#really innocuous image which is NOT going to make me think insane insane thoughts. at all.

[realbeefman]

image im going to proceed to be very very normal about thank you mary elizabeth ellis ur a hero ur a hero thank you for using instagram thank you thank you

[arcplaysgames]

god i can't believe i only have 30 images. tumblr please just increase my image limit specifically and give me, like, 50. i'm dying.

There's zero chance there isn't going to be a two-parter.

Shido's Palace is the Diet Building, but it is a cruise ship that is gliding through a world already lost. Shido's perception of the world is that everything is already a lost cause and all he's concerned with is personal survival in luxury.

So he's your average billionaire, trying to build a lifeboat for himself and personally selecting the people he will allow to leave with him from his desperate sycophants.

For what I think is the first time, the Palace is regularly interrupted by little asides, back to Akechi in the real world.

No no that's flippant. Akechi is a fundamentally broken person. Like, the way he connect to people is by making himself necessary and that is it. He is the Black Mask

(which: the game reveals he's Black Mask in a little bit but I thought this was confirmed by Futaba's wiretapping, like, hours ago, but everyone acts shocked? eh whatever)

and has been doing the mental shutdown killings for Shido for years.

Anyway, while he's on air with the TV crew, someone innocuously mentions a phone, and he starts to remember Sae and the phone, and starts to suspect something's up.

A little bit later, Shido asks him to go on clean-up, taking out all remaining people he thinks might even possibly betray Shido. Akechi points out that uuuuuh why tf are we doing this now, it's really suspicious? why not wait until after the election?

So Shido is feeling extra paranoid. Akechi gets nervous about wtf might be happening.

Nice of you to drop in, Beige Boy.

Akechi figured out that the Thieves are infiltrating Shido's Palace and shows up to finally have a long-overdue mental breakdown at everyone.

yeah for real, you clearly needed someone to grab you by the back of your stupid hair and shake you until you decided not to murder people for your biological dad

OH YEAH, SHIDO IS AKECHI'S FATHER. which, okay, I didn't call that one at all. I was wondering why he had such a specific hate-on for Shido and that certainly explains it, but also wow they look nothing alike and Akechi really didn't even hint at that. Go fucking figure.

But if Shido's right and Akechi started volunteering to do this work in the Metaverse for him 2.5 years ago, that was right after/around Wakaba Isshiki's death. How the fuck did Akechi get into the Metaverse to begin with?

I'm fucking thrilled to bits that Akechi's plan all along was to kill Shido. I want that so bad for him honestly. It'd be mad sexy of him if he managed it.

Alas, Akechi is fully fracturing and goes off on the Thieves, deciding if he can finally kill them, his plan can still work.

AKECHI HAS MULTIPLE PERSONAS

AKECHI HAS THE WILD CARD ABILITY

HAS AKECHI MET NOTIGOR

Also his innate ability is to drive people insane with his persona. He demonstrates on two shadows, siccing them on the party. He's been using that on other people too, causes the psychotic episodes in the background of the game.

Bruh, wow. You are just the actual antagonist of this tale, huh?

Like, I really really wish Persona pulled a really rabbit out of the hat here. I can see how close they got to something fucking magical. Spend all this time building up Shido, do everything the same as if he were going to be the final boss...

then have Akechi step in, kill Shido, and take over as the True Villain of the game.

THAT WOULD HAVE FUCKING RIPPED, and justified all the effort put into building up Akechi. MAN.

But anyway.

Kismesissitude, folks.

GOD BLESS THEM THEY FUCKING TRY

THEY REALLY TRY

Akechi, I think Reverie was into your weird homoerotic rivalry thing from pretty early, if you just said, "Hey, want to make out and do some knifeplay" he would have been down. This was all you, buddy!

Again: easy to be flippant, but it's clear that Akechi has never once had a person he could rely on, and so has never learned the basic skills of how to rely on other people, and that isolation is his undoing. No matter how powerful you are singularly, people can still party up and take you down like a raid boss at the end of the day. You can't kill Reverie faster than Mona and Ann can Diarahan him.

"Dude, please, just chill. You are super going through it right now and we all say shit we don't mean when we're having a meltdown."

Alas, Akechi will not chill. he has a deficit of chill.

[voxmortuus]

Hey! Wondering if you could do a Dom!Jason Dean x fem!reader? Where she tried to go to the police and JD kidnaps her? Degrading, warnings of murder, and blood play? Please? I really like your writing.

PAIRING: Dom!Jason Dean x Fem!Reader

UNIVERSE: Heathers

WORDS: 780

SUMMARY/PROMPT: See above <3

Trigger Warning(s): Degradation | Mention of Murder | Kidnapping | Blood Play | Language | PLEASE TELL ME IF I FORGOT ANYTHING!!! I want to make sure readers are fully aware of what they are getting themselves into when they read this…

NOTE: Sorry if this isn’t what you expected, I’m hoping this finds you well love! I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT!!!

IMAGE CREDIT: Google I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF THESE IMAGES. If these are yours or you know who the creator(s) is please INBOX me and let me know. Thank you.

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REQUESTS: 500 FOLLOWER EVENT REQUESTS ARE CLOSED!

Crazy: adjective, noun, and adverb. Meaning? Unusually offensive, showing as mentally unstable, unable to think clearly or sensibly, wild and uncontrollable. As a noun, it means one who acts crazy, and as an adverb, it means something is crazy good. Synonyms: Adjective: absurd, bizarre, fanciful, fantastic (also fantastical), foolish, insane, nonsensical, preposterous, unreal, wild. Synonyms: Noun: bug, crackbrain, fool, fruitcake, head case, loon, loony, lunatic, maniac, nut, nutcase, nutter [British slang], psycho, psychopath, sickie, sicko, wacko (also whacko).

All of these things are JD to a T. Unstable, wild, and uncontrollable. And yet, somehow in my clouded judgment, I think he's fantastic! But something has to give- something has to turn around and put JD in his place. We can't keep doing this, getting away with these crimes against innocent people. Though he would tell me that I am likely being irrational and that they aren't really innocuous. What if he's right? What if he's actually onto something?

Sitting in your living room, you're looking at your phone. You hear JD in your head. "Don't do it." he says. "You know better." he tells you. His voice playing over and over again in your head. You stand up and begin to pace in front of the phone. Taking in a deep breath, you reach for the telephone and dial 9-1-1, and wait. When they pick up, you start telling them you need to report crimes. When they start asking for details, your phone starts to make the sound of a dial tone.

You look around and find JD on the other side of the wall, and he shakes his head.

"I warned you, Y/N. You shouldn't have done that." He sighs, and grabs you by your hair, and drags you out of your house. You begin to kick and scream. JD stops and looks down at you with such a heavy sigh and a shake of his head. "That's not going to get you anywhere. Now, shut up, and be a good girl, yeah?"

At this moment, you hate him- you despise him. He throws you in his trunk and drives off. Screaming, punching, and kicking at the car, he turns up the volume of the music and does a break check to jolt the car to get you to stop. Defeated, you close your eyes and just pray he doesn't kill you two like he murdered those girls.

The looks of horror on their faces when he shot them, the sounds of their screams, the sounds of their silence as they hit the floor. The blood that had begun to pool around them. You tense and close your eyes, letting out a heavy breath.

Finally, the car stops. He lifts the trunk door and looks over you. "Don't make me kill you too." He asserted, licking his lips and pulling you from the trunk.

You nod and follow him into this building. With some quick-acting, he handcuffed you to the pole in the center of the abandoned building. You look over at him, you clench your jaw and snarl, you want to scream, but chances are, knowing JD, that wouldn't make a bit of difference. He clearly thought this out, and it infuriated you.

JD smirks and makes his way over to you. "You know, Y/N, you can never leave me. You're mine now. I can do whatever I'd like. Whenever I'd like. I can slice and dice ya. I can fuck you into next week... oh, the possibilities." He smirked.

You bite your lip, shaking your head, your eyes well in tears, and you bite your lip hard enough it starts to bleed, dripping down your chin. He looks over your face. "I love it when you cry." The closer he gets to you, the more you want to back up, but you can't.

You close your eyes and turn your face away- so you're not looking at him. He grips your jaw and leans in, and licks the blood from your chin. With a smirk and a manic laugh he takes the knife from his back pocket and cuts you along your collarbone and licks at the blood that begins to pool. He groans, which causes you to groan.

"That's it, pretty girl, enjoy it. Embrace it." He purrs against your ear as his hands work at your clothing. Your free hand finds its way to his excited bulge and you chuckle.

"You're fucking crazy JD."

"But I'm your crazy... Pretend to be scared, you get so wet when you do. Crazy little slut you." He mused.

"Am I your crazy slut?" You ask.

"My filthy slut." He smirks against your skin licking at your blood again.

[theateared]

First One to Make a Sound Loses. ❜

Summary:  Sexual tension.  Romantic tension.  That’s it.

    His original quip had been innocuous enough  -  ‘first one to make a sound loses, eh?’  -  but in the small confines of the closet that they found themselves locked in, he was all too close to her.

    “You’re an idiot,”   she told him through gritted teeth, listening as he felt around for the spare key that was supposed to be on top of the doorframe.  With nobody else tall enough to reach it, Edgar had figured that it was as safe a place as any to put it…  and it had been, until he’d put it somewhere else while rushing around cleaning.   “It’s not up there, will you stop?!”

    “I am trying to get this blasted thing open,”   he snapped, hands gravitating towards his hips despite the fact that she couldn’t see the authoritative pose he’d struck.   “Do you want out?  Or do you want to be stuck in a broom closet all day?  Hm?”

    “Don’t strike that tone with me, Edgar!”     “I’ll strike any tone I damn well please.”

    They both went quiet then, feeling a spike in tension.  Lately, they’d both been feeling the effects of their bickering, a heat fizzling between them like electricity.  It had always been there, from the very first day that they’d met, but it was all but unbearable now.  It was like constantly dancing around how they made each other feel during heat, only half able to take part in their usual cat-and-mouse before they found it impossible to keep up.

��   The things I would do to you, Grace.  The Gods would blush.

    An ear twitched in her direction as he heard her sigh, her body slumping against the wall furthest away from him before she sank into a sitting position.  Do not think about her on her knees.  After redirecting his flow of blood away from his groin, he moved to mimic her, his legs awkwardly bent because of his height.

    “Well…  what do we do?”   she asked, defeated.

    “I suppose all we can do is wait for Moxie to come back,”   he mumbled in response, a hand raising to rub gently at his forehead.   “Can’t miss him, can you?  Loudmouth mother…”   His words ebbed into nothingness, frustration pinched tight within every syllable. Really, he only had himself to blame.  If he hadn't put that key down, even for just a moment while he wiped a table or pushed in a chair, it wouldn’t be missing now.  This was his fault  -  and it was completely avoidable too.   “... he shouldn’t be gone too long.  I sent him out this morning.  It’s late now.”   I really need to have this door replaced.  I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea to implement a closet door that locks itself when it’s been left to close.  It’s like they’re trying to tempt me into storing bodies in it as opposed to brooms.

    “Hm…”

    The quiet began to nibble at him, as he was sure it did her.  Are you feeling as frustrated as I am?  Does this close proximity tease you so?  His nose twitched, eager to detect a hint of lust, but all he could smell was age-old dust.  Great.  Now it’s in my nose.

    She stuck a leg out, foot dangerously close to his thigh.  Your scent is overpowering in this tiny box.  It’s like I’ve been caged in a room that consists of nothing but your perfume.  He thought briefly about it, then shook his head to himself.  No…  ‘caged’ makes it sound like it isn’t willing. I’m more than willing.  But it drives me insane.

    “No interesting commentary?”   he asked with a sigh, trying not to sound too hopeful.     “‘fraid there’s not much I can say about a cupboard, Eddie.”     “Heh.”

    I want to reach out…  I want to touch you.  I want to run my hand up your leg.  Up and up and up, until I reach the place you need me the most.  Gods, I want to kiss you--

    “Don’t you think it’s kind of like a space shuttle in here?”

    “A what…?”   He’d been so distracted by his perverted train of thought that he hadn’t heard what she’d said in full.  He’d even go far as to admit that he felt somewhat dazed;  dizzy with fervour, and he knew that, despite his best efforts, he wasn’t hiding it very well.  Can you smell it on me and you’re just too nice to say anything?  Or too uncomfortable?  I never know what you’re thinking of me.  I know what I’m thinking of you.  Always.

    “A space shuttle…”   she repeated, voice seeming to lull slightly.  He found that strange, though certainly not unwelcome.  He played that slight dip in confidence on loop in his head, the sound serving him the same as a gasp or a hitched breath would.   “It’s tight in here…”

    “Mm…”   A clear of his throat followed immediately afterwards, as if trying to erase the wanton sound from history.   “I, uh…  don’t think it’ll be too long.”   She brought out the clumsy side of him;  the side that didn’t always have a quick word to say, a snappy comment to make, a confident smirk to give her.  Sometimes, she would render him as human as he did others.

    His mind was beginning to wander again.  He thought about their outing a few nights ago. She’d kissed him on the cheek before bidding him goodnight, then thought twice and kissed him on the mouth instead.  Had she lingered, he most definitely would have tried to relieve himself, to empty the passion he felt for her in one single heated motion, but she was gone before he could think to hold her.  He’d walked back to the tavern with his heart in his throat, an uncomfortable heat spattered across his shoulders and neck that he hadn’t been able to nurse until he got to the bathroom, a cold shower leapt into without a second thought.  Even so, he’d pleasured himself until his head spun;  barely upright beneath the steady stream of water, an arm supporting his quivering frame as he rode out his highs in between heaved pants for air.  It hadn’t been enough regardless of how many times he’d tried to sate his appetite.

    “I can smell you, you know...”   The comment was made so breezily that he almost didn’t realise that she was referring to him.  So it is noticeable.  Instead of acting coy, the Alpha let out a crass laugh.

    “Well I’m sorry,”   he remarked smarmily.   “It isn’t my fault.  It’s dark and cosy and…”   He paused when her foot made the faintest of contact with his thigh.  She’d bent it inwards while he was talking, the tip of her shoe against him, and then she began to ever-so-slightly move it. Had he been in an animated cartoon, the ‘?’ that appeared above his head would have been huge.

    “What’re you thinking about?”   Her voice was soft, quiet.  Despite the effort he put into squinting, he couldn’t see an inch in front of his face.  A lye’s sight was not the best anyway, but the closet was so dark inside that there was no hope of making out even her outline.  All he had to rely on were his ears and his nose…  which ironically were the reasons that he was in this mess to begin with.  Even so, the subtle circle of her foot was more than enough of a reason to push on.

    “Now would not be the best time to tempt me, Grace,”   he told her levelly, suddenly all too aware of their limited space.  He was beginning to feel restless.  I need to stretch.  His ears stood tall as he listened to her shift, the material of her skirt being played with echoing in his ears.  Then, she began fiddling with one of her socks.  I nearly forgot, they have ribbons on today.  Gods, how cute can you get--?

    “I disagree,”   she said in a manner that he could only describe as playful.   “Now’s the perfect time.  It proves what kind of man you are.”

    How?, he found himself thinking.  I’m trapped in an enclosed space with a woman who seems to be showing interest in me.  Would I really be a fool for taking my chances?

    “Alright…”   he mused, interested to see just how far she was willing to take this.   “I’ll bite.”

    Part of her reeled with excitement.  She’d been feeling different about her Alpha lately.  While originally she’d had no interest in him at all, she felt closer to him now.  Ever since he’d started to spend time with her outside of their duties within the creed, she’d found it possible to connect with him.  She wasn’t naive.  She knew that the desire for sex was still what propelled his efforts. Had she believed anything else, she’d have been nothing but a stupid girl.  Still…  she wanted to play.  You can’t use me, Alpha.

    “So…?”   she asked, her foot sliding out of her shoe, pushing it to the back of the closet before it pressed back into his thigh.  Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was looking at her, could feel his eyes attempting to see through her dark.   “Are you thinking about me?”

    “Obviously I’m thinking about you,”   he replied shamelessly.  Maybe I can get myself close to you if I play my cards right.  I want you.   “I’m thinking about the other night.”

    “Needy much?”       He could hear the smirk in her voice.   “You kissed me.”     “You invited me to.”     “I--”   A quiet laugh left him, head shaking gently.   “I did not.  How did I?”

    “You stood there and let me.”   The warmth of her foot seeped through his pant leg.  He could envision her expression at this moment in time: half-lidded eyes, an unimpressed line for a mouth…  and by God did it make him ache.  Do you think this is funny, Grace?   “Even though I’m an inferior, you let me initiate it.  And you raised your hand to keep me there, but I was gone too fast.”

    “And you did that deliberately, I imagine.”

    “Partly,”   she confessed with a soft laugh, though sobriety returned a moment later.  For a moment, her foot was gone, though he barely held back a sigh of relief when he felt it against his other leg.  Just a little higher.  Just a little bit of friction, you fucking tease--   “But it was also partly because I was afraid to let you.”

    For a moment, he didn’t know what to make of the words.  Why would you be afraid of me? Why would you fear an action that you yourself committed?

    “Why?”   Edgar asked, ears straining to hear even the faintest thing.

    “I thought I might enjoy it too much,”   she said quietly, her foot suddenly raising to rest over his thigh.  Her heel dug gently into his hip, as if she was attempting to drag him over to her. Immediately, his mind was flooded with images;  of him holding her up against a wall, her legs tight around his waist as he let his hands rake unhindered across her body;  of her moaning into his shoulder as he mercilessly filled her;  of her crumbling to the floor upon being put down, useless without his support.   “And I thought you might, too.”

    “I would have enjoyed it immensely,”   he said.  He clearly didn’t feel the need for secrecy like she did.  It was hard for her to admit the things she had, even though they were incredibly vague and entirely non-explicit.   “I think you would have too.  I think part of you is curious about how I would treat you.”

    She scoffed quietly, though he heard a hint of indignation as opposed to disgust;  as if she was trying to deny something rather than tell him he was wrong.  His grin sharpened at that, though it faltered when he felt her foot return to his inner thigh.  She was dangerously close, skirting on the very edge of inappropriate, and it made his arm raise, fingers settling around her ankle.  Her motion stilled, head picked up from her shoulder, and he thought he heard the fwip of her ears standing tall.  Do you feel alert right now?  Does my touch make you pay attention?

    His skin was cool, even through her thigh-high sock, and though he didn’t try to move it, she felt the urge in the pads of his fingers like electricity.   His fingers began tracing the delicate shape of her foot as he settled it atop his thigh.

    “Do you want to know how I’d treat you?”   he asked, voice somewhat distracted as he rounded her heel.  Her toes twitched when he stroked along the underside of her foot, curling cutely.

    “I don’t want to know about your perverted fantasies…”   she muttered.

    “Of course you do.  Otherwise why are you playing this game with me?”   The Alpha shuffled in his spot, then, leaning further down so that his hand could travel along her leg.  It stayed respectfully at her shin, thumb the primary source of touch while his other fingers supported the weight of her leg.   “I’d treat you well, but I’d also torture you.  I’d take my time, in an effort to show you just how much you’ve left me wanting.  I’d kiss every inch of you just to spite your indecision that night.  And I wouldn’t stop until my name was the only word on your tongue.”

    “You sound pretty passionate about this…”

    “You incited it.”   But you incited something else in me, too.  You incited my lust for your company, and by Gods that hasn’t happened in so long.  It terrifies me, but it’s also so sweet when we’re together.   “I want you, Grace.  Playing games is fun but I intend to win at some point.”

    The words made her shudder somewhat, and she wasn’t sure if she was successful at suppressing it or not.  He didn’t seem to acknowledge it, though perhaps it was because he was focused on his fingers crawling higher.  For some reason, she didn’t want to push him away quite yet.  I will.  I will.  Just not yet.

    “Don’t you want me too?”   His voice was different in that moment;  more of a growl than she was used to, though coupled with a hint of confusion so compellingly true that it made him sound sweet.   “You don’t feel that spark between us?  That…  little flame?  Chemistry? Whatever you want to call it.”   She bit her lip softly as his fingers glided over her knee, starting the ascent up to her thigh.  He reached her very limit, fingers dancing dangerously close to the hem of her skirt, though she revoked her displeasure when all he did was dip the tip of his index finger into her sock, gently stroking along her thigh.   “Mm…?  I think you do.  That’s why you kissed me.  It was your way of telling me that the interest is mutual.  You like me.”

    “You like me, too…!”   she bit back, almost reaching out to slap his hand away.  She wasn’t quite sure what stopped her that time.  She wasn’t sure why she was upset by him in that moment, either.   “Don’t you?  Or are you really that deranged that you would do fun things with me just to--”

    “Oh, I like you,”   he interjected, voice alarmingly transparent.   “A lot more than I ever intended to.  Perhaps a little too much.”   You are the most compelling game of chess I have ever played, Grace Adler.  You’re the first game I’ve had where I’ve stood a very prominent chance of losing.   “... but you didn’t deny it, you know?  You didn’t say I was wrong.”

    Her teeth were back to worrying her bottom lip now.  It was concerning to her because he was right.  At what point did I stop playing with him because I found it funny?  When did my intentions to mess with the Alpha’s power change?  Why is he right?  It made her angry--  made her feel as if she’d betrayed herself in some way.

    Her ears twitched at the sound of him moving, and she realised that he was on his knees, the hand that had been on her leg now between them, supporting his weight.   “Let’s have a do-over?”

    “Get away from me…”

    “You don’t sound convincing,”   he commented, the smile in his voice evident.   “I’m not going to harm you, Gracie…”   Despite her resistance, she didn’t stop him from coming closer. “I wouldn’t do anything bad to you.  Just a kiss.  Nothing more.  I’ve…  been daydreaming about you since that night.”

    With her breath caught in her throat:   “With Raku as my witness, I will kick you--”

    He chuckled softly, taking note of the way her body stiffened when he touched her cheek.  Her foot didn’t meet him.  She didn’t move an inch…  aside from when she tilted her head slightly, her face now fitting more comfortably in his hand.  Though she couldn’t see him, even with her so close to him, she knew that he was smiling that annoying knowing smile.

    “Kick me, then…”

    Part of her wanted to.  Part of her wanted to so badly that she very nearly gave in.  However, desperate to still be in control, her hand curled in his collar and tugged, the distance between them no more.

    His senses were running wild immediately.  With her mouth on his, all he could think about was how hungry he was to feel her.  Even so, his hand remained glued to her face, knowing very well that he’d wind up betraying his words if he entertained the idea of touching her.

    She pulled away slowly, the sound of their lips parting making a blush rise to her cheeks.

    “Satisfied, pervert…?”

    “Never,”   he whispered back, smile triumphant as he tried his luck for a second time.  He wasn’t quite sure why he was so eager to kiss her…  it wasn’t as if he was getting an orgasm out of that.  Even so, he found himself enraptured by the taste of her, by the feel of their breath mingling and becoming one, and when her hand loosened from his collar and fell to his chest instead, he felt a pang of longing flare in his gut like an engine that had started to work after aeons of inactivity.  When he pulled away, his breath was still even, albeit shallower.

    “Is that all…?”   she questioned.  Her tone would have been derisive if not for the way it trembled slightly.   “All that passion for that...?”

    “Would you like me to kiss you the way I want to…?”   he murmured, trying to hold back the urge to laugh.  She almost seemed annoyed with him.

    “I thought that was the point, dumbass.”

    Her insult provoked him enough to capture her lips for a third time, though this time was different.  He was greedier, his thumb firm against her cheekbone with the intention of holding her in place.  She met him tit-for-tat, refusing to be outdone, and when she too rose to her knees, he knew it was going to spiral out of control.

    The sound she made as he shovelled his tongue into her mouth set him ablaze, heart thundering in his ears as she met his actions with her own.  Forked appendages slid over one another, saliva shared and swapped, and he was surprised to feel her hand in his hair, her other landing atop the one between her legs, holding it tight.  It was guided to her waist, his temperature seeping through her dress as he held her respectably.

    When they parted that time, neither of their breathing patterns was even.  His smile had faded with the heated nature of it all, a lustful line taking its place as he stared her down through half-lidded eyes.  Her breath came out in shallow puffs, eyes all but closed as he held her to him, her fingers still loosely tangled in his hair.  He smelled it then, even if it was faint.

                                                                                                        ------  Desire.

    “You do want me…”   he murmured, hand keeping her face propped in his direction, disallowing her from looking away.  Without sight to aid him, all he had to go on was her troubled breathing;  the sound of her intakes;  the feel of her chest meeting his whenever she took in oxygen.   “Are you satisfied, Grace…?”

    “Ah…  f-fu…  shut up…  shutup--”   He felt her face turn red, the heat against his fingers all too telling.  Intoxicating.  More.  I want to make you blush all the time.

    “You wanted me to hold you.”     “Shut up…”     “You like it.”     “I’m going to kick you for real…”

    “You--”   His words were interrupted by a sharp tug to his hair, breath catching in his throat at the sudden jolt of pain.  Nevertheless, a delightful shiver ran down his spine, eyes feeling heavier as he suddenly felt hungrier.  He was about to lean in for a fourth time, reclaim her lips with his own, when a sudden pound on the door frightened them both.  He didn’t miss the way her hand tightened against the back of his head;  he was sure she didn’t miss the way he clutched her slightly closer to him in a protective manner.  With any luck, it would remain unspoken.

    “What the fuck’re you two DOIN’ in there?!”   they heard Moxie shout from the other side of the door.   “What’re you talkin’ in the dark for?  You fuckin’ IDIOTS or somethin’?!”

    “... sort of,”   Edgar admitted, voice teetering dangerously between humoured and weakened.   “IIIII…  left the key somewhere while tidying up.  Find it and unlock the door, will you?”

    There was a beat of silence save for heavy footfalls.  Slowly, the Alpha released the woman in his arms, reluctant to feel her body heat fade away.  The sound of the lock clicking had them both heaving out a sigh of relief, the light filtering through moments later.  It was harsh enough for both of them to wince and raise an arm to shield their eyes.

    “Fuckheads…”   Moxie muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets before walking away. Before he disappeared from view.   “Your shoe’s missin’, dumbfuck.”

    If she cared about it, she certainly didn’t show it.  She was gone in an instant, sparing neither of them a word.

[razberryyum]

Positive Things about Guardian as a series (spoilers)

So I’ve been pretty harsh about the production team behind Guardian (writers, directors, set designers, wardrobe, the crew…including the extras…basically anyone who are not Bai Yu, Zhu Yilong, the actors who played Old Chu, Little Guo and Zhu Hong, who are Jiang Ming Yang, Xin Peng and  Gao Yu Er, respectively) and about the quality of the show as a whole when it doesn’t involve our main characters/leads, and I’ve actually been feeling bad about that now that the initial sense of shock has worn off a little. As a result, I woke up this morning and decided to make a list of all things that are GOOD about the show. Now, I am still hurting about how it ended and the things that went wrong which imho could have easily NOT (f.e. the 10,000 years dirt nap), but…BUT I will try my best NOT to let that negativity seep into this. 

So here goes, in no particular order, the positive things about the show:

- the show even exists. I mean, really, God bless, especially considering where it’s made. How did that even happen?? Despite all my bitching, I still marvel (almost DAILY so far) at the fact that Guardian exists and I got to watch it cuz China could’ve easily never put it back online. 

- the existence of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. But that’s pretty much a given. Especially since my life is forever changed because of them.

- every Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan scene together. That’s a given also. I would not be surprised if the writers literally used all their meager talent and energy on constructing those moments so that’s why they didn’t have much juice left for everything else. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? Kinda.

- they got Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong to play Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. I really hope the two actors got compensated well for their performances, though somehow I doubt it, especially since, from what I understand ZYL (omg I just stupidly realized the acronym for his name is the same as Zhao Yunlan’s. Wtf that is so cute!) was still very slowly rising in the ranks. But hopefully their current popularity as a result of the show has made up for it.

- the score and songs. Bought the OST from iTunes like one or two episodes in, loved the score and themes. I even bought Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong’s duet “Time of Flight” a few times (different platforms, different devices) cuz I just wanted to contribute to them…even though…who knows if they even see a cent from it, and pretty sure my few measly dollars probably isn’t helping anything. Probably just makes me seem stupid and insane. 

- the cute episode titles. Which I wasn’t even aware of until @avenuex123 pointed it out. Adorable.

- the censorship. Ok, censorship is never good imo, but in this singular case, perhaps because there were existing restrictions on the BL subject matter, the actors therefore were willing to sign on since they knew they didn’t have to do anything explicit (or maybe they would’ve been willing, this is just my own stupid assumption because of how Chinese society is…I say that as an Asian American with many…erm…”old-fashioned” friends and family members) AND they probably saw it as challenge to find creative ways to convey the nature of the characters while working within the confines of censorship laws. Although, this might be a case of me just trying to look on the bright side.

- the easter eggs. I agree with fellow Guardian fans who have pointed out that there was some love put into the making of this show, which is clearly exemplified in the small momentos scattered throughout the series. 

- the time travel concept. Not that the delve into the past was done well because I did have problems with it, but I did really appreciate the fact that Zhao Yunlan was the one and only all along due to his being sucked up into the wormhole and spit back out 10,000 years in the past to meet Shen Wei for the first time. I thought it was a tremendously romantic idea…even if the general execution of the past left a lot to be desired. I promised that I wouldn’t be negative, but I still have to say that while love at first sight is a lovely notion, it was still a bit hard to swallow that SW would fall SOOOO head over heels with ZYL after just conversing with him for like a few hours, to the point that he would pine for him for 10,000 years (though it’s probably technically more like a few decades due to his dirt nap, but I’ll buy it felt like 10K years to him). I just wish ZYL spent more time in the past with SW, and actually @xparrot‘s fic (”Now Lie In It" on AO3) made me feel a LOT better about the whole thing since they successfully fixed the problem by awesomely separating each scene we saw into days and years. But I did like the time travel idea; it was cool, even though it’s different from the novel.

- the nature of the necklace. I really liked the candy wrapper core. Broke my heart into bits and pieces in a GOOD way. Really loved everything about it. I understand it’s different in the novel as well, but in the context of the changes done for the show, I thought that was a pretty brilliant move. 

-  the Da Qing and ZYL ownership scene in episode 35 with SW listening. Loved that scene and the multiple purposes it was serving: establishing Da Qing’s relationship with ZYL, giving voice to how SW was feeling about ZYL leaving,   inspiring SW with the necklace idea, and then of course, the censorship workaround because it was like very homo while being nohomo at the same time. 

- SW and ZYL’s wardrobe. Probably a given since the fact that I love them means I love everything about them, but, like, SW even looked good as the Black Cloak Envoy and ZYL as Kunlun and those outfits (and their hairstyles) could’ve gone wrong so easily…thank God no one thought it was a good idea to make them wear a stupid looking afro wig or feathers on their heads.

- Old Chu/Little Guo. They were adorable, my second OTP from the show, and I was seriously jealous of all the PDA they were getting away with.

- recurring characters. Even though some of their acting abilities were highly questionable, I did appreciate how certain characters introduced in the beginning of the show would pop up again later on. I’m sure a good part of that was to save on hiring more people, but I still thought it was neat. For example, I wasn’t too fond of the merit brush dude (cuz his story was dumb and draggy), but I did like how this innocuous store owner that was little more than a background character at the start eventually became one of the villains. 

-  Ye Zun. He’s so CUTE. I mean, ok, Zhu Yilong playing him helped, but just seriously, his character is so fucked up and misguided and emo and adorable that I just wanted to give him a big hug all the time. When that shitty cockatoo he calls “Boss”** started smacking him around, I wanted to reach into the screen and throttle that ugly POS. I wouldn’t even be surprised if that asshole more than physically abused Ye Zun. Anyway, I just felt bad for the little puppy. I wish we got to spend more time with him and that he got redeemed earlier so that he could enjoy some love and hugs before being led into the wormhole (or…wherever it was that his big bro was heading off with him…wait, would it be the wormhole? But they died, right? So technically it should be like the reincarnation hole?) **(btw, why “Boss”? Why not “Leader”? Are the head villains paying their henchmen to follow them? So weird that they call their leaders “boss” which would imply they’re being paid wages which I truly doubt is the case)

- Da Qing. He’s a cutie too. Really wish the kitty girl had lived so that he wouldn’t be all alone, now that ZYL is gone. I guess Tech boy Lin Jing is going to take care of him now?  

- Zhu Hong. When she wasn’t inexplicably screaming her dialogue, I did like her…but a huge part of that is probably because I remember the actress from Yanxi Palace (she was playing a small villainous role but she did a good job) and I felt sorry for her. Putting the unrequited love aside, it must also be tough seeing ZYL now and yet knowing that’s not even the same guy she loves at all. Damn, that actually must be so unsettling for everyone who knew the old ZYL. 

-  the personality swap episode (ep 25). THAT was freaking adorable. Just wish it lasted longer and that eventually it affected SW and ZYL. Although, since they already eye-fuck each other like 99% of the time, what would be different? I guess SW would be a little looser…and ZYL would be a bit more sad and pining-er? (Btw, I literally never heard of the word “microexpressions” until Zhu Yilong entered my life). Omg, an image of them switching outfits just popped into my head. Oh shit, that would’ve been FUN to see. Dammit.

That’s all I could come up with for now…I’ll probably add more as I think of more things. Please feel free to contribute if you think of positive things I’ve left out. I might not agree but I’d still love to hear them.

[traekenimagines]

Corruption At Its Finest: A Theo Raeken Imagine

Okay, so this may be without a doubt, the smuttiest thing I have ever written in my life. I’ve actually surprised myself. If you’re not down for some hardcore smut, which pretty much starts from the word go, I suggest you keep scrolling. However, if you want to join me on the train to Hell (Crowley, I’m on my way), please continue. If you’re still here, I hope you guys like it, even if it is ridiculously long (2K words, what the hell), and enjoy x

The relationship was a secret to both the chimera and the McCall pack, but neither Theo or Y/N cared that morning, judging from their bedroom activities. She was writhing beneath him as he pounded into her, the obscene noises escaping her mouth just spurring him on. 

It was a daily occurrence for them, neither wanting to come down from the high that they provided each other with. The relationship was their own form of nicotine, toxic and addictive. 

When they’d finished, Theo stared at the girl beneath him as she smiled at him. He bent down, taking her mouth in his own, feeling elated when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth when she greedily opened for him, reveling in the moans that left her. 

And then he stopped. 

“Where are you going?”

“Gotta shower, Princess. Sorry.”

“Fucking tease.”

He laughed as he walked away from her, leaving Y/N lying in his bed, no doubt a scowl on her face. 

When Theo was fully dressed, he wasn’t surprised to find that Y/N was no longer in his bed. He found her in the kitchen, dressed in nothing but his shirt, that rode up every so often to reveal cherry-red lacy panties. 

Funny. He thought he’d destroyed those the night before. 

She pretended not to notice him. It was a game she often played with him, one where she would act as if she were completely oblivious to what she was doing to him. And, most of the time, she would win. 

Theo pulled on his leather jacket. As much as he wanted to stay and play his turn, he had pack business to attend to. One of the things he truly loved about Y/N was that she didn’t seem to care if he was plotting against her pack or not. She was just devoted to him in every way possible. 

“I’m gonna be gone for a few hours.”

She turned to face him, and Theo watched as her eyes traveled down his body, stopping when they reached his crotch. He could smell her arousal, and it took everything he had not to bend her over the kitchen counter and take her. 

“Do you have to go?” 

She walked over to him, raking her hands down his chest, placing kisses on his neck. She pulled at the skin with her teeth, leaving marks that would fade as soon as they appeared. Theo couldn’t help himself when his hands wondered down to her ass, and as his fingers dug into the skin, he felt her smirk against his neck. 

God, he wanted her. 

But that would have to wait. 

He pulled away from her, wanting to laugh at the frown that crossed her face. She was adorable, really. 

“I’ll see you later, okay?” he pressed a chaste kiss on her forehead. 

“Fucking tease.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me that this morning. Such language shouldn’t come from such an innocent little princess.”

When Theo left, Y/N plonked herself down on the sofa. She was fuming. Sexually frustrated. And then it hit her. She’d be waiting for him when he got back, that was for sure. He was always calling her his princess, and of course, she loved that. She loved the idea of being completely and utterly his. But he always thought she was too innocent for him. Too pure for anything that she knew he wanted deep down. 

So, when he got home, she’d show him just how innocent she really was. 

The whole pack meeting had been a disaster. Theo hadn’t been able to focus, not properly, not with the image of Y/N emblazoned in his mind. He’d wanted nothing more than to be inside her, than to hear her screaming his name. At one point, he’d let his imagination get too carried away and had had to excuse himself in order to gain some sort of release. 

The girl was a tyrant. She was crafty and manipulative and God knows how she ended up as part of the McCall pack. She was everything Theo had been looking for, everything he needed, and that was exactly why he loved her. 

He walked through the door, desperate to get to her. He had hoped to find her lying on the sofa, in the same clothes that he left her in this morning, but she was nowhere to be found. 

“Y/N? I’m back.”

No answer. But Theo could hear her heartbeat. So, she was obviously still playing with him. 

“Babe? Where are you?”

“Bedroom.”

Of course. He kicked off his shoes, and sped up the stairs to his room. But, yet again it was empty. Instead, there was a note lying on the duvet. 

One innocent little princess, all ready for corruption. 

“Turn around.”

Theo did as he was told, jaw almost dropping at the sight of her, feeling himself instantly harden. Y/N was standing there, in one of his shirts yet again. It opened to reveal her clad in black lingerie, the red had been replaced, this time bra included. 

Theo shrugged off his jacket, making his way towards her. He went to kiss her, but was surprised when she placed a finger on his lips to stop him.

“Not yet. I haven’t finished with my present yet”, she took off the shirt, dropping it to the floor, “The rest is for you to unwrap.”

“Well, I guess I’d better get started then.”

She stopped him again. 

“Not yet. Still not finished.”

Theo raised an eyebrow at her, and watched as she smirked. It was one that could have been rival to his own, one that he knew drove her crazy. He continued to watch as she took hold of one of his fingers, pulling it towards her face. 

“I was gonna start by telling you all the things I love about you. I know how you like it when I boost your ego.”

“You make me sound pretty arrogant, princess.”

“Trust me, it’s a good thing.”

Y/N held his hand in front of her face, still with that single finger poised. 

“I love your mouth. I love when you use it here”, she dragged his hand to her mouth, taking the opportunity to take his finger in her mouth. She sucked on it gently before nipping at the calloused skin there, earning a small groan from her boyfriend. 

“I love it when you use it here”, she continued, dragging his finger down her neck, between the valley of her breasts. Theo noticed how they strained against the material of her bra, and he could only imagine how much she ached for him. 

Eventually his finger reached her core, Y/N guiding it over the material covering her. 

“I especially love it when you use it here.”

Theo took the opportunity to slide his finger along her folds through the lacy material that was barely covering it, smiling when he was able to feel how much she wanted him, no, how much she needed him. That thought was confirmed when she emitted a squeal. 

Theo had to hand it to her, she was playing her game well. Somewhat reluctantly, she took his finger away from her, and began reaching for the hem of his shirt. Theo took the hint, pulling it off for her, leaving his chest bare. 

“I love this,” she placed kisses down his stomach, making sure to linger at spots she knew were sensitive, “But do you know what I love most of all?”

“I think I can guess,” she’d reached his waist band by now, causing Theo’s breath to hitch as she worked at his belt, pulling his jeans down to his ankles. He stepped out of them, kicking them to the side. She stretched back up to his level, maintaining eye contact as she reached her hand inside his boxers. 

“I love the things you do to me with this. I love how you feel when you’re inside of me, how you make sure I never want you to leave. I love how you always make sure I can’t even walk in the mornings.”

“The feeling’s mutual, I can promise you that.”

Y/N grabbed his member in her hand, taking the time to massage each individual fiber of it, finding ecstasy in the moans that came from Theo. When she was satisfied, she removed her hand, her eyes finding the prominent bulge that had formed in his boxers. 

She pulled them down, letting him spring free. It took everything she had not to just let him take her now, but she resisted, reminding herself of the plan she had spent the morning concocting. She knelt down in front of Theo, mouth watering at the sight of him. 

“What are you doing, princess?” Y/N didn’t need to have supernatural abilities to hear his heartbeat quicken. 

“Just paying you back for all the nice things you do to me, baby”, she looked up at him, knowing how much the seemingly innocuous nickname drove him insane. She gripped hold of him, choosing to start at the base, licking a stripe up to the top. 

And it was then that she devoured him. Theo was unable to control himself as he pulled at her hair, a small smirk appearing on his face when she took all of him in, gagging slightly. She was a master at the art. 

It wasn’t long before he exploded in her mouth, and as he regained a sense of reality, he was surprised to find her still attacking him. He didn’t complain, just pulled her closer. He did complain, however, when he was on the brink of release and she chose to stop. 

His eyes flared as he looked down at her. She smiled at him in a way that would have any man doing her bidding in an instant, and Theo understood that this was all part of the game she was playing. 

So, despite the aching in his member, he chose to play back. 

He used a claw to rip open the lingerie, letting it fall to the ground. Y/N couldn’t help the giggle that she let out as her boyfriend backed her against the wall, predatory lust in his eyes. 

When there was nowhere else to go, Theo spun her around, her back to him, her face pressed against the wall. He took a moment to admire all that was exposed to him, before latching his mouth onto her neck. She wouldn’t heal from the marks he left, instead, they would remain, a clear sign that she belonged to him. And her, being her, would make up some crazy excuse to her pack when they asked about the bruises, before returning to him the next night. 

And, because they trusted her, they wouldn’t feel the need to listen to her heartbeat. They wouldn’t even imagine that she was sharing his bed every night.

The thought made Theo’s arousal only grow, and he growled before biting down on Y/N’s perfect skin. She cried out, all intentions of playing him having left her mind. This, this was all that mattered. 

“This what you want, huh, Princess?”, Theo’s breath on her neck made her core throb, “Two can play at your game, Y/N.”

With that, he inserted a finger inside of her, earning another cry from her. He pumped it in and out of her, before adding a second, then a third. The curses that left her were enough to remind Theo of his aching member, of her compliments about him being inside of her. Fuck, he wanted her.

But he wasn’t done yet. 

He continued to fuck her with his fingers until she came in his hand. She almost toppled to the floor, her orgasm proving too much for her to handle. Theo picked her up bridal style, before throwing her onto the bed. 

“Sorry, Princess. We’re not done yet.”

She grabbed him by the back of his neck, pulling him close so his lips were inches from hers. 

“I would hope not.”

Theo engulfed her mouth with his own, both battling for dominance. He groaned when she sucked on his tongue, a favor which he returned when he pulled her bottom lip with his teeth before letting it snap back against her gums. 

He trailed his nose down the column of her throat, and when he reached her collarbone, he began to kiss every inch of her skin. When he reached her breasts, he made sure to give each attention. He’d take each in his mouth, sucking and pulling causing her breath to escalate. 

He traveled further down her body, nudging at her core with his nose while he held her by her hips. She whined at him, and he looked up at her, a smirk on his face before he dived in. 

She was a feast laid out entirely for him.

He latched onto her, tasting every part that he could. He’d look up every so often to see her with her head thrown back, her hands tugging at the sheets. She thought he was her own personal slice of Heaven. Ironic, considering the activities they often chose to engage in. 

He continued to lap away at her even after she came, screaming his name. This would be the part where he got his own back. She was close to her second release when he removed his head from between her thighs, covering her body with his once again. 

“What the fuck?”

“Only playing it how you do, princess.”

The one thing that Theo found really endearing about Y/N was how she didn’t like it when someone played her at her own game. Especially when it concerned sex. Despite this, it took him by surprise when she was able to flip them over, so she straddled his hips. 

“I think we’ve done enough playing, don’t you?”

The chimera stroked her arms, the vision of her above him breathtaking. 

“Couldn’t agree more.”

Theo growled when Y/N sunk onto him, the ache in his member having finally found some release. He held onto her hips with a grip so tight that bruises were sure to form, as she bounced up and down on top of him. For him, it was a magnificent sight to behold. 

Y/N was in pure bliss. The way Theo was able to stretch out her core was unbelievable, a feeling that she missed when he wasn’t with her. She threw her head back as she clenched against him, her release close. She knew he wasn’t far off either. 

As Theo watched the girl on top of him, feeling her tighten around him, the Alpha within him came to the surface. His eyes flashed gold as he was the one to flip them over this time, a cry of excitement being heard from Y/N. She loved it when he took control like this, the prospect sending her into overdrive. 

Theo thrust into her, desperate to make them both last longer than they probably would. Not that it mattered, they’d only resume their activities later on. His hand moved to her neck, holding her there as his pace quickened. He pressed down slightly, a gasp escaping Y/N as amid the moans leaving her mouth she struggled to find breath. 

“Fuck, Theo.”

“Nearly there, Princess. Just a little longer.”

Theo felt himself harden inside of her and within a matter of seconds, both of them found their ecstasy. Y/N’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she cried out her boyfriend’s name, Theo’s eyes flaring and his claws extending. When it was over, he rolled off her, wiping a strand of hair off her forehead, and pulling her close to him. 

“I think we should call that a draw”, she said as she shuffled backwards into him, his member pressing into her back. 

He chuckled, placing a kiss on her shoulder. 

“I second that”, he wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling into her neck. She turned to face him, looking at the chimera she loved with all her heart, before placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth. 

“Or we could just have a rematch?”

She grabbed his member, ready to guide him inside of her. He smiled, ignoring every primal instinct that told him to pin her down and have his way with her. 

“Maybe later.”

She frowned. Again, he thought it was adorable. 

“I don’t think you could handle it. You’re such an innocent little princess, after all.”

Masterlist

[tinymixtapes]

Live Blog: LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem Hollywood Palladium; Los Angeles, CA [11-18-2017] by Sam Goldner on 12-19-2017 To put it in James Murphy’s terms, I was there. I remember the day that LCD Soundsystem announced their tenure as a band would be coming to an end, that after three albums they had decided to put a cap on what I thought at the time was one of the most legendary runs in modern rock music. I remember trying to buy tickets for the final Madison Square Garden show, only to be thwarted by one of the most insane scalping-bot buyouts I have seen to this day. I remember the relief that washed over me when Murphy announced there would be a string of Terminal 5 shows the week before, all comprising the same three-hour, career-spanning setlist, and I remember buying my ticket and taking the bus from Boston to New York to say goodbye to one of my favorite bands. The LCD Soundsystem reunion has, to put it lightly, caused me a great deal of self-reckoning and re-evaluation, and James Murphy knows this. His post-announcement apology to the fans that he let down by reuniting was, if anything, a testament to the idea that Murphy remains a fanboy-as-rock-star, as close to being “one of us” as it gets when we’re talking about the constantly satellite position of being a nerdy record collector. It was that embodiment of the outsider-looking-in that drew me to LCD Soundsystem’s music in the first place, but in the five years that passed in the band’s absence, my perspective on their music changed. Where before, it felt exciting to listen to a group of artists whose observer’s stance in music felt in tandem with my own, now it seemed strangely embarrassing to listen to a song in which a 32-year-old man lists off all the obscure bands he likes in an attempt to reclaim his “edge” (and its supposed irony only made it worse). What I had begun to realize since leaving college is that treating music as if it is the center of the universe, rather than just as one beautiful reflection of it, is a dangerous way to go about living life, making the once-lovable nerdiness of LCD Soundsystem now seem like an image of my younger self that I’d rather leave behind. But all personal associations aside, when I saw the band at FYF a year ago, any reservations that I had about their reunion just washed away. Even as I stood in the crowd, thinking about how this was the first time I had seen a band both before and after they had broken up (which even at age 24, made me feel old), it simply didn’t matter compared to the sheer joy I felt dancing along to songs like “Us v Them” or “Yeah.” They sounded as amazing as ever, and I walked out of the festival relieved to know that a group of people having fun making music together was ultimately more important and satisfying than any B.S. notion of a perfect, untouchable three-album canon could ever be. Fast forward a year, and the band is touring on the back of their not-bad/not-great new record, American Dream. They lined up five nights at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and our same group of friends that we lost our shit with at FYF the year before all agreed to go. The tickets came out to a devastating $100 each, which right off the bat set an unfortunately high level of expectations for the night, and stood as a sobering reminder of just what sort of act LCD really are these days. Nonetheless, we were all excited, and even if the new album only had two or three keepers on it, we knew the band weren’t ones to walk on and do nothing but new material. The hits would be played. Unfortunately, this Hollywood Palladium show would end up confirming most of my original anxieties about LCD’s return. One of the driving sentimental themes behind LCD Soundsystem’s music is the idea that no matter how cool and young you may have been at one point, no matter how golden your glory days might have been, you still can’t go back. That melancholy reach towards the past is at the heart of Murphy’s party music, and though at their best, LCD Soundsystem manage to use that nostalgia to uncover invigorating new emotional territory of their own, this show at the Hollywood Palladium felt more like a formulaic re-tread than an inspired victory lap. For the first time, the band just didn’t have that spark, and as they ran through all the necessary crowdpleasers and a small helping of new tracks, it began to set in that this reunion was perhaps less an act of old friends getting together to do what they love, but instead something much more dreary: we were just watching them clock in. The show was off from the very beginning, with normally electric cuts like “Get Innocuous!” and “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” sounding muddied, lacking their usual sense of gradually building bite. LCD songs thrive on their dynamics, their sense of patience, but for most of the show the band just seemed to plow through track after track, with little of the nuance that has epitomized their greatest work. A few songs into the set, Murphy asked everyone in the audience to shut off their phones, requesting that we all stop taking pictures and instead share this moment together and experience something real and blah blah blah. This type of comment has always struck me as pretentious no matter the show, but it seemed especially strange in Murphy’s case. For a band whose rise coincided with that of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, whose very first single declared the social currency implicit in saying “I was there,” and who even went so far as to stage a “final” run of concerts that essentially drew a line in the sand for fans of the band – either you were going to be one of the people at these legendary shows, or you weren’t – it seems to me that the very idea of taking pictures at a concert to show one’s friends is one that Murphy’s music has fed into from the beginning. I find it odd and a bit hypocritical that Murphy would act above this kind of behavior. In spite of the show’s weaker moments, there were a handful of songs wherein the band’s chemistry would suddenly kick back into gear, illustrating how exciting they can be when they’re truly in their element. “You Wanted a Hit” was a slow-burning monster, and the immediate one-two follow-up of “Tribulations” and “Movement” made for a mini rollercoaster of mosh-dancing that brought the evening to a delirious frenzy. The encore began with a powerful take on “Oh Baby,” the best song off American Dream, and climaxed with the still-amazing “Dance Yrself Clean,” which, as expected, lifted every single person in the room off the floor once the beat dropped three minutes in. During these intermittent periods of high-energy release, I regained some kind of hope that perhaps LCD does still have some life left in it as a project, that in spite of the band’s weaker versions of classics like “Someone Great” and “All My Friends,” there was still a well-oiled rhythm machine in there somewhere, one capable of making bodies move regardless of whatever legacy it may have wrapped itself up in so tightly. By and large, it was still a fun night, if just for the fact that going to a show with all my friends to see a band that we all love will always be fun. Even the band’s limper songs were still enjoyable to have happening in the background while I caught up with my crew, but until now, LCD had never been a band that I would’ve willfully talked over at a show. We’re all getting older, and to be frank, with LCD Soundsystem aging the way they have, I couldn’t really be too surprised that the show would end up being somewhat lackluster – I had been expecting as much a year before when I had seen them at FYF. But the fact is, that show a year ago was incredible, and it gave me the hope that this one would be just as good, which renders it all the more disappointing. Maybe Murphy was wrong; maybe you can actually can go back to the glory days for one night. You just can’t stay there. http://j.mp/2ByZdOY