#and theres quite a lot so expect a LOT of this song

[vocaloid-tunes]

From a Miniature Garden Where the Dragon Howls | YowaneP feat. Hatsune Miku

[majorshatterandhare]

Today I, an aromantic, was getting ready to attend a wedding… with Stranger on repeat.

[gibbearish]

am finally back home and can say without a doubt that i am just fundamentally not built for long distance travel however the train was much nicer than planes

[lixies-favorite-cookie]

an ocean in a world full of puddles ◦ Chapter 1

-After being brushed off by Chan once again, you are stuck waiting in the lounge room for him to arrive. What are you going to do when it isn't Chan that arrives, but instead Felix? And it feels like you've known him for years."

words ◦ 5k

genre ◦ series, angst, fluff, the beginning of a wild ride

warnings ◦ chan is painted in sort of a negative light because he is always busy, felix is sort of shy around you at first, but lowkey flirty near the end as he starts to get more comfertable, theres a lot of fucks in this, i keep calling yall im dumb im sorry, fem!reader, felix calls her a lady once,

a/n ◦ The strikeouts are intentional to show how chaotic the reader's mind is and how she feels like her emotions are so invalid she has to just erase them away. I'm sorry if this isn't what you expected. I found myself struggling to describe certain aspects of this and was quite disappointed by the outcome (but please do not let this deter you. If anything, read it and let me know what you think/what I can change. Plus, I know the other parts are going to be way better than this).

also i listened to heather while writing this up until the phone number bit... then i listened to slow down by chase atlantic...do with that information as you will

A VERY VERY SPECAIL THANK YOU TO THESE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE that helped me through the different struggles and stages in this fic I thank most of my unnecessary errors being fixed because of them @yongbun, @jeonginsleftcheek, @luvtak

masterlist ◦ a loved lived in between the stars and the sea

The human condition: a soul filled with passion, but not a mouth to spill it into.

It was ironic really. 

Your soul was filled with passion, but you had a mouth to spill it into.

That mouth just didn't want your passion- 

Your fervor-

Your ardor-

Romance practically coursed through your veins, your blood cells shaped like the hearts you saw the world through. 

Chan was filled with passion.

Chan was filled with ardor.

Chan was filled with romance.

But Chan didn't want poetry-

Chan spilled too much soul into songs. 

Songs that made him too busy for you.

The two of you saw the same goal, but spoke different languages- 

Your love was often- 

Lost in translation. 

You shout, frustration poking in the pit of your stomach painting the car red you dig the pencil into the words scratching them out so hard you cut holes in the page that sounded so stupid

all of this was so stupid

your feelings-

stupid

your issues-

stupid

the thought that Chan was anything other than perfect-

stupid

Why couldn't you just be content with everything you have? So many girls would pay to be in your place, tripping over each other just to be in his presence, and yet, what, you're unhappy because you spoke different languages? 

What the hell does that even mean?

You were trapped inside an inescapable box, the sharp edges of your unrealistic expectations like shackles that cut into your skin, bleeding with a passion only ever found in fiction. 

Why were you always stuck?

stuck in the stars, stuck in the sea-

stuck in this stupid line of stupid traffic, waiting for a stupid meal that Chan probably will be too busy to eat with you, writing some stupid piece of poetry that was about as poetic as the rotting innards of unidentified roadkill.

stupid

stupid

stupid

“Finally,” you mumble as the car in front of you inches up, allowing you access to the next window. You politely bow, grab the trays from the worker’s hand, and drive off.

Your life quickly turned from the hope of a story to the reality of a routine. The road, the walls, the button your finger grazes as the doors to the elevator slam shut, the number of steps it takes to get to his room, the feel of cold metal underneath your palm as you open the door, the same hunch of his shoulders, the same glow of his laptop, the same empty look in his eyes.

the same

the same

the same

Most of your relationship is spent looking at him like this.

"Hey channie," you say, setting the food down on the empty spot beside his keyboard.

"Hi, love." His voice is nothing more than the ghost of a mumble, blending with the click and shift of his mouse, moving different blurs and blobs of color on the screen. Chan tended to get tunnel vision when he was working, even if that meant you were left stranded in the shadows of his forgotten responsibilities. 

"I um brought you dinner." you clear your throat, pointing lamely at the boxes beside him like he couldn't clearly see they were there. He perks up, finally lifting his eyes to meet yours. 

"Oh baby, thank you." The tension in his shoulders melts. "I'm sorry, you know how busy I am sometimes; right now it feels like I'm drowning in work," he chuckles, absentmindedly shifting in his chair.

you're always busy

You push a smile through the tangled ball of suppressed emotions climbing up your throat.

"I know you're busy, but do you think I could eat dinner with you today...please?" Your stomach twists in painful knots. It was pathetic really, the way you begged for attention like a needy dog more than a doting girlfriend, but you were desperate, scrambling to fan a flickering flame that felt long sputtered out. 

stop

You knew what you were getting into when he asked you out—the stress, the anxiety, the workload, the long hours. Chan was always upfront and honest about the struggles of being an idols girlfriend, never wanting to veil your eyes from the harsh sting of realities rays.

then why does it still feel like your soul is burning?

He flicks his gaze to the screen, guilt gnawing at his core. There was so much to do in the day and just never enough time to do it. "I don't know, I don't really have a lot of time right now..." He mumbles, picking at the seam on his shorts apologetically, "Do you think you could wait about 20 minutes? I'm kind of on a roll here."

When your relationship was first blooming, your spirit would often shatter with those words, but pain only holds power when it isn't welcome, and as long as you are loved by him, you will accept the feeling with open arms. 

"I'm going to go sit in the lounge room then." You try to keep the disappointment out of your tone, but it leaks through the cracks echoing in your chest, radiating in palpable waves. You clench your jaw, picking up your tray of food.

does he not care?

"Okay," The squeak of his chair indifferently swiveling back to its previous place echoes in your ears. Louder than anything you've ever heard. 

he didn't even kiss you

1 hour 45 minutes and 13 seconds

That's how long you have been waiting in the lounge room for Chan to walk in the door.

that is how long you've been wallowing in a sad pathetic heap staring at your uneating supper

1 hour 45 minutes and 15 seconds now

16 seconds

17 seconds

You spin around when you hear the door creak open, anticipation fluttering in your stomach, only to plummet when you see Felix standing in the entrance, too busy shoveling a fork full of noodles in his mouth to notice your presence.

Felix was a familiar face, mostly associated with sweet smiles and bouncing eyes; you have only ever talked to him on a handful of occasions, possessing the basic relationship of hellos in the hallways and smiles when you enter the same room, but besides the couple times where he offered you some of his freshly baked brownies or told you which room Chan was in, you haven't actually had a conversation with the boy.

You groan, dramatically deflating in your seat.

Of course, it wasn't chan

Felix yelps, his heart leaping in his chest, only to wrap around his bones, doing trapeze tricks inside his ribs when he lays eyes on you—why, out of all the days he could have seen you, it was on the one day he was least ready, and the way your whole body slumps like a deflated balloon, it becomes crystal clear you weren't exactly jumping up and down to see him either.

Does Cupid have a vendetta against him or something?

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was in here," he stutters awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair like he was trying to fix it without a mirror. Disappointment quickly brews into guilt watching the way his eyes shift, hurt drooping his shoulders down. 

"No, I'm sorry, it's not like that; I just thought—" You falter. What the hell did you think? Sorry, but I thought you were my boyfriend who left me here all by myself, and like usual, my stupid, hopeful heart really believed this time was going to be different. "You were someone different." You sink into the couch, a dull ache spiderwebbing through the chasms in your chest.

"Let me guess." His eyes crinkle with sympathy. "Chan."

You glance down at your ribs—some silly part of you really believed your shirt had blossomed with the crimson stain of your sorrows.

"How could you guess?" you mutter sarcastically, picking at the skin of your nails. Why did it seem like everybody else got the memo that if you were to search the thesaurus, your name would be the first word under forgotten?

"Well, really, it was a toss-up between you being with him for the past 5 years and the fact that he has been glued to his computer for the past 5 hours," he grins. "Pick your poison."

Your gaze drifts back to the couch that sits idly in front of you, lonely in the middle of the room, out of place, without the implant of another person's body.

"W-Well," he starts, shifting his bowl in his hands. "Do you... I don't know, want some company...maybe."

He's so awkward, so unsure, like a baby deer wobbling on unfamiliar legs, struggling to stay upright. You tilt your head, your lips pulling up into an adoring grin; you never really noticed it before, but he was sort of shy. You had a terrible tendency to take your time observing people unintentionally, causing discomfort to the victims of your restless brain—assessing in silence.

His ears burn when your eyes gloss over with an opaque glaze. His heart drops only for those silly little butterflies that always appear when you are around to swarm their wings around the lump growing in his throat.

Well, that was a bust.

Why couldn't he just be normal around you?

"O-Or not, that's fine too. I-I get it; you're probably l-like waiting for Chan or whatever. I-I can go get him if you would like." He jerks his thumb behind him, forgetting he was holding something for a second, stumbling to catch it right before it falls. You snicker, biting your lips to contain your laughter. His eyes flutter shut, scrunching his nose in embarrassment.

He was cute

Why haven't you talked to him before?

"No, please sit down," you lazily gesture to the couch in front of you. "It's not like Chan's going to be coming down anytime soon."

He sighs, his whole body melting with relief, practically forming into the couch when he shuffles over, adjusting himself to comfortably sit with his legs wide and his head tilted down. He picks up his fork just before whispering, "I'm sorry that he kept you waiting," and stuffing his face. You smile, the sight all sorts of endearing. The amount of food stuffed into his cheeks puffs them out, forcing his mouth into a pout that's smeared with red sauce. For a moment, you almost forget that you're supposed to be groveling, but why would life want to let you live when instead it could remind you constantly how much it sucks?

"I'm used to it." You learn to live with the absence of air when your hope always causes you to suffocate.

"You shouldn't have to be," he murmurs, his hand politely veiling his mouth while he chews. He's staring at his food like his noodles were an impossible labyrinth he's forced to escape, completely oblivious to the cataclysmic sentence he just uttered. Your jaw drops, stomach fluttering with butterflies, butterflies that you could’ve sworn burned out a long time ago. When most of your time is spent in a constant state of apocalypse, you forget the side effects of a romanticism, felt before your soul was littered with the echos of war.

"Oh?"

"Are you not going to eat?" He questions, forehead creased with concern as he gestures to the food that was currently burning a hole in the table. You stare at him stupidly, mouth ever so slightly agape. Did he not notice that there were swarms of zombified insects burrowing their way into your belly, kaleidoscopes charred wings creating panic in your pounding heart?

(cookie interruptions: I was today years old when I found out that a kaleidoscope was the technical term for a swarm of butterflies)

Why was he making you feel so jittery?

"Oh," you blink, giving an imperceptible shake of the head—a weak attempt to gather your disoriented thoughts.

Honestly, you had forgotten it was there.

"I was waiting to eat with Chan..." You mutter through the tufts of wool still stuffed in your head, wrapping your fingers around the tray, but when you pull open its flappy lid, your lips pull into a sneer glaring at the congealed sauce and cold noodles. You weren't surprised that your food had spoiled over the 2 hours you had been waiting, but it didn't make the frustration that bubbled in your gut any less apparent either. "But clearly, that hope was shortlived," you scoff, chucking the useless tray back on the table. 

Felix clears his throat, adjusting himself in his seat. He often found himself tiptoeing on the edge of insanity, always rewriting the words he wanted to say, terrified you had written a line in the sand the waves had washed away.

You were a star with a heart tied to the sea, where he would have more success breaking the bond of the moon than turning the tides of the ocean that suffocated your soul.

So for now, he will coast the cosmos alone, waiting for the day you will finally look his way.

"You can have some of mine... if you want," he whispers, shyly scooting his cup over to you. "It's salmon-flavored; it's really good."

"Are you sure?" you blink, utterly flummoxed.

"Yeah, of course!" You swore you could trace the stories of the sky in the gaps where his freckles glowed.

"Thank you; I promise I won't eat too much," you joke, pulling out your fork. "I don't mind it, really. I can always make more as long as you're eating I'm okay," he grins, sliding his hand out of the way to allow room for yours, grateful for his generosity; you bite back a smile, digging into the hot noodles; a spicy flavor pulled straight from the sea explodes on your tongue as soon as the food meets your lips.

You swear you just tasted heaven's gates.

"Holy shit, this is delicious," you moan, rolling your eyes back in your head.

"I'm glad you like it," he smirks. "It's my special recipe."

"So you do more than bake, huh?" you waggle your brows lightheartedly, though you were sort of impressed by his broad palette of skills. 

"You know that I bake!?" He was still recovering from the shock that you even knew his name—the way he often dissolves into the wall when you enter the room.

"Of course, I know that you bake; I always have to eat at least half of the plate of brownies Chan brings home." You giggle, picking at the noodles, wanting more but feeling guilty for hogging the whole bowl.

"Oh, I'm full," he stretches, rubbing his stomach like a stuffed cartoon character. 

"Are you lying?" Cynism was a side effect of being a creative romanticist—your artistic brain didn't limit itself to only forming one conclusion, while the stories that ended up on paper were solely portrayed as having happy endings—you knew this philosophy was neither sadistic nor realistic, for even if the fictional characters made up of the fluid of your mind betrayed each other, what would a human, evil in its rawest form, do to you?

well that was melodramatic

"You know you're a very skeptical person," he jests, pulling his lips ever so slightly up.

"I'm a hopeless romantic; there's a difference," you state, stuffing your face when you finish studying him down to the very twitch of his right calf muscle.

"Aren't hopeless romantics supposed to be happy-go-lucky all the time? Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses and stuff?"

"You know we are called hopeless for a reason," you snort, unrealistic standards were more of a curse than a blessing.

Scratch that, having unrealistic standards is just a curse

“Being a hopeless romantic is like being an ocean in a world full of puddles.” Your soul speaks like his fingertips have felt its walls a million times before “devastating.”

He stares at you gobsmacked, blinking like you just hit him over the head with a mallet. Your mind kicks into gear, anxious little butterflies flipping on the switch for damage control.

that must have sounded so self-centered

"I-I didn't mean, like, in a cocky way, I'm better than other people. I just meant it's impossible to pour my passion anywhere because everybody else doesn't have room to take it. If anything, I-Im the bad one in this scenario.” You stutter, sporadically shaking your hands, worried that the misconception is going to create a concrete opinion. He quickly waves you off, seeming anything but bothered. 

“An ocean in a world full of puddles that's pretty deep,” he implores, treating the words like age-old wine to be sipped with both time and deference. “You know you should really consider being a poet 'cause that like moved my soul.” Only Lee Felix can make humor sound so honest. 

Why was he so ...amazed

"I like to think I'm a poet." Your cheeks are painted red as you bashfully tilt your head down. 

but right now not so much

“You can't think you're a poet,” he chuckles. “If you ever wanted to read somebody your stuff, I would be happy to help…Maybe it could fix your uncertainty." Something twinkles in his eyes, something nervous yet desperate, something you couldn't quite pinpoint while your stomach was sprinting in circles—the mere thought of showing somebody else your poetry was the equivalent of slicing your heart in half and presenting it to the world on live television.

basically, something that will never happen never ever

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that. I don't really write poetry per se; I just write my..." You trail off.

What do you write?

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he reassures, his warm smile cooling the icy anxiety that crystallized around your core.

Why do you do this to yourself??

Stupid Felix and his stupid power to loosen your lips-

stupid. stupid. stupid.

To be a poet is to be vulnerable; no great art is ever created comfortably. 

Fuck it 

“I write my dreams,” you blurt, peeking out through your clenched eyelids to see if Felix caught the spit of a sentence; clearly, he did the way he lifts his brows thoughtfully. 

“Elaborate”

A man of many annoying questions you see 

“Why,” you groan, sinking into your seat almost comically. 

"Because I want to listen to you," he laughs like whiskey and wine, both husky and rich. You choke, your heart imploding into a million tiny, rose-shaped pieces.

"Nobody wants to listen to me ramble on about hopeless fantasies that will never come true," you sputter, still trying to reshape your rose-shaped shatters into something that resembles an organ. 

"I do."

Oh well, there they go again, forming right back into roses-

He made all of this seem like a complex game of chess, every move of hesitance quickly countered by a block of honesty.

From the moment you could write, you found out that paper was not volatile the way people were, how you could erase a word written but, in time, in life, you cannot erase a sentence said—that philosophy stuck with you, forever rendering you apprehensive to vocalize your feelings.

Maybe it was your soft spot for the stars that made you speak, but either way, when your mouth opened, it felt as though all your past doubts had washed away, and for once, you were free.

"I have always held onto my dreams through the tip of a pen, existing in between the lines of my poetry. But I don't write about deep philosophical pearls of wisdom; I write about love, passion, beauty. I write about coffee and cream, roses and vanilla. I write what I think romance tastes like, how the contrast of the most iconic confessions has been written in the rain, a usually gloomy, grey thing completely transformed through the lenses of love…" You sigh, tilting your head against the back of the cushion in bliss.

"I write the way I want to love, for I know it's the only way to quell my heart's aching urge to live anywhere but reality."

He stares at you eerily still, blinking once, twice, three times."

Why wasn't he saying anything?  

Perhaps you were drunk off Felix's promises, or the cracks Chan created in your chest made you bleed with a passion only ever reserved for your poetry. But either way, you felt naked—exposed under his exploring eyes.

"What?" You croak, picking at the sleeve of your shirt.

Why did everybody act like you were crazy?

Was there something wrong with you?

You are floating in the asteroid belt, a thousand tiny rocks hovering around your head.

"Maybe you're just not looking in the right places." There’s a deep intensity in his eyes, a million roaring waves crashing against each other; you run face-first into a meteor, bouncing around the surfaces of a weightless space.

How many brain-altering revelations could Felix bestow before your brain cracks?

"You know, I haven't even told my friends that," you deflect. It was a dangerous game, diving too deep into your thoughts, and right now, with him—with that statement, danger could quickly bleed into destruction.

"So, I'm not your friend?" Clearly, Felix catches on to the sudden swerve of the conversation, how he eases into it with such grace, jestingly poking your knee.

"This is the first time I've ever had a real conversation with you," you scoff, poking him right back. His jaw drops in faux offense.

"You know, I just gave you my food. I think that deserves an upgrade into friendship territory," he states matter-of-factly.

Two can play at that game-

"I don't have your number; usually friends have each other's number." You place your elbows on your knees. He has been playing a metaphorical game of chess with you this whole time, his pawns moving ever so slightly forward. He forced your hand, the comfortability in your eyes making openings on the board you never meant to create. His rook, his bishop, his queen—they kiss the place right below your king.

You had one more trick up your sleeve-

You were a creative romantic whose moves were nothing less than a story, and you were going to be damned if you let your king be captured.

Now, where's the happy ending in that?

(cookie interruptions… I dont know what this is nor why i am so dramatic but hey what can you do ALSO LISTEN TO SLOW DOWN BY CHASE ATLANTIC I BEGTH OF YOU )

He leans forward, pressing his tongue against his cheek. The fabric of his shirt stretches across the hard ridges of his abs—

No, stop it, bad y/n. 

"Do you want it?" He leans his head ever. So. Slightly. Forward  

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe I'll give it to you," soft, smooth voice- 

you narrow your eyes,

"What will Chan think?"

"It doesn't matter what Chan thinks-"

"Tell that to Chan-"

"Maybe I will." His lips-

"You know, if Chan saw us here right now, he would not be very happy." You suck your teeth.

Check-

He scoffs. Moves his bishop. 

You're right back where you started. 

"You're not his pet."

"Yeah, but I am his girlfriend." Block.

"Those two words are not synonymous," he says. Moves his queen.

Too many openings, too many moves, too many pieces on the board.

Too many outcomes.

Do you even still want to play?

Weren't you the one who started the game?

You bite your cheek, his eyes burning like molten amber, glinting in the overhead lights.

Should you have really asked for his number?

What would Chan think if he saw it in your phone?

Who were you kidding? He would actually have enough time to look at your phone.

"You know," he leans back, extending his arms to drape across the couch, pushing his thighs ever so slightly apart. Gone is the man with smiles like sugar; determination wisps across his face like spits of fire, overtaking every feature."If I give you my number, I'm going to have to help you unlearn your engraved cynicism." He's closing in on you, moving all his pawns in one fair swoop. You're surrounded, swarmed.

"You can't ungrave something it's scientifically impossible." You shift your king. One last dying breath-

Before- 

"I can try."

Checkmate

And like every person of honor does when they have nobly lost a battle they created- 

You run away. 

“I have to admit, as much as I loved this conversation, I really should be going,” you say, picking up your tray of forgotten food to chuck in the trash, leaving Felix's bowl on the table. He jumps up, scrambling to pick up his mess while you dart out the door, tossing the tray in the can just outside the room.

“Wait,” he gasps, stumbling to catch up with your speed. Your finger, out of habit, moves to press the button to the elevator doors—that is, before he catches it, his warm hand wraps around your wrist.

“Now, what gentleman would I be making a lady get her own door?” He bellows, voice deep and low, a sound echoing through his chest as the fabric of his shirt kisses your back. He’s so close, so close, so—

How long has it been since you've been touched? 

Heat. You're drenched in it, painted in it, enveloped in it.

His hand grazes your skin as he slides up your wrist, his finger extending to press the button.

Your breath hitches.

Body shutters. 

Every atom erupting in flames. 

The elevator doors slam open-

Your brain clicks back into place-

“Will I be seeing you again?” Your hot, so hot. He’s hot, so hot. Breath—it tickles your ear. Disoriented, so disoriented.

“I still don't have your number,” you manage to utter, slipping into the doors. His face will be the final thing you see as you descend down the shaft, lifelessly walking to your car where you will go home, go to sleep, and start your routine all over again. He smirks, flicking his eyes to your pants.

“Yes, you do.”

I do? 

The doors inch shut, and a small, teeny-tiny part of you wants to wrench them open, pull him in, force him into the stanzas of your story. You are tired—tired of waiting for your life to begin, tired of repeating the same vicious cycle.

But that wasn't you talking- 

That was the hopeless part of your personality,

The unrealistic-

The fiction- 

Life wasn't a game and reality wasn't a book. 

You had a good thing going wth Chris and you were going to be damned to ruin it just because of one fun conversation.

You reach one finger into the back pocket, feeling around for what Felix could have been talking about.

There's no way.

Your skin brushes across a smooth surface—something that definitely wasn’t there before.

There's no fucking way.

You pull it out.

It's pink and folded and definitely written on. You unfold it.

XXX-XXX-XXXX. Just in case you ever need an editor or a friend.

Oh well, fuck the game. He just flipped over the whole damn chessboard.

Read Chapter 2 here

[lxrd-ren]

Fuck it

NICO MASTERMIND THEORY, HEAR ME OUT

(Disclaimer this is not in any way like an extremely good theory like the Whit ones, but the more I thought about it the more it made some sort of sense; like more than you'd think)

Alright, just thought of this like 20 minutes ago when listening to a song. Thought 'Oh hey this reminds me of Nico' cause the song was about a girl who deleted her classmates as revenge for bullying her. She goes on to delete all of her classmates, aka, everyone.

I thought to myself, 'Huh, where have I heard that before'.

...

One of the main reasons we believe the killing game is happening in the first place is revenge for Mai, whether it's specifically targeted towards Teruko or the entire cast. I mean we got recent confirmation from MonoTV that the killing game is meant to go on until everyone is dead so it's hardly far-fetched.

Now, circle back to Nico, who tried to kill Ace, and by extension everyone else, out of revenge. Nico, who voiced how they would've understood Levi killing if he simply 'didn't like them'

Revenge is a big theme with Nico, pair that with a killing game that was started out of revenge and it doesn't seem all that far-fetched

HOLD ON THERES MORE I PROMISE

Moving onto another obvious one; MonoTV is a cat.

Nico is largely associated with cats from having cat-like hair, eyes, gloves, and a scratch that looks like it's from a cat. And even though their ultimate talent is to do with pets in-general, they seem to mention cats specifically a lot with telling Xander and Teruko a fact about cats, saying about how they'd rather be with their cats; hell even in the voice trailer they mention cats.

To conclude, whilst I don't think Nico designed MonoTV themselves, I think it's more MonoTV was built for or with them in mind

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEXT

With the Mai page, everyone had a sentence that links both to Mai but also to themselves. Like Rose's mentioning memory.

They nearly all start off similar with either beginning with 'A girl' or 'She'. The ones that don't follow this trend stuck out to me. Namely, MonoTV's, Min's, Nico's and Teruko's.

Teruko and MonoTV being unique is expected, but Mins and Nicos being unique is a bit strange. As you've read the title of this post, I'm sure you could already guess I wanna talk about Nico's.

Now, 'Everyone confided in her'.

In connection to Mai, we can guess that she was friends with all of the cast, and as a result, knew personal things about them.

We also know that the mastermind knows these things also what with knowing Whit is a light sleeper and Hu's favourite brand of clothing.

From this, we can assume that either Mai is the mastermind, or Mai told the mastermind these things.

And then, quite randomly, Nico is paired up with this statement. Only reason I can think of as to why is because Nico is the one Mai told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MOVING ON

This one's a bit of a stretch but stay with me

Above is Nicos secret quote. Now, we shall assume this quote will follow the trend of eventually being said by whoever it is paired up with. I get that this is already a likely thing for Nico to say regardless if they are the mastermind or not, but I think it makes more sense if Nico is the mastermind.

Alright, Nico starts the killing game out of revenge for Mai. Come Chapter 6 or something, Nico is revealed to be the mastermind. When explaining their reasoning for the killing game, they go on about how it's the casts / Terukos fault in the first place.

(If they are referring to the cast as a whole it makes sense as they refer to it as 'mistakes', multiple mistakes. Aka, more likely done between a group of people compared to just one.)

(If they are referring to Teruko it also makes sense because her real secret is theorised to be 'THE KILLING GAME IS ALL YOUR FAULT'.)

AKA, 'WHY SHOULD I TAKE THE FAULT FOR THE KILLING GAME WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE/S THAT MADE THOSE MISTAKES TOWARDS MAI IN THE FIRST PLACE'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND IF THATS NOT ENOUGH, THERES ONE MORE THING

Above is the placements in the trial

Now, most of them seemingly don't have much significance except for Teruko + David being across from each other cause y'know, Protagonist vs Antagonist

Assume that Nico is the mastermind, aka the one who started the killing game in the first place.

Their placement is across from XANDER, THE ONE WHO WAS DETERMINDED TO END THE KILLING GAME

[m0llygunn]

Apologies and Promises (eddie munson x fem!reader)

Part 3 to Same Old Song and Dance 01 / 02 Summary: Hurt feelings hidden under the shallow guise of anger and indifference, in an inebriated state there’s no choice but to face the layers of truth.

Tropes: enemies to lovers (kind of), mean stubborn idiots in love, honestly idk at this point. Warnings: 18+! mature language, ‘bullying’, forcible wrist holding, pet names (princess, sweetheart, angel, baby), mentions of oral (m receiving), angst, alcohol consumption, vomit mention. Author’s note: I am resisting the urge to over explain why theres no smut and this chapter was needed to progress feelings (i know smut is a selling point IM SORRY... but soon i swear it'll be back). wc: 7.2k+

tags: @needylilgal022 @tlclick73 @ropickle @suethh @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @emma77645 @yujyujj

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You didn’t wait around for him to show but you also didn’t expect to have to wait around for him to show.

You’re not disappointed. Why should you be? You didn’t want him to pick you up anyways. 

If anything, you’re pissed. 

He relentlessly badgered you last night about it. Wouldn’t leave until you agreed to let him drive you to school. He was so insistent, that he nearly slept on your floor using that stupid notebook as a pillow.

You’re not disappointed. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Want me to knock him out?” Steve offers and you can’t help but laugh. 

Steve was dropping off his coworker-turned-best friend, Robin, when you were walking into school. He’s a close family friend— and Nancy’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, so you happily stopped for a chat. 

“Steve. I hate to break it to you but Munson’s a veteran school fighter. He might not win every fight but he’s definitely been in more fights than you.” You say, patting Steve on the cheek as he comically deflates before you.

“Hey! I won the last fight I was in and I’ve been working on my biceps, can’t you tell?” He says, flexing his arms. 

“Yeah, yeah.” You smile, watching Steve flex his unnoticeably larger arms until he rounds up his antics and leans back against his car. “Your dad at that work conference thing too?” You ask, curiously wondering if it really is a work trip your dad’s on right now. 

“Absolutely. Any chance to get away, right?” Steve says with a somber laugh. 

“I know the feeling...any chance.” You reply, nodding your head in agreement.

“Yeah, well.” Steve shrugs. “Might throw a party, might not.” He says indifferently. You perk up at the idea of a party. It’s always the same crowds that show, you know the list of attendees like the back of your hand.

“You should, I can get Nance to come along, maybe you can rekindle.” You say, hitting Steve’s arm. This could be to his benefit too, Nancy has been bringing him up again recently and that’s always the catalyst to the ‘on again’ portion of their relationship.

“You got some kind of insight?” Steve replies, eyes studying you.

You purse your lips, choosing your words wisely. “Can't say. Bad enough I already told you my business, can’t tell you her business too, Stevie.” 

Steve smiles, shaking his head, accepting your answer because he knows that’s as close as he’ll get to you spilling Nancy's secrets. 

He knows all about your rivalry with Munson, and as much as he doesn’t like the guy, he was actually the first one who suggested sleeping with him quite some time ago. It was a joke of course… yet here you are. You figured he deserved to know that he was some sort of prophet, so you filled him in. Not in as much detail as you did with Nancy, but you told him the gist of it. 

Your conversation with Steve simmers to a lull, both of you watching over the crowd of students funnelling from the parking lot into the school. You’re not explicitly looking for it, but you can’t help but notice the lack of a certain obnoxiously loud van. 

“You’re good, right?” Steve asks, shoulder bumping your own.

“Yeah.” You sigh.

“You sure?” He asks again, turning towards you enough to gauge your reaction. You shrug your shoulders.

“Maybe a little embarrassed.” You say, shifting back and forth on your feet, eyes still flickering over the bustling parking lot. 

“Don’t be. Fuck him.” He says making you snort a laugh.

“Fuck him?” You question, smirk playing on your lips.

“No! I mean, unless you want to. But he did stand you up so…” Steve says trailing off. You try to laugh it off but it sounds more like a scoff. 

“Yup. Eddie Munson stood me up.” You say, words rolling off your tongue in a confusing cross between regret and hurt even when you meant for it to be a joke. A laughable comment between two friends who know how you and Eddie interact, who know he’s nothing more than a nuisance to you, nothing more than an incessant house fly that just won’t quit circling you. 

You never thought you’d be saying that in this lifetime. You never thought he’d have the opportunity to stand you up. 

You tell yourself you’re not disappointed, but the words sure do taste like it. 

You shrug your shoulders, shaking off your thoughts. “I should go, bell’s about to ring.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

It was during your second period math quiz. A timid, curly headed freshman knocked on the door interrupting the silence of the room. 

Mrs. Rotman stood from her desk, crossing the room, engaging in a whispered conversation with the boy. She turned to look around the room, eyes flitting over the students before landing on you. She turned back to the boy, whispered something to him and sent him on his way. 

You tried to pretend you were busy doing your quiz but it was hard with her eyes focused on you as she walked in your direction.

“Honey, your fathers in the office for you. Something about a family emergency. Don’t worry about the quiz, sweetie.” She whispered, leaning down to your level with sullen eyes that made your heart rate pick up.

“Family emergency?” You questioned anxiously. 

“Yes dear, go on and head down to the office.” She said, patting your back. 

Leaving behind your quiz that you barely had a chance to start on, you quietly let yourself out of the class. 

Speed walking down the hall, opening the door to the stairwell with enough force for the sound to echo against the cement walls and linoleum floors, you hurry to descend the stairs. With your mind busy, rifling through what potential family emergency would bring your father back to town, you didn’t even notice him standing by the stairwell exit until you stepped down onto the landing. 

There’s a moment before he looks at you. A moment where your heart beats faster. A moment where you’re flooded with scary feelings. A moment were you remember last night. And a moment were you remember this morning.

“Oh for god's sake.” You groan, leaving that moment behind, churning everything into a genuine annoyance because you fell for such a stupid trick. 

“Princess, funny seeing you here. Daddy’s been waiting.” Eddie says, smirk plastered on his face, waiting with his back against the wall, trying to exude some sort of coolness that he doesn’t possess. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You spit, burning hot from the inside out. Eddie deflates in front of you, smirk dropping as he steps away from the wall towards you.

“No?” He says, almost like he’s asking you. 

“Why the fuck would you think this was okay?” You sneer, voice raising in volume. He shrinks further.

“Just wanted to see you.” He shrugs, eyes falling to the ground.

If he 'wanted to see you', he wouldn’t have stood you up. 

“You wanted to see me?” You scoff bewilderedly.

“Yeah, and apologize for this morning.” He says, eyes flickering up to you.

You spin on your heels, ready to explain the situation to Mrs. Rotman and go back to finishing your quiz. You don't want to hear an apology for that.

“Shit— Princess, come back!” He calls after you. You hear feet clambering, catching up to you just as you clear the first set of stairs. His grasp captures your wrist and you get the eeriest sense of deja vu.

“Princess, c’mon, let me apologize.” He says, voice pleading as you try to tug yourself free.

“No. You can apologize to Mrs. Rotman’s math class for interrupting everyone during the quiz.” You huff, using all your weight to try and free yourself. 

“No, let me apologize to you.” He insists. You feel your heart rate pick up and in an instant you spin, startling Eddie with your fast movement. 

“Do you think this is funny, Eddie?” You spit, brows furrowed, face flushing hot in anger.

With his mouth pulled in a flat line, he shrugs. 

You know he's hardly phased by your spitfire and you step closer to up the ante. 

“No, seriously? Are you having fun, Eddie? Answer the question.” You say, burning your gaze into his. 

He doesn't indulge you in an answer, he just looks at you with round eyes. He doesn't cower, he doesn’t spit heated words back, he just remains looking at you with his stupidly big eyes. You're not even sure if his disposition is meant to soothe you, but it does and you hate it. It irons out nearly every wrinkle of anger and you hate it. 

“I know none of this matters to you, Eddie, but it matters to me.” You say, mustering up every blazing emotion you have left in you but it comes out too gentle to be anger.

“What matters to you?” He asks quietly, his face softening, eyes getting impossibly rounder. His grip on your wrist loosens as he steps closer to you. 

You press your lips closed, breathing deeply to compose yourself. Your sentiment is ambiguous, you recognize that. Whether is was purposeful or not is a mystery to even you. You wouldn't admit this matters, whatever this is between you and Eddie, never. You couldn't.

Even if you didn't leave space for ambiguity, you know what he's asking right now. Does he matter to you, does this matter to you?

“School, idiot.” You say quietly. You cover ambiguity by shutting him down and embellishing it with an insult. It's a lie, you both know it. It’s an orchestrated move at this point; he steps right, you step left.

He moves in closer to you, toe to toe, his chest less than arm's length away. His grip on your wrist slides down, stopping just before your palm, inches away from being a hand hold.

“You're only upset because I took you away from your quiz?” He asks quietly, amusement hinting in his tone. His eyes flicker to your lips.

“Yes.” You reply flatly. You lick your lips instinctively and you mentally scold yourself.

“No, you're not.” He laughs softly, eyes only watching your lips now. “You're really that desperate to finish a math quiz?” He asks, amusement becoming forthright.

He does think this is funny and it makes your blood boil. 

“Stop doing that.” You sneer but it comes out weak.

“Stop doing what?” He asks, eyes still unmeeting of yours.

His overconfidence and arrogance buzzes around in your head, spurring on your anger. You feel cornered by him calling your bluff and nothing good has ever come from that, especially when your heart is beating so fast you can't hear your own thoughts.

“Assuming you know me, Eddie. You don’t.” You snap, hammering your words into him like nails in a coffin, punctuating your words with a tug of your wrist but his grasp hardens, not letting you go.

He finally looks up at you, eyes meeting your gaze and you can tell your words stung by the mirrored reflection of hurt. He looks taken aback. Whatever he thought was about to happen, you pulled it out from under him like a mean trick and hurt switches to anger.

“So you’re really only upset because you’re here?” He scoffs, brows pinching.

“I just fucking said that.” You spit back.

“And you’re not at all upset because I didn’t pick you up this morning?” And that's all he has to say to send you into a flighty panic. You won't look truth in the eye, you can't.

“Eddie. Let go.” You seethe, tugging your wrist harshly. You bring your other hand to his in an attempt to pry his fingers off. His grip isn’t enough to hurt you, it’s simply unrelenting, a desperate attempt to finish this conversation.

"Princess—" He starts but you interrupt him, not wanting to hear anymore, not wanting to give him another opportunity to throw your own feelings in your face.

"Let go." You say, your volume raising out of desperation.

“Fine. Just fucking relax for a minute, Jesus Christ.” He groans, when you start swatting at his forearm. His own annoyance rises and it pisses you off because what does he have to be annoyed about? He’s not the one that got stood up. 

“I am relaxed!” You shriek, squeezing your eyes shut and stamping your foot. 

Eyes still closed, you listen to your own voice echoing off the walls, forcing you to hear yourself. It sounds like a reverb of hurt between the two of you. Despite the meaningless message your words attempt to convey, it sounds like a slip of honesty, a slip of your true feelings and how he’s affected them. It sounds tears short of being an angered cry.

A beat passes before the echoes subside, leaving the two of you in silence.

“Princess.” Eddie whispers softly. His voice isn’t loud like yours, it doesn’t vibrate off the walls but it still echoes in your consciousness, occupying a space hugged tightly next to your heartbeat. 

You feel fingertips ghost over your cheeks, delicate in nature despite residing in the antagonistic warland that you and Eddie have fostered together. Your heart catches in your throat and you hate it. 

Your face pinches in its default anger. You ready yourself to scold him, but when you open your eyes and all you see is soft, warm brown staring back at you, it doesn’t come. You hate it. 

He closes his grasps on your face, both hands holding you gently by the jaw. Both hands.

Your wrist set free, you pull away, storming back down the stairs. He steps forward, you run away— another orchestrated move.

Hearing yourself is too much, you need air. You need somewhere where your own thoughts can't reverb like your words against cement and linoleum. You need something to get you thinking straight.

Scuffing sneakers echo behind you as you clear the staircase, cross the foyer, and push open the door to the parking lot. You expect a hand around your wrist again but it doesn’t come. 

You slow to a walk and so does he, his steps crunching on the pebble covered pavement as he trails behind you quietly.

You round the corner of the building before leaning against the wall, expectant hand held out towards Eddie.

He tentatively raises his arm, fingers grazing yours, palm just barely ghosting your own, before you smack him away.

“No you idiot, cigarette.” You say, exhaling deeply. 

He mumbles an embarrassed apology before digging through his pocket.

“Here.” He says quietly, passing over his carton of camels.

You pull one out, placing it between your lips, Eddie’s eyes watching your every move. Flickering the lighter that was tucked into the empty space of the box, you light it up, smoke pluming from the corners of your lips as you take your first drag. Eddie swallows harshly, lost in thought.

“Well?” You snap, his eyes fleeting back to yours. 

“R-right. I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up this morning, princess. I’m really really sorry.” He says softly, strumming the chords of your heart with his words. You hate it.

“Why should you be sorry about that, I didn’t want you to anyways.” You say, trying to sound indifferent. You don’t though. You hear your own voice just like you did in the stairwell and you sound like a little kid who hasn’t quite mastered the art of fibbing. It’s a jejune lie, not even a good one.

“I said I would though, and I didn’t. I’m sorry.” He says, round eyes set on you.

The sun glimmers against his hair making the wavy brown strands look golden, a perfect match to the gold in the eyes staring at you right now.

He’s genuinely sorry, you believe him, and you hate it.

Continuing on your juvenile streak, you pocket his lighter before handing back his carton. You know he sees you do it but he doesn’t say anything. 

“Whatever, Eddie.” You mumble, taking a drag from your cigarette. 

You let your head fall against the brick behind you, eyes scanning thoughtlessly over the surrounding thick tree line. Eddie takes a step, his shoulder hitting the wall as he leans against it, still facing you. 

“Don't you wanna know where I was?” He asks carefully, a testing tease lingering around his words.

“Not really, but I have a feeling you’re gonna tell me anyway.” You retort, folding your arms over your chest, your burning cigarette skillfully held out to not get ash on yourself. Eddie exhales a light laugh before leaning into you. 

“Well, princess.” He starts, leaning in even closer. “I accidentally slept in because I was too busy staying up all night thinking about this girl who gave me the best head of my life.”

“Gross.” You scoff, hiding your smile by taking another drag.

“Fuck yeah. It was certified sloppy toppy. I think I was reborn yesterday, died and got as close to heaven as I ever will.” He says, body twisting so his head knocks against the brick wall dramatically. 

“Now you're just sucking up.” You grimace, taking another drag.

He laughs softly before the both of you fall into a quiet lull. You partially expected him to make some kind of joke out of ‘sucking up’ but he doesn’t. Only the sound of trees blowing in the wind can be heard, along with scattered chirps of birds in the distance.

“Are you still mad at me?” He asks, breaking the silence. You let your eyes flicker to him before focusing back on your barely burnt cigarette. You drop it, stomping it out under your shoe. It was a waste of a cigarette, but Eddie doesn’t say anything.

“I wasn’t mad at you.” You reply, facing towards the tree line again. 

“Okay, princess.” He sings, clearly not believing you. “But everything aside… we’re good?” He asks, watching you carefully.

“Eddie.” You exhale. That’s a big thing for him to ask of you and he doesn’t even realize it. How can you say that everything between the two of you is good when… What even is there between the two of you? Are you even friends? It's another truth you're not willing to face.

“Princess, tell me we’re okay or else you’ll keep me up another night.” He says, slouching his shoulders. 

“You’re being dramatic.” You laugh. He steps closer to you, hand raising and grasping a piece of your hair. You watch in your periphery as he swirls it between his fingers.

“I’ll never get another wink of sleep, I’m begging you. Tell me we’re okay or tell me how to fix it.” He says, tiptoeing even closer to you.

“Eddie.” You laugh again, shaking your head. The hair between his fingers falls but he’s quick to reach for the strands that fell into your face, skillfully tucking it behind your ear.

“All I’m asking for is your forgiveness. What d’you say, angel?” He whispers. You turn your head, looking at him skeptically with raised brows. 

“Angel? I think that’s hardly a fitting name.” You scoff.

“Trust me, it’s fitting. After last night.” He says, hand retreating from you to grab his heart dramatically, throwing his body back against the brick wall in a swoon. 

“Suck up.” You say trying to hide your amusement. You watch him as he continues his antics, biting your lip to hide your smile. 

He turns to you, looking up through his lashes, feigning a faux innocence.

“So what d’ya say, princess?" He questions, quirking a brow at you. "Want me to kiss it better?” He asks with a deep grin, eyes amusedly awaiting your response. 

You pause, not necessarily thinking about his offer but more so distracted by the way the sun reflects off of his eyes making them glow golden again.

He takes your pause as a yes, stepping into you, hands grabbing behind your ears, cradling your neck. He presses sloppy kisses all over your cheeks and up to your forehead, all while you protest through giggles. It’s sickeningly sweet. Truly sickening. You hate it.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Why’d you ask my friends where I was yesterday, princess? Are you, like, obsessed with me?” Eddie mocks into your ear startling you.

“Oh no.” You groan to yourself, flashing Nancy a preemptive apologetic look. 

“Princess, d’ya happen to have a lighter? Mine seems to have gone missing.” He says, moving on from his original remark, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. 

“No, sorry. I don’t smoke, it’s a dirty habit.” You say flatly, keeping your focus on your lunch and Nancy sitting across from you.

“Oh, that’s crazy I could have sworn I saw you hanging out in the back of the school with some guy smoking earlier? I must have been mistaken.” He says, arm wrapping around your shoulder as he throws one leg over the cafeteria bench, straddling it. 

“We weren’t ‘hanging out’.” You scoff.

“Right, right. I was groveling, my bad, princess.” He laughs. 

You look up at Nancy and she’s shaking her head, lips pursed tightly, holding back her ‘I-told-you-so’ smile. Eddie doesn't typically bother you at lunch, so to Nancy, this very much looks like him 'getting worse'.

“Eddie, don't you have somewhere else to sit?” You say, shrugging his arm off your shoulder. 

“What? Can’t come have lunch with my girl?” He teases, scooting closer to you, his knee pushing against your thigh, your shoulder practically resting against his chest. 

“I just barely forgot about the stunt you pulled earlier, you’re pushing your luck, Munson.” You warn.

“Don’t call me that.” He says flatly.

“Munson? That’s your name, isn’t it?” You laugh.

“Nope, not to you it isn’t.” He replies flatly, grabbing a grape off your lunch tray before you can stop him. 

“Is there a reason you’re here?” You say, his arrogance pinching at your agitation.

“Lighter.” He sings, eyes sparkling with amusement meeting yours, stealing another grape in the process. Turning his head, he focuses on Nancy. “Wheeler, how’s it going?”

“Good.” She laughs, still shaking her head. 

“Heard you tattled on me to Princess.” He says, eyebrows raised, a smile playing on his face.

“Eddie, leave her alone.” You huff. You feel his hand raise up your back, settling slowly, before rubbing back and forth. He leans in closer to you, face brushing against your hair.

“Gotta share the attention sometimes, princess.” He whispers just loud enough for you to hear. His breath tickles the shell of your ear and you feel your heart rate pick up.

You sit up straighter, Eddie’s chin knocking into your shoulder as you reach into your front pants pocket.

“Lighter. There. Leave.” You say, finding his free hand to push it into his hold. 

“Good girl.” He teases, quickly pulling you closer to him with a hand on your waist, pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

You feel yourself burning hot and it takes everything in you not to hit him back with some sort of insult but you know if you do he’ll just stick around for longer. 

He gets up from the bench with a coy wave of his fingers and a polite nod to Nancy, disappearing into the crowd of the lunch room.

“Nancy, if you say ‘I told you so’, I swear to god.” You say, holding back your smile as you watch your friend’s eyes burst with amusement. 

“I wasn’t going to say I told you so!” She laughs. 

“I can see it in your eyes Nancy, I know you’re dying to say it.” You reply.

“I won’t say it… but I will say that you’re blushing pretty hard right now.”

“Out of embarrassment! That was embarrassing, Nancy.”

“People aren’t usually that smiley after being embarrassed.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Eddie kept his eyes on the prize all night. Not in a creepy way, just to make sure you were okay… and because he just liked looking at you. You were making it awfully hard though, the way you kept disappearing between the groups of people occupying Harrington’s infamous Saturday night party. 

His goal was to sell what he needed to sell, then he could have his fun. So when he sold his last eighth, his heart rate picked up as he bounded through the waves of people to find you. 

He would be lying if he said he didn’t get a pang of nerves when he finally found you, all alone in the kitchen, getting yourself a drink. 

Steve decided late Friday night that the party was on. He called you up and from there you called Nancy. It’s a practiced drill at this point, Steve calls a few people, who call a few more people, and the word gets around pretty quickly. Eddie got news that night, and it was a given he would sell. He always sells at Harrington parties, similar to how you’re always drinking at them. 

“All your friends scurry off on you, Princess?” An all too familiar voice says right into your ear.

“No.” You say flatly, turning to see Eddie at your side. 

“That’s funny, I only see you.” He says, eyes teasingly looking around you before settling back to meet your gaze.

“You should get your eyes checked, there’s like 20 other people in here.” You say, motioning to all the other bodies occupying the room. 

“You know what I mean.” Eddie says, hip bumping yours gently as you pour from a bottle of something highly alcoholic into your cup. 

“Do I?” You laugh before quickly shooting back your drink. 

“Look at her, she’s a professional.” Eddie teases as you scrunch your face through the burning sensation in your throat, some of the liquid spilling down the corners of your lips from your overzealous tilt of the cup. Without as much as a second though, Eddie’s hand raises to you, wiping your chin dry. 

“Why are you so nice now?” You ask, leaning closer to him so he can hear you over the music. 

“I’m not.” He smiles, eyes leaving yours to watch as you set the empty cup down on the counter. He knows he’s lying, you both do. 

“Is it because I sucked your dick?” You giggle.

You take another step closer to him where he leans against the counter. His eyes meet yours again with a mixture of amusement and shock looming on the surface of his gaze.

“You’re more drunk than you look, princess” He holds your gaze, amusement taking the reigns until his eyes lower to the short distance you’ve created between the two of you. 

“I’m not drunk.” You scoff, rolling your eyes. Eddie watches you, you can tell he’s smiling and you’re not even looking at him. 

“Where’s Wheeler gone? You were with her all night.” He asks, changing the subject. You turn your head, meeting his gaze, lifting your eyebrows as you decipher his question. 

“You were watching me all night?” You ask teasingly, a smile playing on your lips. 

“Princess.” He exhales, rolling his own eyes jokingly. The way his little nickname for you rolls off his tongue makes your already dizzy head spin. 

“She went upstairs with Steve.” You answer, letting your hand rest on the counter, pinky brushing the material of his jeans where he leans against the marble countertop. 

“I hope she’s not as drunk as you are.” He replies, eyes on your fingers as you continue to brush them against him. You shake your head. You could tell him that their rendezvous was premeditated, and a recurring pattern between the two, but you don’t want to talk about them. 

“Aren’t you just the sweetest? First you took care of me when I was sick, now you’re looking out for my friends. Such a sweet boy.” You coo, leaning into Eddie, removing your hand from the countertop and placing it flat on his chest to stabilize yourself. 

“Baby, I think you're too drunk, look at you being sweet.” He laughs and you dip your head, hiding the way his words affect you. You’re always ‘princess’, never ‘baby’. It makes your heart beat faster and your skin prickle.

You can’t help but notice how he doesn’t touch you though. He’s always poking and prodding at you in one way or another. Last time you saw him, he was all hands and kisses to your cheeks, but now, nothing.

“Did you make a lot of money tonight?” You ask, stepping in closer to him, your thigh pressing into his as you stand beside him.

“I did good enough.” He shrugs, arms staying closely to his sides and it almost makes you want to pout. He should be grabbing your hand or twirling your hair, doing what he always does. 

“You were busy all night.” You mumble, your head down, watching as you kick at his shoe before stepping over it with one foot. Still leaning against the counter, he shifts, arms moving at his side and you almost get excited before you realize he's just crossing them over his chest. You lower your hand, sitting it closer to his hip as you move to stand directly in front of him. 

“You were watching me all night?” He mocks, copying your same lilt.

“I set myself up for that one didn’t I?” You whisper, head down. He’s still not touching you.

“You did.” He replies, exhaling a laugh. You rest your other hand on his crossed arms, hoping he’ll get the hint but he doesn’t and you sigh, slouching into yourself. 

“What’s wrong, princess?” He asks, quietly.

“You.” You reply flatly. 

“Yeah, but you’re all pouty. You don’t pout. You scowl. Yell. Threaten violence.” He teases gently, dipping his face enough to meet your gaze. 

“You’re not touching me.” You mumble, words so quiet you can barely hear them yourself over the blaring music.

“What was that, sweetheart?” Eddie asks, leaning his ear closer to you. You step in closer to him, pushing your way between his legs.

“I said, you’re not touching me.” You grumble, annoyed that you have to repeat yourself. Even more annoyed when he hears you and still doesn’t touch you. You huff, pushing your body flat against his, but he stops you, hands on your shoulders holding you away from him.

“Princess, I can’t. You’re drunk.” He says firmly, serious eyes meeting yours. Your knee shakes as you try to stop yourself from stomping your foot. 

“You can. You just want to piss me off.” You say, funnelling all of your emotions and forcing them into a short lived anger. 

“Trust me, that’s not why.” He says softly, thumbs rubbing gentle circles on your shoulders. You happily focus on his simple caresses on your bare skin, but the feeling it gives you just leaves you wanting more.

“You're touching me right now, Eddie. Just keep doing that.” You whine, giving him your best pout paired with doe-eyes. His gaze soften, eyes fluttering over your features.

“You’re trouble, you know that?” He says, flashing you a small smile.

“You like it though, that’s why you keep coming back.” You whisper. Eddie’s mouth pulls in a flat line and you think you might have said something wrong. His grip on your shoulders falls and you’re sure you did.

You’re sure you did until you feel his hands meet your waist, pulling you towards him. Your hands slip up his chest and around his neck and you hug yourself to him tightly. You absorb every ounce of him you can, every inebriated sense of yours captivated and buzzing with feelings and flutters. Even through the thump of the bass vibrating throughout the kitchen, you swear you hear his heart, or maybe it’s yours, either way it doesn’t matter because Eddie Munson is holding you just like you wanted him to. 

“I was waiting for you to come find me.” You whisper into the skin peeking out of the collar of his shirt as you press your head to his shoulder.  

In the bustling of the party, you stand chest to chest, arms wrapped around each other like this was the only way things were meant to be. He responds to you through the movement of his hands, rubbing up and down your back, touching you, just like you asked. Soothing you like you didn’t know he could. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Eddie, you’re not doing it right, you’re supposed to just come in. I’m not supposed to have to ask you.” You whine. 

“Princess, I can’t.” He says, smiling as you try to tug him through the front door of your house. 

“You can, you did it before, remember?” You say, giving him your best pout.

“You were sick.” He says, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he stands firmly outside, your tugs not making him budge in the slightest. 

“I'm going to be sick right now, if you don’t come inside.” You whine, punctuating your words with little stomps of your feet.

You may have taken a few more shots after Eddie broke up your hug earlier. You knew you had him at that point so maybe you took them just to spite him. It made sense at the time and as the night progressed, you were right. He was by your side the whole time, never more than an arm's length away. And when it was time to go home, you didn’t even have to ask, he was already offering you a ride and guiding you to his van.

“Princess, you’re killing me.” He says exasperatedly through a smile before stepping into the doorway. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Jesus, just drink the water, princess.” Eddie laughs. 

“I’ll do it if you lay down with me.” You say stubbornly. He shakes his head and you drop yourself down onto your pillow. “Please, Eddie. Please.” You plead, your eyes catching the dizzy image of him in the lowlight of your room.

“Drink the water and I’ll think about it.” He says sternly.

“Lay down and I’ll think about it.” You mock, copying his tone.

“You are so…” He laughs, trailing off.

“Good at giving blowjobs?” You giggle, filling in his sentiment. His gaze drops to the floor as he sits on the edge of your bed, shaking his head in disbelief of the moment. 

“I was gonna say ‘impossible’.” He corrects with a laugh. 

You furrow your brows. In attempts to prove him wrong you sit up, taking the water from him and silently finish it small swallow by small swallow until your belly feels impossibly full of water. 

“Done.” You huff, falling back to your pillow dramatically. 

“Good.” He says, hand patting your calf that’s sprawled against the comforter next to him. 

“No. Good girl.” You say, correcting him through giggles. He squeezes your calf, before sitting up enough to put the glass down on your bedside table. 

“Good girl.” He says to appease you, smirk heavy in his features. 

“Was I good enough for you to lay down?” You ask, flashing him innocent eyes. He exhales deeply and even in your spinning state, you know he’s weighing his options. His eyes track the span of the bed before looking back at you, seriousness written across his features.

“No funny business.” He says firmly, making sure to make eye contact so you know he’s serious.

“No funny business.” You agree, nodding your head waiting for him to give in. 

“Only for a few minutes. Sober you wouldn’t want me here.” He says, removing his jacket and tossing it to the floor.

“Yes she would.” You mumble with a pout but quickly get excited when Eddie starts shuffling to lay down. You prop yourself up ready to cozy into him but he stops you.

“Nuh-uh. On your side of the bed, princess.” He says, motioning for you to lay back down. You throw yourself to the mattress with a whined cry. 

“You’re no fun.” You huff, whine building in your chest.

“I’m not here to have fun, princess. This is serious business.” He laughs. 

You continue pouting on your side of the bed, turning enough to watch as Eddie settles into your mattress. His hair sprawls over your pillow, just like before, his throat bobbing as he swallows before turning his head to you.

“Go to sleep.” He says and your jaw drops. His lips curl into a smile, eyes dancing in amusement. 

“You’re mean, you couldn’t even say goodnight? Just go to sleep?” You shrill, trying to focus your gaze on Eddie to get your glare across. 

“Go to sleep.” He repeats, smirking as he reaches his arm to your bedside table, switching the light off, leaving you both in the low glow of the moonlight that sweeps in through your half open curtains. 

“Eddie, I can’t unless you say it nicely.” You argue.

“Princess. Please go to sleep.” He says with teasing lilt.

“No.” You giggle.

“I said it nicely, c’mon princess.” He groans.

“Eddie.” You whine, hearing the annoyance in his voice.

“Princess.” He mocks.

You scan your eyes over him, the low light helping you find where his hand lays at his side. Quietly, you tiptoe your fingers across the mattress until you brush against his hand. Before you can close your grasp, he rips it away with a tut. 

“Eddie, I held your hand when you wanted me to.” You whine.

“That was different.” He replies.

“No it wasn’t! Just hold my hand.” You say, pushing yourself up to try and grab his hand where it lies on his stomach now.

“Lay back down.” He laughs pulling himself further away from you. You drop yourself to the bed, your bottom lip quivering. It’s not for dramatics though, you know Eddie wouldn’t be able to see it.

“No. I’m tired of doing this, I just want you to hold my hand.” You whisper back. Eddie says some kind of teasing response but you ignore it, feeling too lost in the spinning of your head. 

In your current state, you feel a lot of things. Most importantly, you’re confused. These nights usually end with Nancy and Steve. Eddie's existence would have never even crossed your mind, but now, all you want is to be close to him. It doesn’t help that he’s been making you practically beg for his attention all night. It might seem sudden, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to you when you feel your eyes grow wet. Your breathing starts to come out in harsh whines from your stomach that get caught in your throat.

When the first tear falls it feels catastrophic. It feels destructive, disastrous even. It feels like a break in your guard and you aren’t quick enough to catch it. There’s no snark left in the world that could patch this up right now. So you hide.

Pushing your face into your pillow, your tears free fall.

You feel shifting on the bed and you push your face further into the pillow.

“Are you crying?” Eddie asks softly, sounding closer to you now.

You don’t offer a response, your throat feels too tight to speak. You feel like you’re drowning in more than just tears.

“Princess, don’t cry.” He replies gently, all teasing gone from his voice. “I’ll hold your hand, here.” He finds your hand, taking it in his but it’s too late. The floodgates are open, set on their path of destruction, open to exposing damage.

His hand wraps around yours and you feel small. Not because of the size difference but because there’s a reason you don’t show these feelings. There’s a reason it’s easier for you to scowl and yell. This side feels too bare, too soft, too uncomfortable. It’s unfamiliar and scary. It feels like offering yourself up to impending disappointment. It feels like waiting for someone to pick you up and they don’t. 

He pulls your hair, you pull his back. He stands you up, what can you do besides pretend it didn’t hurt?

You should yell, you should scold, you should threaten violence. You should tear your hand away, kick him out.

But you don’t. You couldn’t, not anymore. Not right now.

You just want Eddie, all games aside. You want him in the silence of the night, not through the bass of the music where one of you has to move left while the other moves right. You don’t want to dance the line of whatever this is anymore. 

You pull his hand, willing him to come closer, a silent plea through your tears, and he does. He shifts closer until you're pressed to him, your intertwined hands hugged between your chests as his other hand wraps around you, resting against your back. He soothes you with quiet promises of everything being okay intermixed with his own apologies that only make you cry harder. 

Maybe you’re not the whole reason that you two have ended up here, but you’re half of it, and it takes two to play this game. If you tap out, you’re half of the way to it being over.

If you walk away and he follows, isn’t that just the game changing again? A game of cat and mouse?

Maybe all these metaphors are stupid. Maybe they’re all a figment of your imagination that blossomed as a child from the first time he pulled your hair. Maybe you’re too old for these playground antics. Maybe you’re too old to not say how you feel. 

“I was sad when you didn’t come to pick me up.” You whisper, your sob-filled secret sailing into the darkness of the room as if his chest wasn’t there to catch your secret. 

Your words are as much for you as they are for him, you couldn’t admit your hurt before, but now you do. 

Truth tastes soft in your mouth, not at all like the burn of alcohol you’ve drowned yourself in. It’s not sweet, it doesn’t fix everything, it just creates a storm in your belly. A fight between everything you know, everything you’ve done, and something new. It’s unnatural, it makes you feel sick. 

“I know, princess. I’m sorry.” He whispers in return, his hand rubbing against your back. You imagine with every pass of his hand on your back he’s helping you fight the furries of the storm rising inside of you, but with the storm rising, there is nowhere else for these feelings to go but up. 

“I don’t want you to say sorry, I just don’t want you to do it again.” You cry.

Your throat constricts as you feel bile rising. 

“I won’t. I promise, okay?” He says softly. His words would have eased every metaphorical storm inside you, but this storm has turned literal, you’re about to vomit.

“Eddie, I'm gonna be sick.”

It’s a rush of limbs and a dash down the hall. Everything pours from you, every uncried tear, every burn, every furry, every roar of the storm. Everything you know, everything you’ve done, it all leaves you. And in its wake all you have left is Eddie’s hand rubbing your back, telling you it’s okay. It’s soft and unnatural but you let it absorb you entirely. It burrows into you, finding a place you never knew existed, a place where softness thrives and doesn’t need to be hidden by the guise of anger and indifference.

Eddie brings you back to your bed and in the silence of the night, apologies and promises lay side by side, holding hands. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[soothinglee]

rainy days⏤✰

lee felix x reader | 0.8k✔︎

my notes⎯ I hope you like this one! I personally love when it rains so why not combine my two favorites! lets cross our fingers and hope I can get another story out by tomorrow. also I found that I get a lot of inspo at 4 a.m, something about the peace and quiet!

warnings ⎯ none! just some (failed) light-hearted humor.

genre⎯ fluff

songs⎯ prelude in e minor, op. 28, no. 4

⎯ catalog for skz✰

the forecast on the news had told viewers that there was an expectant rain shower coming in from the south. nothing too heavy where you had to be worried about ringing out your drenched socks and fighting back when the wind upturns your umbrella.

that weather man is a liar.

the downpour that hits your windows drums in a consistent pattern, puddles of rain water pools on the window ledge, the wood begins to warp after countless efforts of stopping the leak from the cracks in the seal, ultimately ending in vain.

you had ditched the soaked towels for a warm cup of tea, wrapped in a wool blanket on your couch as a re-run of some over-rated show plays on the monitor. it had be only 30 minutes since you last heard from felix; he had texted you notifying that practices had ended early due to the unpredictable storm coming in, how chan firmly told them to stay safe on the way home and how 'fatherly like' he was acting.

in return you heart his message and send back a- he's right! no texting while driving! see you soon!

due to the rain clouds hovering over the sun the sky had darken in the short amount of time it took felix to get home, and when he did he did not try to hide it.

from the kitchen, where you were huddled over the kettle on the stove, you heard the front door smack open and seconds later a loud squelching sound.

"babe?" he drawls out, unmoving from where he stands, "can you uh, can you come here?" theres a comical desperation in his voice and you can't help the chuckle that slips from your lips.

you ditch the mug in your hand to cater to your helpless boyfriend, who stands there with his arms eagle spread, hair stuck to his forehead and neck like glue. there was a faint smell to him that started to over power the candle you had light awhile ago.

"phew," you huff, holding your nose walking towards him. a amused smile graces your lips, "you smell bad."

he rolls his eyes and lets you take his jacket off his back and watches you drop it to the floor, "yeah yeah, just hurry please? it's starting to get itchy and I don't know if its me or outside but something isn't right."

"yeah you think?" felix lets out a laugh and attempts to grab you with his wet sleeve but you manage to slip away in due time, though not without a scar. the backside of your sweater has a long wet strip in the middle of it. "look at what you did to me!"

"how about you quit complaining and help me!"

"nobody told you to go out and not bring an umbrella."

"(name)!" he takes his second jacket off and leaves it where the other lays and begins to remove his shoes. he takes a second to look at it, then at you, and then tips it over. a bucket full of water pours from the sole and onto the circle carpet underneath him.

as you stand there you can't help the horrific expression that makes its way onto your face. neither of you say a word as you watch the last couple droplets fall before you sniffle and shake your head blankly, "that's just disgusting."

felix, with the same expression says, "tell me about it, I wore it."

after a second you shake your head to clear the revulsion and go to grab all the discarded clothes. they feel ten times more heavy in your arms due to them being in a bundle so you rush towards the laundry room to leave them there. on your way you shout to felix, "go in the kitchen and finish off the tea! I started it before you came in."

Felix makes a delighted noise and you hear his bare feet smack against the floorboards, "for me?"

you roll your eyes though he can't see it and round the corner to where he stands hovering over the sugar and honey, "duh, but save me some."

"of course." his voice comes out as a soft mumble and you can't help but smile.

both of you stand there in each other company. it was peaceful, the sound of the rainfall against the roof of your apartment, fighting its way inside through the windows. the occasional clink of the spoon to the mug as felix stirs in the sugar. no bright overhead lighting, the only source of lumination was the small table lamp in the next room. you close your eyes to take it in. it made you feel serene.

a light weight is pressed onto your shoulder and you open your eyes to find felix looking at you with a glimmer of concern, "you okay?" he whispers, careful not to rip the ambiance with his voice.

you hum, a gentle smile taking over your face as you lean forward and place your head on his hand, "never felt better."

[starrywyatt]

chapter 6: maybe fall in love with your friends? who knows

☆ never saw it comin'- a george clarkey story ☆

! THIS STORY READS BEST IN DARK MODE !

intro

chapter 1

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

george's pov:

i woke up the next morning and i realised i had dreamt about madison the night before. nothing suspect, just a recap of sitting and eating with her in her flat. but i've been hanging around with her recently, so that's normal right? i open my instagram and she's the first post that appears, i literally can't escape her from my mind or in real life.

she looks like she's enjoying herself in new york and that makes me happy but i would be lying if i said i hadn't missed her being around. chris is pretty occupied with abi and arthur's been in the studio all week so i've been by myself quite a lot. i filmed a video with calfreezy a couple weeks ago and i met this girl called erin. i then ended up bumping into her again on a night out, she was coming across pretty strong and she did try to kiss me but for some reason i just couldn't do it. despite how attractive she was, something just felt wrong and i just couldn't put my finger on it.

madison's pov

i exited the hotel and paparazzi were waiting for me again and it piles on the pre-existing nerves i was feeling about the show and my performance. i get into the taxi and olivia runs me through the schedule for the day but to be honest i wasn't paying much attention, i'll just go where people tell me.

we arrive to the studios and i am directed to a dressing room. "we'll need you for soundcheck in 30 minutes" a woman with a clipboard tells me. i sit on my phone and for some reason decide now was a good time to search up my name on twitter...

@user1:

madison scott is literally mother, i love her she could never do wrong in my eyes

@user2:

i remember the days that fallon had proper talent on, now they have idiots like madison scott???

@user3:

if madison scott has no fans i am dead

@user4:

i can't be the only one that thinks theres something going on with madison scott and arthur hill

what? this made me laugh, how have they drawn that conclusion, i guess i've been spending a lot of time with their group recently but that's so funny to me that's what outsiders have taken from it, that i'm dating arthur? speaking of, i receive a text from george...

friends. friends. why does that word feel like a knife to the chest? because that's literally what we are.

don't get me wrong, i'm not completely fine now but maybe george is right i just need to enjoy the moment and believe in myself. there's a knock of the door and i'm suddenly whisked away to soundcheck.  i was going to sing the smallest man who ever lived' (originally by taylor swift) as it was one of the most popular songs on the album and this is arguably the biggest performance of my career so to use it so shit on my ex boyfriend is fun.

few hours later...

george's pov:

i had spent most of the day in my room but erin kept texting me and it was almost annoying me that i couldn't bring myself to be interested in her as she's a lovely, attractive girl and we have lots of things in common but i just can't get madison out of my mind...my thoughts are interrupted by chris and abi bursting into the living room, which i wasn't expecting just yet. "what time's madi on?" abigail says, sitting down on the sofa. "in like 2 hours" i say, looking down at my phone.

chris and abigail take over the tv and put modern family on for the next couple hours. "this is mine and madi's favourite. we watch it together all the time" abigail says before resting her head on chris' shoulder. i watch the first few episodes with them but i need the toilet and allow myself a few minutes to think. maybe i should pursuit erin so no one gets suspicious or thinks that i might like madi? no, that's mean to erin.

i walk back into the living room and it was now only 10 minutes until the show starts and both abi and chris had fell asleep. in all fairness it was almost 5am but i felt bad for madison if no one was watching, so i turn off the tv and make my way to my bedroom. i decide to watch it in here instead of risking waking the other two up. i find the website with 2 minutes to go. i take a photo of the screen and send it to madi to let her know i'm watching.

the show begins and there's a couple random segments and adverts before madison comes out. i can't lie i was getting very tired but i'd made it this far i wasn't going sleep now.

"please welcome our next guest all the way from london! she's been smashing the charts and is now about to go on a sold out tour, it's madison scott!" jimmy introduces her and she walks out waving with the biggest smile on her face and i find myself smiling with her. "take a seat, take a seat" jimmy says and she sits down on the iconic interview chairs. they talk about her album and her tour. "i mean you must be having the time of your life?" jimmy asks. "yeah, i mean last year was pretty tough but you know i worked through it and got an album out of it and recently i've met some really special people and life's finally on the right tracks" she smiles. special people, ey? "right right, are you back on the dating scene? can i ask you that?" he says, slightly nervous to ask. "yeah, you can. but no, not at the moment. i think it would really have to take the right person you know, i'm having so much with my friends but maybe someone will come along. who knows?" she laughs nervously. "exactly, you're so young! have fun and maybe fall in love with your friends? who knows!" he says cheekily, and they both laugh. "maybe" she shrugs. she needs the right person? damn, what did her last boyfriend do. am i one of them special friends? i hope so.

they play a game of accent challenges and madi does terribly at it and i know i'll bully her for it later. but now it comes time for her to sing. she chose to sing 'the smallest man who ever lived' (originally by taylor swift). i didn't know this one very well as it wasn't quite gym material and also doesn't really relate to me but i was excited to see her perform it. she appears on the screen and i can see her hands shaking. i hope she remembers what i told her.

as she sings, i can see more emotion building up inside her and then the bridge hits and she just explodes but in the best way possible. the performance is literally perfection. she hits every note and it's full of so much emotion that it actually worries me a tiny bit that she's upset. she finishes the performance and all that previous confidence disappears and she stands there smiling nervously and i look down and realise i'm clapping like an idiot with the audience, i guess i was just that engrossed. the show ends and the credits roll. i reach my phone and immediately text her...

madison's pov:

i'm still in shock george actually stayed awake to watch my performance. i know he mentioned it but i kinda thought he was joking. the thought of him watching made me smile like an idiot. for god sake, how has he got me like this?

i get into the taxi which is heading to the airport. i decide to make an instagram post to commemorate the performance...

i am driving to the airport and looking out my window. i literally accomploished one of my biggest dreams, performing in new york! like it's crazy that little old me is here!

we make it on the plane and thankfully i sleep most of the flight so it passes pretty quickly. we make it through security and then i have to decide if i want to go straight to george, chris and arthur's or go home first. i decide i should probably drop my bags off and shower first.

thank god i napped on the plane because it was going to be a long evening...

[oh-my-may]

I FINISHED CHAPTER 12! (Basically... PS says I have like 7% remaining and that is probably gonna be leaving the Gold Saucer again so... yeah)

I HAVE THOUGHTS BRO.

Zack??? ZACK FAIR??? How dare you be the most beautiful gorgeous cute man ever. His sections always manage to have me tear up. The ending of this game is SO gonna hurt me my god.

My date was with Aerith... which i didn't mind but Cloti for the win you know. Aerith, girl, Zack is somewhere out there!

Didn't bother with any of the new minigames at the Saucer yet, since I wasn't a fan of a lot of them the first time around. Will probably only do it after finishing main story, since some of the exchangeable rewards are very nice.

Loveless was wonderful. Teared up seeing Jessie again. The song was so moving. The party acting as the main cast had me rolling tho. THE WAY YOU COULD CHOOSE BARRET AS YOUR TRUE LOVE? They're so unserious. The little game mechanics were a little confusing tho. I swear I don't have a left-right-weakness but this part had me questioning. Managed to get score A but still... wish there would havd been earlier triggers that told you what button to press... but maybe that's just me.

BUT THE COLOSSEUM HAD ME QUESTIONING EVERYTHING. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BASICALLY 6 ROUNDS OF FIGHTING BACK TO BACK AND THERES ONLY ONE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE YOUR EQUIPMENT. The first two rounds were easy, when they brought put the Tonberry I was having war flashbacks to the boss fight in Corel. Didn't expect a round 4, but Aerirh and Phoenix came through for me <3

THE TURKS AGAIN THO??? Listen, I'm a proclaimed Turks lover okay. I love them. My pookies. BUT YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME FIGHT THEM A THIRD TIME NOW?? Elena is always easier to handle, Rude kinda annoying still but we got through it. Wanted to take this opportunity to say how much I love Elena being such a hater. And her having the most bone chilling horror movie scream when you land a hit or pressure her. Queen.

BUT THEN RUFUS??? ALONE AS CLOUD??? I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure bro. I hate blonde men. Had to restart several times to get his patterns down. Was very upset with my inability tp dodge, usually I play my fights pretty head-on offensive... I was shaking crying throwing up until I had Rufus down to like half his health. Kujata on Cloud really helped me idk. Darkstar was annoying, but got him down eventually after using Clouds Limit TWICE. Almost died when Rufus was only like 3% HP remaining. The way I was shaking when it was finally over... damn. Never wanna do that again but I had already heard that the Rufus fight was pretty annoying...

Cait's betrayal was nothing new to me, I did know about it. Still made me sad ofc. THE WAY YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH HIM AFTERWARDS? I'm heartbroken.

Now it's off to the Temple/The Promised Land. Very curious what the last 2 Chapters are gonna bring. Heard 13 was quite long, but I wanna try and play it all now without any more interruptions... gonna play side quests and minigames later. Maybe I'll even be able to finish this weekend, which would be nice. I'm on vacation next week and won't be home...

So that's that. Enjoy some screenshots I took during this chapter!

[blood-gulch]

grace blood-gulch's s14 episode ranking list because i am so special and have lots of thoughts on every episode ever :)

Tier 1 - legitimately good quality content i recommend viewing

Room Zero - as someone who was personally Waiting those multiple years to see that rvb animated episode be finished i was so excited by this one. also i just love the animation + attention to character details in the og one. even though it doesnt really add much to that original base, newer fans should watch it to appreciate the animation cuz its cute. especially fond of every character detail moment like church running backward and using his hand to slide or the earliest iteration of grif being canonically animated as fat. idk i love it a lot and i think its p cute and well worth the watch. it's also the first episodically which is neat. good opener for s14.

The Brick Gulch Chronicles - look its stop motion lego and its cute as fuuuuuuck. the plot being sarges bday is adorable. literally awesome.

Fight the Good Fight - okay i just find it cute and quirky and generally enjoyed watching it quite a bit :) it made me laugh. the [Red] team gag was good. it reminded me of the similar gag from the simpsons in the kamp krusty episode. my dad always makes jokes about that specific gag so ahh. definitely worth the watch but understandable to skip.

Caboose's Guide to Making Friends - its just really fucking cute idfk

Head Cannon - This one's just really funny and also adds on to a scene that already was fun in a good way. Enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Get Bent - I wish sarge was still an old woman but dykenut and church bisexuality balances it out. i also wish we had female tucker. it makes me sad we didnt get female tucker.

Red vs. Blue the Musical - The reds' song is about weapons and the blues' song is about church killing himself. 10/10. no notes. perfect summation of rvb in like 10 minutes.

Mr. Red vs Mr. Blue - genuinely delightful like a distilled everything i like about tucker. he's really fun here. also sister is fun here.

The Triplets & The "Mission" - The triplets own hard. the scene with wash connie and south at the end always makes me smile. ohio girl youre fucking crazy but youre everything. I love you.

Tier 2 - Decent content. You can skip but still somewhat worth ur time.

From Stumbled Beginnings and Why They're Here - Mostly fun. Asterisk mostly. There's an episode between these two that's technically an episode trilogy you should skip. Otherwise is pretty fun.

The #1 Movie in the Galaxy: 3 - This is silly and fun. I enjoyed it. It's also short.

Meta vs Carolina: Dawn of Awesome - look man its a death battle. if you like death battle youll have fun. if you hate death battle you can skip it. shoutout sarge deadbeat dad implications though. i cant even be mad its just not the character id expect them to do that to...

Grey vs Gray - i found it fun :) nothing stand out tho. skippable but not egregiously bad.

Immersion: The Warthog Flip - Look if you Like seeing science stuff yeah its a good watch. if you dont like that you can skip it. I like the math and science though. you don't lose anything in skipping though.

Tier 3 - Meh

Orange is the New Red & Invaders from Another Mother - theyre not bad but aged... poorly. i thought they were funny when i was younger but i watched funhaus actively then. i dont know how this would fare to a non-FH fan. Desert Dance [Spins]

Red vs. Blue vs. Roosterteeth - I KNOWWWWW THERES A LOT OF NOSTALGIA its just .... not very funny. its creators meeting their characters but its also odd in a strange way. you can watch it if youre curious enough. i liked the end voice over of s14 a lot tho so like maybe watch it and if youre bored skip to the end lol

Tier 4 - Drink a lot or watch with friends to experience enjoyment

Club, Call, & Consequences - look man the only way youre enjoying this is if you are a hardcore lolix guy or you are wasted out of your mindddd. im sorry who the fuck is siris. i honest to god thought siris was a bit as a joke on the whole thing of "grif simmons and hammer" from earlier. they never even mention siris again. who the fuck is siris. i felt like i was like lied to or something . sorry siris is so fucking funny. well he didnt have a personality but thats ok. i dont know if he actually exists.

RvB Throwdown - Get Miles Luna out of the booth. never let him rap again.

Tier 5 - Bad. Skip it.

Fifty Shades of Red - Fifty Shades of Red has possibly one of the worst jokes in the series that immediately assassinates Tucker into a pretty fucking awful light and retroactively ruins his character for the preceding 13 seasons. I honestly recommend skipping Fifty Shades of Red to avoid that one tucker joke. its not necessary and contributes nothing. The rest of the episode is fine and on the level of stumbled beginnings & why theyre here. but god that one joke is so bad i can't in good faith recommend it. it just leaves me fuming LOL i could write an essay as it being the origin point of post s13 writers room tucker hate where they start trying to make him an irredeemable asshole & dont understand his whole deal for the rest of the series.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Starlight, Starshine; an impenetrable disguise

its finally happening! i came up with a name for this little fanfic/one shot series/whatever this is going to be! obligatory title is ripped from a steam powered giraffe song (go listen to starlight starshine, its literally sun+moon x reader core im begging you) anyways! Starlight, Starshine is going to be a collection of self indulgent writings between our favorite animatronic and reader! from multiple different aus, though it will mostly center around 2! one au thats "everything is fine nothing bad happens please i just want them ALL to be happy" and the other is a silly dumb idea of "what if reader who used to work at the pizzaplex takes eclipse home and repairs them and ect ect happens"! todays little fic is based off of that! im so sorry about the long authors note, i really need to make it a habit to shorten these but yk obligatory admin is not used to writing fics and theyre still trying to find their style in terms of writing so ! most of these one shots also arent going to be in order, due to the nature of this being a collection of writings for at least 2 aus so for the most part theres no need to read them all to understand a greater story!

Summary: Months after the reader brings Eclipse to their home and repairs them, sun and moon must get accustomed to their new environment. however sun has some plans...

Extra notes: this one is primarily sun centered, reader has a dog, author is attempting at comedy, not proof read we die like men so expect a few grammar mistakes and spelling errors, a lot of this one shot also contains more context and exposition (???) to the "Taken Home" au referenced above, author is not confident in their writing skills and hasnt written a full fledged fic in a year or two, author also isnt used to writing proper dialogue so take that as you will, reader is GN/typically wont be given pronouns due to authors general writing style/POV, he/they pronouns for sun and moon they /them for eclipse, really this is just an experimental piece with a vague idea i had last night, nothing too special more so an exercise to get me back into writing, author is still trying to figure out how to write personalities so these are very likely to be OOC

The first word that came to your mind when describing Sun was "odd". He looked odd, he acted odd, he had odd rituals that he carried out in your home. However it wasn't a bad kind of odd.

It'd been a few months since you took the former daycare attendant to your home, and repaired them. You had already grown close to the pair long before the closure of the pizzaplex, being an extra set of hands in the daycare. You didnt even know they were still active within the building when you decided to explore the remains; already taken on the form of Eclipse, who at the time of your discovery was trying in vain to clean the wreckage. Of course repairing them wasn't easy given you had limited experience in... basically rebuilding an animatronic; but against all odds you made it work! You let them take the guest bedroom, not that either of them used it; they would much rather spend their time hovering around you.

It took a lot of getting used to, for everyone involved, but you were all adjusting quite nicely!

Mostly...

You see, Sun didnt like being cooped up.. your home being considerably smaller than the daycare he was so used to. Leading to todays horrible plan.

"Sunflower," You said through lightly clenched teeth as you watched the sun themed animatronic tug on an oversized hat. He really couldn't be doing this... this wasnt going to work, no one is this dumb to fall for this plan!

The plan in question? Well, Sun thinks it would be a good idea to wander about outside in a "disguise" of sorts; said disguise consisting of the aforementioned hat, sunglasses, a face mask, and a entirely new outfit. Obviously, it looked at convincing as it sounded.

Sun hummed and spun on his feel to look at you, already putting your dog on a leash. "Yeeees starshine?" He asked as he scratched your dog between the ears. "This isnt a good idea," You mumbled as you watched him make his way to the door. "Nonsense! There's hardly anyone out, it'll only be a quick walk around the park!" Sun cheered.

The second word that comes to your mind when you think to describe Sun, is "stubborn", as when he made his mind up on something you can almost guarantee that he would follow through with the plan. So now, you were following behind him, keeping your eyes peeled for anyone who could see him. If he weren't so tall, or if he could tuck his rays in, or didn't emit a mechanical creak with every step he made then perhaps, the plan may have just worked... perhaps.. maybe..

No, it wouldn't, you can see his metal neck from where you were standing.

"Remember, only one lap," You reminded him as you succumbed to his will, much to his delight as his pace picked up just ever so slightly.

To his credit, he was right about not many people being out and about, mostly in part due to the fact it was still early in the morning. Just light enough to keep Sun in control, but just early enough for most to still be sleeping or still getting ready for work. However, the park wasn't empty, mostly it was early morning joggers; who thankfully didn't pay much mind to the two of you outside of giving a half wave as they passed.

There were even a few parents around with their small children walking with them; be it they were walking them to school or simply taking them to take in the early morning air... Sun's body seemed to perk up at the sight of the children, loudly greeting them with a good morning; leaving both them and the parents slightly bewildered at his high energy.

There were others, who had decided to also take their dog out for an early walk. The people once again weren't an issue, as they seemed to miraculously fall for Sun's disguise from a distance.

Their dogs weren't fooled, though. Multiple dogs began to bark and growl as they passed by. "Oh I'm so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him!" was said a few times throughout the walk. Again, the owners somehow didnt seem to notice the fact Sun was an animatronic, mostly due to having to restrain their dog from lunging forward at him.

The closest call, however, came from Sun excitedly taking up an offer for someone to pet their dog. For you see, Sun didnt think far enough ahead to cover his hands, thus leaving his hands in clear sight. Add in the fact that the dog bit Sun as he leaned forward to pet them.

Of course, the man noticed, and before he could say a word or question, you blurted out that it was a prosthetic hand. Though, you're not sure that the man bought it, as he was now craning his neck up to look up at Sun's round, flat face.

He slinked off. Whether it be he didn't have the energy to deal with it, or he simply just didnt care, or somehow believed you, he left.

Thankfully, that last interaction happened as you and Sun were beginning to loop back to where you started. Before Sun could begin to beg for a second round around the park, you started to walk him home; hand in hand.

"Oh that was so so fun! Starshine we gotta do this more often, everyone was so nice, " Sun chirped as you approached your front door. In his excitement he had begun to skip in long strides, forcing you to speed up your walk to a light jog.

"Yeah, again... maybe we can go earlier in the morning? You know we cant risk anything, I mean, if I get caught with you I could probably get sent to," You trailed off as Sun suddenly shoved something into your hands.

A handful of flowers that he had pulled up from the ground, he must have grabbed them while on the walk. How did you not notice? Were you that nervous of being found out by others?

A third word to describe Sun would be sweet. Even through his oddity and stubbornness, he still thought of you. Always so considerate.

Now that you think about it, you realize this may be the first time Sun has touched a real living flower.

You frowned, slightly. It made sense, he wasnt permitted to step foot outside of the pizzaplex, and its not like many people were giving him bouquets of fresh flowers. Usually if they did it'd be the obviously fake plastic ones. Sure, sometimes the kids would give him paper flowers.

"Can we go again tomorrow?" Sun asked as he watched you fumble around with the cluster of flowers... some were weeds, but.. its the thought that counts.

"Of course, Sunflower," You said before you could let yourself think logically.

Well, there was no taking it back, now. How could you, when Sun quickly stamped his heels in excitement as he dashed inside your home.

Perhaps you'll pick some flowers for him tomorrow, too.

yeah idk about this one yall LMAO, i genuinely didnt know where i was going with this one nor did i know how to end it, if that wasnt obvious SOBS im so not used to writing actual stories, im so used to short scenarios and headcannons... gotta fix that anyways i still have a few more ideas i want to write, but! thats it for the first one shot for Starlight, Starshine !

[espionn]

so uh. hi epic the musical fans.

i finally listened to the entirety of the concept album after putting it off for.. way too long. i have Thoughts. i havent been able to stop thinking about it. so basically here's a long post of all my gushing about epic so i don't keep blowing up my friend's texts about it.

-first and foremost: i am insane about the "man vs monster" trope. i love it. just a man was always going to be one of my favorite songs, but listening to it back now that i know the entire story (after listening to monster especially) HOLY SHIT. the moment he killed that baby, he was never going to come home as "just a man". i think that no matter what choice he made, he was never going to relive his old life. either his wife and son died, or he threw away his own innocence and moral ground. of course later he makes greater and greater sacrifices, but there was never going to be any turning back from that. and the fucked up part is he knew his choice before he made it, even when he was pleading with zeus. that final "i'm just a man" as he commits his first truly indefensible act is haunting.

-i really really like athena's piano motif, it feels so good every time it comes in

-i LOVE polyphemus's song. its the first really dark and sinister feeling part of the musical, and it HITS. the deep, cavernous feeling of 600 men holding their breaths when polyphemus first appears. that slow, reverberating eeriness. polyphemus's voice is *perfect.* it's perfectly inhuman and intimidating. you can hear how enormous he is in just the quality of his voice. it's incredible. and it works really nicely into the horror of survive. you really feel the size of the cave, the darkness, the terror the crew is feeling once polyphemus gets the club. its so good musically

-the theme in luck runs out coming back later in mutiny... im unwell

-CIRCE'S VOICE OH MY GOD (i already know im a lesbian there is no need for this) (i would have gone inside too im not even gonna pretend otherwise. eurylochus is a stronger man than i)

-love love love the harp part in wouldn't you like, it's so obvious but still so good. its also just a very fun song and i love hermes's VA, theres so much energy in the performance

-there are other ways is SO good, especially after a few re-listens. there's this latin swing quality to it that works so well. ive said my piece on circe's voice, i don't think i need to explain. i also really like the subversion of expectation. "forgive me", "i'm just a man", and for people who know the og myth, we're bracing ourselves. but then ody pushes away and earns circe's respect. her slyly coming back in with "there are other ways of persuasion" after he mentions poseidon is excellent. i love this version of circe a lot

-the repeat of "all i hear are screams" while in the underworld with his dead crew calling for their captain... lord. also, knowing that the people in the underworld are chanting their last thoughts makes the scenes with polites and ody's mother so much more emotional. his "i took too long" as he embraces his mother, still waiting for him in the grave, is soul-crushing.

-no longer you is one of my favorite moments in the entire thing. every line has a double meaning. and "i see a man who makes it home alive... but it's no longer you" is such a perfect narrative catharsis for all the themes that have been building

-and then its followed by monster, which brings the resolution to just a man that we've been waiting for. when i originally herd the line "ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves", it didnt fully resonate with me, but this song made me realize what it was saying as odysseus, hurting so badly, does the only thing he can to lessen the weight of the guilt. the music makes it feel so big. its a moment of catharsis in its own way. underworld saga is short but it delivers blow after blow

-different beast... damn. this song doesnt hold back any more than odysseus does. i don't think he would have been quite so vengeful if the sirens hadn't impersonated penelope specifically, but they effectively went for the one part of him he still cherished, and that sealed their fate. still, the shrieks of the sirens overtop of "kill them all" is heavy

-scylla. what can i even say about scylla. her voice is *haunting*. ethereal. inhuman. knowing what's going to happen, this song is an experience i cant even describe. odysseus and scylla both understand, they both know what's happening. "eurylochus, light up six torches" / "deep down, we're only demons from hell". im going to break something

-mutiny bringing back the theme from luck runs out is so big. hearing odysseus being unable to defend himself, only wanting to go home. the real betrayal from eurylochus, having been willing just two sagas ago to abandon everyone and run with him, now willing to kill him to save the rest of the crew. later, with helios's cows, i wholeheartedly agree with the idea that it was a suicide. he isnt stupid. but he's hungry, and tired, and while ody is willing to become the monster to get home, eury isnt. to him, this is the easiest way.

-the echoes of the same pleas from the horse and the infant, again in thunder bringer. but he knows he's going to do it. i dont think its about penelope and telemachus anymore, not really. its about everything they represent. they are a destination. closure. normalcy. an anchor. he has to get to them because they are all that's stopping him from admitting what he's done

-TELEMACHUS

-i understand why some people dont like the time jump and sudden change of perspective, its definitely jarring and a bit weird, but i also think its the best you can do with something as nonlinear and oddly structured as the odyssey.

-little wolf is such an earworm, ive been finding myself chanting "fight little wolf, fight little wolf". athena's piano cue as she appears to help out telemachus is a deeply satisfying moment. i LOVE the theme coming back in, but this time with athena's voice overriding the suitors', and "little wolf" going from a taunt to an endearment. i also just need to say... antinous's voice. vile character but damn can that guy sing

-ok ok fine i see why god games is so popular

-not sorry for loving you... hm. im torn on this song. i think its good at portraying calypso as a sympathetic abuser. and i dont think theres an issue with sympathetic abusers. but i guess it might have worked better if we saw odysseus's point of view instead of just hers. it feels a little weird focusing on the perpetrator rather than the victim is all. i think its possible to do both effectively and this doesnt really. pretty song though

-dangerous is so good though. its so catchy and exhilarating and i was so happy to hear from hermes again

-i do have a question though. what's the deal with the wind bag? i didn't fully get it earlier either, i didnt see why eurylochus used the last of it behind odysseus's back, that didn't make sense to me. and now i dont know why hermes gave it to him. he says the gods went through a lot of pain to get it, but *why?* if using it dooms his hope to get home, why would they give it to him? i know he ends up using it to save himself but like. it's not like they knew that would happen. what was the plan here?

-anyway. get in the water into 600 strike is powerful. i dont have much commentary but i really like the questions and answers posed by these songs. and "how will you sleep at night?" / "next to my wife." is pretty iconic

-PENELOPE OH MY GOD

-the reprise of the "waiting, waiting" theme, oh god im not ok

-hold them down is EXCELLENT, its so murky and revolting and antinous's voice SELLS it

-the song odysseus being from the suitors' point of view was an excellent choice. ody becomes, thematically, one of the monsters. the choir chanting "od / dy / se / us" is powerful and heavy and terrifying. the music is so good at making you feel like one of the suitors, in the dark, weaponless, with the king circling you and picking you off one by one. he really feels like a stalking predator. after 20 years of nothing but hardships and gods and monsters trying to keep him from home, now that he's here theres nothing any of them could hope to do to save themselves. the king has come home and he's PISSED

-"show yourself" and then the piano doing a cascading chromatic scale... this musical is so good

-i just listened to would you fall in love with me again for the second time. fuck me. its worse than the first time. (as in the emotions. not the quality.) i love that she asks him what he did, and he tells her. that says so much about them both. she isn't afraid to hear it, she just wants to know what he's been through. and he recounts every awful thing he did, without hesitation, trusting in her judgment completely. he's finally able to unpack all that trauma. and she just listens. she challenges him when he claims to no longer be the same man. this whole time, he's only had himself, his own narrative, his belief that he's become a monster. and now she pushes back, and says "i look at you and i still see the man i married". and then a soaring reprise of the theme from just a man comes in.... i need it known that i feel very distinctly not ok.

so i just spent 2 hours going back through to write all of that when i could have just said: it is VERY GOOD. im going to be thinking about this for a while still.

[cannibqlgrlx]

MY ABXY AU!! tw for not so good grammar

some of you guys may know this, but i had planned to make an au wish its about the members of abxy going to different bands after abxy dissbanded, i havent wrotte the story yet, but i do have most of the ideas in my mind! the au doesnt have a sad ending, but theres a LOT of angst because i love ruining the things that i love LOL...

so how does the story go like?

well it stars with raian discussing to their friends about quiting the band due their mental healt, the rest of the mebers dont take this very well because they think raian is a great leader, but raian doesnt see that because, uh oh! impostor syndrome! they star agruing and agruing more wish it gets violent pretty slowly... idk what raian is going to stay to shikaku but i had in mind that they say something that makes him angry wish that makes shikaku star shocking raians, dw he finally stops and he realizes that he should not have done that to his friend, raian doesnt have any majur injuries either, but the rest of the members are still traumatized about it and that makes everyone want to quit the band already.

how does the members feel about it?

well the situation really affected their mental healt negativly (i know i didnt wrotte that well but eh), all of them feel bad that things had to end up this way, but they star to feel better after years have passed.

shikaku feels guilty the most, he regrets almost killing raian and he had to go trough therapy to reduce his anger issues, the rest of the bandmates stopped being friends with him but they became friends again after they finally forgave him. he realizes that it was wrong of him for not taking his anger issues seriously before, but he tries to become a better person.

noiji is probably the most affected because he loved be in abxy in a very personal level, it also made him paranoid that if raian and paruko leave him (at some point he made paruko uncomftable because he kept asking her if she hated him). he is now very clingy to his bf raian because they are the person to loves the most, he also gets jealous when his bf is with other friends who are guys (because i hc raian as gay), but he tries his best to not think that raian doesnt longer love him. noiji's persoanlity changed, now he is more depressed than expected.

paruko was really traumatized when she saw shikaku almost killing raian, she is mad at the rest of the bandmates because she think its their fault... (shikaku for being violent to raian, noiji for being pushy with raian when they forst joined and raian for not saying that they wanted to quit before), but she is also upset to herself because she tought she should not have joined a band at a very early age knowing how fame can affect young teens and how creepy fans can be. at some point she blocked noiji and stopped being friends with him because he kept spamming her. she does feel bad for raian a lot even though she is kind of mad at them and she wishes the best for them.

raian feels a bit guilty for making shikaku angry and for wanting to quit the band, but they just really wished the rest of their bandmates understood them before the fight stared. raian sometimes feels uncomfy with noiji, but they dont feel unsafe and they try to comfort him too since he understands how he feels, but there are times where their rellationship can get toxic and sometimes they wish that noijo would shut up. they also try to comfort paruko too since she doesnt trust shikaku and noiji that much anymore.

now where did the bandmates go?

they all joined to different bands based of their music taste and aesthetic, everyone seems happier being in different bands now (expect for noiji).

shikaku is not only a band but also in a lets play youtuber group since all of the mebers of that group love to make music too. their songs are mostly parodies of game franchises.

noiji is back in bari bari, the songs are lauder as ever but he still wishes that he still misses abxy. he also despites the rest of the members because they are idiots.

paruko is in a shibuya kei band where they make happy, relazing and chiptuny songs, most of their songs are based of cute stuff but there are times where they make sad songs. all of the members are anemones.

raian is now in a indie and experimental band where they make songs with depressing lyrics and they also make noise music too. the members dress "lazy" and some of them are barefoot since the theme of their band is being depressed. (so basicly the band is like nashimoto ui)

how does this au end?

well basiclly the members stared to realize that maybe it would be better to slove their problems and become friends again, this doesnt mean that abxy is back, BUT, they make a new EP of remixers of their songs but with the style of the music that these guys now make.

so yeah, thats pretty much it, i hope you guys liked it because i was thinking about making a comic of my au!

[spicy--meatball]

ranking 550+ music genres: PART 2

once again i am deceitful, here is another post today because im having a Fucking Time (good)

(4) Abstract Hip Hop

on the tierlist, the image for abstract hip hop is of MF Doom, so i was pretty excited for this genre. i didnt actually listen to any MF Doom for this though.

many of the songs i listened to lacked vocals, but they were still very intriguing and unique. i heard influences from other genres, such as blues and jazz. this is definitely a genre i would recommend to someone who thinks theyre too high and mighty to listen to hip hop, even though these songs differ a lot from what theyre probably thinking of as hip hop.

this genre hits a lot different than my regular brainslop listening habits (i.e: fast electronic music). each song has a story to tell. this stuff makes great contemplation music, because its hard not to reflect on my life while listening to these songs. theyre groovy enough to keep my attention but also lowkey enough that theyd also make good studying/drawing music. its all just so smooth. ugh, i cant do this genre enough justice. go listen to some abstract hip hop!!!

with all that being said, abstract hip hop gets our first "incredible. i fw this heavy" ranking. which i accidentally spoiled in the last post because i didnt know about the 10 music embeds limit.

Abstract Hip Hop song recs

(5) Acid Croft

im familiar with some acid genres, such as acidcore and acid house, but ive never heard of acid croft. i dont know what i was expecting but my expectations were blown with the first song i clicked on. this shit is WILD! some of these songs remind me of breakbeats.

if youre like me and havent heard of acid croft before, the best way i can describe it is a celtic jig mixed with jazzy bass and acid synths, especially for my first song rec. these are song elements i had no idea could mesh this well, never in my wildest dreams. these songs are intriguing in a different sense than abstract hip hop, theyre just so bizarre. i guess thats to be expected with any genre that has "acid" in the title, but i digress. im very happy someone came up with this mixture of song elements. the second song rec, which was the first song i clicked on, made me furrow my brow in confusion and fascination.

as my own informal rule of thumb, i was going to try and give different artists for each song rec. well, it seems the Peatbog Faeries have spearheaded this genre because like 70% of the songs i could find listed as acid croft are by them. this genre is getting a "in the right time and place, fuck yeah" ranking from me.

Acid Croft song recs

(6) Acid Jazz

im already somewhat familiar with this genre, but i dont listen to it regularly. this stuff goes hard though. i need every small coffee shop business or boba shop to start playing acid jazz please.

this shit sounds like melty caramel. in a good way. just a slow, tranquil stream of caramel floating in the air. and brick walkways at night, hugged tightly by the buildings around it. this also makes good study music, sometimes.

as for my first song rec, i was going to click away to another acid jazz song and then... i dunno. something about the piano and saxophone and bass going up and down and every which way intrigued me to stick around. i was wondering why this unconventional way of arranging music didnt bother me, quite the opposite actually. theres so many shapes and colors in this song and they are chalky. i ended up putting this song on loop, like what in the genuine shit is happening? (in a very good way). i like confusion :)

i guess this is my sign to listen to acid jazz every waking hour of the day. so many varied moods. this shit can soothe or it can get you certified ZEEKIN. Holay Molay.

"incredible. i fw this heavy" tier. absolutely phenomenal. * jeremy clarkson voice* 'ery noice

Acid Jazz song recs

current rankings. more to come

[oh-cramity-its-amity]

Welcome to Day 2 of my self-imposed challenge for October, where I listen to 31 albums I haven't gotten around to listening to yet in an attempt to clear through my overwhelming Spotify library and document my thoughts.

Day 2.

The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets by Marmozets!

So I found this album actually a few days ago on Google, my homepage has news stories, and an article brought up this album as being "the weirdest rock album of the decade" and I was simply intrigued by how they worded it. I quote "mixed mathcore, punk, indie, and alt-rock into a fresh new take that took the scene over by storm." and as someone who loves a bunch od those things- If not all, I pulled up my spotify IMMEDIATELY to add it. I didn't even bother reading the rest of the article quite frankly. I'm sure it's alright but this, seemed like everything I'd be interested in.

Upon the first track it immediately engaged me with the drums and riffs. Almost electrical in a sense that it ignites the energy and then pulls away to allocate for the vocalist to yell... WHICH... as I'd spoken before I'd just found this from an article so I did not have a whole lot of prior knowledge on the band. I did look a little through their catalog to see they've been inactive since 2017 and that they only have two albums out and an EP(?). I'll have to look into the other album at a different time more in depth, but the female vocalist was NOT expected but holy crap!!!! She literally comes into the track and absolutely owns it. If I could explain her voice, it reminds me a bit of Against The Current's vocalist X Bea Miller during her "Not An Apology" album X Cassidy Mackenzie's covers on YT. Like- it's got a similar sound definitely but unlike anything I'm familiar with.

I adore it! The realization that I have not found many bands with a female vocalist with this type of sound is insane. The only thing however is I do not entirely love the lyrics. Yes, everything SOUNDS great, but the lyrics. It's giving Disney Channel Pop-punk. Which isn't a bad thing at all, but genuinely the sound is great, but the first track fell short in the lyrics.

AND THEN the second track hits. And holy damn the fry in her vocals absolutely was not expecting. GOOD. I completely fucking loved that shit, and it's much more up my alley with everything it is.

Which is amazing because when I write a band au, this is the sound I'm envisioning. This sound. It's so fascinating. Grabbing your attention with the drums and riffs and then toned down to let her be known full force. Such a interesting sound and I think that this track genuinely was everything. "Captivate You" completely enamored me as well, I adored it. A lot of this album I can say I genuinely loved to experience. I don't know how I hadn't found these guys before now!! I would've eaten them up years ago I think. The lyrics sure aren't as mature as I'm familiar with but I think the vocals are genuinely such an eye opener and theres a handful of absolutely amazing track on here. Semi replayabilty, I think I could definitely listen to this a bunch and not feel bored and its a decent length. 46 minutes! Not bad at all.

Would I recommend this? Hm. Possibly? I'm not too sure, I don't think I'd recommend the entire album because it can feel a bit cheesy but I think it's sound is something I have NOT seen before in bands I'm accustomed to listening to. It sets them apart having that female vocalist for me, which I've prompted to educate myself on more bands with female vocalists because it seems that most pop-punk is male dominated, unfortunately. Which this is definitely something of a gem. I think its a good thing to take a chance on if you enjoy the genre and want to switch it up. There's good stuff here. It would be worth the time to give it a spin if you wanted to, but I don't think its a needed thing in full if you just want to see the good stuff. There's cohesiveness, but not all songs are differentiated to where it doesn't feel too different from one another. There's good to be had here, and I did enjoy my time and will be relistening to this record, but there's also better introductions and examples of pop-punk as a genre.

[poopyballz28]

Some Baki characters if they played instruments

hello friends its me again, here with a fun revamp of a prompt i made about a year or 2 ago. realized i dont have to burn myself out writing prompts i dont like but know will be popular and i can just, write about the things i actually find cool or interesting. enjoy this one. 💯

Baki

• A really killer guitar player. Like this kid can SHRED. He gets really into the music and eventually everything around him just disappears. You can truly see the determination and skill in his hand movements when he plays his guitar.

• He really didn't expect to get the popularity that he did. He initially just wanted to play his music for himself or to show Kozue. He's a really humble guy, calling himself "fine" at best, despite all of the super hard chords and notes he's skillfully hit with no issue.

• His ability to hyper focus on the music and strike the chords he does leaves audiences in awe. It's almost like he gets better every show.

• Tends to have guitar battles with other powerful players. He tends to wanna battle the ones with the most experience and abilities, a player who could do things Baki knows he probably couldn't pull off himself. Via all the musical guitar "fights" and friendships that form from them, his strength heightens.

• Teased a bit in school for the huge guitar case he tends to carry around. It's especially not helping considering nobody has seen him actually play it. He tends to keep a lot of his playing to himself.

Kozue

• See, I'm kind of caught between her being a bass girl and a piano/keyboard girl. Keyboard may seem like the most agreeable instrument for her but listen to me here. Imagine her absolutely tearing shit up on bass guitar to heavy metal songs all alone in her cute little pink room. Isn't that so true!? That's just so her for some reason.

• But don't get me wrong, keyboard totally fits her too. I see her learning and playing little Vocaloid piano medley's when shes alone.

• Silly idea where Kozue stays late after school in the music room and plays little piano melodies when nobody's around. Baki was actually looking for a quiet place to play guitar until he overhead Kozue playing down the hall in the music room. He watches her from the small crack in the door and falls in love all over again.

• Baki sneaks in and starts playing his guitar with her, adding on to the tune she's playing. She's initially a little nervous, but the big goofy smile Baki gives her lifts her spirits. The two make quite a ruckus in that little music room.

• The two walk home together smiling and talking about all sorts of music and songs they enjoy. When they show up home, Kozue turns to Baki and gently kisses him on the cheek, with a sweet "Lets play together again, okay?" before happily jogging back to her house. Baki just realized how much he loved that girl.

Kiyosumi

• Oh yeah, this guy goes HAM on electric guitar. I got no doubt about it. He'll shred so hard at a live show he'll be grinding that shit ON THE GROUND. He gets a little worked up.

• He's the type to have been in several underground rock bands but always ends up leaving them later on due to creative (or just petty) differences. He eventually starts a solo project where he completely composes his own edgy grungey sounding music.

• He gives me very heavy Orange Range vibes, probably a lot of rapping and singing in his songs accompanied with that super hard guitar he destroys on.

• His stuffs super authentic. He's gotten pretty popular for the shitty but addicting sound quality of his instrumentals. And while a lot of the lyrics you could say are crude or kind of messed up, he's always subconsciously hiding some kind of message in there. If its to do with his overbearing hatred and anger for things or simply just self doubt, theres usually something pretty heavy hiding behind those guitar strokes he uses to impress people so desperately.

• Guitar is most definitely his stress reliever. He'll just grind on that shit when he's upset or stressed out to ease his mind (which is pretty common unsurprisingly) You can see all his pent up issues release themselves through his music.

Kaoru

• Definitely piano. Not even particularly keyboard, just piano.

• He used to play to his mother, with all her favorite songs and melodies, he would play to her for as long as he could. So much his fingers would start to ache. The more his fingertips would strike the keys the more he was determined to cure him mom via music. If even for a day, a minute, a second, she could live without pain, he'd do anything to make it happen.

• After her passing he couldn't touch a piano without flooding memories of his mothers decrepit and declining state when she was still alive. In fact, it would fill him with anger. Why couldn't he do anything to help her? To save her?

• After taking witness to Baki's rising musical power (and quite honestly, his cheery attitude when playing) Kaoru touched a piano for the first time in a while. As he started to play some old tunes he played to his mother, memories started to fill his mind. But not bad ones. The ones where his mom was smiling and chatting with him. Teaching him, joking with him, complimenting his skills and hidden kindness. It all came back.

• Suddenly, he understood. He began playing as much as he could, practicing and honing the skills he's always wanted to achieve, though the keys felt much smaller than they used to. He realizes his mother would've wanted him to continue playing piano. But not for her anymore, but for himself.

Katsumi

• Very much a drummer. Following deeply in his dads footsteps, despite all of the expectations on his shoulders.

• His abilities are super impressive. Some seeing him as being one of the best drummers in the world next to his father. It seems like the more he plays the more his skill tree grows. He's often regarded as a musical genius. His improvisation and techniques on his drum set would blow anyone away.

• He tends to perform neat little tricks while he's drumming (he's a bit of an entertainer at heart, ever since his childhood) He definitely does cool "magic" maneuvers and stuff with his drumsticks.

• He does a ton of taiko on the side too. Usually joining in on parades and brightening everyone up. He's a really popular figure for his skilled drumming and fun aura.

Atsushi

• A true bassist. You can tell he really knows what he's doing when he plays.

• Started playing a lot of instruments during high school after really indulging himself into his musical interests, listening to tons of metal and hard rock and over time collecting a pretty lengthy cd album collection.

• But something about the bass kept his interest, he goes on to practice everyday in hopes to become one of the best bassists in Japan. Never being one to let an opportunity for a challenge pass him by.

• Started a little two person rock band with Kiyosumi that eventually broke apart thanks to an argument. While they didn't release any of their music physically or upload it to the internet, they still played their few songs at private shows together. Their songs sound absolutely sickening (in the best way possible) They definitely have some scat and screaming in them, vocal wise.

• The two have since made up but never resurrected their band back. They still tend to play and challenge each other with their string instruments regularly though, coming up with all kind of stupid challenges and crutches they force each other to use to see whose the better musician. Final verdict, they both suck.

Kosho

• Okay I was really gonna put bass here, which is definitely very true but I thought of something even better. Kosho. Violin. Boom.

• A very heavy visual kei fan, would always find a clever way to add his violin into a vkei song he likes. Loves performing violin covers to music he enjoys. He's probably uploaded a few to niconico, but cropped them just enough so you can't see his face. He's tends to get a bit embarrassed about it. He still manages to wear the most extravagant and stylish visual kei outfits from his closet, though.

• His music was always his best escape from real life, the sounds of the strings taking him to a world that's simpler, devoid of all the common stresses he faces on a daily.

• He really pushes the limits on what a violin can do. He takes his playing very seriously, so he's always determinedly finding new ways to enhance his abilities. He truly honors and respects his instrument, being very well aware of its history and various play styles.

• At first he tried to keep his violin playing a secret from his brother, not really wanting to deal with any teasing. Although, it was pretty inevitable Kureha would notice the melodies flooding from underneath the door to Kosho's room.

• Admittedly yeah, Kureha does poke a little bit of fun at Kosho's little "hobby", as he calls it. Much to Kosho's dismay of course.

no guarantees but i might make another post about the characters if they became popular musicians. i realized i had some cool ideas for that too. anyways poopyballz OUT.