#Nex Fest

[livingwithmyimaginaryfriend]

A Letter to Bring Me The Horizon

Dear Oliver Sykes, Lee Malia, Matt Kean, and Mat Nicholls 

First, I’d like to say welcome to Indonesia for the fourth time. It’s been a while since you guys performed in November last year, but the show was canceled due to safety concerns. Honestly, I felt sad that I wasn't there but thank God I was safe from massive chaos. 

I remember that night I couldn’t sleep because of the Bring Me The Horizon concert. Then all of a sudden, I saw the news that something happened including technical problems. Concertgoers went from enthusiast to ballistic. They decided to loot the stage, and also outside the venue. Seeing the anarchy made me petrified, mortified, and speechless. When they sang Drown altogether they moved me. I remember imagining that I felt bad for them, I mean you guys after the show was canceled (which means the stage was looted by Concertgoers).          

Let's talk about Nex Fest. I thought it was a rumor that you guys will come back to Jakarta in 2024, but it turned out to be true. I was surprised. I desperately want to see you guys on 25 August in Pantai Karnaval Ancol, but sadly I can’t afford to buy a ticket because it’s freaking overpriced. It made my bank account empty if I bought a pricey ticket.  Plus, I don’t have a friend who joined me to see your show. 

Lastly, your music is so inspirational to me. Actually, I grew up with ADHD just like you, Oliver. I found your songwriting really relatable, but I was confused to pick which one is my favorite Bring Me The Horizon song. I’d say Avalanche is the answer. That’s The Spirit is my favorite album of all time. I enjoy listening to Post Human: NeX GeN as well.  

That’s all. Hopefully you guys enjoy the show in Jakarta and don’t mess it up. Also, I wish I could watch you guys perform, so I can sing at the top of my lungs.  And last but not least, I hope that I have a chance to meet you. I love you so much. Cheers. 

Sincerely,

Fida

[sarahstibane]

I Prevail , Japan

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日本 ； 素晴らしい夜だった  @nex_fest_japan | @iprevailband

Many thanks to this band for making this possible for me. As a German photographer, I can now say that I took pictures at a concert in Japan. Great performance and maybe we'll see each other again in Europe! It was a pleasure! 💥

[nex-eats-eyes]

oh my goodness

Past VS Present VS Future

with each team being represented by one idol group

who cares about bread vs rice vs pasta anymore when THIS was announced

edited to put link here https://youtu.be/rOd7uHiEp9s?si=9vdrntPLzKv_4pWl

[chocolate-biscuit]

Hello, nex-reblog-fest coming in, here to ask about the Tomura & Hawks parallels through your eyes 🫶🏻

Please serenade me !

Hello! I'm glad you saw the tags ^^

I really like the topic but I think I should say I'm not a meta writer like some other amazing blogs around there. I'll try my best, especially to remember all the details I can think of.

We know and we saw in the manga AFO took advantage of a scared, abandoned child who was on the streets after accidentally murdering his family and society didn't stop to help him. AFO groomed said child into following a path of hatred towards the heroes - when the same kid wanted to be a hero himself - and convinced Tomura he was born to destroy (I'll come back to this).

Hawks, too, was found on the streets, with his mother: both were in a extremely vulnerable position, and the Hero Commission used their state of poverty for their purposes. We don't have much details on how the Commission raised him (hopefully we'll get them before the manga ends), but we know from Nagant's backstory they surely indocrinated him and exploited his will to be a hero (the narration once mentioned "interpersonal skills drilled into him from a young age by the Safety Commission" - ch. 258). No child can give consent to "rough training".

Essentially, both characters were groomed/indocrinated by another entity/institution, who took advantage of vulnerable children in order to satisfy their goals. If Tomura was groomed by the "villain side", Hawks was indocrinated by the "hero side". Story repeats itself.

I've seen many considered (and still consider) Tomura in MVA as liberated and the other characters - namely Re-Destro in his narration - thought he was free of everything; however (and I don't want to go into details when Shigaraki focused meta blogs already analized the chapters), he fell into a path that took him straight into being literally possessed.

Even now, in recent chapters, he appears to be free from AFO's control, but the AFO vestige is not completely defeated and the real AFO will approach Tomura and Izuku soon; not to mention Shigaraki is still believing he wants to destroy everything and that will be his only salvation. Again, just how AFO groomed him to think.

Something similar happened with Hawks after the PLW arc: we see Keigo, at his mother's house, saying he actually abandoned Tomie and that's for the better; no one and nothing is holding him back, especially since the Commission can't give him orders anymore ("I'm free... of my shackles" - ch. 299) . It would sound great, if only it hasn't been said during a conversation ambiguous at best in the manga and downright insane in the anime.

Hawks is still working as a hero, has shown to be willing to sacrifice his life for Endeavor and the kids, is written as more and more insane with each chapter that comes out. If at first he was ready to tain himself for Japan, now he's ready to tain himself and die "for the kids' sake".

Back to after the Pro-Hero arc, we see Hawks recalling the conversation he had with Madame President and her associate stating "there's no better man for the job" (ch. 191) to infiltrate the LoV. And Hawks accepted - knowing he couldn't refuse, and said as such.

It seems both Tomura and Hawks are, to some degree, aware of how AFO/the Commission raised them, but the grooming runs in so deep they still live in a state of denial - for a lack of a better word to describe it.

Another similarity between the two is how they perceive themselves. I mentioned twice how Shigaraki views himself as "born to destroy" and Hawks, similary, thinks he was "born with dirty wings". If I remember correctly, Caleb Cook in the official English translation implied Hawks dirtied his wings with his actions, but the Japanese text implies his quirk was already that way. So, when Hawks claims he will tain himself for others' sakes, he knows he's already tained for his quirk. He was born like that.

These characters nurture hatred towards themselves, with Shigaraki accepting there's no saving him - despite desperately wanting to be saved - because he was born this way, that's what he wants; and Hawks committing immoral actions and putting himself on the line, while showing since he was introduced he has extremely low self-esteem, and considering himself tained - what is another stain anyway, if it's for someone else's happiness.

I'm sorry if I didn't show manga panels, but I've already spent a while writing this and I don't want to give it another hour. English is not my first language, so it's slightly more challenging to write fluently enough (I'm used to shitposts and very few smart takes anyway).

Hawks is, ironically, much more similar to the LoV than the pro-heroes, even if he's a pro-hero as well; it's pretty interesting to go into deeper details.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about Tomura and Hawks. I truly appreciate it.

[grigori77]

2024 in Music - My Top 5 Favourite Albums

5. ERRA – Cure

The latest offering from this accomplished American progressive metalcore band is a raw beast of an album. Breaking in ridiculously talented new guitarist Clint Tustin, they’re as solid and inventive as ever, delivering a robust record chock-full of complex and meaty bangers powered by the distinctively heady mixture of J.T. Cavey’s harsh vocals and Jesse Cash’s cleans.

Standout tracks: Cure, Rumour of Light, Idle Wild, Blue Reverie, Glimpse, Past Life Persona, End to Excess, Pale Iris, Wave

4. BRING ME THE HORIZON – POST HUMAN: NeX GEn

The Sheffield metalcore masters continue to make it abundantly clear they really don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks about their ever-evolving and unapologetically eclectic style, delivering everything from poppy, seemingly light-hearted bops that go to some VERY dark places to bona fide feral THRASHERS red in tooth and claw. Throughout it all, frontman Ollie Sykes is the most naked he’s ever been, laying it all on the line for what’s arguably the best album they’ve EVER released.

Standout tracks: YOUtopia, Kool-Aid, Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd, liMOusine (featuring AURORA), DarkSide, a bulleT w- my namE On (featuring Underoath), n/A, LosT, AmEN! (featuring Lil Uzi, Daryl Palumbo & Glassjaw), Dig It

3. LINKIN PARK – From Zero

Just when we thought the best band to ever come out of the nu metal scene was gone for good, they return with a new frontwoman, Emily Armstrong (formally of Dead Alice), for this trim, tight and essentially FLAWLESS new record that consistently feels like a strong callback to their best work. Sure, I miss Chester SO MUCH and nobody will EVER be able to replace him, but that’s not what this is – this is a NEW Linkin Park with a new direction, and it’s great that Mike and the boys don’t have to call it a day just yet, while Emily is a powerful new voice for their new sound. Even so, there’s no denying that you still can’t help hearing Chester in EVERY SONG … but as far as I’m concerned that’s a GOOD thing. It means the old magic’s still there.

Standout tracks: The Emptiness Machine, Cut the Bridge, Heavy Is the Crown, Over Each Other, Overflow, Two Faced, Stained, Good Things Go

2. BILLIE EILISH – Hit Me Hard & Soft

The supremely talented and ridiculously successful young indie recording artist delivers her best album to date, a deliciously inventive record which is at once welcomely stripped-back but also artistically expansive, essentially ten tracks of pure, unadulterated pop GENIUS without a single bum note in sight, every lyric laying her soul bare for all to see. Honestly, this really is a perfect album (the trick here is genuinely finding something to LEAVE OFF the standout tracks list) ...

Standout tracks: Skinny, Lunch, Chihiro, Wildflower, The Greatest, L’amour de ma vie, Blue

1. IMMINENCE – The Black

My favourite metalcore band EVER have returned with another album of immense dark majesty, the Swedish auteurs delivering an unstoppable onslaught of crushing power chords, thunderous rhythm and frontman Eddie Berg’s intoxicating blend of savage harsh and ethereal clean vocals and those haunting violins. Ultimately, Heaven In Hiding remains their masterpiece, but this comes PERILOUSLY close to equalling that album’s dizzying heights.

Standout tracks: Come Hell Or High Water, Desolation, Heaven Shall Burn, Beyond the Pale, Death By a Thousand Cuts, Come What May, The Call of the Void, Continuum, The Black, Le Noir

The ones that didn’t quite make the cut:

JERRY CANTRELL – I Want Blood: the Alice In Chains frontman’s latest heavy duty grunge-fest solo album is his personal best to date; THE CURE – Songs of a Lost World: the long awaited return of one of my absolute all-time favourite bands is another banger, Robert Smith and co. once again proving they’re the ultimate masters of the long intro; PEARL JAM – Dark Matter: my favourite grunge band EVER drop yet another certified masterpiece, Eddie Vedder and the rest once again proving they’re the best thing to ever come out of Seattle; DAVID GILMOUR – Luck & Strange: the greatest guitarist of all time continues to impress with another top-notch solo album which also introduces the musical talents of his daughter Romany; TWENTY ONE PILOTS – Clancy: the singular electronic indie rock duo’s final concept album is an ingenious swansong for Trench’s eclectic titular protagonist.

EP of the Year:

LASTELLE – Exist (Vol. 1)

The post-hardcore alt-rockers from Oxford have been on my radar for a while now, striving in relatively obscurity on the indie scene while offering up a couple of top-notch EPs that easily put them on my one-to-watch list, but by and large they hadn’t yet broken out in the way they clearly deserved. The arrival of this latest EP proves they’ve entered a whole new level of AWESOME, finally earning some much-deserved serious attention while they’re at it. The results are six tracks of pure gold, with Life In Silhouettes, Breathe Me In, Changes With the Seasons (the best of the bunch) and In Unison all standing up in comparison to many of the other best releases of this past year in music. I’m really looking forward to their inevitable debut album, whenever that should arrive.

[colettekaya]

The Grief Tree in Memory of Nex Benedict <3 <3

Designed and built this baby for Pride Fest Spring 2024 at Rhinelander WI, and it made it to Art Start in Fall 2024, where I got to present it as an interactive art piece. People could write their grievances related to (or a loving message for) the LGBTQ+ community and hang them on the tree while having the option to make friendship bracelets.

Ideation credit to Di Wu, leaf design credit to Amy Vickers, and 3D Hodag printing by Jake Meyer. #interactiveart #artforartssake #lqbtqplus

[baliportalnews]

Dukung Pertumbuhan Start Up di Indonesia, Kominfo Gelar HUB.ID Partner Day x Nex-Be Fest 2023

BALIPORTALNEWS.COM, BADUNG - Pertumbuhan Start Up di Indonesia terus memperlihatkan angka yang menggembirakan. Diproyeksikan tahun 2023 pertumbuhan start up di Indonesia akan menjadi yang terbesar di Asia Tenggara. Untuk itu, Kementrian Komunikasi dan Informatika RI melalui HUB.ID berkolaborasi dengan MDI Ventures menggelar kegiatan HUB.ID Partner Day x Nex-BE Fest yang diadakan di Hotel Grand Hyatt, Nusa Dua, Badung, pada 13-14 September 2023. Kegiatan tersebut bertujuan untuk mendukung pertumbuhan ekonomi digital melalu sinergi dan kolaborasi antara start up dan mitra bisnis dan berbagai sektor, baik itu BUMN, Korporasi Swasta, Pemerintah Pusat dan Daerah, serta Oganisasi Riset (Universitas). Wakil Menteri Kemkominfo RI, Nezar Patria dalam sambutannya mengatakan, bahwa start up perlu didukung untuk membangun jejaring yang kuat dengan mitra strategis bagi pertumbuhannya, sama halnya seperti yang dilaksanakan pada HUB.ID Partner Day x Nex-BE Fest 2023. Kegiatan yang mengusung tema “Fostering Synergy Networks for Stronger Digital Economic Growth” tersebut berkolaborasi untuk mendorong pertumbuhan start up di Indonesia. “Bahkan di KTT ASEAN pertumbuhan start up di Indonesia menjadi perbincangan, karena di tahun 2030 diperkirakan bisa menembus 220-360 Milliar USD,” bebernya. Adapun berbagai langkah menurutnya yang telah diambil oleh Kemkominfo untuk menyiapkan Indonesia menjadi episintrum pertumbuhan start up di kawasan Asia Tenggara, seperti membuat sekolah Beta yang ditujukan untuk pelatihan bagi masyarakat yang ingin membangun perusahaan start up. Selain itu, ia juga menambahkan, Kemkominfo membangun startup studio untuk memfasilitasi perusahaan startup baru untuk menjadi startup yang telah berorientasi pada product market fit. Deputi Bidang Manajemen SDM, Teknologi dan Informasi Kementrian BUMN, Tedi Bharata mengungkapkan, bahwa pihaknya terus mendukung pertumbuhan start up di Indonesia seperti memanfaatkan peluang dengan acara-acara seperti ini. “Jadi, potensi digital ekonomi 2030 merupakan proyeksi yang akan jadi kenyataan kalau digitalisasi itu jalan,” ujarnya. Ia pun menambahkan, untuk membangun dunia startup tanah air, kementrian BUMN melakukan mentoring untuk program di sejumlah sektor yang telah diseleksi. “Goals nya banyak deal atau jumlah kolaborasi yang akan dilakukan,” tutupnya. Sementara, Direktur Jenderal Aplikasi Informatika, Samuel Abrijani Pangerapan mengungkapkan, saat ini 2.511 perusahaan rintisan digital di Indonesia. Berdasarkan pemeringkatan start up, Indonesia berada di peringkat keenam dunia di tahun 2030. “Startup digital menjadi salah satu penggerak untuk memajukan ekonomi digital di Indonesia,” katanya. Ia pun mengungkapkan, di hari pertama kegiatan, 80 perusahaan rintisan melakukan penandatanganan kesepakatan kerja sama dengan 80 mitra bisnis.(bpn) Read the full article

[nexyra]

so I made myself an alt for the express purposes of reblogging everything I find neat

because I'd like to keep this one a bit tidy, at least by focusing on reblogging only stuff I wholeheartedly adore *and* not completely bury my """own""" content or rambles

That said if you're interested in looking at me reblogging anything funny that moves, feel free to follow the alt : @nex-reblog-fest

[goblackboygo]

The Vow (HBO)

Preliminary thoughts:

*there’s probs typos

What to say about this doc? Well, first I usually like seeing things when white people get scammed, like the Fyre fest documentaries, but this one is in a different realm. First, Keith Raniere, the leader of NXIVM (pronounced Nex-ee-um), does nothing more than recount scientific explanations of life to people who are wanting to find out their larger purpose in life. Matt, a subject in the film, talks about his love for science and his desire to understand everything and how Keith, as this purveyor of (white philosophical) knowledge, answers these questions for him. Right off the bat, I found the way the group centered science as a way to explain life to be a red flag, mainly because science has a history of experimentation on black people, specifically black women’s reproductive organs, and science has always had racial/racist undertones that I’m not sure many scientists confront. Right there was the uneasiness for me, coupled with the fact that there were a lot of “rich” white people in the group. I say “rich” because they had to pay thousands of dollars for all of these classes they had to take in order to move up in the ranks of the business. 

The business framing of the cult is key to it’s success. Many of the people who are drawn to NXIVM are business minded people who want to not only make money, but “change the world.” And both of these desires get exploited in the process. I started to realize how much the people in the group were being thought to suppress their feelings. That anytime they felt an emotion it was because they were becoming a victim to their situation. This manipulation of feelings reminded me of Saidiya Hartman’s claim about how the American slave system was operated on a “culture of feeling.” Feelings have always been manipulated and is it too far off to say that the manipulation of feelings is distinctly American? The way the manipulation of feelings works in what I am shown about NXIVM (this is certainly different than how those feelings actually manifest, I am speaking as a viewer) is mainly by teaching it’s members to control or suppress their own feelings which is dangerous because then the victim of manipulation might blame themselves for those feelings, further limiting the possibility of confronting the “master” that did it. 

Yes, while I’m on the “master” stuff, lets talk about DOS ("Dominus Obsequious Sororium" or  "Master over Slave Women" but the doc says “Master over Slave”). In a cult already mirroring the American slavery system, this overtly calls into play the reality of domination and power within this group. The whole gig is a sex trafficking, which again mirrors how black women were trafficked during enslavement (and still today). In this DOS, women are told to refer to each other as “Master” and “Slave” and they are meant to obey the woman who is their master. When this moment in the doc came up, this was the first time the doc explicitly referenced a black woman in this cult. Now, the whole time I’m watching this, as I do with most things, I am always looking for the black people. In this, I was hoping I wouldn’t see any because I knew that the black experience of this cult would be vastly different and I knew it wouldn’t get told in the doc bc the main subjects of the doc are white. This isn’t a slight at the filmmakers, but the fact of the matter. Everytime I saw a black face in photos or footage, I found myself wanting to access their story in relation to American slavery. To be frank, I thought “Why would a black person subject themselves to this?” but I realize that I should be asking other questions. For instance, Can black people not also have the means to “change the world”? What if the structure of NXIVM was easier to deal with then the reality of our white supremacist capitalist patriarchal society? What do black people get out of a group like this? How did they overlook the sexual abuse happening? Did the sexual abuse happen more to black women and men in this group? Were any black people rewarded with a sense of power?

The question of power leads me to the section where we get the story of a black woman “master” by “Jane” a white woman filmmaker, in search of an “urban farmer” as a documentary subject, found this black woman who introduces her to NXIVM. “Jane” talks about the moment when the woman (who’s “name” I will have to find) tells her about the DOS and how she needed to address her as “master.” “Jane” says something like “And this is a black woman telling me this. I can’t believe she would be involved in this” and then proceeds to share her experience of being a “slave” to a black woman. Now, when this scene happened, I was struck by “Jane’s” comment. Yes, why would a black woman be content in a master/slave system? What does she get out of that? Had she ever been a slave to a white woman? Did she have other white woman slaves? What did that feel like in a cult that teaches you to suppress feeling? As these are erotic relationships, how did “jane” feel being a slave to a black woman, giving her power over her? 

I wish the doc would have interviewed some of the black people we see, but I get that access is an issue. But a black queer viewer, a black feminist viewer, all I have playing in my head are the little glances of black and brown I see in the film. These images are not obscured, but unexplored. The documentary has 5 more eps left, so maybe we’ll get to hear from black and brown people. But if we don’t, and I have a hunch we won’t, there are ways we can center a narrative that isn’t given to us. My curiosity drives me to imagine the black female experience of NXIVM--a cult, like most cults, mirroring American slavery.

Some thoughts for now. I’ll revisit as I continue to watch the series.

Reference:

Scenes of Subjection - Saidiya Hartman

[bmthrive19]

Formatting Guidelines.

The following are the general formatting guidelines and standards to be maintained for all deliverables throughout the fest:

Report:

Font – Times New Roman

Font Size – Body 12, Headings 14 (Bold)

Line Spacing – 1.5

Alignment – Justified

Cover Page, Table of Contents and Page Numbers are necessary.

3 pin stapling is to be done for all reports (Top, Bottom and Middle).

Borders on the pages are required.

Printing must be made on a single side.

REPORT MUST BE CONVERTED TO PDF.

Presentation:

Between 5-10 slides for most rounds.

Heavy use of SmartArt and Charts.

No use of long sentences, only brief outlines of the subject. (7*7 rule)

No title slides for each section.

Print Ad: soft copy only.

File Name Format: NEX Number_Task Name_Full Name (eg. NEX 01_Business Plan_Samarth Kashyap)

E-Mail Subject Format: NEX Number_Task Name_Full Name ( eg. NEX 01 _Business Plan_Samarth Kashyap) Formating irregularities will lead to negative marking. 

[livingwithmyimaginaryfriend]

Should i write a letter to the lads a.k.a Bring Me The Horizon? Actually, they will perfom in my country (Jakarta, Indonesia) tomorrow. I desperately want to see them, but unfortunately i can't afford to buy a ticket cause it's freaking pricey.

Y'all wanna know what the prices? From $145 to $520 include tax. I'm like my God, my bank account will be empty if i could afford $145 to buy expensive ticket.

[hrthrive19]

TOP 20!!!

Top 20 teams for The Catenator in no particular order are:

NEX 4

NEX 6

NEX 8

NEX 10

NEX 11

NEX 12

NEX 13

NEX 14

NEX 15

NEX 19

NEX 20

NEX 23

NEX 24

NEX 25

NEX 26

NEX 27

NEX 28

NEX 29

NEX 31

NEX 32

Congratulations to all those who made it!!

P.S.: Your festing has just begun. All the best :)

[nex-eats-eyes]

more of my ocs in grandfest outfits

these 2 are team present

[mktthrive19]

TOP 7!!!

Without any further delay:

NEX 1

NEX 8

NEX 13

NEX 29

NEX 30

NEX 34

NEX 39

Congratulations Aesthetes! You guys have actually made it to the TOP 7 of this event, whether you planned for it or not! All your hard work was clearly visible today, the amount of value you all have given to this fest has definitely left a mark for us to remember you all. 

Be it TOP 10 or TOP 7, once an Aesthete is always an Aesthete! You guys have given us a lot to be inspired by and trust me, now we remember you not at NEX numbers, but as an individual with your names. You guys did a great job! Pat yourselves and this is a harsh truth but, the extra effort always mattered. 

With warm Regards and open arms,

Team Aesthetes!

[solcast59]

Reaction to Sacred Stones Banner

Omg IS finally released an exclusive Sacred Stones banner. Bless the gods that our man Joshua can finally have a chance to be in Heroes. I waited for this day for so long...*sniff* 

NOW LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR JOSHUA!!! JOSH-U-A, JOSH-U-A, JOSH-U-A, JO-

....Uhhh I guess you’re alright, though I never get to know you or use you in Sacred Stones since you arrived way too under leveled and you’re a pain in a neck to train. But you’re alright. (though Ross is better than you)

Don’t worry. It’s all good. Joshua still has 3/4 chance to be in Heroes. There is plenty of room for him to-

Ummm...you do have the same hair color as Joshua but you’re not Joshua, and I don’t remember you being this handsome. Props to the artist for making you look like a handsome devil. Although you’re not Joshua, I don’t mind you being in Heroes since you saved lives back in my playthrough of Scared Stones 👍

Okay, there is one unit that I like in this banner. So far so good. This is a blessed sign that Joshua will be unveiled nex-

F**** OFF INESS! GET YOUR POMPOUS BIG HANDS OUT OF MY SCREEN! I DON’T MIND YOU AT FIRST BUT I DO NOW SINCE IF YOU’RE HERE THEN THAT MEANS- 

...I figured. Oh Tana. What to do with you. I’m happy that you’re here but I’m also unhappy that Joshua’s chance of being in Heroes is rip to shreds. WHY HAS IS FORSAKEN ME AND ALL THE JOSHUA FANS OUT THERE!!! 

And on top of that travesty, even if I want to have a chance to summon for these unit, I can’t because THE HERO FEST BANNER DRAINED OUT ALL THE ORBS I HAD!!! ｡ ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

*sigh* What a good day in Fire Emblem Heroes. 

[ikari-veadric-blog]

I Give My Heart To You

There was a faint, quiet beeping within the mist of the black void that surrounded Jay. Every nerve was numb in his body, yet he could feel the thick stitching on the left side of his chest. He could hear more then just the beeping: he could hear a mixture of muffled voices surrounding him. They were about as faint as the beeping. But slowly, the voices and the beeping were rising in pitch and becoming more clear as his consciousness returned to him. He could smell a a thick suffocating smoke drifting above him before hearing muffle words yelling at it's source. He let out a cough and lifted up from the bed by a few inches momentarily, which silenced the voices. If his body wasn't numb, he would have felt the pain pierce through his chest. It took him several minutes to finally open his eyes, bright lights flooded his vision and the beeping was loud and clear.

“U-Ugh...” Jay murmured, lifting his hand up to block the light from his purple and blue eyes. He heard sighs and gasps of relief all around him. He couldn't see the figures surrounding him, but they were all different shapes and sizes with different smashes of color on them.

“Oh Blue Jay you're alright!” A voice cried out beside him before wrapping their arms gently around his fragile body.

“R-Rei...?” Jay weakly spoke out, his vision was in a complete haze. Unable to tell who was who, all he could do was guess.

“I was so worried! I-I thought I...I thought I...” The voice whimpered as their mind wandered off to what might have been.

“Hey, hey don't cry Rei. He's alright now and here with us again, no need to think like that.” Another voice came in and comforted the other. Jay's vision was slowly clearing up, seeing the colors, shapes and sizes take form. On his right he saw his family; Rei, Rezozo and Cyriri. In front of him he saw his team; Cororo, Smoky, Rix and Halkrath. On his left he saw his two adopted kids, Vay and Astralus.

“Wh-What happened?” Jay asked, slowly reaching his hand up to rub his bruised head.

“Vy told us you both were facing some guy at the bar...” Smoky spoke up, he paused as he took a hit from his cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. “Basically the guy was sent to kidnap you and bring you to some other guy named Nex, and the guy did a real number on you both, except you were in the worst condition. Pak shot from the side, impaled through the chest, everything. Only thing that kept you alive was whatever emergency life support was left in your Pak. We all came once we heard from Vy that you both were in the hospital. You were out for half a month man.”

“H-Half a month...I-In...the hospital?” That was the only thing he managed to say. His mind couldn't fathom it. All he remembered was last night, cuddling up against Vycus and falling asleep against his chest within his embrace after their date...unless it was all just a dream. It finally dawned on him that someone was missing in the room, how could he missed someone that was seven feet tall with bright luminescent purple eyes?

“Where's Vycus?” Jay asked as he looked around the room. Everyone was silent and taking glances at each other. Wondering who was going to answer his question, Jay raised a brow in concern.

“Wh-Where's Vycus?” He asked once more before pushing himself to sit up, ignoring the pain. No one answered still. He felt something wrong spur up in his stomach and chest.

“S-Someone, tell me please where is Vy-”

“Your heart was severely damaged during the fight, Jay.” Someone unfamiliar spoke up. Jay's team moved to the side to reveal the hospital's transplant surgeon. Jay watched her walk towards the bed, completely silent and blinking a few times. As if not understanding what she had meant by that.

“Your heart needed to be replaced, the pipe had shredded it completely beyond repair. We had gotten all we need to make you a new heart but by the time it would be finished, you would have been dead. So we needed someone to give up their heart to temporarily replace it until your new one is done...and Mr. Marius was the one who volunteered.” The surgeon explained. Jay was slowly piercing together what she had said, tears welling in his eyes as he began to deny it in his head.

“Y-You don't mean-”

“Jay...I am sorry, I truly am...but Vycus died giving you his heart so you can live.”

The sun was blocked by the heavy gray clouds looming over the cemetery, umbrellas hanging above the people crowding the slick black coffin. Every face bore a frown, but two of them were crying. One of them would have joined the other two in their tear fest, but they had ran out of tears long before the burial day. Jay stared at the coffin as he fiddled with something in his pocket, his eyes had lost their shine and tear stains covered his cheeks from the days of crying till he fell asleep. He felt like he lost everything he stood for that day when he found out what Vycus had sacrificed for him. The only thing that was on his mind now was Vycus' smile and voice, trying to imagine he was with him in his mind. All those times Vycus said he would give his heart up for Jay in a blink of a eye, he never thought it was literal. Jay clenched his chest softly, feeling the beating heart inside of him. One by one, the people in Vycus' life had stood in front of the coffin and said their goodbyes, saying how he affected them and how he would be missed. It was soon Jay's turn to stand before the coffin and say his goodbyes. He stood there, staring at the black coffin as he felt tears he thought long gone soon rise to the surface.

“Vycie...you were...the best thing that has happened to me in all of my life.” He began. “You, were my everything, since the day I met you. If it weren't for me getting stranded on that planet, if it weren't for you assigned to kill me that day...I, I would have never meet you, my charmer.” He took a deep, shaky breath as he tried to hold back the tears. Memories began to float in his mind.

“You were my bodyguard, no matter what...whenever I was in danger, you'd always come to save me. You would never leave my side, even if you did you wouldn't go far without me. You always would surprise me with kiss attacks every morning I woke up...telling me how much you loved me and how you would do anything for me...” Jay's tears finally began to fall from his eyes, struggling to keep his lips from frowning as he spoke. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, looking down at the wedding ring he had saved.

“I...I don't even know what to do with this now...H-Had a place pi-picked out and everything o-on Keron f-for o-our...w-wedding...” He couldn't take it anymore, he fell to his knees, dropping his umbrella as he began to cry out loudly. Holding the ring close to his chest, calling out Vycus' name as he sobbed.

Vycus and Vay (c) @ikari-veadric

Jay, Rei, Rezozo, Cororo, Halkrath, Somky, Rix, Cyiri and Astralus (c) @michelethechaoticcat