#and the record is in perfect condition and plays really well

[alittlefanatic]

🍎Shall we Dance? - Ch 2🍎

You can find Ch 1 Here: Shall We Dance - Ch 1

Or here: Shall We Dance - WattPad

This chapter will switch between Wally and the Reader's point of view! This is just to flip back and forth on viewpoints in later chapters! I'll let you know when the POV Changes! <3

Art by: @kluelezz on Twitter

Wally's POV

The morning had arrived as I yawned, my hair in my face as I stretched to wake myself up. It was about seven 6 a.m but I couldn't help but lie in bed thinking about yesterday's events.

After the neighbor and I talked about what we needed for the competition, I went straight back Home in search of records to use. Thankfully I had a few that were in working condition that we both could use to practice, just slow enough to get some footwork down, they were some of my favorite records after all which helped ease my mind.

"I still can't believe they wanted to join a dance competition...I didn't know they were into dance." I grumbled to myself, putting my hand over my eyes. "Have I ever seen them dance before? Why did they even..? I thought they didn't even want to act again in a play, isn't that what the winner is rewarded with?"

My head hurt already, but I couldn't help but chuckle. It was all so silly in reality! My neighbor was always so excited about learning new things, I guess I really should have seen this coming, but still???

Shaking my head, I sat up out of bed, dragging my feet over to the side as I went and changed into my outfit for the day. Grabbing my blue cardigan and red tie, I quickly put both of them on as I sat down in front of my mirror, staring at myself with my hair down.

"I wish my hair could stay up permanently..." I grumbled, grabbing a brush to smooth it out, then tease it out, slowly forming the pompadour on my head as I grabbed some hairspray to keep it still.

"Home, do you recall if we have any books here about dance?" I spoke, and a very soft and quiet squeak was heard from the door as I shook my head. "I'll definitely have to grab some from Howdy or Frank today then. I need to be a good dancer for my neighbor! I can't let them down today! Or ever...I don't want to upset our dear neighbor."

After combing my hair, I headed straight to the kitchen, grabbing some apples to eat as a snack, and I looked out the window. The neighbor didn't live as far, fortunately, but they were near the forest near Eddie's Postal shop.

"It's better to be early than late, I might as well be on my way!" Wally spoke happily, looking at the time which read eight am. "Do I really take that long to style my hair...?" I shrugged. "What can I say, I always want to look my very best. You can't rush perfection~"

With Home opening the door for me, I made my way towards our Neighbors home!

...

Making it to the door, I knocked.

"Neighbor! I know I'm early, but I figured an early start is better than no start!" I spoke happily. I waited a couple of minutes until knocking again. Maybe they were still sleeping?

I heard some feet shuffling behind the door accompanied by a couple of groans, as I heard the click of the door opening.

"God, the sun is bright..." They grumbled, rubbing their eyes. Their hair was all messy and tangled, and it looked like they still had their oversized pajamas on. I couldn't help but chuckled. They looked so silly! Silly, Silly...

"Well, yes, neighbor, it is the sun. What do you expect?"

Neighbor rolled their eyes and simply waved me inside.

"Make yourself comfortable, I have some water beginning to boil for some tea. Let me just make myself look alive." They grumbled sleepily as they went to presumably go get changed.

I couldn't help but look around their place. The walls were a wonderful shade of light blue as there were fairy lights adorning the walls. They had many bookshelves of books, as well as many soft pillows and blankets. Neighbor sure did love to be cozy! I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when I heard the kettle. Walking over to the kitchen, I looked around, grabbing some green tea bags and some honey, I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and put the teabag in along with the hot water and honey.

"Ahh...that feels much better," Neighbor spoke, as I turned to look towards them. I could feel my eyes dilate as I looked at them, absorbing the new information. They had on a rainbow-striped short-sleeved shirt with some blue jean shorts with some black tennis shoes. Their hair was brushed neatly back and pulled back out of their face.

"Hello? Earth to Wally?" The neighbor waved a hand in front of my face as I shook my head.

"Sorry, neighbor! I like your attire -" I coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. They looked cute! Cute? Friendly cute! Yes!

Neighbor couldn't help but roll their eyes, taking the cup of tea I laid out and taking a sip. You could see them visibly perk up.

"Oh, that's some wonderful tea, thank you!" They spoke happily, taking another sip as they sighed. "We gotta get down to business today! I have nothing to wear for any of this, and I do have some books about dancing, just not about foxtrot..."

"I'm sure Howdy's open by now if you would like to hurry on over neighbor."

"Might as well! Besides, I want to ask around and see who else is in the competition! Maybe we can catch some of them dancing~" They spoke, drinking the last bit of their tea before putting it in the sink.

"Well, we know Eddie and Frank are competing since, you know... Sally pretty much ran to them after us." I spoke, Neighbor chuckling. "I wonder who else is competing, though, maybe Barnaby and Julie? It can't just be two groups. There needs to be more."

"Well! That's what we can go to Howdy's and ask! Being the shopkeep, others have to get things to right?" Neighbor perked up, grabbing my hand, obviously very excited. "Let's get going then!!"

Without even getting a word in, they dragged me right out the door to Howdy's shop.

...

Reader's POV

Hurrying to Howdy's shop, holding Wally in my hand, I barged through the door, the little bell ringing to signify people have entered.

"Oh? Neighbor! Wally! Welcome to the Bugdega. Can I help you find anything?" Howdy asked happily, fixing his little hat and setting down a box with his other set of hands.

"Hi Howdy! I was actually wondering if you had any clothes or books? Particularly about dancing!" I spoke happily, glancing around the store, walking up to a couple of pairs of shoes.

Howdy couldn't help but laugh. "Sally got to you to huh? I take it your joining in the competition?"

"Yes, we are, Wally is actually my partner!"

Howdy looked towards Wally, then back at me. "Him?? Wally, I thought you didn't know how to dance, nor cared to?"

Wally rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Neighbor wanted to, and they needed a partner! Simple as that! Can't I help out a good friend?"

Howdy gave Wally a certain look, I figured out Wally's face getting slightly red. "It's not like that!!" He grumbled, turning his head away as I raised an eyebrow, shrugging my shoulders as I went back to looking at the shoes, grabbing a pair of white tennis shoes with a red stripe down the sides. Walking back over to the counter, I put the shoes on them, then went to the books to search.

"Is it so unusual to want to try something different? It's getting hotter out and I'm bored! Besides, a little competition could be fun, and it's good to learn something new. How hard can it be to learn how to dance?" I spoke, finding a book about the different types of dances, as well as the basics, grabbing it as I put it on the counter.

Wally grabbed some water bottles, putting them on the counter as well. "Yes, exactly! Actually, Howdy, we were curious if you knew of anyone else wanting to join?"

Howdy put a hand to his chin, folding his other limbs across his chest. "Hmm... I do believe Frank and Eddie will be entering. I saw those two dancing the other night, as sweet as can be! You know how Frank loves to learn. He probably already has some knowledge, and Eddie is quick on his feet, so that's probably gonna be your main competitors! Other than that, I'm not sure, I believe Poppy was thinking about it but was too nervous, I know she still has time to decide." Howdy spoke as he began to put the items in brown sacks with the Bugdega logo on it.

"Hmm... maybe we can catch them in the act? Maybe seeing how good they are might give us a shot of what we are up against!" I spoke happily, Wally looking over wide-eyed.

"You mean SPY on them? That's not very neighborly! They deserve their privacy!"

"And we deserve to see how good our competition is~" I spoke with a smirk, looking over at Howdy. "How much?"

Howdy looked down at the items. "Hmm... tell me your best joke!"

I paused, thinking a moment. "Why do you tell actors to 'break a leg'? ...Because ever play has a cast."

Howdy erupted in laughter. Man, I didn't even think it was that funny, but his laugh was infectious, and I couldn't help but join in.

"Ok ok that's a good one. Let's hope you two don't get hurt during this. Dance injuries are no joke!" Howdy spoke, waving us off as I grabbed my new book and shoes, Wally grabbing the waters.

"You take care, Howdy! It's been getting hot!" Wally spoke, opening the door for me as we stepped outside, hearing the door shut behind us. I couldn't help but glance towards Frank's house. Wally looked where I was looking and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, neighbor, let's go put these up -"

"Aww, come on, Wally, I'm sure it's fine to do a little bit of snooping~" I spoke, taking a step towards Frank's home.

"Neighbor, I swear if we don't go back to Home right now -"

I smiled, taking more slow steps to Frank's house before sprinting in its general direction.

"NEIGHBOR- UGH!' I heard Wally yell behind me before following after me. I smiled in victory as I ran towards the tall flower bushes near Frank's home as I knelt down behind them. He kept those for the butterflies and other insects to study. It would only make sense they he grew flowers for the bugs around him.

I could hear soft, slow music play, as Wally finally caught up to me, catching his breath as he sent a playful glare my way. I smirked, sticking my tongue out before motioning for him to be quiet and listen. It sounded like 'Can't take my eyes off of you' was playing, as I heard two voices speaking. Standing up, I peaked through the bushes and fence, seeing Eddie and Frank smiling.

They were both dancing slowly, Frank smiling happily as Eddie looked at him with adoration as the two practiced slowly. You motion Wally to stand up and watch, to which he obliged, staring at the scene ahead of us. He couldn't help but smile softly, and honestly, I couldn't blame him. It was sweet seeing Frank smile, as he often frowned. I couldn't help but be amazed at their dance moves, though. They almost seemed to be pros if it wasn't for Eddie at least, who fumbled on his feet and seemed to mess up on his cues. Frank had more rhythm between the two, but in the moment, it seemed neither of them cared. They were just happy to dance with each other.

Wally and I looked at each other, nodding in mutual agreement to give them some privacy. We sneakily and quietly got out of earshot and began to make our way back towards home.

"Did you see that?? Wasn't that so sweet??" I couldn't help but swoon. I was a sucker for romance. What can I say? I loved reading romance and falling in love with other characters. But loved always seemed to avoid me, maybe one day though someone would sweep me off my feet.

"They are dating after all. Though, it does seem like we have some good competition." Wally chuckled, though I couldn't help but be off in my own dream world.

"I hope one day someone will look at me the way Eddie looks at Frank." I sighed happily, to which Wally chuckled.

"I know someone will. You are the most, I'll say." He spoke simply. I rolled my eyes. He's my friend, of course he would say that!

Finally making it to Home, it opened its doors for Wally and I, as I held onto my book, walking to and sitting on the couch while Wally put the waters on the counter.  "We got some supplied, I got some records. We should read through the books next to get a better idea, yea?" Wally spoke, coming to the couch to sit next to me, as I opened the book.

"Yea, that might be a good idea... I do have some musicals that we could watch as well. If you want to, I could read the book to you, and tonight we could watch some movies? Just to get an idea."

Wally smiled, nodding as he looked towards the book. "That's more than ok with me, neighbor." He spoke, sitting with his head against his hand. I couldn't help but smile as I scooted close to him, as I began to read from my book, feeling a pair of eyes on me on occasion as I spoke. Though it was a small start, it was a start in the right direction. I didn't mind reading to Wally anyway, and based on how relaxed he was?

I don't think he minds either.

Authors note

I know this was a more mundane chapter, but we're going to be getting into more fluff and crushes next chapter, so be prepared~

Lovely original request by @conchoyster

[telvess]

Record of Ragnarok Hermes (headcanons) 🔞

It came out a little chaotic... I got lost in halfway. If I'm making any significant mistakes, feel free to tell me.

SFW That guy is like a walking enigma. He behaves elegantly and kindly, always has excellent manners, not to mention his perfect tact, but something in your gut tells you it's not entirely sincere. Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t that perceptive: Hermes letting his perfect image… loosen up a bit. It’s funny. He always says something almost innocent as if he learnt what innocence means yesterday. He likes playing these kind of sweet games where you both know he isn’t honest and you try your best to expose him. If you manage to succeed, forget about praises or any other reward. Hermes would just smile or pretend innocently how unexpected that was, eh… I believe Hermes doesn’t have his type. The only condition that really matters is if a person can intrigue him. He likes challenges or being the challenge. Get his attention and keep fuel curiosity. Doesn’t matter if you are goddess or human, he would be genuinely impressed if anyone surprise him with something. That doesn’t happen often. If he catches some sort of feelings towards someone, nobody would knows. Yes, Hermes is nosy, always knows what’s happening in others’ lives, but he’s way too clever to give even the slightest hint that something is going on in his love life. For Hermes falling in love is a game but whoever falls first - loses. So romance with him is slow burn kind. I allow the possibility of enemies-to-lovers trope. If, hypothetically, some minor pantheon feuded with Zeus and Hermes would be sent to deliver the threat so that they know their place-… I meant message with some kind of advice, he might come face to face with s/o. The conversation may not be spicy, but it won’t be nice either. Full of subtexts, small provocations and fake smiles, everything on the verge of politeness. Hermes would come back without a scratch, but it definitely didn't go as expected. If at the end both sides find some reasonable compromise, Hermes and s/o most likely would end up seeing each other more often. Maybe because of their duties, maybe because they happen to be in the right place and time. Half the time, they'll have their small banters. Usually Ares is part of them because he overheard something - in his opinion - disrespectful and he tries to backup his brother, but he’s so incompetent that even he realizes it himself. At that point it’s usually too late for prideful man as Ares to call it off so Hermes has to come in a clutch and safe his butt. And no - Ares never learns from his mistakes. The next day he would fall into the same trap again… Sometimes it even leads to situation where everyone is against everyone. Hermes won’t be playing on violin just for s/o, but if she joins him during the play, he won’t mind her presence. In fact, he would like to talk about it afterwards. It works both ways - he won't be pushy either, but he would be kindly interested if she mentions her hobbies and is willing to share. The tension between them builds slowly over time. They both know that the other feels the same, but they don't act on it. I think it would go from like zero to hundred in a moment. Single spark and suddenly they kiss and touch each other without hesitation. It's hard to tell if they would become an official couple. They might as well be in open relationship or just friends with benefit.

NSFW I see him as a switch. He is used to serve Zeus and others so probably feels a need to be in charge and take care of a lover. On other hand, if you insist to be top and just tell him to relax, he’ll accept the offer. He secretly likes being care of but would never admit it. It’s new to him - be able to just empty the mind like that. I think he has a thing for long neat legs. I don’t know why. It’s nice addition, like the icing on the cake. He loves having them around his waist or placed on his arms when he basically fold you in half. Hermes likes to talk during act. He’s one playful guy. Telling you what he’s about to do, a bit of dirty talk here and then, definitely some praises. He has really good voice for that and knows how to use it against you. He’s pretty creative and open to suggestions. As long as you aren’t in pain, Hermes is up to anything. He doesn’t have his routine, just goes with the flow. Sex with him is rare, he’s busy man, that’s why he wants to make the best use of that precious time just between you two. Top notch in aftercare, hands down. That’s like his natural environment. He always makes sure you’re comfortable. Massage, bath, breakfast or any other form of tenderness you can think of.

I was woken up by intense smell and strange, omnipresent wetness. I opened my puffy eyes and once I realized I’m in the water, guided by instincts and fear, rapidly tried to get up. — Shh, calm down — I heard right next to my ear. Someone’s slender hands surrounded me in waist, forcing me to stay in sitting position. I let out a surprised sigh but didn’t oppose. I looked over my shoulder to see Hermes’s calm face. Leaning against his chest, I could feel the warmth radiating from him. — Where-re we… how… — I mumbled not fully awake yet. — You passed out — Hermes explained. Memories of our last ,conversation’ flashed back to me, and then my face exploded with heat. An egg could have been fried on my cheek. I was hoping that Hermes didn’t notice my embarrassment. Pathetic daydream… He knows everything about everyone before others. — Oh… I didn’t have to turn around to see his smile. — Judging by your body language, you didn’t seem bored with our experience. That’s why I took it as a complement. — Hermes pretend to be lost in thoughts, his voice was on the verge of innocence he imitated so well. — Whatever you like. — I gave up. He had upper hand here. — Do I interpret it correctly? Am I sensing submissiveness? — No… — Sulky mood then? — I don’t have strength for that… — That’s not very alike you. — I felt his chin on the top of my head. — Perhaps I should’ve thanked you for all these sweet gifts you gave me. I sighed. Something in his voice awaken me completely. — How much I hate… — I turned to face him. — Yes? — Hermes enticed me. I could see sparkles of joy in his eyes. — … how unbearably witty you are. — I finished angry. The corners of his lips lifted a bit. — Thank you — he said calmly. I just shook my head and came back to old position. We sat in silence. My mind went to previous events that leads me to this situation. I may have started our little tête-à-tête, but he was the one who dragged it to breaking point. I remembered his nimble fingers, smooth voice as he whispers to my ears, gentle and tender gestures, the patience, and finally his steady, firm thrusts as he filled me over and over. I lost track of time, at some point everything stopped when Hermes was playing with my body in so many different ways - from the most ordinary, to extravagant, to promiscuous positions. Being at his mercy was… pleasant. — That was very nice — I whispered. — Yes — he admitted silently, next to my ear. Whether he really thought so, or whether his impeccable manners spoke through him, I will probably never know. Still, I felt absolutely no need to worry about how I fared compared to his other lovers. I was just enjoying the moment.

[daisyaiha]

Cosmos | Chapter 2

Pairing: Felix x Bang Chan x Hyunjin x Seungmin, Lee know x Han, Changbin x I.N

Genre: Sci-fi, historical, boys love, fantasy, action, mystery

Content warning: angst, fluff, oral violence, neglecting, trauma, hyunchan moment, Seungmin is a trigger

w'c: 2.3k

~ In a universe that encompasses everything that exists, Yongbok stands in between the space and the being that controls the reality of living.

The ample act of breathing had become hard, as every breath he took hurt. The freezing atmosphere had seemed to petrify his whole body, like he had gone to space without proper clothing, and his eyes, though open, could not discern anything in the pitch-black darkness that enveloped him.

Parting his trembling lips, he tried to speak, but his voice wouldn’t come out, an echo of desperation trapped within him. Each syllable he desperately attempted to form only ignited the silence around him, a soundless universe that felt both vast and suffocating. He called out to no one, to somebody, to anybody—hoping that his unvoiced cries would somehow break through the invisible barrier surrounding him. His mind conjured vague shapes, familiar yet distant, faces that seemed to blur at the edges, flickering like a forgotten film reel.

Suddenly, an overwhelming sensation washed over him, and the floor beneath him vanished. He felt himself falling, an uncontrolled descent into an abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. Desperation clawed at his stomach as he threw his hands against his chest, hoping to relieve the increasing pain there—a gnawing pressure that felt like a thousand tiny knives embedding themselves deeper with each heartbeat. He was drowning, suffocating in invisible water, the weight of it all pulling him deeper into darkness. Patches of blurry images flashes across his eyes. The vision of his encounter from the early mornings of today being played like a tape record.

Yongbok woke up at a time different than he was used to as he fell asleep too early from reading a book that had strongly caught his interest. For the first time in a quite a long time, he decided to step outside his bed chambers, finding himself agreeing to the thought of gracing the halls another glance. Voices from afar could be heard which was such a curious thing for an ungodly hour like this. People are not to be awake at such time, do they? Or is Yongbok far too copped up into his own that he has failed to notice such changes in his people's behaviors?

"Do not utter such words!" He heard a familiar voice slip out of one of the doors, one which was slightly ajar. "He must be removed from this manor, your grace!" A very daring man raised his voice in front of his father. "He is my son, you do not make decisions for him. I do!" His father's voice starts to sound more like the noises Yongbok heared just before his mother had died. "The emperor has demanded, your grace! We cannot afford to displease him! We must take this opportunity to better our reputation and send that thing to Levantyr!" A lot more voices started to deepen the sword being stabbed at his father. He cannot please himself and everyone in this circumstance. He must choose. And Yongbok just knew too well what he would do.

"Isn't that the emperor has already crowned a star to be queen?" Curious tones volumed out. "That is a fact. But I believe that the person in position does not have the ability to bare a heir, the concubine is of similar condition too. Therefore, our young master would be the perfect choice for his majesty." The nameless advisor explained, it is very much obvious that he wanted Yongbok out of this family immediately. "But he is far too young, your grace." He heard Minho's voice. Why was she there? She cannot argue with these unreasonable men. "It does not matter. The emperor fancies pretty faces, I believe that is enough." The advisor replied instead, he really was hell bent in kicking Yongbok out. "Such lowly servant dare speak?" Some other men began to whisper among themselves.

Having too heard too much already, Yongbok runs back to his room. Failing to notice how he had made such a huge sound that gathered the attention of everyone inside the meeting room. Taking another step he heard Minho’s voice, but the floor below him started to crumble. As he plummeted, panic gave way to clarity. The walls of his mind began to peel away, revealing the raw, jagged edges of his fears and hopes. He found himself surrounded by shadows, figures shrouded in uncertainty, each one a manifestation of his regrets and desires, their faces obscured yet hauntingly familiar. They beckoned to him, urging him to let go of the burdens he had carried for too long.

“Can you hear me?” he mentally shouted, his frantic thoughts cascading into the darkness around him. “I'm begging you, please. Somebody, help me.” But the void remained indifferent, each cry swallowed by the chasms that rippled through the expansive emptiness.

Just as despair began to overwhelm him, he felt a shift—a gentle push from behind. An impulse, a glimmer of hope rippled through his chest, as though something deep inside him stirred awake. Gasp. He opened his eyes, though he hadn’t realized they had been closed, and wondered if perhaps he could reshape this silence.

"My dear, you're awake."

The voice was soothing. Like a river's water gently following down the path created. Yongbok dragged his eyes open, a haze lifting from his mind as he took in the space around him. The room was dimly lit, with soft shadows dancing along the walls, the scent of blooming jasmine wafting through the open window. A slender hand came to his face, its touch gentle and tender, brushing a wayward strand of hair away from his forehead and tucking it behind his ear.

Yongbok's heart fluttered at this unexpected intimacy. He shifted slightly, trying to gather his thoughts as he focused on the figure beside him. The man was beautiful—his features sharp yet elegant, with curly dark hair framing his face, reminiscent of the way his mother used to describe the stars. She would say they glimmered like countless little jewels against the deep backdrop of the night sky, and now he understood her words in a way he had never appreciated before.

"Who are you?" Yongbok managed to croak, his voice hoarse.

The man smiled softly, revealing a row of perfect teeth that seemed to shine even in the dim light. "My name is Hyunjin." He paused, smiling at Yongbok with his gaze piercing yet warm before looking back towards someone at the door. "You there, get him some water."

Yongbok's pulse quickened as he pushed himself up on one elbow, the memories flooding back like a storm. The argument with his father, the desperate need for escape, and the moment he’d stumbled harmlessly into the river, which had swiftly turned violent. Fear washed over him again, but Hyunjin's calming presence steadied his racing heart.

“What happened?” Yongbok asked, anxiety creeping into his voice. “I thought I was… I thought I was drowning.”

Hyunjin’s expression shifted slightly, the gentleness remaining but tinted with a hint of sadness. “You were dreaming, dear. But you're awake now. Here, drink some water.”

Yongbok blinked, still processing Hyunjin’s words. There was something ethereal about him, like he existed between realities, part of both dreams and memories. “Where...where am I now?” he asked before drinking the water, not only seeking the answer about his whereabouts but about the turmoil that lay deeper in his soul.

Hyunjin looked down for a moment, gathering his thoughts. However, before he could say something, someone knocked at the door. "You're highness? His majesty has asked for your presence." Hyunjin dragged his eyes up to meet Yongbok's ocean ones.

Yongbok felt exposed, as if Hyunjin could glimpse into the very core of his being. “I’m just… lost,” Yongbok admitted, his vulnerability slipping through his defenses. “Tell his majesty that I am on my way.” He stroked Yongbok's cheek before standing up. "That is fine my dear. I had hoped that our time together be much longer, but I'm afraid I would have to leave you with your thoughts for a while. I promise to make it back as soon as his majesty lets me." His voice a soothing balm.

Yongbok could feel the weight of every word settling into the depths of his heart. He looked out the window, taking in the sprawling landscape that surrounded them—a tapestry of lush greens and colors, vibrant and alive. A new world began to blossom in his heart.

“Is this Levantyr?” he questioned as he took in the beautiful scenery.

Hyunjin nodded, his smile returning. “It is. If you need anything, you can just tell the maids outside.” Yongbok considered the offer.

In the heart of the grand castle, where the air was thick with the scent of burning incense and the distant sound of laughter, a tension lingered just beneath the surface. The lavish tapestries that adorned the walls, rich with stories of battles won and feasts celebrated, seemed almost inconsequential in the dimly lit chamber where Hyunjin stood. Every step of his reverberated with a sense of foreboding; the Emperor's aura was palpable even before he entered.

“Your majesty, you called for me?” Hyunjin bowed deeply, the ornate floor cool under his fingertips. Across the massive mahogany table, the figure of the Emperor loomed, a powerful silhouette carved from the finest stone. His broad shoulders cast a shadow like a protective canopy, masking the vulnerability beneath.

He set down the ink-stained quill, the parchment filled with proclamations and orders. He folded his arms, muscles rippling beneath his finely woven tunic, each movement deliberate. “How was he?” His voice rumbled through the chamber, a thunderous echo that sent shivers down Hyunjin’s spine.

“He has woken up, Your majesty,” Hyunjin replied, voice steady yet strained. He kept his gaze downcast, unwilling to meet the intense stare of the Emperor who had captured his heart yet broken it ever so slightly.

With a heavy sigh, the man rose from his seat. His towering form moved effortlessly toward Hyunjin, the heat of his presence seeping into the space between them. Hyunjin’s heart raced; this man was both his greatest love and his deepest wound. For a fleeting moment, he wished to melt into the very stones of the castle, to avoid the inevitable collision of emotions.

“Are you still angry at me, princess?” his voice softened, almost a purr as he hooked his finger under Hyunjin's chin, lifting it gently. Their eyes locked, and for a heartbeat, everything else faded.

“I do not dare feel such things towards your majesty,” Hyunjin asserted, though his tone lacked conviction. He felt the truth behind his words crumble.

A smirk curled on the man’s lips, a bold challenge dancing in his dark eyes. “Why the ‘your majesty’ then? Am I not your husband?”

With a tenderness that ignited memories of their sun-drenched mornings and whispered dreams, he cupped Hyunjin's face, drawing them closer. The kiss that followed was feather-light yet electrifying, a balm for the wounds wrought by royal duties and unspoken expectations. Hyunjin’s resolve shattered, and he fell into the embrace, gripping the Emperor’s arm as tears betrayed his stoic facade.

As they broke apart, the man wiped at his eyes, trying to reclaim the semblance of composure. "I hate you, Christopher," Hyunjin whispered, each word laced with the weight of their shared history—of secrets kept, promises broken, and the harrowing battles fought in silence.

Christopher's expression softened, his gaze filled with a tenderness that made Hyunjin feel cherished despite the rift between them. “I love you too, princess,” he murmured, wrapping Hyunjin in a tight embrace that felt like home.

Time seemed to stand still as Hyunjin melted into him, surrendering to the warmth, the rhythm of their hearts in sync once again. The moonlight spilled through the tall windows, casting a silver glow across the chamber, illuminating the troubled expressions etched on Hyunjin's face. He had hoped their stolen moments could shield them from the chaos of the world outside, but reality clung to them like a heavy fog.

"The child seemed scared. I do not know what I should tell him. He has many questions, Christopher." Hyunjin's voice quavered, and he looked up at the Emperor, desperation mirroring in his eyes. He could envision the innocent gaze of the child they had brought into their lives, a fragile soul lost in confusion and fear.

Christopher, regal and steadfast, traced a gentle finger along the curve of Hyunjin's jaw. "Then, we must tell him the truth."

Hyunjin's breath hitched, and panic flashed across his features. "That we had taken him away from his family? I cannot tell him that!" The thought of breaking that child's heart felt unbearable. "You do not need to, if you do not want to." Christopher murmured, his voice steady and calming, as he tucked a few strands of Hyunjin's hair behind his ear.

In a moment that felt like a fragile promise, Christopher pressed his lips against Hyunjin's once more, seeking to soothe the storm brewing in his lover's heart. But the moment was cut short as the sound of loud footsteps echoed outside their sanctuary.

The door swung open with a crash, revealing a flustered guard. "Your majesty, your highness. His highness Seungmin had forcefully entered the young master’s room. He would not allow us entry."

Hyunjin's heart dropped. His worst fear had come. Seungmin, with his mischievous grin and chaotic energy, was unpredictable at the best of times, but now, with Yongbok in question, Hyunjin felt a chill of dread wash over him.

"I have to go," Hyunjin said, a sense of urgency propelling him forward, brushing past the startled guards as he made his way down the hallway.

"Hyunjin, wait–!" Christopher called after him, but he was already barreling through the opulent corridors, heart racing. Each step echoed in his mind: the child’s frightened face, the countless unanswered questions swirling like a tempest inside him.

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP — m1ckeyb3rry

Your match WAS...

— Nagi Seishiro

✦ Well, I didn’t think about it for very long :D

✦ I was waiting to read the part about the traits you like in the other person and… Well, honestly, I hesitated for a moment but still brushed it off, thinking, "meh, it's part of life."

✦ So here’s our most motivated player from Blue Lock :)

✦ (No.)

✦ And I have to admit that Nagi isn't a character I can easily place because he's so unique and not at all receptive to anything related to human relationships. I even think he belongs to his own manga, within the manga itself.

✦ That’s probably why we end up with a movie named after him and a series of mangas dedicated to him.

✦ For me, what creates a funny and unusual chemistry right away is the fact that you’re extremely different… but that you connect on very specific details that form a common bridge between you two.

✦ Example: "I’m also pretty quick-witted and good at thinking on my feet BUT I’m kind of judgmental." Without saying Nagi is the most reactive guy in the world, in moments of despair (lol, going straight to the tough stuff), it almost seems like he doesn’t think and manages to instinctively react to anticipate a decisive move on the field. Stimulated correctly, he unleashes potential that, in my opinion, is unmatched by anyone else. He’s got this ON and OFF mode! Most of the time, he’s sleeping, slacking, or playing games; but during very specific key moments, he wakes up and breaks all performance records. It’s almost like it doesn’t require any effort, you know? It’s just an aspect of his personality that awakens under certain conditions, but it’s part of who he is. Meaning, he didn’t really have to work on it beforehand to possess it. Some like to call it "genius."

✦ And I see that trait in you when you explain to me, "I’m quite smart but I don’t really try to be?? Like I mostly play on my phone or watch shows/read in my classes but I have perfect grades anyways."

✦ It’s both awesome, and it can also attract a lot of jealousy. Those who work hard but end up with average or even bad grades, while you don’t need to spend time studying; you succeed no matter what.

✦ I can see my duo of prodigies :)

✦ "It’s hard for something/someone to keep my interest for long, but when it does, I am SUPER into it, so I’m really good at pursuing goals and whatnot!!" Yes, it’s the same for Nagi. You both need a goal that makes sense to you to become productive. A discipline in which you can excel once you get into it; but also one where you become passive once an activity loses its appeal. A downside that’s not easy to manage, on top of driving those around you crazy, who see your potential but feel like you’re not using it to its full extent.

✦ "I’m pretty cheerful and kind for the most part, and I’m a chronic people-pleaser, so I’ll bend over backwards to help out people I don’t know that well/to be agreeable, but when I know a person super well (ex. my family), I can def be kind of demanding/picky." For Nagi, it’s really the opposite, and it causes him problems in the other direction; he cares too little about his surroundings and what others think to even react accordingly. Which leads people to label him as heartless and selfish, something he doesn’t deny but doesn’t really approve of either.

✦ I’ve often observed that people who expect a lot from their surroundings are those who don’t let just anyone into their personal space, out of a need to protect themselves. This involves a very meticulous and sometimes extreme filtering process, often demanding a lot and becoming tough or guilt-tripping others when they don’t meet those expectations—sometimes unrealistic ones.

✦ But this behavior wouldn’t last with someone like Nagi, from whom you really can’t expect anything, absolutely nothing. Even Reo, who might be the character who knows Nagi the best, experienced his worst moments of doubt because Nagi didn’t quite meet his expectations—the one of staying by his side no matter what. What seemed obvious wasn’t true, leading to a violent disillusionment for Reo.

✦ So, I think it’s a match that could be complicated because it’ll require both of you to make efforts to step out of your comfort zones and accept each other’s flaws, but it could be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. I’ll come back to explain with some MBTI, but you’re typically a duo where almost everything contrasts.

✦ "As for what people tell me… I guess that I’m super confident, funny, kind, trustworthy (I was the one in high school who knew ALL of the tea because people would just tell me their secrets unprompted)." Yes. Really, with EVERYTHING in contrast.

✦ Side note, but when I read texts, certain words have colors, sounds, and sensations for me. They give off something, and when I read your whole section of likes, I see springtime paintings, sweet, fragrant scents. I see lots of nature, countryside, flowers, I feel silk, the smell of books, the careful unwrapping of packages to keep in a drawer. When I read the word "pomegranate," I see the fruit and feel the texture and hear the flowing, viscous sound of its seeds. All of this gives me a very colorful overall vision, and I think it’s the complete opposite of what I feel when I read about Nagi, who for me is very monochrome, on the same horizon line.

✦ "Traits I like in others: people who are passionate about things, people who are very kind/gentle." Well, you can see why I hesitated, right? :D

And that’s when I stopped everything to rewrite it all. The ""real"" matchup is right here.

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | SEPTEMBER '24 MATCHUPS EDITION.

[chiskz]

I'm not going anywhere.

𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞: April 2023

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1k

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: hybe's offer was real. what did chichi say about it?

𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬: 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗜 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗬𝗕𝗘?

♡𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @alyszaen , @smh-anon , @neohyxn , @stealanity , @alixnsuperstxr , @juliawritingblog , @hafsa-hoofsa-heefs , @qtnoaly , @elizalabs3

《 ♡ 》

Chichi opened her eyes slowly. The sound that woke her up, however, was not the melody of the alarm, but a song indicating an incoming call. She hastily wiped her sleepy eyes with hand to regain at least some visibility and picked up the phone. The conversation was brief; it was their manager. He asked her to come to a coffee shop streets away. He didn't want to say anything else which, all in all, only further encouraged Ichi to quickly get dressed and head there.

She sat down at a table where the manager and two cups of coffee were already waiting for her. Ichi, however, had no intention of drinking until she knew what was going on. The man looked around briefly and took a quiet breath.

"Hybe people contacted me directly, probably hoping that JYPe wouldn't find out about anything." He began speaking quietly. "They didn't give me any details, they just said they wanted to talk to you, but both you and I know very well what they might be after."

Chichi embraced the warm cup with her hands so she would have something to do with stressed hands.

"Does it matter at all?" She finally spoke up. "I'll turn down any offer anyway."

"I know, but you were supposed to go to them today anyway to meet Yoongi."

She bit her lower lip, then finally decided to drink some coffee.

"So I guess a meeting with them is inevitable. I'll listen to them, but only out of curiosity."

The manager nodded briefly and sipped his coffee.

Chichi actually went to Hybe's building later. She recorded a video with Yoongi, but also discussed an upcoming joint project with him as well. She also recorded videos with Eunchae and Sakura for "Unforgiven" and a video for "Super" from Seventeen - those songs hadn't even come out yet, but everyone really wanted her to perform with them, and it's unclear if there would be an opportunity later, so TikToks were recorded for backup (although Ichi had to sign a confidentiality document when it came to choreography or song excerpts). And with this clever method, she had to meet Hybe people anyway....

She returned to the dorm in the late afternoon. She only had time to take off her jacket and shoes when Jeongin appeared over her head.

"Where were you again?"

Ichi sighed quietly, reflexively massaging the back of her neck. The manager had asked her to tell no one about the matter for safety's sake, but after all, her friend wasn’t no one, right?

"Hybe made me an offer to move to them." She said.

"What?!"

Jeongin's surprised exclamation was also accompanied by shouts from Minho, Felix and Seungmin. That is, surprisingly they were all here....

The youngest grabbed her wrist and led her to a table, where he seated her in a chair.

"Once again and slowly."

Now it was too late to back out anyway, they would drone on about the subject forever...

"Hybe wanted me to move to them. They offered a really cosmic amount of money and... frankly perfect conditions. I was to become a choreographer for NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM. Not an idol..."

Minho glared at her while playing with the straw of his takeaway drink.

"Where's the catch?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I didn't read anything they suggested to me. My answer was No from the very beginning."

A silence fell, which only after a long moment was broken by Felix.

"I think you would handle it… You would work on your own..."

"Do you want to get rid of me?" She laughed, pouring herself a glass of water from the pitcher.

"You know that's not what I meant..."

"I know, I was joking." She took a sip, then looked into the glass. "When I started college I didn't think so much about being an idol. I used to dream about it, but inadvertently that dream got blurred somewhere as I focused more on dancing. Being with you all… I felt that this is what I want to do. Choreographing alone probably wouldn't give me as much pleasure anymore... And that's it." She raised her gaze, which she involuntarily directed at Seungmin, who was sitting just across from her. "You are my family, no money can replace that for me. It's not even a question."

"For us, it's just another reason to be proud." Jeongin spoke up, "We have a choreographer people fight for!"

Ichi poked him in the ribs with her elbow, laughing.

●●●

Ichi didn't think about the matter any more after that. She was sitting in her room reading a book before going to bed when she heard a quiet, irregular knocking, which was the signal she and Felix had established. She immediately closed the book, and her friend entered a second later.

"Can we talk?"

"Anytime."

Felix sat down on the edge of her bed, and Ichi rose from a semi-reclining position to a sitting position.

"It never crossed my mind that I would like you to leave." He said.

"Are you still thinking about it? It's really nothing, I understood what you meant..."

"I know, but it doesn't give me a break... I just always want the best for you. If you have even for a moment considered this offer then you should not hold back for our sake."

"Felix, I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to go anywhere. I have the best time in the world with you guys. I really appreciate that you think this could be an opportunity for me, but I would be terribly unhappy without you guys, no matter how good the offer is. I love being a part of Stray Kids, and doing all this for you fulfills me the most."

Felix listened to her carefully, then smiled slightly disheveled.

"However, I don't want to close myself off to others. I told them that if they get along with my label then I am always open to temporary collaborations. You guys, however, will always be my priority and they have to accept that."

Felix answered nothing more to this but laughed and put his head on her knee.

"I'm glad you declined!"

《 ♡ 》

[jjmaiam]

for anybody that needed this I translated this video of Chuck's voice actor in English.

https://youtu.be/QmsFazwIViA?si=TH7nKvGCdXYMY-Nt

i didn't write everything they said and i didn't translate it literally! I'm not English so it's not gonna be perfect!

it was summarized a bit to not make it too long.

@itsmalachitenow

Ferre (the youtuber): welcome guys to the video, today we're back with brawl stars. We're here with someone you would never expect. First of all, can I ask your name? Nicola(Chuck's voice actor): Nicola F: Nicola, can you make us understand why you're here with a quote? Nicola: Eccomi, il maestro! (here I am, the maestro) F: I'm really excited Nicola: me too, me too F: it's the first time I ever talked with a brawler's voice actor! Nicola Because it's the first brawler to be Italian, so they chose a native Italian and here I am! F: You also did some English voice lines. N: exactly. Some of the members of the brawl stars production love Italy so they've wanted for a long time to add a Italian character. Our national pride! It's the first time this has happened! F: you basically explained to me that you had a friend that played brawl? N: I have a friend that plays a lot of brawl stars, not like me that I had it installed on my phone for some years but… F: so you know brawl stars N: yes, I know some things, sometimes I played it some years ago. But I didn't know what I dubbed! F: I'll leave you some time to introduce yourself N: Well, I've been a professional voice actor for five years now, in home studio. I tried to, let's say "knock on doors" to get into this job. But then Covid started and all of those "doors" closed. 30yo, with a little kid, I had to start with home studio. Obviously you can't do everything because you need people physically and on the studio at home you do everything and it becomes more difficult. Soon I'm gonna be 36 and I started at 30 to continue this passion that I had since I was a kid. When I was little I always played with the recorders or sometimes I took apart pc's, and thanks to that I have some manual skill. In chuck's case it was my first experience with a live direction with a person that was kilometers away from me. F: I'll leave everything Nicola does in the description! N: I particularly remember chuck's dubbing experience because I did that the 15 of august in the morning. F: other than having an iconic voice, you also need a crazy voice control to do all those different tones! N: and I have a cold! well, when you have to do certain things you need to be able to do them in any physical conditions. I also did for many years theater, when I was 20 I started voice acting thanks to a man that did documentaries. He made me record this and I remember he payed me so I understood that this was a job, what I did as a game, for passion, was actually a job! Well one day one of my friends told me that I was in your video and made me watch. there I understood what I actually dubbed! most of the times I don't know what I'm dubbing! F: if any of you guys recognize his voice in a game or anything tell us N: yes! it would also help me making a more public portfolio. F: your voice changes from character to character, it wouldn't be easy to recognize you N: oh it wouldn't be easy, they're all different. In chuck's case there was a mass selection of speaker and Italian voice actors, 70 people answered. there was a mini description of who was chuck, basically there was written that he is an Italian train conductor and ex orchestra "maestro" and there was this project called" voice character Chuck" I didn't have any other information, the only other information other than the script and the name was a YouTube video of Alex Brightman, he's an American actor that also did the musical of Beetlejuice, and he explained how he did his vocal characterization. doing chuck was pretty fast and the director told me how much he liked Italy

i just realized that half of it is gone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Basically at the end of the video he makes some voice lines and takes lines of other brawlers (Bull Carl and Mortis) so if you want to hear him go at the minute 17:25 of the video.

he also makes a joke that trains in italy are slow.

[inventors-fair]

It's a Bird, It's a Plane - Commentary

Surprise! I actually did something on time (or at all) for once! Let's get zany and plane-y!

@wolkemesser — Shard of the Twelve Worlds Okay, so flavorfully I really like this. For those that don't know, the Shard of the Twelve Worlds was a byproduct of the Sylex blast that created a barrier around Dominaria and a few other planes that restricted planeswalking. However, restricting the planar die this heavily seems to me like taking all the fun out of the format. In addition, I'm not entirely sure why it has you sacrifice creatures to roll the die.

@aethernalstars — Rifts Unseamed So, here's where I have to come clean. With planechase, there are two main ways to play it. The first way is with each player having a planar deck that they own. The second way is a variant way, where there is a central planar deck. Admittedly, I've only played the latter, and I'm aware that the variant version is how most planechase players play. Because of that, and the fact I didn't take time to post a warning about the variant rule, I'm going to treat this card as if it said "your planar deck" or "the planar controller's planar deck," and apologize profusely. But anyways, I really like this card, as well as the flavor. Yeah, the second recorded instance of the MtG equivalent of a nuke would probably re-open some of the rifts that the first blast had. I love the way that this kind of nullifies some of the effects of planes, while amplifying others.

@salamileg — Vriox, Omenpath Ravager I really like the flavor of this, a rollicking satyr that was formerly a follower of Xenagos, acting upon an opportunity to follow in his footsteps. I think one thing to be wary of is that there's an impetus here to stack your deck with as many chaos abilities that tell you to planeswalk afterwards, so that a planeswalk puts up to 5 or more counters on Vriox. In addition, I think reminder text would really help on that first ability, just to make sure players understand when the chaos ability occurs.

@greensunzenith — Portable Beacon This is a wonderful design. Flavorful, well executed, and simple. I especially like how the loyalty ability is only rolling the die, while sacrificing the beacon is a definite planeswalk. The only thing I would maybe change is resticting the latter ability to sorcery speed, since there seems to be precedence in making sure planechase actions are all sorcery speed (without the help of outside cards at least.)

@little-red-rabbit — Cliffs of Ot For those wondering why this says "Plane Land," it's just because of limitations with MTG.Design. I love this, it's clear that you had a design motivation you wanted to follow, and I think having the telepathy ability goes well with the preestablished lore. A few things to note, I believe that the plane should be Alara, just because that's what the Bant, Esper, etc. planes have as a subtype. In addition, adding the cards in each player's hands is a lot to track. I would probably still play this though, just to steal my opponent's sol ring.

@flowrot — Hellrider's Canyon Hooooooooooooooooooo-wheeeeeee, this is playing on my biases so hard, and I love it for that. I'm super excited for Thunction, and I think that this plane making blood tokens is a perfect way to encapsulate a dangerous ride that could really help or really hurt. The one thing I would change is I would add a condition that gives each player Blood tokens, given that this card in a vacuum assumes you're the one that will be rolling chaos, and only does something on planeswalking to it.

@walker-of-the-yellow-path — Fractal Reality As someone who was ecstatic when The Master, Multiplied was revealed, this phenomenon excites me. In addition to any shenanigannery you can pull with this, it also plays on the multiplayer aspect of Planechase in a fun way. I really like the use of Chaotic Aether's wording too. The only issue that I see, is that this could just be a plane on its own? It would make more sense, and you would be able to add a chaos ability and maybe some planar flavor for Karsus or Xerex or maybe even Arcavios.

@grornt — Golos, Omenpath Explorer This is an amazing use of a character we've already seen, and it encourages playing into Planechase mechanics. A part of me worries that straight WUBRG without tap is a bit too cheap for a plane tutor, and I'd like to see that as a sorcery since instant Planechase-ing seems to be resticted to two-card combos.

@spooky-bard — Errant Arrester Oh Garleth, we're really in it now. This is super flavorful, and I think that it's good enough that it would even see play outside of Planechase. The ability makes you think twice about rolling, but the fact that it only hits a single target balances it out enough that I could see this in whatever the next planechase product will be (fingers crossed).

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Chaos Engulfes All I'm slightly torn on this one. Technically, this breaks the trend of single cards only doing Planechase things, which I'm against. But, it does it in such an orderly way that I'm not sure it matters? The bigger issue I have with this card it the second part, which would make it the third card that cares about next main phase without it specifying "this turn" or being an attack trigger. It's not something we see often, for good reason.

@lanabutnotdelray — Foraline, Royal Pilgrim I like this. It's not too exploratory, but it's nice and simple, perfect for newer players to explore Planechase with. Nice work.

@batatafilosofal — Planar Binding I like the idea of this card. An O-ring effect that's tied to Planechase mechanics. Love it. Not sure whether or not the "a permanent" is intentional, as that means it can exile those with hexproof. I'd also like to see a nonland clause in that, just because I can see a scenario where someone ramps into planeswalking to this phenomenon, and restricts other players from planeswalking away from it.

@genericaura — Deghir, Omenpath Rampager I think that this is really good. Technically not sorcery speed on the Planechase actions, but given it's tied to combat damage, I'm not worried about it. The body is really good, and the upside makes me think this should maybe just be a 5/5, but what do I know.

@just--a--penguin — Planar Scrying Interesting. Six mana is about where drawing four cards gets you, so that's alright. I also like the not-really-scrying of the top four of your planar deck. It helps you plan for the future, while also leaving room for something to go wrong (5/6 sides of the planar die are specifically not planeswalk, so).

@fractured-infinity — Omenpath Investigator//Interplanar Adventurer Alright, so I'm not so hot on the instant speed Planar die. I like the once per turn clause, but doing that on an opponent's turn is kind of iffy given how precence has been set. I like the methodical nature of this though. You're pretty much ensured to switch faces along with planeswalking and chaos ensueing. The growth spiral on the front is nice too, letting you ramp into more rolling.

@deg99 — Runestone Omenpath This is interesting, with the first and last abilities affecting the entire table. A very group-hug card, but with the added benefit of letting you planeswalk. I like it! Not sure why it's a legend though.

@snugz — Dack, Destiny Deviant Okay, so technically this doesn't meet the standards of the contest, since there's nothing on it that interacts with Planechase specifically. I still think that this is a really good card to put in a Planechase deck though, since it doubles up your dice abilities, and helps out with making sure you get either Chaos or Planeswalk when you need it. The grouphug +1 is also a nice touch, playing off the multiplayer nature of the format.

@nine-effing-hells — Pandemonium Cantor This is interesting. I'm not entirely sure what the point of this card is, but it certainly is chaotic. I think that the first ability needs reminder text that tells players whether or not the chaos ability of the former or latter plane triggers, and the second ability is chaos just for the sake of chaos. I think if this was at my table I might just kill it to make sure I can keep my chaos abilities.

@mmmmmin — Bottled Plane This is really cool, I super like the idea of taking a plane card coming up and either keeping it for later, or just shelving it cause it's not useful. I have a few minor corrections in terms of syntax. I would have it reveal cards, because I'm not entirely sure you can draw cards from the planar deck. I also would make the exile clause be like, "when this card leaves the battlefield, put all cards exiled with Bottled Plane on top of your planar deck in any order," and the sacrifice thing be the planeswalk. That way it's still functionally the same, but uses some updated wording to make it run a tad better.

@coolcoolcooltighttightight — Quintorius, Avid Explorer This is a really cool Quintorius card, and I love the inclusion of blue to represent his stepping in for Rootha during the Phyrexian Invasion. I also think the last clause is super nice, cause who doesn't want an Elephant lad as a commander? I do kind of think that the abilities are a bit much though. Like, there's the Planechase mechanics, surveil, and investigate all on one card. All of these together are a lot to take in. Technically all of these are deciduous (apart from the Planechase but shhh), but it kind of explodes in my face. Big ups on making the -3 abillity give incentive to rolling the planar die, as well as the "chaos ability" and +2 play off of Lorehold's whole schtick.

----

HOLY CRAP. This was a lot. I loved seeing all of your cards, and I hope that y'all are proud of what you made. In addition, I really hope that y'all enjoy the next contest, which was posted while I was typing this out. Seems like y'all aren't done planeswalking anytime soon!

Cheers! -@gollumni

[aaronpaceluvbot]

song lyrics (aaron x reader)

summary: in which you have a slight fight with Drum over your favorite practice room. you need it to practice your music and he needs it to practice whatever it is he does, but Aaron finds out and comes to your rescue. 

before you read: this is probably the most self indulgent fic i’ve ever written, forgive any inaccuracies. i'm assuming aaron can play piano because my school only lets you play percussion if you can play piano, school starts at 6:45 for me so it does in this fic as well, LOWKEY OOC AARON…, voice teachers are scary af , READER IS FEM, written in honor of me having a recital in a week and i am in fact losing my voice, DRUM APPEARS AND LIKE THE THING IS IS THAT I DONT REMEMBER WHO’S WHO SO HE’S JUST REFERRED TO AS DRUM , this flows so weirdly sorry yall i promise i had an outline , this is like the 20th fic that reader cries in (reader is so me.), i didn’t wince as much while writing the affection (PROGRESS!!!), THIS IS  NOT PROOFREADDD  reader is implied to be in choir and not in play an instrument anymore, SOME MUSICAL TERMS?? if you’re confused about them I Will Add Explanations. 

WC: 6.2k words. holy moly. 

songs referenced that are good to listen to:

sebben crudele

ah! tardai troppo

—

You always tried to get to school early to make use of the practice rooms especially since everyone seemed to want to use them at that time. You especially needed to practice considering the fact that you had a rehearsal today with your accompanist and you hadn’t practiced at all for it. You found that arguably the best practice room was open so you placed your stuff in there and tried to quickly get your binder and your anthology book for lessons. You noticed a person standing in front of the room. He notices you as well. “Are you using it?” He asks, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah? My stuff is already in there,” you tell him, clutching your binder. If he really wanted to fight about a practice room at 6 in the morning, he could if he wanted to. You would gladly give it up if he was going to keep it going, but you’d make practicing absolute hell for him. 

“Well I need to use it to record something for an assignment,” he says, clearly expecting you to give up the practice room. You roll your eyes at him. He really couldn’t have used one of the other open practice rooms? Sure their acoustics were horrible in comparison to this one, but your stuff was already in there! 

“I needed to use it to practice something for voice lessons,” you respond, raising your binder and book up. He looks at it, confused. 

“Can’t you do that somewhere else?” He asks, giving you a look of disdain. You roll your eyes and decide to end the conversation. When you said you’d make practicing hell for him, you weren’t joking. You enter the practice room next to his and you pull out your sheet music. After doing some light hums and lip trills, you pull out a couple arias from your book. Quickly taking a sip of water, you sing a couple scales. Your voice seemed to be in good condition today. Perfect. You decide on the easier of the two arias to avoid straining your voice - Sebben Crudele. You sing through it to see if you had it memorized and thankfully you did! This would help you avoid the wrath of your voice teacher. You were going through the rough patches of the song when you heard a knock on the door. You look through the window and see the guy from earlier.

You open the door and give him a confused look. He clears his throat. “Do you mind keeping it down? Everytime I record my part check, I hear more of you than I hear myself!” He’s cut off by the sound of yelling down the hall.

“DRUM. DRUM. DRUM I SWEAR TO GOD.” You both look to see where the voice is coming from and you see the source coming this way. It was a brunette boy who looked outraged at the guy who knocked on your door. You both look at him confused. Why was he calling out for a drum???

“Aaron what’s wrong???” The guy asked, looking confused. 

“Tell me why I found your crumpled up sheet music on the floor covered in spit,” Aaron says, clearly pissed. He gives you a look and then Drum?? one as well. “Is he bothering you?” He asks. You sigh and nod. 

“She was bothering me! She kept like making all these high pitched noises!�� Drum?? says, looking at you as if you committed a war crime. 

“This is what happens when you make the wrong person mad,” you mutter, rolling your eyes at the dude in front of you. Aaron sighs at the exchange. 

“Do you mean singing?” He asks him, giving him a dirty look.

“Yeah! That thing!! Can’t you do that anywhere?? So she doesn’t really need the practice room!” Drum tried arguing. 

“You can also play your little instruments anywhere, but I’m not complaining about that,” you retort.

“Aaron!! Do Something!!” He says. The boy rolls his eyes.

“Just leave her alone. She has a point. What’s your name?” Aaron asks, turning to you. You tell him your name and he nods. “If he keeps bothering you, or if any of the drumline bothers you, come to me and I’ll set things straight.” You nod at his comment, amused that he’d even say something like that. He was probably a section leader, you thought, judging by the way he commanded that guy to leave you alone. He reminded you of one of your old section leaders. You leave it at that and shut the door and continue practicing. 

Aaron sighed as he dragged Drum away from the practice rooms and into the band room. He gave him the dirtiest of looks. “Why would you embarrass us like that?” He asks, rubbing his temples as Drum struggled to come up with an explanation. “You know what Wiley said, to leave the vocalists alone if they’re practicing. They need the practice rooms just as much as we do.”

“Yeah but she was so loud! She was louder than me trying to play the part check!” He whines. Aaron does the thing that you do to dogs to get them to calm down. He pokes his neck with two fingers. 

“If she’s louder than your playing, then that’s your issue. An instrument playing at forte will always be louder than someone singing forte,” he grumbles, obviously fed up with his antics. This wasn’t the first time that a spat between Drum and a vocalist occurred. “Just practice elsewhere. Practice here for god’s sake.” Aaron decides to walk out of the room, but stay nearby to see if he actually practices. He does not. He let out a loud exhale as he tried to come up with a prank to use to get Drum to practice productively. The bell rang and interrupted his thinking. 

You let out a sigh as the bell rang. You didn’t want to go to class and would much rather practice your music. Instead of putting your belongings back into the choir room, you decided to just put them in your backpack. As you exited, he called out your name. You turn to face him and greet him with a smile. “Thanks for earlier,” you say, fidgeting with your hands.

He nods. “It was nothing.” The two of you walk in awkward silence until you exit the music hallway. 

“So what class are you headed to?” You ask him as you both go the same way.

“Poetry.” “Do you like it?” You ask. He didn’t seem like the type to take poetry in the first place, but we all have our interests.

“I think it’s a good outlet for me, even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of it when I took the class. I only took it because my counselor said I couldn’t take a different class.” You nod at his words. You had beef with your counselor so you understand why he felt that way. “What class are you going to?” He asks, looking you straight in the eye. You only realized this now, but he was really attractive. You brush it off and continue the conversation. You can talk about him to your friends later. 

“English,” you say, shuddering. He gives you a confused look.

“Who do you have?”

“Williams.” He makes a face that could only be described as pure loathing.

“Well I’m sorry for your loss. I hated her when I had her.” 

“I always feel horrible for the classes near us whenever she goes on one of her rants,” you murmur, thinking back to the time that she got really pissed about a kid’s essay and threw a heavy metal water bottle. 

“No yeah, my poetry class is right next door and every time she starts going on a tangent, my teacher just tells us to brace ourselves and he plays music,” he says, almost amused. You nod and let out a laugh. The two of you walk in silence to the English wing and separate once you two get to your respective classes. But before the two of you enter your respective classes he stops you. You give him a confused look.

“Is something wrong?” You ask, tilting your head. He shakes his head with a smile. “No, just hand me your phone,” he says, sticking his hand out.

“Didn’t think you’d be the type to ask for my number so soon,” you joke, obviously keeping your phone away from him. He laughs as you try to keep him from getting it.

“Well then, if you don’t want my number, then I guess you’ll have to fall victim to all the band kids who are gonna bother you in the practice rooms,” he says, shrugging and getting ready to leave.

“Wait! Aaron, no!” You say, grabbing his hand and placing your phone in it. He lets out a chuckle at how you caved. He puts his number into your phone and sends himself a text. He pulls out his phone and checks to see if it sent. It did. 

“If any band kids pester you again, just text me and I’ll gladly come to your rescue,” he says, smirking at you. 

“Thanks for the offer Prince Charming, but I don’t think you’ll have to.”

“Oh so you think I’m charming?” He asks, raising his eyebrows at you. You shake your head and try to hide your laughter as you head to class, but he stops you again. “What class do you have after this?”

“Math…”

“With who?” 

“Miller…”

“We’re in the same class.”

“What? How have I not noticed you?” You ask him, trying to recall if he ever was in your class.

“I don’t know, but I knew you looked familiar earlier. Let’s walk to math together afterwards?” You nod and finally get into your classroom just before the bell rang.

—

You wait for Aaron outside of your classroom. The door to his class is still closed, but right as you’re about to leave, the door swings open. He comes out of class, eyes scanning the area, looking for you. He smiles when he sees that you waited for him. “Glad that you didn’t forget about our little plan,” he says, walking next to you. 

“How could I? It’s not everyday that you talk to Mr. Prince Charming himself,” you say, laughing at your own joke. 

“If anything, Peter’s Prince Charming. I think I’m more of a Derek Charming,” he says shrugging. 

“Like from Ever After High?” You ask, looking amused.

“Yeah, that one.” 

“What do you know about Ever After High?” You tease.

“I’ll have you know that I watch it with my little sister,” he says, sticking his hands up in defense. A thought pops into your head.

“Wait, so where do you sit in math? I still don’t know how I didn't notice that you were in my class.”

“I’m like all the way in the back corner by the door.” You nod. 

“That’s a really good seat. I got stuck sitting by her desk. But looking out the windows is really nice, if she actually leaves the blinds open.” You both snicker at your comment. Your teacher was infamous for having an insanely dark classroom that everyone fell asleep in. Her blinds were always closed and her lights would always be off and instead, she would only have fairy lights on. You both entered the class and you both chatted at his spot until the bell rang. You wandered off to your desk and sat there, getting your things out.

“Ok class! I have a bad headache right now, so you guys can just do these practice problems with a partner and just check them with the answer key by the end of class,” she said, handing out sheets of paper. You turn to look for a partner and realize that your friend was absent today. You sigh and figure that you’ll just work alone on it. When you get ready to start the first problem, you notice a figure standing by your desk. You look up and see Aaron.

“Wanna be my partner?” He asks and you nod. You follow him to his seat and pull up a chair. He’s actually pretty good at math which is nice since math is definitely one of your weak spots. The two of you make small talk until he asks an interesting question. “Would you want to hypothetically help me pull a prank?” You raise an eyebrow. 

“On who?” “The guy from earlier. He’s in my section and he’s been causing some trouble lately and I need to keep him in line somehow.” You nod at his reasoning. It makes sense, but you’ve never heard of anyone pulling pranks to keep anyone in line. The worst thing a section leader has done in choir was probably just throw a stand with someone’s binder and music in it but that was different from a prank. 

“I’ll think about it. I just need more details, you know?” He nods. “What would you even do?” He says something regarding his drum. “But how would I be involved?”

“I just need you to do your thing and sing your little heart out. That shouldn’t be too difficult right?” You let out a small laugh at his question.

“It shouldn’t be. Any suggestions on what I should be singing?” You ask jokingly. But he seems to take it seriously.

“Do you have your music on you?” You nod and pull out your anthology book and hand it to him. He reads the title. 

“Coloratura arias for soprano. Neat.” He flips through the book, examining the music. He places the book between the two of you so you both can get a look. You already knew the contents of the book, so you chose to observe him. He grimaced as he looked at a page. 

“What’s wrong?” You ask, trying to see what page he was on. It was a page from the aria “Ah! Tardai Troppo”. All the melismas must’ve been what he was referencing. “Nothing. Your music just looks intimidating. But I think you should sing this one.” He gently shuts the book and hands it to you. Your hands brush for a split second. You’re definitely going to tell your friends about him. You put your book away in your bag and continue on with the math problems. 

— 

Later in the day, you walk to the music hallway with a skip in your step after your interactions with Aaron. He’s really sweet and funny and just… he’s amazing. You go to find your voice teacher in the choir room, but you see her speaking to Garth. Garth was one of your closest friends as you often kept him company when he wasn’t busy accompanying any of the choirs. Both of them looked concerned and only looked even more worried when they both saw you. “Did someone die?” You ask, looking around. No one else was there except for the three of you.

“No, it’s not that. I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you during solo/ensemble night. Something personal came up,” Garth says. You nod in understanding. Whatever it was, you hope that he’s ok. “It’s ok Garth! I just need to find someone else to accompany me right?” You ask, looking between the two of them. Your voice teacher nods and Garth clears his throat.

“Yep! And in fact, I think I have the perfect person for you. Do you know Aaron? Aaron Pace?” Garth asks. You nod. “I’m sure he’d be willing to accompany you. In fact, I think he has lunch this hour so you could ask him right now and you could give him my music as well.” He hands you the sheet music. 

“I’ll go hunt him down!” You say, giving a mock salute to the two of them. You exit the choir room and head into the practice rooms. You send Aaron a quick text. 

where are you?

He responds just as fast. 

practice rooms, why?

You sigh

i need to meet with you, it’s important. 

meet me in the big piano practice room. i’m already there. 

You circle around the practice rooms and find the one he was talking about. He was sitting on the piano bench on his phone and looking up. His eyes brightened when he saw you and he let out a chuckle when you tried to pull open the heavy door. “What’s up?” He asks, looking concerned after seeing the look on your face.

“I kind of have a favor to ask you. It’s fine if you don’t want to, but basically I need an accompanist for solo ensemble night and mine kind of bailed and he told me to ask you if you could be my accompanist,” you sputter out. He nods, deep in thought.

“I mean sure, why not? Solo ensemble night is like, a month away right?” You nod. “That should be enough time for me to learn the music. Do you have it with you?” You murmur something that seemed like a response and you handed him the sheet music. “Oh nice. This is the song we were looking at earlier, and most of it looks easy enough to learn in like 30 minutes or so. Tell you what, since we’re both a little occupied with our little prank today, when I get home I’ll learn it and if I can learn it pretty quickly, I’ll send you a text and you can come over. If not, we can just run it tomorrow during lunch.” “Yep! That sounds good. Thank you so much for agreeing to this even though I kinda just sprang it onto you,” you say sheepishly. 

“Well I’ll be off now. Good luck with whatever his name is.” He laughs at your comment and you walk out. Little did you know, he only agreed to it because it was you. 

—

Later in the day, you get a text from Aaron. 

i finished learning it. there were only a couple tricky spots, so you can come over now. here’s my address - xxxx

You read through the text and type out a response

would you mind picking me up? It’s totally fine if you can’t, my car’s just getting an oil change right now

You hear the chime of a notification

what's your address? i’ll be omw

You send him your address. After 15 minutes or so you hear the doorbell ring. You grab your things and then head downstairs to look through the peephole. You see him standing there. You open the door. “Hi,” you say, feeling immediately awkward after saying it.

“Hi,” he says back. It takes 5 seconds of awkward silence before the two of you burst out in laughter. “So are you ready to go?” He asks, fiddling with his hands.

“Mhm!! Let me just lock the door real quick and then we can go.” You exit the house and try to lock the door. You stand there, trying to hold all your things while trying to put the key into the lock and Aaron takes your music from you when he notices you struggling. You thank him and you both get into his car, with him opening the door for you. You two both sit in comfortable silence as he drives to his house. You both get out and he uses his house keys to get inside. He gives you a slight tour and leads you to the room where his piano is. He grabs a stand nearby and hands it to you. You decide to break the silence. 

“How was it?” You ask, and he hums in response as he’s setting up his music. He freezes like a deer in headlights. 

“How was what?” 

“Learning the music,” you say, deciding to copy him and set up your music as well. He nods at your response. You notice that he hasn’t responded and has what seems to be a thinking face. 

“It wasn’t horrible,” Aaron says, shrugging. You laugh at his response. “What? It wasn’t!” 

“I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at how long it took for you to come up with a response,” you say, covering your mouth before your laughter turned into a fit of giggles. 

“You are the absolute worst,” he says jokingly, making an exaggerated sighing noise and marking something in his music. 

“But you love me for it!” You say, mimicking his actions. He rolls his eyes at you and clears his throat. 

“Is there anything that you do that isn’t written in the music?” He asks, picking his pencil up.

“There’s a few ritardandos and other things, but we could just go through the piece and fix it as we go,” you say, flipping through your music. A question lies on the tip of your tongue, but you decide not to ask. Aaron can tell that you were thinking about something though based off of your facial expression. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just curious about why you asked that,” you admit.

“Because I’m accompanying you… It’s not my first time doing this,” he says, laughing at your dumbfounded expression. “You’re the soloist, not me. I’ll always be sure to watch you and follow you.” 

“How? Are you gonna practice or something?” You tease, laughing at your own joke. 

“I wouldn’t mind doing so if it was you,” he retorts. “But if that’s all, then that should be fine. We should be able to get started.” 

You nod and you take a swig of water from your water bottle. He plays the intro to the piece. It goes shockingly well considering that he just learnt the piece and that you hadn’t practiced much, but you eventually get to the end of whatever good luck the two of you had. You got to a very painful melisma with way too many accidentals to count which made it hard to stay in key. 

[a melisma is basically a riff - it’s singing multiple notes on one syllable]. 

Aaron makes a face and stops playing when your voice trails off. “What happened?” He asks, looking genuinely concerned.

“Nothing! I’m fine, I just psyched myself out a little bit with that part. I think I just need to review it really slowly really quickly,” you say, shuddering at the fact. Normally you could sing it in front of literally anyone, but why were you scared to sing it in front of Aaron? He wasn’t going to blow up at you or anything for not being able to sing it.

“No yeah, I get that,” he says, nodding at your comment. 

“It’s just embarrassing that I messed up,” you say sheepishly, choosing to fiddle with a corner of your sheet music.

“Don’t worry about it, you sounded great,” he says, turning to face you and giving you what seems to be a genuine smile. You nod and murmur a quick thank you. “So do you want me to play your part for you, or do you want to play it?”

“I can play it.” With that, he scoots over on the piano bench and gives you space to sit. You play your starting note and hum it. You try to make your way through the melisma, but it’s been a while since you had to play an instrument. Aaron notices you struggling after a few rough attempts. 

“Here, let me,” he says, so quietly that it was almost a whisper. He gently removes your hands from the keys and instead places his on the keys. With his free hand, he places your hands on top of his and slowly breaks it down for you, letting you control the tempo. After doing this a few times, he looks at you expectantly. “Do you feel better?” He asks, turning to face you. 

He looks you straight in the eye. You nod and quickly get up from the bench, trying to hide the flustered look on your face. You think he doesn’t and the rest of the rehearsal goes smoothly. Afterwards, you both make arrangements to meet up again and rehearse before solo ensemble night. 

—

After a few more rehearsals, you became much more comfortable performing with Aaron. In fact, you became so comfortable that instead of having productive rehearsals, you’d spend the time mostly talking. You both leaned towards each other to listen to what the other would say. The two of you would talk about small things, like new music that you got or just about your day. But this rehearsal was different. You had been on the brink of losing your voice due to the fact that you’d been overusing it lately, but you tried not to let that get the best of you. You kept running through the piece with him over and over again, but it kept getting harder and harder to get up there. Eventually it got to a point where nothing would come out. When he couldn’t hear your voice, he turned to look at you, but all he saw was you taking deep breaths with teary eyes.

Aaron didn’t know what possessed him, but he immediately got up and went to you. As he got closer, he realized that you started crying harder and started sniffling as well. He starts trying to calm you down, but you decide to wrap your arms around him. He holds you and tries to soothe you as your tears keep coming and eventually they come to a stop. “Are you alright? What happened?” He asks as you pull away from him and just stare. He’s surprised when your voice comes out hoarse and raspy. 

“Nothing. I just needed to shut up for a little bit, go on vocal rest, you know? And I was stupid and I chose to ignore it and it just-” You say, trailing off. He nods and opens his arms towards you, giving you a silent offer for a hug. You accept it and he rubs your back as you try to keep calm.

“You don’t need to push yourself. Solo ensemble night is going to go well, don’t worry about it,” he murmurs as you choose to bury your head in his shoulder. He pats your head and is eventually able to coax all the negative feelings out of you. That night, you realized one thing. You absolutely and positively have a thing for Mr. Aaron Pace.

—

That night you decided that you needed to tell someone about what happened and what you should do. You were in absolute shambles. You didn’t know what to do. If you told him about your feelings and destroyed the friendship the two of you had, you didn’t know what you’d do. You decided to call Cadence since she’d probably know the most about him in the first place. 

Your phone rang a few times until Cadence answered. You had science with her and the two of you became friends due to the fact that you two both came to class when there were no other seats open, so you both just ended up sitting next to each other. “Hi!! What’s up?” Cadence asks, angling her camera until you could only see her forehead and her eyes. You laugh at her and take a screenshot to annoy her with later. “Why’d you screenshot it?” She asks, zooming out to give you a dirty look.

“No reason,” you say, smirking. “But seriously I wanna ask you about something.” “I’m all ears,” she says, placing her phone on her bed and staring directly into the camera.

“Ew… Don’t do that…” You say, covering your eyes and exaggeratedly shuddering at her actions. “Fine, but what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

“I think I have a crush on someone-” “Who? Is it Aaron?” She asks, wiggling her eyebrows. Your jaw drops. Was it that obvious? “It wasn’t… Actually it kinda was, but if he hasn’t said anything about it yet, then I’d say that he thinks highly of you at least. If he didn’t, he probably would’ve told you to drop it or to stop talking to him.”

“I said that out loud?” You ask, looking confused. She nods.

“Mhm. But seriously, I think you have a chance. Maybe all you need to do is tell him!” “But what if I ruin our friendship by doing that?”

“Well, do the benefits outweigh the risks? Because if you’re really worried about ruining the friendship or something, just ask yourself that before doing so. Other than that, I don’t know what to tell you.” You proceed to tell her about the incident and what happened and she gives the same insight. “He’s blunt. He’s not gonna act like that just because. In fact, I’m surprised he even agreed to being your accompanist in the first place. But there’s a first for everything, so I say you should just go for it.” With that, your conversation with Cadence ends. You let out a loud exhale as you let yourself fall onto your bed. You truly didn’t know what to do. 

—

You decided the best way to deal with this was to distance yourself from him. Cadence was right, you needed to be able to weigh both the pros and cons before confessing. You needed to clear your head, and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to do that if you kept talking to him. Your walk to class felt lonely without him and you felt your heart ache when you passed him in the hallway. He tried to wave to you, but you flat-out ignored him. After English, you made sure to take a different route to your shared math class. This routine continued until solo ensemble night. 

—

When the night came, you paced anxiously backstage. You were ready to get this over with and be free from your thoughts of Aaron. However, he didn’t make it easy. You were busy watching someone’s performance on stage and didn’t notice him walking over and standing next to you. Someone clearing their throat catches your attention. “You know, you shouldn’t be doing that. It messes with your voice,” you say, not realizing who you were speaking to.

“But I’m not singing,” he says. You turn and finally notice who’s next to you. 

“Aaron?” You ask, mouth open in shock. You didn’t think he’d willingly talk to you after you tried distancing yourself from him. 

“Did I do something to you? Did I cross a line during that one rehearsal? If I did something, please tell me. I can’t have you ignoring me like this, especially not when I feel- nevermind,” he murmurs, all of it coming out at once.

“You didn’t do anything. It was just me being stupid,” you mutter, rubbing your temples in embarrassment.

“Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t stupid. I’m sure you had a good reason,” he says, trying to get through to you. You shake your head, but you can’t. He takes your face in his hands and looks you in the eye. 

“It was stupid. It was so so stupid. I thought that distancing myself from you would help me figure out whether or not I should confess to you and it didn’t work at all and now I’m just left with all these feelings for you and I don’t know what to do,” you blurt out, immediately covering your mouth. You’re shocked that all these words exit your mouth, especially since you were so terrified of confessing to him in the first place. Aaron lets out a deep breath and hugs you tightly. 

“You know, you could’ve just told me. I don’t just act this way with anyone. I really do care for you. I have feelings for you as well,” he whispers into your ear. “Can I kiss you?” He asks, pulling away from the hug. You nod and wrap your arms around his neck and he places his hands on your waist. The two of you pull away from each other just before you’re called to the stage. “Good luck out there. Not that you’ll need it,” he says, smirking at you. He pats your head and quickly fixes your hair before the two of you walk out. 

“I could say the same to you,” you whisper to him in the wings. He smiles at you and then takes his seat on the piano bench and you take yours by the microphone. The performance goes well.

—

The two of you have a fit of laughter as you both make your way to the parking lot. “I hate these heels,” you say, giggling as you take them off and go barefoot on the concrete. You let out a shriek when Aaron picks you up.

“What? You said you hate your heels, so I just gave you a solution. I can’t have my pretty little girlfriend walking barefoot in the school parking lot. Who knows what you’ll get from walking here?” He jokes, and you let more giggles escape. 

“So that’s what I am, huh? Your girlfriend? And you think I’m pretty?” You ask, laughing as he pretends to think. 

“Mhm, and I think you’re very pretty,” he says, chuckling at you. He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, and pecks you on the forehead, causing you to fake swoon. 

“You are the absolute worst, you know that right?” You say, mimicking his words from a while ago.

“You love me for it though,” he says, smiling at you. He puts you down when the two of you reach his car, only to open the door for you and let you in. “Where do you wanna eat?” You shrug and tell him that it didn’t matter and that he could just go through any drive-thru. After getting some fast food, the two of you headed to his house. The drive was shrouded in comfortable silence since both of you guys decided to eat in the parking lot and then drive home. The two of you agreed on having a sleepover after solo ensemble night beforehand so you two could talk about it afterwards and get food together.

Once the two of you got to his house and went through your nighttime routines, the two of you sat on his bed. “So are you sure about the whole having feelings for me too thing or…” You ask, trying to break the silence. He playfully rolls his eyes at you. “No, I just invited you to my house to spend the night because I actually hate you and want to punt you out the window while you sleep,” he says sarcastically. You laugh at his joke and embrace him. “But seriously, I do care for you. In fact, I have something to show for it.” He gets up from his spot on the bed and you follow as well, just now noticing his too short Star Wars pajama pants. He goes to his desk and you stand there awkwardly before he places a box in your hands. He notices you looking between him and the box.

“What is it?” You ask, examining the outside of the box. It was just a plain, small, shipping box - the kind you’d use for jewelry.

“Just open it,” he says, grinning and giving you his hand. You take it and let him lead you back to your spots on the bed. You open the box and find it filled with small strips of paper stapled to a larger piece. 

“What is this?” You ask, smiling as you read the paper. You feel your face heat up and you feel flustered when you read the bottom panel of the box. It read: ‘songs that remind me of you and why”. “Shut up,” you say, covering your mouth with your hand. “You did not.”

“I did,” he says, laughing at your reaction. “Go through the songs.” You do, and you notice that they’re all songs that would play during the time the two of you spent together. From discussions about Laufey to trying to get him to scream Taylor swift to arguing about composers, they were all there. You gently shut the box and wrap him in the tightest hug that you could. You quickly break away to give him a peck on the lips, and he decides to deepen it. You finally pull away from him, slightly out of breath and trying to get air back into your lungs.

“When did you make this?” You ask him. 

“Around when you were keeping your distance. We had this poetry assignment and I was inspired by it,” he says. “I wanted to preserve all our memories together. After all, I know that music means just as much to you as it does to me and I wanted something that would remind me of that.” You nod at his words. 

“I’m glad we’re able to share that then,” you murmur. You wish that you were able to hear the rest of his words, but sleep was catching up to you and you quickly knocked out. He didn’t mind though. The two of you had so much more time to discuss these things in the future.

[obey-me-disaster]

Memories of a better time

Summary: After locking Belphegor in the attic, Lucifer starts thinking about a time where his relationship with his younger brother was still good.

A/N:This is a piece for Lucifer's 2023 collab ^_^

And what better way to celebrate the old man's brithday if not through a bit of angst?

Marching angrily back to his study room, still in demon form, Lucifer kept on replaying in his mind his fight with Belphegor and how it went. From his younger brother coming into his room to confront him about the exchange program to his own decision of locking Belphegor in the attic.

He still hadn't come up with an excuse to tell the others about Belphegor's sudden disappearance and he didn't have the energy to think about it at that moment. All he wanted to do was sit back, open up a bottle of demonus and think about how he even ended up in that situation. When did his relationship with his younger brother got so bad, when did his hatred for humanity got so deep? Everything was too much, even for him, the avatar of pride. He couldn't allow himself to show any sings of weakness. Not when his brothers still needed him, not when he had to take care of this new program Diavolo came up with.

He had to keep the secret about Lilith for thousands of years, surely hiding Belphegor wouldn't be as hard. He'll figure out something, he won't let his brothers suffer if he can do anything about it.

Between the countless glasses of demonus, and the melancholic cursed record that was playing in the background, Lucifer started to think about the past, both good and bad memories. Amidst the countless of bittersweet memories, a certain one kept popping up on his mind. Despite happening so long ago, in a time where everything was uncertain and too many things were happening at the same time, this memory remained crystal clear, or maybe he remembered so well because of the recent fight. It didn't matter, his mind kept focusing on this particular one.

It was after the fall. When everyone was still hurt and recovering from the war. Barely a month had passed since their battle and everyone was still recovering, both mentally and physically. He had ordered everyone to remain at the castle since demons across the Devildom still saw them as enemies, but of course his brothers rarely listened to him. Especially his new brother, who kept on bringing destruction everywhere he went.

On that occasion it was Belphie who ran off who knows where. He barely managed to get everyone else back at the castle when he disappeared. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to ignore his upcoming headache and go search for his younger brother.

Since coming to Devildom, Belphegor's habit of falling asleep in random places started to happen more often, which worried Lucifer. If he were to fall asleep in the wrong place he would leave himself vulnerable to other demons.

After flying around the city for a while, he spotted his Belphegor on a cliff. The weird thing was that he wasn't asleep, but looking up at the sky. Landing right next to him, he expected his younger brother to at least turn towards him, but all he did was stare off in the space.

"Belphegor, I am sure you're aware that you're not supposed to leave the palace. We are still seen as war traitors by the others, it's not safe." Lucifer stated as a matter of fact. He had to say that to his brothers more often than he would like to admit. Despite all of that Belphegor was still ignoring him.

Looking in the direction Belphegor was watching, Lucifer saw that the sky was in perfect condition to star gaze. "Did you really sneak off just to look at the stars?" Sighing, the avatar of pride sat down on the grass next to his brother.

Only after he made himself comfortable next to the sloth demon did Belphegor acknowledge his presence. "Even if I told you, it's not like you would let me come here." Belphie said annoyed. "Since the war we have been locked up in that place, and every time we leave we get reprimanded. It honestly starts to feel more like a prison than a place of refuge." After finishing his rant silence fell between the two demons.

Lucifer wanted to argue with Belphegor, that he was wrong, that he would have found a solution, but deep down he knew he was right, which annoyed Lucifer to no end. Deciding to let his younger brother 'win' the argument by remaining silent on that matter, he changed the subject. "You've really picked the best day to star gaze. Duos Senes Daemonium can only be fully seen during this week." Pointing towards the sky, Lucifer starts to speak more about various stars.

"How...how do you know so much about stars?? Especially the Devildom ones, I didn't peg you as the type to be into such things..." Belphegor looked dumbfounded at his older brother. Sighing Lucifer started to explain why he even knows such things. "You see, every time I would go down to Devildom, Michael would ask me to take notes of the night sky for a second planetarium."

Belphegor still looked like he had questions but decided to keep his mouth shut. Awkward silence fell once again, the only difference was that this time Belphegor decided to hug his knees close to his chest. "Do you she would have liked it in here?" He didn't need to specify who he was talking about. Even if he needed to, Lucifer was sure that Belphie wasn't quite ready yet to freely talk about her.

"It's hard for me to say exactly. She would have had a lot more freedom than in the Celestial Realm at the very least, and she would have had a lot to explore, which she loved." Belphegor merely acknowledge what Lucifer said with a hum.

"We often used to go to the human world to star gaze. I still remember how I used to point out constellations to her but now...even if she was still here, with us, I would be useless." Hugging his knees even closer to his body, he took a moment to collect himself.

Lucifer didn't rush him, it was clear to him that they would be staying there for a while. He had already sent a quick text to Mammon to take care of the others while he is gone.

"I kept staring at this sky and I couldn't recognize anything, it's all so foreign to me. The stars, the always dark sky, the forests, the cities, everything. I am useless now and I was useless back then too." His voice started to tremble but Lucifer didn't comment on it.

"If only I didn't encourage her to go to the human world maybe she would have still been alive. If we just kept watching the stars in the planetarium that Michael made we would all still be back in the Celestial Realm." Feeling a hand being gently placed on his head made Belphie stop in his tracks.

"Don't you think this is enough self blaming on your behalf?" Belphegor wanted to ask what he meant by that but stopped when he saw the tired expression on Lucifer's face. "It's not your fault that Lilith ended up falling in love with the human realm. It's not your fault that the war happened. Things were already bad back there, a fight would have happened either way."

Belphegor wanted to argue against everything that Lucifer said but was too tired to do so. Maybe it was the look that Lucifer gave him, that the topic was over for the moment, or maybe it was the fact that he felt safe for the first time in a long time. With a sigh he decided to just change the subject to something more light hearted. "You said you took note of the constellations in here, didn't you?" Lucifer just gave him a nod.

"Then since we are here and you know so much, why not tell me some of the constellations you know?" Belphegor stared at him, waiting for the oldest to refuse and tell him to get back at the castle, but to his surprises, Lucifer just made himself more comfortable and started to point at the sky. "You see those stars over there? They are meant to represent the sword of that constellations."

Both of them stayed there for a while, Lucifer pointing out what he could still remember and Belphegor trying to stay awake but the as time passed he found himself falling prey to his own sin.

When Lucifer saw that Belphegor fell asleep he picked him up and flew back towards the castle, back to everyone. Unknown to the his knowledge, Belphegor wasn't asleep the whole flight home. There was a point when he barely woke up and looked up at Lucifer. Somehow the image reminded him of when he was younger and Lucifer would carry him in the Celestial Realm. It didn't help that the stars surrounding them seemed to form a halo above his head, just like when he was a seraphin. Of course, this was something that Belphegor never shared. All that Lucifer ever remembered from the flight was carrying a sleeping Belphegor in him arms.

[impish-crow]

[TRANSLATION] DIG-ROCK HOUND ROAR vol. 1 - Track 05

Track 5: A matter of course

Shion: (sighs) What am I doing? I've been rolling around in Sogo's room for how long? Darn it… Boasting that living alone is no big deal, and here I am. Even spouting useless words to Yankee… In the end, if I don't rely on someone, I can't go on, and I can't even play the piano at all… Seriously, I feel like I have no worth. (Door opens) Sogo: I’m back. Shion: Sogo-san? Oh he’s back? Sogo: Are you up, Shion? Shion: ..Welcome back. Sogo Oh…! Your complexion has improved quite a bit. Shion: These days, I've been sleeping really well. Sogo: That's a relief. Oh, I'm going to make some food, so come out later and let's eat together.

**

Sogo: Oh, you’re here, Shion. Yes. …? …?! Toya: What's with that expresShion? Shion: Toya-san…?! Toya: Is it inconvenient for me to be here? Shion: No…! I mean, not at all… Toya: Don't just stand there; sit down quickly. Shion: …Yes. Toya: ..Shion. Shion: ?! Yes? Toya: Where are your glasses? Shion Huh? Oh, I left them by the pillow,. Toya: …Hm. In this distance, can you see my fingers properly? Shion: The shape is roughly discernible. Toya: You manage to walk around the house with that eyesight? Shion: Roughly, by feeling… Toya: How's your condition? Shion: Well… now it's quite… what should I say… Toya: …You. Can't you talk a bit more normally? Shion …! I'm sorry… Sogo : Alright! It's done! How about it? Looks delicious? Toya: Pretending to be so skilled just by stir-frying some vegetables. Sogo: Look carefully. Today, I added pork and eggs along with garlic chives and mung bean sprouts. And speaking of that, try stir-frying vegetables at least once by yourself. Shion, this guy here~ If I left him alone, he will forget to eat, so I have to forcibly bring him here sometimes. Shion: Yes… Toya: I didn’t forget it. It'sjust about a priorities. Sogo: Put the priority of meals above work… Ah, you can start eating first! the rice is not fully cooked. It should be ready in about 5 minutes. Toya: So, until when are you going to stick around Sogo's place? Shion: I'm sorry… Toya: That's not an answer. Shion: I'm sorry… Toya … I want to practice as soon a possible.. Shion: I'm truly sorry… Well, um… Toya: When do you think you can play? A week? Or maybe a month? Shion: Huh? A month… but… Toya: I made a song considering your piano. It can’t be complete without you. If you say you can't do it, I have no choice but to wait until you say you can. Shion: Toya-san… Toya: Recording without hearing the finished sound is out of the question. It was a rush during ROAR because if we missed it, we might not catch Hibiki, but that's an exception. I won't do it again. Sogo: That’s what he said…because Toya insisted, we had a hard time for a whole day. Even though the schedule was already confirmed… Toya: What he decide to do without talking to me is none of my business.. Originally, it was Haru-chan idea to include Shion. He should take some responsibility. Shion: Kasuga-san recommended me? Toya: Yes, he brought your demo, insisting to add a keyboard to create a different characteristic from other rock bands. He was incredibly persistent. Sogo: But ultimately, Toya made the final deciShion, right? Toya: Of course. If the results didn't seem promising, even if he insisted that much, I would have rejected it. So, Shion, what's the problem now? Your physical condition? Or is it something about your household situation? Shion: Excuse me… Can I continue playing Toya-san's song in the future? Toya: If you utter such sleep-talking-like words, I might want fire you right now.. Shion: I don't want that!! Toya: When can you play? Shion: I can play today or tomorrow! Toya: I don't want to entrust a precious new song to a pianist who took a 3-day break. Can you adjust it within a week? Shion: I can do it! Shoma: Excuse me-! Sogo: Oh, Shoma. How was it? Shoma: It's perfect! …Wait, Toya, were you here too? Such a rare view.

Toya: …I’m going home. Shoma: Oh, is that so? Hey, megane. I'll give you this. Shion: …? A key? Shoma: Your house key. A new one made by Haru-chan. Shion: Huh?! Shoma: I convinced your mom! Haruto only has the spare key. Now you can go home, right? Shion: You… just decided on your own! And how did you…?! Shoma: Got it. If anything troublesome happens later, just hand it over to Haru-chan!. …Listen well. All you need to do is play the keyboard without bothering with this and that. I'm telling you, if I don't continue with the HOUND ROAR for at least six months, I have no face to show to the Sogo-san who recommended me. Got it? If you're being a hindrance, I'll kick you out?! Sogo: Is the reason Shoma continues with HOUND ROAR because of me? Shoma: That's the main reason! Toya: More importantly, why six months? Shoma: I've never stayed in the same band for more than six months, so I'm aiming for the longest record! Toya: Seriously, I'm getting sick of this… I regret asking. Shoma: It's about making an effort. Be grateful and said Thank you. Sogo: Oh, the rice is ready. Toya: Well then, I'm going back to work. Sogo: Hold on, hold on, what about the food?! Toya: I don’t need it. I'll eat something outside. Sogo: …Sigh. I insisted on making the rice because he likes Japanese cuisine. Can't be helped. Shion, Shoma, take responsibility and eat Toya's portion too. Shoma: Yes! Why are you crying, darn megane. Shion: I’m not crying! Shoma: Oh~ is that so? Shion: …Thanks for this. Shoma: No biggies. More importantly, you, don't quit playing the keys. Shion: I won't quit, fool. Shoma: Ah, that's right!

(phone ringing)

Hibiki: Toya, did you encourage Shion well? Toya: I said what needed to be said. I don't know if the encouragement worked. Hibiki: I said it yesterday too, but if Shion quit. I'll quit HOUND ROAR as well. Toya: Since you said that, I intentionally went to Sogo's place. Even so, well, you attitude has changed quite a bit. Hibiki: …What do you mean? Toya: The way you speaks sounds you don't want to quit HOUND ROAR. Hibiki: What's with that tone after bringing me here forcibly? And just so you know, I'm not hiding about my dad. It's the other side that's keeping things hidden. Toya: That might be the case. However, you don't want to be interrogated either, do you? Hibiki: Of course. Your approach is genuinely annoying. Throwing a fit at people, and even naming the band HOUND ROAR, it implies that you've investigated various things about me, right? Toya: That’s right, Because I want you no matter what. Hibiki: It's really the worst. At best, becoming desperate for something that makes noise, getting manipulated, and why does everyone not realize it's foolish? Even Shion, suffering so much, it's because of music. Toya; Then, will you quit HOUND ROAR right now? Hibiki: I won’t do as you want again, Once I started, it's meaningless unless I can perfectly achieve it to the point of destroying that person. Besides, I'm currently unemployed, so unless I save enough to live a carefree life for a while, even if I want to quit, I can't. It's all your fault for bringing up Akane's name. It triggered me instantly. Toya: Your pretentious tone, no matter how many times I hear it, it's tiring. Hibiki: Me too, Toya. Your attempt to evade the straightforward talk is exhausting and annoying to listen to. …And yes, I almost forgot to mention, Mitsuru was really worried. Toya: Why.. are you and Mitsuru..? Hibiki: While it's a bit much for me to butt into someone else's family matters, couldn't you at least contact him? If you don’t hate Mitsuru. Well then. Toya: That guy…

(footstep sounds)

Toya: It would be easy if I could hate him.

[hopexhappiness]

Okay, I have THOUGHTS about Richmond’s Women’s team

In my mind, there needs to be a spinoff about them.

I am actually a fan of European women’s soccer/football (I’m from the US so I call it both) and I think that a show like that being created would not just be good television, it also would be incredibly important for the real-life women’s game. And I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about what this show could cover.

To start, I honestly don’t believe for a second that Richmond wouldn’t have already had a women’s team. They may be in a lower league than the top league, the Women’s Super League (WSL), but I don’t believe that they don’t exist already. In my mind instead of Keeley and Rebecca creating a women’s team they should be investing more resources and money and promotion into the team. Which makes sense since Keeley is the PR person. Maybe they are trying to put more support into the women’s team (both financially and in terms of promoting their existence) and trying to help them get promoted from the Women’s Championship (or WSL 2). 

A show about Richmond Women would honestly probably also be a really good way to give more attention to real-life women’s soccer, which is currently going through a huge rise in popularity that has started over the last few years (especially with last summer’s Women’s Euros). Game attendance numbers are going up, records are being both set and broken all the time, and The Women’s World Cup is this summer in Australia/New Zealand. It’s the perfect time.

There are also plenty of topics that this show could cover, and inequities it could shine light on. Such as:

The ACL injury crisis

The differences in quality of pitch (matches getting canceled for dangerous pitch conditions that would not be problems if they were of better quality like the men’s)

The general amount of aggressively present and not subtle sexism everywhere on the internet surrounding the sport

The sport’s LGBTQ culture and how different it is in the world of women’s sports

The two biggest topics in my opinion would be the differences in representation of queer players and ACL injuries. 

A show like this would be both important and fun from the angle of discussion of LGBTQ topics. In women’s professional soccer, especially in Europe from what I’ve observed, so many players are openly queer that it sometimes feels like there is a culture of reverse heteronormativity. It is more surprising when a player announces they are in a relationship if it is with a man. They also never seem to come out officially, they just start posting pictures with their girlfriends. Additionally, the players are often dating their teammates which leads to a lot of drama (which would be very fun to watch a show about).

The other big topic that I would hope a show like his would cover is the extremely high frequency of knee injuries in women’s soccer. I’m not well enough informed on the medical side of these injuries, but the fact of the matter is that women are extremely more likely to rupture their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) than men, and an incredibly high number of professional players have gotten this injury. It has become even more noticeable lately since so many high-profile players have gotten this injury within the last year. If you actually look into the details and the numbers it is truly absurd. If a player goes down and does not get up, we as fans start praying, but we also all already know what it is and we just have to hope that we will be surprised by never being given that horrible announcement. These are long term injuries. They will pretty much always take at least a year of playing out of an athlete’s career and they become more vulnerable to it happening again. Players have been speaking out and calling for more research specifically on how to reduce these injuries in women, as people who are biologically female are simply more vulnerable to these injuries. It has become taxing to watch the sport as every player who is having the best season of their life is always one unlucky step away from being benched for a year, and it is happening all the time. Seriously, even if it isn’t related to Ted Lasso, look this shit up.

All of that intense stuff aside, I would really fucking love to see a show about a Richmond Women's team. I bet it would be fucking rad and I hope it happens!

[lagroupie]

Interview: VR Sex, “Rough Dimension”

VR Sex performing at La Makhno, through my Nikon.

I’ve been following and listening to Andrew Clinco’s (aka Noel Skum) project VR Sex for a while, so I was very happy to hear about their show at La Makhno in Geneva on January 25th. I think that industrial and dark venue fit VR Sex’s sound perfectly; the show was a lot of fun and the band got everyone dancing. It seemed as if we had time-travelled back to 1981, in a good way.

Before the show, I met with Andrew backstage for an interview about VR Sex’s latest record Rough Dimension. He also tells me about his life in L.A. and the delusion of the American dream, especially in Hollywood.

Many thanks to Andrew and Matt from Roosevelt Records for making this possible!

What’s a regular day like in your life when you’re not touring?

Andrew Clinco: A regular day typically involves waking up fairly early. It depends on the time of the year, but when it’s warm outside in Los Angeles I like to go for a run. I have a membership at the pool as well. I love swimming, it’s my new favorite thing. So I do that in the morning and throughout the day I’m either dealing with band things or business stuff, until 3 or 4 p.m. I have a little home studio and I am always trying to record or write something. And if I can’t do that, I’m just obsessively cleaning my house because if my place is not clean, I can’t really work. I’m OCD about that kind of shit. I’m very grateful I can pretty much get by through music now.

I’m so happy for you! And besides the OCD part, your life sounds pretty healthy.

Thank you. I’m equal parts healthy and unhealthy. I do both healthy and unhealthy things. I dont’ know if it’s a good balance, but it’s a balance.

Let’s talk a bit about your new record Rough Dimension. Before I even listened to it, the cover art struck me. It’s very dark and I think it matches the tone of the album perfectly. Was it your idea?

Absolutely! Initially the idea was to have two middle-aged men in business suits having this horrible moment where they’re consoling each other. So I hired these two male models but the shots didn’t work out, it actually looked like the band had two people in it. […] So I worked with my friend Nedda Afsari, who goes by MutedFawn on Instagram. She has done a lot of record covers, she’s a very talented photographer. We walked around in grimy locations in Los Angeles with these two subjects. We had the guy walk underneath this highway bridge. I liked the way the walls met in different dimensional angles. And then I had him stand in this fixed position. Do you know what a dunce cap is? If you got in trouble at school, they would put a hat on you and make you stand in a corner. So the idea was that this white American business man was being punished.

The cover art for the album Rough Dimension.

About the dimensional angles - Rough dimension is also a play on words because if you say for example ‘build me a shelf’, I will reply “Can you give me the rough dimensions of the shelf?” Meaning the rough measurments. So that photo ended up describing the album more than anything else. It was shot on film.

I wanted to talk about the song and the music video for Walk of fame as well. There are two characters, Jesse Christmas aka Clark Nova and Angelyne, who was a popular singer, model and actress in Los Angeles during the 1980’s. I thought the music video really fit the lyrics of the song. Is it conveying the ‘dark side’ of Los Angeles?

The person dressed as Jesus and a rock guy wanted to be featured in the video as a rock and roll guy, because it’s a video and he has a rock project too. He walks around Hollywood Boulevard as a Jesus impersonator and I thought he was really interesting. But he wanted to be filmed under one condition : to be filmed as a rock star. It was perfect, because the song is about people who come to this part of Los Angeles thinking that they have this calling to be a celebrity or a star. But then it just doesn’t happen.

The American dream, smashed into pieces.

Yeah. And the song is called Walk of fame because it’s about the crushed fantasy of being a celebrity. Whether or not he understood that, it didn’t matter because it was not about saying ‘this guy is crazy’. This is what you see when you go there. There’s all sorts of these characters on the Boulevard. And then Angelyne, who is actually quite successful – she’s amazing.

She owns a beautiful pink car! It’s shown in the video.

It’s a pink Chevrolet! Chevy has been giving her these cars since the 80s. They sponsor her. I’ve known her for a long time. We’re actually friends now, but we were not a the time we filmed the video. We negociated a fee through some contacts we had. She appears in the video, but it’s more of a cameo.

Anyway, it’s a sad part of L.A. A lot of people have been there since the 1970s and the 1980s and still think they can possibly get their big break. Or they think they are a star because they live in Hollywood. Actually, a lot of people from Europe come to L.A. to live in Hollywood. They think that because of their close proximity to this industry, they themselves are famous. It’s not true, but it’s interesting because it’s very elusive. This part of town makes people feel important.

It’s like a mix between real life and VR! As if you created your own reality.

Yes, you do create your own reality. It’s also a delusional reality.

Taking ‘fake it until you make it’ to the extreme.

More like ‘fake it until you die’.

My favorite song from the album – for now – is Live in a deam. Could you tell me more about it?

That song is an extension of the idea that you live in your own dream world. It’s also about this character, this guy who goes to these bars, talks to people, has cool tattoos and does drugs. He just lives in his own fantasy. «You’ve seen this guy before, down a dozen, maybe more. He’ll bounce around the town, his name is rich, his heart is poor.» Actually, of all the songs – because I wrote the whole record in a flat in Marseilles – that song is the only one that was written in Paris. I had my guitar and a little recording set up in the hotel room.

I find it interesting that you wrote the majority of the album in France, because it’s about Los Angeles.

I thought about this before. When I am living in L.A., I don’t really have a perspective on this community. When I was in Marseilles, I was totally by myself for two weeks. It was the end of the tour and I just decided to stay longer. While I was there, I thought about home and compared it to Europe to see where America is fucked up and vice-versa. But for the most part – and I am being completely real about this, I think Europe has a lot better ways in life, better policies and better ways to treat their people. There’s mental illness in America that I have never seen here. It’s a different kind of diseased brain that happens over there, especially in Los Angeles. The entertainment industry really creates confused and conflicted people. It’s not natural. It’s a big race to be famous.

What can we expect from V.R. Sex in the future?

This is the first show of this tour, so we have 12 more shows after this. Then we’re going to go home and hopefully write a new record in April with the new band. I played basically every instrument on Rough Dimension. It was just me and Ben Greenberg, the guy who recorded it, played bass. The band is turning more into a punk band now! There’s almost no synths anymore, it’s going much harder.

https://vrsex.bandcamp.com/album/rough-dimension

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbIdmE_J0-m/

[jesuscici201]

Sure, I can come up with 5 script segments showing Cici trying to convince Nini not to pull a prank on her freshly cleaned computer. Here's how it could play out:

Script 1: The Ploy Cici: concerned Nini, I really think you should reconsider this prank of yours. My human just spent hours cleaning and maintaining that laptop, you know. Nini: scoffs Oh please, Cici. What's the worst that could happen? A little harmless fun never hurt anyone. Cici: shakes head But Nini, I have a bad feeling about this. Can't we just…I don't know, bake some treats for the humans instead? Nini: narrows eyes Hold on, what are you hiding, Cici? gasps You're trying to trick me, aren't you?! Cici: sighs No, Nini, I'm simply- Nini: interrupts Aha! I knew it! Well your sly tricks won't work on me, missy. This prank is happening, whether you like it or not! Nini dashes off, leaving Cici exasperated

Script 2: The Guilt Trip Cici: pleadingly Nini, please, think about how devastated my human will be if you ruin her laptop. Nini: waves paw dismissively Devastated? Ha! She'll get over it. A little prank is good for the soul. Cici: shakes head sadly But Nini, you know how much that laptop means to her. All her important work is on there. Nini: pauses, then grins slyly Ooh, you make a good point. Imagine how much trouble she'd be in if something happened to alllll that data… Cici: eyes widen in alarm No, no, that's not what I meant at all! Nini, you can't- Nini: laughs Don't worry your pretty little head, Cici. I'll make sure to be extra careful. winks and scampers off Cici: groans This is not going to end well…

Script 3: The Bribery Attempt Cici: holds up a bowl of treats Look, Nini, I made your favorite catnip cookies. Fresh from the oven! Nini: perks up, sniffing the air Ooh, catnip cookies? eyes Cici suspiciously Alright, what's the catch? Cici: smiles innocently No catch! I just thought we could enjoy these together…and maybe you'd reconsider that prank of yours? Nini: narrows eyes Hmm, nice try Cici, but I'm not falling for it. snatches the cookies These are mine now. And the prank is still on! Cici: sighs in defeat Worth a shot…

Script 4: The False Distraction Cici: calls out Hey Nini, you'll never guess what I found outside! Come quick, you have to see this! Nini: perks up Ooh, what is it? scampers over to Cici Cici: ushers Nini towards the door Just come take a look, you won't believe your eyes! Nini: peers outside, then turns back to Cici confused I don't see anything. What's the big deal? Cici: laughs nervously Ah, must have been my imagination. shoves Nini back towards the bedroom Well, in that case, why don't you go back and…uh, check on the laptop? Nini: narrows eyes suspiciously Cici, what are you up to? Cici: desperately Nothing! I just…thought you'd want to make sure it's still in perfect condition, that's all. Nini: pauses, then grins Ooh, good idea! races to the bedroom Cici: shakes head Oh dear, this is not going to end well…

Script 5: The Reveal Nini enters the bedroom, spotting the laptop on the desk Nini: rubs paws together gleefully Alright, time to put my prank into action! reaches for the laptop Cici: rushes in, blocking Nini's path No, Nini, wait! Don't touch that laptop! Nini: pushes past Cici Out of my way, you mangy feline! opens the laptop, only to find… The laptop screen lights up, revealing a pre-recorded message from Cici's human

Human Cici: on the screen Hi Cici! I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you taking such good care of my laptop while I was away. I know you'll keep it safe and sound until I get back. Love you!

Nini stares at the screen, mouth agape

Nini: slowly turns to Cici You…you tricked me. Cici: nods smugly That's right, Nini. My human knew all about your little prank plan. She wanted to make sure you got the message - hands off the laptop. Nini: sputters indignantly But…but how?! stamps foot This isn't fair! Cici: chuckles Life's not fair, my dear Nini. Maybe next time you'll think twice before trying to pull one over on Cici the cat.

Nini scowls, stalking out of the room as Cici watches, satisfied

[themagicoolcat]

i don't own a whole lot of official cats merchandise but what i do own is a two disc copy of the original london cast recording which was most likely printed around 1998 (judging from the copyright for the really useful company logos). i bought it from music magpie through ebay and besides from a few scuffs on the front of the case it's in perfect condition!

to accommodate for the two discs the case flips out to reveal disc two! i have another cd case which has the same function to reveal the second disc and i think it's so super cool and much better than the double case format where two cases are stuck together to make a much thicker case. i've tested both of the discs several times and they both work well without any problems outside of the disc skipping mungojerrie and rumpleteazer the first time it played the first disc (i don't think this is a fault of the disc though i think it was just my cd player needing a little clean). also within the case is the lyric book which features the lyrics for all of the songs featured along with a list of all of the cats featured in the london production at the time along with the name of their actor on the soundtrack.

i absolutely love physical media and i hope i can begin a little collection of cats soundtracks on cd!!

[wachme]

How Smartwatches with GPS Are Enhancing School Safety for Students and Staff?

Schools have been scheming new ideas about making their students and staff safer and safer as smart technology becomes increasingly apparent. The GPS tracking watch for kids and staff stands out among many innovative tools to improve security and accountability within school premises. Smartwatches with 4G and beyond are now being viewed as the gold standard in developing safety and security programs for students and staff. Let's dive deeper into how these kids' smart watches and staff monitoring devices transform the face of school safety and, more so, how they do it with GPS tracking.

Role of GPS Tracking to Ensure Student's Safety

The utilization of GPS-enabled smartwatches will play a critical role in student tracking during school time. With this tool, one can trace the students within minutes and thus ensure that kids are within school zones, whether in class, playing in the playground or moving around different zones in school. The real-time location tracking feature will provide the capability for parents and other school workers to be aware of the safety of children, thus minimizing the chances of children going out of school campus or entering unsafe zones.

Tracking of student movements

One more use of a GPS tracking watch for kids is that it tracks the location in real time. Schools will be able to monitor all movements that are going on throughout the day, knowing the student is within school boundaries. This becomes very useful when there are large campuses or when students are going on a trip. Some smartwatches for school students, like WachMe, have features such as geo-fencing, which will alert the school if a student has moved out of a predefined safe boundary.

Auto-Attendance Smart Watches

The other trend in schools is the rise of student auto-attendance smartwatches. With this, students' attendance gets automatically recorded when they enter the classroom or specific zones; hence, schools are able to keep accurate attendance without roll calls. Smart technology thus brings down human errors and the time taken for recording attendance and ensures no student misses out on attendance due to school time.

Geo-fencing with Enhanced Safety

Geo-fencing is another excellent feature that can be seen in most kids ' GPS-tracking watches. Geo-fencing is the ability of the school to place a virtual boundary around any specific location, such as the school building or playground. When a student leaves this area, the watch immediately sends an alert to the staff and parents. Considering the busy nature of many environments, schools can use these safe zones to ensure students stay in supervised areas.

Instrument of Smartwatches in Resident Schools

For the students in a resident school, using smartwatches for the children at the boarding school has become quite ordinary. The instrument provides monitoring of the wellness of the students, contacting parents about their condition, and monitoring health-related parameters. Smartwatches for kids between 9-12 years old are commonly used in resident schools because they enable their staff and parents to remain in contact with the students.

GPS Tracking in Boarding Schools

Boarding schools, where children spend long periods away from home, really appreciate the integration of GPS-enabled smartwatches. Devices such as the GPS watch for students enable teachers to track the location of a student within school premises and outside it. This feature keeps boarding students secure during extracurricular or outing activities.

4G Enabled Watches for Communication

Calling watches equipped with 4G connectivity ensure perfect communication between the student, parents, and staff. This includes a student wanting to reach his or her parents after a long school day or wishing to inform his or her teachers in case of an emergency. Such smartwatches ensure proper communication for parents who can visually confirm their child's welfare in residential schools.

Health and Daily Activity Monitoring

Smartwatches for kids also monitor daily activity. This may be helpful for students attending boarding schools who live away from their parents, keeping them healthy. With fitness tracking features in such devices, it would be easier for the staff to monitor if the child has met the amount of exercise needed for the day. Some watches will also allow the staff to track sleep patterns, thereby caring better for the students.

Conclusion

GPS smartwatches for kids and the staff have radically revolutionized school safety, making the campuses secure and better organized. Whether they are used to monitor the students' whereabouts, automate their attendance, or even monitor the activities of staff, GPS smartwatches are imperative devices that save time and bring much-needed accountability.

In the backdrop of changing technology day by day, safety smartwatches are proving to be the most needed tool in schools. So, if you come under the category of a parent purchasing a safety smartwatch for school students or an administrator wanting to track the staff through some solution, then GPS smartwatches are a dependable tool to increase the safety and efficiency of school operations.

[barneyandthepoetrymuse]



Firewood…

It is what it is until it eventually isn’t…..

When we first met was I really that different…..?

Maybe we have a few things that we kept well hidden…..

We had vulnerabilities and didn’t always see them…..

Bubbles can be prisons - when they’re not our prisms…

Do we get what we deserve or take what we-are-given…?

Is it possible to ever really learn how-to- listen…?

And is it what defines us or our….human-conditions…..?

Do we belong to our thoughts, are we slaves to inhibitions…..?

I know your favourite authors, you know my best musicians…

You’re walls without borders, I lean towards tradition…

Together we’re the corners of two opposite dispositions…

Don’t ask me to love you, I forgot to ask permission…..

You must’ve saved me on…some kind of superhero mission…..

What are the chances… I think it’s one in a million…..!?

Two people wearing glances, for all the right reasons…….

“You know what it’s like when you just get a feeling?”

Nothing else matters and the moment deepens…..

No filter on the answers, just a coffee on a weekend…..

…At a nobody bar in…some nowhere town in England…………

I said I love you, tonight while you were sleeping…

I’d been playing my guitar and you’d just finished reading…

I think we must’ve missed each other again this evening…

I’m lying here wide awake and you’re already dreaming…..

Bottle on the side, we’ve both just finished drinking…

When your eyes are closed, I can’t tell what you’re thinking…

Trying not to scream because no-one-is-ever listening…

…Looking for the answers and making tough decisions…

Get some sleep, I’ll be a better man in the morning…

…It’s a country mile…we’ve been walking…..

Dreams might be a place in heaven…or-another warning…..

The clocks have sped up time, or is time….. just exhausting…?

I can’t sleep and you’ve slipped into a dreamscape…

Are we living in a dream or dreaming in a portrait…..?

Trying to think outside the box when the inside’s taking shape…

I’ve been the broken record and you’ve skipped a page…..

No-one needs to win but we’re still inside the race…

We are the mystery and Sherlock’s on the case…..

Something’s gone missing, it’s been lost without a trace…

We might lose forever unless contingencies are in place…..

Care packages……don’t always drop out of the sky….

I don’t believe in magic but I know to trust my eyes…..

I didn’t believe in communication, without static on the line…..

We’ve been together twenty years and managed just fine…..

…..I’ve seen you in tears more than just a few times…..

These kind of things, should bring a man back down to size…

Packing up your belongings with a suitcase by your side…..

…..I’m stubborn as hell so I’m not gonna cry……..

You’re waiting on a platform, is this goodbye…..for good…?

Don’t leave me here this vulnerable, waiting to be pushed…..

Walk away but don’t turn back…and break me with a look…..

Don’t leave behind your burning eyes…just like firewood…..

Just because we didn’t, why does it mean we should’ve…?

Re-climbed all the mountains and tried harder not to fall off..…

Even with experience we might still never reach the top…..

We’ve had a few earthquakes and still feel the aftershocks…..

Once the penny drops…the buck stops…the emotional bruises…..

What was I thinking…and how the fuck did I do this…..?

Didn’t we learn anything about tough-love from the movies…?

You were losing patience, I was saying something stupid…..

Don’t go there alone…without me next to you…..

Sometimes what we’re feeling…isn’t the perfect truth…?

Let’s not fall asleep tonight not knowing what’s to lose…..

Will you see me in the morning…..like the way you used to…?