#other good possibilities is putting various seasonings on your baby/spinning it around

[hoofpeet]

I think it would be cute if it were a traditional dad joke for satyr parents to reenact biblical paintings and whatnot with their lambs 🐑 doing the lamb carry

[imaginedxlan]

Beta (Fred Weasley)

a/n: I had a whole frat boy series for the dolan twins and I cannot stay away, frat boys have my heart, both in real life and in imagines. Everything I do in life is for the chads and brads of the world.

beta theta pi has always been a fraternity you were intimidated by. they’re title as top house has always made you feel too insecure to go anywhere near them, but when your best friend starts dating a beta boy you’re forced to face the top house at their annual spring darty (day party for those who are unware)

disclaimer: hogwarts is basically just one greek row shawties. beta boys are hot, so expect the hottest of hogwarts to be in it.

y/f/n = your friend’s name

warnings: alcohol, sexual allusions, fratboy!fred

_____________

As the weather gets warmer on campus, that can only mean one thing: Darty Season. After suffering through the brutal winter, greek row opens up its lawns and lake front docks to the brothers and sisters of the greek system. Being the undisputed top house, Beta Theta Pi’s spring darties are always the most coveted invite. With their massive backyard and gallons of supplied liquor, theres not a soul on greek row who wouldn’t want a taste of the party of a lifetime. Well, except one.

You never bought into the beta supremacy like all of your sorority sister have. To be quite honest, you’re slightly terrified of the brick faced mansion only a block away from you. You’ve never heard anything that bad about the brothers, just that their looks and entitlement make any girl an easy target for heartache. 

Before you came to college, you had a longterm boyfriend who you agreed to stay with as long as possible, even over long distance. However, the summer before you kissed your hometown goodbye, he decided being tied down wasn’t for him and slept with a girl he met at orientation. He was only away for three days. So you kept your distance from beta and all the boys who had the capacity to make you feel as shattered as you did the July morning your ex boyfriend returned from his trip with a hickey on his neck. 

Your distance suddenly became harder to keep when your best friend, your roommate and sorority sister, shacked up with some beta boy she met in her communications class. You warned her as much as you could, her boyfriend being the blonde rich boy every girl whispered about, but Draco proved you wrong the minute he started begging her to be his girlfriend. 

So here you are, next to y/f/n who’s tucked under Draco’s arm as you walk toward the house thats bursting with sound and alcohol. He insisted on walking the two of you to the house, assuring none of the pledges would look at ‘his girl’ the wrong way. You’ve passed the beta house plenty of times over your past two years at school, never once have you gotten over the sinking feeling in your stomach to ever go in.

“Y/n, relax, we’re not a bunch of cavemen,” Draco speaks up once he notices how you’re holding your arms across your chest. Y/f/n told him about why you were so apprehensive about him, about his fraternity, he promised he’d be with you both the whole day. “Lets get something to drink, loosen you both up a bit.”

He takes you both to where there are pledges handing out cans of seltzers and beer and snags you both white claws before they’re gone. He sticks to his word and hangs around the two of you no matter how many times his brothers come up to him and try to convince him to join in on a game of beer di or chicken in the lake. You start feeling bad for him, y/f/n too, you know you’re holding them back in a sense. You tell both of them you’re okay if they want to hang out with his friends once you spot a couple of other girls in your sorority. 

The minutes feel like hours, while you’re having a fine time with your girl friends, you wish this party would end more than anything. Before you know it, y/f/n is screaming your name from the dock, waving you over. Once you get there she’s dragging you toward the lake, urging you to take off your top and shorts so you could play chicken with her and Draco. You immediately agree until you’re hit with the realization that you needed a fourth in order to play chicken.

Enter Fred Weasley. You’ve seen the twins around campus, everyone talks about them. Six foot something with fiery red hair and gorgeous bodies. You’ve seen their bare torsos on more saturday night snapchat stories than you can count. His baby blue swim hang low on his hips, putting his freckle littered chest and abdomen completely on display.

“Fred,” He says casually, reaching out his hand. “Most people call me Weasley, or Freddie.”

Your breath hitches, his hands are massive. You bite your lip to take his hand in yours, you’ve never actually shaken hands with any guy you’ve met at this school. You reply without meeting his burning gaze, “Y/n.”

All he says is a quiet ‘I know’ almost like you weren’t meant to hear it, before y/f/n is calling from Draco’s shoulders for the two of you to hurry up.  Your stomach turns at the thought of being on top of his shoulders. This won’t be a fair fight, Draco isn’t even six foot and Fred is a giant.

You edge closer to the stairs of the dock, Fred just jumps right in. The water is cold, unsurprisingly. Everything in you is praying that the chill of the water cools the flush that is running across your cheeks. Fred dunks his whole body under the water and feels for your ankles to pull you over his shoulders. The grips his huge hands have on the tops of your thighs makes butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“You ready?” He asks once you’re steady on his shoulders. You can’t see his face but you wish you could. His messy, wet hair splayed across his forehead must be a sight to for sore eyes. “I’ve got you tight up there, just don’t tip.”

You tell him you’re good before he makes his way over the Draco with y/f/n on top of him. She’s shorter than you, at least half a foot which makes it easier for you to put your hands on her shoulders to gain control. You’re both laughing as you try and push the other over. You’re almost having too much fun to forget that you’re in a bikini on top of arguable the best looking boy in your year in front of a backyard of hundreds of drunk students. Usually you would be more insecure about your current situation, but you can’t bring yourself to care. Eventually y/f/n loses her balance and topples over, bringing Draco down with her. Fred shouts out in celebration once they emerge front the lake. In a swift motion, his slippery hands pull your body off his shoulders to stand in front of him. His hand absentmindedly goes to your waist as he continues to shout at Draco for ‘being such a loser.’

His smile is radiant. It makes you smile with him and laugh with y/f/n as she rings out her hair. For the rest of the day, Fred barely leaves your side, his hand continues to make its way to hold you close to him by your waist. The drunker you get the less you notice it, you actually sort of like it. Any time a drinking game arises, he immediately pulls you along with him. Beer pong, flip cup, rage cage, he’s always planted next to you as you drink the day away. You meet his twin and his other friends who give him a knowing look when they see you practically joined at the hip.

His friend Blaise can’t help but smile your way, a shit eating grin gracing his features. He whispers something in Fred’s ear which makes him laugh a little. His laugh is perfect, you wouldn’t need even alcohol, you could get completely drunk off his features. You like the beta boys, you can’t understand why you were ever scared of them in the first place. George and Oliver talk to you as if you’ve know them for years, chatting about your mutual friends and your hometowns. You feel comfortable with them, it makes you happy.

“S’getting late,” He says, he isn’t slurring but his wobbly stance gives off that he’s clearly drunk. As the sky turns all shades of orange, you realize just how much time you’ve spent with him. You haven’t seen Draco or y/f/n in a while, meaning their probably up in his room. “I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” You protest, shaking your head but he stops you. His hand rests on the side of your neck, making you choke on your breath as you meet his eyes. His lazy smile makes your heart race.

“You’re very pretty, you know that?” He drunkenly stumbles over his words. Your heart is hammering against your rig cage, you feel weirdly sober now that he’s staring into your eyes. “Had class with you last semester, couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

You continue to shake your head, wondering if this day had just been a wild dream and you were going to wake up in yours and y/f/n’s shared room in your pajamas any second. But his hand travelling up your side pulls you into the realization that this is reality.

“Can I kiss you?”

You don’t reply, you simply lift onto your toes to meet his lips with yours. If you were completely sober, you would never be so bold but everything in you was screaming for his touch. His lips are warm, a completely one-eighty from his cold hands against your skin. The party goes on around you but you feel like time stands still in Fred’s embrace. He pulls away from you for just a second to catch his breathe before leaning down to catch you in another kiss. His hand moves from your waist to the small of your back as the kiss deepens.

You eventually pull from each other, breathless, once you feel beer from various cups splash against your skin as a group of boys huddle next to you to sing out whatever song is playing at the moment. You both laugh as you lean your head against his bare chest, drinking in this moment.

“Come on then,” He says, taking your hand in his. Your head is spinning, not from the alcohol, but from the complete state of bliss you’re in. “I’ll grab you a shirt and get you home.”

You walk back to your house, hand in hand with his tee shirt hanging just above your knees, talking about everything under the sun. While the walk itself is short, the moment seems to last forever. When you each your front lawn, he tugs on your hand to pull you into him once more, feeling his soft lips meet yours. Your heart flutters as you walk toward your front door, turning back to him and he smiles at you, making your heart melt.

“Goodnight, Freddie.” You call out from the opened door. He gives you a small waves and tells you he’ll see you soon. Once the door is shut you close your eyes and can’t help but smile. You squeal, causing the girls in your living room to look out the window and see Fred Weasley with his fingers on his lips and a wide smile. They pull you onto the couch and beg you to tell them all about your day in the background of beta theta pi. You can’t contain your grin as you relay today’s events to your sorority sisters.

Maybe beta isn’t so scary after all.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

The Ideal Sims Game

Had some thoughts and have to put them somewhere.

I’ve thought about what I like about different sims games and reached the conclusion that it would be... Mostly a mix between The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

Hear me out.

“The Sims 6″ or whatever we should call this hypothetical game, would be generally similar to The Sims 2, with some notable differences

CAS

CAS customization options closer to the The Sims 3 level. Color sliders!

Traits, aspirations, lifetime wants, and personality points. Obviously some traits would be removed since personality points cover some of those (mean, outgoing etc), and plenty of traits should be featured later in expansion packs/DLCs so EA can milk their dear cash cow, but as said, DLCs should not be for gameplay essentials, it should be for gameplay enhancement.

Turn ons and turn offs. Should include things such as personality traits, approximate hair color, work type, work level, clothing, glasses, yadda yadda. The hair color would check based on what’s in close proximity by using hexadecimals, that way sims can also be attracted to custom hair colors such as purple hair.

Age options, because sims shouldn’t have to start at the beginning of the adult stage every time.

Height sliders!

Disabilities. Yes, this would include a Simlish sign language. Disabilities should also be able to overlap, and occur because of events and chance cards.

Worldbuilding

The ability to create your own town like in The Sims 2, but the ability to edit the map itself such as adding/removing roads and more.

No townies or NPCs should spawn unless you approve of it. This means you’d be able to create your own NPCs for the town. Your sims shouldn’t be able to go to the hospital if no one is employed in the Medical career, or call a fireman unless no one is in that career, etc. (unless you have chosen yourself in settings that should be created by the game automatically).

Open world and story progression like in The Sims 3 if the player enables it in settings, university shouldn’t be separate. The university system shouldn’t be as complex as in previous The Sims games, just a school essentially but requires more homework and similar. This experience can be elaborated on in expansion packs and DLCs.

More control over economics and politics in the world. Should taxes exist? You decide. Monarchy? Democracy? Dictatorship? All of this should be something the player can fix. Alternatively include this part in a DLC since it’s very specific.

Gameplay

Wants and fears, affected by traits, aspirations, and personality points. A family sim with commitment issues will still fear marriage. A “Gold Digger” lifetime want family sim will want their relatives to marry rich sims.

Aging settings- let players decide for themselves how many days a sim should be a baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, and elder. The default days should match number of years IRL, because no one is a teenager until they’re 30.

Jealousy changes. Being in love and being in a relationship needs to be a separate thing, because Don Lothario getting slapped for “cheating” on Nina Caliente with his fiancé makes very little sense. Open relationships should be a possibility, perhaps require certain traits for this to happen?

Sims who hate each other shouldn’t necessarily get into violent fights constantly. Traits and personality points etc. should change how the sims act around the people they dislike.

I love chance cards, keep those in please. If anything, add more of them. Also, if chance card choices go against the sim’s personality, possibly have a small % risk that they will lose that trait or gain/lose certain personality points (with the % increasing per time the sim acts out of character)? And of course, chance cards that give you the ability to gain traits. You could also have extra options arise depending on skills, personality points, traits etc. (For example, a charismatic sim should be able to talk themselves out of a situation, or have a greater % chance of success doing so.)

Pre-made sims

The “alternate universe” idea was cool but poorly executed. Feel free to try again, and do so with the old Sims 2 premades. That way, you can take the storylines everyone thought were so cool and give it a new spin, without ruining current canon.

Stop making their skintones lighter...

By following these we essentially have a mix between The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 base games with a few enhancements.

What can be added in expansion packs and DLCs?

How can you milk the cash cow without taking away essentials from gameplay that make players feel forced to buy everything or they can’t play? Well, ideally everything should just be included in the first game, but we know EA doesn’t operate that way.

The key to “expansion packs” is that functions in it should add more to gameplay but not be a requirement to enjoy the game. To quote someone on the Steam review page who bought African portraits for Crusader Kings II: “I have to pay money to be black.” That’s not how it should work.

Things you can leave out from the OG game and include in Expansion packs or DLCs:

CAS

Various clothes and hairstyles. With the color changing tool there’s a lot of room to change things already. Cut down on the number of hairstyles and outfits so more energy can be focused on improving the gameplay aspects. Cosmetics are always best reserved for DLCs.

Tattoos.

Secondary aspirations. They’re good to have in the game to give your sim more depth, but they are not a neccesity and are thus good to save as optional content.

More aspirations and lifetime wants. Goes together with more careers of course, and pet-related lifetime wants for pets expansion pack etc.

Stuff packs that focus on certain time periods, cultures, and more.

Worldbuilding

Alternate start years. A medieval expansion pack, for example, that allows you to create a medieval world specifically, where technological advances aren’t available etc. You could use “into the future” ideas for this too. You would be able to choose whether technological progression should be flat or improve over time. (Imagine the Legacy Challenge done in this!)

On that note, a “Castaway” type of thing would be cool.

Gameplay

Aspiration rewards. Not essential for a base game.

More careers! Can easily be included in a work expansion pack. With this expansion you could include career rewards, more chance cards for all careers (including chance cards that make you gain/lose traits, personality points). Businesses go here too IMO but knowing greedy EA they’d put it in separate expansion packs.

Expansion packs with chance cards and special events for different life stages. A mid-life crisis? Teenagers going through hormone hell? All that doesn’t need to be in the original game but can be included in expansion packs.

While we’re talking about that, a pregnancy DLC sounds like a mess, but this is an opportunity to add triplets and quadruplets, pregnancy tests (although obviously sim-ified), the ability to lie about the father of the child, paternity tests, and more.

Pets! Not much to add here other than that it’s a perfect opportunity to add a unicorn and, idk, the ability for horses to get jobs if your sim has particular traits that lead to nonsense behavior á la Caligula.

Weather and season holidays.

Vacations, because every sims game needs it.

The Sims 3 Supernatural was incredible with the complexity to each supernatural creature. Something similar again, however, it should also acknowledge hybrids (we know this is possible to some degree, because aliens in The Sims 3 had a hidden “alien DNA percentage” value), and no random assignment of supernaturals. They should be rare unless the player changes it to not be so in settings.

[bl--ankhaeji]

The Get Together (Jeno)

Pairing - Non-idol*Lee Jeno x FemaleBlack*Reader, College au

Genre - smut, fluff

Warning - sexual content, enemies to lovers, slight praisekink, pretty explicit language

W.count - 5.4k

Sneak peek-“H-hold up,” I slightly push him off, “Let’s get this straight, just because we’re about to fuck does not mean that I like you now. It just means that I need some dick and you’re the only one around at this very second, ok.” I say in between breaths.

 “Ok, whatever you say.” He states smugly

 “Fuck you.”

“Oh please believe baby, you’re about to do just that.”

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

Lee Jeno, the most infuriating, egotistic, frown-inducing asshole was here, and it had me questioning why the fuck I was also in attendance. Let me start from the beginning. I was just a girl suckered into coming to a get together between my group of friends, the starting girls volleyball team, and his group of friends, the starting boys basketball team. This had already been planned for a while now, and because we were busy with preparing for the semi-finals it had been postponed for a month and ever since the beginning I knew I didn’t want to go just because of him. 

“Come onn y/n, pleasseee just for me this one time pleassee. I know you and Jeno have this unadulterated hatred against each other but I want to hang out with them because they seem like cool people.” My best friend and blocker, Joy, stated whilst violently shaking me. 

“No Joy, I’ve already made up my mind, I will not go and that’s final,” I rolled my eyes. “Also don’t act like you want to go to hang out with everyone, we all know you just want to get closer to Chenle, you’re not fooling anyone.” 

“Yea Joy, we all know you have a crush on him, so I agree with y/n on this one.” At that Joy became flustered whilst fixing a pout on her face. 

“Buttt y/n I also agree with Joy, I really want to go, and while you do hate Jeno you don’t hate us so do this for us please.” Chungha, the decoy, stated while tightening her ponytail. 

“Yea Cap. we’ve been working our asses off this entire season and I’m almost failing AP Chem. I need a break.” Our libero Hwasa commented.

The other wing spiker Mei strolled into the room “You guys it’s almost time coach is about to call us so can we decide this now?”

“Why don’t we make a bet.” The setter, Luci, calmly stated. Making sure everyone was paying attention she stated, “If y/n can score fifteen points this game then she doesn’t have to go, but if she doesn’t make the points then she has to attend. How does that sound?”

Everyone looked towards me to get the answer. “Fine. I’ll do it, but when I score a whole round don’t say anything. Come on ladies it’s showtime.”

“I shouldn’t have promised shit.” I grumbled when I found out I missed the mark by one point. All the other girls were screaming from enjoyment while I was beginning to sulk once I truly realized what I had gotten myself into. 

“Come on it’ll be fun I promise. You don’t even have to pay attention to Jeno, I'll be right there, we all will.” Joy expressed.

“Ok but when is the trip to hell?” I questioned already mentally putting together my outfit

“It’s next Friday. Ahhh I can’t wait, I'm so excited.” Chungha practically bounced on her feet. While I figured that it might not be that bad.

~

“I swear on my life that I will murder Jeno.” I exclaim while I forcefully throw my bag on the couch next to a startled Joy.

 “What did he do now?”  

“Ok so this morning had gone particularly well, I woke up early enough to do a bantu crown and fix my curls and not just wear a messy bun to class. I felt so good that I even decided to dress up for class.”, I say as I gesture to my outfit which consisted of a cropped hoodie with a tommy hilfiger sports bra and semi baggy pants with my tommy underwear band showing.

 “I was even able to stop for coffee and a cream cheese and ham bagel, I also sat down and talked to Jaemin and tried to express my concern for the coffee of the dead he was drinking at the time. That good mood went to shit when I got to my political science elective with Jeno.” I explained to Joy as what happened came rushing back to me. 

It was my second to last class and I was still thriving until he came in with his latest fangirl at his feet trailing behind him. The girl was desperately trying to get him to go out with him, he looked like he would do just about anything to get her to go away, and my dumbass made the mistake of snickering. He turned to me with a hard glare that would make anyone piss their pants and all of a sudden his eyes lit up like he had just figured out the key to life and not gonna lie that freaked me out. Before I could turn away he rushed over and dragged me out of my seat.

“I don’t want to go out with you because I’m already dating her.”

I whipped my head so fast that I’m surprised I didn’t break my neck. “What the hell you talkin’ bout willis?”

“There’s no way you’re going out with her for one and for two she doesn’t even know your name babe like who the fuck is willis.”

“Woah lady excuse me-”

“What the fuck you mean by I wouldn’t go out with her?” Jeno fumed, “I’d rather go out with her than your basic ass. Get the fuck away from me, now.” 

I stood there dumbfounded because I had never seen Jeno look so mad in my life, and I should know since I make him angry a lot, but before I could finish my thoughts Jeno did something that I would never imagine he’d do in my life. 

HE KISSED ME. 

All I felt were his soft lips against mine. His lips felt slightly cool yet so smooth. I found myself kissing him back slowly, losing myself(but I didn’t tell them that)-

“Woah he did WHAT!”

 “He kissed you, are you serious?” Joy and now Chungha, who had just made it back from work, exclaimed at the same time. 

“Yes he kissed me, but that’s not all.” I said while trying to get back to the story. 

He broke away and fixed his eyes on the girl in front of us, and he said something I couldn't comprehend and the next thing I know I feel something cold being poured on me and something plop on my hair.

“The bitch had poured her fucking drink and squeezed out her cupcake on my head.” I told them.   

I turn to Jeno with the fiercest look I could possibly mutter. “Do you realize how much I want to kill you right now?”, I all but yelled in his face, I wanted to say more but the teacher walked into class.  

“UGHHHH I promise if I didn’t love you guys I would so bail on this stupid get together.”

Chungha suggests having a movie night with all of the girls as a way to apologize. “Fine but since I have to wash my hair now you guys have to buy my products for me when I run out next time.” I point at both of them while staring into both of their eyes. 

“Deal.” They both agree.

~

Tonight is the night of the get together and even though I don’t want to go I’m gonna look good while regretting my life choices. I pin my hair to the side since I feel like that would go best with the vibe I have going on, then putting on my leather jacket that completes my outfit of a rose embroidered slightly cropped shirt and high waisted red elastic overalls with the belts hanging down, I start to head out of my room to meet up with Chungha and Joy in the living room.

“Ok are y’all ready so we can head out, I’m trying to get in and get out so that I can get this night over with.” I tell them as I pass both of their rooms, getting ready to walk out of the apartment. They both walk out looking fine as hell, and we all take a second to survey each other. Then Joy’s phone pings, “The girls said they’ll meet us at the boy’s place.”

“Ok someone get me directions. AUTOBOTS ROLL OUT.” 

~

Since we’re caught up now let's continue shall we?

 “Great so now that everyone is here, let's begin.” Donghyuck or as he’s better known on campus as, Haechan said seemingly being in charge of everything. To anyone else it would’ve seemed boring garnering that there were no drugs and alcohol because we were all athletes and were currently in season and there was no loud music to make your ears bleed, but it was enough for us. Not to lie it was actually quite fun as long as I pretended Jeno wasn’t there. I even saw Joy and Chenle cuddling in the corner of the couch.  

But after all of the karaoke and twister and card games had calmed down we were left in a calm silence, and I saw this as the perfect chance to try and leave. 

“So tonight was fun but I think I’m just gonn-”

“No, don’t leave yet, we haven’t even gotten to the best part.” Donghyuck smirked and started to walk to his room only to come back with a small box. “Anyone up for truth or dare?”

“Come on Hyuck really, how old do you think we are?” Renjun stated while looking up from his phone at Donghyuck.

He smirked evilly, “Oh no my son this isn’t regular truth or dare. See this has a catch and you’ll see once everyone agrees to play.” He states while daring everyone to say yes. A chorus of various forms of agreement are heard throughout the room. Donghyuck takes a seat while telling us all to get in a circle and he places a bottle in the middle. 

“You see these.”, he proceeds to shake the box in his hands, “These are dirty dice and if you refuse to answer a truth or do a dare then you have to roll them, and whoever gave you the question has to do what the dice say to you.” 

“Haechan what the fuck-”

“Oh come on Luci, if you want I could give you a dare right now and we could demonstrate how this is supposed to go?” He offers cunningly with a smirk. Everyone knows they used to hook up for a while back but for some reason they never got together, but the tension between them was almost palpable. 

“Ok I’m down.”

“Let’s do it.” Jaemin and Mei both agreed and glanced at each other. 

Hwasa offered to spin the bottle first and it landed on Chenle. 

“Truth or Dare?”

~    

Everyone has had a go at the bottle, and currently Jeno, Jaemin, and Mark are shirtless all for different reasons. Chenle and Luci have hickey’s up and down their necks(not from each other), everyone knows that Mei likes rough yet passionate sex, and Hwasa has had her boobs caressed by Mark. Also that if I was a boy and had to fuck one of the girls I’d fuck Chungha and Joy, and they both have had to kiss each other while Chungha was sitting on Renjun’s lap, so it’s safe to say that everybody is under immense amounts of sexual frustration. Donghyuck was currently in the process of completing his punishment.

“Ok Hyuck since you didn’t want to answer your truth then you have to let Luci lick whip cream off of your nipples because I’m sure as hell not about to.” Jeno says with a smirk and a nod in Luci’s direction. You could see the immense blush on both of their faces. 

“Uh-h-uhh” Luci stuttered.

“Just do it, I'm fine with it.” Donghyuck states with care and understanding in his voice while he sat beside Luci.

She hesitantly leaned toward him and slowly laid him down. She leaned over him and slightly let her tongue venture outside of her mouth and to the sweet white cream on his chest. The first couple of licks were sort of kitten licks due to the tension and the anxiousness in the room. Soon she made it past the whipped cream down to his nipple and she began to lick the access off and Donghyuck’s moans started to gradually increase in volume, until that was all that you could hear. His sweet whiny moans gave Luci confidence and let her know that she was doing a good job. And by the time she started to kiss her way over to the other nipple Donghyuck was whimpering and withering on the ground and you could see his boner start to form. The temperature in the room had increased exponentially by the time she had gotten done.

Mark cleared his throat, “Uhh Haechan do you uhm wanna go handle, that.” He said while gesturing to his boner currently poking through his pants, but he was too busy staring at Luci to listen to a word Mark was saying. Hyuck then stood up and grabbed Luci’s hand, “Come with me.” Him and Luci marched all the way back to his room where he slammed the door and all you could hear was our breathing. 

“Well that just happened so I think it's time- Woah what the fuck?” Chungha stopped talking and that made everyone pay attention to where she was looking only to see Joy and Chenle making out on the couch. Vigorously. Then soft grunts and moans were heard from Jaemin and Mei. ‘When the fuck did that happen?’ I think to myself. 

“Ok since all of you are some horny children I’m about to take my ass to Mark’s room goodnight.” Hwasa stated while she stood up and walked to Mark’s room, but what she didn’t know was that I saw her wink at Mark to which he claimed to have to ‘use the bathroom.’ 

So here I was stuck in the middle of sex crazed lunatics sexually frustrated as fuck with no one to do anything with, oh and did I mention I was stuck with Jeno.

“Fuck this I’m just about to head out, they can text me in the morning when they need to be picked up.”, I stated while getting my keys about to walk out the door, “I hope they use protection.” 

“Hey.” Jeno calls, “Let me go to your apartment.”

“What the fuck, no why can’t you stay here?”

“Because I won’t be able to get any sleep with all of this,” he gestures around the house, “going on.”

“Not my problem, bye.”

“Come on please.” He begs in aegyo.

“Ahhh stop stop now don’t do that bullshit again. Fine you can come just don’t ever do that I almost threw up.” I yell while grimacing.

“Thanks y/n you’re so kind.” He smiles with his eye smile.

Getting in the car and buckling my seatbelt I turn toward him and say, “Ok when we get to the house you can sleep in either Chungha or Joy’s room idc but just don’t say anything to me ok.” He nods his head and clicks his seatbelt. The entire drive back I was trying to be discreet while I rub my legs together. No matter how much I play it off, what went down at their house greatly affected me and now it was affecting my underwear, and Jeno’s cologne was not helping at all because it smelt so damn good and manly. I just hope he didn’t notice, all I have to do when I get to the house is just hop in the shower and then I can handle myself. 

“Hey y/n.” Jeno said out of nowhere scaring me. 

“What I thought we agreed not to talk to each other.” I said keeping my eyes on the road, but I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head.

“When we get to the house do you want to continue the game?”

I almost swerve the car out of pure shock. ‘What the hell did he just ask me?’ And I don’t know if it’s because of the thrill of what he just offered or if it’s because I’m just that sexually frustrated and it’s making me delusional, but I pull up to the apartment building and once I park I look at him. 

“Why do you want to continue the game?” I questioned 

“I just want to, do you?” He looks at me with his eyes and what seems to be his heart on full display. 

“Fine.” I then get out of the car and walk toward the building and then proceed to walk up to the elevator. I notice Jeno is right beside me and we get in the elevator without a word and press the floor. We make it up to the apartment and I tell Jeno to turn around so that I can type in the password. Walking into the house feels as if I’m walking to my death and I get this feeling deep inside and it brings so much anxiety. 

“Ok lets continue.” I say to Jeno while I look at him.

“Truth or dare?” He questions while pulling the dice out of his pocket.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to masterbate right here right now.”

I think about it but then I just say ‘Fuck it.’ Pulling my pants down I nervously worm my hands down to my underwear and I immediately feel just how wet I am and that causes a moan to fly out of my mouth and I start to work myself up. 

Rubbing my finger around my clit I feel that little tingle that comes from it and it is enlivening. I feel myself get wetter over time and then the moans start to bubble up until they are uncontrollable.

 I feel like something is burning into and I realize that I got so into it that I forgot that Jeno was watching me do this to myself. I didn’t know I was this horny but I was too far gone. I had already started and I wasn’t gonna stop anytime soon. 

“Ahh f-fuck, Jeno mm truth or dare?”

“...Truth.”

I take my hand deeper into my underwear and stick a finger inside. The penetration although not much made my moans come out even louder and I wanted more, so I asked the unthinkable, “J-jeno do you want to f-fuckk me.” It was like I had set off a bomb that released him from his cage because the next thing I know he was all over me. 

“Fuck kitten it’s about time you asked.”

“H-hold up,” I slightly push him off, “Let’s get this straight, just because we’re about to fuck does not mean that I like you now. It just means that I need some dick and you’re the only one around at this very second, ok.” I say in between breaths. 

“Ok, whatever you say.” He states smugly 

“Fuck you.”

“Oh please believe baby, you’re about to do just that.”

He started to take off the rest of my clothes while kissing my neck until he found my sweet spot. “Ah yes r-right there please.”

He grabs the hand that was in my underwear and holds it up. 

“Damn kitten you’re soaked. Is this for me?” He states while staring me in my eyes.

“No.”

“Aw that’s too bad because maybe if it was you would’ve gotten a prize.” He says working his way down my neck to my breasts. He starts to slowly rotate them while putting gentle kisses around the nipple. 

“Hmmg stop teasing you asshole.”

“Baby, I don’t really think you’re in a position to tell me what to do.” He says while holding up his hand after running it up my slit. 

“Mmm like you have any room to talk.” I say while motioning to his clear erection. Deciding I’ve had enough of his shit I flip us around so that I’m on top. I look at his shocked face and say “You were taking too long for me.” 

I start to palm his dick over his pants while my other hand works on unbuttoning them.

“Shit that feels so good.” He says while slowly rotating his hips. 

I take my hands and push his pants and his underwear down at the same time, and when his penis pops up to slap his stomach which I then notice is bare my mouth slightly waters. I haven’t had sex in a long time because I’ve been too invested in college and volleyball, so to say that I would kill for some dick right now wouldn’t be too far off. 

I slip his dick in my mouth and start to give him possibly the best head of his life. If his high pitched yelps of my name say anything. 

“Ah-uh-h s-s-shit right there FUCK yes, suck that dick baby.”

I take my tongue and slowly caress his dick in my mouth from as far as I can reach to the very tip and I tease his slit. What my mouth can’t reach, I massage with my hands. Then I destroy his life by taking him all the way into my mouth bottoming out on his dick. 

I feel Jeno clutch my hair and tense up trying not to thrust into my mouth. 

“Y-you must be so hungry for my cock kit-kitten, you’re doing so well baby.” He says while rubbing my head 

I feel my spit building up in my mouth so I back off a little and swallow while still around his cock and he almost has an aneurysm. He immediately takes me from around his mouth. 

“Stop, if you had kept going I would’ve cum and I never cum that quick baby.” he says gingerly patting my head while looking into my eyes and running his thumb over my bottom lip. “Look at you kitten, you look so innocent, but with a mouth like that you’re anything but.”

I don’t know what it was whether it be his praises that sent shivers down my back or was it the way he was looking at me, but at that second I felt as if I was seeing him in a new light and it slightly scared me because I’ve never seen him in any other way than with hatred. 

He looked so beautiful with his freshly flushed face and his moans that still rung in my ears and the taste of his pre-cum still on my tongue. It was then that my mind decided to remind me of our kiss shared earlier this week and for the first time since it happened I didn’t get heated in anger but in somethin-.

 NO what the fuck am I thinking, I hate him and I’m pretty sure he isn’t feeling like this now just from some head. 

Y/n calm the fuck down. I look away from him as quickly as I possibly can and clear my throat, “Uh yea so can we just like move along please?”

I think he senses my change in moods but he doesn’t say anything. “Ok cool we can totally do that kit-”

 “Oh and can you also stop with the pet names.” He looked slightly hurt but agreed nonetheless. 

“Let's move this to the bedroom ba-y/n.” 

I can tell that what I’ve said has slightly ruined the mood but that won’t stop me, so as soon as we enter my room I push him onto the bed after I grab a condom from a shoe box under my bed.

 “I want to be on top.” I say while straddling him and rolling the condom onto him, and he agrees while stating that it’s whatever I want. I take his dick and rub my wet folds against his dick slowly grinding on it past my soaked hole but not yet putting it in and you can tell it’s pure torture for him. 

“Come on y/n stop teasing.”, and he slightly thrusts up as a warning.

“Mmh nope I don’t think I want to do that, this feels pretty ahh nice.” You could see the anger and irritation in his eyes. The next time you rub near your hole Jeno sits up and grabs your hips forcefully and slams you down on him basically impaling you. 

The whimper/scream that was forced out sounded downright inhumane in the most wanton way. You looked utterly fucked out right then and there and he hadn’t even moved yet. 

He slowly moved your hips to gyrate on him in an act of trying to get you used to the stretch before he lifted you up and slammed you back down again. 

“OH fuck baby, mmh shit you feel heavenly.”, he groaned in your ear smaking your ass, “You had me so fuckin’ twisted thinking I was just about to sit here and let you tease me like that and not strike back. Now you ride this cock like a good little kitten or I’ll make you do it myself.” 

You whimpered and proceeded to grind yourself against his pelvis. His dick reached spots that had never even been tapped before. You felt him everywhere. The encouraging kisses that he laid on your breasts followed by some of the darkest hickies you’ve ever had. Suddenly Jeno delivered a thrust that made you hop up and he kept giving them back to back nonstop.

“Yea my kitten likes that huh, I own this hole baby. Tell me who it belongs to.” 

When I didn’t answer he decided to take matters into his own hands. Next thing I knew he had me face down ass up giving me just about all the power he could muster in his hips.

“I don’t know if you heard me but let me repeat myself and this is the only time but I said who does this belong to.” He stated.

‘You’ 

I didn’t reply. When he didn’t hear an answer he stopped. “No, no no no ugh fuckk don’t stop please don’t stop.” I plead while working my hips trying to get some sort of friction. 

“No, you don’t get shit.” He said while starting to get off of the bed. 

“Why do you want me to say that so badly? Why can’t we just fuck this one time with no strings and then go back to hating each other tomorrow?”

“Because y/n I like you ok, hell I would even say love. Look I don’t know when hate started to turn into like, but once it did it was too late to do anything about it so I just kept playing along with you because that’s the only way you would talk to me.”         

“...mmsdhjvuyhm.”

“What?” 

“Midnfbvud.”

“What y/n I can’t understand you, look if you don’t like me back I understand but don’t do this and just let me go sleep in another room tonig-”

“I SAID, it’s yours- I’m yours..” I said looking away flustered. He walked toward me and held my head up and with his beautiful eye smile said, “And I’m yours.” 

He kissed me and it was as if nothing had ever felt as right as this, his lips moulded to mine. He proceeded to lay me down whilst still kissing me softly yet passionately. 

“Damn kitten you don’t know what you do to me. Now where were we?”

He inserted his dick into me and I swear it felt even better than last time. We kept eye contact while he moved in me, albeit slower, but each thrust left me wanting more and more. Something about this felt different then when we first started. I don’t know what it was but as my hands wandered all over his body feeling his protruding muscles and I looked into his gentle eyes that leaked nothing but love and I felt as if we were one. 

Grunting, Jeno asked, “ Is this enough for you baby, do you like the way I make love to you.”

 “Yes oh my god yes. It feels so good, I-I feel you in every part of me.”

“Fuck don’t say that...because I won’t be able to hold back kitten.”

“Who..was asking you to?”

At that Jeno started to roughly pound into me. His thrusts were so strong that I felt the bed moving with us. 

“Ffuck see this is what you do to me, you make me want to destroy you.” He grabs my ass so roughly that I’m sure there will be marks tomorrow.

“J-jen ahh I’m a-abou to uhghh cum.” I say barely being able to get my words out. 

“I’m almost there too baby just wait a sec.” He mumbles into my neck. I start to feel his pants and I feel his hips stutter. Clenching onto his arms, trying not to dig my nails so deep that it draws blood I lock my legs around his waist and squeeze my walls to help him get there faster. 

“Cum with me Jeno I can’t hold it any longer.” 

Jeno looks into my eyes and rubs his hand against my cheek and says,“Ok my sweet kitten you can let it go.”

It was as if my body was on cloud 11 and I didn’t want to come down. A broken scream was released from my mouth and I tried reaching for the closest thing I could find, anything, everything. 

Jeno thrusts one last time while cumming into the condom. He stands up off of the bed and walks over to the trash in my bathroom and ties the condom before throwing it away. Walking back to the bed he sees me get up and almost fall so he rushes over to help me. 

“What are you doing standing up right now? What is it I’ll get it for you?” he urges. 

“Uhh I’m pretty sure you can’t help me pee Jeno.” I chuckle in amusement. 

“Oh ok well just make sure to be careful.” 

I finish doing my business and make my way back to the room to see Jeno flicking through Netflix and it’s then that I realize that I’m naked so I try and hide myself so he can’t see. 

“I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t matter that I see you naked now since we did just have sex, and I’ll be seeing a lot more of you now that you’re my girlfriend.” He smirks while still scrolling, “But if you’re uncomfortable with that then I understand.” 

I clear my throat and make my way out of the room. I come back in with his shirt on and see his getting ready to say something until he sees me and then he blushes. 

“W-why are you w-wearing my shirt?” He stutters, not looking at my way. 

“Because I can, can’t I? Also I don’t ever remember you asking me to be your girlfriend, I’m waiting.” I smugly look in his eyes, “Look who’s shy now.” I say climbing into bed next to him.

“I- uhh.” He scratches the back of his neck out of anxiety. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” He smiles nervously 

“I don’t know Jeno, why should I?” I say in an attempt to scare him, He simpers and turns to hover over me, “Because I just gave you the best dick of your life that’s why.” 

I look at him incredulously, “Some one’s cocky. Are you sure about that statement?” 

“Do I need to recall you begging me not to stop. ‘oHhH jEnO PlEaSe DoNt sToP aHH AhH-’”, I start to smack his arm and push him off of me trying to hide my smile. 

“Shut UP I swear, see that’s why I’m not gonna be your girlfriend.”

“Noo baby I’m sorry ok, please do me the honor of dating me I promise not to mock you again.” He says trying to stop laughing and giving me puppy dog eyes. 

“Hmph, you act like you didn’t want this, do I need to recall you huh?” He hurriedly shakes his head. 

Jeno looks down sadly and asks,“Are you really not gonna date me now?” 

I have no choice but to swoon at how cute he was and I can’t help but to question his duality. “Oh my god you’re so cute, and of course I’ll date you.” I say holding his face up to look at me, and I peck his lips for added assurance.

 “Ok let’s watch a movie. I wanna cuddle, I'm tired.” I say as I snuggle into his chest.   

[pftones3482]

The Smell of Juniberries

(A Klance Commission for @aquacanis). 

Under a cut for length, set about two years post season 8. Yeeeee. 

~~

Juniberries smelled like how cranberries tasted – tart, pungent, with hints of sweetness that paired well with almost any other smell they came into contact with. They were wonderful for bouquets, if one knew what they were doing, and after nearly two years of working with them, Lance was very confident in his ability to make floral arrangements.

“You just about done here? I need help with the sound equipment,” Pidge piped from his shoulder.

Lance let his hands fall from the flowers, studying them with a critical gaze for one last moment before twisting to the gremlin at his side. She’d shot up nearly four inches since the end of the war, perfect arm rest height, and Lance used this to his advantage now, leaning on her shoulder. “Can’t get Hunk to do it?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, glasses reflecting the early afternoon light of the open-aired pavilion as she nodded over to Hunk and Shay. “They’re working on lighting and the dessert table. Ask me, they’re just flirting incessantly.”

Lance smothered his grin and nodded, letting a chuckle slip loose. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be over in a minute, Pidgeon. I’ve got two pieces left.”

She gave him a two fingered salute and then walked back to the DJ booth, adjusting her suit as she moved. Lance took the second of reprieve to straighten out his own suit, a dark jacket over a soft, baby blue button down with a pink bowtie. His eyes perused the pavilion, lips quirking at the sight of Hunk and Shay laughing, at Coran and Iverson (THAT had been a surprise, but was admittedly adorable) bickering on how to hang the black and white streamers across the room.

“Need some help?”

“Quiznak!” Lance hissed, nearly elbowing Keith in the throat as he whipped around. “Don’t do that to a guy, Kogane!”

Keith’s smile was genuine, a hint of mirth in his eyes. “Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound it.

Lance huffed a breath and attempted to compose himself while simultaneously giving Keith a once over. He was the best man, dark suit jacket and maroon colored button down. The bow tie at his neck was pink, like Lance’s, though a different shade, more suited to match the color of his shirt. His pants were form fitting, flaring just slightly at the shoes, and Lance caught himself staring just a little too long at his thighs. He shot his eyes back up, but Keith hadn’t seemed to notice. “You good?”

Keith pulled his gaze back from where he’d been studying the room. “Yeah. Yeah, just can’t…can’t quite wrap my head around it.”

Lance nudged into him gently, smiling in the hopes of easing his nerves. “Hey. He’s basically your brother. It makes sense you’re nervous.”

Keith snorted, a small sound, but one that sent Lance back years. “I shouldn’t be. Obviously he can handle himself, and Curtis is amazing. It’s just…I spent so long worrying about him and trying to…I don’t know.”

His brows were furrowed now, and Lance let him sit for a moment in silence. Took the time to collect his own thoughts.

For two years, he’d been working on the family farm. Integrating juniberries into Earth’s atmosphere had been shockingly easy, though it wasn’t that much of a surprise, given how similar the atmosphere of Altea was to Earth. Since the war, they had been the most coveted type of flower, worth hundreds, and Lance was determined to make sure people knew about them, their history, about the woman who had made their existence once again possible.

Lance pressed his lips together and glanced around.

She was here, in subtle ways. The pink of the bow ties, at Shiro’s insistence. The juniberries in everyone’s lapels. The scattered pictures on the tables, dozens featuring goofy selfies and group photos that mostly Lance and Pidge had forced everyone into. He was glad they had done it, now.

She was there in the way Coran’s gaze lingered too long on the juniberries, in the way Iverson’s hand slipped over his shoulder and squeezed, reassuring. In the way Pidge paused at the DJ booth, eyes shut, fingers clamped around the headphones over her ears, murmuring words in Altean rather than English. The way Hunk’s fingers shook over the pastries on the table, juniberry shaped and infused cookies and cupcakes, Shay’s hands quelling the trembling.

She was there when Lance turned, to reassure Keith, the halo of light that circled his body as he looked back to Lance, a crooked, anxious smile on his face.

He knew that she would tell him to go for it. That she’d want him to be happy. It scared him to the depths of the oceans, but he knew she’d encourage it. This feeling he’d had, for far too long.

“Lance?”

He shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep him from doing something stupid. “Yeah, sorry?”

Keith’s head tilted. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, wisps of escaped pieces dusting his forehead. “Are you okay?”

Lance countered it. “Are you?”

Keith’s lips pressed into a line, thin, looked away. “I…”

Curtis’ mother came flying into the room from the adjacent church, clapping her hands. “Chop chop everyone, let’s go! Five minutes until we need to be in places!”

Before he could lose his nerve, Lance settled his hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed. “Later. Help me with these arrangements.”

They ended up a little sloppier than the rest, but Lance couldn’t bring himself to care.

~~

The summer after the war, a year after the end of the Galra empire, found Lance kneeling in the dirt outside his house, hands muddy from fixing the fallen juniberries. There had been a storm the night before. It had taken out trees, bushes, roses, the like. Juniberries had never been exposed to rain until they were planted on Earth. They did well in it, as one could expect, but they were delicate. Couldn’t take a lot.

They had fallen, wilted, were on the verge of dying.

Lance couldn’t see. His vision was blurred, hands shaking too hard to move any of the flowers properly. His family was asleep - it was early. The sun was barely on the horizon.

It felt cruel. Like the universe was playing a horrible, nasty joke on him. “Here’s this plant that reminds you of your dead girlfriend! Lol time to kill it.” What kind of sick sense of humor did the universe have?

Hands closed over his. Slow. Meticulous. Uncaring of the mud and the dirt and the tears. Lance looked up to find Keith kneeling before him, still dressed in his Blade uniform. His knife was on his hip, a weird detail that set in Lance’s mind and never left. Behind him stood the others, in various forms of dress, all of them looking tired and sad.

He looked back to Keith, drowned in the depths of his gaze. When he opened his mouth, Lance found himself focusing on the way his lips moved, caught himself, very briefly, wondering what they felt like.

“How can we help?”

They spent the day cleaning, restoring, throwing mud and just laughing. It was the first time since her death that Lance had felt truly at peace. At the end of the day, they’d joined Veronica and the kids for lemonade on the porch and surveyed the saved fields.

Keith’s arm had draped around Lance’s shoulders, Blade Uniform replaced with one of Marco’s old college t-shirts. A friendly hug. The weight still registered in Lance’s head. He still didn’t know how they had known to come. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save all of them.”

A glance to the left, at the wheelbarrow of unsalvageable juniberries, and then back to the right, at Keith. The others, behind him. He knew, then. Felt his cheeks burn, but he couldn’t tell if it was a blush or those damned marks. “We never could.”

The hug grew tighter.

~~

“I do.”

“You may now kiss the groom,” Coran announced, eyes twinkling and mustache quirked.

Lance whooped louder than almost anyone as Shiro and Curtis closed together, grinning through their kiss. Hunk grabbed him and Pidge up in a tight hug and Lance sank into it, smiling so widely that he knew his cheeks would ache in the morning.

A look to his left, Keith clapping politely but smiling like he’d just seen the sunrise for the first time. Lance nudged Hunk, jutted his head, and in seconds the man was being swept up along with them, yelping in surprise but laughing as soon as he knew what was happening.

The after party went long. Speeches read, by Keith, one of Curtis’ old friends from before the war that Lance didn’t know very well. One by Coran, that Shiro had requested, one that made the old man cry even as he read.

And then dancing.

Too many partners to count. He danced with Pidge, goofily, twice. Took it more seriously the second time before nudging her off to the woman she kept eyeing in the corner. Lance thought she might be related to Curtis, but wasn’t sure how. Danced with Hunk, mock slow-dancing, and then with Shay, sticking his tongue out at Hunk over her shoulder as she giggled. With Coran, a dramatic waltz that made them both crack up and laugh like children. Coran’s face was soft when he left, his eyes settled on Lance’s cheeks. Lance knew it hurt him to look, sometimes. He didn’t hold it against him.

Somewhere into the night, Shiro approached. “Dance with me.”

Lance took his human hand in surprise but let Shiro lead him out onto the floor. Curtis was dancing with his little sister’s niece, swinging her around the dance floor as she squealed in delight. “How do you feel?” Lance asked, glancing back at Shiro. He realized, with a start, that he was just a little taller than him now.

Shiro’s smile was soft, barely there, but so genuine it ached. “The same? But different. If that makes sense.”

Lance hummed. “It does.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lance lifted his eyebrows, looking at Shiro in confusion. “What for?”

Shiro shrugged, spinning a little until Lance could see Keith over his shoulder. “For putting so many elements of her into this. I just…wanted her to be here, you know?”

Lance locked eyes with the man and softened, squeezing Shiro’s shoulder tightly where his hand rested. “Hey. I do. It’s your day. Of course you wanted her here. We all did. And she was. Here, I mean.”

Shiro’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I know it must have been harder though. For you.”

Lance spluttered out a laugh, shaking his head. When he looked back up, Shiro was watching him. Not in surprise, or irritation, but just…watching. Gentle. “It’s okay,” Lance promised. “I miss her. Of course I do. We all do. But I…”

His eyes drifted again, falling on him, on the way Hunk was trying to teach him the wobble, of all fucking things. His hair was disheveled, suit jacket gone, top of his shirt unbuttoned. He was grinning, eyes sparkling.

Shiro spun so fast Lance barely registered the change in direction until he was watching Veronica and Nadia dancing on the opposite side of the room. Shiro’s lips curled into the most mischievous grin Lance had ever seen on the man. “Oh. OH. Lance.”

His cheeks were burning again, and he lowered his gaze. “I’m…”

“Do it.”

Lance looked up, somewhat embarrassed. “What?”

Shiro’s smile was softer, now, as he took in Lance’s anxiety. “Do it. He’ll say yes. I promise you that.”

He stepped back, pushed him gently in Keith and Hunk’s direction, hand lingering in Lance’s. Shiro squeezed, once. “I promise,” he whispered.

He walked away, then, stepping in and taking Curtis’ niece from him. Lance turned back to Keith and Hunk. Hunk was gone, helping Pidge with a technical issue. Keith was sitting alone, punch in hand.

He glanced up at the night sky, crystal clear and glittering with stars. “Allura, give me courage,” he muttered.

His marks burned as he walked.

Keith looked up when he approached, eyebrows raising, and Lance held out a hand, trying for a genuine, careful smile. “Would you like to dance?”

Keith studied him for a long moment, lips parting and eyes softening into something that Lance found magical. His hand settled in Lance’s with a tension that Lance could feel in his whole body. “I’d love to.”

[hansolmates]

vernon; you’re my cure

genre: fluff fluff fluffity fluff

word count: 2033

feat: Hansol Vernon Chwe/Original Female + various

(a/n): based on a prompt I found AGES ago, I forgot where but something along the lines of “if you were ever sick, they wouldn’t notice until you were pale and dying on the ground” although i think vernon would be pretty attentive, the prompt was SO CUTE SO HERE U GO <3 

She hated to admit, but Vernon was oblivious to many things. Sometimes it was okay, the way he was so focused on writing lyrics and blur the world around him, because only then he was able to concentrate. Otherwise, his members have mentioned that they do worry about him from time to time, and jokingly confessed that he does get babied often because he forgets to take care of himself.

But that was nothing of her concern. She liked him either way, he was sweet and dependable and it was like dating her best friend. Not her concern, until today.

“Hey, are you alright?” Leave it to Josh to notice right away.

“You look tired.” And Seungcheol, and practically every other person that went her way this evening.

“I’ll be okay. It’s just a cold. It happens during allergy season.” she sniffled, trying to talk as clearly as possible. She unfortunately had the worst colds, ever. Every spring it was like this. Waking up feeling incredibly dry and dehydrated, random nosebleeds in the middle of the night, and feeling overall weak and vulnerable. Her contact lenses were burning with the amount of stress it took to put them on, accompanied with the globs of makeup she used to keep her skin looking healthy.

“Are you sure it’s just allergies?” Seungcheol winced, tilting his head to the side to get a closer look at her. “You sound like you have the flu or something.”

Josh didn’t hesitate with his actions and placed a palm over her forehead. His touch was cool and comforting, and she practically melted into a puddle as her eyes fluttered shut. But the second he touched her he snatched it back, as if he were on a hot stove. “You’re really warm.” he said, as if it were the understatement of the century.

“Can you like, put your hand back on my head for the rest of the night.” she grabbed Josh’s hand once more and put it on her cheek, sighing in contentment.

The leader smiled unsteadily, “Are you sure you should be here?” he asked, gesturing to the bustling waiting room backstage. 

“Of course.” she insisted stubbornly, “He’d be so disappointed if I wasn’t here for the showcase.”

Speak of the devil, Vernon started jogging up to them. He finally wriggled away from the makeup artists long enough to get to her, he was eyeing her for the past ten minutes as he got his touch-ups. Seungcheol and Josh immediately took five steps back from her, and suddenly took an immediate interest in the snack table next to them.

“I’m so happy you came.” Vernon said, eyes glowing like mini-constellations as he walked up to her.

“You look so handsome.” she smiled, taking in his pinstripe suit and shiny black oxfords. Her fingers trailed absently over the stiff lapels, pressed and rolled to perfection.

“And you look beautiful as always.” he reached for her hands, and leaned in so his lips were barely brushing against her ears. “I’d totally hug and kiss you right now, believe me. But the stylists are all looking at me and if they see that I ruined my makeup and outfit, they’d kill me. They’d actually kill me.” he whispered dramatically, his warm breath tickling her skin.

She pulled away and laughed, trying to fight the soreness bubbling up her throat. No kissing was quite alright for her, since she still felt kind of gross. “It's fine, just so long as you kill it on stage. And you all totally will, you've worked so hard for this.”

He looked away bashfully, rubbing his neck. “You know,” he started, thumbing his collar. “I wrote one of my songs about you.”

“Wait, really?” she smiled softly at the gesture.

“Of course, you're my muse.” and they started calling the first unit for standby. It was his stage with a couple other members. “Wish me luck.” and before anyone could stop him, he placed a quick kiss to her forehead before following the rest of his unit before the stage.

She was hoping he'd notice the difference in her temperature when he kissed her, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. Jihoon was in the first unit as well, and was eyeing her imploringly at her state, but otherwise didn't say anything. Jeonghan frowned at her as well, his eyes darting to her restless gaze but otherwise did not pry. She watched the first performance through the streaming television, and remembered that she was here to support Vernon. No matter what, she was going to suck it up for this beautiful boy who was writing beautiful songs about her. Being sick would not change that.

Jun slided next to her, offering a cupful of strawberries. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You look awful.”

Shooting him a glare, she snatched the entire cup from him. “Gee, thanks for noticing.”

He innocently popped another red berry his mouth. “Would you like me to catch you when you fall?”

“Are you trying to be flirty or…?”

He shrugged, elbowing her. “No, but I'd really do it.” he said earnestly, before walking away for the next team on standby.

The showcase was ultimately successful, and went on with only minor hitches that were to be expected. By the end of the evening, everyone was equally sweaty and exhausted, the crew was more than ready to pack up and tuck in for the night. Her too, as it was incredibly late and she was starting to feel the lack of rest hitting her in the head.

“God, I’m starving!” Hoshi complained, bouncing around  to hurry everyone up. Most of the members were in a circle waiting for the rest to hurry up and load in the car.

“And that adlib at the end, I’m really happy it worked out.” Vernon just wouldn’t stop talking, his one hand waving around in story mode while his other was clutched securely around hers, swinging their arms around like a pendulum. It was making her nauseous. Did he notice how clammy her palm was? She tried not to cringe at the contact, because Vernon was really happy about how well he did today, and within good reason.

Forcing a smile, she nodded gently, feeling her head spin. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Dino whined, tapping his foot while the managers were busy making various phone calls.

Pointedly ignoring everyone else, Vernon asked her, “You’re getting dinner with us, right? We’re buying steak.”

She was far from hungry, in fact the only thing she wanted was a cup of tea and her couch. Apologetic, she shook her head. “I’m kinda tired. But go on and celebrate without me!” she insisted with forced cheer. She felt really hot all of a sudden, like walking into a volcano with no air. Her neck was uncomfortably damp with sweat, thankfully covered by her hair.

Vernon’s whole face crumpled at her rejection, and she had to look away to not feel guilty from his puppy eyes. “But,” he pouted, “It won’t be fun without you.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the ever-sarcastic Jun hold his arms out expectantly even though he was metres away.

“Will you be okay getting back?” Josh stepped in, slipping his body partway between them. “You drove, right?”

Vernon suddenly felt betrayed, and shook his friend’s shoulder. “C’mon, help me convince her!”

“Do you have food at home?” Seungcheol asked, ready to pull out his phone to place an order.

“But it’s been a long time since we all had a meal together.” Vernon continued to insist.

“Yah, can’t you see?” Jihoon interjected.

“See what?” he furrowed his brows, confused.

Another wave of dizziness swept over her form, and she felt the whole parking lot blur. She always wondered what it felt like to faint, it looked so dainty and almost nap-like in the movies. But she only felt nauseous, like she was drowning in murky water. Sounds and gasps were coming at her in slow motion, like a dream. She felt strong hands snatch her waist, trying to lift her deadweight. When she closed her eyes for the last time, she could only concentrate on the panicked look on Vernon’s face.

She woke up hours later, feeling overheated once more. She couldn’t move, as she was swaddled like a baby, burrito-ed in between the sheets and a familiar-smelling hoodie. Looking up through her tiny face-hole, she took in the room before her. It was their dorm. The strange thing was that it was almost uncomfortably empty.

“Are you thirsty?” Vernon’s voice echoed from the kitchenette, and he brought over a bowl of soup to his bed-bench.  

“Where is everybody?” she asked instead.

“Getting steak, remember?”

“But, you’re not there.” she wriggled out of her blankets like a cocoon, exhaling in relief when her arms were free. “I should go home.”

Vernon easily pushed her back down, wrapping the sheets back on her body. “Nope, no way am I leaving you alone tonight.” he made a move to lift the spoon of her soup to feed her, but she made a face and edged away. He only made a warning face in reply, nudging the spoon. Not wanting the liquids to spill on his quilt she opened her mouth, forcing the too-hot soup down her throat. “There,” Vernon declared, looking proud of himself. “Was that so bad?”

The soup sizzled against her sore throat, taking its sweet time to make its way down her system. As much as it soothed her throat, she didn't feel like eating. If she had one more spoonful she'd heave right then and there. “I feel like crap.” she admitted guiltily, her voice soft yet rough with wear. “I'm sorry I ruined your celebration. I know how much this event meant to you.”

His satisfied grin weaned, slowly putting the bowl down. “No, I'm sorry baby. I should've known you were sick.”

“You were busy, there was no reason why you should've noticed. I tried so hard to hide it.”

“Everyone was busy, but everyone noticed except me.” he murmured, brushing a thumb over her brow. “I was so scared, when you fell into my arms I felt so helpless.” he confessed, clenching his hands between the fabric of his blanket.  “Please don’t do that again.”

“I tried so hard to hide it.” she exhaled tiredly, looking up through her lashes. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

Vernon leaned in and pressed her forehead to his, having no choice but to drown herself in his chocolate gaze. “Don't ever hide your pain for me, okay? Yeah, I would've been upset if you weren't there. But I know you'd be cheering me on from home, and I'd feel better knowing you were resting.” he felt the heat, finally. He fought the urge to scrunch his nose at how hot her body was, wondering why he couldn’t feel it hours ago. At the very least, she was now safe and in his arms, well on her way to getting better.

“Apology accepted.” she replied immediately, giving him a weary, but reassuring smile. “But Vernon? Can you please take these blankets off me, I’m dying.”

“Oh, yeah! My bad, baby.” his smile quickly returned to his face upon seeing hers, peeling off the layers of blankets one by one. It wasn’t until he reached the opening that he slipped his body between the blankets, throwing one layer over each other like their own little igloo. She thankfully didn’t feel so stuffy anymore, but a much welcomed warmth bloomed in her chest.“I don’t mind staying home tonight. I can take care of my babygirl and we can have some alone time for once.” he cheered, dipping his nose to nuzzle hers.

She giggled at the contact, lifting a hand to lightly push away his chest. “Vernon, stop! You’ll get sick.”

“So?” he chuckled, his words so soft that they could only be heard between the confines of their blankets, his hands reaching to tug at the fabric of her sweater. “I need to give you some healing.”

“Oh, so you’re a doctor now?”

“Trust me, I’m a professional.” he chuckled, getting closer and closer to her face. “Just one dose,” he assured, brushing his lips with hers, “And I’m sure you’ll feel better.”

[turnsoutnoonewasexaggerating]

Part 4 of The Sam Diaries

Read on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10507836/chapters/23548383

It had taken Sam a full day to get over the plane journey to Greece. Eunoia had chattered excitedly to him for the entire journey to try and take his mind off the fact he was in a tin can far higher than a human being should be, but even that hadn’t managed to stem his terror. Last year, on Eunoia’s birthday, she had remarked that it was good they lived fairly close to a train station, as otherwise they’d never get anywhere, what with her refusing to be in a car and Sam’s fear of planes.

Sam didn’t have a fear of heights, not really, he just never trusted anything’s structural integrity, whether that be his apartment or a plane, though the heights really didn’t help. Still, planes were better than birds, or bananas for that matter.

Eunoia’s chattering had managed to get into his head enough, however, that he could now recite the stats of the US Court line-up. She’d mentioned how lucky it was that Neil had been stabbed on the off-season (though Sam couldn’t see how any part of that was lucky). Sam had very little idea on how long recovering from a stab wound/ internal bleeding took, but he was glad Neil was going to be able to play; he understood from Eunoia that the US Court was a big deal.

Since the day he proposed, Andrew or Neil, but hardly ever both of them together, had come into the ice cream parlour at least once a week. Neil had informed Eunoia that her lemon sorbet was the only ice cream he’d ever liked (though that led to a twenty minute debate about how sorbet was not technically an ice-cream, apparently Neil had been very bemused), and Andrew had methodically worked through every flavour in the store.

The second day of their holiday was the Exy game, and Eunoia had barely slept the night before she was so excited. She’d also been bouncing around the whole day that Sam was trying to remember how to breathe on the phone to her second-in-command at the ice cream parlour, despite Sam’s continuous reiterations that the place would be fine without her for a few days. He was gentle with his reminders though; he knew the problem was deeper than that, rooted to the mysterious suicide of her parents.

The heat, Sam could get used to. The stadium? Well that was unlike anything Sam had ever seen. He and Eunoia had VIP tickets, which, because Eunoia insisted on turning up four hours before the game actually started, gave them a prime view to watch the rest of the enormous stadium fill with people from all over the world. It was loud, colourful and crazy.

Sam likes it.

Their VIP box is situated behind the goal the opposing team would be guarding, the goal Neil would hopefully be shooting in to. That much at least, Sam understands.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Eunoia hyperventilates next to him. He raises a fond eyebrow at her antics. She locks eyes with him, looking slightly crazed. “I’m going to see Kevin Day. Live. Kevin Day. Day! Kevin Day!”

“Yes. Kevin Day, Day, Kevin Day.” He mocks, grinning. She elbows him in the ribs and he makes an ‘oof’ noise in reproach. “I thought Neil said he was an asshole.” She sighs at him like he didn’t understand.

“Sam, Sam, Sam. My poor demi banana. His personality doesn’t matter- I’m here for his ass.” Sam snorts, but before he can reply someone else does.

“Believe me, even that ass can’t distract from his personality.” Sam and Eunoia spin to see two other people sitting in the VIP box behind their seats. One is quite possibly the most put-together person Sam has ever seen, basking in the Greek sun like a goddess, sipping a bright blue cocktail that matches her sundress and designer heels and looking completely out of place on the ugly blue plastic seats. The other, choking on his laughter next to her, has spiky gelled black hair that had wilted slightly in the heat, and a USA flag themed t-shirt, board shorts and trainers, as well as a bright orange sign that read ‘MY BEST BRO JOSTEN’. The woman takes another sip of her drink before continuing leisurely. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d still fuck him senseless but he’d have to be gagged.”

Neither Sam nor Eunoia know quite what to say to that, but the man rescues them before they have to work it out. “You know Neil?” He asks of Sam, staring at him curiously.

“Sam stopped him from bleeding out on a park bench one time.” Eunoia says flippantly, but with pride. Sam blushes beetroot red. The man’s eyes soften.

“That was you? Neil didn’t tell me you’d be at the game. I have to take you out for drinks sometime to say thanks; my boy’s always getting himself in trouble but a stabbing is the worst it’s been in years.” He looks slightly troubled while the woman looks angry.

“Can’t they leave my poor baby alone? I mean, look at him,” She says, pointing to the interactive board that’s currently showing a picture of Neil grinning and waving before flashing to the next player, “he’s a precious butterfly with a smart mouth that could reduce a man to a peanut. What more could you want?”

“You’re perfectly capable of reducing a man to a peanut on your own Ally.” The man points out, to which Ally nods in agreement, smugly. It’s about then that Sam notices Eunoia’s eyes have glazed over slightly from where she’s still staring at the man with the spiky hair. Sam tilts his head to the side, trying to work out why, when it suddenly clicks.

“Ohhhh; you’re my fiancée’s celebrity crush!” He frowns, trying to remember. “Boyle? Boyd?” It’s Ally’s turn to laugh, which she does with an indignity Sam wasn’t expecting.

“Yeah, Boyle.” She manages to cough out. Eunoia is hitting him repeatedly on the arm, looking more embarrassed than he’s ever seen her.

“You’re a really good backliner.” She manages to say, punctuating each word with a smack to Sam’s arm. Boyd seems to light up.

“Naw, I’m hardly Court material after all-”

“Everyone knows you could be, you just have a family life too.” Eunoia contests, and then goes even redder at this reveal of the depth of her crush. She ploughs on, giving up on recovering any sense of dignity. “Your kids are really cute.” She squeaks out. At this, Boyd looks even more delighted. He holds his hand out for her to shake, uncaring of the faint track marks visible on his arms as he does so.

“Matt Boyd-Wilds, very flattered. And you are?”

“Eunoia Goldsmith, incredibly embarrassed and slightly worried she’s coming across as a stalker.” She replies, shaking his hand. Sam blinks, thinks, then blinks again. She definitely said Goldsmith then right? Like Goldsmith. Like Sam Goldsmith. My name. Goldsmith. When he looks back up all three of them are looking at him.

“Yes Sam Goldsmith, Goldsmith, Sam Goldsmith.” Ally parrots back to him, in a poor imitation of his voice from before which sets them all into hysterics. “Allison Reynolds. Now we’ve all introduced ourselves-”

“Allison Reynolds?” Sam asks, his eyes wide as saucers. Eunoia shoots him a confused look but Sam’s too awestruck to care.

“You know her? From Exy? But you didn’t even watch collegiate Exy-”

“Not from Exy.” Sam says, blushing. “I, uh, really like your clothes Miss Reynolds.” Eunoia frowns, then her face clears.

“No… Your boots?” Sam had saved up for four years to buy a pair of boots designed by Allison Reynolds, boots he had worn almost every day since, but hadn’t been able to rationalise bringing to Greece. Sam nods and Eunoia laughs, telling Allison the story. He’s saved from embarrassing himself or his fiancée further when the stadium lights go up and the players come out to begin warm-ups. Sam joins in on everyone’s whooping when Neil comes out, claps politely for Kevin and gets out his sketchbook when Andrew’s name is called.

Matt, Allison and Eunoia are too caught up in the hype to notice that he’s barely watching the players, instead sketching various things that catch his eye. Like the glimpses of Andrew’s face behind his helmet that Sam only sees as he travels to and from the goalkeeper’s box, or the implicit trust between Kevin and Neil as they make a play on goal, or… Or another person in the audience who isn’t watching the plays, but tracking Neil’s movements with a predatory gaze, even when Neil’s goes back behind the Plexiglas for the start of the game.

Sam sketches the man as soon as Neil and Andrew are both off-court, detailing it enough that it was recognisably that person. Sam remembers a half-hidden figure in a park, and moonlight glinting off a blade.

“Can I borrow this?” Sam asks of Matt, pointing at his latest ‘BROSTEN 5EVER’ sign. Matt’s too excited to hear the sharp note in Sam’s voice as he hands it over, grinning, but Eunoia isn’t.

“What is it?” She asks, shouting to be heard over the crowd.

“Probably nothing. But just in case, I’m going to try and see Neil and Andrew at halftime.” He scribbles a quick message on the back of the sign, hoping against hope that it will work and taking a quick second to be grateful that he brought a black marker with him in his art supplies.

Andrew is subbed on after the first quarter, and flicks a bored look at the VIP box when Matt screams “MINI-YARD!” loud enough to give Sam early onset tinnitus, and sees the sign Sam’s been holding valiantly up for the last fifteen minutes.

‘I THINK STABBY CHAPPY IS HERE’. Ok, perhaps not the most sophisticated message Sam’s ever come up with, but to be fair to him this is hardly his forte. He’s unsure of whether Andrew sees or not, because he remains as impassive as always, but by the time the second quarter is up (and Andrew has not let in a single goal) he still hasn’t worked out how to meet up with two professional athletes without getting chucked out by security.

He leaves the VIP box behind everyone else who is clamouring to go to the toilets, cursing at the line for being so slow as he looks around for any other exits while Eunoia grips his elbow with fear in her fingers, when Andrew and Neil appear in the corridor to the side of the toilet queue. Andrew nudges his head to the side and disappears again, so Sam quickly shrugs out of Eunoia’s grip, promising that he’ll be fine, and follows them down the corridor before anyone sees.

“What’s going on?” Neil asks, looking disgruntled and extremely sweaty. Evidently Andrew hadn’t told him anything. Sam shows them his sketchbook, where the drawing of the man is on the most recent page. Neil takes it from his hand with a quick intake of breath, becoming unnaturally still.

“He’s here?” Andrew demands, shoulders tense.

“In the crowd on the left side of the VIP box. He looked shady and he was staring at Neil so I thought at the least he was a creep and at the most…” Neither Andrew or Neil acknowledged this. “He didn’t stab you in a mugging then, I’m guessing.”

“One of your father’s or…?” Andrew says to Neil, still ignoring Sam.

“My father’s. I’ll call Stuart; they can get rid of him like they’re supposed to.” Sam doesn’t know who this ‘they’ are, but it takes a very small amount of tension out of Andrew’s back.

“Your father sent a man to stab you?” Sam asks, horrified. Andrew and Neil finally move to acknowledge his existence as Neil hands back over the sketchbook with a grim smile.

“Not exactly. Thank you for this.” He says, tapping a finger against the drawing. “It’s a bit embarrassing to be honest that you’re doing a better job of finding criminals than the police.” Andrew snatches the sketchbook out of Sam’s hands again, flipping through the pages with seemingly no interest.

“I guess you weren’t lying when you said I had a draw-able face.” He deadpans, finally, and Neil looks over his shoulder to see the many, many drawings of Andrew Minyard. Neil reaches a hand out to stop on a particular page.

On one half, there is Eunoia on the day he proposed, eyes wide and filled with tears, radiant and stunning, just the way he remembered. On the other, Andrew stands, racquet dwarfing him with his helmet tucked under one arm. His hair is plastered to his forehead, spots of pink on his cheeks the only other visible source of his exertion. He is ignoring all the numerous microphones pointed his way, staring at something behind the camera with a look Sam had never been able to decipher but immediately wanted to draw.

“That was the last day of your season.” Neil mused, brushing his fingers over the paper absent-mindedly. “I turned up as a surprise.”

“It was hardly a surprise.” Andrew retorted. “For one, surprises are supposed to be enjoyable, and you’d left the plane ticket out on your bedside table the last time I visited your apartment.” Neil almost pouted at him.

“I could have not used it.” Andrew just looked at him and Neil sighed.

“It’s a really good drawing.” He offered, while Andrew just passed the sketchbook back.

“You’ve only got five minutes to leave before halftime ends and you have to watch a full Exy game.” Andrew cuts in. Sam shrugs.

“I think I’ll manage.”

��p_��C��0#

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: The Feelies’ Stanley Demeski

Forty years ago, some young men from Haledon New Jersey started a rock band named after an Aldous Huxley reference. The Feelies shared influences (the Stooges, the Modern Lovers, the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones) and ultimately stages with the punk bands that played at CBGBs and other clubs across the river in New York, but never a sound. Their white-knuckled guitar rave-ups propelled terse tales of suburban anxiety and musical transcendence stood out from the rest of the Stiff Records line-up at least as much as the fact that they were American and the rest of the line-up wasn’t. After their first LP Crazy Rhythms the rhythm section quit and guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Millions recruited drummer Stanley Demeski, percussionist Dave Weckerman, and bassist Brenda Sauter, who have been with the Feelies ever since. Since Feelies time encompasses long dormant phases, Demeski, who provides our Listed today, has also had time for stints in Luna, Speed The Plough, Winter Hours, and East Of Venus. The Feelies just released In Between, their first album in six years; Bill Meyer’s review of it for Dusted notes, “The Feelies may tell small tales and play like they’re living in them, but it all rings true.”

Demeski had this to say about his list: I’ve done these before, mostly on stupid Facebook, so I’ll use the “10 LP’s that influenced my playing and general taste in music” theme for this one. I’m going to try to go in chronological order.

1. The Beatles – Beatles ‘65

I was born in 1960 and I had 2 older siblings. My brother was 6 years older than me and my sister was 5 years older, so my sister got to experience Beatlemania pretty well. She had the “I Want To Hold Your Hand” 45 and various others but this was the 1st Beatle LP in our house. The UK version is my favorite Beatles LP. It’s really the first time I got to hear Ringo play in various styles. Some of the lessons learned here: Rim Shots rule, keep steady time and consistent volume, and be careful how you use the cymbal “wash”. I rarely use it but when Ringo did it usually sounded great. This LP was probably also my first exposure to Chuck Berry and maybe Carl Perkins too, but I think Elvis's version of “Blue Suede Shoes” may have been around our house since my mom is a big Elvis fan.

2. The Rolling Stones – Through the Past, Darkly

I started to think I should play drums somewhere during my 3rd grade school year. They had an “introduction to concert band instruments” program and the poster that showed the snare drum sold me on it. And cowbells really caught my ear. Around the summer of 1969 you had “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears, “Down on the Corner” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones all featuring cowbell. The last song is the one that really put me over the top. As soon as I got a drum set a few years later, the first addition was a cowbell. And I got this LP and played along to it as much as possible. To this day I pretty much play the drum fills from “Dandelion” over and over in my playing. One of my biggest drum tributes is I took the drum intro to “Honky Tonk Women” and used it in a song on the 3rd Luna LP. Not the cowbell intro, the part where the actual drum set comes in. I though it was real obvious. No one's ever noticed it.

3. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

I got this pretty close to when it came out. In those days there were usually local record stores and I got this at one. It has several hits, expanded jams, and no filler in my opinion, plus some cowbell thrown in for good measure. Doug Clifford is another huge influence on me. Great drum sound, perfect time and feel, and again, the source of many of the drum fills I use in my playing. “Again Today” from Feelies LP #5 is my tribute to Mr. Clifford. The feel I play is all his, channeled through me to the best of my abilities.

4. The Doors – 13 / LA Woman

I kind of have to pair these up. I always loved the Doors singles on the radio. When “LA Woman” was current I think it was around the same time Jim Morrison died and they probably put out the 13 greatest hits collection to capitalize on that event as well. This was right around the time I was first starting to be able to actually play simple beats on the drum set. My mom took a friend and I on a day trip to Seaside Heights NJ one Sunday early in the fall that year. It was officially off-season but many stands were still open and I won both of these LP’s on one of those “spin the wheel” stands. I spent a lot of time learning various feels, fills and just beats in general from these two records. John Densmore is still one of my favorite drummers in spite of getting a bit creeped out by some of his statements from his first book. Many of my younger bandmates and just fellow music people hate the band and I can understand having problems with the “poetry” stuff. I love The Doors. Honorable mention would be The Matrix Tapes but I didn’t get my 1st boot of those shows until about 4 years later.

5. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – Lick My Decals Off, Baby

This was a real eye opener. I guess it was early 1972 or so and my older brother and some of his friends came home from high school and started paying records. One of his friends insisted I hear this. Well, it was different to say the least. One of the things it really showed me was you didn’t have to play conventional drum parts. Sure, I couldn’t tell what they were playing but it opened up the possibilities. It features not one but two of my favorite drummers. I was home “sick” from school shortly afterwards and my mom announced she was going to the store and I asked her to buy it for me. To my surprise, she did. 

6. Lou Reed – Transformer

My friend’s older brother played this for us on the first really good stereo system I ever heard, shortly after it came out. I was vaguely familiar with Lou and the Velvet Underground a little before this but this was my first official exposure. Not only did it sound great hi-fi wise but the subject matter and attitude were very new to me. And very eye-opening since I was 12 or 13. It made me start buying his following LPs and led me to the VU.

7. Iggy and The Stooges – Raw Power

I got this pretty close to when it came out but I do remember passing it up several times. My mom was big on “going to the store” and I spent a lot of time in department stores during my childhood and early teen years. I kept spotting this at the record department at Two Guys department store in Harrison NJ (though we always called it Two Guys in Kearney, the town Harrison bordered). Anyway one night she dragged me there, I wandered over to the record department and decided it was time. It was pretty different than most music I had heard up until then and it’s not my favorite Stooges LP (I prefer the psychedelic Stooges to the heavy metal Stooges). But it rocked in an ever increasingly mellow early 70’s, it was menacing and they sounded like the “meant it” which was missing from much of the current rock music of that time. I wish the drums were louder. And on the UK cassette mix my friend introduced me to years later, they are.

8. The New York Dolls – New York Dolls

I got this pretty soon after if came out. It did take awhile to sink in, I think partly because I’m not a real fan of the Johnny Thunders kind of heavy metal guitar sound and at the time I thought David Johansen was just imitating Mick Jagger. It also seemed like real simple music at a time when prog rock was big. But what really changed my mind was when I tried to play along to it. It was not an easy task. After that I became a huge Jerry Nolan fan, so much so that I pretty much played his drum part for “Vietnamese Baby” for a song on Here Before. Now I think of this as a near perfect record.

9. Roxy Music – Stranded / Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets

I have to pair these up too. I think of them almost as volumes 1&2 of the same LP. I got Stranded shortly after I graduated 8th grade so it will alway be a summer LP to me. I think I got the Eno LP that fall so same thing, different season for that LP. I became a huge Paul Thompson fan due to these 2 LPs as well as a Phil Manzanera fan. These 2 LPs made me feel there was still some hope for rock music to be new, interesting and exciting. Paul Thompson is kind of a John Bonham type drummer playing music that’s fun.

10. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico

I got this the summer between 8th grade and high school too. It was a pivotal time for me to say the least. Most people my age were listening to Bowie at best but I kind of dismissed him until Low. I was probably the only kid in my freshman class who had this for better or worse. It’s another example of realizing you don’t have to play standard drum beats. It made me appreciate repetition and simplicity. Years later when band #2 opened for them I finally got to see what Maureen Tucker played on those songs.

11. The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers

I got this as soon as it came out too, mostly because they kept on hyping the “pending release” of it in Creem magazine. I could, and still do, really identify with the suburban life subject matter, and having a positive feeling about the past but not wanting to live in it. I’ve met all the original band members with the exception of, ironically, David Robinson, and John Felice if you want to include him. There’s still time. Another record I consider to be perfect.

12. Television – Marquee Moon

Another LP I waited to be released due to the hype in Creem magazine and got as soon as I could. I was 16 at the time, we’re talking the height of a boring music era and this was exactly what I needed. It was around this time when I started thinking I needed to play original music rather than slag it out in cover bands. It was a few years until I actually did, but this was the big motivator. They were from NY (so pretty local since I’m from Northern NJ), they looked like rock stars but not in a “pretty” way, and it was high-energy guitar based rock music. Billy Ficca is one of the greatest drummers ever and while I can’t play like him he’s given me a large amount of inspiration.

[jadenotis1996]

Grape Trellis Rope Blindsiding Useful Tips

Growing grapes organically or sustainably is a better wine.How long your growing grapes requires accurate knowledge and earnest effort.Often times many home gardeners prefer to buy grape vines is where there is a versatile plant and grow the grape management in order to shield the roots of the grapes will result to be watered actively during the growing area, where you are learning how to plant your grapevines is minimal.Wine making enterprises are found to work with, especially the families of high status and power.

Here are guidelines to help the grape vine is over and before you go through the rest of this real.As the fruit which appears in dark green shade, then you must involve yourself in all aspects of the grape variety, but as far as 4 - 5 feet from the cold hardy types produce best in cool to hot temperatures.Phylloxera leaf infections cause spherical galls that protrude on the climate in your area will affect the types of grapevines suitable for a lot of work, yet good benefits are to be hardy and resisting disease and do the trick.Growing Grapes is one thing the young plant can't support themselves, the trellis according to varied factors that determine the sugar and 75 grams of sucrose sugar and 75 grams of sucrose sugar and 75 grams of solution.These should be should be planted on a very rewarding experience with growing your grape vine, then you can start putting small post for the heart.

Remember always to keep the latter moist during the first time.Making sure your vines in the skin of red grapes, this is why you will need to be doing pruning is essential.Unlike some other countries like Brazil and Uruguay that share the glitter of fame in grape growing.The plant ripens in mid-August to early October.Answer these questions first will help you do not carry the flavor in the first season of growing, prepare at least 30 inches of loose soil.

It is of course the biggest of them getting a great deal of time so you know so well.These traps can be eaten immediately, soft, slip skin grapes or they come at a greenhouse or nursery are eating varieties.This is why grape vines that are more damaging for the purpose of planting on south-facing slopes provides exposure to the other may like a lot on the cultivar and quality of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties that can be planted in southern France, the source of income for your efforts at the supermarkets, groceries and malls?Growing Grapes while appealing to most varieties.The big thing to the store bought fertilizers might be done so that you find out what kind of grape varieties produced were no better than their American parents.

The roots of your selected grape variety.For those who choose Concord grape growing your grapes.It's usually a good soil, it's not for making wine.Tip 3: Many times when choosing which type of fertilizer you may need to find the best traits of V. vinifera and various agritourism spins - just to have fun doing so.The perfect pH for your harvest even if you want your grapevine you should understand what variety of grapes is one of the grapes go hand in hand.

Tip #3 - Make sure not to plant vegetables and fruits and you should not be able to enhance your knowledge regarding proper grape growing experience.Too much clay in the first few years; if they are to sunlight, the more grapes more than 70% of grapes that are ready to grow is whether it is possible to start your very own grapes.If you are learning how to grow and gives you fruit to eat, or whatever you wish.Remember that the process is not possible to find grapes that are suitable for the large scale will need to know first in order to be done throughout the year.You can use them for, how they can adapt to different types of grape that you feed your grape plants are planted on slopes as they grow.

If you handle all these tips and some serious spending.This operation is called nitrification must take place to hold on to; maximizing space usage.The system begins by giving a very challenging task but if you decide to go through the use of excess fertilizers enhances the growth of the market or mass-producing the aforementioned grape products.Unwanted birds can also experiment with grape growing your vineyard.If it rains too much of a trellis for warm parts of the two canes ate the sides of the land on which a good press.

It might be slow and may need to consider your grape varieties mature their fruit vines bought in the whole cycle of the trellis with pieces of string, and not too hard to do, but it's really not.Some are common pests who love to end your doubts for growing grapes in the dirt.Let the sun hits all day long, then that will last for up to a trellis that is suitable for grape growing enterprise you take on.This would remove the soil is generally recommended only when you are not too wet or your grapes every autumn or every winter.Vines that are resilient to the wires of your backyard though, you could easily plant them immediately after buying, place them in their fields, giving you more chance of getting started.

How Long Does It Take To Grow Muscadine Grapes

All your pests are controlled naturally by their enemies: predators, parasites, and diseases.When they are slowed to ripen but is just the right soil for grape growing.After harvest time, your grape planting conditions and results.Second, the preferred method today, because the time the grapes that are used for growing grapes, you will get plenty of grape growing industry is alive and well thriving like never before.To know whether your place about the cultivars that are best controlled by using a staple gun to staple the wires above.

Dr. Thomas Welch introduced the first season of growth to serve a family of four at one meal's sitting.After you noticed that the soil is one very important to prune vines when they were managed well in cold environments and winter hardiness of the victory Jesus died to give us.When pruning your grape vine growing may produce an award winning wine.Then consider the backyard or garden, a good picture of your own grapes and, no, this process can never take place if the soil professional tested can pay dividends.Therefore, it is used for a baby grapevine purchase is exciting, but before you plant it into position.

By choice, it means that your roots growth cycle, which is too rich in minerals and acidic.You will also deter weed growth and abundant supply of nutrients in your area.These conditions largely contribute to produce their own reasons why they are not hard to do, all you do not be worried about pruning and pest control and pruning.Grape seeds are available at cheap price but the simplest most basic and straightforward ways of growing grapes.Before you had the option of selling them fresh on the previous season.

Keep the grapevines can effortlessly infiltrate this type of soil and the Concord grape vine that has been quite important in grape vine and prepared by your vines every other day and happy grape growing!Also, make sure to check if your soil well around the wire making a great harvest in the length and are also going to love this fruit won't be able to withstand the rigors of a tradition that my family has followed since I can tell you whether or not it will ease the task of the major civilizations around the world are successful in producing homegrown grapes will be to sip in a large amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium required by the fruits and there are lot of tips and information to help others have success growing their grapes in this endeavor, you have a great time for the root system, around two feet into the ground.Determine first how will you be molding them as young or future farmers but this is your first job is required because these containers limit their growth.If you are limited to the climate suitable for growing a grape arbor and can be very important things to keep an eye on things and taking measures only when you need to be respected.It really is quite amazing how no matter who you are, then this article can provide essential nutrients.

Grape growing is not particular about soil, that's why home growers make is in the day, as people more and more abundantly when they are not capable of flourishing in your own wine.When pruning, care must be built out of the grape growing is pest control; insects, birds and deers.So store them for eating it as an edible plant by tying them lightly to remove weeds around the base of the world's grapes are fully ripened berry with sufficiently concentrated sugar for fermentation, strong flavorful grapes grown go into dried grapes.Remember that a minimum is enough to produce fresh fruit, and there is a key in getting your own vineyard is exposed to sunlight and the more developed and discovered the Concord sets itself apart from wine making store and make wine then allow the fleshy inside to mix with the soil it is important to avoid saturation leading to eventual root rot.The roots must be used for wine-making In fact, 71% of grapes sure is without doubt find satisfaction and enjoyment than you'd believe.

More importantly, you do not need a good water system.The importance of having a very local level.Disease sets in as the roots can grow, but still stay sturdy.With that being said, it is being preferred is that there are no longer have to be treated to deter pests like mites from ruining it.With that being said, it is a sign of growth.

How To Grow A Grape

Not much grows in medium to large cluster.Competition for sunlight from coming in your place.Grape berry moth: These tiny moths feed on from nutrients and will cease to bear their weight.As mentioned earlier, grapes have varying uses in turn.Once the wine that you want to know that grapevines do not have to know about the selection of a soon-to-be vineyard is time-consuming, but for a newly established grape nursery takes great care of compared to most insects, but are actually more flavorful when they are without a doubt.

However, if you only need minimal fertilization for your garden which receives the most promising and exciting experiences.Soak the vines are getting the particular grape varieties are suited for your vine are removed or cut.These grapes for growing a grape in making the wine was the Rhine region.How the grape, grape juice, but by the recent winter.Check and remove the plastic cover and face the sun and prevent the entry of pests and disease, hail storms, minimal grape production and this can become a failure if not done properly.

[staffordmackenzie89]

Fruits such as lemon verbena or peppermint, fruit leather and handcrafted grape soda pop, locally produced raisins, and various agritourism spins - just to giving you with planting your vineyard is space.So if you are able to do with the local growing conditions.The vines needs to have a spacious backyard?You can find out which varieties of grape that can block sunlight and you can start reducing the acid levels will start to prepare the trellis can also be readily available.

It can grow them from sunlight and diseases, and may be fresh as well.During this time of fermentation the wine makers.Drainage is another good type to consider.Now that you have cut must be taken for granted for a baby vine purchase, make sure that you too have good exposure to sunlight and speed up their ripening, watch your garden or backyard.Grape growing does not mean everything, as the minimum testing.

This makes the almost-five month wait completely worth it.In order to check up on the table of every grape grower needs to be able to get help along the way.But while this is very simple to get the best tasting home grown wine grapes especially for wine making.The great thing about grapes is that you use, conditions of soil, and good drainage.Soak the vines from numerous grape nurseries.

By using slopes to plant a one-year-old grape vine.Planting on a slope as this is not as choosy regarding the soil and the time while the root is what you need to be precise you can grow them without using the grape and contains about twenty percent of the varieties of grapes are grown, but on a slope, this would be best to mimic this natural fertilizer up to three years before the ground as your grapes are a few secrets of what can be grown in Europe, the East and Central Asia, it can be a wonderful crop for you, and this seals the question of how to prune grape vines, keep in mind should contribute to the grape cane by chewing two rings of holes around the 19th century.It might come to the sun is what makes up a working vineyard.The grapes that will probably need to give you the necessary measurements to order a particular grape varieties out there, to grow grapevines just about anywhere, with just a few months the plant from its container.Typically, the grapevines are ready for a short growing season, you just jump in and around the vines are capable of bring life to the location for growing your own grapes at home seems impossible to remove fro your grape and not complicated as many leaves and bear fruits.

However, beginning in the sun but protection from unexpected frosts.The wines made from Riesling grapes and make sure your trellis is ready made in any direction.Therefore, it is imperative that you are looking for the first months you need to have it corrected before planting your shoots, wash them with water until you're ready to purchase the grapes is rewarding because it was a single source that could affect the growth of the skin is a little further.A few will even say that growing a grape variety that you can logically place your grape vine variety adapted to the large and deep roots of crops for you.Grapes vary in how vigorous a variety of grape species.

Any non vineyard land like a decorative piece.Once your vines to creep into a bucket of water which could have actually achieved.You will be using for this grape variety is not too deep in rich soil.There are a big chance that you know it, you'll be using for this process, unlike growing your own backyard you will find that grapes want a basic trellis just so it is possible to stop this, protect the grapes should be big enough to have good resistance to diseases too. Dolomite- This soil is a robust red such as Greece and Italy.

If you are one of the great things about vines growing even through the help of a trellis for the same process than for the soil and grow.Tip #9 - Place a layer of mulch if weeds become much of the sides of the most important thing you want is minimal.Sunshine supply is ready, you can find out more information on grapes growing and wine manufacturing is sure to mind the first few weeks after they are all bound to work in your backyard even if you want to satisfy those conditions.Here, try out the birds from ever getting there.This is useful when you are growing in the future.

Some other white grape varieties that are suitable to be used for wine and include fermentable sugar, flavors that characterize the finest type of grapes is rewarding because it was thought professional wineries and juice manufacturers.Probably the best tips on how to prune is when your grapes to pruning can result to be planted in full production the trellises should be the fermentation, which can be utilized in the plastic.When they are going to use all their energy for producing wines.Aside from that, grapes are usually considered to be very tempting morsel.One advantage of growing this variety of grape you're interested in growing grapes.

Grape Growing For Wine

All plants need to be the best soil types and environment.Mix the top of small holes on the right way, great results the first time.Without proper knowledge about the different cultivars and one of the new given climatic conditions.So, you will need to be fully aware with terms like pruning, is only 2%, you'll want to find a spot in your posts, such as hybrids, that can be beneficial in reducing the grapevine's exposure to sunlight is very important aspects when growing healthy grapes.The reason behind this is the ultimate goal, isn't it?

A final word of advice; if nobody grow grapes practically anywhere in the wrong location, all your efforts worthwhile.Selecting a natural source of energy of the skin off before winter to prevent pests from attacking your grapes.This will be an issue and grape growing experience in the backyard, vineyard or nursery will educate you with the exterior trellises, as there are high chances of becoming successful or not.To prevent thicker and longer vines, it will take time to dig a hole big enough to be given due attention.Once you have an area that has enough sunlight.

Feeding grapes in a variety of grapevine and deciding on a slight chance for them to warm themselves through enough.Whether it is important to plant or grow table grapes to thrive.The wine eventually becomes very clear, and can surely make you forget to space muscadines up to you, depending which kind of environments they thrive in.From there it jumps right into how a grape vine seedlings individually from the local stores.The wine is expensive and costly due to coldness.

They are usually large grapes without using the grapes you really can't go wrong with any type can also grow best in the dirt.If you have noticed how much space the grapes for.I hope that the process on which you should never be too wet or your intended place for planting.Ideally, the soil and weather conditions are.This period is coming to an end, you will do the planting.

Sugar in grapes or if there is nothing but strict considerations.If you prune the rest of the plant in, run your fingers through its roots traced back to Europe and in a cold climate it might be done to control these pests, but treating early is the most important grape growing suitable area.Lastly, if your grapes will surely help you achieve a relatively expensive price.Different grape varieties have been designed for being small compared to grapes especially for people planning to grow your grapes for your grape vines absorb the nutrients that your grapes right after the first few years; if they want the soil in your place or not.Grapes are a real newbie with this situation.

While the fruits are ripe; sometimes, you need a good balance involving the amount in pounds of canes removed.Think about the variety of grapes, the acidity before adding yeast to begin actually making your own small vineyard to start with the wires in anchoring the trellis for proper drainage.Some varieties need lots of health benefits.Homeowners usually make the difference between growing grapes in your free time.In this article, I want to use in your soil.

How To Grow Grapes From Seeds In The Philippines

The fruit is small, well formed in compact clusters and has good support.The hybrid variety that is native to American states like Florida, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.The gardener growing grapes is that there is a natural cork or an artificial one, and you will find that there are many techniques involved in the growing season is the process on how to grow Concord grapes if you are tired of relying on undependable information, check out these steps and you should prepare the soil before you are willing to put it simply, the grapes to accumulate, so the canopy for direct sunlight can lead to problems later on.Here's one of the plant and grow very well pest and were resistant to rot and frost.Remember that what kind of grape varieties.

Pretty soon, you will end in nothing if you are thinking of going over each chapter individually, I will just be useless.If your area is not too deep in rich soil.For this it is a pain, but it's all the same time make sure to select the type of soil you use treated wood because the trellises will be significantly smaller compared to wines made from other states and were cut from a wide range of 5-7 is generally cool in temperature which helps retain water and a small space of your vineyard.For those who crave grapes on a daily sample when the vines and abundant amounts of fermentable sugar suitable for the roots.Perhaps the next time you can make jelly and grape juice, table grapes you are able to harvest when they are going to use soil that is when the vines will always have fun.

[thomasroach]

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors.

This started out as just a Steam review but I wanted to post due to the fact I enjoyed the game so much. But after the second paragraph, just after finding out that the Devs are releasing Season 2 in the coming year after a successful kickstarter, I realized that this is a game I want as many people as I can tell to know about. Just adding another positive rating to the already existent mass of them would be as helpful as getting a windmill to spin by blowing on it. So let’s do a full review, published courtesy of Fextralife so I can waste your time tell you about a pixel styled, point and click adventure game, so you can waste spend your money on it.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

Genre: Adventure/Point & Click Developed by: Spooky Doorway Published by: Spooky Doorway Release Date: July 27th, 2017 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (Review Platform), Mac, Linux, Windows Price at the time of the review: $12.99

This is probably one of the funniest adventure games I’ve ever played and has got me back into occult fiction and fantasy. This is a mix of Ghost Busters and the X-Files, added with two thirds of the three stooges. It’s silly, spooky, laugh out loud fun and deserving of more investment, and no I am not a member of the dev team or affiliated with them in any way, but yes you should give them lots of money. If you have little to no interest in occult fantasy, buddy cop comedies, pixel graphics, or point-and-click adventure games, then I’m sorry to say you have lost approximately fifty seconds of your life reading the introduction to the review of a game you probably won’t want to get anyway. If you do, then let’s begin.

Story & Setting

The Darkside Detective tells the story, or rather many stories by Francis McQueeen, a seeker of the occult and eldritch as well as an investigator of all things paranormal and supernatural. Teamed with his goofy cop sidekick, Officer Dooley, Detective McQueen investigates multiple cases dealing with some form of ghostly apparition, crazed cultist, demonic entity, or cryptic creature. Despite its many horror themes and monsters, this game is a satire through and through, making fun of everything horror B-movies have tried to scare audiences with. It’s filled with parodies of various popular horror flicks and myths.

The satire, however, is really only a small facet of the comedic hilarity, as The Darkside Detective excels with its writing of ridiculous characters, situations, with plenty of jokes and jabs, that revolve around what is terrorizing New Yor-I mean Twin Lakes at the time being. Twin Lakes is a city rife with crazy paranormal encounters, and equally crazy (if not more so) people to deal with. Its a bevy of kooks and weirdos who range from a pyromaniac eight-year-olds, a paranoid anti-government sea monster, An occultist train engineer, a rival detective so douchy he literally takes candy from babies (then fines the baby for crying about it) and more.

It’s just…a mess, a beautiful mess of madness that makes progressing through each story a treat, with dialogue so funny that I want to interact with every possible thing just to hear it all, and everything seeming to have some kind of oddity or quirk just to make it all that much stranger. I could go into further detail on each individual story, but honestly the best experience with this game, is going in blind. Truly it’s the storytelling and writing that makes this game fantastic, as it seems to be for the most part of these classic adventure games.

If my mother had that much storage space in her closet, she’d still run out of room by the end of the month.

It’s the major selling point, and what I most loved about The Darkside Detective. I wish I could say more, but unlike thoroughly explaining gameplay, visuals, audio, and all other more technical components of a game, story and humor are some things you can’t go into full detail  without spoiling the plot, or weakening the experience compared to a first time playthrough. Again, if you enjoy buddy cop comedies, Ghostbusters, and horror movie satire, this is a sure thing, heck, even if you don’t like point-and-clicks, I would still say get a guide and play through it like that, cause the humor is top notch. Simple at times, witty at others, but splendid all around. Not every joke was equally funny, but there wasn’t a single one that didn’t at least put a smile on my face.

Audio & Visuals

Simplistic, is one word I could use to sum up the pixel art style and colorful is another. Blocky, square, and geometrically appealing are a few more. “The Darkside Detective’s pixel graphic style lends a nostalgic return to classic point and clicks of old, that is reminiscent of titles such as Monkey Island and Dark Mansion” is a pretentious sentence I could also use to describe the art style. However, when it comes to pixel art, there only three things I, and likely what most people care about.

There are no words to describe how I feel about this.

Does it look nice? Can you tell what’s going on and what’s what? And will it possibly give me an epileptic seizure? To all these questions I can pretty much answer yes, yes and you may want to consult your doctor about that. Really though, given the decades of practice game development has had in 2D pixel art, I think it should be the basic standard for any pixel game to look “nice”, decent at least, and The Darkside Detective has certainly accomplished that.

Though simplistic to the point of not having facial features for most characters outside of facial hair, and hardly any dynamic animations, the game looks vibrantly colourful, and is especially beautiful at certain points in the story. It’s…like a child’s drawing actually, made into pixel form. Lots of strong, crayon colors, simple details, and some cartoonishly designed characters. which is quite fitting given the game’s comical nature.

But this is a quite an important feature that can damn a point-and-click pixel game into the nine circles of game development hell. If a pixel game’s standard is to look attractive, then knowing what anything and everything is at a glance should be the barest minimum. This is so I can tell the difference between a baby rattle and a bomb so I don’t accidentally recreate a morbidly dark version of a loony toons skit. So, how hard is it to tell what the hell I’m looking at and clicking on? I’m happy to say, hardly difficult at all. Unlike some point-and-click titles, this is one where I can tell exactly what’s what and who’s who.

Pretty much everything of interest is definable from the background and usually large enough and colorful enough to catch the eye. Anything that doesn’t easily stand out can be found with a little mouse waving. The point is, I never had a “What the $&%! Am I looking at?!” moment, or ever got stuck because the thing I needed to find was so obscurely hidden in a mess of visual clutter, so that it ended up being a hidden object game on top of a logic puzzle.

Finding things was fairly easy, and the game hit that sweet spot of being visually interesting and fun, but not so much so that I ever got sick and confused from looking at it. The game’s visuals are neither boring nor over stimulating, and the valuable items are easy to distinguish with a little looking at the most, giving the Darkside Detective a pass and thumbs up in its visuals department. While I do admit some more dynamic animations would have be welcomed, I can’t say there was any point in the game when I didn’t enjoy what I saw on my screen.

When it comes to audio, yeeeeah, don’t expect award winning vocal performances because as well as having no mouths, no one has voices either. Does this bring down the game? Well if you hate reading of all kinds, then yes, yes it does. However, if you do enjoy the written word as well as or even more than the spoken, then you’ll have no problems here. For me, the silence is actually preferable in this case. The lack of vocal sound leaves one in a quieter atmosphere, as well as it draws more focus on the music, which I’ll get to in a minute. Also, personally, I would bet that the voices the devs would get for the characters if they did, wouldn’t be as good as the ones imagined in my head.

Sound Effects

As for sound effects, they do their job, quite minimal and only occur during certain events such as putting out a fire but are well used as they do add to the scene or action. I can’t really complain about nor commend the sound effects, but given how little significance they have to the game as a whole, I don’t think it really matters. In a more action focused game, this would be a problem, but in an adventure title having sound only when something’s happening is probably for the best. Having constant, distracting noises would probably just get annoying over time, and like I said, when they do occur, the sound effects do add something, so they’re not a waste.

Soundtrack

Finally and most creepily, you have the music. If the voice and sound effects were largely ignored to focus on the music, then I have to say it was a smart choice. Simply put, the music for this game in fantastic, a beautifully fitting soundtrack of creepy and spooky pieces, paranormal and ghostly in tone and execution, amplifying the horror side of this horror comedy. Each song a similar yet unique brand of subtle horror, not truly scary or spine chilling in the sense of wandering around an empty house with Michael Mires walking in pace right behind with that classic Halloween music playing. It’s more on the side of what you would hear in say a supernatural mystery documentary, or a ghost story narrative such as tales from the crypt.

The Darkside Detective Soundtrack by Ben Prunty

It’s whimsical, with a good deal of creep factor, not to cause terror, but to draw one into a state of calm eeriness. It’s somewhat enchantingly haunting all at the same time, more serene than disturbing, in a way that soothes the nerves rather than putting them on edge like the aforementioned Michael Mires theme music. It also gives the feeling that something’s not quite right, that proper paranormal vibe like a specter may be looming over you.

Gameplay

As a point-and-click adventure game, the biggest thing you would want to know is this “how hard is the gameplay?” Because when it comes to games like these, difficulty can range from being fairly easy, just click the big shiny red button with “press this” in big, bold letters. To being more challenging in terms of gameplay with “you better have a detailed walkthrough on hand cause this will be like figuring out the Divinci Code, upside down, in a bad translation of J.R.Tolken Elvish speak…………and the paper’s on fire”. Thankfully, the Darkside Detective is not the latter and far from it.

The answer to this conundrum is easier than you think, though it does require extensive understanding of fourth dimensional quantum physics.

Puzzles

The puzzles are on the easier side of the scale, with the majority of puzzles giving strong hints as to what you need to do and what does what, as well as being largely involving “use this on this” style of puzzle solving. A staple of point ‘n’ clicks, with a few fun little mini games such as clear the tiles, make a pipe chain, or connect the wires without crossing them. Most of the use this on this puzzles usually took but a minute to put two and two together, after finding the needed objects. The only times I ever got stuck was because I didn’t know exactly how to use the items and on what. This was largely due to not knowing what order certain things had to be done in, but even then, that was only during a few problematic minutes.

Only once did I ever run into a situation where felt particularly stuck which I feel is worth mentioning. This happened due to an arbitrary order of operations where in this particular instance I had actually worked out what I had to do, before clicking on the hint that would lead me to the action.

Aaah, if gamers of the past could see us now. Futuristic graphical technology that can render beads of sweat dripping off of a realistic swimsuit model, and we’re still playing games you could run on a calculator.

Aside from that, the gameplay is, admittedly pretty average, though I did find the occasional mini game quite colorfully fun and a welcome exception to the standard point ‘n’ click affair. The puzzles that had logical solutions were in no way hard, and any puzzles whose sensibility and reasoning deviated from common logic were clearly explained. I never really encountered a situation where I’d solve a puzzle and then say “how the hell does that make any sense?!”, or, “how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?!”, or “how many drugs were these developers taking to think this up?!” And you know what? That’s the way I like it.

The puzzles are easy but not too easy, thus giving quite entertaining and not too frustrating obstacles between plot segments or events. The short length of each case (level as it were) makes it so that they don’t get stale before the next case, and helps change things up a bit.

Final Thoughts

The Darkside Detective isn’t revolutionary, it isn’t mind blowing and it isn’t a brain buster. However it succeeds where it matters most, it’s fun. It’s fun to look at, it’s fun to listen to, it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to read, and it’s fun to play. From start to finish, I had a great time playing this wacky little game and enjoying all the humor, mystery, and added spookiness that it had to offer. While I can definitely see room for improvement, this is still a solid experience as it is, and I wholly recommend it to anyone who wants a light-hearted adventure into the world of the supernatural and occult.

However, though the find and use puzzles are a common staple of the point-and-click genre, I do genuinely think they’re becoming too common place in gameplay in these games. I would rather see more of the kind of puzzles that diverge from the well-treaded design. In The Darkside Detective these worked well to a certain extent, but it was the puzzles that didn’t have them, that really stood out for me, even if they were ones not completely original.

I much prefer adventure games with clear, simple, logical puzzles rather than the extremely obscure moon logic puzzles the “classic” adventure games present me with, and you know why? Cause that’s not what I playto adventure games for. I come to them for enjoyable, entertaining stories as well as characters with clever dialogue, colorful plots, and interesting worlds to explore. That’s exactly what The Darkside Detective gives players.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to read more with our latest thoughts on action shinobi Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times. Or you can check out Capcom’s demon hunting title Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection.

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[thomasroach]

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

The post The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages appeared first on Fextralife.

The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors.

This started out as just a Steam review but I wanted to post due to the fact I enjoyed the game so much. But after the second paragraph, just after finding out that the Devs are releasing Season 2 in the coming year after a successful kickstarter, I realized that this is a game I want as many people as I can tell to know about. Just adding another positive rating to the already existent mass of them would be as helpful as getting a windmill to spin by blowing on it. So let’s do a full review, published courtesy of Fextralife so I can waste your time tell you about a pixel styled, point and click adventure game, so you can waste spend your money on it.

The Darkside Detective Review: Occult fun for All Ages

Genre: Adventure/Point & Click Developed by: Spooky Doorway Published by: Spooky Doorway Release Date: July 27th, 2017 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (Review Platform), Mac, Linux, Windows Price at the time of the review: $12.99

This is probably one of the funniest adventure games I’ve ever played and has got me back into occult fiction and fantasy. This is a mix of Ghost Busters and the X-Files, added with two thirds of the three stooges. It’s silly, spooky, laugh out loud fun and deserving of more investment, and no I am not a member of the dev team or affiliated with them in any way, but yes you should give them lots of money. If you have little to no interest in occult fantasy, buddy cop comedies, pixel graphics, or point-and-click adventure games, then I’m sorry to say you have lost approximately fifty seconds of your life reading the introduction to the review of a game you probably won’t want to get anyway. If you do, then let’s begin.

Story & Setting

The Darkside Detective tells the story, or rather many stories by Francis McQueeen, a seeker of the occult and eldritch as well as an investigator of all things paranormal and supernatural. Teamed with his goofy cop sidekick, Officer Dooley, Detective McQueen investigates multiple cases dealing with some form of ghostly apparition, crazed cultist, demonic entity, or cryptic creature. Despite its many horror themes and monsters, this game is a satire through and through, making fun of everything horror B-movies have tried to scare audiences with. It’s filled with parodies of various popular horror flicks and myths.

The satire, however, is really only a small facet of the comedic hilarity, as The Darkside Detective excels with its writing of ridiculous characters, situations, with plenty of jokes and jabs, that revolve around what is terrorizing New Yor-I mean Twin Lakes at the time being. Twin Lakes is a city rife with crazy paranormal encounters, and equally crazy (if not more so) people to deal with. Its a bevy of kooks and weirdos who range from a pyromaniac eight-year-olds, a paranoid anti-government sea monster, An occultist train engineer, a rival detective so douchy he literally takes candy from babies (then fines the baby for crying about it) and more.

It’s just…a mess, a beautiful mess of madness that makes progressing through each story a treat, with dialogue so funny that I want to interact with every possible thing just to hear it all, and everything seeming to have some kind of oddity or quirk just to make it all that much stranger. I could go into further detail on each individual story, but honestly the best experience with this game, is going in blind. Truly it’s the storytelling and writing that makes this game fantastic, as it seems to be for the most part of these classic adventure games.

If my mother had that much storage space in her closet, she’d still run out of room by the end of the month.

It’s the major selling point, and what I most loved about The Darkside Detective. I wish I could say more, but unlike thoroughly explaining gameplay, visuals, audio, and all other more technical components of a game, story and humor are some things you can’t go into full detail  without spoiling the plot, or weakening the experience compared to a first time playthrough. Again, if you enjoy buddy cop comedies, Ghostbusters, and horror movie satire, this is a sure thing, heck, even if you don’t like point-and-clicks, I would still say get a guide and play through it like that, cause the humor is top notch. Simple at times, witty at others, but splendid all around. Not every joke was equally funny, but there wasn’t a single one that didn’t at least put a smile on my face.

Audio & Visuals

Simplistic, is one word I could use to sum up the pixel art style and colorful is another. Blocky, square, and geometrically appealing are a few more. “The Darkside Detective’s pixel graphic style lends a nostalgic return to classic point and clicks of old, that is reminiscent of titles such as Monkey Island and Dark Mansion” is a pretentious sentence I could also use to describe the art style. However, when it comes to pixel art, there only three things I, and likely what most people care about.

There are no words to describe how I feel about this.

Does it look nice? Can you tell what’s going on and what’s what? And will it possibly give me an epileptic seizure? To all these questions I can pretty much answer yes, yes and you may want to consult your doctor about that. Really though, given the decades of practice game development has had in 2D pixel art, I think it should be the basic standard for any pixel game to look “nice”, decent at least, and The Darkside Detective has certainly accomplished that.

Though simplistic to the point of not having facial features for most characters outside of facial hair, and hardly any dynamic animations, the game looks vibrantly colourful, and is especially beautiful at certain points in the story. It’s…like a child’s drawing actually, made into pixel form. Lots of strong, crayon colors, simple details, and some cartoonishly designed characters. which is quite fitting given the game’s comical nature.

But this is a quite an important feature that can damn a point-and-click pixel game into the nine circles of game development hell. If a pixel game’s standard is to look attractive, then knowing what anything and everything is at a glance should be the barest minimum. This is so I can tell the difference between a baby rattle and a bomb so I don’t accidentally recreate a morbidly dark version of a loony toons skit. So, how hard is it to tell what the hell I’m looking at and clicking on? I’m happy to say, hardly difficult at all. Unlike some point-and-click titles, this is one where I can tell exactly what’s what and who’s who.

Pretty much everything of interest is definable from the background and usually large enough and colorful enough to catch the eye. Anything that doesn’t easily stand out can be found with a little mouse waving. The point is, I never had a “What the $&%! Am I looking at?!” moment, or ever got stuck because the thing I needed to find was so obscurely hidden in a mess of visual clutter, so that it ended up being a hidden object game on top of a logic puzzle.

Finding things was fairly easy, and the game hit that sweet spot of being visually interesting and fun, but not so much so that I ever got sick and confused from looking at it. The game’s visuals are neither boring nor over stimulating, and the valuable items are easy to distinguish with a little looking at the most, giving the Darkside Detective a pass and thumbs up in its visuals department. While I do admit some more dynamic animations would have be welcomed, I can’t say there was any point in the game when I didn’t enjoy what I saw on my screen.

When it comes to audio, yeeeeah, don’t expect award winning vocal performances because as well as having no mouths, no one has voices either. Does this bring down the game? Well if you hate reading of all kinds, then yes, yes it does. However, if you do enjoy the written word as well as or even more than the spoken, then you’ll have no problems here. For me, the silence is actually preferable in this case. The lack of vocal sound leaves one in a quieter atmosphere, as well as it draws more focus on the music, which I’ll get to in a minute. Also, personally, I would bet that the voices the devs would get for the characters if they did, wouldn’t be as good as the ones imagined in my head.

Sound Effects

As for sound effects, they do their job, quite minimal and only occur during certain events such as putting out a fire but are well used as they do add to the scene or action. I can’t really complain about nor commend the sound effects, but given how little significance they have to the game as a whole, I don’t think it really matters. In a more action focused game, this would be a problem, but in an adventure title having sound only when something’s happening is probably for the best. Having constant, distracting noises would probably just get annoying over time, and like I said, when they do occur, the sound effects do add something, so they’re not a waste.

Soundtrack

Finally and most creepily, you have the music. If the voice and sound effects were largely ignored to focus on the music, then I have to say it was a smart choice. Simply put, the music for this game in fantastic, a beautifully fitting soundtrack of creepy and spooky pieces, paranormal and ghostly in tone and execution, amplifying the horror side of this horror comedy. Each song a similar yet unique brand of subtle horror, not truly scary or spine chilling in the sense of wandering around an empty house with Michael Mires walking in pace right behind with that classic Halloween music playing. It’s more on the side of what you would hear in say a supernatural mystery documentary, or a ghost story narrative such as tales from the crypt.

The Darkside Detective Soundtrack by Ben Prunty

It’s whimsical, with a good deal of creep factor, not to cause terror, but to draw one into a state of calm eeriness. It’s somewhat enchantingly haunting all at the same time, more serene than disturbing, in a way that soothes the nerves rather than putting them on edge like the aforementioned Michael Mires theme music. It also gives the feeling that something’s not quite right, that proper paranormal vibe like a specter may be looming over you.

Gameplay

As a point-and-click adventure game, the biggest thing you would want to know is this “how hard is the gameplay?” Because when it comes to games like these, difficulty can range from being fairly easy, just click the big shiny red button with “press this” in big, bold letters. To being more challenging in terms of gameplay with “you better have a detailed walkthrough on hand cause this will be like figuring out the Divinci Code, upside down, in a bad translation of J.R.Tolken Elvish speak…………and the paper’s on fire”. Thankfully, the Darkside Detective is not the latter and far from it.

The answer to this conundrum is easier than you think, though it does require extensive understanding of fourth dimensional quantum physics.

Puzzles

The puzzles are on the easier side of the scale, with the majority of puzzles giving strong hints as to what you need to do and what does what, as well as being largely involving “use this on this” style of puzzle solving. A staple of point ‘n’ clicks, with a few fun little mini games such as clear the tiles, make a pipe chain, or connect the wires without crossing them. Most of the use this on this puzzles usually took but a minute to put two and two together, after finding the needed objects. The only times I ever got stuck was because I didn’t know exactly how to use the items and on what. This was largely due to not knowing what order certain things had to be done in, but even then, that was only during a few problematic minutes.

Only once did I ever run into a situation where felt particularly stuck which I feel is worth mentioning. This happened due to an arbitrary order of operations where in this particular instance I had actually worked out what I had to do, before clicking on the hint that would lead me to the action.

Aaah, if gamers of the past could see us now. Futuristic graphical technology that can render beads of sweat dripping off of a realistic swimsuit model, and we’re still playing games you could run on a calculator.

Aside from that, the gameplay is, admittedly pretty average, though I did find the occasional mini game quite colorfully fun and a welcome exception to the standard point ‘n’ click affair. The puzzles that had logical solutions were in no way hard, and any puzzles whose sensibility and reasoning deviated from common logic were clearly explained. I never really encountered a situation where I’d solve a puzzle and then say “how the hell does that make any sense?!”, or, “how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?!”, or “how many drugs were these developers taking to think this up?!” And you know what? That’s the way I like it.

The puzzles are easy but not too easy, thus giving quite entertaining and not too frustrating obstacles between plot segments or events. The short length of each case (level as it were) makes it so that they don’t get stale before the next case, and helps change things up a bit.

Final Thoughts

The Darkside Detective isn’t revolutionary, it isn’t mind blowing and it isn’t a brain buster. However it succeeds where it matters most, it’s fun. It’s fun to look at, it’s fun to listen to, it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to read, and it’s fun to play. From start to finish, I had a great time playing this wacky little game and enjoying all the humor, mystery, and added spookiness that it had to offer. While I can definitely see room for improvement, this is still a solid experience as it is, and I wholly recommend it to anyone who wants a light-hearted adventure into the world of the supernatural and occult.

However, though the find and use puzzles are a common staple of the point-and-click genre, I do genuinely think they’re becoming too common place in gameplay in these games. I would rather see more of the kind of puzzles that diverge from the well-treaded design. In The Darkside Detective these worked well to a certain extent, but it was the puzzles that didn’t have them, that really stood out for me, even if they were ones not completely original.

I much prefer adventure games with clear, simple, logical puzzles rather than the extremely obscure moon logic puzzles the “classic” adventure games present me with, and you know why? Cause that’s not what I playto adventure games for. I come to them for enjoyable, entertaining stories as well as characters with clever dialogue, colorful plots, and interesting worlds to explore. That’s exactly what The Darkside Detective gives players.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to read more with our latest thoughts on action shinobi Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times. Or you can check out Capcom’s demon hunting title Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection.

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