#ng+ shuffle ask game

[void-botanist]

♾️ ♾️ ♾️ lets GO

From this ask game.

YEAH BOY

27. Small Memory by Jon Hopkins

Hoven sat on the moss-edged bench, rubbing at the bridge of his snout like it would make the tears stop prickling at his eyes. When he turned back, Syndy wasn’t there. She was still forty feet away, standing stiffly over the half ledger stone he’d just been standing at. Her head was tilted to stare down at it, but nothing below her neck had shifted in turn. Her hands still clutched the label-ridden silver tin that held Gweltsen. Behind her, the clouds had fully gathered in preparation for an early-autumn storm, the breeze sending a handful of fallen leaves skittering across the sea of flat gravestones, ruffling the skirts of her deep blue dress around her knees. It felt like she would never move from that half-silhouetted spot, as though she too was part of the grave marker, but then she was stepping with haste down the row, her head still bowed, her face haloed by windblown locks of grey. When she reached him, she stood over him, casting him in vague shadow. Slowly, the angle of her neck eased, and she met his eyes with a look he could only describe as haunted. “I can’t do it.”

64. bad idea by Ariana Grande

It really was a lavish affair, this wedding. Fabian doubted his family could have done any better. In fact, their version would have been worse—more straight-laced, less free-flowing with the brandy. Accepting his sidecar from the bartender, he turned to get a visual on the foreigner who’d been half-orbiting Isabel since the ceremony. They were tall, and loud, and beautiful in their oddly cut suit, so it shouldn’t be this hard to find them—ah. They were sitting at the other end of the bar, with an empty seat on either side of them, like an open invitation. He tried not to think about what it would mean if it wasn’t an invitation as he moved over to one of those seats. They glanced up as he put a hand on a seat beside them. “This seat taken?” he asked. “It is now,” they said with a smile that definitely was inviting. He set his drink on the bar and took his place. “I’m Fabian. He-him.” “Oh, so you’re Fabian. I’ve been wondering.” “Have you heard about me?” If they heard it from Isabel who knew what had been said. “Oh, sure,” they said with a grin. “Good things, though. Very good things.” “Really? Well, if a gentleman such as yourself would like to do more than hear, I think I could arrange that. What’s your name?” They waved a hand as though they were trying to erase something. “Look at me, being rude. I’m Tatiana, she-her or whatever you feel like.” Shit. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.” “I didn’t say you assumed wrong,” they said, running their tongue along their back teeth in a way that was probably not meant to be seductive but worked on him anyway. “I’ll be anyone’s gentleman for a good arrangement.”

40. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police

This one is probably on here because it's on a Spinder/Isabel playlist but I decided to go Wylie/Vy instead:

She always leaves me with the umbrella, says I need it more, because if I get wet then I’ll get cold. Law of evaporation. Unfortunately she’s right, but she never stays under the umbrella either. She’s always two stalls ahead of me in the market while I’m a one-swl procession, making my way down the middle with all the shopping bags on my arms. I guess I should be flattered in a nebulous kind of way. She’s rarely excited enough to go flitting around like this, but then she’s never been to an open market in fourth. Never been home with me in this home that isn’t home. And to watch her, it’s…I wonder if I have that same soft look on my face that my parents always have for each other. I wonder if she can tell.

Nicea taglist: @kahvilahuhut @kk7-rbs @outpost51 @writernopal @athenswrites

[void-botanist]

@outpost51 I'm gonna remix this with one of your other games because I want more people sending me stuff lol.

Send me a ♾ [infinity emoji] and I'll shuffle my Wrapped playlist and give you something!

New Game + mode!!

2023 Edition

Give me a number 1-100, and I will either tell you what fic the corresponding Spotify Wrapped song inspired, or write you a ficlet/snippet inspired by that song.

[iluvchick3nz]

As someone from the south my southern accent comes out STRONGLY when I’m tired so I can just imagine leo talking with a deep drawl after a game or on the bus ride home LOL! You’re so amazing and I love ur work so much pls never stop

This was actually a really cool prompt, because I got to do some research on NOLA accents! They're kind of similar to NYC ones in many ways, and distinct from the stereotypical Southern US ones. I noticed, particularly, that the way that lots of people pronounce '-ing' is not necessarily with a hard 'n' sound like '-in', nor a hard 'ng' sound. It's kind of like in the Northeast, where we don't really touch our tongues to the roof of our mouths right behind our teeth, but don't touch the back of our tongues to the back of our throat- it's a mix between the two. It's like a soft '-ing' sound with the same casual feeling of '-in', if that makes sense? It also depends on the starting sound of the word following the word ending in '-ing', so I also tried to represent that when I as writing. There was a lot of talking to myself, haha!

There's also obviously a bunch of different NOLA accents, depending on the area of the city you live in, your economic class, and your race, so I tried to emulate Leo's based on what we know about him and the characterization of him and his family in the SW universe. I hope I did it justice, and if I didn't, please let me know so I can learn more!

All credits to @lumosinlove !!

Leo turned up towards to the Louisiana sun and took a deep breath. It was warm on his face and neck, and the air smelled like home: slightly salty, heavy, and a little humid in the midday heat. He smiled and looked out over the front of the boat. His cove was up ahead, all secluded and shadowed, as if waiting for him and his boys. He realized they weren’t beside him, and turned around to look at the seats. They liked to sit there and watch him, they said, Finn usually with Logan in his lap or an arm around his shoulders. After a few minutes, Logan would inevitably come up to stand beside Leo and kiss his shoulder, just like he had the first time they’d gone out there. Finn took a photo every time, without fail. He had a special album on his phone, Leo knew, and the most recent one was his screen saver. 

But when Leo turned around fully, they weren’t there. He jerked his head around. They weren’t anywhere. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused- he’d definitely undone the ropes with Logan, he was sure of it. And Finn had definitely squeezed his hips and pressed a kiss to his cheek in thanks after Leo helped him on the boat. All of their lifejackets were still there, too, nestled up right where they normally sat, in case of an emergency. Panic rose in Leo’s throat, and his breathing started to quicken. Where were they? They couldn’t have gone overboard, Leo would never forgive himself if-

Soleil.

Leo jerked his head up. Logan’s voice, like a whisper on the wind. 

Soleil, réveille-toi, mon amour.

“Logan?” Leo asked. He tilted his head up to the sky. “Lo. Logan, where-”

Sh, sh, it’s alright. Open your eyes for me, mon coeur.

With a start, Leo jerked awake. His face was squished in the pillow, his hipbones pressing into something soft underneath him. “What-”

“Bon matin, Le.”

Leo squinted, and then a face came into view. Green. Green eyes. Leo gasped. “Lo.”

Logan was laughing softly. “Salut, mon coeur.” He was stretched out beside Leo on their bed, athletic and strong body all on display for Leo to gaze at. “You were talking in your sleep.”

“I- what-” Leo stammered. He shifted his body, feeling the mattress underneath his hips. “I been- been lookin’ for you for ages.”

Logan shuffled in closer and put a hand on Leo’s back. “Quoi? Why were you looking for us?”

Leo made a distressed sound low in his throat. “You left the boat.”

Logan’s brow furrowed. “Quoi?”

“You left the boat,” Leo continued. “We were gonna pass by my cove, ya know? Was thinking ‘bout-” He interrupted himself with a yawn. “Was thinking ‘bout kissing you- give you a passion mark.”

“A what?”

“A passion mark.”

“Soleil, I have no idea what that is.”

Leo huffed. “Ici,” he said, tugging at Logan’s arm. Logan shifted even closer and hissed in surprise when Leo leaned in and began sucking on his neck. He was propped on his elbow, hovering over with Logan’s head underneath him on the pillows. Logan reached up with his outside hand to scratch at Leo’s curls and hummed into the sheets. Leo in turn made a noise against his skin, hand running down Logan’s soft torso. He pulled off gently and surveyed his work. “Bon.”

“Soleil,” Logan said, face smushed a little. He was laughing. “Soleil, I’m stuck.”

“Hm,” Leo replied. “Can do somethin’ ‘bout it, honey.” 

Logan laughed even harder as Leo straighted their twisted bodies by rolling over completely and flopping on Logan’s chest. Logan scratched his nails gently up and down Leo’s back. “Your accent always sounds so much stronger in the morning, mon coeur.”

“So does yours,” Leo retorted from his place against Logan’s neck. He placed his mouth back against the skin and sucked gently. Logan’s chest rose and fell with a content sigh, his hands still working their way up Leo’s shoulders.

Suddenly, the door to their bedroom opened. Leo didn’t remove himself from where he was, but he could hear Finn’s breath hitch when he saw them.

“Yeah, mom,” Finn said. He must have been on his weekly phone call with his parents. “Yes, I’ll tell them you said that.” A pause and a scoff. “Nuh-uh, we feed him, too.” Finn let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, mom, okay. Okay, yeah, send it to me. I can work a stove you know.” Leo peeked his eye out to look at him. There was more chatter on the other end of the line, and then Finn laughed. “Yes, I know. Okay. Okay, I love you. Tell dad I say hi. Love you, ‘kay, bye.” Finn hung up and then let out a big sigh. His gaze on them was tired, but he was smiling. “Oh man, I need to lie down.”

Logan laughed. “You’ve barely gotten up.”

“No,” Finn said. The bed shifted as he crawled under the covers. “I’ve been up since the early morning, but some people have been being sleepy-heads.”

Logan shoved him slightly. “I was up with Leo.”

Finn turned his adoring eyes on Leo and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “I know, I’m sorry baby. Trouble sleeping?”

“Mm-hm,” Leo said. He settled down with his cheek against Logan’s shoulder, closing his eyes and moving into the feeling of Finn’s hand stroking his hair back. “Kept havin’ weird dreams. Lost y’all when we were passin’ by my cove.”

“When we were what?” Finn asked. His voice sounded confused.

Leo huffed slightly. “When we were passin’ by my cove. On the boat.” He opened his eyes again. “How’s your mama’n’em?”

Finn smiled. “Oh, I see. You’re that tired, hm? Last night's game wear you out?” Leo just blinked slowly. Finn kissed his forehead again. “Oh, you’re really exhausted, sweetheart. Why don’t you go back to sleep, huh? We got a day off.”

“Non,” Leo said defiantly. It was a little like what Logan would say, lovingly grumpy. “Non, I wanna stay here and talk.” He yawned. “Don’t wanna lose you on the boat again.”

Logan grinned into the top of his head. “Non, soleil. You’re not losing us on a boat.”

Leo kissed his chest, then looked at Finn again. “So, how’s your mama’n’em?”

“Well,” Finn started. “No ‘n’em’ today, just mom.” He settled himself firmly against them with a leg thrown over their bodes. He took one of Leo’s bouncy curls between his fingers. “She said she’d send me her bolognese recipe. Said it was ‘foolproof’, and that I should cook you dinner tonight because you feed me too much.” He scoffed. “I told her I know how to work a stove. And that I do feed you- sometimes.”

Leo smiled. “Ouais, you do. But I like cooking for ya.”

“Ouais,” Logan said. “Mais, we can do it for you.” He nuzzled Leo’s head. “Let’s treat you today, hm? Go for a walk around the park that you like, outside the city. Go swimming in the swimming hole.” He paused and squeeze Leo tighter. “How does that sound, mon soleil?”

“Yeah,” Leo nodded. “Yeah, okay. 

“Sounds perfect, baby,” Finn said. He leaned in for a quick kiss from Logan. When he pulled back, his eyebrows furrowed, then a smile broke over his face. “Looks like somebody already got to you this morning, huh?” He leaned down to kiss over the mark that Leo had left.

Logan made a happy little sound. “Ouais. It’s a- what did you call it, soleil?”

“A passion mark,” Leo sighed. He snuggled further down into Logan. “‘Cause I love ya. Love ya both.”

“Je t’aime.” Logan settled back into the pillows. He sounded like he was half asleep again.

“Love you,” Finn whispered. He buried himself in next to them. “Love you, love you, love you. My sexy boys with sexy accents.”

Leo and Logan just laughed, shaking the bed beneath them. The day ahead felt a little less tiring now. 

[pisayers]

Hivemind

The giant parasol danced over our heads as the wind grazed the smiles on our faces. Gift wrappers and plastic packages flew across the cemented basketball court, halting a 3x3 basketball game with the lower years on the other side. Nobody in the graduating batch cared, however. It was the final Christmas Party that we were going to get as high schoolers, and by mercy of the higher powers who were mad with rain pouring down in torrents for the past few days, the sun shone bright amidst feathery clouds that dotted the clear blue sky.

With a scratch card, a pearl bracelet, Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse, a spiral notebook, a pen thought to have been used by Kurt Vonnegut, and a gray laptop bag all wrapped around my arms, I shambled to a nearby tent and poured all of my gifts on the brown table. To my dismay, my scratch card fluttered with the wind, landing center court on a pair of Converse shoes.

I froze. Around ninety other people on the court and it had to be her. Her black cardigan shielded a shiny purple crop top with laces on her chest that hovered over the golden buckle of her cotton belt. Her leather pants gleamed in front of my eyes as I shuffled my way over to her looking like a balled up armadillo. Luckily, my Brooklyn Nets ball cap-trench coat-dark skinny jeans combo aired a shadowy and mysterious aura around me that blanketed my trembling bones beneath the heavy fabric.

She crouched down and scooped up the scratch card with her milk chocolate fingers, simultaneously readjusting her lumberjack bonnet to expose the bangs of her wavy hair. Every time she smiles and shows off those dimples, it’s as if I slowly melt to the ground like honey. The sweetness emanating from her polished brown eyes is enough for bees to swarm toward her. Each step I took was a staircase branching out into an out-of-body experience that still couldn’t process how I was even inches away from her.

“Sa’yo ba ‘to?” she asked in the cutest voice I’ve ever heard.

“Yep.”

“Awww. Isang piso lang?”

“May nakakuha ng 10k jan. Malas nga eh.”

“Okay lang yan. Baka swertehin ka pa sa susunod.”

Hopefully, luck is enough to carry me through what I’m about to pull off right now.

However, I clocked her best friend hobbling over towards our direction, her cream crutches and walking boot painted with my batchmates’ signatures covered in glitter. The two are almost inseparable and the timing could not be any worse. Tears welled up in my eyes as her friend wrapped her toned arms around her waist, her veiny hands hovering gently on the small of her back. Every neuron in my nerves, every fiber in my muscles, and every calcium deposit in my bones wanted to shred their arms apart like I was busting through elevator doors, but I didn’t have the guts.

I ran away to a spot in the bushes just meters away from the two to calm myself down. Even Mother Nature was screaming at me to just do it. The rustling of the bamboo grazing my flimsy arms, the dead leaves falling on my shoulders, and the bees dancing around my bootleg Mamba shoes were practically shoving me back onto the center court.

Suddenly, a skateboard collided with the banana tree on my right and crashed its way towards me. A short little boy who barely looked like a high school freshman charged towards the skateboard. With a mouth stained with chocolate syrup, baggy cargo pants mismatched with his black death metal tee, and a propellor beanie hat spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute, he jumps at the sight of me, startled and confused.

“Kuya? Anong ginagawa niyo dito?”

“Silong lang. Ang init.”

“Ay, sige po. Kunin ko lang po skateboard ko.”

Nearly tripping over his own untied shoelaces, he stumbled into the skateboard and picked it up by one of its wheels. The thing is taller than him, and clearly, he didn’t know how to use it. Who decided it was a good idea to give him this as a gift?

“Nagawa niyo na po ba?”

Amidst my own thoughts, the question startled me. Gossip around campus spreads like wildfire, I suppose.

He rambled, “Doon lang po siya sa gitna, oh?”

“Alam ko. Mamaya. Layas ka na.”

The boy frowned. It was never my intention to come off as cold. It’s just how I am when on edge.

“Sige, kuya.” he sighed. “Doon lang po ako sa triage kung kailangan niyo ako.”

“Enjoy ka, bro.” as I reached my clenched hand up for a fist bump.

With the widest chocolate grin, the boy ran as fast as the propeller on his head, leaving my outstretched arm hanging in the air.

I sat on the green bleachers, creeping along its sides to make sure no backpack or Aquaflask tumbler falls over. She was still there in the middle chatting with her best friend, their smiles brighter than the midday sun. With eagle eyes, I clocked every detail: the hem of her leather pants getting stepped on by her black slides, the three strands of hair shielding her right eye at random times, and the little tiny bells in her back pocket, jingling as if they were calling out my name. I was so fixated on her that I didn’t even feel the taps on my shoulder as one of the alumni who came to visit offered me a mango salad in a small plastic cup.

“Kahit hindi na po, kuya. Mangingilaw ngipin ko.” I exclaimed sarcastically. Or, at least, I made it appear sarcastic to him. It was true, though. I don’t exactly want to present myself with yellow-stained teeth.

He replied, “Sige. Bahala ka.” as he munched down on the mango bits with a small wooden spoon sticky with condensed milk.

The silence was deafening. I wanted to start a conversation with him, but no topic came out. What a waste of an alumnus’ time on campus!

“Nagawa mo na ba?”

And just like that, the ice between us was shattered. You would think someone studying in UP Cebu would not hear about hearsay in Baguio, but here we are now, I suppose.

“Pa’no niyo alam, kuya?” I asked, taken aback.

He chuckled, “Basta, pre. May connections ako dito.”

In mock frustration, I got up and walked to wherever the wind decided to take me next.

As I tiptoed along the sidelines of the basketball court, her pretty face was still there in the center with a Polaroid camera dangling on her middle and ring fingers. She whipped out a stack of pastel Polaroid film and tucked the plastic bag in the pockets of her best friend’s hoodie. It’s like that opening lyric in Katy Perry’s Firework. Yeah, I wanted to feel like a plastic bag. Yeah, that’s what I’m feeling right now.

To my surprise, the skateboard kid ran up to them and offered to take their photo, the stupid chocolate grin still plastered on his face. Is he just allergic to wiping his mouth? I guess some people don’t care about how they look in public. With bubbling annoyance held back, I watched the kid peep through the tiny viewfinder and double-tap the shutter button, the pastel film squeezing its way out and getting blown towards my direction. Not wanting a repeat of what I will now deem as the “scratch card incident” to my own gossip mates, I lumbered towards the 3x3 game on the other side of the court. Perhaps a basketball game under this trench coat can clear my head.

It didn’t.

How I even entered the basketball game was a blur at this point. At one point, I was substituting a random Grade 9 student who was thirty minutes late for his class, and suddenly, I was now guarding the campus’s basketball coach as the tallest and most capable person on the team that could stop him. My tomato chest and twig-like legs were barely holding on against the violent bumps and collisions he was making with his shoulder, and he bullied his way into the inside of the paint for an easy two points. As I was getting ready to pass the ball back to my teammates, I realized that the game was finished. Coach scored the final point to win the game. The Grade 9 prick subbed me in at the last possible moment of the game.

“Game!” he yelled, followed by an engine-like chuckle that pissed you off every time you got scored on.

Behind clenched teeth, I replied, “Nice game, sir.”

“Nice game.”

I slowly marched towards the underside of the backboard for some slight shade. With gallons of sweat dripping down to my core, I watched the rest of the teachers and staff remaining on the court chucking up shots before their class time. You almost had the assumption that they took the game of basketball more seriously than their actual classwork. Then again, when more than half of your students are getting unos in their report card, no one bats an eye.

I leaned my shoulder on the basketball pole when a ball started flying in my direction, nearly hitting me on the face if not for my quick reflexes. It was an airball. Coach made an airball. I couldn’t believe it.

“Sorry!” he shouted from the three-point line.

“Oks lang po, sir.”

He slowly sauntered his way towards me, his broken glasses nearly falling out a few times with the bullets of sweat making the wrinkles on his face more slippery. Here goes another philosophical reading that I have no care in the world to listen to right now.

“Alam mo, ang lovelife parang basketball lang. Dapat shoot ka lang ng shoot. Oo mimintis ka, pero…”

He proceeded to ramble on, but I was too distracted by her on the center court once again, now all alone. She had her phone out resting on the fingers of her hands, but it didn’t seem like she was doing anything with it. With the droopy eyelids and hunched back, it almost seemed like she was bored, scanning the surrounding area for a random volleyball player or band mate to talk to.

Quietly, I slipped away from Coach, still rambling about the basketballs and the bees. While he was young enough to dominate the basketball court, he was thankfully old enough to not realize that I was out of his sight, sprinting towards the center court with rivers of sweat flowing down to my neck and shoulders. It was time.

“Hi! May sasabihin lang ako.” I muttered.

“Hello! Ano ‘yon?” she replied, the sparks in her eyes making me tear up from anxiety.

The words won’t leave my lips. It’s three fucking words. What am I doing? My eyes are darting everywhere. She’s swaying her hips waiting for me to say something. The skateboard kid bulldozed some teacher’s toddler at the back. Her best friend dropped her popcorn seeing the two of us together. Coach was watching from the sideline. Coach knows what’s going on?

I couldn’t take it. I had to go. The gift wrappers are still scattered on the floor. The feathery clouds up in the sky were clumping together. The bees flew around in a frenzy.

“Joke lang. Sorry! Bye!” I stammered.

I ran towards the campus gates out onto the sidewalk. I darted towards the sunflower hills along the horizon. I needed no one to be around me. Just me and my cowardly mind. Can’t even say three words to save my life.

Once I got to the peak of one of the hills, I crashed to the ground beneath me, the earthy soil fresh for planting. I watched as the bees around me crowded upon the sunflowers, clueless as their abdomens trickled down spots of pollen to the fertile land. A little bit of spreading here and there is what makes life exciting, I suppose.

[pyronado-moved]

It’s time to promo Mr. Mars while he works on 6 different things at once like a dumbass despite having the time to do them all separately.

[x-infernhoes-x]

She’s My Collar- Basilio x Reader

Title: She’s My Collar

Genre: Romance, Smut, Porn with Plot

Warning(s): Mentions of Semi-Public Sex, Car Sex, Mentions of Alcohol, Implied Consent, Basilio nearly murdering someone because they spoke badly about you

Description: KAI IF YOU’RE READING THIS, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU AND ALL OF YOU BASILIO SIMPS 

NOTE SOMETIME AROUND 3:00 AM YESTERDAY NAWALA YUNG ORIGINAL PUTANG INA I WAS THIS CLOSE ON FINISHING IT SHDJGFHJBDKJBSEDVGSJHGBKHGSFKJBGBKJGBJGLJBGWL  AN HOUR’S WORTH OF WRITING G O N E AND I HAD TO REWRITE EVERYTHING I AM STRESSED AND DSBJKGBKJFSDGNB SO ENJOY.

4:31 AM NOTE UPDATE YESTERDAY: langya ayoko na. matutulog na nga ako, sakit na ng likod ko.

6:50 PM NOTE TODAY: I’M GOING TO FINISH THIS BEFORE MIDNIGHT COMES. ALSO, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE KIDS!!

12:10 AM NOTE TODAY: The note above this one is a lie. I managed to continue this after family night lmao but enjoy still. Tried my best to make it gender-neutral as possible but yeah :’) I kinda failed successfully I think???

  You and Basilio have been dating for quite some time now. Although he was a messy guy you made sure that you had his back and helped him out to work on how to keep his sloppy tendencies at bay and in turn he would shower you with love and affection that you would usually get from the demi-god of war. Basilio was the perfect guy, he was a sweet lad who made your lonely days better, he made sure that you were cared for in any shape or form and he always had your back in everything and he would give you anything you would ask for in the world. The two of you barely even fought and if you were to fight, it would be more of a joke one than an all-out screaming match. He was the best thing that has ever happened to you and you constantly thank Bathala for it and Basilio thought the same. The two of you were a match made in heaven.

 Although despite your busy schedules keeping the two of you apart, you both made sure that you and your loving boyfriend would get the chance to hang out together. Often, you and Basilio would frequent the Diabolical together, just basking in each other's presence, tucked away in some booth Hank had reserved for the two of you, or sitting by the bar just chatting about each other’s day. You could recall Hank telling you that whenever you were around or that when someone ever mentions your name, Basilio seemed to calm down and would eagerly listen into whatever conversation had said your name. There was a time where Basilio nearly knocked someone’s teeth out because they were talking badly of you and it took Crispin, Maliksi, Hannah, Amie, Alex, and Hank himself to hold back the younger twin and prevent him from punching someone’s lights or teeth out or even prevent a murder from ever happening.

 “Alam mo, (Y/N) pag naririnig ni Basilio na dadaan ka rito, parang siyang aso na di mapakali. Kulang nalang na magkaroon siya ng buntot e.” Hank joked as he was cleaning the freshly washed glass, watching Basilio flush red, face buried into his forearm as he groaned in response while you let out a small chuckle.

 Now looking back, that memory seemed to be far away from you. Tonight happened to be your anniversary with Basilio and instead of a cozy night in, he wanted to do something different.  Basilio wanted to take you out dancing and bar hopping around Bonifacio Global City’s luxurious bars (sometimes you wondered to yourself how the hell can Basilio afford this.) and maybe take you sight seeing around the place when you got the time. Pacing around your living room in your apartment, you were about to shoot him a text message when a knock at your door had interrupted you from doing so, nearly dropping your phone in the process. “Sandali  lang!” you yelled to whoever was outside the door. If there was one thing you learned from dating Basilio, it was being vigilant. You had to make sure that the person on the other side of your door was your boyfriend and not some kind of Aswang or any malicious person who had a personal grudge against the twins and Alex. Taking a peek at the pee hole your door had, you were greeted by the sight of your boyfriend, Basilio grinning up at you as he waved. Instead of wearing his suit, Basilio was in his casual clothing for tonight, his long silken locks pulled back in a half-up, half-down man-bun.

 Opening the door, you then welcomed him with open arms before proceeding to smack him playfully on his arm, an amused smirk on your lips as you opened your mouth to speak, your tone light and teasing, “Took you long enough! Siguro na-traffic ka no?” Basilio could only roll his dark eyes at you as he placed a loving kiss upon your head. “Hindi a, si Kuya Crispin kasi e, sobrang tagal niya sa banyo kaya ayun.” Pulling himself away from you, he then offered his arm for you to take with a grin, his head tilting towards the direction of the door as he spoke, “So ano? Tara na?” “Siyempre naman.”  

 After making sure your apartment was locked, the two of you went down towards the direction of the parking lot and took a couple few selfies inside the elevator, you and Basilio were off. While in the car, the both of you would scream along to the lyrics of Ang Huling El Bimbo by Eraserheads while in traffic. On your way to BGC, both of you were surprised to see Maliksi and his significant by the stoplight, taking the advantage of the long-ass stop to chat with the Prince of the Tikbalangs and his fiancé. Your conversation was cut short when the stoplight had changed from red to green, saying your goodbyes to each other as Basilio drove away to your very first destination, which was none other than XYLO at The Palace.

  In all honesty, you’ve heard about this bar but it was the first time you got to enter the place itself. The both of you got lucky that the place wasn’t as packed and that you got there early before the actual party had started. Both you and Basilio then made your way over to the bar to grab your first drinks of the night. The two of you chatted for a while, occasionally nodding your heads to the beat of the song. After a while, the night seemed to kick in and both of you were already at what seemed to be your 3rd or 4th bar of the night, this time you and Basilio were jumping up and down to DJ Khalid’s song ‘All I Do Is Win’ before the both of you screamed along with the rest of the patrons, “Putang Ina, Alak Pa!”  and time seemed to flow faster than ever as you and your loving boyfriend went in and about around BGC’s classiest bars, downing every single drink you two could manage and take or even dance along to the songs the bars provided while occasionally sharing a kiss here and there, not minding the reek of alcohol and sweat clinging on each other’s bodies as the two of you laughed.

��Sometime around 10:30, you and Basilio were shitfaced to oblivion but both of you were used to it. You had lost count on how many drinks you’ve managed to down yet you and Basilio couldn’t care less, you were certain that you heard your phones ring but you two never got the chance to answer them because Basilio was busy doing body shots on you or you making out with your boyfriend in some hidden corner of the bar. You were starting to get the hint that after your little make-out session at Club Haze, he was focused on one thing and you knew what that meant, despite being inebriated out of your wits. So what do you do? Put on a show for him of course.

 You knew Basilio was sitting by the bar because you told him you were going to use the bathroom to freshen up a little bit since the club felt a little bit humid. What he didn’t expect was you sashaying over to where the dance floor, the last notes of Nelly Furtado’s Maneater fading away only to be replaced by Doja Cat’s Streets. To you, the sound seemed to have slowed down and you weren’t sure because it was the alcohol’s effects taking over, nobody else in the club mattered but your boyfriend alone.  The figures around you seemed to blur and Basilio was the only one you had your eyes on as your body moved to the beat, eyes half-lidded and lips slightly parted, and even from afar, you could see your demi-god of a boyfriend shuffle in his seat, his cheeks brightly flushed even under the lights of the dark club (yes, Basilio even tried to hide his raging boner from everyone but he was failing miserably). You knew that he was watching you closely like a predator ready to strike and even from afar you can tell that he was getting impatient with your games and that made you smirk. You knew that Basilio had a thing for Semi-Public sex and your several other experiences with him were proof of that, hell the two of you almost got caught one time and you were internally thankful that you weren’t. But tonight, Basilio’s going to abide by the rules of your own game and not his.

The opening bass beat from Beyonce’s Yonce/Partition was your cue to take things up a notch by making your way over to the bar where you had stood upon the counter (you had asked the bartender and the rest of the patrons who hung around the bar save for Basilio in advance and they seemed to agree with it just as long as you were careful) and made your way down the counter, hips sashaying and your body with every beat and drop before stopping to where he was, a smirk on your face, your hands running up from your thighs and right past your chest in a sensual manner, leaning in just so you could ghost your lips over Basilio’s eagerly waiting ones before pulling away with a wink. Once your little show was done and you had gone down from your counter with the help of the bartender you had just spoken to before making your way over to the dance floor once more to dance just as your song, She’s My Collar by Gorillaz began to play only to be caught short when you felt a hand grab you by the wrist.

Despite being drunk you were still smart and quick to retaliate towards whoever had grabbed you only to be surprised to be looking right directly at your boyfriend’s dark obsidian gaze, his breath slow and ragged and you knew you were in it for real this time the moment he said, “We’re leaving.” In a tone, you’ve never heard from him before and that seemed to send shivers and chills up your spine as he dragged you away from the bar to head right outside.

Honestly, the whole trip back to the car seemed to pass you by like a blur, you would occasionally stumble on your own feet, which prompted Basilio to sling you over his shoulder like you were nothing but a sack of potatoes (at least it gave you a perfect view of his ass). The moment you arrived at your car, however, you were thrown haphazardly into the backseat after Basilio had unlocked the door with ease and then entered the vehicle as well, quickly pulling you up on his lap where he locked his lips with you in a heated kiss, hands roaming around your body with such need and you could feel his erection straining against the fabric of his dark jeans. You were surprised at first but once the initial shock and surprise had worn off, you kissed him back as well with the same passion and need that he emulated from his kiss, your fingers and hands made a quick undo of his man-bun and top, hastily unbuttoning them, eager to touch the skin underneath it and leave marks on it. Basilio could only groan in response to your touches, his tongue exploring your mouth like uncharted territory, his hands groping your behind with such force that made you moan out his name, a quiet hiss of “Tangina.” Soon followed your surprise.

 In your mayhem of desire and lust, you didn’t notice Basilio play Chase Atlantic’s song Devilish on the radio.

 Clothes were thrown around and about in the space of the car and in that blur of clothing being discarded around, you were honestly surprised when Basilio had lifted up your lower half towards him, his lips trailing kisses down your stomach and thighs before his head disappeared in between your legs, bestowing you the best oral you’ve ever had received from him in your years of dating. You couldn’t thrash around with him holding you so tightly against his face as he went down on you but your hands were free to roam and tug at his long silken locks, his name spoken like a prayer  and just as you were about to reach your peak, he had pulled away from you, a sadistic yet innocent smirk placed upon his now glistening chin and lips coated in your slick as he spoke, “Not yet, babe.”  Winking at you, he gingerly set you down before he leaned over to where his now discarded jeans were as he pulled out his wallet, fishing out a condom and a small pack of lube for him to use. Once the foil was open and the rubber was on his already hard dick, he then proceeded to open the pack of lube, rubbing it on his length before instructing you to get on your hands and your ass up for him.

 And by Bathala you began to see stars the moment he had entered you. Your nails seemed to dig on the dark leather surface of the car’s upholstery, your back arched to the extreme and you were certain that you could feel Basilio trailing kisses along the expanse of your neck, shoulders, and back, his hands guiding you on his length while yours snaked around to reach for him, tilting your head sidewards to catch his lips in an open-mouthed kiss, his manhood still relentless at fucking you senseless and in between the thrusts and moans, you were thankful that the windows were tinted from the outside or else the two of you would’ve been caught. Throughout the whole night, you two spent it by doing it on every single surface inside the car, doing every single position the two of you could think of, taking each other to new heights with every pose the two of you did, and yes, let’s just say you were sore the morning after that.

 Once the morning came around, the two of you were still naked and you were sure that after your last round with your loving boyfriend, you felt the waves of your hang-over wash over you like a wave, making you groan out in pain. Everything was sore with you and your body was littered with hickies, bruises, and scratch marks while Basilio, who had his healing factor with him thanks to his demi-god status, was relatively unscathed but he did have some hickies of his own to present to the world. Shuffling, you gently nudged Basilio awake as you spoke, “Babe, anong oras na??”

 At your action, your boyfriend, still groggy from sleep, could only groan at this, his hand reaching out to search for his mobile phone to check the time. Squinting, he then saw the time on his phone but the color on his face seemed to drain the moment he saw several missed calls and messages from his twin brother and the Babaylan-Mandirigma herself. “SHIT!” Basilio managed to cry out of sheer panic, his head accidentally hitting against the roof of the car, making him hiss even more, hands holding the spot where he had hit his head. “Lagot tayo kay Bossing, (Y/N), kagabi pa niya tayo tinatwagan kasama ni Kuya Crispin.” At the mere mention of Alex and Crispin’s name, you seemed to understand the sense of urgency before the two of you began to clean up the car, dressing up as you did so, attempting to make yourselves look more presentable and cover the tracks from yesterday’s events. Once done, Basilio was driving like a speeding madman in a rush to head back where his brother and Alex were at.

 It took him at least an hour to arrive at their destination with Alex taking the role as today’s designated driver while Basilio sat in the back with his brother. “San ba kayo galing? Kagabi pa namin kayo tinatawagan ni Crispin, (Y/N), Basilio. Ano ba nangyare, ha?” Alex spoke, her eyes flickering over to where Basilio was, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he spoke, “Sensya na ho, Bossing. Nag-sight seeing kasi kami ni (Y/N) kagabi tas nag-bar hoping kami tas pagkatapos nakatulog kami dito sa kotse.” A little doubtful of this, Alex could only glance at you from the corner of her eye, expecting for you to react but you held your emotions close to your heart as you spoke, “Totoo po yung sinasabi ni Basilio, bossing. Di po naming sadya na di kayo replyan ni Crispin. Di na po mauulit.” Nodding, Alex then excused the both of you and the car ride was silent, save for the fact that the radio was playing Last Friday Night by Katy Perry. You did feel a little bit cold however and you couldn’t help the fact that something was missing until Crispin screamed out in surprise, horror, and disgust, finally noticing the thing you were missing. Ah shit. “TANGINA BASILIO, ANO TO!?!?!” Crispin managed to yell out, holding up your lace underwear for everyone in the car to see with Basilio quickly snatching the piece of clothing away from his brother, tucking it in his pocket before he responded, “ANONG-ANO KA DIYAN KUYA!?! WALA KANG NAKITA!!”

You silently prayed to Bathala for him to forgive you but you were sure as hell Alex won’t. You made a mental note to not ever do it in the car you guys use for missions ever again.

[butterflies-dragons]

The further away from Westeros’s accepted archetype of a romantic heroine the female characters get, the more traditionally romantic their story lines become is an argument that I see by antis that Sansa will never get a romantic storyline .

Oh I have read that argument somewhere, but I’m not sure if it was before or after the show’s last season with Brienne and Arya, two “warrior women” having their romance and first sexual experience with their hot crushes...

But those readers tend to ignore that GRRM is a hopeless romantic that got married with the girl that told him she cried while reading the story he wrote when he was broken hearted (A Song for Lya).

GRRM has projected his romantic nature on Sansa Stark

GRRM has projected his love for medieval tourneys, heraldry, pageantry, knights and chivalry on Sansa Stark

Look at him and his wife cosplaying a knight with his lady love

Look at him fighting a dragon (like Saint George slaying the dragon and rescuing Princess Sabra)

And my last two findings:

Ice and Fire seems linked to a medieval time. Do you like the art of that period?

Medieval-period art is a little too crude for my tastes. I mean, these days, it looks very stylised. In terms of classic art I respond more to the later period – the Dutch masters and the Flemish masters, and the Pre-Raphaelites.

I went to a show about the Pre-Raphaelites that was going around the US in 2013 and it was amazing – all of that lush, romantic stuff, and a lot of it drawing on Romantic themes, though it wasn't painted in medieval times. You know, knights and ladies and all of that. That stuff’s gorgeous. I like that movement in general.

When we talk about artistic movements of the past, some of them are just scholars looking at people and grouping artists together and saying, 'they were doing a movement'.

But with the Pre-Raphaelites they actually were a movement, they all knew each other, they hung out together and they said, 'we are the Pre-Raphaelites'.

—Game of Thrones author reveals his favourite art

Read more in this post: GRRM, Sansa Stark & The Pre-Raphaelites

There's something about the castles, and the knights, and the age of heroes, that has always appealed to me, particularly about knighthood, I mean, I always thought that was an interesting issue to explore, I talk a lot about it in these books. If you look at human history, the code of chivalry, as was promulgated in the middle ages, is one of the most idealistic codes ever, ever put forward for a warrior. The whole idea of that using your might to defend the weak and protect the innocent, you were more, supposedly, in theory, you were more than just a soldier, you were a champion, but that was a theory, in practice of course, knights were bloodthirsty killers, and they were the great warrior in their age, and in the contradiction between the ideals and the reality, I think there's immense drama, and that's one of the things that drove me through it.

—A Dance With Dragons: George R. R. Martin - July 12, 2011

Read more in this interview and listen the audio for even more: A Dance With Dragons: George R. R. Martin

There is doom and gloom is GRRM's works, yes it's true:

“A great battle is a terrible thing,” the old knight said, “but in the midst of blood and carnage, there is sometimes also beauty, beauty that could break your heart. I will never forget the way the sun looked when it set upon the Redgrass Field…ten thousand men had died, and the air was thick with moans and lamentations, but above us the sky turned gold and red and orange, so beautiful it made me weep to know that my sons would never see it.”

—THE SWORN SWORD

NG: Looking back at the space operas you produced early in your career, two related features stand out: intense Romanticism, and melancholy Gothicism. What influences, what artistic and personal considerations, impelled you in these literary directions?

GRRM: I was always intensely Romantic, even when I was too young to understand what that meant. But Romanticism has its dark side, as any Romantic soon discovers… which is where the melancholy comes in, I suppose. I don’t know if this is a matter of artistic influences so much as it is of temperament. But there’s always been something in a twilight that moves me, and a sunset speaks to me in a way that no sunrise ever has.

—Sunsets of High Renown - An Interview with George R. R. Martin by Nick Gevers

But there is also hope:

And Santa Fe was where Parris was too, holding down the fort. We’d met at a convention in 1975, a few months before I entered into my ill-considered marriage. I knew I liked her the moment she told me that ‘A Song for Lya’ made her cry (well, she was a stone fox too, and we were both naked when we met, but never mind about that, it’s none of your business). Parris and I stayed in touch after that con, exchanging occasional letters through all the years when I was teaching Catholic girls and she was selling sno-cones and shoveling elephant dung for Ringling Brothers. In 1981 we got together at another convention, and she came to Santa Fe to stay with me a while. That ‘while’ will have lasted twenty-two years by the time you read this. Now and again one of my readers will ask me why I don’t write sad stories of unrequited love any longer, the way I did so often in the ‘70s. Parris is to blame for that. You can only write that stuff when your heart is broken.

—DOING THE WILD CARD SHUFFLE, Dreamsongs - Volume II

Thanks for your message!

[peaches-writes]

photocopy

member: changbin  wc: 1.2k genre: fluff, high school au, friends to lovers au, crackfic, ur family owns a comp shop warning: explicit language note: from this post + this reminds me of a corny ass joke + best read with the classmate song by hambog ng sapro krew song (do it filos) 

“Changbin.” You approach your computer shop’s most loyal regular, plopping down on the surprisingly empty seat next to him and peering over the dividers of the desktop sets. “It’s almost 9 PM.” 

“Five minutes.” He tells you for the fourth time since he came in earlier this afternoon, eyes never leaving the computer screen displaying his rather intense online game. Giving you a sideways glance after, he then adds, “Please?” 

“You haven’t even eaten dinner yet,” You point out. “and you already owe me 7,000 won this month for covering your ass.” 

You see him moving his headphone to the side so that one ear is uncovered. “That much already? I’ll pay you soon.” 

“You said that yesterday,” You frown this time, scooting your chair closer to him so you can watch his gameplay. “and the day before that and the day before that...” 

“Okay, okay, I get it.” He pouts at you, managing to defeat one of his bigger enemies in the game so he can turn to you with his best puppy eyes. “I have something to print and photocopy anyway so I’ll just pay you then.” 

You then extend your hand out to him in response. “Give it to me.” 

“The what?” 

“The hard drive, fool.” You chuckle, grinning even more when he immediately shuffles around his school backpack for his hard drive. “You could’ve just asked me along with Jisung before he left an hour ago.” 

“Ah, well it didn’t cross my mind until now.” He scratches his head, thanking you after when you receive the hard drive before standing up. “Just the one titled ‘PLEASE BE THE FINAL PAPER.’“ 

“You mean you it didn’t cross your mind until I had to remind you to pay up again.” You snicker at this and the name of his document, shaking your head in amusement. “How many copies?” 

“Three, please!” He smiles up at you, even adding as much as a wink to which you simply scoff at. “Thanks, Y/N! You’re the best!” 

“Just prepare your 7,300 won when I get back.” You remind him, turning around and going back to your station to print Changbin’s research paper. “Ah, this guy, seriously.” 

In no time, you reach your station again, quickly transacting another leaving customer's payment before opening your station’s desktop and inserting the hard drive on the PC right under your table. Glancing at the clock on the side of the home screen as you open Changbin’s hard drive folder, you sigh at the time. “I still have our own paper to cram.” You grumble before opening the nearest printer and the photocopy machine right behind you, groaning in frustration at how you have to nag at your groupmates again once you’ve closed the shop in an hour. “God, let us graduate already, please.” 

Putting your frustrations aside after, you proceed to mindlessly scroll through Changbin’s hard drive, snickering at all the old photos of him and his friends and the folders of old My Chemical Romance songs from Limewire as you try looking for the Word file named, ‘PLEASE BE THE FINAL PAPER,’ as he instructed you. “Why is it so hard to find?” You squint at your screen after a while, eventually resorting to scrolling down the Files Explorer browser slower until you see a folder named ‘SCHOOL STUFF’ and quickly open it. 

What you don’t expect, besides all the Word and PDF files that were clearly from 3 years ago and the exact research paper file you’ve been looking for, is to see a Word document with your name on it. ‘FOR Y/N’ it says in seemingly aggressive-looking capital letters since it does have your name on it. Glancing up at Changbin from behind your desktop monitor, you catch your classmate cursing at someone on his game, clearly too distracted to even bother coming your way as you curiously open the Word file along with his requested paper, heat rising up to your cheeks in embarrassment that worsens when you do see what’s inside the file.

Because Changbin wrote you the cheesiest song ever, guitar chords and everything, with comments from Jisung and your senior Bang Chan in funky-looking Comic Sans every two song lines. What’s worse is that Hyunjin from your Art Club attached a photo collage of you at the end of the file, edited in a way that purposely screams he did it to tease Changbin. 

“Oh my God.” You sink in your seat, hiding your face completely from Changbin’s view as you try your best stifling your laughs reading through the Word folder while setting up the printing information for his paper. “What the heck, Seo Changbin?!” 

With a lot of struggle (and a lot of giggles whenever you’d see Changbin from the corners of your desktop monitor), you power through this newfound discovery and print Changbin’s research paper without attracting too much attention on yourself, busying yourself after with photocopying the 102-paged paper in order to not think too much about it. 

Changbin likes me, you giggle to yourself as you arrange the photocopied papers neatly on the empty space of your station, catching a glimpse of the ‘FOR Y/N’ file still opened on your desktop monitor, this dork...with a song and everything. Aish!

When you finish organizing the printed and photocopied papers, you then make the impulsive decision of quickly editing the other Word file before ejecting the hard drive from your desktop, calling Changbin after. “Alright, Binnie, 5 minute’s up!” 

Across the now empty computer shop, he finishes his game just in time, nodding at you before closing his desktop and scurrying over to you with a relief face. “You’re a life saver!” He exclaims as he approaches, slinging his backpack right in front of him as you then help him neatly arrange the thick folders of research paper copies for tomorrow’s defense. “It’s 7,300, right?” 

You nod, biting down a smile which he easily misses as he then takes his wallet out of his backpack before zipping it to a close. “Yup, and here’s your hard drive.” You add, handing him back his hard drive with a chuckle. 

“What?” He asks, referring to your laugh.

But you only shake your head, receiving his money and recording it on your family’s record book lying right next to your desktop. “Nothing! Now, shoo, I still have to close the shop!” 

“So mean.” Changbin pouts, walking backwards anyway as you walk to the other side of your station to shoo him away playfully. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school, then!” 

“Only if I can finish our paper revisions tonight.” You scrunch up your nose, successfully guiding Changbin out of your family’s computer shop. “Goodnight, Changbin!” 

- 

When Changbin arrives home two blocks away, he opens his own house’s desktop to message his groupmates, his friends, and play some more of the online game before going to bed. Inserting his hard drive in the PC next to the monitor, his eyes widen at as a sudden thought crosses his mind. 

Shit, he curses himself as he hurriedly opens his folder for school, I definitely forgot that one file—

Opening the cursed Word file named ‘FOR Y/N,’ Changbin’s heart immediately drops to his stomach at seeing the note you’ve written at the end. 

“Please never ask Hyunjin to edit my face on PicMonkey ever again!” You’ve typed out at the very end of his work-in-progress song in bold letters. “But I really like the song and I like you too! I’ll just pretend I didn’t see this when I hear it at the school festival! - Y/N!” 

[seertale]

Talking colors: PaperJam(PJ). Omni. Killer. Nightmare. Dream. Cross. Ink. Error. Stain. Hope. Fade.

Call It A Game Night.

They decided to have a game night together.  It had been forever since they’d last done so, so they figured it’d be a good idea.  Ink was helping Error set up the first board game, Life.  Dream and Nightmare were working on some food while Cross was looking for some other games stored in the attic.  They were in Nightmare and Killer’s mansion.  Stain came in with some nerf guns, Hope in tow with Fade, and an armful of bottles of alcohol.  Fade had their own armful, mainly because they owned the most alcohol and would be able to help everyone find something they liked.  They set everything on the kitchen counter and Fade made sure they had all the alcohol they’d brought.

“How much did you need?”

“It’s fine, I have a lot.  Besides, I know everyone’s tastes vary.  Do you want help with that food?”

Nightmare nodded, moving to let Fade join in helping them cook.

“Sometimes, I’m surprised that you became a rock star instead of a chef.”

“Well, do you blame me?  I picked up my first electric guitar at 12, I think I’d like to learn how to play it.”

“Whatever.  How are the spouses doing?”

“They’re doing good.  Nel’s out helping shop for baby stuff while I’m here.  I hope she doesn’t cook.”

“Why would you hope your wife doesn’t cook?”

“Have you seen how badly she burns her food?”

Nightmare just chuckled as he plated what he was working on and brought it out to the living room.  He set it on the big buffet table they’d set up for the game night.  As soon as Ink saw the food, he moved to take a bite.  Despite their past, he couldn’t help still being on good terms with Nightmare and would definitely admit to how good he thought Nightmare’s cooking was.

“Oh my god, Night, this is so good.”

Nightmare passed it off with a wave of his hand, “Just wait until Fade brings their food out.  They’re a better cook than I am.”

“Still.  This is really, really good.”

“Ya, ya, I know.”

Dream came out with his food next.  He’d spent all day roasting a ham since he knew how hungry everyone got while drunk.  Cross came down after with a few more games and, after setting them next to the now set out Life, moved to hug Dream.  Dream giggled a bit and hugged him back.

“Hey, Love.”

“Hi.  Having fun?”

“Oh, plenty.  Wanna try the ham?”

“Sure.”

Dream picked up a fork, taking a piece of ham and feeding it to Cross, who immediately hummed in appreciation, “That’s really good.”

“You think all my cooking is good.”

“Ya, but this is really good too.”

He giggled a bit before Cross led him over to the game table.  Fade was coming out with their food.  Stain and Hope had already sat down.

“Alright, who wants something to drink while we wait for arntul Omni and PJ?”

Multiple hands went up and Fade asked them what they thought they wanted before grabbing them.  They grabbed wine and whiskey glasses and poured things accordingly.  Killer quickly came with some cases of beer and set them down next to the game table.

“Sorry it took so long, a Karen was arguing with the shopkeep.”

“It’s alright.  Sit, Fade’s getting us some alcohol.”

Killer nodded and sat next to Nightmare, opening himself a can of beer as Fade started bringing drinks out.  Once everyone had their drinks, they took a quick portal to their house and came back with an alcohol-smoked turkey, just as PJ and Omni arrived.

“Oh, just in time.  We were just about to start,” Killer was shuffling the different decks of cards. “Want anything to drink?”

Omni shook their head, though looked at PJ.

“A beer for now, please.”

Killer nodded and got PJ a beer from the case.  They cracked it open as they sat and Omni moved to get a large plate of food for them both.  Fade sat down next to their adoptive dad, Stain.

“Ok, so we got the expansion pack so we could all play.  Everyone chooses a color.”

They gradually chose their own colors and started the game.

~~~

Everyone but Ink and Omni were at least somewhat inebriated by the time they finished playing Life.  Ink not being inebriated was a bit strange, seeing as he’d had at least fifteen beers and three glasses of whiskey.  Omni hadn’t drunk anything but they did munch.  PJ was leaning against them, waiting for the next game.  Stain, who'd already finished his last turn, was working on the next activity.  Dream seemed the drunkest, but he hadn't passed out yet, so it was probably fine.  After a moment, Stain came back with nerf pistols.

"There's enough for everyone to have one.  Who wants to play nerf hide and seek tag?"

Everyone was immediately in agreement.

"Alright, so someone is the seeker and carries a nerf pistol.  Every time a seeker finds someone, they need to be shot by the seeker or they aren't tagged.  If they are tagged, they then become a seeker too.  Anywhere is free game for hiders.  Who wants to seek first?"

Nightmare raised his hand.

"Alright," Stain handed him a nerf pistol and set the rest on the table. "If you become a seeker, pick one up.  Pops, count to 60."

Nightmare nodded and closed his eyes.  Shuffling could be heard.  Cross currently had his husband on his back, carrying him to a closet on the highest floor.  All the kids Nightmare had were being watched by Red and Blue at Ink's mansion since it had a surplus of rooms.  They had plenty of rooms.  He took Dream into the farthest room from the staircase, carefully setting him down in the walk-in closet.

"Alright, Dreamy.  You've gotta stay quiet or they'll find you."

"Is that bad…?"

"No, but you'll lose the game."

He nodded with a small giggle and Cross closed the door, going to find his own place to hide.

~~~

Knowing his husband really well, Nightmare was able to find Killer first.  He was hiding in the library, small enough to fit in the shadows of one of the towering shelves.  Nightmare just examined the shelves, debating on which one Killer was resting on, before letting off a bullet at random.  He heard a small, boney thunk and a whisper of an ow.

"Got you."

"Fine, you got me."

Killer started to climb down.  Nightmare moved a tentacle to help him.  He couldn't have his husband getting hurt.  Not since he was the only doctor that could fix him immediately.

"Alright, go grab a pistol."

Killer nodded and ran off.

~~~

Stain took a deep breath as he finally situated himself with Hope.  They were hiding in the tub in one of the bathrooms and it was obvious Stain may have to carry Hope once they were found.  Hope, having lower magic, was much more affected by alcohol, so even just a can was pretty much half a bottle of whiskey to him.

When Killer inevitably pulled the curtain back to reveal the two, he immediately became a put worried, seeing as Hope was heavily passed out against Stain.

“We should be alright… we can get him on the couch and we can get him water when he wakes…”

Killer nodded, simply shooting Stain and running off to continue what he was doing.

~~~

He quietly padded down the hall, pistol in his hand.  Out of all the places he would know Fade would hide, he could not, for the life of himself, find his adopted child.  Stain guessed he would have to look in different places.  His first place of search?  The kitchen.  Fade always loved the kitchen and, with how small they were, he wouldn’t doubt they’d shoved themselves in the pantry.  He took a quick peek… only to find out he was wrong.  They weren’t hiding in the pantry.  So then where were they?

They couldn’t fit in any cupboards.  But Stain’s partially inebriated mind definitely thought so, and he started searching the cupboard like he was raiding the kitchen.  Fade was in the cupboards!  Specifically, the cupboards under the sink.  Fade had moved it all to a separate cupboard and squeezed themselves in.  Stain quickly shot them and moved to help them out.

“How did you fit in there?”

“I’ve always been small.”

"Still.  Wow."

They just nodded and went to get a nerf pistol.

~~~

In the meantime, Killer had found PJ and Omni.  It hadn't been hard, since Omni had agreed to make out in the room they were hiding in while waiting.  Now, they were teamed and hunting for others.  Their first go-to would've been Ink since he was usually easy to find depending on the person.  But even then, years of Ink having learned how to hide made him even more dangerous for the seeker.  They paused their search for him when they heard a yell and realized that it probably wasn't a good idea for Ink to be hiding from Nightmare.  They quickly followed the yell.

Nightmare had Ink restrained, mostly because Ink had gone defensive and currently had his hatchet in his hand.  He was struggling to be let go and PJ set their pistol down to comfort their dad.

"Dad, calm down.  It's ok.  It's just hide-and-seek.  No one's gonna hurt you."

"H-How do you kn-know…?"

"Has Nightmare actually hurt you…?"

That's right.  It was Nightmare.  Not Dark.  He hadn't been hurt.  It was just a game.  Ink took in a breath and Nightmare carefully set him down.

"Sorry…"

"It's ok… I'm just… not gonna play for now…"

Nightmare nodded and PJ picked their pistol up again, going with Omni and Nightmare to find the last ones hiding.

~~~

Error now knew why Ink always felt so safe hiding under the bed whenever he got scared.  It was small and cozy and it would be hard to get him out without lifting the bed or him getting out himself.  Despite that, he held his breath when he heard a couple of sets of footsteps and a door open.  Someone was searching the room for him.  It was Stain and Fade.  There was the sound of something being set on the desk in the room before the bed creaked, being lifted up.

"Good morning," a nerf bullet hit him smack-dab in the forehead and he giggled a bit, moving to carefully push himself out.

"Why hello there."

"Did you sleep well?"

Error stood, "Very."

"Dad's downstairs on the couch next to Hope.  Otherwise, we found Cross and we're gonna gang up on Dream."

"I think I'll go to Inky.  What happened?"

"Got a bit scared by Pops, but he's ok."

Error nodded and went to find Ink.

~~~

Nightmare put a finger to his lips as Cross led the way.  They were all locked and loaded.  Once they got to the room, Cross went over to the walk-in closet door.  He put his hand on the handle and carefully ripped it open.  They were all quickly met with Dream's shrieking laughter as they fired everything at him.  Once they were all out of bullets, Cross moved to check on him while the others picked up the bullets.  He pulled Dream gently against his chest and Dream started to drift to sleep.  He hadn't had alcohol in forever, so it wasn't surprising.

He picked up his husband and took him downstairs to rest.  Error and Ink had set up Monopoly while waiting.  Cross sat at the table, holding Dream in his lap.  After a minute, everyone else took their spots to play.  Killer made sure Hope had something to drink upon waking.  Dream had easily fallen asleep against Cross.  Cross just smiled as they played.

~

Dream was passed out for about an hour before he started to wake up a bit.  The game was still going and he seemed confused since Killer was now yelling at PJ for making him go bankrupt.  Ink laughed a bit from next to Error.

“Monopoly, the game that tears families apart.”

Dream giggled a bit and Cross looked down at him.

“Well, hello there, Dreamy.  Sleep good?”

Dream nodded and moved to get up.  He was kinda hungry.  Cross let him stand, watching him go over to the food table and get himself some turkey.  He seemed content as he sat down again, this time next to Cross, and ate.  Once he was done, he went to put his dishes in the sink and seemed to just completely disappear.  Cross was a bit concerned but kept playing.

~

15 minutes after Dream disappeared, he came back, holding one of the nerf pistols.  He pointed it at Nightmare, the banker.

“Gimme the money.”

Ink was starting to laugh.  Nightmare didn’t respond at first, earning him a nerf bullet to the nose.

“I said gimme.”

Once Nightmare seemed to process what Dream meant by money, Nightmare took a one-dollar monopoly bill and gave it to Dream.  Dream pretty much threw the pistol down.

“Crossy, we’re rich now!”

Ink burst out laughing and Cross stood, hugging Dream.

“That’s great, Dreamy.  Now, why don’t we get you some water and go home?”

“Ok!”

~

This is based on a roleplay with @star-gamerxox

It was an idea we came up with but never got to inact so I had some fun(it's 2206 words, fite me-). It's been in the works for well over two weeks.

Credits:

Nightmare and Dream belong to (insert name everyone knows and I don't wanna say)

Cross belongs to jakie95

Error belongs to loverofpiggies

Ink blongs to comyet

Omni belongs to cereusblue

PaperJam belongs to 7goodangel

Killer belongs to rahafwabas

Hope belongs to pepper-mint

Stain belongs to nimaruu

Fade(a technical fusion but not quite) belongs to me(seertale)

Nel(laya) is the wife in Fade's poly, mentioned as the one they hope doesn't cook, and belongs to @star-gamerxox

[lafactoriaweb4-blog]

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[pontevoix]

noya and Tsukishima Send 💘 for a static shock kiss.

          mismatched. not even polar opposites or anything like that just . . . the ugly clash of green & orange. it’s not the worst thing out there, but it doesn’t make any logical sense. but sometimes — it is just inevitable that they should wind up in conjunction with another.

          that being said, if tsukishima & nishinoya were the colors of green & orange ? tsukishima would be green. nishinoya would be orange because everything about him is so blaring & unapologetic that . . . tsukishima never had a chance. not when they wound up running into each other three year’s after tsukishima had graduated high school.

         tsukishima had been going for a run around tsutsujigaoka park & apparently lapsed in turning an observational eye towards anyone around him. really, if tsukishima had recognized the back of nishinoya’s head while he were jogging, he may have tried to duck & hide. not that hiding would work out too well for him.

          but he hadn’t recognized nishinoya’s head. he didn’t think anything of the jogger he passed by until someone was jogging next to him for . . . a really long time. tsukishima tried altering his speed to shake them . . . & failed. so he slowed & stopped. his unwanted company did the same. tsukishima prepared himself to leer over the other until they got the point, but he then  realizes what he had missed.

          nishinoya is there. before him. not at all taller & with a wide-stretched smie. nishinoya folds his hands on his hips & demands:    ‘  finally, you string bean. you must have some good quality headphones if you weren’t able to hear my talking to you, huh ?   ‘  

          tsukishima all but groans. before he can say anything  nishinoya is darting around him to grab his phone from the band he has around his arm. nishinoya is still talking.   ‘   all high ’n mighty, too — we heard from yamaguchi that your phone number changed, but you never answered our texts when we tried to reach out to you on the new number! what’s all that about ?   ‘    

           good question, nishinoya, tsukishima thinks absently. he continues to stare at the other in bemusement as he considers his schedule, his lack of desire to be a part of too much digital communication, & the fact that he’s usually tired when he sees a text come up on his phone with a number that he doesn’t recognize. he tries to protest nishonoya’s phone theft, but . . . something tells him that protesting wouldn’t get him very far. nishinoya is still dancing around him & then scuttling back to prance from a distance.  ‘   passcode! now!   ‘

            this is his moment of triumph. tsukishima starts to smirk because he can refuse to give the passcode, but . . . nishinoya doesn’t have the patience for this. when nishinoya starts jogging away with tsukishima’s phone in hand . . . tsukishima has to chase after him. nishinoya is hollering over his shoulder threats to run faster & steal his phone until tsukishima gives him the passcode & . . . tsukishima has to believe him. so he slows down. waits. & crosses his arms over his chest until nishinoya trots back towards him & hears his passcode . . . so that he can add himself to tsukishima’s contacts.

             nishinoya is all smiles again, & tsukishima thinks he might lose his mind — especially when his phone starts blowing up that night with texts —

               [ noyaaaaa!! : text ] : it was such!! a cool coincidink that we                ran into each other lol

               [ noyaaaaa!! : text ] : LOL get it??? cos we were ru n n  i ng !!!

               only twenty seconds passed before the phone rang. bewilderment shifts to shock shifts to distaste, & tsukishima ends the call before it starts. nishinoya texts him a frowning face. tsukishima ignores it.

               nishinoya calls him again the next night. & the next. & the next. & the next. it’s a week before tsukishima actually picks up & asks whether nishinoya needs something. nishinoya only hollers ‘  SUP  ‘  in his ear loud enough for tsukishima to cringe & hang up. nishinoya calls back the next night. tsukishima ignores it. again, nishinoya texts him a frowny face.

                it’s another week before tsukishima picks up the phone when nishinoya calls.   ‘  — do you really have nothing better to do every night than  —  ‘  tsukishima begins to demand into the phone. nishinoya cuts him off with excitement. tsukishima can only be grateful that he’s talking less loudly than he was the last time.   ‘   you ! i saw footage of your game today. so kick. ass ! you kicked ass. you & me ? we’re facing off because. my kick is going to make you the ass of kick ass.    ‘  

                 tsukishima nearly chokes.   ‘  uh . . .   no,   ‘  he begins.  somehow nishinoya wags his finger through the phone line.     ‘   nope ! you refuse, & i’ll start waking you up in the morning with phone calls too. just you wait. so ! i’ll see you saturday at seven.   ‘  nishinoya hangs up. tsukishima stares at his phone & sighs. he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose & wishes for retirement. but still . . . & he doesn’t know why . . . he shows up to the address nishinoya texted him with his gear. nishinoya is giving him a demonic smile, & something rises up inside of tsukishima telling him that he has to beat nishinoya just for being a nuisance. so he gives it his all all.

                   it becomes a routine that they practice with one another. tsukishima hates to admit that he starts looking forward to it. nishinoya calls him less but texts him more, & tsukishima replies more often than he did. that’s something, right ?

                   something until nishinoya texts him with the succinct demand :   ‘   addresssss.    ‘   tsukishima is tired enough to indulge him in this without thinking of the consequences. that being said, he has no one to blame but himself when there’s a too-loud knock on the door to his apartment.  nishinoya  is quick to startswhisper/shouting through the door. as soon as tsukishima opens the door for nishinoya . . . he tumbles in,  drunk, & falls asleep without a blanket on tsukishima’s couch.

                   nishinoya isn’t always drunk when he starts coming over — but he does come over. a lot.  he bursts his way into tsukishima’s life with hollers & a movie he had picked up at the store because  ‘   it had a cool cover.  ‘   to be consistent himself, tsukishima never fails to chastise nishinoya for being disruptive - but nishinoya is shameless.

                    at least nishinoya isn’t the worst guest. so far, nishinoya consistently wakes up earlier than tsukishima & concocts a jumbled/scrambled/edible breakfast with ingredients that he never had permission to use. still, when tsukishima finds salvation in the cup of black coffee nishinoya hands him,  tsukishima finds he can’t complain.

                     this too becomes routine. it’s comfortable & annoying, & nishinoya doesn’t even knock when he arrives at tsukishima’s apartment anymore. tsukishima considers the audacity of this when he receives a texted   ‘   ;  )   ‘  & shuffles to open the door. he doesn’t have any time to chastise nishinoya for his rudeness before nishinoya’s arm reaches to curve around his neck to haul him down. their lips smack together, & it might be the weirdest kiss that tsukishima’s ever had.

                    it’s still enough to make him blink & freeze & feel everything shift into perspective. so with this . . . new understanding & new confusion harbored in his mind, tsukishima imagines it might be a little funny if he were to close the door in nishinoya’s face. he settles to just mutter,   ‘    . . . idiot,   ‘   as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  

                    apparently that’s all the cue that nishinoya needed, though, because he shoves his way into the apartment with his hands on his hips with indignation.   ‘   me ?  you ! you make a hobby of sticking your head up your ass. i figured you would turn a blind eye to stuff like that  -   ‘  

                    tsukishima shrugs & drops himself onto his couch. nishinoya wastes no time to huff, to grab a blanket draped over a nearby chair, & to throw himself over tsukishima’s lap. the latter rolls his eyes, pinches nishinoya’s cheek. when nishinoya purses his lips expectantly. in response, tsukishima shifts his hand to tug the other’s hair as he comments  :    ‘  no.    ‘  

                      he smirks. he can’t help it.  nishinoya rolls his eyes & props himself up so that he might hover before tsukishima, hover before his lips.    ‘   later, then ?   ‘   nishinoya prompts.  tsukishima feels his eyes drop to the other’s lips, & he could hit himself for that. so he caves, tries to regain some victory in this situation ( in some distorted way ) by kissing nishinoya — sudden, quick, honest.   it’s the perfect predecessor to tsukishima repeating,   ‘   no.   ‘  

                       even if tsukishima claims victory with this, nishinoya smiles again with that too-wide smile. tsukishima fights off the onset of his own smile. this might be the beginning of another new routine.

                                      KISS KISS  |  @morderdame​

[bytemycupcakes]

Can you do some headcanons on what the Hazbin crew does together? For example what activities do they do, what do they do on Friday nights?

Okay this gets lo ng (maybe I did to much detail- oh well its worth it)

So it’s under a cut

~~

-Alotta them clique-up pretty quickly, so a bunch of different stuff will be going on. Baxter will be trying to be his lonely ass self, Angel has wrangled Alastor and Husk to the couch for whatever the hell Angel thinks is fun (If Husk didn’t already run off to the peace and quiet that is Baxter), Mimzy, Niffty, and Crymini are usually doing some kinda “gossip” (Its just Niffty and Crymini listening to Mimzy babble). Sometimes the specific groups shuffle around- it all depends on who Angel and Mimzy call dibs on for the evening.

-Charlie lets this go on for awhile but eventually decides to force everyone to hang together.

-Her way of doing this is, once a week one person will pick an activity, and teach the whole Hotel about it.

–

-They start with Charlie’s activity first- the whole thing was her idea so it’s only fitting that she starts it.

-She chooses karaoke.

-Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor are the only ones that really have fun, But Charlie makes everyone sing at least once.

-You would think Mimzy would love this, but she sees it as a cheap knock-off of a real performace. And is thus grumpy for the whole night.

- Charlie and Vaggie do some cute duets, Angel does a really sexual song (That Charlie stops him halfway through- the hotel is grateful), Husk just stands on the stage, when the songs over he grumbles “Awe fuck I lost” to pretend like he cares, Niffty chose a rap song for some reason, Alastor pulled her off stage after the first curse word (and she whined endlessly), Crymini refused to sing into the mic and was mumbling the whole time, Baxter couldn’t even stand on the stage, Mimzy’s entire turn is her complaining about it all, and Alastor went last, shutting everyone up cause nobody really expected him to have a good voice, or to take it seriously.

-Though Alastor’s fun really stemmed from everyone’s complaints (”And Husks colourful words about everything :D”)

-After that Charlie’s almost discouraged to continue this little trend but EVERYONE insists that they gotta go long enough to get their turn. They kinda just want to put the other members through the hell that was.

-That isn’t the best reason to continue… But it works-

–

-Vaggie’s next, she chooses campfire stories- The hotel gets a lobby camping trip.

-Angel and Niffty have a blast setting up a blanket fort big enough for everyone. Vaggie’s making notes on it as they work

-Alastor makes it topple at least twice- Vaggie soon kicks him out of the fort until it’s fully built, so he’s left hovering over everyone.

-Charlie and Baxter work on the “Campfire”. It’s just a pile of christmas lights- Charlie asked Baxter for help specifically, assuming he’s the least likely to cause a fire with a pile of old shitty lights.

-She was right

-Crymini teaches Husk and Mimzy how to make roasted marshmallows using a stove.

-Husk “almost catches his fur on fire” (The marshmallow caught and he thought it’d somehow spread to him), Mimzy and Crymini laugh while he panics.

-They get a whole plate of marshmallows, cooked to various degrees

-Alastor will only eat the ones that are pretty much pure char- Oh well, nobody else was going to eat them.

-Vaggie insists that campfire stories only feel right if everyones in pyjamas.

-Charlie sets one rule for this: They gotta be actual clothes (coughcoughAngelcoughcough)

-Vaggie’s actually really giddy about this, she goes off to find a good flashlight while everyone works on sitting around the “fire”.

-Its a bit of a struggle until Crymini starts tellin people exactly where to sit.

-Crymini is kinda like the second in command here, she loves camping.

-When Vaggie gets back, she plops right into Charlie’s lap and its adorable.

-She gives a basic rundown of how this is gonna work, they’re gonna pass the flashlight around to show who’s tellin the story. The story can be anything, they can make it up as they go, can be something from your living years, whatever, Vaggie doesn’t care. She says which way the flashlights gonna be passed, and thus the order. With how Crymini sat everyone, this puts Crymini being last.

-Vaggie doesn’t do an improv story for once, instead opting to one of Charlie’s favorites- Her own twisted telling of Alice in wonderland. (Yeah a twisted aiw is cliche but idc, its a great fairytale)

-It’s a great starting point, Of course with Vaggies storytelling, its really easy to get people hooked.

-Charlie’s story is what she hopes happens to the hotel members, everyone having such a happy life in heaven. She tears up toward the end and Vaggie plants a kiss on her cheek cause Gosh dang Charlie why you gotta be so cute.

-The other members also find it to be really adorable, and make various little comments- Alastor is silent.

-Husk is next, he tells a story from his childhood- first time he got a card trick to work. This is pretty much when the hotel learns he loves magic tricks- Of course Alastor and Niffty have heard this story a hundred times, and tease him a bit about it.

-Mimzys story is made up, its some woman getting turned on by everyone around her- The hotel has suspitions its based in something.. But they never ask her about it

-Angel has one of those “this is horror for me but not for anyone else” stories. it took like 2 seconds to tell, so Vaggie makes him try again. He starts going off about something sexual. Alastor covers Niffty’s ears, Crymini throws a marshmallow at him. He laughs, says he’s joking, then tells an actual eerie story.

-Baxter’s story has to much scientific tangents for the hotel to really understand what it was about. Bax is satisfied though, so they move on.

-Niffty tells the story of how she died, in far to much detail- but also with alot of weird hyper tangents. The hotel just stares, but Alastor’s clapping.

-Alastor takes the flashlight from Niffty, hums in thought, then passes it to Crymini, insisting he really needs to go last.

-Vaggie grumbles, but lets it happen.

-Crymini’s a bit grumpy, she wanted to pull the “really scary story is the last story” thing- She still tells her story of course, she succeds in spooking Charlie, Angel, and Niffty.

-Charlie asks why she’d do that. Vaggie starts to say thats just how campfire stories work- But baxter hops in, going off on why its not even possible- even with the wierdness around Hell. “C’mon Crymini, at least put some effort into scaring us”

-Alastor laughs, takes the flashlight from Crymini, brings out his dial eyes and goes “If you’d like a scary story, I can certainly provide”

-He defintely succeds in his little ploy, after his long story, everyone is mortified except for Husk- Who Al is pretty sure can’t be scared.

-Thanks Al, now nobody can sleep >:/

–

-Baxter is in charge next, allowing everyone in his lab for once. Of course he decided to show everyone a very basic experiment.

-Ha made sure nothing can explode, or burn through tables… The safest fucking thing he can think of.

-Angel somehow looses a patch of fur, Alastor still manages to explode the damn thing, Niffty broke five beakers before Baxter refused to give her another one. Husk drank his.

-Vaggie and Charlie were the only ones to get the reaction to work, so the hotel gathers around their table to watch it

-Baxter bans Alastor and Niffty from his lab- Everyone agrees its probably for the best.

-They do not listen to the ban

-The members do actually go hang in his lab more often, just to watch him do all the cool stuff

–

-Husk choses Poker. of course he does.

-He practically robs the entire Hotel

-Except Charlie wouldn’t let them gamble with actual money…

-She made pretzel dogs to gamble with.

-After he destroys everyone, he gives them tips in cheating….

-Via magic tricks

-Charlie is a bit weary about it- but it’s Husks turn to share his interests- She mumbles something about “please only do these with eachother- and not for money…”

-Niffty and Crymini snag a couple pretzel dogs from Husks fucking moutain of them

-Angel picks up on the tricks really easily, with all his fuckin arms.

-Alastor and Mimzy are terrible at all of them, Alastor being incredibly obvious about what he’s doing, and Mimzy ends up flinging cards everywhere each time.

-Crymini and Baxter can do the tricks, sure, but they figure out other meathods of cheating. Baxter quickly learning to count cards, and Crymini using her theft skills to hide cards.

-After everyone seems to get the tricks down, Husk has them play another game (without him, so they have a chance)

-Niffty wins, Vaggie was really close.

–

-Niffty teaches the Hotel how to sew

-Alastor and Husk use this as an excuse to sew Angels arms to his sides (They sew the sleeves, not his actual arms dw)

-Baxter keeps sewing his gloves to everything. He refuses to take them off.

-Mimzy freakin loves this, she has alotta clothes that have been torn up from old fights that she can finally fix

-Vaggie and Charlie keep pricking themselves. Niffty takes the needles away from them.

-Angel is yelling for everyone to free him.

-Crymini sews up a gag to shut him up

-Charlie sets him free.

-Angel can’t even get revenge- He’ll figure something out one day

–

-Angel decides to do a makover/dress-up kinda thing.

-He wen’t and got a ton of random clothes for everyone.

-Mimzy helps everyone with makeup

-Angel gets his revenge by forcing Al and Husk into the exact kinda clothes they despise

-Meaning Al is forced into something far to revealing for his liking.

-Nobody can pull his jacket away from him, he has an iron grip.

-And Husk is just forced into clothes, he doesn’t like them, they feel to weird on his fur. Angel put him in a semi-formal kinda outfit, he looks super cute

-Baxter gets out of this by just taking off his labcoat, he wears clothes under it of course. But nobodies ever seen him without the labcoat.

-Angel talks him into putting on a little bowtie though

-Niffty and Crymini look like fuckin princesses. Crymini started using a british accent- she kinda hit full roleplay mode with this.

-Charlie and Vaggie swapped their general styles, Charlie’s got a basic dress and Vaggie’s trying to get this vest to actually be fucking comfortable.

-Mimzy pulls Vaggie’s hair into a bun.

-Charlie.exe has stopped working

-Angel gets into his go to drag outfit, and gets everyone to do a runway thing

-Alastor refuses to get off the couch- Sadly Charlie is to broken from Vaggie to actually save this poor man.

–

-Charlie was really worried about Alastor’s turn- Cause.. Well it’s Alastor

-It’s okay he chooses Cooking

-Vaggie is hesitant about it all though

-Niffty and Husk already knew Alastor could cook, of course. But the others are a bit surprised

-Alastor makes a comment sayin he prefers raw meat, but cooking is quite relaxing.

-They all work together to make dinner pretty much. Everyones put in charge of something.

-Alastor watches over what everyones doing, makes little comments, and even reminds the others to check on the food.

-He’s making something completely different from everyone else and won’t say what he’s doing when the others ask

-Niffty and Husk are the obvious helpers here, Niffty making sure nobodies gonna hurt themselves, and Husk taking over things when someone almost (or does) burn something.

-It doesn’t turn out very well, but it’s edible and they all made it together. They’re all proud and eat anyway

-The oven dings while everyones eating and Alastor goes to check on it. Niffty follows after him to help

-While everyone’s casually talking, having a good time, he comes back with cupcakes

-Of course he did a dark twist- they look like he pulled them straight out of a highschool halloween party- covered in fake eyes, other small body parts, ect. But far more realistic.

-Vaggie hops up assuming they’re real parts

-Niffty giggles and says thank you, she made them all herself

-Husk grabs an “eye” off one of them, eating it. He says that Al wouldn’t just give people body parts out of nowhere. He has class.

-Vaggie is still suspicious of the cupcake. Everyone else eats them just fine.

-Al is a really good baker, Everyone keep’s sayin he should really bake more often

–

-Crymini gets the hotel to play baseball- Or at least as close as they can get to baseball

-Everyone’s having alot of fun actually- Baxter doesn’t like the running, but hes still having fun

-They decide to just have everyone take turns hitting/throwing the ball for the most part

-Alastor won’t use the bat, he just uses his mic. It lets out a ton of feedback each time. They beg him to use the bat, he wont.

-Angel has the best pitch

-Mimzy has the best swing

-Baxter and Niffty broke the most windows

-Speakign of windows: Charlie had to cut the activity short before they broke all the hotels windows-

-Charlie gets a softer ball later for them to keep playing, cause it was so much fun.

–

-Mimzy teaches the hotel to dance

-Alastor, Niffty and Charlie already know how- They just get to help teach

-Charlie’s helping Vaggie (obviously)

-Alastor is the only one tall enough to help Angel and Husk

-Mimzy tried to help them, she really did.

-Mimzy and Niffty help Crymini and Baxter, switching around a bit.

-Baxter would much rather Not™

-Mimzy won’t let him sit on the sidelines, every time he tries to sneak off she grabs him, pulling him into some random move

[gascon-en-exil]

FE16 Blue Lions Liveblogging

Chapters 19-20. Much ado about Claude, except the one question I wanted answered.

At this point in Normal mode gameplay is mostly just shuffling through some final classes for endgame, plus trying to finish up as many support lines as possible so I’ve got less to do in subsequent Lions runs. Some of the maps have siege weapons or tomes that cause issues thanks to my various low RES units (although it’s ridiculous how Dedue’s massive HP can soak up 20+ damage at once from Bolting or magic siege turrets), but aside from that the challenge seems to be winding down. Interesting to note how many lategame maps have stairs in them, which hinder cavalry movement and actually encourage them to dismount. Something that makes most of the maps feel shorter than they otherwise would be is that most of them end when you kill the boss. Not that I miss Radiant Dawn throwing almost half a dozen rout maps in your way right before endgame, but I finished Chapter 19′s story map in something like four turns without even rushing. That was barely enough time to appreciate the surprisingly competent NPC AI.

Annette finally got Abraxas, though the visual is a bit disappointing for the ultimate light spell. At least Mercedes is now a holy knight and can be useful again; next time I’d just say keep her as a bishop. Similarly, I might keep Felix as a swordmaster rather than try to get him into mortal savant, because Astra and the boosted crit are both too nice to give up for some so-so magic damage.

Dimitri’s Silver Maiden paralogue had the bulk of the deadly siege weaponry, even more than the supposed impregnable Fort Merceus that gets invaded in Chapter 20. Admittedly that’s because most of my party fears magic more than ballistae (and fliers can just dismount to avoid effective damage), but still. Hubert retreats for a third time in this paralogue; not that I have anything against the guy necessarily, but I hope you eventually do get to kill him.

Caspar and Linhardt however do not retreat when fought at Merceus, and die in a battle neither of them seem to have a reason to be in. I take it Caspar’s presence in the battle where you kill the Death Knight is related to how he and Mercedes share a paralogue presumably regarding the DK’s origins.

At my current rate I’m not going to max out Renown on any of the saint statues. It looks like you’re expected to use NG+ to finish those.

Story/Character observations

Not much with supports this time around, but I’ve been enjoying some of the more pertinent NPC chatter and party banter in the monastery. Shamir is great for this, first pointing out a few chapters previously how strange it is that the army would turn around after Gronder and head the other direction to liberate Fhirdiad, and now contemplating the abrupt merger of the Kingdom and the Alliance. A monk reveals that members of the church are being persecuted and exiled from the Empire, and a random knight relays the story of the Alliance gaining its independence from the Kingdom. When House Leicester’s ruler died without an heir several centuries ago some of the lords of Fhirdiad attempted to set up a republic there under their control, which incited House Reigan to start a rebellion. A republic...inside of a monarchy...controlled by a group of nobles.... I’m not even going to try to make sense of that one.

As regards House Reigan in the present, Claude is as shrewd as ever, drawing the Empire in to besiege his capital because he correctly anticipates that Dimitri will not only retake his own capital but then immediately rush in to play the Alliance’s hero. At least he (Claude) owns up to his recklessness as well as his self-interest, which sees him abandon the Alliance (along with his Relic, which surprised me as I thought the house leaders’ were personal weapons...I guess only Byleth is special enough to have one of those) and Fódlan entirely. This is one of the only instances of Dimitri and Claude interacting in the entire game, and, having just watched the Claude/Lorenz supports today on YouTube, it’s sad to say that these two have more chemistry in one conversation than Claude does with his quasi-retainer in an entire support line. It’s nothing compared to all the homoerotic longing going on in the Lions, and I’m aware that Claude asking Dimitri to go easy on him the next time they meet is most likely a sly way of suggesting they’re going to do so on the battlefield after Claude raises an army in Almyra and tries to take over all of Fódlan or something, but it’s something for anyone still into Claumitri. 

The understated threat to fix racism by foreign invasion (which I think is what Claude’s long game is revealed to be on the Deer route?) is a classic case of FE setting up a situation where its apparent happy endings don’t turn out so happy after a while, but on a similar note I was surprised to see Arundel killed off in Chapter 19. I know from spoilers that he’s really Thales, the leader of Those Who Slither in the Dark, so even though the Lions route gets flack for never returning to that larger threat to peace in Fódlan it seems like Dimitri took care of the problem without realizing it. Yay?

One question I do have about that group though is whether they really are the people they publicly appear to be or whether those people - Monica, Tomas, Arundel, possibly even Cornelia based on some descriptions of her - were quietly killed by the organization and the replaced by impersonators.

But here’s my big unanswered question for Claude on this route: why was he at Gronder? This is never addressed. There’s no way even he could have predicted that Dimitri would have a change of heart and turn around to liberate Fhirdiad after the battle. Was he attacking the Kingdom forces as part of creating an illusion of a united front for the Alliance, to placate the Empire? It obviously didn’t work because the Empire’s next move was to invade the Alliance. While this headcanon does play into Claude’s affinity for deceit and ability to adapt to change it still doesn’t feel quite right.

Oh, and at the very end of Chapter 20 Dimitri is called back to Garreg Mach via messenger, giving some kind of explanation to the increasingly silly practice of your army returning to the monastery after each major victory. It really doesn’t help with the perception that everywhere in Fódlan is at most a few days’ march away from there.

[fantabulosogamedev]

Status Update: The Plan

Hey guys!  I’ve been writing this post for around a week now, originally as a video script, and it’s ballooned way out of control, so I’ve decided to give y’all the summary of it as best I can here in text.  Come by the Discord if you have any questions!

So here we are, t-minus 26 days before the demo releases, with no majorly new information since the last Progress Update.  What’s the situation?  Am I still on schedule?  The answer is...yes!!  However...

Part One: The Game Itself

Some major changes have come about in terms of my plan for the game as a whole.  Essentially, my original plan (16ish levels total) was just infeasible at this point, and would result in a development time bordering on at least 3 more years at max development speed -- while some people might be cool with waiting that long, I’m not!  I gotta eat, and the amount of money I’d need to fund 3 years of development would be really high to ask for a fresh dev like me.

So, here’s the new plan: The Fantabulous Game will now consist of 6 primary levels, along with a tutorial zone (Cragwell Woods) and a hub accessed after The Fightyplace.  Based on my estimates, this should reduce the development time to approximately 1-1.5 years if all goes as planned, thereby reducing kickstarter costs and wait times.  The levels will consist of a reimagining of the Shamrock path of LFG, featuring the Shamrock City, the prison Ballcatraz, the Shamrock Palace, and more!

To compensate for this drastic reduction in content, some positive changes will be made as well: the game will now cost $15 instead of $20, a Boycap miniboss will be present in each level, brief linear connecting zones between levels will exist to add cohesion and content to the world, and most interestingly the Fantabula sublevels will be expanded!

Previously, the sublevels were going to just be brief platforming challenges, with a gold sausage for a normal clear and a bludsausage for a speedclear.  However, the sublevels are now going to be expanded into proper linear levels, featuring collectibles of several kinds scattered throughout...as well as their own full-blown bossfight!  Why am I bringing this up now?

With only 6 proper levels in the game, I no longer feel comfortable offering the Fightyplace for free in the demo, as it now takes up a much larger amount of the game’s content proportionally.  So instead, I’ll be releasing The Fightyplace’s Fantabula Sublevel, with some tweaks and modifications to give the player as full of an experience as I can!  Unfortunately I can’t say for sure how long the demo will be, as much of it will come down to player skill level -- time permitting, however, I’d like to add a NG+ to it, where players can push themselves against much more powerful enemies.

Finally, in regards to the 8 cut levels: if The Fantabulous Game is successful, I plan on working them into two separate expansion packs to be released after TFG is completed, for around $10 each.  The first of these expansion packs would focus on the antics of a non-Shamrock race from Le Fantabulous Game, and (assuming expac1 was successful) the second would turn its sights to exploring exactly how the world of LFG turned into the one found in TFG.

Part Two: The Crowdfunding

So with that out of the way, I’d also like to talk about my plan for the game’s crowdfunding campaign!  I’ve decided to use a blend of the top options from the poll I posted several months ago: on, or shortly after, the release of the demo, I’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game, with a goal of $40k.  I’ll be putting the currently planned rewards and stretch goals at the bottom of this post, and would love to hear you guys’ feedback on what should be added/removed/adjusted.

However, those looking for Early Access, I hear you as well -- it was the first option on the poll, after all!  Here’s the plan when it comes to EA: the Kickstarter, like many others, will have a backer tier for beta access throughout the game’s development.  This backer tier will function the same as Early Access would, but would not be discounted.  However!

If the game is successful, and I decide to create the two expansion packs I mentioned above, both of the DLCs will be sold on steam via early access with a sizeable discount pre-release.  Considering the expansion packs would make up approximately 50% of the original content of the game, I think this is a great compromise between the crowdfunding options!  This will also apply to any future expansion packs I make beyond those two, such as the hypothetical Boycap xpac.

Part Three: The Specifics

As I mentioned above, I have a rough draft of my plans for the Kickstarter, and would love to have feedback on them.  Here they are:

Reward Tiers:

Get the game (EARLY EGG) - $10, 750 available

Get the game - $15

Deluxe Edition: Get the game, digital manual, & soundtrack (EARLY EGG) - $15, 750 available

Deluxe Edition: Get the game, digital manual, & soundtrack - $20

Beta access: Pay more to get access to the game throughout development, in the form of episodically released levels! (good for those who wished for Early Access!) - $35

Deluxe Beta Access - Beta Access with the Deluxe additions! - $40

Design a Spherefolk NPC: design a friendly Spherefriend or Shamrock to show up in various levels throughout the game!  Design includes clothing, skin patterns, and dialogue (all subject to developer approval).  NPCs would randomly appear chosen from a pool of all backer NPCs. Also, appear in the credits as a “Backerfriend” and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game! $80

Design a Spheredog Collectible: Design a Spheredog to show up as a collectible in one of the levels of the game!  Design can be anything subject to developer approval, but must maintain the basic structure of a Spheredog. Also, appear in the credits as a “Supreme Backerfriend” and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game!  - $150, 50 Available

Design an NPC: Design a unique NPC that Capboy will encounter several times throughout his adventure!  Design is up to you nearly entirely, but should remain reasonable within the boundaries of TFG’s universe and remains subject to developer approval. Also, appear in the credits as a “Legendariful Backerfriend” and "Character Designer,” and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game! - $300

Design one of Boycap’s mechs: Design a mechanical boss based on anything!  You get to decide how it fights and harasses Capboy throughout the level, but specifics and general design are subject to developer approval. Also, appear in the credits as an “Fantabulous Backerfriend” and “Boss Designer,” and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game!  - $450, 2 available

Design a Fantabula Boss: Design a boss encountered within The Fantabula!  The boss must somewhat match the level theme and is subject to developer approval.   Also, appear in the credits as a “Fantabulous Backerfriend” and “Boss Designer,” and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game! - $600, 2 available

Ultimate Designer’s Pack: Every reward listed above, including every single “Design an X” reward!  Also, get to be brought onto the developer team as a creative contributor, joining private discussion about plans for bosses, enemies, levels and more!  Appear in the credits as a “Creative Contributor” and every corresponding Backerfriend section, and receive the Deluxe Beta edition of the game! - $900, 1 available

Stretch/Funding Goals:

40k - Funding Goal

45k - Mutators -- upon finishing the game, the player can use achievement-unlocked mutators to affect future runs of the game!  Mutator ideas include having every weapon unlocked right away, randomly shuffled stats on weapons, randomly shuffled enemies, and more!  Mutators would be included with the game upon release.

50k - Boss Rush -- The player would be able to rematch any bosses they’ve beaten, including a time trial mode where they’re given a specific build that they must fight each boss with.  Good scores would unlock further achievements, unlocking costumes and mutators.  Boss Rush would be included with the game upon release.

60k - Second Quest -- The Second Quest would essentially be a hardmode, beyond the simple changes offered by NG+.  Unlocked after beating the game, the Second Quest would feature a brand new story set in modified versions of the main game levels, with brand new harder versions of every boss -- which would be included in the Boss Rush!  The Second Quest would be released as a free update after the game’s release.

70k - Local Competitive Multiplayer --Local up-to-4 player PvP multiplayer gamemodes.  Gamemodes would include 1v1 and 2v2 deathmatch, king of the hill, and a flag-football styled gamemode.  Platforming races, “gungame” styled fights, and more would all be further options.  The Multiplayer would be released as a free update after the game’s release.

If you’re still with me after reading that massive post, thank you!!  I greatly appreciate your devotion to the game if you read all of that, and if you just skipped down here I don’t blame ya at all.  Unfortunately though, I can’t really tl;dr this, so you’ve gotta bear with it.

With less than 4 weeks to the demo, it’s exciting to finally see these two and a half years of work start to come to fruition!  Thank you to everyone who’s been supporting the game throughout its development -- here’s to a successful campaign, thanks to you guys’ help!  If you have feedback and/or questions about this plan, swing by the discord to talk about it there, but if not...I’ll catch you guys on the 26th!

-Fantabuloso

[justpandoeruh]

Soldevilla Series

Special Chapter (Amari)

Pinaikot-ikot ko lang ang hawak kong fountain pen sa kamay ko habang nakikinig sa discussion ng isang board member.

To say that this board meeting is boring me is an understatement. I could’ve joined the Tredici with their mission but my priorities as a CEO is not allowing me. Talk about bad timing.

The board member was in the middle of talking when my phone rang, turning all eyes on me. Normally, I would just turn my phone on silence but after seeing the caller’s name, I knew I had to take it.

“Excuse me,” I excused myself. I headed out of the conference room and went to my office.

By then, my phone had stopped ringing so I had to dial the number again.

After three rings, she picked up the call. “Hello, maam? Tulong po!”

“What happened? Is everything okay?” My voice is laced with urgency and worry. Rosie wouldn’t call me unless it’s an emergency.

“Papatayin po ako ni Atasha, ma’am.”

“Hindi ka pa aalis?” My brows furrowed when I heard my daughter’s small voice in the background.

“Ma’am ipupokpok na niya po sa akin yung bato,” sumbong ni Rosie. I heard shuffling in the background which makes me think that maybe she really is serious.

Napahawak nalang ako sa sentido ko habang nag-iisip ng dapat gawin. I ended the call and dialled Avo’s number immediately.

“Hey, I have a client. Is there anything wrong?” bungad nito nang masagot ang tawag.

“Our unica hija is trying to kill her new yaya.”

He chuckled, “Again? That girl is starting to become a mini version of you.”

I rolled my eyes at his statement. Alam ko naman na mana sa akin si Atasha. I was also a brat when I was a kid. And wow, talagang nakaka-frustrate pala mag alaga ng ganon. It makes me salute to my friends and family.

“Can you go home and check on...” I cut myself mid-sentence when I remembered that he said that he has a client. “Nevermind, I’ll do it instead.”

“Uuwi ako maya-maya. I’ll just refer my client to another lawyer.” I smiled. I am aware of how busy he is in his firm, being one of the top highest paid lawyer in the Philippines. I visited him once, hindi na ako umulit kasi hindi rin naman niya ako pinapansin. But even with all the pressure and stress he gets from his work, he never failed to make time for his family, especially the kids.

“Okay. Daanan mo nalang si Asher sa bahay nila Chaos. I’ll see you both at home.”

“See you. I love you,” he didn’t wait for my reply and immediately ended the call. Kaya nag text nalang ako sa kanya.

Nag iwan muna ako ng mga gawain sa secretary ko bago ako umalis. I also asked her to send me the report of the meeting awhile ago.

——

Hindi pa ako nakapark ng maayos sa garahe nang makita ko ang yaya ni Atasha na tumatakbo, behind her is my little princess carrying a rock big enough for her to carry.

Naibaba niya ang hawak niyang bato nang makita ako. She ran and welcomed me with a hug. Agad naman akong umuklo para suklian siya ng yakap.

I leaned back to look at her face. Pawis na pawis na ito at namumula ang pisngi. Sobrang dungis na din ng itsura niya. I wiped her sweat my hand kasi wala akong dalang panyo.

“No work, mommy?” she asked. Naalala ko tuloy kung bakit maaga akong napauwi.

“I heard you made a little ruckus today. What did you do?”

She smiled at me sheepishly with her puppy dog eyes that made my non-existent anger vanish. How she managed to soften me is beyond me. That’s a talent that she and her brother got from Avo.

“I’m sorry, mommy. I was just bored.”

“Wag ka sa’kin mag sorry,” I looked at Rosie behind her kaya napatingin din doon si Atasha.

“I’m sorry yaya Rosie. Please forgive me,” humaba ang nguso nito at nakadikit pa ang dalawang palad. Napailing nalang ako sa pagpapacute ng anak ko.

“Okay lang Atasha. Just don’t do it again.”

I signalled Rosie to leave us. She grabbed her bag, mouthing a thank you before she left.

Tumayo na ako tsaka naglakad patungo sa kotse ko. I still need to park it properly. Nakasunod lang sa akin si Atasha.

“Are you enojada?” sobrang liit ng boses niya habang tinatanong yun. She knew she would get in trouble after what she have done. Pero alam niya din na hindi ko siya papagalitan sa harap ng ibang tao.

I faced her. “Hindi ko gusto ang ginawa mo, Atasha,” seryoso kong saad.

Napayuko siya, her hands are fumbling with the hem of her dress. “I’m really sorry, mommy.”

“I want you to reflect on what you did. I’m not gonna ask you to make promises. But I want you to know that there is a consequence to each your actions. Pag inulit mo ito, you will get reprimanded or worse we’ll ground you. ¿Entiendes, mi pequeña princesa?”

“Opo, mommy. Lo siento.”

Sobrang lungkot ng boses niya kaya hindi ko na rin natiis. I stretched my arms. “Come here, give me a hug.” Agad naman siyang lumapit sa akin at niyakap ako.

Pinahid ko ang luha na sinbukan niyang itago kanina sa pagyuko. “I forgive you. Te amo.” I whispered as I kissed her hair. I felt her hug tightened.

“Yo también te amo mamá.”

We were in that position when Asher and Avo saw us. Agad lumapit si Asher at nakisali sa yakapan namin. Si Avo ay nanatiling nakatayo habang nakatingin sa amin. His eyes filled with love and adoration as he was looking at us softly.

“Daddy’s here, princess,” he announced. Agad tumayo si Atasha tsaka tumakbo papunta sa daddy niya. Hinalikan ni Avo ang noo nito bago binuhat.

Nagsimula na silang maglakad papasok sa bahay kaya sumunod kami ni Asher. I looked at Asher when I felt his small hands holding mine. Napangiti ako sa kasweetan ng anak ko.

“How are you? ¿Te divertiste?”

“Yes, mom. Mis primos were there too. Tío Chaos even taught us some games that he learned when he was young,” kwento nito. Napatawa ako habang iniimagine ang mga bata na naglalaro kasama si Chaos. Puro kalokohan pa naman ang mga laro ng lalaking yon.

“You wanna go there again tomorrow? Isama mo si Atasha.” He nodded eagerly kaya natatawa kong pinitik ang ilong niya. He complained but he couldn’t get the smile off his face.

Nang makapasok kami ay nakita namin ang mag-ama na nakaupo sa sahig ng sala. Atasha is applying a bright red nail polish in his father’s nails. Pulang pula din ang labi ng dalawa.

Saglit lang naman kami sa labas pero ito na agad ang maabutan ko. Napailing nalang ako tsaka tinabihan si Avo. Asher went to the kitchen.

“Sis, magkano bayad dito?” natatawa kong bulong.

“Free lang daw, sis,” pagsakay niya. Pinaliit pa niya ang boses niya pero fail kasi lalaking-lalaki pa rin ito. Para tuloy siyang barumbadong bakla.

“Hindi bagay sayo.” Pabiro naman akong inirapan ni Avo.

Isinandal ko ang ulo ko sa balikat ni Avo. Nagreklamo pa si Atasha kasi nasanggi ko daw yung kamay ng ama niya. I let Avo pacify her tutal daddy’s girl naman yon. Uto-uto yun pagdating sa ama niya eh.

Maya-maya lang ay naupo na din sa tabi namin si Asher. He was a carrying a plate with sandwiches na agad niyang nilapag sa mesa. Avo said his thanks, I kissed his hair as a sign of gratitude, si Atasha naman ay niyakap siya at hinalikan sa pisngi.

Pagkatapos pagandahin ni Atasha ang ama ay si Asher naman ang kinulit nito. Hindi nakatakas si Asher sa kapatid niya kaya ngayon ay nakanguso na ito habang nilalagyan ni Atasha ng pink lipstick ang labi niya.

I grabbed my phone and took a photo of the three of them. Avo looking gorgeous while looking at the kids, Asher frowning with a very flushed cheeks, and Atasha clearly enjoying.

I sent the photo to the Soldevilla GC with the caption ‘Free service from Atasha Dior De Marco’.

I received replies from the others kaya inabala ko muna ang sarili ko sa cellphone. Paminsan-minsan akong natatawa sa mga text ni Chaos.

When I looked up I saw Avo staring at me. Nang mahuli ang tingin ko ay agad siyang ngumiti. “I love you,” he mouthed, making me smile as well.

I felt at peace and happy as I looked at the view in front of me. I’m lucky to witness such scene. This is something I would never replace for anything in the world.

They’re my lifeline, my home.

[ineffablyrandom]

Love Story

This is not a story about a girl and a boy who fell in love. But nevertheless, this is a story about love, fun, smiles, laughter with a beat and dance and singing along with a song.

Minsan may bagay na biglang babalik sa memorya mo, tapos mapapangiti ka. And even though you want to go back to that moment just to experience it again, you will still be glad, because you had the opportunity to be in there and watch that moment unfold in front of you.

I was working late at home, nakaupo ako sa silya nakaharap sa laptop. I decided to play some songs. So, I played my music gallery in the shuffle. Then this song started playing. The chorus started and I was singing along and bouncing my head up and down, sumasabay sa beat ng kanta. Sumasabay sa liriko ng kanta, kabisado ko every single word. I remember how I discovered this song. How it etched into my memory. How I memorized every beat, every lyric, every melody, and the tone. And how this song held a special place in my heart.

Even if it was 10 years ago, it still feels as if it was just yesterday. How time flies by. I remember the year 2009 when Taylor Swift's song ‘Love Story’ first hit millions of people. I was not a fan back then; Taylor Swift was just starting out in her career. I didn’t even know her songs. I was 14, this so ordinary teenager, who loves singing along, dancing in the beat, having fun together with the people she so loves was asking the question “what should we do?”

I’m with my cousins at that time. Now let me tell you, I am 24 years old now, but even then, we were inseparable. We bruised ourselves in our childhood games, cry our eyes out to each other. Shared laughter and everything. They’re my childhood best friends up until now. We literally grew up together. Sabi ng isa kong pinsan, “Sayaw tayo.” Then we agreed. And I know in my heart even now, kapag sinabi ng isa na “Tara kanta/sayaw tayo.” We would always hit our best shot kahit na ang iba samin parehong kaliwa ang paa, kahit na ang iba samin, parang ayaw ata ng tono sa kaniya.

They played Taylor’s song. Love Story. Before we begin our dancing party, pinatugtog muna ng paulit-ulit. Hanggang sa makabisado ko ang chorus. And then after that pumasok kami sa kwarto. Pinatay yung ilaw, and then they turned on the flashlight. So, para kaming nasa isang disco, maybe we’re missing our province that time, I don’t even remember now every detail. (May disco sa province namin tuwing fiesta, lagi kaming laman ng disco).

Ate Charlene started playing the song on her phone. She held the flashlight and started swinging it. We danced and sing. And I tell you, we were screaming the lyrics. Banging our heads and dancing even if wala na sa beat yung sayaw namin. We were having fun. We even choreographed the song. When the part “he knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said, marry me, Juliet you never have to be alone, I love you and that’s all I really know I talked to your dad go pick out a white dress it’s a love story baby just say yes.” I remember one of us literally knelt to the ground while singing. I remember one of us screaming the word “just say yes”. When the song hit the best parts, we were out of breath. Nakailang ulit ng kanta bago kami nag decide na pagod na at tigil na. Or pinagalitan kami ni Nanay kase ang ingay namin. Just like I said, I don’t remember every detail now. But I’m telling you, sitting in front of my laptop, singing along to that song, smiling, I remember the feelings, the exhilaration, the happiness everything that came along with that moment. And I know na may ibang interpretation man ang bawat isa sa kantang ‘to, may iba’t ibang memories man na naka attached ang iba’t ibang tao sa kantang ‘to, and maybe dumaan man ang taon na narinig ko ‘to sa isang memorable na moment, isa at isa pa din ang tatatak sa akin, isang moment pa din ang babalik at babalik sa utak ko, walang makakapalit nun.

And along the years all the songs I know, maybe some of it is attached to someone or to something. That even if marinig ko lang sa kalye, maiisip ko kung anong moment in life ko narinig yung kantang yun, yung pinaka memorable. Maybe heartbreak, maybe happiness, or maaalala ko ang isang tao. Some of the people I dedicated a song to or share a moment with. They’re part of me. The feeling that came along with it. The lyrics that I can relate to. The words that capture my feeling. The message of the song. Every single bit of it. I’m glad, that I have this memory of every song in my playlist. Kaya naman hirap na hirap ako burahin kahit sobrang luma na ng kanta.