#for future streams. I will be doing them. keep your eyes peeled >:3

[higherhell]

Atsushi Sakurai (Stream drawing, September 29, 2024 - Clip Studio Paint)

[whimsyfinny]

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Charlie discovers the Winchester boys to be struggling with keeping the bunker tidy, looking after themselves and being able to do their job simultaneously. Luckily she has a friend who’s from a Hunter family that is in need of work and can help them with research. Or so she thought that’s what her job would be. When Dean sees your more domesticated side, his head won’t stop swimming with all the wrong ideas.

Slow burn, enemies to lovers, smut

Warnings: language, angst, depictions of blood

Chapter Word Count: 3327

—-MDNI—-

A/N: soooo this chapter felt weird to write, but hey I wanted it for the plot to thicken haha. It’s different, but things will feel a bit more normal after this chapter.

——————————————————————

Please read the below:

Prologue Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Chapter 8pt.1

Chapter 8pt.2

Chapter 9 Chapter 10

I’m Not Your F*cking Maid

Chapter 11

By the time I’d passed the security check, introduced myself to the two other girls currently on shift and found my dressing room, the nerves were starting to dissipate. Through each step and each new room I’d entered I was making countless mental notes on every security camera and exit I could see. It wasn’t hard to tell that everyone except the bar and wait staff and the dancers were all vampires - their noses twitching and eyes widening whenever I’d walked past. I was clearly fresh meat - perhaps not in the immediate future, but I’m guessing that as soon as I’d served my purpose in luring unknowing human men to their untimely demise, I’d be next. Or at least kept as a blood bag, and I didn’t know which was worse.

A sharp knock on the door brought me back to reality, the vamp on the other side not even waiting for a reply as he barged in.

“You’re sure taking your time sweet cheeks, everything ok?” His sharp gaze twinkled as he looked at me, as if searching for any sort of vulnerability. I huffed out a final deep breath of nerves before standing straight and forcing a smile, shimmying out of my thick overcoat and throwing it over the back of the chair I was just leaning on. On the revelation of my figure and my outfit he let out a long, low whistle.

“Well don’t you just look good enough to eat?”

I swallowed despite my mouth being dry, trying my best to bring my confidence to the forefront and to ignore what he is.

“Well you wouldn’t be the first to say so,” I almost felt nauseous from having to sound so sweet. “Why don’t you lead the way and show me where I’m supposed to be?”

He didn’t take any convincing as he led me out the room and down a short corridor that was lined with what I’m assuming are other dressing rooms.

“What’s in there?” I asked, my gaze snagging on a metal door that didn’t look like the rest. It looked more like a vault, with an intricate lock system that seemed to need both keys and fingerprints.

“Errrrr, just the boss's office. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about,” he placed his hand on my hair, making me shudder.

“Oh ok… will I ever get to meet the boss?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. Keeping up with this cutie-pie act was going to be more draining than I thought. He stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up, an unsettling look on his face.

“Of course doll face! When the time is right.”

*

About two hours had passed since I arrived at the club and a steady stream of men (occasionally women) was filtering in. I was currently up on a podium and trying not to think too hard about how I should be dancing whilst keeping my eyes peeled on the crowd, every now and then making eye contact with the patrons and blowing them a sickening kiss with a sultry wink. Every time I slipped away for a ‘toilet break’ I'd unlock as many windows and doors as I could find whilst turning security cameras towards the wall. I'd counted around fifteen vampires milling around as I snuck about, and there were definitely more behind that metal door. This place was about as prepared as possible for Sam and Dean to sneak in, so I sent Charlie a text with all the details I had knowing full well she could no longer see me through the cameras she'd hacked into.

I'd been back on my podium for about ten minutes, moving my body to the loud bass of the blaring music under the erotic lighting which glowed all manner of pinks and reds, when the front door opened again to let another patron in. Except this wasn't a patron.

It was Dean.

I cursed under my breath, frowning at him across the dance floor despite the fact he hadn't seen me yet. What the actual fuck was he doing coming in through the front door? I didn't play mission impossible and find countless ways for him to break in just so that he could waltz in, bold as brass and blow our cover. I watched him as he stopped in the centre of the room, illuminated by the lights that cast angular shadows over his rugged face. He was alert, jaw clenched and eyes scouring the crowd until his gaze eventually landed on me. With my arms above my head and gripping the pole behind me he was able to get a good look at what was hiding underneath my overcoat when he last saw me. Eyes glazing over and Adam's apple bobbing, he was instantly ensnared. I focused entirely on him; sinking to my knees and crawling my hands forwards, beckoning him with a single finger to which he eagerly obliged. The older Winchester stood before me, eyes almost sparkling from the lustful lighting as he gaped up at me. His evergreen eyes shone in adoration as they bore into mine, almost completely disregarding the lasciviousness of the rest of my body. It was almost…

Romantic.

I leant forwards, my painted lips brushing against his ear and pulling a shiver from his spine. I could have been mistaken, but I’m sure I heard a groan.

“What the FUCK are you doing here, Dean?”

He blinked, suddenly remembering he was on earth.

“What?”

“The plan! What happened to the plan? You were supposed to go around the back - I made it easy for you to sneak in! This place is well guarded Dean.”

“Yeah well, I wanted to make sure you were- hang on- are you a MAID?” He stepped back to take a better look at me as I sat up, trying not to draw attention to myself for staying still for too long. My eyes rolled on their own accord.

“Dean now really isn’t the tim-”

“Holy crap you’re a maid. You’re a MAID. So there is a God,” he dramatically put his hands together as though in prayer and mouthed ‘thank you’ to the disco ball on the ceiling.

“Dean-”

“Nuh-uh, I’m not letting anyone ruin this for me - not even you. Carry on, pretend I’m not Dean and there aren’t any vamps to kill; just for two minutes,” he settled into one of the chairs in front of my podium, flagging a waitress down for a whiskey in the process. There was no arguing with Dean Winchester, especially when he was ticking something off his bucket list. Grasping the pole behind me I pulled myself to my feet, hooking my leg around it and spinning slowly.

“So, NOT-Dean, where’s not-Sam?”

He took a long sip from his liquor before licking his lips, his eyes transfixed on my thighs.

“He's uhhh…. He's sneaking in through some window round the back.”

“Oh, so like you should be?”

He smirked over the top of his glass, spreading his legs a little wider as he settled further into his chair, his other hand resting in his lap.

“Don't deny a man his pleasures sweetheart.”

A half hearted scoff left my lips before I climbed higher on the pole, leaning back so I was almost upside down, granting Dean the perfect view of my lingerie as my micro-skirt flipped over my belly. Spinning slightly, I caught him adjusting himself in his jeans right as I pulled myself back upright.

“You seem pretty at home in a strip club,” my voice came out more breathy than intended as I moved my body in time with the music.

“I can say the same about you,” he quipped back, dark eyes burning into my exposed skin. Licking the last drop of whiskey from his bottom lip, he placed his glass back on the table before standing; taking long, slow steps towards my podium, the toes of his boots touching the metal. I got down on my knees, bringing myself to his eye level before taking his chin between my thumb and index finger and drawing his bewitched face nearer. We ignored the shouts from security telling Dean he wasn’t allowed to touch as I ghosted my lips over his. I could feel his chest rising and falling in anticipation for a simple kiss, his mouth agape and eyes darting about my features - trying to take all of me in. His restraint snapped and he leant forward, pressing his mouth to mine - hot and needy. A large hand reached up and long fingers wrapped around my wrist, rough skin tickling at my pulse as he guided my hand from his chin to his hair, urging me to grip it. Just as I grasped at its softness he was forced away from me, two of the vamps shoving aggressively at his shoulders and putting some distance between us.

“Keep your hands off the girls! You know the rules,” one of them practically spat out his words to Dean, who in return had a feral look in his eye as I caught his hand inching closer and closer to the blade concealed within his jacket.

“Sorry it was my fault!” I blurted, all eyes now burning into me. “It's my first shift and I forgot I shouldn't let it get that far. Don't blame him, it was me who was too…. encouraging.” I flashed sickly-sweet doe eyes at the vamp sizing up Dean, biting my lip in apprehension before he sighed and let go, shaking his head.

“I’ll let you off this time as you’re the newbie, but don’t let it happen again.”

“Yes’sir!” I tapped my fingers to my forehead in a pretend salute, hearing the fanged ones curse under their breath before walking away, throwing one last warning look at Dean - who looked like the cat that got the cream - before returning to their posts. When I knew that they were definitely out of earshot, I snapped at Dean.

“You could’ve totally blown everything!”

Shrug.

“But I didn’t.”

“Dean, you need to go. Sam is going to be wondering where you are. Find him before you get caught.”

“And what about you?” He chewed his lip, unable to stop his eyes from wandering.

“I’m going to stay here and stick to the plan. I’ll run at the first sign of trouble, so please don’t worry about me,” I sighed, looking down at his puppy-dog eyes.

“(Y/n) I’m always gonna worry about you.”

*

It must have been about twenty minutes since Dean left to find Sam and my heart was pounding in my chest knowing how close they were and the possible danger they were in. I didn’t know what doors they were behind, or how many vamps they’d taken out, and I certainly didn’t know if they were unharmed. My palms felt sweaty on the pole as I danced, making it hard for me to grip and put on a good show. Now was as good a time as any to have a toilet break and grab some coffee. I hopped down from my podium as the song ended and hurried to the back of the club, darting through a ‘staff only’ door to the break room. I poured myself a small cup of coffee, adding an obscene amount of sugar to stop my knees from trembling. I’d barely swallowed my first mouthful when I heard shouts and crashing from down the hall, my fingers instantly loosening from the mug as my high-heeled feet carried me to the door where I peaked out, desperate to know what was going on yet mindful not to be seen. There was no one in the corridor that I could see, yet I checked left and right to make sure I wasn’t being watched before I slipped out, teetering on my platforms as I tiptoed to where I was sure the noise had come from.

It was the metal door.

I poked my head down the corridor where it was located and was grateful to see it unlocked and sitting ajar. Inching closer I could hear a scuffle from within and the sound of heavy bodies dropping like lead to the floor, followed by Sam and Deans unintelligible murmuring. A sigh of relief left my lips when I heard them, knowing it wasn’t their bodies hitting the cold tiles below. That relief froze in my veins however when I heard a third voice speak up. A voice that was smooth like butter. A voice that drew you in with a silky southern accent.

A voice that I knew to be dead.

Hesitation and reasoning left in the dust, I barged forwards and into the room, shoving the metal door wide and startling the Winchester brothers, their eyes widening at my sudden appearance. Before they even had the chance to open their mouths, slow clapping echoed through the ‘old money’ style office, emanating from behind a large mahogany desk.

“And there she is! The star of my show. It’s about time you showed up darlin’,” that southern voice dripped with charisma as a handsome man, around my age, sat in a crisp stone-coloured, three piece suit.

“Hey! Don’t you talk to her, you’re dealing with us,” Dean was quick to bite. The stranger threw him a sharp glare before rising to his feet, his cold gaze landed on me again and burned me through to my very soul.

“Y-y-you’re de-” I started before being immediately cut off.

“I bet you never thought you’d see me again, hm? Especially not like this,” he gestured to himself.

“(Y/n),” Sam’s cautious eyes landed on mine, “how do you know him? He’s a vampire.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but yet again I was interrupted before a sound passed my lips.

“Oh (Y/n) and I go waaaaaaaay back, don’t we darlin’?”

I could see Dean inching closer to me out of the corner of my eye, trying not to draw attention to himself in the process. I opened my mouth to speak again, my lips and tongue feeling dry and numb, like they didn’t want to utter the word about to be spoken.

“Daniel I-”

“BINGO!” He clapped loudly, “she DOES remember her old sweetheart.”

“WHAT!?” Both Sam and Dean spun to look at me with dumbfounded expressions, a whole array of emotions flitting across their features.

“(Y/n) you dated a vamp?” Sam asked, those big eyes of his glistening with concern.

“He wasn’t a vamp when I knew him; he’s supposed to be dead!” I turned from Sam to Daniel, the confusion clearly evident on my face, “you’re supposed to be dead - I watched you die - how are you here?”

A harsh laugh rippled from his chest.

“Paramedic was a vampire sweet-cheeks. He turned me on the way to the morgue after he pronounced me dead at the scene - stroke of genius really. Although,” he paused, walking around the desk to step towards me, the boys reaching for every weapon on their person to have at the ready, “what’s even more genius is that ad we put out for a dancer.”

“What?”

He scoffed.

“You think it’s a stroke of good luck that you just happen to look exactly like the description we posted? Honey I knew from the moment I turned what you and your uncle did for living - the dots seemed to connect all on their own. And I knew that one day - whether now or in a few years - that you or some other hunter you might know would pass through my nest and see it. I knew it would bring you back to me.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hang on their sparkles; she’s not going anywhere with you,” Dean had pushed his way in between me and Daniel, the eldest Winchester standing a few inches taller than him as they went nose-to-nose.

Daniel grimaced, fangs threatening to show.

“Why is her scent all over you? Don’t tell me you two are involved?”

Dean smirked before I shoved him out the way, his thick fingers protectively wrapping around my wrist as a safety line.

“Daniel I-,” I took a deep breath, “I loved you once. A long, long time ago. But to me, in my world; you died. And I grieved you. God I grieved you for years, and then one day I woke up and my heart didn’t hurt as much anymore. I carried on with my life, the heartache easing a little everyday. Until there was no more heartache - no more pain. I was whole again. Daniel - you’re still dead in my world. Nothing is going to change.”

He reached for my hand but Dean put an arm between us, stopping him in his tracks.

“(Y/n), darlin’, I put that ad out because I still love you. We can still be together - forever. Just let me turn you-”

“Aannnd that’s it loverboy, times up,” Dean pushed me behind him and brandished the hunting blade he’d use to slice my underwear from my body about a week ago on our first hunt together. Right as Daniel bared his fangs and lunged for Dean, I felt another hand grab my arm. I spun and came toe-to-toe with Sam who was quietly beckoning for me to follow him whilst the vampire was distracted. We left the room quietly, running down corridors, twisting and turning and falling through one of the side doors I had unlocked earlier in the night and out into the fresh air. I took a few deep breaths, not realising how much the metallic scent of blood had filled my nostrils.

“Sam what about Dean?! We can't just leave him behind he-”

Sam laughed softly.

“If you want a vamp dead, Dean will always come out on top. He'll be just fine.”

Sam helped me to my feet, looking down at me, his gaze turning from reassuring to questionable. I sighed, weariness starting to settle into my bones.

“I know, I know. I can explain it all later,” I said, starting to shuffle back to the impala, seeking the comfort of its plush leather seats.

“What? No, (Y/n) you don’t owe me an explanation if you don’t want to. I just want to know if you’re ok?”

I stopped and looked up at him, and something about the kindness of his voice and the concern in his eyes had me falling to my knees, my body heaving out a sob. Then another. And another. Until I couldn’t stop for air and hot tears washed my makeup down my face and my hair stuck to the streaks they left behind. Sam simply crouched down and pulled me into him, rubbing my back and telling me softly that everything will be ok. It was a comfort to feel his chin on my head and his heartbeat beneath my fingertips, the steady thrum eventually soothing away my anguish.

I have no idea how long we were sat there for, but he eventually coaxed me to my feet and led me to the car where Charlie was waiting with a pained expression. She would have seen, or at least heard everything that went down through the security cameras linked to her tablet - she was one of the few people in this life that had met my ex.

I was gently manoeuvred into the back seat, my head resting on Charlie's lap as she played with my hair. Sam had waited outside the impala for a few minutes before climbing into the passenger seat, slamming the door closed. Not five minutes had passed when the door slammed again as Dean clambered in, the stench of blood thick on his clothes, however the comforting scent of his cologne still managed to waft through. He turned to face me, those mossy green eyes piercing into mine as he said with the gentlest tone he could muster:

“It’s done, sweetheart.”

——————————————————————

Next: Chapter 12

——————————————————————

@suckitands33 @jackles010378 @aliceeinwonderland420 @tina-theslytherin @deans-queen @hobby27 @sobearcowboy @girls-alias @selfdestructionandrhum @ericasabe @lacilou @littlemadamred @anneanirac @deans-baby-momma @swimregulas @ashdoctor @littlemarvelstan8 @atcamillanorrman @deangirl96 @zannemes @kr804573 @foxyjwls007 @divadinag @cookiemonstermusic258 @mysterialee @ababy-girl @joonseuph0ria @mxltifxnd0m @deans-spinster-witch @st4bl3-ch40s @feyresqueen @roseblue373 @clusterfuck-meup @urinternetmom @rachiem4-blog @ceeshellecee @mojos-hidden-castle @snowayumi @evzyi @mymuseisbipolar @magssteenkamp @koharuheartfilia @spookyysinsanity @safiyas-world @uncle-eggy @happyt0exist @supernaturalstilinski @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @mrsjenniferwinchester

[wri0thesley]

nsfw scenario of pesci getting the succ from his s/o in la squadra's hideout and they get walked in on by some other team members, including prosciutto? (because they didn't know that they'd be back so soon)

hi anon! i hope you don’t mind i did headcanons instead <3

♡ It takes you a lot to convince Pesci it will be alright for you to do this in the main room of the base; he’s shy at the best of times when it comes to the more intimate embraces you two share. But you’ve always been able to wrap him around your finger and flutter your eyelashes and have him in the palm of your hand. He’s just so hopelessly in love with you - and you with him. When you move your hand down the front of his body to gently stroke the growing bulge between his thighs, you soon see that the idea of you and him doing something so shameless in public isn’t just scandalising him but turning him on, too. You massage it for a while through the fabric, enjoying the way that he whimpers and whines, bucking into your touch, breathing hard already. When you slowly lower yourself to your knees in front of him, you keep perfect eye contact as you urge him to peel down his bodysuit so that you can get at what you want. 

♡ Pesci’s not the longest, but his cock is thick, and the sight of it stiff and ready to be touched makes your mouth water. You’re very sweet as you press a kiss to the tip of it, looking up at him with a softness in your eyes that always makes him feel like he could take on anything in the world for your smile. When your tongue darts out to taste him, he lets out a hiss of breath, one hand coming to gently cup the back of your head and his own falling onto the cushions of the sofa. It’s so easy for both of you to lose yourself in one another - you in the hollowing of your cheeks and the movement of your tongue, and him in the soft, warm wetness that’s engulfing him so beautifully. You’re too far gone to hear the door quietly open, but when it does, La Squadra seem to stream in like they’re eight legs of the same beast--

♡ Formaggio alerts you both to his presence first, with a wolf-whistle and a shout about how Pesci’s finally gettin’ some action, and it looks like it’s good action too - he will he bit over the head and dragged out by somebody else, probably laughing at his own hilarity.

♡ Illuso knew there was something going on the moment he got into the hideout as a whole, but even he couldn’t have predicted this - he never thought Pesci would be so brave. He’s got a little smirk on his face as he files this away for future use, lest this new weakness of Pesci’s and yours be exploitable for his gain at some point - he does, at least, leave of his own volition (though he embeds the view of your face with your mouth open and lips around a shaft into his memory. Again, for future use).

♡ Prosciutto’s face goes all-over thunder. He’s proud of Pesci, of course - this is manliness, he thinks, and his main goal is to give Pesci confidence in himself. This is something that takes a lot of confidence. But he also believes in manners, and this is certainly not a polite thing to have your entire team walk in on - and, if he’s very honest with himself, the tightness in his throat is partly because of you. He’s been secretly jealous of Pesci over you for longer than he’d like to admit, and this just feels like rubbing it in his face - so Prosciutto immediately turns and tries to bark out to the others that they ought to give you both some privacy to get yourselves decent!

♡ Melone is immediately draping himself over the back of the sofa, criticising your technique, being surprised at what exactly Pesci is packing - he doesn’t mind the free entertainment at all. He will eventually be dragged out of the room by Risotto, Prosciutto, or Ghiaccio - depending on which one of them recovers first. 

♡ Ghiaccio goes red with rage. That you’d be so shameless, doing this, in the common area - all of you sit on that couch, you know! Couldn’t you have just done it in a bedroom like a normal person? What’s wrong with you? He either will explode with shouts and screams, or he’ll be unable to pull up his anger enough to make coherent sentences. There is no in between. 

♡ Sorbet and Gelato look at one another, and then back to you. They do not say anything, but they smirk, wrapping themselves closer around one another. “How shameless,” Gelato purrs into Sorbet’s ear. “At least when we do it, we try and avoid becoming a public show.”

♡ Risotto goes very quiet. He will be the one to herd out the rest of the group, if they don’t move themselves. He’ll have a talk with both of you about appropriate use of the common areas of the hideout later, but right at that moment he’s a little flustered by both of you and needs some space to calm down. The least he can do is make sure the rest of La Squadra aren’t there watching you. 

[vee-vee-writes]

Reunions (Part 3)

The Hardest Day - Part 3

Part one & Part two

Y/NN = your nickname & Y/N = your (real) name

Taglist: @thewhiteladyofrohan @tschrist1

Word Count: 1.8k

It had been a long day of travel and it was safe to say that Y/NN, like most of the company, was exhausted. However, they were given no rest before Thorin began barking out orders at the company. Fili, Kili, Ori, and Nori were told to collect firewood and water. As the resident cook Bombur had begun to prepare the stew, likely to avoid being snapped at by Thorin. Others shuffled around the area setting up the campsite.

Sighing the dam got up from her spot on the soft grass and made her way over to Bombur, offering to help prepare the nights stew. Bombur smiled widely as she approached. "Do you need any help making supper?" Y/NN questioned gently. He nodded and patted the grass down beside him. "If you could scrape the carrots and potatoes and peel the onion, I will cut them up. I'll get you a bowl to put the peelings into and a knife from my pack" Bombur requested before retrieving the items for her. Although she was unused to the work, the girl made quick work of the vegetables, making small talk with Bombur as they worked. As she was polishing off her work the group of four returned from gathering the nights supplies.  

Y/NN rose to meet them, wanting to help in way that she could. Fili and Kili had begun to set up the campfire in the middle of the site. Retrieving the flint and steel from her pack she was quick to shuffle over to them. Kili was the first to notice her approaching and grinned cheekily at her. The two had become close on the journey, Y/NN spending many long days travelling together. "How are you feeling?" Kili inquired as he helped assemble the campfire. "Tired" Y/NN teased, plopping down next to him, and handing the flint across to Fili. Kili snorted at her answer and Fili smirked a little. Thanking her for the flint and steel, Fili began striking it together to light the fire.

"Well, I better get back to helping Bombur before that uncle of yours comes after me" Y/NN sighed tiredly. Rising from her spot on the grass she gazed around the campsite. Trios of dwarves sat on logs they had rolled over from the surrounding area. On the outskirts she observed Thorin and Balin deep in discussion. 'They're probably pouring over the details for the rest of the journey' she decided. Thorin caught her gaze and raised a thick brow at her. She regarded him for a moment before trudging back over to Bombur to help finish the stew.

-//(Half an hour later)//-

Y/NN wiped her brow with the sleeve of her coat as she admired the hot stew bubbling away over the fire. "Thank you for the help. It took half the time it would have taken me on my own" Bombur thanked as he patted her gently on the shoulder. "It was no problem Bombur, I enjoy helping" Y/NN beamed. He smiled back before beginning to dish out supper.  

One by one each of the company members trekked up to them to grab their bowl. Y/NN picked up her bowl from the three-remaining bowls. Making her way over to the log the Durin brothers were sitting on she noticed Thorin and Balin still wrapped up in their discussion, oblivious to the rest of the company. 'If they are still there when I have finished dinner then I will bring it to them' she promised herself.

The brothers greeted her and made room on the log for the dam. Settling down in between them on the log she began eating her stew before pausing. She questioned whether Fili and Kili would think her nosey asking after other people but then her curiosity got the better of her. "What do you think your uncle and Balin are talking about?" Y/NN queried, "they've been far too long to just be discussing tactical movements and supplies for the journey." The brothers seemed taken aback by the question but then Fili admitted, "To be honest with you, I am not completely sure. I tried to speak with them earlier but was promptly sent away." "Whatever it is then it must be secret." Kili concluded.

Hesitating Fili sucked in a breath before uttering "It was about you, Y/NN." The dam's eyes widened. "What about me? I know Thorin doesn't like me but surely I have proved my loyalty to the company by now" Y/NN exclaimed frustrated. "I didn't hear much but he was…suspicious of your identity. He thinks you are some sort of noble lady" Fili disclosed, "So are you?" Both young darrow looked at her, eyes gleaming with the anticipation of her answer.

"My mother belongs to clan Stiffbeards so yes by association I am a noble lady" she confirmed, "but I'm not here for money or my own gain. I'm here because a long time ago I made a promise to someone" she confessed. "And who would you have made this promise to" a strong baritone voice spoke from behind her. Whipping her head around Y/NN was confronted with Thorin standing staunch, clench jawed, and arms crossed in front of her. His eyes bore deeply into her as if he was judging the very fabric of her sole, weighing up her existence.  

"Well?" he boomed at her. Never had she ever thought those eyes that had once regarded her with love and compassion would look at her with such harshness and anger. "Thorin, calm down. Let us go about this in a calm manner" Balin stated, attempting to appeal to Thorin's more rational side. "It is bad enough that Gandalf has forced this woman upon us but now she is keeping secrets too" Thorin snapped.  

By now all of the company was watching the unfolding events. Mixed reactions painted their faces as she scanned them. Many adverted their eyes as she met them, but others met her gaze in defiance, distrust clear in their eyes. As panic welled up inside of her, her lip started to quiver. "I-I can explain everything please. I promise that there is a good reason that I am here" she choked out. Thorin cocked an eyebrow but motioned for her to continue. "I am here for you. The promise I made was to you. My real name is Y/N" Y/NN cried out, a flurry of tears beginning to drip down her cheeks.

His expression remained neutral but anyone who knew Thorin well enough could see the array of emotions that danced through his eyes, confusion, realisation, and excitement. "Y/N, my nathith (daughter)?" Thorin questioned alarmed. By now a flurry of tears was streaming down her cheeks but she nodded as she choked out a sob. Reaching out with a shaky hand she fumbled with the buttons to the pocket on her coat before managing to undo it.

From inside she retrieved a small white handkerchief which she unwrapped to reveal a small silver bead. Thorin let out a strangled cry before dropping to his knees in front of her. He cupped her hands with his larger warm calloused hands, staring at the bead sitting on the handkerchief in her hands. "I-why are you here? You should be safe with your amad's (mother's) kin" Thorin managed. "I missed you adad. It's been over 60 years since amad and I left…I thought you'd forgotten me since you never visited" Y/N whimpered.

Thorin's eyes snapped up to meet hers and he brought one hand up to cup her cheek. "I would never forget about you mizimith (jewel that is young). Not a day has gone by since your mother took you away that I have not thought about you" Thorin soothed. Gazing into his eye’s Y/N watched the storm of emotions stirring in his eyes as they became red rimmed. This eased her mind a bit, he had missed her as much as she had missed him. With no face-to-face visits it had been hard to tell how he truly felt, her adad had always been more reserved emotionally.

Y/N turned her attention back to the bead in her hand, "I brought this back for you. You once told me that this bead symbolises the future of our kin and that when you took back our home that I should bring it to you." "We haven't taken Erebor back yet so why are you giving it to me now?" Thorin's tone was laced with confusion.

"No, we haven't. But right now, the fifteen of us hold the future of a race in our hands. No matter what our actions will decide the fate of all dwarves. Take back our home or not, this is the course we have set, and we must stand together and strong as we charge ahead" Y/N preached, looking to all of the company. Focusing her attention back to Thorin she tenderly stated, "If this bead really does symbolise our future, then you should wear it with pride as we carry on." With that she freed her hand from within his grasp and used it to place the bead in the centre of his hand. Thorin curled his fingers around it, playing with the bead for a moment.

A stray tear began to streak down his cheek. "Forgive me for the way I have treated you, I thought so ill of you when you had the purest of intentions for our kin. I thought you were a noble woman looking to improve your station" he croaked out. "I forgive you adad, even if your misgivings hurt me, I understand wanting to protect your own" she murmured to him before pressing her forehead to his in an intimate familial gesture. Thorin brought his hand up to the back of her head to hold her closer together then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Would you braid it into my hair for me?" Thorin whispered to her. Y/N nodded, a large smile creeping over her lips.

The company went back to catching quietly around the campfire to give the two a moment of privacy, Fili and Kili moving to sit amongst them. Thorin sat down cross legged on the grass while Y/N went to retrieve a comb from her pack. After finding her comb the dam went back to perch by her adad's side, getting to work on combing and braiding his hair. They sat in silence as she worked, revelling in one another's company at long last. Eventually she broke the silence, "I need the bead to cap off your braid adad." Wordlessly Thorin handed it to her with care. She capped the braid off and took a moment to admire the braid. It was the signature braid of Durin's heir's, worn by all members of the King's close family. "Thank you Khajimel (gift of all gifts). I will wear this bead with pride, knowing that your words have given it more weight" Thorin smiled, eyes soft with adoration for his daughter. "Now come I will adorne your hair with the braid of our house and kinship so that any dwarf who sees you knows how precious you are."

[dystovian]

The Last of Us: How to Disappear Completely

Chapter 3: Burrow

Summary: The aftermath of death is never nice, especially with the end of the world. You felt you knew how to deal with it, and that’s by moving on as quick as possible. Sawyer, takes this personally, and lets you have a piece of their mind.

Pairing: Joel/Reader, Joel x Reader (Future)

Warning(s): Language, Talks about Death and Suicide, Arguing, Injuries.

A/N: ok one more chapter i think and joel comes into play! thank u for reading!!

Tags: @hrk-fic-recs

Often, before your sister had disappeared, you wouldn’t really bother thinking about the past. You had your future right in front of you, because for all you knew, you and her would be just fine. But, the second you realized she wouldn’t return, and was likely rotting in some field or some building, or running around Infected...it’s all you could think about.

You’d think about the way you grimaced at melted red popsicles and how they stuck to your fingers, coating your skin with red juice. You’d think about how you’d fallen off your bike, not wearing any knee guards and crying out in the street due to the skin on your kneecaps peeling away. You’d mostly think about luxuries, stuff you’d never experience again. Stuff that were so far away from this life, that had left a mark on you.

Something that never left, though? Was grief. Grief followed every living thing with a heartbeat and snuck up on it every chance it got. Grabbed you by the roots of your hair and tossed you to the ground. Grief, which seemed to have a festival just about every second of every day now, with the way things fell apart. Exploding into millions of sparks just like the fireworks on the beach that day.

This was evident now, what with the way the young teenager in the room across from you hasn’t stopped crying, even within their sleep their tears are evident, dripping over their nose and onto the sheets. Evident, shown in the way your shoulders shook violently as the body of a young girl whom you just saw yesterday lay behind you.

In the past, grief was more of a long time thing. Where you could sit in your room and cry all day after your cat had died. But now — with the world gone to shit — it’s different. Someone dies, you cry for a minute, maybe even not at all, then you suck it up. You get the fuck over it, and you move the hell on. Do what they couldn’t, survive, live for them.

Except, you haven’t. You’ve barely even bothered. Sometimes, though, you get this burst of energy. Telling you to go out on a run, get some supplies to help live just a little longer. But you can’t leave Sawyer, not when they’ve barely even spoken, and the last time they did, they made it quite clear of their feelings. Of the state of their mind since the loss of their sister.

“You’ve barely eaten your dinner, y’know.” You had said one night, windows covered with thick wool blankets, and candles lit along the house.

“Mhm.” They muttered, slumped in their chair, eyes staring at the food on their plate.

“Please...you’ve got to eat, Soy. It’ll kill you.” You said, placing your utensils on the wood, leaning forward.

“Awesome.” They scoffed, almost sliding the plate into your lap with the force of their hand.

“Seriously? Are you..” You’d paused in disbelief, “Are you seriously just gonna let yourself fucking starve to death? Sawyer, you need to listen to me. We’re gonna need more food soon, and if I’m going alone, you need to be fit enough to keep watch on this place. Oka-“ You stopped when Sawyer abruptly stood, hands clenched into fists on the wood of the dining room table, head hanging.

“You wanna go? Then fuckin’ go! I don’t give a shit if you leave me here and I certainly don’t care if Infected tear me to goddamn shreds.” They said, tears piling up upon their eyelids.

“You, you do not mean that,” You were standing now, chair almost falling with the force of your movement. Your eyes were wide, with eyebrows raised, shock filing through you.

“Oh, I meant every damn bit of that sentence.” They scoffed.

“Take it back.”

“I ain’t takin’ back sh-“ Their finger goes to point at you, and the second they do, it’s slapped away.

“Take it the fuck back! You listen to me, and you listen to me good. I am not, and I mean absolutely not, going to feel responsible for somebody else dying. I am sick and fucking tired of death, and I know for damn sure you are too. Hell, every last person is! But, and I hate to say this shit you, but you need to move on. You and I both know that’s what Ryan would want. So, take. It. The. Fuck. Back.” You were angry, of course you were. You loved the two of them, they were family to you, and with one of them gone you knew you couldn’t live after you lost the other.

“Well, have you ever stopped to think about what I fucking want? Ryan is dead! Ryan doesn’t have wants or needs or...or anything! I want to die! I don’t want to live anymore. Get that through your thick skull. And, for the love of all that’s ever been holy, quit actin’ like you knew us. You don’t, and won’t, know shit. You didn’t raise us, and you weren’t there when everything went to shit. We’re not your fuckin’ children. And we sure as shit ain’t your sister!” By the time they let it all out, you had sat back down and had taken the blow.

“That’s how it is, then? Hm?”

“Yeah. And quit telling me what I’m ‘supposed’ to do. I’ll move on when I damn well please, and you know what? Fuck you. You already movin’ on after we just pieced my sister back together and buried her in the backyard. The backyard, of some house, that we only knew for a year! She should’ve died old, with a family, or something! She...she should’ve died normally. Old age, or a stroke, or a fuckin’ heart attack...I don’t know! But instead, she got eaten alive, and blew her brains out before she could become one of those things! So don’t talk to me about moving on, when we both know there’s no moving on from that.” They were in front of you now, tears streaming over the red of their cheeks, face hot from anger.

Since then, you’ve barely spoken to the other. Choosing to stay quiet during dinner, which began happening less and less with your shortage of food. You finally came to Sawyer one day, and told them that you couldn’t stay here any longer. That the streets have more and more Infected every week, and the whole town is empty of food.

They agreed, nodding their head in silent agreement, eyes drawn away from your own.

2 0 2 5.

Illinois.

Ryan’s name hasn’t left either of your mouths. Not during dinner, not even in passing. Not even in your sleep, did either of you cry out her name and sob afterwards.

After everything that happened, you left the house. The room she died in was loud, almost frighteningly so, and filled with the phantom screams of her last moments. Something, that both you and her sister, couldn’t quite stand beside anymore. So, you left. Walked and walked and walked, barely talking to the other at first. And sure as hell keeping her name out of your mouth.

You didn’t say her name again until a group took you in, asked you about your past, and you delivered. Spilled your hearts content onto the plastic table in front of you, until you broke down, and the lovely couple in front of you — Alex and his wife, Amy — stopped you, rubbing their hands on your back.

Although you’ve been through hell and back these last six years, Ryan always lingered. You’d see her in the corpses that littered streets and the homes you’d spend a few nights in. See her in the way Sawyer carried themself, or spoke, or cried.

You didn’t forgive eachother, you rarely talked of that argument in the dining room that night. You simply opted to get the hell over it, if you don’t talk about it then I guess it just didn’t happen. And now, being taken in by this group that call themselves the Burrowers, the conversation is begging to be had.

Sawyer didn’t stay with you long, you shared a home for four days before they left, got their own place. And you haven’t seen them since.

[kilhara]

Finally got around to writing another of these lol. I'm not going to aim to finish the Maycabre prompt list in May, but I'll write for funsies when i can think of an idea to fill the prompt/when I have the time.

Prompt list here

Warnings: Blood, gore, death, lil bit o' angst

Characters: G-Man, Alyx Vance, Combine Advisor

3. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

"We are in, the future. This is the moment, where you watch your father... die."

His statement echoed in the air, but as the flow of time died, the next word caught in his throat. Taking a quiet breath, he tried again.

"Unless..."

Breathless, her voice shook, "What? Unless what?"

Disembodied from the lower dimension, he circled a half-moon around her. "Unless... you were to take matters, into your own hands."

Moving quickly, the scene spun on its axis. Coagulated blood became new and returned to the hole in Eli Vance's neck, his limp corpse falling back into the grasp of the... Combine Advisor, as the humans dubbed them. A juvenile.

Dissonant ripples passed through him.

The older instance of Alyx was consolidated, for there could not be two, and the younger instance watched, speechless as everything rewound before her eyes.

Returning to the void, he stellated, this form shifting and another appearing closer to the Advisor. He had to force the next words out, keeping his voice smooth and even. He could not afford to show weakness. Leave any with the benefit of a doubt.

"Release your father, Ms. Vance..."

He observed from the cover of shadows, standing stiffly, hands at his back clenched in a white knuckled grip.

First disbelief, then a hopeful shift in her features. She flexed her fingers, marveling at the crackling vortigaunt energy jumping across her skin. Determination like emerald fire in her eyes, her hands shot out and let loose twin arcs of violent green lightning.

The energy blasted into the juvenile, a perfect hit to the front. He could hear its screams. Errant green aftershocks jumped over to pinch at his skin, but he hardly felt the pain, unable to look away as the grub's telekinesis failed and it plummeted to the ground in a steaming heap, dead.

It had not suffered for long.

"Good..."

Relaxing tensed muscles, he disrobed of the darkness.

"As a consequence of your action, this entity will continue—" he gestured to Eli, an afterthought, before turning to the left, "and this entity... will not."

Fully exposed to the ravaged body, a hidden frown pulled at the corners of his mouth. Of course, he'd known this was coming. In the end, it was he who had orchestrated it. But now, in hindsight, the knowledge paled in comparison to the direct experience of it.

Great plumes of smoke rose from the charred body of the grub. Curled and blackened flakes of skin had peeled away, seared flesh protruding through jagged cracks. Vibrant green blood oozed from where its breather once sat, along with a stream of milky liquefied brain matter. The suit that encased it had partially turned to ash, revealing patches where skin had bubbled as it cooked.

He could do nothing to stop his mind from conjuring the image of the dead synth instead as one of his siblings, eliciting an unfamiliar nausea that rolled deep within him.

He did not know this one. But he knew its madness. Just like the others. Thousands, more than the eye could see, bound and ravaged by the Combine. Lobotomized and repurposed to serve hate and enforce domination. Made slaves by the disease that misfolded their thoughts into broken, black shapes... drove them to depravity. Their life cycles seized, unnaturally arrested in bodies unable to moult. Unable to escape. This one, just another cog in the machine of the Universal Union. To him, another in a long line of necessary evils. One step closer to the end, but at the cost of striking down one of his own kind. No matter how far gone the synth was, he could feel a black mark upon his mind that he doubted would fade any time soon.

Acrid particles of burnt flesh permeated his senses, and not for the first time, he wished he weren't bound to human form.

He'd seen enough.

Banishing the corpse, it faded from the void and he watched the last wisps of smoke linger before dispersing into nothingness.

Someone was talking. Alyx. He came back to himself, realizing that he'd momentarily blocked out auditory stimuli. He turned his head her way, replaying what she'd said.

Ah, her... father. He wasn't done with that man quite yet. Loathe to lie to her face, he deflected her question and relayed to her the true nature of her situation, conjuring Gordon's crowbar and rotating it in his hand with feigned interest.

He could feel the slow build of distress inside her, getting worse with each word he spoke.

"A... previous hire has been unwilling— or... unable, to perform the tasks laid before him." Letting the crowbar drift off into the void, he manifested a vision of Gordon as he was in the hangar and stepped to the side.

Now that Freeman was well and truly a free man, it didn't mean that he wasn't still heading down a favourable path. But his employers were understandably skeptical, unhappy with this loss of control over an asset.

But now? Now, he had her.

Calmly, he moved the conversation in the direction he needed to wrap this up. His employers were crowding the edge of his awareness, ghostly fingers pressing against his barriers, losing patience with his delay to their summons.

Understanding settled on her face, panic widening her eyes. He turned and started to walk away, unwilling to watch her fall apart in front of him.

It was done.

"No," she protested, tone wavering, "I— I just want to go home. Send me home!"

Her broadcasted waves of fear prickled. He slowed to a stop, tilting his head.

"... I'm afraid you misunderstand the situation, Ms. Vance."

Jaw clenched, he continued on, walking into the portal of blinding light that opened before him. Just like the nauseating smoke still clinging to his suit, the imprint of her screams lingered long after he'd departed.

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : ShareMyCosplay.com

Tell us about ShareMyCosplay, what was the genesis of the ShareMyCosplay? 

Share My Cosplay has gone through quite the journey to get to what you see today. I can still remember the day that I came up with the idea that would eventually lead to Share My Cosplay. I was eating lunch with a few friends at my day job. A friend of mine showed me a cosplay of Jessica Nigri as Pikachu, and because I worked in IT,  for some reason had an idea of doing a website related to cosplay. The actual website took a while to set up, but I started off slowly, with an initial launch on social media. We launched with Tumblr and Twitter, slowly building an audience. Then eventually a little bit later adding Facebook, and eventually much later introducing Instagram into the “family’. Eventually we added the website and have been going strong since then. We’ve of course made tons of adjustments over the years, and most recently started adding content on YouTube. It’s been a great ride so far, and hopefully it will continue.

What was your first experience with cosplay as well as the convention scene?

Like a lot of people who are into gaming and comic books, I was aware of cosplay, but didn’t really know much about it. It was only after looking into the idea of starting a site that I really got to know what goes on behind the scenes. It was meeting and talking to people in the scene that made me realize what an amazing community of people are involved. That is why I have continued the site for so long. As our social media following grew, I got to know more and more of the cosplayers, and was so happy I was able to use what I had created to help them gain more exposure. Share My Cosplay exists as a place where all cosplayers can have their work properly showcased.

As for conventions. While I live in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is a relatively small city of one million people. Conventions have only really made it big in the last 5 years or so and before that were never a really big thing. I had travelled to other cities within Canada for some conventions, but those were mainly toy based conventions, so there would just be a handful of devoted cosplayers hanging out. It wasn’t until much later, when conventions started to take off, that our city got it’s own “Comic-con”. Then things exploded quickly. When our first Ottawa Comic-con launched, I was there day one, and the lineup was out of the building and wrapped around the whole building. I think it took a couple of hours to actually get into the convention floor. I could only assume it was similar to something like entering SDCC, but on a much smaller scale.

So while that has been a staple in our city for the last 10 years, I’ve also been traveling to Montreal Comic-con, which is a little bigger. Since there are maybe fewer conventions in Canada, people seem to come from great distances to show off the cosplays they had worked out. The dream has always been to try and get to SDCC, but that hasn’t happened yet. Travel is so expensive from Canada.

So for the short term I had set my sights on visiting NYCC, which is a “quick” drive from my area of Canada. However like all plans, they fell through. I had plans to go to NYCC and E3 in 2020, but of course those fell through because of what happened around the world. I miss conventions. One because they are such a great way to meet and interact with the cosplayers, and two, it’s one of the primary places we get content to share on our site and pages. So that has been lacking for us recently. Fingers crossed things will get back to normal soon.

How has cosplay changed over the years in your perspective?

Like everything you get to know, it evolves and grows over time. Being knee deep in cosplay all the time (my inbox once had 100+gb of cosplay submissions), I have certainly seen it change over the years. Obviously cosplays have become more elaborate in construction. Things like LEDs are so cheap now, I always find it amazing when people incorporate them into a costume. So the cosplay builds just get bigger and better every year. Also I find the resources on the internet have gotten better. Cosplayers are now able to find more detailed pictures of what they want to create, giving them a way better idea of what and how they will do it for a certain character.

Another thing that has changed, are the absolutely stunning Cosplay edits you’ll see on social media. So why the cosplay photographers have always been an integral part of the equation (we try hard to tag them when people include their details on submissions), the level that the editing on pictures has changed over the years is dramatic. You’ll often see the time-lapsed photo creations on Social, and they are just mesmerizing to watch. People put so much time into creating these worlds to help elevate the cosplay to the next level. That has certainly changed over the years. That being said, we still love regular shots of cosplay too, the amount of photographers that specialize in cosplay has jumped a lot too.

In general, it seems cosplay has evolved from a simple hobby where you could throw something together to wear to a weekend convention, to a full time gig where people spend months on at a time for each one of their creations.

How has ShareMyCosplay changed over the years?

In my eyes SMC has evolved greatly over the years. As the editor there have been two major changes, and I think it has improved the way we do things. The first thing would be, when we first started I used to go “collect” the cosplay that we shared. So I had to either go find it, or reach out to people. I spent a lot of time tracking down cosplay to share, that I personally thought was cool or very creative. As you can imagine this took a lot of time. So this has changed dramatically over the past 3 -  5 years. Now I’m happy to say that we are 99.9% based on submissions from users. So while there is less than 1% of content that we do go out and ask for, it is basically all based on what people send us to share. So that is why you see such a great variety of cosplay content on our pages. There is a downside to this in a way, as compared to some other pages out there that only feature certain types of cosplayers, some people enjoy that a bit more and those pages can have more of a following then we do. However we are really happy with the content we put out. 

Then the second big change, that has certainly led to better content for our pages, is the introduction of automation. When SMC first started, I had to do everything manually. Like I would be on Twitter or my phone doing everything live, and sharing items. It took up a lot of my time, and greatly affected my personal life. At times I think I must have been crazy, as this is a free service that we provide, and I was putting hours into each day. Now of course things have changed and the Social Media aspect of SMC is way easier to manage. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have official tools available that allow you to schedule your posts. So you can easily take an hour or 2 and work on several days of a week at the same time, or if you were really organized, schedule the whole week. So I’ve learned to embrace this a bit more and learn the ins and outs of it. This leads to a more constant stream of content that our followers seem to enjoy. Which seems to lead to more engagement from our followers.

What’s the best part / worst part of running a cosplay theme page? 

The best part has obviously been meeting & interacting with the community throughout the years. We do our best to present a positive place where everyone can share their cosplay creations. We’ve been invited to some really cool events over the years, and our team has been able to go to a lot of conventions all over the world. It’s been a fun ride.

The worst part for me personally, is that while our team has grown and shrank over the years, I do most of the work by myself. Sharemycosplay.com is run by a single person, me. Also for the most part there is a single person doing all of the social media. So I do my best to have content up all of the time, but sometimes life gets in the way. We’ve put a few calls out for people that might want to help with content creation for the site, but sometimes it’s hard to attract people interested in helping. Right now I’d love a few writers that could write articles that I could wrap around cosplay posts for the page. We will have to see how that turns out.

What future plans do you have for ShareMyCosplay?

I’m always looking to expand Sharemycosplay.com with new content. During the pandemic I’ve been off my normal schedule so unfortunately updates have been a bit slow, but hoping to get back to things. With conventions off the table for now for the most part, I’m trying to move in different directions. I’ve recently tried to put more effort into YouTube, but even that has been impacted by the Pandemic, so I’ve leaned more on gaming content. That is going to change as I’ve started a new initiative that I just launched on our page a few days ago called “CosplaySELF''. Basically we are looking to have cosplayers interview themselves, and us edit the footage into the “episodes' ' featuring 3 cosplayers. Hopefully those will start to be live very soon. We are already into the editing phase and hope to have the first episode live soon, over on our YouTube page. Keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully, as long as people show interest, this is something we will continue to create and upload on a regular schedule.

Is there anything that wasn’t covered you like to talk about?

 Lastly I want to thank you for taking the time to include Share My Cosplay in this interview. It really means a lot when someone else in the community that you respect, takes a moment out of their busy life to recognize the work you’ve done. There have been times in the past where I have considered possibly giving up doing SMC, but getting some recognition really helps put things in perspective and allows me to continue on. Hopefully Share My Cosplay will continue to grow over the coming years, and continue as a great tool for all cosplayers to use.

https://www.sharemycosplay.com/

[manjuhitorie]

HITORI-ESCAPE 2020 : Hitorie’s Free Concert Live Stream - December 7th 2020

In celebration of their newest single, curved edge, Hitorie streamed a full length concert! Setlist: Polaris Senseless Wonder Namid[A]me Garandou Mae Zero Banchi SLEEPWALK Loveless Gekijougai Talkie Dance Unknown Mother Goose Karanowaremono Ao curved edge In it they announced the release of a new album! Named... REAMP! Febuary 17th can’t come soon enough!!! It will even include songs written by not only Shinoda, but Yumao and ygarshy each as well! Concert report below:

Initial Impressions: ＊ SND’s shirt has Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe printed on it. ＊ He has a stageprompter to assist with lyrics as well. He struggles to hit the high notes but he nails the high octane power chords. wowaka used to wing when his would sing, so he would slip on his lyrics, and make silly faces, every other song live. I see SND is playing it safe, now that he’s the one in charge of the crazy lyrics!!! Prelude leading into... Polaris ＊SND gets riled up and turned thhe「誰も知らぬ明日へ行け　誰も止められやしないよ」lyric into a rowdy 「止められやしねえよ」 . Equivalent to “No one can stop us” being turned into “No once can fucking stop us” or so. Shinoda “We’re Hitorie, enjoy the show.” (This ‘Hitorie desu, yoroshiku douzo’ was always wowaka’s stock concert phase.) Senseless Wonder ＊”Woo-hoo”’s or unintelligible noises made in the riff music breaks. ＊Yumao sings the backup vocals.  ＊SND wiggles his foot on his Wah pedal to make the wonky sounds.

Intermissional MC

Shinoda “This marks the beginning of Hitori-Escape. We are called Hitorie. Everyone please stick with us.“Heavy breathing “Hold up. I jumping around too much right off the bat.. I jumped around too much... All I did was hip and hop around a little bit... Haah. I’m gonna drink some water, drink some water!” SND walks over to the amp where bottles lie atop then proceeds to take a big sip. Yumao also follows along with a drink. Yu and SND can be seen conversing, but only SND’s “You got that right.” can be heard. SND returns to the mic “Take a gander, everyone. Even Yumao-kun is already sweating as well. This sparkly sweat of ours.. We will try to deliver you guys our sweat at the highest quality we can offer, deliver it as much as possible.” While SND is talking Yumao makes signs, such as 2 fingers up, towards the staff. “Well then, let’s chug along. Enjoy the show everyone.” Namid[A]me ＊There’s bubble popping sound effects in the intro now! Yumao is in charge of this, see his MacBook + mixer (+ a handy setlist printout) setup on the table beside him. All with a music program open primed and ready... Right before the song you can even see Yumao click his computer as well! 

＊ Yumao sings backup vocals, the whole chorus has his deep voice echoing. The small amount of notes are so concise and moody live... ＊ SND tops the outro off with a “Wasshoi!” Garandou Mae Zero Banchi ＊ Melodramatic piano bit added before the intro. I wonder where this was sampled from... It sounds like SND uses his stereo chorus pedal for his part as well. Shinoda “Thank you.”

Intermissional MC

Shinoda “Uhm.. At the end of our previous live stream I had said ‘Next time we meet will be at the concert hall.’. Sorry, that was a lie... We’re meeting at a live stream yet again. We’re Hitorie, enjoy the show.” Yumao taps his cymbals gently to create the classic concert mood starter sound. SND “That, that’s good! That’s the stuff! That’s the stuff. Without that stuff I feel the silence responding to me.” He motions at the empty auditorium. “That stuff’s nice, nice. I guess ‘cause, y’know. ‘Cause you two have already been y’know. Performing in front of people.” Yumao, hits his cymbal, cue a “Bwaa~n” sound. SND “You can fool me with that shit. No ��Bwaa~n’ will work on me. You had 2 whole opportunities in a row, yesterday and the day before.” (Referring to Yumao’s appearance in Touyama Nao’s anniversary concerts.) Yumao hits his cymbal yet again, cue a “Shwaaan” noise. SND scoffs “What a kind and swe~et reaction.” SND “I’m the only one. The only one here who hasn’t stood up in front of people. My only upcoming chance will be at ‘Countdown Japan’, at the end of the year. Then in January I’ll be doing our limited fan club concert at Shibuya WWX. Back to back. What the hell is up with this year? What the hell, huh? Huh!!!” SND playfully pounces in Yumao’s direction. Yumao hits his cymbal again. “You’re saving my butt with that. Thanks, truly. Alright. From here on I’m to bring you a few songs without a guitar, only a mic in my hands.” Yumao “1, 2, 3, 4” SLEEPWALK ＊ SND gets on his knees and wiggles to walk on the floor during music breaks, is he imitating a sleepwalker.. ＊ Ygarshy presses a pedal right after every song ends, presumably his tuner, to mute and prevent static. He strums and slaps with his fingers, no pick, for every song. SND “2020 is slowly nearing its end, but, what’s everyone’s opinion on love?” Loveless ＊BONK 

＊ Includes Shinoda flopping around on the floor, squatting like a yakuza, and an outro with SND and yg having a mini string instrument battle! They huddle together! Yumao pounds away! Gekijougai ＊ Additional nebulous intro.  ＊ Yumao is really worked to the bone in this banger! Featuring yet another more intense battle between yg and SND. SND “Alrighty! Ah. Where are y’all now? Where are y’all right now? It doesn’t matter where you are, just dance along to Talkie Dance!” Talkie Dance ＊ During the riff breaks SND chants  Soi! Yoisa! Soi! Hoisa!” Like wasshoi, these are traditional shouts primarily used by O-mikoshi carriers in JP festivals! SND really seems to enjoy using old-fashioned words in a stylish way. SND “Upon this ending year, this one is with love from wowaka!” Unknown Mother Goose “Sing along with me!” ＊ Per usual, Yumao and ygarshy both pitch in for the ‘Oh oh oh’ harmonies. “Sing, please!” ＊ The background vocals in the Unknown Mother Goose are also confirmed by the man himself to be “Give me love”. He had responded to someone with “Oh! You’re sharp!” when asked about it!

Intermissional MC

“Are y’all having fun? Me, I can’t stop sweating. Help me. I can’t stop sweaaating.” SND changes to a high tone voice, “Ah~ This is awesomeee. Methinks this is awesome but, but I gotta say, I’m the only one here who hasn’t had a chance to perform in front of people, no kap.” He returns to his normal tone. “I hold a grudge. I’m always the only one being fucking left outtt. I can't let go of my grudge.

At least look me in the eyes, guys. Ah, whatever. On New Year's Eve I’m gonna appear in Countdown Japan, I’m gonna! ...What does it feel like anyway, performing in front of people? What does it feel like, may I ask you fine young gentleman?” SND’s voice turns to demonic. “Oiiii. Don’t just fucking nod at me. Don’t make up some new common language. You’re over there using no words, bitch.” His voice returns to normal. “Well, whatever. Enough of that. It’s no use staying jealous forever.” Yumao taps his cymbals... “Don’t just fucking ‘clang clang’ either!” Yumao laughs. “You laughed, you laughed! You laugh: you lose, you!”, they all smile. “Uhm... On December 31st, New Year's Eve, we’ll be at Countdown Japan. Please come if you can, hope to see you there. Now then! Next year, I’m talking about next year, it will be the 7th year anniversary of our major debut. In celebration, and to kick off the new year, we have booked Roppongi’s EX Theater for two days, January 21st and 22nd,. This is all I can say for now. Details will be announced later. ...Now let me drink some water.” ygarshy is all done tuning and at attention. Yumao keeps making cymbal sounds to fill the empty space. “I... Today, here, is uhm, Yokohama’s Bay Hall. It’s the place where ‘Swallowtail’ was filmed. When we arrived this afternoon I saw the windows and practically screamed. It’s Yen Town Band! It’s where Glico sang ‘My Way’! I alone was freaking out. Noone was on board with me.. I’m all alone, yet again.... The camera zooms in on Yumao, “Don’t just smile! Don't just smile at me With that said. Our 7th anniversary hits next year! So, here is our very first song, which represents our beginning....” Karanowaremono Ao ＊ Many emotional spotlights.

Intermissional MC

SND “At long last, this time has come. Huh! Mister Yumao-san!” SND glares at him. “Perhaps I may revel in a sip of water as well. A sip of water!! ... By the way what time is it? Yumao, in reporter voice “It is currently eight thirty seven.” SND “I see, it’s eight thirty seven. That's crazy. So today, our new song released, as you folks may know. Our new song called curved edge was released. Did you give it a listen? If you haven’t then please do, but also, the music video for the song will be public today at 22 o’ clock, please enjoy it. That’s the immediate future. But let’s talk about the faaar future.... On February 17th will a new album be released. We made an album. curved edge is a song written by me, and naturally it will be included in the album as well but, that’s not all.” He wags his finger towards the others, “This wiggly windy head of brown-colored hair and, this other wiggly windy head of black-colored hair have even each written a song for it as well. The title is R-E-A-M-P, REAMP. To be released on February 17th. Keep your eyes peeled.” he tapped his temple as he said this, “Please!” Ygarshy bows. “Ahhh, we made it!” Shinoda starts coughing, “Excuse me. Coughing without covering my mouth is not good. I'll be careful. Ah, I’m so nervous. I’ve grown nervous this far in. Alright, this next one will be the final song. Thank you so much for bearing with us. We are Hitorie. As farewell, here is our new song. curved edge.

Text:

I have also written up the original Japanese quotes! Thank you Tamagotoji for the huge help! ORZ For those looking to follow along with the concert, or learn new words from them, or enjoy!! Please enjoy! 

https://www.evernote.com/l/AolVRKvLGRpFN6l0MApPe5xuRXQOI4kFeTg

Bonus tech lore

Disclaimer: Only old photos exist of their pedalboards exist, as the cameramen did a fine job of concealing them. Since there’s no new evidence of change, I’ll assume these old findings will serve as foundation for their current setups as well!

[justkurotingz]

maybe readers school is a possible target of a bomb thread and even tho it's breaking the protocol hotch drives to her school and takes her out of class with his vest and gun still on because he wants to protect her and can't risk losing her too after losing Haley

hopefully this is the uncle!hotch request haha <3. if not i apologize!! sorry this took so long to complete, i went outside since it’s a good day today :))

word count: almost 1K words

“bomb threat....apply valley high school....” hotch’s head snapped up to the tv, but already the reporter had moved on. “what did he say?” “i know, it’s so unfortunate.” prentiss sighed and morgan nodded. “swat’s on their way, but they’re pretty sure it’s just an empty threat. apparently it’s a suicide bomber.”

“apple valley high school, hey, isn’t that where y/n goes?” reid glanced at hotch and the stricken look his face confirmed reid’s question. “i- have to go. don’t tell strauss i’m gone.” “hotch, that’s against protocol.” jj rose, her eyebrows furrowed in concern and hotch sighed. “i can’t lose y/n too.” the team let him go after that, but as hotch rushed to the elevator, rossi noticed he hadn’t changed from the case they just closed.

“hotch, your gun!” but the elevator doors closed, cutting rossi off. he turned the key in the suv’s ignition, and drove out of the fbi premises. 30...40...50 miles per hour. “come on y/n.” he sped to the school, avoiding any local police in the area.

hotch pulled into the school parking lot ten minutes later, noting the swat team surrounding the building. “ssa aaron hotchner. i need to get inside.” “sir, you don’t have the authority to do that.” aaron stared the swat member down and he backed off, hands in the air.

“be careful sir, we don’t have a visual inside.” someone called out and hotch raised his hand in acknowledgement, stepping inside the school office. “i’m looking for y/n y/l/n. she’s a sophomore.” a nod and then the clickity clack of a keyboard. “she’s in art class right now. room 204, it’s just down the hallway and to your left. i thought the school was in lockdown, nobody in or out.” the office lady glanced at hotch in curiosity and he flashed his badge.

“i’m just here for y/n. i’ll be out of your hair in a minute. stay safe.” he walked briskly down the hallway, reaching y/n’s classroom. he knocked twice, and panicked eyes peeled back the paper covering the window, peering at him. hotch showed the teacher his badge, and the door opened slightly. “i’m here for y/n.”

“whoa.” “look at his gun.” “that’s sick man.” aaron glanced at his sidearm, just realizing what rossi was trying to tell him earlier. “uncle hotch?” you stepped forward, gathering your art supplies in a corner, wondering why your uncle made a surprise visit in the middle of lockdown. “is it safe to go outside now?” “no y/n, the safest thing is to stay in the classroom. but i couldn’t bear the thought if something happened to you.” hotch admitted, looking at the barricaded door. 

“i’m fine uncle hotch, it’s just a stupid threat. there’s nobody here anyways.” “we don’t know for sure y/n. ready to go?” “uh nobody’s leaving, we’re in the middle of a lockdown.” the teacher interjected but hotch shook his head. “i know this is unusual but i just need my niece. i have no intention of putting anyone in harm.” you threw your pastel yellow backpack over your shoulder and faintly heard the other kids whispers behind you. “lucky.” “of course she can ditch.” “sorry guys.” you smirked at your classmates, and hotch opened the door, slipping out soundlessly with you on his tail.

“it’s been forever since i’ve seen you. did you just finish a case, why are you still in your-” hotch silenced you, pulling you back behind a row of lockers. “what is it?” your eyes widened and he put a finger to his lips. “hotchner. i have eyes on the suicide bombers. there’s two of them in the art hallway, it’s the east wing of the school.” “copy. moving in.” the radio crackled.

“oh my god.” you whispered, trembling. “hey, it’s ok. just stay quiet.” hotch instructed and you nodded, thankful he was fbi and he knew how to protect you. “are you ok?” hotch glanced at you, and you shot him a thumbs-up, making him smile. “i knew you’d be fine. you’re so strong.” 

you didn’t feel strong, freaking out about suicide bombers roaming around your school, but before you could comment, the sound of gunfire made you scream. hotch clapped a hand over your mouth and you covered your ears, tears streaming down your face.

“shhh.” his eyes were dark, observant, but the gunfire quickly subsided. “clear. the threat has been neutralized. moving out.” “does that mean it’s safe?” you whispered, wiping away the tears, and hotch nodded. just then, the intercom came alive. “students, the threat has been neutralized. please do not be alarmed by the gunfire. it is safe to return to your classes and resume studies. we understand this was a new and frightening experience for us all, but we’re better together. thank you for staying calm and vigilant during tough times.”

“oh come on.” you groaned and hotch chuckled, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “don’t worry, we’re out of here. jack’ll be happy to see you.” “yes!” you pumped your fist in the air, happy to ditch school and hotch shook his head in amusement. “keep that up and you’ll be in a bad position for your future squirt.” he said affectionately. “come on, school sucks.” you rolled your eyes and he smirked. 

“how do you think i’m doing what i do? i went to school and studied hard.” “i bet i’d be a badass fbi agent without ‘studying hard’.” you made finger quotes around the words. “language.” hotch warned, but his smile didn’t reflect any anger towards you.

as you two drove back to hotch’s apartment, you glanced outside at the blue sky, and smiled to yourself. maybe mrs. jensen was right, people really are better together. you realized there was nothing else you wanted to do than to spend time with jack and uncle hotch, and you were glad you could do just that, enjoying the rest of your day with two of your favorite people.

[weirdcat1213]

Corrupted Steven theory fic

Finally here is my fic based on the theory by @novantinuum

Feel free to comment on suggestions that could help me improve my writing :3

Please don't repost

Enjoy! :3 

Fic by: weirdcat1213

For a brief moment, the only thing he could see was a sparkle of white light.

Steven squeezed his eyes even tighter than before until he calmed down enough to open them again.

He found himself on his knees in a flat surface that seemed like a floor. It was an environment that reminded him of his mom’s room, except that this one didn't have any pink clouds and it was a lighter pink, almost white.

When he tried to raise his head a strong pain that came from his gem paralyzed him for a moment. The pain crawled through his body and tensed every single one of his muscles.

Steven hugged his stomach in pain and felt the tears coming out of his eyes.

“What's going on?” he asked the empty room between gasps and tears “What happened? Are my powers messed up again?” he kept asking, raising his voice “Why does it hurt?.... Where am I?- Steven couldn’t take the pain anymore and he let himself fall, lying on his side.

“I have to fix this,” he said trying to take deep breaths and ignore the insisting soreness “I have to fix this before the gems find out …”

“Steven!!! Can you hear me??” Steven heard from far away as if it were an echo from miles away.

“Connie?” he wondered quietly.

“Don't worry Steven. We'll save you” he heard her shouting from wherever she was.

“No!” he yelled without knowing whether she could listen to him or not, “I'll take care of this, I can fix it” the pain kept bothering him, but it was bearable. Now he was able to think more clearly. After inhaling and exhaling for a couple of minutes he sat on his knees again. He noticed that he could see something more than the pink room. It was like having a tiny screen in front of his eyes, where he could see what was going on outside. He saw he was in the temple.

When he noticed his view was at the same level as the ceiling he froze for an instant., then tried to think a possible explanation, and suddenly, he saw her. 

Connie was there, standing in the middle of the living room, trembling.

“What’s going on?” Steven asked, scared of Connie’s reaction “ Are you okay?”

“Steven…the gems are coming in no time…they’ll know what to do,” said Connie, ignoring Steven’s questions.

“It's okay, I can fix this. I just….” The pain interrupted him and it tensed his body again so hard that it made him scream. Sometime after that, when his body started to relax, he saw the gems arriving at the temple.

“Connie, I received your message, what-?” asked Pearl until her gaze went from Connie to Steven “Steven!?  Are you okay? What happened?”

“Is that Steven?” mutter Amethyst putting away her whip already in her hand”

“Garnet took off her visor, shocked “He's..corrupted..”

“What? Corrupted? “said Connie alarmed and confused “But…corruption happened because of the diamonds attack…right? How can he be corrupted?”

In that split second, he remembered everything that happened until that moment.

He remembered his heart sinking after talking to Jasper, and how that anxiety let the rest of his thoughts go out of control, then he received a message from Connie saying that she would be there soon for their weekly training. Worried about Connie seeing him like that, he decided to go to the bathroom to calm down and keep his thoughts at bay. But suddenly he felt a stinging pain in his gem that made him trip over, he felt his hands becoming claws, his skin burning and turning magenta, and huge stings coming out of his head and back, tearing apart his clothes.

The voices of the gems and Connie became even more distant while the memories returned to his mind violently.

“It's my fault…it’s my fault again…I gotta fix this” he cleaned the new wave of tears that were coming out of his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. Ignoring the discussion that the gems and Connie were having, he stormed out of the temple, destroying the entrance unintentionally.

“Watch out!” warned Garnet while the gems and Connie jumped out of Steven’s way, which could move faster than expected.

Steven, on the beach, got closer to the shore to see his reflection in the ocean. Instead of seeing his regular self he saw a kind of monster that looked like a giant magenta worm with reptilian legs and big silver thorns all over his body and horns in his head. “So... I'm really corrupted” Steven whispered, and scared of the grotesque form he ran away, heading to the only place he could think of that could be helpful.

The sanctuary was as impeccable as the last time it was used two years ago. Steven hurried and jumped into the fountain, making sure to dive completely.

He waited patiently, thinking that maybe because of his new form the process was going to take longer than expected.

But nothing happened

“But…It has to work. It worked for them…..come on…” Steven took his head out of the water and submerged again, panicking and feeling more tears on the way “it has to work…what I'm going to do...“he clenched his jaw bearing the stream of pain that tormented his body for a couple of seconds.

“Why is this happening?... I thought ...I thought I was strong enough to control my powers…How did I even do this to myself? There's gotta be a way to get back to normal without….”

“Steven!” shouted Garnet “stay right there”

Steven took his head out of the water again “It okay guys…You don't have to worry,” he tried to tell them, but then he realized that they couldn't understand him. He didn't know that when he talked, only a monstrous growl came out of his mouth.

“If it’s corruption the fountain should be working” whispered Pearl disrupted about what was happening, “what happened to him? Is he really corrupted?”

“I don't think so, he's not attacking us, he knows who we are,” said Amethyst, staring at Garnet for answers.

Garnet didn't say anything, looking for answers with her future vision.

Connie’s eyes widen “I have an idea,” she said approaching Steven and then jumped and begin to climb his body, holding on to the things that looked like oversized rose spikes.

“Careful” Pear warned scared.

Connie climbed until she found Steven’s gem in his head. She touched it “Steven? Can you hear me?”

“Connie, I’ll find a way to fix this, tell the gems that I'm okay,” he said as calm as he could.

“I can hear him,” said Connie relieved “but…no. There's no way we’re leaving you alone”.

“Don't worry about me, I can fix this on my own okay?. I'll be…ahhh” Steven was interrupted by a new wave of pain; Connie had to put her hand away, frightened by his shrieks.

“Something is happening to him, he's screaming, “said Connie alarmed to the gems “We have to do something, get him out of….”

“But what can we do? He is the one that can fix corruption” claimed Amethyst exasperate while running her hands through her hair “should we get the Diamonds?”

“The diamonds can just fix a specific aspect of corruption, and if he corrupted himself… he can cure the…” Pearl covered her mouth with her hands to try to suppress her tears “I don't know! No one of us knows how corruption works, not even the Diamonds”

Garnet jumped and landed next to Connie, she touched Steven’s gem as well and spoke.

“We’re staying,” said Garnet severely.

“It's not necessary, you should go back to the temple” Steven tried to maintain a regular tone and hide his panting from the last wave of pain “I’ll take care of this”

“It is necessary. We’re going to stay and help you” Connie insisted.

“I can take care of it on my own,” said Steven, feeling anxiety and fear in his throat “I'm supposed to be strong enough to manage this”

“Why do you want us to go that bad?” asked Connie, unable to hide her irritation in her voice “just let us help you”

“You don't have to be here, I ...I…” the pain tensed his body again, only this time the pain felt more like a vine that rolled his limbs.

Amethyst and Pearl jumped to where Garnet and Connie were and put their hands in Stevens’s gem.

“Hey dude, it's okay. We’ll find a way to get you out of this one” Amethyst tried to calm him down with her natural and carefree tone, wondering if he would buy it.

“Well find a solution to this. Just hang in there” said Pearl, trying to hold her panic back.

“But I can do this on my own” he cried desperately  “Fixing things is what I do best, so ill take care of this mess” he cried while exposing a little percentage of his emotions, something that he hasn't done since Spinel came with her injector months ago “Helping people and gems is the only reason that I'm useful, it's my purpose… I’ll find eventually some way to reverse this”...”It's not like someone needs me anymore” he said softly, hugging his legs.

“That's how you feel? If you're not helping someone you’re not needed?” Connie felt the tears in her eyes and blinked fast to get rid of them.

“Dude, helping others it's not your function…”  Amethyst tried to speak calmly, but she looked at garnet and Pearl seeking for ideas, solutions, anything useful. “Just let us help you with this”.

Garnet remain silent, while Pearl whispered for herself, analyzing any idea that could be useful.

When another wave of pain came and turned into a burning blanket that peeled his skin, leaving a dark magenta behind, he couldn't clench his jaw for much longer and started to scream again.

"How can I stop this?" His lungs were burning just like his skin, but the pain was too much There's gotta be a reason why this happened in the first place...unless"

A little voice in his head reminded him of the flashback he had before, giving him the answer.

But he shook quickly his head to banish the thought.

"No...that's" he whispered. Breathing heavily, he let go of his legs and laid down. 

He felt the first spines coming out of his back, lifting his body off the floor a few inches, breaking through his skin and bones. Steven opened his mouth to scream, but the pain didn't even let his voice out.

"I'm sorry" he shouted "this wasn't supposed to go this away. I thought I was stronger now, I thought I could keep my thoughts at bay, I thought I could fix everything on my own, I thought I could be even better than mom..." he didn't even bother to clean his tears "but I failed... I failed"

"What do you mean by keeping your thoughts at bay,” asked Amethyst concerned.

"Steven...we…we never wanted you to feel like you had to be like Rose…"

"But I had to!," said Steven cutting Pearl's words “I…" his heart flinched, begging him to stop talking "Early this morning I went to see Jasper, to see how she was doing now that she moved to Little Homeworld ...but” he had to stop for a second to take some air.

“We were talking and then I had to go but she…she said…” he squeezed his eyes when he remembered her words.

“What did she say” Garnet encouraged him to continue, without pressuring him.

“That no one can get through a war without scars, not even me”

The three gems and Connie froze at his words.

The pain in his body began to decrease in intensity, although it still made him moan and his skin still burned.

“I guess she's right…” Steven continued “I tried so hard to ignore everything but...”

“You don’t have to hide your feelings, Steven. It's not a matter of strength. Remember what Garnet told us...” Connie made everything she could to not cry, but she couldn’t help it.

“Why did you feel you had to hide this from us? asked Pearl with tears in her eyes.

“Because you don’t need to know, you all have problems and I want to be there with you when you're facing them” at that moment his head started to hurt as if someone was crushing his skull. When the headache passed, he opened his eyes again, feeling strange. His natural black eyes had turned into a bright pink.

“You can't just ignore your problems to help others, Steven. You're not responsible for any of us” said Amethyst clenching her free hand in a fist

“Steven, It's our fault,” said Garnet with her head down “We made you feel like you had to grow up fast, that you had to live up to Rose. But it isn't like that, we never wanted you to feel like this”

Steven felt ashamed of himself. The last thing he wanted was to see everyone worrying about him.

“Please, talk to use” continued Garnet “you've helped every gem in the galaxy, every human in this town. Now let us help you”

Since Steven understood what it meant to be a crystal gem, what it meant to be Rose Quartz’s son, to be Pink Diamond’s legacy; he put others first, ignoring and hiding his feelings, forbidding himself to think about them.

But…what if Garnet was right? What would happen if he allowed himself to let everything out?

“Remember when you told Garnet that I didn’t want to think about myself and then I had to? Well, now’s your turn little man. Just let it out” Amethyst gave him a friendly pat with her free hand.

Steven hugged himself, trembling, ignoring the fact that his skin stopped burning because he was now completely magenta. But he knew, deep inside him that the gems and Connie were right. There was nowhere he could hide; it was time to open the sealed box that his heart became over the years.

Steven sighed, scared to his core; but ready to let everything out.

He confessed every thought, every feeling that he tried to push away.

Steven told the gems how he felt in his childhood that he had to replace Rose, he thought the gems blamed him for her not being there, making him train to control her powers as quickly as possible, how guilty he felt about those times he failed to help others, like Eyeball or Jasper, that he used to be so stubborn to know the truth about Pink and Rose because he felt it could give him a direction or a clue to fix everything.

He confessed about having nightmares some nights about those times in his life that put him to the limit: Him about to fall from the injector, the fight in the forge with Bismuth, the time that Eyeball almost pulled out his gem, the time that he gave himself to Homeworld, the trial with the diamonds.

The time that White pulled out his gem.

The gems and Connie listened to his fears and traumas without saying a word, letting their tears run freely.

“I never told you guys anything because I didn't want to be a burden again. But now that I’ve helped everyone I don’t know what to do. I fulfilled my purpose…”

“Helping others was never your ‘only’ purpose. The only thing that Rose wanted, that we want, is for you to be happy. You’re not a burden and you'll never be” whispered Garnet, hoping he could hear her.

“We love and we’ll never leave, you're the best thing that ever happened to us,” said Connie petting his head.

“We are proud of you Steven, for everything that you have accomplished, but you can rest now” Pearl cleaned her tears.

“Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, and we don't mind helping you. Accepting help is the first step to get better, you taught us that” said Amethyst with a sad smile.

Steven opened his mouth to reply, but his body suddenly turned into a pink light.

Garnet took Connie and jumped with the rest, landing on the floor close to the fountain.

In a matter of seconds, the giant beast started to glow in the middle of the sanctuary, suspended just below the fountain. The worm’s glow started to flickering out until the light disappeared completely, leaving Steven floating in the air for a few seconds, before falling into the fountain.

When he came out to the surface, the first he noticed was the scars of the corruption: Most of his clothes were ripped off, especially his jacket, and two little horns on his head. But then, he saw Connie, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.

His family was waiting for him

Ready to listen to him, to help him.

To save him.

Steven looked at his hands and his arms, some magenta spots remain in his skin; and he knew those spots would never leave. Some scars never leave, but there was no need to hide them.

He gazed at everyone, smiling, trembling and laughing quietly while sweet tears rolled down his cheeks.

The gems and Connie approached the fountain to hug him.

[earthnashes]

Commission Hiatus (and what to expect)

Heyooooooooo, so it's actually been a few days since this officially started, but it's about time I like officially announce it.

From now until December 30th, I will be going on a Commission Hiatus. This means, with the exception of Mini-Commissions, I won't be doing any commissions up until the hiatus is over. Everyone who's got a slot for the Nov/Dec queue will be moved into scheduling for January/February, so this ALSO means I won't be open for commissions up until like... March. I'll probably open queues for that far into the future for anyone who wants to go ahead and just secure a spot then, but I'll let ya'll know when I get closer to the end date of the hiatus.

For anyone a bit outta the loop, here's the journal that puts into context why this is happening:

https://earthsong9405.tumblr.com/post/189063632450/burnt-out-and-commission-hiatus

----------------------

So what does this mean? Welp, since I'm not putting every ounce of my focus toward commissions, I will be focusing on creating content of my own making (of which I've been severely neglecting as of late). This includes original work and fan work. So you can expect to see me uploading at a more frequent rate throughout this month and December! Some content you can expect from me:

Fanart | Headcanon Art/Posts:

LoZ

Super Mario

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

MLP

Pokemon???? (maybe, haven't fully decided yet)

Original Work:

Feathers and Flowers

Sigrid and Felipe

Short Animations

And both of which includes stuff in the form of: written stories/fanfiction, comic strips/storyboards, streams, doodles, illustrations, character designs, whatever else I can think of.

I may not be able to get to everything but I'm gonna try to dish out as much as I can, and I'm very excited to share them with ya'll! If there's anything in particular you'd like to see from me in the meantime you're more than welcome to give me suggestions. <:

Now with all of this said, me putting a hold on my commissions does put me in the position of receiving no financial income for the duration of my hiatus. This is because commissions is my full-time job and the primary source of said income. So, if you'd like to support me from now until the hiatus end, or if you're just interested in supporting my content in general, let me take the opportunity to promote ways in doing so!

------------------------------

My Patreon HERE

I have a patreon that I don't often advertise but it's still very much open to anyone who'd like to become a patron and support my work! Anything as low as a simple dollar is always very much appreciated! As my patron, everything I post is not behind any paywalls and open to everyone, even if you aren't signed up to Patreon in general. Instead, if you choose to support me you will gain access to:

Free artwork for Patrons

Commission Discounts

Simple tutorials and tips

Content and art I don't post anywhere else

------------------------------

My Ko-Fi HERE

For anyone who'd like to make a small donation in show of support to my work and content but don't wanna sign up for the monthly structure of Patreon, my Ko-fi's a good alternative to this! For now it's simply a tip jar, but I'm trying to think of ways to make it more appealing and offers something in return as a thank you for support. But until then, anything and everything is always appreciated!

------------------------------

PWYW Icon Commissions HERE

I'll do a spontaneous opening for my Icon Commissions. These aren't available as a regular commission type anywhere from me and is the only way to get one. Like last time, the slot number is already decided: 20 slots will be available when they open and it will be first come first serve. They will be opening this Sunday, 11 AM EST so if interested, keep your eyes peeled for that journal! <:

If you have any questions, concerns, or anything in between please let me know!

Thank you all so much for your support and for following my art. Thank you all for being the best community I could ever ask for. And I hope to continue earning that support; here's hoping you like the content that's to follow!

Thank ya'll so much! <3

[whattheklance]

Wecavod 3 AU

wecavod= “What Else Could a Virgin Omega Do?”

IF Lance eventually went back to the brothel for a future heat.

To preface this, in my original notes from three years ago, Keith was going to gain tons of popularity at the brothel from fantasizing about Lance when with clients.

Also in this scenario Keith had left a comment on Lance's file in the brothel database indicating that Keith himself had requested to be assigned to Lance should he ever return, regardless of other bookings.

This is a draft of an incomplete scene that would’ve happened if that was true and Lance tried to schedule with Keith a second time.

FYI Any time you see:  “???” that means there’s missing writing between what’s above it and below it to connect it together and flow. So it skips a bit.

_________________________________________________________

After fidgeting awkwardly in line, it was finally Lance's turn and he sucked it up and said "Hi, Lance Alvarez."

"First time or returning?"

"Re...turning."

"Can you spell your last name?"

Lance did, and the guy typed on the computer, pulling up Lance's information. "Hm?" He stared intently at the screen, eyes widened for a second in shock before settling on a kind of smarmy smile. He looked back at Lance.

"Whelp, here's who's available" The guy at the desk handed a thin binder to Lance.

He opened it, but without even looking started, "I'd like to request Keith..." he winced when he realized he didn't even know his full name.

The guy looked up from where he was working and eyed Lance, arching his eyebrow and smirking.

"Oh ho ho. You've been here before and you don't know? Not just anyone can walk in and request Keith on the day of their appointment. He's the new star stud around here.

Lance furrowed his brow. "Last time I was here he wasn't busy at all, said so himself."

He hummed as his smirk slid into a cocky grin. "You hooked on him too? Everyone who sees him seems to be."

Lance was growing exceedingly uncomfortable with this guys demeanor. He crossed his arms. "Can you just spit it out? I don't need snarky commentary. It's barely been six weeks since I saw him. What happened?"

The guy's sly predatory expression dropped to a deadpan. "Fine fine. It's not like this is normal. He used to be at the desk and I was the top Alpha, was for the last 2 years. I don't know what changed but suddenly more and more Omegas come in requesting him. And 'BOOM'" he made an explosion motion with his hands. "He's the one who doesn't get a day off and I'm the one with free time.

Seriously. I've been here way longer than him, seen Alphas' popularity come and go, and I've never seen anyone gain such a huge client base so fast. It was almost supernatural."

Lance's face fell.

The guy rolled his eyes but a gentler expression settled on his face. "Look. These kinds of things happen in this business. It's not like real life where you get a mate and stick with them"

The word 'mate' sent a shock right through Lance's heart. Any ideas or fleeting hopes he had seemed to be shrinking all the faster.

"Most clients request the same Alpha after their first visit"

???

"I'm Rolo, by the way."

???

"A lot of the others would just bowl right over your wanting Keith. I get how you feel. We can do it any way you want."

???

"That's it, relax. Just let your instincts take over. I promise it'll make you feel better."

Rolo ran his hands down Lance's sides. The feeling of his heat surged through him, making him feel achingly empty. He was depressed it wouldn't be Keith. But he'd always thought on some level that he can't ever really have Keith, so maybe this was for the best. Maybe he just needed to try to get over him. Lance leaned into his touch.

"Thattaboy" Rolo praised in a low voice, as he ran one hand up Lance's chest, hooking his finger into Lance's mouth, and slid the other down Lance's thigh, cupping his ass and fingers grazing his hole. Lance shuddered as a stream of slick dripped out of him and groaned.

~~~

Keith was in the middle of a day long session with a client. He'd come so many times on the memory of Lance's cries and Lance's warmth and Lance's scent. He could never forget Lance's scent. It intoxicated him from the beginning. He'd never smelled anything as good as Lance.

The Omega he was knotting was blissed out, begging for more, which Keith obliged.

Coming from the memory of Lance's scent, Keith thought he was going loopy because he'd swear he could smell it for real, invading his senses and shocking his brain.

He took a deep breath of the air around him to try to clear his reverie, only to be met with the intense musk of Lance in heat. No matter how vivid his imagination was, he couldn't fake it that good.

Time seemed to freeze. Lance was here? Lance was here. In heat. And not with him. His insides felt like they began to boil inside of him. Without even coming again his knot deflated inside his client. He got up without a second thought and grabbed a robe by the door on his way out, flinging it on but not tying it closed.

One deep breath out in the hall and he could tell he was on the wrong floor. Without even conscious effort, his legs took him seemingly in an instant down the stairs and to the door that was unmistakably the place.

Doors were always locked for privacy. A single push button lock on the doorknob. But locks didn't matter to Keith's flaring instincts. He turned and pushed the handle so forcefully that he broke the lock and the door opened before him. He didn't even take time to observe the scene before him. He dove at the rival Alpha and tackled him to the ground, grabbing a fistful of his hair to hold him down.

"KEITH?!?" Lance gulped and caught his breath, trying to register what just happened.

Keith's nails were at Rolo's throat starting to draw blood.

???????????????????

"Well–heh heh, hello to you too Kogane." He tried to get up like it was all a joke but couldn't even squirm with how tightly he was pinned. Keith had murder in his eyes, and Rolo let himself go limp when he realized Keith was dead serious, muscles tensed, trapping him in place. "Wow, okay. We're not animals. Could you ease up a bit?" Keith didn't seem to hear him.

Lance felt a fury of conflicting emotions. Shocked that Keith interrupted them. Elation that Keith sought him out. Relief that Keith put himself between Rolo and him. Anxious that he didn't know what was happening. Fear that Keith might do something he'd regret. And so many more he couldn't think straight.

"KEITH!" This time Lance yelled trying to get his attention, a response, anything. He'd heard caution of Alpha instincts so often, but this was his first time seeing something frightening firsthand. Lance inched towards Keith. "Keith? Can you hear me? Snap out of it. You're going to hurt him."

Keith's mind was free of thought. He was all senses. Outside of keeping all his strength and attention on this fucking fucker, the rest of the world was like he was underwater. He could hear what sounded like a voice speaking, but it was so muffled like water in his ears.

Nothing was working and it looked like Keith's grip was only tightening on Rolo's throat. There was one more thing Lance had in his arsenal. He walked up til he was behind Keith. Rolo was shaking his head at Lance, like 'dude, you're an Omega in heat, you gotta stay back.' Lance ignored him and reached out and softly brushed Keith's hair behind his ear. He actually didn't flinch at the light touch. It really didn't work? Lance let his finger trace Keith's cheek as he let his hand drop, but before it dropped all the way to his side Keith caught it gently, and held it to his lips, inhaling his scent while chastely kissing him on the hand.

Lance dared to lift his gaze from their hands to Keith's face which was finally trained on him.

"Lance–?" Keith choked out. His other hand still gripped Rolo's throat, but his attention was on Lance.

"Yeah. It's me." Lance kneeled down to be level with him and brought Keith's hand to his face and leaned into it closing his eyes. He was in disbelief. Keith. Did Keith really want him that badly? Or was this still Alpha instinct.

A pair of huge Beta security guards came in and peeled Keith off of Rolo, restraining him.

"What?!? What the hell!" Keith shouted and tried to wriggle out of their grip.

"Keith, my man. You didn't really expect to assault a coworker and run off into the sunset did you?" While Lance had had Keith's attention, Rolo was able to reach his phone and send for help.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!? Don't tell me you didn't see it! Don't tell me you didn't know! I KNOW you fucking knew. I put it where anyone would have to read it. You can't tell me you didn't see it!"

Rolo smirked, "Recommend to the owner he go back to therapy. We can't be putting our precious customers at risk of an out-of-control Alpha."

Security started forcing Keith toward the door. His blood felt like it was on fire again and he managed to resist and pull them back into the room.

Keith snarled and glared at Rolo, and whispered like a death threat, "If you did his filing by the book, which i know you do, then you had to read the comments there, you fucker. You wanna fuck with me? You fucking chose the wrong way."

Rolo still smiling leaned forward, a nose's inch away from Keith's face, out of reach. "I don't know. This seems to have worked surprisingly well."

"Good luck explaining those marks to your clients" Keith spat.

"Ha! Well at least I'll still have clients”

Keith was dragged out, fighting and kicking before Lance could say anything. He could only stare.

"Hey, so where were we?" Rolo murmured as he slid an arm over Lance's shoulder.

Lance felt immediately repulsed by his touch and shoved his arm off.

[ichigopanhpff]

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 23

Read Ch. 22 | Masterlist

Okay I lied. I misremembered where I left off. The next 3 chapters are fillers in between what’s canon in the comics.

“He did what now?!”

“Don’t make me repeat it,” Ren groaned and hid her face in her arms.

With U.A. on a short break before the mandatory internships start, Ren, Tomoe and Seri finally found time to hang out in their secret hideout. It was the only place they could go without anyone hearing their conversation. Even though it was freezing cold outside, a small campfire was made to keep the three warm.

“Tomoe, it’s hunting time,” Seri darkly blurted out and took her talons out.

“No! No hunting!” Their pink-haired friend immediately jumped out of her seat, her hand held up to stop them.

“How about maiming?” Tomoe suggested with an evil grin.

“Do absolutely nothing that would cause him bodily harm!” she nervously instructed.

“You’re no fun,” her owl-faced friend pouted and retracted her claws.

“It’s not a matter of fun. Aizawa’ll kick my ass three ways to Sunday,” she solemnly pointed out.

The tawny brown haired girl grabbed a Pocky stick left over from the holiday party and clamped one between her teeth.

“So what’re you gonna do?” she asked and took a bite of the chocolate biscuit.

“Move out of the dorm and back to you guys?” Ren half-jokingly thought out loud.

“You’d trouble Todoroki-kun if you did,” Seri pointed out. “The real question is how do you feel about him?”

“I...” Ren sat back down on the log and crossed her arms over her chest, really thinking about it. “He… makes me calm.”

“Calm is good,” Tomoe noted.

“He’s also very observant and makes a lot of effort in trying to help the people around him, even though he doesn’t seem to be the type to trust easily.”

“Does he make you happy though?”

“As happy as I get.”

“That doesn’t help.” Seri rubbed her forehead, unable to fathom how one of her best friends could be so emotionally dense with all that intelligence. “Has he done anything for you lately that’s touched your heart?”

“He let me meet his mom at the hospital and took me to a dog cafe after he overheard me talking about Skye.”

Ren’s two friends made eye contact, one just as shocked as the other upon hearing that bit of information.

“Damn, the competition won’t last at this point,” Tomoe muttered out.

“Competition?” She turned to look at her tall, spiky friend. “What are you talking about?”

“She doesn’t know,” Seri noted with a smirk. “It’s actually cute.”

“Know what?” The pink haired girl was beginning to get agitated. “Who on this goddamn campus hit their head and decided to have doki-doki feels for me?”

“Should we say?” The hedgehog girl enquired loudly to her owl-friend.

“I’m not sure.”

“Hey!” Ren shouted with thinning patience. “I’m right here and don’t appreciate you two having a conversation without me!”

“Ren-Ren, look,” Seri started and took a breath. “There are a lot of people on this campus who have ‘doki-doki’ feelings for you,” she explained and used finger quotes on the descriptor. “You’re just oblivious to them.”

“Or maybe they’re too subtle,” Tomoe hypothesized. “Ever since the festival, you’ve gotten a lotta attention from other classes.”

Ren could only groan out loud again.

“I don’t care about them. I only care about what I’m gonna say to Todo-kun,” she blurted out and held her head in her hands. “I rather take on a villain and beat them to the ground with an inch of my life rather than deal with this.”

“We can give you as much advice as you want, but nothing will change unless you talk with him,” the white-haired girl reasoned. “Peel off the band-aid and put your hypothetical balls to the wall.”

Knowing her friends were right, they decided to put the fire out before teleporting back to the main campus. The three entered 1-A, only to see a stack of large boxes by the doorway.

“Oh senpai!” Iida greeted. “These packages came for you while you were out.”

“But I didn’t order any–Oh sweet baby All-Might, no.”

She buried her face into her palms, mumbling something inaudible while shaking her head slowly.

“It’s that time of year again.” Seri held a worrying hand to her cheek, sighing out loud and felt drained all of a sudden.

“What are you guys talking about?” Midoriya asked only to see two completely dejected upperclassmen like they had their souls sucked out.

“The shackles of the elite upper class,” Tomoe summarized and pointed to the aforementioned boxes with her thumb.

“But I’m not elite or upper class!” Ren jolted back up. “It’s my mom’s position that lets people believe otherwise!”

“What does your mom do, senpai?” Kirishima asked.

“She’s a translator at the embassy. Her quirk, Polyglot, let’s her understand and speak every language on this planet.”

“Whoa, that’s so cool!” Uraraka boasted.

“But what does it have to do with the ‘shackles’ over there?” the green haired boy pointed to the stack of flat cardboard boxes.

“Every year, the embassy has a holiday party with powerful government people,” Tomoe explained. “And since they made it a family friendly event, spouses and kids are invited.”

“More like they just want to show us off as their trophies and brag about our accomplishments like it’s their own,” Seri venomously spat out with a glowering stare at the boxes. “They can kindly go kick rocks and fuck themselves.”

“I already told my mom I wasn’t going this year, but she insisted,” Ren huffed out angrily and rolled her eyes. “Because a ‘future hero should build up a good network.’ Those parties are always so boring and stuffy. I swear she just wants me to go half the time so she could play matchmaker to me. It’s just–”

She let out an audible shudder that vibrated throughout her entire body.

“And the dresses...” Ren continued with a look of sheer horror on her face and glanced over at the towering behemoth. “I just… I can’t...” she choked out, suddenly remembering all her past traumatic experiences with fitting sessions.

“Okay, the past few years may have been poor choices on her behalf–” Tomoe defended only to be cut off by Seri.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call a small piece of sparkly fabric held together by one thin string ‘poor choice’, Tomoe,” Seri flatly said.

“I had stripper dust on my back for weeks even with just trying it on,” she groaned at the memory and wished to push it back down into the depths of her subconscious. “I’m not looking forward to this.”

“Well, let’s open the boxes together and see,” Yaoyorozu suggested. “Perhaps they’re not so bad this time.”

Reluctant to agree, Iida and Midoriya helped gather the packages and laid them down on the floor in the common area. They opened it one by one and Ren physically felt blood push up her throat upon seeing the first dress. It was a fully sequined high collared ball gown in crimson red with matching high heel stilettos. There were ruffles where there weren’t supposed to be and sequins could be found on every inch of the bodice.

“So sparkly!” Uraraka gushed.

“Burn it,” Ren darkly growled. “Next.”

The next dress was a midnight blue in an A-line cut. The dress had a very deep v-neck line in the bodice area, only held together by a thin mesh material in-between and the back.

“Throw it into space. Next.”

“Your mom sure has… very outgoing taste,” Yaoyorozu slowly commented, choosing her words carefully.

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘gaudy’, Yao-Momo.”

“Well, I don’t want to be impolite...”

“It’s as gaudy as they come,” the three upperclassmen simultaneously stated.

Opening up the next box, Uraraka pulled out a strapless sparkly pink ruched bodice dress with a leg slit that sat right below the hip bone. Even the gravity girl was blushing madly.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she groaned in English.

Ren took her phone out from her pocket and dialed a number without even seeing the last two dresses. The line on the receiver picked up.

“Courier. Now. Or I burn them all,” she growled out in Japanese.

“But you haven’t even–”

“Courier. Or. Fire.” She repeated with emphasis on each word. “Your choice.”

“At least let me see you try them on,” the woman on the other line bargained. “It’ll make dear ol’ mom happy.”

“Y’know, just because you couldn’t wear them when you were my age–”

“Are you saying I’m projecting, dear daughter? After everything I’ve done for you?”

Ren’s shoulders froze in place, inwardly groaning.

Now she’s done it.

“Just...” She rubbed her temples in a circular motion with her thumb and squeezed her eyes shut. “Give me five minutes to set up the video call.”

She ended the call and slumped over the couch to muffle her screaming.

“She went dark on you?” Tomoe asked the obvious.

The flustered pink haired girl turned her head to the side for some air and flatly answered, “Almost.”

Dragging herself away from the couch, she asked Uraraka to help her with the dresses and went into the girls public bathroom.

“She’s not gonna flush them down the toilet, is she?!” Jiro exclaimed.

“The sequins would clog up the pipes.” Seri’s stoic commentary made her sound like this was something she knew from first-hand experience.

“Lange-senpai, what did you mean by ‘dark’ before?” Midoriya asked.

“You guys remember how Ren-Ren was when she beat Bakugou in the video game?” Tomoe reminded.

“Don’t bring shit up from the past,” the mentioned blond boy grumbled out and rested his face in his palm.

“Yeah… Imagine that in the ‘mom’ version.”

All the boys sitting in the common area thought about their respective mothers. Their eyes immediately went wide as the aura of hopeless seeped out. Their stream of consciousness slowly faded from existence.

“Ren-senpai, we sympathize,” majority of the boys all dejectedly huffed out a long sigh. A sudden burst of echoing laughter came from the girl’s bathroom, recognizing it as Uraraka’s.

“You’re laughing too much!” Ren’s quivering voice shouted.

“But—But–” Sputtering of tittering replaced her words instead.

“Seri, is the call set up?” she shouted.

“We hear you loud and clear, sweetheart,” the voice on the speaker phone echoed.

“Let’s get this crap over with.”

Ren trudged out of the bathroom wearing the first dress, trying to gather what she could of the fluffy fabric so she didn’t trip on it. Her face looked like how Bakugou’s was at the podium from the Sports Festival. A roaring fit of laughter filled the silence of the common room as she stood stationary, shaking from anger and embarrassment as she flipped them off with both hands.

The dress, for a lack of better words, made her look like a Mama at a brothel; all she was missing were the gaudy makeup and a cigarette in her mouth.

“Oh! Put the shoes on! I wanna see the full outfit!”

Letting out an audible growl, she roughly dropped the heels on the wooden floor with a clatter and gingerly stepped into them. Her mom squealed with delight on the call.

“How does it fit?!”

“Sequins are digging into every part of my skin like spikes and it hurts like my soul,” she deadpanned.

“Turn around. I wanna see the back.”

Throwing her head back and slumping her shoulders, Ren awkwardly turned with the 5-inch stilettos. She yelped aloud and tripped on part of the fabric from being caught on the jeweled part of her dress, subsequently falling flat on her butt with a muffled thud.

“Senpai! Please stop!” Jiro wheezed out between her fits of laughter and nearly rolled off her seat. “I can’t breathe!”

“Ren-Ren, you look like a clown’s mirror ball!” Tomoe blurted out loudly and fell over the armrest of the couch.

Angrily kicking the shoes off, Ren clumsily got herself off of the floor, slipping over the unnecessarily copious amount of fabric on her person while hissing audible profanities. She stomped back into the bathroom as everyone continued laughing. Uraraka stumbled along not too far behind to help her out of the dress.

“Why are they laughing? I thought she looked beautiful,” Ren’s mom blurted out.

“I think your definition of the word differs from theirs, Aunt Victoria,” Seri replied between her own suppressing giggles.

A shuffle of fabric could be heard at the far end of the hall, with Ren coming out wearing the midnight blue dress with her black bra showing itself through the mesh fabric. Her face was flushed from the commotion and embarrassment. The previous laughter was replaced with approving awes from the girls and furiously blushing faces from the boys.

“That… looks really good on you, senpai,” Kirishima praised with flushed cheeks, his red eyes unable to peel away. “You look… beautiful.”

“You’re supposed to wear that without the bra, honey,” her mom pointed out.

“Like hell I’m gonna take it off with perverts around!” she barked back at the camera on the phone, fuming.

Sensing a sudden disturbing force, Ren turned to her left and saw Mineta launching himself at her from one of the couches. The small sticky boy seemed to have been unable to contain himself anymore.

“Entrust me with your boob--” he shouted with a trail of drool coming from his mouth, only to have his lecherous face catch her hard right hook followed by launched quills from Tomoe to stick him to near the top corner end of the wall. Sero huffed a quick sigh and restrained the small boy with his tape.

“Good to see your reflexes haven’t dulled, Ren-Ren,” Seri remarked.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“You really need to learn restraint, Mineta,” the boy huffed out.

“You should wear this one, Ren. It really shows off your figure.”

“This thing is half mesh and I’m freezing,” she complained and visibly shivered. “I can’t even think about moving in this thing without thinking about flashing side boob!”

“Which is perfect for some young gentleman to lend you his jacket at the party,” her mom fantasized dreamily over the line. “Just think of the possible–”

“Cut the call, Seri,” she coldly blurted out as she walked back to the bathroom.

“You’re so cruel! Doing that to your own mother!”

Ruffling the back of her hair, Ren stared down her next opponent: the pink bodice dress. It’s not that she minded wearing dresses, she just wished they weren’t so… form-fitting. And it’d show her scar. Uraraka came from behind to help her out of the dress carefully and prepared the next one.

“I really like the blue one, senpai,” she gushed.

“Then you wear it,” she blurted out and paused. She then slowly turned to her assistant with a sly grin, like a wolf cornering its prey.

“S-Senpai?” she quivered with fear in her eyes. “W-What are you doing?”

A high pitched scream echoed from the bathroom, making everyone jump out of their seats. The girls ran in to check the commotion, only to come back out moments later with matching grins.

“Is everything okay in there?” Midoriya asked with worry.

“Oh, it’s fantastic,” Ashido drawled out with a wink at the confused boy before returning to her seat.

“I’m so getting video of this,” Jiro mumbled out with excitement while setting up her phone camera.

First came Ren in the form-fitting pink dress, clearly flustered at the garment. She was trying her best to pull the slit close by grabbing it with her left hand so she didn’t flash anyone while walking. Her right arm covered her chest and shoulder scar; they looked like they were ready to fall out of the strapless dress due to the tightness of the band. The apparel literally left nothing to the imagination as it hugged every part of her. Feeling no one behind her, she darted back into the bathroom to drag Uraraka out.

“Noooo, senpai! Pleassseee!” Uraraka desperately pleaded while clinging onto dear life at the wall.

“Hey, if I’m making a fool out of myself with this, so will you!”

She used her full strength to pull the brown haired girl out from the confines of the bathroom. She stumbled out with flushed cheeks, wearing the blue gown Ren had on before. The boys were rendered speechless looking at them, some even looked away out of shyness. Bakugou could only stare at Ren wide-eyed, never realizing her body was that curvy.

“That dress fits Ochaco-chan so much better,” Seri approved and lightly blushed.

“’Cus she has the better boobs for it,” Ren blurted out, making the latter party yelp and cover up their chest out of shyness. “What do you think, Midoriya? Doesn’t she look good?”

The green-haired boy’s face was glowing red, with steam coming out of his ears as he whimpered and stuttered, unable to form any sort of wording.

“Ren-senpai, I never realized your butt was that big,” Jiro noticed, prompting her to put her hands behind there to hide it in failure. She wished she could sprout arms out like Shoji and cover up her entire being.

“Why do you think I always wear baggy clothes?!” she huffed out at the purple haired girl, her face flushing bright red before turning back to the camera. “And mom! Why did you even think this was a good idea?! I look like someone looking for a sugar daddy in this thing!”

“With that butt, I’ll give you all the sugar you need,” Mineta cooed out lustfully, only to be silenced the instant Seri and Tomoe launched their respective projectiles at him.

“Sleep now,” Seri’s eyes glowed yellow at the tied up boy and instantly knocked him out.

“I mean, it’s not necessarily a bad idea at the party–” her mom teased.

Her daughter silently glared and pursed her lips into a fine line, crossing her arms over her chest and tapped her feet impatiently.

“Are you done?” Ren flatly asked, clearly not amused with the selection of attires.

“I guess we are,” her mom pouted. “Are you sure you don’t wanna keep any of–”

“I’ll offer them to the Fire Gods as tribute and you’ll lose any hopes of a refund on your credit card.”

“Point taken.”

“Yao-Momo, Kyoka, can you help us get outta this stuff?”

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on the small of Ren’s back to escort her to the bathroom to change. She did a really awkward shuffle with the balls of her feet, like she really needed to pee.

“I seriously cannot move a muscle in this thing,” she muttered out within an earshot.

“Ochaco-chan, come on.” The tomboy musician helped her floaty friend back up on her feet and brought her back to change.

“Perhaps the bodycon wasn’t the best idea, Aunt Vicky,” Tomoe commented.

“I thought it’d look nice with her figure,” the woman pouted. “What did the boys think?”

“Well...” Seri trailed off and turned the phone camera over to the couches where they were sitting. They were all practically blushing from ear to ear, avoiding eye contact with everyone; Kaminari and Sero both crossed their legs suspiciously. Bakugou glared away, covering the lower half of his face with his hand as an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

The girls reemerged in their regular clothing a short moment later.

“I’m gonna be picking sequins out of my butt for the next week,” Ren grumbled out, wearing an annoyed expression and gently reached out to grab her phone from Seri’s hand. “Satisfied?”

Her mom heavily sighed on the other line. “Not my best choices, it seems.”

“You don’t say,” her daughter sarcastically replied and jutted her hip out when she rested her hand on top of it.

“Just be sure to get something to wear in the next three days, okay? I’ll get a courier to pick that stuff up.”

“I’m gonna wear a sleeping bag,” Ren joked.

She ended the call and placed the device back in her pocket, heaving a heavy sigh. “Sorry you had to see that, guys.”

“I… don’t think they’re going to answer anytime soon, Ren-Ren.” Tomoe cocked her head in the general direction of all the dumbfounded and stunned boys. “You gave ‘em quite a show.”

–

Ren emerged from the elevator to the common room dressed in a black and white jumpsuit with a draped black blazer on top on the evening of her mom’s embassy holiday party. Her hair was styled back with a bit of volume and her makeup consisted of black eyeliner, voluminous mascara and dark red lipstick. It was simple but dramatic enough to catch everyone’s eye. Just to be on the safe side, she adorned her bangles in case anything were to happen. She placed her heels near the door before heading to the couches and draped her peacoat and scarf draped on her arm before placing it on top. As she walked past, the boys caught a whiff of her honeysuckle and rose pedal perfume.

“Senpai, you look hot!” Ashido praised with excitement. “So grown up!”

“You’re not wearing a dress tonight?” Ochaco wondered.

“Jumpsuits are more my speed. Pockets and better mobility,” she explained.

Moments later, Todoroki came down the stairs in a navy blue suit with a black lapel. He wore a black skinny tie and a crisp white dress shirt underneath the jacket to match the black slacks. His hair was left unstyled.

“Whoa, Todoroki!” Kaminari whistled. “Lookin’ spiffy there, my dude.”

“You have a hot date tonight or somethin’, Todoroki?” Ashido half-joked with a grin.

“I have a function to go in place of my father tonight in Tokyo,” he replied in his usual stoic manner. “Since he’s still recovering from his last fight. Though, I’m sure he’s using it as an excuse.”

“Tokyo? Isn’t that where you’re goin’, Ren-Ren?” Jiro asked.

Before she could answer, her phone in her hand vibrated, notifying her the driver arrived at U.A.’s gate.

“Gotta go kiddies. Stay outta trouble.” Ren hurried to the shoe lockers and grabbed her belongings off the couch before putting her shoes on. “Todo-kun, wanna catch a ride? I’m sure they can drop you off wherever you need to go.”

“Sure.”

As they walked to the gate, the click of Ren’s heels filled the silence between the two. Catching the aroma of her perfume in the cold wintry air, it was then he realized how beautiful she looked tonight. Her simple eye makeup made her usual warm hazel-green eyes more striking.

“You look nice tonight,” he softly said. “The clothes suit you.”

“O-Oh. Thanks.” She looked up at Todoroki and gave him a small smile with a light blush on her cheeks. “You clean up nicely yourself.”

They get to the car and see Seri already in the back seat with a black coat with her dark purple dress showing up below and greeted one another. Settling in the middle seat, the boy made sure Ren had enough room when he got in and closed the door.

“Good, you’re on time,” a familiar voice spoke up from the front seat; it was Aizawa.

“Aizawa-sensei,” the dual-hair colored boy greeted. “What are you doing here?”

“For some reason, I got invited to the party at the embassy tonight, so we’re all going together.”

“’We’?” Ren questioned.

“It seems we’re headed to the same place, senpai.”

“At least we won’t be bored, Ren-Ren,” Seri chimed out with a devious smirk, her owl-like eyes gesturing to the boy on her right. She could only inwardly groan and felt her heart rate go up a few beats, remembering the conversation they had a few days ago and the kiss. The drive went by without incident and the party of four reached the embassy safely. Disembarking out of the car, Todoroki opened the door for both Seri and Ren on the other side like the gentleman he was.

The two girls thanked him and headed into the building together. Ren strolled up to the reception desk with purpose. It’s not exactly the most favorite place in the world for her; majority of her childhood were spent here after moving to Japan and waiting on their paperwork to be legal citizens in the country.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had much of a chance to talk, Todoroki-kun,” Seri softly spoke, looking at the back of her friend at the reception desk. “I’d like to ask you something.”

He softly turned and looked down at his petite upperclassman with a curious yet nonchalant gaze.

“What exactly is Ren to you?”

“A senpai. And… a friend.”

“Is that all?” she instigated, earning her a now suspicious stare from Todoroki.

“What do you mean, Kubo-senpai?” His tone was deep and clear like ice.

“She told me what happened with you two after the party the other night. One can only assume you have more than friendship emotions for her.”

His hetero-chromatic eyes looked down at his leather dress shoes, unable to come up with a proper answer. He swallowed heavily and clenched his teeth, frustrated at his lack of understanding of his own feelings.

“This goes without saying, but Tomoe and I are extremely protective of her. We won’t stand idly by and let someone play with her heart who wanted to give her a kiss on a whim. She’s more sensitive about things than she lets on.”

“It wasn’t on a whim… Nor am I trying to deceive her,” he softly retorted and sighed through his nose. “I’m just… not used to feeling this way with anything.”

“Then I suggest you properly sort it out first before acting,” Seri advised with a harsher tone than she intended. “I don’t wish to see her rejected again.”

“Like with her ex-boyfriend?”

“With Togata-senpai.” The owl girl corrected and sighed. “She may make light of her confession at him, but it hit her hard. Part of it stems from her survivor’s guilt. She thinks she doesn’t deserve to be happy and loved no matter what Tomoe and I say.”

Seri’s yellow owl eyes was crestfallen and looked like she was going to cry. Her hands gradually gathered part of her dark purple dress into her palm.

“I just… I don’t want to see her heart break all over again. She’s come so far.”

Knowing Ren’s history based on recent events, he stayed silent looking at the snow owl girl. What could he say? He had to grow up and face his feelings head on.

“Hey, you two okay?”

Ren’s voice roused them from their conversation and the two faced her wide-eyed. She held two silver colored wristbands in her right hand.

“Never better,” her bird friend answered with a bit more energy than before. Even though she didn’t seem convinced, neither one looked like they wanted to talk about it.

“Party’s at the top floor.” She handed each of them their wristbands to put on before walking past the lobby and toward the elevators.

“Where’s Aizawa-sensei?” the boy asked.

“He went on ahead to talk with some government officials about some hush-hush stuff.”

The ding of the elevator doors gave them permission to enter and found a security guard inside to guide them to the proper floor. The lift stopped once more and brought them to their destination. The three walked down the wide carpeted hallway slowly leading to the ballroom.

“Who do you think we’ll see there?” Seri wondered aloud.

“Probably the Preppy Posse,” Ren groaned and placed her left index finger on her temple, already feeling an oncoming headache in having to deal with them. “They’d never miss a party like this to schmooze and booze.”

“’Preppy Posse’?” Todoroki asked.

“They’re the sons of some of the ambassadors. For a lack of better words, their offsprings are a waste of air and quirks, reeking of privilege who think they’re above the law,” the owl girl summarized.

“They’re more trouble than they’re worth. I’d advise you to stay away from them, Todo-kun,” the rose-gold haired girl stated.

“They’re the types to suck up to powerful people for favors?”

“And Peppermint gets the winning point,” Seri praised.

The three stood at the giant doors and took a breath like they were going in for a boss fight.

“Let’s get this over with and get some ramen after.”

[swfanficbyjz]

SW Rey Theory - Legacy of Light - Chapter 3

< - Previous Chapter

Table of Contents - >

(8 months after tcw S5:E20, right before unfinished Utapau arc)

             Ahsoka grimaced in pain as the contractions hit with more intensity and more frequency. The pain was unbelievable, and that was saying something since she'd survived broken bones, blaster wounds and lightsaber cuts. The baby was ready, she could feel it in the force. She needed to go get Nyx, but she'd been dragging her feet. Not only was every movement painful, there was someone else she'd rather have with her right now. 

            She cried out as the next one hit with double the intensity. "I know you want to come out kid, but could you take it easy?" she grumbled aloud. She laid back, wiping the sweat off her brow and tried to take a deep breath. Even that was painful. It felt like she would burst like a balloon. She gritted her teeth trying to power through the pain, but she felt the bed suddenly get damp. She looked down at her pants, stained as though she'd peed herself. Oh great. 

            With great effort, she peeled them off and hobbled into the refresher. "Nyx!" Her call became a scream as the contraction hit so hard she had to grab the sink so she didn't fall over.

            He bounded through the door eyes huge, looking her up and down. "Wha.....?" He didn't even have a chance to finish as he slid on the leaking fluid racing to catch her as she fell backwards. She landed hard on his lap as they tumbled to the ground. She let her head fall back into his shoulder, closing her eyes as tears streamed down her face. "You're in labor!" he stuttered in shock.

            "You think?" she said tightly, trying not to lash out at him just because everything hurt. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. She couldn't even blame the baby's father. But she wished he was here right now. Though, now that she thought about it, maybe not. She'd seen Anakin power through countless crazy scenarios without so much as a flinch, but she suspected this would be an entirely new and terrifying ordeal for him. What would he offer that Nyx couldn't? Well for one thing, she trusted him a lot more.

            "I should get a doctor!" He tried to stand up, but she gripped his thighs so he couldn't move. 

            "Too late!" she cried, digging into his legs unnaturally hard as she felt the pressure of the baby's skull on her pelvis. To Nyx's credit, he barely yelped as blood stained his pants where she'd clawed him. She didn't have time to feel guilty as the next contraction pushed the baby further down. She took several rapid breaths, releasing him so he could come around and catch it. He grabbed a towel from the shower and placed it on the floor between her legs. She fell back onto her elbows panting. 

            Another contraction, another push. Pain crashed through her in waves. Sweat poured from her forehead and mixed with her tears, making her blanche at the sickly salty taste that dribbled into her mouth. "Almost there." He sounded more awestruck than terrified. This was more of herself than she wanted to show him, but it was what it was. She took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could, and then collapsed backwards onto the cold hard floor as she heard the distinctive cry of a newborn baby.

            It was the strangest moment of bright, headache inducing lighting, exhaustion, relief and... joy... She closed her eyes to relax after such a feat, that way she could greet her child more composed. 

            "It's a girl!" Nyx exclaimed. "I think..." he trailed off sounding doubtful.

            "You think?" She laughed hoarsely as she looked down her body and could just make out the confusion in his eyes. "Haven't you ever seen a girl?"

            "Well, yeah…" he said defensively, "I mean I'm looking at one right now. Maybe two. It's just hard to tell when they're this little. Like she doesn't have boobs." He said.

            Ahsoka rolled her eyes, smiling to herself. How did she keep ending up around adorable idiots? She took a deep breath and sat up. "Remind me not to let you babysit." He was attractive sitting there, despite being covered in blood, fluid and sweat. His jet-black hair fell loosely in his face as he looked down at the child cradled in his arms. A smile played across his lips, there was admiration in his eyes. A pang hit her. She wished it was Anakin that was meeting their newborn for the first time. She shook it off. "Can you stop hogging her now? After what I've been through, I want to see if it was worth it." she teased.

            "Oh right," he looked up like he'd completely forgotten she was in the room. He carefully handed her over, and Ahsoka looked down at the face of her baby for the first time. It was love at first sight. She rubbed her finger across her tiny hands and the girl gripped it tightly. 

            "Hello, Ashla," she whispered. She'd debated on the name for months, but the child's beautiful blue eyes looked back at her; her face as perfect and bright as a sunbeam and she just knew it was meant to be. Ashla meant ‘light.’ And that's exactly what she was. A light that came out of darkness, pain and goodbyes. Her features were Togrutan; her face narrow, high cheekbones, larger forehead, though not dramatic. But her skin was fair, and she had hints of hair. She had little white markings on her forehead and cheeks and a few stripes on her arms and legs but because her skin was light, they didn't stand out. 

            Ahsoka was relieved that she looked human. It would make her life easier. She'd be able to blend in and not attract attention. Ashla looked up at her gurgling and she watched her in wonder. She was the most precious thing she'd ever seen; the light at the end of the tunnel. As much as she wanted to show Anakin, it was better he didn’t know. She hoped that he'd not sensed her pain from the birth through the force. He was probably lightyears away with plenty of other things to occupy his mind. 

 ---

             “Anakin? Anakin!” Obi wan’s voice broke into his thoughts. 

            “Hmm?” Anakin blinked and refocused on the council around him, surprised to find them all looking at him. 

            “See something, did you?” Master Yoda asked him. 

            He shook his head. Even if he had, he wouldn’t tell them. It had just been a feeling. Pain… strong pain, but not the kind he felt around him on battlefields. It confused him because it had been mixed with… joy? It didn’t make any sense. Who feels happy when they’re in pain?

            “Well can we get back to the meeting then?” Windu asked from across the room. 

            “Yes, sorry,” Anakin mumbled bowing his head. His mind wandered to Ahsoka. Did it have something to do with her? He couldn’t be sure anymore.

            “Very good. Obi wan and Anakin will go to Utapau to investigate the death and report in…” Windu’s voice sounded far away. 

 ---

             “Not to ruin the moment, but I’m not sure a baby around my business is a good idea. It’s too dangerous.” Nyx brushed his dark hair out of his eyes and twiddled his thumbs, looking everywhere than at her.

            Ahsoka had to bite her tongue so she didn’t tell him that she’d fought in countless dangerous situations with kids strapped to her. And that what he considered dangerous wasn’t even close to the things she’d seen in the last eighteen years. “Well you kind of did.” She tried to sound sassy like she used to with Anakin all the time, in order to hide the knot in her chest. “Are you seriously going to kick me out?”

            “No, of course not!” he sighed. “It’s just…” he absentmindedly started wiping up the floor so he didn’t have to make eye contact with her. She watched him curiously.

            “What?”

            “I’m not real good around kids,” he said finally. “They don’t like me and I don’t like them and it’s just a bad combo.”

            “Well just think of it as your roommate has a kid and you don’t have to worry about it. I’m not asking you to care for her or anything.” It must be all the hormones that was making her uptight. She suddenly wanted to be alone. 

            Nyx wasn’t a Jedi, but he seemed to notice the change in the room. He made a lame excuse about needing to fix a sprocket and disappeared, leaving her still sitting in the puddle on the bathroom floor. 

            She blew air through her nose out of frustration, willing herself not to cry. Jedi weren’t allowed to have kids or families. She wasn’t a Jedi anymore, but she had been one when her and Anakin had gone too far. She didn’t regret it. She loved him, even with an uncertain future, even having to raise the child alone… she still loved him. She’d always love him. Though being alone with a stranger and a new kid she had to raise by herself, wasn’t how she’d imagined the future when they’d slept together.

            She ran her fingers down her daughter’s cheek, noticing how rough her fingers were compared to the baby’s skin. She pushed herself to her feet, exhaustion threatening to consume her. Her whole body ached. She turned the water on in the bathtub and let it fill while she cradled the baby in her lap trying to wrestle the tunic over her head one handed. Ashla fussed at the rocking motion and she spoke softly to soothe her. She gathered a few supplies from the cabinet and climbed into the tub. 

            She pulled her knees up so she could rest Ashla’s head on them above the waterline. She rubbed her gently, washing off the dried blood and bodily fluids. Cleaning her skin in little circular motions. Smiling to herself at the intimacy of the moment. Loving the beauty of this new light in front of her. She felt lost in her sound. She’d always had a fondness for children. She’d loved taking care of the younglings at the temple. 

            Her and Anakin’s first real mission together had been rescuing Jabba’s son. It was ironic that their relationship had started with a baby and ended with one. If she’d known that at the time, would she have changed anything? What a stupid question; of course not. The baby in front of her was something she could never regret. Even if it meant a daily reminder of the person she missed most. She silently thanked the force for the chance to experience motherhood. She’d never known how badly she’d wanted it until she had it. 

            She pulled the sterile knife out of the alcohol and carefully severed the umbilical cord between them. Tying the stub in a knot against her daughter’s skin and cleaning it off. She’d spent the last month researching baby care to make sure when it came, she could take care of it without needing to go to the hospital. Of course, half naked and crying on the bathroom floor with Nyx hadn’t been exactly how she’d imagined the moment. 

            Now that he was gone, she force pulled the little basket with a cushion into the room so she could put Ashla into it after drying her off and putting special lotion on her. Then she quickly cleaned herself up feeling like a real person again. She went about cleaning the bathroom up since the child had fallen asleep as soon as she’d put her down. She used the force to float it into the bedroom so it was a gentler motion and got dressed. She cleaned up her bedroom too. 

            Tired but feeling better, she sat on the edge of the bed watching her daughter breathe, occasionally twitching in her sleep. Her heart felt full. It came with a kind of peace and satisfaction that she’d never known before. She felt like she had a purpose again and she was going to hold onto it. She saw Ashla’s face screw up in a frown and then she started crying. 

            She picked her up. “Are you hungry?” she asked her as though she could answer. She sat on the bed with her back against the wall, opening her tunic. She marveled at every line and inch of her daughter’s skin as she suckled happily. “I’ll never let you go,” she whispered softly, rocking her gently in her arms while she nursed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy. 

Next Chapter - > 

[lo-fipopculture-blog]

Cody’s Top 10 of 2017

By Cody Lunsford

In 2016, I did a very bad job of watching movies. I only saw FOUR of the movies nominated for best picture. 2017 was VERY different. I’ve seen every movie nominated for best picture. I saw a grand total of 107 movies released in 2017, plus all of the older movies that I watched this year.

There were a lot of factors that came together to create this surge in movie watching. (1). I got MoviePass. Chad’s written about how valuable of a service it is and it’s absolutely true. I’m able to see so much more in theatres now because I’m not breaking the bank to do so. It also makes me feel less bad about seeing movies that seem like they’re obviously bad. (2). I got Netflix DVD. “What is this: 2006?!” I hear you saying. But it’s actually been a great service. Obviously there’s lots of stuff that’s on streaming services, but there’s also quite a bit that isn’t which is why it’s great to get the DVDs (as a supplement to streaming of course. Still got have that Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO Go cocktail). Netflix DVD tends to get newer movies before streaming services, in addition to having some older, harder-to-find stuff. (3). I got more active on Letterboxd. It is, without a doubt, my favorite social media platform. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a way to log movies as you watch them and share your thoughts on the movies, see what your friends are watching and their thoughts on movies, and make lists, which made making this top 10 list an easy task since I’ve been working on it all year. (4). I started a movie podcast with my friends. It’s called Best Pictures and our goal is to find the best movie for every year we’ve been alive. Yes, this is a plug, but it’s also definitely a reason why I watched a ton of movies this year. I had to keep up with my co-hosts and sound like I knew what I was talking about.

That’s why I watched so many, but now let’s get into what movies topped the list. It may seem weird that a “best of the previous year” list isn’t coming out until mid-February, but I wanted to make sure that I had seen everything that might would make my list. Let’s begin with some honorable mentions.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (#35 - #11)

#35. Darkest Hour, #34. Molly’s Game, #33. It Comes at Night, #32. Logan Lucky, #31. Okja, #30. War for the Planet of the Apes, #29. Baby Driver, #28. American Made, #27. Thor: Ragnorak, #26. Good Time, #25. Spider-Man: Homecoming, #24. Ingrid Goes West, #23. Annabelle: Creation, #22. Coco, #21. Detroit, #20. Alien: Covenant, #19. Blade Runner 2049. #18. Mudbound, #17. Brigsby Bear, #16. I, Tonya, #15. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, #14. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), #13. Phantom Thread, #12. Your Name, #11. The Florida Project.

Look. 2017 ruled, film wise. It’s hard to narrow down stuff that I really liked. Now to top #10.

#10. Super Dark Times

Super Dark Times was a bit of a surprise for me. I watched it when it came on Netflix and was instantly blown away, realizing that I may be watching a new cult classic in the making a la Donnie Darko. It’s tense and horrifying and completely grabs your attention from the very opening of the film. It’s the type of movie that make your eyes grow wider and wider with each passing scene. The only thing that I’m unsure about when it comes to Super Dark Times is it’s ending, though that also adds to its likelihood to attain cult status, as it’s the type of ending that can debated and discussed for hours.

#9. Raw

Raw isn’t easy to watch. It’s about a vet student who develops a taste for human flesh. With a premise like that, it’s obviously going to lead to some gnarly scenes. But the beauty of Raw lies in how much the film elevates what could be a schlocky b-horror movie premise. Raw isn’t just about cannibalism, it’s also about finding yourself at college. It’s also about how your family still has a giant influence on you even when you leave them. It’s also at times about the special bond that siblings have. And yes, it’s also about eating people.  

#8. Logan

The best superhero film of the year and arguably one of the best ever made. It’s brutal and rough, yet contains one of the strongest emotional threads I’ve seen in superhero movie. Hugh Jackman gives a performance as Logan that is completely unique to this film, yet doesn’t feel disingenuous to the iterations of Wolverine that we’ve seen before. Dafne Keen is a revelation as X-23, portraying just how tough a kid has to be in this grimy future. It’s incredible that despite me not being the biggest fan of the X-Men franchise as a whole, especially the last few, that this movie can still swoop in and hit me like a ton of bricks. There’s not many superhero movies I’ve cried during. This is one of them.

#7. The Post

It’s hard to imagine a world in which this movie would be bad. With the all-star team up of Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks (and that’s not even counting the insane roster of supporting actors), there was no doubt in my mind that this would be excellent. It’s the type of movie that makes you want to stand up and cheer at people who persist until they win. It has incredible scenes that make your heart race, such as when Bob Odenkirk goes to get the Pentagon Papers and the later scene when Tom Hanks’s team sorts through the documents. It also has little Spielberg touches, such as a little girl making a killing selling lemonade to the team, that tie the whole thing together and make it feel human.

#6. The Big Sick

I’ve known who Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon are for many years from following the LA comedy scene so it has filled me with absolute joy to see a film that they wrote, based on their real life experiences, be such a hit this year and get Oscar attention in addition to being well-liked. It’s a rom-com that defies some standard rom-com tropes and offers a unique love story that we’ve never before seen on film. The movie also does right by Emily’s parents, played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano doing some of their best work. Instead of making them obstacles in the way of the romance, it fleshes out these characters and Kumail’s relationship with them. It’s such a brilliant twist on the rom-com formula to have Emily’s parents be on board with Kumail before Emily herself is.

#5. Dunkirk

Finally, some recognition for Christopher Nolan (though before this, the last movie of his that I loved completely was The Dark Knight.) This is a war movie that is done in a way I’ve never seen a war movie been done before. It features Nolan’s trademark fascination with messing around with timelines, intercutting between storylines that take place over a week, a day, and a hour respectively, before finally culminating together. It’s tense and fast-paced. You barely get to know any of the characters’ names, which actually works to drive the idea that Nolan is presenting home. This could be anyone’s story of war, it doesn’t matter the specifics.

#4. It

Stephen King is probably my favorite author. I’m a huge fan of things that are spooky and I’ve always loved that in his stories, he’s able to make you care deeply about the characters as well as scare the hell out of you. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a mind blowingly good film adaptation of a Stephen King movie and It definitely reached that status. Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Clown is unsettling, yet still somewhat funny. The scares are unique and terrifying. The kids are so damn good. It’s a mammoth book and the way that this adaptation streamlined or cut things out was masterful. I feel like this may be one of the movies on this list that I revisit the most.

#3. Get Out

I’m sure you’ve gotten the idea already that I’m a big fan of horror films. And while It showed what the big blockbuster version of a horror movie could be (and let’s still be clear, the blockbuster version of a horror movie still has a much smaller budget than other blockbusters), Get Out offers how effective a small budget horror movie could be. It also came in and demanded that horror being taken seriously, becoming the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture since The Silence of the Lambs, though there’s definitely an argument to be made that particular film is more of a thriller. That would make Get Out even more impressive, making it the only horror movie nominated since The Exorcist. Regardless of how you define other movies or how long it’s been, there’s no arguing that Get Out is impressive, especially considering it’s Jordan Peele’s directorial debut. I’m fascinated to see where he goes next.

#2. Lady Bird

It would’ve been hard for me to hate this movie. It’s funny, it’s coming of age, it’s got scenes of musical theatre. Every character in this film is completely realized and painfully authentic. Every funny moment in the film feels real. The relationships that Lady Bird has, with her mother, with her first loves, with her best friend, with her dad, with her brother, are completely relatable and speak to that unsureness, yet complete brazen confidence that comes with being a senior in high school. The throughline of being ashamed of where you came from, yet proud once you’ve left is especially poignant as someone who left a small town to go to college. The realization that your parents are just people and that despite you feeling frustrated and suffocated, they want the best for you, is a hard thing to grapple with and this movie handles it beautifully.

#1. The Shape of Water

“HAHA, that’s that movie where a girl bangs a fish, right?” I mean...yes. But the beauty of The Shape of Water to me is that particular moment doesn’t really even feel that weird. The film instantly immerses you in a storybook world set within a version of the 1960s that isn’t quite true to life. It’s a fairy tale, through and through, complete with a musical daydream, a frog prince, a princess who’s been struck by some “curse”, and a villain who is literally rotten. There’s a lot of arguments that this movie is a bit simplistic or things move at an accelerated rate and to that I say: it’s a storybook. It’s not real. It is meant to feel fantastical and not grounded. It looks gorgeous, performances are phenomenal, and you feel the love put into this production in every scene. I love it.

For more on my thoughts about these, and other movies, listen to the latest episode of Best Pictures where we have the FIRST ANNUAL PICKIES to nominate OUR best of the year.

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie’s various antics + bonus bursts of trivia - Mid June-July 2019

I’ll begin this long digest with news of ygarshy’s recent involvements! Because he has been dipping his toes into a few pools of waters and his bass is *chef’s kiss* precious.

It’s been disclosed that he played for the song ‘Shadow Tag’ on Ken Kamikita’s new album! Kamikita is a singer songwriter, also once known as KK, who belches out vivid vocals from his diaphragm while the substructure of skilled technique is there as instrumentals, holding it together sturdy. His songs are very thought-provoking alone, yet music isn’t his only reign as he writes scripts for his shows, he puts careful consideration into his visuals: and abracadabra! ygarshy is continuing to be supporting Wasureranne yo with concerts for the summer.Concurrent reports consist of ygarshy smiling, poker facing to hide his smile, yet his smile seeping out because of Shibata’s noble passion for music. Shibata will do risqué shouts or gatling release the word "sex" out of his mouth, when which yg will subtly sip his water in a means to dodge, or just knifesharp glare at him. I love these drunken bards. Wasureranee yo's twitter posts clips of them performing after ever show also!

Also Wasurerannee yo with The 50 Kaitenz↑ good. June 8th was the Kankaku Pierrot x Hitorie concert, which was originally meant to be a joint show for their tour, yet was now turned into a jamboree of respects and thunder... Rie themselves were unable to attend yet Kan-ero nevertheless performed a cover of Ao, Polaris, and clenched a spiritual presence...! The cover of Ao is a tear trenchcoat I'm a trench of water... Kan-ero so good...

I was finally able to tell Shinoda-san that “These lyrics are way too long.”. For the sake of today I had to spend the whole week sleeping on the couch, as my bed is practically buried by all the alphabet He wrote, yet still I simply want to thank him for leaving us with so many words. They’re really all so cool. I’m sorry for being unable to sing them well. Let’s meet up again soon. The photo shows a large cloth-covered bed-like surface strewn with printout papers of World End Dancehall, Montage Girl, Imperfection, and Senseless Wonder lyrics.... Because..... The setlist for Village Man’s Store’s concert on 6/13 went like this. 1. Senseless Wonder 5. Montage Girl 7. Imperfection 13. Ao Encore 1: World’s End Dancehall

Thanks for coming to our show, “The Holy Land Pilgrimage - Village Man’s Store VS Hitorie”! Utmost love and gratitude goes out to Hitorie and all of you who made this day possible. P.S. Hitorie, cheers to doing even more with you in the future. From vocalist: Mizuno Gii. Mizugi “I sent Shinoda-san a LINE message reading “I'm going to be playing this song and this song and this song and~~... at the next show”. And normally right, you’d think someone’d reply “Sorry ‘bout making you do this” right? Yet Shinoda replied “Why’re you doin’ that many lololol” Han (drummer): “He laughed at you" After all is said and done, have y'all properly purchased 'Tsuiraku, Kurushiku wa Lucky Strike’ yet or what. It’s fire isn’t it

((I hate(love) how Mizugi has (14 years old pun) in his profile, (63 years old) in this MV while dressing up as a slanky old man, and is actually 31 years old.)

When is the rain going to stoppp

There's a lot of people who dislike Weezer's Green Album but I like Green Album Is it cause the music takes such a different turn? Reply from Saito Shinya, the vocalist and producer of ONIGAWARA: The drums suddenly neatened up so it hit by surprise. Also Matt Sharp left. SND: Ahhh so it’s because of Matt Saito: Fans of their first-second album’s more squishy sound went into denial I think

I can’t believe 'Sayonara Dake ga Jinsei da' isn’t here *The late 90's band 'Eastern Youth’ has uploaded the majority of their discography unto music streaming sites. Except for the niche EP which SND is fond of, but all their albums are cool so zipper your lips and open your eyes shuuush!

Is Tanktop Shoutai's new video out yet They're a posse of blurred out faces with burlesque bases. Their current series is one where they dress up as Yugioh characters, roleplay them with accurate voices and cult-like enthusiasm, before the instigation of the series’ famous ~Shadow Games~ together. Which are all uhh, epic card games, yeah, like tabletop Jenga or  or Mariomaker or electric Russian roulette, pick them up like they’re Kuribos. It’s a riot.

 I’m sure I’ve said this for the umpteenth time now but, my favorite album from syrup16g is “delayed" syrup16g are an indie band who began in 1993 and keep resurging again to pop off. With performances in Budoukan and high Oricon points on their back. This pivotal album of theres is mellow with whimpering instruments and ephemeral sounding visuals and it's really nice, thank you SND.

Media outlets have been making misleading headlines like “A manga opposing the legalization of euthanasia”, and I bet there’s a lot of people are blindly dissing Death Harassment now Death Harassment is a comic written by Yoshida Yori, challenging the problems which could come with euthanasia, and a society which might pressure departure unto the unwilling. Euthanasia has been becoming a uproarious subject in Japan, ever since a woman fled to Sweden because she suffered brain diseases, and wanted to die while still preserving her sanity and dignity. People are now starting to welcome the prospect and yearn for a mercy fate but, please consider the demerits and the demoralization also, is the message. I translated the comic for fun also here.

This evening as I was eating soba alone, in front of me were a middle-aged couple throwing curses at each other with sullied mouths, but by the time I finished my soba they were smiling together. I think that’s perfectly peachy. That reminds me, I ate 4 whole eggs today. I think I ate too much.

My habit of getting the urge to play with people only at this time of the day, is really bad.  Posted at 3 AM JST.

Yumao, also at 3~ AM JST.  Bubble milk tea for sensible people has been gaining traction on twitter but, the fact that it's not Chinese tea milk tea is the nonsense to me. There was a post about purchasing uncooked tapioca pearls at a Seijou Ishii (an exotic super market chain), and putting them inside of a convenience store bought bottle of cheap tea. Budget bubble tea.  In regards to Yumao’s comment, the Chinese oolong tea is such a standard I’m assuming he’s referring to that. Is this more flavor wars, the civil wars over various flavors of integrated foods from equal or same brands is rampant throughout Japan’s domestic history. It’s kinoko VS. takenoko etc. Why such fervor over flavor YUMA

I gotta buy toothpaste I can’t sleep whatsoever so I thought if I drank I would get sleepy but I drank and it’s somehow backfired by revitalizing me so now I got no idea what the fuck to do, I’m screwed I’m screwed I know that feeling when your stomach is in a frenzy, too well

I haven’t heard the term “moe” used in a while I kinda want to go heavy on it now Replies: "Shinoda you’re moe” “Shimoeda” “Your expression when you got kicked was so moe" (He was kicked by yg during SLEEPWALK ref: the 6/1 report)” “The term moe technically d- (*The definition copypasta-ed from wikipedia*).” Within a split second replies have already turned into hell so I’m putting the lid back on moe, please forgive me Damn it’s hot.

I saw Tokyo Syoki Syodo in concert for my first time today. It was the best. I seriously thought I was gonna burst into tears. It might be a long time since I was last this excited to see a band live - it's been a long time since I even saw a concert live but still,,, I was surprised by how much of the lyrics to Saisei Button I subconsciously remembered. It just shows that Tokyo Syoki Syodo's songs are that good. They are a group who indulge in the typicality of cutesy culture, instagram filters, sparkling make-up, and all while flexing the power to whack you with whamming hard rock. He mentioned them again in his June 9th twitcast also, calling them natural and epiphanic to how bands can just be just as they are. I have no doubts that this is my top-played song these past few months. This is my anthem. -Saisei Rock, their most recent music video, check it out! I don’t even know how many years I’ve lived at this point but it’s not commonplace to find a song this great. 

This example will only be understood by super like-minded folk, but I haven’t felt this way since I got obsessed with Sakasama Cider. 

He’s expressed countless times how much he likes this song and the artist, Gucha Gucha's, Though the story behind SND’s partiality may be ultimately uncertain, it can be easily understood from one listen. The guitarist and cofounder of the Gucha Gucha’s, Shimoyaka, borrowed Shinoda’s guitar for their first live. Chikyuu Monogatari chapter 3 uses Shimoyaka as a model.  Shimoyaka has posted porn on forums, getting banned from youtube, he was on a team with infamous Shotacon Kurage, here’s SND’s cover of Sakasama Cider playing over the team, nowadays he does retro~modern gaming livestreams or his own cooking episodes because he got kicked off a cooking show, he slipped at the Niconico Douga Game Party, he’s videos are quite civil now though Shinoda even joined him for a stream and is watching them often.  Shinoda on the July 9th live said not verbatim “When I heard Sakasama Cider and ‘Sad Delay-chan’’ live, I was amazed by Shimoyaka that he can actually make good songs. Justice doesn’t have to be one-sided~ Gucha Gucha’s are unrefined and shitty and helpless, but then they bounce back up with a sudden good song and it’s irresistible. I’m always yearning to meet those sort of exciting experiences. 

We are people who clench our fists until our palms are red with blood, and we keep going on singing. Though we tend to forget it

Happy birthday ygarshy!! ygarshy's birthday is on June 17th and I hope you celebrated. SND’s birthday is also on June 6th. And I Hope. If not they can still be celebrated 365/24. Because even SND had proceeded to tweet these words of celebration at…. 12 o’ clock AM June 18th. Right when the clock changed!!

Look at this simultaneous trickery. Then Yumao RT-ed them both. I love you Rie… I love you so much...

I liked when Brocken Jr. was hit by Prisman's rainbow shower and super fucking glowed. (Timestamp 1:38) Also Mariposa’s victory pose was freakish-, ly cool (Timestamp 3:14) Kinnikuman is branded as Ultimate Muscle foreignly, if you recognize it! This youtube video is is a short promo reel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the series, Yudetamago has been in it for the long haul and is well honored by the lords of the wrestlers.

Wooooooooooah

I wanna eat a negitoro bowl Raw tuna and scallions plomped on top of a bowl of rice The special issue of Kinnikuman, I didn’t think it would put me on the verge of tears like this. Chairman takes way too many goods to the table. Plus everyone is cheerfully chit-chatting about how absolutely maniacal of a character Robin Mask is. Robin Mask really is one loony mister. Most characters are weirdos on thin ice but Robin Mask is in a whole different league of weirdo so,,, Also for the 40th anniversary, an original episode was spotlighted in the 29th issue of Shounen Jump magazine. and taken for another spin! Chairman, AKA Harabote Muscle, had an emotional arc in it too. Robin Mask I'm guessing is as rambunctiously malicious as ever in it.

The final episode of Sarazanmai had me bawling like a baby.

A photo of the possession of Kinnikuman -Supermen Dictionary-.

futurrrrrrrreee funnnnnnnnnnnk

I spent about 4 hours dancing alone in the club I am a party person Party people(パリピ is just ENG articulated into JP)* is a slang which means just that. It’s believed to have been originally popularized by a song called Let’s Party People from Illmania. Since then it’s curved to hold different nuances for all kinds of different people also. It can indicate ‘avid partygoers' or ’normies’ or it can just be for people who’re having a good time.

Puuuuuuussssshhhh! An issue of 100M, an upcoming shounen manga by the author Uoto. It's bout a runner who’s world revolves around his sport and nothing other, who then meets a boy who runs only to forget the troubles of the rest of the world. The story spurts off from there. 笑顔いっぱい！ https://youtu.be/QXuGweSMxUI @YouTubeさんから ときめきメモリアル　キャラソング【おサカナになりたい～1000wに願いを～】～虹野沙希～（TokimekiMemorial music） https://youtu.be/rV16KgKKUi8 @YouTubeさんから YUNG BAE - Fly With Me https://youtu.be/BWgQvj0Nd_U @YouTubeさんから TenmaTenma - September https://youtu.be/6VsJgk5Qw6s @YouTubeさんから ~~~A slew of various song recommendations~~~

People that're posting pics of ramen while talking about being on a vegan diet, and people who gang up on them both, aren't they all becoming a clusterfuck of boringness without even heed to their actions

People who were peacefully posting their favorite music until suddenly bursting blustery onto the net, ain’t that the definition of emotional instability SND are you heeding your own actions Seven-eleven when are you gonna sell microwavable mugimeshi (rice with boiled barley mixed in) Task-san (a trusty companion of all of Rie’s, and an even more lovable animator who runs most of Minaken): *Replied to SND with a photo of Seveneleven brand microwavable mugimeshi*  SND: So they do have it

As I was frying some fried eggs, it hit me, people who heedlessly throw heavy words at other people tend not to let anyone else complain about the heavy weights they themselves may put onto other people huh.. But actually that’s not necessarily true so whatever

I just recently caught up with Murata-sensei’s version of One-Punch Man but, thanks to the insanity of the quality level, Tatsumaki has gotten so sexy I burst out laughing See: ONE VS. Yusuke Murata 

Clever folks, I’m positive you could figure out who my favorite One Punch Man characters are. There’s two of them.  The answer is King and Unlicensed Rider Oops there’s Zombieman too

I’ve noticed that washing ashtrays squeaky clean seems to put me in a better mood The Marías - Cariño youtu.be/QHVp9xiUr9U @YouTubeさんから The Marias are soo good The 3 monkies game, the host is so cockeyed that I’m laughing out loud I think he’s talking about サルヂエ(Sarudie), a quiz show about 3 people donned in hyper-realistic monkey attire, overseeing the “homo sapiens” as they try to solve unique questions. Which are usually twists on daily life concepts, find the difference, or digesting puns on pop culture. The word Sarudie(猿知恵) itself refers to something which seems profound but is actually simple and shallow, like monkey business etc, and the hosts are spoofs of The Three Wise Monkeys, while they hooked in a lot of famous figures to be the quiz undertakers. I want the DVDs. Though if SND is talking about a different 3 monkey game then I’m oopsie-doopsie. I heard a voice for the first time in a while

I can feel my manga-artist muscles crippling

nico.ms/sm35308083?ref… #sm35308083 #ニコニコ動画 It’s here!!!!!!!!!! Ref his tweet from earlier 'Is Tanktop Shoutai's new video out yet’. So if any youtuber works with a band on a music video then everyone’s going to assume they’re Starmie next I guess A recent cause of discourse was the twitter account A Starmie Who Wants to Quit My Band(@shhf9kr)*. It originally was suspected of being the side-account of KANA-BOOM's bassist, Meshida, due to the timing of the account's appearance and the unsettling content. Meshida had gone missing for about a week’s time, much to relief he’s returned home, but upon return he’s now taking a break from the band to heal from pressure/anxiety… Which is a huge worry in itself (On top of Alexandros’ drummer going on hiatus because of physical issues and then MONGOL800.....) though for now we only have the power ease his soul.. BUT ANYWAY - This Starmie twitter account tweeted “I’m so far gone with band work that I’ve devolved into a Starmie. ~~~~ I feel so disgusting.” on the exact same date as the dilemma. As the situation progressed the details Starmie revealed about financial problems and wage didn’t match up with KANA-BOOM, so they’ve continued to suspected to be SEKAI NO OWARI, now signing salient as someone named Ishihidari from BASEMENT TIMES, the writer of a snazzy sassy J-Rock blog and band of that same name. Shinoda here is a direct reaction to Starmie’s recent tweet under the lines of “I hate having to work with a youtuber.” Yeah SND you're 100% right, it's now on the radars of us curious critters. Why is the J-rock scene such a pain hoho. I bought new shorts but it’s chilly out today so I’m in a sort of pickle

I tried out lo-fi hiphop style for a change of pace and I ended up making songs I get to feel like I’ve done good work as easy as fast-food, lo-fi hiphop is good Maybe this is fine, we have flowers here (The word in the insta video means "to hide from the rain")

I don’t wanna add screentones

He used a southern accent on this, unlike his usual slurry casual city boy tone. I notice that southern JP seems to simplify the connotation of tone by omitting certain sounds or replacing them with vowels and then they’ll proceed to make the whole phrase more musical, it’s like ending your sentences with a “~” but it’s a whole accent done that way~ vowels are cute, gimme more~ Or maybe not idk It’s a hardship to even work on my manga because of my back pains, people who’ve actually wrecked their back must go through serious hell Kobayashi Doumu (*ref: later in this post): *sends SND a photo of himself hospitalized with crutches and bandages for his back* I was watching Kura-kyun’s stream but, does that guy actually still live in Aichi…? This seems like a rabbit hole I don’t want to dip my toes so I’ll take a step back but… Shotacon Kurage is a long time streamer who seems to get up to a lot of unfavorable antics. のどちんこって呼び名、いくらなんでもメチャクチャ過ぎないか No matter how you put it, isn’t the nickname “throat schlong” just a little too messed up Kids super often call the uvula part of the mouth by that nickname I don’t like the rain because I can’t go out drinking

View this post on Instagram

ボディメンテナンス怠るべからず

A post shared by シノダ (@snd_vs_snd) on Jun 27, 2019 at 11:14pm PDT

One mustn’t slack off on their self-care The drawing says “Shoulder pains”.

シノダ「地球物語 35話 – BABYBABYの夢 – 」 | MEETIA After a 2 month break period, the 35th issue has been topped off. It’s full of all the ideas and memes I’ve accumulated over the whole 2 month span, so please if you may, take it easy on me. And please give it a read. Shinoda “Chikyuu Monogatari: Chapter 35 - Dreams of BABYBABY - meetia.net/manga/shinoda-… #meetia 

Shiohigari, fantastic artist of 1 panel light-heavyhearted gags, girls who share their feelings and a Picasso-esque mascot named after himself. He also happens to share many interests with SND and a decade-long historic friendship with him: That part there, that’s the Robin Mask moment! During the Survivor Match for the Kinniku Throne Arc, the match against Kinnikuman Zebra and Parthenon!  SND: I’ve been exposed Trivia: ●The title "Dreams of BABYBABY” is a reference to the song by TANUKI of the same name. SND’s interest in future funk grows. ●The Chikyuu Monogatari chapter has a parallel to a Kinnikuman scene. When that manga went on hiatus for 3 months due to an illness of the author's, right in the middle of a fight scene's cliffhanger, he returned and doubled-down on it. By making the characters do this:

And SND’s comic has this parallel:

“Wake up!” “Please excuse me. How could I not get sleepy after being left here for 2 months….”“Are we allowed to say this stuff, I’m sorry Yudetamago-sensei.” ●Please keep having fun Shinoda-sensei.

I made 10 lo-fi hiphop songs *They’re magnificent and they’re incoming, check his Instagram for the ongoing bonanza! https://www.instagram.com/snd_vs_snd/  Laundry is so draining  Harassment sentences are going to such extremes that now it’s as if they’re the one’s doing the harassment meow, said the kitten who’s sleeping next to me There’s not actually any kitten sleeping next to me: it’s the imaginary friends in my head

What an article. Don’t be releasing things like this into the world. Do they have no dignity, mishandling words while trying to write about the subject of words.  Emo, in terms of usage and genre, has especially been through a lot of change. But upholding only the era you lived in and then proceeding to feel nostalgia and begrudging the next generation for being different is amazing in itself, not to mention their absolute subjectivity combined with presumptuous usage of “Us”. 

Or, so had spoke the kitten sleeping next to me... In reference to his retweet of this article: https://letters-to-you.life/emoi It’s a petty, convoluted text rebuking the masses for a simplicity and resisting the implacable evolution of language. The word “emoi” in Japan (which is super equivalent to the English "emo") is transforming from not only the emo band subculture or a descriptive of emotional experiences, but also to mean the likes of an adjective for any emotion-evoker and the author is uhhh conservative. Let us get emotional over things!! wowawa lived through all the evolution also and he’s still an enthusiastic user of all definitions of “emo” too...

I’ve been cooking nukaduke at home recently and all I have to say is that home-cooked nukaduke is the best. 

Trivia: Yumao lives together with his super duper saikou cool mother, Yurika.

My nukaduke paste is getting better and better, and the pickles I’m making are amazing. I need to consider cutting back on the salt a bit though.

Ah nukaduke is emo

Yumao has nowset his location to nukaduke, hunger ensues

Kobayashi Doom congrats on a good run & Congrats on the new issue #SupportForLet’sMeal

The picture shown is SND’s face was drawn in the background of Meshi ni Shimashou(Let’s have some food!), a manga by Kobayashi Doom. It’s a story which digs into the lives of a a manga artist and her assistant, who bask in the dying embryos of production and then cook meals with crazy twists or gimmicks to restore their “MP”. There’s an official sneak-peak preview of it here! It’s only available in JP though… If you like the look of it please feel free to yell at your local manga provider to officially translate it, Kobayashi Doom is someone SND is so undeniably influenced by. Especially their series Negi nee-san. A webcomic about a surreal girl drowned in surreal antics. It’s usually rooted in nonsense and that’s the grandest appeal. The visuals consist of copy-pasted collages, intricate professional art dynamics, cute girls, to stoic jokes such as “’seven eleven is an integer so seven & I is a complex number” and mostly references to mathematics or science or Jojo. The most parroted one is “Yes” “Not yes”. Also worthy of mention is that things resembling Negi-neesan’s various nameless beasts will show up as backdrop etc. in SND’s manga Chikyuu Monogatari. And most importantly here, there’s even a comic about Shinoda on that link, with the Let’s Meal characters! It reads: Madare ”Who's that?" Omega "From the band 'Hitorie',His name is Shinoda and he seems to be a zealous fan of mine, (sign reads: zealous whatever food hall) He told me he wants me to experience his recent works so he sent me the mp3"Madare “Ooh Isn’t Hitorie that [insert amazing praise here]“. Omega “Look, he’s even wearing a Negi-T (Negi-nee-san’s surreal brand) in this video” (Reference: In the Talkie Dance MV he wears this one) Woah　Click-click Omega “So now, I’ve listened to it 100 times but in sheer honesty I don’t know anything about rock besides the band Ningen Isu so I thought I’d use this comic as an equivalent of an answer to him, a sort of "guess my feelings" quiz. Madare “I see you're popping your conman skill again. (You’ve even beaten me with that skill before )” “I’ve been eavesdropping. Time to cook a meal and get together with him” Omega “I like it." *The chorus lyrics to Hitorie's NAI from ai/SOlate are written on the top left corner, Kobayashi Doumu on the right, and the beastly text written next to the youkai-looking Shinoda in slide one I believe is an feisty ateji encrypting ‘For Shinoda’. SND replied to that comic too! Saying “Even insane miracles can happen huh, Doom-sensei thank you so much!! No this is seriously sick, wtf…." Q.E.D. Kobayashi Doom is strangely important for SND’s character development.

This isn’t specifically concurrent with my current feelings but The text on the video reads “I like you I like you!l I snuck a glance at myself in the mirror and my back has a hunch far worse than I even imagined SND’s RT:  ONE BY ONE RECORDS, the indies label, is hanging up the hat after 12 years of service…. Ahhhh… Congrats and good luck on future ventures oh employees..  Key to this article is the band, JONNY. A Weezer cover/original group of which, a certain familiar chestnut-headed rock hero played for. I’ll save the stories of the explorations into that beloved dark past dungeon for another day but, yes, click that link and you’ll see, that glasses fella is a young Shinoda in the flesh.  I woke up in the middle of the night. Have a listen to this if you plan to go to bed anytime soon. instagram.com/p/BzV23p6HpRl/… Written on the drawing is “Poyashimi”, which simply means “Oyasumi (Good night)". It was originally just a misspell due to “O” and “P” being so close on standard keyboards but, it’s cute so it’s been adopted in it’s own rights. Can been paired with “Pokita (= Okita = I just woke up)” in the morning. Cute. I wanna go to the beach instagram.com/p/BzawsWGHaGg/…

I wrote MUNEYAKE but I myself don’t have any muneyake heartburn, that’s all there is to it I couldn’t make the bubble tea visible without making the emblem on the hat invisible, and just fought a weird-ass battle with this https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzh7fqRnkBQ/?igshid=1hmx49pswt6ns … “Yasumi" means like “take a breather"

I recorded drums for Sasaki Sayaka’s song, the ending theme for 'Ultraman Taiga’. I used a big and powerful setup for this. The broadcasts start on 7/6. I can’t wait. Also Taro's son is crazy. Ultraman Taro's son is the main character of this new spinoff tokusatsu series! The ending song is called “Hitotsubishi” and will premiere along the first episode, I’ll update this if an official video arrives later, so we can listen to it! I watched the first episode of Taiga, I’m think I’m gonna cry.

This morning a drunken me slipped while walking down the stairs, and turned into the Kinnikuman side of the Kinniku-Buster. My butt hurts. Smack down on the floor, legs aflight.

colormal’s concert was downright fantastic, everybody listen to colormal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ83BZ_BIHA&feature=youtu.be

colormal, a galvanized nerd who turned his hobby into a hopping constitution for his livelihood, his quest for the alternative rock. He makes music alone and he’s namely even inspired by Shinoda’s past solo project “cakebox”. He’s bound to mention a cakebox song in his interviews, on top of a whopping list of other western or indie bands. His music itself has flows of climaxes into unfluctuating concord and it’s either guitar or guitar with pretty effects and I enjoy it SND. His filling bassist, Matsuyama, was even thrilled! https://twitter.com/mtymJb/status/1147537998898069504

My body isn’t able to finish even the small size ramen with full toppings. “Mashi” is a trademark menu option of the chain Ramen Jiro. It’s under the lines of “Pile it up”. You can choose to pile up a bit of everything like Shinoda seems to, or you can choose from specific topping such as veggies or meats. If you ever go into such a ramen shop, try shouting “yasai mashi mashi!” or “buta mashi mashi!” for a heap of piggie. 

Tokyo Shoegazer are definite They’re an indies band who had a concert in Shinjuku that day! One of their most recent tweets draws my attention 👀 The wheat and grated yam beef meal at Yoshinoya is delectable but, the sign says the large rice portion and refills are given for free until 11 PM, but when I go there’s a fee on the large portion, how am I supposed to interpret this Reply: I work at Yoshinoya but the free portions and refills is a recent offer, the menus just haven’t been reprinted to represent it… The meal packages generally all have free refills and large rice portions. Shinoda: Thank you. Ref: their ENG menu. Feel free to use this information if you ever get the chance to go to a Yoshidora!!(?) SWEET https://www.instagram.com/p/Bznm6DTH-Gs/ I want to see Siamese Cats live They’re a definite J-rock band who have tinges of psychedelic and a sort of 80’s pop style to their music. They had an outdoor show the day before SND tweeted this, but they also have a 10th Year Anniversary Celebration concert this December. SND GO! Siamese Cats - Escape Eve (Official Video) 2018　　シャムキャッツ - 逃亡前夜 https://youtu.be/5Jtd5nmI0Fc

salad days was on Amazon Prime so I gave it a gander but it was really fucking good. The walking alone Straight Edge scene or at the beginning when everyone was partying together until strange people starting flooding in one by one and the safety of the concert went downhill Or how the terminology “emocore” doesn’t resonate at all with people who were directly associated with it at the outset.

The fact that controversy which we’re still having today has existed since the 80’s is an astonishment
 Also once the Smells Like~ MV wrought the knowledge of crowd-surfing (stage-diving) upon the world, and then the crowd became a flood of stage-divers so much that Fugazi lost his temper, that scene was so good

The joint show with Trouble Funk, when they were reflecting on what became the final Minor Threat show, everyone was vocalizing the horrors, the turmoil of it, yet I laughed when only Ian said it wasn’t that bad

Not disregarding how these types of issues really did exist those days, ultimately the concerts and their music really are awesome, the energy and thrill everyone held was amazing

Formidable figures such as Thurston Moore and Dave Grohl are shown looking back on the past, and then pops in J Mascis with such batshit indifference that I laughed again 
Why does Ian MacKaye not have a Japanese wiki page If it draws your attention here’s the link!:https://www.amazon.com/Salad-Days-Fred-Armisen/dp/B01MAV0YAH I’m not specifically feeling emo https://www.instagram.com/p/BzqVd4wnaOX/?igshid=nhnyzm9vipdi …“emoi”