter what, now I realize I really want to know what I’m getting into. 

I remember exactly where I was for some of the major announcements. For the starters, I was in my high school geometry class, where I watched and re-watched that video dozens of times just so I could keep looking at them. I started off on Rowlet’s side of course, but once I realized he was getting all the attention and ol Popplio was getting basically none, I changed my allegiance and stayed there to this day. Ignoring the fact that I don’t really like any of the final evolutions enough to actually use them in game, I LOVE Popplio himself. It’s seriously a shame that he didn’t become some clown seal like everyone was speculating. Unlike how it seems, I really, really like “normal” clown characters (as in, not “horror” clowns), so he could’ve easily become one of my favorites in that case. Decidueye is definitely my favorite of the final forms, and Incineroar I think is still underrated. Sure, whatever, he’s bipedal, and it’s weirder than it otherwise would be, but for some reason I love how his mouth was an actual modeled mouth and not just an image slapped on there like most Pokemon. It really made him more expressive than the average Pokemon. Plus, the animation for Darkest Lariat is really cool, with his hands flashing against a flat back background for a second before actually doing the move. Even better, it’s great meme potential when hacked onto other Pokemon, like Wailord.

I don’t remember if Solgaleo and Lunala were introduced in that first trailer too, but either way I love both of them. I was a bit more drawn to Solgaleo at first, but Lunala has since grown to be one of my favorite legendaries of all. The starry wings, golden rims, and white skeleton-y body are such a great combo. And yeah, sure, Solgaleo would’ve been more fitting as a fire type or whatever, but since stars form the heavy metals that make it onto planets it’s fine. I won’t accept that Lunala should’ve been a dark type, though. The Moon is a major embodiment of light in the night sky, so if anything it shouldn’t be related to darkness. As for Necrozma, I love his base form a lot. It’s such a strange look, especially how the back of his head is transparent. It’s the perfect “evil prism” pokemon. I really just wish Ultra Necrozma had more detail to him, though. He looks so flat for such a major figure in the games… At least he had a good battle and an even BETTER theme song, hot damn

Guess that’s a good transition to talk about the music, and I guess tangentially about Team Skull, since they were probably the best possible departure from the usual “Evil Team” formula. Them just being random hooligans causing trouble instead of a formal organization trying for world domination is a good change of pace, as pretty much everyone agrees… It wouldn’t have been so great if they didn’t at least try to incorporate rap/trap music into their themes. They’re probably the most music-oriented Team canonically speaking, so they’d have to have a great theme. Also, the idea that they feel left behind by the traditions of the Trials really makes sense, since something so important in their culture would definitely make someone feel left out if they couldn’t get through it. 

Other themes for the more calm situations, like Hau’oli City’s night theme, are also extremely good. I didn’t even realize how much I loved that track until I heard Insaneintherain’s cover of it. It almost sounds like something out of Steven Universe, for how pleasant it is (apart from the piano). Lillie’s theme still gives me the warm fuzzies every time I hear it, too. I don’t think a single game before this has ever done the credits so well, too. Apart from the fun artwork, the last shot of Lillie and the game’s legendary actually just kills me every time. She’s such an adorable, pure soul, it’s crazy to think that when she was first revealed, we thought she was the secret supervillain of the game, just because she looked kinda peeved in her official art. We weren’t far off, though, with the Aether Foundation and all. I love both the calm theme of the Paradise itself AND their evil battle theme. Even though one is obviously an evil theme, it does feel like it came from the same source. Same goes for Lusamine’s theme. I really love the Aether Foundation as a whole too, where we can now have “Good” Foundation archetypes to counter the Evil Team archetype. Plus, their designs all involve white with gold accents, which is basically my brand. I tried to design my own Aether outfit the instant I saw them, since I love their look so much. 

As for battle themes, I love how jazzy Galdion’s battle theme ended up. It made him so much more interesting than just a generic edgelord. The Elite Four’s battle theme might actually be the scariest theme to date for some reason, and yet all I can picture when listening to it is Acerola bobbing joyfully back and forth… Basically the same way, the Tapu battle theme is also pretty crazy, with tribal chants in the back of it. The Tapus are probably the coolest group of legendaries in the game, considering how unique they are, with their oddly wooden shells that represent animals. It really makes them feel like spirits brought about by the people of Alola themselves, instead of just some being that came out of nowhere. Probably the one theme that is the most nostalgic (yes, I know it was only 3 years ago, you can still feel nostalgia damnit) for me is the Kahuna battle theme. It was probably just some random comment on Youtube, but somewhere someone said that it was the perfect theme because it starts off intimidating, but quickly switches into a super fun melody, because ultimately, the Island Challenge is for fun. I just love that. I’m always looking for “Fun” stuff in pretty much everything, so I like a theme that represents that. Also, it’s just super catchy, and even expanded upon in Pokemon Masters. Let it be known that Hapu is the best Kahuna by the way. She cute. Also, watching her become the Kahuna is the best world building you could possibly muster up for this kind of setting. 

Of course, I’m intentionally leaving out a certain group…

You know what I think of when I think of Hawai’i? Pearly white sand beaches… Palm trees… Fruity drinks… oh, and let’s not forget fucking interdimensional aliens. 

The Ultra Beasts are the exact type of thing I’d want to insert into the Pokemon world, and that’s why I love them. They’re so weird in the best ways possible. When they were introduced in a trailer, I had the same reaction as I did with Type: Null. They put him up on the screen for a bit and was like “Haha here’s ‘Type: Null,’ okay next” like EXCUSE ME? YOU CAN’T JUST SHOW ME A POKEMON CALLED “Type: Null” AND NOT EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON. Of course, that’s kind of what the games were for, but it was seriously a shock to the system to see Pokemon with code names instead of actual names. You also can’t convince me that Pheromosa wasn’t designed after Lusamine, and to a lesser extent that Xurkitree wasn’t designed after Guzma. I think it’s canon that Lusamine styled Lillie after Nihilego in her crazed state, but the uncanny likeness between those other two is pretty darn notable. I think from the first batch, Celesteela was my favorite of them all, being like a rusted copper rocket ship or something, who can even smack you with her two giant rockets. Also, Pokemon directly based on folktales are always welcome, no matter what. Meanwhile, with the Ultra games being the first sequels to introduce brand-new Pokemon, Blacephalon easily took top spot. I did say I liked clowns, didn’t I? Plus, the biggest evidence that he’s best boi is that in the anime when he appeared, he didn’t even try to attack anything. He just wanted to show off (specifically, believe it or not, by moonwalking… Whoever’s idea that was needs a raise). I also love detachable heads, which is a great idea to mix with clowns, and I guess also fireworks in this case… I just love him. I really hope that there will be future instances of Ultra Beasts, since it’s apparently super easy to just make them however the hell you want them, and since you’re not limited to a region’s natural environment. Lord knows whoever designed Buzzwole didn’t have any limitations. Exploring his, and really all of their worlds in USUM was extremely fun. It’s a damn shame Blacephalon and Stakataka (again, what a name) didn’t get the same privilege. 

As for the Pokemon as a whole, like I mentioned, off the top of my head I don’t feel super crazy about many of them, even though that’s a total lie. Shiinotic appealed to my inner mushroom-character-lover so much that I basically designed a character that looked identical to him. He’s easily the best mushroom Pokemon to date, where he looks pretty cute while also being just slightly creepy enough, with those souless eyes. The concept for Araquanid is amazing, where he’s a reverse Diving Bell spider. I might’ve designed him a bit differently, but he still looks super cool. The ideas behind Oranguru and Passimian are also cool, since we haven’t delved much into intelligent ape Pokemon enough. Wishiwashi is another great concept, and probably the best fish Pokemon in my opinion because of it. Lurantis and Minior are total cuties, the latter being one of those Pokemon that isn’t always in the forefront of my mind, but the instant it is it reclaims its place as one of my all-time favorites. Golisopod and Kommo-o are two of the coolest Pokemon designs to me, the latter being my all-time favorite Pseudo-Legendary. Vikavolt looks awesome, despite being deceptively slow. Dhelmise looks weird until you realize it’s actually insanely large (like, Wailord large). Mudsdale is just an all-around good-looking horse. Oricorio also looks really cool, especially in her fiery form. Tsareena is, well… Tsareena… That’s not even including the adorable Magearna and Marshadow, who are in generational limbo… Also, I think Mimikyu might be the overall best addition to the franchise ever. No Pika-clone could ever compare. 

I mean, specifically as far as a single Pokemon goes, Mimikyu is definitely the best addition to the franchise. Meanwhile, as far as concepts go, the absolutely HUGE idea of Regional Variants is the best addition. Again, I remember where I was when I heard the announcement: it was some sort of weird fantasy house, with a ton of cool details in it to make it look like a setting in some movie or something. It was awesome there, even if we were staying for only a night or so I think. Either way, the concept of different Pokemon adapting to different conditions in the region is the most perfect way to bring attention back to older Pokemon, and I’m so glad they seem to want to keep the idea for all future generations too. It’s especially fitting for Alola, since it’s a super remote island. I love how goofy Alolan Exeggutor is, especially because everyone else seems to love his goofiness too. Same sort of goes for Dugtrio, since his hair is actually based on a real thing… Marowak becoming a spiritual fire dancer is definitely the best possible iteration for him. My favorite might be the colorful Alolan Muk, though, even if Alolan Vulpix is infinitely cuter and better than fiery Vulpix in every way. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

Also, she’s a perfect fit for Lillie, so I guess I’ll use that as my transition into talking about the characters/anime. I’m just gonna be real with you. I’m not going to hold back. Alola has some of the cutest girls in the entire franchise. But first of all, let’s divert that train and instead lust after a man who is easily the hottest professor in the games yet, Kukui. What self-respecting researcher wouldn’t wear his professor-mandated lab coat without any undershirt? He needs his bulging abs as target practice for his Pokemon’s moves, people. He needs to let them breathe. Also, I was kind of enamoured with Sycamore before him, but you can’t deny the tinted skin gets to you a little. Burnet’s a lucky gal, let’s just say.

Okay, now that we’ve established that my pants don’t discriminate, we have to talk about Wicke. So now that that’s covered, can I just say I love Mina? I’d say she deserves more attention, but she was the only Alolan to make it into Lets Go for some reason, so I guess she’s well off? First of all, I love hippie-esque girls (idealized hippies, at least), so that’s a major plus… I mean, I should probably stop using the word “cute” altogether because it applies to every girl in the game, but yeah. Lana’s highly deserved spotlight in the anime made me love her too, where she was a perfect combination of extroverted while still more soft-spoken. I don’t know if that kind of characters’ an anime trope, but lord knows it’s not in western media, so I love how unique her personality is. Her interacting with Mallow and Lillie in cute, girly ways felt so wholesome. If the anime’s anything, it’s wholesome. 

One sec, though. I have to mention that I really like Hau. He’s obviously the one pinned as “Boo, he’s not a giga-asshole! That means he’s bad!” because I guess the fandom’s hive mind has collectively agreed that the only good rivals are assholes now. Like I said before, this stuff’s more about fun now. Hau’s a fun friend to fight, to the point where you beat him as the Champion you kinda feel bad for knocking him down so much. You feel bad because you like him, you know. Also, I forgot to mention this earlier but even though he isn’t entirely difficult himself, the trials in these games are actually both a difficult and interesting challenge. A 2v1 where you’re at the disadvantage is a great boss battle idea, especially with the strategies set out by a Pokemon’s different abilities and moves. Probably the best was Totem Lurantis, who of course summoned a Sunny Day-based Castform to activate her Chlorophyll and buff her Solar Blade, while adding a diverse fire type into play. It was really difficult, to be honest. Those who say it wasn’t either got lucky or have insane standards that cannot be met because they’re Pokemon Veterans who know every little thing about everything. I’m pretty much in that camp, and I still had to actually plan during the fight. Same goes for Totem Araquanid in USUM. I literally had to poison (not toxic, base poison) stall that guy because I couldn’t do anything to him otherwise. He was pretty much one-shotting everything I sent out, anyway, so I had to stall however I could. You can’t argue that that means it was “easy” because I knew how to beat him. It’s only “easy” if you can just send out pretty much whatever and do whatever and still win. Then there’s the Rainbow Rocket episode in USUM, which is just crazy… There’s not much to say that isn’t obvious there. It was fun seeing the villains that were victorious in a different dimension.

Anyways, for the anime, I also have a similar stance. It really seemed like the only people who started off hating it were anime nerds who had no concept of an in-between frame. I will say that it was a step down from XY/XYZ though, but those seasons’ quality was unusually high. Compared to the animation quality of every other season, it was so much better. First of all, I really don’t even like “anime style” that much, so a slightly more western style was very welcome. Like pretty much every show ever, the animation quality is seriously high where it counts, so there’s not much to be said about that, but I’d say the overall animation quality is a step up in general. The more simplified style only really looked weird in Ash because we’re so used to his more pointy style. Every other character looked totally fine, in my opinion. 

As for the story, I will say I would’ve wanted the scope of the plot to be much larger, like how with the other seasons Ash was going on an adventure, whereas here it was very contained, and centered around the Pokemon School. But, still, like I mentioned, I did enjoy the casual wholesomeness of it all. Not only do I just like mindless fun, but it made the crazy shit feel even crazier. The episode where Faba was trying to catch Nebby is a perfect example. It begins with a nice fun game of all the Pokemon and people jumping rope and having a good time, with some slapstick humor with Faba failing to capture Nebby. Then he does, and shit goes down. First of all, he’s torturing the little thing. Then, ASH (not his Pokemon, Ash himself) tackles Faba. Tell me, what other season had humans fighting other humans? I honestly can’t think of a single time when fighting was done with fists and not Pokemon (although surely I’m forgetting something, there’s gotta be at least one other example, right?) Then, Lillie re-experiences her past trauma of almost being abducted by Nihilego, except now her mom gets abducted in her place… Like, what happened? It was so cute a second ago. That’s always the selling point for any cartoon, for me. Stay casual for a decent amount, then break it with some uncharacteristically high tension. The same goes for the segment where Ash goes into Guzzlord’s post apocalyptic dimension. As for mega-feels, It’s great that they made Litten/Torracat an actual character instead of just some random Pokemon, with Stoutland and whatnot. The episode where they go into Tapu Fini’s mist and Mallow meets her mother, and Torracat meets Stoutland just destroyed me. It was strategically remedied by Lillie and Gladion not seeing their father, suggesting he’s still alive. There were some really great episodes in the season, for sure.

So, yeah… Alola was a good time. Don’t deny it. Galar’s gonna be great too. No game’s ever going to be perfect, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun.

[spookyspaghettisundae]

Thirteen-One, part 5

Amy’s hands trembled like leaves in the wind. Even when she tried to suppress it, tried to focus, and tried to calm herself down—the coffee mug in her hand shook, and the liquid inside of it threatened to slosh over the edge after taking a sip.

She set it down and stared at the nondescript disc that sat on the surface of her desk. Seth had given it to her. In her heart of hearts, she knew it contained another strange video. And that she would not be able to unsee whatever it would show her. What it would show her about herself.

Amy dreaded to watch that video. A single tear dropped onto the transparent jewel case.

She switched her computer on and inserted the disc. Waiting for the system to boot up took way too long. Her heart raced. Her fingers tapped on the edge of the desk.

Finally she opened it up, double-clicked, and started viewing the video.

The image was black. Something rustled. The camera automatically focused on a face. Contrary to what she expected—to see her own face in the picture like the last time she had watched one of these bizarre videos—she beheld Seth’s face instead. He sighed and slumped into a chair in front of the running camera.

It was the same dingy room that she had seen herself in, on the previous recording that these psychopaths had given her. This too, showed her something she could not remember.

“Thirteen-One is here, and Scott is—he is dead. My rage with Sara was not as much as a drawback as he initially thought,” Seth spoke into the camera. His eyes glistened with tears and he croaked out some of the words.

“By the way—I hate that Amy doesn’t accept what she really is,” he continued. His voice shook with what could only have been sadness or rage. “Twenty-Four-Five and Twelve-Twelve have accepted it. I accepted it.”

He trembled as he screamed, the sudden outburst blending into his next words, “Why doesn’t she?”

Seth breathed, his chest heaved, he took what felt like an eternity to settle back down in this rickety old wooden chair. Watching the unsettling scene unfold, Amy hugged herself. She sat on the edge of her seat, absorbed by Seth’s monologue in this video.

“It doesn’t matter,” Seth sighed. “Now it’s just about—we gotta end the game, complete the pentagram, perfect the circle. I’m certain now—Thirteen-One is to blame for Amy’s fever-like states and dreams. Can’t expect any useful contributions from her, now.”

He looked away from the camera and stared into the distance. Almost as if he had heard someone or something. When his gaze returned to fixate on the camera’s lens, he said, “If you ask her what happened to Scott, she says he moved to France. I guess that means she’s suppressing the truth, or something. Like she doesn’t know what happened. So I’m beginning to wonder—is Amy the right one for Thirteen-One? Is Thirteen-One the right one for Amy?”

Seth set his jaw during the silence that followed. Outside Amy’s house, the rain set it—first tapping against the shuttered windows and roof with a subtle pitter-patter, then transitioning into a drumming downpour.

She refused to believe what she was hearing Seth say in the video. Scott was not dead. He was in France.

Seth and the other jerks from this weird cult had to be gaslighting her.

Right?

“We’re waiting for answers, but I’m sick and fuckin’ tired of waiting,” Seth said, closing his eyes. “I’m gonna scour the tomes, and see if I can’t get some damned answers myself.”

Before Amy’s consciousness could fully absorb Seth’s video, he got up and reached towards the camera. The video turned to a static of black and white, and the audio died.

Amy’s hand rested on the computer mouse, pale as a corpse once more, then moved the input device with the intention of closing the video and clicking everything away. But before she could close the player, the static ceased to display and made way for something else. A dark picture, a close-up of someone’s mouth.

Screaming. The video had no audio, but judging by the cracked lips and the way the mouth moved, it had to be screams of agony.

It looked like Scott’s mouth, which she knew intimately from all the times they had kissed in the past. Amy stared at the video, expecting to see something else, hoping to see something that would prove her instincts wrong, praying silently for this to stop on its own or someone to jump out of hiding and tell her she was being punked.

None of that.

Just more screams. Although no audio escaped her computer’s speakers while the mouth’s teeth gritted in pain before gnashing and then stretching wide open to scream yet more, she heard dark whispers in the back of her head. The whispers were not really there—she was not going crazy, at least not yet—but she felt like they should have been there. Like she could have heard the whispers in the background, chanting, while this poor person—not-Scott, she wished, over and over again—screamed.

Amy closed the player before the video ended. It had only a few seconds left, anyway.

She refused to believe.

She removed the disc from her computer’s drive with an almost eerie calm about her. Then she snapped it in half and, without looking, tossed it at the trash bin nearby. She missed and the plastic parts clattered onto the floor.

Blood dripped from her bandaged hand, soiling the wooden floorboards underneath her desk chair.

Walking through the fog and the rain, the world passed by Amy in a trance. A familiar yet distorted voice responded to her at the building’s intercom after she rang the bell to Seth’s apartment, but it was not Seth on the other end. It was the one she expected to answer, for some reason. Like this strange world she lived in was beginning to make sense, like everybody was falling into place within a strange, dysfunctional order.

Inside the apartment, she sat on the couch once more, the water dripping from her leather jacket, the fabric of the sofa soaking it all up in dark spots. She sat across from Adam, and had buried her face in her hands. She had told Adam everything she had experienced in the past few days.

“I don’t know what you could’ve done,” Adam told her. Unlike in their last conversation, he sat up straight. Did not distract himself with booze or smoking. “Don’t know if the cops could—or would—do anything right about this.”

“They know where I live,” Amy said. “They know what I’m thinking. They know what I’m afraid of. What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, but why the hell did you come here, of all places? To Seth’s apartment?”

Amy looked up at him and shook her head, replying, “I don’t know. Maybe this is the last place they’ll look for me. Maybe I need to warn you, too. Maybe you’re in danger, too.”

Adam shrugged, but the contortion of his face betrayed the uneasiness that had claimed his heart.

“Eh, I have nothing to do with anything. Seth hasn’t been here in all this time, ever since the last little shindig here. Also, I’m not really part of the gang you all had together, back then, so, eh, y'know. Screw it.”

Adam scratched his head, first lightly, and then with more fervor and irritation. No itch made him do that, only confusion.

And fear.

“There’s something you’re not telling me, I feel like,” Adam said. His words and thoughts trailed off.

“I—I can't—I can’t really say,” Amy stammered.

“Go find Steve, okay? Tell him. Go take him somewhere, outside of this garbage town. Better yet, go to the big city together, or to his parents and spend some time there. Just take some vacation.”

“But—”

“No, I know I’m full of bad habits and worse advice, but this time, you should listen to me.”

A silence draped itself over them. It dragged on while Amy pondered his suggestions.

Adam asked, “Okay?”

More silence followed.

He asked again, “Okay?”

“Okay,” Amy sighed.

The doorbell rang. Not the doorbell to Seth’s apartment, but the one to Steve’s. Elsewhere. He approached the door, unlocked it, and swung it open.

Amy stood there, greeted him wordlessly. Her eyes spoke volumes of desperation. They fell into each other’s arms, then they kissed. Amy’s passion suffered and Steve must have sensed her dwindling energy and broken confidence. He responded with all his affection.

She wanted to say something, but he placed his index finger upon her lips to shush her.

Amy spoke anyway, “I need to leave for a while. A few days. Maybe a week.”

Steve took his finger away and his brow arched.

“What? Where to?”

Amy slipped out of the embrace, but held his hands in hers.

“It’s gonna sound weird, but—just—away from here. Away from everything here.”

Normally, a confident sense of humor rode on every single line Steve uttered, but now he sounded like the words she said had wounded him when he asked, “Even away from me?”

Amy fought back the tears and her chin crinkled.

“There are people in my life. Here—I just—I just need some distance. It’ll just be for a little while?”

“Wait, is this some sort of break-up thing?”

“Please—this isn’t. No, this has got nothing to do with you.”

Steve shook his head, defied that, “What the hell? Of course it’s got something to do with me. I hear you talking. You’re telling me how you feel. Or are some sort of fairies talking through your mouth now?”

He gave her a lopsided grin.

“Alright, I guess I understand. I’m not gonna ask any more questions if you don’t wanna answer. Just, like, promise me you’ll explain everything when you get back? Or this all blows over? Whatever this is.”

Amy did not reply to that with words, only with a feeble smile. Heartfelt, but as feeble as Seth and the cult had rendered her now.

“So, when are you leaving?”

“I think right now. That would be best.”

Steve leaned left and then right, looking at her from different angles in a playful fashion.

“Gonna miss me?”

A feeble giggle escaped her, fitting the feeble smile that he had provoked from her. He returned a wide warm smile. He dragged her inside—she let him. He kicked the door shut behind them and they wound up on the couch in a loving embrace. Hands glided underneath shirts. Warm lips connected. Fingers interlocked.

Then the memories of Scott welled up. Amy started seeing Scott there instead of Steve. Instead of kissing Steve, she kissed Scott. The texture of their hands felt different, rougher, callused.

She felt like throwing up.

Steve pushed her up and away from himself. He stared at her in disbelief, sensing the distance and her growing discomfort.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Amy said. “Well, fuck, I don’t know. Too many fairies around, I guess.”

“Fuck those fairies.”

She snuggled up to him again and nuzzled his neck. Steve wrapped his arms around her and they lied there for a long and quiet minute.

“I’ll always be there for you. I just wish—I hope I can stop being afraid,” she said.

Steve stared her in the eyes and said, “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here for you, too.”

“But I’m afraid of myself, babe. This fear—I’m the only one who can take it away.”

Lost in each other’s gazes, lost in a sea of timelessness, they both spoke at the same time when they next whispered to one another, “I love you.”

Meanwhile, figures dressed in black opened the front door and walked into Steve’s apartment. Hooded and masked to conceal their features, the faceless intruders each carried something different with them—a metal baseball bat, a bike chain, a metal pipe, and a knife. The couple did not notice these four men sneaking up on them.

Until it was too late.

—Submitted by Wratts

[liltcm]

hylandtask001

lillian christine thomas: sept. 5th, 2019

“Hello, Ms LILLIAN THOMAS. My name is Detective Booth and I’m handling this case. I don’t need to go into details; you know why you’re here, and we already have you down as a suspect in her death. We’ve got witnesses to corroborate and a budding timeline, but we need more information from you directly. Make my day easier and cooperate with me on this, will ya’? I just need you to answer these questions for me. Do me a favor and don’t lie – you’re talking to a trained professional right now, I’ll be able to pick up on certain things whether you realize it or not. Lying will only come back to bite your ass later on. Just some food for thought. Let’s begin.

Lil did not want to talk to these people. She thought about her court hearing with Dominique; a charge for attempted murder only amounting to a shitty ten-day restraining order. She was livid, and didn’t want to cooperate. This was now the third time she’d been in a room like this, and she was getting sick and tired of it. She said nothing to his initial greeting, arms crossed over her chest, clearly irritated that this was happening.

Q: I’m gonna’ start light. I hate interrogators who go straight into the hard stuff, ya’ know? I find it impolite. So, tell me a little about yourself. Give me your full name.

“I’m Lillian Christine Thomas. I go to Hyland University, I’m a dance major and cultural anthropology minor. I work at the library so I don’t have to talk to people, and I’m president of Hyland Dance Alliance.”

Q: Alright. Tell me your date of birth and age.

“October 31st, 1999. I’m twenty going on twenty-one. How old are you?”

He laughed lightly, and she didn’t laugh back. He took that as a cue to continue.

Q: Where did you grow up? What was your home life like? Tell me about your family and your upbringing. Give me your story.

“I lived in Crystal Lake with my mom and dad for a while and then moved here to Chicago when they split. They had split custody so I was always going back and forth. Mom got remarried when I was seven to this Asian lady that I’d thought was my godmother. Life with moms was cool but dad was a little weird to be around; I think he resented my mom and I have her face. I have an older brother Charlie, who was mostly nice to me but still picked on me like a normal older brother. I danced. A lot.”

Q: Tell me about the most impactful people in your life. I’m not picky – they can be good or bad impacts.

“My sophomore year biology teacher pulled me aside to talk to me about how I was doing when I clearly wasn’t doing alright. I wasn’t raising my hand in class anymore even though I clearly loved science, I could hardly stay awake, and I never turned in homework on time. She was the only person to notice or ask me and just didn’t assume I was lazy.”

“Other than that, I would say... my dad. He’s a CEO and is on his second wife since divorcing my mom. We had a falling out when I came out of the closet to him, and things still aren’t fixed. But it’s more complicated than that, now. I think we were closer when I was younger, but age just divides people, I guess. Still, he’s had the most impact on me lately, so.”

Q: What are your goals in life? What would be your ideal final ending? What would help you reach these goals?

“Uh... I guess I just want to dance. If I could dance until I died I would. Like those people in France. They did that, right? The French? Diagnose me with that.”

Q: How would you describe yourself?

“Prickly. Dynamic. Harsh. But reliable, a team player. I’m good at understanding people but don’t have the patience to layer everything I say with bubble-wrap.”

The investigator, Booth, very badly covered a snort. Lil wasn’t trying to hold any barres; fuck these guys. They could interrogate her as much as they wanted and she’d still tell them the same things.

Q: What do you do in your free time? What’s your idea of fun? What sports or extracurriculars are you in at Hyland University?

“I dance in my free time. Dancing is my idea of fun. A good birthday party is my idea of fun. Pokemon. Normal shit. Fuck sports, but I do watch games sometimes to support friends even if I’m bored.”

Q: Do you drink? Smoke? Take drugs of any kind? Answer carefully on this one, kid.

“Do you count Zoloft? Because if you do then we’re probably going to have a problem.” 

Q: Tell me about the relationships in your life. Friendships, romantic, everything in between. 

“Romantic? None. Friendships... I’ve been friends with Caroline Kinsey since we were just being freed from the duck-foot trap that are diapers. We’re not particularly close but she’s been there long enough that I consider her important.”

“Reid Garwin gets on my nerves but he trusts me enough to have the key to his apartment for some reason and I’m planning on leaving a dog at his place. Is that a crime? Is that reverse stealing?”

Q: What’s the best thing that has ever happened to you? What’s the worst?

“My best moments happen on stage. Every time I can possibly think of I’m surrounded by all of the people that share my passion and support me and move with me.” 

The detective seemed warmed by this, which is why she decided to attack him next.

“Both of the worst things that ever happened to me are probably in your fucking case file on me, considering I went to court for both of them. Thanks a whole lot, by the way. Fucking ace detective work, pretending giving someone something they’re allergic to and then literally stabbing them in the chest with an EpiPen isn’t attempted murder or at least assault. How much did Daddy pay you? This department is a little bitch. I bet if Morgan’s parents were paying you that much the case would be “solved” by now.” 

His pleasant expression wiped clean off of his face. If he was going to try to incriminate her then she was going to shove blame right back onto him. “That case is closed.” He couldn’t say shit because Lil knew she was right. They both knew. Fucker.

Q: Let me throw in a fun one, lighten up the mood. Would you rather only be able to tell the truth or only be able to lie?

“The truth. Lying is stupid.”

He made a mark with his pen and Lil wondered what it was. The question was stupid, too. “I could’ve guessed that.” He admitted.

Q: Did you kill Morgan Parrish? 

“I don’t see my lawyer around so I elect to say nothing on that.” 

Q: Let’s get some background information on this. How do you know Morgan Parrish?

“We had the same freshman seminar class. We hit it off because we both liked to talk shit about people.” 

Q: Explain the extent of your relationship with her. Was it platonic? Civil? Rocky? Romantic?

“Rocky and romantic. We dated for a while, but it didn’t always feel like dating. Have you seen those kinky porn videos where people get vibrators tied to them and they just have to sit there and suffer until they cum? That’s how it felt with Morgan, emotionally and physically. Suffering and catharsis until you’re kicking and screaming.” 

The detective pulled a face of distaste; obviously, it was too much information but that was honestly how Lil would describe it. “What? Squimish, detective? I would’ve thought you’d heard everything by now.” 

Q: In your own words, describe Morgan Parrish to me.

“A self-serving, lying, cheating, manipulative bitch. Do you want me to elaborate?” 

Booth inhaled a deep breath, and if this were any other setting Lil would’ve been satisfied that she was aggravating him this much. She must be the most insufferable person he’d ever interrogated. 

Q: Would you say your life got better or worse upon meeting Morgan Parrish?

“Sometimes it was worse, sometimes it was better, sometimes it was the same. You’re asking a lot of leading questions. You do realize humans are complex beings with complicated feelings? Or do you treat everyone that walks in here like a lizard person?”

Booth threw his pen onto the table, scrubbing his eyes with his hands and sitting up in his seat, staring at Lil with a stern expression on his face. “Miss Thomas-”

“It’s Lil.” 

He ignored her. “Miss Thomas, you do understand that this is a serious investigation and that it would be in your best interest to answer these questions seriously and honestly.” 

Lil sat up in her seat, leaning on the table. “What makes you think I’m not being serious? Was it my laughter? Or did my smile give it away?” she hadn’t given even a hint of a smile in three days, much less in this fucking room. “Do you want me to pretend this is a pleasant conversation? I don’t want to talk to you or even fucking look at you. I’m answering your questions. What else do you want?” 

“Some respect would be nice.” 

“You haven’t earned any.” 

They both stared at each other hard. He slouched back into his chair, picking up his pen and fiddling with it before looking back down at his questions.

Q: What was your favorite thing about her?

“She was transparent. She knew who she was and owned up to it. I admired that about her.”

Q: What was your least favorite thing about her?

“She was cruel and mean and only cared about herself. Next?”

Q: Where were you the night of her murder?

“I don’t remember for sure. I want to say at rehearsals? They take attendance if you want to get that deep.” 

Q: Where were you the day before?

“To be real with you probably the same place. Or at work or something.”

Q: Where were you after?

“Do you mean when they found her body? I don’t know. I saw it on the news while at school, eating lunch in the union. Needless to say I threw it up.”

Q: How did you feel about her passing?

“At the time I was just scared and freaked out. You don’t expect that kind of stuff to happen to people you know.” 

Q: What do you think about the way she died? Just as a refresher, Morgan Parrish was drugged, strangled, beaten, and then shot.

“What do you mean what do I think? Do you want me to give my expert analysis since you guys haven’t had luck finding the killer yet? Either someone’s just demented as all fuck or they really hated her. Maybe both.”

The eye contact was intense but Lil didn’t back down from it. She supposed his approach to her sass was just going to be ignoring it from here on out.

Q: Did you make any sort of tribute to her death and put it on social m-

Lil’s answer would’ve been a huge big fat no, if she’d had time to answer the question, but then someone else was opening the door to the room she was in.

Another interrogator walks into the room. She’s holding a folder with your picture clipped to the front. She opens it in front of Detective Booth and whispers something into his ear. He shoots you a look and then excuses himself from the room. He returns twenty minutes later, features stony. He quickly writes something down on his notepad and then caps the pen.

Lil’s anxiety spiked, even though she knew they were trying to make her nervous on purpose. She’d been through this already, and she knew that she couldn’t slip up, and that she shouldn’t lie. She just hoped she didn’t lie inadvertently. 

Q: Change of plans. I’m going to scrap the questions I had prepared and ask you what I see fit. Where were you exactly the night Morgan Parrish died?

“I already told you I was probably at rehearsals. April is when technical rehearsals kick up so I was probably at light tech.”

Q: Tell me all the details you can remember from that night.

“Uh. Assuming I’m correct about being at rehearsals, I would’ve been there at around 8pm and would’ve gotten out at around 10pm. Probably went to get food with my roommate really late at a drive-thru.”

Q: Were you intoxicated at any point?

“No.”

Q: Are there any witnesses able to corroborate your story?

“Over ten people, so yeah.” 

Q: I feel like you’re leaving things out. Tell me all the details you can remember from that night.

The berating was grating on Lil’s nerves. What did they want from her? A confession? “I woke up at five am to get to work by six, because I always work at six. Worked for a few hours, went to my first class - I don’t remember which class it was so don’t fucking ask, thanks. Then I would’ve gotten food until my next class, and then eaten again and done homework in the library until I had rehearsals. And then you already know the rest.”

Q: … are you telling me the truth, kid? We got six other students we’re talking to today – sure would suck for you if one of ‘em was able to prove that something you’re saying is false. 

“You’re asking me questions about something that happened over a year ago. Maybe you should do your job better and get on it faster and then maybe you’d get an exact account. If something I said ends up not being true it’s not because I did anything wrong on purpose. Fuck you.” 

He was trying to scare her into saying something and she wasn’t going to have it. 

Q: What was the last thing you said to Morgan?

“Probably that I fucking hated her guts. Why?” 

Q: Have you ever gotten into a physical altercation with Morgan before?

“Yeah? And?”

Q: Have you ever fought verbally with Morgan?

“What the fuck do you think?” 

He cleared his throat, and Lil looked away from him with an eye-roll. 

Q: Would you say you felt safe around Morgan?

“No. Fuck Morgan.”

Q: Do you wish you had never met Morgan?

“No shit, Sherlock.” 

Q: Do you own a gun?

These were the questions Lil hated. Morgan had been treated horribly before she died, but the nail in the coffin had been a bullet, and Lil had been trying hard not to think about it.

“No.” 

Q: Have you handled a gun before?

“Yes.”

Q: Do you know someone who owns a gun?

“Yes.” 

Her grandparents owned one and so did her dad. She’d shot before at the lake house, blasting cans off of the dock with her brother.

Q: Have you gotten into physical fights before?

“I know for sure that there’s shit in your file telling you I have so I don’t know why you even have to ask that fucking question but go off I guess.”

She was just tired and she didn’t want to be there anymore. She was ready to go home.

Q: Is there anyone who can prove where you say you were on the night of her death?

“Talk to the chair of the theater and dance office. She keeps attendance records.”

Q: Do you think Morgan deserved to die?

“Not the way she did, no.”

Q: Do you wish she was still alive?

“No.” 

Q: Do you miss her?

“Fuck no.”

Q: Has your life gotten better or worse since her death?

“Worse.” 

He seemed puzzled by that, but of all the questions he chose not to elaborate on, it was that one. That had been the whole point of contention in her case with Dominique, and here she was a few weeks later doing the same fucking thing. She didn’t know how they hadn’t arrested her already; it’d be easy to pin it on her. It wasn’t like they weren’t dealing out false verdicts anyways.

Q: If you could bring her back to life, would you?

“Hell no. The dead don’t like being brought back to life.” 

Q: Are you hiding something from the people of Hyland? From your family? From me?

Lil sneered. “What? Even my brutal honesty isn’t enough for you?” 

Q: Have you been telling the truth this entire time?

“To the best of my knowledge. Yes.”

Q: Did you kill Morgan Parrish?

“Ask me that again once I’ve spoken to a lawyer.”

The detective closed his case file, rubbing his temples and looking like Lil had given him a serious migraine. She probably had. “You’re free to go.” He waved her off, clearly exhausted. Lil pushed herself from the chair and said nothing as she left.

[peacefulwriter88]

Never Good Enough - Part 11

Sebastian Stan x WoC, Chris Evans x WoC

You randomly go on a blind date, set up by your friend Anthony, with Sebastian Stan. Due to the awkward interaction you are convinced that the date ends badly due to your cultural background.When you run into him years later, can he re-win your heart? 

Warnings: M for Mature (18+, mentions of SMUT but not this chapter, language )

A/N: Sorry its been a while but i finally know the direction I have for this! I was stuck not going to lie but I hope you enjoy. As always, comments appreciated! 

Read Part 10 here 

He was charismatic, you would give him that. He had a way of interacting with interviewers and co-workers on the red carpet, navigating through his anxiety even though he was really uncomfortable. You realized that over time you had fallen for those deep baby blues of his, typically twinkling in either speculative amusement or deep thought, the way his plump lips formed words or the way he would bite down on them before answering a question.

You were drugged – hazed by the power he had over you.

You had made a decision. You knew you had been straddling the line of deciding but it had become far clearer after your conversation with Chris in your hotel room.

“I knew that Sebastian was into you,” Chris had said when you had admitted that you had slept with his co-worker the night before. Anyone who probably had an ounce of common sense would have kept that one small detail out from the guy that was trying to court them but you couldn’t lie to Chris. You wanted to be transparent and honest.

“I just thought after our little triste in my changing room that maybe…you had ended it.”

You had sighed as you sat beside him, shaking your head.

“I should have ended it.” You reach over and grab his hands, giving it a strong squeeze. “But…I don’t think that I thought it meant anything. Not that you would sleep with anyone but that we were just having fun.”  

You frowned.

“It wasn’t fair. Honestly, I’ve probably been more than selfish in all of this.”

You’re embarrassed, keeping your eyes trained on Dodger who rests his head on your lap. You’re surprised at the soft chuckle that comes out of Chris mouth as he squeezes your hand.  

“Yea. Just a tad. But so was I. So was Seb. We knew that we were putting you in a really uncomfortable position. Both in your professional life and also with making our interests known. If we’d all been a little less selfish, we could’ve sat down and talked through this a long time ago. Versus playing this game of trying to prove who is better.”

You chuckle and rest your head on his shoulder and he places a kiss on your forehead. You’re consumed by his cologne, the fresh scent of his powdery soap that wafts off his skin, the warmth you’re surrounded in.

“But we’re here now. And….even though it really sucks, you’re going to have to choose. And whatever you choose, whoever you choose, is going to have to honor that. I want you to know that there’s no pressure either way. And I’m sure Seb would feel the same. We both respect you. You’re a special human, one of the few who really makes you do a double take. I’ll be around either way.”

The comment had caused you into another stream of tears, holding onto Chris until he dismissed himself from your room. Knowing that if he stayed any longer, he’d be doing himself a disservice in trying to persuade you into his arms.

It was what had led you here, drinking casually at the after party bar, away from the chaos and the noise. Away from the distractions even though both men were in your line of sight, both of them pulling at different parts of you in ways that scared your normally rational brain.

You knew there wasn’t a deadline in your deciding but, for your sanity, you had to. You had been playing the game of cat and mouse for far too long.

“What are you doing way over here by yourself?”

Chris had the kind of voice that was masculine, commanding but also soft and kind and it’s that familiar sound that has you jerking your head up to him, giving him a soft smile as you look up from your drink. You had been spinning the empty glass of vodka soda for what felt like hours, your hands shaking. You hadn’t slept for far too long, had been lost in the noise of your brain the night prior, knowing that you were going to hurt someone. Not completely trusting the choice but knowing it had to be made.

“Just needed some air,” you look over at him, the handsome way his suit fits his body and breathe through your noise. Clinging on to the familiarity of it all. “What are you doing over here?”

You give him a soft nudge as he sits beside you, smiling and shaking his head.

“Checking up on you. You’ve been sort of MIA all night. Quiet. A lot of people have been worried.”

You can’t help but laugh, resting your chin in the palm of your hand as you look over at him.

“I think you might be exaggerating Evans.”

“I might be, just a tad,” he waves the bartender over, ordering a drink. “Can I also say that I heard from a little birdy that you will be composing your first full movie soundtrack.”

You raise an eyebrow in question, ordering another drink as you ask,

“Who told you that? Anthony? Christine?”

You’re genuinely confused as he shakes his head, waiting for your drinks to arrive before he takes a sip and replies,

“Actually I was talking to Henry.”

“Jackman? You know who Henry Jackman is?” You don’t mean your voice to be skeptical, don’t mean for it come as incredulous and he laughs as he nods.

“Yea, I don’t live under a rock! I directed a movie once I understand all the aspects of what it takes to create one. And you know, there’s this certain woman who’s captured my interest and also just so happens to also be into the business of composing music for movies and I might have been a wee curious to hear more of her stuff. I was talking to Henry and he only spoke highly of you. Says you have a true gift and he’s very excited to see what you come up with.”

The feeling was odd, the small stirring of something as simple as looking into something you were passionate about that made your breath shutter, your heart tighten. Only a few people knew about that, not even Anthony had been aware, and the fact that Chris sought it out for you makes you stuff your hands in your pockets.

Romance was complicated.

Complicated because it made you do stupid, stupid things.

“Henry is the best. What he did for the Winter Soldier soundtrack, honestly, it’s half the reason I went and saw it in theaters.”

“I thought it was because I was in it.” He winks at you, nudging you playfully and you laugh as you take another sip. And then you bite your lip, glancing away and you hear his heavy sigh, the way he shifts in his movements.

“You know, I have this friend back in Boston who does that same exact move when she has to tell me something bad.”

You flicker your eyes back to him and shake your head.

“What do you mean?”

He gives you a knowing look, his normal bright blues a stormy grey as he moves closer to you.

“You’re not a bull shitter Y/N. What’s on your mind?”

Heartbreak wasn’t foreign to Chris. In fact, it was why he was so mindful of the women he dated, the women he let in his life as he got older. He had recognized, thanks to the advice of his family and some reflection that he typically choose the wrong woman. That his heart was attracted to someone who would only inevitably break his heart.

So when he had laid eyes on you all those months in January, had drank in the way your hips had moved or the way you through your head back as you laughed or the way you had known a surprising amount of random historical facts or how connected you were in the business, he had been taking a back. You were intelligent, insightful but knew how to laugh at yourself and was humble. Had a silent confidence where you’d challenge people where it was necessary but otherwise kept it hidden, knowing it was necessary to flaunt. You were unique and beautiful and he wanted to get lost in you.

Thought he was on the path of making that happen.

But he had forgotten about Sebastian.

It wasn’t a surprise what you had told him in your hotel room. You knew that despite how much he had been trying to swoon you, Sebastian had probably been trying to do the same. Didn’t realize how much he had gotten under your skin like he had. Wanted to be mad and infuriated but knew he didn’t have the right to be.

You were single. Neither men had no claim over you. You were free to date whoever you wanted. And he hadn’t been transparent about his feelings. He had teased, prodded, poked around them but hadn’t been upfront. He knew that. He also knew that whatever choice you made, whatever it was, he would honor it.

Sitting beside you, watching the way you ease into him, he thinks he has a really good chance. Things are just so intuitively natural – the two of you being together. He wasn’t anxious thinking about his next thought or feeling like he had to be mindful of what he said. He feels worthy of you – can imagine hanging out at bars and watching games together or playing a really intense game of drunk scrabble you both have already re-invited for his next gathering or just lay in silence, being in the comfort of the other.

A natural fit.

But then your tone changes, your body languages shifts and he knows that his confidence may have been displaced.

“I’ve been thinking about…you know, this weird decision. Of who I want to date. It’s been a fucking doozy. Like trying to figure out what college you should go to but not knowing if you are even smart enough to make the right choice.”

He gives a laugh, deep and hearty as you turn to him. He could already feel it, sense it. Those bright, flirty big eyes that were normally swirling with amused mischief were twinkling with regret and compassion. He could see the confliction as you shook your head, returning to your drink.

“It’s ok…” he says it softly, barely audible as he places his hand on your thigh. “I get it. You both do have more history together.”

You can feel your breath rising and falling quickly, could sense the anxiety exuding off of you and he draws you closer as your voice breaks,

“I know all of that. I’ve made a lot of goddamn list about it. And I….I have to choose him. Because if I choose you, I don’t know if I wouldn’t be thinking about him. And Chris, if I ever have a chance with you in the future, I want to give 100% of who I am to you. I want you to have the person you are worthy of. I don’t want to be thinking about another man when I’m with you…”

The words are dull on his ears, only focusing on how soft your skin is against his hands. How the scent of your faint shampoo – like the jojoba oil he rubs in his beard – mingles with the powdery, musky scent of your perfume. Wants to memorize the husky sound of your voice, even broken and tinged with sadness and the way you grip at him. Wants to be able to grasp at the way his lips feel on your forehead when he thinks about you at night for the lonely months ahead, when he’ll be staring at his ceiling thinking back on all the things that made up you.  

Has to erase the fear that barrels at his soul, the knowledge that he wasn’t good enough for someone again, that he might not be able to have the life that he had always fantasized in his head. Had to combat the anxiety that was gripping around his heart as his eyes fill with thick fat tears, falling on top of your head and the way you cling onto him harder, drawing him closer to him as if you knew what his heart was echoing.

The desperation of needing you. The knowledge that you probably had never been his to begin with. The fear that he doesn’t know if he has the power to move on from you. The desire to find some way to make you his, to sell his soul in replacement for your love.

He’s spiraling into himself, into you, and he can’t stop.

Just hold you in his arms and allow the pain to consume you both.

The knock on Sebastian’s door drives his attention away from the bright L.A. sky, drawing him back to the faint sounds of the L.A. traffic, the laughter and commotion happening in the floors above him. He didn’t know how long he had been standing out on his balcony, watching a starless sky, his thoughts swimming with you.

He had lost you.

He didn’t know how to mourn something that he knew, truly, was never really his. Knew that he had paled in comparison to Chris – the man who was intelligent, handsome and funny. Knew that he was always falling up short – too preoccupied in his mind or too conscious of what others thought. Couldn’t stand on his own for far too long because of the insecurities he hadn’t shaken from childhood gripping his personality, shielding who he truly was.

It was probably for the best.

You deserved someone who was going to fight for you. Someone who could make you laugh and wasn’t afraid to challenge you and keep up with your wit. Someone who was confident in themselves and be proud to boast you in public.

He wasn’t too sure if he could be that for you. And you had sensed it, known it and did what he couldn’t blame you from doing.

Moved on.

He moves past his bed, where he’d abandon his suit jacket and moves to the door, looking through the peep hole surprised to find you standing on the other side. You had worn an elegant black dress to the last premiere in the standard style you had favored the past two months, and despite your eyes from being puffy from crying you looked as beautiful as you had the first time he had seen you.

You were going to be the death of him.

He opens the door, allowing the bright light from the hallway to infiltrate the dim lighting of his room, immediately being accosted by your scent as you look up at him, a soft smile on your lips.

“Mind if I come in? I want to talk to you about something.”

He should say no. Doesn’t know if he can handle rejection in his face. Hated confrontation when it didn’t work in his favor but he can’t say no to the way your bold eyes drink him in, your hand nervously ringing around each other.

“Of course you can come in. Come in.” he widens the door, giving you enough space to allow you to walk in and you brush past him, causing his breath to hitch.

The absolute death of him.

You glance around the room, softly smiling at the bed before you turn toward him, motioning at the balcony.

“Want to go outside and talk. It’s a really nice night for it.”

He nods, following you in silent agreement as you walk into the cool L.A. air. It’s dropped a couple of degrees from earlier and you hold yourself, rubbing your exposed arms up and down as you clear your throat, biting your lip in deep thought. Your skin is peppered with goosebumps from the juxtaposition of cool and hot air, and he turns back on his heels, throwing over his shoulder,

“Let me grab my jacket. It’s cooled down from earlier…”

He’s back quickly, his suit jacket in tow as he throws it over your shoulder and rubs your arms. You give him a grateful smile, falling back into him before your voice is cutting through the air,

“Seb – I need to be honest with you about something.”

His jaw clenches, eyes looking beyond your own as he takes in the city of L.A. He didn’t do well with confrontation, was worse with rejection and he wants to pull away, wants to beg you to text him what he already knows. Even though he deserves it, especially coming from you, he’s too cowardly to confront it and that shames him.

“Seb,” you repeat, gently place your hand on his chin, drawing him to look down at you, “I want you to know all of it before you decide. Because I made this decision but it’s not just my own. I want to make sure that you know all of the facts before you make your own.”

He watches you, his eyes concentrated on your own as you shakily start off,

“You know, I’ve been talking to Chris as much as you. This whole time on the tour since I’ve been here. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. From him or you. Thought you both were just using that natural, flirty charm on me like everyone else. I also was really fucking mad at you still. You were a jerk. You already know this, no need to repeat but yea. I had a lot pushing me away from you. But…..”

You hesitate as you bite your lip, falling back against the rail.

“You’re kind of this wonderful dork, you know that. You kind of make me smile and laugh and I’m not afraid to be a complete nerd around you. Maybe you make me feel a little special, all that mushy stuff that they say at times like this in rom coms from the 90s.”

He can’t help but laugh, not realizing he’s been holding his breath as you lean into him.

“I….I really like you Sebastian. I don’t know what that means for us and our future but I want you to know that I like you. And it’s no more games. No more you or Chris. I choose you. I want you.”

You place both of your hands on his chest, your eyes flickering back at him.

His heart is beating a thousand pounds a minute, he’s sure under the warmth of your palms. He brushes a stray strand of your hair out of your eyes, draws you closer to him and mutters,

“I’ve always been yours.”

You close your eyes, your head naturally lifting as he licks his lips, before pressing them against your own. You’re warm, intoxicating as you kiss him back fervently, your mouth coaxing his open and he moans into the kiss, his hand biting into your hips as you pull him closer to you. When you pull away he mumbles against your lips,

“I thought you were going to tell me you choose Chris.”

You laugh, shaking your head and placing it on his chest.

“No. I told him that I choose you. I’m yours.”

There’s something comforting in the way you say it, the way you fall into him as you wrap your arms around his waist. He rests his head on top of your head, drawing circles blindly on your back. He tries to ignore the image of you and Chris in the hidden bar, the way you clung onto each other as he tried to watch from the shadows. Tried to push away the insecurity that was building in his gut because here you were, letting him know how you felt. That you wanted him.

“So would it be too soon to ask you out on another date?” he asks, breaking the silence and you laugh, placing your chin on his chest.

“I mean, if you ask then you shall receive.”

He chuckles, placing a soft kiss on your lips.

“You don’t know what you just got yourself into.”

A/N: I knoooooowww. I know I know. But there will be 20 parts of this so hold on. We’re like getting halfway there with this thing.

Tag List:  @xgminigypsy @zohoffman @ssweet-empowerment@capsofwinchesters@tacohead13@harleycativy@pietrotheavenger@francezka10@papichulosebastian@obsessionsofmynerdheart@melaninmarvel@avengedqueen26@nasteaxluvgal@winterbuttmunch @nys30 @buckyslongasshair@badassbaker @ohlumi@wellthirsted @supernovasandcoronas

TAGS ARE OPEN!!!

If I missed anyone I am the laziest at tagging people so I do deeply sincerely apologize!

[digitalpenstroke]

Reunion (DPS Story)

I want to say that I'm probably the most honest man you will ever meet.  Never once have I touched a drop of Bacchus's wine, touched the Devil's Lettuce, nor indulged in the more heinous or destructive drugs ever to exist.  I'm not what you would call a poet, a novelist, nor even someone that can dream anything creative.  I am dull as a man my age could be, but still happily married and gainfully employed.  So when it comes for me to tell you this story, let me say that in its entirety that it's real.  At no point have I changed events, names, or even places to protect the innocent -  not that there had been any wrongdoing at all that night.  And let me make it perfectly clear, I am not a superstitious man either, but it certainly has created a believer into that world in me.

During a business trip to Ireland last year, I found myself in a quaint little village by the sea.  For the life of me, I can't remember its name, but I do recall there being a cliff with a gorgeous view of the sunrise only ten minutes away from it.  Four other colleagues and I stopped there for the night on the way to a convention.  Given we had all the time in the world to make it to our destination and have traveled a fair distance from the airport in Dublin, we figured we could use a bit of a rest from the trip.  We stayed in separate rooms, bid ourselves good night, and to meet up with one another at 9 am to resume the rest of the trip.  The others hit the bar, I decided to go to my room.

For how warm and inviting an inn such as this is in a nice little village, there isn't a lot to do in the room itself.  Not like what you expect to find at a Holiday Inn or Travel Lodge, but in 2018 you would expect some modern conveniences.  The place didn't even have a charging dock for my cell phone, and of course, I would forget my charger at home of all times.  No wifi access to connect to the internet on my laptop, either, which meant even going on Facebook or even Youtube was out of the question for entertainment.  It had a TV, sure, but I was never one to watch TV before bed.  So, I did the next best thing when you're as bored as I was:  Try to sleep.

I will say what this village inn did have over the comforts of a Holiday Inn, very comfortable and homey sheets.  It was as if someone took the time to research what sort of bedding my grandparents would have used in their time, and added all the comforts of that era.  Despite how awake I was, I managed to get myself a little bit tired enough that sleep would not be impossible to obtain at that moment.  Getting into just my boxers, wrapping myself up in the sheets and blanket, I let my eyes closed and began to slow my breathing.  I felt so relaxed, so tired, the bed was so wonderful.  I was having doubts I could even leave it in the morning.  I was half-way there, I could feel it, about to lose that consciousness and pass out.

Come to me...

My eyes opened up immediately.  I could have sworn I heard a voice, beckoning me somewhere, but I had no idea where it would come from.  Most of the other patrons were in the pub, and it sounded more like it came from inside my room than the other side of the door.  “I must have woken myself up from a dream,” I told myself, chuckling before settling down again for a second attempt.

Come to me...

There it was again.  The voice of someone I had never heard of before.  It was certainly a woman's voice and a fairly young one at that. A young adult probably, someone who had either finished high school late or was already in college.  In any case, she was adamant that I go to her, but I had no idea where she could have been, or what she would have wanted from me.  I took another look in the room, making sure no one was making a prank just because I wouldn't get drunk with them.

“Okay, really funny,” I said, taking one last look.  “If I need to find you, I will, but don't assume you won't get out of this unpunished.”   It was an empty threat, I wouldn't know what I could do to an obvious prankster.  But at the same time, I also didn't want her to think I would go soft after bothering me.

Come to me...

She called to me once more, yet this time, and perhaps it was from me being a little more awake and alert to the situation, hearing her say that felt a little unusual, or off-putting.  It wasn't that I was lightheaded, but I certainly had the symptom of such a thing happening to me, which is as best a description of the feeling I could think of.  The more upsetting aspect about it, in retrospect, was that the feeling was more welcoming than bothersome.  At the time it didn't register to me that being the case, but remembering back on it now, it most certainly was.  All I knew what to do then was to go outside.  No matter what the feeling was doing to me, cooler air would be better than warmer if I was lightheaded.  A change of clothes later, and I left the inn without my colleagues realizing.

The night air in Ireland seemed crisper and cleaner than it ever did at home.  I didn't question it, instead, I enjoyed the late evening chill.  My lightheaded feeling was gone, at least for the moment.  I began to look around at the night sky and marveled at the glorious sight above me.  Having been a city boy all my life, I never was able to see the number of stars I was able to see now.  It was beautiful, seeing the night sky shimmering like it was, almost like seeing the shimmer of light against freshly fallen snow against a black background.  I thought about staying awake for at least another hour to star gaze.

Come to me...

But as I heard her voice once more, a weird compulsion struck me.  Before it was a personal mission to find her and tell her to leave me in peace.  Now it was just to find her, for what reason I didn't even know.  I brought my head down from the heavens and looked around my immediate area.  Without the convenience of street lights every twenty feet, I couldn't see anything in the dark of night.  The big oak trees I saw early in the evening when the sun was still setting into the sea, were essentially gone in the darkness.  It was impossible to tell what from what passed the beacon of light that was the electricity of the inn.

Yet, against the black of the night, I saw something standing out in its illumination on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea.  It was hard to tell what it was at first, the source of the light only surrounded by a light blue aura.  The likes of it I had never seen before, but it was certainly something I wanted to witness closer.  The road to it was clear, a grassy plain with the occasional rock that I tripped over and cursed.  My mindset didn't even register the pain I would have normally felt tripping over something that hard, my focus was on the light and approaching it.  I didn't even know why, it went beyond curiosity as if going there was somehow a purpose I had long forgotten, and tonight was the night I dreamt of.

By this point, I was about a good thirty steps away from the glowing light, which was becoming more solid and identifiable as I came closer.  The light was being cast off a person, a woman given her body shape. At twenty-five steps, I saw perfect long flowing hair, which almost looked like a liquid for how unnaturally wavy it was in the breeze of the sea.  At twenty steps I saw that she wore something white and long, a dress of some sort.  By fifteen steps I saw the detail in the dress, looking very gorgeous with the frills and the seams, almost like a wedding dress.  By ten steps I stopped.

"You came..."

As I gazed upon her, I lightly gulped down, while an unexpected tinge of nervousness hit me.  I couldn't explain it, it was like I was meeting her again, but I never met her before.  I had so many questions about who she was and what was happening, but apparently, my mouth had other plans for me.

“I could not leave you any longer.”

I blinked quickly, what the hell was I saying?  It didn't make sense.  Who was she that I knew her so well?  When she turned to look at me, it was like my heart sank twice.  She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but I noticed something as she turned.  She was rather transparent.  She was a ghost!  But yet even as this revelation sat, I didn't flinch, as if I expected that.

“I waited so long...” she said woefully, and I could almost feel myself tear up before I spoke.

“I know.  When we sailed, a terrible storm hit us.  We were driven off course and made way to a new land.  We had no idea where we were, or if we would ever go home again.  The captain told us we should make the most of our new life.  I could not have wanted another lover, not with you in my heart, but I did go into the arms of another woman.”  For whatever reason, I bit my lip.  “I was a fool, she had only comforted me in a lonely night, but we did not love each other.  My thoughts, prayers, heart, and soul were bound to you, my love.  And I found my way back to you.”

She seemed to smile at that, but I had no idea what I was talking about.  “Then come to me... and let's go home, my love.”  And even before I thought of taking a step forward, as if mentally to continue this game, something else happened.  My vision was clouded by the same light blue aura that was covering her, and in a matter of seconds, I realized what happened.  Another ghost had come from out of my body and manifested itself as a gentleman very similar to myself.  He walked up to her, took her hands, kissed the back of one, and looked into her eyes while she did to his.  Then the ghosts disappeared, and just like that, the light around them faded as well.  I was left stunned, confused, and certainly a little tired.  I needed answers, but they'd wait for the morning.

That night, when I returned to my room, I slept like a log, so hard that one of my colleagues poured water on my face – with the owner's permission apparently.  We were going to be late if I slept in a little longer.  I told them about what happened last night, but knowing they wouldn't believe me I made the story up like a dream I couldn't shake.  It seemed too fantastical to have been real, they said, and they could have been right, but I wanted to ask around just to be sure.

As it appeared, only one person knew the possibility of the story I told.  He was an old timer, probably in his hundreds, and he remarked on the story:

“Aye, I know.   A young lass, born to the leader of the village, went and got engaged to a seafarin' man.  The day before the weddin', his Captain wanted to do some fishin' out deep in the sea when a storm hit.  Some say the winds got so bad it sent them all the way to America.  And I guess that lass has been waitin' for him ever since.”

When I think back to what happened, it's like one of those weird ghost stories you hear about over campfires.  Or at the very least a cartoon. Then I thought about it.  My great great grandmother was a woman who gave birth to a child from wedlock but married her to keep the peace with her family.  When I realize that and think of the possibility of who this man is, it makes me smile. To this day, even if it's a weird thing to treasure, I was able to reunite my great great grandfather with his first love from beyond the grave.

[namjoonsteeth]

Back To You- Day 2

Title: Back To You (mini-series) Day 2 of 7 

Word-Count: 5k

Summary: Jay has been Eden’s weakness for far too long. As much as she tells herself she’s over him, all it takes is one call for her to drop everything and fly to Rome for a week to help him out. He wants a second chance, she just wants to stop being so foolish when it comes to him. They both have 7 days in Italy to figure it out.

Genre: Angst

Cover made by @obiwon-shenobi​

“Fuck,” 

Being this close to him has officially ruined me, once again. I wake up with my hands clinging to the sheets and my lip painfully wedged between my teeth. The image of Jay’s hands running across my skin still lingers. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t know just how good he is at what he does. And God do I know. 

I roll my eyes at myself already done with my behavior and it’s not even, I roll over to look at my phone, seven o’clock yet. I have no one to blame. I brought this on myself. All I can do is fucking deal with it. Starting with pretending that I didn’t wake up mid-sex dream about my ex-fling who’s sleeping just a few rooms down from me. 

I have about an hour and a half before eight, when I have to be up and outside so I can shoot with the groovy-room guys, Gyu-Jung and Hwi-min. I remember walking past a gym downstairs. I’m hoping I can at least run my frustration out or this day is headed straight to hell. 

I get up and pull on some leggings and a sports bra before grabbing a towel and heading downstairs quietly. The house is eerie so early in the morning. Each step I make echoes in the big hallways. Thankfully the door to the gym is left wide open and it’s empty. I plug my earphones in and tuck my phone in my pocket. 

For the next hour, I work out the fact that I want to spend the rest of the day in Jay’s bed and recount all the reasons that could absolutely not happen. 

“You look stressed,” 

I turn at the sound of Chase’s voice. 

“Nope, not stressed at all,” I give him a tight-lipped smile. My steps start to feel heavier as I turn up the speed. Totally not stressed. 

“It’s not healthy to avoid your problems, Eden. Especially when he’s Jay Park. The man doesn’t give up,”

“He’s not a problem,” I breathe out. 

You would think the fact that I’m wearing headphones is a clear indicator not to talk to me, but at last, here we are. Running away from my sex dreams only to have his best friend show up. 

“He just needs to learn that not everybody is cool with being walked over just because he’s who he is,” 

“You know him, Eden. He’s not going to give up until he knows a hundred and ten percent that you’re done with him,”

“I’ve said it, Chase. I can say it until I’m fucking blue in the face and he’ll still be like ‘We’re meant to be together. I’m going to be with you whether you like it or not’,” I do a poor imitation of Jay’s voice waving my hands around dramatically like he does. 

“First of all, his voice isn’t even that deep. Secondly, you’re here,” he sighs. I bat his hand away as he leans over to stop my machine but he’s stronger. My legs come to a stop and feel like jelly. I use the handles on the treadmill to hold myself up.  

“You can’t tell me you don’t want him to try. You wouldn’t be here if that was the case. You want him to change your mind,”

Fuck. I hate being transparent. I hate when other people know me better than I know myself. 

“Did he send you here to spy on me?” I frown trying to change the subject.

Chase smiles. “He’s my best friend, Eden. Even if he didn’t beg me to try and pick your brain a bit then I’d still be down here with a PowerPoint on why you should give him another chance,” 

I get off of the treadmill and use a disinfectant wipe to wipe it down before tossing it.

 “I swear you guys are worse than gossiping females,”

“Guys fall in love to, Eden,” he notes tilting his head. 

I scoff. “Love?”

“Yeah. He loves you. He’s probably just admitting to himself now but he does. He wouldn’t have gone through all of that bullshit with Simon,”

“Simon?” I interrupt. “What does he have to do with this?”

Chase sighs. “Simon sees you as a friend. You guys are close. He takes your side no matter what. He just really wanted Jay to leave you alone. And you know Jay. He doesn’t listen to anyone,”

I groan. “Tell me they didn’t fight,”

“No, it was just a little tense for a while. I think he saw how much Jay actually likes you,”

“I gotta go,” I sigh wiping my forehead with my towel. 

Chase shrugs. “Just try not to hold it in and maybe talk to him. Or at least think about it, Eden,”

“I don’t have a choice,” I mutter to myself. 

The shoot with the groovy room boys comes and goes. It’s my first one on one meeting with a h1gher music artist. They’re fun and I’m laughing for most of the shoot. It takes my mind off of their boss for a few hours. After a while, it doesn’t even feel like work.

When we get back to the villa, everybody is busy. Some go out to explore the city, some make use of the makeshift studio set up upstairs in one of the more further rooms. I run into Jay, but even he seems busy, his phone pressed against his ear and sparing me nothing more than a small smile. 

I spend time going through the photos I took. I separate them between solo and group shots and send them to my boss in L.A for editing. This is one of our biggest projects and if it wasn’t for the fact that I had time to dedicate the week to shooting, there would be no way we could get it done by the deadline they’d set. 

I’m looking through my camera at the three guys. It’s not fair that they’re all just so...them. Jay and Chase are silly, playful in front of the camera making every shot I take just seen so light. Then there’s Simon. He laughs and jokes back and forth with the guys but there’s still a quiet presence about him that screams ‘I’m the boss,’. 

It’s weird to see the juxtaposition, but it works. All of it does. The old buildings, the deep colors surrounding us, the ocean in the background. It all works with the three guys. 

They pose without much direction from me and honestly, it makes the shoot fly through. For being only the second group shot, it’s going easier than I had expected. I’ve known for a while their all professionals but I appreciate it even more as we work on my planned shots and trade ideas back and forth. By the end of the three hour time that I blocked off, I’ve gotten hundreds of good pictures to choose from. 

The sun has gone down and none of us have eaten anything other than the cheese and bread we’d stopped for earlier. Chase is complaining about hunger pains while rubbing his flat stomach while Simon rolls his eyes laughing. “Should we find something on the street?” Simon turns to ask me and Jay. At some point, Jay had reached over to grab my camera bag and it’s slung on his back. He also has my camera in his hand, flipping through today’s work like it’s the most normal thing in the world. I narrow my eyes at the back of his head. None of this is normal. But I’m here already. I have no choice but to just deal. 

“These are really good,” he says turning to look at me. He catches me giving him a dirty look. His mouth pulls into a smile as he shakes his head. This must be really hard for him, not getting what he wants.  I’m promising to stick to my guns and give him no more leverage.

“I’m a professional photographer,” I deadpan. 

I don’t know if it’s me who matches my strides with his or if he’s slowed down but we’re walking side by side now. Our shoulders bump against each other with each step but I can’t find it in myself to pull back. 

“I miss your smart ass mouth,” he laughs loudly. 

“I’m just saying,” I say quietly. “I mean, you are paying me to take pictures. That’s like the main reason that I’m here other than a pretty cheap vacation in Rome,”

Jay sighs and reaches over to gently set my camera back around my neck. He pulls my curls out from underneath the cord and pushes stray locks out of my face. 

He’s always been attentive; pushing hair out of my face, holding my hand tightly when I walked in heels that were a bit too high, warming me up when he’d noticed goosebumps. 

“That’s not the only reason you’re here,” he says smugly. 

“Oh yeah?” I roll my eyes but don’t give him the chance to elaborate that he waits for. 

He takes it anyway. 

“You should know that I don’t mess around when it comes to you, Eden,”

“Yeah, except when we say no expectations, right?”

I don’t know where it comes from. He immediately recognizes the stupid promise we made when he first started to mess around. 

No expectations. No pressure.

It didn’t last. Maybe it’s my fault. I had expectations, hope for us that I wanted. And for the majority of the time, I seemed like maybe we were on the same page. It’s amazing what will come out of the dark when it’s time.  

“Careful Eden, you’re about a sentence away from sounding like you care about me again,”

I stop walking. He’s unbelievable. Yeah, it’s my fault that I thought that maybe there was something more than fucking after shows and alcohol infused kisses. I looked too deep. But, I will not be blamed for anything besides my feelings alone. 

“Please, stop talking to me,” I sigh. 

“Why are you being so difficult?”

“Because I’m very uninterested in playing your games, Jay,”

He laughs. “My games? I’ve been nothing but straight up with you. You’re the one who-,”

“God, you are so fucking selfish,” I say. I don’t bother lowering my voice. I don’t even have it in me to glance at Chase and Simon who’ve stopped walking and focused their attention on me. “Don’t you dare blame me for any of your messy shit,”

My skin feels like fire. Like I’m burning up. All of me. And it’s because of him. Because he doesn’t get it. Because for some reason it’s acceptable for him to be a child. It’s not my responsibility to coddle him, to spell out all the ways he hurt me when it’s as clear as water. 

“How am I selfish, Eden. I’m trying so fucking hard with you, and you’re giving me nothing,”

“I don’t want you to. I’m telling you that I want you to just fucking stop. Stop with the sly remarks about how you miss me, stop trying to win me back because I was obviously never yours to begin with,”

He steps closer to me, closing the distance between us. I see Chase shift uncomfortably but I can’t feel bad right now. Not when I feel like he’s cutting my air off. I shouldn’t have come. I can’t keep saying it because it’ll remain the same no matter what, but I shouldn’t be here. 

“You were never mine, Eden?”

I ignore his question and brush past him. He grabs my wrist stopping me. “Tell me what I did,”

A stream of everything I’ve been holding in comes out like a train going full speed right at Jay. I can’t stop it. 

“You’re a liar and you’re a cheater. You needed easy. And fucking twenty one year old naive me was so easy for you,”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jay exclaims. His voice rises too and I have to resist the urge to shrink back. “I never cheated on you,” 

I scoff, shaking my head at him. “You’re right. We were never together. You can’t cheat on people you’re hooking up with. And technically, I never asked if there was someone else. You’re right,”

I walk past him. 

“The next time you manipulate someone into falling in love with you Jay, make sure your fucking girlfriend doesn’t come visit you on tour,”

I leave them all standing there. 

Maybe blowing up in the middle of Rome wasn’t the ideal situation. Maybe I could’ve handled it better but I’ve been a volcano for years now. It was only a matter of time. 

Ten minutes of walking later, it’s dark and I’m lost. I’ve also been crying like an idiot. I must look like a child. I feel like one too. Nothing looks familiar but I don’t have any particular urge to go back to the villa yet. 

“Hey,” It’s Simon. He’s been walking with me, quietly keeping his distance while I silently curse out his friend. “Why are you guys so dysfunctional,” he sighs jogging to catch up to me. His arm comes around my shoulder pulling me out of the way of a cyclist. 

“Did you know he was dating someone at the same time that we-,”

I don’t know how to finish the sentence. What were we, really? We weren’t together, the mutual promise of no expectations or pressure made sure that we got nowhere near labels. But it was something, right? Shit, I’m a mess. 

“No,” he shakes his head. “He wasn’t with anyone. He doesn’t date on tour. It gets messy,”

“Like this,” I say rolling my eyes. “But she came. I literally laid eyes on her when she came to visit him the last week of the tour and again when she was leaving. I didn’t know who she was until after the fact,”

“Eden, she’s just a girl,” he sighs. “Listen, it’s really none of my business but you’re hurting and that’s my business. He wouldn’t have done that to you,”

“How do you know,” I shoot at him.   

“He’s in love with you, Eden. It’s been two years, and you’re still the one he wants above anybody else,”

I frown, crossing my arms over my chest. “And I’m supposed to just pretend that everything is fine so that he can once again have what he wants,”

“No, you should work it out with him because it’s what you came here to do. Whatever you saw, talk to him about it. Give him a chance to explain himself and then make your decision,”

That’s all either of us say about Jay. We stop at a restaurant and grab a slice of pizza and share a cup of peach gelato, typical touristy things. By the time we get back to the villa is nearing nine and I’m tired and stuffed. I say goodnight to Simon and head upstairs. 

Kicking my shoes off, it’s not long before I’m passed out across my bed. It’s even shorter than that when dream-Jay comes back. This time he’s rough and frustrated. His hand moves too hard against my skin while his mouth bites at my neck. Just when his hips are getting ready to press against mine, my phone rings. 

I blindly reach for it, finding it somewhere near my thigh. 

“Hello,”

“Are you ok?”

I hate that it’s the first thing he asks me. I hate that despite everything, I know he cares. Whether it’s his pride or his heart, there’s a part of him that cares. The fact that it gives my heart a little hope lets me know how stupid I am when it comes to him. 

“I’m fine,”

“Eden,” he starts. He sighs. “I don’t want to have this conversation over the phone. Let me see you,”

I scrub my hands over my face. I’m so tired. I think this trip is about being done with him once and for all. 

“I’m torturing myself,” I say quietly. “I know how stupid it is for me to want to be here with you. Despite everything,”

He’s quiet, listening. 

“I’m making a fool of myself, aren’t I? Pretending that I don’t care, acting like I don’t want this even a little bit,”

I hear him blow a breath out. I’m stressing him out, I guess. 

“Let me take you somewhere. I want to make sure you’re good,”

“I’m fine,” I insist again. “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier,”

“I don’t care about that. What you said, about you being easy, you know that’s bullshit. I can’t,” he pauses. 

It sounds like he pulls the phone away from his ear as he curses. 

“Let’s not do this tonight, Jay,”

“Then when?”

“Never,” I sigh. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to recount all that shit just so I can stop feeling sorry for myself,”

“No, we need to talk about our shit so that we can move forward. I want to be with you, Eden. I can’t spell it out anymore clearer than that. I want to leave here knowing that you’re mine again. Whatever work I have to put in, I’m here. I’m ready,”

I sigh, pulling my blanket over my head and kicking my feet like a toddler. This is frustrating. That he knows all the right things to say is utterly and completely frustrating. That I’m falling for it again is...frustrating. 

“Open the door, Eden,”

“What door?”

I hear him laugh softly. A gentle knock has me rolling my eyes. What he wants..he gets I guess. I pull on a pair of sweats and crack my room door open. 

He changed out of his clothes from earlier into joggers and a hoodie. The hood is pulled up over his head and his hands tuck in his pockets. I want to reach out. He just looks so boyish, charming. Like he’s at my window begging me to sneak out past curfew. 

“I’m taking you to the Trevi Fountain,” he says. 

“It’s like ten o’clock,” I whisper tiredly. If there’s one thing he knows about me, it’s that I don’t do particularly well when people pull me out of bed. As much as I do want to see the fountain, it’s fucking ten o’clock. 

“I know, Baby, but I want to take you to see it,” he insists smiling excitedly at me. 

I freeze at the endearment. I don’t know why he’s doing this to me. I mean, I do but it’s hard to build my walls up at ten o’clock. I can’t be held accountable for any of my actions if I go with him. 

“Jay, I told you we aren’t doing this,”

“And I told you that this is my last chance with you. If you thought this was going to be easy, you don’t know me,”

I sigh and close the door. My head leans against it as I put off making the decision we both know I’m going to make. 

“Bring your camera,” I hear him say through the door. 

I don’t know what pisses me off more; the fact that he just knows that I’ll come out with him or the fact that I immediately turn around and take my camera off of the charger and put an empty SD card in. I pull a hoodie on and a pair of jeans and grab my purse. 

When I open the door, Jay pulls my hand into his and leaned me through the house and through the front door. I’m looking for a car but he just keeps walking until he’s pulling me along on the side of the road. 

“Is this your way of forcing me to talk to you?”

“Mhmm,” he nods. His fingers tighten around mine and I don’t have it in me to pull free. 

“We’ll talk. Not about us. About all the other stuff,”

I need to hear it from him. I don’t even think he knew that I was aware of the existence of the other girl he’d been with until today. 

“We never broke up,” he says quietly. “And that’s my bad. I should’ve sorted out my shit before getting with you. I just didn’t expect to meet someone else. We never ended anything because at the end of tour we always ended up back together,”

He fingers tighten around mine. He lifts my hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. It’s too familiar. It’s the affection I’ve been craving for too long. 

“But trust me, when me and you got together it was never my intention to only have you temporarily. You were it for me,”

“But you did go back to her,” I point out, remembering him in my apartment almost six months after I promised myself I was done. All it took was one drunk call and he’d been at my bed in L.A, kissing me like he’d been starved. I woke up to his phone ringing, and her flashing face probably wondering where he was. 

Needless to say, that visit ended with his phone flying out of my door after him and more than a few choice colorful words. My apartment was a mess by the end of it and my voice had gone hoarse from screaming at him. 

“You weren’t answering my calls, texts, and she was familiar. I was terrible to her from the time you ended things up until the day I showed up at your apartment. I put everything on her. It wasn’t fair to both of you,”

We walk silently, both of us caught in our heads. He’s to blame for all of it. It’s all on him. He didn’t technically cheat on anyone. He didn’t technically lie either. But, unfortunately technicalities don’t matter when it comes to the heart.  

“I want to believe you so bad,” I say honestly. I do. I want to believe that he never wanted to hurt me, but the fact remains that he did. 

“I fucked up so bad, Eden. I’m just asking you to try,” he says almost pleadingly. 

I’m trapped. I can’t give him an answer right now. Not when it feels like I’m slicing open an old wound. 

“Jay, you pulled me out here to see the fountain. Let’s just see the fountain,” I say trying to pull my hand out of his. 

He holds me tighter and stops walking. 

“I need you to know that I never tried to hurt you. I mean I know, I could’ve been less messy but I chose you. It wasn’t even a choice really. The minute I met you, I was done. I’m-,” he stops mid-sentence. His chin drops down to his chest.

I can’t talk about this now. Not when we still have five more days to be in each other’s space. He must sense that we’ll get nowhere on the subject tonight because he starts walking again, my fingers locked tightly in his. We walk in silence for close to fifteen minutes before either of us says anything. He’s somewhere lost in his head. His brows curl together, his mouth twisting to the side. 

“I missed you too,” I whisper suddenly. 

I don’t know why I’m saying it. It just makes all of this even messier. I think when you care about people, truly, you try to keep them from hurting as much as you can help it. I know it’s what he wants to hear, or it’s at least part of it. I can give that to him at least. I want to erase the deep frown from his face. 

Jay stays quiet but he pulls me close, an arm coming around my neck. We probably look like a cute couple strolling down an Italian dirt road. It’s the most intimate we’ve been in more than a year. 

“What if we get robbed,” I blurt out. 

He laughs next to me. “The van’s been trailing us for a while now. You just haven’t noticed,”

I look behind me to see that a white van has indeed been following us. This is why he’s bad for me. He’s got all of my attention. 

“We’re almost there,” he says. 

“What made you want to come here so late?” I ask. 

“It’s romantic,” he says simply. “I’m not playing, Eden. I’m going to be the most romantic mother fucker in the world to get you back,”

“Why,” I roll my eyes pretending not to care. 

But I need this. I need him to describe all the ways I’m still on his mind. I want him to tell me exactly which parts of me still pique his interest two years later. We’d only been fooling around for a couple of weeks, but it was every day. Every day he spent hours telling me how crazy he was about my body, my mouth and everything else. 

The fountain comes into view. It’s too beautiful for words, and with the moonlight bouncing off the water, it truly looks like something from out of mythology books. I feel like a damn water nymph is going to pop out from behind the marble statues. 

I lift my camera and start clicking almost immediately. Jay’s in a majority of them. He’s leaning over the edge of the fountain, looking up at the moon, looking at me, walking toward me, reaching out to grab my hand. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says drawing closer. 

“You have a smart mouth that used to piss me off and turn me on at the same time. You’re smart and passionate, and sexy as hell. We match in every way,” His hand settles on my hip as he pulls me close. My chest presses against his, my hand clutches the material of his hoodie for some faux semblance of a bit of control. 

“I need you in my life, Eden. I’ve seen myself without you, I’ve felt it. And I don’t want to do it anymore,”

He smiles suddenly, nearly knocking me on my ass. 

“I’m trapped,”

“And what if I forgive you, that doesn’t mean that we’re automatically in a relationship. 

“Last night, you told me we weren’t friends and at first I thought that I was ok with that because I was never interested in being friends with you,” I feel his breath fan across my mouth. 

He’s too close. I  trust myself less than I trust him. If these dreams keep popping up I think I’ll have to be on the next flight home just to keep myself from touching him. My grip on his jacket tightens as I force myself to keep my distance. 

“But,” He continues. “You don’t trust me. And if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re physically attracted to me, I’d think you didn’t even like me,”

Jay draws in a deep breath. I feel his arms come up to wrap around my waist slowly. I can’t tell him not to. All of my concentration has to be on not touching kissing him. 

“So we’ll just be friends for now. For tonight and maybe a little bit of tomorrow. I only have this week with you so excuse me if it feels like I’m rushing this a bit,” “Friends don’t take their friends out to the trevi fountain in the middle of the night and stand this close, Jay,”

He smiles and I swear my heart drops out of my chest and falls right into the water next to us. I’m doomed. It’s only day two but I’m in for it, I just know. 

“Best friends then, Eden. You’ve officially replaced Chase,”

“So we get to talk about boys and do each other’s nails?”

He lets me go and pulls back. I miss his body pressed against mine. I can admit that. I also miss the feeling of almost kissing him. I tuck my hands in my pockets to keep from pulling him back in my space. 

“You’re really a pain in the ass,” he laughs. 

I watch him push his hand into his pockets. He pulls out a fist full of change and gestures for me to hold my hands out. I take half of the pile. 

“I figured, why make one wish, right? One’s bound to come true,”

I can’t help but smile at him. I close my eyes and wish. I wish for small things like my hair turning out ok tomorrow, and for the lightning to be good for the CEO shots. But I also wish for big things like hoping we all make it home safely after the trip. I also wish for him. I wish that if it’s meant to be him, we can figure it all out. 

When I’m done I look up at him. His eyes are closed tightly while he throws each of the remaining coins in one by one. His pink lips move softly against each other as he speaks each wish into hopeful existence. 

He’s too pretty. Long eyelashes that almost brush his cheeks. Shard cheekbones and a jawline that cuts at a severe angle. I can’t blame myself for being a mess over him. I take a picture of him quickly before the moment passes. 

When his eyes open, he sees me staring up at him. He looks too good for me to look away. I reach out for him first. I wrap my arms around his back. This is what I want. I could lie to myself but it won’t change the fact that at the end of every day for the last two years, this has been what I wanted. 

“I’ll give you until the end of the week,” I tell him. “Convince me or let me go, Jay,”

His arms come up around me too. His chin rests on my shoulder as he pulls me close. His head turns and his lips press softly against my neck. “I told you making a lot of wishes at once would be a good idea. One already came true,” he says against my skin.

“What did you wish for,” I ask scared of what he’ll say. 

His lips press against my skin again and he takes a breath like he’s taking me in. 

“A chance,”

[robronsecretvalentine]

I Know Now, That I Know

Summary: Set on Valentine’s Day 2019. How can Robert and Aaron really be at their fifth Valentine’s Day without ever celebrating one?

For: @justleavemebreathless - Happy Valentine’s Day, Jacqueline!

Tags: Romance, fluff

Warnings: None.

Aaron started thinking about Valentine’s day the day after his birthday.

February, he decided, was a stupid time of the year to celebrate being in love. It was already overloaded with birthdays - both Liv’s and his mum’s - and then there was his and Robert’s anniversary.

“When are you celebrating your anniversary, by the way?” Chas had asked at their wedding reception when she’d dragged him up for a dance, pointing out Robert and Diane dancing together nearby. “This one of the other one?”

“This one,” Aaron had said, in a tone that told her to leave it alone.

It was what he told everyone when they asked. The legal wedding was the one they expected cards and presents for. The legal one was when they were counting from.

Still, it was always going to be on his mind and even though he and Robert hadn’t talked about it, he knew that he’d never be able to let the day pass without thinking of it.

Which was why Valentine’s Day being the week before was so bloody inconvenient.

Liv, helpful as always, broached the subject with him before he had a chance to bring it up.

“I’m going to stay at the pub,” she announced at breakfast, as soon as February dawned. “On Valentine’s Day. Just in case you have plans.”

Aaron had rolled his eyes and slapped Robert on the back to stop him choking on his toast.

The problem was, of course, that he’d never had a proper Valentine’s Day. He and Jackson had never had the chance and Ed had tried his best but it was something Aaron had suffered through rather than enjoyed.

Robert was the only person he’d ever really wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day with and they’d never really been able to do it properly, even though this year would technically be their fifth.

Their fifth.

“Gabby, are you staying for tea?” Aaron asked, staring into the fridge and trying to decide between burgers (of which there were three) and sausages (of which there were eight).

“Depends what you’re having,” she said.

“Sausages, if you’re staying.”

“And?”

“Chips?”

“Yeah, alright then.”

Aaron took the sausages out the fridge and closed the door, glancing over at Gabby and Liv who were huddled together on the sofa.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing,” Liv said.

“Jacob,” Gabby sighed.

“Gabby!”

“Well, Aaron’s gay,” Gabby hissed. “He probably knows more about boys that me.”

“I bet he doesn’t,” Liv muttered.

Aaron wasn’t sure who should be more offended. “What’s wrong with Jacob?”

“Nothing,” Gabby said. “Only it’s our first Valentine’s Day together as a couple. What should I get him? I mean we’ve been together almost a year.”

“Umm…”

“I told you to get him aftershave,” Liv said. “You know he doesn’t want anything from you. He’s, you know, nice.”

“Well what are you expecting from him?” Aaron asked. “Use that as your guide.”

“A dozen red roses,” Gabby said. “Maybe it’s a cliche, but you only get a first Valentine’s gift once.”

“Aftershave,” Liv repeated. “Now are we playing this game, or what?”

Robert woke on Valentine’s Day to an empty bed, still warm from Aaron’s body but no real substitute for his gorgeous husband. He ran his hand over the empty space, rolling towards Aaron’s side of the bed and burying his face in the pillow.

When he finally opened his eyes he saw a card propped up against the photo of them on Aaron’s nightstand and, in front of it, a single red rose.

With a grin he reached over and grabbed both, sliding the rose across his cheek and up to his nose to smell it, before tearing into the card.

The front was plain, a small red heart on a white background. Robert felt his smile turn soft as he opened it to read whatever mush Aaron had written for him

R

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love

A

Robert frowned.

It wasn’t as though he’d been expecting Shakespeare but… this was their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple and he’d been expecting more than initials and the Happy Valentine’s Day that was pre-printed on the card.

Vanessa was holding a red lace teddy up against her body when Aaron stepped into the shop and he immediately regretted ever being born.

“Sorry,” she said when she caught sight of him, dropping it back into the Victoria’s Secret bag on the floor. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to see that.”

“Or think about Charity enjoying it, no,” Aaron said, making Tracy snort behind the counter.

“Aww, come on Aaron,” Tracy said, “you and Robert have been together forever. I bet you’ve enjoyed your fair share of sexy undies.”

Aaron turned away, blowing out a breath as he tried to ignore Vanessa and Tracy shushing each other behind him.

“You don’t think it’s too much, though?” Vanessa asked Tracy when they’d stopped giggling. “Last year was a bit weird. I want this year to be a bit more fun.”

“And what’s more fun than lingerie?” Tracy said, beaming at Vanessa. “She’ll love it. Trust me.”

Robert hurried down the spiral staircase in his boxers and no shirt, clutching the rose and card in his hand, hoping to push Aaron up against the kitchen counter and, at the very least, snog him senseless.

“Aaron?”

The kitchen and living room were empty. Aaron was nowhere to be seen.

Robert couldn’t stop the tiny stab of hurt that bubbled up at Aaron leaving him alone on Valentine’s Day. Especially as him leaving had scuppered all of Robert’s own plans for a lazy morning in bed, followed by a lazy afternoon in bed, followed by food and then a lazy evening in bed.

The glint of shiny red paper caught his eye and Robert stopped moping long enough to shuffle towards the box on the kitchen table and the card lying on top of it, which proclaimed it was for him.

He set the card he was already holding down on the table and lay the rose next to it, then he picked up card number two and opened it, grinning affectionately at the words on the front.The inside of the card was slightly more personal than the previous one, stating

The inside of the card was slightly more personal than the previous one, stating

Robert

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love

Aaron

The Happy Valentine’s Day was still pre-printed, but at least they’d advanced to full names.

He put the card down next to the first and opened the shiny red box.

“What the hell?” he whispered to himself, laughing as he pulled out a pair of transparent purple knickers and a matching lace suspender belt.

“What are you and David doing anyway?” Vanessa asked Tracy while Aaron stood waiting patiently to be served. “Something romantic I hope, to make up for all of last year.”

“I dunno,” Tracy said, as she emptied Aaron’s basket out onto the counter. “We’ve done the normal stuff, you know, flowers, chocolates. It’s not like he can whisk me away to Paris again.”

“Not unless he wants a black eye,” Vanessa muttered, making Aaron chuckle.

“Oh, I suppose Robert has something dead romantic planned,” Tracy sighed. “Dinner and candles and sexy fun on a bear-skin rug.”

“Nah, he’s allergic to bear-skin,” Aaron said solemnly and this time it was Vanessa’s turn to laugh, covering her mouth to stifle it. She caught Aaron’s eye and he winked at her.

Tracy shook her head at both of them and rang the last couple of items through the till. “Twenty-one ninety-two, please.”

Bernice stopped Robert on his way into the cafe.

“Morning. How’s my favourite brother?”

“Only brother,” Robert said. “Unless you count Andy.”

“I don’t,” Bernice said primly, “and you should be nice to me if you want your present.”

“What present?”

“The one Aaron has planned for you,” she told him, patting his arm. “Come over for a cuppa and I’ll give you your card.”

The wind whipped down the street as they made their way to Brook Cottage, making them both shiver. It was lovely and warm inside and Robert gratefully settled onto the sofa while Bernice bustled about it in the kitchen.

“Here we go,” she said when she joined him again, handing over a mug of tea and an envelope. “Hurry up and open it. I’ve been dying to see.”

Robert laughed but Bernice looked confused.

“That’s not very romantic.”

“Yeah, it is,” Robert told her. “Don’t worry.”

He expected another printed Happy Valentine’s Day inside, but this time everything was hand-written.

Robert, you are pretty decent to look at and you make me smile so I suppose I’ll keep you. Happy Valentine’s Day to the best fiance I’ve ever had. Love, Aaron.

(Meet me at Vic’s at 12 x)

“Fiance?” Bernice said, reading over his shoulder. “You’ve been married ages.”

Robert shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll let me in on it eventually.

Aaron was feeling nervous when he heard the door to Keepers open just after twelve o’clock. Vic had given him permission to do whatever he wanted with the house as long as he never told her about it and cleaned up afterwards; she’d even been kind enough to make them some food.

“Hello?” he heard Robert call out as he closed the door behind him. “Aaron?”

“In here.”

The living room door opened and Aaron watched Robert pause in the doorway to take in the candles, the dining table set for two and the ice-bucket he’d pinched from the pub which was currently cradling a bottle of champagne.

“Surprise.”

Robert relaxed instantly, smiling at Aaron and moving across the room towards him slowly.

“You’re wearing a suit.”

“It’s a special occasion.”

“It certainly is,” Robert murmured, his eyes wandering over Aaron’s body. “You cooked?

“Vic cooked.”

“Is it likely to to be inedible if I ignore it and drag your clothes off you instead?”

“Probably,” Aaron said, grinning as Robert wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Don’t care,” Robert said against Aaron’s lips. “You look fit as f…”

“Robert,” Aaron laughed, pushing him away, “we’re eating. We’re talking. We’re drinking the champagne.”

“Why?” Robert whined.

“Because I have a plan,” Aaron insisted. “Sit. You’ll enjoy it.”

They ate scallops on a bed of vegetables, followed by chocolate covered strawberries with cream. They drank the champagne and they held hands across the table.

It was probably the most romantic meal Aaron had ever had.

“Please tell me I can get you naked now,” Robert said when they’d finished the champagne and were lying together on the sofa, kissing like a couple of teenagers. “I’ve been waiting all day.”

“So have I,” Aaron told him, moaning when Robert scrapped his teeth over just the right spot on his neck. “But we can’t. We’re at Vic’s.”

“Good point,” Robert said, pulling back slightly to look at Aaron. “Why are we here? And why have I had three cards and three presents so far. I haven’t given you anything yet.”

“Later,” Aaron murmured, pulling Robert back to kiss him again. “I��ll tell you everything later.”

Aaron’s hands slid down to the small of Robert’s back and then dipped under the waist of his jeans.

“You’re not making this easy,” Robert groaned.

“It’s one of the things you love most about me,” Aaron said, spreading his legs so Robert could settle between them. “Rob…”

Robert’s phone started to ring making them both freeze.

“No,” Robert pleaded. “Not now.”

“Answer it,” Aaron said, already pushing at Robert’s shoulders. It might be important.

It was Liv.

“I hope you’ve got your clothes on because I need you to come and pick me up.”

“Why aren’t you at school?” Aaron asked when Robert flicked it onto speaker.

“I have a free period and my bag strap broke so I need a new one. You’ll have to take me into town.”

“Can’t it wait until Saturday?” Robert asked. “I’ve got a bag you can borrow.”

“No, Robert,” Liv said, drawing the words out slowly as if she was speaking to a particularly stupid child. “My bag has broken now. I need a new one now. I need you to take me. Now.”

“Fine,” Robert sighed. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He ended the call and looked at Aaron. “Is this part of your plan?”

“No,” Aaron said, looking disappointed. “We were going to go to the pub and play darts.”

Robert smiled and kissed him. “We can do that when I get back.”

Aaron shook his head. “Just come home after.” He pressed another card into Robert’s hands. “Wait an hour to open it, yeah?”

Robert dropped Liv and her brand new, far too expensive, bag off at the pub three hours later. Aaron would have a fit if he knew how much Robert had paid for it, but then that was why Liv had called him in the first place. No-one could ever accuse her of being stupid.

She waved from the doorway and he smiled, waving back.

Well, she was worth it after all.

He caught side of the card Aaron had given him earlier, that must have fallen under Liv’s seat when she got in, raging about idiots who didn’t watch where they were going. He’d forgotten to open it once Liv’s drama had unfolded.

He reached for it quickly and opened it.

Robert could feel his grin wide and bright on his face and his heart skipped a beat when he opened it and read what Aaron had written.

I love you, Mr Dingle.

Yours always,

Mr Sugden.

It was almost five thirty when the door opened and Robert appeared looking tired but happy.

“You took your time,” Aaron said, waving him over. “I thought you were just going for a bag.”

“The right bag,” Robert said, falling down next to Aaron on the sofa and pressing a kiss to his lips. “We had to go to Leeds. And into about a hundred shops.”

“Now you know how I feel when you drag me round,” Aaron said with a grin, pushing Robert back so he could slide onto his lap. “Do you want your last present?”

Robert nodded quickly. “Are you going to tell me what today’s been about?”

Aaron leant backwards to pluck a card off the table and then settled comfortably on Robert again. “You know we’ve never had a Valentine’s Day before.”

Robert frowned. “Of course we have.”

“No,” Aaron said, shaking his head. “The first year we were having an affair.”

Robert thought about the first card he’d opened that morning. Plan, simple, no first names.

“Then the second year, we were just friends and maybe, possibly, at some point more again. The third one was right before I went to prison. We were engaged but we weren’t really in the mood for romance.”

Robert nodded, thinking about everything Aaron had done for him. “Last year we weren’t together.”

“Last year we were most definitely together,” Aaron laughed, resting his forehead against Robert’s. “We just didn’t know it.”

“And this year?”

“This year is our fifth Valentine’s Day but really it’s our first. And second and third and fourth. We’re all caught up now.”

He pulled back enough to hand Robert his final card.

“I love you,” Aaron said. “That’s what it says. I always will. I never stopped. I love you and I’m so glad I married you. Twice.”

Robert kissed him, closing his eyes against the tears always came when Aaron did something so perfect.

“I love you so much,” Robert whispered against his lips. “I can’t believe you did all of this for me. For us.”

“Well, after five years and two weddings, we’re pretty settled now,” Aaron laughed. “So we’re having a takeaway and watching a film and then…”

“Upstairs,” Robert said. “Now. I’m not waiting anymore.”

Aaron laughed harder but didn’t argue. “Don’t I get a present?”

“You can open it up there,” Robert said, gesturing at himself.”

“Smug git.”

“I thought I could try on those lacy things you got me.”

Aaron’s mouth fell open slightly and he nodded. “Yeah.”

“Anyway,” Robert said, somehow managing to get to his feet with Aaron still clinging to him, “I also got us tickets to Barcelona. We leave tomorrow. Don’t worry, your mum is babysitting. All you have left to do now is open your card. It’s on your pillow.”

Aaron was half-way up the stairs before Robert finished speaking.

[shiningliive]

are there any features youd like to be added to the game?

Sorry I couldn’t get around to this until now, I really really like this question so I wanted to have a while to think about it and write down a solid list so I wouldn’t forget anything. Long post incoming.

Simple features:

Not really a feature, but outfits that aren’t suits! Trust me, ya girl loves a good suit or waistcoat, but when its multiple sets in a row that seem to just have recoloured suits it can get a bit stale, as pretty as the cards are. A suit every now and then is great, but men have more clothing options that that. (Thanks sports set for mixing it up a bit

Similarly to the first one, it might just be personal preference, but I’d really prefer if the SR outfits were a bit more different than eachother. Small style and colour differences can make a huge change. Having a shirt tucked in or not, having different hairstyles, lengths of pants or shirts, different keychains or buttons on bags etc. it makes each card feel more unique rather than like they’re all wearing the same suit but a slightly different tie.

Random Song Picker. Honestly I sometimes spend more time choosing which song I want to play that I would playing a song itself. It times like that I think a random song selector would be kinda fun. 

Card art to be zoomed out a bit more! Having the cards so closely cropped to the boy’s torso (mostly) by limiting the clothing design to just the top half also can make the outfit feel more monotonous. 

Arrows in card viewing mode. When you’re looking at you’re card list, or trying to change members in a team, having to click on each card individually, look at its stats, click out, and then click on the next one (all with loads in between) can be super tedious. This could easily be fixed by adding arrows. Once you clicked on a card, you can simply press an arrow to go to the next one.

Adding the old cards (that we missed on EN to the main gacha. Its been quite a while since the Beach and Amusement Park sets were re-added. I think It’s about time to add the Halloween set. 

Reward for completing a song on all difficulties. Whether its S combing all difficulties, S scoring all, or just completing them, I think this would be neat. It gives you something to strive towards with those harder songs that not just one (1) prism. furthermore, isn’t it kinda weird you get the same rewards for SSS-ing an easy song as you do for a pro?

Medium difficulty features:

An option to display transparents of the card art instead of the CGI models on the homescreen. Each card has such beautiful art, its a shame that you don’t really get much of an opportunity to appreciate it. Even when they’re in your teams, you only see a small portion of it, and as wonderful as the cg models are, sometimes i would prefer to see the art itself.

I really want to see UR’s that have matching backgrounds or other matching elements. Example below. It feels like more of a prize to have both halves of a UR pair when they match up. More cohesive in a way. 

More detailed medal exchange. I’m not quite sure what this would include, but having SR+ tickets, limited R cards etc would be cool.

Login bonuses that aren’t just prisms. Although this would be more of a special thing to happen maybe a few times a year, something like SIF has with promo UR’s or SR’s would be really interesting (Log in for a certain amount of days during a special period to receive a one-off card). 

Optional text translation box for portrait mode on EN. I stress that i’d want this to be optional for people that cant speak Japanese, but also maintain the same sense of intimacy (ew) for people who can.

Add ‘max rank, max level, max idolised’ marks to all versions of a card, not just the one you have specifically max levelled. I feel like this is most useful with R’s. If you’ve maxed out an R, and then sold or practiced it with someone else, theres no way of remembering which cards you have maxed and which ones you still need to level. 

Harder/more detailed features:

Photo mode improvements. Although photo mode exists already, I think it would be interesting to be able to edit the cards afterwards with preset stickers or drawings (I’m thinking like Pokemon USUM Photo mode.) It would also be really great to be able to control what pose the boy is doing (even if its limited to the normal poses the models do.) It can be a bit tedious to get the photo you want when you have to wait for them to stop talking or naturally say the line that accompanies the pose or expression you want. 

Adding previous event cards to the main gacha or having one of their own. Or making them available any other way (medal exchange?) Personally I much prefer the first option of adding them in order slowly to the cards available but having a lower scout rate than normal cards.  

A new event type. Again, I don’t have any solid ideas for what this event could be, but I know a lot of people are getting tired of the repetitive events that reward players that can spend lots of time grinding.

Thanks to everyone that read all that lol. I don’t want you to think I’m shitting on how the game is at the moment, I just had a lot of fun thinking about these.It was really fun to think of them all, I can’t wait to see where Shining Live goes in the future. 

[we-wandering]

Starcity

Chapter 1 over the mountain over the hill and welcome to star city

Welcome to star city. The most advanced place in the galaxy. Earn coins, and participate in challenges. I am GAME, and here I keep the balance. I am not a being but I am starcity. We are the future tech. Everything u dream of in the future is here in stacity. 

Incuriso.

I walk down the road. The street light flickers on and off, where I live. My run down apartment is the only building left from the olden city, celestial city. Some wish to destroy it, but even if my status is low, it is my property. I lie down as I pick up my knife, whittling out a machine from scrap metal that I own.

Delta.

Today I am on the top of the list. “YES! NUMBER ONE”. Top shrade in the world. Oh and if u dont know, a shrade is a participant in the games. Got more than 1 million coins in my bank. Top citizen. I wear glasses, and if you ask my age, there are none in star city, only levels. Mine is 1051. I'm the second most famous person in the world, only to lord game. I AM DELTA.

 CHAPTER 2 MYSTERIES OF GAME 

Incuriso

As I reach the end of the corner there is a big bright screen everywhere. However today is different. All the screens around me usually show games but now there is an ad. GAME, is choosing his right hand man. People are always happy here. There are no problems. Everything is perfect except for me. I’m the odd one out. And that’s going to earn me victory.

Delta.

I see the sign the GAME is choosing his partner. Hm. I'm usually pretty modest but it's gotta be me. I mean c'mon I'm the best shrade. Gotta be chosen right?

Incuriso

My name is incuriso. I am different. I am well known in a bad way. I am a mechanic, but not for good use. I’m a virtual mechanic. A hacker. 

Delta.

Whew, my team (Delta airlines) JUST FLYIN AWAY WITH 700 wins IN ONE DAY! LIFe is great for me. I see my total coins fly up to 7billion.I mean what could I wish for more besides that seat with GAME. No ones ever seen him or even if he is a him. He is a it. He is all.

Chapter 3 TIME TO PLAY

Delta.

Today is the day of the battle, the day of the chosen. The day I have been training to never let my family, my friends and my city down. This is the day that I beat the world. The FORGE is the game of choice from Game himself, we all then spawn in. I check my chest to see that there is a magic artifact already. The grades of weapons are Ordinary, Strengthened, Magic Artifact, Prized Artifact, Sacred Artifact and a special weapon in the center of the arena which is no artifact nor weapon, it is a hammer that allows you to forge weapons yourself. I studied up on this and don’t plan on losing. I charge at the nearest contestant and stab him with the magic artifact, a lance at the stage of a tier 2 artifact, dealing -80 points of damage. Each person starts with 100hp, so this was a powerful attack. He counters with his ordinary sheild. Pathetic. I finish him off and go to the center where I see someone else, their name is apparently Bathtub. They possess a Sacred artifact? I frown as I slide under the forging table and slice her legs. A -60 damage as a crit? I feel a tingle down my spine as I see the tier of this weapon is 8 in the sacred artifact realm. 9 realms to ordinary, 9 to strengthened, 9 to magic, 9 to prized and 9 to sacred. Only 1 tier away from being the strongest weapon in the arena, but I grin as I stab her chest, dealing a normal hit of -39. She then laughs as she hits me but I block with the shield I looted earlier, dealing a -98 to me. 98!!! Out of 100!!! A 2hp vs a 1hp battle, whoever can hit first. I charge and throw my lance, dealing the remaining -43 that I need. The rest of the battle is easy once I reap the lives of the others, only wielding strengthened or magic artifacts. I am about to win this contest… Time to make the donuts… 

CHAPTER 4 Time to dance

Incuriso

I hear the GREAT O GAME. Is calling his partner Shulk. “ Whatever I think not like I care”. I am hacking into the newest challenge. The championship challenge. I hop on in right as Delta kills the last person, but using a specific command, I teleport behind him, and using my infamous commanders blade that I bought with a rich mans talisman that I found on the street, I stab Delta. A -9001 appears on his head as he falls over. Over 9000, just how I coded it.

Delta

“WHAT GOING ON I SHOUT” Suddenly I get the U LOSE SCREEN. “WHAT?” I am so confused. So is everyone else. Then I see a person donning a black cloak, weilding a small blade. “NO” I think. “NONONONONONO” It was Incuriso, the poor man, the weakling, the hacker, the beast and the outlaw.

Chapter 5 SHULK.

Incuriso

I LAUGH UNTIL I CRY, As I see Delta's face turn red to purple to a strange shade of green. But I stop when the game makes an announcement. Our winner to be Shulk is now Incuriso. My face freezes. WHat did he say? WHAT THE HECK DID GAME JUST SAY? I ponder as I realize, this contest is for all thy marbles. My new assistant, Game announces, is Qwert. I grin evily as I shout, OH QWEEERRRRTTTTTYYYYYY...

Qwert

I am a literal person who just likes to do stuff. I don’t have a job, I just get money from the bank. I have no idea how but I'm just a normal person , as I am carrying 20 laptops to my office, my master yells...QWERT….I drop the box shattering the laptops and rush towards my masters room. As I see what is happening my eyes widen. Incuriso is now GAMES first in command.

SHULK

My name is now Shulk. GAME has chosen it. I cannot resist. Suddenly a light flashes before me. All of a sudden I am no longer in my home. I am somewhere I dont know. I find myself on the ground of a digital world. This place feels infested with energy. Everywhere I feel a small static on my feet. “Where am I?” Suddenly I hear a voice. “Welcome incursio”. Suddenly out of nowhere, a door opens revealing a very bright light. I squint covering my face with my arm. Suddenly I see a silhouette. Is this game I think?.

Game

I see incursio. He is still in his black cloak. He cannot see me. I am not human but everything. I tell him “U are chosen”. “U will be my second in command to help the citizens”. He responded with an astonishing loud shout “WHY ME!!!!???”. I think “ Jesus just go with it man u know ur smart”. But instead I say “because u are intelligent and u are not like normal human beings”.

Shulk

Yeah right I’m intelligent. You chose me because I hacked into the contest and won in the end. Do you think I’m stupid? I then see a table of materials in front of me as game tells me to make something. I don’t know what it is, just a bunch of noise, so I use the materials to make a lightweight mechanical arm. A simple build, really, but Game’s eyes flash as he nods. Good job, he says, as his presence disappears.

CHapter 6 PANDA PANDA PANDA WHAT?!

Qwert

WHAT??? I see incursio flash out of existence before my eyes. “Awhat now” I say aloud. What just happened. A panda suddenly jumps right into me and suddenly vanishes. I AM SOOO CONFUSED? “What what what what” i say this alone. Then everything goes black.

Qwert

I woke up not where I was before. Something in me does not feel good. “AAAUGGG” I scream until I see a face. It's not Incuriso. It's a panda. I somehow know it's a he.  Confused, I focus on him. He is blue and a bit transparent. However he does look like a normal panda. He stares at me for one second and vanishes. I am left alone again.

Chapter 7: A new Beginning Shulk: I start up a new store, though my mechanic skills are good, I have always wanted to be a forger. I have made countless machines, but they don’t symbolize anything for anyone. Now that I had the riches to do so, I started up a forging station in the center of the town, calling it the Ancient Anvil.

Game: Looking into Shulks background, I see he was poor and a sad fellow. He may have cheated in this contest, but in the end, he is the chosen one. I would have chosen delta, but the calling from the spirits of my mind told me something. 

Delta: WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT IS HAPPENING GET THE VOICES OUT MY HEAD WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE PLEASE JUST GO AW- and I felt that the race was unfair. Though I didn’t win and might not have won, I feel that -SLAY HIM AND HIS GANG OF CHEATERS, DINE ON HIS BLOOD AND -out of the -AHHHHHH -what is that noise? My head was splitting apart when I heard this. There was another voice. A voice telling me to destroy starcity. I scream and spit blood out. Gasping for air I hear the voice commanding me to destroy it. “DESTROY IT, DESTROY IT” the voice taunted. I could not taken anymore. My hands were on my head. Then I fainted on the ground. Chapter 8: The era of peace

Game: I have recruited some other helpers to run the city, and things seem to be going well. Shulk has created a forging station, I hired both a doctor for this city named bathtub and an assistant to help run my own shop, the orben. Shulk then later offered to help me run the orben as well, he seemed pretty eager to do so…

Shulk: I saw the orben one day and noticed, this is quite powerful. Some of my old habits came back as I offered to take the assistant job for the orben. I powered up the machine and hacked into its database, ruining the motherboard and connecting the power source to a different machine when I realized that this man had put his trust into me, I shouldn’t do this. I was changing.

Bathtub: I’m a doctor, and my medicine is ice cream. I like ducks and ice cream, but I saw that Shulk was making a weird machine so I walked over. He suddenly stood up and threw a wrench down, destroying the machine. It was a terrifying sight, not because he threw the wrench, but because of the green explosion that followed. Chapter 9: The darkness that descends

Game: I have invited delta to join our sect, and though he seems a bit out of it, I feel that this is only fair since Shulk did cheat to win. He will be placed 3rd in command, only to Shulk and myself. This should help him calm down a bit.

Shulk: Game has invited Delta to join us, but I feel that this is not good for me. I will for sure be taken as a traitor in his mind, he uses his power to stop me, kill me and destroy me. Though this worries me, I sneer in my head, wanting him to do something for I will end him if he tries.

Delta: Game is inviting me? Does he not fear that I will kill his precious Shulk? My mind is now full of memories from the past, for I can see the relationship between the two, the blood and souls that connect them. The dynamic duo that is seen as Hero and Sidekick, but I will destroy this now. The power I possess is enough to blow up many worlds and realms. It is almost time.

Chapter 10 Continuing

Incuiso/SHULK

Everyone's day is the same as SHULK. Taking care of citizens, making sure there is order, and attending meetings. I do wish I was back to my old life. After, what it seemed like a million presentations and meetings, I finally get back to the apartment and call Qwert. This time, I don't hear footsteps. I do not see his red jacket. I see nothing. “Qwert?” I call out “If this is a joke it's NOT funny” That's when I see a panda.

Delta

During the meeting, I cloned myself and was able to get around unnoticed planting plasma explosions. I was not supervised and was alone. I kept my dark hood over my head so no one could see me. However these bombs were not just the biggest part of my plan. I was changing. I was making an army.

CHapter 11Turning different

Delta

After the “SHULKCADENT” SHULK INCIDENT as they call it. Life went on. The person who took my 100th grand final win is in second power. WHY! I don’t know because GAME is a jerk. That's when I decided to kidnap qwerty

Qwert

Suddenly I see Delta. DELTA??!!!. Why would he be here. I try to get up but then I see I am chained to the ground. I see the triangle sign. Of course. That's when I see that the great Delta is different. His glasses are off. His eyes are purple and he has robot parts on him I have never seen before. “Uh hi!” I says nervously. He just walks past me like i am not even there. “Hey uh could u take me off these chains and uh get me a snack?”He glares at me. “Well ok then” I think. “ Ill just stay here uh ok he he” I feel a drop of sweat trickle down my face. He fades out of view. Then I developed a stutter. 

Delta: As I watch from the sunset of a great tower I start to think. I have never dreamed of, but as I make myself stronger with magic and technology, I develop an army. A dark spirit army, forged by black goo they are almost impossible to destroy. I chuckle darkly, telling myself that someday Game will be under my control. 

Shulk

Confused, I stare. I no longer wear a black robe but now a black windbreaker, blending in with the normal citizens I do not like to be noticed. As the panda vanishes I feel a sense of panic. Who would do such a thing to qwert. 

Chapter 12 The fall

Qwert

I hear an explosion. “W-was that a bomb?” Another one again.” What was th-that?!” I see Delta watch from a big glass wall. Standing straight with his hands behind his back. Hearing his metal fingers click together, I suddenly hear several explosions. I struggle trying to be free from these chains but suddenly, Delta comes at me and grabs something. In an instant my life escapes before my eyes. I feel a seering pain in my chest. A cold metal object sliding into me. It hurts. I glance down seeing red liquid pouring down. It was a moment, an instant, Then my heart stopped. 

Game

I feel a disturbance. Something chaotic. Something dangerous. I press the button to call for shulk but as I do, I notice something is very, very wrong. The button was a trap.

Shulk

I run seeing Starcity explode before my very eyes. I run. My heart pounds against my chest. My arms fly over my head. BOOM. Another explosion. I see people scream and run. Rocks and smoke fly. I have no time to help others. I am focused on my survival. I hear cars screech. Police shouting. Several more explosions. Suddenly I pull out a device in my pocket and I become transparent. The small pebbles hitting me no longer hurt. Everything flies through me. TV screens with ads fall down, houses and buildings fall. This IS A NIGHTMARE. I see are forces of robots are barely enough to stop the darklings. Starcity will fall. I pull out my blade and roar, charging into the enemy forces. I slash, firing powerful spells. My body is with rage as I run through the darklings slashing them to bits. As I get through every single one of them, they reform. I feel a sense of panic I have never felt before. My body is full of fear. I hear my heart pumping, and for a split second I freeze. I never freeze in battle. Realizing what I have doneI jump into a void portal teleporting me to the highest building.

Chapter 13 A game for GAME

Game

I focus hard and I search through citizens. My spirit weaving through the crowd running until I reach the last building. Delta is standing there. I can sense his darkness. He must know I am here and says “ you may call me the undertaker. He says with a bow and jumps out of the window, landing on his feet. I growl as I shoot my primary energy at him, but he dispells it and laughs. Time to say goodbye, he chuckles.

Shulk

As much as I hate starcity, I loved messing with it and tricking the people. Too bad that the whole place is blowin up. Suddenly, I see Delta. Is he responsible for this? Seems like this. Even though I might not like starcity I see Game as the great Leader and honor him. I have changed. Suddenly Game somehow gives me the thought to give me the proof Delta did this. Then I realize this is all my fault. I am the one who ruined Delta by hacking.  feel a pain as I see starcity fall, but I fall as I see Delta throw a knife in the air. It stops and falls like it hits someone. Then I feel GAME no longer. The link formed as we ruled together had grown from allies to friends, but this feeling was gone. HE is dead. It's over.

Game: A knife is in my chest and I fall over. My essense and soul start to dissipate as I fade away, but something pulls me into the void below. It calls for someone called astro, but I don’t know who this is. I blast in the direction of the voice with a weapon that shulk gave me, but the voice only chuckled as it said, you know you’re guilty, just lie down and take the punishment. I fear I can no longer take it as I am swirled away, consciousness disappearing… I fight back but fail to win… I… am no more… 

Shulk

I desperately take out a device that is called that randomizer. I shoved a few portals to a few dimensions in there, and it takes something out and gives it to you. I can be a weapon, a food, a pill, a monster, even the entire dimension. I use it and it shoots a blade out to me. I grab it and feel the overwhelming power from it. Its called the Abyssal Blade. I use it to summon a doppelganger and some phantoms, looking for the undertaker so I may destroy him.

Game

It was a moment, a minute, a whole day. I can feel myself disappearing. It feels like falling. Falling into a big void. All I can think of is, dizzy, death,......Star. My mind swirls, I cannot explain how it felt. It was like I met face to face with the underworld. I fall deeper and deeper into my mind, but before it's too late, I see light. Something is pulling me back to the world of the living. I can feel it. There is something keeping me here and I don’t understand why. 

Delta/Undertaker

As my army of darklings advance. I know I am going to win. Then I turn fully dark. A monster. Black and purple. I am no longer human. I am. The. Undertaker. I watch as the city is burned to crisps. The people enslaved and GAME died. I jump down. My eyes dark with hatred. I weave a giant spell. A dark spell and open a black hole destroying every bit of the city left. Suddenly, I am light headed. Shulk charges to me and I summon a vortex of small demons to take care of him, but I become he other Delta for a split second. Then I am darkened once more. I laugh as I realize, both versions of me want to kill Shulk. I am all powerful. I am… the undertaker… AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!

Shulk

My body is fueled with rage. No matter how many times I slash, these darklings will not DIE! That's when me and Delta meet eye to eye. We stop for an instant. Gazes locked on each other. Something is different. His eyes are dark, there is dark magic inside him. This is not the real Delta, but I must kill him if I must.

Blood ties chapter 13

Bathtub

Delta may have destroyed the city, but he did not effect the people. I rush everywhere healing people. My legs move as quickly as they can. I can feel my heart pounding in fear. The hard dirt beneath my feet. Everything is silent, until a flash of light appears at the corner of my eye. I hear people gasp. It's the darklings. 

Shulk

Me and my robotic troops hold off the darklings allowing people to escape, but suddenly I see several escaped or line sort of walls. The people are behind us and I rush towards them, my anger boils. I can feel my memories of hatred from others, the scary history of my childhood, and I can feel something powerful winding up inside me. I dash dodging spells. I feel the grip of my long blade in my hand. I jump, sword over my head aiming at the middle of them. Then my instincts take over. My blade emits light around it with yellow and green fire. Not knowing what I am doing, I squeeze the handle of my blade and spin. Slamming the weapon down it creates a wave of bright blue color. I killed them. Maybe not all of them but I killed some. My gaze turns to the people who are watching me in awe. I have no time for praise as I sense more coming. My foot turns into a batting stance. I feel the dust against my face. I am bruised and dirty. Brown dirt covering my face. I raise my sword preparing to take on a whole army...ALONE.

Bathtub.

I can see one man standing alone. Against a whole army of almost indestructible monsters. I am powerless to do anything. However, I see a flash of light and I am not where I was before. I am in a library.  Someone had summoned me here, but without me the people will all die.

Shulk

I watch behind me as the doctor suddenly disappears out of her will. Without her, the people will die. I shout to the people “use what you have and help me fight! It is no use, since we will all die.” I guess my speech was more...uplifting then what I thought before. I see the people rise as the monster's approach. I can hear the legs pounding against the floor. They are black and purple coming in different sizes. Some look like ash piles together, others look like glue, some look like those stranger things stuff. People pull out weapons they have from games, and then fight.

Delta

I watch as the people get up to fight. I snort, “there going to die trying” I think. 

 Chapter 14 The final step

Shulk

We plunge into battle. My emitting light is gone. The only thing we can do is weaken them as much as possible. As we fight I slash everywhere. Dashing here there. I see people fall, but I know it will happen anyway. When there are the smallest amount of people left, I pull out the void device. The power is dead. I make a frustrated groan as I fall back. I pull out another small device that becomes larger as I press a button. I am now the only one left. The monsters rush at me. Frantically, I point the device at me. My brain screams in fear and tells me to run, but I jab the device into me, I feel a pain searing through my belly. My knowledge and conscious transfers into the device. My body dies just as the monsters reach it. Then my consciousness in the device teleports into the void.

Delta

My dry and cracked mouth makes an evil grin as I see or at least think my minions killed Shulk. I see his body on the ground. I did it and I won. I am the Undertaker.

Game

I wake up, not as game anymore, but as someone else. I have knowledge of more magic then ever. I walk by as people bow to me. They seem like I was there ruler and that I have been ruling for a while. It is very confusing. I feel the nice bright sun over my face, and as I sit down on a chair to analyse the place I see one of Shulks conscious devices. Is that him?  Suddenly, memories flow into me.

Shulk 

My conscious sees alternative universes, dimensions. This is something that was impossible. As I am stuck in a small box, I see myself dying, or living, I see myself become powerful. Game alive. Delta good. My mind swirls. My conscious puts itself on the glass window trying to get a close look, but it moves too fast. It speeds up, going faster and faster.  I see rainbows and different colors. I become dizzy and everything goes black. 

Delta

After starcity, I feel a hunger for more fear. I want more destruction. Suddenly I become myself again but only for an instant as my eyes turn dark again and I find my next location to devour. The overstar.

Epilogue

Qwert

I woke up. My sight is blurry as I see my hands. I am supposed to be dead. I take in my surroundings. Am I in heaven? I see gold and books. It looks like it. Suddenly I see someone. Someone who I can sense is very powerful. And it appears that he has no good intentions. Hello, Qwert, he smiles. Its me, your new master, the undertaker, but you may remember me as… I freeze as I hear the name… D E L T A 

Bathtub

Hello, I am the bathtub.  Own the hospital. Using magic I can create magical ice cream that can heal everything. However that is not bringing back a life. However, before he fell and died,  Game told me something, eyes wide open. “You are more than just the doctor”, he said, “you are the traitor”.  He tumbles to the ground as I gasp to myself. This is who I am. I am a bathtub, only survivor of the crisis, the apparent traitor and spy, and the last one standing. 

The Librarian

I am the librarian, was once the Great Librarian of star city, now taking it as my base and refuge of the others for the citizens of star city. I knew I might have to run, so I ejected the library, making a new smaller planet called the overstar, with many different regions within this library. Star city may have been great, but it is now a broken down rock in space. The great shulk, bathtub and many other citizens came with me, but I fear that this place will decolate in no time… I don’t know if I can protect my citizens… I fear… I will die trying…