#like. i enjoy a good official piece of merchandise every now and then

[wowitsverycool]

the only way to uncorporatize fandom is to make violating copyright law cool again imo

[angelamajiki]

PAIRINGS: Father! Yandere! Enji Todoroki x Daughter! Reader

CW: yandere, incest, soulmate AU, fluff, slight angst, nsfw, kissing, praise kink, virginity kink, size kink, bathroom sex

A BNHarem Collab!

AN: my longest piece to date! the prompt this month was sex work, so i decided to stretch the prompt and do sexual slavery. wanted to go for a softer version of daddy endeavor, so please enjoy <3

5.2k words

The mark on his wrist was one that was shared with yours. Enji had given up on finding his soulmate, deciding that his career and legacy were far more important than some silly marking on another’s body. Love was something he thought he could go without. But when he saw your bright eyes gaze up at him, your chubby hand wrapped around his index finger, his heart had fallen hard—such a sweet, gentle thing. No traces of fear, of disdain, of disgust for him as a human being. Just pure curiosity and unconditional love. His heart leaped for his little girl.

Enji was determined, then and there, that he would never fail you, not like he forgot the others.

Oh, what plans he had for you, his precious princess. He couldn’t wait to spoil you, to marry you and start a new family once you were old enough. Rei realized this as well. Her youngest daughter, her last hope at salvaging her broken family, was to be had by her husband. The thought frightened her, especially after seeing the adoring look in her husband's eyes when she saw him cradle you for the first time. It was so unlike the stoic nature he held for the other children when they were born, only caring to see that they were healthy before leaving off back to his agency, never giving them more than a fleeting touch. It was nothing like when he held you, snarling at any nurse who dared to take his soulmate from the grips of his arms.

Something that had Enji’s conviction more so than his career was something to be feared. Your mother swore to herself that she would not let her husband ruin you.

Once he fell asleep with you tucked in the crook of his arm, a social worker came and collected you to be sent to a foster home and be set up for adoption. It was better than falling into the hands of the monster of a husband.

After the death of Touya, the pair decided to have one more child in hopes of fixing their broken family, but Rei now knew it was for naught. Nothing could save them know, especially now that Enji had nearly burned the building down when he discovered that his little girl was gone, just hours after he had finally found you.

Rei alerted the commission as well for your protection, that utter bitch of a woman. They very well couldn't have the number two hero caught in an incestuous bond with his daughter, now could they. All information of your whereabouts was hidden from him, blacklisting him from working with any foster children, lest he loses his hero license. Enji may have lost you for the time being, but his patience grew as he did. They couldn't keep him from you forever. You'd be reunited one day; he knows it.

The first time he saw you again was when you were fifteen. It was your birthday and the day he had become the number one hero officially, plenty of reason to celebrate. Usually, he would have taken the time to sit near the rose bush he planted in your honor in his courtyard on your birthday, renewing his vows to find and love you to the best of his ability. Enji took great pride in keeping your memory alive with the bush for his beautiful little rose gone too soon from his grasp. But there you were, mere meters from him.

The foster home you stayed at took you out for dinner when he was meeting with Hawks after the billboard awards. Your eyes were unmistakable, a perfect cerulean just like his own. He was so close, yet so far. My, how you had grown since he saw you. Unlike him, you bore your mark proudly on your wrist, not ashamed to admit to the world who your soulmate was. Not like you actually knew who it was anyway.

Enji was prepared to leave Hawks at the table; a new flame lit under his ass, one far more exhilarating than the thought of being the number one hero. He was up and on his way to speak to you before Nomu attacked him. Damn villains, they'd pay for separating the two of you once again. But his conviction only grew stronger. It wasn’t hard to find you after that; he knew what city you were living in. Instincts lashed out at him, demanding that he go sweep you up and hide you away. No, no. That would make you frightened; he can't have that. He’ll watch from the sidelines, waiting until you were of age to make a move. He was curious to see just how life as a foster child was treating you.

Growing up in the foster system had been a nightmare from hell for you. A cursed child is what they saw you as when your skin sprouted flames every time it was touched by the human hand, burning everything and everyone who came in contact with it. From the moment your quirk manifested, you were an outcast, an untouchable, unlovable freak. Someone destined never to feel the touch of their new parents, their lover, their soulmate.

It wasn't long before you realized that you would remain in the foster system until you aged out. Who would adopt a child they couldn't hug when they cried, hold their hand when they crossed the street, snuggle up to when it was chilly outside? Any potential parent was taken aback by your quirk once you reached for the warm touch of mommy and daddy, only to singe their hand or burn a hole in their shirt.

You learned quickly that your touch was something to be feared, that you were something to be feared. You supposed that’s why you looked up to him so much. So much so that you thought about him late at night when the loneliness seemed to drown you in the sea of your insecurities.

Endeavor was the only one who could understand you, understand your quirk. If only your soulmate mark could match him, maybe you feel the warmth of another human being without hurting or mauling them with your power. Abrasive he may be with the media, but there something about him that was so comforting and endearing to you. In your eyes, he was simply misunderstood, a gentle giant amongst the mass personalities of the other pro heroes.

Watching his interviews brought you comfort when you were lonely, his merchandise made you swell with pride and confidence, and his posters on the wall reminded you that you were never alone. It was a silly crush, but it made you feel better about your miserable life.

You even got to see him on your birthday! Well, not exactly. You happened to be in the same restaurant when your foster parents took you out for your birthday. It was apparent that they just felt bad for you, having looked after you for 15 years only to still have custody of your sorry ass. You were almost certain that they were going to kick you to the curb the morning of your 18th birthday.

Too bad they never had the chance. That fate would have been much kinder than the reality you faced now.

Once the Paranormal Liberation Front had effectively ripped society up by the roots and let the tree of life rot for the world to see, your foster parents packed their shit and left the country while you were at school. You’d been alone in the world ever since and were snatched off the streets, ready to be sold into slavery by the villains of the world. Your quirk was the only thing keeping you from being bought like a bitch from the auction floor.

Enji, on the other hand, was more than eager to do just that. After his public smear campaign by his allegedly dead son, he was dead to the world, finally abandoning his family for good in hopes of finding his beloved daughter. His life was dedicated to searching for you, having managed to track you down through his vigilante work. He likes to lie to himself and say that he’s continuing to fight for the greater good, but Enji does it just to have the chance to see your sweet face again. There wasn’t much to go off of, but he’d rather see his fiery end than to give up. That's how he found you at the auction.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Another auction night was approaching, which meant another night of humiliation and being displayed like a slab of meat for a crowd of degenerate wolves. Your quirk was the only thing keeping you from being sold; no one wants a fucktoy they can’t touch. It reduced you to physical labor for your captors, but you were better fed because of it. That didn’t mean they still didn’t try to sell you.

After being stripped down into nothing but a collar, leash, and a muzzle, you were brought to the stage and shoved in front of the ravenous, roaring crowd. You could feel their stares seep into your bones, the grime from the floor on your bare feet only adding to the overwhelming sensation of disgust you couldn’t even begin to describe.

The crowd’s excitement was raucous, jeers and shouts echoing off the halls of the underground auditorium. Masks covered their faces for the sake of privacy lest a vigilante break-in and hunt them all down. Even in the lawlessness of the world, heroes were still crawling everywhere to trail after even the slightest scent of villainy. Doesn't mean they’ll win, but hey, the death of a hero is just the same as the auction was to them.

“Up next, a darling girl with a fiery quirk!”

That was your cue. A handler had a fierce grip on your leash, giving it a few tugs for good measure as the crowd laughed at your stumbling. The auctioneer began to list your qualities and physical attributes, including your quirk.

“And she’s a virgin!”

Added for good measure, the crowd fell silent after listening to the abilities of your quirk. You couldn't hate it anymore; it's what was keeping you from being someone’s onahole until the day you kicked the bucket.

“Can I get $10,000?”

Ah the starting bid. The silence was relieving. Just a few more moments and you'd be off that damn stage.

“No? Going once, going twice, going-”

“One million.”

A booming voice came from the back row, the depths of the shadows to further hide the masked man who just bought your life. Why did it sound so familiar?

“Outstanding! One million dollars for the young lady!”

“Going once.”

It couldn't be.

“Going twice.”

This can't be happening.

“Sold for one million!”

No!

You were supposed to be unwanted, just like you have been your entire life! Yet some mysteriously familiar man outbid the entire auction for little ol’ you.

“Off the stage, bitch.”

The handler snarled, yanking you off the stage and causing you the fall and bruise yourself in the process.

“Watch it!” He spat, picking you up by the roots of your hair. “The merchandise needs to be handled carefully before reaching the customer. Let's hope he doesn't mind some bumps and bruises. For your sake.”

“That won't be necessary; I'll be taking her as is. Immediately, if you will.”

The mysterious man stood had already made his way backstage and behind you, standing formidably over your stark form. Your hair was released, dropping you back to the floor.

“Excellent, sir! I’m more than happy to get this welp off my hands.”

A brief exchange was made while you recovered on the floor, shaking in fear as the situation weighed heavily on your already broken self. The handler took the money and returned to the back room, leaving the two of you alone together.

The stranger crouched down to you and extended a hand to brush the stray hair out of your face, touch remaining tender and gentle when you flinched harshly.

“My poor girl, what has the world done to you?”

His coat enveloped your body as he scooped you up in his arms. The scent of him comforted you more than you would have liked to admit. Teakwood and coffee grounds filled your senses as he held you flush against his chest, leaving the auction house with a renewed sense of vigor.

You were placed in the backseat of a car before he dressed you in simple pajamas.

“Rest. You deserve it.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

At some point in the car ride, you let yourself fall asleep only to wake up in a cozy king-size bed wrapped up in a soft blanket next to a warm fireplace. The false sense of comfort lulled you for a few moments before your situation hit you like a ton of bricks. The anxiety you'd had known your whole life had finally kicked back into gear, forcing you out of bed and into the rest of the house.

It was daybreak, the sunlight slowly trickling in through heavily curtained windows as you walked through the halls and into the kitchen. The man was standing over the stove, sans mask, dressed in a wife-beater and his pajama bottoms. It couldn't be-

“Come in; breakfast will be on the table in a moment.”

Now you were certain.

“Who are you?” Your voice barely above a whisper. “Why did you buy me at the auction?”

A deep, rumbling chuckle flowed from the man.

“I think you know the answer to that, little one.”

His focus was retained on the meal in front of him. “I’ll explain myself over breakfast. Now sit.”

You couldn't help but feel compelled to obey him. While sitting, you took the time to honestly look him over for the first time in your life. Never did you think you would be so close to your childhood crush in such a domestic setting.

He had noticeably greyed but still possessed a majority of his red hair. Muscles were still taught and budging, but he had grown a little bit of a belly. Endeavor was as handsome as ever, aged like a fine wine that you couldn't wait to sip on.

The food was placed in front of you as he took the test next to you.

“Eat and have some water. Then we’ll talk.”

Once again, you obeyed him without question and refrained from eating like a rabid animal. It wasn't even a question, so much so that it is evident that you hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. You were still muscular from the labor you did for your handlers, though.

And Enji liked that about you. How resilient you were, he loved that you inherited his strength but still possessed Rei’s gentle nature. Not that he wanted to credit that woman for anything, but he couldn't deny the obvious. You were his strong, beautiful little girl who had to endure so much because his bitch of a wife decided to separate you from him.

But he was here now, ready to give all his love and protection to his only love. It took everything in his power not to swoop you up from your seat and hold you in his arms until his last breath.

Enji watched you eat, pride swelling in his chest at the thought that you liked his cooking. He couldn't help but wonder what your favorite meals were as well. There's certainly all the time in the world to get to know his little girl now that he had you. And he was never going to let you go.

Your breakfast was devoured quickly, both out of desperation for a real meal and answers to your questions.

“Why did you buy me from the auction?”

It was a complicated question, but you wanted a simple answer.

“I’m your soulmate.” His wrist was on display as he reached across the table to hold your hand.

For the first time in your life, you felt safe. Your one, shining hope was meant to yours and he wanted to be yours. You didn't even question how he knew at all.

His touch was warm and slightly rough, but it was welcome all the same. Even though your skin was lit aflame at his flesh against your, he paid it no mind. He was built to take your quirk, to take you.

“Endeavor…”

“Please, call me Enji.” His thumb rubbed over the palm of your hand. “I’m sure you feel better after having something to eat.”

“Why don't you go take a bath? It’ll help you relax, I can take care of your dishes.”

It was strange how insistent he was on taking care of you, but you can't say you don't enjoy the attention. He seemed to care for you in a way that went beyond caring for a partner, or in your case, a soulmate. But who were you to judge? It wasn't like you had a lot of experiences to use as a comparison.

Making your way back to the bedroom, you took the time to study the house you were in. A traditional, well-kept home, it practically looked like it was untouched. And maybe it was; buildings and homes fully intact were hard to come by these days, let alone ones that were clean and warm.

Enji seemed to lull you into an instinctual sense of safety, even though he bought you out of slavery. Just because he was your soulmate didn't mean that he had good intentions for you, but somehow, his presence alone filled a void in your heart that you had forgotten was even there.

Once you made it to the bathroom connected to the master bedroom, you drew yourself a bath just like Enji had instructed you to do. It wasn't the wisest decision to let your guard down like this, but the man already had plenty of opportunities to fuck you up by this point.

The water was warm and inviting when you sank yourself into it; you couldn't remember the last time you had warm water to clean yourself with. It made you feel light and hazy, slipping into a headspace you had long forgotten—a place of safety and comfort.

Three raps on the door pulled you from your haze as Enji entered the bathroom with fresh towels. Despite the fact that he had already seen you naked, the intimacy of the situation only left you feeling more vulnerable than ever.

“Let me help you.”

He kneeled next to you outside of the tub and pulled a lavender chamomile shampoo from the tub’s shelf. There was room to protest, but you couldn't find yourself willing to do so.

Water was poured over your head before he started a lather in your hair, gently scrubbing your scalp for a while. Even this simple touch made you shudder, it was a long time since you last felt the warmth of someone’s touch. And everything about this man was warm, for you at least. His words, his touch, his heart.

Conditioner was added to your hair as well before he moved onto washing your body. The scrub was gentle across your skin, his hand following after it to help keep the suds from rising too much. Strong hands massaged your back and your neck, both of which needed the much-deserved relief.

“So tense.” He murmured, mostly to himself.

There was a comfortable silence shared between the two of you as he massaged out all the knots and kinks that had built up over the years with your handlers. His touch should have made you flinch but you found yourself pressing into it. A small moan escaped your lips as he worked through a particularly tender spot on your neck.

“Are you enjoying this?”

His lips ghosted your ear as warm breath tickled your cheek and neck.

Your face flushed with a fiery warmth from a combination of the steam, your embarrassment, and the man whispering sweet nothings in your ear as his hands worked at your tired skin.

“Let me help you relax, sweet thing.”

Enji picked you up momentarily to slot himself behind you in the tub. Placed on his lap, you gasped when you could feel his erection hard against your back. Fear started to trickle into your veins as you squirmed slightly, attempting to get out of his grasp.

“Shhh, it's alright, you're okay.” His hand made its way to your throat and rested there gently, stroking over your artery with his thumb. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart. Let me show you how much I've missed you.”

His touch made you feel alive, feel wanted for the first time in your life. You couldn't help but whine when his other hand made its way down your body, gently groping your breast as his lips were pressed to your ear.

“Do you trust me to take care of you?”

His fingers toyed with your nipples, obviously skilled.

“Do you trust me to make the sweetest love to you?”

Another whine caught in your throat as his hand went further, cupping your sex in his much larger hand. He kneaded gently, pressing a soft kiss to your temple when you writhed in his grip.

“Please! Enji-”

Shushing you gently, Enji’s thumb made its way to your clit to stroke in small circles.

“How does that feel, sweetheart?”

You were used to touching yourself, but oh God it never felt like this.

“Good!” You managed to choke out in a wanton moan. “So good! Enji, please, I need-”

A warm pair of lips sealed over yours, silencing you once again. Enji knew how wrong this was, to take advantage of you like this without revealing the truth. But he wanted at least to just once to have you in his arms willingly and eagerly. He wanted to kiss you breathless, listen to your cries and feel your nails dig into his skin as he gave you all of himself without a fight from you. He can worry about revealing himself to you later.

The rough pads of his large fingers started to apply pressure to your clit as his middle finger slipped into your tight hole under the water.

“Don't worry, little one. I'll give you what you need.”

Soft kisses were trailed along your cheek and hand that was on his that was still holding your throat tenderly. Finger pumping in and out of you, Enji whispered sweet praises to you as he felt your hole clench around him.

“Doing so well for me, sweetheart.”

Your breathy moans and whines only served to harden his cock. He felt like a teenager all over again, closing to cumming just from the sound of your voice.

Another finger slipped into your tight core, careful not to overwhelm you too fast. It was obvious you'd hadn't been touched before, not even by yourself. You felt full but greedy for more of his touch.

“Deeper, Enji! Please, can you?”

You were babbling at this point, writhing in his lap as he fingered you nice and slow with thick digits. Enji hummed as he pressed further into, curling his fingers into your G-spot.

Your cry was loud as he began to abuse your most sensitive spot, fully squirming in his arms as tears of pleasure breached your eyes. The sensation was too overpowering for you, making you thrash and arch in his arms.

“Shh, you're okay, sweetheart. You're okay; I'm right here.”

His fingers continued to stroke in a curled fashion, thumb still circling over your twitching clit. Enji kissed you again, deeper and more fierce as he began to fuck you earnestly with his fingers.

“Cum for me, darling.”

Squealing, you gripped his forearm and cried helplessly into his mouth. The build was slow and intense, allowing your orgasm to wash over you in waves of pleasure rather than a blinding, quick light.

“E-Enji!” You wailed. “Enji!”

You shook in his arms, holding onto the larger man for dear life as you experienced your first orgasm. It seemed like Enji knew your body better than you did.

No words were exchanged between the pair of you, but you could feel the tension of your desired hanging thick in the air. This man was going to take your virginity, here and now.

Enji removed his hand from your throat and between your legs in order to maneuver you to sit facing forward in his lap.

“Are you ready for me?”

His honesty made you flush even more. Biting your lip nervously, you hesitated to answer. Were you ready? It wasn’t like you had much of choice; the man could very well take you by force if he so chose to. But you felt safe in his arms, safe with him.

“Let me help you, my love.”

Warm, large hands gripped your backside as he held you steady above his cock. Your hand reached down to line yourself up with his throbbing sex, lowering yourself down on it slowly.

It burned in the best way, stretching you out fully as you pressed your forehead against his chin.

“Good girl, taking my cock so well, darling.”

A pitiful whine left your throat at the praise, hands gripping the forearms that held you in place.

“Can...Can you hold me?” You whimpered. “Please?”

Enji’s arms enveloped you and pulled you flush against his, tucking your head into the crook of his neck as you continued to lower yourself onto his cock. Your breath tickled his ears, making him groan lowly once he bottomed out inside of you.

“Such a sweet girl you are, taking all of me on your first try.”

Another whine responded for you as you ground your hips down on his.

“E-Enji.” You whimpered his name over and over again like a prayer. “Enji!”

“Be still, little one.” Hands back on your hips, holding you in place near the tip of his girthy length. “Let me take care of you.”

Hips in place, the man began to thrust up into you slowly, holding you tight as he stood up from the water. You only gripped and nuzzled yourself into him further, letting out sweet whines and whimpers into his ear while he thrust into you.

Your back was placed against the cool tile of the wall when he tilted your chin up to meet his gaze. Even in this position, he was still at least another head taller than you.

“Look at me when I make love to you.”

Through wet eyelashes, you gazed up at his eyes and let your mouth hang open as he rolled his hips into yours. His eyes shut briefly when he moaned, hissing at the feeling of your wet cunt hugging his cock so well.

“You were made to take my cock, little one.”

Arms reached up to wrap around his neck as he thrust into you, taking his time to make his strokes slow and deep. His hips were flush against yours when you asked him, “Kiss me, please? I want all of you Enji.”

Your bold proclamation stunned him for a moment before yielding, placing a deep kiss and a hot tongue against your lips.

His thrusts became faster as he kissed you with more passion and vitality. For an old man, he certainly had his stamina up to par. Your fingers thread through his red and grey tresses, tugging him closer to you gently as you moaned shamelessly into his mouth.

The pleasure in your core was more intense, fiercer this time around as his thrusts became hard and fast. The sounds of both of your moans and skin slapping against skin echoed off the tiled bathroom walls as the both of you felt your orgasms coming.

“Enji, fuck!” You whined, beginning to squirt on his fast-paced cock. “I-I’m cumming; I’m cumming!”

“Cum for me, princess.”

With a choked sob, you creamed yourself all over his cock, which continued to pound into your hole before he groaned your name and came deep inside you.

Nothing but the sounds of the water sloshing and your labored breathing could be heard as you both came down from your highs.

After a moment of rest, Enji pulled out and wrapped you in a towel before laying you gently on the bed. A towel was wrapped around his own waist as he looked at you fondly, brushing stray hairs out of your eye sight as he sat next to you on the bed.

“I must ask, how did you end up at the auction site?”

What a loaded question, but the intimacy you two shared allowed for it.

“I was kidnapped off the streets after my parents abandoned me when the prison break happened.”

He sighed gruffly and took your hand in his.

“What utter fools, tossing aside a beautiful rose such as yourself.”

His thumb traced over your soulmate mark. You still had yet to know how he knew before ever meeting you.

“It's alright; I never considered them my family. I just wish I could have met mine, but at least I met my soulmate.”

A crinkled smile adorned his face.

“You've done more than meet them.”

What could that have meant?

“I’m your father and your soulmate, little one.”

A rock hit the pit of your stomach as you retracted your hand from his.

“That isn't a funny joke, I'm serious.”

“So am I.” His hand was quick to snatch your back. “What could I possibly gain from lying to you?”

“P-Prove it.”

“Our soulmate marks, I saw yours the moment you were born in the Hosu hospital before my wife separated us all those years ago. I can recite your birthday if you'd like me to, for good measure.”

Fuck, he really wasn't lying. A lump formed in your throat as tears sprung in your eyes.

“Why would you do this to me?” You whispered, barely even able to hear yourself.

“Because I love you. I love you so much, sweetheart. Ever since I saw you for the first time in the hospital, my entire life has changed because of you. All I ever wanted was you.”

Enji was quick to shush your cries, using his free hand to wipe your tears away.

“Will you forgive me for being selfish?”

The disgust and horror filled everyone of your senses, especially when you came to a realization that he was everything you've ever wanted.

What came out of your mouth next stunned the both of you.

“You can apologize by begging on your knees and cleaning me up with your tongue, Daddy.”

TAGLIST: @tomurasprincess @bonesoftheimpala @sightoru @cxnicalsweetheart

[fanficimagery]

‘Cause We’re Gonna Be Legends; pt. 1

Summary: Imagine wandering the Boardwalk with your friends. A group of boys catch their attention and while your friends are doing everything to catch their attention in return, they are apparently more interested in the oblivious girl of the bunch who doesn't care to bat her eyelashes at them. You. [Part One]

GIF courtesy of @daebom + Original GIF Post

Words: 6.5K Warnings: I have no idea what this is. I wanted just a quick little scene where the boys are taking care of a sick S/O and it turned into this. Fml. Sorry for their OOC-ness.

With summer officially here, your girl friends are more than ready to prowl the boardwalk in their skimpiest of outfits. Out of the five of you, you were the only one who preferred to actually be covered up. You didn't care to flash any skin if you weren't soaking up the rays on the beach and your friends didn't care to attempt any makeover since it was less competition for them.

And really, there was no competition at all. You were a little on the short side whereas your friends were all long-legged, thin beauties. You honestly wouldn't be surprised if a couple of them ended up in a magazine, that's how pretty they were. But you were comfortable in your own skin and didn't mind the attention being on them. In fact, you preferred to be in the background and watch your friends do whatever it is they pleased. You were content to witness and laugh at their antics, and then be grateful you were the only one without regrets or a killer hangover the following day.

You were the only one out of your friend group to live alone, so it was really no surprise your house became ground zero for getting ready for a night out. And after making sure the girls had picked up after themselves, we're not animals, ladies!, you piled into one car and sped off.

"So what's the plan?" Emily asks, already twirling a piece of her blonde hair around a finger as she eyes a couple of tourists walking by. She winks when they give her a double take. "If we're scoping out some boys, I can't mess up my hair on any of the rides."

Rolling your eyes, you let the girls pass you up and then walk behind them as they figure out what the night is going to entail. Booth after booth, each working individual calls out in order to grab your group's attention in order to play their game or buy their merchandise.

"Hold it." Ruby practically flings her arms out at her sides, stalling Jessica and Becca. "The boys are all alone and ripe for the picking."

Mentally chuckling, you let your girls ogle them from afar and then quickly fix themselves up. The boys in question are four bikers that basically run the boardwalk. David, Dwayne, Marko, and Paul. Ever since your girls had realized what babes the rebels actually were, they'd made it their mission to nab each one for a night of fun. But for as long as you've seen them prowling the boardwalk, not once had you caught them all alone. Not until tonight.

Ruby, all dark hair and red painted lips, takes the lead in all her sultry glory. Emily and Jessica follow, their heels clicking against the wooden boardwalk as they giggle back and forth to each other, and Becca- coy, innocent looking Becca- brings up the rear. For some reason, Becca was the one who had the highest chance of bringing in their targets.

You stay several feet behind them, chuckling when Becca glances over her shoulder and wrinkles her nose cutely at the one you've come to know as Marko. When he elbows Paul and Paul wolf whistles, you know the girls have them hook, line, and sinker. "Every time," you mumble, shaking your head in amusement.

As you're passing up the boys, something makes you look in their direction. Paul and Marko are calling out rather suggestive comments to your friends, but David and Dwayne are both staring at you. Your small smile briefly falters at the intensity of their stares, but you're quick to shake off the odd feeling you were suddenly overwhelmed with. Instead, you timidly nod in greeting before quickly looking forward once more to catch up to your girls.

"Oh my god. Do you hear them?!" Jessica gushes, her red hair framing her face in waves. "Tonight's the night, girls. I can feel it."

"Keys," you immediately say, holding a hand out. "You girls do you, but I am not letting you assholes abandon me if you get lucky." Emily smirks, readily handing over the keys. "And if you strike out, I'll be heading back towards the car around midnight. Wait around for me or catch a ride home. If I get to the car and no one is there, I'll sit around for thirty minutes before calling it a night and then you're shit out of luck. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mom," all four of your friends muse.

"Good. Now go have fun," you say, shooing them away. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"But you wouldn't do anything," Ruby mockingly pouts. "And we want to do everything."

"Of course you do," you sigh. "You girls are my favorite sluts after all. Now go before I decide to lecture you instead."

All four girls cackle before taking a path back towards the way they came, intent on catching the boys' attention once more in hopes of drawing them in. You shake your head at them as they disappear and set off to hit up a few particular booths. You've got some spending cash on you and you plan to buy yourself a few things you'd been eyeing for almost a month now.

Wandering the boardwalk, you dodge some rambunctious teens and slide past the more unsavory individuals of Santa Carla. You manage to find some of the t-shirts you'd been wanting and even a few patches to add to your bag back home. Then after snagging yourself a Cola, you walk over to a table and take a seat to do some people watching. You waste some time doing just that, smiling hesitantly when you accidentally catch a gaze or three.

You haven't seen your friends or the boys, so you figure they actually did get lucky. But it was still a little too early for your liking, so you bought tickets for some of the rides. You got on the Ferris Wheel, riding solo and enjoying the peace of the night. On the Tilt-O-Whirl you partnered up with a little girl who'd been nervous to ride alone and her mother had been grateful for it. In fact she had been so grateful that she asked if you were with someone because her little girl wanted to get on the roller coaster, but didn't want to do so alone. And since you weren't busy at all, you made the kid's night by making sure she didn't have to ride alone after jogging real quick back to the car to drop off your purchases.

By the time the mother/daughter duo were done for the night, you wanted one last ride on the carousel before calling it a night for yourself. So after ripping off the exact amount of tickets you'd need for two rides on the carousel, you then handed the rest to a couple of teens who were still having the time of their lives.

You told the carousel operator you'd be going around twice and since you've done this numerous times he nodded to let you know he understood. And though you really want to sit atop of one of the horses, you're alone and don't want to look like a complete idiot. So choosing one of the sleigh seats, you sit with your back against the arm rest and stretch your legs out across the seat so no one dares sit with you.

The carousel music starts before the ride starts to slowly spin and you settle in. You don't know what it is about this particular ride, but it's soothing to you and you tiredly smile at everyone around you who are giggling and enjoying themselves. The ride spins for a couple of minutes before slowing to a complete stop and letting off the riders in order to make room for the next batch. But you remain seated, one arm draped along the backrest of the seat and the other along the arm rest as you twist your upper torso just so. You let your head fall back, eyes closing for a few seconds as the carousel rocks from the people jumping on and off.

Suddenly your legs are being lifted and then dropped into what obviously feels like someone's lap, and you lift your head quickly, ready to tell someone off. But your anger quickly fades into shock at the sight of a familiar blonde who is now laughing at your gaping expression. Paul. Someone looms over you just to your left, behind the sleight seat, and you barely manage to suppress a squeak at the stoic looking Dwayne. His dark eyes sparkle, but his expression remains neutral. Marko is behind Paul, draped over a horse as he smirks and wiggles his fingers in a childish wave.

"Wha-" Fingers caress your right cheek from behind, sliding towards your ear to tuck some loose hair behind there. You flinch and then glance over your shoulder. David's blue eyes are intense as he stares down at you, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Um. Hi?" You wonder, rubbing at your cheek with your shoulder. You move to take your legs out of Paul's lap, but he lays an arm over your thighs to keep you in place. He grins and you sigh. "What do you want?"

"Can't a couple of guys be friendly, chica?"

"Sure, but you guys aren't known for exactly being friendly. Are you, Paul?"

Marko ooh's as Paul's grin widens, but it's the voice above you that sends a shiver down your spine. "Well now you have us at unfair advantage, sweetheart. You seem to know us, but we have no idea who you are."

The carousel music starts and the ride starts to spin again. You tilt your head backwards so you're staring at David upside down. "Because that's the way I prefer it." His expression briefly falters and you slowly grin at him. "But since you've now been acquainted with my girls, I'm assuming it's only a matter of time before they drag you to my house or try to get us all to hang out. So in that case, I'm Y/N."

"Your girls, huh?" David drawls. "Then why weren't you with them when they attempted to get us alone under the boardwalk?"

You snort. Of course they'd jump straight to sexing them up.

"Yeah, girl, why not? You'd have probably made for better company."

Your eyes subtly widen as you then quickly give Paul your attention. "Better company? You've got to be joking. They're the definition of everyone's type!"

"And what about you?"

You briefly falter. "What about me? I'm just- I'm the mom friend." You shrug. "But instead of making sure they're behaving, I send my little horndogs off to have fun and make sure they have a ride home at the end of the night if they need it."

"Now that doesn't seem fair at all." The back of David's knuckles runs along your cheek and you move out of reach. The other two blondes chuckle. "Your friends were great and all, but they lacked a little.. something."

Dwayne huffs. "Yeah. A brain."

"Hey!" You frown up at the brunette, fighting off a smile because as much as you loved your friends you knew they were a little sidetracked when sex was on the brain. Your shoulders slump and you sigh. "At least tell me you let them down easy? They've been trying to get you all in the sack for weeks."

Paul smirks. "We know."

The carousel comes to a stop and as you move to get up, the boys don't let you go far. David smirks and takes the lead, and Paul immediately slings arm around your shoulders to make you follow him. Marko saunters at your other side and Dwayne is only a step behind you.

"That dark haired one was a bit mean," Marko suddenly says. "Ruby I think her name was?"

"Yeah." You grimace. "Ruby and Becca are the dark haired ones, but Becca does just fine with rejection. She'll laugh it off and still consider you a friend. You guys are lucky Ruby and Jessica weren't drunk. They're mean when they don't get what they want."

Paul laughs and squeezes you closer to his side. "Dwayne and David held their own just fine. And besides, your girls found another group to entertain themselves with."

"Oh good. At least now I don't have to hear them complain about not being di-" You pause, staring at the motorcycles they've led you to. "Leaving so soon? I figured you boys were the type to stay up all night."

David smirks as he straddles his bike. "We are."

"What do you say, chica? Wanna go for a ride?" Paul jostles you before letting you go, only to hop on his own bike. Dwayne and Marko are much calmer as they straddle theirs, though Marko joins Paul in practically bouncing in his seat.

You gulp and slowly inch backward. "Uh, raincheck? I was actually about to head home after riding the carousel."

"Boo. Live a little," Paul says. "Have some of that spirit you were friends were showing us earlier."

Your smile dims just a little at being compared to them, but you quickly squash the feeling. "Sorry, bub. If you wanted a good time, you were better off with the girls." You take a few steps backward, shrugging. "I'll see you around. My bed's calling my name."

Paul and Marko do their best to keep you with them just a little bit longer, but Dwayne and David watch you go with carefully guarded expressions.

Ever since you were introduced to the boys, it seemed like they were suddenly everywhere at the boardwalk. The girls didn't take their rejection personally, so it was only a matter of time before they realized that at least one of them had caught and held the boys' attention.

The girls left you alone to pursue a hopeful one night stand? The boys would find you and make sure you had a fun night yourself.

You trailed after your friends who were clutching onto someone's arm as they were won prize after prize? Marko would show up out of the blue with a prize half your size and a smug smirk when the girls would gape at his sudden appearance and disappearance.

Your friends chose the wrong crowd to hang out with? David, Dwayne, and Marko were immediately there to deal with the situation if you or your girls couldn't handle it yourselves.

Paul would endlessly flirt whenever your group would pass by, but the comments and stares were now directed at you.

Their attention solely on you didn't go unnoticed and your girls couldn't be more ecstatic for you. Normally you'd glare and reject any flirtations with a roll of your eyes, but day by day the boys wore you down to the point you'd laugh and smile at their antics. The girls were under the impression something was going on, but to you the boys were just annoyingly passing the time.

However, you couldn't help but notice how David watched you like a hawk to make sure no one was giving you a hard time. Dwayne would stand as close as possible without touching and didn't particularly like when other boys attempted to catch your attention. Marko liked to drag you onto rides and was always the one to offer dinner, and Paul liked to touch to see exactly where on your body was accessible to him. He was the most handsy of the four and thought it was hilarious when you'd punch him if he touched any spot you were ticklish. Lately though he took to slipping a hand in your back pocket when you least expected it and kissing your cheek when you yelped in surprise before running off.

Your friends were adamant that the boys were seriously into you, but you weren't so sure. They still looked and flirted with various females that crossed their paths, even as you sat there next to them and watched on in amusement.

They were the best looking guys you'd seen in Santa Carla, so surely they couldn't be interested in you like your girls kept saying they were.

Being sick is a rare occurrence, but being so sick that you're flat out miserable is even rarer. You're normally good at taking care of yourself and getting back into tip-top shape in no time, but the flu is really kicking your ass this time around. It also doesn't help that the AC's working to keep your apartment cool aren't doing that well of a job. Well they are, but your body is doing it's best to sweat the virus out of itself and you're just plain miserable.

With your hair tied up in a loose bun to keep it off the back of your neck, you've been so overly heated that you opted to lounge around in a sports bra and a pair of cotton shorts that you normally just sleep in because they're so small. But here you are, laid up in bed as you watch TV.

There's a knock on your front door and you groan, not wanting to get up and greet anyone. And besides, all your friends knew you were sick so they were staying away. A minute passes and then another, more urgent knock sounds. You groan again, but get up to find out who's disturbing you when all you want is to be left alone.

Stumbling through the hallway and living room, you make it to the front door just as a third knock sounds.

"What?" You grumble after yanking open the door. Four familiar boys stare right back at you, two of those gazes immediately dropping to take in all the skin on display. Dwayne frowns at you, but there's a- dare you say it?- spark of concern in David's expression.

"You weren't on the boardwalk," David says. "Becca told us where we could find you."

You wrinkle your nose at him. "Did she also tell you I was sick and in no shape for visitors?"

"Oh, babe." Paul leers. "You're in the best shape. Is this," he gestures to your body, "what you've been hiding under those band tees and plaid shirts?"

"I hate you," you deadpan. Marko cackles and even Dwayne's lips twitch in amusement. You smile tiredly, but then grimace in pain. "Guys, I'm gross, I'm tired, and I'm miserable. You know exactly where I'm at now, so can I please crawl back into my bed and die in peace? Yes? Okay, bye."

David's hand stops the door from entirely closing on them. You groan and whimper, moments away from just crying with how miserable you feel. The door swings back open and the back of David's hand is immediately on your forehead. Automatically you swat him away, but then realize a moment later that it actually felt good. He was cold.

"When was the last time you took medicine?" David wonders, smirking when you grab his hand and hold it to your cheek next.

You hum as you sigh in relief. "Medicine? What's that?" You attempt to joke. When you meet his no-nonsense expression, you frown and reluctantly drop his hand. "I either pay for food and medicine or pay to keep a roof over my head. Guess which one I prioritized."

David glances over his shoulder, and Paul and Marko stare at him before taking off without a word. You frown as you watch them go, but then David and Dwayne are pushing their way into your apartment. "You're running too hot," David tells you. "You need to cool off. Now."

"I know that, dad, but I literally can't stand for too long. You're lucky I'm even still standing right now." Without warning, a now jacket-less Dwayne picks you up with one arm behind your shoulders and the other under your knees. You yelp as your hands settle on his shoulder, but when you realize his body is as cold as David's hand felt, you melt. "Oh. Oh that's nice." Dwayne chuckles and David smirks behind his back, and you lay your head on his shoulder before nuzzling in towards the crook of his neck. "If any of you get sick, it's your fault. You should have left when you had the chance."

"Don't worry about us." Dwayne's voice is low, his chest rumbling as he talks. "We don't get sick."

"Mhm. You say that now." Dwayne lowers you gently onto your bed and you raise an eyebrow at him as he climbs in next to you. You gulp as he then lays down and stretches his arm out, and you take it as an invite to drape your upper half across his chest. He curls one arm beneath his head and the other around your back, and it takes everything in you to not completely wrap yourself around him. "God you feel so good," you mumble as you let your eyes fall shut.

David chuckles. "I don't think any of us have heard that without-"

"Shush!" You feel the bed dip behind you, but are too comfortable to move and look at him. "I just replayed that in my head and realized how it sounded. Don't tell Paul."

Both boys chuckle, but then quiet down after a few seconds. You sigh as your body finally relaxes and you moan quietly when Dwayne starts to run his fingers up and down your spine. He's abnormally cold, but right now you don't give a damn because he feels great against your feverish body.

"You need to take better care of yourself," David says. "You look out for those girls of yours all the time, so the least they could do is return the favor."

"As much as they like to appear independent, they're not," you mumble. "Medicine is expensive and I'm not about to put that on my friends or their parents. I can handle a week of being sick. It's fine."

"Is it?" Dwayne drawls. "You're awfully clingy for a sick person."

"I'm sick, you assholes. Baby me."

They find amusement in your whining and Dwayne squeezes you a little tighter. But David continues to talk. "So all your friends live with their parents, except for you. Why is that?"

"We're estranged," you say. "Lived with my aunt and got a job as soon as I was able to. Then I graduated and moved out with the cash I saved."

"You still talk to this aunt?"

"No. We kept in contact for a few months, but then we each got our own lives. The only people I have are the girls."

"And us," Dwayne rumbles. "You have us."

"You're adorable. Now shush. Watch TV and let me sleep."

David and Dwayne finally go quiet then, but you know they've listened because the TV volume lowers and you can hear the channels changing. They settle on some program and you can finally feel yourself drifting off into a promising sleep.

It's apparently not a deep sleep because semi-loud noises startle you awake once more. When you lift your head to stare around the room, Marko is frozen next to Dwayne as he shows him a couple different boxes of medicine. You blink at him and then stare towards the end of the bed where Paul's eyes are directed to one spot, and one spot only.

"Damn, girl. You should wear these shorts more often." Of course he's staring at your ass. "Are you wearing underwear because if you lift your leg just a little bit higher-"

"Paul!" You snort and then grimace in pain, lowering your head back onto Dwayne's chest. "I have on underwear, okay? You're not gonna get a peek at the goods no matter how hard you stare."

"Bummer." He then holds up a brown paper bag, his gaze meeting yours. "Got some chicken soup and crackers for you. Sit up so you can eat and then take the medicine."

"What?" You're surprised they got you both food and medicine, and slowly move to sit up against the headboard. Dwayne follows, and soon enough you're sitting between both Dwayne and David in your bed. "I was only joking when I said to baby me."

"Yeah? Well too bad," David says. "You need to break your fever. Now eat a little something, shower, and then take the fever reducer."

David seems actually pretty serious about this, so after holding his gaze for a moment too long you give in. You don't mention you actually hate eating in bed and watch on in mild amusement as Dwayne and Marko juggle the now opened soup container and a sleeve of crackers while trying to figure out a way to hand it all to you without spilling anything.

"There's a lap tray under the sink in the kitchen." You take pity on Marko and his shoulders sag in relief. "And can you bring me a glass of water?" Marko does quick work of retrieving what you've asked for and then you're stretching out your legs in front of you as Dwayne sets everything up in your lap for you. You sigh as you take hold of the plastic spoon to scoop up the first mouthful and pray your stomach doesn't revolt while the boys are with you. When you take the first bite and quietly groan at the taste, your gaze darts around to the four boys who are staring at you. "Please do something other than watch me eat. This is weird."

Paul immediately pushes off your dresser to start rummaging through your drawers, Marko busies himself with your bookshelf, David starts channel surfing, and when you glance at Dwayne he has his eyes closed. Paul's a little overexcited and you can't find it in you to reprimand him because you did tell him to do something.

You eat slow, nibbling on a cracker here and there between spoonfuls of chicken broth and noodles. David even steals a cracker or two, but his gaze never leaves the TV so he never sees you grin every time he does it.

"Hey. Sick patch," Marko suddenly muses. "Where'd you get it?" In his hand is the patch depicting a skeleton mid-headbang, his skeletal hand showing the sign of the horns.

"It was a gift," you tell him, smiling fondly. "A while back I ran into a little girl who was scared to get on rides alone, so I rode with her for about an hour. Her mother was really grateful and I ran into them again a couple days later on the boardwalk. They saw my bag, the girl fell in love with all the patches, and she conned her mom into buying me a new one to show her thanks." Marko's interest is suddenly piqued and you can see him subtly glancing around. And given his own love of patches, you guess he's looking for your bag. "My bag's in the closet."

Paul joins Marko at your closet then and you finally lean back against your headboard, done with eating. Dwayne takes the tray off your lap to take into the kitchen, but you keep your glass of water to sip. You smile when Marko finds your bag, commenting on the patchwork and about a few patches he hadn't seen before.

"You feeling strong enough to stand in the shower?"

You look over at David, who's more than at ease lounging in your bed, and shrug. "Only one way to find out." You hand him your glass of water and crawl out through the spot Dwayne had vacated. Standing on shaky legs, you hesitantly walk back and forth, and then grin up at David. "Yeah. I should be fine."

He nods. "Take the medicine now, then after you shower you can relax."

From the corner of your eye you see Paul make a beeline for your dresser. "Oh I know the perfect outfit."

"Out of the underwear drawer, you d-hole!" Dwayne re-enters the room, smacking Paul upside the head and shutting the drawer he had just opened. You smile at him in thanks and then quietly chuckle at the blonde's pout. "If you calm down and stop looking at me like that, you can pick out a fresh set of exactly what I'm wearing. And yes that includes the underwear." He perks up at that and you roll your eyes. "Top drawer for the underwear, second for the sports bra, and the very bottom for pajama shorts." As Paul takes his time choosing the perfect underwear, you glance back at Marko who's caressing a few patches on your bag. You sigh. "Hey, Marko. There's a shoe box at the top of my closet to the right. It's filled with patches. Have fun choosing the five you want." Immediately your bag is dropped and he's reaching for the shelf inside your closet.

"You know you just made their night's, right?" Dwayne asks. When you glance at him, you're surprised to see he had your first dose of medicine ready for you to take.

"I needed to get rid of some patches and I have a feeling Paul would end up in my underwear drawer the second the shower turned on, so.." You take the medicine from him, tossing two pills into your mouth and swallowing them down with a mouthful of water.

Dwayne nods and then lowers his voice. "Is there anywhere in particular you want Paul to stay out of?" You're about to tell him no, but then your eyes unwillingly dart to your bedside drawer. You gulp, your face flames, and you pray your face is already red from fever otherwise Dwayne is going to know exactly what you're hiding. When you meet his amused gaze and small smirk, you quietly groan. He definitely knows. "Got it," he says rather than teasing you about it.

Clothes are then shoved into your hands and Paul winks at you. "Your selection of underwear is phenomenal. I did not expect all that lace."

You don't bother with a reply and head out into the hall as he snickers at your back, taking a left to the bathroom. Once you're hidden behind the closed door, you turn the water on cool in the shower and then allow yourself to just breathe. It's been a while since anyone bothered to actually look after you and now having four boys, who are insanely attractive in their own ways, take up that job is a little mind boggling. But before you can think anymore on it and what their motives could be, if they had any, your back twinges in pain and you start to undress.

You're not sure how long you actually take in the shower, but you know it must've been quite some time in order for Marko to knock on the door and ask if everything was okay. A couple minutes after that you finally exit the shower, slowly dressing and doing your best to towel dry your hair. Giving up, you walk out and make your way back into your bedroom.

The boys have dragged chairs into your room, only one of them now lounging in bed. Paul has shed his jacket and boots, stretched out in your bed with both hands tucked beneath his head and ankles crossed. He wiggles his eyebrows at you and you huff a brief laugh.

"Better?" David asks.

Shrugging, you look towards him. "I don't feel so gross now, but I'm still sleepy."

"Then sleep. We'll wake you in four hours for your next dose of medicine and then leave after that."

You open your mouth to argue, but his deadpan expression lets you know it's pointless to argue. So just going with the flow, you shrug and toss your towel into the corner hamper. Crawling into bed, you tiredly grin at Paul who's likely hoping for you to cuddle up to him like you did to Dwayne. But your hair is damp, so instead you settle next to him. He dramatically gasps, but you sit there to gather your hair in hand before twisting it into an untied bun and then lay down on it so it's not all over the place.

"Well then fine," Paul huffs. "I'll just cuddle you instead."

Already knowing he means it, you lay your arm out in invitation. He's so much larger than you, however, that he opts to lay on his stomach directly next to you. His right arm drapes over your stomach and tucks beneath your waist, and his face nestles in the crook of your neck. You freeze, especially when you can feel hot breath against your skin, and only relax when he seems to be behaving. "This is not how friends cuddle," you mumble, "but you're so cold I don't even care."

David and Dwayne both smirk, and Marko hides his amusement behind a fist as he chews on his thumbnail. "Good." Paul's voice is muffled against your neck. "Because we've been trying for days, weeks if I'm honest, to get you to notice we're trying to be more than just your friends."

"W-What?" You squeak. Your heart immediately starts to pound and you're suddenly self conscious about the way Paul is wrapped around you.

"We were sure you'd have noticed by now or your girls would have said something," Marko says.

"I- I mean they have," you stammer, "but.. what? Why? I'm not- I'm just.."

"You're different," Dwayne says. You blink in surprise at him. "You noticed us, but you didn't throw yourself at us."

"You also weren't intimidated by us, so that was a plus." Marko perks up in his chair. "Have you really not noticed? I mean Paul started groping you and Dwayne glared at that one guy who asked for your number until he walked off."

"Yeah, but that's just Paul. He flirts with anything that has a heartbeat." The three boys chuckle at your still astonished expression and Paul nuzzles your neck with a hum. He doesn't deny it. "And Dwayne.. I kind of guessed he was into me," you frown, "but I convinced myself that his actions were of the protective brother sort."

"Oh he was protective alright. Just not brotherly." Paul's lips and breath so close to your neck makes you shiver, and it doesn't go unnoticed by the others. Paul too if him pulling you ever closer to his body is any indication. The tip of his nose runs along your neck and you find yourself subconsciously tilting your head to the side. "Even sick you smell so good."

Dwayne, David, and Marko all tense, their gazes darting to where Paul's face is hidden. You chuckle nervously, trying to push him away with your head, only to quietly moan when you feel the flat of his tongue sweep across your skin.

"Paul!" David barks.

Startling, you get your wits about you and push Paul away. He looks a little dazed when he glances around and then offers you a sheepish smile. "O-Okay," you shakily say, "out. Your cuddling privileges are over for the night."

"Aw. Come on, babe."

"Nope. I'm too sick for that right now."

Marko laughs as Paul slinks out of the bed and then quickly takes up the vacated spot for himself. He ends up almost in the exact position, only his head lands on your chest and his arm wraps around the tops of your thighs so his hand is tucked beneath your legs. You sigh as his cold skin cools off yours.

Marko lasts exactly eleven minutes before the hand under your thigh shifts upward to your butt and squeezes. You sigh and poke his shoulder. "Out. You're as bad as Paul." He laughs, not even bothering to deny it.

Paul and Marko high five one another, and you frown as you attempt to shift into a more comfortable position. You watch Dwayne with suspicious eyes as he slides into bed once more, but then give him the benefit of the doubt when he lets you cuddle up to him instead. Once you're comfortable with your head on his chest and arm over his stomach, you're finally able to fall asleep once more when his hand settles in your hair instead of somewhere on your own body.

The next time you're woken up it's because you feel a little overheated once again. You groan as you stretch out and realize a moment later you're not cuddled up to anyone. Frowning, you also realize that there's a black coat covering you. You shove the coat down towards your lap and glance around your room, only to find David staring at you in amusement from the edge of your bed.

"Sleep well?"

"Mhm. This yours?" You ask, gesturing to the coat. He smiles and nods. "Where is everyone?"

"We need to get going." You sit up and notice then that he's got your next dose of medicine waiting for you, and a glass of water. "We'll be busy later tonight, but we'll be back tomorrow evening. Keep taking your medicine and we'll see you soon."

After David hands you the medicine and water, he stands to pull on his coat. You slide out of bed to stand in front of him and nervously shift from foot to foot. "Thank you," you mumble. "For everything."

"Don't mention it, sweetheart." David raises his hand, fingertips caressing your cheek before tucking what no doubt is wild hair behind your ear. You grimace and then reach up to smooth it down yourself. "Listen. About earlier, the boys might have crossed a line. You're sick and we kind of dropped a bomb on you about all four of us being interested in you."

"Oh." You will yourself to not blush. "I, um, it's fine. It's kind of shocking, but I'm actually-"

"Interested?" David raises an eyebrow at you.

You shrug. "Who wouldn't be? But you guys seriously picked the worst time to bluntly tell me you liked me."

"You were taking too long to catch on."

You shake your head in amusement at him. "Fair enough." Sighing, you then nod towards your door. "I'll walk you out."

"It's fine. You get back into bed." His hand raises and latches onto the back of your neck, and he brings you so his cold lips press to your feverish forehead. "We'll be back before you know it." Then without another word, David whirls around and exits your bedroom.

A few moments later and you can hear your front door opening and closing. You're left blinking at nothing but thin air and when you notice it's just after three in the morning, you numbly crawl back into bed. The entire night, the parts where you were awake, had been nuts and you can't help but attempt to go over every interaction you've ever had with the boys. You try to pinpoint exactly when their friendly interactions turned into something more, but a sudden throb behind your eyes has you groaning.

Tomorrow. You'll figure it out tomorrow.

[tamakissimp]

headcanon- secret santa

summary: they’re their crush’s secret Santa

characters: Izuku, Shoto, Iida, Shinso, Dabi

warnings: cursing

request: @awkwardteengirl505​ hey hun! sorry to be a pain but can you do a secret Santa part 2 please? with the rest of the gang like izu, sho,dabi ect. also hope your having a fabulous day :D

a/n: thank you! I hope you have a good day too! and yes, I was already kinda planning on doing these headcanons for more characters so thank you for requesting!🥰

𝕚𝕫𝕦𝕜𝕦

𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟞𝟡𝟡

Izuku bits his tongue to keep his giggles down. He didn't even need to fully read your name, he could recognize your handwriting anywhere. Heat flushes through his cheeks as his mind goes wild with ideas for potential gifts.

"Who'd you get 'Zuki?" you suddenly ask. His heart skips a beat at the nickname. He quickly stuffs the piece of paper into his pocket and looks in your eyes. A mistake, on his part, since he immediately looks down to the ground after.

"No one!" he says a little too quickly. You hold your hands up in the air and take a step away from him. Izuku curses at himself for his response. "I mean, i-it's a secret! A t-total secret s-so I can't t-tell you.".

You nod at his words before flashing him a smile. "Okay, okay. Then I'm not telling you either,' you say as you shoot him a wink. You turn away from him when Ochako taps on your shoulder. She happily shows you her note before you show her yours.

Izuku stars at your interaction with your mutual friend. A small smile tugs on his lips as he sees how happy you get. You whisper in Ochaka's ear so that none of the others can hear you. God, he needs to make this gift perfect.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Izuku unwraps his gift with shaky fingers. He carefully pulls the black ribbon off the box before moving into the green wrapping paper. Out from under the paper, a box appears. Simple doodles decorate the sides. He recognizes some of them. They're the same doodles you always draw on your notes.

The drawings range from hearts to flowers to little face. A blush washes through his cheeks. He quickly lifts the lid of the box. A sweater lays waiting for him. He quickly grabs it out the box. He runs the soft material between his fingers.

Izuku looks up at you. A goofy smile is plastered on your lips. Yep, that makes it official. This sweater is the only thing he is going to wear for the next week.

"T-Thank you so much!" he says as he gives you a little bow. You nudge his side while shaking your head.

"Stop with those formalities," you say before pulling him in for a hug. Izuku remains frozen as you hug him. He memorizes the feeling of your body presses against his. He bites his tongue to stop a whine from spilling out as you pull away.

"Now, I think it's your turn if I'm correct," Shoto says. You nod at the half-and-half boy as you reach towards the gift bag with your name on it. It's small, smaller than the others.

Izuku's body runs cold as he watches you unpack his gift. Insecurity clouds his brain. Compared to your gift, his is trash. Maybe he shouldn't have taken Iida's advice.

A gasp leaves your lift as you read over the words written on the slip of paper stuffed in the gift bag. "A...date?" you ask before looking over at Izuku. His cheeks as he looks over at his 'gift'.

Coupon good for one date

Fuck. He should have thought of something else. Why would you want to go on a date with him? Facing rejection in front of his friends will be the worse thing to ever happen to him-

"I thought you'd never ask," you say. Wait, what? Izuku's head whips up to look at you. That same goofy smile from earlier is displayed on his lips. His heart fills up with the heat.

"Really-" he says. You cut him off but moving forwards, cupping his face and planting your lips on his. Izuku stiffens for a second before melting into the kiss. It's brief, but it's all he could ever wish for.

You pull away only to be welcomed from various comments and wolf whistles from your friends.

"I thought you two would never confess," Shoto says. You finally look away from Izuku to stare at the 'coupon' once again. Izuku laughs a little as Iida gives him a couple of reassuring pats on his back. O God, is he thankful that he's your secret Santa.

𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕠

𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟞𝟜𝟘

Christmas is new to him. His parents were to busy abusing raising their kids to bother with holidays. All he knew about Christmas comes from the few Hallmark movies he saw. So when Izuku told him that the whole, so-called, Deku-squad were going to do secret Santa it took a lot of explaining. You took the role of guiding Shoto through it.

"Just, grab a note," you say as you point to the bowl sitting in front is Shoto. He nods before reaching into the bowl and grabbing a note. He looks at you again. "Open it up! See who you got.".

Shoto folds the note open. His eyes widen as he sees your name scribbled on the note. He quickly folds it closed again. "And?" you ask. "Why'd you get?".

"It's a secret, isn't it?" Shoto says. You laugh at him. You expected Iida to stick to the rules, not Shoto.

"That's true," you say. "It's a bummer though. I got Izuku.".

Shoto nods at that. Some part of him is disappointed that you aren't his secret Santa. He would even dare to say that he's jealous of Izuku. Though he pushes those thoughts back down quickly. He has no reason to be jealous, right?

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

'Y-Y/n, it's your t-turn!" Izuku says. You smile at him and grab the bag with your name on it. Izuku's attention is immediately turned back on the various amounts of Allmight merchandise you got him.

You look over your group of friends before looking back at the gift bag. You quickly grab every gift out of the bag. From the looks, if it, your secret Santa went above the budget. Way above the budget.

A simple chain necklace, a new Christmas sweater, a gift card for your favourite store. You quickly realized who your secret Santa was. Only one person had enough money to pull this off. You were certain when you pulled a new phone case out of the gift bag. It has a photo of you and Shoto printed on the back off it.

Once all the gifts are stalled out around you, you turn to your friend. "Shoto, you shouldn't have," you say before pulling him in a for a hug.

Shoto awkwardly wraps his arms around your shoulders. A smile tugs on his lips as he feels you nuzzle into his neck. You pull away again to glance at the gifts.

"I can't accept all of these," you say. Shoto quickly shakes his head.

"From my understanding, secret Santa's were supposed to give each other gifts, correct?" Shoto asks. You nod at his words. "Then please, do accept them.".

You sigh. You could see that there was a meaning behind every gift. A shirt that Shoto already owned, so that you match now. A teddy bear, that is similar to one he once won for you at a fare. A box of chocolates from the brand you both enjoy.

You nod before mentioning towards Iida to grab his gift. He happily reaches towards the pile laying in front of you all.

"I'll accept them if..." you say. "If you let me pay you back. Let me take you out for food tonight.".

Shoto's cheeks flush at the idea of you two going to a restaurant. Could this be? Maybe...

"Are you asking me out on a date?" he asks. A nervous smile spreads over your lips.

"If I am, would you say yes?" you ask. Shoto nods. You happily smile before giving his arm a light squeeze. Shoto's eyes widen at the action but he can't deny the butterflies swarming up because of it.

"Then consider it a date!" you say. Shoto nods before looking away from you and towards Iida, who's now unpacking his gifts. God, never had he guessed that Christmas could be this much fun.

𝕚𝕚𝕕𝕒

𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟞𝟝𝟙

Secret Santa was just another opportunity for Iida to prove that he was a class president. He made it his personal mission to get his secret Santa the best gifts money could get.

He is busy hyping himself up as he reaches into the bowl to grab a note. He unfolds it. Y/n. Fuck. Ass. Shit. Fucking fuck. Panic washes through his body.

"Iida!" you say. The panic that was building up in him melts the moment he hears your voice. He turns towards you with a smile on his lips. You run over to him with a goofy smile on your lips.

Once you reach him, you tap him a couple of times on his arm. "Do you want to go gift shopping with me? Please?" you ask. He can't say no to you. Not when you give him those big, puppy-dog eyes paired with that goofy grin.

Iida quickly nods. "Yes! Of course," he says. "I'll take you shopping. That's what a good friend does!".

"Great! How about tomorrow at four?" you ask. Iida nods. You smile at him one last time before running off to talk to god knows who. Iida remains in his spot, relishing the warmth flowing through his heart. He is thankful that his mind is still clouded by a loving fog. If not, he would be freaking out on how he's going to hide that fact that he's your secret Santa.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Iida's normally calm composure is now failing on him. To him, it feels like you're unpacking your gift at an agonizingly slow pace. While in reality, you're tearing through the baby blue wrapping paper at rapid speed.

His fists clench and unclench as he tries to keep his nerves at bay. When you have finally thorn away all the wrapping paper, a smile spreads over your lips.

You proudly hold your gift in your hands. A little basket filled with snacks, a new mug and a book from your favourite author. Along with a letter situated in a pretty green envelope.

"This is so sweet!" you say. With that, Iida's body relaxes. A cocky smile spreads over his lips. "Who's my secret Santa?".

With that, Iida lifts his hand. You carefully place the basket on the ground beside you before crawling over to Iida and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," you whisper into his shoulder.

Iida's smile grows at your hug. His nerves are on fire and his senses are tingling. His happily wraps his arms around you. You pull away from him - way too quickly for Iida - and look him in the eyes.

"What's in the envelope?" you asks. Iida's cheeks grow red at the question.

"Um-N-Nothing!" he quickly says. "Just open it when you're by yourself, okay?". You nod at him before crawling back to your original space, wondering what could be in that envelope.

✨bonus✨

You clutch the small basket to your chest as you take quick steps towards your dorm. You pull the door open and rapidly throw it shut behind you. You gently place the basket onto your bed before gabbing the envelope out of it.

The light green colour suprised you. Blue would have suited Iida better but it's pretty none the less. You quickly open it before snatching the letter out of it. You gently fold it open before reading it.

You're way too excited to read the whole thing. You opt for scanning the text quickly instead. I trust you. Well, that's good. Trust is essential in friendship. I hope you won't treat me differently. Wait, what? I like you.

Oh, crap. Meet me tonight at my dorm have feelings for me as well. If not, we'll pretend I never confessed.

You throw the letter down onto your bed and run over to Iida's dorm. If Aizawa would have seen how fast you ran, he would have been proud.

𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕠

𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟟𝟘𝟠

To say that he was surprised when you invited him for secret Santa, was an understatement. Most of the school feared him, though you never did. You opened him with wide arms and showed him what it's like to be treated like a normal person.

Shinso ignores the hateful glares thrown his way. The only thing he's paying attention to is the way you pull him towards the bowl that Kirishima is holding.

"Y/n!" the redhead says. You greet him as well. "Oh, you brought Shinso.". For a moment, a prepares himself for another hateful comment thrown his way. "You're in general studies, right?". Oh, that wasn't so bad.

Shinso nods at Kirishima. A smile spreads over the redhead's lips. "Cool! I heard that your quirk is super manly!"

Shinso looks over at you with confused eyes. "Hell yeah," you say before reaching into the bowl and grabbing a note. "Hitoshi's quirk is badass.".

A smile spreads over Shinso's lips before grabs a note as well. "You're unbreakable, right?" he asks. Kirishima proudly smiles at him while humming in agreement. "That's...cool,".

"And manly," you add. Kirishima chuckles at you before excusing himself to continue handing out notes. You turn back towards Shinso.

"Let's see who we got!" you say. Shinso nods before folding his note open. Y/n. Thank fucking god. He would have died is he had someone else, let alone a big-mouthed little shit like Bakugou.

He looks over to you. The moment you've read the name on the note, you quickly close it again. A bright smile falls on your lips as stupid giggles follow suit.

"Did you get me?" Shinso asks. He means it teasingly but you take it seriously. Your eyes grow wide.

"How did you know?" you ask. Shinso chuckles to himself before wrapping an arm around your shoulder and leading the two of you towards the couch standing in the common room.

"Only I could make you giggle like a fucking idiot," he adds. You shake your head as you snuggle into his hold. Fuck, was he glad he pulled your note.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

The whole afternoon has gone by surprisingly well. So far, Bakugou has only blown two holes in the whole, Denki has only short-circuited ones and Iida has only given five lectures. No one has said anything hurtful to Shinso. The 1-A class have started to warm up to the general studies student. Shinso would even dare to say that he was having a good time. Though, sipping hot chocolate while laughing his ass off with you could make any activity 'good'.

"Come on, idiot. You're next," Bakugou groans out. He has his arms folded over his chest, doing his best to put on a 'tough guy' facade. Though, his attempts fail since the pastel orange cap that Kirishima gifted him is still planted firmly on his head. The knitted yarn along with the fluffy pomp-pomp sitting on top of it makes Bakugou look more like an angry toddler than a threat.

With a smile, you grab your gift bag. You look over at Shinso before opening the bag up. He's lazily leaning against the couch while taking slow sips of his hot chocolate.

The jet-black gift bag reveals a white scarf. Sloopy stitches and small holes quickly give away the fact that it's homemade. The creamy white colour reminds you of only one person.

You look over to Shinso to see him already smirk at you. You quickly wrap the scarf around your neck. The soft wool feels amazing against your skin.

"Did you make this, 'Toshi?" you ask. Shinso slowly nods. You run your fingers over the fabric again. "Thank you. Really, thank you.".

Shinso's heart flutters at the sight of you. Your excitement travels over to him and he can't stop a goofy smile from pulling on his lips.

"Shitty hair, you're next!" Bakugou calls as he points at Shinso.

He shakes his head as he grabs his own gift bag. "My hair is not shitty, it's cool," he says before grabbing his gift out of the bag.

"Meh, it's actually kinda shitty," you interject while rubbing the scarf against your cheek. Shinso shakes his head at you. God, you're a dork. But you're his dork.

𝕕𝕒𝕓𝕚

𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟜𝟛𝟟

The only reason he agreed to do this was to stop Toga from bugging him. That and the chance that he could get to be your secret Santa. Or better yet, get you to be his.

While flirting was normally his forte, all his skills when out the window when it came to you. He stumbles of his words and his hands start shaking. He feels like a highschool boy all over again. Maybe he could use this as a way to get you to go out with him.

"Bacon bits, come on and pick one," Shigaraki calls. Dabi grumbles at the nickname.

"Not my name, crusty," he says before sticking his hand into Mr Compress' hat. Please be Y/n. Just this once, let the universe work in his favour. He pulls the note out of the hat. He folds it open. Y/n.

Dabi thanks any god that might be up there. For once, luck is on his side. Dabi's eyes shoot over to you. You're talking with a giddy Toga. She's hanging on your arm and discussing potential gifts with you.

You look over at him. He winks at you and you quickly look back at Toga, too flustered to look at Dabi again. He chuckles to himself before walking over a dark corner of the bar try to look 'cool' and 'mysterious'. No one can know that he's secretly thinking if a romantic present to give you.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

"Y/n-chan! Open your gift!" Toga whines out. You shake your head at her as you carefully tear the wrapping paper away. It's clearly cheap. Knowing your friends, most likely stolen, though you don't mind. You smile as you see your gift.

A small teddy bear with dark purple patches to match Dabi's scars. You quickly look over at him. "So you can cuddle it. I know you want the real thing," he says while gesturing to his body. "But this is the closest you'll get.".

You smile brightly at him as you wrap your arms around the plushy. Dabi's heart does summersaults at the sight of you, though he does his best to hide that.

"So I'll never get to snuggle with you?" you ask with a fake pout. Dabi rolls his eyes at you.

"If you wanted to get into my bed you could have just said so, baby," he says. You look away from him again as you mention for Toga to open her gift.

Dabi smirks as he continues to watch you cradle the plushie. Some part of him grows envious of the inanimate object. Maybe, he'll offer to cuddle you tonight. Maybe.

[cant-blink]

Favorite and Least Favorite Ghidorah Incarnations

Probably gonna regret making this post, but it’s been a long time coming, so let’s do it. I guess I should warn, not suitable for people sensitive to opinions that might be different from their own. Can’t believe I have to say that about a list of fav Ghidorahs, but alas...

Anyway, enjoy!

-

Let’s start with my Top 5 favorite Ghidorahs! Going from my most favorite down! All five of these are amazing and any one can easily become my #1 at any given time! :D But at the moment, my number 1 is...

Showa Ghidorah

Showa Ghidorah should come to nobody’s surprise, given how much I’ve been writing about him lately! I admit though, it wasn’t always like this. It took some time for him to grow on me, and he actually used to be one of my least favorite through design alone. But he has grown exponentially on me, and now I love everything about him! The manes are unique and I love the crescent moons on his heads too. His eyes are so big, and I feel they have more expression compared to other Ghidorahs. And the inspiration of the more traditional Eastern-style dragon is there in his face too. 

His backstory and personality, though, is what really got me to change my mind about the character. His personality is perfect as far as I’m concerned! Coming from space to destroy planets just for the lolz, cackling maniacally all the way! Even the fact he was mind-controlled was something for me to delve into in my stories, on how such a thing impacts the character. It really opened my eyes to the more subtle parts to his personality, like I realize that Ghiddy wants NOTHING to do with Earth. He tried to destroy it once and that failure is all he needed to know to stay away. The plot device of mind-control is used to keep him coming back in future movies! Even when he defeated Godzilla and Rodan, he chose to fly away back into space! There’s layers to his character if you look deep enough!

There’s just so much story-potential to this guy, I love it! Even in real life, he has an arc, going from one of my least favorites to being the top of this list! That’s definitely special!

Overall, a lot of love for this character, often wrestling with Legendary for the number 1 spot! Speaking of which...

Legendary Ghidorah

The one that started it all for me and they’re second on the list?! Blasphemy!! Nah, seriously though, Showa and Legendary really do often switch places for me all the time! Just right now, Showa has squeezed into the top spot. For now........

Anyway, Legendary Ghidorah needs no explanation for being a favorite incarnation of the character. Whilst Godzilla has always been a very vague presence in my life, KotM’s is what had me diving headfirst into the fandom, all because of Ghidorah. Their design is amazing, sleek and intimidating! The detail that they whip up storms just by flying creates an awesome menacing atmosphere everytime they’re on screen!

The personalities between the heads is unique, providing all sorts of material for my writer side to explore! Their backstory is left open for me to explore as well, like where they came from and how their species functions! It’s been a lot of fun! I may be slightly burnt out from how much I’ve written and posted about them, but make no mistake, I still ADORE this Ghidorah and I have them to thank for starting this whole page in the first place! 

Shin Ghidorah

That’s right, Shin Ghidorah exists in official TOHO canon and he needs more love!!

Shin Ghidorah was one I was introduced to not long after I learned Kamata-kun (oh, and Shin Godzilla) was a thing. With my obsession with Ghidorah, I wanted to know if there was a Ghidorah in the Shin universe and after some digging, I found that there was! Featured in a ride in Universal Studios Japan! And better yet, videos of it exists on youtube! I loved it the second I saw it! 

The design is amazing and surprisingly unique! This is because Shin Ghidorah was originally a scrapped concept for the original Showa Ghidorah! Like, Shin Ghidorah is basically an oversized three-headed Skullcrawler with wings! Because you see those “legs” he has? Those are actually ARMS!! Ghidorah could’ve been a giant Skullcrawler all this time!!

I also love his movements, oddly enough. He doesn’t just fly, he SWIMS though the air, something I don’t recall seeing in any other Ghidorah!

The only thing I don’t like about him... is the fact that he wasn’t around longer! A shame the ride is so short, I would’ve LOVED to see more of him in a movie. Oh well...

Grand/Cretaceous Ghidorah

Both are the same individual, so they’re both in this entry! I remember learning about him through a video talking about Ghidorah’s most sadistic moment and this was it. Grand Ghidorah kidnaps children with the sole intent to devour them, but he doesnt eat them right away, no. He holds them hostage to stew in their terror, returning to them every so often just to listen to their screams and cries. You know he’s enjoying every minute, knowing he’s torn families apart. Without a doubt, all this is just a game before he destroys the world as Ghiddys do. The way he toyed with Mothra Leo, leaving him to suffer after beating him to near-death. Or the way he possessed one of the Mothra twins to try to kill her own sister! It was great! He has such a regal design too! I can see why the fanbase have come to call him Grand King Ghidorah, he’s absolutely majestic. Shame he’s overshadowed, likely due to not being in a Godzilla movie.

Cretaceous Ghidorah has a more Western-dragon look to him and it works. He is basically a baby Ghidorah and he is so cute! His big eyes and squeaky roars, I love it! He also SOMEHOW made me feel sorry for my least favorite dinosaur! That's some true power right there!

The regeneration ability too, is amazing! This is likely where Legendary got the idea, but Grand does it better by regenning from just a small piece of tail left behind. Just badass, all around!

Void Ghidorah

A controversial pick, I know. I made a whole post about my detailed thoughts on Void Ghidorah, see here. Long story short: I think he has great potential, just suffered from piss poor execution. I love the idea of turning this alien dragon into an interdimensional GOD, with followers and everything. His full-body model looks amazing! He’s the biggest and most powerful Ghidorah yet, the biggest kaiju in the entire franchise in fact, and I don’t see him ever being topped. Granted, I dun really judge how much I like a kaiju based on how strong they are, but it’s a bonus here. He needs all the help he can get!

Adding more, his roars are insane, not just a combination of Showa and Heisei Ghidorah! But sounds that are truly otherworldly.

Void Ghidorah deserves love, and a better movie. Guess I’ll just settle on Godzilla: Star-eating Wings as the go-to Void Ghidorah video!

-

I have no real opinion on the new ride Ghidorah, as I have yet to watch the full "movie” and thus, can’t judge how well I’ll like it compared to the others. So for now, tis neutral.

-

Now I’m totally going to get hate for this list of “least favorite Ghidorahs”, but this is my opinion. I don’t like any of them, and they’re all outshined by my favorite non-Ghidorah kaijus, and some even being beaten by my “meh” kaijus! Anyway, this is gonna go from “best” least favorite to my “worst” least favorite. Here goes:

Heisei/Mecha-Ghidorah

Tis no secret that I don’t particularly like Heisei’s version of the character. I’ve mentioned it more than enough. Oddly though, I liked the design when I first looked through Ghidorahs from past movies, and I DISLIKED Showa Ghidorah’s design. How things have changed when I learned more about both of them... 

Now I’ve grown to not like Heisei very much. They took Ghidorah as an alien dragon that destroys planets for fun, and turned him into pets that I’m sure are meant to be cute, but just remind me of Furby’s in how creepy they are (tis not the good kind of creepy either!). I like the scrapped idea of him being an attempt to clone Showa Ghidorah from DNA left behind when he destroyed Venus, so I keep that canon in my head just for some attempt to like him more. Tis why I call him “Kitty Ghiddy” whenever I write him, I legit cannot take him seriously. Such a shame that he’s basically replaced Showa Ghiddy on merchandise, so it’s harder for me to find said Showa Ghiddy because of this thing. Oh, well.

Oh, and he replaced the BIDIBIDI of Showa with generic Rodan calls. And he also turns into a good guy at the end of the movie with Mecha-Ghidorah, and.... well, go down to the next entry for my thoughts on stuff like that.

GMK Ghidorah

He’s a good guy here. They nerfed the fuck out of him by having him be a juvenile (not even done well like Cretaceous Ghidorah), and turned him into a good guy. Granted, he was never meant to be in this movie in the first place and it shows. I’m a villain kind of person, and Ghidorah’s evilness is one of the biggest draws to his character for me. So taking that away... It just doesn’t work for me. It says something when I like GODZILLA more than Ghidorah in a movie. His design is okay, so at least he has that going. But...

Desghidorah

I really don’t like the design of the character. That’s literally it. I think four-legged Ghidorahs are very awkward looking; Ghidorah has a lot going on as is, three heads, two wings, two legs, two tails. Adding more legs... it’s just too much going on that tips the scales from ‘awesome’ to ‘messy’ in my mind. I can’t explain too well why I really don’t like the four-legged look to Ghidorahs, I just really don’t. But credit, he does pull off the look slightly better than the last one on my list.

AND MY LEAST FAVORITE GHIDORAH AND LIKELY TO GET A MOB ON ME IS.....

Keizer Ghidorah/Monster X

“An awkward horse” is what someone described him to me as, and I can’t help but agree. Again, that four-legged look breaks it for me but somehow, he looks EVEN MORE awkward than Des. I just can’t look passed it. Maybe it’s the front legs, or the wings looking too small for his body. Des just LOOKS a bit more natural in his four-legged-ness. 

Making it worse for me, Keizer has a second form that I REALLY don’t like: Monster X. They don’t even resemble each other. I can’t help but feel MX was supposed to be his own Kaiju, but they felt pressured to make Ghidorah the final boss so they combined them. Dunno if that’s the case, but it feels like that to me. Not even getting into the “how the hell does a dragon come out of THAT, where does it all GO when he changes back?”. And the biggest thing: I don’t like human-looking characters. I don’t care for human characters at all in any sort of media, or anything that resembles humans too closely. I skip human scenes entirely just to get to the monsters. Tis why I don’t really care for gijinkas either. As far as I’m concerned, I like the kaiju for being kaiju, and making them human just takes away all things interesting.

If Ghidorah kept everything intact about his personality, but you made him human... I wouldn’t even give his character a second glance, much less devote my Tumblr page to him! But yeah, tangent over. Monster X just looks too human for my tastes. 

Plus, tis hard to compete for my attention when you’re in the same movie as FW Gigan! It says something when Showa Gigan and Showa Ghidorah can share the screen and I love them both, but FW Gigan completely outshines FW Ghidorah...

-

So there we go, a complete list of my thoughts for every Ghidorah incarnation that I can think of. Hopefully I didn’t miss any. Again, these are my opinions and you’re free to like whatever Ghidorah. I’mma sleep now.

[broccoliboix5peepeeman]

IDK if someone else already requested this prompt, but can I have a scenario where Eijirō accidentally becomes Izuku's secret Santa because of a misunderstanding??? That's all I wanted to say, TYSM & ILYSM 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 (Platonic KiriDeku) - btw, I've read your previous prompts & they're all sooo good!!!! My favorites are It's Always Been You, Disclosure, Forgive Me, Burning Need, The Rabbit and the Tiger, & Recipe for Disaster 😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩

*Frantically scrambles to get this done before Christmas becomes completely irrelevant* Bibbidi bobbidi boo, it is done, friendo! 😘 This is my first Kirishima POV so fingers crossed it turned out alright :’) (Also, thank you so much, I’m sobbing?! That really warms my heart - I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them! 💖💖💖)

Eijirou never claimed to be the brightest bulb on the planet.

 Granted, it wasn’t through lack of trying; some things just came easier to him than others. For example, when Ectoplasm was spouting about letters which had no right to be in maths, he felt like ripping his hair out - he always refrained though, his hair took way too long to style only for him to mess it up over algebra. However, put him in a gym and ask him about the different muscle groups and he’d be able to recite them with ease.

 His strengths just laid elsewhere. 

So, when Iida announced something to the class in the common room, Eijirou was too busy watching a workout video on his phone to pay attention. It wasn’t until the class rep wandered over with a bowl full of paper that he realised he probably should’ve been listening.

 ‘Err… Hey, Mr Class Rep!’ He laughed awkwardly.

 ‘Good evening, Kirishima-san.’ Iida nodded in greeting and held the bowl out expectantly. ‘Time to pick out a name. Remember, you’re not allowed to tell anyone who you’ve got. As heroes in training, it is important that we are able to keep confidential information a secret.’

 Eijirou saluted, before dipping his hand in and picking out a piece of paper. He curiously opened it to find “Midoriya” scrawled out messily on the page. When he confirmed that he hadn’t picked out his own name, Iida said his goodbye and moved on to the next person.

 Once alone, Eijirou looked down at the paper crumpled in his hands, the ink staring mockingly at him. He really should’ve been paying attention, but he didn’t want to ask what was happening and risk everyone being disappointed in him. Maybe he could just figure it out based on what he had already heard?

 Iida had mentioned keeping it a secret. He also brought up them being heroes in training. Maybe that meant a training event was happening soon! Eijirou furrowed his eyebrows together. They usually didn’t plan things this far ahead though…

 ‘Hey, Iida!’ He called. ‘When’s this happening?’

 ‘The evening of the 24th!’ He chopped the air as he spoke. ‘The 25th would be too hectic.’

 ‘Great, thanks!’ Eijirou gave him a thumbs up to accentuate his point.

 When the attention was directed away from him, he sighed and looked across the room at where Midoriya was talking excitedly to Todoroki.

 If this was a training exercise, then Eijirou would have to up his game. Besides Bakugou and Crimson Riot, Midoriya was the manliest person he knew and had proved himself to be a formidable opponent time and time again. In order to best him, Eijirou would need to work extra hard and give it his all.

 He hastily stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket and stood, excusing himself.

 He needed to hit the gym.

  💪💪

 Six days after he had picked out Midoriya’s name, Eijirou was fairly confident that he could give his opponent a good fight. He just needed one extra push. He needed to train with someone - or someones - who knew Midoriya and his fighting style.

 ‘Hey Bakubro! Todoroki!’ He called. 

 His two classmates were in the kitchen; neither appeared to have heard him. Bakugou stood by the oven, wok and wooden spoon in his hands as he cooked something spicy, while Todoroki sat at the counter opposite, conjuring small pebbles of ice and throwing them at the blonde’s back.

 ‘I swear to fucking All Might, Icyhot, if you don’t cut that out, I’m gonna beat the shit out of you.’ He growled dangerously.

 ‘I'd like to see you try, bitch.’ Todoroki replied nonchalantly, aiming for the back of his head.

 Before Bakugou could respond, however, Eijirou decided to intervene.

 ‘Hey guysss!’ He called out again, rushing forwards and standing between them. The two looked at him confused, but nodded in greeting. ‘I need your help with something.’

 ‘Why you asking Icyhot?’ Bakugou growled. ‘Ask me instead, Shittyhair!’

 ‘Jealous?’ Todoroki raised an eyebrow.

 ‘It’s important I talk to both of you!’ Eijirou laughed nervously and patted the blonde on the shoulder. ‘Well, I say talk… What I mean is… I need your help for training.’

 ‘Anything in particular?’ Todoroki asked.

 ‘Well, I’m not supposed to say, but...’ He hesitated. It would be fine if he told them, right? It wasn't like either of them couldn't keep a secret. ‘When we were drawing names last week, I got Midoriya, and you guys know his fighting style best, so I was hoping to spar with you both to improve my training for when I face him.’

 The silence in the room was almost deafening, until...

 'Dammit, I wanted to get Midoriya.' Todoroki whispered as if Eijirou couldn't hear him.

 Bakugou merely huffed.

 ‘So you’re telling me that you got stupid Deku for your Secret Santa and your immediate reaction was to fight him?’ He finally asked, looking at him like he had grown a second head. 'You know what? No. I'm proud of you.'

 ‘Secret Santa?’ Eijirou tilted his head to the side. When Bakugou facepalmed in response, he turned to find Todoroki raising an eyebrow, clearly amused.

 ‘Didn’t you hear Iida explain it?’ He asked, voice even.

 ‘Not really, but I didn’t want to ask.’ He chuckled nervously. ‘But I assumed that if Iida had organised it, it had to be something to do with training, so I’ve been hitting the gym more because I wanted to put up a good fight, but now I realise that I have to...’

 He trailed off and his smile faltered as his eyes widened with realisation. ‘Now I have until tomorrow to get Midoriya a present.’

 ‘I wouldn’t worry too much.’ Todoroki spoke, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Midoriya is really easy to buy for.’

 ‘You buy him stuff often?’ Eijirou furrowed his eyebrows together in question.

 ‘Icyhot has a fucking hard-on for stupid Deku, if you haven’t noticed.’ Bakugou tsked.

 ‘And you have a hard-on for Kirishima.’ Todoroki replied easily, before turning to Eijirou. ‘Sorry about that, by the way.’

 ‘Moving on!’ Bakugou exclaimed angrily before Eijirou could process any of what had just occurred. ‘Deku likes heroes and All Might. Literally get him something related to that and happy fucking days.’

 ‘It’s important to know what he’s already got though.’ Todoroki urged. ‘He already has the official bronze-age, silver-age and golden-age All Might figurines, including the pop vinyl figures. He also has five rare limited edition All Might-’

 Eijirou’s brain was starting to do that thing again where it just kind of switched off. He was interested in what Todoroki had to say, honest, he just had trouble processing the fact that Todoroki had the capability of actually speaking more than two sentences at a time.

 His eyes must’ve glazed over, because Bakugou suddenly whacked him around the back of the head to snap him out of it.

 ‘ugh, this is so difficult.’ Eijirou moaned, hiding his face in his hands. ‘So basically he has every single piece of All Might merchandise that a normal person can afford.’

 ‘I mean, when you put it like that...’ Todoroki stroked his chin, contemplative. ‘You could try and find him merch for other heroes though. As long as it’s not Endeavour, I think he’ll be happy.’

 At that moment, a thought struck Eijirou. It was an idea unlike any other. He knew that in the years to come, people would ask him, 'Red Riot, what was your best idea?' and he would immediately think of this moment. It was like the first time he had discovered the beauty of hair spray.

 It was a revelation.

 ‘I have the perfect idea!’ He proclaimed, startling both of his friends. Before either of them could respond though, he quickly thanked them and booked it out of the kitchen.

 All it’ll cost me is several boxes of tea!

  💪💪

 After several hours of pleading with Yaoyorozu, bargaining with Jirou on her behalf, one roll of wrapping paper and way too much tape later, Eijirou placed his present in the designated bag in the common room and collapsed onto one of the sofas, ready to fall asleep. However, Iida’s booming voice soon echoed through the room, startling him.

 ‘All right! Now that everyone’s presents have been put in the bag, it is time for the Secret Santa exchange!’ His hands chopped through the air as Kaminari stealthily placed a Santa's hat on the class rep’s head without him noticing. ‘Midoriya-san, if you could help me hand out the presents while everyone else gets settled, I would be very grateful!’

 ‘Of course, Iida-kun!’ Eijirou saw Midoriya sprint over, an eager smile on his lips. However, he tried to hide his snigger when his friend's actions only prompted Iida to lecture him about running inside.

 Soon enough, all the presents were handed out and everyone was settled on the sofas and carpet cushions. After opening his own present and finding an erotic Santa×Reader novella called Spanked by Santa inside, Eijirou's eyes instantly landed on Kaminari and the two sniggered to themselves.

 'Bro, really?'

 'I don't know what you're talking about, man!'

 'I know this was you!'

 When the two of them calmed down, Eijiro turned and watched as Midoriya struggled to unwrap his present. His crooked hands tried to navigate his way around the mass of tape and Eijrou felt incredibly guilty. Luckily, Todoroki was sitting next to him and helped rip the hardest parts away, only sending Eijirou an exasperated glance once, which he thought was pretty good going.

 He leant forwards in his seat and waited for the moment of realisation and oh boy, he was so glad that he did. Wrapping paper torn off, Midoriya stared at the present with wide emerald eyes and let out a shocked gasp.

 In his hands was the first ever hero Deku figurine - trademark and copyright Yaoyorozu Momo - ever to exist. Eijirou watched as his friend turned the figure around in his hands, noticing every detail, from the hints of red that poked out from his iron soles, to his white air force gloves, to the yellow bolts fastened to his knee pads, and to the respirator around his neck. A smile appeared on Midoriya’s face and his eyes shone brightly…

 Then he promptly burst out crying.

 Uraraka and Todoroki, who were sitting either side of their friend, promptly procured two buckets from behind them and held them up, catching the flood of tears pouring from Midoriya’s eyes, while Tsu came up behind him and slid a waterproof coat over his Christmas jumper.

 Had they expected this?

 Startled, Eijirou leaped off the sofa and ran over to them, scrambling over the mass of presents and wrapping paper scattered around the floor.

 ‘Midoriya! Oh my god, are you okay?!’ He grasped his friend’s shoulders and shook him slightly as he continued to openly sob. ‘I’m so sorry, do you hate it? Man, I didn’t mean to make you cry-’

 ‘Kirishima-kun...’ Midoriya slowly calmed himself, reducing the flood of tears down to a slight drizzle as he wiped at his eyes with a waterproof sleeve. ‘I- I love it! I love it so much! Thank you!’

 Eijirou stilled, slowly removing his hands from his friend’s shoulders.

 ’You… You do?’

 ‘Really, really!’ Midoriya sniffed, eyes now dry and staring at Eijirou with so much gratitude that he had to refrain from placing a hand over his heart and wincing at the intensity. ‘You’re so thoughtful - thank you so much!’

 ‘No problem, dude!’ Eijirou rubbed the back of his neck and smiled nervously. ‘You’re one of the best heroes out there. It’s only fair that there’s some merch of you out there as well, haha!’

 Before he could comprehend what was happening, green lightning suddenly began to crackle around Midoriya as he surged forwards and tackled Eijirou to the floor. His friend hugged his waist tightly and cried freely into his shirt. Not knowing how to proceed, Eijirou gingerly returned the hug and smiled dopily.

 So manly.

[boomboomjaz]

𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕕

prince! kuroo x f!reader

summary: kuroo was cursed and has lived with it from a young age

word count: 3705

note: this is long overdue but ya girl was going through some stuff

Being the prince of Nekoma was not a blessing. It was the exact opposite for Prince Kuroo Tetsuro. It was a curse that he will never be able to escape. The day his birth was officially announced, a faerie visited at night which startled the royal family, causing them to throw insults. This angered the faerie that was respected in every other kingdom and decided to curse the young prince with limited shapeshifting abilities. He could only turn from a human to a cat.

When Prince Kuroo first transformed, he was napping in the crib. The queen had turned away for a second and when she turned back around, the newborn baby was replaced with a kitten. She let out a screech which caused the king to rush to his wife’s aid. Not long after, the two witnessed the kitten transform back to their baby. That is when they discovered that the prince of Nekoma was really cursed. This was a secret that both the king and queen didn’t want revealed. So only the select few that cared for Prince Kuroo were informed of this in hopes of preventing a scandal.

Over time, as Prince Kuroo grew older and older, they discovered something about the curse. With each year he grew, the longer his transformation as a cat was extended. During the first ten years of his life, Kuroo would randomly turn into a black cat. But once he reached the age of 11, he started to transform into a cat during the day. It started with three hours of being a cat during the day and after that, he was back to being a prince.

Now at the age of twenty, Kuroo had to deal with being a cat during all hours of the day and being a human at night. This had caused wild rumors to spread across the kingdom that the prince of Nekoma was a womanizer. It was a widespread rumor to cope with the fact that the prince hadn’t shown his face during the day and could only be spotted at night. In reality, it was the exact opposite. He can’t do a single thing as a cat except for meowing, licking his body clean, and napping. It was making his royal duties harder to accomplish.

But, during the time that he is trapped in a cat’s body, he had managed to find something to do. Something that always washed his worries away. In his kingdom, in the town that his castle resided in, there is a merchant girl. Her name was Yn Bokuto from what Tetsuro could hear. And you always gave him treats and played with him. Giving him the type of attention that he didn’t receive in the castle.

“Meow.”

Kuroo walked in circles around his guardian Kenma. His cat eyes glaring at him before motioning to the window. He was starting to get fed up being stuck in a room all day and wanted to go out. To see you. It was his favorite thing to do to pass the time.

Kenma let out a sigh as he picked up the black cat with the red collar. A way to distinguish Kuroo as the prince cat.

“This is getting tiring Tetsuro,” Kenma stated.

Yet, he obeyed the cat. Kenma took off the collar from the cat and carried Kuroo towards the window. He carefully opened it and looked around, making sure no one noticed. His grip on Kuroo loosened, allowing Kuroo to jump out of his arms.

Kuroo stretched on the ledge and meowed once towards Kenma. His way of saying thank you. From there he took off on his four-pawed legs. Navigating through the outside of the building, following the paths he knew by heart to leave the castle grounds. Until he was on the buildings of the town that he’s been exploring since he figured out how to sneak out.

The busy noise from the morning market could be heard from where Kuroo stood. He laid down on the rooftop and watched. His eyes scanning the crowd trying to find the familiar figure. His tail swung left to right, waiting patiently. That is until the warmth of the sun made him sleepy. Kuroo was slowly falling asleep but was quickly awoken.

He heard it. Your laugh. It was the best sound he ever heard in his life. Quickly, Kuroo got up and made his way down to the streets and into the market. Having the body of a cat made it easy to slip in and out of the crowd without anyone questioning him. Because who would question a cat? Soon he found himself at your stall at the market. God, Kuroo loved watching you deal with your customers. Everyone always assumed they could get away with scamming you since you were a girl but you were always quick to prove them all. Your knowledge of different material, craftsmanship, etc was always shown when you spoke. You knew what you were doing thanks to your parent’s wisdom and you always made sure to show it off.

Once you were done dealing with a customer who claimed that a piece of fabric you were trying to sell wasn’t from Seijoh, you sat down. As busy it may have seemed in the market, it wasn’t a busy one. So you were thankful to have time to sit down and rest. You closed your eyes for one second and then felt something soft and slightly heavy on your lap. You looked down to see the black cat that always came to help you work.

You smiled at the cat as you stroke his back. He always did keep you company and you appreciated it. Humming to yourself, you reached into the bag next to you and pulled out a small bag with treats.

“Hey, buddy,” you whispered. You took out a treat and waved it in front of his face. You laughed when you saw his head following the movement of the treat. “Thank you for always keeping me company.”

You gave him the treat and continued to pet him.

-----

You popped your neck before you started to gather up your things. Your shift at the stall was over and it was time for one of your parents to take over. You grabbed your bag and whistled at the black cat.

The two of you walked side by side through the crowd until you made it to a less busy street. It was a routine between the two of you. Work until noon, head home, and two hours before it grew dark, the cat went home. You didn’t mind it at all. You actually enjoyed the presence of your cat friend.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kotarou Bokuto, your brother yelled in the middle of the street.

Kuroo looked up at your brother and tilted his head. He had seen him around but according to your little rants. Kotarou is mostly coming in and out of the kingdom, transporting merchandise for your family.

“Kotarou, our parents are looking for you. They want to talk about your next travel arrangement with Akaashi.” your words were simple and straight to the point.

Kotarou nodded his head before he took off towards the market while you and Kuroo walked home.

Once the two of you were back in your house, you brought out the cat toys that your father brought back from one of his overseas trips. You used the toy to play with the unknown cat. It was insulting at first when you would treat him like a cat, but Kuroo ended up loving it. He loved the attention you gave him.

Having as much fun as the two of you were having caused time to fly by. Because soon, it was starting to grow dark outside. Kuroo woke up from his nap and realized this. He squirmed out of your arms and jumped towards the open window. He gave you one last glance before he took off back to the castle. He had to transform back in there to prevent Kenma and himself from getting in trouble.

Sneaking back in the castle was easier said than done. Since he wasn’t sure what entrances were open, he always had to jump from window to window and sneak around to get back inside. But luckily, the windows to his room were open, making it easy to get back inside. He looked around and found Kenma playing cards by himself.

Kuroo made his way over to him and meowed. Letting Kenma know that he returned.

“Tetsurou, that was cutting it close,” Kenma stated with a sigh. He got up from his spot and closed the window and shut the curtains.

Kuroo just walked in circles around his bed, ignoring Kenma’s words. He just wanted to transform back into his human self. It didn’t take long before he found himself sitting on his bed as a human. Lacking clothes, but luckily there were clothes waiting for him on his bed. He got up and quickly changed into them.

“I couldn’t help myself,” Kuroo replied with a smile.

He just loved spending time with you. It kept him sane through all of this insanity of a curse. He didn’t have to worry about anything.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s amazing. I get it,” Kenma mocked replied. “But your transformations are cutting it close. What if you transform while you’re with her? How do we explain that to her and your parents?”

“That my friend is a problem for another day,” Kuroo answered.

He was scared. Scared that his parents would find out about his secret because who knows what they would do. They are doing as much as they can to keep this a secret for no one to find out.

“Anyways,” Kenma continued. “Your parents want to talk to you.”

Oh. This wasn’t good. Kuroo could already feel his humor leave his body as he grew serious. His parents, the king and the queen, wanted to talk to him. All the stress from his royal duties could be felt on his shoulders as he straightened up and nodded his head.

Kuroo left his room with a determined look on his face. Talking to his parents wasn’t his favorite thing to do. Not with the way that they have been raising him. Keeping him locked up because they were ashamed of their mistakes. It was just all so frustrating.

Carefully, he opened the door to the throne room. And there on the throne, his parents sat with dignity and status. They quickly sent everyone out of the room, only leaving the three of them in that room.

“Mother, father. I was summoned?” Kuroo asked. He bowed slightly, trying to show some respect to his parents.

“You are correct son,” the king said. He looked at his wife and silently they agreed on something. “We have decided on what to do about your little… problem.”

They couldn’t even say curse. It didn’t feel right to them. They didn’t want to acknowledge it but alas they had no choice.

“We decided that once… you fully transform. That you should be relocated to the countryside,” the queen continued.

Kuroo froze. Relocated? To the countryside? It was far from home and he couldn’t help but feel even more cursed. He was basically being forced out of his home just because he didn’t fit into the human standards. Just because of his parents' mistakes. And it was all being taken out on him.

With his hands behind his back, he clenched his fists. He knew it would be pointless to argue with his parents. There was no point in it, so he agreed with them and left the room. The second he left the throne room, he fell to his knees. He didn’t care if the maids or the soldiers saw. He was frustrated, angry. He never wished for any of this. Kuroo just wanted to be normal. To be seen outside the castle during the day without looking like a cat. He couldn’t stand it anymore.

Quickly, Kuroo got back on his feet and rushed to his office. Once inside, he saw Kenma sitting in a chair looking at one of the documents that Kuroo was supposed to look at.

“Kenma,” Kuroo said. Kenma looked at Kuroo, confused as to why Kuroo was bothering him. Then he saw the frustration in the prince's eyes.

“You’re going to run away?” Kenma asked, looking back at the document. It wasn’t a surprise. This was a topic that Kuroo had a tendency to bring up.”There’s a hidden route in my room that leads to the village. If anyone asks, I’ll say you excused yourself to your room because you had a headache.”

Tetsuro appreciated his only friend in the castle before he left the cursed castle that he spent most of his life in. There was only one place he knew where he could go to. And that was your house.

----

Your ears perked up at the sound of knocking. You had just finished cleaning the dishes from dinner while the rest of your family went back to the market. So you were confused as to who could be at the door. Not many people came to your home. The more you thought about it, the more it seemed like it could have been Kotaro. That boy probably forgot his keys and something else in the house.

Quickly, you whipped your hands on a hand towel before you headed towards the door. You opened the door immediately saying disappointing words towards Kotaro. It took you a total of two minutes of talking to realize it wasn’t your brother. No, it was the prince of Nekoma wearing a really bad disguise.

Without a second thought, you slammed the door and stood there in shock. What in the world was the prince doing at your house? Were you his next hookup? No, it couldn’t be. You never have seen or met the prince before other than the royal pictures in the papers and announcements.

“Oh crap,” you cursed under your breath. “I just slammed the door on Prince Tetsuro Kuroo.”

You took a deep breath and regained your composer and opened the door and bowed. Showing your respect to the heir next in line for the throne. Oh man, if your parents saw how you slammed the door, no doubt you would be working full days at the market.

“No need for that. Can I come in, Yn?” Kuroo asked.

You nodded your head in confusion as you opened the door wider and allowed him in your small house. You were in bewilderment on how he even knew your name. There was never an introduction between the two of you. This was getting confusing.

“How can I help you today, Prince Tetsuro?” you asked while closing the door.

Kuroo took off his terrible disguise, walked towards your kitchen, and sat down. It had scared you by how well he knew your house as if he had been inside before. You followed him and started to prepare a cup of tea.

“I-”

Kuroo couldn’t form words on how to explain his situation. How do you tell someone that you’re cursed to transform as a cat during the day and turn back into a human during the night? That you have been hanging out with them this whole time as a cat? No sane person would believe him if he said these things. But Kuroo knew you were different. Maybe you would believe him.

“I’m the black cat that has been hanging out with you this whole time,” Kuroo stated. His face turning red. You were the first person ever to hear the closely guarded secret. It sounded so ridiculous.

Which was why you laughed, thinking it was a joke.

“I’m sorry your majesty,” you said in between laughs. “But how can you, a human, be the adorable little cat that I have been taking care of this whole time?”

This was Kuroo’s worse fear. You didn’t believe him and he didn’t blame you. It was far fetched. Could a cat really be a prince? What kind of fairy tale was that? Unfortunately, it was one that Tetsuro Kuroo was living.

“I promise you that I am telling you the truth,” Kuroo defended himself. He racked his head on ways to convince you that he was telling the truth. Until he remembered something important. “You want your parents to let you travel for work and not be bounded to Nekoma.”

You stood there with your mouth ajar. You never told anyone your true feelings except for the cat that came home with you. How was this even possible? There was no denying that the prince was indeed the cat you loved so much. Heck, it was hard to believe that the prince that you had a crush on when you were younger was standing in the middle of your house. There was so much to take in that you had to rub your temples. Until a memory resurfaced.

“Wait! Then you saw me change!”

Kuroo could feel his blood rush up, making his face go red. He could remember that day as if it was yesterday. He had escaped the castle and came to your house. He just didn’t think that while he was laying down on your bed in his cat form that you would change right in front of him. The only thing that he managed to see was your bareback before he jumped from the bed into a corner to give you privacy.

“I didn’t see anything!” Kuroo swore.

Oh, man. Why was this happening to him? He quickly took a few steps forward to try to explain himself but one of the cat toys that he used to play with got in the way. He had accidentally stepped on it, which took him by surprise causing him to fall forward. His eyes widened as he realized he was going to fall on you. Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around you and used the other to break the fall.

There on the floor, the two of you were inches apart. Both of you were breathing heavily. Looking each other in the eyes. You could see Kuroo’s hazel eyes and how they were narrowed-eyed. His pupils reminded you of a cat and you couldn’t help but think… that this boy really was cursed to be a cat.

Meanwhile, Kuroo was captivated by your face. He could see little details that he had never seen before. Slowly, he leaned, even more, trying to take in the small details of your face. Soon enough, his lips were deeply close to yours. He closed his eyes and decided to close the gap.

You were taken aback but closed your eyes as well. You relaxed under his touch as his lips met yours. It was slow and gentle. You could taste the toothpaste that he used to clean his teeth. It was minty and refreshing. Soon, your hands found their way on Kuroo’s neck and you pushed his head a little closer. Causing your teeth to cling against one another as the kiss was deepened. You couldn’t help but enjoy it. A small smile formed on your lips.

There was a loud noise that caught both of your attention. Both you and Kuroo pulled away and looked towards the direction of the noise. At the doorway stood your older brother Kotaro with his best friend Akaashi. Apparently, Kotaro had dropped his keys from the shock. Quickly, you and Kuroo got up and awkwardly coughed.

From there, the two of you tried to clear up the misunderstanding. Thankfully, the two boys were understanding and let it slide.

“So what are you doing in our house?” Kotaro asked.

At that moment, Kuroo explained his situation. How he was cursed from birth, how he would sneak out of the castle in his cat form and hang out with you, and his parent’s recent plans on relocating it.

“We have to help him,” you stated.

What was happening to Kuroo was unfair and wrong. It shouldn’t be something that anyone should experience.

“Well, we can probably smuggle him out of Nekoma and take him to Karasuno. At least until his curse is lifted?” Akaashi suggested.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and came up with a plan. Through it all, you held onto Kuroo’s hand. Assuring him that you were there to help him. There was a slight problem with the plan that Kotaro didn’t like and that was that you were going to go with Kuroo. With a little arguing and Akaashi’s help, all of you were able to convince him. It would be better if you went with Kuroo to keep him company when he was in his cat form. Your family either way had a small market in Karasuno that you could run in order to support both you and Kuroo.

It didn’t take long until you had your things packed. Along with some of Kotaro’s clothes for Kuroo and left the place you grew up in. And that’s how it went. You and Kuroo moved to Karasuno. It was a small and peaceful life. Overtime, Kuroo’s curse grew weaker and weaker the more he fell in love with you and learned the commoner’s life. His duration as a cat was getting shorter until it completely disappeared.

It had been two years since the two of you moved when it was decided that you would return to Nekoma. It shocked the whole kingdom at the sudden return of their missing prince. Especially when Kuroo exposed what his parents kept hidden. His grandparents were disappointed upon hearing this and pressured Kuroo’s parents to step down from the throne.

The same day of his conination, it was Tetsurou’s wedding day. The day he got to marry you. Rule by your side. With the knowledge that the two of you shared, you ran Nekoma depending on one another. The people loved you and it made Kuroo happy. To know that you would be by his side and that you cared about the people that lived with in the kingdom’s borders and beyond.

gen taglist: @panda-saurus @aditiot @haikyuu-fics-and-aus @ex0ticgrxavity @haverlingus

[ask-artsy-oncie]

I’m kind of interested in Talespin now thanks to you and lollytea, where do you think a good place to start would be?

Oh!! Awesome awesome awesome!!! It’s a very good show to be interested in!! Thank you for asking!!

Under the cut cos this is long!!

For starters, let’s talk about where you might want to watch it. Disney+ is a good, legal option, but, from what I’ve heard, the episodes aren’t in order on that service, and I also wouldn’t subscribe to that service just to watch one show. There are... *ahem*, OTHER sites that you can use to watch this show (THIS one works better on mobile devices but you’ll want to use their beta servers (which you can choose once you click on an episode to watch) to be the safest) but I strongly suggest that if you’re going to be watching cartoons in this manner, you’ll need to equip yourself with an adblocker at the very least. I also highly recommend finding a VPN to use (though it’s not completely necessary), and there are many free VPNs you can choose from, or others that offer up to a month of free trial time. Finally, another legal way to enjoy the show is to buy the DVDs, which are very nice quality. I have a few complete series DVD cartoon collections and I honestly think this is up there with the higher-quality ones. Though, realistically, you’ll want to make sure that you actually like the series before dropping something like $30 for a box set. 

As for which episodes to watch? The absolute basics that you’ll need to understand the series is the 4-part pilot, Plunder & Lightning. This sets up all the main characters and their relation to one another. Just so you know, there is a scene that’s been cut from Plunder & Lightning that’s absent from pretty much any place you can watch the series. You can watch the isolated scene HERE, but wait until you finish Part 2 to do so.

The rest of the series is episodic (save for a few 2-part episodes here and there) and can technically be watched in any order. However, it’s very important to note that this series has a subtle sense of progression when the episodes are watched in order. Dynamics between characters change slightly, or a character who learns something in one episode (minor spoilers, but, for example, Becky learning how to fly) doesn’t magically lose that knowledge later, so there are just these subtle changes to the status quo that you might notice and potentially be confused by if you don’t watch the show chronologically. 

I’ll give you some differently-tailored lists depending on what you’re interested in watching the series for. None of these will include Plunder & Lightning because it’s such a must-watch that all the lists would just have it by default.

If you want my personal recommendation on which episodes to watch:

It Came From Beneath The Sea Duck Time Waits for No Bear I Only Have Ice For You Molly Coddled Stormy Weather Bearly Alive Her Chance to Dream A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) A Baloo Switcheroo Feminine Air Save the Tiger The Old Man and the Sea Duck War of the Weirds Gruel and Unusual Punishment Jolly Molly Christmas My Fair Baloo Bringing Down Babyface Louie’s Last Stand Sheepskin Deep Your Baloo’s in the Mail The Incredible Shrinking Molly 

If you want to watch episodes in preparation for the Ducktales 2017 crossover (Kit and Molly episodes):

It Came From Beneath The Sea Duck Mommy for a Day Molly Coddled Stormy Weather A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) Flight of the Snow Duck Save the Tiger Jolly Molly Christmas Flight School Confidential The Incredible Shrinking Molly 

If you’re interested in Baloo and Rebecca’s relationship:

Time Waits for No Bear I Only Have Ice for You Stormy Weather Bearly Alive Her Chance to Dream A Star is Torn A Touch of Glass The Bigger They Are, the Louder They Oink A Spy in the Ointment The Balooest of the Bluebloods Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Feminine Air Save the Tiger War of the Weirds The Time Bandit Gruel and Unusual Punishment My Fair Baloo Pizza Pie in the Sky Your Baloo’s in the Mail The Incredible Shrinking Molly

And I wouldn’t be adding this list if you hadn’t specified me and Lolly, but since it definitely comes up a lot, here’s a list of episodes you’ll want to watch to understand at least half of what Lolly writes about Shere Khan and Shagheera lmao (Or - the Shere Khan episodes):

From Here to Machinery (minor) A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) On a Wing and a Bear Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Save the Tiger Citizen Khan Louie’s Last Stand Baloo Thunder (minor) Bullethead Baloo

It’s also worth mentioning that Talespin has a decent number of comics (and a few storybooks) that vary in quality and how believably they fit into canon. The main line of comics (before it got canceled after 7 issues) was going to delve pretty deeply into character backstories, though none of the show’s crew worked on the comics, and a few of these backstories (like Becky’s) were ones series creator Jymn Magon preferred to have left shrouded in mystery. So take of these stories for what you will. 

Most of the scans (though they also exist in varying quality, and it might be viable to just buy an issue of the comics if you happen to like it a lot) can be found HERE (mobile friendly). This is a European fansite for Talespin (since fansites used to be the best place to store large archives of both fan and official material) and, though it seems like it isn’t kept up-to-date anymore, it does have a LOT of archives of old merchandise outside of the show, itself. My recommendations for the comics are as follow:

The Gates of Shambhala Danger With Danger Woman A Night on the Town Voodoo Baloo Pirate for a Day Congratulations, You Have Just Won... Flight of the Sky-Raker (Parts 1&2) Idiots Aboard! F’reeze A Jolly Good Fellow The Long Flight Home The Volcano of Gold

There’s also The Legend of the Chaos God, which is on this site, and was a massive Disney Afternoon crossover comic. It’s very long, and if you aren’t really a fan of many Disney Afternoon shows, you may get a little confused/disinterested. It is worth noting, though, that references to this comic have been made in Ducktales 2017.

One final thing I feel like I should mention: Talespin, and other Disney Afternoon properties, are still products of their time. They have themes and aspects that are no longer considered politically correct, and there are, quite frankly, some bad depictions of indigenous peoples present. These can be found both within the shows and within the comics. Some episodes of Talespin have even had enough excessive violence or themes that have rendered them “banned” due to television age-ratings changing heavily after the September 11th attacks. However, all episodes were made available on DVD and every method of watching the shows should have everything. There are references to the Cold War due to the time period the show was set (mid-1930′s) and the time that it was airing (1990, yeah the Cold War lasted a really long time...). There is excessive gun violence in this show and even depictions of attempted public execution.

These aren’t things that ruin the show for me. As someone who grew up watching older animation, you just learn to consume these things critically and still enjoy them despite this, which I highly recommend anyone watching the original Disney Afternoon shows (and any other older pieces of media) do. However, I don’t feel right dropping someone into the show blindly and pretend these things don’t exist. This and other Disney Afternoon shows don’t lose sight of the fact that they are, at the end of the day, cartoons for children, and the tone through which most of these elements are presented aren’t excessively dark. I think that if you can get past Plunder & Lightning just fine, the rest of the series should also be fine for you! If not, well, you probably just wouldn’t be comfortable with the rest of the show, and that’s okay, too! Not every piece of media is for everyone!

And with that, this should be everything you need to get into the series! I hope this has helped, and I hope you have as much fun watching the show as I do! I’m always happy to spread the love for Talespin!

[shirbertshitposts]

Things you can do to help Anne With An E be Renewed

There are so many different ways big and small you can help in the fight to get Anne With an E renewed. I’ll do my best to compile all the ways you can contribute.

1) One of the easiest ways to let networks know there is a demand for more Anne With an E is to request it on their help page. Request Anne with an E season 4 so they know you want the show to continue. There is also no limit to the number of times you submit requests.

https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest

https://help.disneyplus.com/csp

For Disney+ click “Give Feedback” then “Request a film or show” then you can type in Anne with an E season 4

2) Watch Anne with an E on Netflix. Just constantly stream it in the lead up to the season 3 premiere. When the show premieres Jan 3rd make sure you stream the new season that day and in the days after. Not only do we want Netflix to know that the new season has a big audience, but we also want as many people watching at the same time for the show to make it to the “Popular on Netflix” category. New people may be attracted to the show if they see it is popular on Netflix.

3) Write emails to Networks. Netflix and CBC are not the only options when it comes to Networks that could renew Anne with an E, since it seems that the rights to the show are currently owned by Northwood Entertainment the production company behind Anne with an E. Many other fans have done the hard work of compiling lists of emails of network executives. I will provide links to various tweets I have seen with important emails. (of note, most will probably not check their work emails again until after the holidays, so you can draft emails now and send them out after Jan 1st) Also below is a google doc that includes emails of many network executives.

https://twitter.com/LeaOux/status/1205485569691680768

https://twitter.com/KindredsParty/status/1208518970002870272

https://twitter.com/KatVal11/status/1206141522820976640

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1StN_dHgHjhPhYkfgS_7AbeMbmu0KXhrtJW1ytAASUaw/mobilebasic

Template for writing emails and email addresses to send emails to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nkEu-ZyIiBkCABleKRBLU21T8lRSwRxwWXuVDZ7cxeo/mobilebasic

4) Write emails to magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. Any form of Press about Anne with an E will draw attention to the show from people who may not have heard of it before. You could write emails to ask them to cover the news of the show's cancellation, to review the new season, to discuss certain topics the show addresses that set it aside from other shows and more. Anything that you could dream up that could be an article that could be written about Anne With an E you could pitch the idea to someone to write about. 

5) Appealing to other fandoms with similar interests. Two big movies that are about to drop that have an audience that may be interested in a show like Anne With An E, would be Little Women and P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before sequel). Little Women is also a period piece with a feminist heroine, so you could point out the similarities in the stories’ themes to appeal to fans of that film (which premieres Dec. 26th). For P.S. I Still Love You, the big connection is that in the third book of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, Forever and Always, Lara Jean,  Lara Jean states that Gilbert Blythe is her ideal man. Screenshots of this quote have been going around all over tumblr and twitter since the P.S. I Still Love You trailer dropped. The selling point could be that if you enjoy the films and relate to Lara Jean then you should check out the stories and adaptions of those stories that Lara Jean considers peak romance. ( It also helps that the premise of the films relies on love letters and AWAE season 3 features love letters as well). When entering into other fandoms tags to recommend Anne With An E make sure you are always being RESPECTFUL and don’t just spam the tags with Anne promotion. You could always create side by side edits of the two programs to demonstrate how similar they are. Basically, make sure your posts in their tag don’t seem like a blatant promotion for AWAE.

6) Rate Anne with an E on IMDb. (Note: It is listed as Anne(2017) on IMDb). Right now Anne is listed in Top 250 TV Shows, but it is toward the bottom of the list at #248, with an average show rating of 8.4 stars. If enough fans rate it, the show could move up on the list, which may attract new people to watch the show. You can rate the show overall, and rate each episode individually. Plus you can leave a review. 

7) Watch the Anne With An E Netflix trailer and share it with others. The more views on the trailer the better. The trailer is available on Youtube and Instagram. On twitter, people are organizing trailer boosting parties for Dec 23rd - Dec 30th. 

This calendar shows when trailer boosting parties have been planned detailed descriptions of what those events include with links to tweets and posters

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=potatolightbulbs%40gmail.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York

8) Sign the petition for the show to be renewed and get anyone you know who likes the show as well to sign it as well.

https://www.change.org/p/netlfix-awae-fans-renew-anne-with-an-e-for-season-4?recruiter=916548586&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

9) Recommend the show everywhere. On twitter search “What to watch on Netflix” or “tv show recommendation” and reply to any of these tweets with Anne With An E and maybe a reason why you recommend the show. If someone has already recommended Anne With An E don’t recommend it again, we don’t want to spam or annoy strangers. This can also be done on reddit search “What to watch” , “Netflix recommendations” , “Period Piece” and comment on any of the relevant results with Anne With An E.

10) Tell EVERYONE you know to watch Anne With an E. A great way to spread the popularity of the show is by word of mouth. People trust the opinions of people they know, so your friends and family are more likely to listen to your recommendations than strangers on the internet (but there is no harm in trying #9 anyway). 

11) Continue to be your amazing creative selves. Gif sets, fanart, video edits, memes, etc. All of these can help attract new fans to the show, so continue to create and post things related to Anne With An E.

12) Make bookmarks or small promotional posters and leave them in public places. I have seen a trend of this on twitter and it's not a bad idea. One amazing fan even took it to the next level and made tiny posters that have QR codes on it that when scanned takes people to the Anne with an E trailer or the show on Netflix. Below is a link to tweets showing what those looked like and how they dispersed them.

https://twitter.com/itsMaeWithAnE/status/1208618422768033792?s=20

Here is a tweet thread with templates for the posters if you want to print them out yourself:

https://twitter.com/itsMaeWithAnE/status/1208816797555671040?s=20

13) Buy official merchandise for the show and wear it around. You could be a walking advertisement for the show if you want (and can afford to). There is different merch available on the official Anne With An E shop website and on Amazon.  Also sales of the merch may be considered by networks when they consider whether to renew the show. 

https://shopannewithane.com

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/A8C18641-8ECE-4892-A276-6A0A952A125C

14) Join the r/Anne community on reddit. There has been some encouragement to grow the size of the community on this thread because it shows a static number of how many people are apart of it. This number could be used to approximate how much interest there is in the show. It currently only has 2.5K members. Even if you’re not very active on reddit, joining the subreddit would be helpful.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Anne/

15) Donate to the campaign to have a billboard to promote the show. Details can be found on the gofundme page.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/renew-anne-with-an-e?sharetype=teams&member=3295372&rcid=r01-157601384514-6d847f2ab5bb49bd&pc=tw_co_campmgmt_w&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet

16) Donate to campaign to run instagram ads for Anne With An E. More details on the gofundme page below.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/anne-with-an-e-season-3-ad-campaign

17) Let’s Make Some Noise Campaign. Some fans are encouraging people to write messages on white rags, like the ones the avonlea students use during their protest, and sending them to various streaming networks or Northwood Entertainment, the production company behind the show. Details can be found in the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/kindredsparty/status/1206624186342559745?s=21

18) Rate and review Anne With An E on Rotten Tomatoes. You can do this for each season. Currently there are a fair amount of negative reviews so it would be incredibly helpful to explain why you love the show. Good reviews would attract new potential fans to start watching.

19) Vote Anne With An E up on Ranker.com lists. This might attract new get people interested in the show if it consistently ranks high on lists of best shows.

https://m.ranker.com/list/the-best-new-original-shows-on-netflix-hulu-and-amazon-of-the-last-few-years/ranker-streaming?ref=also_ranked&pos=2&a=0&l=85370943&ltype=n&g=0

20) Take care of yourself. THIS ONE IS MOST IMPORTANT. Don’t sacrifice your health in your efforts to get the show renewed. If you need to take a break please do. Also don’t feel guilty if you need to step away or you can only do one or two things on this list. Every effort counts and is greatly appreciated.

I’ll try to update this as more stuff comes up. Good luck with all your efforts Kindred Spirits!

Remember “Dreamers change the world”

[lethal-liability]

Info Dump Time!

So it has come to my attention that the slasher fandom has recently been introduced to Ice Nine Kills, my favorite band (aside from Rammstein, of course). So if you are really wanting to get into them but have no clue where to start, look no further! As I am about to impart my knowledge onto all of you lovely people!

So Ice Nine Kills is an American Rock band from Boston, Massachusetts (but they like to say they’re from Salem). The band was formed in 2002 by high school friends Spencer Charnas and Jeremy Schwartz, though today the only surviving member of the original band is Spencer.

(more under the cut)

The current members are:

Spencer Charnas - lead vocals (main stage character: Freddy Kruger, Jason Vorhees)

Ricky Armellino - rhythm guitar, co-vocals (the extra screaming voice in most songs lol) (main stage character: Georgie)

Patrick Galante - drums (main stage character: Jigsaw)

Joe Occhiuti - bass, keyboard (Main stage character: Eric Draven)

Dan Sugarman - lead guitar, backing vocals (Main stage character: Leatherface)

Justin “JD” DeBlieck is also technically a current member but he's been on hiatus from the band since Warped Tour 2018. His role in the band has been filled in by Ricky since then.

Their original sound was more ska-punk but have, since their first official album, have changed their sound to metalcore, or as Spencer calls it, theatricore.

Their discography is as follows:

Last Chance To Make Amends - 2006 (not currently on spotify and the only one I haven’t heard)

The Burning - 2007

2 Song Acoustic - 2009

Safe Is Just A Shadow - 2010

The Predator - 2013

The Predator Becomes The Prey - 2014

Every Trick In The Book - 2015

The Silver Scream - 2018

Other notable releases:

They’ve been featured on Punk Goes Pop three times and Punk Goes 90s once. They covered Adele’s Someone Like You on Vol. 5, Maroon 5’s Animals on Vol. 6, Taylor Swift’s I Don’t Want To Live Forever on Vol. 7, and Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) on Punk Goes 90’s Vol. 2 (also, side note, Motionless In White covered Rammstein’s Du Hast on that record and it is *chef kiss* horrible. Awful. Listen to it if you wanna ruin your ears. Chris Motionless does not know a lick of German and it shows)

In 2017 they released a re-recorded version of Safe Is Just A Shadow which I personally prefer over the original because it is a much cleaner record. I also like that it only features Spencer’s vocals which I find sounds much better than the mix of his and former bassist Shane Bisnett’s vocals.

Last year, they released a deluxe version of The Silver Scream which includes the new track Your Number’s Up, a cover of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and acoustic versions of A Grave Mistake, Stabbing In The Dark, SAVAGES, and Thank God It’s Friday (personally I only really like the acoustic of A Grave Mistake)

Their two most recent albums, Every Trick In The Book and The Silver Scream follow a similar format where every song on them follows a similar theme, ETITB being all based on classic novels and TSS being all based on slasher movies (with the exception of Thriller).

The songs and what they’re based on are as follows:

The Nature Of The Beast - Animal Farm by George Orwell

Communion Of The Cursed - The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Bloodbath & Beyond - Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Plot Sickens - Alive: The Story of The Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

Star-Crossed Enemies - Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare (the analyst in me really loves this song because it implies that Romeo and Juliet knew that they were only characters in a play but died together anyway because they knew they couldn’t escape their fate)

Me, Myself, & Hyde - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Alice - Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

The People In The Attic - The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank (this song features Spencer doing a very unconvincing German accent which, outside of the context of the song, is very funny)

Tess-Timony - Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Hell In The Hallways - Carrie by Stephen King

The American Nightmare - A Nightmare On Elm Street

Thank God It’s Friday - Friday The 13th

Stabbing In The Dark - Halloween

SAVAGES - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Jig Is Up - Saw

A Grave Mistake - The Crow

Rocking The Boat - Jaws (fun fact! This song features Jeremy Schwartz, the other founding member of the band and the lyrics contain the names of 5 of their 6 albums, excluding The Silver Scream)

Enjoy Your Slay - The Shining (another fun fact! In 2016 they put a vote to their fans to pick what piece of media the song they were working on would be based on, either The Shining or Psycho, I voted for Psycho because they already had a song based on a Stephen King story)

Freak Flag - The Devil’s Rejects

The World In My Hands - Edward Scissor-Hands

Merry Axe-Mas - Silent Night, Deadly Night

Love Bites - An American Werewolf In London

IT Is The End - It (including this one they have 3 songs based on Stephen King stories! His influence, ugh)

Your Number’s Up - Scream

More fun facts!

Aside from INK, Spencer also has a clothing company, Kleaver Klothing, which if they haven’t moved sites again, is at salem666.com

Last Year on their Summer tour they were supposed to play a show at a venue in Orlando, Florida that is on the grounds of Disney World. At the last minute Disney canceled their show because they’re performance was deemed “too violent” for a family park, despite the show already being 18+. In retaliation, the band released a series of limited edition merchandise featuring classic Disney characters as slasher villains, most notably Mickey Mouse as Freddy Kruger. They literally all sold out. I really should have got one when I had the chance

I own more pieces of Ice Nine Kills merch than literally any other piece of media I have ever consumed, including:

3 t shirts

2 tank tops

1 Letterman jacket

1 CD

2 vinyls

1 Kleaver t shirt (that I’m wearing right now)

1 poster

And a red balloon and paper boat from the IT Is The End music video promotion, (the boat is currently serving as a jewelry dish on my vanity)

I’ve seen them twice, Warped Tour 2016 and Warped Tour 2018, both times I met Spencer after the set and despite the whole scary act the band puts on during the shows, he’s very genuine and always really sweet to his fans. Enjoy these fetus pictures of me meeting him at 14 and 16 y/o

The lyric sheet for The Silver Scream is formatted like a spec script with action lines, scene headings, and inter-scene cuts, which screenwriting student me really, really enjoys

I got distracted while writing this because Patrick went live on Instagram, oops. He was setting up his new kit for the show tonight, it looks really cool, they’re painted to look like popcorn buckets

So that’s about it! Thank you for reading and enjoy the music!

[squidpro-quo]

“Have you seen this?” Deku asked, throwing a handful of sports fan magazines onto Todoroki’s lap as he bent over to tie his skates. The covers were full of gossip headlines, printed in vivid, flashy colors and varying sizes according to the amount of scandal each exposé

contained. It was the standard issue for the week, with Aoyama’s typical flashy pose on the front despite his article being a fairly tame side story about his latest win. 

“I just read the jokes out of the middle, why?” Todoroki picked up the one on top, flipping through it without much concern for what he happened to skip. 

“Wait, wait, it’s that one!” Crumpling the paper with his eagerness, Deku directed him to the right page, stabbing at the pictures and conjectures with one scarred finger. “It’s about your charity event this weekend, at the podium awards.” 

“Bakugo just said the usual,” murmured Todoroki, “Why is this unusual enough to warrant an entire page? The one about Ochako breaking the record got the same.” 

“It’s in all of them. Don’t know why but…” His explanation was interrupted by the sound of Todoroki’s phone, an angry Enji’s voice yelling ‘ SHOUTO!’ echoing around the empty rink. “Why did you make that his ringtone?”

“It’s a preview to the main act,” was Todoroki’s only comment before he picked up the phone with a hard press to his lips. Deku sank onto the bench across from him, reading the article again in the meantime. 

“Shouto!” Enji’s normal volume could thankfully be lowered to a manageable level over the phone, but that didn’t mean Todoroki was glad to hear from him. “I’ve got news about the sponsors for this year, you’ve got a shot with a big backing. As soon as the gossip dies down, they’ll sign the deal and we’ll have the Endeavor brand as our own.”

The reminder of the impending headache that had been in the making for months now, Enji’s new bid for fame and fortune in the shape of a merchandising line of sportswear, had finally come roaring in. Todoroki frowned as his father continued, pricing discussions and production numbers flying by his ear as he contemplated his future as a prop, a walking advertisement for his father with every jump he landed and every medal he earned. It was enough to make him want to quit skating despite the joy he had managed to scrape together from it. 

The only recourse he could possibly have now would to take a fall so drastic as to remove him from competition despite all the medical hurdles Enji would destroy to have him back on the ice again. Looking across at Deku, perusing the tabloid pages and trying intensely not to listen in despite Enji’s booming voice, to the rink’s perfect sheen spreading out behind him, he knew he would miss it. 

Not to mention the competitions. He’d been pushed into skating by Enji from the time he could walk, but he’d found a refuge away from his father on the ice during the events. Enji could yell from the sidelines all he wanted but the music would always drown him out, offering an island where Todoroki could carve out his own path. 

And cross blades with Bakugo on his own terms. The spitfire who had taken the skating world by storm over the past year, known for his explosive jumps and even more explosive temper. The tabloids called him the Jumping Shrimp a few daring times, but no one could deny the air he achieved and the frankly astounding number of rotations on his jumps no less. 

Despite his bafflement at what the tabloids had divined from the podium awards, Todoroki was at least aware of what conversation they were raving about. He’d taken second, by a few fractions of a point margin, and Bakugo had pushed up close to him as they were waiting for the ceremony to start. Nose to nose, he’d hissed the usual threats for taking silver, keeping a smile on his face otherwise for the cameras watching, and the end result had been a much different result from the reality of their interaction. 

And in that moment, sitting on a cold bench listening to his father’s victorious imaginings in his ear, Todoroki’s brain drew a line between the contents of Deku’s hands and the solution to his problems. Now if only he could convince Bakugo to behave. 

—————-

It had to be convincing, at least to the fanatics and daydreamers that wrote the tabloids, and it had be fast. With the deal hanging over his head, Todoroki put his plan into action the very next week. Getting into Bakugo’s usual practice rink wouldn’t have been easy normally, considering the ring of paparazzi vying to get a good shot of the inside, but Deku could work wonders when it came to getting information, and far more handy in this case, loaning him the pass into the place. 

“You here to go a few rounds?” Bakugo snarled, coming to stop at the edge of the rink in a shower of ice and a heated glare. 

“You said you could skate circles around me. But we’ve not been on the same ice at once alone yet,” Todoroki said, shrugging. He’d gotten what he came for already, annoying Bakugo was a minor bonus. 

“Tch, I’m not going to bother with someone who holds back like that in a competition.” 

“It didn’t even count towards our point totals.”

“Is that your excuse for why you didn’t give your best?” Bakugo scoffed, one hand braced on either side of the opening onto the rink as if to guard it against Todoroki. 

“That’s why I came.” Todoroki looked him in the eyes, the step up onto the ice and the extra height from the skates bringing Bakugo level with him despite the few inches of difference. “Motivate me.” 

“What!? Why should that be my job? Motivate yourself, half n’ half!” 

“You said it was a problem, didn’t you? Your words to me at the Cup. So I have the answer.” Spreading his arms, Todoroki gestured to the ice, the smooth expanse of it already drawn on by the graceful arcs and spirals left in Bakugo’s wake. 

“And? What’s that?” Despite his apparent ire, Bakugo didn’t leave and instead leaned against the plastic window siding, still obstructing the entrance but allowing a sliver of ice open to slip past him. 

“Keep... doing what you do. I’ll just embellish a few things.” 

———————————--

“Where do you get off calling me a ‘friend’, huh!?” Bakugo snarled at the next event, in one of the prep rooms in the back. The tv was on in the corner, running commentary on the big event with Russian reporters updating viewers on the newest contenders for the world competition. Todoroki could see his father across the room, attempting to circumvent an official event manager with sheer force of will. With anyone else, it would have worked in a heartbeat but Todoroki could count his lucky stars that this particular woman had a backbone stronger than a steel girder. 

Even so, it would only be a matter of time. 

“You agreed to this. No ‘half-assing’ as you put it. Do you have a complaint against my performance?” 

“We’ll see on the ice, won’t we?” Bakugo glared at him, stretching onto the tips of his skate-guards as he leaned in close. “You give me something worth jumping for, maybe I’ll let you slide with that ‘friend’ comment. Giving those tabloids what they’re hungry for, that’s a cold move even for you, popsicle.” 

Todoroki shrugged, testing the set of his foot in his skate while he eyed his father’s approach. He’d managed to earn an angry phone-call a day for the past month and change, and the merchandising deal looked to be slipping out of Enji’s grasp. All it had taken were a few pointed slip-ups before some fans and cameras, not to mention letting Bakugo’s shoves get a little more personal, and he was set. The magazines that had started it all were eating it up, eagerly awaiting the next scoop in what had been so far described as the secret relationship “hot enough to melt the ice”. 

“What bothers you is not the speculation, but that I termed you a ‘friend’?” he finally asked, just as he saw the manager creek in what he knew would be eventual capitulation to his father. 

“Dirtbags that run those magazines can say whatever they like, I don’t give a shit what they think. They’re not the ones I’m pounding into the ice at every event.” Bakugo grinned, eyes blazing as he looked at Todoroki and the heat that grew inside him in response was something Todoroki hadn’t quite expected. Competition had lost its inherent appeal years ago, it was simply a refuge now, but that fire made the embers that had long since cooled inside him flare up just enough for him to ignore his father for the moment. 

“We’ll see.” 

In the end it was close. 

Todoroki watched Bakugo’s long program and knew it would be a close call for when his turn came around. The fast staccato beat of the music had been matched and sometimes even outdone by the speed of Bakugo’s spins and footwork, whirling across the ice in a trail of green and gold. He’d wondered how Bakugo could keep up that kind of rhythm, expend that much energy into a program when he could just as easily win it with less. But watching him as the final few notes died out, the heave of his chest and that infectiously cocky smirk as he bowed, Todoroki found he’d been exposed a little too long. Even before he’d started this ridiculous plan, he’d known Bakugo was formidable and ferocious, but hadn’t allowed himself to respond to it with the strict cage around him. But now was a perfect opportunity. 

He ignored Enji’s instructions as he entered the rink after Bakugo, passing him on the way and sparing a quick touch to the shoulder. The fact that Bakugo didn’t immediately shrug it off was something to think about as he got into position. And it gave him the drive to do what he’d wanted to do with his long program all along. 

Switching up the jumps, he stretched his limits as far as they would go, enjoying the hiss of his skates on the ice and the cold air rushing past as he spun along the edges. His arms felt lighter, legs less chained to the ground and though he was likely just imagining it, he felt like he soared higher too with each jump. He couldn’t match Bakugo’s speed but that had never been the purpose with his pieces, he was more interested in carrying himself along on the music with a slow build, the beat increasing as his seconds stretched past until he suddenly found himself reaching the end and a smile had almost stretched itself across his mouth. 

The arena might have been cold—especially in the center of the ice—but as soon as the first trill of pipes sounded, Todoroki only felt the heat flowing along his arms and down his legs. His costume might have been just another of Enji’s plows at marketing, with the fringe of sheer fabric that flowed from his wrists like a halo all the way down to his ankles in waves of orange and a pale red, but he felt the flames they were meant to be inside him too. 

The curious elation carried him through his bows, all the way until he’d stepped off the ice and a hand clapped him on the back. 

“That’s how it’s done, Shouto!” Enji’s praise landed around his neck like a bag of bricks. “This will sweep everything else away, the performance that will put the Endeavor line into the stores and off the shelves.” 

Todoroki felt the weight returning, as if his skates had turned to concrete blocks to make up for the ease with which he’d been able to complete his program. The kiss-and-cry awaited, the inevitable suffocation under his father’s self-serving pride and he found himself walking away with Enji’s words echoing in his ears. He’d undone all his plans in less than five minutes, without even seeing the score he knew what was going to happen, could tell from Enji’s barely contained excitement: his father had an obsession with calculating scores and Todoroki knew he wouldn’t be far off. 

“Took you long enough,” Bakugo’s growl was a welcome distraction, so close to his face that the puff of his breath clouded between them. 

“Not afraid for your gold?” Todoroki found himself leaning closer, ostensibly to not allow Bakugo to push him off-balance but he wanted the familiar threats now, the way Bakugo never spared a glance for his father but locked horns only with him. 

“Pretty confident for a slow-poke, you haven’t even gotten the score yet. But looks like you finally stood up on your own. Good enough to beat.” 

Todoroki stared into those burning eyes, at the challenge in them, and took a page out of Bakugo’s book. Curling a fist into the black collar of Bakugo’s costume, he fixed the problem he’d created. 

The kiss was quick, was meant to be quick, if Bakugo hadn’t surged forward too at the same time, clashing into him as if determined to not be outdone. The flash of cameras popped against his closed eyelids, thoughts narrowing down to the warmth returning to him, the same fire as on the ice fanned by Bakugo yet again. 

Sensing the brewing storm behind him, Todoroki let go of Bakugo and made to head for the kiss-and-cry again, but Bakugo held him fast for another second. 

“Those fuckers are calling it a ‘flash paper’ romance, half n’ half,” was all he said. And Todoroki wondered if they knew just how wrong, and maybe just how right, they really were.

AN: For the Todobaku Valentine’s exchange! Also on AO3

Prompts open

[brittle-bone-gabe]

Erase Me: Chapter One- Moving Pictures

Introduction, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven

Summary: Welcome to the never ending, never changing loop. The loop can’t break, it’s always been the same. Henry never realized he was trapped, but coming back to the animation studio for the “first time” just to see a small, human-like child makes Henry realize that dreams really do come to life.

Read on other platforms: AO3, FFN, Wattpad

The studio was oddly silent, Henry was used to coming into the studio for work and would instantly be greeted with talking or laughing from Joey Drew or the other employees that worked for him. Not this time… the studio was dimly lit with little sound, mainly just ambient noises such as a clock ticking somewhere in the studio and the familiar sound of a projector. Henry would be lying if he said this place wasn’t a tad bit creepy… Well, he was here now, the trip might as well be worth it considering the fact he paid for a flight and a hotel room to see what Joey wanted. Now he just had to find Joey.

When taking his first step into the studio, a pipe that was on the ceiling busted open, pouring ink all over the floor below, almost spilling over Henry. That would not have been good, if possible, Henry would like to not be covered in ink by the time he leaves the studio to go back to the hotel. As Henry began walking into the studio, he couldn’t help but notice that the posters of Bendy and his friends that were plastered on the wall were still in great condition. If Henry didn’t know any better, he would say that those could be worth some serious money for being originals and unreleased as merchandise. In the left corner of the room, Henry noticed that a projector was left on, but nothing was playing over it. Huh… did that mean Joey got here before he did? Was Joey losing it? Normally he never left projectors on, something about not wanting to waste money buying new ones if one were to break.

               Strange… but okay, Henry thought to himself as he walked up to the projector, flipping the switch to off like he used to do whenever any of the employees accidentally left the equipment on.

               It was odd to think that this booming animation studio was now left abandoned for four-years. Henry had no idea why in the hell they would’ve shut down, but he could only assume it some sort of violations of sorts. Joey Drew Studios was making so much money, producing so much media that children all over the country enjoyed. Why just suddenly shut down? Maybe that’s what Joey wanted to talk to him about?

               Henry jumped a bit when he turned to see a Bendy cutout that was propped up against the wall next to where the projector was pointing to. Guess he didn’t see it while being blinded by the bright light of the projector. Jesus… Henry remembered when they first rolled those cutouts out, everyone used to scare each other by moving them and poking them out of nowhere in the hallways. It was good fun, until it was taken too far, and Joey demanded that everyone stop messing with the cutouts unless they were prepared to take the broken ones out of their paychecks. Just like he did back then, Henry still found the cutouts to be slightly unsettling. The constantly smiling Bendy with eyes that seemed to follow you wherever you went was just highly unnerving. Surely they were enough to haunt your dreams if you were around them enough. Aright, enough goofing around, Henry needed to find Joey and figure out why he was called here for.

               Turning back around, Henry started walking back down the room, turning right at a familiar hallway.

               “Hey, here’s my old desk. I’ve wasted so much time in this chair,” Henry reminisced, running his hand around the back of the unmoved, dusty wooden chair. The flickering light above said desk made the Bendy cutout creepier than it already was; when was that put there?

               Henry could help himself when he stopped to think about more of the olden days working here just sitting at his desk alone. While animating Henry went into “the zone,” as his coworkers would call it. It seemed as though nothing could break away his concentration while he had an important task to do. One day, Joey had given him the task to draw up the friend that he had described to Henry as a “tall anthropomorphic wolf.” Henry loved those type of tasks, he was allowed to use as much creative freedom as he so desired as long as it fit within the keywords that Joey had given him. While he was hard at work, the lead projectionist, Norman Polk, and Wally Franks, who was a janitor at the time, decided to see how badly they could scare him. It wasn’t anything major, in fact, it was rather stupid, or at least that’s what Samuel Lawrence, the song and music director, had thought when he came out of his “dungeon” for a rare moment to get some feedback from the animation studio. He had watched while sipping his coffee as the two workers gathered all the Bendy cutouts they could find, placing them around Henry’s work area until they couldn’t fit anymore. The entire time Henry had no idea what they were doing or that he was the victim of a prank. The prank in itself wasn’t scary, but when Henry turned around to answer to whoever was calling his name after just getting out of his major concentration zone, well, it was like seeing an actual demon. Norman and Wally lost it, laughing at the startled man while Sammy just shook his head as he walked away, trying to hide his smile behind his coffee mug.

               Pulling himself out of his memories, Henry noticed something that was highly unusual sitting on his desk. There was a little, poorly drawn Bendy doodle that he’s never seen before. Why would that be there? Henry picked it up, studying the art to see if he could possibly trace it back to someone else who did animation in the studio originally before he left. He didn’t, but even if he could, none of them would produce something so… childish. The only explanation for this that Henry could come up with was that someone who wasn’t in the animation department tried to create something, knowing that Joey wouldn’t like it due to the fact it made Bendy look less than perfect, or someone from the department had brought their kid into work. The latter seemed to be too unrealistic, as Joey didn’t allow anyone besides employees or official state workers to come into the studio. Huh… this was strange… Henry put the paper back where it belonged, but it slipped onto the floor, landing on top of a pile of papers that Henry didn’t realize he was stepping on. Once he did though he took a step back, kneeling down to see what was there.

               Everything scattered on the floor were more children’s drawings of Bendy or other various characters that appeared in the cartoon. The thing that really stuck out about these drawings wasn’t the fact that obviously a child made them, but because they were all drawn in such heavy ink, as though they didn’t know what the appropriate amount of ink should be. Henry could only scratch his head in confusion, no sound or reason could help him put the pieces together for this one… He even thought about maybe someone was squatting their building, but that would be impossible too since the door was locked and there weren’t any windows in the actual studio itself. Certainly a mystery this was becoming…

               Just as Henry was standing up with the help of the wooden chair, he swore he had caught something in the corner of his eye. When he whipped his head around to the room behind him, he didn’t see anything, but that was a new room that he’s never seen before. Being in the studio now was like walking into a completely new job site, everything was so familiar yet different at the same time. Something was going on in here, either Joey had to come out and explain what it was, or Henry would figure it out himself.

               Checking to make sure that Joey wasn’t there to pull any type of prank on him, Henry cautiously made his way into the new room he’s never experienced before. Inside, there were three animation desks that were similar to his, most certainly more used than his ever was.

“Huh, looks like they knocked out a wall or two after I left. Guess it took a few people to replace me…” Henry muttered to himself as he stood at the raised floor looking over the room.

Every desk had a couple of drawings of the dancing demon himself sitting upon them, some of them were professionally done while others, again, were done by a child. Motivation Bendy posters were hung around the room, probably to make the new animators feel good about themselves while working days on end, Henry was glad to have gotten out of that life, seeing where he is now with his life and family it was worth it.

Henry stepped off the raised flooring to have a more detailed look around the room, there was something in here he could feel it. The overwhelming burning feeling of something watching his every movement was getting the better of him. Honestly, this was the first time this whole time he’s been here that he felt truly creeped out, and as though this place was… Well, he didn’t want to say haunted, there was no such thing as ghosts, but maybe the studio held a presence of some sorts.

“Hello?” Henry nervously called out, hoping he wouldn’t get an answer from nobody expect for Joey Drew. He rounded a corner to see a boarded-up room that appeared to lead to a restroom with, surprise, surprise, a Bendy cutout and flickering lights. Man, these things were everywhere, seems as though they didn’t sell as well as they’d hope.

Henry grabbed the wooden planks that were nailed along the doorway, shaking them to see if there was any way they could get taken down, but they were heavily secured. No way he’d be getting in there. It didn’t matter anyways, nothing of importance seemed to be in here anyways.

With that in mind, Henry moved on out of the room, the studio was now empty of most sound expect for the ominous sound of a clock ticking deep in the studio. It was mocking him, as if telling him that he was wasting his time here in the studio, just like he wasted an entire year being trapped here away from his wife. Tick, tick, tick, tick… Henry shook his head, pressing forward as he moved across the room that led down another hallway. Even though he’s worked here for a year, the place seemed to be the same yet extremely different.

Once Henry rounded a corner, he stopped when he came into a room with ink heavily dripping down from the ceiling and spilling onto the wooden floor below, but that’s not what caught his attention. On the wall above, written in heavy ink wrote: “DREAMS COME TRUE.” Upon closer inspection, the ink appeared to be freshly written with a small, smudged handprint underneath the written. Every brain cell was telling Henry to turn back around, pack his bags from the hotel, get back on another plane and go the hell home where he would be safe. However, one, just one, tiny little brain cell was encouraging him to go forward, to figure out what was going on here and why Joey needed him here so urgently.

Putting on the bravest face he could muster, Henry proceeded to follow the hallway further into the studio. His ears were picking up on something… Was that… a radio? Why would a radio be playing in here? Nothing was making sense and it was starting to drive Henry crazy. He stopped next to the first door that came up on his left, that had to be where the music was coming from. Along with the music, there was a bright light shining from underneath the crack in the door. Henry tried to open the door, but it was locked, and there was no way he could open it from his end. Damn, guess he’d have to come back to it later.

Pushing forward, there was something different hanging up on the wall that wasn’t just a Bendy sticker or a vintage cartoon poster. This was an Ink Output Schedule, whatever that was supposed to mean, as that certainly wasn’t there when he was still around. The white erase board was a bit difficult to read, but from Henry’s understanding was that it was comparing how many gallons of ink they were using a week? That didn’t quite make since considering the fact the last entry was listed as 423 gallons. If that were the case, then that was insane. Why would they be using all this ink? They were just an animation studio, right?

A usual thick pipe was going across the remainder of the hallway with a sign that read: “Please watch your step.” Thankfully, Henry noticed said pipe before carelessly started walking down the hall, that would’ve been a worker’s comp case. Well, it would’ve been if he still worked here that is. The hall had led into a balcony that looked down on a rather large room that, again, Henry has never seen before, he has accepted that this place got flipped around and he had no idea what anything was or is anymore. There were large chains that were hooked to the ceiling that led down what appears to be a rather large and deep hole in the ground. What could possibly be down there? Henry was eyeing the power switch next to him, but there was no way it would work in its current state as the power source was missing. Thankfully, they weren’t far away, there was a hardware chest that contained the power cells that were needed to get this going.

“Let’s see what you’re hiding down there, old friend,” he said out loud before pulling the switch.

The sound of old rusty chains squeaked through the air like nails on a chalkboard, sending goosebumps through Henry and a chill down his spine as he patiently waited for the old equipment to bring up whatever it was hiding out of sight. The chains pulled up the ink machine rather quickly for its size and weight, surprising Henry. An ink machine? Why in the world would they need an ink machine for? They never had problems getting ahold of ink while Henry was still here, so what changed since he left? Did Joey want to save money? Were ink businesses not conducting business with Joey Drew Studios? Henry was trying to connect the dots here, but nothing was fitting together which greatly frustrated him. Ink machine… Joey never mentioned that he was thinking getting one of those. What was he up to? From where Henry was standing it appeared that the machine wasn’t on; well, he supposed that’s what his next task was going to be.

“Joey… where the hell are you?” Henry mumbled to himself as he backed out of the room, turning to the right, going even deeper into the studio.

Why was he being put through all of this? Was this a test? A game? A cruel joke? Or perhaps it was a way to lure Henry back into the studio after thirty-years, and for what? So many questions were going to be left answered unless Joey came out of hiding.

Henry was lost in his thoughts, as he usually was, when a wooden plank fell from the ceiling unexpectedly. He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide with his heart beating through his chest as though it were trying to escape. He had to tell himself to relax, it was an old building and they were known for falling apart, just look around his environment, there were broken planks and holes in the walls. It’s fine, this was fine.

Turning right, Henry came across a large switch with a sign that read INK MACHINE over it with a flashing low-pressure sign next to the switch. There were six short pillars that appeared as though they held something for years judging by the dust that settled over the majority of the plates. Behind each pillar on the wall were pictures of what seemed to be random objects. This was a set up Henry’s never seen before.

“Alright, how do I get this work?” He asked out loud, hoping that maybe something from the heavens would give him an answer. Did he have to find and place the items on the pillars? Well, that shouldn’t be too hard, right…?

With the pieces of the puzzle memorized, Henry left the room to go find said items. The studio was fairly small, so finding these pieces shouldn’t be too hard. As he turned into the hallway, Henry once again had another scare. A Bendy cutout that he knew for damn sure wasn’t there before was now standing upright where the wooden plank fell from above.

“Who put this here?!” Henry demanded, glancing around, “this isn’t funny, Joey. Just come out.” He stood there for a moment, hoping that his old friend would start laughing and come out of the shadows, but there was nothing. Only the ambient, ominous sounds of the workshop filled the dull, dusty air around him.            

Everything was telling Henry to get the hell out of here, but now his curiosity was peaked and had to keep pressing forward. Besides, he could leave whenever he wanted to, so what was the worst that could happen?

Henry cautiously moved around the cutout, going to the room directly behind it. Henry only made it two steps into the room before he had to stop in his tracks once again at what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. Before him, strapped to a gurney upright with metal bars going across to secure them was Boris. As in, Boris from the Bendy cartoon. His chest was ripped opened with his ribs sticking out and a wrench placed inside.

“Oh my god… Joey, what were you doing?” As much as he didn’t want to, Henry had to take the wrench out, the tool made a squishy sound as it was yanked from the chest cavity, causing Henry to cringe. This was some sort of cultist ritual, it had to be, right? Nobody who was sane would do something like this. “’Who’s laughing now?’” Joey read the ink written on the wall, it was in a similar handwriting to the Dreams come true written out in the hallway, expect this time Henry noticed small, ink footprints leading out a door across the room. “God, this better not be a prank…” Henry mumbled as he went to investigate where the tracks led.

He opened the closed door, revealing a small room with two more animation desks. The tracks went right passed them, going out the door that led to the main room and to the right. Henry couldn’t help himself when he followed them further and further. The tracks stopped a slightly ajar door, with a shaky hand, Henry opened it quickly. Nothing or nobody was inside, not like anyone could fit in there anyways, it was a small closet that had empty soup cans scattered about. Closing the door, Henry noticed a cassette player sitting on the small end table, he pressed the play button, hoping that would give him some insight as to what was happening. He instantly recognized the voice of Wally Franks.

“At this point, I don’t get what Joey’s plan is for this company. The animations sure aren’t being finished on time anymore, and I certainly don’t see why we need this machine. It’s noisy, it’s messy, and who needs that much ink anyways? Also, get this, Joey had each one of us donate something from our workstation. We put them on these little pedestals in the break room… to help ‘appease the gods’ Joey says. Keeps things going… I think he’s lost his mind, but, hey, he writes the checks. But I tell you what, if one more of these pipes bursts, I’m outta here.”  

There was another closet behind the cassette player, but that one was locked. God, none of this was making sense. Why the ink machine? Why were there audio logs laying around? What happened when Henry left?

To keep himself from asking questions in a circle, Henry proceeded forward, down a long hallway where he found more of the fresh small ink footprints. He was just waiting for something to round the corner and jump out at him to scare him. Nothing did happen, however. He made it to the old viewing room without any more mishaps. It was dark, so dark that Henry could barely see in front of him. He saw a small flicker of light behind the projector, the dimly lighted light hung over a valve that read ink pressure.

That’s a good thing to have in mind, he thought as he picked up an old ink stained Bendy plush toy, giving it a squeak. God, he loved those toys, they were so cute.

Henry wandered around for about ten minutes before coming across another door that he remembered led into their downstairs break room. As apposed to the break room upstairs, this one was used when they were celebrating and had mini parties. Henry had a small, sad smile as he looked down at the room, remembering all the times they had down there. Norman and Wally were always the loudest ones in the room, Sammy seemed to have always acted as though he was pulled away from whatever important work he was doing to be there, as he was always grumpy and stewing in the corner writing on his music sheets. Joey always told him to lighten up, but Sammy seemed to be too serious in his work to do such a thing. Everything in the break room was preserved, the posters were left untouched, the furniture was in great condition, the only thing out of place was all the empty soup cans that were laying around. Wandering around, Henry stubbed his toe on a large book, when he knelt down to pick it up, he saw it was a book Joey wrote. The Illusion of Living, well he needed that too, so he tucked it under his arm with the rest of the pieces he collected.

“Would you look at that,” Henry said after he stood up and saw the old punch time clock. “I wonder if you still work.” He pushed down the old timecard that was still in the machine, it startled him with the old, familiar ringing sound it produced whenever it successfully punched a card. A loud thud came from up the stairs, startling Henry. “This place is insane.”

He went back up the stairs quietly and carefully, as the sound seemed like someone got startled by the time clock. Henry was prepared to catch whoever was messing with him, hopefully they weren’t a danger to him, but if they were well, he wouldn’t be afraid to defend himself.  The door that once had a radio playing behind it was now opened, the radio and lights off; so there was somebody hiding in there, huh? Sitting on the desk was a vinyl disk, Henry needed that so he took it, but underneath there was a note that read ‘He will set us free.’

“This isn’t funny anymore,” Henry called out as he turned around and walked out of the room. He glanced down both sides of the hallway to see if he could find anything or anyone. There it was again, a new set of small footprints tracked in ink leading back towards the entrance of the studio. This was it, Henry was closing in on whoever was messing with him and he certainly had a few words to say to them.

The footprints had suddenly stopped next to the projector that Henry had turned off the moment he entered the building. That didn’t make any sense, where did they go? Whoever it was couldn’t have just disappeared, right? Thankfully the footprints had led him right to the last two items he needed; the gear and the inkwell, it was as though someone already collected them for him as he knew those weren’t there earlier. Henry had the strong feeling that he was being watched as he picked up the last two items, he couldn’t focus on that now, he had to get this damn ink machine started so he could figure this all out.

“That’s all of them,” Henry said to himself before turning and walking back to the old breakroom that held the stands. The one thing he noticed, however, was that the Bendy cutout that was oddly placed there before was now gone. Henry was slowly starting to believe in ghosts at this point, or maybe being in here was making him lose his mind.

One by one, Henry placed every item on the correct pillar, lights turned on over head on each one he did until the room was completely lit. He had no idea who could’ve come up with this sort of layout, it seemed over the top and dramatic. Well, he just described Joey Drew, didn’t he?

“Now I just need to get the ink flowing, there was a valve in the projection room, right?” At this point, Henry couldn’t help but talk to himself, he felt alone and scared, that maybe talking to himself would help him put on the brave face to keep on pushing through this.

Making his way back, Henry was on a complete look out, both with his eyes and his ears. Obviously something was going on here and he didn’t like it at all. As he was going down the long hallway to the projection room, another Bendy cutout popped out around the corner, causing him to jump. That was it. Henry upped his pace, rounding the corner to catch whoever it was doing this. It was only this room between them now, he was going to catch him. The projection room was still dark, so finding anyone was going to be made difficult.

“You can come out now, I know you’re-“ Before Henry could finish his sentence, the projector turned on seemingly by itself, filling the room with light. The only thing that was being projected was a clip of Bendy the Dancing Demon doing a simple little dance with his trademark whistle in the background. Going behind the projector, Henry thought he was going to catch them, but nobody was there and it only made him more confused. That’s it, he was losing it. “You can’t be serious…” Henry messed with the ink pressure valve, the instant he moved it the room began to flood with ink. “So much for not getting a stain.”

This journey felt more like an endless going back and forth, as Henry made his way back to power the ink machine. He did a quick glance to make sure he had every item, everything was in place except for the Bendy plush toy. Henry groaned in frustration, but since the pillar still had a light on overhead maybe it would still work. Once he flipped the switch all the lights went off in the studio, great, this was just great. There were some dimly lit lights that helped him out, but Henry still had to keep his hand on the wall to make sure he was still going the correct way. The sound of the ink machine starting up was loud and unexpected, there better be the light at the end of the tunnel for this one.

Just keep moving, just keep moving, Henry told himself as he stepped over the large pipe in the middle of the hallway. Walking up to the ink machine room, it was suddenly boarded up. How could someone do that without him noticing or hearing? Once Henry got a close enough look into the room, something that could only be described as an ink demon popped up through the cracks, destroying the wooden planks that were in place. Henry had fallen backwards, hitting his head on the floor in shock. The walls and floor around him were turning into an ink stained mess. He had to get the hell out of the workshop. Now.

Henry jumped up, his heart slamming against his chest from both fear and trying to run as fast as he could through the thick ink. The heavy breathing of the ink demon was behind him, slowly getting close now as Henry was trying to maneuver through the twisted hallways. The exit, he needed to get to the exit, that’s the only way he would be safe. Dammit, he knew he should’ve left sooner, why didn’t he listen to his gut feeling? The ink demon let out a loud, ear piercing screech that almost caused Henry to trip over his own feet in fear. No, he was almost to the exit, he could see the door propped open now. He was almost there, he was almost- Wrong. Two more steps and he would’ve been out of the studio. Two steps was all it took for the man to fall through the flooring, falling down several stories, landing back first into a pool of ink. That fall should have killed him, the worse it caused was a sore back.

He let out a groan, laying in the ink for a moment before forcing himself to stand up. Fantastic, now he had to find his way out from an area of the studio he didn’t even know existed. There was too much ink for him to leave the room with on its own, this must have been a usual occurrence since there was a valve that was marked to drain the ink. Henry turned it, in a matter of seconds the ink escaped the room, exposing a door and another cassette player.

“It’s dark and it’s cold and it’s stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees! Who ever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don’t, or he’s some kind of idiot. But the real worst part about all this… are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on it’s last legs. Makes no mistake, this place… this… machine… heck, this whole darn thing… it just isn’t natural. You can bet, I won’t be doing anymore repairs job for Mister Joey Drew.”

Henry didn’t recognize the voice on this tape, it had to be someone who came in after he left to help out around here. He couldn’t focus on that right now, he had to keep draining the ink until he could make an escape plan. Henry continued to go lower and lower, twisting every valve until he came across a door that led to a blocked path of boarded up doorway. On the wall, in fresh ink, read “THE CREATOR LIED TO US.” Whatever that meant… Oh, well, maybe Henry’s luck was finally turning around. On the table next to the message was an axe, yeah, he could use this to get out of here.

“This will definitely come in handy,” he said before chopping down the wooden planks. There were more obstacles to get around, but with the axe nothing was impossible.

This led to a room, a dim room lit with only candles around a pentagram with coffins propped up on the wall behind it. If that wasn’t concerning enough, sitting inside the pentagram appeared to be a human child, but… maybe not completely human. This boy had small, black horns sitting on top of his head, he had very dark features; jet black shaggy hair, a black button down shirt that were cut to make into short sleeves with a white bowtie, black pants and shoes, all making his skin look extremely pale. It wasn’t the horns that caused Henry to stare at him in shock, it was his eyes. His right eye had an almost white iris while his left eye had a jet black iris. Henry could just make out the two fangs that were poking out of the kids mouth. The child was holding the Bendy plush toy that Henry had placed on the pillar upstairs with ink stained hands, staring up at Henry with wide eyes. Henry was taken aback, to say the least. How did this… child (could he even call this a child?) get in the studio?

“What are you-“ Henry stopped talking when the child seemed to wince out of fear, thinking that it was axe, he set it down on the floor, “I’m not going to hurt you.” He held out a hand to the boy to show that he was no danger to him. Panicking, the child stood up quickly, backing up away from him. Every time he backed up Henry would take a small step closer.

The room seemed to be shaking around them, but Henry didn’t pay any mind to that right now. His main focus was trying to figure out why someone was in the workshop when it should have been locked up for a couple of years.

“I promise, I’m not going to-“ Once again, Henry was cut off, but this time it wasn’t by his own doing. The moment he stepped into the pentagram he started seeing vivid visions of the ink machine flash before his eyes, a chair, and the ink demon he saw earlier. He let out a grunt before passing out over the pentagram.

[bermudaquicksilver]

An Evening

The clouds had finally broken. The day had been dreary beforehand, non-stop rain that had started the night before had been pelting the towers and factories of Quicksilver until now. This wasn't unusual. The city was situated in a swamp, damp weather was commonplace, but today he was over it. Most of his day had been spent in the grand hall. A Tower meeting was called, to discuss the politics and running of the state. It had started before the sun even rose, much to his dismay, and had carried on without break until now. He had to call for the meeting to adjourn for the day, the other members agreed. Everyone was tired, crabby, and annoyed, barring him for reasons unknown to the rest of the Tower.

As soon as the meeting was formally ended, Frank bolted back to his familial home. Though it was only him living there now, it still held his family's crest over the door, something deeply rooted in Quicksilven tradition. He checked his clock: 1830, perfect, he had just enough time. He shedded the bulky dress uniform that was required for such high end meetings, slipping on more comfortable clothes. Their colors were bright and bold, in a stark contrast to the grays, silvers, and golds of the dress outfit that he'd worn all too often. He grabbed a few more things, including his Hunter Blade, something he never left home without.

To those untrained, such weapons looked like a hilt, with no blade to speak of. Frank spun the hilt in his hand for a moment, before gripping it tightly. A pulse of redstone energy would prove the untrained wrong, a thin blade building itself from the hilt, with small clicks as it locked itself in place. The metal glinted in the sunlight that was now pouring through the breaking clouds and into the homes window. A marvel of engineering, and one of the best melee weapons in the Hunter Corps arsenal. Another pulse and the blade retracted back into the hilt, allowing Frank to slip it into a holster on his belt. He performed one last check, pat of the pockets, a quick glance over the "ready" stand that he had by his door for anything he might have forgotten. Nope, all there, checklist complete. After one last glance at the clock, he was off, a small click reverberating around the house as he locked the door behind him.

He had to go back through the factory block first, which was now well lit, the sun glinting off of the large metallic steam stacks. The wide roads that made a methodical grid around the factories were mostly quiet. The sound of water running down gutters, and the deep thrum of machinery drowned out any human noise that occurred from the few workers that were outside. Most of them were eating their lunch, or beginning their commute home, a few were loading wagons and cargo containers with the last of the day's goods. There were a few civilians traversing the paths as well, people on walks, or on their own commute, or simply taking the time to enjoy the evening sun. A deep rumble of distant thunder echoed between the towers, a reminder of the gloom that had just passed.

After a few turns and another few minutes of walking, Frank arrived at his first destination, the central market. The roads changed almost instantly from nearly deserted, to rather bustling. The colorful garb of the people of Quicksilver creating blazes of color as people went about their business. The market was built around Quicksilver Spire, still one of the tallest buildings within the city. It once served as the Tower's Chamber, a meeting hall, a focal point for all official business to be conducted. Now however, it's a hub for the people. Frank smiled, taking a moment to watch, to soak in the sight of children playing, parents conversing, and workers chortling. This made the maddening days within the Tower worth it.

Frank boldly stepped into the fray, pulling a list out of his pocket as he instinctively knew were to go. The plaza held everything from food and alcohol, to armor and ceremonial clothing. Stalls would shift from day to day, but the families that manned them had been there long before he had. Follow the voices. 

An older man calling out an order in a unique accent, someone from off Bermuda that made excellent food, a unique blend of flavors and cultures, the smell of spices and roasted vegetables filled his nose. Most of the mobile food stands shifted in the evening to be upwind from the factories. A bartender calling out drinks in a more familiar accent. One of the newbies from Blacksand, handling herself quite well considering the rush hour pressure. He continued however, ignoring the good smells and rowdy patrons of the food carts, coming about to his goal.

An older woman stood proud in her stall, shimmering armor and weapons of various makes hanging off of hooks and displayed on racks, her family crest displayed proudly on the front of the stall. She was tending to another consumer, who seemed to be looking for a ceremonial sword for some kind of occasion. Their clothes clearly weren't Quicksilven, it looked closer to the clothing of N'ra, a rather rare sight, regardless of the city's relationship with Quicksilver itself. The woman tending the stall looked to Frank and smiled, beckoning him over. The N'ra patron backed away, continuing their search for the perfect sabre.

"May I speak to you?" Frank asked politely. 

The stall keeper nodded, turning to the N'ra patron, "Please, excuse me." She stated, before returning her attention to Frank. "Well if it isn't the man from the tower himself" she opened, with a grin. "Come here for the pickup?"

Frank gave a nod, chuckling a little. "Ji, you don't need to call me that junk. Never liked those fancy titles anyway. Yes, I am here to pick up my order."

Ji gave a bit of a grin, before turning and rustling around in a box. "So you're finally doing it hm?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled as she searched.

"Finally, yeah. I... think it's been long enough, for both of us." He replied, tapping his fingers on the desk of the stall gently.

"Well, Jo and I have been telling you to do this for a while now, 'bout time you listened." Ji replied with a cheerful grin as she stood up, brushing the dust off of her sleeves. "I assume you'll want to view the merchandise?"

She got a small nod in reply. With that, she hefted a slightly curved blade over the counter, handing it to him. He took it carefully, "Thank you." he stated, as Ji let the full weight of the blade rest in his hands. He took a moment to admire it, his gaze slowly crawling over every inch. The finely tuned metal and workings glinting softly in the fading sunlight. If his blade was a marvel of technological capabilities, this blade was pure passion. No complexities, no compromises. Forged, assembled, wrapped, all by Ji's hands.

"She's my most proud piece yet." Ji interjected as Frank was looking it over. "I imported the metal from N'ra, no big mining there, but I've got a friend. Minimum redstone content, good material. I got that glowstone inlay to work as well." She mentioned, pointing out the lines that danced around the blade, nearly indiscernible from the metal around it. "Straight from the fire forest. Should work beautifully".

Frank took the blade and clenched his hand on the hilt, a pulse of redstone and the glowstone within the blade lit up. While not much while the sun was still up, even if it was ebbing, it would be more than enough to light the way in a dark cavern, or over an unlit road. The inlay glowed orange, a mixture between the minute amount of redstone powering the equally small amount of glowstone. As he pulled his hand off the sword the glow faded into nothing.

"Good, right?" Ji asked with a chuckle. Frank gave a smiling nod in reply. "Now, the wraps are made from Void Mantis leather. Sturdy, good grip, and weather proof. Hard as nails to get that stuff to take shape, you know that right?"

"I've cut enough of them to know, and what about the crest I showed you?" He inquired, looking back to Ji.

"Right on the pommel, you think I'd forget a detail like that?" Ji said with a knowing smirk. A quick check on the pommel, and indeed there was the crest, it clearly wasn't Quicksilven.

He smiled a bit "It's perfect Ji... Thank you. Now, what do I owe you?" He asked, setting the blade down on the counter.

"This time, nothin'. Think of it as a gift from our family to yours. Besides, you and your Hunters bring more than enough business to me." She said with a warm smile, taking the sword and putting it in a scabbard. "Now... take it, and make your evening, and don't forget to let me know how it goes." That warm smile got even bigger as she offered the sword to him.

He took it, returning the smile "Ji... are you sure? I know this-"

"Uhp uhp uhp" Ji interrupted, "I said what I said. Now go, before I change my mind." She said. "Off with you!" She demanded, waving Frank away, immediately returning her attention to the N'ra patron, who had now selected a rather decorative rapier.

Frank smiled a bit, hooking the scabbard onto his belt for now, before heading to his next destination. At this point, shadows were long and distorted; it was nearly twilight. He had wandered into a residential district. The towers scraping the clouds had been replaced with smaller homes. They still held the same stark metallic outside. Family crests above the doors, several buildings being rather large compared to the "standard" home. Housing multiple families.

The sun was all but gone now. The lights built into the Quicksilven streets flickered to life, bathing the town in a warm glow from underneath. Even the towers and stacks sprang to life, lights shining up the steam stacks and spires of the city. Frank paused for a moment, stepping to the side of the road to let others pass as he looked towards the heart of his home. Quicksilver Spire was lit in a beautiful gold, a few brighter areas scattered around for Mag-Copter landing pads. The citadel could be seen even further in the distance. "Good riddance" He thought. A whole day spent in that particular building doesn't make for a good one.

He returned his attention to the task at hand however, and resumed his walk. He was almost there now. The wall had come into view not too long ago, as well as the gate. It was one of the lesser ones, but a decent number of people came through it each day. Mostly Quicksilven traders that lived in the district. For now however, the only one there was the gate guard. Perfect. He walked past him, flashing his identity, the guard gave him a nod as he continued into the birch forest beyond the gate.

It wasn't long now, a couple more minutes. His hands shook a bit as nerves got the better of him. Wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last, but this was something new. As he crested a hill, he spotted her. The twitch of an ear later, she turned to face him. He gave a warm smile as he approached. Her ability to emote was... questionable at best, and while she was capable of it, it took very trained eyes to notice. His eyes were well trained however, countless missions as a Hunter and as a mercenary meant he could read her face well. Maybe not as well as some, but more than enough.

Another twitch of her long, pointed ears, and just the faintest tugging at the corners of her lips. It was a warm smile in return, at least, in her own way. She was as happy to see him as he was her.

[skunky2]

Top 11 Worst Cartoons of the 2010′s!!

We had so many great cartoons introduced in this decade and while I haven't seen every last one I can say this decade was one of the best for animation in general! Sadly for every good animated show produced in this era there are also some bad apples in the bunch the following cartoons are some of the worst I have seen but please remember this is only my opinion if you like any of these shows then that's great continue to enjoy them don't let me stop you!!! 

        Now let's get this list started!!!

11. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs the series         (2017-2018) 

Ok before we talk about the show I want to make one thing clear I don't hate the films in fact I actually find them enjoyable even going as far as calling them guilty pleasures the show on the other hand is a huge flop compared to the movies were the films had creativity and fun humor the show lacks that in fact this is by far the most boring show to be based on a freaking film about an invention that makes it rain food!! The other problem I have with this show is it's set before the events of the films so Flint hasn't even become an inventor yet but instead it's about him in high school and apparently him and Sam knew each other already did they even watch their first film!? Also the mayor is the principle because why not seriously this has got to be the worst show based on a hit animated film it's so painfully unfunny that I question how kids found it entertaining to begin with!!!! Not every movie needs a tv series and this one proves it!

10.  Total Dramarama (2018-ongoing) 

Oh the pain to see the Total Drama series downgraded to this especially since the original Total Drama Island took a ton of risk for a show aimed at kids also how did we go from a series that spoofed reality  shows to a bad Muppet Babies rip-off!! What's really sad is that creators have no desire to produce a new Total Drama series they just want to work on this. On the plus side it's still not as bad as other shows your going to see later on the list. 

9. Super Noobs (2015-ongoing) 

Other then the "how do you do fellow kids" title I wasn't expecting this show to wow me considering it was brought to you by the same dude that brought us Johnny Test aka the original most hated cartoon of all time I got the DA pics to back me up! The worst part is this show has a very interesting concept but it's ruined due to the bad humor and characters. The show is about a group of outcast middle schoolers who receive super powers in the form of power balls from aliens who then become their mentors and how they must save the world from an evil virus that threatens the world sounds like an awesome plot too bad it's not pushed further. 

8. Almost Naked Animals (2011-2013)

Yes this is a children's cartoon not a title for an X rated film. All I can say about this show is why? Why would anyone greenlight a show about an animal nudist hotel not only is it disgusting but those character designs yikes!!!! They look so ugly looking no one wants to see something that looks this hideous!!  Not to mention the humor is just as terrible as the art design. 

7. Breadwinners (2014-2016) 

You know when you feature twerking in your show you automatically fail. The best way I can describe this cartoon is it's just awful first off the two idiot main characters who I'm not going to refer by name since they are some of the most stupidest names for characters seriously  SwaySway and Buhdeuce!? Anyway the show is about these two "ducks" I say ducks like that since they look nothing like ducks they look like frogs or aliens or something. Try to make your character if they are an animal try to look as close as possible as the species they're supposed to be so it will make it easier for you audience to identify them. Well they fly around in a rocket car or something I really don't care and deliver bread to stock-image ducks which brings me to another problem they can't even draw background characters they just go on Google find a duck photo and photoshop cartoon eyes and whatever on it how lazy a can you be!! Also I found out a long time ago your actually not supposed to give ducks bread yeah it can use malnutrition and illness to them so this cartoon is spreading the wrong message to kids. 

6. Brickleberry (2012-2015)

You know why I despise most adult cartoons because most of them are either trying way to hard to be quote on quote "adult" with overuse of swearing, gore, shock humor, and sex jokes and guess what this show is full of this!! Not only is the animation similar to that to Family Guy it's just as disgusting and offensive!!! The show revolves around these park rangers and their everyday lives at their jobs and the characters aren't very good either they are pretty much all assholes, stereotypes of usual characters you see in adult animation, and your typical characters that are just there to offend you! In fact the little bear cub character is pretty much the shows answer to Brain from Family Guy with the personality  of Cartman from South Park. Now I haven't seen this show in a long time but I just remember it wasn't a pleasant experience if you want to check it out just be warned it's not for the faint of heart.  Also the creators of this show produced another show for Netflix that is just a carbon copy with cops instead of rangers and I though that Seth McFarlane was lazy when it came to plots!! It's called Paradise P.D. btw 

5. Teen Titians Go!  (2013-Ongoing) 

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah you've heard it all before this show is garbage, a disgrace to DC comics, stupid etc. The animation community has tore this show apart so there really isn't much to say that already hasn't been said but I will say this I never intended to hate this show as much as I do in fact I was fine with it when it fist came out I mean the original Teen Titians cartoon from 2003 will always be better then this show in every possible way but I wasn't one of the fans to jump on the hate wagon when this was announced I mean I had nothing wrong with it just focusing on comedy if you remember correctly the original had eps that were just as silly and bizarre. The main reasons why this show is so high up on this list is for the following reasons the first is I've never seen a show like this disrespect a fan base this much  it's like the creators have it out for the original fans and they get joy out of mocking them with all these pathetic critic call out eps they do it also shows that they can't take criticism at all!!!! Second is how the creators view their show and animation in general they literally came out in an interview and said the reason why they made the show so stupid is because it's for children you do know kids aren't stupid right guys they deserve shows that don't try to talk down to them!!!! But the main reason for my anger towards this show is how they made an episode awhile were the moral literally was that cartoons are only for kids and told the original fans to grow up!! Mainly the creators themselves have this warped mindset that I honestly wish would just die out that only children should be allowed to watch cartoons and that their show should be immune to all the hate since it's for kids so they use the "just for kids" excuse for their show being like it is. It's hard to believe they would even have a mindset like that when they are adults themselves making an animated cartoon show. I didn't mean to rant this long but I mainly hate everything this show stands for and sadly it's going onto to get 300+ eps. Personality I really think it's time for this show to officially Go not because I don't like it's mainly because it's showing signs it's on it's last legs and with that Sixth Titian thing they pulled this summer and repeating episode plots is starting to show that the writers are becoming burned out this show was never good but I think it's time it ended. There are tons of other reasons this show is bad but I rather not go into them this has gone on long enough already. 

4. PPG 2016 (2016-Ongoing) 

Well TTG isn't the worst reboot/spinoff Cartoon Network produced in this decade the honor has to go to this piece of trash Powerpuff Girls 2016!! Why was this made simple CN wanted more money so they made this show to sell toys yes that was the only purpose of this reboot to sell merchandise too bad the show sucked so hard that the target demo along with the fans of the original Powerpuff Girls hated it! There are tons of problems with this reboot that have already been explained such as god awful animation errors, bad writing, and let's not forget the memes those outdated memes. Not to mention they removed the character Ms. Bellum since the creator thought that having a beautiful, warm-hearted, motherly, intelligent and strong-willed woman on the show was offensive to the new generation! Not to mention they got rid of breast but they did allow the girls to twerk tho!!! Yes because having an intelligent good-looking woman with boobs is bad but kindergarteners doing a sexually explicate dance is fine!! Seriously I feel so bad for Craig McCracken it was bad enough he was screwed over by Disney but to have his show turned into this!! 

3. The Problem Solverz (2011-2013) 

If you want to know my opinion for the worst animated show Cartoon Network has ever made it would be this one! Not only is the show ugly to look at but it uses enough bright colors to make your eyes bleed. The show is about these detectives who solve problems in their home town too bad they cause 90% of the problems they need to solve. These characters are so nasty to look out we got this ugly fish-like man, some robot, and a big nosed hideous lipped Domo wannabe. It was cancelled from tv but ran it's final season on Netflix. I still feel pain for any child that had to sit though this. 

2. Pickle and Peanut (2015-2018) 

Ugh this show!!!! If you've never seen it you may guess this would be something on Adult Swims line up since they're more known for wired shows like this but no it's not from Adult Swim in fact you'll never believe who made this Disney!!! Yes Disney Television Animation produced this the very same company that bought us shows like Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb, Star Vs. and so on made this garbage. There are several problems with this show first off the animation remember when I said that Breadwinners was lazy for using stock-images as background characters well this is the same damn thing but in reverse they couldn't even animate a pickle and a gosh darn peanut this is a peeve I have with most modern cartoons if it's not for a joke then why use stock-images it just makes your show look lazy! Second the humor it sucks it's mainly is "trying" to be Regular Show since both characters are slackers and get into bizarre adventures. Also this show loves to show gross-out shots like the ones in Spongebob for example but unlike Spongebob these are not funny and just plain disgusting like how is this show fun for kids to watch I mean I can understand why kids love cartoons like TTG but I can't see any child liking a show like this!!! Finally we have to talk about the god awful theme song it's not even a theme song but a random robot voice listing off things adults think that children are into so pretty much they're trying way too hard to appeal to kids just like with PPG 2016. There really isn't much more to say about this show it's just awful and it's still hard to believe Disney had a part in making this.

Now it's time for the cartoon from the 2010's that I believe disserves the crown as the worst show from this decade. Out of all the shows I've seen this year none of them of completely  disgusted me more then this one it pretty much has everything  I despise in modern adult animation it makes Brickleberry look tame in comparison!!! It comes to us from our friends at Adult Swim may I present to you the cartoon that I consider the worst!

1. Mr. Pickles (2013-Ungoing) 

I honestly don't know where to start on this one it's just god awful!! First it's got all the things I despise in adult animation shock humor, sex jokes, violence for the sake of it, and ugly character designs!! The show is about a family who owns a dog who is either the devil himself or one of his loyal followers and the dog does extremely messed up things to people stuff I rather not try to remember let's just say this show is MA for reason. If you have a faint heart please stay away from this show at all cost!!!

So there it is my opinions for the worst shows from this decade I hope you all enjoy it since I worked really hard on it.

I didn’t include Big Mouth or Paradise P.D. because I’ve never seen them but yeah I know they’re bad. 

[marshmallowgoop]

Studio Trigger Live Drawing with Tetsuya Sakurai (02/20/19): Transcript (Non-Verbatim)

Studio Trigger streamed their third Twitch live drawing at 18:00 JST on February 20, 2019. The stream features inbetween animator Tetsuya Sakurai drawing Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill, as well as producer Hiromi Wakabayashi and translator Tatsuru Tatemoto. A full video of the stream is available on Twitch here.

I’ve put together a transcript of the stream for anyone curious about the Q and A. While the transcript is not verbatim, all the meaning should still be captured.

Transcript

Tatsuru Tatemoto (Tattun): Sakurai started one year earlier than the last live drawing animator, Sato. Sakurai’s first work at Studio Trigger was in DARLING in the FRANXX. He’s been with Trigger for about two years.

Sakurai is an inbetween animator at Studio Trigger. Today, he’s going to draw Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill. He had some time to practice, so we’ll see what he has for us today. He’s a bit nervous, but he’ll give his best. I hope you enjoy the live drawing.

The producer just came in right now, but he’s going to use the restroom before he comes in.

Let’s get started with some questions on Patreon. This stream is made possible with the support of all our Patrons on Patreon. Thank you. Every bit of support is appreciated. None of the money gathered on Patreon is used as revenue for the studio. All goes to projects or staff and is much appreciated. Thank you very much.

If you would like to participate with questions, we do Q and As with the live drawings. Also, Patrons can vote on who the live drawers draw. We don’t have a link to our Twitch page on Patreon, but we will add it. The Twitch page isn’t too difficult to find and is on other social media, such as our Twitter and official site.

We do have our producer now, Hiromi Wakabayashi. He’s a regular MC for our streaming sessions.

Our first question is from Luke Roberts: “How long does it usually take to draw one frame, and how are the drawings kept so consistent with different people drawing them?”

Sakurai says that it depends on the cut. However, it generally takes about one hour to draw one inbetween frame.

Wakabayashi says that the drawings are consistent along the frames because there’s an animator—I think the direct translation is “animation director”—and they are the ones who kind of direct each frame to make sure there’s consistency throughout the series. There are episode directors who do this work.

We generally try to answer off of the questionnaires, but sometimes, we receive some questions that we obviously cannot answer for various reasons. “Can we expect a global theater release for Promare?” is an example, but I’ll ask for the hell of it.

I was not expecting such a thorough answer! Hiromi says that he would want a worldwide release if possible. There have been multiple announcements about Promare. If the opportunity allows, they want a worldwide release. Hopefully, they will get it.

We were just talking about Kill la Kill, the subject of the drawing. There was a close match between Satsuki and Nonon for this live drawing session. Nonon was just short of three votes for winning. I was secretly voting for Nonon with my own account. It’s unfortunate for the Nonon fans. Sakurai was low-key rooting for Satsuki, though, so I guess it worked out for him.

So, we’ve asked Sakurai what he usually works with. He usually likes to work digitally. When he draws for fun, he usually uses digital. When Sakurai doodles, he likes to color the illustration as well.

The next question is from Manuel Armando Marquez Gonzalez. I’m sorry if I mess up your names. The question is, “How is Trigger involved in the development of Kill la Kill the Game? And how did the project start?”

The answer was pretty long! Hopefully I can answer. Kill la Kill the Game initially started with the character designer at Arc System Works, Mori, who is the designer for BlazBlue. Mori watched Kill la Kill. Early after the airing of Kill la Kill, he pitched the idea to Arc System Works about doing a game. The idea was approved, and the idea was given to Studio Trigger’s production committee. That’s when the game project started.

The offer for the game was given pretty soon after the series ended. It’s been the works for a long time. Trigger’s involvement in the game process is to review character models and the stories. Trigger aren’t professionals when it comes to gameplay, though. Arc System Works are the professionals there because it’s their industry, so Arc System Works does the majority of that work. I hope that was a good answer for our questioner.

I was talking to Sakurai now. I get a lot of opportunities to watch animators draw, and I find it interesting that everyone has their own operation on how they draw their characters. I noticed that Sakurai kind of leaves the characters bald and draws hair later. Sakurai says that that’s just kind of how he’s doing the illustration now. There are times when he draws the hair with the face.

I questioned if Sakurai had ever drawn a fan illustration of Kill la Kill before. Sakurai drew fanart of Satsuki and Ryuko right after the final episode aired. He uploaded the piece on Twitter, so maybe you can find it. However, he makes his Twitter private, so it might be difficult to find the picture.

Wakabayashi and I asked Sakurai what his preferences for drawing are. What characters does he like to draw? Sakurai said that he preferred drawing female characters. He likes drawing female characters in long coats, like a long double coat. I guess that’s his kink!

Sakurai explained that he doodles original characters in his free time.

The next question is from Paul Schmidt, who asks, “Sakurai-san, what is it like being a Douga-man? Is it a lot of work? In a typical half-hour episode, how many frames/cuts do you have to draw? I submit anime staff credits to Anime News Network’s encyclopedia as a hobby, and I discovered your name was not in the database (at least not credited).”

I’ll split the question up.

Sakurai says that he currently enjoys being an inbetween animator, but when he first started working, he wasn’t used to the environment and wasn’t too comfortable with it. Sakurai thinks that the workload is pretty average.

Sakurai explained that it’s very difficult to calculate or put out a number for how many frames he works on per episode because each episode can be drastically different. He can maybe say how many frames he works on a week, which is maybe 50-60 frames because he does about 10 frames a day.

We asked our tech guy to pump up the volume for Sakurai’s microphone.

There’s a question that asks, “Is the iPad good for drawing?” I can’t pronounce the questioner’s name.

The third-generation iPad is very good for drawing. Today, we were planning to use the latest model of Cintiq 16 from Wacom for drawing, but it was broken when we tried to test with it. We had it fixed for stream, but we didn’t have enough time to set it up, so we’re using Intuos 5 today. Fortunately, Sakurai likes working with Intuos 5, and it’s his personal item that he brought with him today. He’s working in a preferred environment. We’re not forcing him to work with unfamiliar equipment.

There are a lot of questions regarding Inferno Cop season 2 on the chat log right now. Hiromi says that Studio Trigger wants to do it! However, the issue they’re having right now is that they have so much actual animation work to do. Inferno Cop is an animation as well, but there’s so much on Trigger’s to-do list that they haven’t gotten around to Inferno Cop yet. Ideally, Hiromi says, they only want to work on comical series, but to keep the studio going, they have to do actual work.

It has been a while since the studio has done anything with Inferno Cop, so Hiromi has talked to the studio about doing some more Inferno Cop along the line, though.

Sakurai is struggling with the shoulder parts of Satsuki, Wakabayashi says. Satsuki’s shoulder pads are difficult to draw! When Studio Trigger was designing the character, there were parts put in that Wakabayashi thought would cause a lot of problems for animators.

Wakabayashi says that they had some slight hope that some animators would find it entertaining to draw Satsuki’s shoulder pads. They would have to think about how the shoulder pads would move and work at different angles.

Our previous animator, Mr. Sato, likes drawing mechs and robots on top of characters. I was curious if Sakurai likes drawing mechs as well. Sakurai doesn’t like drawing non-organic objects, though he does like drawing the little details in clothing. Sakurai likes drawing the arm portion of coats, like the creases and stuff. He likes the little details.

There’s a question from Oscar Manjarrez, who asks, “How are the figures made? Do you reach out to Good Smile or other companies to make them, or is it the other way around? Just wondering if a Ryuko Figma would be made in her street clothing.”

Wakabayashi says it works both ways. Trigger does approach the figure companies in the pre-production portion of production. Trigger pitches that they’re making a certain kind of animation or series and asks if the company would be interested in making merchandise. If the company is interested in making merchandise, they can start making merchandise earlier and release the figures during the airing of the series.

What usually happens is that the company watches the studio’s animation and series and has their own interest. If the series is publicly well known, a company might make an attempt to make a figure. They want a profit as well, so they might ask to make a figure of one of the studio’s characters.

It’s not a Figma, but there was a jacket version of Ryuko from Medicom Toy. It’s a very big and pretty pricey figure.

There was a question from a user named by nora_soncho in our Twitch chat log. They ask if Promare will get a lot of figures and figurines.

The answer is “hopefully.” However, Wakabayashi doesn’t see a lot of figures being made for original movie titles. They’re pretty confident with the title, and they can only hope, and they wouldn’t be too surprised if figures were made possible.

We asked Sakurai if he likes collecting figurines or buying them. His response is sadly that he has just a few; he doesn’t really have an appreciation for figures. For hobbies, he likes playing games. He likes both console and PC games. He appreciates indie titles on Steam more.

Wakabayashi was curious if Sakurai knew about Indivisible. One of Trigger’s lead animators worked on the opening sequence for the game. Sakurai knows about the game and the company.

JxSam asks, “How did you guys pick Raemz to do some promotional Trigger art last month? It’s pretty inspiring to see someone non-Japanese be featured like that!”

I don’t think Raemz is the first non-Japanese person we’ve asked to do the Studio Trigger illustration of the month. I think we’ve had others. To answer your question, several of our staff, myself included, liked her art. I just approached her in the Comic Market, or maybe a different event. We were fortunate enough that she agreed to draw for us.

Apparently, Sakurai has finished doing the roughs. Now, he’s working on the final draft of the lines.

Evandro997 says, “Do Trigger receive a lot of portfolios from overseas? If yes, what do you think about them?”

Wakabayashi says they receive overseas portfolios from time to time, but he doesn’t think that they receive them often. They obviously do review these portfolios when they get them, though.

We asked Sakurai if he streams drawings on his private time. He says that he draws for fun, but he’s never streamed before. He’s a little nervous and uncomfortable because people can see all the little mistakes he made. People can see his in-progress illustration, which he thinks is kind of embarrassing.

Sakurai is using an Intuos 5 tablet today, the medium size.

Wakabayashi asked Sakurai about how he feels about Patreon and other financial support that Trigger receives from the fans. Sakurai responded that he appreciates Patreon and the financial support; it feels good.

Wakabayashi says that something like Patreon is a very foreign culture in Japan; there’s no culture of tipping in Japan. People don’t give money because they appreciate others’ work. Simply put, Wakabayashi is happy that they receive so much support from everyone.

There’s a question from Patreon, from Bill Erak, who asks, “So, how much power do producers have on a show? Like, oftentimes I see that there were decisions made by writers, others by directors, and others by producers. Writers and directors I kind of understand, but if producers have too much power, wouldn’t that make them straight-up directors, too?”

Wakabayashi says the answer to this question depends on the project. For example, a particular project might be started up by producers. A producer might go and find a director that they want their particular series directed by, as well as the staff that they want. In that case, the producer obviously has an agenda that he wants to pursue. He will probably comment here and there on how he wants the series to be executed. There are times when producers might have absolutely no say, though. A project might be very creative driven, where the director and scriptwriter will basically choose every finer detail of the project, and the producer is just there to make the process as stress free as possible.

Wakabayashi says that he can’t speak for other studios. However, with Studio Trigger, not any one person (scriptwriter, director, producer, etc.) has too much power. That’s just Trigger, though. The situation might be different in different studios.

Wakabayashi says that at Studio Trigger, they also feel that you don’t have to be a director, scriptwriter, producer, etc. to provide input. They welcome input regardless of position.

Sakurai is explaining that he’s making a lot of mistakes right now. However, that’s the benefit of drawing digitally. You can make as many mistakes as you want, CTRL+Z, and it’s gone. That’s not the case in physical drawing. You have to erase, and the paper gets worn out.

I explained this a bit earlier. One of our Twitch viewers asked in Japanese if Sakurai wants to work with… I guess digital tablets? I don’t know the correct term in English, but they asked if Sakurai was interested in working with a tablet like Cintiq.

Sakurai was interested initially. We bought a Cintiq 16 one for this stream and tried to test it out. However, when we tried to test a few days ago, there were problems with the equipment. We had to get the tablet repaired. As such, Sakurai is instead using his own tablet, the Intuos 5, which is what he usually draws with.

What time is it in Ukraine right now?

Would Studio Trigger accept donations and have Twitch stamps? We don’t have plans at the moment, but to be honest, we haven’t looked into it too much.

For people living in the east coast, west coast, or wherever where it’s like 3:00 or 5:00 am, please don’t deprive yourself of sleep. There should be a VOD enabled, so you can watch later.

We had a question if this is the studio that worked on Evangelion. Wakabayashi says not really! They’re the sidekick, like the Robin to Batman!

Wakabayashi says that he’ll maybe look into making a stamp. However, if they have to make it, that’s a lot of work that has to go in. They’ll look into it.

It looks like Sakurai has finished the face and is working on the body.

Wakabayashi was the creative officer for Kill la Kill. He commented on Sakurai’s drawing, saying that it looks just like Satsuki!

Wakabayashi is curious about what Sakurai wants to do in the future. Sakurai obviously wants to move up to a key frame animator. Then, he wants to do episodic directing, which is meaty directing on individual episodes. He wants to create something that is highly influenced by his own creative touch. He possibly wants to do a one-man ending sequence where all of the frames are executed by him.

Sakurai doesn’t ultimately want to become a director. He wants to take big steps and go up the ranks of the animators in the industry.

Wakabayashi says that it’s good to have a goal. It’s a motivating factor.

Studio Trigger is a lot more open to ideas, Wakabayashi adds. They try to provide opportunities to the staff. So, if animators keep saying that they’re interested in something and keep telling executives of their interest, sooner or later, it will happen. Wakabayashi says to keep trying.

Blademaster223 asks, “Will Trigger hire more foreign animators if the language barrier problem is solved?”

The question is a little broad, so Wakabayashi’s answer might not be the exact answer you’re expecting. The reason that Studio Trigger can’t hire foreign animators and staff is for a multitude of reasons. Trigger does work with a lot of foreign creators, like with Little Witch Academia and Promare. They don’t come to the studio, but Trigger works with a lot of overseas staff.

There are language barriers, but there are also financial issues. Visas cost a lot of money to obtain. Trigger isn’t big enough to sustain the money for visas.

Again, we covered a similar question in our previous stream as well. In today’s day and age, with all these technologies, you don’t have to be living in Japan to work with a particular entity. You can work online. That’s how Trigger does a lot of transaction with overseas creatives. There are staff like myself, who help with online translations all the time.

I think everyone is too concerned that they have to live in Japan to work with a Japanese studio. That might have been the case like 10 years ago, but I don’t think that’s the case today.

Hiromi asked if Sakurai watches overseas animation. Sakurai watches Disney and Pixar. Sakurai is very excited for Spider-Verse, which is coming out very late in Japan.

It’s very difficult to create those kinds of stunning visuals in Japan, Wakabayashi says. They’re interested in seeing what the movie is like.

Has Sakurai received any influence? Does he like Japanese animation? He likes Evangelion, specifically the reboot. He likes the newer, theatrical Evangelion and appreciates it more because it’s the first Evangelion he saw. The title was Rebuild of Evangelion. The fourth installment is in production right now. Sakurai is curious to see where it goes!

Sakurai doesn’t really have a favorite director, but he does appreciate Mr. Anno’s work. He did appreciate Shin Godzilla as well. Sakurai’s preference is more serious. He likes more serious anime over more comical ones.

Sakurai thinks that Studio Trigger’s method of direction or artistic touch is very American. [Wakabayashi laughs.] Wakabayashi says that is very exclusive to Imaishi’s work.

Are there any favorite Japanese anime series aside from movies that Sakurai likes? He likes the works from Kyoto Animation, though he doesn’t have any particular titles.

I asked Sakurai if he tried applying for Kyoto Animation before Trigger. Sakurai said that he only applied for Trigger, and I asked why. Why wouldn’t he want to work at the studio he likes most? Sakurai explained that he wants to keep what he likes… I don’t know if I can translate well. He wants to be able to enjoy his favorite thing as a hobby and not make it work.

The reason why Sakurai chose Studio Trigger over other studios is because he felt that the art direction seemed like it would be the most interesting to work with. It was the catchiest to him.

Hiromi explained that Sakurai has an interesting perspective. Instead of going to a serious studio and being serious there, it might be good to go to a less-serious studio so that you kind of stand out there.

We asked Sakurai how frequently he draws for fun. He says he draws for fun pretty much every day. At work, he draws in his free time. At home, he draws digitally as well.

This is a question from Zack Gould for Wakabayashi. He asks, “At Anime Expo 2018, you mentioned that if you work on any kind of project along with Imaishi, you would want to do something in the same vein as Panty and Stocking. I personally am also incredibly interested in seeing more hyper-sexual/hyper-violent works from you two, so I need to ask: has there been any discussion about it further than the mention at Anime Expo?”

This isn’t a direct translation, but Wakabayashi says Imaishi likes very orthodox series. He likes working on series like Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill. He likes throwing in a sucker punch like Panty and Stocking and Luluco and taking turns between the two. Wakabayashi says that he would think that Promare is very orthodox. Promare’s genre is super-lit-mega-action-rescue-human drama!

I’m not going to translate what Wakabayashi just said. I’m sorry! I don’t think it’s possible. It’s too difficult. There’s a lot of play on words that I don’t think is possible to translate. If you can translate it, kudos to you. I’m not going to try, though!

I’ll translate what Wakabayashi said now, however. Promare is made for an all-ages audience. They’re not really goofing around this time. Everyone can enjoy the movie.

Hiromi was curious. Sakurai said earlier that he’s interested in animating his own worldview and making his own directed scenes and such. Hiromi was curious if Sakurai wanted to do concept art as well because that’s kind of exporting your own image into a visual illustration. I guess Sakurai is potentially interested in doing concept arts in the future.

Sakurai doesn’t really draw backgrounds or board-like illustrations in his free time, but he is currently studying how to at the moment. Sakurai explained that he’s not used to drawing and talking at the same time. I can’t even draw with my full attention, so I don’t think anyone can blame him for struggling to talk and draw at the same time.

I guess Sakurai’s self-pitch for his illustration of Satsuki today is that he gave a lot of effort to the shoulder parts, so once he’s finished drawing, check out the shoulders! It would be much appreciated.

“Tattun, are you an animator, too?” I wish! I wish I could draw. I wish I could draw all the time so that I could draw lewd pictures, but that is not the case.

This is a question from RYUUy that asks, “What are your favorite drawing exercises that helped you the most getting better?”

Sakurai says to watch a lot of other anime. Watch a lot of other creators’ illustrations and try to figure out what you appreciate and like drawing the most. When you figure out what you like and appreciate to draw the most, then that helps your own process with getting better at drawing.

Apparently, it’s Shiny Chariot’s birthday today. She’s one year older. I’m not sure she appreciates that!

Hiromi was curious. He just found out today that Little Witch Academia is that kind of series where you choose all the characters’ profiles. That’s not the case for Nakashima’s work like Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill. That’s because Nakashima doesn’t want people to have a biased opinion of the character because their birthday is on a certain date. He wants the viewers to view his characters in the purest form.

I’m getting a lot of comments regarding the dice for the birthdays. I think I used a Dungeons and Dragons-type template to come up with the birthdays for the Little Witch Academia characters. Some of the birthdays were changed intentionally by the producer, obviously, but some birthday dates are completely random.

This is a question from Familiar Stranger_: “If you could remake any non-Japanese cartoon however you wanted, which cartoon would you do?” Hiromi says that it’s not a cartoon, but he would like to work with Star Wars.

Sakurai explains that he’s not too familiar with western cartoons. He doesn’t have any franchise that he would like to reboot under his name, but he would like to see Powerpuff Girls with Yoshinari’s touch. I agree that this would be nice!

We’re planning to stream for another 90 minutes. That’s how long we have the room for. However, if there are no other people booking the room after that, we might be able to extend if Sakurai doesn’t finish in an hour and a half. So, we maybe have an hour and a half to go!

This is another question from Patreon. It’s from Kikoman589. The original question was from Thorn14. The question is, “Are there seasons (winter/spring/summer/fall) that are easier or harder on anime studios?”

Wakabayashi says that Trigger doesn’t really have a laid-back season. Obviously, this would depend on the studio as well, though. As a studio, they have the most free time available when they finish a series. There’s an interval time between two projects.

Wakabayashi personally wants a project that doesn’t go over New Year’s Eve. He wants days off. The end of the year is one of the very few times that Japanese people get legitimate times off from work. They just want to take a break when allowed to.

We recently announced that we’re selling a Studio Trigger custom suitcase. There’s a question if we’d sell the suitcase to overseas audiences. I believe the suitcase we’re selling is sold through Good Smile Company? Obviously, the shipment is going to be nasty, but I don’t see why not. We’ll look into it! We don’t have whoever’s in charge of that with us right now. Since we’re not using any IP, I don’t think there’s a problem with selling the suitcase overseas, but the price of the shipment would be high.

I think the question was, “Will Trigger ever do Isekai—is that the term in English?—genre?”

Wakabayashi’s answer is that Trigger has so many other things that they want to do that they don’t have any plans to do that kind of series in the near future. If they do an Isekai, they’ll probably do their own original Isekai series, though, not an adaptation.

There was a question in Japanese. “How was the opening and ending song determined in this particular series?”

Wakabayashi says that if the creative staffs for a particular series want to throw in their own opinion or two cents for what opening or ending will be used for a particular series, then they might make a request to the production committee, which usually has a production label company within it, who would be the sponsors for a particular series. The creative team might make a request to the label company, saying that they want this type of music or soundtrack, and the label might try their best to accommodate the request to the best of their abilities.

In the case that the creative team doesn’t really have any preference, the music production label company usually will make the decision themselves. For Studio Trigger, it depends on which production group is involved as well.

Imaishi or Hiromi Wakabayashi’s creative team does usually make specific requests to label companies. What Wakabayashi generally sees from the director is that the director is usually more interested in choosing who is in charge of the soundtrack for the series than the opening/ending themes.

Sorry! I’m taking a one-minute absence from the keyboard. My throat is drying up, and I need to buy some kind of drink.

Sorry, I’m back. I believe they’re talking about the program Sakurai is using right now. He’s using Sai. I’m not sure if that program is well-known among the western community, but Sai is a pretty popular program in Japan. People generally use Sai or Clip Studio in Japan. Sakurai explained that in Sai, it’s easier to paint. He usually finishes all his process of illustration in one program.

Sakurai’s reason for using Sai over Clip Studio Paint is that Sai isn’t too demanding on the hardware. The user interface is pretty simple, too. Sakurai has also been using the program for a while.

This is our third stream. All of our animators so far have used a different program! It’s an interesting showcase. Yoshinari used Photoshop and Painter. I think Sato used MediBang Paint. Sakurai is using Sai. I think we’re only missing Clip Studio Paint now.

If you’re interested in getting into drawing digitally, you can check out our archive on YouTube and see how each individual program functions. You can choose which program works best for you.

We asked what creative artists Sakurai respects a lot. He said Minamino Aki. I guess this particular creator was in DARLING in the FRANXX as well, as an outfit designer.

Sakurai also likes mebae and Uki as well. Uki is obviously known for Cencoroll. Wakabayashi says that Cencoroll is one of those frontiers. It was a title that was early for its time. Uki kind of made Cencoroll by himself. There were other creators mentioned as well, like Shinkai, who is probably very well known by now but who is still working pretty much solo.

Sakurai didn’t really read manga prior to becoming an animator, but if he had to choose a title, it would be Danjon Meshi. I’m Googling for an English title. I guess it’s Dungeon Lunch.

When we asked Sakurai what games he likes, he said Breath of the Wild for Zelda. I asked Sakurai what other Zelda games he played. There was this one Gameboy title. I don’t know what it’s called in English… it’s The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The game is being released on Switch soon. I guess Sakurai is playing Splatoon and Smash Brothers a lot as well. Sakurai’s favorite PC game is Cave Story.

There’s a question from maxie721: “Does Studio Trigger have any after-activities after work? Sports, Mario Party, etc.? Or only Nomikai???”

Sakurai says he occasionally goes drinking with his colleagues. Hiromi apparently goes straight home. Hiromi hangs out enough with his colleagues because his work hours are unfortunate for him.

I guess Sakurai doesn’t play games with his colleagues. His taste of games is different from the rest of the crew. He also likes playing the same game for hours. His colleagues like trying out different titles more. At Studio Trigger, Switch is popular. Everyone is playing Smash Brothers.

Maybe we’ll do a Kill la Kill stream once the game is released. I believe it’s available for PS4 and Steam at the moment.

There was a comment saying that we must be playing FGO. I guess Sakurai doesn’t play any mobile games or app games anymore. Hiromi plays a lot of Granblue. I hate app games with a passion and don’t play any of them.

Hiromi is saying that the selling point of the app games is that you can pick them up any time and enjoy them whenever you want. You don’t have to go through the hassle of turning them on and stuff. It’s an easier version of “plug it in and play.”

I won’t name it, but one of my favorite titles was ruined by app games, so I don’t like app games!

I guess Hiromi was saying that the more passionate gamer tends to hate app games. Sakurai says it’s an interface issue. You feel like you have to get the controller-in-hand feel better.

My favorite game ruined by apps wasn’t Diablo, by the way. I gave up on Diablo after Diablo III.

This is a question from Patreon, from Alex B, who says, “Tweeners are the most interesting job! So excited to have an inbetweener doing this! The real heroes in anime! How did you get into the job? What about it do you find interesting? Would you prefer to have a different role in the animation production process?”

We’ve covered a little of the question already, but I think it’s interesting to ask why Sakurai was initially interested in applying to Trigger.

Sakurai wanted to be an inbetween animator or become an animator because he wanted to get better at drawing. He initially started drawing in his high school days. He was trying to draw his favorite character from a social app game, and things got out of hand from there.

When you’re an inbetween animator or an animator in general, you’re not always drawing what you want to draw. There’s also a high level of skill required because you have to draw a lot of different angles, etc. Being an animator is the right place to be to get better at drawing.

We got confirmation that our room is extended for five more hours. I don’t think this stream will take that long, though. I don’t want to keep you guys deprived of sleep for that long, either. I think Sakurai will finish in maybe another 30 minutes or so. Sakurai is adding highlights and shadows now, so he’s prepping to finish up the job right now.

We’re explaining now that even younger animators these days are getting really good. The level of technique that younger animators have now is unmatched to what we saw when we were younger. When Yoshinari was younger, Hiromi doesn’t think animators were as good. It’s like the Olympics. 30-40 years ago, the demonstrations at the Olympics were still outstanding feats, but you can see how much humanity or mankind has improved since then.

There’s a comment being made right now saying that the animation budget was higher in the 80s. Hiromi claims that this is not true. Budget doesn’t really equal quality, I guess, if that’s the right term. There might have been a high-budget project here and there, but the general consensus is that the budget was the same in the 80s as it is now.

There’s a lot to put into consideration, though. There’s a lot more staff working on a project now compared to in the 80s. There’s a different amount of budget allocated at a different time. What determines the quality of the project more is the passion of the creators. Passion has a lot more to do with the quality than the budget, Hiromi says.

However, I would like to note that more budget will obviously help. With more budget, Studio Trigger can maintain a larger staff, which helps with quality. What ultimately affects how fun and entertaining a project is is how involved the staff is in the production.

axelsaurus asks, “Sorry to ask again, but can we hope for some Trigger ‘Parallel Works,’ like the TTGL ones? KLK spin-off shorts are in my wet dreams.”

If you’re looking for a spin-off of Kill la Kill, Hiromi believes that the game, Kill la Kill the Game: IF, will satisfy your thirst for a parallel work. It’s going to feature Satsuki as the main character. It’s a “what if” story examining if Satsuki was the main protagonist for the series. If you’re interested, Hiromi thinks it is well worth the money. The script is also done by Nakashima himself.

There was a question regarding how artists keep themselves motivated in drawing. Sakurai explains that keeping an old archive of all of your artwork and trying to compare it with your more recent work to see how much you’ve improved is a good way to see if you’re making any progress.

Also, Sakurai likes posting on the Internet and receiving feedback or praise. That’s always a plus.

There’s a question from syworks: “Is there any secret to keep your wrists from overstraining from working so long and so many hours?”

Sakurai says that he doesn’t really have any secrets for that. If you work too much in a single day, his hands do get sore. He has to take breaks in between and relieve the stress in the middle. He doesn’t really have any secrets.

We asked Sakurai if he has a Twitter or pixiv account he would like to share with the community. He says he doesn’t want to show it and is a little uneasy right now, but maybe one day, he’ll make it public.

Another question is, “How great is Studio Trigger’s snack/bar pantry? What delicious treats do staff have access to?”

I guess that Studio Trigger doesn’t really have a bar/pantry. They want one. People do receive snacks or gifts from fans that is available for anyone in the studio to take in the middle. As such, there’s not something specific that they always have.

Studio Trigger do want a kitchen or bar. In the studios that Trigger was able to tour overseas, they found that every studio had some kind of pantry, even if it was just a cereal buffet. Wakabayashi thought it was cool and wanted one in Trigger, too. Maybe when Trigger has more money.

Hiromi is saying that, knowing himself very well, even if there was a pantry, kitchen, or bar, he’d probably get bored of the menu or whatever is available pretty quickly. He’d probably only use it once or twice.

I disagree, though. I know Hiromi likes coffee. I would use the snack/pantry if we had one!

We probably can’t do a studio tour stream. It’s probably not possible. We’d have to tear down a lot of the studio to avoid anything being leaked!

Maybe we could put the GoPro on a Hot Wheel and have a quick, short tour, but it probably wouldn’t happen. There would be too much risk!

There’s a question from luluraoul in Japanese: “Are there any plans for future streams?” We usually communicate with our Patreon for our streams. The goal is to stream once a month. That’s a goal, but we don’t always do a good job on it. We have had three streams, and the Patreon has been active for longer than three months. We do a stream about once every 2.5 months. We will have a stream in the future, and we’ll continue to do so until our Patreon dries up.

We actually have our next participant chosen, an outside creator. She’s kind of not Trigger, but she works with us very frequently. She’s Mago, the character designer for Space Patrol Luluco and our mascot characters. She was supposed to stream this month, but there were schedule conflicts, so she’ll stream next month. Our fourth stream is very, very soon. We’ll make an announcement about that stream early next month.

I don’t know Mago’s Twitter account off the top off my head, but I think it’s magodesu. She’s pretty active on Twitter. She’ll probably come up easily if you search. Yes, it seems magodesu is her Twitter.

I guess Sakurai is using a very unique method of adding this lighting gradation.

There’s a question from EiGi696969 that asks, “Recently, the Studio Trigger documentaries have been focused more on the voice actors and less on the artists (Kill la Kill or LWA or Kiznaiver and FRANXX). Have you guys switched the documentary production team? Would you mind in the future if you can make sure there’s more into the art stuff in these documentaries?”

Hiromi is saying, just FYI, at least half of the documentary for FRANXX was focused on the artists. The focus on voice actors is… they want to focus on their creative process more, but it’s straining to the studio if there’s an entire camera crew filming all the time. It’s detrimental to the schedule. That’s maybe why there is less footage of the creative process portion. I guess it’s something that we want to focus on more, but we might not have been able to. It didn’t really come up to our minds until it was just mentioned now, Hiromi says.

Wakabayashi says that a lot of the staff don’t like being recorded or photographed. Also, the documentaries are more entertaining if the camera crews come in without respect of the creators. That kind of footage is more entertaining, but we can’t do that because our creators are delicate individuals. Personally, Hiromi wants more documentaries focused on the creative process, though.

Sakurai apparently finished his illustration. We’re asking him to zoom in a little bit right now.

That was it for the live drawing. For those who are interested in the Sai composition files for this illustration, if you’re part of our Patreon, you’ll have access to this and our previous illustrations as well. If you had a great time, feel free to support our studio and creators. We much appreciate it!

Thank you, everyone! There are about 1,200 of you at this weird, awkward time on a weekday. Our next stream is with Mago in early March. Thank you for joining our stream! We’ll be wrapping up our stream now.

[ortegatrash]

FH:Rebirth WIP - The Mug Saga

Ortega returns to find the table minus one Sidestep and plus one innocent steaming mug of coffee.

"Wha- I can't believe it, don't tell me you left me to pay the bill, asshole!"

You can pinpoint the moment he catches sight of the mug because his indignant confusion turns to surprise and then melts into genuine delight.

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY', the crumpled piece of paper reads. It's tucked neatly under the special limited edition Marshal Charge mug, you had been there with Ortega as he did the photoshoot for the children's charity it came from. It'd taken all you willpower to keep from snickering as they presented a bewildered Ortega with increasingly more creative poses in front of a green-screen in a more 'traditional' version of his superhero uniform.

Aka, underwear over a bodysuit. You weren't really sure exactly why they needed him to then lose the bodysuit and start doing provocative 'come hither' poses in only the Official Marshal Charge Tightey Whiteys with Mobile Charger ™ but the smiles gathered you a pleased, smug grin from Ortega himself as he directed his expressions at you.

Damn arrogant asshole. That's why you got the mug where he'd genuinely tripped from one of the kittens escaping from the cardboard tree he was 'rescuing' them from and he has a stupid, dumb surprised expression on his face.

It always makes you grin to think of it.

You're interrupted from your thoughts from a bark of laughter as Ortega presumably catches sight of the rest of the message. You'd taken inspiration for that bit from seeing the man the table over flirt blatantly with the waitress before leaving his number on the tip.

There's a fond, indulgent look on his face and it brings more feelings into your gut than you know how to deal with. He looks all around for you before spotting you not-so-inconspicuously hiding behind one of the pillars trying to hide your grin.

"You didn't really believe you could dine and dash on me, did you?" he laughs as comes over and embraces you tightly. "I didn't think you had it in you, writing 'CALL ME' with your name and number. "

You look away, too red to look him in the eye even as he holds close. Like something precious. He's always been so earnest in his emotions. "You know I would outrun you, old man. So, the great Marshal Charge is down to catching petty food thieves now?" you tease, trying to will your heart to settle. "Didn't know you were such a cheapskate."

His answering wink as he reluctantly releases you from his embrace makes your stomach flutter. "Oh I don't know if it's so petty. I think this thief has stolen my heart," he whispers wickedly as he pulls away.

"Ortega!" Oh no. Oh no no no.

You are not blushing, you are not having these traitorous feelings. Not for Ortega. Don't ruin this. You know he would flirt with a sock puppet if it could talk. That's just how he is, you are nothing special.

Your brain tells you one thing and your heart just doesn't want to listen. Stupid body, going and having feelings. You can see the way he's enjoying how he can have such an effect on you, eyes warm with mirth at your expense.

So he thinks he can tease you like that with no repercussions? Well. Two can play at that game. You might not have always enjoyed the….education...you were given, but it certainly comes in handy at times. Tilt your head up at the right angle, looking up under your eyelashes.  Wide eyes, softened face. The picture of innocence.

Good. No one's looking this way and it shouldn't be too hard to gently redirect the old man in the corner who feels like heading towards you to use the bathroom. You still don't have the best control yet but it's simple to make him think he saw someone enter the single stall with an upset stomach and that he should try the disabled toilets next door.

Ortega's eyes are very wide as he takes in your approach, pupils dilated. This is just to get back at him, right? It's just revenge for always being so flirty. See if he likes having the tables turned on him.

"Maybe you're right," you begin slyly. "Maybe I have been bad. The big bad villain running away with my thieving hands full of stolen things."

"Oh?" he breathes, eyes wide and terribly excited. This is out of character for you, being so forward. Usually you're too busy worrying about keeping a low profile to dare even think of doing such a thing. "And what exactly have those thieving hands been getting into?"

You can't help it, he looks far too amused and pleased at your antics to not want to take him down a peg. It doesn't take much for you to pull him into the darkened space behind the pillar while on the lookout for wandering eyes.

"Hm, I don't know," you begin with a shy smile.  "A lot of things, really…."

It doesn't take much to bring a hand up and stroke his cheek to distract him from where your other hand is wandering. The flicker of his eyes downwards and the warm blush spreading across his face tells you he can feel the way you reach around, teasing, merciless, as you go to cup his ass…

Aaaand swiftly yoink his wallet out of his back pocket so quickly he only has time to give you an outraged look. Like a cat thrown face-first into a bathtub, you think as you sprint giggling out the back door.

Oh, that was fun. You wondered how long it would take for Ortega to shame-facedly reveal he couldn't pay before the waitress let him in on the fact you'd paid the bill beforehand with a tidy tip for playing along with your little game.

It was his birthday, after all. You shouldn't be too mean to him.

But only for today. Just because it's his birthday, and he needs something to compensate him for becoming more of an old man. You couldn't let him get too spoilt and think you actually liked him or anything.

You really don't know. All you know is when Ortega lives up to his name and comes charging around the corner red-faced clutching his new mug delicately and with a coffee stain all over his previously pristine white outfit, you burst out in laughter and you've never felt so open. So filled with joy and delight.

"I can't believe you just did that!" he scolds. Shaking his head at your antics with a sigh. "Tricking me like that...thank you for the gift though, I love it."

You're not used to being thanked, it still makes you uncomfortable. It was just a stupid, dumb joke mug anyway.

Apparently your first instinct is just to deflect from actually confronting your feelings and tease him again. "Really? I thought you had better taste than tacky souvenir quality mugs of yourself," you joke. "I should have know you were a narcissist. I bet you even wear your own fan t-shirt merchandise."

When Ortega looks away with a "Well…", your smile only increases.

"Oh, wow. Really?"

"What's the point of having your own merchandise if you can't use it?" He gives an innocent, shameless shrug. "Besides, it's fun!"

"You're incorrigible." Despite what your words might say, your traitorous heart reveals the truth of what you feel. Like it's burst and swollen up to fill your chest with these strange, novel feelings. Is...is this what happiness is?

Ortega is...Ortega is staring at you like he's never really seen you before. Just watching your face with - you hate to even think of it- downright tender fascination. It makes your cheeks feel too warm, your mouth gape open only slightly as you struggle for something to say in the face of those soft, soft eyes.

What are you supposed to do when he looks at you like that? Like he…

Like he actually...likes you.

Such an idiot, you think, fondly.

Maybe...maybe things are going to be alright. Maybe things really are going to work out like Ortega says. He doesn't know what you're going through exactly, but he knows there are things troubling you.

That. That would be nice. Maybe you can really have a future as a hero, even if you can't be a ranger like the others. It's fine, it's better if you don't have the spotlight anyway. You don't want to bring any undue attention onto yourself.

It's fine. It's all fine. It has to be.

This is more than someone like you could have ever dared dream for and you are so, so hopeful for the future. It's as fragile like a butterfly's cocoon, spun out of the finest golden threads of promise. Hope.

[You were so, so naïve.]

The tears are rolling down your face and you don't bother to do anything to stop them.

[You miss it. You miss him so, so much you couldn't stand it. Heartbreak changed you forever.]

A hand on your shoulder, while you bury your face into his. "H-hey? Are you- are you crying?"

[You tore your heart out and threw every bit that ever cared about him away.]

"I think I'm happy." you whisper, and you think you actually mean it.