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lunaschild2016 · 5 years ago

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No Ordinary Love

An Eric Coulter / Original Character Romance (Formerly Take Your Time)

Rated M: Explicit, Smut, Romance, Angst, Language, Implied Abuse and Addiction

Character Inspiration/Face Claims:

Eric Coulter: Jai Courtney

Lacey Matheson: Phoebe Tonkin (Hayley from Originals)

Summary: Theirs was not an ordinary love. After all, you’re not supposed to fall in love with someone you consider as family, even you don’t share the same blood. But they were in each other’s veins too deep. They only had one night together. One night to be shameless and to finally act on the feelings that had haunted them for longer than either could admit. Afterward, the only thing left to do was to pick up their pieces. Eric/OC AU No War No Divergents

[Sorry in advance if the read more glitches and shows entire post]

A/N: This was previously under the title Take Your Time but during an edit, I changed the title of the story as well as the different parts/chapters to reflect the music that inspired each. Story title, No Ordinary Love, inspired by Sade’s song of the same title.

Disclaimer: I own naught but my own plot and the cherry bombs I throw within. V Roth owns the rest.

**********

Part - Pieces

There's too much smoke to see it

There's too much broke too feel this

Well, I love you, I love you

And all of your pieces

Eric

Eric cradled the young woman closer to his body as they huddled together. The slight shelter the formation of boulders and the crag in the rocks they were currently in provided some protection from the storm raging around them. If he could mentally will some warmth into her he would will it all. Every single ounce he had. He would gladly give it all.

“We were able to get the call for help out. They’ll be coming soon.” He murmured close to her face where he held her pressed against his chest. “You just have to hang in there for me, Lacey. Do you hear me? You need to stay with me.” He tried to command her but it came out broken and harsh from the tears threatening to break free.

She groaned but didn’t reply. Eric knew she was fading. Lacey’s lips were tinged with blue and her skin was like ice from rapidly losing what little body heat she had. He was losing her and it was all his fucking fault. “Baby please.” He whispered harshly against her cheek and the tears he had been holding back finally break free but it’s too cold and they seem to freeze in place, joining with the rest of the frozen spots on his skin.

His training and survival skills tell him that moving might help and he found himself rocking her in his arms, hoping that it will stimulate her enough to wake up. He needed to do something, to busy himself so he didn’t feel so helpless or give in to the grief and pain that threatens to consume him.

All those years wasted with a million excuses that he used to stop him from admitting his feelings and crossing every line he believed stood in the way of them ever being together. He had always loved her, that much he never denied. What he did deny was how deep that love went. What it really meant to and for him. It took this storm and the events that brought them to this moment for him to realize there was nothing wrong or shameful about how he felt or what he wanted with her.

If only he had realized this before it was too late. Before he made the biggest mistake of his life and allowed her to come with him when he left the shelter of the truck to radio for help. But he had just been so damned relieved she was okay after the accident where the transport they were in lost control on a patch of black ice and flipped over twice. She looked fine, a little banged up, but able to walk away with only minor scratches.

When the crash happened it wasn’t his own life that flashed before his eyes, it was hers. She was all he could think of and he sent up prayers that him ordering her to strap in would be enough to keep her safe. He couldn’t help but be thankful that he insisted on it so much that he even secured her himself. She gave him lip about it, of course, and insisted that if she had to be belted in that he needed to be too.

That was how the two of them made it out of it in the best condition to make the hike and get high enough to make the call for help. There had been too much interference where the transport had ended up after the crash. The canyons and small mountains for this sector of Amity resided didn’t always provide the most reliable signal. He knew that the only way to get a signal out would be to make it to higher ground.

Eric should have known that just because she looked fine didn’t mean she was fine.

He also hadn’t accounted for a goddamn blizzard to roll through. Not when a small snowfall was predicted after he checked the weather status before leaving Amity. The storm slowed them down and made the hike much harder on her. About halfway into it, when they were too far to turn back but still had so much further to go, her condition changed and she all but passed out. He could only press on and carried her while she cried in pain and couldn’t walk anymore. He did his best to remain calm so he could make the call and then find them shelter where they could hunker down and wait.

“They have our position, baby. They’ll get here in time.” He refused to think they wouldn’t. He also knew if they didn’t make it in time to save her then they might as well let him die on this fucking rock with Lacey because there would be nothing left for him.

Why had he fought so hard against what he felt, what they both felt, and wasted so much time? At the time the reasons had seemed so important, so insurmountable. Lacey had been in his life from the time he transferred to Dauntless. He was sixteen and she was just nine. He watched her grow up.

She was family to him.

Her sister, Henley, was Dauntless-born and became one of his best friends when he transferred and they were initiates together. Deacon was his other best friend and he transferred over from Erudite with Eric. Henley and Deacon fell in love during initiation and married shortly after it finished. They formed their own family then and included Eric into it.

There was always this connection between him and Lacey that felt separate, different, than the one he shared with his two best friends. He considered them his brother and sister in all but blood. As time passed his feelings for Lacey changed from how they started. His role changed from protector and friend but he never thought he could or would do more than love her from afar and watch as she grew from an amazing girl into a beautiful young woman. He couldn’t risk losing her or his family and was positive that would happen if he did anything about how he felt, so he never tried for anything.

When it came down to it, when it mattered most, Eric Coulter the most feared Dauntless leader, was a coward.

Eric cups the side of her face and strokes his thumb over her cheek as he loses himself in memories of her, of them. His mind drifts back to when it all began.

~~No Ordinary Love~~

Visiting day of Eric’s initiation.

Eric didn’t want to go. He had no reason to go to the Pit where all the friends and families of the initiates would be waiting to meet up. His family would be unable to make it and they had agreed before he ever transferred to wait until after he finished initiation and got settled before they would visit.

Henley is insisting that he join her and Deacon in the pit where her younger brother and sister will be waiting for her. Henley was right. They are there. She’s there.

Lacey stands proudly in the pit, with her back straight and her chin squared. Wade, their younger brother has his hand clenched tightly in hers. Her rich chestnut hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail but even with it up like that it hangs all the way down her back. The sisters resemble each other enough that Eric can tell Lacey will one day be as pretty as Henley is. Maybe even more so with her unusual eyes.

It was the first thing that he noticed about her since they are completely different than her older sister's chocolate brown. Lacey’s are a warm, melting caramel color. The pupil is ringed by a light green while the iris is ringed by darker green. It was apparently a trait that skipped Henley but both her younger siblings shared from some grandparent on the dad’s side. Eric would come to find later on that those greens expand or shrink depending on her mood and would tell him more about her feelings than she would ever let show or voice.

The second thing he noticed was the pride and intelligence radiating in her eyes. He almost got so lost in them that he failed to notice the bruising along her cheekbone and that was exactly what she wanted. Eric wasn’t the only one that didn’t see it right away. When Henley finally noticed all cheerful greetings stopped and she went quiet before hissing out to her sister, demanding to know what happened. There was something in his friend's tone that suggested she already knew what happened.

Henley never mentioned why she was so worried about how her siblings were doing but it was clear there was some kind of tension at home. He didn’t think it was abuse...but it was something.

Lacey just looked her sister square in the eyes, chin lifted, and lied through her teeth. She told Henley she had gotten in a fight at school. It was a completely plausible story and he could have accepted it, but for two things. Tiny things that neither Henley or Deacon picked up on but Eric did. Her eyes changed as she told this lie. The bright green flared in them right when she squeezed her brother's hand tightly and he looked like he was about to say something. But he didn’t and he looked away from the group to stare at the ground while shuffling his feet.

“What was the fight about, Lace?” Henley asked in concern.

“The usual. Dad’s a drunk. Mom’s a whore. It’s nothing new, Henley. Nothing I haven’t grown thick skin against.”

Eric found it interesting how intelligently she responded, using a bit of the truth so that her sister would be more likely to believe it. While it gave him insight into her home life and the reason his friend was always so worried about Lacey and Wade, he knew there was more to this story and he found he needed to know.

“Then why did you fight about it?” He ground out the words, eyes narrowed in anger because he could guess what really happened.

She locked eyes with him while he tried to intimidate the answer from her. She never gave in though and didn’t answer. That little nine-year-old girl stood her ground against Eric, who was already gaining a reputation for his intimidation tactics and his training wasn’t even done yet.

Henley broke the tension, clearly embarrassed by her sister's revelation of their home life, and suggested they all head to the dining hall to eat and have some cake.

He didn’t understand why he was so agitated...why he felt so protective of a girl he just met. His friendship with Henley couldn’t explain everything. Maybe it was because Lacey and Wade were the exact same age as his youngest brother and sister?

Maybe that was why he made the vow he made as he sat across from them at the dining hall table to always care for them. To always protect them.

To protect her.

~~No Ordinary Love~~

Eric almost broke the promises he made to her and himself.

He couldn’t do much for her while he was still in initiation and right after that, he went straight into his training for leadership. He began working non-stop in an effort to achieve the rank of a full leader. He had the goal to become the youngest Dauntless leader and to do so in the quickest time of any leader before him. Henley was just as busy in the clinic being trained as a nurse. Something that was in short supply and that meant long hours for her too. Instead of going back to live with her parents, she moved in with Deacon with Lacey and Wade's blessing and her younger sister's insistence for some reason that neither shared with Eric. So much slipped their notice but Lacey was very good about not letting on that anything out of the normal for them was going on.

It was normal for their Dad to be absent most of the time just like it was normal for her mom to make even fewer appearances than he did. They were both well-known drunks. The father did just enough of his duties in Dauntless so he didn’t get in trouble and he would receive his pay so he could support his habit. And the mother, she earned enough for her’s by having ‘friends’ that were willing to ‘gift’ her for the privilege of her company. No matter how disgusting Eric found the entire situation neither of them were doing anything illegal and as long as her father did his job and her mother’s real activities weren’t being reported, Eric’s hands were tied.

It wasn’t until he noticed Lacey behaving oddly and looking sick that he realized something was wrong.

The first time he saw Lacey slink into the dining hall he didn’t think anything was really wrong. He only found it slightly odd that she kept to the shadows and mixed in with a big group so she could avoid detection until she made it to the kitchen doors. He watched as she knocked then waited until someone came out to speak to her. They disappeared back into the kitchen for a minute or so then came back out with a small box that they gave to her. She scampered off faster than he could react to find out what might be in the box, but at the time he suspected it was nothing more than some cake. Dependents were well known for frequently attempting to wheedle the famous Dauntless cake from some of the pushover cooks. Some were more successful than others but in general, they weren’t ever refused. Hell, Uriah Pedrad once managed to talk one of the cooks into giving him an entire sheet cake pan full of cake and Lacey has always been much more charming and persuasive than that little pest could ever be.

So who could blame him for thinking that’s what Lacey was up to? Who could blame him for thinking that she had been getting some cake for herself and her brother as a treat? Henley had once mentioned that it often took finding ways to motivate Wade to get him to do his homework. Eric hadn’t realized at the time that school had already been dismissed for their yearly break.

It wasn’t until he saw her doing the same thing almost two weeks after the first time that he knew there was something else going on. He got a better look at her, a closer look than from the far side of the room and with so many people in between them. He noticed things that he couldn’t before. Like how she seemed to have lost weight, the dark circles under her eyes, and how weak she seemed.

Eric knew he needed to get answers about what was going on. He couldn’t approach Henley without worrying her and if he confronted Lacey she would just lie just like she had previously the few times they had spoken.

So where should he start?

He went to the kitchen staff first since they seemed to know something about the situation and her being there to get anything besides cake was cause enough for him to start with them anyway.

While dependants aren’t barred from eating in the dining hall it is also very rare that they do. The people that generally eat there are the single adults, initiates during that time of year, or people who are on duty and just grabbing a quick meal on their breaks. Meals in the dining hall are free but the menu is limited and often is a first come first serve basis for the popular items. Dauntless also has a few places in the main compound where food can be purchased, ready-made, by points. Things like deli sandwiches, burgers or pizza are things that are primarily sold. It was more common to see kids in one of those places by themselves or with their families than it was in the dining hall.

Because the family living quarters are located in another building that is at least a fifteen-minute walk from the main compound where the dining hall is located it was impractical for them to take the majority of their meals there. Family housing is equipped with full kitchens in the flats and Dauntless has stores where they can buy and stock up on food to prepare their meals.

Eric found that his reputation is both a blessing and a curse. Even the staff in the kitchen had become aware of him and knew how hard Eric could be, how ruthless he was, to those who crossed him. While the cooks and staff could be pushovers he also found out first hand they could be fiercely loyal and brave. They hadn’t wanted to tell him anything that could get Lacey into trouble. No amount of intimidation or veiled threats could get anything from them. Eventually, they told him everything but it took him admitting to them how much he cared for Lacey for them to believe he wouldn't be punishing her. It turned out that Lacey was getting food from the kitchens at least twice a day, from whatever they had readily available and of what they could spare.

The next question he needed to get an answer to was why Lacey and Wade weren’t eating meals at home. Why was she having to go to the dining hall to get meals from there instead of making them something or at the very least going to grab something from one of the ready-made places? It took him using the master key and physically investigating the apartment before he got an answer and even then all he discovered was there was absolutely no food to be found in the flat. Not even a single jar of condiments one would usually find even if everything else had already been eaten. Even Eric’s apartment had those and he never ate there since being given the apartment after initiation.

At this point, Eric was debating with himself on if he wanted to include Henley when he confronted Lacey about things but he decided he couldn’t. He knew she would feel responsible and guilty for not realizing sooner how bad things were and she was already under so much pressure and stressed out from work. But if Eric was being completely honest with himself he didn’t want to bring her into it. He wanted to be the one to deal with things. Besides, he had a feeling that his investigating what was going on with Lacey would lead to bigger issues and he needed to be able to handle them in his own way.

There would come a time he would feel that he had never hoped to be wrong about something as much as he did about what he found. But that was a few months in the future.

One morning he ambushed Lacey at her apartment, letting himself in and waiting for her to return from one of her early morning excursions to the kitchens. He learned she would go there at 5 am to help take out the trash, clean, and just get ready for the day in general in exchange for food.

It was during this confrontation that he found out the true extent of how bad things had gotten.

By this time it was going on two months that they had no food in the apartment and couldn’t get anything from the stores either because she was cut off from being able to access any of the accounts her parents had for things like that. At first, it was because the points account for both parents was empty when she attempted to buy food at the store. Then it was because her father put a block on anyone being able to use the accounts besides him after he gave the excuse that it was actually Lacey and Wade that had burned through the points without him knowing about it.

It wasn’t as bad for them when they went to school. The lack of food in the apartment was offset by the fact that they could eat there at least for breakfast and lunch. That left Lacey only needing to find things for dinner. When school was dismissed for the year she had been forced to find enough to feed them both at least three times a day and there was never enough to do that, so what she did gather she gave to Wade and went without herself.

He couldn’t understand why she didn’t just tell someone what was going on and she wouldn’t give him a straight answer why she hadn’t, but he got the impression she was equal parts scared to say anything and also too proud to admit that something was wrong. Eric put a stop to that shit right then and there, even though it was like pulling teeth to get Lacey on board with his plans.

She was stubborn and independent, insisting she wasn’t going to take charity and that at least the arrangement she had with the kitchen allowed her to work for what she got there. The first thing he did was a little underhanded. It took him reminding her that she promised Henley that she and Wade would have at least two dinners a week with her and Deacon if her older sister moved in with him like Lacey encouraged, even begged, her to do. The only reason those dinners hadn’t happened was that her sister hadn’t had a chance to have dinners with the way her work schedule kept her busy. Eric told Lacey a small lie and said that Henley asked him to take over the dinners with her brother and sister until her work schedule slowed down. Not wanting to upset and worry Henley, Lacey agreed.

His next agenda was to make sure they had food in the house for her to make them whenever they weren’t eating with him but to do that he had to agree to let her come clean his apartment in exchange for him buying them food himself. Which he did only grudgingly. He still had no plans on letting things ever get so bad again and if that meant they ate all their meals at his place, then that was what he would do. His buying them food to keep at her apartment was more of a backup plan in his mind.

By the end of the ordeal, Eric found his respect for the young girl growing even more than he already felt. While he hated the situation and that she had suffered at all, he was proud of how she had handled herself and how determined and how much ingenuity she had shown in trying to handle things on her own. As much as he admired and respected that side of her he also vowed that he would never again get so caught up in his own ambitions that he forgot her.

~~No Ordinary Love~~

Eric did exactly as he planned to do and more often than not the Matheson kids were at his apartment, even when he himself wasn’t at home. They became a constant fixture in his day to day life and he didn’t feel right if he didn’t see or talk to them at least once a day. He found himself looking forward to going home for lunch and Lacey being there, already having something ready so his break could be spent relaxing.

The more time they spent together the closer they got and the harder it became to just allow things to slide with her parents even though he knew Lacey didn’t want to make a big deal of things because she felt so ashamed of them. He knew he was risking upsetting Lacey and making her angry with him, but it had to be done.

His investigation into why Lacey and Wade didn’t have food turned into investigating her father’s claims of his points being stolen and misused. Eric’s first discovery was that there were significantly fewer amounts of points being added to the family account. This turned out to be because Janice Matheson, Lacey’s mom, hadn’t made any point contributions in a long time. In fact, Janice Matheson has disappeared altogether. He had a bad feeling about where it was headed but he couldn’t not investigate. As a leader, it was his duty but even more important to him as the Matheson kid’s self-appointed protector it was something he refused to fail them on.

His first thought was that Janice had left for the factionless. This conclusion came to him after discussing things with someone who went through the same initiation as him, Four, and who also had recently discovered that the mother he thought died during childbirth when he was really young had actually abandoned him and fled the abuse of her husband and his father. One of the well-known facts about Lacey’s parents aside from their addictions was that they had a very volatile relationship. It wasn’t uncommon for Janice to be sporting bruises or for them to engage in very public physical fights with each other. Could she have had enough and decided to do the same thing as Evelyn Eaton? This was quickly dismissed after questioning and searching revealed Janice wasn’t among the factionless. Even more investigating revealed that she hadn’t even left the compound in years.

When all was said and done Eric’s investigation led to one man, Edgar Matheson, and one conclusion. Under questioning with the truth serum, he admitted that he killed Janice in a drunken rage over something he couldn’t even remember and then he had disposed of her body by hiding it in with the trash that was set to be incinerated.

Eric hadn’t wanted it to end the way it did. Not with Lacey losing both her parents in one fell swoop. Certainly not with him having to be the one to break this news to her and have been the one to arrest her father. He could only hope any pain for her loss and anger at the role he played would be lessened or made better by Henley and Deacon being awarded guardianship of her siblings, as well as the two of them, marrying and then all moving into a new place together as a family.

~~No Ordinary Love~~

Bit by bit and over time it did seem to fade for the three siblings and this new family grew stronger and closer than ever. Henley finally got on a normal schedule and the entire family, Eric included, had at least one meal together every week. On the days when Henley or Deacon needed to work later, Lacey and Wade could be found at Eric’s place or he would just come to their apartment and eat there.

The family he found in Dauntless by no means replaced his family in Erudite and he remained in contact with them as much as being in a different faction would allow. Lacey seemed to understand the most that while Eric never mentioned how much the distance and restrictions bothered him, he did miss them. She helped ease that for him by befriending his brother and sister who attended school with her, becoming a bridge that connected his two families.

When he looked back later he would realize that this was the first step in his feelings for her changing and falling in love with Lacey Matheson.

But the only kind of love Eric had ever known was the kind he felt for his family. He hadn’t ever felt about anyone the way Henley and Deacon felt for each other. Growing up he didn’t even have his parents to look to for that kind of relationship either. They got along well enough and were decent parents but they were far from warm to their children and definitely looked at each other as acceptable partners and companions rather than lovers.

There were many occasions where Eric realized he cared for Lacey a little more than he should but he was always able to explain it away. He was able to rationalize it in his mind that he felt so much more for Lacey because of all that she had been through, what they went through together, and how protective that made him of her.

Things started to change as she got older though.

It was around the time she turned sixteen. It seemed like the years passed by in a blink and now the day of her choosing was suddenly coming up. He wasn’t prepared for it and was in disbelief that it could be happening so soon. Eric had noticed that she was growing up and maturing but only in a general kind of way. It was more him recognizing her emotional and intellectual maturity. Their conversations and interactions had changed as she got older and he started seeing her as more of an equal or even a peer instead of the little girl he needed to protect. As far as the physical changes she definitely started to go through, he put blinders on to those. Refusing to see or acknowledge them in any kind of way. Denying even the slightest hint of his body responding to her in ways that he found highly inappropriate.

The day of the ceremony Eric was calm. Confident that her choice would be Dauntless. Her test had only been a preliminary to what he already knew, that no matter how intelligent she was or how kind she could be, she was much more Dauntless than either of those things. Just this morning he waved away her joking around with him that just because the test had said Dauntless didn’t mean she had to pick it, or that she would.

“I’ve heard Amity is beautiful in the fall and we both know how much I’ve always loved my visits there.” Lacey slyly remarked over the breakfast table.

“Nah, you would never make it past the first night with that bunch of hippies.” He muttered with a cocky smirk.

Now he watches her as she waits for her name to be called and a feeling of overwhelming panic and dread come over him so suddenly it would take him to his knees if he weren’t already sitting.

What if she really did leave him? What if she picked somewhere else other than Dauntless?

Lacey had become very close to his sister and brother over the years...would she choose to transfer to Erudite to be with them?

Then there was that Amity boy that always seemed to be hanging around her at school when he went to pick her up and it was clear he had feelings for her. Did Lacey feel the same enough to want to be with him?

No way. He couldn’t lose her!

It was then all his willful blindness, all his denial, was ripped away from him and he realized what he had been thinking. He realized the panic and the dread also contained jealousy and hurt at the thought of her ever being with anyone...or at least...being with anyone but him.

It was like unlocking Pandora's box. Now that the thought and realization was there it wouldn’t go back in that damn box.

It only grew and got worse...and then one night, he was too weak to fight it anymore.

#fanfiction #divergent fanfiction #eric coulter fanfiction #eric x oc #divergent au #no war #no divergents #smut #language #romance #angst #eric coulter #oc #jai courtney #phoebe tonkin

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steve0discusses · 6 years ago

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Yugioh S3 Ep 18: Noah’s Dad Decides he Doesn’t Love His Son Anymore When Noah Gets Way Too Into Petz Hexing

I was hanging out with Bro and he made me look at a lot of bad Yugi wigs that were 600 dollars each, and because only like...4 good Yugi wigs exist in the world, I decided to help him get out that Yugi itch in a healthier way, by copy editing these posts and fixing the way I spell Gozaburo wrong about 400 more times before this arc ends.

So last we left off, Noah decided to reference that one part of the Bible he knows.

He’s gonna change the playing field to kind of run through the history of the Earth, showing us that in every period of history his outfit was never acceptable.

Also he got the history a...little bit wrong. You had to have people before Noah’s ark but...whatever. I took astrology, there’s a lot about planet formation we’re still kind of guessing on, so do whatever you feel like, Yugioh. It’s not like any kids watching this got real pissy about how Noah was totally botching the Archean period.

He also decides to dump on us how he got so smart. See, Kaiba got smart by studying a lot, surrounding himself with people way dumber than him, and then just bossing everyone around him until they agreed with him that he was very smart. In Noah’s case, it’s because he’s literally a computer.

I’m really glad I get to find another anime that’s all ham about this tree. In this case just slapping it on there for a few seconds, long enough for me to say “WHAT THE HELL, KIDS SHOW?” before it vanishes again.

Good on you, Noah. You just...casually slipped that in there.

Ah, but unfortunately, the AI who is like...not even human and is *pretty sure* He’s Noah Kaiba is still kind of attached to his Dad. Maybe it was a part of his core code that he couldn’t reject his Father? I dunno, just seems weird that he achieved enlightenment and was like “So uh...I guess I’ll play cards and take over a mindless corporation. Good use of my time.”

(read more under the cut)

Kaiba’s reaction to hearing that his brother stores all of human knowledge was “well, it can’t possibly be that difficult. I’ve done way more than that. I have a homeschool degree and half a high school diploma so go to Hell, bro.”

Yo how many people would sit down, turn to their computer, and just start shouting at their core processor about how they’re waaaay smarter than it? Remember that during this entire conversation, Kaiba is shouting at a literal computer.

So anyway, we finally get to see why they bothered showing us spider room a few episodes back. Youknow, that room with the baby in it? Turns out...there was never a baby in this room, since Noah was a kid when he first woke up here.

Before it was covered in spiders, it was covered in blue and off white. This is a very boring Martha Stewart room in different shades of robin eggshell. You can tell this kid is a Kaiba because oh boy that is a...really boring 50 yo housewife look, ain’t it?

I’m sure it’s symbolic for the fact he is hella dead and innocent at this point but like...every time we see Kaiba interior design it’s just the last type of design you expect from this high octane family.

Anyway, Noah’s kind of surprised to be awake because, last he remembers, he was very much hit by a car.

Ya, I mean, if you have to tell your son you Frankenstiened him into a horrible crime against humanity, might as well tell him as quickly and bluntly as possible, I guess.

Anyway, because Noah existing breaks the most basic moral human laws in every country on Earth, they kinda can’t let him go anywhere, which means that to prevent the loneliness, Kaiba gives him...a pet?

So Noah and the dogcat decide to travel through Domino and realized very quickly that there were only like...five NPC’s. There’s like an ice cream girl, and like a couple walking people, and that’s about it.

Noah’s words were something like “man this place is full of glitches!” because his dogcat wouldn’t stop barking and he threw a rock at it and it didn’t care. Glitches.

I guess it’s one way to look at it?

It feels like Noah got somewhat cursed like Pharaoh did, just a little bit. Like not completely it’s just that I can’t help but notice both are trapped in some sort of basic geometry shape--Pharaoh’s is a pyramid and Noah’s is an orb, and both have untold superpowers matched with some heavy depression that goes with having said superpowers. Not to mention, both have a host body all set up for possession, it’s just Kaiba is a little bit youknow...unwilling to participate. They’re very different obviously it’s just...way to trap your characters in shapes.

Anyway, last episode I felt like maybe Noah liked being an orb, this episode he’s made it a little more clear that it is kind of not great being an orb...but only because he can’t throw any rocks at dogs or have real conversations with anyone but his own Dad.

Anyway, Noah got a little bored. So his Dad sent him to virtual Mars.

And now Noah only finds joy in hacking his digital pet. Relatable.

Now I know a good chunk of you are my age--that good Jenna Marbles age--and will know exactly what I am referring to, as for the rest of you, turning your digital pet into a hell creation was just a thing we all did in year 2000ish. All of us did this.

And I was like “I bet you, that someone out there has made a robot Hex, I guarantee” because I spent...I want to say 2 years of my life downloading modded breedz of Catz 4? I even tried to do it myself but I wasn’t any good at it because I was super young and bad at computers, I never actually got Robbie William’s Millennium as a Catz meow (though trust me, I did try. It was my life’s dream when I was small.)

But the closest I found to a Robot Petz was this?

Dang. Look at that thing. This one is actually pretty good because it does resemble an animal. I admire it a lot. Trust me, I spent like days moving my bunniez feet around trying to make a dragon and just ended up downloading someone else's dragon.

And then, from the same page I saw this gem right above it.

HELL YES........

....I freakin love this period of the internet so freakin much. I was only ever really a part of a couple of fandoms as a child and the Petz fandom will forever hold a little part of my heart. I mean, look at this. What’s not to love?

Like, Catz is probably number 3 on my list of best games ever made. Not so much because the game was any good, but because none of the files were protected in any way so even kids like me could hack in there and make the weirdest abominations and post them all to their Angelfire pages.

Well, other kids could, I was so baby that I was still using my Mom’s email address and did not know how to put a damn thing on my webpage. Which I did have. But it had like...only frames. It had like 3 words and just me splitting the page into 50 frames because I did not know what I was doing.

I apologize to all the kids in the room who have never seen a web page covered in ugly ass frames. You lucky bastards.

....but Petz...Noah was into PETZ. I can respect him for that.

I still think he’s a little creep-o, but knowing that he hacked his pet has given me a lot of appreciation for his work.

Anyway, it was after Noah changed the boring ass simpleton dog into a much better dog that Gozoboro decided “I have made a monster, I am abandoning my boy.” Which uh...this was the thing?

This?

I mean as far as body horror goes, Litterbox up there is way worse. As far as body horror goes, we also have, Jinzo over here, but the digital dog with a cute robot head was the thing that made Gozoboro say “What have I done!?” The dog is digital, it’s not even alive.

Especially since I feel like the follow up question Noah made was like way more frightening than the dog thing?

Kaiba glazes right over this entire conversation. Like full stop, he didn’t even seem to blink. No part of this story even slightly surprised him, although I will admit, at least Seto has decided that Noah...exists and might in fact be a robot his Father made once. This in itself is a big deal for Kaiba, who has a goldfish memory and denial wider than the sea he’s trapped under.

First of all, congrats to the storyboarder/animator for drawing a hand in that angle, mad respect.

Second of all, this is pretty close to the actual line from the show, Kaiba legit thinks that his Dad wanted Kaiba to be the president, after he knows full well that his Dad was like “Don’t Take Over My Company, You Little Twerp” and then like tried to even send Seto back to the orphanage whence he came. Kaiba’s pretty sure that his Dad wanted that whole thing to happen exactly the way it happened. No regrets. Just family being family.

And Moki’s still chilling on the Moki couch, just kinda taking this all in before he’s summoned unto the field like a playing card.

Ah, yet another person who is like “KILL MEEE” on this show. It’s been kind of a while. Like, who’s left that hasn’t stood in front of a loaded card-gun like this? Duke? Is Duke the only one who hasn’t sacrificed his body for the greater card-good at this point? Is this why Duke is our amoral Chaotic Neutral? Is this why Duke is still the only one who hasn’t died yet (and I’m crossing my fingers still that he’s gonna be our death 169, it can happen, I can believe)?

I feel like this is the season of weird hugs. Like everyone on this show that has hugged has gotten a little weird. The only not-weird hug was when Yugi attempted to hug Joey once and then Joey dodged the hug and wrestled him into an arm-distanced noogie instead--which is technically still not a hug, but the closest we’ve gotten to something a human would do. It is so lucky for our art team that all the huggers are supposed to be hella weird anyway.

Anyway, next episode we get to find out if Noah also had an AIM username or got really into Jelly pens. I can see him getting suuuper into Jelly pens, with hair like that.

Anyway, here’s a link to Season 1 Ep 1 to read in Chrono order, in case you just got here and you’re looking for that.

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megatentious · 5 years ago

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Megami Tensei where u at??

When you are down in the dumps about your favorite video game franchise and the future of a series that is special for you, sometimes you end up seeking it out in places that are … unexpected. I’m going to talk about how, over the last couple years, I ended up seeing three different flavors of Megami Tensei in three different games, and maybe by the end of this we can all end up feeling like it’s okay to move on with our lives. Just keep telling yourself that your favorite games are not your identity and it’s not that serious bruh but also tell yourself that it is therapeutic to collect many paragraphs of thoughts you have had about this to write at length about in your blog.

First up is a game that many many people have noticed is very Megaten and that is the Digimon RPG, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. There was no reason at all for this to be as good of a game as it is. I have no special affinity for the cartoon show. I do not like the Devil Survivor character designer even a little bit. I do not find grinding and monster collecting for the sake of monster collecting entertaining. But from the very first trailer something seemed compelling, and as good word of mouth spread I decided this was going to be a game I needed to play.

Again, everyone has already commented on how Megaten this game feels, and for me the closest specific analogue is actually Raidou Kuzunoha. From the first extended trailer I noticed the jazzy main theme, the detective agency conceit, the visible partner monsters appearing in a Tokyo with bold camera angle choices, and felt a weird familiarity. Digimon also function very plainly as Megami Tensei demons in multiple ways, not only mechanically but also through their story roles. And the somewhat arcane stat manipulation needed for high-end Digivolving scratches the exact same itch as high-end Megaten fusion from previous SMT iterations, which is both a dangerous (100 hours of playtime good lord) and wonderful (100 hours of playtime good lord!) itch to scratch.

You need to put up with some annoying characters and prattling dialogue, but unlike other games there is no pretense here which absolutely helps. Also, re-interpreting traditional Japanese folklore through the lens of the Digimon world is something that never stopped being fascinating for me even amidst a sub-par localization, and as someone with low familiarity with the cartoon, the Digimon designs themselves were alternately hilariously bizarre, bafflingly stupid, and straight up awesome. They even have their own Lucifer!

By the time you get to the second half of the story where the game completely changes and becomes about alliances and faction-building and what happens to a city facing apocalypse, when you take in the incredible atmosphere in Odaiba all buoyed by a soundtrack that has no right to be as good as it is, you start to feel optimistic about how Megaten influence can live on even outside of the series itself.

Next up is an entry from another series that is occasionally compared to SMT, but this one in particular feels like it was only played by two or three people at all when it was miraculously released earlier in 2019 for the Nintendo 3DS. I’m talking about Yokai Watch 3. Arriving close to three years after its initial Japanese release to utterly resounding indifference, this game’s hook is that you get to play in “America,” but as you can tell from the quotes around America this is actually much more complicated than it seems in a way that specifically draws comparison to my beloved Revelations: Persona. You see, the very Japanese Yokai Watch series city location of Sakura New Town, Japon, was localized here for us as Springdale, Springdale back in the first game. This decision has led to many wonderful incongruities moving forward that are honestly identical to those in the Lunarvale of Revelations: Persona. Gotta love these small American towns with Shinto temples in em!

With Yokai Watch 3’s plot focusing on the family moving to actual America though, and the cross-cultural hijinks that are meant to ensue, things quickly get even weirder and more strained. Protagonist Nate Adams complains about the difficulty of understanding southern accents while slurping down sukiyaki. Shopkeepers with tempura-based hairstyles serve traditional Japanese dishes in the quaint American township of St. Peanutsburg. Huge timezone differences between America and “America” are introduced. And all of this is refracted through the even more convoluted localization prism of this game about two versions of America being scripted by the British, leading to children aspiring to be “basketballers” and restaurants having “oriental” atmosphere.

I’m barely scratching the surface of the dissertation-worthy unpacking needed for all of this, and it’s difficult to describe just how deeply weird the vibe can get in this game. In just the first twenty minutes of Yokai Watch 3, you have 1) a purely nutso anime opening featuring scary demonic folklore-based yokai, robots, and cat mascots 2) Mulder and Scully very seriously discussing mysterious “Y Files” 3) a rhythm game where your very American family devours an enormous amount of sukiyaki 4) the same very American (or in the game’s terms, “Springdalian”) family leaving their home to move to the state? country? of “BBQ” and 5) suddenly you are an otaku girl going to a figure shop in “Sparkopolis.” This is just as delirious as it sounds.

Revelations Persona’s uncanny America atmosphere may be one of a kind, but Yokai Watch 3’s frequently insane scenarios can sometimes recall a similar sort of lunacy that leads you to end up fighting a giant mechanical rat while a song with the track name “Child Abuse” plays, or chatting up a populace of mole-covered rainbow afro’d citizens in a locked down mall. At one point after returning from one of Yokai Watch 3’s various alternate dream worlds (very Persona!) my game was even afflicted with a commonly reported glitch that caused the environmental textures to not load, leading to a flat polygon world and some authentic PSX Lunarvale vibes. Throw in all the folktales and mythology involved in the yokai themselves and straight up demon fusion in a cathedral and suddenly you’ll end up experiencing more Megaten than you’d ever expect to see in an RPG targeted to young children.

Last up is an all-time classic that actually predates Shin Megami Tensei entirely, making it temporally impossible for any influence to show up, which muddles the entire concept of this essay but please roll with it you guys this is just how I feel. I’m talking about the seminal Phantasy Star, for the Master System, which I played through M2’s loving, impeccable SEGA AGES port on Switch. This game, which was released in 1987, is simply incredible. Right off the bat you’ve got genius-level programming from Yu Suzuki himself, which allowed for the first person dungeons to scroll so smoothly that posting a snippet of directly captured footage from the game can still lead to semi-viral tweets. It’s these extremely cool boldly colored first person dungeons, along with the expansive feeling of the several worlds you visit that led me to feel some of the spirit of Megami Tensei 2 specifically in this game.

“oops i accidentally phantasy starred for four hours” is how I put it playing through this game for the first time, and it’s a given that a non-fantasy setting RPG where you can talk to the monsters would be appealing to me. Phantasy Star as a series was in fact deliberately conceptualized as a rebellion against the many fantasy RPGs of the time, and the developers have talked about this in a way that is practically identical to early staff interviews about the goals for Megami Tensei. Director and gaming luminary Rieko Kodama has remarked that the choice of a female protagonist was also considered rebellious, even though it felt like a natural choice for her on a personal level.

Megami Tensei 2 is the game that builds the structure for Shin Megami Tensei as we know it today, moving away from Megami Tensei 1’s single full-game dungeon format to a world map with numerous discrete dungeons and eventually, paths to alternate worlds. Phantasy Star shares this exact design format, which still feels so expansive and impressive to this day. It’s a treat to get to experience a game like this over 30 years after its release on current hardware and still feel such an impact, and all of you need to go out and buy buy buy this game, seriously give M2 your money.

I’ve taken it as a given that everyone shares my perspective on where Shin Megami Tensei is at these days as a series, and it’s obviously never a good look to come across as an over-dramatic scolding bitter old who has retreated into pure irrelevance. But by documenting all of these observations down for myself, I can at least feel better about finding bits and pieces of various Megaten strains in the games of today. The lesson learned is that even if you feel your favorite franchise has lost its way, you may be able to find parts of it in the places you least expect.

#megami tensei #shin megami tensei #optimism???

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nievefergie · 6 years ago

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Bill Gates predicted that the internet would be the downfall of television, saying, “I’m stunned how people aren’t seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we had” (Clarke 1). Many people agree with Gates, such as Television Week and Wired, stating that the media landscape of US network television is dying. The invasion of the internet also brings major changes in marketing for television, which is historically what fuels network television. With the loss of marketing viewers to advertisers, marketing has had to find new ways of advertising products in new mediums (Clarke). Digitalization is one of the most active parts of marketing in todays society. With the global market revolving online due to its easy access and cost efficiency, social media has also helped develop the relationship between brands and consumers. This allows digital media to use multi-platform strategies and social media presence to enhance their show. This is called transmedia storytelling (Bjursten). Many new cable, network, and online television shows have used social media to further enhance the realism of their characters and plots to entice viewers, and with the upcoming success of the national branding of the show, SKAM, the marketing formula of adding extra online tie-in content seems to be working. Many television shows have released texts between characters. Shows like Andi Mack (2017) on Disney Channel have texts between Andi and her friends after certain episodes, usually reflecting on what happened. A Canadian television show on Teennick called Open Heart (2015) also tried a similar approach. The Teennick show debuted with an app for the iPhone where viewers could read texts from characters and further investigate evidence found in the episode to unlock more clues about the mystery the story revolved around. It also had found footage of what would be on Dylan Blake’s phone, such as videos of her and her friend, Teddy (Open Heart: Unlocked). However, Open Heart’s app had many glitches, as does the Disney Channel app, making it hard to scroll and find anything. SKAM’s messages were posted on the same website that the show was aired on, so viewers did not have to go out of their way to find extra immersion — it was already a major component of the format (Machell). SKAM, translated as ‘Shame’, is a Norwegian television show produced by NRK (Norwegian State Broadcasting), a government-owned broadcaster known for its radio stations and television channels (McDermott 31). The show was produced by NRK P3, the youth based radio station of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation as a web-based series (Pearce 156). NRK is the biggest media company in Norway, with a large following (McDermott 31). In 2015, NRK set up a website for SKAM episodes to be broadcast in real time throughout all hours of the day. This kept a sense of longing as well as the audience truly feeling a part of the action with watching, as it was happening in ‘real time’. Thirty-four year old Julie Andem created SKAM by traveling around Norway and interviewing teenagers about their own lives. She auditioned over a thousand people and created the characters based on the actors and their own lives. Each episode is written almost within the week that it is shot, as well as only being shot three days a week. As Andem writes, she uses feedback from actors and viewers to keep the storyline believable and enjoyable for teens (Donadio). SKAM is newly renowned as, “one of the best TV shows about high school ever made” (McDermott 31). Each season revolves around a different student in revolving friend groups attending Hartvig Nissen, an actual public school in Oslo. The first season follows Eva, who lost all her friends the summer before starting high school. The second season follows Noora, who begins a romance with a boy who played with her friend’s heart. The third season, which gained the most popularity, is about Isak, a teen boy coming to terms with sexuality and his budding romance with Even. The fourth and last season follows Sana, a muslim teen who is falling for her brother’s best friend and coming to terms with her religion and what it means to be a woman of color in a white society like Norway. When American fans discovered the show around season three in 2016, NRK, due to copyright, stopped making the episodes accessible to those outside of Norway; but this didn’t stop fans. Norwegians would download the episodes, translate them, and put them on Google Drive and share it around Tumblr and Twitter for their English speaking friends to experience. Although English speaking fans didn’t quite get to experience the show in real-time like fans in Oslo, they were still able to watch the clip the day it was released to keep their interest. NRK used social media to promote SKAM with the exception of one television interview with actors from the show once it gained popularity. Hakon Moslet, the show’s executive producer said, “The idea was for teenagers to find it themselves, not from their parents” (Donadio). Social media was used to promote the show through actual teenager’s word of mouth, rather than promoting it through the eyes of adults. By bestowing the characters with social media accounts, SKAM promoted the show and enhanced blurring the line between fictional characters and real people. This further creates more authenticity rather than selling the show (Bjursten 3). SKAM used social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to further blur the lines between the show and reality. Each character had their own instagram page. Season four revolved heavily around Sana’s instagram, @saranors2, where she took screenshots of hate that Sara, the bus leader, had been sending her boyfriend as revenge to start a civil war on the bus. Sana tagged the girls actual accounts and then deleted it once she felt guilty ("Vi må stå sammen"). The account was then deleted off of Instagram in real time when Sana deleted it. Then, a new account called @ellevillevillde2 was created and deleted in real time with the show as well. The show even ended using real quotes from social media about the show when addressing hate and love, expressing gratitude and showing disservice that the fans spread online about the show (“Takk for alt”). Mari Magnus, the web producer for SKAM, writes the instagram accounts and text messages posted between episodes. The texts from characters are posted to the website from different characters to each other and create excitement for the next episode. Magnus’s goal, “is combining reality and fiction and the line between them isn't so clear” (Donadio). The immersive online world for the characters in SKAM add drama to the already dramatic show. By reading texts and Facebook messages, the characters feel even more real to the audience. They get a little peek at what the characters do when they’re not watching. It adds to the cult following and truthfulness to the story (Machell). SKAM provides a good example of how social media enhances storytelling. In the previous television market, viewers were listeners rather than participants. With the new digital age of media, the audience is allowed to help co-create the story and participate in the creation (Bjursten 4). SKAM was written in real time, as well as shot in real time. Viewers had a direct say on what happened in the story, as shown in the last episode where online comments were featured in a montage during Jonas’s ending monologue (“Takk for alt”, Donadio). By using the transmedia storytelling, SKAM and other television shows are able to tell better stories due to the strengthened relationships between the audience and show, or product and brand (Bjursten 4).

Bibliography

Connor, Pearce. 2017. "Reality and Fiction in Contemporary Television: The Case of Skam." no. 4: 156. ProjectMUSE, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

DONADIO, RACHEL. 2016. "Will a Norwegian Hit Translate?." New York Times, December 13. C4. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

2017. "'SKAM''s universal appeal." UWIRE Text, 2017. Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

2017. "How Real-Time Marketing Affects Social Media Engagement." BASE, EBSCOhost (accessed March 15, 2018).

McDermott, Patrick D. "The Planet's Realest Drama." FADER, 2017, 31-35.

Andem, Julie. “Vi Må Stå Sammen.” SKAM, season 4, episode 7, NRK, 2 June 2017.

Andem, Julie. “Takk for Alt.” SKAM, season 4, episode 10, NRK, 24 June 2017.

Open Heart: Unlocked. Computer Software. Apple App Store. Vers 1.2. Epitome Pictures Inc, 2015.

Clarke, M. J. Transmedia Television: New Trends in Network Serial Production. Bloomsbury, 2013. Bjursten, Amanda, and Felicia Norman Sylvendahl. “How Real-Time Marketing Affects Social Media Engagement: A Study of the TV Series SKAM.” Lund University Library, Lund University, LUP Student Papers, 2017, lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download? func=downloadFile&recordOId=8926717&fileOId=8926718.

Machell, Ben. “Why Teens Love Skam; Ben Machell on Norway's Cult TV Hit.” The Times (London), 16 May 2017.

#SKAM

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thelegend-joey · 7 years ago

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repost , don’t reblog.

Tagged by: stole Tagging: If pikachu isn’t your favorite pokemon

「BASICS」

real name. Louise nickname/alias. Lou sexuality. Hetero my dudes pronouns. she/her/hers are you a morning person? I mean if I have to be I am. Alot of the time I want to have my afternoons free so I get up at around 6 am to get breakfast, and then go the edit bays to get a project done when swimming, do you prefer to do it in the ocean, or in a lake? .....Probs a lake because I’ve swam in those more

「TUMBLR」

when did you first join? Um like August of last year your current account? There’s @huntress-j @thelegend-joey and I am most frequently on @pkmnsdarkqueen platforms used? tumblr, discord for rp stuff male or female muses? Both actually, but my male account, Joey is still kinda unnoticed rn fluff, angst or smut? I do smut on none of m accounts. Alot of fluff is planned for the Joey one, but I do LOVE me some angst which is already on the Karen one and planning for J plots or memes? BOTH! Sometimes I don’t know if something is supposed to be a plot or meme tho... any peeves? When my icons decide to be every different size, and my ask box is glitching. FORMATTING! Good gosh is that tiring. muse you’re most like? Definitely Karen, now. It used to be White, but I dropped that account on the old platform. One day I may go over the in depth similarities of Karen and I but that’s a long post, and I already made one of those recently. unpopular opinion. I love ooc posts, and world building ones. I love writing them, and I love to read them. The world building ones, though long, provide so much insight, and show so much love. The ooc ones are just fun to read, and let me know where people are at like if they need encouragement. Also with mine I try to keep them fun cause we all need a laugh from time to time.

「PERSONAL」

do you easily get jealous? Sometimes, but usually I catch myself. I then go pray about it, and work to let it go. do you easily get angry? With certain things yes, and this semester has been hard due to alot of personal drama with few places to vent it. are you easy to cheer up? With like 98% of things, most definitely! Usually just letting me rant for a bit, and joke clears my head right up. what’s the very best way to cheer you up? Letting me vent. Like if I say ‘___ has been hard’, that’s my way of seeing if you’re gonna ask more details because I don’t wanna dump it out unless you want to hear it. I want to respect people’s space. Relating to my emotions helps too because it makes them feel valid. are you currently in a relationship? Oi no, but that’s been the theme of my year so far in real life, and it’s alot to talk about. do you currently have a crush on someone? ...I think I do, and I know chances are they return the feelings but...it’s just...it’d either mean they’re the one or could rock our foundation to a point we can’t recover from if yes, might that someone be reading this? I don’t think they know about this account, and they wouldn’t think I was talking about them do you kiss on the first date? Uh heck no. I even get weirded out by holding hands until I’ve known the person for two months. I have no emotional story of why I’m weird about touching, I just am. do you prefer going out, or staying home, when it comes to dates? Depends on how I’m feeling

「THINGS」

favourite drink? Sparkling Cider! I wish that stuff was cheaper! favourite food? Pasta anything most calming place? At home on my couch that’s falling apart with the dog sleeping next to me most stressful place? Edit bays when the project is faling apart prized possession? I went on a mission trip in Mexico last summer, and since there was no way to help with the current project I played with these kids. I showed them pics of my home, and we caught butterflies since communicating was hard. I was only there a few hours, and this one girl had given me this bracelet of a butterfly of her’s. I thought it was just to hold onto so I went to give it back before we left. She insisted I keep it just saying ‘friend’ over and over again since that was one of the few words I knew. The chain broke on it as we headed home, so someone helped me braid a new one. That kid never told me her name, but I have made it a mission to keep that bracelet safe.

#munday

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onisionisacanceronthisearth · 7 years ago

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The Greg-Lainey livestream part 1

So I watched a 2015 livestream from 2015 that was linked in this post by @onisiondrama because I figured I’d watch it and provide commentary and take note of all the shitty things Greg does. This turned into what was basically a transcription of the video because literally (in the very literal sense) everything Greg said was terrible except one singular thing (but he managed to ruin that too). It was long so everything is under the cut. This is only part one of the stream (the first 21 minutes) but this was very long regardless

Starting out: -Greg looks angry yet he put in a decent amount of effort into his hair -Greg's face wrinkles look odd -Lainey has serious eyebags/wrinkles. She looks really tired -Greg does not help set anything up and is just sitting on his phone

Things Greg tells Lainey: -The first thing he actually tells Lainey is "kill yourself". I thought I misheard but he immediately said "that's funny, the first thing I say is kill yourself". He has no change in tone when he said both. He is so matter-of-fact in his acknowledgement that he told Lainey "kill yourself" in a non-joking tone. -The second thing he tells Lainey is *DRAMATIC SIGH* "apparently someone loves you" -Greg made a deal about Lainey "cussing" which is just so weird. Lainey mentions that he cusses in his videos to which he replies with "barely" (sure Greg). Plus, he's fine with graphically showing sex (and animal sex) to his audience but cussing is wrong? Exploiting his fans and calling them "Shrek" is fine but casually dropping an F-bomb isn't? -When Lainey brings up the fact that he is still on his phone much longer than the time it would have taken him to post a tweet he says "yeah because I don't want to be here". He is admitting that he's just derping around on his phone and ignoring both Lainey and the fans who are here for him. -Lainey says that he promised to be in the video for 30 minutes. He then laughs saying "Yeah! 30 minutes! (quieter) a few minutes". It's been less than five minutes at this point and he hasn't even tried. He has looked up at the camera twice

Lainey: -"Greg is finally here" turns to look at Greg all happy. Greg doesn't look away from his phone and smirks -When responding to a fan telling both of them that they're beautiful, while Greg went on about how they're actually ugly and wearing makeup and using lights Lainey said "I don't know about you but I'm a fucking ten". Good on you Lainey! Honestly, I do like that they still have some confidence here. They're not pulling a Greg saying that they are a "superior human", but they're also not pulling a Greg and berating the damn fan for complimenting them! -Lainey keeps looking to Greg when saying things but he ignores her most times just looking at his phone unless they address him directly, and even then he barely gives an answer. This was supposed to be a joint video right? -Lainey tries to keep Greg happy and encourage him to be nice. This fails every time -"Do you see me begging? No bitch". This cracked me up, not gonna lie. I mean I was just thinking that towards Greg and she actually said it to him

Greg to the fans: -"a piece of technology is broadcasting our life to the world, finally the world will see that we are in an abusive relationship. They will screencap it and post it to (rants of a list of sites)". This was completely unprompted in a totally monotone voice. Also, he knows he's on camera so obviously he won't do anything too bad. This livestream is also only an hour long so even he can keep himself calm for that bit of time. Also, if he doesn't want that to happen he could easily just not treat Lainey like shit for this hour. (note from the future, well I was wrong in expecting decency from him but I'm leaving this note in anyways) -"I'll interact with you guys in a second, I'm advertising that I'm doing this". Said in monotone, with an exagerated "I'm so done" face when he said "doing this". -"Guys, please give us more money, any change? We need change" "All this is is webcam begging". Oh I am loving this, the irony here is too great. What about Patreon Greg? Or your now paid YouTube channel? Or your current obsession with livestreams even ones given to your Patreons who already pay you? Also people can do livestreams for their fans you know. Lainey hasn't asked for likes, views, or anything so far. Also Greg's youtube videos can mostly be done on livestream given their simplicity and he expects money from them so I don't see the issue here -Ok, Greg did that "we need money" joke way too long and it became so fucking cringey with his attempt at acting with his faces and voice. -The phone has immediately been picked up again -"I hate live broadcasting" Laughs as if that is the funniest joke in the world and the audience he just shat upon will agree. Also, "haha, isn't it funny that I just put my wife down in a disgusting a degrading way that implies that they are begging for money from kids because they're famous?" -When Lainey brings up that he promised he would be here he immediately changed the subject to his face. He claims that his forehead is the size of half his face which is an obvious lie so he'll get people telling him it isn't. And I will say this, no Greg, your forehead looks of normal size, the combination of everything on your face mixed in with your shitty attitude and resting ass-face is what makes you ugly. Ok? -When a fan donates money (or uses their free likes) "Thanks for wasting your money! :D"

Ok, so I'm four fucking minutes in and the above is everything that's happened so far. I will now change this to a play-by-play because I don't feel like re-writing this and this format isn't working given how everything that is happening is another death in this trainwreck

Everything after the 4 minute mark in chronological order: -Lainey says "You litterally ruin everything I ever do". Greg laughs hysterically and says "this is why I don't have friends" and "everything you like sucks". Lainey also seems amused at first by him absolutely destroying both her fans and her livecast until he laughs at her pointing it out and he continues telling her everything about her is stupid -An argument starts after Lainey points out one of his blatant hypocrisies. Lainey tells Greg that he tells them to be more positive and he tries to backpedle and says it's different. He's "negative with a smile" apparently. Now let's hear him Greg-splain why that's different: "I'm not mad about it, that's why my negativity is cool" -Lainey doesn't believe him and says again that he's being hypocritical. He gets all serious and in denial saying "it's not hypocritical it's all about context". So as long as you're "not mad" you can berate your wife for liking things or wanting to do a livecast as well as all the fans enjoying the livecast. You can also be like an emo 6 year old in the corner mad that he's forced to sit at the dinner table while on their phone because it's a "cool negativity". Gotcha -The analogy Greg uses is "You're gay" in a mad tone and "You're gaaaaay" in a stereotypical girl who likes gay people too much tone. "One is oh, you're cute, I like you! The other one is oh I'm a homophobe!". This makes no sense, does not apply to the scenario, and both are homophobic on top of all that. One is a school bully hating on someone who may or may not be gay and using gay as a slur, the other is someone going "oh you're gay? That's so cute!" or "you're such a cute guy, you must be gay!" -Ok Greg, enough Greg-splaining, this has nothing to do with tone and your tone is mean and condescending when you were telling Lainey everything they like is stupid as well as when berating the fan for donating to Lainey -Lainey: I've had enough of this (refering to Greg pathetically attempting to explain why he isn't being a hypocrite), Greg: Too much logic -Oh man this is hilarious, Greg talks about his book. He says the digital copy will be glitchy. Why? Because he wasn't able to edit it 11 days before the release with Amazon. And by edit it he means the spelling and gramatical errors. That's right, he submitted his book before it was done then was surprised when Amazon assumed it was done and expected to be able to edit his book during the time when they are supposed to be compiling it into the digital software. AFTER he published it!!!!!! That's not a glitch Greg, it's pure stupidity -Lainey waits until Greg is done his announcement and then starts reading a question for them to answer. Greg leans over, and starts reading another comment while she is talking in a much louder voice. The question is of course only about him -Lainey doesn't want to talk about the question because it's a silly question asking Greg if he's still dead inside. Greg then says "yes, let's ignore the issues so they never get solved". What. The. Serious. Fuck. A random question someone asked about his mental state (which is probably a troll) is not a "serious issue that needs to be addressed". And if he is feeling empty then this isn't the time or the place to help it, it's a private matter and he needs a psych for that. -Lainey says again they don't want him to talk about it because, in their own words, "I know you're going to be rude". Greg continues anyways about some bullshit that as you get older you start to become numb and him being suicidal once excellerated that. Brilliant Greg, I'm sure your many years of studying psychology has taught you that -Lainey really doesn't want him to be talking about this and he then goes on about how "SHE takes this all personal" taking it to mean that he doesn't love them. As Lainey says, how can you not take that personally? He's talking about how he was once suicidal, he feels empty and few emotions and now he's blasting this to the world in a steam I am 6 minutes in where he has already berated her and called the things she likes stupid.

-Oh this total fucking asshole fucking said to "think of it as a disability". Ok Greg, fuck off with that utter bullshit. You don't consider mental illness to be a disability and you fucking berate suicidal kids every fucking chance you get telling them that they are the source of their own depression and that they should just chose to be happy (as if you can chose to grow your leg back after an accident) and that people who enter relationships with mental disorders are the scum of this earth AND that people with mental disorders do not deserve love. FUCK OFF YOU PIECE OF SHIT WISHFUL MOTHER FUCKER. WHAT'S A WISHFUL MOTHER FUCKER YOU ASK? IT'S SOMEONE WHO WISHES THEY COULD FUCK THEIR MOTHER BUT THEIR MOTHER IS TOO FUCKING GOOD FOR THEM -AND NOW THIS WISHFUL MOTHER FUCKER TELLS LAINEY THAT THEIR SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES ARE NOT A DISABILITY WITH THIS FUCKING FACIAL EXPRESSION

He's literally telling people that only some mental issues are a disability. And by some he means his alone -Lainey doesn't want to talk about her self-esteem issues on the livestream (and likely not in front of Greg either) and he says "this is why things don't bother me, it's because I talk about them". Ok 1, you just said you have an issue that can't be fixed 2, this is a fucking livestream Q&A for their fans this isn't the time or the place for this shit! -Greg makes a joke while looking at Lainey that this is a reality show where they talk about their issues in a mocking manner. Is he instantly forgetting that he's the one who wants to talk their issues publicly while Lainey is the professional one trying to get back on track? -Greg hates on Lainey again for cussing -Poor Lainey is talking about how everyone is going to take Greg's side no matter what. That's so sad, this whole stream is so sad -Greg says that Lainey's "not telling the truth so it's only helping them". Lainey is bringing up the fact that Greg swears, Greg is saying only in his videos. If anyone takes a side it will be based on the idea of "does it count if Greg only swears in character?". No one is at their house to know if either him or Lainey is telling the truth here -Greg degrades a fan for sending the message "I think you're perfect <3 <3 <3" by saying "Are you 12?" THEY VERY WELL COULD BE YOU ASS. Also laughing at your shit comments doesn't turn it into you "not being mad" -Lainey mentions that it could be them using the emojis to try and make sure their comment might get noticed to which Greg spontaneously says "Yeah, so maybe their parents might give you money!". Ok, someone sending a message to Lainey with multiple hearts doesn't have any connection to Lainey getting money out of their parents. Jesus Greg, you'd actually manage to fail basic-level statistics. You cannot related two completely unrelated statements, it doesn't work -Greg counters Lainey telling him that he's rude with "so's reality". Nope, not even close. Lainey does hilariously make fun of Greg's "Boo hoo, reality is mean guyz D:" implication followed by them saying that "reality is rude" is his response to everything. He does get annoyed with her for doing that, his face falls from the smile below after he realised what she’d done. I just included Lainey’s pic because it was funnier

-Apparently Lainey saying they're tired is them being "negative" -Lainey reads out a comment saying "Stop being mean to Lainey" to which Greg replies sarcastically "yeah, she's the victim, I'm the perpetrator". Bitch what gives you the right to claim otherwise? Are you trying to tell us that secretly Lainey's the abusive one? Because this livestream gives us no evidence of that. Oh, did she once tell you she was too tired for sex? It's the end of the world guys! Lainey is mean to Greg! (fuck there are 11 minutes left on part 1) -Lainey is rightfully upset by Greg's implication so he says "no I'm just agreeing with them, I'm a terrible person". What was that rant earlier about tone? Also when you follow it with this smile it makes it hard for us to believe you

-The more Greg puts Lainey down the more Lainey wants physical comfort, sadly the only one in the room is Greg so Lainey is now hugging themselves against Greg

-Greg keeps trying and failing at comedy -Greg says "you think I'm insulting people but I'm not, I'm just telling it as it is". TONE, TONE, TONE! Noting that the majority of your audience here is children is fine, making fun of them for being young and acting as though they're stealing their parent's credit card is you being a total shithead. ALSO, so you admit that your audience is mostly kids now? -Greg calls his audience a bunch of idiot kids and that Youtubers should not feel proud of having large audiences because their audience is only kids. I guess Sesame Street isn't an important show that helps people learn because it focuses on the growth and development of kids. I guess Winnie the Pooh has no value because it's also for kids -"You dated me when I was 17, I was a teenager then." HOLY SHIT WHAT IS LIFE? Why is this a legit argument being used against a 30 year old man who is hating on children. How is this Onision's life? Why is this an actual valid point? -Lainey points out that some of the kids on this stream are probably 17, Greg ignores them and very seriously says "when I was 17 I was basically the same person". The only difference between then and now is that he was "negative, negative" then and now he's "smile negative". I'm not high enough for this -Greg remembers when he was 12, mentions he was into Metal Gear Solid and then conciders that maybe 12 year olds aren't stupid -"Why don't you just not call people stupid?" "Because I'm stupi-everybody's stupid. We're all stupid. We really are". Not joking, he sounds like his voice is breaking towards the end of that. It's at the -8:28 mark approximately if you're interested in hearing it -Lainey keeps trying to defend these kids but Greg just ignores them and talking over them going into a philisophical monologue about how we're all stupid. He's trying guys, he really is. Not going to lie, one could have a philisophical talk about how humans are slaves to their desires but Greg can't. It's one of the easiest arguments you can bullshit though if you only have 30 seconds to talk about it but he fails even at that -"What is intelligence except for (word vomit that means "thinking", I'm not fucking kididng you) and our desires." Intelligence does involve thinking Greg, typically more thought than you used to come up with the revelation -Greg's excuse for coming up with this is that "he's trying not to sound like a douchebag" AKA pretencious. Actually most people define pretenciousness as someone trying to pass off stupidity as high-class philosophy. Too late -Greg is doing the "if I admit that what I'm saying is bullshit, people won't think it's bullshit". Except he's just admitting that he's running around in a circle trying to explain why it is ok to call your audience, who you think are children, stupid -He failed at that too with the glorious sentence "I'm trying to talk my way into circles like oh! If I run in this circle fast enough they won't think I have sort of circular mentality" Even Greg knows this is bullshit

-Greg says that he didn't ask to be there, he was invited there, and that is why he is acting like an ass and is totally justified in doing so. Can't wait to see how you plan to act on The Andy Show! Oh wait, you're never going to be invited on -Still ironic that Greg started off this broadcast saying that this stream will show proof that he isn't an abusive ass -Apparently the reason Greg is an asshole is because he talks about the "depth and deep philosophy of life -"No, all you ever do is be rude and then try to justify it by bringing philosophy into it" - Lainey 2k15 -This feels like the Joker + Harley where Harley knows the Joker is a pure sadistic monster but stays with him because she loves him -HE FUCKING COMPARED HIMSELF TO DONALD TRUMP AND ALSO CALLED HIMSELF A YOUNG DONALD TRUMP -Lainey because incredibly uncomfortable when he says it telling him not to say that. They mention that they'll throw up and honestly, that doesn't look like an exageration. Lainey looks like they want to disapear the moment Greg said he was like Trump. He talks over and says that he's only been divorced once though -Greg starts basically pushing Lainey to throw up making puke noises and saying he's Trump. He'd be a great candidate for voice over pukes. Maybe The Emoji Movie 2 will use that emoticon and he can voice it -Greg really thinks he's funny, my god is that sad -Greg randomly starts talking to "those who want him to run in 2020" saying he's not old enough. Lainey asks how old he would need to be and he says, "I don't know, I haven't done the math but I think I'll be 34....". You'll be 35 Greg. This was filmed in 2015 and his age was a nice round number (30). He only had to subtract 20 by 15 (5) add then add 5 to 30. But yeah, his age is the only reason why he might not be able to run -A commenter is called "Caitlyn Jenner" and Greg rants that she should pay the grandchildren of the grandma she killed. I did research and holy shit, it's true, and fuck the fact that rich people can literally get away with murder and then even being able to go to court to try not to pay even a settlement for their murder! <- witness the one time I actually 100% agreed with Greg -Oh look, he ruined it by saying "if the family of that deer I killed is watching this please contact me and I'll give you money for the deer I hit while going 5 under the speed limit". Didn't he not even report it? -Greg managed to throw in a "haha, there is a serious issue within the catholic church with child molestation but I'm just going to make an off-handed joke about a bishop named Seth who molests children, aren't I funny?". There are some things off limits or have to be done with care and if you aren't actually going to tackle the issue, don't make the joke. The joke's context here is that either "all priests or bishops molest kids" or "isn't child molestation hilarious?" -Lainey did not like the joke and tried saying "that went a little far". Of course Greg didn't care -Apparently going too far would be going "dear fat people". So Greg admits he does go too far all the time then? Also context matters, if someone made a parody against the "dear fat people" bitch then it would work. Just like the previous joke would potentially work if he used it as a way to tackle the real life issue within certain communities, in this case the Catholic Church -Greg ironically goes on a rant against the Dear Fat People bitch, not about the content of her video, but the fact that she calls herself a comedian and has only a few videos on youtube. It seems if you don't have a lot of videos on youtube you can't call yourself a comedian. Really Greg? That's your takeaway from the video? -Holy projection batman! "Now I say that's [calling people fat] a joke, but I actually think that everything I'm saying right now is totally true". So practically all your jokes ever? Including ones you've said this stream? -Oh, here's Greg admiting that that's a projection! -Lainey is freaking out a bit that so many people are watching this (right before Greg came up with an example of something he passes as a joke but isn't actually). Greg goes back to berating her for the stream saying it's just for money. "Yeah guys, she's totally doing this because she loves you guys" -Lainey says that she does like broadcasting (which Greg takes it as her exposing herself???) and says how she started broadcasting even before she became a partner and could make money off of it -Lainey tells the audience that she's never doing this again while Greg chants "mama needs a new ferrari". Ok, but apparently Baby needs two Teslas! :D -"Stop hitting my leg" -Lainey -Greg talks about how him "gently patting" her leg means it's all over. As if he has't been fucking abusive already in under 20 minutes of broadcast so far -Talking about/to someone named Seth that's been brought up alot by the commenters aparently: "You've only got 40k subscribers Seth? You're not popular enough for us, my wife has 60k subscribers and she doesn't even do anything" -Ok, so the word "fuck" is off limits but Greg talking about jerking off isn't. Including a comment that he jerks off a lot. Good to know where your priorities are. -Also the context of that is him saying that "if you aren't educating yourself then what are you doing?" Followed by joking that it would be jerking off. Ironic that one of the most ignorant dumbasses on youtube would talk about the importance of educating yourself -He's quoting Sherlock acting like the world doesn't notice their surroundings when he didn't even know that the IRS requires proof (which is straight up on their website) -Lainey says that Greg is either as he is in the broadcast, playing Metal Gear, or totally silent and ignoring her. I think that's the most important thing to come out of this shitstorm -Oh, Greg made a joke that in real life they hate each other and this is all an act (if it's all an act shouldn't this mean he actually loves Lainey IRL?). Lainey makes the joke that it isn't a joke, they actually hate each other and Greg says, "I meant it as a joke but you were serious and that hurts". I'm pretty sure Lainey was implying that he hated THEM but sure, make it about you Greg -Greg compares them to the Simpsons saying he's the dumb one and they're the smart one who puts up with him and it's great. Lainey brings up the question "how is that good?". "Becaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaause we're never going to leave each other" in the whinyest voice ever. Followed by "well I'm too dumb to be in a healthy relationship and you're so smart that you're able to compensate". HOLD UP WISHFUL MOTHER FUCKER, HOLD THE FUCK! UP! ARE YOU ADMITING THAT THIS RELATIONHSIP IS UNHEALTHY AND TOXIC BUT IT'S OK BECAUSE LAINEY IS SO GOOD AND PURE THAT THEY MAKE THE RELATIONSHIP HEALTHY? THAT'S NOT HOW A RELATIONSHIP FUCKING WORKS. NO WONDER EVERY RELATIONSHIP YOU'VE EVER HAD HAS GONE TO HELL. YOU THINK THAT AS LONG AS THE PERSON YOU'RE WITH IS GOOD YOU CAN BE AS SHITTY AS YOU WANT. FUCK YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR -"This is funny coming from someone who always calls me dumb" End of part 1Ok, so this was long because literally everything Greg said was terrible and went on here so this is practically a transcript. I will look at the other parts tomorrow and do a post when I can because I really can't watch more than 20 minutes at a time. I hope this helps anyone who can't watch the broadcast and I hope my commentary didn't become too negative to read. Particularily during my rants but I had to get it out. My parting words on this will be to Lainey if they're reading this: Get out, please, you don't deserve this. You deserve to be happy, even if you never got into another relationship again after this, being without a romantic partner is so much better than being with someone who actively ruins your life.

#Anti onision #I need either an ativan or some weed right now omfg #onision and lainey #I'm getting high for the next one #it's the only way I can survive

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hetmusic · 8 years ago

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Cassette Culture | HumanHuman

Many have assumed that the format war ended with the rise and assumed victory of digital media like MP3 downloads, online music videos and streaming services. That isn’t strictly true. In recent years, we’ve seen physical formats like vinyl take hold with audio obsessives and CDs are still a viable source of revenue for major artists. What vinyls, CDs and MP3s have in common is that they are all well within the public mindset of ways to listen to and own music, and yet there’s another access-point that is gradually growing an underground following. It’s a good old friend - the cassette tape.

Artwork by Edvige Valdameri

Once the premise of road trips and radio-ripped mixtapes, this retro bit of technology is now regarded as the last truly alternative format. With so many other options on offer, we want to know why cassette culture exists and if we’ll soon be filling our glove boxes and shelves with these plastic rectangles of sound.

The thing about cassette culture is… it never really went away. Since the 1970s, there has been an admiration for this affordable, high-quality piece of recording technology with DIY bands and even a few established acts, such as Grateful Dead. This band used the format to share their music, interact with fans and have even inspired one avid tape advocate to document his efforts in collecting every Grateful Dead cassette in existence. The tape community appeared to have reached its zenith in the 1980s with a plethora of small labels offering cassette-only releases and music publications like the NME, Sounds, Factsheet Five and Op Magazine running regular features on this growing culture. As we now know, the good times were not to last and with the introduction and increased availability of alternative and arguably superior technologies, the passion for tapes seem to fade, but as mentioned earlier, it didn’t disappear altogether. So, where’s the evidence of this alternative record revival?

For a while now there have been hushed rumours of this fringe culture, many of which have been eclipsed by discussions surrounding vinyl amour and the huge potential of streaming. One of the overriding arguments for the resurgence of vinyl sales is that the sound quality far surpasses that of digital streaming, and by extension the favoured niche format also has that over tapes. However, it’s important to note that cassettes are not the domain of high-fidelity obsessives, instead there are some comments to suggest that listening to music on tape imbues more life into the recordings than their modern counterparts. For example, in one Diffuser article ‘Vinyl revival? Well, I’m more of a cassette man myself’, the writer Chris Kissel cannot help but take on a romantic tone when recalling that “soft hiss in the background, reminding you that behind it all, the album has its own essence, its own breath.” Another perspective for this reanimated sound was explained earlier this year by Esther Ford, owner of Manchester-based store Deco Records, who told BBC Radio 5 that “I’ve also started selling blank tapes to a lot of the bands who just stick a tape recorder in the middle of their rehearsal room [...] I think they feel like it gives them a truer sound than if they just recorded it off their phones.” Even more support for the tape’s unique resonance comes from Island Fox, aka instinctive electronic artist Jessica Bartlett, who released her own Nature EP on cassette via Post/Pop Records:

The sound matters, that’s for sure, but it’s not the sole force behind music consumerism. If that was the case, then streaming services wouldn’t be nearly half as successful which rely on lack-lustre laptop and mobile speakers. The rise of streaming has also shown that people are increasingly unwilling to pay out large sums for the music they listen to. It’s the same reason that vinyl is still associated with the niche and hipster markets, because for many the records and the equipment needed to play them are either unaffordable or inconvenient. What cassettes offer is a low-priced, pocket-sized physical medium for people to own music and for musicians to actually make some kind of return on their hard work. In the case of Norwegian Blue Records founder Tyson Weibe, he was led to cassette culture following an EP release for his own band in 2010, whereby they gave away one hundred free download cards for fans to scan, but the heartbreaking reality was that not a single card was redeemed. Looking for a low cost, alternative to digital files, Weibe began by learning about the ins and outs of releasing tapes via acclaimed subreddit r/cassetteculture and soon after launched Norwegian Blue’s first tape, Mormon Girls’ The Farm Sessions. In addition to the economical motivator behind selling cassettes, this Canadian musician-turned-label-owner found the disappointment of digital sales falling flat in the face of tape ritual.

“I think the sheer act of opening the tape, reading the liner, and finding the card is enjoyable to people. I know I used to do the same with all the tapes I bought as a kid. That act is a tiny moment of connection between an artist and a fan, and it's something that can't be reproduced by the best sounding digital file (sorry Pono, et al.)”— Tyson Weibe, Norwegian Blue Records

Value for money is an enormous driver behind the increased interest in the fifty-year-old format. According to Forbes, the average cost for the manufacture of an individual tape is $2, and that figure at least doubles for vinyl production which can cost between $4 and $6. This reduced rate not only means bands and artists can independently put out physical releases much earlier in their careers, but as Tom Palvich (owner of tape label Mirror Universe) explained to Noisey “when you release tapes you can take more risks than you can putting out vinyl because they are inexpensive.” Perhaps this is why tapes continue to be associated with DIY outfits and experimental genres - it’s a format that harbours risk well. British label Blue Tapes is also a fan of this “underrated medium” for this reason:

“... the fact that it can be duplicated in such small runs (editions of 1? no problem!) means that you don't have to worry about appealing to a mass audience to recoup on costs. You can release really bizarre, unique experiments that probably only have a small audience naturally and cater comfortably to them without punishing your finances, as if so often the case when releasing vinyl.”— David, Blue Tapes

However, that fringe culture association hasn’t stopped the mainstream music industry hopping aboard the tape train, as displayed by the exclusive sale of The 1975’s debut album on cassette via retail giant Urban Outfitters. Neither the band nor the company are hurting for money, so why would they chose to promote tapes? Well, aesthetic trends have a leading role here. As pointed out in a New York Times piece titled ‘Hitting Rewind on the Cassette Tape’, the artistic pliability of tapes gave rise to “Prints and paintings of cassettes; pouches, belt buckles and notebooks made to look like cassettes; buttons with little cassette images on them; envelopes, a watch, even a soap dispenser decorated with the familiar cassette shape.” Rob Walker even comments on how designers and artists are paying homage to the plastic mold, such as Brian Dettmer’s skeletal sculptures crafted out of cassettes and thus becoming the perfect symbol of the seemingly dead format’s ability to live on.

The cassettes physicality has more than an artistic advantage on its side. One outstanding argument against digital music is that it encourages a throwaway attitude to listening and while you may dispose of an unloved tape from time to time, you’re much less likely to dump a whole collection. Even if you have no intention of erasing your online music library, the lack of control over digital storage means it could disappear without your consent. As Wired journalist Graeme McMillian puts it, “If you have a glitch with your digital storage, it could be gone. Whereas with tape, it’s tangible. It’s right there.” This tangibility of music on tape is also a recurring point amongst our contributing experts. For example, this is what the owner of Tape Club Records had to say:

“Nowadays, consumption of music/entertainment happens immediately. If you want it, you're hearing it, and you'll likely move on quickly to the next thing. A cassette is simply one of the cost-effective ways to create a longer-lasting tangible relationship with a fan or listener. It can sit on a shelf, or in your car, or on your desk. It's a statement of commitment beyond just a blast of binary digits that makes us feel a little more involved.”— William Evans, Tape Club Records

That is a real issue we have yet to address within the music industry - the sense of the ritual, the sanctity in music ownership is at the risk of being lost altogether. This is why tape labels and cassette culture as a movement is so important, it reminds you that music isn’t some airy substance formulated in an industry machine. There’s real people, real instruments, real thought, messages, feelings behind so much of our modern music. The next generation of music fans surely deserves something more than a clickable download and a pixelated thumbnail of graphic design. As the online world continues to rule over the music industry, there’s already a growing need for this real world reconnection between the artists, the music and the listeners. As Get In Her Ears radio presenter and avid tape promoter Tash Walker explains:

“We live in a world where more and more of our life and frame of reference is becoming digitalised, so what happens? ...we long for something tangible...enter the cassette tape revolution.”— Tash Walker, Get In Her Ears

Contributions

Island Fox

“For audiophiles like me, listening to lossless audio such as WAV on tapes and vinyls means an influence of the 'art of individual playing' on the physical format. This modifies the sound and adds to that 'beautiful imperfection' and uniqueness, knowing that it would never sound exactly like that if anyone listened to it again. The turn around and ease of releasing cassettes vs vinyl, is much quicker and cheaper from what I can gather; I worked with an upcoming independent tape label POST/POP, which involved a really easy and appealing 50:50 physical split of a limited run of 100 tapes and no contracts etc. I think physical releases of limited edition merchandise will always have that 'rare' appeal to collectors and as an artist grows, become more valuable in many ways as well. POST/POP was a great label to work with as the owner, Jed, really loves tapes and has been taking a stall to many independent record fairs and festivals, as well as working with Rough Trade etc to really get upcoming artists' tapes heard. Cassette Culture was actually also something I grew up with owning a Walkman, and so it was great to physically release on a format that meant so much to me as a kid; an achievement which I could hold in my hands.”

Blue Tapes

“There are still some practical advantages to physical formats. Space on my laptop and other devices is always at a premium, so I'm constantly deleting and losing mp3s. Worse, said devices have a tendency of breaking frequently so it's not uncommon to lose everything. Even when I do have mp3s long enough to listen to them once or twice, I find that digital devices are increasingly glitchy and corrupt and bad at just playing music. Although it's really convenient to have thousands of songs on my mobile phone, it's absolutely terrible at being a music player, and my iPod - when I had one - wasn't much better. I can't listen to music on a computer without also doing other things on the computer (checking email, browsing Tumblr - stuff that isn't just concentrating on the music). These days, myself and most of the people I know tend to use Spotify/Bandcamp for streaming and previewing albums and then investing in the physical when we purchase. It's physically harder to get rid of a chunk of plastic than it is an mp3. Plus they turn up in random places just when you've forgotten about them and you think oh! you! I should put you on and just forget about what I'm doing for a bit. That seems to be harder to do with digital music. There is shuffle, but then you just tend to shuffle through a pre-curated playlist and not really listen to the original album or release in sequence. So that's the case for physical in the digital age, or at least one dimension of it. Of course, there are other physical music formats - LP, CD, 8 track, Mini Disc, etc. Tapes are cheaper than all of these. And they look cooler! Always hated CD packaging. The vinyl boom is making LPs too expensive. Tapes are cheap, convenient and cool, and infinitely customisable. It's hard to do a generic-looking tape these days, and the fact there are so many cool tape labels now really drives people to do ever-more interesting and original designs. So that's why I prefer tapes to other physical formats. Tape is also an underrated medium, sound-wise, and the fact that it can be duplicated in such small runs (editions of 1? no problem!) means that you don't have to worry about appealing to a mass audience to recoup on costs. You can release really bizarre, unique experiments that probably only have a small audience naturally and cater comfortably to them without punishing your finances, as if so often the case when releasing vinyl.” (David)

Tape Club Records

Norwegian Blue Records

“We can talk about how cassettes are an inexpensive investment, how they are an object that can bring the wonder of new discovery to some people and nostalgia to others, how they are an analog item at a fraction of the cost of an LP, or any of the other myriad reasons that the humble cassette is making a comeback, but to me, the tape is about having something physical in a world of intangibles. In early 2010, my band was about to release a four song EP. Seeing that digital seemed to be the way of the future, we printed up 100 download cards to give to anyone who walked into the venue for our release show. Of those 100 cards, zero were claimed. As an artist, this was heartbreaking. We make our art so other people can interact with it, so to have a zero percent rate was astounding. Even close friends of ours, who played in bands of their own, that attended the show hadn't downloaded it. At this point I started asking people why they hadn't downloaded it. The most common comment was that the card had been lost. The idea that we could put our energy into the EP and people would lose it that easily was so frustrating. So I started thinking of low cost alternatives that people would be unable to lose. After a bunch of terrible ideas (the worst being laser-etching the download codes on rocks. Something I was only ever semi-serious about, no matter what the other owners of Norwegian Blue tell you) I remembered that another local label (Mammoth Cave Records, R.I.P.) had done a sampler of Alberta music on tape. So I started digging into tape culture. From there I found a subreddit (r/cassetteculture) with people who were making tape culture happen. I spoke with them, asked questions and learned about do's and don'ts. Eventually we released our first cassette, Mormon Girls - The Farm Sessions, with a download card included -something we've done with every tape since. That tape has sold across Canada and around the world, but the real kicker is this: for every tape sold, the download card has been redeemed. I think the sheer act of opening the tape, reading the liner, and finding the card is enjoyable to people. I know I used to do the same with all the tapes I bought as a kid. That act is a tiny moment of connection between an artist and a fan, and it's something that can't be reproduced by the best sounding digital file (sorry Pono, et al.)” (Tyson Weibe)

Get In Her Ears

“For those of us who grew up in a world of cassette tapes, our trusty Sony Walkmans were always firmly clipped onto our belts and fed our favourite tunes of the time straight into our ears (my first purchase being Return of the Mac - no judgement). Now over the last couple of years we've seen a resurgence of the trusty tape as more and more bands are releasing their latest EPs in this format. I think it would be hard to argue that nostalgia doesn't have anything to do with this u-turn, but on a more practical note you have the reduction in cost compared to our beloved vinyl, as well as the weight and size of the cassette. There is also the ever increasing demand for the DIY aesthetic that runs alongside the zine, which again has become a lot more popular in line with the 'second wave' of riot grrrl music. We live in a world where more and more of our life and frame of reference is becoming digitalised, so what happens? ...we long for something tangible...enter the cassette tape revolution.” (Tash Walker)

https://humanhuman.com/articles/cassette-culture-renewed-interest-explained

0 notes

lexpistachio · 8 years ago

Text

just jackparse - a ficrec

for my sister who requested this rec 82 years ago. special thanks for those who painstakingly linked me new fics in my askbox. you’re the real mvp!

some things first:

divided into AU, pre-canon, canon/canon divergence, and future

word length categorized as

short fic = less than 10,000 words medium = 10,000 - 20,000 words long = 20,000 - 60,000 words novel length = 60,000 - 100,000 words

format as follows:

title - author | rating | length | various tags | gratutious commentary by me

summary

just ctrl+f if you wanna find by rating (e.g search for: long) or other tags (eg. smut, humor, au)

★ are personal faves

some liberty was taken in rating fics that are not rated

might update in the future; if i missed something, i’ll be happy to read your rec!

Kent pressed his fingers into his eyes until his vision swam for reasons other than the salty tears welling up in them. “Are you seriously asking me to fly across the goddamn country to hold your hand while you cut me out of your life?” me: you know what this fandom needs? me: an eternal sunshine au me: only without the happy ending

I’ve Been Closing My Eyes by perfectpro ★ - teen | long | inception au | angst | you don't understand how much love i have for this fic. SO MUCH LVOE

Jack Zimmermann? You worked with him and Kent Parson together? What happened?” Bitty asks before he can help himself.

Everyone’s heard the stories. Parse and Zimms, taking the world of dream share by storm, trained by Dominic Cobb himself. Ten years later, no one’s heard from either in two years.

Shrugging his shoulders, Shitty tries to think of how to phrase it. “No one comes out of Limbo the same.”

Kent knew about superstitions before he made it to hockey. He knew about black cats and broken mirrors. About stepping on cracks and throwing pinches of salt over his shoulder. Kent knew about magic before he found hockey.

Jack hums and smiles, but otherwise doesn’t respond. They sit in silence, and he bites his tongue to keep from saying anything. There is no sense disrupting this fragile peace that they have.

Here is the deal he has made with himself: Jack is forbidden, until after the curse of the seventeenth summer. Kent does not want to do anything to let the gods know how they could hurt him the worst.

why do we fall? by sparklyslug - teen | short | touch telepath! jack au | epikegster | angst

“Didja miss me?” Kent had asked / looking strong/ look good/ looking happy/I could stand here all night and all day and just look at you/ and Jack’s control had crumbled, jerked him out of step with time and out into the swirling minds of the college kids filling their house, his consciousness sent running by the brightness in his own chest.

Corporal Kenny,” Jack huffed into Kent’s ear. The arms around his waist tightened.

“Captain Jack,” Kent teased right back. “You outrank me, Zimms.”

The Daily Grind by JaneJHills - mature | long | abandoned wip | the coffeeshop au that was foretold

It’s not that Jack wasn’t into relationships; it’s just that Jack wasn’t a relationships kind of guy.

maybe i’m falling for you by madameofmusic - teen | short | coffeeshop au | this is really cute <3 i too lament the lack of more cutesy coffeeshop aus from this ship. this one’s great tho

Jack’s normal coffee shop relocates, and he’s forced to start buying from the cat-themed coffee shop down the street, Catppuccino. It’s cheesy as hell, but the coffee’s good, and the "purrista” better. Jack doesn’t miss the old shop.

“Shush,” Kent says. “What have you got that says, like, thanks for not judging me when I get wasted on Moscato and pass out on your couch, and also sorry about that? Hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically,” says the florist, lips quirking, “I’d recommend either white tulips or blue hyacinths.”

Even the plainest of the plain shall deign to reign (and boy, you're reigning over me) by exbex - gen | short | high school au | chubby!jack | kent pining over shy jack is cute, yes

Lardo looks at Kent with the most knowing look he’s ever seen aside from his own mother’s. “Kent,” she finally replies, “I like you Bro. So I’m going to give you the following information. Information, which, I assure you, is publicly available. Jack, who transferred in weeks ago, Oh Unobservant One, knows me through GSA. Jack is not straight. Jack likes hockey, among other things. And that is all the emotional labor that I am doing for free.”

Shitty found Kent on the porch. “Saw your girl here,” he said. “Can’t believe you actually got her to come to a party.”

“She’s not my girl,” said Kent, trying not to blush.

“She should be,” Shitty said, smiling and leaning against the railing. “Blind man could see the way you look at her, and you’re the only person she likes at school.”

Twenty Feet Back by floatingstark - mature | short | wip | daddy!jack au as in literally-a-dad-jack

Kent is aware this is a little odd; he’s standing behind some trees on the other side of the park, pretending to stretch but actually just high-key spying on a hot dad and his kid.

i'll be your platinum by achilleees ★ - explicit | medium | sugar daddy!jack au | daddy kink | angst and fluff | this is the one daddy kink fic that made me swoon, it's the banter and the way they fall for each other slowly that takes my breath away | sorta sequels here and here | better yet, read all the entire unrelated daddykink series she wrote

Wicks took a deep breath, then let out in a rush, “So I’ve been catfishing this dude online with your pictures so he’ll buy me free stuff, only now he wants to meet in person to hand off the suit jacket I need for Ginger’s wedding tomorrow, so I need you to meet him outside the Burberry at the Copley mall tonight to pick it up for me.”

Kent couldn’t speak for a minute, because he was laughing too hard.

here in the present tense by achilleees ★ - teen | short | soulmate au | bodyswap |

Jack isn’t really sure what he was expecting when he went to sleep on August 2.

Kind of. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to admit that he genuinely thought he’d wake up in Georgia, in those checker-patterned, sunlight-limned sheets. That he’d go downstairs and hear Suzanne Bittle bustling around in the kitchen, and greet her wearing her son’s socks and his pajamas and his sweet, bashful blush.

Dynamite Boy by TomatoBird - gen | short | wreck it ralph au | glitch!jack | the concept is genius, i’d gladly read 50k more words of this

In which Jack is simultaneously a glitch, a child of champions, and an aspiring player in Hero’s Duty, and Kent is just someone he happens to meet along the way.

“You don’t have to trust me,” Kent said, “you just have to let me do this.”

Jack has spent many years away from his father's court. Now he must return to wed Kent Parson at last, with all those years and hurts between them. It's not pretty.

the light of all lights by decinq - mature | short | vampires au | look, it's not endgame and has open-ended j/b ugh but i feel like every ficrec should have at least one vampire au

Jack says, “Would you rather be able to fly or have super speed.”

The corners of Kent’s mouth tug into a small smile, and he says, “Compared to you, I do have super speed.”

Jack elbows him, hard. Jack asks, “What about being able to see the future?”

Kent thinks, they’ll end the movie here.

The story, of course, goes on.

rentboy jack and his nhl star boyfriend series by achilleees - rentboy!jack | prostitution au |

so put it on me - explicit | short | pining | smut

It will be a cold day in hell before Kent has the fortitude to say no to that pout.

“Ugh,” he says. “It’s just a dumb fantasy, man, it doesn’t matter.”

Jack cocks his head at him. “I am in the business of fulfilling fantasies,” he says. or, eloquently summed up by a friend: "Ugh poor Kent is so in love"

all the hearts they're messing with - teen | short | angst and fluff | trade |

As soon as Kent gets home, he pulls out a pad of paper and a pen and makes a list of his options.

1. Tell Jack you got traded. Get dumped. Cry in your cheerios.2. Hide from Jack that you were traded. Buy out (?) the Vegas media so they don’t cover the story. Bribe NHL.com Break Jack’s laptop so he can’t read NHL.com anymore. Fly back on off-days (?). Have plan fall through because plan is dumb. Get dumped. Cry in cheerios.

“Are you mad at me?” Kent says.

Jack meets his eyes in the mirror, gaze stormy.

“I’m just trying to get along with your parents,” says Kent. “I thought that’s why you brought me here.”

Second Chance by bittlebunny - mature | short | blind date au

“I know, I’m sorry.” Jack repeats. “It was wrong. I just didn’t know what to do, I don’t usually do that type of thing.”

“You should more often. You know you could probably get laid every night if you wanted to?”

Jack blushes and looks down into his black coffee, not quite agreeing with that sentiment.

This is a 16-fic series that centers around Jack and Kent and their history and their future. It follows canon, with one major difference; Bitty decided not to go to Samwell. Each fic is named after and based around a song on the Deluxe version of Troye Sivan’s album Blue Neighborhood. The first two fics are chronological, because they’re in the fic’s current time (2018) in the frame of the story. Most of the fics in the series are told through flashbacks and time jumps, though, and the stories switch back and forth between Jack and Kent’s perspectives.

pre-canon

meet you in the middle by madameofmusic - teen | short | pre-slash

Kent meets Jack Zimmermann for the first time.

A lot of things can happen if a cat is set loose in an ice rink; Kent never thought this would be one of them.

Or: “I may have brought my pet to the rink by accident and it may have escaped you have to help me.” AU

it’s too close for comfort by achilleees - teen | short | pre-slash | cats

“Go suck your own dick,” Parse grumbled. “I’ma find the cat.” Both pairs of shoes wandered away, and Jack was almost relieved until suddenly, without warning, the high tops came back and light flooded his sanctuary as someone crouched and lifted the hem of the tablecloth.

“Hey, you,” Parse said to either Jack or the cat, he couldn’t tell.

the bluest things on earth by blazeofglory - gen | short | drabble | pre-slash

Kent Parson isn't gay, he isn't, but there's... There's something about Jack Zimmermann.

Even though they're linemates, Jack doesn't know Kent all that well. He certainly doesn't expect the American to come look after him when he's unwell on their first roadie.

Count on It by bienenalster - gen | short | pre-slash | codependency | world juniors

Specifically, in which Jack and Kent fail at playing against each other.

Generally, in which Jack and Kent fail at being reasonable human beings. Or, the lighter side of codependency.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by bienenalster, Pax - teen | short | pre-slash maybe | mutual enabling

Jack can appreciate a good game of beer pong in someone's basement, especially when Parse is on his team, one arm around his shoulder as he tries to get Jack to miss his shot.

(Jack never really understood how Parse can just turn it off like that. If you want to win on the ice, then you should want to win all the time. Even at stupid things, like beer pong.)

(Jack has never considered the possibility that beer pong might not be the only game Parse is playing.)

but then his hands roamed by defcontwo - teen | short | first kiss

Jack’s hand pressed into the small of Parse’s back during team meetings, where no one else can see, and Parse toppling into Jack’s lap whenever he gets drunk enough that no one will blink twice at it.

A game of chicken, or a game of chance. Jack doesn’t know which one it’s going to be just yet.

you're neck and neck or cheek to cheek by punkpadfoot - teen | short | first kiss | i'm in love with the author's style of writing, and i love the tentativeness in this fic--they're shy and hesitant; their dilemma feels true

Kent’s always been fairly affectionate, but this thing with Jack is something else entirely.

the spark in your eyes, the look on your face by oscarmild - teen | short | drabble

Jack knows that Kent is his friend- his best friend, even. But lately, it’s been starting to feel like more than just friends.

Insults for Your Lovers by SummerFrost - teen | short | inter-class | social class difference | friends to lovers

Things Jack has: Brand new yellow sneakers, an expensive truck, Kent Parson.

Things Kent has: Converse with holes in them, riding shotgun, Jack Zimmermann.

Count on It by bienenalster - gen | short | preslash | codependency | world juniors

Specifically, in which Jack and Kent fail at playing against each other.

Generally, in which Jack and Kent fail at being reasonable human beings. Or, the lighter side of codependency.

What's Better Than This? Just Guys Bein' Dudes by Bittyybee (sunlight) - mature | short | massages | first kiss | ust

Kent's shoulders hurt. Jack gives good massages.

Kent spends the beginning of his summer with hockey prodigy/best friend Jack Zimmermann because they're young and they can and Kent likes getting free things.

"I know how you get all psycho near a game, don't worry. Just uh- maybe find a healthy way to release that frustration." Kate suggested as she turned and winked at Jacq. "Y'know what I mean?"

"Not hockey?" Jacq asked confused.

"Not hockey." Kate repeated, meeting Jacqs eyes.

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

its pimms cis swap smut!! enjoy!!

A Quiet Kind of Intimacy by alpha_exodus - explicit | short | first time | smut | photography

Jack doesn't really care about having a roommate on this roadie - that is, until he heads to his room and finds out his roommate is Kent Parson.

touches my foolish heart by foxfireflamequeen - explicit | short | first time | pwp

“That,” says Kent. “Was the most uncool moment of my life.”

Jack’s still laughing, the fucker.

First by omgericzimmermann - gen | short | first times | drabble | fluff and angst

They were just kids.

They were so young that everything was a first.

tear at the seams by defcontwo - mature | short | drabble | angsty smut

This is what Jack lives for: The second he touches down on the ice, his mind clears. For sixty minutes, he is nothing but a blank slate, a white board that fills itself up with plays and tactics, a steady hand on the stick and a heart that beats for nothing else.

So he sits next to Jack on roadies, bumping their shoulders together amicably as Jack chews on his lip and stares out the window at the passing scenery. He leans into every casual touch - Jack’s gloved hand on his back, their skates knocking together on the bench. Seeks him out on the ice, feeling a thrill when their passes connect effortlessly; slams him into the boards after game-winning goals, their teammates piling up around them but it’s Kent’s fist clutching the back of Jack’s jersey, Kent’s voice yelling in Jack’s ear.

If Jack notices, he doesn’t say anything.

Kent still hopes.

Good Things Ahead by perfectpro - teen | short | fwb

Jack doesn't want to go to a party, but Kent's pretty sure that he can be convinced.

Mutually Assured by Verbyna - teen | short | codependency | has kent/ofc | angst

The smile on Kent’s face is all wrong. He fixes it.

we gaze up at the stars above our heads by alyssakate - teen | short | fluff (mostly)

I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again, or when we meet our ends, but please just let me hold your hand.

There's thirty-four days of what feels like an endless summer stretched between the Memorial Cup and the NHL draft. Thirty-four days days of each other. Thirty-four days left.

four strong winds by defcontwo - teen | short | fluff with an angsty ending? (a tag that could be patented to this ship that's for sure) | i just love my teenage boys on dates and living in the moment ok

The sales pitch is irrelevant: this moment right here, sitting in the front of Kent’s piece of shit pickup truck, listening to “Party in the USA” on the radio at top volume – that’s all the convincing Jack ever needed.

Or: Kent and Jack, a carnival, and the last gasp of the 34 days.

follow my lead by mardia - explicit | short | the seduction of jack zimmermann | kent here is wily but his conviction is compelling | podfic available

Kent likes to have his fun, likes to mess with people, but there's something about messing with Jack that's just so deeply satisfying for him. He can poke and poke and he'll get a reaction every single time. No matter what, no matter how blatant Kent gets or how he pushes it, he'll get that same wide-eyed disbelieving stare, that same red blush staining Jack's cheeks.

New things by robokittens - explicit | short | smut | pwp

"Jack," Kent mumbles into Jack's neck. "I wanna try something."

wax/wane - explicit | short | angst | smut

Things will come full circle for Kent – he's sure of it.

party pieces by familiar - explicit | short | smut | pwp | painplay

From the early 2008 so-bad-it's-good sex idea vault: "It’s just him and Kent and the really stupid idea that was beating his ass raw with a hockey stick." Gotta hit it with something, you know?

search the world for something else by somehowunbroken - mature | short | second person POV | angst | au

Your name is Jack Zimmermann, and you were born into hockey.

Ode to Joy by coyotesuspect - mature | short | drunk sex

December 31st, 2008. Parse has a good feeling about the new year.

mess you made by schwule - mature | short | angst

Jack’s life hasn’t been very exciting, despite what people may think. Kent might just be the most thrilling thing that’s ever happened to him.

only time is ours by thistidalwave - mature | short | angst

Jack always feels like he’s running. Running to catch up. Running to get ahead. Lungs burning. Legs about to give out. Falling behind, behind, behind. Coming in dead last, even when he hits the finish line before anyone else.

Leaving Me Stranded by mardia - explicit | short

Jack’s dad and Kent really get along great. Which isn’t a surprise, they’re basically the same sort of person--outgoing, funny, always ready with a story or joke--so when Kent comes out to dinner with Jack and his family, it’s basically those two monopolizing the conversation for the entire meal.

an empty room by quietest_one - explicit | short | smut | established relationship

The Combine is a mad rush of a long weekend, painfully sober, gloriously exhausting. Kent is on the road to reaching his dreams, and he's taking Jack along for the ride. (Or, two boys exchange handjobs around the back of a gym. Whichever you prefer.)

the heart is a risky fuel to burn by idrilka - mature | fluff and angst | established relationship

Montreal in summer is hot as hell, the heat sticky and clinging to the skin. (There were the thirty-four days in the summer of 2009, between winning the Memorial Cup and the NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, where things were perfect. This is one of those days.)

let me feel i'm falling safely to the ground by natscribbles - mature | short

Kent doesn't know which what ifs are more dangerous, can't tell which ones hurt the most.

I Love You, He Thinks by blithelybonny - teen | short

It's the night before the draft, and Kent knows that this is probably the end.

my versailles at night by thistidalwave - teen | short | au | first kiss

But now—now it’s the quiet of the early morning, they just won the Memorial Cup, and Jack doesn’t want to let this moment pass him by.

where we went by speedboat - mature | short | dysfunctional relationship

Once in the car, Kent does three things: he googles "valium+vodka"; he shakes Jack awake; and he takes a napkin and wipes the tears away from Jack's face.

or: Parse was the one who found Jack during his overdose.

or: In Defense of Kent Parson.

34 days by thistidalwave - explicit | short | fluff and angst

There were the 34 days in the summer of 2009, between winning the Memorial Cup and the NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, where things were perfect. Who wouldn’t want that back?

it's the stars that score by perfectpro - mature | medium | angst

It’s a week until the NHL draft. A week until he stops competing with Kent and starts competing against him. A week until he finds out if his dad’s name carries more weight than Kent’s skill does, and Jack sometimes has a hard time breathing when he starts thinking about it.

It’s why he tries not to think about it.

Three Words, Repeated by Freudianity - explicit | short | fluff with an angsty ending

5+1 Five times Jack told Kent he loved him, and one time he didn't.

to you he is a room by punkpadfoot - teen | short | angst | kent pov to the story followed by the next in this list

He’s happy now—the weather is warm and the grass is soft and there’s still a pleasant buzz in his head. Jack is close enough to touch. Right now, summer’s end feels distant, less of a looming presence and more of an exit they’ve yet to reach.

to them he is a mirror by misandrywitch - teen | short | angst | jack pov to the story which precedes this in this list

All Jack knows is that after this summer, everything is going to be different.

larger than life by Verbyna - teen | short | also helpfully tagged as: the making of Kent "Victory" Parson“

Everything feels like the end of the world when it happens. No one can see the future, so it’s hard to believe it exists.”

Kent’s dad wasn’t always right, but he was right about that.

if you are looking for the demons that play well with your own by storiesfromtheden - gen | short | angst

Kent spent years counting the things that were not right.

Like A Missing Limb series by thatallone - teen | short | angst | suicide attempt

Without You

Prompt: "You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”

[delete]

Kent typed out a lot of texts to Jack in the summer of 2009. He never worked up the nerve to send any of them.

physical or otherwise by jedusaur (podfic - audio only) - explicit | audio length: 3:33 mins | this is short and packs quite a punch; please give it a listen!

"Listen to me, Jack. I am not going first in the draft because of your shitty impulse control."

city without seasons by thepalebluedot - teen | short | angst

It’s hard to measure time in a city you don’t believe in.

Kent after the draft.

Countdown by SummerFrost - mature | short | drabble | angst

Kent Parson spends three years of birthdays asking for Jack Zimmermann. Jack gives what he can; sometimes it's enough.

what might have been lost - mature | short | angst | ransom and holster reads fic au | 5+ 1

five times jack and kent loved each other (and one time they couldn't)

So if you don't mind, I'll walk that line by alyssakate - teen | short | au |

Kent and Jack play each other at World Juniors in 2008 and then again in 2009.

A story about winning, losing and coming to terms with what really matters.

no sign of land by perichareia - gen | short | unrequited love | angst | 2nd Person POV

i love him.

you’re seventeen years old and the words echo in your head like the aftershock of a heavy check into the glass. for a long moment, your world stops.

dodging bullets with your broken heart by perfectpro - gen | short | angst | mostly jack-centric, but i feel like it's in-character with how jack compartmentalizes his life, which explains a lot about the tension with Kent refusing to be boxed and be forgotten

Kent belongs back in Juniors. Kent belongs at Rimouski, and on the bus traveling to roadies, and on the ice with Oceanic. Kent does not belong on the front porch of the Haus.

Five scenes between Ashley Parson and her brilliant, miserable, wonderful big brother. Or: Kent Parson, growing up.

Role Models by MisconductandMimosas - gen | medium | au | read the rest of the series here

Jack and Kent both missed the draft, albeit for completely different reasons

-or-

“For your ThrowBack Thursday of the week, we sat down with two of the NHL’s finest, Trotsy of the Aces and McLeed of the Rangers to talk their record-breaking Memorial Cup win as well as former juniors star and Zimmermann liney- Kent-“ Holster looked at the magazine article and blinked- “Parson,” he said at a lower volume. “Kent Parson? I forgot about that guy. How did they even find him?”

history begins to be blue and brown eyes by decinq - teen | short | angsty ending, with j/b

There are articles upon articles about their on-ice chemistry, the way they move around each other like the well-oiled grooves of an impeccable machine.

welcome to the second reel by idrilka - teen | short | angst

They win at home. It goes all the way to game six, and then they win in their own home arena after it goes to double overtime, and Kent gets to lift thirty-four pounds of silver into the air.

(In the aftermath of the Aces' first Stanley Cup Championship title, Kent goes to Samwell on his Cup day.)

This is What Happy Looks Like by VerityR ★ - teen | short | angst | i just like the author’s writing of it

It’s been years. Six of them. Kent Parson is not still in love with Jack Zimmermann. But it’s not like he’s in love with anybody else. So when, in his dreams, he stumbles upon something approaching happiness, maybe the figure is vaguely Jack-shaped. Jack-adjacent. But that’s not the same thing as love.

canon/canon divergent

past the last exit by misandrywitch ★ - teen | medium | the prose on this one blows me away

Jack wonders when Kent started asking so many questions that he doesn't have the answers to. It felt so much easier when neither of them asked any at all.

Shut the God Damn Door by jedusaur - mature | short | au | angst maybe? short but poignant

What if Jack went first overall, as planned, and took his addiction with him to Vegas?

"Leave, Parse," Jack says. Again.

Or: Kent finds himself stuck in a time loop.

i thought of you and where you'd gone by runphoebe - mature | short | angst with a hopeful ending | has k/omc | love the fics like this that don't view jack with rose colored glasses

When Kent’s name gets called first, he smiles, and when he slips the jersey over his head, he smiles, and when he realizes he’s going to be in Vegas, Las fucking Vegas, he smiles so hard his cheeks ache. Just because Jack’s a huge fucking fuck up who can’t handle being number one doesn’t mean Kent’s going to cry about it.

In which Kent doesn't even bother trying to get over Jack because he knows it's a huge waste of his time.

you're writing your tragedy by forochel - teen | short | angst | podfic available Year 2, Comic 9, Parse - Part III, from Kent's perspective. | epikegster

I basically took 'Kent "Baby One More Time" Parson' and ran with it.

you're familiar like my mirror years ago by nighimpossible - explicit | short | accidental voyeurism | epikegster

Kent and Jack get reacquainted at the Epikegster.

Alternatively: Bitty hears something he shouldn't have.

New Start by SalazarTipton - teen | short | morning after | fluff | post-epikegster

The morning after falling into bed together during Epikegster, Jack wakes up in Kent’s arms.

To Hell With Why by angelsaves - explicit | short | j/p/omc threesome | smut | my alternative excerpt/summary: id have a 3some w/u, Parse texts him after a while. Thanks, Jack replies

Jack has been over Parse for ages. (At least, that's what he tells himself.) In which there is bad-idea sex, accidental voyeurism, an invitation (or two) to a threesome, an actual threesome, and 0% "being over each other" by volume.

the epikegster remix series by defcontwo

you can take this heart - teen | short | epikegster | reconciliation

"So, what the hell was that, then?"

Or: a way that Epikegster could have gone differently.

and don't let go - teen | short | post-epikegster | fluff

"Did you miss me at all?"

Or: what happens when a pair of dumbasses use their words a little better.

down the backs of tabletops by defcontwo - teen | short | has mentions of k/omc and past j/b

Breakups are a kind of private war, Jack guesses.

varied my velocities by punkpadfoot ★ - teen | short | tentative friendship | tears were shed in the reading of this fic

This should feel like a victory. This shouldn't feel like tiptoeing around broken glass.

This Time (I'm Telling You, I'm Telling You) by sparklyslug - mature | short | angst | established relationship

He and Zimms, they’re pretty good at breakups, historically. They’re pretty good at what comes after the breakup, anyway.

fated to pretend by nighimpossible - teen | short | humor | only j/p if you squint but it's goddamn hilarious with a side of ransom and holster

5 Jack/Kent fics that Ransom and Holster dramatically reenact for the Haus + the truth.

Not Quite Too Late by loveandallthat - explicit | short | au | reconciliation | ahhhh this is nice

Jack accidentally confesses on live television that he had a young love that ended badly. It’s possible that this isn’t quite as bad as he thinks it is.

Seven-Year Itch by Idday ★ - teen | medium | fake/pretend relationship | married au | angst with a happy ending

“I’m sorry,” Georgia says slowly, like she thinks she misheard him. “You said you’re… married?”

Amanda raises her eyebrows and taps something onto her keyboard. “That’s good to know, Mr. Zimmermann, but I’m sure you know that many of our players are married.”

“Right, but this is… different.” Jack says.

“Jack,” Georgia says, “Why did you never mention this before? Do I know your wife?”

“I’m sure you do,” Jack says carefully, “Only… it’s not a wife. It’s Kent Parson.” ... (So what if they’re not pretending to be married. They’re still pretending to be happily married.)

the nearer your destination by achilleees - teen | short | angst | open-ended

“Parse fought Averin because he was talking shit about you,” Max said bluntly. “And you being here is not going to put him in a better emotional state.”

neutral zone stickhandling by achilleees - explicit | short | injury recovery | humor (hallelujiah)

The splint around Kent’s leg is a feat of engineering, a hulking behemoth of black plastic and Velcro, but the crutches are sleek and slim. an alternate take on the March of Jack’s senior year.

Push/Pull by thistidalwave, Verbyna - teen | short | soul bond au | break up | I’m gonna miss him for the rest of my life" stayed with me | why do all the soulbond fics in this pairing all end tragically? Who holds the stars up in the sky? Is true love just once in a lifetime?

He looks at Kent and feels nothing, if nothing feels like a shattered rib cage, all the protection around his heart gone. Kent is right in front of him, his hair falling into his face and his hands clenched in the sheets, but if Jack closes his eyes, Kent could be anywhere.

(or, Jack and Kent can’t keep their bond if they both want to play in the NHL.)

bang the doldrums by Verbyna - explicit | short | has j/b | au but almost canon in my head how jack aggressively minimizes kent's importance in his pre-samwell years lol

Kent Parson is not Jack's friend. He’s a fucking fever.

Maybe Jack's not the only one who's scared.

Kent and Jack come out together. Not together together, though, no matter how much Kent wishes that were true.

Alternately titled: "the jackparse get back together fic."

Kent Parson has well over ninety-nine problems. He has a chronic potty mouth, a sneaking suspicion he may be an actual idiot, a narcissistically-named cat with gas issues, too many sisters... the list goes on.

Kent Parson has more than ninety-nine problems and Jack Zimmermann — freshly, resentfully and recently traded to the Las Vegas Aces — is definitely one of them.

you know i held on too much by unveils - explicit | short | fluff | smut | yay all the way for happy smut

It takes a minute for the pieces to work together in Jack’s brain, but when he catches Kent’s Britney phone case out of the corner of his eye, heat blooms in his chest to match the spread of red across his cheeks, embarrassment and something else entirely. He doesn’t duck his head, but it’s a near thing, under Kent’s crooked grin. “Really? You think now is a good time to be taking pictures?”

Two swipes and a press of Kent’s thumb has his camera app sliding open to the picture he took. Jack cranes his neck to see, but Kent presses the phone into his hand, slides his hands around Jack’s neck. “Dude, yeah. You make me look good, Zimms.” -- or: the one where jack and kent have fun with camera phones!

my honey i know by achilleees - teen | short | possessiveness | jealousy | reconciliation

After that, it happened more often than he would ever have wanted to admit. It was almost too easy; girls were always after Kent, but Kent spent too much of his time looking at Jack to notice.

For example, Kent texted him from chemistry one day. Hey lara and aly wanted 2 know if we wanted 2 go thrifting w them after school 2day. No, was all Jack texted back.

Kk, Kent replied, and they didn’t go thrifting with Lara and Aly after school that day.

we could be made for this by stereosymbiosis - explicit | short | pwp

Kent lifts his head and peers up at Jack. “Hey, Zimms, what kind of soap do you use?”

“I’m not sure this is entirely relevant, Parse,” Jack breathes out. Kent looks at the expanse of skin stretched before him, Jack’s muscles taut and twitching, the fucking perfect rise of Jack’s ass, Jack’s legs spread just so and his knees pressed into the mattress for leverage, and yeah. That can probably wait.

Jersey Memories by SalazarTipton - teen | short | reminiscing | hopeful ending

When Jack goes home to Montreal for break and just wants to get his assignments finished, but his parents keep giving him chores. When his mom sends him to look through his old jerseys, he gets lost in some old memories.

take me back to when we started by madameofmusic - teen | short | reminiscing | reconciliation

Kent gets a package in the mail from Jack six months after Jack signs with the Falconers.

They’re never going to be the same carefree best friends that they once were, and Kent’s getting around to accepting that. Things are good, now, but they’re not the same, and that’s okay. He’s getting used to it.

They’re better than they’ve been in years, and that’s really all that he can hope for, but sometimes Kent remembers all the texts he sent at 2 am and all the responses he never got.

Better the Second Time by loveandallthat - teen | short | au | reconciliation

He gets Jack’s text, “you don’t have to,” thirty seconds before he gets a direct email from Jack’s agent.

Of course he has to.

Or, Jack has a public event before he goes into the NHL, and Jack’s agent insists that it won’t be good publicity unless Kent is also there.

the heaviest of burdens by thekissofbees - mature | short | angsty pining

Kent sleeps with his phone resting on his pillow, the volume cranked up as high as it will go and the vibrate on. He’s stretched the cord of the charger out so that it will reach his bed, and the coating of the wire is beginning to fray and peel off at the top.

(Or: Kent waits for Jack to call.)

Like Slow Motion by apatientwolf - teen | short | reminiscing | angsty pining

//There in the bathroom I try not to fall apart and the sinking feeling starts as I say hopelessly "he said he'd be here"// OR Taylor Swift's discography is the soundtrack of Kent Parson's life.

The one where it's July 4th 2015 in upstate New York.

Getting Some Rest by SalazarTipton - gen | short | established relationship | fluff

There’s a box under Jack’s desk. When he works on a paper, he’ll kick his feet up on it. Everybody that comes in doesn’t notice it. If they did, it just looks like some miscellaneous box of whatever. Nothing special. They wouldn’t think anything of it. No one knows that battered, footprint covered cardboard box is Jack’s lifeline. On his hardest days and in the surreal, dark hours when his insomnia hits, he opens it up and is able to breathe.

Kent likes the difference between their bodies. He likes being shorter than Jack because he can curl comfortably under the weight of Jack’s arm across his shoulders when they stand next to each other, and he likes that Jack’s body on top of his is enough to hold him down and keep him there if Jack doesn’t want him to move. He likes that Jack has big, strong hands and big, thick fingers.

The Aces get knocked out of the playoffs and Kent Parson is having feelings about it. Jack Zimmermann is having feelings about him.

keep your lights on by ladyalysv - explicit | short | rebound sex | au | unapologetically elf-centric jack

At least with Parse, it's hard to fuck things up more. (2016)

when you were there by defcontwo - mature | short | angsty angst

Jack plays the Aces for the first time, and two things happen at once: Jack, nervous and fumbling all the way through the warm up, right down to puck drop when he catches sight of that familiar blonde hair and something in him just settles, winds up playing the most beautiful hockey of his season to date.

And Kent ignores him completely.

Redux series by Idday ★ - established relationship | domesticity | fluff | au | the thing with future-ish jackparse fluff aus is that their issues (e.g. kent's insecurities, or jack's daddy issues) remain to be dealt with and don't vanish by the virtue of love ipso facto, and that's why they're so goddamn satisfying

Like We Were - teen | short | first times (again) | getting back together | friends to lovers

Jack thinks there should be a word for this, for when you fall in love with the same person a second time.

no one has me (like you do) - teen | short | summers and holidays

“Kenny,” Jack says again. “You went golfing for me. That’s how I know it’s real.”

my heart, it came to life - mature | short | family planning??

“Kenny,” Jack says, and falls into the deck chair where Kent is laying out, absorbed in whatever’s on his phone screen. It could be an email from his agent, or it could be a cat video. It’s hard to tell.

The chair is much too small for two fully grown hockey players, but they make it work. Kent drops his phone, but he’s wearing sunglasses, his face hard to read. Jack pulls them down gently until Kent’s squinting up at him, eyes adjusting to the bright afternoon.

“Do you want kids?” Jack asks him.

something about the way you love me (finally feels like home) - teen | short | pseudo-proposal

He loves Jack likes this and loves that he can make him like this—warm and open and laughing with their friends. It makes him stupidly proud, like he has his own personal Jack Zimmermann. He has to share his boyfriend with the rest of the world, sure, but they only get the hockey robot version. Kent gets this Jack, the real Jack, all to himself.

future

“For one player on the Aces, this game represents the return of youth in another, special way. In just three weeks, Kent Parson, captain of the Las Vegas Aces, will not only be returning to the east coast winter of his childhood, but he will have the rare opportunity of being out on the same pond as his former friend and rival, Jack Zimmermann. The opportunity to play a game outdoors may remind them of their childhood, but from sharing a special bond as young teammates to struggling against each other for victory, this game also shows how much has changed with time.“

Kent texted Jack: “fucking epix”.

Dad Hugs by MisconductandMimosas - gen | short | more kent & bad bob tbh but i’ll take more of this rn | fluff

In the summer of 2019, Kent attends Bob Zimmermann’s private Hockey Hall of Fame Induction party

Because Jack is an addict, and some addicts relapse.

Endgame Jack/Kent. I cannot stress this enough.

In Due Time by loveandallthat - teen | short | reconciliation

Jack’s been in the NHL for several years now. The Falconers rose to glory and fell again, just like the Aces. Jack gets on a plane to Vegas.

Behind Closed Doors by loveandallthat - explicit | short | reconciliation | friends to lovers | getting together

It’s just a tabloid. Nobody’s going to believe it anyway; it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Jack can tell himself any one of these things a thousand times and he’s never going to believe them.

Confirmed: Kent Parson Las Vegas Aces’ First Choice All Along It doesn’t even help that the last line is, “When asked for comment, Kent Parson said, ‘Who even cares anymore?’”

17 Again by daeguarchives - teen | short | friends to lovers | angst

“I can’t believe I actually thought I was in love with you, once.”

17 was a bad time for both of them, they both know that. Except now Kent's kidding himself into thinking he can move on and Jack's kidding himself into thinking he has moved on and for some reason, 17 seems a much better time than now.

new jersey is for lovers series by defcontwo, sparkyplugs ★ | it's soft and sweet and sometimes, that's enough

Ready to Walk a Path That's New - teen | short | curtainfic | fluff

They’ll always have things to apologize to each other for. But these days, they’re trying to focus on what they have to thank each other for.

These days, that’s a much longer list.

There's a place for you and me - mature | short | proposal | fluff

“I don’t know, I just, uh. It wasn’t there. He’s not the kind of guy I could see myself ending up with, I guess.”

Jack laughs, warm and close, the standard pre-chirp Zimmermann coming in at the edges. “And what kind of guy would that be?”

Kent swallows hard, and thinks, You. Fuck me, it’s always going to be you. Or: the slow and steady steps to a happily ever after.

“And my running observation is that Parse can’t take a compliment from you without blowing it off. Could be a coincidence, but no evidence to the contrary since I started paying attention,” Ransom said.

“What?” Jack said, right as Kent walked back in the room.

the river twice by Verbyna - teen | short | addiction relapse | angst | hopeful ending at least

Going to Vegas seemed like the only option.

player judged most valuable by achilleees - teen | short

prompt: future fic, jack’s been in the nhl a few years, ignoring parse when they play the aces. he can’t ignore him the night of the nhl awards, not when he looks this good, not when he fucking thanks jack in his hart acceptance speech.

i really really really really really really like you by achilleees ★ - teen | short | insecurity | established relationship | jack reassuring kent is my forever jam

“Hey,” Jack said. “My parents love you, alright? They have never not loved you. This is going to be fine.”

“Condescension negates cookie privileges,” Kent said, and shut the door in his face.

some nebulous universe called domesticity series by alwaysbuddy ★ - established relationship | fluff | humor

keep your hands on me - explicit | short | sex dream | feminization | dirty talk af

“Not a girl then?”

“It was, yeah,” Jack admits, throat feeling a little tight, “you were the girl.

”in search of our lost time - explicit | short | hurt/comfort | bathtub sex

Jack rests a hand lightly on the porcelain, skimming forward to catch one of Kent’s wrists, where it’s dangling off the edge of the tub. Kent immediately turns his hand over, and wraps two fingers around Jack’s own wrist loosely, tugging in a way that says, why aren’t you in here with me yet, huh?

Maybe I'm Not Too Young to be a Cowboy by bsmog - teen | medium | retirement | injury

Kent is 34 years old. He's won everything there is to win in the world of hockey (just not this year, let's not talk about it, okay?), but ever since an injury took Jack out of hockey altogether, there's something missing on the ice. What the hell is the offseason for if not to find out what that is?

If only anything was ever that easy where Jack Zimmermann was concerned.

Wait So Long by perfectpro - gen | short | fluff | wedding and marriage | domesticity

Let it never be said that Kent Parson doesn’t work for what he wants. Trembling, Kent gets off his knee, but he doesn’t close the ring box. “I don’t want to win another Cup alone. I don’t want to win another Cup without you,” he explains, and it’s a confession if it’s anything. He doesn’t know how to make it not true.

Gordie Meow by madameofmusic - teen | short | fluff | established relationship | humor

Kent’s cats are allergic to Jack. This isn’t even the most ridiculous thing Jack’s had to deal with.

Kent “No Chill” Parson by MisconductandMimosas - gen | short | humor | all-star weekend au | established relationship, if you read this first

“Be on my team for the All-Star game,” Kent said suddenly.

Jack chuckled, “They haven’t even announced next year’s format yet. It could be by division this year. Even if it’s not, they could make us opposing captains.”

#omgcheckplease #kent parson #parsepositive #jackparse #pimms #jack zimmermann #fic rec #omgcp

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