#also i love dan's exclamation:

[wanderingmind867]

Kid Devil is adorable. Hopping around the rooftops, thinking of catchphrases for himself, he's adorable. I don't ever intend on reading many DC comics beyond 1985-1986, so I would like to continue to see Kid Devil like this. In the same way I stop Batman with issue #400 (back when batman was still barely lighthearted, and Robin was Jason Todd), so too do I end my interactions with Blue Devil after volume one here. So Kid Devil will always be that cute kid with the devil costume. If I need a real red devil, don't we already have Hellboy, anyways? Sorry if that's rude; I'm just trying to justify my not caring about many DC and Marvel comics beyond 1980-1986. (Blue Devil #14):

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 2, Match 2 BRING IT ON vs. THIS IS HOW TO BE IN LOVE WITH YOU

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for BRING IT ON:

"Reasons why Bring it On should win:

- Just by starting the song, the instrumentals are BANGER. Like his more rock style is very cool, even better than After Pain’s more mellow style - Arthur’s voice (Futa’s va) had bills due because have you HEARD his singing?? His raspier voice fits Futa so well - It feels so explosive and like a call to action in a sense, which very much matches Futa’s mentality during trial 1. He also wasn’t playing victim like a CERTAIN girl… (jk, love you mu!) - SAA HAJIMEYOU USOTSUKI KARIDA - UNDEAD HEROOOI YES SLAY KING HIS HIGH NOTE HERE IS HEAVENLY - His scream at the end. Oh my god. HE LITERALLY ATE THIS NOTE. AFTER PAIN COULD NEVER. BRING IT ON FTW 🔥🔥🔥" - His range goes WAAAAAY higher than Mu. She would end up like PHG if she even tried hitting any of his high notes in the last chorus /j

---

- The vocals are amazing, those growls are so well done - You’re able to get Fuuta’s crime and motive pretty succinctly, only based on the visuals - But it still leaves a lot up to interpretation, like how he only attacked once in the final fight scene. It lead to some cool theories. - On that note, the game aspects are so cool!! Especially when paired with him going after people online, just good synergy with awesome style! - Fuuta’s scared face after he realizes what he did. The great contrast of other foes simply being knocked out then being met with blood splatter. - The tempo of the song changing with his mood is a really good touch as well. Make the song more chaotic which highlights his character traits well

---

"propaganda for bring it on: the music FUCKS it genuinely slaps so hard listening to it. song style is incredible its perfect for fuutas personality and gamer vibes. also the way the mv frames everything as a game? the only time real blood and real gore happens being when killcheroy dies? the little details of all the usernames, the different monster designs, the generally distorted feel of everything being too lighthearted?

okay i could go on about the mv for hours but lets not. aside from that: the FEEL of the song!!! the vocals!!!! it really feels like fuuta putting his whole heart into it, into this point of view that both blows problems out of proportion and minimises them, and DEEPLY fucking up. my darling little hypocrite gamer boy twitter user. he makes his witch hunt genuinely sound like something that could sweep people up into it. also the instruments goddddd. the guitar and synth the bass and the drums the DRUMS. im relistening to it to write this propaganda and it keeps making me headbang when i should be writing. if you arent headbanging to bring it on you are LYING.

the way the lyrics are written is wonderful too!!!! they feel so brash and brave and powerful and like. cocky about it. and it fits PERFECTLY. its gets someone swept up into it and it FUCKS. vote bring it on im serious. lets go!! a victory march!! dan da dan!!"

Propaganda for TIHTBILWY:

okay so like the thing im most in love with: the VOCALS!!!! this song has an absolutely AMAZING singer and AMAZING vocals!!!! the way the conversational talk-singing lines still feel so musical!!!! the cute cute cuteeeee mahiru voice!!!! it brings you so much energy!!!! its a song sung with so much love!!!! mahirus va brings such an amazing feel to the song with such amazing talk-singing!!!! its very skillfully done and it happens in i love you too!! mahiru songs r the QUEENS of musical talk singing

the silly phone call bit. kurururu~!

the little vocal flourish and the way her voice raises up like an excited exclamation in the final prechorus!! daijoubu nante kirai DA!

its such a fast song but everything flows so well!!!! it makes it feel so bright and cheery and peppy!!

the instrumental is so underrated just LISTEN to that catchy bass line thats so pretty in the verses!!!! no for real even if u dont vote this is how to be in love with you go listen to the bass line in the verses it works to move both the song and the listener forward at mahirus sweeping breakneck pace. and the cute keyboard sounding and synth instruments!!!! its SUCH a danceable song!!!! i cant listen to it without bopping along in my seat

the way the ominous bits are subtly hidden? it all sounds so cute but there are just these Things that she sings that are really kind of concerning and unhealthy when she sings them!! and the veiled desperation to be in her relationship- listening to that and the cheery tone and breakneck, quick song pace, it really does represent mahiru SO well. she throws in all these little bits that just go noooo teehee the relationships just fine!! when it REALLY isnt

i would listen to mahiru talk for hours

the MV!!!!!! HER FASHION SENSE THE MAGAZINE STYLE!!!! the magazine style especially works so well with her character!!!! its so cute and stunning and just looking at it you have a blast. also her birdcage!!!! her birdcage and the bright orange and the pink bars!!!! the way everything desaturates and becomes more sickly looking when she wakes up at the end!!!! its such a happy carefully curated and designed dream and then it drains away!!!! also god all her outfits are stunning. mahiru call me

the way she sings "overheat de~!" cutest thing in the WORLD.

the little faces she makes!!!! godddd shes so expressive

actually the whole songs so expressive!!!! shes putting her all into it!!!! her words have so much expression in them!!!! once more praising mahirus va the way her voice can soften and become bright or subtly desperate so quickly is MASTERFUL control of expression when singing and its so underrated. join me in being insane over miho okasaki delivers her lines. shes such a perfect mahiru.

funniest es cover. hands down. funniest es cover.

this is how to be in love with you is FREE serotonin!!!! free energy right there!!!! this is how to be in love with you sweep!!!!!

---

-The song is so cheerful!! I always feel like dancing and singing when this one comes up in my playlists!! Absolute banger, mood definer, kicking sadness in the shin with those high-heels and then hitting its face with a cute purse -THE HIGH-HEELS STEPPING TO THE BEAT OF THE MUSIC IN THAT ONE SCENE (0:50). SIMPLY ICONIC. NO ONE DID IT LIKE HER. -👠💅👝👗 -She is slaying. Look at her outfits. She put so much effort there. She gave it her all. Absolutely serving. -SUKITTE KIMOCHI WAKATTA TSUMORI? NARA KONO MAMA FUTARI O-VA-HI-TO- DE -The storyline of the mv MAKES SENSE and you can form a COHESIVE TIMELINE OF EVENTS (unlike other unspecified contestants' mvs you know 🙄) -look at herr 🥺 she beby 🥺 all she did was love too much 🥺 we all love mappi don't we 🥺 she deserved more let her win this pleease 🥺 -No medical malpractice happened in the making of this mv 👍

---

I care so much about This is How To Be In Love With You- it's visuals are brilliant in the ways it conveys its themes and narrative. I'm never normal Ever about the "Love as marketing" symbolism that is brought in by the use of magazines. It's a lovely upbeat song but the Horrors are Always Lurking under it, the breakup Ritual line is my Favorite Line cause its so horrifying but its said so casually and its so good oh its so good-

[infwctednyacifier]

VIBE TIME

Can I get an alter based off of snow pleaseee

For the subsys thing too!! If you got name ideas for the subsys btw I would be happy to hear it…

-🌀🎲

🫀⋆｡ 🧿 ₊˚❄️ ˚. SINGLE, ORIGINAL = SNOWY HEADMATE – ALTER PACK

As someone who has a subsystem, the name depends on the general vibe. If you already have a subsystem then they should discuss what things are similar about them and then find ways to combine those things into a name. For instance, our subsystem is named ‘The Chat System’ because their collective identity is Twitch Chat and the headmates represent different people you’d find online. Also, I have to warn you; Zaja’s Room is a pretty creepy and unusual channel, I’d recommend watching Juicy’s “Strange YouTube Channel #4” as he discusses it and it makes it less creepy.

Names – Akemi „ Izumi „ Aoi „ Hana „ Chinami „ Rina

Nicknames – Mimi „ Izu „ Chi – Chi „ Nana

Age – ageless / adult

Pronouns – she / her „ doll / doll’s „ porcelain / porcelain’s „ lace / lace’s „ bow / bow’s „ frilly / frilly’s „ cold / cold’s „ snow / snow’s „ breeze / breeze’s

Gender – cisgirl „ dollcoric „ sanriololitagender „ paperdollgender „ wintercoric „ gyangelera

Terms – girl „ doll „ puppy

Orientation – androsexual „ polyamorous

Personality – weird „ creepy „ girly „ cutesy „ boy – obsessed „ extroverted

Role – general caretaker / protector ( physical „ mental / physical „ social „ verbal )

Species – humanoid ( Backrooms creature )

Source – original „ inspired by Zaja’s Room ( YouTube channel )

Emojis – 🫀 „ ❄️ „ 🧿 „ 🎭 „ ❓ „ 🧸

Front triggers – Zaja’s Room „ cutecore „ weirdcore „ weirdcore + cutecore combination „ Moe anime „ snow „ Japan „ people who are also unusual „ masks

Memories – being in her room „ making videos

Extra – will very quickly ( basically immediately ) make her own blog or YouTube channel if allowed . Age regresses and is mentally stuck back a few years ( around 16 ) . Puppy kemonomimi ( Japanese character w animal ears & tail ) and kemono ( cutecore leaning furry ) . Would love to have partners who age regress „ are mentally stuck at her age „ kemonomimi & kemono „ likes her hyper realistic masks „ etc . Tends to speak in Japanese but will put English captions in videos . Constantly wears her masks . Uses a lot of exclamation points „ question marks „ and kaomojis .

Example message – Konnichiwa and ohayo, konbanwa, and oyasumi! I'm Akemi. I use she/doll/porcelain/lace/bow/frill/cold/snow/breeze!! I love cutecore, weirdcore, gyaru, anime, dolls, and my masks–Which I make myself!!! ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ I'll see all of you guys later, sayonara!~ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹

Likes – her partners „ being accepted „ like – minded people „ dogs „ her online dans

Dislikes – jealousy „ cats „ salty food „ people who judge her „ aggression

Faceclaims –

[marceltheshellwithflipflopson]

20 questions for fic writers

thanks for the tag @becomethesun <3<3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

11!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

allegedly 46,015, but 5,569 of those words were technically written by @freetobeyouandmichi-me in our shared au! (love ya)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

the last of us

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. cold is the water

2. buckets of rain / shelter from the storm

3. you love me so hard and i still can't sleep

4. matchbox

5. patron saints

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YES when @toointojoelmiller said ao3 comments were better than drugs she was RIGHT! but fr they make me giddy every time, even if it's just a singular emoji or a bunch of exclamation points

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

maybe creature fear? just because it's so early days joel and ellie, so there's no warm and fuzzies to be had anywhere. wouldn't say it's angsty though

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i'm kind of incapable of writing a sad ending, so it's a three way tie between my fluffiest children (1) buckets of rain / shelter from the storm, (2) mountain high, valley low, river wide, and (3) fisherman hats and carpet stains

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not YET thank GOD

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do not

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i haven't but i have a prospect x tlou crossover in the earliest of early stages

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i don't think so?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

kinda yes! michi wrote Roll for Halloween Hijacks for our modern au and was kind enough to name me as co-author

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

i'm lame and most of my ships are just the ones that are already canon :/ but if i had to pick a wild card, i was oddly obsessed with peter parker/harley keener back in the marvel heyday

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i really don't want to speak this into existence, but literally any of my ideas for longfics

16. What are your writing strengths?

fluff, dialogue, authentic characters

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

underwriting, writing consistently, whump/angst

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i do not think i would be any good at this

19. First fandom you wrote for?

should i lay bare all the skeletons in my closet rn? on a tumblr that i deleted over a decade ago, i wrote a few random one-shots of fred weasley/reader, george weasley/reader, remus lupin/reader, sirius black/reader, (brace yourselves) dan howell/reader, and phil lester/reader ... what the fuck i even shipped phan so idk why i did this

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

this is a hard question but i think my home (far away). it challenged me and took me out of my comfort zone but at the same time it was some of the most fun i've ever had writing

no pressure tags! @lkay-09 @two-birds-alone-together @boopernatural (also sorry, you were probably already tagged bc of our braincell hivemind lol)

[therandomartmaker]

Tim has no idea how this’d happened, if he were to be completely honest (as he much often wasn’t).

A child. Well, a pre-teen to be more specific, the kid was something around 11 or 10 years old. A pre-teen, in one of his safe-houses, sitting like a wet cat and-

His name was Dan, apparently, and Tim may or may not have picked him up off the street after finding him near a crime scene. He could remember it clearer than crystal.

A dark haired boy sitting to the side of a dead body, pants and shoes soaked in darkening blood. Hair, sopping as the rain poured around them. He was wearing a dark-coloured (or perhaps heavily stained) hoodie, paired in a strange combination with slacks and cotton sneakers. Nothing, no blood splatter on his hands though (at least, not in a way that matched the knife wounds on the body), which bode well for the kid to have simply stumbled upon the body. It was almost stereotypically tragic scene of the loss of a loved one.

(Tim didn’t think about the kid’s blue eyes, the scattered pearls around the ground, the unnecessarily fancy outfit beneath the pathetic tar-stained (?) hoodie. That was unrelated, and there wasn’t even second body, nor was it a death by shooting. Whatever parallels there were… were just unfortunate coincidence)

He hadn’t turned to face Tim even though wasn’t even trying to be stealthy. He’d just sat there. Tim’d started taking photos of crime scene, careful to avoid signs of the boy’s presence wihin them.

It was a quiet night.

Only after Tim had finished recording the scene and gathering possible evidence, already compiling the photos in his mind to be organised and solved after he dealt with the kid, had the kid actually spoken out to him.

“Aren’t you supposed to do something about victim response, or something? Make sure i’m not in shock? What kind of a vigilante are you?”

‘Damn it, this one’s snarky. They train ‘em to be witty little shits when they’re young, huh.’ He’d thought,

“Yeah, but, aren’t kids near dead bodies supposed to call emergency services?” Tim had retorted, because if the pre-teen was stable enough to snark a highly dangerous vigilante, he could handle a little snapback. Tim shook his head, “What’s your relation to the victim?”

“Nothing. Just saw her getting mugged. I spooked the mugger and they stabbed her. We fought,” the kid spoke, smooth and calm, “They got away, but I got ‘em good.”

“…what were you doing out so late?”

“I was just… trying to find somewhere to go, and I promised my good ol’ parole officer that i’d help anyone who needed it.” The kid huffed, small and pouty, “Community service, or something.”

“What pre-teen has a parol- no, nevermind. Do you need somewhere to stay?” Tim asked, fully ready to call up an illegal shelter in the area to save a space, or Jason’s little kiddie gang to take him in for a bit. “I’ll call up-“

“Fuck! Not the authorities, or the shelters! They’ll be looki- I-“ the kid panicked, eyes widened and body language far more alert. “I swear I’m not actually a wanted or missing criminal! I’m- uh- look. Just don’t call the cops or CPS.”

Tim considered, for a few moments. He wasn’t gonna call either in the first place, but the kid had peaked his curiosity. Fuck it, he thought. “I’ve got a safe house nearby, kiddo,” he started, ignoring the kid’s indignant ‘I’m not a kid!’ exclamation, “Give me your name and details about that mugger and you can stay for a bit, yeah?”

The kid looked up at him, blankly serious, a far cry from the raw anger and analytical tension earlier. For a moment, Tim had considered that the kid was going to leave, to not take him up on his offer.

“My name’s Dan, fucker, and you’d better have decent food.”

It really wasn’t intentional that they’d turned into something of a mangled guardian-ward relationship.

—————

also, setting down some more stuff because i have thoughts my friends, i have thoughts :D

The dead body was Gotham. she faked a death (related to and containing evidence to condemn one of the gangs in Tim’s purview because she wasn’t mean enough to Not Help) but mainly she wanted to mess with her knights a little bit. She swears by the “they’re my emotional support characters! oh, not supportive, i mean load-bearing support.” idea, so she recreated Bruce’s orphaning day in a minor manner, fully aware about the parallels (that was the whole point)

Dan’s wearing fancy clothing because Danny bullied him into it. He was going to be a liminal in a city ghost’s territory, he had to be neat and presentable to introduce himself! Gotham was the one to give him his hoodie, after the meeting.

Dan didn’t want the authorities called on him because he didn’t legally exist, and also both Dnany and Gotham were whispering ideas on what to say to him (for some unknown reason)

Following this, Tim quietly starts to learn how to properly cook, because while he could make instant meals easy (he had to know, after the Drake’s constant childhood absence) he had a pre-teen living under him and healthy diets for healthy kids.

He doesn’t ask anyone for help, of course, so sometimes the bats see him with bandaids or bandages around his arms and get concerned (just knicks from the kitchen knives and light burns from being a bit too clumsy with hot food) because tim’s injury count has risen in the past few days, or weeks.

Dan’s a gremlin to Tim, because he knows the guy actually started caring when he saw how hard he was trying to learn to cook, and he doesn’t want that, because what if he becomes a villain again? What kind of torture would it be to have to face off against the child you partially raised?

Dan eventually traumadumps on Tim about future timelines, but doesn’t talk about his “past-life” after a cryptic message from Clockwork and one interdimensional phonecall to his therapist (Jazz)

Tim just has to deal with the fact that he’d adopted an insomniac with an evil future timeline version of himself, that had been adopted by a too-young black-haired blue-eyed rich father, and witnessed a woman with pearls die in an alleyway. The only batkids left to emulate were; having a penchant for art, a lack of social-graces or blades (Damian); being a murderer or anti-hero woth irrational rage and having once died (Jason); faking his death (Steph); having a shitty parent (Cass)

You know two things we haven't seen a lot of? A child Dan being adopted and a single parent Tim. So today I give you, "too stubborn to ask for help" teen father Tim taking care of "newly reformed and reincarnated gremlin" child Dan.

[logogreffe]

Au secours ! Quel/Quelle/Quels/Quelles which one should I use ?? part 2

[From now on, I'll use "4Q" to refer to Quel/Quelle/Quelles/Quels - A partir de maintenant j'utiliserai "4Q" pour faire référence à Quel/Quelle/Quelles/Quels ] This post is about the uses of the 4Q in exclamative sentences. If you want to know more about the uses of the 4Q in direct interrogative sentences you can read this post ! Ce post porte sur les usages des 4Q dans des phrases exclamatives. Si vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur les usages des 4Q dans des phrases interrogatives directes , vous pouvez lire ce post ! 1. Structure // Structure

In exclamative sentence the 4Q are used in the following way // Dans une phrase exclamative les 4Q sont utilisés de la manière suivante :

one of the 4Q + NOUN ! // un des 4Q + NOM COMMUN Translation : What a + NOUN ! 2. Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles ? - Quel + a masculine singular noun ! // un nom commun masculin singulier - Quelle + a feminine singular noun ! // un nom commun féminin singulier - Quels + a masculine plural noun ! // un nom commun masculin pluriel - Quelles + a feminine plural noun ! // un nom commun féminin pluriel

Exemple n°1 : Quel idiot ! // What an idiot ! (Idiot : masculine singular word // nom commun masculin singulier) Note : you'll notice that in French you don't have to use the "an" in front of "idiot". Vous remarquerez qu'en français, il n'est pas nécessaire d'utiliser "un" devant idiot 3. 4Q + Insult // 4Q + Insulte

The 4Q in exclamative sentences are mostly used to insult people nowadays // Les 4Q dans des phrases exclamatives sont utilisés principalement pour insulter des gens de nos jours. The only expression I have found that isn't an insult // La seule expression que j'ai trouvée qui n'était pas une insulte : "Quelle horreur !" // "Oh my.." (Horreur : feminine singular noun // nom commun féminin singulier) Here is a few example of insults you can use with the 4Q (mostly QUEL and QUELLE) // Voici quelques exemples d'insultes que vous pouvez utiliser avec les 4Q (principalement QUEL et QUELLE) : - Idiot/Idiote // Idiot - Connard (nom masculin) // asshole (male) - Lèche botte (nom masculin) // boot-licker - Conne (nom féminin) // dumbass (female) etc.. If you want to insult multiple people you can say "Quelle bande de X !" (lit. What a bunch of X !) Si vous souhaitez insulter plusieurs personnes vous pouvez dire "Quelle bande de X !" Note : The structure "4Q + insult" can also be used to talk about youself. It's the shorten version of "quel/quelle X je suis "// "what an X I am" Exemple n°2 : Annie a oublié ses clés. Annie : Quelle conne ! J'ai encore oublié mes clés ! Translation : Annie forgot her keys. Annie : (lit. translation : What a dumbass !) I forgot my keys again ! 4. Important Notes // Remarques importantes It's important to note that the structure "4Q + NOUN" (when you're not insulting anyone) sounds quite "old school" in French. Especially if you add an adjective after the noun AND especially if you use the following structure "4Q + adjectif + noun ! "

Il est important de noter que la structure "4Q + Nom commun !" (quand vous n'êtes pas en train d'insulter quelqu'un) sonne un peu "old school" en français. Surtout si vous ajoutez un adjectif après le nom commun et SURTOUT si vous utilisez la structure suivante "4Q + adjectif + nom commun !" - If you want to say "What a lovely smell !" for example , one could say "quel doux parfum !" It's correct but it sounds weird nowadays. Instead you'll say something like "it smells nice ! " // "ça sent bon ! " Si vous souhaitez dire "What a lovely smell !" par exemple, vous pourriez dire "quel doux parfum !". C'est correct mais ça sonne étrange de nos jours. A la place il faudrait dire "it smells nice " // "ça sent bon !" - Now, what if you wanted to say "What a view !" in French ? Well , you could say "Quelle vue ! " but again it will sound really unnatural. Et si maintenant vous vouliez dire "What a view !" en français ? Et bien, vous pourriez dire "Quelle vue !" mais encore une fois, ça sonnerait vraiment pas naturel. So you have two options : // Vous avez donc deux options :

Option 1 : You add an adjectif // Vous ajoutez un adjectif -> Quelle vue magnifique ! // What a beautiful view ! This one is not as bad as "quelle vue ! " or "quelle magnifique vue !" You might hear it in an old movie or read it in a book. Exceptionally, you might even see it written in the comments under a facebook picture or something. It's good to know what it means, but Option 2 is better ! Cette option n'est pas aussi horrible que "quelle vue !" ou encore "quelle magnifique vue!". Vous pourriez l'entendre dans un vieux film ou la trouver dans un livre. Exceptionnellement, vous pourriez même la trouver dans les commentaires sous une photo sur Facebook ou un truc du style. C'est important de savoir ce que ça veut dire, mais l'option 2 est beaucoup mieux ! Option 2 : You say something else ! // Vous dites autre chose ! - C'est trop beau ! // It's so pretty ! - C'est magnifique ! // It's so pretty ! PS : "Old school" can be translated to "de la vieille école" but ironically saying "de la vieille école" is quite old school. I personally say "old school" with a French accent. You could also say "vieillot" or "ringard". "Old school" peut être traduit par "de la vieille école" mais ironiquement dire "de la vieille école" est de la vieille école... Personnellement je dis "old school" avec un accent français. On peut également dire "vieillot" ou "ringard".

[sparklycardigan]

I've never even watched Gossip Girl, but looking at that Dair gifset where they're watching a movie "together" over the phone, I loved the detail where they both switch their phones to the other ear, because THAT'S WHAT THIS IS LIKE! When you talk to someone on the phone for HOURS, your ear gets all hot and sweaty and your arm cramps up and you have to keep switching! Hahaha! It's silly, but it really is something I remember from the Long conversations I'd have with my husband whenever we were long-distance (which was a significant portion of our dating relationship).

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IN THE LAST ASK YOU SENT!!!!!!!!!! I live for that kind of thing, it makes everything seem more real (I would literally read a book that has its characters watching TV, folding laundry and talking over the phone the whole time long and I would definitely enjoy it). It has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, but it's so dear and close to my heart🤧. When it comes to that post and that Dair moment (keeping it non-fandom related), Blair actually switches the phone again, the last gif has her holding it to her left ear, like in the beginning of the scene, which makes it even better. I need to physically restrain myself from getting into this further because Dair is all about the domesticity and seemingly useless details that actually mean a lot, exactly like the moment you mentioned. Thank you so much for sending this ask <3 (also no need to read the text under the gif, it's only me fangirling)

They have their own little universe made out of shared coffee mugs and shared colorful comfy sweaters and scarves (that Blair supposedly hates but starts buying them under the excuse of buying them for Dan who already has plenty of those and he goes along with it and of course she ends up wearing them whenever she comes over) and piles of newspapers with half of the words circled (little exclamation points accompanying the text!!!! coffee stains!!!! entire articles highlighted!!!!!!). There's something in the air today, my headcanons are getting out of hand.

I could talk about Dair + coffee mugs and teacups for the rest of eternity without ever getting bored and I consider myself to be insanely cool because of that.

[foxghost]

This week’s danmei rec

浮光 Scattered Light (Afterimage) by 渥丹/脈脈 Wo Dan / Mo Mo, about 200k, counting the extras (I have a physical book, this is a guess), HE, rating somewhere between T and M. Actor x photographer, showbiz, age difference, a classic from 2007. Both the author and title have been censored on jjwxc.

不知為何，近來我懷念著過去，近於思鄉一般。 I don't know why, but lately I've been thinking fondly of the past; something like homesickness.

While interning at the movie magazine "Silver Screen", young photographer Xie Minglang meets the accomplished, 30-something actor Yan Cai. Later, when he's going through the photographs, he purposefully does not airbrush away Yan Cai's wrinkles and lines, and when he's questioned by the editor, he insists. Somehow, after some back and forth with Yan Cai's manager, the photos are approved.

Later, he runs into Yan Cai again, and Yan Cai tells him the photos reminds him that he's aged, and also, that they were good, and that Xie Minglang is very talented. During a movie festival/awards, Xie Minglang comes out to get some air (and beers), happens to run into Yan Cai, and Yan Cai tells him, "I keep seeing you around the past few days," and after a brief conversation, he asks Xie Minglang, "what are you so scared about?"

That's how Wo Dan / Mo Mo writes romance. Yan Cai doesn't tell him "you're beautiful" but "I keep seeing you", when the only place Yan Cai could have seen him was just another photographer with a camera among a crowd of photographers at a movie festival.

And "what are you so scared about" is his first invitation. They're interrupted by the arrival of Yan Cai's manager, so he doesn't get to take him back to his hotel room, but at the end of the festival, Xie Minglang wanders back to the same place he shared a can of beer with Yan Cai, and runs into him again. And he says, "I was able to run into you, after all," which, Xie Minglang isn't stupid, and knows Yan Cai means "I was waiting for you."

This time no one interrupts them, and after not turning down an invitation to have a few drinks, and then not turning down an invitation to drink in Yan Cai's hotel room, he tries to run away again but then Yan Cai tells him, "stop lying to yourself," and they have a one-night-stand.

The story itself is pretty simple — your typical romance where two people meet and fall into a relationship, the younger part of the couple feeling inadequate and the older one helping to shape the younger one's career, the breakup when they're found out and they realise they have problems beyond being public figures, the reunion when they realise being together is more important than everything else. What's special is the way Wo Dan writes. Wo Dan writes a novel the way Wong Kar-wai makes a movie, all show and no tell, and some people are going to find that boring. You can say the reviews are mixed.

Wo Dan will not tell you how much Yan Cai loves Xie Minglang, only how much Yan Cai would sacrifice for him, and how he’s never really understood by even the closest people to them. “But they know, and that’s enough.”

If you get through 10% of this and finds it boring, 60% isn't going to make it any better. But this is one of those books that I just love, not the way I love a danmei novel, where it's entertaining, but the way I used to love Yi Shu. I enjoy the way Wo Dan puts together her sentences, the way everything seems like it’s behind a veil, where the exclamation point is almost never used when a period is what’s required.

They're not written like this anymore. Readers want a certain kind of story, the government wants a certain level of moral purity, and writers now conform to the market, and perhaps it's as true as a line in this book:

販賣夢想的人，都是不做夢的。 Those people who peddle dreams ... don't dream.

Here's to the return of imperfection, but for now, I have old books.

[karmiky]

Foxes as fanfic writers

Dan - dance aus. All types of dance, but her favorites are ballet and Burlesque. Loves to throw in cameos by her sisters she used to dance with. Uses the crazier stories from her club days for plots. Always leave kudos.

Kevin - lives to make any sort of historical au. Loves a good medieval story. Also band aus. (His physical therapist recommended guitar to help the dexterity in his hand and Wymack plays guitar and started teaching him.) no matter what he writes there is. so. much. unresolved sexual tension. Everyone comments on ‘when will they get together?’ And Kevin is just like ‘huh?’ Enjoys correcting people in the comments.

Andrew - detective aus with so much suspense. You never know who did it until the very end and then you realize all the clues he left and his readers think ‘omg how did I miss that???’ Low key uses the redemption arc, but only if you squint. Turns off comments.

Matt - they were roommates! enemies to friends! there was only one bed! He likes a happy ending okay? Sue him. Never passes up an opportunity to use a common trope and somehow makes each one more endearing than the last. Comments on every fic he reads.

Aaron - comic book style superhero au. And with so much gore. The injuries are so detailed and realistic it’s almost uncomfortable, but he likes to use that med degree. Also does his own illustrations. Writes coffee shop aus and posts them anonymously.

Seth - Mr. fuck canon. The epitome of ‘This is my car and I’m driving so buckle up or gtfo.’ Ooc? Damn right it’s ooc. This character deserved better and I’m here to give it to them. He’s also a fan of the No one dies au...

Allison - All. The. Smut. PwP. PwoP. Explicit sexual content. The Foxes are impressed by how she can take any prompt and make it smutty. They went to the farmers market prompt? 1k words later and none of them can look at a butternut squash the same way again. (Kevin let Allison ghost write after his readers complain about the unresolved sexual tension. They were not ready.)

Nicky - Fantasy crossovers, found family and adoption aus. Nicky is surprisingly good at world building and interpersonal dynamics. He builds themes and motifs that are truly moving. He always replies to every comment with a shit ton of emojis and exclamation points.

Renee - flower shop/tattoo and bakery aus and really realistic fight scenes. She has a knack for details. Intricately decorated cakes? Beautiful pastries? Gorgeous flowers and amazing tattoos? Done, done and done. And not sure how to describe that intense fight scene? Not sure what weapons work for the scene? She has you covered. Also replies to every comment.

Neil - Shitposting extraordinaire. Discord in the fandom? Damn right, he started it. Hot take? He has them. Ideas about every way the author fucked up? He has a detailed list with the receipts for every point. Has made more than one commenter cry.

[lumosinlove]

Coast To Coast

part iii

Two Meetings and a Reunion

(Notes: To chirp in hockey is to make fun of/lightly insult.

Nous n'avons jamais passé une nuit dans un lit ensemble sans—nous embrasser: We’ve never spent a night in bed together without--kissing each other)

Gryffindor, 2017

Logan had heard from Finn over the phone, of course. Congratulating him. They FaceTimed. They missed each other.

They didn’t talk about it. The day Finn left.

Finn’s call to Logan had been one of many congratulatory emails, texts, calls, and voicemails. One call of which had been from Sirius Black himself, slightly awkward, but awe-inspiring none the less.

Drafted to the Gryffindor Lions. First Finn, now Logan.

If they had been anyone else, Logan would have thought it too good to be true.

But that was all they were: Phone calls, and messages. A screen between them, one of them having to go soon, both of them busy.

It was nothing compared to Logan pulling up at Finn’s apartment, having just dropped his things off at none other than Pascal Dumais’ house. There would be no buffer. It would just be Finn, right in front of him, tall and lean muscle and…everything.

Logan pulled his car into park in the street and took a breath. The problem wasn’t Finn. He wanted to see his best friend more than anything. The problem was that he wanted to kiss him, too.

I’m here, he texted Finn, coming up.

He received only a string of exclamation points in return.

Logan got out of the car, feeling his heart jump with every step. He waved to the doorman who held his hand out.

“Congrats, my friend.”

It startled a laugh out of Logan. Gryffindor really did love their Lions. The man must have recognized him.

“Thanks,” Logan shook his hand, and the man smiled.

Logan spent the short elevator ride bouncing on his toes in silence. He took of his hat, pushed his hair back, and then put it back on.

All he wanted was to see Finn. Maybe that was part of the problem.

When the doors did ding open, he almost didn’t get out. He stood there until the doors started closing, and then pressed his hand against it, making them spring slowly back apart.

8B, Finn had said. Logan looked until he found the right numbers on the door. He knocked, and the door opened instantly to reveal a slightly breathless Finn.

Logan almost turned around.

Finn looked the same, and different. His smile was the same, wide and lopsided. Logan remembered going to the dentist with him to get that bottom tooth fixed. His brown eyes and the wavy red hair. The dark freckles over his nose. He had a gray t-shirt on, the collar loose and making his pale skin look creamy. But he looked stronger, his chest and shoulders pressing against his t-shirt in a way that was new and no help at all to Logan.

“Hi, Fish,” Logan managed.

Finn let out a noise that hit Logan right in the chest.

“Lo,” he sighed out, and then Logan was in Finn’s arms. It was a feeling that he had thought he was ready for. He was wrong.

Finn clutched at him, leaving Logan no choice but to bury his nose against his shoulder. He smelled the same. Logan pressed his hands hard against Finn’s back figuring, if he couldn’t have anything else, he could have this.

“Fuck me,” Finn laughed and pulled back. “Fuck, come in, come in.”

Logan let Finn lead him into his apartment and seat him at one of his open kitchen’s bar-stools.

“Wow,” Logan said as he sat, looking at the view overlooking Gryffindor. “This place actually does make OKN look like a shit hole.”

Finn snorted as he messed around with some coffee, dousing Logan’s in cream and sugar and leaving his own be. “NHL salary, ma-is a-mi-es.” Finn grinned when Logan winced, sitting beside him. “Still can get you with my horrible French. That’s good to know some things never change.”

Logan smiled, trying not to let his eyes trace over Finn’s entire body, and took a sip of his coffee instead.

Finn just looked—good. Healthy and happy and so gorgeous Logan didn’t know how he had dealt with it for so long.

Maybe Finn had someone now, Logan thought. Maybe that was why he looked different.

“How’s Dumo’s?” Finn said, resting his feet on the rungs of Logan’s stool.

“Surreal,” Logan said, corner of his mouth lifting in a shaky smile. He knew where this conversation was going.

Finn nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t stop feeling like I was in some fucking dream of mine until four months into last season. Flight?”

“Same old, same old. My mom fussed, you know how she is.”

“Boy, do I. Bet your sisters wanted to come.”

Logan smiled. “They wanted to see you, really.”

Finn laughed. “Aw. Well, I miss them.”

Logan nodded, spinning his mug around slowly on the table. He had missed Finn, sometimes so bad that it hurt, and now he didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted another hug, wanted to touch him somehow. He reached out and pulled a piece of string from his shoulder, flicking it away and returning to his cup. The slow scraping noise of ceramic on stone filled the room for a few moments before Finn set his mug down and leaned in a little.

“Lo, did you—did you ever think about…”

Logan raised his eyebrows when Finn trailed off. “Harz, there are so many ends to that sentence…”

“Sorry, sorry,” Finn ran a hand over his face. “I just…” Finn gestured widely around the apartment, then laughed, a disbelieving, short thing, and stared at Logan with sadder eyes. “I’ve got three fucking bedrooms in this place. It’s just me.”

Logan looked away, back towards the view of Gryffindor. “We talked about this.”

“No,” Finn said. “You texted me that you were living with Dumo. That was it. That isn’t a conversation.”

“You know why we can’t—” Logan stopped, blood rushing in his ears. “Why I…Nous n'avons jamais passé une nuit dans un lit ensemble sans—nous embrasser.”

“Here we fucking go,” Finn let his head fall back for a moment in frustration before he looked at Logan again. “You can’t do that shit when you don’t want to talk about something.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, Logan!”

Logan stood up. He took a step back. “You know why we can’t.”

Finn stood, too, hands outstretched like he wanted to gather Logan to him. He watched Logan retreat though, and drew back, holding them against his chest.

“I thought,” Finn began. “I thought maybe…Lo, now that you’re here—”

“The Lions newest rookies,” Logan snapped. “Fucking each other. That’s how you want to start your NHL career?”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “I refuse to give a flying fuck about anyone who thinks I’m wrong for wanting you.”

That rang like a bell in Logan’s mind. “Then why haven’t you told anyone?”

“Because you don’t want to!” Finn shouted. “And I want you, and I was worried it might make you…”

Finn trailed off again, and Logan watched as his entire posture deflated. Finn sank back onto the stool, rubbing his palms over his eyes, shoulders hunched. “Might make you want to not, like…fuck, I don’t know, not be seen with me or something.”

Finn’s words hung in the air.

Logan knew he should say something. The air didn’t feel quite in his chest anymore, but sucked out by the vacuum that was Finn ever thinking that Logan wouldn’t want him around. He hovered there, just a few steps from the door.

I want you. Finn had said it twice. Logan felt a sick sort of guilt twist in his chest. He had never even said it out loud.

Logan turned towards the door, away from Finn, and pressed his hands over his eyes. He took his hat off and put it back on.

“Can you sit down? Alright, just…can you sit?” Finn said. “I’m sorry, this isn’t how I wanted this to go, but I just had to know.”

Logan turned again and sat, every part of him feeling heavy. He was pretty sure this wasn’t what you were suppose to feel like when you were drafted into the NHL.

“I understand why you’re scared,” Finn said slowly. He pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m scared. Our lifestyle doesn’t exactly have a nice track record with openness. We both know that.”

“So, I live with Pascal,” Logan said.

“And what, ignore me?”

“No,” Logan groaned, pressing a hand over his eyes. “I just mean—if I lived with you, Finn…”

“What?” Finn said, and then reached forward, tugging Logan’s hand away from his face, his fingers wrapped around his wrist. “You what?”

“You know what,” Logan snapped. “J’ai—“

“Logan.”

“I like to kiss you,” Logan said, voice raising. It was the closest he could get.

“Then kiss me,” Finn said right back. “Kiss me all you want, we’re in the same fucking room for the first time in over a year.”

Logan stood again, raising his hands slightly, before letting them fall back against his thighs. His heart was beating out of his chest. He wanted what Finn wanted. But he also wanted all the things that meant he couldn’t want Finn. He didn’t know how to make the two meet. He didn’t want to hide.

Finn stood, too, but instead of saying more like Logan thought he would, he just pulled Logan in again, holding him against his chest, one hand pressed to the back of his neck.

“Okay,” Finn said, voice quiet, like he was trying to lull Logan. He ducked, pressing their cheeks together. “Okay. Fuck, Lo, don’t look like that.”

Logan blinked past him, dazed and warmed through and through. He wondered what his expression could have showed. He clutched back at Finn, letting out what felt like all the air in his lungs.

“Let’s agree,” Finn said, and pulled back, hands on Logan’s shoulders.

Logan would never get tired of the determination in Finn’s eyes. “Agree?” he asked.

“I miss my best friend,” Finn said. “I don’t want to lose you because…”

But neither of them had the words for it. Because of a mistake, because they wanted each other, because they didn’t have the luxury of doing either. Logan didn’t know.

“I miss you, too,” he said instead. Because it was simple. He did.

“Come get lunch with me,” Finn said. “Let’s just—let’s go out to lunch, I’ll show you around the city. I want to hang out. I fucking miss you. We don’t have to…we can just…” Finn sighed. “We’ll talk about it when we talk about it. But I just want to be with you right now.”

Logan’s mouth felt unbearably dry. But the prospect of being with Finn all day filled him with a sunny ache. “Pascal says you should come over for dinner tonight.”

“And what do you say?”

“I said we would bring the wine.”

Finn laughed, hands still warm on Logan’s shoulders. “As if we know how to pick out wine.”

Logan smiled a little, the air around the two of them easing a little.

“Come on,” Finn said, and he smoothed his hand up to press against Logan’s neck for a moment before he let go. Logan leaned into the touch. “I’ll take you to Sid’s for pizza.”

He started towards the door, but Logan stopped him.

“Harz,” Logan said.

Finn picked up his keys from the table by the door before turning around. “Hm?”

Logan took a breath. “I could never not want to be seen with you,” he said, the urgency that Finn understand him filling his chest. “Finn, I’m not ashamed—of anything. I’m just…”

Finn nodded quickly. “I know.” He let out a short laugh, before swallowing hard and looking down at the keys in his hands, twirling them with his fingers slowly. “Believe me, I know.”

Logan let Finn lead him back out into the sunshine.

~

Gryffindor, 2019

Finn thought he had cleaned the best he could. He also thought he had done the right thing, offering Leo a place for the year so that he didn’t have to stay in a hotel room, alone and wondering if he was good enough not to be called down. He had extra bedrooms, just down the hall from his own. He’d cleared one out, bought some nice high-thread-count sheets and a quilt, and then left the rest up to Leo. He wanted him to like it here. He remembered how hard it had been to be a rookie. Glorious, but hard. Homesick, intimidated, working harder than he ever had in his life to prove himself. In love with his best friend. Although he was fairly sure Leo wouldn’t be dealing with that last big, he wanted to take as much of the weight off of Leo’s shoulders as he could.

Finn looked around the living room, checked the time on his phone, and looked around again. The Xbox was displayed proudly in the TV stand, he’d folded the blanket on the couch like his mom had told him to a million times, and the kitchen looked clean enough—it didn’t get a lot of use, anyway.

Finn had read Leo’s stats, watched his tape, and so, when a six foot something guy showed up at his door, he wasn’t surprised. When cornflower blue eyes looked at him from beneath sunny blond hair—

He was a little taken off guard.

“Hi, Finn?” Leo said, and held out his hand. “Leo Knut, pleasure to meet you.”

There was a southern accent. Finn swallowed.

“What’s up, hi,” Finn took his hand and smiled. “Come on in, Leo. Hey, I can snag one of those.” Despite Leo’s protesting sound, Finn took the heavier of the two hockey bags and slung it over his shoulder. They ended up just piling Leo’s stuff in a corner of the living room.

“Well, here she is,” Finn gestured to the living room. “I hope, um,” Finn rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope the traffic wasn’t too bad. I really could have picked you up.”

“No, no, it isn’t worth the trouble,” Leo waved him off before pulling his sweatshirt off. He had a white t-shirt underneath, tight over his strong shoulders. “Gets hot here, huh? Not as hot as it does back in NOLA, but…”

“Oh, yeah,” Finn said with a smile. “New Orleans.”

Leo nodded. “Where’re you from again?”

“New York. New York City,” Finn said. “Yeah. Pretty similar to Gryff. Walking, and subway, and all that.”

“That’s nice, for it to be a little bit like home.”

Finn nodded, sitting down first in case Leo was waiting. It seemed like he was, and he sat down beside him in the couch, crossing one strong-looking calf over the other. His legs went on for miles, stretched out like that. Finn forced his eyes back to his face and cleared his throat. “The team helps, too. They’re great.”

Leo let out a laugh. “I got a call from Sirius fucking Black welcoming me to the team. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

Finn laughed, too. “Yeah, I remember getting that call. Lo—ah, Logan Tremblay, we—”

“Were at Harvard together,” Leo nodded. “Yeah.”

Finn smiled, a little surprised. “Yeah. Well, he was with me when Sirius called. Completely freaking out while I was trying to play it cool, you know? Fucking wild, man.”

Leo sank back into the cushions, nodding. “Nice that y’all’re playing together again.”

Finn smiled, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, no, we’re just lucky, I guess.”

“But he doesn’t live here, too?”

Finn glanced away. “No. No, I think his parents wanted him to billet. And Dumo offered, so…” Finn shrugged, and Leo nodded with a friendly smile.

Finn watched for a second, as Leo looked around. He was poised, and calm. A stable sort of strength seemed to flow through his every limb. Finn was sure he wasn’t like that when he was eighteen. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything like it before. It was calming. It felt almost completely opposite to being with Logan, who was like a fire cracker waiting for its fuse to hit, constantly moving and saying whatever came to mind, no filter. Leo seemed to be more think than do. Finn could understand how he had become a goalie.

“Thanks again for letting me live with you…Harzy, right?”

“Yeah,” Finn said. “You?”

“Knutty,” Leo said after a moment.

Finn laughed. “No kidding.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “It’s pronounced newt, but you can’t be a hockey player and have a name like mine without that getting lost in translation. I’ll tell you now that I’ve heard it all before.”

“Right in the nuts?” Finn said.

Leo nodded.

“Peanut allergy?”

“Don’t even get me started.”

“Damn,” Finn laughed. “All the good ones are taken.”

Leo tilted his head at him, smiling so a dimple appeared. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

~

Boston, 2019

Leo watched Logan hover in the room, bag still over his shoulder and eyes darting around as if he was expecting something to leap out and bite him. When Logan finally looked back at him, Leo smiled, a little questioningly.

“Ah,” Logan began, then gestured with his room key between the two hotel beds. “Do you like the bed by the door or the bed by the window?”

Leo shook his head. “I’m sure you already have a preference.”

“Yeah, but you goalies are crazy,” Logan said, a small smile building on his face at the chirp. “Wouldn’t want to mess anything up.”

“I thought older players were suppose to take advantage of all the seniority they could get their hands on.”

Logan narrowed his eyes at him playfully before slowly dropping his bag onto the bed closest to the door. Leo nodded and walked around him, bumping him with his own bag accidentally, and sat on the bed closest to the window before taking out his phone.

“Do you want to grab dinner, maybe?” Leo said, then glanced up, suddenly a little nervous. “We could get some guys together. I was looking restaurants up in this area and there’s a good looking Mexican place.”

Logan unzipped his bag and rummaged through it. “Me and Harz were thinking of going somewhere.”

Leo almost nodded, understanding, but before he could get a word out, Logan said, “Come with us?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “Yeah, sure, thanks.”

Logan nodded, before promptly stripping out of his shirt. Leo looked appreciatively for a second, before Logan pulled on a clean, long-sleeved one. It was cotton, and thin enough to show the strong shape of his broad back and shoulders. The dark green color matched his eyes. He wasn’t wearing a hat for once, and his hair curled over his forehead and temples.

Logan patted the back pockets of his jeans for his phone and wallet before looking up at Leo. “I’ll text Finn, lobby in five?”

Leo nodded, standing to change out of his plane clothes, too. “Sounds good.”

They were able to walk to the restaurant, which was a nice change from sitting on a plane and bus all day. They met Finn in the lobby, who smiled and threw an arm around Leo when he saw that he was coming. It was a surprisingly warm evening, the sky turning a dusky blue. Leo walked between the two of them on the streets of Boston, occasionally adding his two cents about the upcoming game against the Bruins, but mostly quietly amused by their bickering.

“I’m just saying that their power play sucks, okay,” Finn said, and then leaned in to look at Leo’s phone which had a map up to the address. “Should we have gone left?”

“We’re literally following the blue line,” Logan said.

“I know, but that way looks shorter.”

“New Yorker, forever in a hurry,” Leo said, and Logan laughed.

“Got that right.”

“I’m hungry!” Finn said, shoving Leo’s shoulder, which made Leo stumble into Logan, which knocked Logan off balance.

“Merde,” Logan laughed. “Keep your octopus limbs where I can see them, Nut.”

They reached the restaurant a few minutes later, and the hostess seemed to recognize them. She took an interest in Finn immediately, telling him as she sat them at a table near the bar that she was from Gryffindor.

“Really,” Finn smiled, running his fingers through his hair. He glanced at Logan. “It’s a great city.”

“Why don’t I bring you boys some margaritas and chips and guac to start, on the house,” she left with a hand on Finn’s shoulder.

Logan whistled lowly. “Better let Timmy know now that he better find somewhere else to sleep for the night.”

Finn shoved him. “Shut up.”

Loe smiled and looked down, picking at his napkin. The girl came back with their drinks and took their orders. Logan had gotten up to use the bathroom, and Leo watched as Finn ordered for him without a second thought.

“No cilantro on his, please,” Finn smiled up at her, before turning back to Leo.

“Glad you came with us, Nut.”

“Me, too,” Leo said. “Hope this place lives up to its reviews.”

“Well, yeah,” Logan said, returning to his seat and making a grateful sound when he saw the chips and drinks. He picked a few pieces of cilantro away from the guacamole before digging a chip into it.

“Won’t live up to your cooking, though,” Finn said with a wistful look at Leo, propping his chin on his hands.

“You cook, Nut?” Logan asked through his mouthful of chips.

Finn snorted. “Does he cook. Fuck me, best steak I’ve ever had.”

Logan raised his eyebrows. “Better than Celeste?”

Finn hesitated. “That’s an unfair question.”

Leo laughed. “I’ll answer. No. I don’t think anyone is better than Celeste and I’ve been there all of once.”

Logan looked around. “Can we order?”

“Sit still,” Finn said, patting Logan’s hand on the table. “I ordered for you. Relax.”

“I’m relaxed.”

“You’re never relaxed,” Finn raised an eyebrow.

“Do you guys having any friends from Harvard coming to the game?” Leo asked.

Logan shook his head, wiping salt from his bottom lip with his thumb. Leo tried not to stare. “Non, most everyone we know graduated by now.”

Finn looked mournful. “We’re old. Unlike Peanut here.”

“Yeah,” Logan nodded at the margarita in Leo’s hands. “How’d you get your hands on that?”

“The hostess saw that Finn’s hot.”

Finn turned a little pink, groaning and covering his face, but he was smiling. Logan’s smile was more subdued, and he broke a chip into little pieces over his napkin.

Their food was pretty quick, and they talked while they ate, Leo listening to some stories from wild parties at school.

“You ever wanted to go to college?” Finn asked.

Leo shrugged. “I wanted to play in the NHL. But, I think about it, sometimes. I know I probably missed out on stuff.”

Logan took a bite of his food. “Eh, sort of, sort of not.”

“Wouldn’t have met me, though,” Finn smiled, leaning his head in to tap against Logan’s temple. Logan smiled, ducking away.

“You’re all trouble,” he murmured.

It sounded like a joke to Leo, but Finn’s smile dimmed a little, and then Logan looked up sharply at him, like he’d said something wrong.

“Yeah,” Logan added, brushing their shoulders together. “You made it worth it.”

Leo looked between the two of them, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on something. The colorful lanterns that covered the restaurant ceiling turned Finn and Logan a million, warm shades. They shared a smile, and then the moment passed, but Leo was still locked into it.

He had known what he was getting into, placing himself in an NHL locker room, surrounded by beautiful boys all day every day. He wasn’t complaining, but he wasn’t looking to develop any hopeless feelings either. But he’d grown up hiding his sexuality in a locker room, and so he knew a spark of something when he saw one. There was a new set of strings between Logan and Finn that he could see now, ones that weren’t just friendship. He wondered what else they hadn’t missed out on at college together.

They got back to the hotel relatively early, ready to head to bed for a morning practice. For a first road trip with the Lions, Leo decided it was going smoothly. He and Logan didn’t seem to need to communicate too much to dance around each other in the bathroom as they got ready for bed.

Leo came out of the bathroom last to find Logan already laying on his bed, scrolling through his phone. Leo had only just taken off his shirt when his phone started ringing, his mother flashing up on the screen.

“I’ll take this outside,” Leo said, but Logan waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Only if you want to.”

Leo didn’t really feel like pacing the hall in just his pajama pants. He smiled gratefully, and swiped to answer. It was a quick call, mostly just his mother asking if she should send him anything else for the apartment and saying goodnight. Leo smiled, told her that he and Finn were working it out, and that he loved her.

He had hung up his phone and was leaning over to plug it into the charger on the bedside table between them, when he caught Logan staring at him. His eyes were wide, and he looked mildly horrified.

“What?” Leo said.

Logan start at him for another moment, before he seemed to compose himself.

“What,” Logan began. “What just came out of your mouth?”

Leo laughed, realizing. “We speak French back home, too.”

“Your accent,” Logan said. “It’s…”

Leo snorted. “I could say the same about yours.” Although, Leo had to admit he rather liked Logan’s accent. The hard ‘r’s were so different than his own. If he was the sun and heat, Logan reminded him of snowy mountains and green forests. Ice over a lake.

Logan laughed, shaking his head. “I just didn’t know you spoke French.” He pushed his covers back and crawled beneath them. “Merde. That was the strangest thing I have ever heard. Will you get the light?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo smiled. He pulled his own covers back, too.

“First roadie okay, Nut?” Logan asked. He had his hands tucked up by his chin, his hair and eyelashes dark against the white pillow case. Leo stared, and then turned off the light, climbing into his own bed.

“Yeah. Really good.”

“Good.”

Leo thought of Logan messing with him on the ice. Finn’s bed-head in the morning, tripping over his feet for coffee. He thought of the both of them tonight, walking on either side of him. He listened to Logan’s breathing even out, and wondered what the hell he was getting himself into.

[omgheyala]

simonverse characters as things my friends and I have said

Leah: Permission to ship everyone with theraphy?

Bram: If Dan and Phil or Thomas Sanders ever post on their Instagram that there are random voices whispering to them, that’s me.

Abby: LEAH DO YOU WANT TO SMEELL THE CSNDLE ON STAURDAY

Bram: Abby is the CEO of exclamation points.

Simon: Good. Now go put on that emo playlist and fucking WALLOW

Garrett: VODKA.

Ms. Albright: I love you you beautiful bitch

Simon before Bram: I’m going to marry Cal Price one day (istg this is an actual quote)

Taylor, drinking a milkshake and answering why she can't hang out: *slurps* coronavirus *slurps*

Nick: Wait. Is Bram my father???

Taylor: I’m in love with Renee Rapp!

Martin: You’re dying from chlamydia.

Cal: Your hair looks like, if I ate it, it would taste like Tutti Frutti.

Cassie, texting Molly when Abby calls her to tell her she kissed Leah: “Oh its fine shes a lesbian”

Simon, talking about Cal: He's so cute and french though i don't regret liking him at all

Anna: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJfADwFc/ Can i just say that if these gay anime children ever had a nerf gun war rhis is 100% how it would play out and I love it

Ms. Albright: welcome to my world sweetie! also SHUT HIM THE FUCK UP,THIS IS A GODDAMN SCHOOLYARD FIGHT

Nora talking about Nick: i think my guitar teacher forgot about me

Simon talking about Elton John: our gay drug recoverist song baby

Reid trying to be cool: HIGH KANGAROOS VODKA DRUNK KANGAROOS

Alice: But you’ll have to witness him make love to a pasta maker and do you want that???

Abby: *in horrible british accent* Daniel Radcliffe has nothing on me.

Garrett: “also i sing and listen to a lot of songs about sex for someone genuinely scared of it lmfao”

Will: So we’re ignoring that I just said I gave Molly chlamydia...

Leah: Stop wearing makeup on the beach Abby!

Leah: Helen is a stupid name for a weapon.

Leah: what im i doing now you may ask? Reading my hero acidemia Do i have the manga? no Do i like most long time anime fans know where to look for good pirated manga? hell yea So im a illegally reading my hero acidemia? yes yes i am.

Garrett: Who is Tyrian? Leah: A bottom.

Nick: but you know hopefully i don’t get robbed Leah: nicks gonna die/span>

Nora: GUSSE WHO JUST CHUGGED AN ENTIRE CUP OF BLACK COFFE?! ME B/C IM AN SMART DUMBASS AND WAITED UNTIL THE WEEKEND TO CHUGE COFFEE THIS LATE Cal: ELEANOR JANE SPIER Nora: y e s? Cal: HOW DARE Cal: SLEEP IS IMPORTANT Nora: ADHD says otherwise Nora: and i dont noramly have coffee this late but tonights a late coffee night Cal: okay sweetie

Olivia: I have 30 children and only one of them is from my real life. Cassie: Sound like Molly’s crushes.

Bram: *Typed with videos* Guys we are literally a little under an hour away from DC there most likely will be riots all over the U.S but they'll be very intense in DC and in the states neighboring it aka Maryland and Virginia. Simon: well we're all gonna die Bram: Y E P Bram: HOW FAST CAN WE BUY NATURAL DISASTER RATIONS?

Bieber: *walks across Nora’s keyboard and puts his butt in her face* Nora: Bieber your tiny dog butt does not spark joy!

Nick, drunk: Okay but let’s be honest I'd be a great God Leah, sober but humouring Nick: I'd be a great Lucifer

Simon: Garrett are you good? Garrett: I’m just eating my burger

Bram: But what if I’m dangerous? I’m chlamydia Simon: Well, you can still stay, because… Simon: Simon: Simon: I like chlamydia Leah, a few seconds later: I’m personally a gonorrhea person.

[doomedandstoned]

King Buffalo Provide Respite For Pandemic-Weary Listeners on ‘The Burden of Restlessness’

~By Billy Goate~

Artwork by Zdzisław Beksiński

I confess, I came a little late to the KING BUFFALO party. I mean, I’ve known about them from their very first record on and have even picked songs to play on The Doomed & Stoned Show that's I've found particularly enjoyable. Regulars to the program know I’ve always been more a doomer than a stoner, though obviously relishing music from both worlds. Only recently had I given myself the opportunity of really baking in their music. It probably has something to do with the summer psychedelic kick I’m on lately, that and I’ve been getting a lot more sunshine, walking more, learning how to enjoy being human again.

Not only did I give the band's latest LP, 'The Burden of Restlessness' (2021) a solid listen, I've been spinning it non-stop! The title grabbed me right away, because I could very much identify with the uncertainty and fear of 2020 lockdowns, which eventually gave way to boredom and stoic despair. Depending on who you ask, it's their third studio album and it's got its hooks in me for damn sure.

Sonically, the sound is fresh and vital, every note captured prestinely by frontman/guitarist at Rochester's Main Street Armory between December and January. I don't know if he's a sound engineer on the side or what, but I really am impressed by how present the instruments sound, without excessive reverberation. After Sean finished recording and mixing, the tapes were sent to Grammy-nominated producer Bernard Matthews for mastering on the other side of the continent in Portland, Oregon.

Let's go through King Buffalo's release track-by-track, because I think there's plenty to talk about here.

1. Burning

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I feel it falling apart Too many blisters and scars Are we the wick or the flame, are they just one in the same? Was it just doomed from the start?

The record opens with “Burning” and in those first dozen seconds of churning downtuned noise, we’re unsure what kind of song it’s going to be. An assertive riff-motif starts to dance to the accompaniment of a motor-like rhythm. The singing is as depressive as we’re bound to encounter from King Buffalo, with lyrics that express regret about “another year lost in the wasteland” and that feeling of falling apart while time stands still.

The members of King Buffalo have been on a steadily rising trajectory in recent years, so the sudden closures of concert halls and canceled tours wasn't just a bummer for a lot of professional musicians; it had immediate career implications, along with the obvious problem of no job = no money. It’s one thing to weather through a crisis when you know what the end game is, and at this time last year most of us still didn’t know what the hell was going to happen. We thought everything would open up and return to normal, then the summer of 2020 exploded all around us with social unrest. The album’s title speaks to the creative frustrations of being not only uncertain of when your band is next going to tour, but what to do in the meanwhile. For creative people, there’s a burden to create -- sometimes just to keep yourself from going mad with frustration.

2. Hebetation

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I don’t know which way to run One thousand different ways but I can’t seem to live with one So I’m stuck where I’ve begun Another languid day, can’t seem to break away

“Hebetation” was one of the singles that emerged before the album was independently released toward the start of summer. It is the song I relate to the most, too. Vibrant Helmetesque riffmaking sets the song a sail, with a bit of a nod to Sabbath as well. The math-like interplay between drums, bass, and guitar have a vaguely krautrock aura about it, though the volume and tone is pure metal. Like the opening track, the words are frank and honest, addressing the weight of unfulfilled dreams, the jadedness that comes with disappointment, and suicidal thoughts that come floating into mind when it seems nothing's working out as planned. “Nothing’s changed at 35. Still every night I dream a million different ways for me to die.”

3. Locusts

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

Stifling the sun with wicked hands Everything undone with vicious plans

“Locusts,” as the name implies, is replete with bouncing guitar rhythm, with picking that seems to dart about like that swarm of grasshoppers that used to sweep through my poor pitiful East Texas garden mid-summer and shred everything in sight. Around the 3:30 mark, we’re treated to an extended high-end grinder of a B-section, with sweeping psychedelic gestures ala Kim Thayil -- and hearkening back to the melodic motif of another great song: “Sun Shivers.” When the A section returns, the rhythm is more deliberate, less dashing about in math or progressive fashion. The song ends with what could well end up an extended drone jam on just the right night as King Buffalo continues to roll through the U.S.

4. Silverfish

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I stare at the cracks in the wall And melt into nothing A silverfish slithering away, from everything

“Silverfish” got a music video, which was a wise choice as the song is quite accessible and relatable, too (even if it did get a few people wondering if King Buffalo was having their own “The Sword Moment” stylistically). The main motif is a two-note broken interval from high note to low in an almost an ‘80s-style nod to the advent of computer generated music (to my ears it sounds like the guitar may either be taking on the action or playing in sync with the synthesizer).

Never fear, the heavy is soon here. When I heard those first crashing tripled-down chords, I let out an inner hellllll yeah to that shit. The quirky little melody from the start comes back, this time on guitar in a way that really works to convince you that it was a good artistic choice from the get-go.

Lyrically, it's another wistful line of expression: “I stare at the cracks in the wall, I think I’m unravelling...I think I’m losing my grip on everything, I’m drifting away.” This is also one of the few songs on the record with a strong melodic chorus. It comes towards the end, which works quite effectively in climaxing the song.

(BTW, anyone else freaked out by silverfish as much as me?)

5. Grifter

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I make my way over the dunes Desolate and dry The remnants of empires past Too stubborn to die

“Grifter” returns to the everyman accessibility of “Burning” and “Hebetation,” with a notably despondent tenor to each line of the song. The calm singing over rhythmic verses so characteristic of King Buffalo’s writing gives way to a brutal grind sans chorus. Sometimes you don’t have words and you just have to work it all out with your axe or piano or whatever's your jam. There didn’t need to be a big, bloated angry chorus on top of it all. We feel that most adequately from the riffmaking itself, which plays out like slow burning frustration that intensifies with every round of the dirge.

6. The Knocks

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

Everyday I wake up on the floor Another useless day like every other that’s come before I can feel it creeping more and more Don’t think I wanna wake no more, don’t think I wanna live no more

“The Knocks” features the same keyboard playing as before, so now I’m sure it's either Sean or bassist Dan Reynolds on synth -- though the playing here is much more ornamental, at times adding an exclamation point to the sentiment of the lyrics. It might be a little much if overplayed, but here it’s dispensed judiciously. We have a bass, drums, and synth break where a chorus would normally be, followed by another shred sesh that’s feeling like Helmet or Prong love. A beautiful mid-range guitar melody intervenes, then things start to feel a distinctively robotic pattern announces itself around the 3:20 mark, joined in short order by the rest of the instruments. This leads to a melodious guitar sequence, with the dexterous kind of finger work that the one dude at shows likes so much when he pretends to shred next to the stage.

7. Loam

The Burden of Restlessness by King Buffalo

I’m shedding the burden of restlessness To rise from the loam of the nothingness

“Loam” hearkens back to my favorite King Buffalo album, ‘Longing To Be The Mountain’ (2018). A broken octave rhythmic pattern is plucked with drums and bass being all cool, saying just the right thing at the right time. Atop it, the jaded, sedated crooning of Sean McVay, which as both a musical and cultural Doomer I find appealing. A mean guitar lick lashes out like a whip atop bass and drums around 3 minutes, then tears into another voiceless psychedelic improvisation. It's a beautiful instrumental metal section with a hard rock appeal. The song returns to its opening vibe in an almost Toolesque fashion, then opts for more catharsis-giving mosh time and another plaintively sung extended note melody.

The verses give us a hint of hope, as Sean declares: "I’m shedding the burden of restlessness / To rise from the loam of the nothingness." I'm curious to hear the two other albums the band plans on releasing in 2021 (yes, you read that right!) and how they will pair or contrast with this one.

King Buffalo's The Burden of Restlessness holds a special place in my music library and its songs are a frequent highlight of my daily playlist. I suspect it will be a record you, too, will keep close at hand as the plague rages on. A balm for the weary soul.

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[the-kipsabian]

As A!Arin gets to know Mads and Kit through working with Mads on a class project and Kit bc they've been working with Suzy on a couple of art projects he decides yknow what? Time to get to know/bond with these nerds. He finds out Kit is still quite the newbie at games and isn't a fan of playing party games themself, especially around new people, and has an *excellent* idea. Cards Against Humanity. Bonus if A!Danny joins them and helps kick-start the bonding process for him and Mads.

i feel like this could. make both kit and mads really nervous cause while yes they like hanging out with these kids a lot and both feel like befriending them is a good idea and all, when arin brings up cards against humanity its like. oh no should we really do this

cause ya know how that game is. you reveal ALL corners of your shitty and dark sense of humor and im sure these two have a LOT of that so.. they are just kinda debating if this is a good idea after all cause they are still in the progress of getting to know these grumpy kids is it a good idea to throw these things out this early in trying to build these friendships??

and to have more people join in to make it less awkward (or more awkward, it depends really, but the more people there are the better the game is so!), arin most definitely invites dan to join them. also im. high key imagining that nate is there cause they are known to be friends with arin and he likes to be involved in ridiculous shenanigans.. so thats six? which should be enough as they are still kinda all trying to get to know each other, and everyone has someone for mental support there now so nobody is gonna get stressed if its just the six of them, right?

(i’d imagine arin gets more board games involved as well, but cah is definitely the one hes pushing for as the ‘getting to know people’ game so it gets prioritized by a lot at least in the first board game night they would have tbh. cause he would try to arrange more. he so totally would)

and the whole thing.. probably goes down just about as well as you’d imagine a game of cah usually goes down. it starts very slowly, i’d imagine like arin and nate just slamming all they have down to the table immediately starting from the first round, while everyone else just kinda slowly eases themselves in to revealing what kind of awful humor gets to them and yeah

and ultimately by the end of the day arin is SO proud of himself for arranging this whole thing and coming up with this amazing idea cause everyone is having fun and laughing and seems to be getting along, despite the awkward beginnings and everything between all of them and hes like ‘yeah. yeah these kids are cool. they are so gonna be our friends hell yeah’

[soda-drabbles]

Three’s a Crowd |EgoFlapBang

Request : ‘I've seen your plea for asks. Gimme Ego-Flap-Bang where Suzy joins for an episode of Game Grumps. Its a late night episode where they're all giggly n shit and she joined just because she happened to be around’ made by @optional-adventure

Pairing : EgoFlapBang (Arin x Suzy x Dan)

Type : Fluff

A/N : WOWWEE ,, holy moly I finally got this done! So sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoy!! :”)

The episode was suddenly interrupted from its usual playful commentary when a familiar female voice came through from the doorway of the grumps room. Immediately the faint voice was identified by Arin, who had turned back around and said, “Oh, hey, Suzy.”

“Sorry to interrupt but you guys forgot lunch. I didn’t want you two to come home hungry so I thought I’d bring you something.” Behind the recording, Suzy held tupperware that held a nice warm beef stew inside. “One of the guys can edit this out, right?”

Dan chuckled and sweetly smiled to her, looking much more thankful. “Thanks, Suzy.” He turned to Arin with a shrug. “I’m sure they could, right?”

Speaking of editing out, an idea found its way into Arin’s head. Whether it was good or genius was up to interpretation. “Actually, you wanna join us?” He asked, controller resting in his lap and eyes on her.

Suzy blinked lightly, “Join you?”

Dan’s smile widened and he nodded, “That’s a great idea!” He then flipped his hair back to look at Suzy, who looked back at him with a slightly unsure expression. “This couch is big enough for the three of us. Play some games with the boys.” His next resort was a soft pouty face, something that Suzy couldn’t resist. “Suuuzzzzyyyy.“

“Okay, alright!” She laughed, top fingers tapping at the Tupperware bowl. “I gotta put this somewhere first though. I’ll be right back.”

Dan fistpumped in triumph, absolutely more than eager to have Suzy joined the episode. By how pumped he was, anyone could tell that it was something he had been wanting for a while. Arin was also eager, though he was less expressive about it than Dan was. Dan was probably the more expressive out of the three of them.

Suzy returned soon enough, now huddled in between a little sandwich of her two lovers. It honestly felt sort of weird, sitting on the grumps couch like this after so long of not doing an episode of Steam Train. She had been focusing more on Psychic Circle in the past months and hadn’t had a time to just sit down for herself. Just being squished between her two lovers made her feel a little more relaxed though.

“Welcome back to...Gam-..Date-...something grumps.” Arin stumbled to find a correct intro for this special episode and ended up blurting, “Suzy’s here! And Dan.”

Dan snorted out sarcastically, “Best intro into any Game Grumps episode ever. Did you come up with that yourself?”

With a stifled snicker, Arin grinned and his smile twitched a little. “You’d be surprised.” A comment that both brought chuckles and giggles from Dan and Suzy. He returned back to the episode at hand. “Suzy’s here! Say hi.”

Suzy smiled, “Hey guys! Thanks for having me.” Honestly, Arin couldn’t help but watch her and just smile. She was just so beautiful, as cheesy as it was, he could watch her all day if he could.

As soon as the new game they’d picked out loaded, Dan was instantly turned off. The loading screen booted up to reveal a grim dark menu screen. The ‘Amnesia : The Dark Descent’ menu specifically. “Oh no. Nononono.”

Arin’s cocky voice was evident, no matter how innocent he tried to sound. “What’s wrong, Dan?” He asked, biting down on his bottom lip as to try not to laugh. It was getting more difficult to as Dan’s face went changed through expressions; Disbelief, Fear, Annoyance and the look that said “I’m gonna kill Arin Hanson”. Dan’s reactions to scary games were enough to entertain Arin, Suzy too evidently. She wasn’t too good when it came to hiding her smile or her laughs for that matter.

“You know exactly what’s wrong, you little shit.” Dan chuckled through his seething fear and playful anger.

Suzy laughed more. “Come on, Dan! It can’t be that scary.”

“Suzy. I love you but,” He eyed Arin as he said this. “Some things you gotta just say no to.”

“Look! It’s just a little game. What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll be right here with you, okay?” Suzy’s voice was soft and reassuring. A deep sigh left Dan as he was wondering what the hell he was getting himself into. He then sighed, defeated once again and being dragged into one of Arin’s specific ‘Dan Torture Episodes’. “Alright, but as soon as I see, like, anything, I’m leaving.”

Arin snickered beside them, his lip quivering from how he was holding it in. Dan noticed and shook his head.

“You cheeky bastard.”

Early in the game, Dan couldn’t help but get heavy goosebumps. His thumbs were fumbling with the controls and his breath hitched. He nearly had the attitude of a baby deer right now. Scared and cautious, yet ready to run for his life at any moment. Except, yknow, his life isn’t in danger really.

“I hope you feel this shit.” He mumbled meekly, “My balls are literally swallowed in my ass and my arms are as prickly as a cactus. I hope you feel that.”

“I felt it real good, dude. Felt it right in my soul dick.” Arin responded.

Suzy added, “Felt it in my soul tits too.”

“Please shut up, both of you.” Dan nervously laughed out.

The suspense was building up in the man handling the controller. His eyes were both glued to the screen and happened to be doing their best to avoid it as much as possible. With a latern that was barely lit now, Dan was pretty much walking through a certain corridor, one that looked too suspicious for its own good.

“I don’t like this. God, I don’t like this at all.” Dan groaned under his breath, realizing his mistake.

Arin, watching him with a sly smirk, chuckled. “It’s just a little corridor, man. Just keep going. You’ve been doing good so far.”

“I’m not listening to anything you say. Especially when you’re looking at me like that.” replied Dan, who was debating on actually listening to him. In moments like these, Arin was evil.

“Listen to me then.” Suzy intervened, “I’m sure it’s fine, Dan. Just a little creepy hallway down to a corridor. Nothing creepy.”

“Fuck, Suzy.” Dan sighed.

Eventually he went “fuck it” and took Arin’s advice of just heading down the totally-not-creepy-at-all corridor. He moved near and, when he did, the player’s perspective pulsed and a deep monstrous groan suddenly sounded through the screen. It was a deep gargly groan, a sound that Dan clearly did not like.

“Shitshitshitshit.” The quick cursing grew even quicker, as the hideous monster reared it’s ugly head from behind. A quick slash was all it took to startle him, what sounded like a fear ridden small shriek left him when he jumped. The controller was immediately tossed to the side and he hopped up to his feet. “Nope. I’m done. I’m done.”

Arin’s instantaneous laughter bellowed through the microphone. He held his stomach and threw his head back, unable to keep from laughing. “Wait- Dan!-” The laughing man coughed, shoulders still shaking from all the laughter he was trying to contain. “Come back!”

Suzy couldn’t help but laugh as well. Whether it was her husband’s contagious laughter or Dan’s impossibly hilarious response to a jump scare though was a different question. Dan eventually came back, “I’m not doing anymore of it man, I swear to god.”

Arin chuckled, practically wiping tears from his eyes. “It’s fine, I mean, we’ve been recording for like, twenty five minutes.”

“Twenty fi- excuse me? It felt like twenty five years in there!” Dan’s exclamation brought Arin to laugh again.

Suzy laughed, “It was kinda funny though.”

Dan scoffed playfully, “God, I can’t believe the two of you.”

“Aaaaannddd, next time on game grumps!” Arin finally concluded, his laughs dying down now.

Dan nodded, “Yep, I’m gonna beat the shit out of Arin.”

The three of them laughed again. Dan quickly added, “Thanks to the always lovely Suzy for joining us. We should do this kinda thing more often.”

Suzy chuckled softly, agreeing. “Yeah, it was really fun. I’m glad I could join you guys.”

The recording concluded afterwards and the three of them were now enjoying the newly heated beef stew. “God, this is good.” Dan said, enjoying the home cooked goodness.

Arin nodded, “Yeah, nothing beats getting scared shitless and having some good ol home cookin’.”

Dan rolled his eyes playfully, “I’m gonna get you back for that, just you wait man.”

Suzy laughed softly, shaking her head. “You both are ridiculous.”

Arin leaned back and sang with a grin, “but you love us though~”

She grinned softly to herself and walked over to the two, placing a soft kiss on each of their foreheads.

“I know.”

[prettyboybarzal]

tattoos together (2) // tyler seguin

(PART ONE) 

pairing: tyler seguin x reader

summary: it’s been three years since the fourth of july on the cape with tyler and you’ve finally made the trip down to dallas for a visit. some things have changed, some remain the same... 

(2016 dallas stars and 2/3 of tyler’s dogs, apologies if some details aren’t accurate about the stars season. i was too lazy to do my research.)

word count: 5k+

author’s note: here’s part two of this fic!!! more to come... please leave me feedback or whatever and reblog/like. thank you for the reaction on the first part! love u <3333333

warnings: more alcohol, more tattoos, prob cursing

June 2016

“Do you really have to go? I mean, you literally just saw him when he was visiting Boston in April.”

When the comment falls from your current boyfriend’s lips, you’re glad that you have your back to him because the eye roll that came after was not pretty. You had to wonder how many times Dan was going to get insecure about your friendship with Tyler before he gave it up. Tyler wasn’t going anywhere, in fact he already had. But, apparently, the distance between Boston and Dallas still wasn’t enough for your fragile boyfriend.

“That was two months ago, and it was only one night,” you point out. You shove a sweatshirt into the suitcase and look up at him. “Besides, I’ve never visited him in Dallas.”

“Okay, but two weeks?” he asks. “It seems like an unnecessary amount of time to visit him.” You don’t respond. This is a conversation the two of you have had too many times and it’s exhausting. But, Dan continues, “It’s just weird to me. I mean, he bought you first class tickets to visit. I wouldn’t do that for someone I wasn’t dating.”

“Tyler has been my best friend since 2011. He’s been with me throughout my undergraduate degree and most of my Masters. He’s been there each time I’ve been left heartbroken by insecure guys, like you’re being right now,” you state. His eyes widen at the tone of your voice. You take a step closer, crossing your arms over your chest. “He’s basically a member of my family and he was devastated when he couldn’t make it to my graduation last month.”

“Can you just let him have his moment and celebrate with me?” you ask. “You have me every day and we spent a week celebrating in Cancun. Let him celebrate with me for two weeks and then you get me back.”

Dan’s face softens. He reaches out and tugs you forward by the waistband of your sweatpants. You fall into him, fitting yourself between his legs as his hands trail up your sides. He captures your face in his hands and says, “Fine. As long as you promise that I get you back, I don’t care.”

“Of course,” you state. He tilts his head up to kiss you and you oblige. It’s short and lacking in passion. When you pull away to grab your toiletry bag from the bathroom, you find yourself wiping his kiss from your lips.

Dan is the second guy you’ve dated since Tyler left and he’s outlasted the other one, but you know he’s not your forever. You’ve only been together for six months or so and the fire has already started to burn out.

Besides, you have big plans that don’t really involve him, ones that you haven’t even disclosed to him yet because you’ve been holding out on speaking them into existence until you’re with Tyler again.

Maybe it’s unfair to string Dan along like this, but you figure he’s a nice enough guy that if things really don’t go your way… At least you’ll have him. And, seeing as the past three years have been shit, things don’t like to go your way.

You share one kiss with your best friend and, suddenly, you’ve thrown off the balance of the universe.

Instead of waking up late on the Fifth of July to make breakfast with Tyler and steal another kiss or two, you woke up at 7 a.m. by a call from your mother. Your dad, who’d always been in good shape, had gone on his usual morning run and suffered a heart attack just half a mile from your house.

The next few days were a whirlwind of hospital food and neck cramps from sleeping by his bedside. Soon enough, the kiss with Tyler was long forgotten, pushed back to a corner of your mind that you weren’t willing to access any time soon.

Tyler was a little ticked. Timing had never been right between the two of you and he finally got the kiss he’d been working so hard for, only for it to be forgotten about hours later. But, he also loved your dad like he was his own.

Tyler showed up on the afternoon of the fifth with lunch for your entire family and ended up staying well into the night, past visiting hours, with you. The next few weeks were much of the same. He even managed to get a few hours alone with your dad when everyone else was at work. The two of them watched baseball on the little TV in the corner for hours on end.

The night before his departure from the city, you went to eat Chinese food on his floor one last time. You hardly made it through your chicken lo mein before sobbing until you couldn’t breathe. Tyler had to remove the cartons from your hands for you before pulling you into his chest and holding you against him like a human weighted blanket.

Adjusting to life without Tyler was harder than expected. You never realized just how much time you spent with him until he was gone. You threw yourself into your classes and started spending more time at home with your parents, especially once your dad was back home.

FaceTime was a daily occurrence until it wasn’t possible because of hockey season, but you didn’t go more than an hour without a text from Tyler and that made it a little bit better.

The two of you counted down the days between his visits to Boston for games and he always managed to get tickets for your entire family to come. You made it a point to grab dinner the night before or the day after his games. Then, he jetted off home or to the next city and the countdown began again.

It’s not that you didn’t want to make the trip to Dallas, in fact you’d had flight itinerary to go on three separate occasions. After your dad was healthy again, the problem with visiting was entirely school related. On the off-chance of freedom during the summers, subsequently his off-season, you were wrapped up in internships and job interviews and family vacations. He begged you to let him visit, but you made sure he spent the summer with his family in Canada.

Your graduation in May meant you had a period of downtime and Tyler wasn’t letting it go unused. The night of graduation, Tyler sent you the itinerary for a flight out of Boston in June to visit him for two weeks with a text that read: Happy Graduation, smartass.

Your flight landed around noon in Dallas and, after collecting your bag from baggage claim, you stood outside the terminal waiting for Tyler. It didn’t take long for him to find you, dodging around groups of tourists and airport employees to get to you.

As soon as he’s close enough, your suitcase is on the floor and your feet are in the air. Tyler nuzzles his face into your neck, taking in the scent of your perfume. The feather light touch of his lips against your skin stirs something in your stomach that you try to shove down as he murmurs, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

After he places you back on your feet, you brace both hands against his chest and trail them up his neck to his cheeks. You hold him in place, studying every inch of the face you’ve been missing. He watches your eyes trail over his face, his lips in a soft smile. From an outsider’s perspective, the two of you probably look like a couple reuniting after far too long a part.

“Every time I see you, you look older.” Your fingers trail over his jaw line and the stubble decorating it. Tyler barks out a laugh. “Honestly, I’m pretty sure FaceTime adds a few pounds because you still look like baby Ty whenever you call me.

At this, Tyler shoves you away.

“I’m kidding!” He rolls his eyes at your exclamation, grabbing your suitcase from the floor to tug it with him out the doors of the airport. You chase after him, lacing your fingers in his free hand as he walks. The movement is muscle memory. It feels so normal that your mind doesn’t even go to the man waiting for you back home.

You gaze down at his arms, both filled with tattoos now. The whiteness of his t-shirt is a stark contrast against the dark tattoos on his arms.

“You look great, Ty.”

“Thanks,” Tyler responds, lifting your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles. He’s about to drop your hands back to your sides, but instead lifts them to look at your wrist. A warm smile finds its way to his lips when he sees the stars on your skin.

The moment doesn’t feel platonic, but it is. It needs to be. And there aren’t supposed to be butterflies after all this time, but they’re back. After all this time, they’re still coming back.

Tyler pulls you out to the Dallas sun and drops your hand when your feet hit the pavement. You follow him to his car, sliding into the passenger seat as he stores your bag in his trunk. When he climbs in beside you, your fingers instinctively reach up to his cheek and poke at his smile lines. He chuckles.

“How was your flight?”

“It was fine,” you answer. “First class was a little extra, I won’t lie.”

“You deserve it,” he states. “You’re a two-time college graduate.”

“You say that like I’m a Stanley Cup champion.” Tyler laughs. Using your best sportscaster voice, you say, “YFN YLN, two-time college graduate, spends her bye week in Dallas, Texas with one-time Stanley Cup Champ, Tyler Seguin.”

“How lucky am I?”

“I have something important to tell you,” you announce as he pulls out of the parking lot. He glances at you, waiting for you to continue your thought. “Let’s just get home first.”

He tries to get it out of you the entire way home, but all you want to do is catch up, so you make him wait.

When you get back to his house, which is bigger than it seems through FaceTime, Tyler pushes the door open and lets out a holler which is met by the sound of paws on the hardwood floors. His two dogs round the corner, butts shaking at the force of their tails. You drop to the floor immediately and embrace them. Tyler watches in amusement, his heart fluttering at how right this feels. It feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are together.

After allowing the dogs to get a good sniff in, you stand upright. You kick your shoes off and walk into his living room, taking in the décor and the furniture. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t impressed, but you also knew his sisters and his mother. There was no way they’d let him leave a place like this undecorated.

Tyler follows you, watching the way you look around and wondering if you like what you see, if this is a place you could see yourself coming home to. But, he’s itching to know what you have to tell him. He clears his throat, calling your attention back to him, and asks, “What’s your news?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” you say. “Not even Dan.”

“Really?” Tyler asks. He hates the way your admission makes him feel cocky, like a winner. Take that Dan. “Go on. Tell me.”

“I just accepted a job at a publishing house in LA!”

“What?”

“I’m not full-time yet,” you inform him. Tyler is grinning like he’s just won the lottery, but he doesn’t speak so you continue, “It’s going to get my foot in the door, though, which is huge. I’ve been coming up empty in Boston and I’ve always wanted to live out in California.”

Tyler steps forward and wraps his arms around your waist. You sway as he squeezes you, taking in the warmth of his body and the silence of the room. When he pulls away, it’s just enough to look down at you. His hands stay on your waist. Platonic.

He drops his forehead to press against your own, like he’d done that night in July three years ago, and says, “I am so proud of you.”

“Thank you,” you whisper. “I’m excited, but I’m nervous.” Tyler steps back and falls onto the couch. You join him, sitting sideways to face him. “It’s so far from home.”

“Trust me, I know about being far from home.”

“I know,” you state. “I just feel like it’s different for you. I don’t mean to minimize the situation, but you have a team. You spend every day with those guys like they’re a family for you. I’ll be moving to California alone and it’s not like I can just adopt my coworkers as my family. They have families of their own.”

Tyler doesn’t really know what to say, but he tries.

“YN, if anyone can move somewhere and start fresh… It’s you,” he says. “This is an awesome opportunity and you don’t have to stay there forever. It’s just a stepping stone. Besides, California is beautiful and warm and I’m already excited to visit you when we’re on the west coast.”

“I needed to hear you say that,” you admit. Your cheeks feel hot and your certain that there’s a dark red blush on your skin. Tyler notices it and can’t stop the smirk that comes to his lips. “My parents have been waiting to hear about the job offers and my decisions. They’re super excited for me. But, I needed you to give me that vote of confidence.”

“You came to the right place.” He drops his hand to Marshall’s head and scratches, detaching his eyes from your face so his next statement doesn’t feel as loaded. “I’m your biggest fan. You could tell me that you’re moving to Mars and I’d still back you up. You can literally do anything.”

“Thanks,” you murmur. Your eyes are still watching him as he vigorously scratches the dog’s head. He doesn’t look back up at you. Cash jumps up and places his paws on your thigh. You lean down and place a kiss on the top of his head. The moment you share with Cash catches Tyler’s attention. He watches you stare at his dog before he finally asks, “What are you going to do about Dan?”

You sigh, dropping your head into your hands and respond, “Break up with him.”

“Just like that? No long distance?”

“It’s not my cup of tea,” you state, glancing up at him. “The long-distance thing is doomed.”

“You do it with me.”

“You’re different.”

Tyler smirks to himself before standing up off the couch. He grabs your bags from the floor and slings them over his shoulder. Then, he turns back to you and extends his hand.

“Let me give you the grand tour.”

Tyler tugs you along with him, hand-in-hand, through the halls and into each room. The dogs follow closely behind, stopping short each time you step foot into a new room. They’re obsessed with Tyler and you can’t say you blame them.

“You can stay in here, if you want,” Tyler states, motioning the guest room. “You know I don’t mind sharing a bed with you, but I’m not sure Dan would like that.”

The last stop is his bedroom. He pushes the door open to reveal a light grey room with a king size bed in the middle. His walls are bare except for some Stanley Cup memorabilia, including his old Bruins jersey framed and hung over his dresser. He drops your hand as you walk through the threshold.

Tyler plops your bag on the floor at the end of his bed before dropping himself onto the mattress to watch you scan his room. He asks, “What do you think?”

“I love it. Who decorated?” you ask. You poke the head of a Tyler Seguin bobble head and giggle as it nods at you. Tyler chuckles.

“Well, I gathered all the things to put in here, but my mom was the one who organized it all,” he explains. Then, he stands up and walks over to the television stand across the room. He picks up a black picture frame and waves it in the air. “This is the best part though.”

You walk over and take the picture frame from his hand, smiling fondly at the memory. You’re sandwiched between Tyler and Jamie Benn in the picture. It was taken the first time he came back to play in Boston after his trade. He’d been talking about Jamie for weeks, teasing you by saying he’d already replaced you. You told Tyler to bring Jamie to dinner, so you could see what all the hype was about.

Turns out the hype was warranted. You loved Jamie as much as Tyler did.

“My two besties,” Tyler muses at the photo. You laugh. “Speaking of Chubbs, he wants to grab dinner and drinks with us tonight.”

“Thank God!” you exclaim, placing the picture frame back on the dresser. “That’s the reason I even came here.”

Tyler’s jaw drops in shock and, moments later, his hands are gripping your waist. He flips you onto to bed, tickling your sides until your eyes are watering from laughing so hard. He grabs your hands and pins them above your head. It’s then that you realize what a compromising position you’re in with him settled between your legs.

If he’s thinking about it too, he doesn’t let on. Instead, he lowers his face so that he’s just inches from your lips and says, “Take it back.”

“Did I bruise your ego?” you tease. He raises his eyebrows, not backing down. “What if I meant it?”

“You didn’t,” Tyler pushes. “So just take it back.”

You stare at him with a grin, but he stares back with his mouth in a tight line. You try to pull your wrists from his grip. It only gets tighter. Then, you stop struggling and allow your arms to fall limp against the mattress. He smirks as your eyes flit across his face, down to his lips, then to his bicep where you see part of his star peeking out.

This isn’t platonic, you’re sure of it, but you like how it feels.

You glance back up at him with a mischievous smile and state, “We can’t stay like this forever. Eventually you’ll get tired.”

“Then I’ll just lay on top of you until you run out of air,” he answers. It’s like he’s thought through it all. “You underestimate me. I have a fragile ego and I don’t take insults lightly.”

“You’d think I would’ve learned this by now.”

“You’d think,” he repeats. You sigh. “Say it.”

“I didn’t mean it,” you murmur. He smirks and releases your hands, rolling onto his back beside you. You stand up, out of his reach, and say, “I really just came here because you bought me the tickets and I didn’t want them to go to waste.”

Jamie Benn played a huge part in the friendship you had with Tyler. When Tyler introduced you to each other during his first season with the Stars, you and Jamie just clicked. He was sarcastic, a little bit mean, but all teddy bear underneath the layers. Think of him like an ogre.

He was brought along every time Tyler hung out with you during their roadies to Boston. At first, you figured it he just wanted you to get to know his new Dallas friends. But, after a while, it felt like maybe there was another reason Jamie came. It felt like Jamie was a buffer.

When Tyler was playing in Boston, there were no boundaries between the two of you. You held hands all the time (Tyler was obsessed with your fingers). He found ways to kiss you whenever he could (usually on the top of the head because that was what he felt was most platonic). You even shared a bed on nights you had sleepovers (which made sense at your place where you only had one bedroom, but Tyler had a whole guest room for you. What was the whole point in sleeping with him then?).

As soon as the kiss happened, and the discussion about it didn’t, Jamie was always around. Tyler stopped playing with your fingers, he only ever kissed your cheek hello and goodbye, and you never had sleepovers anymore. It was like Jamie was his own personal conscience come to life.

“Are you still with that guy?” Jamie asks, taking another sip of his wine. You nod in response, mouth too full of wine to answer. Tyler had slipped away to the bathroom just before your food arrived and it took Jamie all of one minute to start his interrogation. “Dan, right? How does he feel about you being here with Ty?”

“He’s a little insecure about our friendship. Well, maybe more than a little, but it’s something he just needs to deal with. Tyler’s not going anywhere. He’s outlasted even my college friends.”

“Insecure because of that kiss?” Jamie asks. You choke on the wine in your mouth, but quickly grab your napkin to dab at the corners of your mouth so he doesn’t register your reaction. He does register it, though. Jamie is all knowing when it comes to what goes on between you and Tyler.

“No, not insecure because of the kiss,” you answer. “He, uh, doesn’t know about the kiss.”

“No?” You shake your head. “How come?”

“I just never thought it was something that needed to be discussed,” you state. “Nothing ever came of it. Tyler’s here, I’m there. It was just a kiss. It’s not something I need to talk about with him because it meant nothing.”

Jamie doesn’t respond, opting to watch you scramble over your words instead. He knows you’re full of shit. That kiss meant everything to the both of you. Tyler admitted it to Jamie himself and, although you never have, Jamie finds you incredibly easy to read.

Tyler comes back to the table, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. He sits down, blissfully ignorant to the fact that Jamie has shattered the bubble of friendship once again. No one says anything. Tyler just takes another swig of his wine and smiles at you.

When the check comes, all three of you fight over it. Jamie grabs at it first, then Tyler, and when you reach forward to take it, they bark at you.

“You’re broke,” Tyler remarks while Jamie simultaneously murmurs, “Yeah, right, YN.”

The fight for the check is quickly reduced to the two of them. Until, finally, Tyler grunts, “Chubbs, I’m trying to impress her. Let me pay.”

Jamie’s entire body shakes with laughter at the sight of both of your red cheeks.

The check is paid and the two of them whisk you off to a local hole-in-the-wall type of bar. The bartender knows them and even points out a signed photo of himself with them when you sit at the counter. He announces, “My favorite Stars players!”

“Don’t tell Esa,” Jamie warns the bartender who chuckles in return before grabbing two drinks for the boys.

“What’ll you have, sweetheart?” he asks with a sweet Southern drawl to his words. Your eyes scan down the drinks on tap before settling on a locally brewed ale. It’s brought to you with a wide smile and a wink.

The next two hours fly by. People come and go, occupying the seats around the three of you and occasionally asking for selfies with the two superstars. With each drink, the line drawn between you and Tyler that separates your friendship from a relationship starts to blur. It isn’t until you relocate to a booth on the other side of the bar that you realize what’s going on.

Tyler’s hand settles on your thigh and he honestly doesn’t even realize what he’s doing because it feels so natural for him to touch you again. Dan is out of sight, out of mind for him. Apparently, the distance between Texas and Massachusetts is enough for Tyler to forget.

You’re hyper aware of the way his calloused palm feels against your skin, unable to stop your mind from wandering when you recognize how large his hand is against you.

When you look up, you meet Jamie’s eyes. He gives a quick look at the palm on your thigh and then raises his eyebrows at you. Subtly, you slide out of the booth to “use the bathroom”, but not quick enough to avoid hearing Jamie warn Tyler, “You gotta stop.”

The bathroom is one single stall. You get in there and look at yourself in the mirror in an effort to pep talk yourself. Either you needed to set some boundaries with Tyler for the next two weeks and squash the tension, or you needed to just deal with the overly touchiness of your friendship without being a shitty person to Dan.

Boundaries never needed to be a thing back in Boston. How are you even supposed to make them now, especially after 5 long years of friendship?

Do you even want to?

Maybe just having Jamie around would be enough to delay the conversation.

As if he knows you’re feeling guilty, Dan’s contact pops up on your screen while you’re on the way to the bathroom. You glance up at the boys. Tyler notices your hesitation in approaching the table and watches as you turn away to press the phone to your ear.

“Hey,” you greet. “What’s up?”

“I haven’t heard from you,” he states. “How are you? Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, we grabbed dinner with Jamie and now we’re just catching up over drinks,” you answer. You swing your body back around to glance at the booth. Both boys are staring at you until Jamie diverts his attention back to Tyler and says something. Tyler glances at him quickly, nods, then looks back at you. “How’s your night?” 

“Boring,” he grunts. “I miss you.”

“I’ll be back soon!”

“Not soon enough,” he complains. You chuckle at him, but don’t reply. “I really wanna keep you on the phone, but I know the boys are just waiting for you to hang up. I’ll let you go. Have fun. Tell them I say hello.”

“Will do,” you lie. You won’t tell them because you know that neither of them really care if Dan says hello or not. “I’ll text you later tonight.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, Dan,” you respond. Before he can say anything about the way you dropped the ‘I’, you’re hanging up the phone and shoving it into your back pocket.

Back at the booth, Tyler has his back against the wall on the other end of the bench. His arm isn’t even within reach of your thigh and Jamie looks like a proud Dad when Tyler doesn’t immediately reach over to embrace you.

Around 9:30 p.m., the three of you leave to wander the streets around the bar. It’s a pretty busy area, filled with bars and restaurants, so people are bustling around the streets either just starting their night or ending it. You walk beside Tyler, inches apart from each other so that you’re close enough, but not too close. Jamie walks behind you two, preoccupied by his phone.

The back of Tyler’s hand keeps brushing along yours and it’s driving him crazy that he feels like he has to stop himself. After Jamie’s scolding at the bar, he knows he can’t keep touching you like this, even though he wants to. He falls back a step and pretends to ask Jamie something. Really, he just needs to step away from you for a moment.

You continue walking ahead of them alone. It’s so warm out, comfortable, and the streets are beautifully lit with string lights. There’s music floating from the nearby bars that you find yourself humming along to. You walk two blocks like that, the two of them just a few steps behind you.

Until, suddenly, the wind is knocked out of you as a pair of arms come around your waist. Jamie Benn be damned.

“Let’s get more tattoos!” Tyler exclaims. He pulls you into his chest, bringing your ass against a part of him you try not to think about. The light from the tattoo shop beside you shines on the pavement. You glance behind you and find his eyes fixed on you. “In honor of your big accomplishment.”

Jamie catches up to you two, stopping short to glance at the shop before looking back at Tyler’s arms around your waist with a knowing smile. You slip out of Tyler’s arms under his watchful gaze and announce, “We’re getting tattoos. Are you in?”

“I think I’m out on that tonight,” Jamie says with a chuckle. “But, I’ll come watch.”

Tyler grabs your hand and tugs you into the shop. Almost immediately, the tattoo artists recognize him. They jump up to greet him and Jamie, praising the two of them for the hockey season. Once they’re settled, Tyler informs them of the decision you two have made to get a spontaneous, drunk tattoo. And, crazily enough, they agree to the last-minute appointment.

“Tyler, what are we even going to get?” you ask. You flip through one of the books of art they have displayed at the counter. Everything is so intricate, beautiful, but they’re not tattoos meant for your body. You like the small, delicate tattoos.

“You picked last time,” he reminds you. “I wanna pick this time.”

“Don’t pick anything stupid,” you warn. He chuckles, sliding his arm around your back to pull you closer to him. He lowers his face to yours and presses the tip of his nose against the tip of your nose.

“I would never,” he says seriously. He stands straight again, pulling his arm away as you settle back onto the floor. He pulls his phone from his back pocket. “I’m going to Google some ideas.”

“Tipsy Tyler and Google are helping you make this decision?” Jamie asks with a grin. “You’re very trusting of him.”

Tyler rolls his eyes and sits on the leather couch in the front of the shop to browse the internet. He knows what you like, so he doesn’t ask many questions for your input. Nothing flashy, nothing big, something that screams YN, he thinks.

While Tyler scrolls through his phone, Jamie leans both of his elbows on the counter beside you. He flicks through the art book and points out ones that he likes, making small talk about what types of tattoos you usually look for. He drops his voice to a whisper, “I can’t believe you and him are going to get a second set of matching tattoos.”

“They don’t match.”

“Yes, they are,” Jamie argues. “Your tattoos are like pairs of socks. They go together.”

“I never match my socks.”

“I have an idea!” Tyler pipes up. Everyone’s attention is back to the boy with backwards hat. He stands up from the couch and walks over, Pinterest on full display. You giggle at his method of finding your tattoo. He hands the phone to you and leans against the counter as you look at it. “They’re California poppies.”

“It’s pretty,” you remark. The tattoo is a thin black line creating three California poppies in a small bouquet. It’s delicate, pretty, and totally you. You look back up at Tyler with a smile. “Well, what are you going to get?”

“One small California poppy,” he answers. Jamie chuckles beside you, thinking how absolutely nuts it is that Tyler is going to get a flower etched onto his skin for a girl. You send a quick elbow to his stomach, but Tyler’s oblivious to the moment shared between the two of you. “I have a spot near my shoulder that needs to be filled.”

You decide to get the tattoo on your ribs, which means you’ll have to take your shirt off. Jamie immediately excuses himself to sit on the couch up front. Tyler just stands there dumbly, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Do you want me to go sit with Jamie?”

“Nah,” you answer. You pull the shirt up and over your head. Tyler swallows, forcing himself to keep his eyes above your neck. “Oh, relax. You’ve seen me in less than this before.”

And it’s true. One time you got so drunk that Tyler picked you up from a bar after a girls’ night out and you stripped out of your clothes as soon as you entered his apartment. That was four years ago now and ages before the kiss.

You lay on your side, leaving your ribs on full display and tuck your hands under your head. Tyler grabs a chair and sits beside you, finally at eye level.

“I honestly thought you weren’t going to pick something this pretty,” you admit. Tyler chuckles, leaning back in the chair to scratch at his stubble.

“Only pretty things for you,” he says softly. You let out a breathy laugh, shaking your head at the sweetness of his comment. You close your eyes as the tattoo artist draws on your skin with a pen, marking up the spot where your newest art will go.

Tyler watches you, eyes soft and wide. He rests his elbow on the arm of the chair he’s sitting in and drops his head into the palm of his hand, staring shamelessly and without a care that you might open your eyes to see him admiring you.

“Are you going to fall asleep?”

“I might,” you answer. Your lips turn up at the corners just before you pretend to start snoring. Tyler laughs at you and your eyes pop open to the sound. They close again after you get a good look at his giggly face.

When the artist starts inking your skin, Tyler walks around the table to get a better look. He watches the black ink stain your skin and he feels the same way he felt when you got the stars three years ago. He wants to run his fingers along the lines, trace the ink. And, secretly, he wants to kiss it. 

[atrixfromice]

Hey howdy folks!

It's late at night and oh good heavens! I feel soooo -*censored* - right now!!!! Parlez moi dans la langue de Molière s'il vous plaît...euh sorry heheh. I mean, I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas Eve to y'all! and I sincerely hope you're not feeling as -*censored* - and as lonely as I'm feeling right now. ( Sorry, I know I have can have a naughty humor sometimes when is late at night. But is funny because is true that's how I feel and you can imagine it by the context XD )

I hope you have been able to visit your family and friends for this Christmas Eve! Despite the quarantine on some countries.

Funny enough, I'm also feeling very sad today, because I feel like the year it's almost to be over and I haven't made yet something wholesome and transcendental in my life.

But I think I learned a lot about animation and voice acting exploring my characters' psyche while I was working with those buddies who were glad to give their voices.

Because yes they have a psyche! All my characters' are complex, they have their own dreams, fears and hopes, their own beliefs, qualifies and flaws. And all of that must be transmitted by the voice. This is why finally finding a voice that can convey their personalities is so so important. And such a great discovery!

And here is a little Christmas gift I've made for you yesterday. Since my computer is not working I made this one art flow for android.

This piece was inspired by the animation I was making, that I couldn't be able to finish this year, but well I'll have time to save to buy a better computer/microphone next year I hope. At least I'm reassured yo know I could be able to find the perfect voices for some of my fictional characters, I think that in itself was super awesome already! And the coolest thing is the voices of my characters are young peeps so they will not die soon.

....or I hope so at least! I think it would be too bad luck if they died!

Actually, all this animation and voice acting project I started, it started cos I one day I got a fervent craving of hearing my original character Faikel saying exclamation expressions with my their (Faikel's home planet culture I mean) gooddess Gaia in different contexts. Just because I love when fictional characters say something related to their universe's culture/folklore instead of just "oh my God".

And in one of those scenes he saw my character Atrix with a dress, and he said "ooh my Gaia! You're so pretty!", and it was just so cool!!!! so I felt inspired to draw it.

I feel like I owe you this at least. So here is the dress Faikel said "oh my Gaia" for! ^^ In case someone wondered.

Oh and yes I know there's a "Gaia" ( or "Gea" ) on some earth's ancient culture lore. And this is precisely the one this one's in honor to, but I'll explain it with more detail later. Today I need to sleep cos had a really busy and exhausting day.

Oh and if the face it's a bit off, is cos it's hard to see the perspective and shape on Artflow for android. But I tried to make it agréable to see, and in a Ghibli-esque style.