#if no; we're at least 95% good; and if so... maybe no matter what they say their goals are... maybe that's not ok for them to do

[gren-arlio]

For ONCE I cover a game with Madou Monogatari mechanics. Welcome to Episode 12 of (Waku) Puyo Extras.

(No Waku Puyo Manga page for you today. You get this instead, a photo for a calendar. Oddly, Suke is there despite not really being in the game.)

Hello everyone, it's the guy who likes talking about how silly Witch and Schezo are together, back at it again making (Waku) Puyo Extras. Wild to think that the art shown above was for a calendar. Wish SEGA did that more often. This was a little late because I've been focusing on school a little more, that and I wanted this to be really good, so my apologies.

This time around, the 12th go-around, I'll be covering... an actual Madou Monogatari game. It's taken us this many episodes to talk about one in full, but here we are guys. An actual episode about it.

And it's the really popular one too compared to every other game I've covered, besides maybe Serilly's Happy Birthday. That's right, we're covering Madou Monogatari: Tower of the Magician. AKA, the game that everyone knows stars Schezo and Witch.

Honestly, I've been wanting to cover this game for a long while, but I wanted to get better at translating before I covered it, and well, it's been enough time, I think. I wanna give this game justice, ya know?

But enough of that. Let's get into this, shall we? Hope you enjoy.

-----

So, What're the Origins/Characters?

Thankfully, because of how popular this game is compared to other Disc Station games, dates are a lot clearer for me. The release date of the game varies, but for Japan, it was released on September 6, 1997, for Windows 95, and a Korean version was released on September 20 of the same year.

(The cover of this game.)

The reason why this game exists... is a pretty interesting one to be honest. Compile held a popularity contest to see who the most popular characters were at the time, and the winners of that poll was Schezo and Witch. I mean Schezo is basically universally loved by the fanbase of Puyo at the time, and still sorta is, but Witch? I mean, I'm happy for her, but still, fascinating. Because they won, they got their own games.

As such, the game was put into development. The most notable part for me was the redesign for the characters, more specifically the main duo's design, and honestly? I rock with these designs so hard, these look amazing. The artstyle they went for is also just really pleasing to look at.

(I just wanna let people know I searched for 20 minutes for this image.)

As well, due to...well, I guess luck to be honest, we now also have some old artwork of what they were going to look like, along with Wish, Witch's grandmother... Oh, and Dark Matter, too.

(Also, the borders of the pages look great. Least IMO.)

Actually, about the characters, in this game, they're honestly really good.

For example:

Schezo is shown to have morals, and despite not exactly caring much about Witch at the start, to at least being kind enough to give back her magic after the final boss when she willingly gives it to him. He even accompanies Witch during the final floor and gives her the credit of beating Dark Matter when it was him, PLUS declining to take Wish's magic...though mostly because Dark Matter took most of it. It's a cool side of him.

Witch herself is honestly quite charming. She attacks Schezo first because she assumes he's an illusion, but realizes "Oh wait. That IS Schezo." and run into each other occasionally, though it's mostly banter and talking about Wish. When there's no jokes though, she's also shown to really care for her grandmother, Wish, as she brazenly rushes to her when Wish is collapsed before Schezo fights Dark Matter, and after the final boss.

Wish herself isn't given too much character but we do know that she was (and somewhat still is,) pretty dang powerful, and is at least shown to care for Witch, despite making her fail the test she was given due to outside help. Oddly enough, when Wish realizes that Schezo is there for her power and asks for it, she doesn't really protest at all, hoping it makes him stronger, confusing him and opting to leave so when she's back to her real strength, they'll have a fair fight.

Dark Matter...I mean he's fine, I guess. He wants revenge, which is fair enough. He did get beat by a 16 year old girl...though that's common in Madou.

...We don't talk about Gay the Whale. They're just...let's just say bad representation.

(Ah, the only story relevant characters...who's Dark Matter?)

-----

What's the Gameplay?

A first in Extras, it's literally Madou Monogatari gameplay. No wacky gimmicks, different gameplay, etc. We get... a pretty definitive Madou experience.

Madou Gameplay is thankfully straightforward enough. You're given options for attacks, using items, running away, the classic JRPG stuff.

(Yeah, Witch isn't actually playable. I'll explain later, but wow does she look really sad.)

It has it all. Random encounters, floor placements, treasure, the list goes on. It's probably the most refined gameplay for the franchise if I have to be honest. Plus, it looks pretty. That's half the battle.

Something to note is that this is an adventure with Schezo and later Tenori Zoh, Witch is of course, important to the story, but she's more of a roaming sidekick. She often appears because you came around at a good time and she needs help with something... which is so in-character for her, that or you two just run into each other. I will say though, the animations of this game are really good.

----

How About The Story?

The game starts off with Schezo reading a book from a library about a story made about 50 years before the game begins, with Wish, Witch's grandmother, defeating Dark Matter, unfortunately not the Kirby one, but some random other geezer, when she was just 16 years old, and the tower she rests at isn't too far away, so Schezo goes into said tower to get Wish's powers.

(So at the very least, she's about 66. Not exactly, but at least there. She doesn't look 66, that's for sure.)

Unfortunately for him, life isn't so easy. During his quest, he runs into Witch, who thinks he's an illusion created by Wish, and they fight. Since he's the protag of this game, she loses, but realizes that he's the real deal, and explains why she's here; To complete her trial that Wish gave her to become a real witch...but she can't stand being at the tower. She also jokingly mentions to not say "I want you," to Wish, her grandmother, or else Schezo will look even more like a pervert.

After that scuffle and a bit later, Schezo runs into Incubus...doing Incubus things, such as but not limited to:

Being a loser

So they fight, leading to Schezo's victory. His victory spoils are actually solid for once, as Incubus had Tenori Zoh, and Schezo just takes the little fella and goes on with his day. I like Tenori Zoh, t.hey're a little guy and that's all they sorta need to be.

As the story progresses, Schezo does run into Witch sometimes, usually just trying to solve a puzzle and him just so happening to help her out, with puzzles and the sort, and wondering if Wish is alright herself, considering that this trial has been kinda tough.

However, those claims are slowly getting more scary as both Schezo and Witch climb up the tower, as near the top, they find a broken wall.

(Now ain't this unusual?)

Witch (very obviously) starts getting concerned if her grandmother is alright, and Schezo... I mean he tries to calm her down, and it somewhat works before they reach the final floor. At that point, they're working together... and it only took the entire game.

After a bit, and on the final floor, Witch rushes to Wish, who's sorta on the ground. Is she dead? Nah, but something's up, since when you rush to get to her, she's all beaten up and such.

(Wow. Who knew the stakes could actually be high for once.)

SURPRISE, it's that guy Wish beat 50 years ago, Dark Matter. With the energy she does have left, Witch gives it to Schezo to fight...and he does indeed fight, because he squares up against Dark Matter and wins, which is kinda cool when you think about it.

That's just Round 1 though, as after defeat, Dark Matter decides to possess Wish to control her, leading to the REAL final battle.

...I like the music for it. More on that later.

(Honestly speaking, this fight is so cool. Though saying your final boss is a literal grandmother is kinda funny.)

After that whole... Debacle, Dark Matter is defeated for real, and Wish once again collapses, and after Schezo returns Witch's powers, she rushes right towards her grandmother. Thankfully, she's alright, and when she wakes up, Schezo says that Witch was the one who defeated Dark Matter, not him. He even decides against getting Wish's magic, even though that was his plan from the get-go, even when Wish said that she wouldn't protest to it. Though with everything...Wish says that Witch got outside help for the test, and thus, she doesn't exactly pass.

Thus concludes the story of this game. For once, it's small enough to fully cover. I frankly love this story mostly due to the fact that, not only does it show sides of Schezo and Witch we don't see often, but also takes itself seriously at the end, which is a surprise for Madou standards.

-----

Well...Uh, How's the Music?

Simply put, stellar. I usually just say "Listen to them on your spare time," but today, for once, I'll link some songs.

Battle Music:

Wish's Boss Theme:

I Forgot Where This Plays:

Fufufu: (and I think Momomo)

Forgot Where This Played Part 2:

They're so good. Trust me on this one.

-----

So, Final Verdict?

...If it wasn't obvious enough, I really like this game. It's really good. Honestly, if you ever get the chance to play the game, I'd say try it...if you can find a guide on it. But other than that, I'd say try it.

Though that'll be all for me.

Adios, and if I don't post again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

[maya-matlin]

(TW tor rape mention)

So I think I saw you talk about this a while back, about how the Sav and Anya having sex was a disturbing since she lied to him about being on birth control. Do you think that it could technically qualify as rape that she did that. Cause Sav made it clear he didn’t think they’d be having sex and he didn’t bring protection so he likely wouldn’t have consented otherwise. I doubt this even crossed the writers minds as they could be very sketchy about male consent especially and they clearly wanted us to sympathize with Anya. I definitely don’t think she’d ever do something like that on purpose, and I guess her consequence was Sav dumping her, but again the writers tried to portray her as sympathetic and wrote it like Sav was the jerk for dumping her after taking her virginity. But that’s like the main reason their relationship never worked, they could never properly communicate or be honest with each other about anything. 95% of their relationship was one of them lying (and honestly…they tried to make it seem like Sav keeping her from his parents was this awful thing and while he may have not been entirely honest about it and it’s understandable that Anya was upset it wasn’t nearly as bad as Anya lying about being on the pill and then lying about being pregnant. Like Sav only didn’t tell his parents cause he knew it’d make their relationship harder. He’s still far from being the best boyfriend but as much as I do like Anya’s character and definitely believe she’s a good person at heart she was honestly worse in that relationship and I don’t think it’s talked about enough. And what makes me sad about it honestly is that this isn’t the last time they writers did something like this, and it was so underwritten and brushed off so easily that I didn’t even view it as disturbing until recently…I always knew it was a bad decision but it’s really so much more than that when you really look at it closely.

Honestly, yes. What Anya did to Sav technically falls under rape by deception. Sav only consented to sleeping with Anya because he was under the impression she was on birth control. Because he was unable to give his full, enthusiastic consent, I do think she violated him. Maybe not intentionally and with the full knowledge of the nuances of sexual consent, but Anya was fully aware that her lie is what allowed her to get Sav into bed that night. Even if we pretend that lying about being on birth control isn't a legal issue, it's a pretty fucked up thing to do to someone you're supposed to be in love with. Or fuck, anyone for that matter. It's a completely selfish and horrific thing to do. Degrassi halfway got this right? Once Sav finds out the truth, he's disturbed, no longer trusts Anya, and no longer wants to be in a relationship with her. His reactions are understandable and sympathetic. It's the least of what she deserved. But at the same time, yeah. We're supposed to sympathize with Anya. Based on how the episode played out with us seeing both Sav's (part 1) and Anya's (part 2) POV, I think the takeaway is supposed to be somewhere in the middle. Sav is sympathetic and understandable because of his parents' expectations. He's not choosing to keep their relationship a secret because he's an asshole and trying to disrespect Anya. He's doing it because the Bhandaris were strict parents who didn't want him to date anyone, especially not when they weren't Muslim. However, the lying to Anya and allowing her to believe his family is aware she's his girlfriend is also a problem. Anya is already pretty insecure and has a low self esteem. She puts so much emphasis on her love life and fully believes Sav is the one. So him constantly refusing to stand up to his parents for her kind of fucks with her head? Then suddenly, his arranged wife makes it clear she wants Sav for herself and is going to do what she can to undermine his relationship with Anya. The decision to sleep with Sav without protection in order to lock down their relationship (whether she was actively thinking about getting pregnant or not) was an impulsive one and definitely not something meant to harm Sav or make him feel violated. The thing is, that's what she did. Just because Anya's motivations leading up to the act were sympathetic doesn't absolve her from raping her boyfriend. In season 10, yeah. Any acknowledgement of what happened that night is completely gone. Sav just dumped Anya after they lost their virginity to each other. Her next act is to literally fake a pregnancy, albeit to help Holly J out. Somehow, Sav is charmed by this. What the actual fuck? It's complicated because the majority of teenage boys aren't brought up to believe that they can be sexually assaulted. Especially by a girl or woman. So for that reason, I have to believe Sav pushed down any conflicted feelings he had about their encounter and simply moved forward. I still don't think Sav being charmed makes any sense, though.

Anyways, yes! I struggle a lot with Anya now. It's taken several years for me to think critically about this story line partially because I didn't want to see it. She was one of my all time favorite characters for a long time. It's easy for me to call out Katie and Declan because their demeanors were very manipulative with both doing clear villainous things. Same with Owen, another character totally ruined for me after recent rewatches. There's very little redeemable there. But with Anya, you look at her and you don't think "rapist". You don't even think "manipulative" or necessarily a bad person. She's just so cute and relatable, right? She makes bad decisions and is kind of a disaster half the time, but she's still lovable. The issue is, she did a pretty unforgivable thing. Overall, Anya is a character that repeatedly has a weird relationship with honesty and does drastic things in the name of holding onto a man. Like somehow, she spends most of her last few weeks of high school dating Owen "#MeToo" Milligan after he sexually harassed Anya herself, forced himself on Alli, and committed hate crimes against Riley and Zane. It's a lot to overlook.

This is only tangentially related, but I can't help but compare Anya's behavior with Sav during those episodes to Zig's with Maya in #YesMeansYes. It's not an exact comparison because there's no birth control deception going on, but in both cases you have two desperate, insecure partners who just want to secure their relationships with their boyfriend/girlfriend and believe sex is the best way to do it. Zig never intended to scare Maya or violate her boundaries, but in trying to "be forceful" so that she'd want to sleep with him it led to the opposite outcome. Thankfully, Zig got the chance to correct this behavior and learned a lesson. Maya was given reassurance that she was safe with Zig and that he understood the importance of consent and how it works. But with Anya and Sav, there was no stopping it. Anya made this choice for both of them, and it was Sav who had to live with it.

Needless to say, it's appalling that Degrassi irresponsibly portrayed so many "grey area" sexual encounters throughout the years. Especially when they were either too uneducated or cowardly to explain exactly what was going on during these moments. Because to some degree, Sav, Holly J and Drew all suffered negative consequences for behavior that wasn't their fault. The fact it wasn't until Next Class that this behavior started to be corrected proves how important a franchise like Degrassi still is. Society is always changing, and we're still learning so much.

[beemers-hell]

That very nice message juiced me up so I now I wanna explain my thought process behind how I personally characterize the MadCom crew + make my gal Eb fit in amongst the cast, this'll probably get long, here we go lol

[CW: Lots of cursing, forgive me, it’s ingrained in my vernacular]

The main 4 + Tricky since they're the ones I draw most often

Hank

Very quiet, is selectively non speaking. He can talk, its just that his mouth sitch makes it a hassle and their voice is strained as shit, so they stick with making noises/gestures/using sign language.

This quietness also aids in making him fucking terrifying to the general public. The aura they give off is incredibly threatening so standing in a room with him feels like you're being suffocated by chainsaws.

Despite the horrific energy they give off, he's fairly goofy. [Points at the M:PN Trailer] Not super goofy 24/7, but they don't take many things that seriously anymore.

Combat prowess is in combat itself. He does not care what weapon he's using, they're gonna wreck shit no matter what's in their hand atm.

Krinkels himself said it, they're kinda dumb when it comes to non-combat/survival related stuff. Probably the least intellectually strong out of the bunch.

Deimos

He's a cocky smartass. Dude's always got some quip ready to go and he makes up the bulk of the chatter within the main 4.

He's a cunning little bastard (affectionate) and usually has a plan ready to go for most situations the crew gets themselves into.

Obviously his main thing is his hackerman status, so the dude is probably the smartest intellectually, only beaten out by 2B.

His specialty is in ranged, mainly guns, of course. He's a sharpshooter first and foremost.

Is a bit oblivious [points at Madness Aggregation]. He's also like Hank where he doesn't take things that seriously.

Sanford

My favorite himbo [points at their voice lines]

Anyway the guy's alright in the brains department but he really shines in combat prowess, his main strength being melee of course.

He's a bit of a dope, mostly in a "I see a problem and my solution is to punch it" kind of way, though I wouldn't say they're dumb as rocks or anything like that.

They don't talk that much, but gets chatty when fighting cause trash talk.

This man has no control over his volume so he yells like 95% of the time where being quiet isn't necessary for survival.

They’re the tank of the crew! Yet somehow he’s gotten very good at not getting hit. Doesn’t matter though, cause even if they do get hit, their muscle mass just kinda absorbs most of the damage. Beefcake!

2B

He's most like Hank, being a quiet, threatening force, but unlike them, he takes shit seriously and only eases up maybe 10% of the time.

I like the idea of him being a grumpy old man so that's what we're going with.

I'm fairly certain it's canon that he'd rather outsmart the enemy and not fight as much as he can, so I figure he's not as fine with fighting as everyone else, but he can still wreck shit if it comes down to it.

However, obviously, he makes up for it in being smart as hell, he's the crew's handler and main medic after all.

Like mentioned, he’s a quiet guy, but he’s more willing to talk than Hank is. He uses speech fairly regularly but he’ll most likely use ASL when communicating. He’s got bandages around his jaw in addition to his mask so I bet he’s also got a fucked up mouth.

Tricky

Clown my beloved

He may be absolutely batshit insane, but he's the smartest out of everyone in the cast. His minds had to have gone through a lot but the Hoffnar smarts are still active!

Clearly he's also in the "doesn't take shit seriously" camp but honestly who can blame him, he's got a reality breaking machine crammed in his head!

He's Loud! Loud! Loud!  Also refers to himself in the 3rd person only (by using Clown in place of Tricky/any pronouns), there is no reason, he just does.

Though he is on the same level of wickedness as Hank, he's also clearly a lot more juvenile and carefree, would probably get along well with Deimos if things were different. He indulges himself in a lot of "childish" things like small toys and cartoons, he's into DJ-ing, he literally types in internet speak, you get the gist

Incredibly skilled and violent in battle, of course, but at the end of the day, he just wants to have an entertaining time, so he plays fair and only gets dirty when he’s gotten bored and decides he’s done with the opponent [points at both Madness Antipathy and Expurgation]

So Eb, ahaha

Ebony

She's almost like a mix of everyone! Smartass, Chatty, and Cunning like Deimos, Loud as hell and not super brainy like Sanford, has the ability to give off a threatening aura just by standing there and staring like Hank, and also shares their carefree attitude, and is almost just as wacky and out there like Tricky. The only person she doesn’t share much in common with is Doc, other than like, being able to use ASL, but that doesn’t pose much problem to them working together.

She’s best at melee, as made obvious by her owning her own custom chainsaw (affectionately dubbed “Lana”), but is slowly working on getting better with guns thanks to help from Deimos and Hank.

She’s a speedy mf and incredibly agile, which is part of why Doc recruited her to the squad.

She has a sort of weird way of talking, where she’ll use words to mean certain things when they’re not really interchangeable, but the gang’s learned how to decipher what she’s saying. [I.E She’ll say something like “I’m positively cracking” when she means to say “I’m very happy right now”]

In canon, she’s an autistic woman, so obviously that carries over. Is constantly stimming (her necklace is basically chewlery), she’s full of energy, she has her own routine and way of doing things that the others have learned, she has problems with her memory, and her sense of hearing and touch (as well as taste but that’s not relevant here) is really sensitive so she’s able to hear sounds and feel things the others can’t, but she’s forced herself to not let it overwhelm her while she’s busy. She deals with it back at base in her own space. If only the dudes knew why she locks herself in her corner practically every time they go home after a mission!

She’s mainly with the 4 so she can survive, but she likes taking down people she thinks are doing bad things, so she’s all for Doc’s cause. It’s also why she has no problem sneaking around to hang with Tricky, she likes the poor thing and doesn’t see him as a real threat to life around them, just Hank. Which she thinks is funny ngl

The best way to describe her connections to everyone is that she’s like a bro and third wheel to Deimos’ and Sanford, she’s a rebellious teenager (she is in her 20s) who wants to test their authority figure’s patience as much as possible towards Doc, she’s chummy with Hank and has a level of respect towards him that they almost return (they find it interesting that she managed to keep herself alive and healthy for as long as she did, all on her own, when she’s a “naïve pipsqueak”), and she’s got feelings for Tricky because reasons. 

Forgive me for the long ass post, when I ramble, I ramble! ND homies can relate lmfao

[karlajoyner]

Stole My heart (Owen Patrick Joyner x Reader)

A/n: Hey guys so there’s this imagine let me know if I should make a part 2? Possibly a smut? I don’t know let me know! Also let me know if I should post these on wattpad too!!!

Warnings: None

————

"Owen seriously if someone catches us I'm gonna kill you"

"No ones gonna catch us. They're filming a scene" He mumbled leaving a trail of kisses down my neck.

"That's what you said last time"

"They didn't catch us" He said pushing my shirt down my shoulder.

"Yeah but they almost did- wait. Are you? Owen" I scolded pushing him away.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"What do you mean what? The makeup department will literally kill me if I show up with another hickey. Then their gonna interrogate me like they did last time since there are limited people I see daily" I groaned.

"They're not gonna kill you y/n. Relax"

"I can't relax. Now that we landed a season 2 the chances of us getting caught are much higher now. Plus my character has such a bigger part now" I spoke pacing back and forth in the dimly lit room. Julie's room set to be exact.

"I know. But you can't let that get to you now. You did amazing the first season and your gonna kill it this season. And if we get caught then oh well"

"Oh well? Oh well. Owen I already told you I don't want anyone to know about us until-"

"Until we're sure it's not gonna effect our worth ethic. I know" He muttered sitting down on the bed. I sighed realizing he was upset. It was never my intention to date my co-star. Let alone fall in love with him. But after spending countless of hours on set and off set with him there was no denying the chemistry. And what to everyone seemed like an amazing friendship was actually something more.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I wish things could be different but-"

"But this is your first big part. I get it" he said moving to sit me on his lap.

"I'll back off. We'll just have to keep sneaking around"

"Owen-"

"No harm. No foul. If this is what I have to do to be with you I'll do it" He said kissing the spot he had previously been sucking on.

"And I'd do it again" He whispered kissing my skin once more.

"And again" Another kiss.

"And again" He spoke finally meeting my lips. The kiss last longer than the ones shared previously. It was much more passionate on both ends. The risk of getting caught high.

"Owen" I giggled as he flipped us over on the bed.

"Yes?" He questioned as his fingers made their way up my shirt.

"Baby" I moaned as his hands cupped my left boob.

"Mmm" He muttered against my lips.

"We've got to get back on set soon. I have a scene with Jer" I panted pulling away.

"Don't do it"

"Owen" I warned.

"Fine" He groaned getting off me.

"But for the record if they did know we were dating I would not give my approval for the stupid kissing scene" He said kicking the ground like a little kid. Referring to the fact that my character became Reggies love interest this season.

"Be careful there babe the jealousy is peeking through. Just be lucky he's married and they cut it down from a whole make out scene" I teased checking myself in the full length mirror.

"Yeah yeah. God the unholy things I would've done to you in that bed" He whispered in my ear as his hands explored my body.

"Don't temp me Joyner" I said a smirk making it's way onto his face.

"I'm here!" I called running onto set.

"Finally! Where were you?" Charlie asked exasperatedly standing beside Kenny who was looking at script at hand.

"We don't have time to interrogate her Charlie we've got to get this scene filmed if we wanna stick to schedule. Y/n next time be on set 5 minutes before"

"Yes Kenny. Sorry I was um was distracted. Lost track of time" I said noticing Owen had walking onto set casually going to talk to Mads and Savannah.

"Okay so this scene your gonna walk in on cue to your mark. Find Luke sitting on the couch playing his guitar. Sentimental talk. Confess your undying love for Reggie. Then Jers gonna come in tell y/c/n he loves her too. But he can't be with her because he had this girlfriend back in 95 who he never officially broke up with. Then he says screw it. You kiss. End scene"

"Oh the kiss. That's this scene?" I asked finding Owen who was deeply in conversation.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"No, no I'm ready" I said not expecting to have to do this in front of my secret boyfriend right now.

I sighed going to stand on my beginning mark. I watched as Charlie did the same.

The lights dimming in the studio to replicate nightfall.

"And action!" Kenny yelled.

I opened the barn like doors walking in slowly.

"Oh Luke. I didn't know you were here sorry I'll go-"

"No. No it's okay. I was just messing around. What's up?"

"I was looking for Reggie"

"Looking for Reggie? Oh he's with Alex and Willie. He should be back soon"

"Then I'll just go. Thanks I guess"

"Wait. Can I play you something?" Charlie questioned taking a hold of my wrist.

"Um sure. Why not?" I asked sitting down next to him. I listened as he began strumming his guitar to a familiar tune. A small smile forming on my lips.

"That was great Luke. Did you write that? Maybe about someone whose name rhymes with Judy" I spoke in a teasing matter.

"No. Actually Reggie wrote it. About someone who name rhymes with yours" He said a blush forming on my face.

"Okay. I get what your saying" I said playfully rolling my eyes.

"Good. I thought I'd have to follow up with home is where my horse is" He said making me giggle.

"How could I possibly tell a ghost who died 25 years ago that I'm completely head over heels for him?"

"Maybe the same way your telling a ghost who died 25 years ago right now" Charlie said jokingly bumping my shoulder.

"Right... I just- I don't want to get rejected by a ghost. It's one thing when they're alive but if the dead doesn't want me I think that's saying something"

"Y/n, Reggies in love with you. He'd be thrilled if you showed any romantic interest in him. At least more than you already do" He teased me once again.

"Thanks Luke. I just hope he doesn't freak out on me like last time"

"Last time?"

"Yeah last time I brought up relationships in a topic he got all weird and left. So I just never did it again"

"Oh. Look y/c/n back in 95 we had a decent following and a ton of girls following after us" A strange look forming on Charlie's face.

"Okayyy" I stretched out the word.

"And Reggie. You know him he uh well he's a fl-" Charlie words were cut off.

On cue Jeremy strolled into the studio set as Charlie and I sat facing each other stiffly.

I stifled a giggle knowing this would later be edited so it'd look like Jer flashed in out of nowhere.

"Y/c/n? Luke?"

"Oh Reggie. Hi" I stood up continuing the scene.

"Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be home"

"I was. Julie invited me over for a bit and I thought I'd say hi before I uh left. I though maybe we could talk for a bit"

"Oh. Okay yeah" He slightly smiled before turning to the brunette beside me.

"And what are you still doing here?" Jeremy asked looking at Charlie.

"Hey, I was just leaving man. She's all yours" Charlie smirked at us before walking off set.

Jer and I paused until his footsteps could no longer be heard before continuing.

"So um what did you want to talk about?"

"Just um stuff" I said standing still in my spot.

"What stuff?" He asked coming to stand in front of me.

"Luke. He played me your song" I said picking up the piece of paper with chicken scratch from the coffe table.

"Lifer Girl?" I finally read the title before looking up into his brown eyes.

"Uh yeah. I'm still working on the name. Did you like it?"

"I loved it. This lifer girl. She's one lucky girl. Do I know her?"

"Of course you do. Your practically the same person" he said a piece of my hair falling to the front of my face. I nervously played with my fingers as he pushed the strand behind my ears.

"Oh. Can you tell me about her?"

"Well she's funny and makes me feel happy when I'm around her. She's really smart and her grades skyrocket compared to what mine use to be. And she's beautiful, drop dead gorgeous" He whispered tilting my head up with his fingers.

For a moment I looked up into his brown eyes wishing. Longing for them to be someone else's. I felt his finger leave my chin before he turned away dramatically.

"I shouldn't"

"Shouldn't?" I asked curiously.

"I can't"

"Can't? Why not?" I questioned once more.

"Y/c/n there's something I need to tell you"

"What is it Reg?"

"Back in 1995 you know before we died. I uh-"

"You what?" I asked urging him to continue.

"I had a girlfriend and well then we died. So we never officially broke up" Jer said.

"Oh" I mumbled backing away from him.

"I get it"

"No wait y/c/-"

"No Reggie it's okay. Your still in love with her. Of course you are. God how could I be so stupid to think that you'd actually love me. Let alone like m-" My eyes widened as I felt him crash his lips into mine completely going off script. Which wasn't uncommon. But it was supposed to be a short kiss. There were lines that were missing.

Slowly I pretended to sink into the kiss. Pulling away after a couple of seconds amongst hearing the word.

"Cut!" Kenny yelled Jeremy finally letting me go.

"That was amazing! Spectacular! Great improve Jer! We're done with this scene!" He called out to us. But all I could focus on was the look plastered on Owens face. He was hurt. But not because of the kiss. But because of the fact that he couldn't do that. Not out in public anyways.

"Yeah great going Jer" I commented to the boy in front of me.

"Thanks y/n. You did great too" He said getting near me.

"But if I were you I'd go talk to your boyfriend before he bursts" He whispered in my ear leaving me wide eyed.

"H-how'd you?"

"Know? Please everyone knows. I mean you guys aren't great at hiding things. There's actually a poll between Kenny and Charlie. Whichever one of you slips up firsts. My bets on Owen" He chuckled.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Seriously"

“Who was the first one to know"

"Sonya in makeup. The first hickey you showed up with only matched with the timeframe that you and Owen had been together. Clearly not getting lunch like you had said you were"

"That long?" I asked.

"Yup" He spoke popping his p.

"Just don't tell anyone I told you. Carolynn insisted I put you out of your misery"

"Thanks. I think" He smiled at me before walking away.

A grin began to form on my face as I made my way toward the blonde who was leaning against a wall twirling one of his drumsticks in his left hand.

"Hey. Great scene back there" He commented as I now stood in front of him.

"Thanks. You know Jers a good kisser and all but I think your better" I spoke aloud noticing Savannah's and Madison's head whipping towards us.

"What?" He asked making sure he heard right.

"You heard me Joyner" I spoke giggling at his shocked reaction.

"Now shut up and kiss me would you?" He tilted his head to be extra sure. Something I adored about him.

He always wanted to make sure I was certain about these things. I simply nodded feeling his arms wrap around me bringing his lips to meet mine.

I smiled into the kiss as he turned us around pushing me up against the wall. I giggled upon hearing clapping around us from the cast and crew.

"Finally!" I heard Savannah shout.

"Keep it PG kids!" Kenny shouted laughter following.

"You owe me 20 Gillespie!" He yelled again followed by a groan by presumably Charlie. I finally pulled away first leaving Owen in shock.

"I'm gonna need you to come back to reality lover boy" I said rubbing my thumb against his cheek.

"What made you change your mind?" He asked keeping a tight hold on my waist.

"Let's just say you have Carolynn to thank for that. Apparently everyone knew"

"What? How?"

"I guess we weren't as good at keeping a secret as we thought"

"How long?"

"First hickey"

“That long?"

"That's what I said" I laughed as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"You two are so cute"

"Thanks Mads" I smiled at the girl.

Finally able to wrap my arms around the boy who had stolen my heart without any warning.