#balloons and cats are very common

[sisyphus-prime]

fun fact i'm on door rotation for costco and i always ask the kids what they want drawn and it's usually one of these and it makes them SO happy.

The poop isn't common actually. that was just notable from today. She was hype.

[headphonegrl]

“Do you feel old?” You ask Jude, your voice hoarse from performing multiple songs back to back on the garish karaoke machine his mum had rented out for the occasion. There are now at least a dozen badly shot videos of you singing in Jude’s camera roll, including a rendition of ‘happy birthday’ sung by you and his brother where half his index finger is covering the lens. 

“What’d you mean?” After hours of displaying nothing but rash energy, Jude finally feels himself getting sluggish while trying to endure the unbearable gnawing feeling of pins and needles rising up his legs; a big plush sofa sits untouched on the other side of the living room but you’ve both decided to drunkenly cram yourselves onto the armchair in a mess of tangled limbs. 

“Just a silly question.” As you flutter your eyes shut, Jude tries to get a proper look at the glitter eyeshadow you had meticulously applied earlier that evening. In the wake of a large round of tequila shots, some of his friends had insisted on having their own ‘sparkle stuff’ and began queuing at the bathroom door like kids waiting to get their face painted like a tiger at the zoo. “Do you feel any older yet?”

“I’m not sure.” It’s the kind of question he’d once been asked in the primary school playground, with a blue birthday badge pinned proudly onto the fabric of his uniform. Back then it seemed very easy and obvious to answer plainly with a ‘no’, though now he’s finding himself stumped for a reply entirely. “Do you ever feel like that?”

“I think the last age I felt was seventeen.” You say definitively as if you've thought about it at great length before. Jude hadn’t known you at that age, but his home screen for almost a year was a photo your mum had shown him of you pulling a horrific face while blowing out the candles of your seventeenth birthday cake. 

“That’s probably the same for me.” Embarrassingly, Jude had once referred to himself as a ‘seventeen-year-old’ during a frenzied post-match interview and then had to sheepishly correct himself by clarifying that he had just turned nineteen. Sometimes he feels like the years are slipping through his fingers like sand and there’s no sufficient way to stop them.

“Then before that it was twelve.” You continue as you do a little cat-like stretch with your free arm which Jude finds incredibly endearing along with everything else you do; he supposes it’s a very common side-effect when it comes to being in love.

“I found being twelve proper boring.”  It was something he remembers expressing even at that age. Just as if he had been dropped off somewhere by his childhood and was painstakingly waiting for his teenage years to finally pick him up and take him somewhere exciting. “It’s such an in-between age.”

“That’s true.” The sky in the open window behind you is that awkward shade of grey that appears just before sunrise, like a page when a printer begins to suddenly run out of ink.

“I wish we’d known each other as kids.” Jude feels as though he goes through life with your name humming inside his chest like a second heart and yet this sentence seems so intimate that he can’t even look at you as speaks. Instead, he takes extra care and attention towards staring at the ceiling and inspecting all the sparse helium balloons that have floated up towards it.

“So do I.” Your words come out as a dozy whisper and Jude finds himself smiling up at a star-shaped foil balloon. He’s not twelve or seventeen, but he’s just turned twenty and loves you so much that he doesn’t even care that both of his legs have gone completely numb from sitting with you on this unbearably uncomfortable armchair.

[jenscx]

FACE TO FACE — bang jeemin x f!reader

being stuck in a hello kitty mascot costume isn’t one of jeemin’s proudest moments.

TAGS — fluff, zero angst, jeemin!centric, crackfic, very silly and cute, strangers to lovers, mentions of other izna members

WORDCOUNT — 3.9k

jeemin doesn’t really know how she got here. well, she does, but she doesn’t understand what spiritual being from above deluded her into agreeing to such a situation. the situation being— trapped under the scorching sun, in a humid and dark costume. and not just any costume! a hello kitty mascot costume.

you could blame it on jeemin, say that it was her choice, but it’s all because of koko asking her at three in the morning. she was groggy from waking up in the middle of the night and even more weary when the japanese girl begged for her help. and maybe it was her fault for not clarifying with koko what help she needed. but still!

it’s painful being in the costume. jeemin can feel her clothes sticking to her body grossly, sweat dripping down her skin, and her bangs stuck against her forehead. not to mention she has to hand out balloons and act like the happiest cat alive. honestly, everything made sense now; how koko had the money to constantly treat her to food. she knows it’s because the girl had spent hours in this cat costume. jeemin wants to rip off the bright red bow attached to hello kitty.

(but that would be unsightly. especially when children are around. jeemin thinks she’ll do it in the changing rooms.)

the only thing saving her from insanity is the fact that the kids around her are very cute. the way their eyes light up and they tug on her huge arm to ask for a balloon… it pulls jeemin away from the thoughts of homicide.

also, koko had a good reason to ditch her. she had a dance recital at the end of the month, and she was swarmed with practices to attend and jeemin would always support her friend. hence, jeemin’s stuck spending her weekends as hello kitty. not to mention all the snacks koko has bought for jeemin, so can she really complain?

wrong. she can. being stuck in a ‘friendly’ cat costume apparently meant that she was unable to fight back against angry parents and screaming children. not that she was going to anyway, but she would like the choice. she would just stare at them as they yelled at her for not giving their child a red balloon— which jeemin doesn’t even understand! it’s a balloon, their child won’t suddenly die because she gave them a yellow one!

anyway, jeemin much prefers the blue balloon. its sky blue, her favourite colour. and even through the hazy eyes of hello kitty, jeemin finds the time to admire the colour. it’s wonderful! and maybe it’s crazy, but it’s just a balloon. she wants to use hello kitty’s massive paws to slap the parents who yell at her— okay, maybe that was a bit of a stretch. but jeemin was sweaty, hot and frustrated. maybe if she was in a pochacco costume, she would like it more.

“unnie— it’s hello kitty! hurry up!” jeemin hears a distant squeal and immediately groans. she appreciates the thick costume, knowing that anything she says or any sound she emits can’t be heard from the outside. the moment she turns around in the stupid fat costume, she spots a kid, probably around five to six years old, barreling at her. jeemin braces herself in case the kid crashes into her body.

“ah! kyujin, slow down!”

it’s a rather common scene; children being too excited, forcing their caretaker to sprint after them. but the uncommon part is that this kid’s unnie looks like a freaking angel that descended from the heavens.

jeemin takes back everything she said. this is the best day of her life. she loves this job. maybe everyone should just be a hello kitty mascot.

“unnie!” the girl, kyujin, whines and stomps her feet as her older sister catches up to her. jeemin can’t physically breathe. she’s about to crash out. oh no—

“what did i say about running like that?”

“it’s hello kitty!” kyujin straight up ignores her and heads towards jeemin. she awkwardly lifts up her nub of an arm to wave, but the sight of the pretty girl knocks the wind out of her lungs and she almost topples over.

jeemin tries her best to stabilise herself as kyujin waves back cutely.

the pretty girl stands behind kyujin, her hands resting on the kid’s shoulders and she inches closer to jeemin, who only resists the urge to back away.

“wow, must be hot in there,” the pretty girl frowns.

jeemin nods, or at least, tries her best to.

“can i have a balloon, hello kitty? oh, and a picture too!” kyujin asks. jeemin tries to gesture at the balloons all tied together that’s strapped to the costume. her breath hitches when the pretty girl reaches over and pulls one out, pink coloured, handing it to her sister. jeemin nearly faints.

as kyujin poses next to jeemin, the pretty girl snaps a bunch of photos. some sort of feeling akin to pride bubbles in jeemin’s stomach, knowing that the pretty girl would forever have a photo of her.

(that’s how you know she’s gone crazy.)

when kyujin gushes over the cute overalls of the costume, the pretty girl leans over, almost touching jeemin.

“can i have a balloon? i like hello kitty too,” she says in a hushed whisper. jeemin feels goosebumps rise along her skin just from her voice. and even through the shady eyes of hello kitty, jeemin can evidently tell that the girl was sculpted by the gods themselves. clearly they took their time with her. and when she pulls a balloon out for herself, jeemin gasps.

“the blue balloon’s cute, isn’t it?”

oh my god, jeemin might be falling in love right now.

she has to get married this instant— regardless of the hello kitty costume. hell, if the pretty girl likes hello kitty, jeemin would forever work in this dastardly amusement park. the girl looks so gorgeous and sweet in her cute ralph polo lauren shirt and denim shorts. she looked like she came from heaven. if someone told jeemin that the clouds parted for your arrival, she would believe it wholeheartedly.

“y/n unnie! i’m hungry!”

the pretty girl, who jeemin now knows is called y/n, turns to her sister and smiles adorably at her. jeemin doesn’t know what she would do if that smile was directed at her. it was like a ray of sunlight, shooting into her heart and lighting it on fire.

“okay sweetie, we can go get food,” you say, but before you leave, you hand your phone to kyujin and stand right next to jeemin. “help unnie take some pictures please.”

as kyujin lifts up the phone, jeemin feels your arms wrap around the neck (does hello kitty have a neck?) of her costume. jeemin only stands still, rooted to the ground and staring blankly at the camera. she can feel her heart racing, and she’s grateful for the thick suit that covers her, preventing you from feeling her pulse.

“one, two, three!” kyujin yells.

jeemin thinks she can die happy right now.

“thanks hello kitty,” you smile at her, “see you next time!”

despite the stuffy suit, perspiration dripping down her whole body, her limbs sore, jeemin still feels like the luckiest girl alive.

it’s one in the afternoon. jiyoon watches as jeemin loses her mind. she only wanted to head to the cafe to study. being friends with the employees get her discounts on drinks. and coincidentally her friends were also there. she’s just a bystander, one that accidentally walked in on her friend’s suffering. jeemin’s slumped over the table, incessantly mumbling about an angel, hello kitty and malatang. sarang and koko are right next to her, both frowning.

“are you okay?” jiyoon decides to ask cautiously.

jeemin slowly turns to look at her, “i think i’m in love.”

“uhm,” koko mutters, “i think this is my fault.”

what? was jeemin in love with koko? jiyoon blinks.

“well, you know how i have that performance coming up?” jiyoon nods, recalling koko talking about it previously. “i have a part-time job at this amusement park and i asked jeemin to take over for me just for a while! and i guess…”

jiyoon guffaws, “you fell in love there?!” she’s shocked, because this is bang jeemin. bang jeemin who’s antisocial and introverted, one of the reasons jiyoon likes her company. bang jeemin who has never gotten a crush before, deeming dating as her lowest priority. and that same bang jeemin is admitting that she’s fallen in love.

jeemin straightens up instantly, “love at first sight!”

the japanese girl fails to hide her smile as she confirms jiyoon’s suspicion, “she fell in love while wearing a hello kitty costume.”

“you’re out of your mind, bang jeemin. that’s actually insane.”

this tops anything jeemin has ever done. from falling over while doing a burpee, her voice cracking while giving a presentation, this beats everything. jeemin’s so stupid. jiyoon is so happy she can witness her downfall. it’s downright hilarious.

jeemin was truly the epitome of an oxymoron (place more emphasis on the moron part), a juxtaposition of a charming and beautiful girl, yet still so stupid and silly. jiyoon is usually in awe of how her mind works.

“she was like an angel! a true angel!” jeemin proclaims, “you guys don’t get it.”

sarang pats her back sympathetically, “it’s okay, we understand.”

jiyoon sure as hell doesn’t. but she wishes all the best for jeemin.

she’s in a similar situation like before— trapped under a heavy layer of fabric and her arms heavy. yet, she couldn’t be more excited. she was basically bouncing on feet while waiting around. if anyone saw jeemin, they would think she’s anticipating the queen’s arrival. well, you are a queen to jeemin. ugh, she kind of wishes she didn’t have to be in this stupid suit. then maybe you would see her face and fall in love with her!

jeemin thinks she’s pretty attractive herself. tall, fair skin, big round eyes. but no one has really approached her because of her quiet nature. today will be different though! jeemin will take the initiative in starting a conversation! it’ll be a little weird talking to you in the hello kitty costume but whatever. you said you like hello kitty anyway. that’s a win for jeemin. whatever she previously said about the character, throw it all out the window. only your opinion matters!

she watches eagerly as different people walk by, some stopping to take a photo with her and others just cooing at the mascot’s cuteness. jeemin tries to spot you out of the crowd of people, but it’s a little difficult to see past the netting of hello kitty’s eyes. jeemin’s head bumps uncomfortably against the top of the mascot. she wonders how koko has managed to fit herself in such a tight space while being taller than her. jeemin would proclaim to be quite flexible. she’s weak, but her limbs are really flexible. yet, the costume makes her neck crane unbearably.

just as a crowd of middle schoolers pass by, jeemin hears thundering footsteps again. her head perks up, knocking against the top of the mascot again, and she nearly falls over. both at the momentum and at the sight of kyujin running towards her.

“hello kitty!”

jeemin sports a wide smile, even if kyujin can’t see her. she tries her best to reach down, patting kyujin on her head.

“jang kyujin!” jeemin’s smile grows even bigger when she hears your voice, “what did i say about running?”

she watches as you jog up, panting and sweaty.

“sorry unnie— but it’s hello kitty!”

you have a lopsided grin on your face, clearly amused by your sister’s hyperactive behaviour. “we just saw hello kitty last week.”

“that’s too long!” kyujin whines. jeemin coos internally at the sight of the girl. she was just too cute! cuteness really does run in the family, evident from the silly smile on your face.

jeemin’s grateful for her face being covered. she wouldn’t know what expression’s on her right now.

like before, kyujin takes a balloon, white this time, and you whip out your phone to photograph her again.

when there’s a distant ringing of bells, kyujin perks up and instantly turns to you, eyes pleading.

“that’s the ice cream truck coming— unnie, can we please go?” kyujin begs. you hesitate, a speculating look on your face. your younger sister’s watery eyes and pouty lips always manage to sway your decisions. damnit. jeemin watches, humoured by kyujin’s plea.

“how about we wait here for the truck to come?” you ask, bending down to match kyujin’s height, “unnie’s feeling really hot right now.” jeemin watches the trickle of sweat glide down your neck. she feels seen.

kyujin frowns, “but i want ice cream now. and it’ll cool you up! just wait here, unnie. i can go get it myself!”

you’re a little shocked at her independence. when did your little sister grow up so quickly? and her insistent attitude only worked wonders to your reluctance.

“okay, jinnie. but be careful.” kyujin brightens up and immediately sprints to the ice cream truck. you sigh, keeping a close eye on her as she queues up.

turning your head, you make eye contact with the hello kitty mascot, who’s hellbent on staring at you.

“oh,” you giggle, jeemin thinks she’s ascended to heaven, “they grow up so fast, don’t they?”

jeemin tries her best to nod.

“anyway, isn’t it hot in there?” you ask, “i’m sweating just from looking at you.”

jeemin’s throat drys up as she thinks of a suitable reply. she had hyped herself up in the mirror before coming, claiming to be the one to start the conversation.

“uh, y-yes.” of course her voice cracks.

god, jeemin wishes the ground underneath her would just open up and swallow her whole. your eyes curve and twinkle with amusement.

“you’re a girl?”

“yes.”

you smile, “not fond of talking then?”

jeemin doesn’t mind if it’s you. she doesn’t say that though. it would just mortify her.

“i’m just tired.”

“aw, must be hard,” you coo. if it were anyone else, jeemin would think that those words were meant to mock her. but your sweet tone makes her gulp.

“yeah… i’m just doing this for a friend…”

“like a favour?”

“kind of.”

you redirect your gaze back to kyujin, who’s ordering now. jeemin feels a little saddened that your time with her is ending soon. she wishes kyujin would take a little longer at the counter.

“so is that friend going to come back? you’re not going to work here anymore?” you ask curiously. some deluded part of jeemin thinks you’re asking because you want to see her.

“yeah, she’s coming back.”

you nod, “well, it was nice chatting with you, hello kitty.” jeemin suddenly feels stupid in this suit. “i have to go now. bye!”

“uh, bye!”

jeemin watches as you hold kyujin’s small hand, thanking her for the ice cream. her dreamy gaze lingers on your back as you walk away, mentally patting herself on the shoulder for managing to carry a conversation with you. an awkward one, yes, but still a conversation. she can’t wait to brag to her friends.

which sane person would go to their job on their day-off, jeemin doesn’t know. but that was what koko had proposed. she gawked as koko brought her and their whole friend group to the amusement park. the girl had professed that she missed the place and it would be a good way to spend time with each other before everyone got swarmed with their own extracurriculars.

but before she could even disagree to come, koko had mentioned offhandedly, “maybe your girl will be there.”

and jeemin had gone in a flash, picking out an outfit and doing her makeup. it was kind of comedic and endearing to see her so eager.

“uhm— unnie,” jungeun says, wide-eyed, “you look pretty today.” jeemin grins brightly, patting the younger girl’s head. her chest flared with pride and anticipation. hope had filled her veins, and she was desperate to see you today, bare without the hello kitty costume.

as their group headed into the park, koko and jeemin, as well-seasoned employees, brought them to the various roller coasters and rides. jeemin was pretty sure she lost most of her hearing sitting next to saebi.

“guys,” sarang whines, “i’m hungry.” jeemin instantly perks up, dragging her friends to the stalls that lined the park, full of snacks and beverages. koko just glances at her knowingly. the sanrio attraction was situated nearby, and jeemin could been seen craning her head to catch a glimpse of anyone that resembled you. like a true mastermind, jeemin forces everyone to sit down at the bench closest to the hello kitty booth, where the familiar mascot was.

as her friends gorge themselves with waffle cones, churros and corndogs, jeemin stays attentive. she doesn’t even indulge in their mindless conversation and instead keeps a watchful eye on the people passing by.

it’s only when her friends are finished and getting ready to leave, she hears a voice.

“—you’re a guy? what happened to the other girl?”

jeemin abruptly stands up, swerving her head. she sees you, awkwardly rubbing your neck as you talk to the hello kitty mascot. kyujin’s by your side, a balloon in her hand.

“go talk to her!” jiyoon shouts quietly, pushing jeemin towards you. collecting all the bravery in her bones, she inhales sharply and strides. she can feel the eyes of all her friends on her back.

“today’s her day-off?” she hears you say, “ah, seriously? okay, sorry for the trouble.” the hello kitty mascot just shakes their hands and walks away to another group of children.

just as you’re about to leave, jeemin feels a surge of desperation, and her hand reaches out to clasp your wrist. her heart races as you turn, an eyebrow raising at her.

“sorry— i’m…” she blurts out, “i’m sorry.”

she can feel her whole face turning red, and a sense of mortification blooms at your stunned expression.

“i’m the… i’m hello kitty,” jeemin says and it’s definitely not the best way to introduce herself. she watches as your face lights up in recognition of her voice.

“oh? hello kitty?”

“y-yeah, like… uhm, the person inside the hello kitty mascot? sorry, i’m bang jeemin.” she feels a little self-conscious the way kyujin is staring at her. damn, these kids always find a way to humiliate her further.

“do you want to sit down and talk? kyujin’s a little restless.”

she glances back at her table of friends, all who look suspiciously joyful. yeah, she’d much rather talk to you somewhere else. that way her friends couldn’t eavesdrop. jeemin thinks you look even prettier today. your face was glowing and bright. and she could admire your smile more closely without the film of plastic in between.

“y/n-ah,” jeemin’s never heard this voice before— feminine and comforting, her eyes land on a girl, shorter than her, approaching.

jeemin’s first thought is that this girl is incredibly pretty. her cat-like visuals next to you only accentuates your beauty even more. her second thought is that this girl is definitely your girlfriend, from the way her hand wraps around your waist so casually.

“mai unnie!” kyujin squeals.

suddenly, she feels way too out of place. her confidence dwindles and she can register the sympathy from her friends. jeemin tries to hide her obvious shock, but she’s certain it fails when kyujin frowns at her.

“hey, silly,” you greet, “do you mind if you take kyujin for a while?”

mai removes her hand from your waist (jeemin sighs, relieved), and takes kyujin’s hand.

as the two walk away, you lead jeemin to a nearby cafe. jeemin’s not even sure she wants to be here now. the dreadful thought of you already being taken looms over her, and it’s strange how she’s never visited that idea before. of course you would have a partner, who wouldn’t want to date you? now she just feels silly. silly, like what you called mai.

you find an empty table facing out the window. jeemin can feel her phone vibrating in her pocket, probably the group chat blowing up with messages. there was no doubt that they had witnessed that interaction.

“so,” you lean over the table, grinning, “hello kitty.”

jeemin nods bashfully.

“yeah, uhm… i wasn’t stalking you or anything… just recognised you.”

a complete lie.

“what a coincidence. i didn’t expect you to be so cute.”

what. pause. are you flirting with her?

jeemin’s heart constricts, both of glee and pain, knowing that you already had someone. she smiles faintly. she doesn’t want your pity flirtatious comments. it feels stifling.

“i thought you’d be working today,” you say when the silence stretches on, “you came here with friends?”

“uh, yeah. what about you?” she asks, trying to camouflage the itching need of knowing who that girl was.

you laugh, “it’s just kyujin, i mean, you know her. and mai, that girl just now.”

“mai?” jeemin repeats, edging you on.

“yeah, kyujin was telling her how fun the park is and she wanted to come too. it’s better having her around. she keeps kyujin in check, making it less stressful for me.”

jeemin feels a sense of hopelessness. mai seemed like a great person, she wouldn’t be able to compete with that. she already had kyujin’s favour!

“uhm…” she had to get out of here now. before she could embarrass herself, “i think my friends are calling me.”

you blink.

“you’re leaving now?”

“yeah,” she croaks out, an onslaught of tears ready to bawl out as she thinks about you and mai together again.

you pout, “can i get your number then? or instagram?”

jeemin wants to shake her head and say no, but denying your pleading eyes, akin to kyujin’s, can only be compared to ripping her heart out.

she shakily inputs her username in your search engine— only to find that it’s been in your history. her lips part slightly, a little appalled. bbangmin. right there. holy shit.

you glance at her unmoving figure. worried, you peek over the screen and gasp.

“oh my god— wait, okay,” you babble, “it’s not what it looks like.”

jeemin swallows harshly.

“i… okay just hear me out.”

“o-okay.”

“after our conversation i asked mai if she had a friend who works here and she said she knew someone,” you explain sheepishly, ”someone called koko? and then mai asked koko about it and we kind of connected the dots that the friend you were talking about was her.”

jeemin can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“and like, god, this is weird to say,” you grimace, “but koko told mai that her friend, jeemin, was helping her out and then i kind of stalked you— i’m sorry! but that’s why your username popped up…”

“you already knew what i looked like?”

you nod, “i’m so sorry…”

“no— it’s, it’s okay,” jeemin says, her heart racing a mile. you looked way too cute right now, blushing and nervous. her hands were trembling as you explained, and your interest could only mean one thing, right?

“i kind of lied just now,” she whispers, “i came here today to see you, like without the costume.”

your own eyes widen.

“oh. well.”

“yeah.”

you suddenly laugh, full of joy, “i can’t believe this.” jeemin feels the same. it’s so unbelievable that you also orchestrated a plan to find her.

“so, can i have your number?” you ask slyly.

jeemin has never typed faster in her life.

(“mai’s really just a friend by the way.”

“i didn’t say anything…!”

“c’mon, jeemin. i saw the way you were glaring at her just now. she’s really just a friend.”

“but kyujin likes her more than me…”

“does it matter when i like you the most?”)

[suratan-zir]

first three photos - Syrnyk when I first got him 4 months ago, very sick and malnourished (likely due to illness, not because he was starved) VS. now

He actually looks younger now somehow.

a boring story about Syrnyk's ear under the cut

After a couple of months of Syrnyk living with Skritch (and Baton), I noticed one day that his ear was swelling up. It wasn't infected, just had a "balloon" of liquid inside. I'd never seen anything like it, but a quick search told me it was an ear hematoma. It's common in cats and dogs, but rare in rats. I figured the vet would probably tell me to drain it until it went away, but I took him to the clinic anyway. And, as expected, that's exactly what the vet said to do.

The pocket was filled with clear liquid, like you'd get from a blister caused by uncomfortable shoes. Skritch loves to pull on ears during play, not aggressively, he doesn't bite through the ear, but he twists and pulls. That's probably what happened to Syrnyk. It took over a week of draining his hematoma with a syringe, which didn't help with the bonding process at all, especially since Syrnyk was already very skittish and not used to being handled. But I think we're friends now.

The vet also told me that once healed, his ear would look "chewed up and ugly," and, well, yeah, that's accurate, lol. The hematoma got replaced with cartilaginous tissue, so it's no longer the thin, transparent rat ear. It also sits much closer to his head than his unaffected ear. But it doesn't bother him, and that's all that matters.

Just throwing it out there, if you ever notice something strange with his ear, that's why.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

If it’s possible could you do headcanons of mochizuki kanji if it hasn’t been asked before please

Of course! Here they are!

Refuses to fight girls and actively tried to avoid Senju during fights they were both in.

When he's grocery shopping he normally gets asked by people to reach things on the higher shelves, he always gets them what they need.

Has an arm wrestling club with Draken and Pah in the good timeline

Corn is actually a comfort food for him, he ate it a lot growing up

Would love to have a dog (also has a fondness for cats)

He frequently steps into fights that he feels are unfair like a group teaming up on one person (as long as they're not a target for his gang).

When he gets bored he looks for someone to fight

Loves festivals, especially the games at them

As a partner he's incredibly gentle, carefully holding your hand and placing soft kisses on you. He's very aware of his strength and careful with it.

Similarly to Pah and Mikey, Izana once fell asleep on Mochi

Doesn't like that he isn't a fast runner (mainly because Shion and the Haitani brother's sometimes tease him over it)

He didn't like his life in bonten much, it wasn't what he thought it would be like

In the good timeline, after he joined toman and realised Angry was scared of him, he tried to be friendlier towards him (usually by bringing him a drink to meetings)

He's very good with the kids in the future timeline, they love climbing all over him and how happy he is to play with them.

Very good at ball sports 

Growing up, his father was a police officer who often wasn't home and worked overtime. His mother was always kind to him and they were very close but she died when he was a kid, he ran away after that. 

One time he managed to catch a balloon a kid accidentally let go off before it got too high, he felt like a hero that day.

Likes cooking and will often share recipes with Kakucho 

Is very bad at keeping surprises from his partner, he just gets so excited to share gifts with them or tell them about his plans. 

Frequently carries his friends home on nights out when they get too drunk (Rindou is the most common)

[toeatagod]

Destroying the Corrupted Gaze: An Analysis of Momose Amane’s Second Trial

In case you don't know, MILGRAM is a Japanese interactive music project by DECO*27 and Takuya Yamanaka, established in April 2020, where 10 prisoners are put into three rounds of trial to gradually express their guilt and sins into a song. The viewers, representing an ungendered guard named Es, vote if the prisoner should be “innocent” (forgivable) or “guilty” (unforgivable). Each prisoner has a different experience and style of music and visuals, but have a single thing in common: they all have committed murder.

This will focus on one of the 10 prisoners, a 12-year-old girl named Momose Amane who has known to have been brainwashed into a cult’s practices, and will analyze four aspects of her music video: the visuals, lyrics, song title, and the convention defied (hopefully, once I submit this to my professor, I too will also be forgiven for the length of this analysis since I am very fond of this series; I apologize in advance).

Visual and Lyric Analysis

The music video starts with an army of countless Amane’s, all poise and flawlessly in position. Each row waves four flags of different colors, representing the cult’s “commandments”. The following are the official English translations of the lyrics, with the original Japanese beside it:

Thou shall follow thine destiny. / 人は運命を生きよ

Thou shall discard vulgarity. / 人は卑しきを捨てよ

Thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in. / 信じたものに納めよ

Thou shall stay thine course, then perish. / 道を外れずに果てよ

The way these were written were imperative, and were enumerated with the word “ひとつ” (hitotsu, which means firstly or one) before it. This shows that there is no order to their commandments—all of them were of utter priority. Additionally, these lyrics were made to look like actual commandments, but the following are the actual meanings of the lyrics:

People must live out their fate.

People must abandon the lowly.

People must submit to their beliefs.

People must meet their end without straying [from their path].

Moving on, one of the Amane’s is holding a blue flag, which represents the second commandment, fails to deliver the correct pattern in the march. The leading Amane catches her mistake, summoning clouds that caused rain to sink her down the “snow” as a punishment. After an uncomfortable sequence of her struggling, she is then pulled back to reality, where she is soaked and kneeling on her bathroom floor, gasping for breath. A hand is in front of her, holding a showerhead, showing that she had been waterboarded by her own mother. Another detail to notice as she was sinking is that she still reaches out to the flag. It is common one to turn to their beliefs in desperate times, and since Amane was still at such a young age and didn’t have much to rely on, she relies on the same beliefs that hurt her. As she sinks, the “snow” covers her drowning body, a sign that no one saw (or ignored) abuse she was going through.

At the next scene, Amane is seen administering first aid to a wounded cat, and is spotted by two figures, no doubt members of the cult. They then tell this to Amane’s mother, and the poor girl gets tased as soon as she arrives at home. This was a punishment because she interfered with fate, thus violating the first commandment. It is possible that Amane receives different punishments depending on the commandment violated. The balloon that moves away from Amane’s apartment has a symbol with all four colors, encapsulating the commandments.

Amane returns to the spot where she took care of the cat, and only a torn collar and her bloodied handkerchief is found. She eventually realizes that her disobeying these commandments, intentional or not, will only bring her misfortune. Her face is covered in bruises, as she looks up and smiles. The army of Amane’s runs with the same eerie smile, with the flag and mascots symbolizing the four commandments in hand, showing that the brainwashing has been effective. She does the usual pattern with her baton, but in the third sequence, it is stained with blood.

In the scene of the crime, Amane stands over her mother’s dead body, wearing her same outfit from the march. This symbolizes that it was the beliefs taught to her that pushed her to that extent. Additionally, her voice as the song prolongs becomes more aggressive, compared to when she started the song, where she was more soft-spoken.

The lyrics of the song is Amane implying the things taught to her and the punishments she endured for violating them. On the second verse, she can be heard constantly muttering the commandments over and over again in the background, and the following lyrics are one of the phrases that are sung over and over again: “After you cry, repent, and kneel, it’s now your turn to say that hopeless ‘I’m sorry’!” That sentence of apology can often be heard from children who promise they won’t act up ever again.

Title Analysis

The Purge March’s title is written as 粛清マーチ in Japanese and pronounced as Shukusei Māchi. It can be broken down into two parts: the Chinese characters “粛清” and “マーチ”. 

Shukusei is usually written where, when the characters are combined, it would literally mean solemn justice. But in this case, it is written differently (although pronounced the same). The first character stays the same as solemn but the second character “清” means pure, cleanse, or even exorcise. This implies that the beliefs brought upon Amane can be viewed as unjust to some.

Conventions and Conclusion

Songs with an upbeat tempo are often associated or assumed to have wholesome lyrics. Not only does this case defy that stereotype, but The Purge March also mixes in a haunting sense of reality in both the lyrics and the song in the fictional case of Momose Amane. She sings with threats that attack both believers and non-believers alike, because she only knows about the incoming punishment if she doesn’t obey. 

To think that there really are people out there—children, specifically—who experience this lingering fear with their beliefs is incredibly concerning, and even more so with the possibilities that might happen once they are pushed to their limits. I speak from pure experience, and I have chosen this piece of media not only because it is dear to my heart, but because it also reminds us of the reality we are in. It is better to be educated and afraid than to be blissfully ignorant.

[EDIT] Additionally, Amane mentioned in her voice drama that those who run away from trials are the worst kind of people, and in the last scene depicting her murder, droplets of water are trailing outside of the bathroom, showing attempts of escape. The trail ends in the living room, where Amane hovers over the dead body. She really is just trying to live the way she was taught.

[lilacs-stash]

I made Nickloon a cat cuz I feel like they'd have a cat.

Random stuff about her:

-Nickel wasn't allowed to name her (On account of his record of terrible names for stuff).

-She is very sweet and silly but also not very smart and easily spooked.

-She has be friended Mic.

-Was originally some random stray cat that wandered into hotel OJ (this is a somewhat common occurrence) and Balloon and Nickel adopted her.

-She's scared of Baxter and no one knows why

[rom-e-o]

Liable to Fall - Chapter 2 (Scrooge/OC) (Post-Canon)

Chapter 2 is here! Let the romantic tension and ghost banter continue!

Scrooge and Constance set about the awkward journey of relearning how to interact as husband and wife while his memories remain lost.

Read now on AO3

In an instant, the house had turned from an orchestra of scorched cats into a brick and catacomb of uncomfortable silence. Even the ghostly wails of the wind outside proved no distraction.

Magda and Errol tended to Ebenezer, asking question after question to the befuddled man, trying to get a gauge of where holes in his memory had been ripped. Meanwhile, the attending physician had opted to pull Constance aside to speak with her more privately.

“Temporary amnesia is quite common in cases of head trauma,” he said. The man’s hand found purchase on Constance’s shoulder, his thumb working the protrusion of her collarbone with repetitive swipes. “Why, I venture he’ll be back to his normal self before you can say ‘lickety-split’!”

“What’s the longest you’ve ever seen it last?” Constance asked, her hands grasping at her peignoir to nervously hug it tightly about her shoulders and stomach. Something about the swaddling of fabric, even with its lightness, provided a small bit of comfort. It also masked the nervous jitter of her hands.

His smile faltered for a moment. “Well, while it is extremely unlikely in this case to see prolonged symptoms, I’ve seen some cases last a few days, and on much rarer occasions, they can span weeks.”

“But … it’s always temporary?”

“For this level of trauma, yes, that period is a typical diagnosis. The only exception would be…”

“Exception?” Her voice cracked loud enough that Magda glanced over at her in concern, but this raised flag of concern was not noticed.

“Well, the exception would be – and this is a slim chance, I’ll remind you – if there is additional trauma to the brain that isn’t being indicated by external damage to the skin,” he offered, a nervous tic highlighting traces of his Polish accent. “That could complicate matters.”

“Oh.”

“But that is very unlikely!” he said again, tapping the tip of her pert nose to calm her. “The fact that he’s awake and lucid is proof of that.”

She hummed, slightly assuaged. Her lips pursed into a semi-fine line and her eyes bore holes into the buttery walnut floors, as if she was trying to manifest a more desirable answer to slip between the floorboards.

“However, I do ask that you keep an eye on him,” the physician added, glancing over his shoulder at Ebenezer, who was currently seated in one of the more cushioned visitors’ chairs that rested before his work desk. “Should any other symptoms arise, you’ll want to send for me promptly. If his forgetfulness continues, or if he experienced numbness, immediate medical attention will be necessary.”

The nervous tremble spread to her knees. Suddenly, her craving for her pain medication, which she had mostly been able to ween off since coming to London, began to flare. A telltale tightness pulled at the skin of her face, while her chest felt as if it was ballooning.

“I have a bell in my office and home with a sign proclaiming my residency, and encourage any of my clients to give it a ring if peril arises. You are no exception to that, loved one.”

With a sobering swallow, she steadied herself with a light sway. Her eyes fell shut as her chin rested upon the slope of her chest.

Concerned by her reaction, the doctor gave her shoulder a firmer grasp, in the same way one might try to awaken someone out of a deep slumber.

“I’m fine,” Constance said, offering the physician a crooked grin, “Truly, I’m fine. J-Just a bit in shock.”

“A perfectly normal reaction, given present circumstances.”

With another deep, lung-sealing breath, she felt herself touch Earth again.

“Thank you, Dr. Adamczyk,” she muttered. A hand drifted to her shoulder to take his calloused one in hers, cradling it in her hands. “I appreciate you very much for tending to us at such an unusual time of the day.”

The older man beamed, his smile lines perfectly chiseled to cradle his wide grin. “Oh, ‘tis my job, love. Pay it no mind.”

Constance thanked him and went to pay him for his services. The kind doctor attempted to talk him down from the ludicrous sum she offered, but as far as she was concerned, it was more than worth it. After all, he’d come running to help her husband, and has consoled her and even offered to revisit and tend to him in the future outside of normal shift hours. No bill was too large to pay back that act of kindness.

While she made sure he was compensated and made sure he had a carriage to help get him home, Magda was before Ebenezer, eyes boring into him as if he was a suspect and she was the interrogator.

“What is the last thing you remember, dear?” she asked, her fingers tapping his shoulder vigorously, as if she could drum up those missing memories herself. “Spare no details. If you remember anything, please speak it into the universe for us.”

“Magda, I’ve never seen you so frazzled,” Ebenezer teased lightly, hands covering hers to push them off him and gently cradle them. “I think you’re even more wound up than the time you first came here and saw that I did have pepper in my kitchen.”

“Oh, I haven’t pardoned you for that sin, dear,” she replied, her smile wry, “But please, this is not joking matter.”

A silver brow lofted. “Is it…regarding …”

His eyes flickered to the redheaded woman (a beautiful woman, he couldn’t help but notice) escorting the doctor who has aided him earlier out of the house. Second to her appearance, which alone made him blush like a schoolboy, he noticed some … interesting elements about her. First and foremost, her dress. Or, more frankly, her lack thereof – as she was dressed only in a peignoir and matching robe overtop, velveteen and boasting a gold belt fastened at the waist. She wore little to no cosmetics, and her hair was done casually. She looked more like a resident in his home than another visitor.

“You really don’t remember her?” Magda inquired. “At all?”

“I-I’m afraid not, no…” Ebenezer replied. “W-Who is she?”

“Your wife.”

Silence, then a chuckle. A nervous chuckle, accompanied by a concerned furrow of the brows. “That’s … that’s absurd. I’m fifty years old, not some young buck attending balls and galas. I’m not even looking to marry.”

“Well, you weren’t before you met her.”

Another slow blink, as if he was a slowly suffocating fish. He looked over his shoulder to steal one last glance at her before she exited the study completely. He peered at her hands, and sure enough, saw a wedding ring shining brightly on her finger.

The speed at which he looked down his at own hand mirrored that of a panicked songbird hearing the caw of a hawk in the distance. Sure enough, a match gold band glimmered back at him. A shocked laugh tumbled from his lips with the grace of falling river rocks.

“Bloody hell, y-you’re not joking.”

Magda batted him upside the head. “Of course, I’m not, you daft tit!”

While Errol rushed to take his wife’s hand, speaking in flawed but compassionate Hungarian, Ebenezer stared ahead into the middle-distance. His fingertips grazed his reddened cheek as he mulled over the heavy realization that had been loaded upon his still-sore body.

“I’m married?” he mumbled, more so to himself than anyone else, “I-I … I’m married? After Isabel, I…?”

The sound of the study door reopening startled him out of his daze, and he lofted his head to watch the woman from before reenter the room. Not just any woman, he reminded himself. His …wife.

He found himself staring at her, his mind riffling through any memory with ardent desperation. Gods, she looked so kind. So lovely. She didn’t look deserving of having her husband, or any loved one, forget her.

Then, of course, he registered again that she was beautiful. Uncannily beautiful, in all honesty, but he’d never dream of voicing that opinion. She looked out of place in a home belonging to him, some bloke who had wasted decades of his life penny-pinching. Also, her accent … was she American as well? How the hell had they even met?

“I saw the physician out,” the copper-haired woman reported as she came to a stop before them. “He told me ring him if any symptoms worsened, or if any new numbness or pain were to manifest in the coming days. Speaking of which…”

She turned to look at Ebenezer, her gaze tender and soft. Her irises were as blue as oceans from storybooks. Maker, she had freckles too!

“How are you feeling, de—Ebenezer?”

Fuck, his heart practically writhed through his chest. She looked bloody devastated, and he hated that he was the one causing a woman who he obviously loved such torment.

“I-I’m feeling much less dizzy than before,” he said honestly, tipping his head to her. “Much obliged.”

Love. Right. If they had married, then it stood to reason that they loved each other. At least, he knew that he would never marry a woman for any reason other than if he felt an undying devotion to her. The Spirits from that fateful Christmas Eve had warned him aplenty about denying the good intentions in his heart – and in the hearts of others – ever again. He was to be honorable and honest, and he’d embraced that. After so many years of denying himself happiness and joy, he’d found himself again … now, he felt oddly vacant. As if, when he looked at her, something was missing. As if she had something he yearned for, but he couldn’t place exactly what.

She smiled at the chivalrous gesture. There was a definite touch of sadness to her expression. “You’re welcome.”

After another tense moment, Magda was the one to break the metaphorical ice with a student clap of her hands.

“It’s been a long day, and I think we could use a little pick-me-up. I’ll make some pörkölt for supper,” the woman said. “Connie, dear, can you help me with preparing the gray cattle meat? I'll grind the paprika.”

“Y-Yes, of course,” she said, slightly caught off guard by the chance in topic, but not stopping it. It was clear the poor woman was in need of quite a distraction.

Connie? Ah, a nickname. So, her real name would have been…

“Constance?”

The way the woman flashed her gaze to him, it poignancy nearly stunning him to stone. Guilt jabbed at his heart for getting her hopes up, but he had to ask. “T-That’s your name, yes?” 

“Oh.” The disappointment was clear on her face, but she did try to hide it as quickly as possible as to not cause him any guilt. “Y-Yes, you’re correct. T-That’s my name.”

“And…you’re really my wife?”

The questions left his lips before he could stop it. Blazes, he could feel Magda’s gaze boring holes into his body.

“Yes,” Constance answered. Mirroring his gesture from before, she inclined her head to him in formal greeting. “I’m your wife.”

“Constance…Scrooge?”

“Constance DoGoode-Scrooge,” she said, lifting her nightgown and curtseying. “It’s…nice to meet you.”

“Smooth, old boy."

“I cannot bear to hear your insufferable comments right now, Jacob."

As if the scenario alone wasn’t enough to scald his nerves, watching himself blunder every step of way in speaking to her was painful. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t bear to leave her twice in the same day.

“Infinitely more awkward than your first meeting with her,” Marley commented, chains rattling harshly with even the softest of movements. “When she showed up in that butcher shop, hair unwashed and shivering? Panicked as a mouse in a razed field?”

“She’d just survived thirty days in the basement of some horrid boat,” Scrooge snapped.

“Yet, she caught your eye.”

“Of course, she did,” he started, rage simmering down into something more timid. That day … it was crystal clear to him. He remembered stopping in to speak with the owner about getting a treat for Prudence (her favorites were the stuffed bones), and remembering her calm, yet obviously exhausted, voice inquiring about finding work.

The moment he had gazed upon her, he knew he had to help her. There was something ethereally trustworthy in her eyes, and in the way she carried herself with such grace even after looking like she’d crawled through the trenches and gutters. In a way, she’d done exactly that.

Then, to learn she’d also survived the trip without the opium-based pain medication that her ex-husband had all but gotten her addicted to … the paleness of her cheeks and hollowness of her eyes had made even more sense.

Had it tarnished his view of her? Not in the slightest. If anything, he respected her more.

“Well, you always did have a type,” the elder ghost said, bringing a transparent hand up to examine his nails. “Curls. Blue Eyes. Freckles.”

“It wasn’t just that,” he objected, resenting the insinuation that his interest was purely because of her physical attributes (though, they certainly didn’t harm matters). “Jacob. Tell me. You watch over this house, yes?”

“I do.”

“Then you must see,” Scrooge said, “She’s a hard worker! Why, her mind is sharper than some of those old codgers at Lloyds – she could run their numbers into the ground and tally their receipts with her eyes closed.”

“All while being clumsier than a newborn fawn. Or a loose doorknob.”

Ebenezer turned with a clenched fist to clobber his partner but was halted by the sound of Marley’s loud laughter. It caught him off guard, and in one moment, he realized just how much he’d missed the man. Why, they’d spent decades together, and had been friends. Companions through and through.

“I must confess, I’d forgotten what this felt like, old boy…” Marley revealed, the gold obols on his eyes seeming to shine extra bright. “You always were sterling company. Though, I must say, you’re more of a spitfire than you used to be.”

Scrooge frowned, glaring at his partner impatiently. “More of a spitfire to you, you mean.”

“Ah, I suppose that is what I mean,” he laughed. “With me, you were always a bit of a pushover. I supposed you were just more fond of me than others, yes?”

“Well, you did mentor me in many ways,” he mumbled, “Including the habit of holding you in the highest esteem.”

Marley laughed even harder at that, and the tiniest of smirks graced Ebenezer’s face. It was a moment of respite in an otherwise hopeless scenario.

As Marley’s laughter came to a natural end, their attention was called away from conversing with each other as they observed Constance bowing to him again and making her way out of the room.

“I-I’m going to help Magda with the stew meat,” she explained somewhat bashfully as she gripped the study doorknob. “I suppose I’ll see you at dinner?”

“Y-Yes,” Ebenezer said. “I-I’ll be there.”

Smiling gently, she tipped her head to him and slid out. Perhaps it was him imagination, but she moved with an uneasy quickness.

As the door fell shut, Scrooge allowed a tense sigh to leave him.

“Ye, gods, what have I done?” he mumbled to himself, a hand smoothing the deep creases in his forehead as he slinked back to his desk chair. Completely ignorant of the ghosts moving away from the desk to make way for the mortal man, he slinked into the chair and practically collapsed.

For a moment, he laid there, silent and still; simply resting his body and mind from the event that had just transpired. After just a moment to rally himself, he shot upright and left the desk. With long-legged strides, he paced around his desk, scanning the documents that were scattered about, including the paperwork he’d been working on before his fall.

None of the names or accounts on the banknotes looked familiar to him; they must have been new clients.

Another cursory examination revealed a familiar name as a key signature on some of the final documents. He recognized his signature, as well as Bob’s, but above their side-by-side names, there was a smaller name written in loopy, meticulous script:

Constance Albany DoGoode-Scrooge, Bank Clerk & Accounts Specialist

She was his wife … and his clerk?

Thinking fast, the man bent down and opened the bottom drawer of his desk. It was the space where he kept records of all his previous employees and coworkers (all two of them). He knew he had Jacob’s files, including all the legal documents from his passing, but he also had documents items such as Bob Cratchit’s initial application, as well as identification documents that were renewed annually. As expected, his file had grown sizably following his promotion.

He ventured that, if he had documents about them, he had to have …

“There!”

Sorted alphabetically in the drawer by her surname, he stumbled across her dossier. He opened it and was immediately greeted with the materials he’d used to apply for her job with. A copy of her diploma from Bradford University in Massachusetts, the results of her bank clerk pre-exams (top marks, of course) as well as other documents. Accreditation, test scores, etcetera.

Also included were her age, her upbringing, her family and personal address, and … the name of a spouse. A New York investor with their hand in many national and international businesses.

She’d been…married before him.

Beyond intrigued, he hauled the file to the top of his desk. Turning to the first document, he started at the top and began to read.

If he couldn’t remember her, then for now, the least he could do was relearn about her.

Tag List: @quill-pen, @crimson-phantom-designs, @thedivinelights, @purgratoriat, @bluestarliight, @alolaamii, @vixx-ari

Thank you all for the support! <3

[maryentes-multiverse]

The Ignis Vita Misconception and the Realms

So, in my universe, the realms are like layers of a painting. Each one are all on the same canvas and are vital to its completion, but are all still separate if you know how or where to look.

Now, there are four Realms: Living, Spirit, Void, and Lost. There is Ignis Vita as well, which is common knowledge that it is a hell-like place, full of monsters and blue fires and will torment the truly evil spirits. Living and Spirit are the most obvious ones; Living is where the, well, living reside and the Spirits are where the dead reside. That is putting it simply, though.

Your spirit has always been in the Spirit Realm, it has merely been tethered to your body. Once dead or temporarily separated, your soul is finally free and can do as it pleases, while your body rots. Do not think you are not in control of yourself, however, you are still you and you retain your memories of your life after separation from your body. If you are lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view), you are a reincarnated spirit, and regain the memories of your past life or lives.

You are capable of seeing spirits when alive though, but only if they have a will to be seen. Through the reflections of water, rain, or even mist and fog, you may see them, the refractions from water one of few things able to still transfer their light to ours.

For the Void Realm, it is a little more complicated, and very dark. It is an almost exact copy to the Living, but only soulless things exist there. If there was a room with 5 things and a cat in it in the Living, and 2 of those things had a soul inside it, in the Void, only the 3 things without a soul will be present in that room. There are creatures that live inside this Realm who adapted to see in this Realm, but they did not originate from it. If you are not one of these creatures or a deity, you will only see darkness and be constantly bumping or falling into things, thus the name Void.

The Lost is a strange place, where wherever you go you seem to never go somewhere familiar, even if you know the directions, and are unable to return to places once visited when you leave. Everything lacks color, as if it has been taken from it. There are no native beings in this Realm, only those who made the mistake of entering without knowing how to leave, living and spirit alike. This is the only Realm that spirits and living can naturally see and interact with one another without aid. It is a good place to banish those who cannot be controlled and are causing havoc in other Realms, as long as they themselves don't know how to leave either.

Ignis Vita, however, is not a Realm. Many consider it to be so but it is untrue. Ignis Vita is a planet, its whereabouts and how it exists is still unknown. They think it is so because the only way in or out is through portals or summoning, much like other Realms' subjects and gateways. This is, again, not true at all.

The planet on the outside seems like any other uninhabitable planet, though frankly large at face value. Inside though is a planet-wide cave, kind of like those balloons inside balloons to make a whole new balloon situation. Some hypothesize that it is a rouge planet and that is why they've never found it because it it constantly moving aimlessly at an unknown speed throughout the universe. Others claim it is because it is in a solar system so far away from the other sentient species that they've never been able to spot it.

The myths about monsters and sulfur fires are true in some sections of the planet, but torturing souls is not. Thats just propaganda to get the mass populace to behave out of fear of being in eternal pain after separation. No spirit goes there unwillingly, and there are many, if not more, amicable and intelligent species there.

[thedaytheworldburned]

'Deja Vu' First Reactions

Well, um... I was right. Much more LOVESONG and Run Away than LOSER=LOVER of GBGB. Another notch on my mastery of TXT's concept. But not my mastery of their storyline.

Also, why does this song sound to be like a nice blend between something ENHYPEN would make and something SHINee would make? Odd.

So yeah, fun song, I like it. The story is confusing me immensely, since colours for each member are back - something from Chasing that Feeling - but they aren't the same colours per member. Is this on purpose? Are they trying to change the symbolism? Was Chasing that Feeling just incredibly lacking in preparation and thought? I feel it's the latter, because Chasing that Feeling has like NOTHING, but still, confusing, and forces us to basically make this MV a story devoid of the rest of TXT's storyline, which is weird and annoying. I'm sure Laina will have many things to say about it though :)

Full thoughts below the line.

I was watching Girl's Planet for my podcast episode on it when I opened this, and this orb confused me so much. Tell me this doesn't look like the openings of Girls Planet and Boy's Planet.

Especially with the two colours circling each other and the cosmic swish sounds.

Here we get the fox from the trailer - and also from the Little Prince. It's glowing and colourful - it's clearly from a different planet, and this shot of it descending into darkness mirrors TXT (in the form of a multicoloured cloud of energy - see the similarities) falling from the sky in Chasing that Feeling.

Also, the shape it moves towards id kind of like an eye, but also kind of like the drains from Chasing that Feeling. Some other important instances of eyes in TXT's story? The cat with heterochromia, Kai and his eyepatch, and the massive eye shape behind them in GBGB.

This segment has the subtitles that some things are precious, but invisible, and we pass them by. The eye is crying this pinkish liquid - which will come back later.

Basically, some precious things are either invisible or passed by. What things? TXT, the fox, and friendship would be my best guesses. The fox especially was left behind in the concept trailer.

The tears obviously show regret, and since the fox disappears into a star-like twinkle in the eye, it suggests that, despite being passed over, the important things will be with us forever.

Whose eye is it? Taehyun's. How do I know that? I'll get back to that later.

Here we get our main character - constantly dead Yeonjun. He's in this field with.... giant balloon animal things? Which I assume are supposed to represent the magic in the world, since they disappear when the colour (magic/power from CTF) also disappears.

Now I will point out that Yeonjun is running, the world is red, and he has holes in his shirt. Aka, Yeonjun is likely in pain. A very common motif/story element in the TXT story. Story Yeonjun is going to need billions of years of therapy after everything he's been through.

But this is also where my annoyance shows up - because in CTF, red was Soobin's colour, not Yeonjun's. Is this supposed to tie him to Soobin? Or did they just choose red since he's in pain? I'll let you choose.

This shot suggests to us that, like the fox, Yeonjun is incorporeal, and this is either his soul or consciousness floating around without his body. Everything in the red shot is an entire world that exists within this red orb in the grey 'real world'. Keep in mind - the grey, or dark, real world which contrasts Magic Island is something that's been around since the very first TXT song ever - Blue Orangeade. It's very well established in their story.

Here he is, the man himself, and thankfully he was probably just dreaming, With his horn/fang earrings (ahem, animal imagery, ahem, the fox which Yeonjun is tied to above all the other members, ahem).

My big question is why is Beomgyu glowing? Is it because he murdered Taehyun and may or may not have claimed his power? Is he the most powerful since he got his power first in CTF? But his power was green, not yellow. Has he DIED???? Lol. Goodness knows. But it is very evocative imagery, the only problem is I don't know what it's trying to evoke.

Here we are again in the grey world, and since Soobin is definitely not driving and probably not being driven, I imagine the shadows are changing over his face quickly to show the passage of time - TXT are out of the timestream - I mean, time and not following it correctly have also been a concept of theirs since almost the beginning.

Ahem, dead Kai, ahem???!?!?!!

Probably more like 'living on the edge, being risky, being a TEENAGER!' Giving himself up to feeling, you know?

And yeah, I understand that water IS blue, but blue is Yeonjun's colour in CTF, not Kai's?!?!

That said, we can still apply the same principles - blue for relaxation, which he clearly feels in comparison to Yeonjun. Colour also = magic and a different world - and Kai is literally separated from the otherworldly, magical space that is the ocean, by the grey boat he is in. He's almost reaching out to the magic that he grew up with on the island.

And this shows us how out of the world they actually are - dissociated to the highest level on the side of the path.

But also - these sports uniforms are really odd looking - they're old fashioned, they look like they're from the 1930s or something, and considering it's a group of boys running in a field with what looks like a stereotypical European boarding house behind them - I think Yeonjun may or may not have time traveled himself to 20s England or something.

This can be applied to the other members too - Soobin's car looks like a model from the 60s or something, and the boat Kai is on has these nuts that are far more common on ships from the 20s-50s than anything more modern.

I mean these nuts, fyi.

They all have masks - they are all brainwashed boring denizens of the grey world, not Magic Island. Or at least, that's my interpretation.

Yo wtf where did Kai come from? Also, Yeonjun goes right back to his dissociated sleep as soon as Kai shows up - is this supposed to show how their magic keeps them connected despite the distance? Don't forget that Yeonjun and Kai are one of our best-associated pairings in the storyline.

Well I don't think I need to tell you that people holding hands and losing grip of each other is a symbol of desperation and loss, do I?

Henceforth, Beomgyu will be known as 'glowing Gyu.'

Still not sure WHY he's glowing - and in Kai's colour, too. He is singing about stars here, so that does make sense. Has he returned to the world of magic to the extent that he's basically BECOME it?

Ahem bias alert.

The shots before this show us that 1) Taehyun is still the only member with no colour (while glowing Gyu who murdered him in CYSM is the only one with no black and white/darkness), and 2) that he looked up, just in time to see both glowing Gyu, and dark Soobin (whose colour is a mix of Yeonjun's blue and Beomgyu's green). Are they going to fight?!?! Is Beomgyu Taehyun's saviour, or is he looking at him in anger for being murdered?

Am I too hung up on the murder scene from CYSM? Yes, but it's still kind of insane that one of the members of this boy group just... murdered another. In their SECOND COMEBACK, no less!!!!

Anyway, Soobin - he's in this weird space with this scaffolding which also kind of creates watery mirror shapes. If that isn't either hallucinations or magic, I don't know what is. It's also - duh - dark and stormy - a likely reflection of his mindstate. If it's not, well, that would be bad visual storytelling.

He could also be evil, while Gyu is good - a reversal of their previous roles. That said, Taehyun and Soobin were the liars in CYSM, and Taehyun was kind of muted in the concept trailer, so maybe they're teaming up against Gyu....?

This is the problem with making your members good for some comebacks and evil for others - the story can get confused. It doesn't even really work to make them well rounded characters here either, since we're unsure on the motivations. The only characters this works for here is Kai and Yeonjun - since they are both tortured souls with two curses each - Yeonjun is traumatised and made a deal with the devil, and Kai has the angel wings, but also a lost heart, so of course he also needs to be a devil.

Not entirely sure why Kai is in Soobin's realm with the glowing globs - is he checking in on people - Yeonjun and now Soobin? Also why does he have this shocked expression on his face lol. Is he shocked that Soobin was secretly a liar?

On a quest to find his leader?

Also may I say - Kai has brought all the extra colour. Because he may have an evil alter ego, but at the end of the day he's their cute innocent maknae.

And instead of finding Soobin, he finds glowing Gyu. Has Soobin entrapped glowing Gyu?

And I'm guessing this is some psychic/magical defense Soobin has on Gyu?

HE'S GETTING AWAYYYYYYYYY. Or, getting FURTHER away. And being pulled into that eye. Whose eye? Taehyun's. Why Taehyun's? I'll get to it eventually I swear.

I mean, I imagine this is supposed to look like an eye, but because it moves so quickly in the actual MV and is kind of like soap suds or something, I'm not ENTIRELY sure. If it wasn't meant to be, the editors have some issues.

Poor dude has been left all to his lonesome.

Now the fact that 1) we were in some dream world, and 2) Soobin is sleeping suggest to be that this was all subconscious on his part. Interesting...

One eye is covered - a representation of Kai's curse, and also of having lost sight of one's purpose - in this case, friendship and being the group's leader. Because, you know, he was a liar.

Who is holding him? Based on the shirt, I'm going to say Taehyun - which would mark the first time Taehyun is given colour in this MV. Interestingly, it's as part of Soobin's story/in connection with Soobin, and both of them are costumed in yellow - which shows comraderie, but is also Kai's colour? Unsure about Kai here - I would have expected them to be in green to show their revenge on Gyu. Then again, Gyu IS yellow in this MV, so....

IT'S NAP OF A STAR, IT'S ETERNALLY, IT'S A CONNECTION WITH YEONJUN, IT'S A REPRESENTATION OF BEAUTY IN DEATH AND SELF SACRIFICE, IT'S THE EYE FROM THE OPENING OF THE VIDEO, IT'S TAEHYUNNNNNNN.

(um bias alert, I am indeed very biased, you've got to remember that after Soobin this dude is my bias in TXT)

So, Taehyun was the one who witnesses Yeonjun's death in Eternally, and now he too is covered in flowers, probably dead, and producing purplish liquid. This liquid is the same colour as the fox (which he was associated with in some of our concept pictures), and the orb from the beginning of the video - the representation of otherworldlyness and magic. Not only is he crying literal, pure magic, but also likely regret at the things that have been lost - possibly included among them, his life which was, I'll say it again, taken from him by glowing Gyu.

Also, the tears themselves are purple, but purple is made of red and blue - colours associated with Yeonjun and Soobin in both this MV and CTF. Yeonjun because he is dead. Soobin because he too is a liar.

The stop-motion style of this shot, and the use of flowers and nature imagery, ties it to Nap of a Star, while the colour purple is both 1) Eternally 2) Yeonjun's blood in Eternally, and 3) the colour associated with Taehyun in CTF.

It's the first time we've seen Taehyun explicitly with a colour in this MV - and the second time overall.

It seems to bring him out of the grey and into the colour, since afterwards we see him in colour.

This is Yeonjun, yeah? I'm not quite good enough to know the members by the backs of their heads, but this IS the shirt Yeonjun was wearing, and that's his hairstyle and ears, so yeah. Looks like he has joined Kai in searching for glowing Gyu.

Taehyun in full colour woohoo.

I like this shot, which is of their dancing feet, upside down, in the dream-Soobin world, which is then mirrored/contrasted by their feet, dancing in colour in this training studio thing?

This is such an unflattering screenshot I'm so sorry TXT. But, the room does have purple (Taehyun's colour) opposed with green (Gyu's colour). Fun fact. But it also changes, so there's not much we can take from it. Sad fact.

And I have hit my image limit, so I'll see you for the rest in Part 2!

[duckduckhjonk]

*very loud clap of my hands*

RIGHT

*very loud cracking of my knuckles*

so tonight marks a special occasion, I finished season one of Inanimate Insanity as part of my tumblr live reactions. Very important day indeed. Now its time for my season review.

I guess if you haven't seen season 1 spoilers?? also its long so it goes under the read more. Also please note I'm just some random critter on the internet, I might not have gods greatest reading comprehension. If I say something wrong, please be respectful but do correct me!

I think the show started off very rocky to say the least. I think it was originally like "We're bfdi but edgy" with all the censored swearing and jabs at what would probably be 'dark' humour. Not really a fan of that bit, like- at all. I think most of what they tried to do early on landed very poorly. I think the way they originally tackled Paint Brush being non-binary was done awfully. I know in the later seasons it is properly discussed, but this is just going through the first season.

But, I think they recovered decently. I think that this season managed to turn that around and make it into genuinely an interesting show. I felt myself getting closer to the screen in anticipation and excitement during some of the later episodes. They ditched the dark/edgy humour and made a good show. I think that was smart and really good.

The characters are very fun. I definitely have some favourites. Those being Paper, Paint Brush, Bow, Balloon, Taco, and Marshmallow, but of them all I absolutely adore Paper. But I also think Bomb stood out a lot. He's a very solid character to me. I don't see a lot of characters with a stutter a lot, and originally I don't think it was done in a goodhearted way, but I didn't see a lot of it being used as the butt of the joke very often. Of course there were times it was, but it wasn't as common as I was expecting I suppose. I also think I'd like to talk about Apple a bit? I thought she was a very decent character, being a little stupid, but iconic I suppose. Although my biggest complaint with her was she was very much written off towards the end with her elimination. While the rest of the eliminated contestants came back and did things, she only got snippets???

Talking more about my faves for a moment. Paper, god I love him. From the bottom of the barrel to the top of the game with him. He became evil, he stopped being evil, he survived isolation, he's a soggy wet cat to me. I love him. I think both him and Bomb were fucked over by OJ. Segway into talking about that guy. OJ, our winner. I have very mixed feelings about him. On one hand, he absolutely is a prick, he's a little dramatic, but on the other hand, he absolutely does feel like Main Guy. He suffers a lot from that Protagonist Syndrome that I think some of these cartoon survivor shows have. Although I don't entirely hate him. He turned out well.

As for everyone's favourite food, I feel a little bad for Taco. She played the game and played it well. Feigning ignorance is not something easily done. If it wasn't for me being a spoiler-seeker and having seen it already, she very easily could have fooled me. She was very much for the most part what Rocky is/was but honestly, 20 times better. I loved her shouting, her auurrrr noise, the lemon spitting. I think that while she's back she should spit a lemon at someone. Please if the movie cares about its fans-

With all of this, I'm actually really looking forward to starting season 2. I'm hoping to be caught up by the time the movie/finale for season 2 comes out so I can possibly add this to my list of object shows to live review. I'm cutting this here because 1) my joints are starting to hurt and 2) if anyone wants more in depth reviews of each character feel free to hop into my inbox and ask, I would love to go more in depth, even with the ones I mentioned here individually. and also 3) its midnight. I'm an eepy guy.

thank you all who are here for accompanying me on this journey :3

[fic-heaven]

That one Halloween party (1.)

[Gus x reader (collage AU)]

LONG AS FUCK (also contains slight NSFW, I'll post the full NSFW separately)

Characters: Price, Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Alejandro, Horangi, König, Gus, Reyes, Nova, Roze.

Sauce 🫙: Gaz has hosted a Halloween party and you are met with a dilemma: hook up with a friend and move on from your crush or make the definitive move on Gus.

Notes: -slight Price x Reader -Gus calls reader brujita as an endearment, it means little witch- Reyes is the personification of a headache- You'll notice reader, Nova and Reyes calling Gus by different nicknames: Rodri (Rodríguez), Gusito, Gustavito, bear and Rican- Also for those confused with Reyes' and Nova's names: Enzo Reyes and Nila Brown.

🍑🐥 Needed an excuse to write Gus dressing as Miguel O'hara.

What would you do if one day you are casually hanging out at some guy's house during a random party and see your crush since kindergarten walk out of some room with red lipstick stains all over his neck and mouth with the head of the cheerleader club tucked firmly on his side?

Gus wasn't an easy guy in the sense that if he said "no" once, he'd really mean it. But for a pretty girl like Rozlin? Man, he was a goner.

You have been friends since you were kids and you have seen a fair share of girlfriends and crushes but man, seeing him with those loving little eyes heavily focused on someone as cruel and despicable as Roze angered you because it simply wasn't fair. It wasn't fair because after years of coming to the conclusion that you truly were in love with that dork, you didn’t seem to have the right flick meanwhile she had him around her finger in a matter of minutes. You were very aware of Gus' sore points, you'd play shy, you'd look out for him, help him with his school work, comfort and touch him in ways no one did and yet... She'd approach him feeling all horny, batting her fake-lashes and twirling her braid like a cat in heat and he'd crawl to her in an instant.

Reyes patted Gustavo's back like a proud older brother while Nova discreetly comforted you assuring it'd be a fling and urging you to have your own fun. But no amount of soda, table games and snacks could extinguish the flame eating up your insides. After half an hour you left the party with no warning whatsoever and lessened the outings with that group when Reyes "accidentally" snitched that Gus had asked out Rozlin the day after the party during one of her cheerleader practices. With how romantic and overly passionate Gus was, you were sure he had bought her flowers, balloons and one of his stupidly delicious cakes with a "will you be my girlfriend?" message written over the topping.

You spent months ignoring him. You couldn't bring yourself to speak a word to Gus, not with the irritation, anger and sadness so prominent in your brain when you looked or even thought about him and that... Snake. Roze even had the balls too look all smug about it posting pictures of their cute dates all over her Instagram and changing her "single" status to taken with the date of the party and his username tag accompanied by a bear emoji. (Yes, you were stalking her. So what?)

Rodriguez didn't play oblivious about your ghosting, he didn't take it lightly. To your surprise, Nova informed you that during lunch he snapped. Red hot anger and Gus wasn't a very common combination but apparently the silence from your part irritated him so much he made his discomfort known to the group and left the group chat claiming he was tired of miscommunication and needed some time to clear his head because the negative emotions and headache you were giving him were "ruining" his relationship with his new girlfriend. Truth is, you weren't oblivious of the fact that he was getting worried over the ignored calls and texts and the way you'd be busy all of a sudden when he approached you numerous times during classes seeking to confront you. You had to admit that you knew you were pressing his buttons too hard and expected some short of reaction.

Gosh... You were making a fool of yourself... He was happy, but you couldn't bring yourself to mirror that happiness, not with a heavy heart and the multiple nights and breaks you spent crying like a jealous idiot.

Nova caught you hiding from him one day in the library and told you that perhaps you were being too petty, but you had to think of your own well-being so she kind of understood. Well... You knew she was right, and you thanked her understanding nature and honesty because this whole situation had to stop at some point. A few days of talking things out with Reyes and her you decided to be more present, taking the reigns of the problem you finally gathered the ovaries to give Gus the confrontation he so craved and swallow down your pride.

Gus visibly jolted on his seat when you sat all of a sudden on his table with Nova and Reyes watching a few feet behind you. The apology didn't take a whole speech nor did you explain why the sudden change of behavior, you just started off with an "I'm really sorry, Rodri..." When he jumped to hug you like you would run off like you had been doing since the party. He didn't give you the chance to say nothing else when his tits suffocated your worries away, he was still your loving bear. "You know what? It doesn't matter... But por dios, (Y/n)... Never do that again, I was so worried." His voice weakly confessed as he kissed the crown of your head over and over again. Your body melted compleatly, the physical affection was very much missed and needed these last few months.

But good things can't last forever, the cute little moment led Roze to roughly pull you out of her boyfriend's embrace cursing out with a bunch of cheerleaders gawking at the scene and whispering god knows what, she was obviously looking for a fight but Nova was quicker carrying her to the other side of the room while Reyes laughed and clapped loudly amused by the turn of events which didn't help the situation one bit. When Roze was about to yell some colorful words to you, Gus stood up standing between you two with a serious look on his face trying to tame his bitch, thankfully the teacher walked in to begin the lecture oblivious to what was happening and stopping the fight.

Safe to say, things got better between you and Gus to a point... It wasn't exactly the same and although you could feel it, you couldn't pinpoint what it was that had changed the whole group dynamic. Nova seemed less snappy with Reyes and started agreeing with him more on whatever obscenity he spat which was weird as hell, you felt an air of awkwardness in every interaction Gus had with any of you three and Reyes made crueller jokes to him, which didn't take none of you by surprise due to his natural roughness. One could assume Enzo was just a jealous friend because Gus didn't hangout with you all as much since his loving girlfriend hated your group's guts, but... Yeah... You didn't want to sound paranoid so you never told the guys you believed Roze was trying to pick apart your group by eating Gus' brain, but you could tell they thought the same, even Gus refrained from talking about Rozlin. It's like he didn't want to fucking admit it.

When you graduated, you four ended up being on the same university. Sadly, at the beginning of the year, you all grew a little distant making or joining other groups of your own, of course you still hanged out but It simply wasn't the same. As for you, you made new friends and tried to develop new crushes but Gus still lived rent-free in your mind and it was a bummer to put it lightly, it even affected your grades for a time.

You had to move on.

__

Gaz was definitely the type of friend who made the coolest plans and had more than enough cash to invite whoever that couldn't afford it. You'd obviously never complain, after all it was thanks to this and his outgoing personality that you finally found yourself sharing lunch with the cool kids and soon forming part of their group.

In less than half a year, you guys were already considered one of the most popular groups with Soap as the prankster, Ghost as the athletic hunk, Price the charming leader and you as the cute, smart girl who practically got adopted after Price took a huge liking to you and your brains when Kyle invited you out of the blue to one of their outings at their favorite arcade. Truth is, Gaz spent a long time without a "role" in the group and jokingly picked on you for gaining one so soon, until one day he went mad crazy when he found out suddenly people had tagged him as the hot, rich guy.

He may be rich as hell but he was humble to the core, never flexing on how big his fucking mansion of a house was or how much money his parents gave him to congratulate his good grades. He even made every social media account private so only his closest friends and relatives could keep track on his golden life. So how the hell did everyone find out all of a sudden was a mystery.

"But this time, ooh this time... I'll show them rich!" Gaz growled before loudly slurping his juice dry. The whole table went silent.

Ghost rolled his eyes with so much force he flopped his head on top of yours while you busied yourself trying to finish Price's lastly assigned book to help him study for the exam he was having in a week, said brit smirked in amusement with his focus mainly on the delicious sandwich he had stolen from Johnny as payment for his insufferable behaviour during Spanish lessons. Soap decided to give Kyle the attention he so craved "So lemme' get this straight...As a big fuck you to whoever made your Bruce-Wayne lifestyle public, you are going to host a Halloween party."

Ghost stood up with a grunt taking the book from your hands so you'd keep up with the conversation then threw it to Price with a low warning growl of doing his own homework. Gaz threw his arms to the air "it's not JUST a Halloween party, my friend. It'll be a TERRIBLE Halloween party. You can only wear low-cost or terribly handmade costumes, I'll serve cheap snacks- Or wait! I'll make everyone who goes bring their own food or drinks or else they can't come. It'll take place in the garage and backyard and-" You perked up a bit "What about a costume contest? Worst costume wins a cardboard medal." You offered sarcastically with a smirk and Gaz pointed a finger your way taking it too seriously. "Took the words outta my mouth, bonnie, most original costume wears a crappy prize. With this cheap party everyone will see that I'm not some highborn rich brat and treat me differently! Maybe they'll stop giving me so much respect and see me like a normal dude for the first time since the beans were spilled..."

"So you want to damage the image everyone has of you. It's stupid." Ghost said, and Price agreed. "I never knew being one of the popular kids bugged you so much. Ghost is right, Kyle. I don't even understand why you get this riled up over people finding out you are rich." Gaz deflated hearing John's words but quickly recovered when he continued "But we all could use a break from exams and shit. So when did you have in mind?"

__

Thanks to the simplicity of the party you barely had to organize shit. The only task Gaz had given you was to craft a terribly ugly medal for the winner of the costume contest (which you finished quickly using an empty cereal box, gold paint and a broken chain you found in the park near your house) and invite as many people as you could.

Obviously the first invitations you sent via text were for Nila Brown, Enzo Reyes and Gustavo Rodriguez. It would be the first plan you made with them after months of ONLY being with the 141 group, and fuck, if you had the opportunity to spend more time with your three favorite fools out of study hours you were certainly not going to waste it. Thankfully all of them agreed quickly and seemed excited with the prospect of a party and reuniting again, you only prayed Gus didn't invite Rozlin...

The day of the party arrived, and you along with the 141 were assigned to go to Garrick's to make sure everything was ready and discuss some big details about the party that had perturbed Gaz enough to send a worried S.O.S text to your group chat.

You wanted to slap Gaz because when you arrived to his enormous house it turned out that the bad news were that when he had told his parents about the party he was planning, they got so excited he was finally inviting more people that weren't his usual group that they went wild with the Halloween decor, booked a hotel to leave their son the house free and ruined the main plan of making it all lame. Gaz threw a tantrum while explaining all this but you all could do nothing but stare in disbelief surrounded by what had to be the coolest Halloween decorations ever. Even Simon look amazed! And he was the less expressive out of the bunch of you.

Calming Gaz took Price longer than he had anticipated, luckily you weren't the only one who brought your Halloween costume to change there when you had less than half an hour left for the first guests to arrive.

Ghost had the classic Jason Voorhees costume he found at the dollar store that fit him like a glove. He looked fucking terrifying, and kind of sexy... Price dressed up as a vampire with a black cape and fake plastic teeth he profusely denied on wearing so he gave them to Soap who brought a hand-made werewolf costume that looked pretty cool in your opinion.

And you? You went with your sister's idea of a hot demon and wore a black, tight and torn dress that lifted up your tits enough for the guys to fight off looking at them every time you turned around, some red wings, a pointy tail and big, red horns you found in your garage. You had made your makeup in a hurry but you were proud with the result.

Price's eyes almost popped out of his skull when you walked out of the loo, it earned a giggle from you. "Too much?" You purred. The brit forced a nervous chuckle handing you the forgotten red lipstick you previously asked him to bring, "You look bloody perfect." He purred back and helped you apply it with one hand lifting your chin up, his focus never faltering from your lips. You loved these moments with John, it was obvious you two were close but that closeness never led to nothing too deep and it somehow comforted you. Like no matter what you two could be doing, Price's selfcontrol and big respect for you kept him from doing reckless things, your friendship was so strong you never thought of taking it a step far in fears of risking it, specially knowing you still couldn't move on from Gus and you knew John didn't deserve feeling like a second choice.

Finally, the host walked downstairs with a big grin. Kyle was proud of his dumb dead-pirate costume, it was all in the way he was walking around the house in character, the air of superiority messed up the humble image he wanted to portrait. This guy...

Your phone rang the "cherry bomb" song. Walking over to take it from the huge couch in the living room you saw Soap rush to snatch it from you with a mischievous look. "Mactavish." You growled and he rushed to the other side of the room reading the contact on the screen. "Well, well, well~ Nova huh? That means the two other guys are coming with, rooooight'?" He lifted his brows and bit his lower lip, grey eyes threw an accusatory look your way.

You threw a cushion to his face almost messing up his make up which he cried out loud about. "They are my friends, of course I'd invite them! And yes, Gus is coming." Ghost walked past Soap stealing your phone from his grasp and handing it your way. "Is that so? I only see one guy with her." He said plainly before heading to the kitchen.

Gus wasn't coming? You had to confirm.

You ignored the call and rushed to the door joining Gaz and Price, welcomed the guests and eagerly approached Nova who hanged up the phone as soon as she spot you emerging from the crowd of people.

Your friend hugged you tightly and twirled around showing you her home-made witch costume. "Do my eyes deceive me? Nila, is this you? My, you'll be the hottest witch in the party." Nila giggled at your compliment. "Girl, give us a break! You look HOT. You might as well be a succubus!" She looked at you up and down with a toothy smile holding your hands then she leaned in whispering with mischief. "If Gus isn't falling for this you might as well date me~" You chuckled softly.

Would he really notice you though? Last time you checked he was doing alright with Roze, but that was like... Months ago. Still, it's best not to hope for their demise, you just wish he's doing well and someday you can finally move on, meanwhile you'll enjoy seeing his reaction to your dress if he was even coming at all. (Honestly you were afraid to ask.)

Reyes approached you poking at your horns and lifting your wings inspecting your costume with his characteristic shamelessness. There was no "hello", no "what's up", he looked at you dead in the eye and threw a: "Your tits fake too?" before harshly pinching one of your boobs making you yelp an "OW! MORON!" You smacked him at the same time Nova did making Reyes throw his hands to the air trying to shield his head while he exploded in loud crackles.

"Jesus, ladies! Watch the hat! Went to hell and back to find a cowboy hat that looked close to Clint's." He said on a cowboy accent. Your eyes lit up. "Oh my god, you dressed up as Clint Eastwood!"

Rule number one: don't rub Reyes' ego.

He eyed you with played disinterest trying to hide his excitement and posing as one of Clint Eastwood's infamous posters from the movie "The good, the bad and the ugly." Reyes smirked "Good thing some people here are more educated on movies than others." The sneer he threw Nova was compleatly ignored when she took your arm and walked inside to join the others, though that never stopped him from continuing the conversation, his body was attached to your side with eagerness for compliments and appreciation like a pup. "I only missed the poncho he wears, Nova here was supposed to make one for me but boo hoo, look at that! It seems i can't count on her because she was too busy making herself look like a cheap witch from a puppets show." Nova turned around annoyed and snarled "BOY you could have made one yourself. You know how hard it was to make this costume all by myself while studying Mr Shepherd's next exam? Gaz couldn't pick a worst date for the party... No offense (Y/n)."

"None taken!" You chirped, Reyes scoffed. "Then fucking buy one like the rest of us?" The tension increased "Excuse me!? You were the one crying a few days ago that you NEEDED me to put together a fucking poncho that looked like one from your dumb cowboy movies!"

How you missed their bickering.

"Calm down you two! Also pay contributions for the party or Gaz will call Ghost to throw you out." Gaz ran a thumb through his neck, Reyes and Nova took snacks out their bags and put them in some bowls the host eagerly offered with an excited smile when you entered the kitchen where him, Ghost and other three people you didn't recognize organized the snacks the guests were dropping.

"Enzo, you don't need a poncho to look like Clint Eastwood. You look just like him, I mean... Look how hard you worked on putting this costume together! And I know it'll burn you a little but actually the initial idea of the contest was that the winner selected had to have a funny-looking costume." Reyes scratches his chin in irritation and whisper-yelles. "(Y/n), my love, my darling. The point of you opening your pretty lips is to support me, not to doubt the importance of my missing poncho."

"Since when must I support anything you say, huh?" You raised a brow in amusement, he threw a chip your way and to his horror you quickly took his hand and playfully chomped on it, Enzo resisted pinching your left tit cursing at you while Nova laughed at your shenanigans. You guys missed each other.

__

Madonna is now playing on the background, the rest of the guests arrived a little later but still there was no trace of Gus. You started to feel inpatient and Nila could tell quickly handing you a red plastic cup urging you to drink and let the Rican take his time, apparently Reyes and her had no idea about his whereabouts either.

Reyes is flirting with some uninterested girl dressed in an angel costume but well focused on your conversation with Nova while you three sat on Gaz' enormous couch along with a bunch of other people. Nova had been urging you to spill the beans about your new group (the infamous 141) and teasing you about your newfound popularity, Reyes joined the teasing from time to time but he mainly flirted with the now irritated cheerleader.

"They are not so bad!" You replied to your friend. "Ghost was the hardest one to crack though, he is a very serious guy who mostly keeps to himself, but after the others accepted me, he started treating me like a little sister. I'm so happy and comfortable with them, Nils... They are like a second family." You admit.

"Yeah we can tell... OH! I have a friend- Luna! you know who Luna is, right? You remember her from Reyes' last baseball match, with the eye bags, the piercings and the ketchup stains?"

"Yeah!" You have no clue who that woman is but Nova was hella descriptive.

"So you know Price plays on Reyes' team and all. She said he never stops talking about you during breaks, she even said it was HIS idea to add you to his group using Gaz." You lifted your brows in surprise. Nova stuffed her mouth full of Doritos and frowned "Hmm. You make me jealous, (y/n)! I gotta admit I'd be pretty comfy too if I had John mother-fuckin' Price looking at me the way he looks at you." She booped your nose.

You knew what she was doing. And don't get me wrong, you thank the distraction from your crush on Rodriguez but it still stirred you the wrong way how Nova would always move on quickly from the topic of Gus to try and talk about other potential crushes. She was your friend and she was looking out for you and your emotional health but... They weren't Gus...

She stunned you for a moment laying her index finger on your right cheek and gently pushing your face to your left until she managed to redirect your attention to the front foor where Price was talking with Soap, Horangi and König. Just when your eyes recognized the brand of soda from the can John was holding, he snook a glance your way but quickly looked away when he saw you staring back.

"I'd totally tap that if I were you, baby." Nova squeezed your hand, Reyes quickly jumped to the conversation "Nila, Nila, Nila... She just needs a lil push-" NO WAY!

You missed the look he shared with Nova. Reyes stood up with a grunt clearly fed up with his fruitless advances on the cheerleader, took your hand and made you stand up by harshly yanking you to your feet. That made you wince so you smacked his shoulder with an irritated look, but Reyes ignored you noting the glare from Price from the corner of the his eye.

"Quit your crying, (Y/n). Let me play cupid for once. Fuck, I love this song!" Enzo said urging you to follow his lead, you shook your head and chuckled quickly picking up on Reyes savage dance moves. You two had to move from the couch because one particular twirl from him almost made you lose your balance and fall to the tiny glass table, Gaz had his fists clenched on his sides, you apologized quietly. Price was closely watching this time, his eyes now didn't shy away from your body. You didn't want to think about it though...

You embraced Reyes circling his neck with your arms. "Enzo?" He hummed a little annoyed with the change of pace but hugged your waist lazily, allowing you to press yourself fully to his body. His cowboy hat shielded your face when you leaned to his neck to have some short of privacy for what you were about to say, his cologne hit your nosetrils and you almost winced with the heavy amount he had put.

"I don't want to sound annoying but-"

"You are always annoying, bunny."

"Thanks, jackass. Anyway. It's about Gus..." You expect him to roll his eyes or move away but instead he nods and leans a little closer rocking your body along the music. "Do you know anything about him and Roze...? It's no secret by now that I have a thing for Rodri... But I mostly worry." He grunts. "I know you also think that Rozlin wrecked the group, most likely on purpose." Enzo rests his chin on your shoulder with a huff. "I just... I know i may sound paranoid but I think she is trying to isolate him, keep Gus all to herself and it's fucking manipulative and selfish, and-"

Enzo leans back to look at you, his hand cups your face silencing you. Dark brown, heavy lidded eyes darken with his characteristic smugness. "I already dealt with that bitch a looong time ago." His fingers then played with a lock of your hair when he continued. "Out of all the toxic cunts Gustavito had dated and I had to clean after... This one was the easiest to get rid off. Hah, I just followed her one night and found her mixing spit with her private tutor on a bus stop one street away from my house. Stupid bitch didn't even see the flash of my camera when I snapped a few pics! Next morning I printed and taped them all over the fucking campus, I even mailed them to Gus anonymously." He grinned. "A few hours later I had him defeated on my doorstep."

Reyes looked and sounded a bit scary... But shit. Only he had the balls to sabotage his best friend's relationships in order to-... To what?

You stared up at him processing just what the fuck he was on about. "I always liked you (Y/n). And he does too but he's a fucking fool. Rodri's always on about having to take risks to earn big wins but when he has the chance to shoot his shot he cowers and tries to hook up with some random whore to forget you. And what kind of friend would I be if I didn't scare them stinky wenches away? One time I had to fuck one just so she would leave him. You see the lengths I go for him to finally make a move on you? A fuckin' headache innit?" His rambling stuns you, your feet carry you one step back, nose scrunching in irritation fed up with his shit. "Wait- just-... What the fuck are you saying?" This wasn't some stupid shit Reyes normally said, this was serious as hell... He was secretly sabotaging Gus' relationships to pair him up with you. Only Reyes would be crazy enough to pull a scheme like this, poor Gus...

Reyes looked down at you, very serious this time. "Listen to me, bunny. You have two options right now: You can either wait for Gus to arrive and make a much fucking clear move-"

"A-and- what move would that be!? I fucking tried everything! He just doesn't want me..." it broke you to say this out loud. "Shut the hell up an listen. He fucking loves you! Just- I don't fucking know! Grab his balls, show him your honkers or just straight up tell him you love him."

You gulped, eyes wide as plates. Reyes' hands squeeze yours. "Or you could move on from him for real this time. Price is a good guy, I know him from baseball, he's always keeping track on everyone and by the looks of it he's got you on his sights." You looked away, this was too much.

Price was a friend and so was Gus. But unlike Gus you were certain that if what Nila said was true, Price wouldn't shy away if you made a move. If only you could confirm him that you officially wanted to move on from Gus.

Enzo lifted your chin gently, suddenly you felt sweaty, the music was too loud, the lights were too bright your senses were going wild. "(Y/n). You either claim my idiotic friend on this party or fucking make out with Price. I've wasted enough time and semen trying to keep Rodri single for him to continue ignoring his chances. It's on you."

__

The party continues. Now you are sitting on Soap's lap, most of your biggest group (141) along with a few other people were sitting on the stairs listening to one of Price's stories about how he (in his very first year in uni) had a terrible anger attack that made him smash Mr.Shepherd's car windows for not allowing him to assist a very important exam because he was six minutes late. He was a little tipsy, his cheeks were a bit flushed and he wouldn't stop looking your way, you smiled softly playing it cool but Reyes' words struck you.

You can either move on or...

You excused yourself to the bathroom to relieve yourself and head to the kitchen where you found Reyes and Nila playing the bottle game with some hot girls, a shy looking guy and Alejandro. "Come here, hermano! Don't be shy!" Alejandro laughed grabbing Reyes by the face, the Canadian yelled "I YIELD! NO- WAIT, YOU FUCKING-!!" Ale loudly smooched Enzo on the mouth as he struggled to scape the mexican's hold, the others cheered and laughed uncontrollably at the sight, one of the girls even spilled her drink all over her friend's costume. It looked a little planned to be honest.

"(Y/n)! You bitch... Look where you left me! I never kissed a guy in my whole life and my first kiss had to be this pendejo!" Enzo wept slithering your way after finally freeing himself from Alejandro's grasp, said male even slapped Reyes bum to further embarrass him. It worked. Nova joined him and met you on the other side of the kitchen handing you a Nutella sandwich you eagerly took with a a chuckle. "Yeah! Sorry... I was stuck listening to one of Price's adventures."

Nova laughed "oh really? I see you two are getting cozy. We-" BANG!

Your jaw fucking dropped when Gus stumbled in almost knocking the door out of it's hinges with a tight-ass body suit of spiderman 2099. He gave you a heavenly view of his little, tight and chonky ass when he turned around inspecting the kitchen's door state and the wall it knocked when he smashed it open while Gaz bit his knuckles and smacked the rican's head with a newspaper.

"Oh my god." Reyes, Nova and you said in choir. Though Enzo didn't say that because of his best friend's firm ass, he had a better reason.

"Amigos! I'm SO sorry I'm late... I had to drive my sister somewhere and um-...Traffic!" Gus didn't sound so convinced. He walked to your group of three leaving a plastic bag with different sodas and plenty of snacks on the kitchen's counter, his huge contribution to the Halloween party which Gaz thanked with a toothy smile, softened by the amount of snacks before fleeing to confront other guests who got their hands on his dad's private wine collection.

When the initial shock of Gus' ass had dissipated from your horny brain, a new one came: he had trimmed his moustache dangerously short. Nova and you opened your mouths impossibly wider now understanding Reyes' initial scare.

What the fuck? Where was his mighty moustache? What happened to it? Why the hell was it so short???? Gus looked alien and as polite and supportive you wanted to be for your friend and longtime crush, you were incapable of hiding your stupefaction.

"Rodri, my brother. What in tarnation happened to yer mighty face bush?" Reyes voiced out with a goofy cowboy accent. Gus shrugged and clapped his hands together with a grim look on his face. He wouldn't say it but you were sure Gus was late because he spent one hour and a half mourning his facial hair. The small shadow of the bushy moustache he once proudly paraded around made him look more naked than that slutty spiderman outfit from AliExpress he was wearing. "I wanted to- Y'know! Look more like Miguel O'hara! I thought trimming down my old 'stash would get me more characterization points for the costume contest. If i didn't miss it..." It surprised you how careless of his moustache he sounded. Ever since Gustavo was able to grow a beard (which took him years and patience) he seemed to obsess over his moustache, often grooming it with care and turning it into a huge beacon of attention along with his beautiful eyes and golden retriever personality.

Nova assured him the contest would start in a few hours. Reyes tried to imitate a stupid cowboy laughter that sounded more like a villain from an old cartoon "You seriously wanna compete against me?" You smiled "I told you the contest is for the dumbest costume, Reyes" Enzo hushed you and made a show with his plastic revolvers twirling them around his fingers and pointing at Gus with a "bang!" The rican whistled. "Wow! I love your Indiana Jones costume!"

Nova quacked an unholy sound of a laugh. "Try again, partner." Reyes said with patience adjusting his hat. Gus squinted his pretty, little eyes in thought for a moment studying Enzo's costume carefully "Woody! From Toy story?" This time you joined Nova on a fit of loud laughter that made some heads turn your way including Reyes who looked like someone had kicked him on the knee.

"I'M CLINT EASTWOOD. THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST! THE STAR OF ONLY THE BEST WESTERN MOVIES!?" Gus was stunned again, feeling a little embarrassed for not getting it right away "¿Quién...?AY! AH OKAY! I REMEMBER! But where's your poncho?"

Reyes gave you a pointed look that seemed to haunt your soul with an "I told you" written all over his squinting face. He growled and turned back to the other male "Did ya at least get me the cigs I asked?" Gus looked down like a scolded child "I've got gum..." He muttered handing his friend an insanely big strawberry gumball (probably from his sister), once again you and Nova laughed like maniacs, Reyes snatched the gum embarrassed and shoved it in his mouth before excusing himself out the crowded kitchenette. Nila smiled at Gus knowingly (though he didn't catch why) and rushed to follow after Reyes.

With you two alone Gus went to properly greet you circling the table and kissing both your cheeks, his jaw dropped the moment he processed what you were wearing. "Brujita (little witch)! Look what you are wearing!" His hands went to your upper arms, a toothy smile made his burning cheeks rise crinkling his eyes, he looked amazed and endeared. You wanted to kiss him right there. "You remind me of Elvira. It suits! Ohoho a demon right? I love your lil' horns. Oh! And you've got the wings and the tail too!" You made a show for him twirling around and posing clearly basking on his compliments. "Means a lot coming from a guy who only dresses in jeans and band shirts~" You bite and he snorts. "Ay! And then I thought you liked my fashion sense."

"Never said I didn't, Rodri." Your left hand rest on Gus' pectoral while the other fights not to fist the sandwich you still held, his hands lower to your elbows.

"You look beautiful, brujita." He breathes out.

"You look edible." You said without shame, Gus let's out a loud snort and chuckles hiding his face a little. "It's a tight costume. Don't you think it's a lil... You know, a lot?" A lot?

"Nah, I mean, it really sticks to your body like second skin but you are shorts to protect your manhood , also your tits aren't showing. I'd say you are fine." His eyes momentarily peeked at your cleavage, you noted a hitch on his breath. Your eyes never left his, your manicured hand rose your abandoned sandwich to your lips taking a small bite. Gus gulped following the motion.

There was a change in him, you could tell by the way he straightened his back, a train of thought crossed Gus' mind, his expressiveness made impossible to hide it. His eyes darkened a little, the cozy gold turned flamy. His lips parted hesitant to speak, to say something, he was nervous. You didn't help one bit when you leaned closer expectantly, your perfume and bold outfit did things to his brain, his lungs burned as If you had sliced his chest open with a blade and filled his insides with hot coals, tan hands went clammy still touching your delicate forearms, his body shagged again but his eyes stared deep into yours trying to summon the strength he needed to fucking speak. Your nose scrunched slightly and your lips, his weakest point, parted in a small o shape. Gus anticipated you were about to ask if he was alright because that's something you always did, you were constantly making presence on his life even when he physically moved further from you, you would visit him on his dreams, his thoughts, you care, you worry. Why do you have to make things so difficult?

Gus coughs and collects himself before he does something he'll regret, a tight-lipped smile try to mask his self-consciousness but you obviously notice it's fake, the pretty petals of your lips close after you sigh lowly, you look away in defeat. But as always he is oblivious of what your mind is going through right now too preoccupied about restraining his impulses. "Shall we join the others?"

"Sure..."

__

You stared blankly at Lady Gaga dancing on the blasting TV as you waited for Nila to get out of the loo near the library.

Night had settled on the sky, the ajar window to your right let in chill air ventilating the living room from the smell of alcohol, sweat and perfume from the people coming and going. Some walk out to the backyard smoking the good stuff, filming drunken videos and playing with Gaz's border collie, the dog seemed overly excited with her new playmates, she yipped, barked and playfully growled happy that some guys were almost as eager as her to play fetch and fake-fight.

Reyes was smoking weed with someone while a certain latino, being a big fan of dogs, decided to join the fun with Gaz's pup and her fanclub. He hauled Penny to the air smooching her cheek over and over again and laughing when she tried to kiss him back a little frustrated that she couldn't land her sticky tongue to Gus' face. You smiled softly at the sight and he caught your eye in the middle of the love attack, Penny quickly noticed the distraction and launched herself licking a long stripe of saliva that went from his chin to his brow, Gus jokingly reprimanded her momentarily breaking eye contact with you as he lowered the excited collie to the ground cleaning his face with a tissue, when he looked back to the window you were no longer there.

Soap has tackled you down the couch laughing like a madman while you struggled to get him off mindful of your panties making scene but your traitorous laughter blurted out your red lips when Mactavish started tickling your sides. "Come on demon, fight back! RRAAaahhh yer black magic holds no power over me!!" He was fucking drunk and when he was drunk his annoying levels increased drastically. Lucky you (or not), Vampire Price rushed to your rescue pulling Johnny off of you with an easiness uncharacteristic of a drunken guy, Soap dropped to the floor with a thud and a crackle, and walked off once he got to his feet Price ushered him away with a wave and an annoyed squint, Ghost was quick to carry Johnny to the yard to get some air to sober him up a bit.

"My hero~" You sighed sitting properly, your dress had raised to your upper thighs so you pulled it down wards, the chilly air got to your panties quick thanks to Soap's surprise attack and you shivered in discomfort missing the way John's jaw tightened. "Next time I get harassed by a werewolf I'll make sure to call you, John." Price didn't laugh and the smile he held didn't reach his eyes, it looked a little forced until he dropped the bomb "You are avoiding me, darling."

"I'm not?" You quickly answered. Were you?

"You are." He affirmed and sat next to you, his arm on the backrest as he accommodated himself to take a better look at you. You sigh feeling defeated, your eyes fell to your hands on your lap trying to think of what to say secretly praying Nila would poop faster and save you from this situation. "I've noticed you have been looking at me oddly tonight, John." His brow ticked but he listened intently, his observing eyes never missed a detail from your face and it was strating to make you even more nervous. "And I... We are friends..." Price's warm hand gently takes one of yours his eyes looking at your manicured nails trying not to stare too deeply into your eyes again seeking to calm your nerves and urging you to continue, his heat didn't comfort you like it always did, not when, if you looked to your right beyond the window you'd see Gus with a determinated look approaching the house.

"Talk to me, sweetheart." He said. This is John. Big handsome John Price, captain of his baseball team, head of the most popular group in all uni, famous among students and teachers alike. "Speak to me..." His voice was low, a soft growl like a crackle of a fire.

Gus was staring at you two from the french doors that separated the yard from the living room, he has a wounded expression, he held two drinks on his hands, an inner battle occurred in his head to decide whether to go inside or run back to Reyes with his tail between his legs. But he waited. He decided to wait and see what you'd do and chose what to do himself afterwards.

Your hand abandoned Price's and went to cup his cheek. John leaned with half lidded eyes and Gus flinched but didn't move a muscle. You had to make a decision, it was now or never. "Please, John. I'd like to remain that way... I like our bond, the time I've been with you, with the whole group, has been so nice... You guys had pulled me from many troubles and got me in new ones" you laughed and his smile softened "I've grown so much with you in the little time we've been together. You are one of the most important people in my life." Price kissed your palm and nodded "But I'm not THE most important."

You two looked to Gus' direction, the Rican jumped a bit on his spot and pretended to be busy inspecting the drinks he held. Your silly bear.

"I understand. I knew it, I gave you time and tried to approach the subject subtly but your heart was already made up." John's voice was as calm and collected as he carried himself. You smiled apologetic and he continued "I still feel strongly for you, (Y/n). But i'd rather see you happy with someone else than miserable with me."

"I don't feel miserable with you." You quickly corrected.

"That's great t' hear, love." He lowly said with sincerity, a dreamy look on his face, his knuckle and thumb nuzzle your cheek. "Find your happiness, and if it doesn't work we'll have your back, I will always be by your side." The brit winked and you grinned, you both got up holding hands before he parted to mingle with the crowd with a final smile and a playful "I'm watching you" gesture to a much relieved Gus who still stood where he was.

Your legs took you to Gus in slow measured steps, your eyes softened, he couldn't help but bless you with a toothy smile when he slid open the glass door and joined you inside. He handed you a red cup a little nervously and licked his lower lip fighting a chuckle when you took it with both hands. You were so adorable. "Bueno, look at you, attracting only the most handsome guy in the party."

"Y'mean John or you?"

"Si."

You laughed throwing your head back. "That'd be you then! You've come to grab some snacks or use the bathroom?" Gus knew you were playing his game, saw his chance and took it. "If you count as a snack, Sure." You smacked him on the chest jokingly with shock written all over your face. "Rodriguez! You DO know how to flirt!" He smiled shy. "Always did. I just chose the wrong people to put it to practice..."

You stepped closer and he immediately leaned in "Am I the right people then? To put it to practice I mean." Gus wore a crocked smile and exhaled, his unoccupied hand placed itself on your waist and you shivered. At this distance you could smell his delicious cologne, it quickly became your favorite smell. "Only if you consent, brujita."

"OH MY GOD!!??"

"AY-!!" Gus jumped back in fright almost dropping his plastic cup to the floor at Nila's loud bark who just stands there in shock, face looking like a surprised emoji, her hands even went to her cheeks. Way to ruin the moment, Nils. You gritted your teeth and looked at her pointedly but she didn't catch it, she walked directly to both of you and to add more awkwardness, Reyes walked in as well further ruining the mood "What the fuck did I miss?" He hissed when he saw Nila's face, your tight-lipped smile and the fright on Gus. "What? Did you all see who just arrived late?"

"Who?" You lifted a brow. "Queen bitch." He replied. Queen bitch?

Like a fucking ghost she emerged from the crowd in the hallway entering the living room looking for the snack table until her wood-colored eyes landed on your gawking group.

Roze scoffed. She dressed up as Vilma and with her, came along two other friends of hers dressed as other Scooby Doo characters. She approached picking up a random sandwich from the table nearby, a cocky smirk playing on her lips. You took Gus' clenching fist and he relaxed a little. Your group, now glaring, repositioned in line having Reyes and Nova closest to where Roze stand.

"If it isn't my favorite group of fools~" She purred Nila was quick to bite "if it isn't the infamous whore." Roze didn't even blink "I'm not the one dressed up as one." The moment her eyes fell to your dress Gus wrapped his arm around your waist pulling you close and spat "Watch it." You scoffed, eyes rolling with an unsurprised laugh.

"Gus." She greeted.

"Roze." He greet back.

...

"Your turkey neck looks good on you."

"It's a turtle neck. Learn proper English and think before you speak, my dear."

"Oh, I know what i said."

"BAH- HAHAHAHAHA!" Nova exploded in a fit of laughter.

The brunette lifted her brows in surprise and irritation for her laugh and Gus' line "What's with the hostility, Rodriguez? It was you who invited me here in the first place."

What? You looked up at Gus as he bit the skin of his lower lip, a nervous tick he always had. You couldn't help but remove yourself from his side, he didn't fight it... He just let you.

"You did what?" Reyes snarled. Gus sighed "I just wanted to be in good terms with her, I thought we could burry the war axe, be civil." Nila crossed her arms and glared "Is this bitch the reason you were late?" Gus shakes both his head and hands vigorously looking at you "No, no, no, no, what I said was the truth! My sister, Rosita, needed me to drive her-"

"And afterwards you came to my apartment." Roze interrupts. "Why hide it, Gus? You are a good guy unlike them. Can't you just admit you forgave me for my horrendous mistake?" You felt rocks fall down your stomach, Rozlin continued. "Admit our conversation went smoothly and it was oh! So refreshing..." Reyes stopped her mid ramble. "The way you describe it sounds like a fucking deodorant commercial. Get the fuck outta' here! Gus, come on brother... Don't tell me you still wag your tail for this bitch." Gus looks petrified as if he got caught. Was this for real?

"I told you Reyes." You finally spoke up. "I fucking told you." Your voice wavered in sorrow.

Roze munches on her vegetarian sandwich like it's popcorn, Gus looks at you in panic trying to hold your hands but you snatch them away, Nila walks to you trying to comfort you before you storm off and Reyes simply stares angry and confused at Gus' tensed form. "Brujita..."

"Bru-yee-ta my ass, Gus. You finally had the balls to make a move on (Y/n) and you invite your ex!?" Nova couldn't hide her disappointment suffering your woes. Reyes exclaimed "YOU FINALLY MADE A MOVE ON (Y/N)!?"

"WHO SAID I'M HIS EX!?" Roze roared having the gal to sound offended.

That's the last thing you heard before you left the living room to find anyone from your other group and hopefully recover from what just fucking happened.

__

You spent fifteen minutes on Gaz's private bathroom upstairs. Five crying and ten trying to collect yourself and fix your makeup.

What were you thinking? That Gus would suddenly move on from Roze having in mind that she messed with his head for so fucking long? You are so stupid... Was this dress too much? Rozlin said you looked like a whore. The same Roze who fucked someone while being with sweet Gus, said YOU looked like a whore.

You were sure she was laughing and talking shit with her friends about how foxy you wanted to look just to gain a fraction of Gus' attention and still fucking failed. Worst part is that she's right. Fuck... FUCK!

A knock on the door made your hands falter almost messing up the new layer of eyeliner you were applying. "Kyle I'm decent, you can come in."

You didn't look away from the illuminating mirror, your puffy eyes heavily focused on the task at hand, your reflection appearing alone until a tall shadow stood right behind you. "(Y/n)."

You bit your lip. "It's alright, Gus. I'll be out in a bit..." But he didn't move from the spot.

You sighed and finally turned around. He looked at you in sorrow, his pouty lip turned downwards slightly when he saw the state you were in. You sigh again leaving the make up on the sink. He comes closer, tan hands slowly went to take yours as if he was approaching a scared stray kitten and you let him take them, he gave you a light comforting squeeze. His breathing got a little heavy, then he leaned closer caging you to the sink. Gus hugged you, meaty arms embraced your form loose enough to let you move away if you wanted.

"Please, forgive me." He sounded like he was on the verge of tears and you wouldn't have it.

"I can't." He shagged even more and you wrapped your arms around his neck hugging him tightly "I can't be mad at you for being what i always loved about you, Gus."

He looks down at you with a sliver of hope and confusion. "You have always been so compassionate. Always believing in second chances, even for those who had hurt you the most in the past." You nodded and your thumb smeared a stray tear that fell from his eye to his puffy cheek, he sniffed and smiled. "Silly bear. If only, I should be the one apologizing... Roze just got to me." Gus shakes his head, his hand cupping your cheek and he leaned in to kiss your forehead.

He spoke into your hairline "I am the one who invited her, you know Rozlin. But don't you worry, we had a talk and I made clear I didn't want to see her near you."

Were you selfish to feel disappointed knowing he still wanted to remain her friend? Reyes' voice echoed in your mind "you still wag your tail for her." Gus hasn't moved on from Roze. And you must come to terms with that. Gus was clearly not ready. But he wanted to. You could tell by the way he softly looks at you his wet lashes fluttering a little holding the little tears remaining on the rim of his eyes, amber pearls awash with desire reflect the white LED light from the mirror behind you. The softness, the warmth, it wasn't new to you, but the hint of arousal was. He looked heavenly, his lips shining with moisture from a previous lick you missed when you two opened up to each other. You wanted to kiss him and he most certainly wanted to kiss you, his heavy breaths were drawing you in, his aroma, his slutty costume...

But like you said, he wasn't ready.

You leaned in and he did the same with his eyes slowly closing, though you dodged Gus' lips smoothly pressing a hard kiss on his left burning cheek, he halted confused huffing like a frustrated horse earning a little giggle from you before you nuzzled and scratched his stubble placing a peck on the tip of his nose.

"Shall we join the others?"

Gus grit his teeth, it seemed you were throwing to his face the first dismissal he gave you when he first arrived, but the heat and slight slickness of the kiss you planted on his cheek softened the offense. "Tu mandas, brujita..." (As you command, little witch)

And so you two walked downstairs, Ghost who seemed to be on guard duty saw you both coming down and moved but not before gripping Gus' bicep and whispering a low snarl to his ear, you couldn't see the rican's expression but by the looks of it he didn't look intimidated, he nodded Simon off and guided you to your group who was resting on some puffs with a hand on your waist as to not lose you on the crowd. Gus kissed your shoulder and nuzzled his jaw on the crock of your neck telling you he'd be right back before walking back to where you came from.

You didn't have time to react when Nila tugged you by the arm almost making you trip and fall on top of Reyes who sat in the middle of you with a frown. "Feeling better?" Nova asked, and when you were about to respond and sit next to her Reyes manhandled you to sit on his lap. He wasn't one for PDA but he looks worried, he's quiet and his natural frown seems much hardened. "I'm doing good, don't worry you two I was just being a little dramatic. You know me!" Nila didn't seem so convinced and Enzo growled, the hand he kept on your lower back flexed "Next time I see that bitch I'll beat the crap out of her."

"Reyes that's jail."

"ReYeS tHaT's JaIl." He mocking Nova. "I don't give a fuck! And this is the last time I put up with a stun like this, Gus should know better. I was proud when he went back to the house to talk with (y/n) while I made my deals, I didn't even know the idiot would finally gather his shit and make a move and then BANG! He fucking ruins it all by inviting Roze."

"See? This is exactly what she wants! Can we move on from the topic and fucking celebrate the fact that we four are finally fucking together for more than two hours?" You sigh taking Reyes' cowboy hat and putting it on. Nila nods stealing it from your head and he spits a "whatever".

"Alright everyone listen up!" Whoever was in charge of the music lowered down the playlist so Gaz's voice reached everyone in the house. "For those who wanted to play mystery closet and wrote their names on the list we sent, y'can now use the closet we emptied near the stairs. You know the rules, no pissin' on the floor, no revealing who you are and most importantly, do NOT turn the light on, you'll have six minutes to turn yourselves on instead." He laughed with some other people. "Alright! So the closet has a vacant ready, let's see who's taking the first turn!"

Some whistles and cheers were shared amongst the people closest to Gaz who you assume were the ones interested in playing that pervert game. Gaz took a second to re-read the name from the list on his phone. Why the fuck is he looking at you?

"(Y/n) (L/n)! The devil takes the first turn~" Soap and Ghost had the balls to cheer as well. Reyes and Nova shared a look of confusion and then looked at you waiting for an explanation.

"Wait! I didn't even put my name on the list! Gaz there's gotta be some mistake..." But Ghost was already picking you up bridal style carrying you out of the living room, your protests falling on deaf ears. Price made eye contact with Nova when her and Reyes were standing up about to follow you and they understood instantly what was going on.

__

"Simon! Come on, man! Put me the hell down."

"Careful what you wish for." Ghost lets you down on your feet right in front of the closet's door. His usually cold eyes held amusement in them, he put a hand on your shoulder and urged you to get in. "Ghost! Are you fucking deaf?"

"Just shut up n' get in there. I promise you won't regret it, doll."

You gulped. This felt wrong. Your so called friends seemed to conspire against you forcing you to hook up with strangers on a closet like you were some desperate girl needy for a quickie. You saw an orange sweater on the corner of your eye by the end of the hall, turning to look you spotted Roze giving you the nastiest glare no one has ever given you, like you just guttered her entire family.

"What the fuck are you looking at, you carrot-looking cunt!?"

Of course you only said that in your head, you glared back flipping her the bird and she was dragged away from the empty hall by Soap who was still drunk as hell but had enough mind to fulfill his role of security during Gaz's party. Your fingers pinched the bridge of your nose. Were you really going to do this...?

"(Y/N), C'MON! CLOCK'S TICKIN!" yelled a drunken Scott from the other side of the hall and you huffed.

Okay. Inhale, exhale... Let's get over this and hope Gus doesn't ask where they had dragged you for six minutes. After gaining some courage you slightly open the closet door and slither in, the sliver of light that manages to enter the dark inside of the closet before you closed the door made you spot a pair of Nikes... Someone was here with you, fuck this is awkward-

The mystery person tugged you in by the shoulders. He was all teeth and tongue when you your chest collided with his, like an octopus, the stranger's hands went from your shoulders to your heated cheeks, later to your neck and waist and finally, one hand landed on your right breast attacking your nipple with his fingers as the other one massaged your bum firmly pressing your body to his. He was eager yet passionate making every second in there count which threw you a little aback until you started taking notice of his length stabbing your naked thigh causing liquid fire to spill from between your legs. You couldn't help but rub him eagerly with the heel of your palm turning his heavy breaths into desperate pants, the adrenaline of the moment motivated you enough to attach his mouth back making him moan in delight. That voice, his curly mane entwining with your fingers, the very noticeable trimmed moustache, the fruity cologne reaching your nosetrils when you planted a kiss on his neck, his height and that tight bodysuit...

You knew who this was, but did he know who you where? The question burned your stomach, familiar sorrow constricted your throat.

You pulled back gasping for air but didn't move an inch from his torching body. He tried seeking your lips in the mist of darkness but you moved your head away making his wet lips kiss your blushing cheek.

He knew something was wrong. You could feel his hands abandoning your weak spots to find your face, Gus' thumbs massaged your cheeks tenderly making you let out a shaky sigh, his face got closer, your mouths stood millimeters apart panting together when he pressed his nose to the side of yours rubbing it in slow, short motions comforting you.

"I never thought I'd get this far." He exhaled, and you gasped, this was the clearest confirmation that who you thought was a stranger was indeed your Gus. Then, he said something that turned your world upside down. "I'm sorry I'm not Price." Your hands slowly rose up to cup his cheeks and you whispered back. "I'm sorry I'm not Roze..."

There was a pregnant pause before he finally replied "I only had eyes for one woman all these years. Now i dare say... My heart was hers even while I was with Rozelin... Maybe even with others before her." Gus' voice was a smooth whisper accent thick, his lips pecked yours tentatively tasting your desire and the words you craved to voice out loud for so long.

You exhaled "I never loved Price. Not the way I love you. He's like an older brother... But you are my world, Gus. You have always been my everything." He swallows your confession with another kiss, this time a little longer but softer, a kiss with a passion born from finally admitting the feelings you both had kept locked from each other for so unfairly long.

He parts a little, and even in the heavy darkness of the closet you could feel the warmth radiating from his golden eyes. "The only reason I haven't told you all this time was because I was afraid of your rejection... I thought I didn't stand a chance so i decided to pursue other women though it didn't heal my love for you, (Y/n) . My last straw was Roze, then we broke up but things weren't the same between you and i... So i started connecting invisible dots and assumed you and Price had a thing for each other. Coño, there's nothing I wanted more than to have you-" you stopped him mid ramble pressing your finger to his lips "Then have me. Have me now, Gus."

Gus lifted your wrist gently pressing a kiss letting out a small whimper. Only then he realizes how long, how truly long, both of you had craved each other, how much sense it made that the few times he made love to Roze or any of the other girlfriends he fished he couldn't finish without his mind projecting a glimpse of your beautiful face.

"You had bewitched me...Te amo, brujita." He moaned in between the kisses he eagerly planted on the hot skin of your arm until he reached your neck. "I love you too, my silly bear." You managed to whimper out. The nickname triggered something in him, his hands groped your body once more while his mouth found yours in the darkness this time more eager, your tongues entwined in a sinful dance causing your arousal to increase. You hopped on him and Gus was quick to haul you up making some space for your legs to hug his slutty waist, you mentally calculated that you two didn't have enough time for a quickie but you certainly had enough to erupt more noises from him feeling his body in ways you had only dreamt up until now. The moment you managed to detach your hot mouth from his to take a fucking breath you proceeded to lick and nibble his neck, he threw his head back with a sinful moan and rocked your waist pressing your wet panties against his erection catching your clit perfectly with the tip of his cock in every rock.

"Fuck, mi vida ... Keep your legs on me, rub yourself on my cock, si? Show me how much you crave it." He whispered sensually biting back his growls for you to understand him. "D-don't have to ask me twice..." You grinned. His big hands massaged your ass with every thrust biting his lower lip and basking on your moans at the exquisite feeling of your hips colliding against each other. Gus was savagely smashing your dripping pussy with his massive erection wetting the material of his thin costume without a care.

He picked a merciless pace, you two were a panting mess when you pressed a particularly hard bite on his shoulder that made him moan loudly "D-dios! (Y/N)...FUCK...!" He sounded like a porn star but you knew Gus was not one to fake during the act, not with the way his rigid muscles spasmed and how clammy his skin felt under your fingertips. He was panting like a dog, his cock twitched and leaked in excitement making you salivate. You craved to have him inside you, to feel his release deep in your womb and tempt your luck to not have him knock you up with his seed. God, the idea made your pussy clench around nothing making your arousal spill further ruining your poor panties and the lower side of his costume. Your hips went wild thrusting back erratically chasing your orgasm, your tongue explored Gus' mouth with emphasis. You were certain if someone was on the hall they'd be hearing near animalistic sounds coming from the cramped place you two hid dry-humping like teenagers.

"Ha... 'This what you want?" You whispered on his mouth, then he replied with a thick accent "I'll rip this fuckin' costume I promise... I'll have you right here, I'll show you what I've been wanting to give you all this time." He sounded so pathetic, so needy, so fucking horny his hands were imprinting themselves on your ass cheeks with his bruising grip. "Fuck me, Gus! To hell with this party..."

Gus bursted the closet's door open with a hard shove careful not to drop you as you still clang to his body wiggling your waist up and down riding the hell out of him. The Rican had begun a difficult trip from the closet's door to the stairs as he kissed messily you and rocked his hips against yours until you reached the end of the hall to find the door to the living room wide open. Some people looked back at you in shock, Gaz grinned and Gus embarrassed let you down hugging your heated self tightly.

"You still have three minutes left!" Gaz laughed but the following words he wanted to yell died on his mouth when he saw your flustered state. Gus pressed you tighter, a deep flush reached the tips of his ears and you were no better still panting and covering Gus' erection with your body.

The brit baffled by the scene shook his head with a smile "Use the guest room... And (Y/n) I don't have to remind you to please throw the covers to the washer after the deed is done, it's common sense." You were too embarrassed to say a thing so you nodded aggressively looking at Gaz apologetically. He's truly an amazing friend...

Talking about true friends, Reyes almost knocked someone off trying to reach you, Nova followed behind with eyes wide as plates and a smile so high it could reach her witch hat. Reyes huffed and handed you two condom wrappers. "Watch yourself Gusito, or the slutty demon will cast an aids spell on you!"

"Thanks and fuck you!" You snatched the condom wrappers Reyes was holding but Gus was quick to stop you giving them back to Enzo who stared confused but with an unwavering smirk. "Gracias but i've brought my own..." Reyes laughed "What? Can't use mine? You've got a small dick or you don't like the quality of my condoms?"

For the first time ever Gus made a comment that demolished Reyes' ego so hard you thought he'd cry, and you and Nila were there to hear it, this felt like you won lottery. "Sorry, Enzo... But i'm sure these are expired and they actually don't even fit me."

Meaning: 1. You don't fuck enough to buy more condoms so this one is probably expired as fuck. 2. Your Funko pop weiner isn't as mighty as mine.

"YOUUUUuuu fucking cunt! You're lucky I love you, baby brother! Go fuck some demon pussy then we'll have a long talk about boundaries and filters." Reyes cried to what Gus looked at him dead in the eye and continued his attack. "Qué. The ones you lack?"

"FUCKIN' WRECKED!" Yelled Nila cheering with other mutual friends, even Gaz not knowing what the epic event of Reyes' downfall meant to you all joined in. "THAT'S MY FRIEND RIGHT THERE! I KNOW HIM!" Reyes was so stunned he couldn't come up with a comeback, the Canadian just stood there dumbfounded and allowed Nila to playfully shake and shove him around celebrating his defeat while laughing uncontrollably. The self-centered bastard of your friend had taken a hit from none other than sweet ol' Gus the care-bear! And this called for a celebratory fuck!

"Don't you worry your pretty head, love. I intend to be the only one taking you down." Your seductive smile could had made him faint, you were so gorgeous. Gus kissed you briefly and bit your lower lip tugging a little in urgency, a giggle scaped you. You two ran upstairs feeling Roze's glare from the crowd, her flaring nosetrils making her look like an angry bull.

"It looks like not only did you gain courage to kiss me but you also demolished Reyes." You giggle to what Gus reply "Hopefully my courage boost doesn't falter til' I'm done with you. Let's get outta here before Reyes regains his composure and beats me to the ground, mi amor..."

[kariachi]

Some fic! Because I have to put firelizards in everything, I put them in Undertown.

~~

It wasn’t as if alien pets were new to Undertown. Sure, the Tennyson cousins had only known about the place for a year- and been very cross to learn Kevin’d had a spare apartment there since returning to Earth- while Rook had only been on the planet that long, but that was plenty enough to see the norm. From creeping crawling things to things that were all mouth, to things that- like Zed- could have been dogs if not for, it seemed like there was some sort of animal for every fifth alien you came across. They were everywhere, and you quickly grew used to them.

In fact, one generally didn’t see Earth pets down there, or if you did they mostly belonged to the few humans residents. Or they were cats. The status of cats in Undertown was politely ignored, though needless to say the gloves Argit had gotten Gwendolyn as a form of peace offering had gone over about as well as a lead balloon. But, aside from that, you didn’t really see Earth species. Even the bugs they ate down there were bred from imported stock more often than not.

According to Kevin it was because they were human domesticated. Apparently, creatures domesticated over millennia by one species just didn’t work and live as well with others. Most of the time it turned out better sticking with your own equivalent to the dog than trying to form as strong a bond with someone else’s. Ben had been the first to bring up, only half seriously, Zed, to which they’d gotten a shrug and an explanation that after everything he’d been through Kevin just had weird shit going on, which Gwendolyn had confirmed.

“You’ve got a watch that makes sure you end up back to normal,” she had said, “all he’s got is…” At which point she’d gestured at her boyfriend’s everything and that had been that.

The claim had actually held true, more or less, when the other three started paying attention. You would occasionally see crossover, but for the most part the animals you saw lined up with the homeworlds of the people that owned them. From the massive, fuzzy something that trailed after Pakmar’s brood to the bird-like, bug-like creatures that rested in nearly half the Kineceleran windowsills to the crystal-laden things the recent Erinaen immigrants had brought along, it seemed as if, as far as pets went, like went with like. A strange concept to sink into the three of them, one they had never considered or even thought about before. Still, the explanation was sensible, and everyone seemed happy with pets that worked for them, so far be it that they made any greater fuss than Ben teasing.

So of course, it was only after they’d accepted the matter into their worldviews that somebody had set up a flit supply.

Flits weren’t new to Undertown either, though up to this point they had only been able to narrow down a single owner. Dragonlike things in brown and blue, they were allowed to fly freely and could be found clustered on eaves and awnings. They’d only seen a handful, which still seemed a lot for one person, but that handful were a common sight on the main streets, watching people come and go, occasionally singing for scraps they nearly always got. There had been nothing to distinguish them as particularly special until the sign went up in one of the newer buildings promising a coming shop for ‘flit supplies, information, and eggs’.

By the time the ‘coming soon’ sign had been replaced with a ‘champion arrival’ sign, half of Undertown had been buzzing with interest. Even Patelliday had talked about going to check the place, and when Argit had first seen the sign his eyes had crinkled and ear twitched in a way that’d had Kevin immediately eying him with suspicion. Rightly so, because the following weeks had been filled with increasingly less subtle suggestions that he should check the place out. So serious was he on the topic, in fact, that he had eventually turned to Gwendolyn of all people.

“They’re seriously psychic,” he told her, “and they can teleport between people like that-” and snapped his fingers on the second try. Being a very intelligent person, and one who had been dating Kevin for about three years at that point, she had immediately picked up what he was putting down and joined the cause.

“Why do I keep either of them,” Kevin had asked afterwards, when pointing out that he owned a trained hunting animal had only resulted in them stealing Zed to presumably try to teach her that flits weren’t prey.

“You love Gwen,” Ben had pointed out, “and something something ‘woe is me Argit is the only reliable fucker in my life’.” Idly, he rubbed at where Kevin had broken his nose after the whole Rooter debacle as he said it.

“You guys really had to lower that bar, didn’t you?”

“We only wanted to help.”

“So I keep hearing.”

In the end he’d only been able to resist a week passed the opening, and only then because Argit had paperwork and Gwendolyn had school. As soon as they got the opportunity they dragged him out there, resigned to his fate of at least considering the matter. Ben and Rook had gone along, mostly because they hadn’t been able to check the place out either. There had been crowds they hadn’t been quite curious enough to deal with, not when they knew they’d be able to go as a group later anyway. Curiously, they had only seen people leave with things like books, videos, toys. A few with harnesses, but none with flits as they had expected.

Ben had asked Rook about it, then about why he didn’t know more, only to get a look like he was stupid and a reminder that Revonnah was not actually that much more involved with the rest of the Galaxy than Earth and Rook had gone literally from his hometown to the Academy to Bellwood. They both were, unfortunately in this case, backwoods mudball boys.

As such Ben had been trembling with his pent-up curiosity as they’d approached ‘Golden Mavovi’s’. He and Rook brought up the rear, with Gwendolyn and Argit flanking Kevin up front like he might try to escape. He’d sighed as they reached the door, followed Argit inside like it was any other shop, but the other two about ran into Gwendolyn’s back as they followed. It was, at first glance, a normal petshop. Bins of toys and treats, stacks of tinned food and refrigerated cabinets of fresh. Shelves of books and cds, of cleaning supplies, harnesses, and items of clothing. Beds, bowls, medical supplies, it was all there, and none of it was what had the Tennysons and Rook standing and staring.

There had always been a few blue flits, a few brown, hanging around Undertown. In the prior weeks a small green one had shown up that they had assumed belonged to Mavovi herself. Turned out, however, it wasn’t just the one green. A quartet of them clustered together in one of the larger beds on display. A brown lay with them and several more sat scattered around the place with a small of number of blues. But what really caught the eye were the big ones, their hides shining metallic. Two in shades of bronze napped on the shelves, one’s wings draped over the sides and the other curled into a tight ball, and one, the largest of all at the size of a small dog, sat gleaming a brilliant gold on the counter. It’s eyes whirled in shades of green and purple as it watched them all, a regal air emanating from it.

They hadn’t expected so many, they hadn’t expected so large, and they certainly hadn’t expected the big ones to look like moving art.

Argit and Kevin were not so enraptured, their remaining Erinaen shooing Kevin off towards the books before approaching the counter with all the ease he ever did business.

“Question-” He leaned on the counter as he spoke, ears focused on the vaguely crocodilian alien on the other side. “-my buddy over there can’t go two streets down without getting kidnapped or something, you got a contact with any lines good for emergency messages?”

“All lines are good for that,” the alien they had to assume was Mavovi said. “They just need to be taught who to go to in an emergency, calling for help from the fair is instinctual when faced with something they can’t handle themselves.” A weight seemed to drop from Argit’s shoulders.

“Awesome,” he said, nearly sighed. “I’ve been wanting to get him one for years, finally have the means and opportunity.” Mavovi made a rumbling sound that seemed to be commiserating.

“You aren’t the first in the galaxy,” she said, pulling out paperwork. “First off, can I ask after the household it’ll be going to?”

“Him, me,” Argit said pointing at them both and then Gwendolyn with a begrudging, “and her.” It was enough to snap her back to attention, glowering at him as she stalked over and the boys split off to check out the shop.

“Also a large hunting animal,” Kevin called pointedly from the books. For all his talk, he was still flipping through one.

“How large?”

“About up to here,” Gwendolyn said, holding her hand up at around Zed height. “She’s smart, and mostly well trained, but Kev’s worried a flit will set off her prey drive.”

“She’s an Anubian Baskurr,” Argit added. “Large prey hunters normally, don’t think she’s trained any different.” With a curious sound, Mavovi cocked her head.

“Rescue,” Gwendolyn said, then added a “came pre-trained” just in case the term didn't translate.

“Ah, alright, I can see the problem.” She turned her attention towards Kevin. “They may be too small to trigger a hunting response, especially being raised around her, but you can always bring her over to check. Even if she does get rowdy, she wouldn’t be the first creature Starfall here has disabused.” The golden flit chirped at it’s name, seeming to hold itself a little taller at the praise.

“Sounds good to us,” Argit said, and you could tell how seriously they were taking the matter by the way Gwendolyn just nodded agreement with him.

“I also have about a million issues,” Kevin said, another argument he’d been throwing out there, again made pointedly. Flits were, after all, psychic, and he was, after all, a mess. Mavovi seemed as undeterred as Argit and Gwendolyn however, freezing Kevin in place with a-

“So, you’d be wanting something from a service line then?” As the two at the counter looked at her like she was their new favorite person, she made that same rumbling again until Kevin looked from the book in his hands to her proper. “Flits are resilient things already, you don’t get domesticated by the galaxy at large if you aren’t, and there are plenty of lines known specifically for higher emotional resilience. You would have to wait a bit longer for one in this sector to clutch, but as long as you can afford the price and basic care and training can still be provided-” From the determination in Argit and Gwendolyn’s eyes prices would be paid and care would be provided. “-your issues should be no bar to flit ownership.”

The shop fell into silence, not quite comfortable but not some looming thing, as Kevin worried his lip. As if sensing his discomfort, one of the blues glided to his shoulder, rubbing it’s face against his jaw and crooning. Ben headed over as he scratched at it’s little head, throwing on a toothy smile and socking him in the arm. It did the job of snapping him out of his head.

“You might want to just buy the book,” he said, grinning wider when Kevin snorted a laugh.

“What is the process of getting a flit,” Rook asked from across the shop by the tins, seemingly as much for his own curiosity as to change the subject.

“Well, I don’t have any clutches right now,” Mavovi called back, “and the nearest clutch available has been reserved up, but if that weren’t the case then you would fill out a form to reserve an egg. From there you can either agree to leave it with the dam, which means you and the other owners would be called out to location when the eggs come up to hatching and then see which one bonds to you, or to tend the egg yourself, in which case you would be given or delivered an egg of your or the breeder's choice and left to raise it to hatching on your own.” She pointed at the bookshelves. “The ones with pots and incubators on them are about hatching your own eggs.”

With a curious noise, Rook headed over to join Kevin and Ben as they turned back to the shelves. Meanwhile, at the counter, the three returned to business.

“You aren’t allowed to fill out a form for somebody else,” Mavovi pointed out, watching with bemusement as the young pair sighed.

“We can dream,” Gwendolyn said. One of the greens came over to investigate and she carefully put out a hand, scratching the tiny head when it was settled in her palm. “We worry.”

“I can tell, but it’s a choice he has to make for himself.” Mavovi ran a hand down the green’s back, worrying a dry spot. “If he wants, and his baskurr isn’t a risk, there’s a gold a few systems over who clutches out service stock I can recommend.” With a look between the two of them, at Kevin, and back, the pair smiled at her.

“We’d really appreciate it.”

~~

They left with a few books between the lot of them, a documentary about the discovering and domestication of the species, and assurances from Mavovi that she would put a sign up every time there were eggs available. Another handful of flits popped up in Undertown, this time with more greens, all tiny babies riding a range of species. Ben’s mom and Patelliday chatted for a solid hour when they ran into each other as they reserved eggs from one of the shop greens, getting two of their own out of the deal. Kevin brought Zed out multiple times- sometimes with others, sometimes on his own- and watched her like a hawk for signs of issues.

The closest thing was her sniffing an already keyed-up Starfall and getting clawed across the nose for it, and neither could really be blamed for that. One of the browns had even sat on her back while Kevin signed up to a waiting list for that service gold’s next clutch.

The sheer weight it took off Gwendolyn and Argit’s shoulders made up for any trouble.

[literaturewithliz]

Hi Liz, can I request for a Harry Potter (golden era plis) matchup?

My pronouns are she/her and I'm asexual, but I lean toward males right now. I'm 5'11 tall, curvy, I have short arms, pale skin, a round shaped face with a small double chin, potato nose, chubby cheeks, fake freckles drawn with brown eyeliner, long dyed black hair with undercut and bangs, hazelnut brown eyes, I also wear glasses and my aesthetic is grunge. I can speak italian and english and I can do some sort of french/german accent. My mbti is INFP, 4w5, my moral alignment is chaotic good, my temperament is choleric-melancholic (these are useless info, but who knows) and my zodiac sign is gemini. I'm a lot stubborn as I always try to defend my opinions and ideals, brutally honest, I easily affectionate to people who are nice to me and whenever I'm interested in someone, I istantly start acting clingy over them and give all of my attention to them, I curse almost religiously and I can't deal with my own emotions by myself because nobody ever taught me so I can get a bit chaotic sometimes. I dislike persisting people, injustices, fireworks and firecrackers, spinach, balloons, snakes. I like music (I listen mostly to pop, pop rock, christian rock, lo-fi, alternative and even a bit of metal), yankee candles, makeup, cats, shopping, collecting funko pops, junk food, go to theatre, amusement parks, funny comic books.

Thank you and have a nice day xoxo

Thanks so much for the request!

I match you with Neville Longbottom!

I think that Neville adores the way you defend what you believe in, and you inspire him to be more confident in his opinions! I think he’s a very patient soul, and wouldn’t mind your stubbornness. You mentioned not liking fireworks/balloons, and I think Neville would relate to that. He definitely seems to be more partial to the quiet. You said you like makeup, and I think Neville would be down to let you try different looks on him, traditionally feminine things don’t scare him. You said that once you like a person, you’re clingy for them, and I think that would make Neville so happy. He gives the vibe of someone who would be clingy to their crush if they weren’t so scared of looking weird, so knowing that you feel like that for him comforts him. He feels like he can be himself. You mentioned you like the theater, and I think Neville would too, if you ever took him to the muggle world! That would be a very common date for y’all.

I hope you liked your result!

[pointlessprinceps]

I’ve reblogged this before and of course op is right. Cats bite!!! They are creatures, they have a limited amount of responses to things and ‘bite’ is pretty high up there. They will nibble, they will nom, they will give play and warning bites alike that hurt and even leave a mark. They will get irritated at being held too long or overstimulated during play and they /will/ use their teeth. Every cat I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing has done one or (usually) all of those at some point or another to varying degrees.

Now, THAT BEING SAID—there is a difference between a bite and a BITE. Both are natural cat behavior, of course, and should be expected. They are cute but they are still predators with an attitude. Lowercase bite bleeds a little, ache a little, irritating and inconvenient but whatever. But a BITE? A serious one, cat bites with their full strength and they’re still holding on? Trying to tear off a piece? Much less common, and it will hurt MUCH more. It is still a part of normal cat behavior, it’s a risk you should be aware of like any other, but (not to be dramatic) you need to go to the ER or local urgent care. Immediately. You need antibiotics as soon as you can get them or it will be much, much worse.

Roughly three weeks ago I was bitten by my most recent adopted son. He’s normally very sweet, but he got outside and there is a stray cat that’s been hanging around. Anxiety was high, but (in my mind) not that high. He’s a tom and she’s a very pregnant female. Shouldn’t be fighting too much. The stray isn’t really a threat, right? My cat got out and hid under one of our neighbor’s cars. After some cajoling and a little chasing I got him close enough to grab and drag him out to pick him up, only for him to sink those big ole Siamese incisors into the back of my hand. Not kidding when I say it bled for an hour through two dressing changes. The fatty tissue under my skin was oozing out and I would have superglued it in lieu of stitches if I wasn’t worried about infection and abscess. Rolled up to the ER less than 24 hours later and my hand looked like a sad, sad water balloon. They immediately prescribed a 10-day course of antibiotics and told me if the redness spread more than three inches from present I should come back immediately. Four days later I drained about a half-ounce of puss from the two wounds despite antibiotics and very careful dressings.

Cats will bite!! They will bite, and sometimes they bite HARD. People should know that. I don’t love my boy any less, but it was definitely not a traumatizing level of stress when the bite happened. People should be aware and (unlike me at the time) learn to grab their favorite feline friends with gardening gloves or oven mitts when they get mad. Just because Mittens loves you doesn’t mean she won’t tear the shit out of your hand.

Some people on this website wholeheartedly believe a cat will only try to bite its’ owner if it’s under traumatizing levels of stress.

I assure you cats will bite for a variety of reasons up to and including “fun and me time”

[twistednuns]

October 2023

A lazy Sunday in bed with Sex Education and cake until Sandra summoned me with a bossy voice note and I joined the others at Oktoberfest. At one point there were several unicorns flying through the sky (in balloon form). Then I went on a little adventure with Sandra, Robert and David. Selfies at the mirror cabinet, crashing into each other with bumping cars, throwing balls into mouths, gifting red roses to each other, attending the flea circus. Man, I love this gang. I told David that he's naturally gorgeous when he inquired about the fate of his full beard and in hindsight I realised... he actually IS really cute. Also way out of my league? Sigh.

Cycling to school for the first time. Any excuse to escape public transport. But I was surprised by how quick the journey felt! I'm planning on taking my bike more often as long as the weather permits.

My first proper Kundalini yoga class! I kept up beautifully and it wasn't even too weird. Afterwards I appeased the teachers anxious, barking dog by giving her a few good scratchies. Oh, and I met a silky smooth and shiny black cat on the way there!

A return request for a lamp I'd bought turned into... a free lamp. They just let me keep it.

Not sure if it's a good thing but at least it was amusing: waking up in such a crazy mood that I constantly made weird noises and commented on what I was doing in strange accents. That's why I'm never bored.

Garlic-filled green olives.

Swimming in the river. In October! I enjoyed the public holiday at Isar with Ben, Taffy and Lu.

A nightly walk through the neighborhood. Picking up a very affectionate cat who purred all the time. Following a toad. Hanging out in the playground.

Finding out about an Alan Rickman movie I really wanna see: Truly, Madly, Deeply.

I picked up a few vegetables from my neighbours' garage and there was a chonky red and white tomcat. We started "talking" and I was CHOSEN. He wrapped himself around my neck and started purring, basically making out with me. Lots of boops!

I had so much energy in Lucie's Yoga class. I sang all the mantras, kept moving, meditating, even performed a headstand! And I learned a trick with the Yoga belt: making a loop and putting it over me leg and head helps me stretch and twist my upper spine!

A weird half-lucid dream about my dying parents in a mansion. Almost like an epic family saga, one of these long novels with too many characters.

Learning from Sophie Passmann's book Pick Me Girls that I was never special. At all. It's funny - and sad - how many things we have in common.

A long video call with Fox. Unboxing the parcel I'd sent him, sharing book recommendations and going through our many lists together.

My date with Christian. Taking the BDSM test on the big leather sofa at Flex together (100% brat?). He noticed we were actually in the kissing corner and made like nobody was watching. We talked about Integral Psychology (I couldn't get Treya Wilber's quote about love at first touch out of my head), my shadow/mum's death and his depression. We went home together. How is this so intense. High on connection.

Madonna's Don't Tell Me playing while walking to the subway one evening, looking up to the stars, feeling gratitude of this fantastic new plane of existence I'm on. I never knew bliss like this. Tell me love isn't true / It's just something that we do / Tell me everything I'm not / But don't ever tell me to stop

The crisp chop chop sound the knife triggered when it dismembered a chunky carrot.

Scalp-brushing.

Hopping around on Hanna's trampoline machine in the physio practice.

Meeting Michael for the first time! I promptly took him to a burner get-together at Tatjana's place and we got along famously. I also enjoyed creating naughty poetry with Ben and hugging Robert for a few moments longer than necessary. I had a great conversation with the British guy whose name I never learned and loved Sandra's soft fur coat - couldn't stop touching it.

Another nightly playground visit.

An unexpected nude selfie with greetings from the Mediterranean from Galya and Nagu.

Milk foam. / Arriving in the kitchen just in time to prevent the milk from boiling over.

Sunday afternoon at Alte Pinakothek with Katharina. I love that woman and I desperately want her to become one of my best friends. We interpreted the art, paid attention to details, textures, colours. Looked at Tilda Swinton's favourite painting (her partner is a childhood friend of K's ex). Then we got some juice and eggplant bread sitting outside a cafe in Schwabing, playing with tiny spiders and chestnuts. Talking about health, sex and love, fashion, all the important things in life.

A brainstorming session with Fox. Getting the zoomies. Interpreting my OSHO stalker card.

Sandra sending me cute photos of me and David.

A deliciously ripe mango from the Canary Islands. A clementine giving me Christmas vibes. Cosy and nostalgic mint tea.

London Philharmonic Orchestra - Adagio for Strings Op.11a / immediate calming effect, it makes me feel like I'm walking through a dramatic movie.

Cycling to the cafeteria. Someone had a beautiful grey Sheba cat on their lap on the driver's seat of their car, letting it look out the window. Someone else was blasting Toto's Africa and I sang along. I managed to produce a loud whistling noise with my fingers!

Salted Pistachio nut butter cups.

Gifting myself to a beautiful yellow and purple bouquet of flowers (my favourite colour combination).

My new acid yellow blazer.

Staying super calm and positive during a painful medical procedure.

Taking the liberty to leave work instead of suffering through the whole day when I noticed I had tonsillitis again.

Coming up with a sexy mission for Lena and Max.

555 is associated with change, personal progression, and transformation. "It is a sign from the divine that you are undergoing positive changes in your life."

Cycling to Westpark to meet Vroni. The smell of mulch in the air (reminds me of home).

Feeling energetic, strong, powerful (still can't do a headstand without walking up a wall though).

Manu showed up at choir practice again! And Kathrin wants me to prepare a song to check out my voice for a possible solo.

Dusting the whole apartment. Filing paperwork. I love it when I happen to be in the mood for annoying tasks like that.

An inspired dinner & theatre date with Becky (visiting Raphael's opening of Animal Farm).

The very spontaneous decision to turn around and go home with Christian in the middle of the night. Touching him felt electric again and his apartment was incredibly gorgeous. I loved waking up surrounded by nature, meeting the chickens and a shy cat. Meditating in the sun. A debate about AI over breakfast. Playing with his son's toys, receiving one of his tiny toothbrushes (pink with stars and a suction cup). Chestnuts. Reading a picture book to him after giving him a massage.

Lush fields of sunflowers in the sunshine. Fall foliage. Butterflies and a vegetable garden outside C.'s house. More chickens outside the wholefood store on my street.

The first persimmons of the season. Biting into a jam-filled gingerbread heart.

A newfound obsession with Jupiter. Its symbol consists of 2+4, my two favourite numbers. Gustav Holst's The Planets suite.

Morning meditation (autumn vibes, windy with lots of crisp leaves flying through the air - cosy). Starting Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light over breakfast (I'm already hooked). Invitations, coincidences, good conversation. Finalising the stamps (following advice about "Doing the thing" I'd received in a newsletter the day before).

A new musical era? I've started listening to more classical music, being naturally drawn to it. I find it to be very uplifting, making life a little more cinematic .

I got dressed up for Avantgardista and felt comfortable and hot in a see-through top with black jeans, cowboy boots and my new Desigual leather jacket. I looked objectively cute! My hair cooperated and I came up with an asymmetrical flitter make-up idea: Multichrome flakes under the right eye, little gemstones under my left eyebrow to accentuate the highest point (stole the idea from Eric in Sex Education).

Spending Saturday evening surrounded by so many burners, old friends and new ones. Finalising my friendship with Robert at Chili's kitchen table. Starting to flirt with each other ("Just to clarify: I do wanna make out with you but I'm afraid of Sandra" - "Yeah, me too!" / he kept following me around a little bit and stayed close. I love how loyal and playful he is).

Tiny kisses from Sandra. Really great fashion and accessories, so many ideas for my own art projects and future Burn outfits. Christian showing up behind me (with Elena - I was a little jealous). Waving to Heike and Stefan from across the catwalk. Chili repeatedly offering to hold my chewing gum for me. Bringing out my dominant streak (the outfit must have done it). Sharing pinsa and a taxi.

Sending a selfie of Katharina and me to her ex (who we both know): "Hey, I stole your ex!" (He was totally fine with it) Damn, we looked extra cute. I loved our connection. What a unique and genuine person!

Playing Spin-the-bottle. Daring tasks. Connecting with Uli. Falling asleep on the big sofa, waking up surrounded by four lovely human beings in a cuddle puddle. Handing out double massages. Breakfast delivery with extra buttery croissants. My head in Christian's lap. Eye contact and kisses from above.

Luna is such a gorgeous, gentle and ethereal human being. She has this soothing voice, is so supportive and drove us all home on Sunday. And do I even need to mention her fantastic new green latex dress? I loved learning about her job in Game Design, bonding over our nerdiness.

Making plans for a mystery dinner together - Indian food, costumes and a murder case.

Christian coming over for dinner. Sitting in my kitchen in a bathrobe. Black candles lit. I love how comfortable he feels in my apartment. Watching scenes from controversial movies in bed, realising we both have quite unusual and eclectic taste. Being reminded of old fantasies and habits. Seeing his face light up when he saw a little video clip his son had sent him, telling him he missed him. His excitement when I told him about Björk's Cornucopia Tour. We made rough plans to go there together. Daring to tell him that I'm kinda into him.

Still, again, always, a little morning request to hear Run Away to Mars by Talk. 3, 2, 1 I miss you.

Now I've even started to find tiny glitter stars on my apartment floor. This one probably came from Christian's facial glitter? It's magic.

Remnants of summer: Yellow dahlias and a bush still full of ripe raspberries in the neighbours' garden. An older couple making out on the subway like teenagers - holding each other's faces, eyegazing.

An insight I had about gender-aware language (that it might actually emphasize inequalities and differences) in a discussion with Raphael.

An easy-breezy lyrics round at Pub Quiz. Slapping Dennis (with his consent). Being reminded of I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith.

I've been listening to so much more music lately: Björk - Venus as a Boy / Billie Bird - La Nuit / Villagers - Courage / Danit - Cuatro Vientos

Beautiful spheric wall art on my daily bike route. A woodpecker crossing my path in flight. The effect I seem to have on women these days. Peculiar.

Forest & Shore Thrive Hair Oil.

Subtle flirting with my colleagues.

A substitute lesson with the 9th-graders. We practiced some Speeddating! I had so much fun with the older kids. I'm a little sad about only teaching years 5+6 at the moment.

My first Joy of Connection event - ecstatic dance turns cuddle puddle. I loved Stefan's music and touches and was surprised and happy that Katharina and David showed up. Lovely vibes, massages, first attempts at contact improv. An Indian girl developed a crush on me.

A cute date with Atabak. He brought me dark sea salt chocolate! I love talking about language, culture and art with him. He's super gentle but intense and calls me cute one.

Meeting Benni and Steffy for dinner at Giorgia. What a great evening. Benni got me to different spheres again and I loved the stories they shared. We took selfies in the mirrored toilet together and made plans to meet again soon!

A very chill and calming breathwork session at Yoga Garden.

Following an impulse to drive to Augsburg for the Kinky Amore Party. Meeting lovely burners. Grounding C. through a trip. Letting him cut my duct tape outfit off me. Walking through the empty streets together in the early morning. Driving back to Munich during sunrise. Holding hands on the gear stick. Kinky bathroom session. Closing the blinds, spending the rest of Saturday in darkness. Talking for hours. Massages. Getting up close to midnight to eat potatoes and cauliflower. Falling asleep again. Cataloguing all my old maps and charts in the morning. My pillow smelled of him.

A long walk through the forest on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I immediately felt calmer upon entering the woods. The smell was enticing. I found hazelnuts, took a lot of gorgeous photos. Then I put on the inline skates I had with me in my backpack and skated back to my bike. I was honestly surprised that it went quite well!

Meeting Max and Lena. Interesting conversation and playtime. She was super cute, I loved touching her.

Biting into a crisp, buttery croissant.

My connection with Fox. Mutual understanding, inspiration, playfulness.

Walking to school in the morning. I Do the Rock on my headphones. A sudden whiff of sugar and cinnamon, reminding me of my grandma and, weirdly, the bakery at Niederbayernschau.

The life is juicy feeling. Delicious moments and experiences. Feeling like I've leveled up, vibrating on a higher frequency. Manifesting what's to come. Love, safety, adventure, creativity, stepping into my power.

Someone in my yoga class told me how fascinating and beautiful she found my hip rotation. She said she wanted to stop her own Asana and marvel at my flexibility.

The moment I realized I wasn't wearing any make-up (and didn't have to wash my face).

Finally finishing the Playspace Bingo.

Fancy shopping at Muji. I got crisps with old French cheese and a huge sandalwood candle.

Meeting David at work. I love him so much.

Visiting Robert's new apartment. Snacks on the balcony. Seeing Sandra together. Kebabs on a park bench. Train and bus and car ride. He's super touchy and cuddly!

The madness that was Hamburn. Chaotic, stressful, vibrant, pulsating. Wow. Here are a few film stills that live in my head rent free: the long drives with my dudes (Frank, Robert and Uli but on the way back Celia came with us) - Robert and I were such a good team; driving, cuddling, massaging and supporting each other, great conversation and DJ-ing / a moment with Uli on the bar floor, almost kissing after dinner, and an honest conversation about his cancer journey; giving him an exciting challenge for his free bingo space, witnessing how much he was into it; and sharing his apple lollipop / talking to Idan (who still intimidates and confuses me) and Alma (I'm not sure how that immediate level of conversational depth came to be but I went along with it) / dancing with Robert to Oops I Did it Again and seeing him match my energy on the actual dancefloor; going absolutely bananas (Fusili!) / roleplaying our way through the admission procedure: drawing numbers, going along with the tasks and challenges, reading a fantastic story about wolverines, filling out a crazy form and putting Robert on a leash - conveniently, I had a washing line in my bag / lying on the lower bunk bed in the Play-Playroom with Robert, Koali and Ole; reading picture books to each other; toys and candy, vibrating walls / witnessing a very strange scene when the hypnosis duo came in with one of their many victims and Undine said that none of that had ever happened... / walking through the forest, alone, in the middle of the night / taking turns drawing a scene with Robert in the Expresso Tipi, getting buffed / a great conversation about self development with Celia and Josef (who are both coaches) in the welfare room; the two woman doctors who came in just to hang out with me, eat snacks and listen to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield / exchanging long, sensual massages on an actual massage bench with R. / taking a Lindy Hop class, being lead, slowly getting the hang of it (muscle memory), fighting over Robert and then with him, landing on his face (contact improv) / early morning sauna and quick swims in the ice cold lake / receiving hard slap shots from Jo in drag / recording "podcast" episodes about how much we missed Sandra - receiving her hilarious replies / getting dressed up for the 80s party, taking cute photos / going all kitty on Nas, propositioning him to play because he doesn't speak my native language (bingo task) / seeing Marta dance with a crystal ball player - their interaction was magnetic, she kept following the ball with her gaze and movements / walking out of a door, a flock of people at the bottom of the stairs; playing queen, waving to my people - everybody immediately played along //