#side note i think i did well putting the demo's background 'cause i want to chance their designs

[fl00mie]

OH YEAH I DID THIS i don't like it that much but heh

it's a bit obvious what's referencing

[meistwentyinchheels]

THE may lore post

Hello everyone, it is time. TIME to share a bunch of my Keyframes winter MC, May's, lore!!! This isn't gonna be all of it (gotta keep up the air of mystery somehow), but just as a heads up I will be touching upon some more sensitive topics (toxic relationships, slight familial issues etc.) incase y'all don't wanna read that.

And if you're unfamiliar with May then here is the link to her introduction post!! Please do read that before you read this as I will not be heavily repeating stuff I've already said...although if you're in the KF fan server then there's a chance you already know some of this stuff, because it's always Mercy angst hours there (TRUST 🙏) and I just love to ramble abt her.

To start off this experience I am sharing May's angst playlist!!! (it's not the only one actually uh) and the lore rambles will be under the cut. Note: this post is really fucking long by the way so be prepared to be reading for a WHILE.

Beginning with her background, there isn't really that much to say? But I will say that she was born in Incheon, South Korea although she moved to Los Angeles, California, US at the age of 7. Her immediate family consists of her, her father, mother and younger sister. May's younger sister, April (legal name is Haeyoon), is younger by 4 years meaning that she is a high school junior at the time the first spring semester demo takes place. Her father is a surgeon and her mother is a baker.

Soooo...some of you might be wondering why May and her family moved to the US, right? Well, the answer to that question would have something to do with May's father's side of the family. I've mentioned in her introduction post that her family is wealthy and that is where a large portion of their wealth comes from. And you guessed it! That entire side of the family are extremely bigoted (to put it lightly...if that says anything). Her father's family also did not approve of her mother which would add another reason as to why they would want to get away from them. Technically they could have moved to Jeju Island, which is where May's mother is from, but due to certain reasons that wasn't an option and so they opted to move to the US in hope of a better life.

Despite physically moving farther away from them, they are still in low contact. This does occasionally cause issues, but May's parents make an attempt (emphasis on the attempt) to keep her and her sister out of it all. The occasional visits back to Incheon also don't really help their situation. But that is as much as I'm willing to share about her family situation :3 Also guys don't worry, May's mother's side of the family are actually normal (thank god). Her cousins on that side love to make random shitposts with her on TikTok (so real of them frfr).

Oh also, speaking of moving. May did move back to South Korea by herself when she was like 13. Then she returned to the States the year she turned 16. Will I explain why she moved back? Nope! Although I will say that her 3 year stay in SK affected her decision to stay as an indie musician instead of trying to go mainstream. If you're catching onto what I mean then no the fuck you don't.

Then moving onto May's horribly messy love life (and if my predictions regarding the Percy route are correct then...my condolences)! There is uhm, a lot. to unpack here. I think I've mentioned in an ask that May has been in 2 relationships and 1 situationship before. None of which ended well actually I MEAN WHO SAID THATTTTTT. So if I attempt to shortly summarize those it would be something along the lines of...

Her love life beginning with a situationship with a girl called Lucia in like sophomore year of high school. See the thing that makes this thing so complicated is that Lucia's parents were homophobic as fuck. This influenced Lucia, obviously, which caused her to go into denial and whatever was between her and May fizzled out. Wanna know why? Because she ghosted May!!! Yeah. Then she got a boyfriend like 2 weeks after that. So safe to say that May's first experience with romance was not that great. She also gained a fear of abandonment so uh. do with that information what you will.

Then we move onto her first actual relationship which began merely 4 months after the ordeal with Lucia. This is where the real shitshow begins by the way!!!! Anyways so, she got together with this guy called Chris who she was introduced to by a friend of hers called Jenn. This relationship was also May's longest one so it lasted like BARELY over 2 years. Honestly their breakup was kind of(?) expected considering everything kinda...went to shit after the Sacramento Incident. Which took place like a year before their breakup (so during HS senior year).

Will I be elaborating what I mean by the Sacramento Incident? Hmmmm nah, although I will say it's smth smth smth the beginning of the downfall of May's entire HS friend group smth smth smth Chris and Jenn (?) smth smth smth people got into a lot of shit after it. Also for context: Sacramento is like...a 7hr-ish drive away from LA. How did a bunch of high school seniors get there? Who knows. I do! But am I gonna tell y'all? NOPE. Also May didn't return home for like 4 days after it then got grounded for like 3 weeks with her only communication method with her friends being her fucking school email.

Oops I derailed for a sec there, ANYWAYS! The reason why Chris and May broke up? That would be because Chris cheated on May with Jenn. Lovely isn't it!! I will not explain any further. And so since it was her first ever relationship (and a long-term one at that) the breakup kinda. fucked her up mentally like...permanently. Girlie is NOT okay. Then like a month after the breakup, May started college at Wryn Mayer. So she was still very much recovering from that heartbreak.

Then we get to May's 2nd relationship...oh boy. This one was CRAZYYYYYY. Like actually. I'm not joking btw. So, like around November of that same year she got together with this guy called Tavon (who was like a 3rd year at Wryn Mayer when they got together). However, guess what...Tavon is the ex of one of May's college friends, Sienna. And because she got with him like only 2 months after Tavon and Sienna ended things uhhhh safe to say that the two girls were no longer friends (yikes).

To add to the fucked up factor, Tavon was kind of a rebound for May? Like she hadn't fully moved on from Chris when she got together with Tavon. Also I'm not really gonna get into the nitty gritty details of May and Tavon's relationship, because there's some REALLY fucked up shit going on there 😭 But if I sum it up uhhh...let's just say that Tavon was manipulative and controlling as fuck. That's just barely scratching the surface of whatever went on there, but when she was with him it's like May's self-respect was non-existent (which is a huge contrast to her usual self).

Tavon also uhm. cheated on May like 3 times? And because the dude was too good at manipulating her she did forgive him each time. But by the end of her 1st year at college she was slowly coming to a realization that he's destroying her mental health and so she broke up with him like just a few weeks before summer vacation. Then they were also on and off for another 2 months after that. But her besties (Cam and Deja) managed to convince her to cut him off completely. May has been single after that shitshow and now has not only a fear of abandonment, but also trust and commitment issues!!

That whole ordeal was also the reason why May impulsively bleached her hair blonde during the summer before her 2nd year in college. Before that she had never bleached or dyed her hair before so she had virgin black hair for 20 years. She also stayed blonde for like half a year I'd say? She didn't dye her hair red until like a month before the BBQ where she met the boys. That red won't stick for long either because I'm planning on her to dye her hair black during the summer lol.

So yeah May's been through some shit, but at least she still has some of her high school friends and also Cam and Deja to help her heal <3 Let's hope all that healing doesn't go down the drain once she gets with Percy (devs if you're reading this then please spare us 🙏). Speaking of him actually!!! I have a Mercy (May and Percy's ship name btw, say ty to one of my friends for suggesting that name) playlist and it's actually what I've been listening to the whole time I've been writing this. So here's the link!

And yes May is very very very Ethel Cain coded (LISTEN TO THE PREACHER'S DAUGHTER ALBUM!!! GUYS TRUST!!!). There is honestly so much more lore I could elaborate on, but this is already long enough that I feel like speaking more on it will kill me internally. So I'm gonna leave this off here!! Ty for reading and I'm so sorry because this is like 1.6k words long...

[flipomatic]

A New World Chapter 23: Training Camp Day 5

First Chapter Previous Chapter

__________________________________________________________

With this being the 5th day at the house, the band was officially more than half way through training camp. Now there were only two days left. It had been an eventful week so far, with each member working their hardest to bring the band together. There were still occasional issues, particularly with vocals and the bass, but they shrank as the days went on. Each time they played they made progress, and Sayo hoped that today they would show even more improvement.

The plan for today was to have full band practice in the morning, then keep working on the new song in the afternoon. If they finished it today, then they would have all of tomorrow to practice and record it. For that to happen, Sayo would need to step up with composing the guitar parts. However, that was a concern for the afternoon.

For now, she needed to focus on rehearsal. The band was set up in the studio, the same way they had been doing all week. Sayo tuned her guitar carefully at the start of practice, making sure each string was perfect.

Around her, her bandmates did the same. There was a feeling of focus in the air today, a shared sense of determination among the band. It had shifted since yesterday, sharpened in its clarity. Sayo was eager to see what they could achieve.

“We’ll start with Song I Am.” Yukina declared as the last notes of warming up faded away, glancing back at the others. Her eyes flicked over each of them, starting from Sayo and then moving away. They lingered on Lisa for just a moment longer than the rest. Sayo wondered if something had happened between them yesterday. Yukina turned back towards the front and lifted one hand to her mic stand. “Count us off.”

Ako immediately did, launching them into the start of the song. Each instrument joined, blending together to create the distinct opening of Song I Am. Sayo’s notes were well placed, landing in exactly the right spots. Lisa was stronger than she’d been the day before, more firm in her rhythm and certain in her notes.

When Yukina joined, all of the pieces clicked into place. She aligned with the rest of the band in perfect time, bringing them together through the first verse of the song.

After all their hard work, the effects of the training camp were truly coming through. Finally, the band was playing together. The piano played with poise, the drums hit with precision, the bass thrummed beneath, the guitar carried the tune, and the vocals led them all forward.

It was a new sound, not the same as they had before, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Sayo didn’t think so, as she played each chord. She leaned into the sound, the new way her bandmates played. The emotion in the room swelled, carried by the song and their feelings.

This was Roselia, once again rising towards the top. If Sayo looked up she was sure she could see it, their destination at the peak.

Sayo matched the rhythm of the drums, harmonized with the bass, aligned with the keyboard, and followed the vocals through the song. Yukina led vibrantly, with the full force of her voice. The others sang the background parts together, their sound unified.

Sayo smiled as she played, as she used what she learned over the course of the week to align with her bandmates. They soared through each verse and chorus, through the bridge and the end of the song.

The final notes of the song came abruptly, the same way Song I Am always ended. Lisa’s eyes were locked on Yukina, as they had been for most of the song. Sayo glanced past her to Rinko, who still had her hands on the keys. When their eyes met, the corner of Rinko’s lips lifted in a smile.

“Let’s run it again.” Yukina spoke, pulling Sayo’s attention to her. She didn’t smile but her eyes were warm, showing approval of the performance. As requested, Ako counted off the start of the song once again.

The band continued to practice Song I Am, playing it multiple more times, before switching to Avant-Garde History. It was just as strong, showing the strength and growth of the band.

After that the band shifted to Yakusoku, which was one of their harder songs. This too had improved from before, especially the bass. Lisa played confidently and sang consistently through the song. Yukina didn’t move from her mic to do the choreography for the bridge, but she did gesture towards Lisa with one hand. As Sayo suspected, they seemed to have patched things up. They were behaving the same way they used to, before this school year. She wondered if Yukina had taken her advice; she’d have to ask her later.

The band continued to practice all morning, demonstrating their renewed unity with each song.

After lunch, Sayo worked with Rinko on the new song, the one they had composed the previous day. She listened to the demo track and prepared a guitar line, including a solo. She also helped with the other instruments in the bridge, upon Rinko’s request. It felt good, composing for the band. Sayo could feel the purpose in each note as she worked.

They polished the piece, making sure it would be ready to practice and record on the final full day.

______________________________________________________

Yukina was sitting on the floor as she leaned against the wall, earphones covering both ears. The others were chatting across the room, but her headphones blocked most of the sound out. She listened to the guitar track for the new song, the one Sayo composed earlier.

As expected, it matched well. Sayo was becoming a great composer; Yukina would perhaps tell her at some point, if she found the chance to.

They would fine tune the rest of the song tomorrow, as they started practicing it. For now, despite not having a name for the song yet, Yukina was satisfied. She slipped her headphones off her head, unplugging them from her phone and placing them with her belongings.

A few feet away, Sayo was looking at a piece of sheet music. It was probably the new song, the guitar part she wrote earlier. On the other side of the room, their other three bandmates were huddled together. They were talking at a regular volume, though Yukina couldn’t make out what they were saying. Rinko was holding a small red box, while Lisa kept glancing over at Yukina and Sayo.

They seemed to be plotting something again, and Yukina had a feeling she knew what it was. The same thing had been happening for the last couple days, with the same result each time.

“I think she’s done now.” Lisa was saying, louder as Yukina could now hear her. “Go ask.”

“Ok!” Ako replied even louder, turning from the group to walk quickly towards Yukina. Rinko and Lisa trailed after her. She stopped in front of Yukina, looking down at her. “Do you want to play a game with us?” She asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“Thank you, but I would not.” Yukina rejected her politely, rising to her feet. She really did not like board games, even if she didn’t recognize the one Rinko was holding. She turned to walk towards the door.

Ako’s expression didn’t falter. “Not even a game about cats?” She lifted one finger to point at Yukina.

Oh, it was about cats. Yukina stopped dead in her tracks; that changed things. “What cat game?” She couldn’t resist her curiosity. Maybe she would consider playing it.

“Exploding Kittens.” Rinko stepped forward, holding up the box. It had a cartoon black cat on the front, clutching a tiny grenade between its paws. Below that it claimed to be for cat and explosion lovers. Yukina certainly liked one of those things. The name was strange though.

“It’s a card game!” Ako gestured at the box. “The goal is to not get exploded.”

Yukina was still thinking about the title. “The kittens… explode?” Maybe this wasn’t a good game choice; she didn’t like the sound of that.

“You try to stop them, it’s suuuuper cute.” Ako insisted, stepping closer to Yukina.

Lisa interjected, causing Yukina’s eyes to snap to her. “It’s a fun game, Yukina. I think you’ll like it.”

Well, if Lisa said so then who was Yukina to argue. “Alright, I’ll play.” She conceded. Even if it wasn’t fun, there were cats.

“Yes!” Ako pumped one fist by her side.

“We can play… on the ground in here.” Rinko gestured to the multiple empty floor spots around the room. She moved to find a large enough area, so Yukina followed her. She could still hear what the others were saying.

“We just need Sayo.” Lisa had her cat smile on as she looked over at their final band member. Sayo had her head down, but her eyes flicked up at the sound of her name.

“Will you play?” Ako practically bounced over to her, as Sayo put the sheet music down to talk with her.

“Hmm.” Sayo seemed to be thinking hard about it, drawing one hand to her chin. “It’s a card game?” She asked for clarification.

Ako nodded. “That’s right.”

Sayo glanced at Yukina, who had already agreed to play, then sighed. “Fine, but just one game.”

Ako celebrated again, then guided Sayo to where Rinko was setting up the cards. The five band members sat in a circle, with the card box in the middle.

Rinko took the cards out, then pulled some off the top of the deck. She passed a green card around to each person. Yukina’s had a cat eating a sandwich on it, with the word defuse.

“How is this game played?” Sayo asked as she scrutinized her card.

“Oh, right. I forgot you haven’t played before.” Ako chuckled sheepishly, then explained the rules. Yukina listened carefully as Rinko dealt four more cards to each player, then mixed some of the extra cards back into the deck. When Ako finished the instructions, Yukina thought she understood.

The goal of the game was to avoid exploding kittens. If you drew one at the end of your turn, then you either needed to defuse it or lose the game. All other cards helped towards that goal of avoiding the exploding kittens. They each had descriptions of what they did on them. You could use as many cards as you want during your turn, and you drew a new card at the end of each turn. The last player standing would win.

Yukina picked up the rest of her hand, which consisted of more cards with cartoon cats on them. She had two see the future cards, one nope card, and something called a beard cat. The poor beard cat was trapped in someone’s beard; she wanted to cut it out and save it.

“I’ll go first.” Ako volunteered as she moved her cards around in her hand. She quickly drew from the top of the deck, which ended her turn.

They went clockwise from there, playing cards and drawing at the end of their turns. Lisa was second, followed by Yukina. Yukina drew a hairy potato cat, which was way more adorable than it should’ve been. Rinko went next, with Sayo last before the loop started again.

After a couple rounds, disaster struck. Next to Yukina, Lisa drew the first exploding kitten.

“I defuse it, right?” Lisa asked, placing the exploding kitten down face up.

“That’s right.” Ako supplied the answer.

Lisa took her defuse card and placed it on top of the kitten, also face up.

“Great, now put the defuse in the discard pile and put the kitten back anywhere in the deck.” Ako continued giving instructions.

“Anywhere, huh…” Lisa did as instructed with the defuse, then contemplated where to put the kitten. If she put it on top, then Yukina would be sure to draw it next. The thought was a chilling one, but she didn’t do that. No, Lisa slid the kitten back into the center of the deck.

Even though she watched it disappear to the middle, Yukina was nervous now. She sacrificed her special ops kittens to see the future, to look at the next three cards. There was no exploding kitten, so she drew a card with a sigh of relief.

More of her bandmates started using attacks and skips to keep from drawing as the game continued on, going multiple times around without seeing another exploding kitten.

At one point Lisa used a favor to ask for one of Sayo’s cards, which she then matched with one of hers to take a random card from Ako’s hand. The next card matched as well, so she took a second. Yukina wondered if Lisa got Ako’s defuse card, but she couldn’t tell.

She must’ve not gotten it, because a moment later Lisa drew another exploding kitten and grimaced down at it. This time, she was out of options.

“I can’t defuse it.” Lisa said, showing the rest of the cards in her hand. She was right, there was nothing she could do. The exploding kitten she drew was sleeping on an engine of some kind, which it caused to explode. It was cute, too bad it caused so much trouble.

Lisa put the rest of her cards in the discard pile and placed the exploding kitten in front of her. “Yukina, avenge me.” She winked.

Yukina nodded seriously, she would do anything for Lisa, then looked back at her cards to take her turn. She played a skip, because what if there were two kittens in a row, but Ako shook her head.

“I use my nope card.” She said, placing the red card down on top of Yukina’s skip.

Well, so much for not drawing. Luckily, the next card wasn’t a kitten and Yukina breathed a sigh of relief.

The stack of cards in the middle got lower and lower as the game progressed and exploding kittens were turned up and defused. Yukina had a close call, but she managed to avoid one by seeing the future and then shuffling the deck.

When Ako asked for a favor, which was for any card in Yukina’s hand, she said a tearful goodbye to the beard cat. Then she looked at the next card, the one face down. She had a bad feeling about it, some sort of negative vibe, especially as the deck grew smaller.

She used an attack card, which would let her skip drawing and force Rinko, the next player, to draw twice. Rinko didn’t stop her, and that was enough to eliminate her.

The next card was another exploding kitten, this time one crunching on a stick of dynamite.

“Rin-rin nooo!” Ako cried out dramatically as Rinko deposited her hand in the discard pile.

Now they were down to three players. Yukina looked between Sayo and Ako. Ako was chuckling about something, while Sayo looked focused on the game. Lisa silently cheered each time Yukina drew a card.

They continued until there were only three cards left. Yukina pulled the top one and was forced to use her defuse. She put the exploding kitten at the bottom of the deck.

Sayo used a see the future, then a skip. Yukina could stop her, if she wanted to. She had one nope left in her hand, along with a single hairy potato cat. Sayo must’ve seen something bad if she wanted to skip; it would be so easy.

After a moment of thought Yukina did it, dropping the nope on top of Sayo’s card. Even though Sayo turned to glare at her, it was worth it. She was forced to use her defuse on the next card, another exploding kitten, which she placed back in the center of the three cards. Sayo looked pointedly at Yukina as she did, with both eyebrows raised; the card was placed just for her.

“I see how it is.” Yukina mused, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Ako, looking nervously between them, took her chances with the top card. She sighed in relief at whatever it was, adding it to her hand.

That only left two cards, which could only be exploding kittens. For Yukina, it was over. Her one potato cat couldn’t protect her from this.

“I’m out.” She said, taking the top exploding kitten and dropping her last card in the discard pile. “Sorry Lisa.” The cat that got her was in a house, chewing on a grenade. It was the cat from the box, causing mischief but being adorable while doing so. Yukina didn’t mind losing, since she got to look at this card. She placed it face up in front of her.

“You were pretty close!” Lisa was smiling, so she must’ve not minded that much.

When Sayo drew the next card a moment later, the game was over. She was forced to accept the last exploding kitten. This one was skittering over a keyboard, which caused missiles to launch worldwide. It wasn’t as good as the one Yukina got.

With that, Ako was the winner. She still had a lot of cards in her hand too, somehow.

“Congrats Ako-chan.” Rinko said as she started to regather the cards, putting the deck back together.

“Thanks!” Ako handed her remaining cards back to her. “Want to play again?” She directed this question towards Sayo, and then Yukina.

As Yukina gave her exploding kitten back, the one that blew up a house, she wondered if she would get a different one next time. “Yes, I will.”

Across from her, Sayo nodded. “One more round.”

They played many more rounds as the night went on, each winning at least once as the sun set.

It was a good way to spend their second to last night at training camp, to spend the time they set aside to be together. Soon they would return to the bustle of their regular lives, to complicated schedules and painful feelings.

For now, Yukina enjoyed the card game.

_______________________________________________________

End Note: This is a real card game and I played a round of it with a hand for each character to write this chapter. I posted a few pictures on my twitter if you want to see some of the cards: https://twitter.com/flipomatic1/status/1421197137157689344 You can play with 2-5 players, it’s great.

Next Chapter

[thetriggeredhappy]

imagine,,, wholesome platonic pyro x team,,, -🦂

i’ll admit, this one is a longie. (no warnings)

-

The second the end-of-day klaxon fired off, Pyro was jumping to their feet and bolting back towards base. Maybe this should worry the team, but they could hear giddy laughter bubbling up from somewhere within the suit, so they weren’t all that worried.

When everyone else got back to base, there was a sign pinned to the swinging doors into the common area, done in five colors of crayon with various smiley faces dotting the empty spaces. “Everyone come back at 7 o’clock please!” it said cheerfully. There was some mild grumbling from Medic, who’d wanted to get something to eat before he headed to go set to work on a project. Heavy clapped him on the shoulder gently and assured him that he could have a sandwich from Heavy’s little fridge.

At a few minutes to 7, nearly all of the mercs had turned up outside the doors of the common area. Scout ended up darting off to find Heavy and Medic, and was dragging them both back down the hall to the place when the doors swung open and Pyro hopped forth brandishing a balloon sword and wearing a party hat.

They gave some incomprehensible cheer, and gestured for the team to go inside.

The vision before them as they filed in was met mostly with wide eyes and complete surprise. The entire common area and kitchen were transformed into a bright, technicolor scene, balloons and streamers and banners hung aloft and across the walls. The chairs, usually in dull, age-worn greys and greens and blacks, were draped in bright new fabric, and every table had a polka-dotted tablecloth. The harsh overheads were dimmed as their beams were inturrupted with dozens of balloons of various colors, and the large table they all so often sat and ate at was absolutely covered with food. A record was spinning away, volume low but immediately working as a wonderful final touch to transform the room, so often home to tiredness and bickering and infighting during their time off, instead making it a place full of light and life.

Everyone ended up investigating something different. Scout, for one, immediately bounded over to the table of food. “Jesus H. fuckin’ Christ, Mumbles, this must’a taken you all night!” he exclaimed, shocked and enthusiastic all at the same time. He zeroed in on a massive stack of chocolate chip cookies, picking one up off the pile and eating it practically in one bite and talking through it. “I’m fuckin’ starving here though, thanks for—“

Then he stopped. Kept chewing, eyebrows furrowing together for a moment, energy freezing in its tracks as he did so, staring off into space like trying to remember something.

Suddenly, a very different energy. He looked at Pyro, who had their hands clasped together and was watching his reaction carefully. For maybe the first time in his life, he was entirely lost for words, for five, ten, fifteen seconds.

“Mumbles, this is... this why you asked me to get that recipe for you? For cookies?” he asked, quiet now, taken aback. Pyro nodded, asked him a question. He took a second or two to sort out what they asked, and then he nodded distractedly. “No, yeah, you nailed it, it’s perfect. Exactly right. It’s...”

He swallowed hard, swiped hard at his eyes with his forearm, laughed a little. Pyro opened their arms, and he accepted the hug immediately, pulling them into a tight embrace, lifting them up off the ground a little with it.

“Yeah. Tastes just like back home. My Ma would be real proud of you, ain’t anybody that ever gets it this right.” A harder squeeze for a minute. “Thank you. I... seriously, there’s not even words. Thank you. You’re the best, pal.”

Pyro squeezed him right back, and then released, moving away as he turned back to the table again, picking up another cookie and starting to eat it much more studiously.

They picked up a plate they’d set aside in the kitchen, hurrying over to present it to Heavy, who was investigating the balloons with some amount of amusement. He laughed the second he laid eyes on it, taking it from Pyro and looking more closely.

“Leetle Pyro, what is this?” he asked, clearly amused and pleased. “How did you make such leetle sandviches? Why is this?”

Pyro’s reply was cheerful, gesturing first to the sandwiches, then holding their finger and thumb close together, then gesturing over towards the rest of the team. Heavy gave a hearty laugh.

“Baby sandviches for baby team?” he asked, still laughing. Pyro nodded. “Oh, Doktor will love this. I go now to show him. Thank you, Pyro. Perhaps I make these and give to team more. Is very good joke.”

Pyro nodded, and Heavy wandered away, still laughing. They watched as he recounted the joke to Medic, clearly very proud of himself, laughing just as hard as the first time even as Medic fought down a grin and rolled his eyes. Heavy then moved on to the next teammate and repeated it.

Demo appeared to be talking Soldier down from popping every balloon on the same side of the color spectrum as the other team. Pyro moved over, jumping to grab hold of one of the strings, and handed one to Demo, who raised an eyebrow, already entertained by whatever they were on about. They grabbed another balloon and held it up to their own face, and inhaled exaggeratedly.

Demo’s expression lit up. “Och, now there’s an idea!” he said, and turned to Soldier. “Look here, watch this one!”

He pinched near the tail of the balloon, nipping a hole in the rubber and taking a deep inhale of it before pinching it back off again. He then turned back to Soldier and grinned.

“Aye, how do I—“ he started to ask, but promptly broke down in laughter at how high-pitched his voice had gone, only redoubling as he heard how ridiculous it was. Soldier and Pyro laughed as well, and within moments Engie had wandered over to see what the commotion was and was laughing as well. Pyro handed their balloon over to Soldier, who immediately moved to do the same thing, and soon the three of them were fully occupied with joking around with each other.

Pyro looked around and noted Spy looking at the sleeve that the record on the player belonged to, clearly trying very hard to seem bored. They moved over and took hold of the sleeve of his jacket, ignoring his protests and pulling him over to the table.

They promptly lifted a wine bottle from the wide selection of alcohol there at the end. They handed it to him, and he took it with a frown and started looking over the label.

His eyebrows shot up, and then he promptly narrowed his eyes at Pyro, a series of questions there in his eyes. The first was vocalized within a few seconds. “Not a particularly old selection, not to mention from some little local winery in France that I am quite sure very few people have ever even heard of,” he said pointedly. “And I’m sure very difficult to track down, even if you knew such an assuredly small backwater nowhere of a town existed. What would cause you to place a specialty order from anywhere like that?”

Pyro just looked at him, hands clasped behind their back.

Spy glanced around at their teammates for a few moments before he spoke again, his voice low. “I’m not entirely sure how you came into knowledge of my place of birth, but I assume I can trust you to make sure nobody else learns it,” he said, a weight to the word that implied it might not be trust, but instead a threat.

Pyro nodded without even needing to think about it, though, and Spy’s shoulders sagged momentarily. He then straightened, looking over the label for a few more moments, expression softening ever so slightly with each passing moment.

“And I’m sure there is not anyone who would be able to tell you this, but I do prefer red wine when given the opportunity of a choice,” he finally deigned to say, much lighter than before. He looked over at Pyro. “So thank you.”

Pyro nodded cheerfully, and edged a glass from the rest and towards him, then bounded off again.

Sniper was stood off away from the bustle to one side of the room, looking vaguely uncomfortable from his body language, even as his face was an impassive mask, revealing nothing. He visibly jumped as a balloon was popped by Medic on accident, frowning hard at it. Pyro moved over and greeted him, and he just nodded at them distractedly, gaze continuing to move between the record player and the table of food and the chaos of Soldier and Demo laughing themselves half to death over the helium and the bright, multicolored light filtering through the balloons. Pyro gingerly took hold of his sleeve where it was rolled up to his elbow and gently tugged on it, leading him through the door into the kitchen.

There were three overheads, but two had been blocked out almost entirely by a mass of black balloons, the final having a white sheet pinned over it to dull the light. Once through the door, the majority of the noise and commotion faded into the background. Pyro then prompted Sniper to look at a bag of coffee that was next to the coffee machine, which apparently already held a full pot of the stuff. Sniper investigated without fanfare, reading over the label.

“Some fancy fair-trade nonsense,” he said, even as his expression betrayed him being impressed, and somewhat surprised. “Leagues better than that tea nonsense our Europeans drinks, at least, and the bulk store buggery we’ve usually got.”

Pyro gestured enthusiastically towards the pot that had already been brewed. Sniper scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck.

“Don’t exactly have a mug for it, mate,” he said carefully. “Mine broke at breakfast a week or so ago, remember? Planned on headed out to a... thrift shop, or flea market or the like, sometime this weekend. Then I can give it a try. If, er... if there’s any left by then.”

Pyro put their hands on their hips, tapping their foot impatiently.

Sniper sighed, moving over to the cabinet where they kept cups. “I’ll just knick one from the other blokes, sure they won’t mind,” he finally agreed, pulling the doors open.

He froze for a few seconds, then gingerly pulled out a mug with a little ribbon bow affixed to the handle.

Sniper was at a loss for words for a moment, then laughed incredulously. “Mate, this was... in pieces, probably two dozen shards, this was long gone,” he marveled, looking over the tiny little cracks that showed up along the surface of it, just barely marring the surface that then read “#1 Sniper” bold and clear. “How bloody long did this take you?”

Pyro shrugged, a little bashful. Sniper appeared to be at a loss for what to do, and ended up putting the mug down, reaching over and giving them an awkward clap on the shoulder.

“Thanks, mate. I appreciate it,” he said, and maybe it would’ve been an underwhelming reaction for most people, but it was an awful lot more than Sniper generally gave to anyone, and so Pyro brightened immediately, bopping him right back.

Engie called them before they could even make it around to him. “Firebug!”

They left the kitchen right away, leaving Sniper behind to the relative quiet and dark and peace. Engie was by the table, looking over a bottle. They greeted him cheerfully.

“Now, this here says it’s sweet tea,” he said, holding up the bottle in question. “Now does that mean it’s some, uh, northern sweet tea that’s not much sweet of anything, or real sweet tea?”

“Maybe it’s Long Island iced tea,” Scout quipped from down the table. “You should chug it and see.”

Pyro waved Scout off and assured him it was real. They explained that they’d gone through all the steps to make the sweet tea the proper way, the same way he’d bemoaned to them every time they were stationed anywhere but in the heart of the United States’ South. Heating the tea up, adding tons of sugar while it was hot, and chilling it again. Engie nodded, apparently satisfied.

They then gestured him over a ways down the table, and directed his attention towards the center. He needed to lean up on his toes and crane his neck a little to see it over the mass of food there, but when his eyes landed on the centerpiece, he absolutely lit up, laughing a little.

“Firebug, where in Sam Hill did you manage to find bluebonnets?” he asked, absolutely delighted. “Those are a full month or so outta season. And those are fresh—bless your heart, did you grow these?”

Pyro nodded, and Engie laughed, drew them into a hug, clapping them on the back as he did so.

“You’re too sweet for your own good, honest you are,” Engie said, and Pyro laughed. “Doin’ all of this for everyone.”

Pyro shrugged, assured him it wasn’t any trouble, and drew back enough to point out to him that they’d made some food that he in particular would probably be excited about, and moved away as he picked up a plate and started digging right in.

They moved over to Soldier, and ended up tugging on his jacket until he finally abandoned where he and Demo were attempting to peer pressure Heavy into inhaling some helium. Pyro dragged him out the back door, making sure to prop it open behind them and saving a balloon from escaping and flying off into the stratosphere. They led him to the dumpster they’d dragged a few meters closer to the door, and flipped open the lid, quickly reaching inside and coming up with two armfuls.

Soldier could not have possibly looked any more excited than he did in that exact moment as he processed the sight of Lieutenant Bites and Lance Corporal Chompers wearing little party hats and covered in little pieces of paper confetti. He promptly set about informing those two—and the several other raccoons rapidly starting to escape from the dumpster—about just how goddamn adorable they looked in their tiny hats and rainbow confetti. He ended up seizing the Lieutenant and holding him tight to his chest, bringing him inside to show to Demo for the five minutes he managed to keep hold of him for before he darted right back out the door and joined his raccoon friends in tearing their cute little hats into shreds. Soldier brought the entire container of sour cream off of the table to give to them outside, and nobody stopped him.

Inside, he picked up one of the records and moved over to Medic, who was busy watching Heavy and Demo go lightheaded from inhaling helium, rolling his eyes the entire time even as he didn’t stop them. Pyro tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, and handed over the record.

Medic looked pleased, glancing over the record, flipping it over to look at the specific music on it. “I was not aware that we owned any records of classical music,” he mused, visibly cheered up. “I thought that our Soldier had shattered most of them last time we attempted to play board games as a team bonding exercise.”

Pyro nodded, and Medic looked over the album again.

“Ja, this is new. Did you buy this specifically for this, er... occassion?” Medic asked, eyebrows drawn together.

Pyro shook their head, gesturing fro the record to Medic.

“It’s for me then?” Medic asked, starting to grin, and Pyro for one didn’t comment on how worrying he looked when he was pleased with something. “Danke, how very kind of you! It is very much appreciated, my friend. Might I play it now?”

Pyro nodded, and he did. The first swells of a symphony filled the room, and Scout and Demo briefly bemoaned listening to “boring fancy-pants music”, but the tunes were so lighthearted and cheerful that they quickly forgot about it, letting it fade into background noise.

The change of music to something more calm and the general mood of the room settling down were enough to coax Sniper out from the kitchen, and soon Soldier had returned, his and Scout’s moods significantly mellowed out following what they’d been given by Pyro. Soon enough, they were all sat around the table, digging in and talking cheerfully. It was an eclectic assortment of options, and everyone was surprised to find foods specific to their own tastes, and all talked excitedly about their own meals, the stories surrounding the times when they’d eaten them. Heavy, for one, wouldn’t stop repeating his new favorite joke about baby sandwiches for baby teammates.

And then plates were being passed around. Spy was trying brisket, and the Engineer was trying clam chowder, and Scout was trying brautwurst, and Medic was trying crocodile jerky. Some of them collectively bemoaned the favorite food of the others—only Sniper seemed to enjoy the stew Heavy so much liked, saying it had some weird spice combinations, and the corn on the cob that Soldier was ripping through had far too much salt and butter on it according to the entire Support team as well as Demo and Heavy. And only Scout was brave enough (or rather, dared) to try the family recipe venison pie, but upon him saying it actually wasn’t that bad, Medic and Soldier we’re inclined to try, the reception lukewarm and positive respectively. Others were enthusiastic, Scout in particular being surprised that the quiche was something that “Mister hoity-toity” Spy himself claimed to be a favorite, and there being a unanimous consensus at the table that the chocolate chip cookies were downright delicious. Pyro assured Scout that they would make more for him when he seemed a little worried that everyone else would clear that plate and not leave any left over.

For hours, they sat, they ate, they talked, they told stories. Some from their childhoods, and growing up, and traveling, others simply the product of their going on tangents of tangents.

There was only a cake left on the table at the end of the night, luckily a very small one, most of them two steps past full. They agreed that everyone would at least attempt one slice of it, and Pyro stood up and fetched a cake knife and some fresh plates from the kitchen.

“Hey, hey Mumbles,” Scout said upon their return before they could even sit down. “How come you did all this, anyways? Like, seriously, this—this had to be like, days of work.”

“Weeks, even,” Spy chimed a few chairs down.

“Entire weekends,” Engie agreed.

“Awful lot of work to go to, aye?” Demo asked, blinking curiously at them.

Pyro shifted, a little nervous, set the knife down to fidget with their hands for a few seconds. Their reply was so mumbled that nobody could pick up on it.

“I beg your pardon?” Medic asked, leaning in a little, brows furrowed.

Pyro repeated themselves slightly louder.

“Afraid I didn’t catch that,” Engie said from their right.

Pyro repeated themselves slightly louder.

In an instant, Scout was on his feet, openly shocked. “Woah, hold on, are you fuckin’ serious?!” he all but shouted, absolutely aghast.

Questioning noises from around the table.

“They said it’s their fuckin’ birthday.”

An amount of chaos. Some were incredulous, some shocked, others apologetic, others mostly just confused.

“Jesus H. fucking Christ, Mumbles, how come you didn’t tell nobody?!” Scout demanded, voice rising over most of the others and cutting through the noise. “I mean, shit, I don’t even have a gift or nothin’!”

Pyro’s response was drowned out by the rest of the team carrying on, and Scout gestured wildly at them to make them shut up, and silence fell again. He gestured at them, then, and they repeated themselves, speaking slowly and clearly and loudly to be understood through the mask.

“Well, maybe the only gift I really wanted was to give something to all the rest of you guys. To thank you for being my friend.”

Silence, and then chaos again.

A few voices could be picked out. Heavy, exclaiming “Of course leetle Pyro is friend, is credit to team!”. Sniper exclaiming, “Look, we don’t—no need to thank us, we like being mates with you, you lunatic!”. Demo exclaiming, “Cut it with the thanks lark, all these gifts, you know we love ya to death, lad!”. Soldier exclaiming, “We aren’t friends, we are brothers! Metaphorically!”. Similar sentiments echoed, mercs pointing at each other end agreeing heartily, and they carried on for quite some time before they all started falling quiet again, apparently noticing the sound coming from within Pyro’s suit, hands clasped across the bottommost part of their mask.

The crying sound.

“Hey, hey, c’mon now Firebug, what’re the tears for?” Engie urged gently, hand on their shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” they assured, sniffling. “I just love you guys.”

Scout stood up again, apparently making a decision. “Okay, that’s it. Stand up,” he said, and Pyro did. “Alright, group hug. Everyone get in here.”

The team started rising from their own seats within a moment, for once not arguing with the unusual show of affection and camaraderie.

“Hey, that means you, Legs,” Scout said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Sniper as the man stood up. “Get the fuck in here. You too Spy, don’t be a dick.”

“I’m just moving to get around the table, don’t be an animal,” Spy deadpanned, and Sniper murmured an agreement, and then the whole team was there. All just stood, practically crushing Pyro under the weight of eight men’s worth of embraces, and they returned it as best they could, still a bit sniffly.

But then, “Happy birthday to Leetle Pyro,” Heavy said decisively, and the sentiment was immediately echoed by the rest of the team, and then the waterworks were back in full effect. This apparently prompted Soldier to decide they weren’t hugging Pyro tightly enough, at which point he started hugging at maximum strength, surprising several mercs and almost sending them toppling into the table. Once they decided the sappiness was over, and Demo asked if anyone actually had any room left for the cake and largely got a chorus of “no”s in response, Scout picked it up and shoved it directly into Spy’s face, and the mood was back to a cheerful version of normal as Medic reminded them idly that they still had plenty of alcohol left to consume.

Pyro wouldn’t be hard pressed to call it the best birthday ever, especially since their being the one celebrating it meant they were informed that they didn’t have to help with the cleanup afterwards.

[2lim3rz]

Last Chancers Spoilers With A Side of Tau

I.. love this book? So m uch? If I had to make a top 10 list of favorite books, this one’s on there even though it’s technically 2 or 3 

Overall, READ these books! I so recommend the Last Chancers by Gav Thorpe like- Holy shit it’s so good

ANYWAYS! Onto the T’au stuff first!

>There’s some sort of Fire Caste bonding ceremony thing for brothers at arms called ta’lissera,

>Fire castes have ritual combats where death is common, or at least common enough to be of note that it happens

>This group of Kroot at least, run in family groups called kindreds and I think that it’s cool and a little adorable

Now! Onto my ramble!

T’au don’t know what toasting was, so poor Por’la’kunas was terrified when Oriel was like “a toast for El’savon!” and everyone was just “!?!?! YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?!” Such a wonderful moment of cultural confliction askldfkl i love it

I’ma start at the beginning with..

13TH LEGION / DELIVERANCE

MAN! This was a wonderful start to the hell ride that too my heart! It introduced me to some of my favorite characters [Asides from Kage] namely, Franx, Striden, Kronin,Gudmanz and Poal. I love them all for different reasons and of course I’ma ramble about them too: POAL: An ex-priest who had enough bullshit in his life and decided to yell at the Cardinal, I love himm. Of course, he like the others of the 13th Penal Legion, is rough around the edges, but I think that’s what makes him great. I love the things he reveals religious wise of the Imperium. At least, what happens if you don’t necessarily believe, anyhow. FRANX: My MAN man I love Franx, he was wonderful and it’s impressive how much of a trooper he was. And, if I’m remembering right, his more-or-less selfless crime made him as memorable as much as he was.. I’d say cheery in a grim fashion? Sort of in the same way as how Kage says “Time to die!” before every major conflict KRONIN: Sure, he only speaks in litanies and the 40k equivalent of bible verse, but he still made his point across and honestly, he was great. I have less to say, sure, but it was utterly tragic how far he got before he died in the background. Not a word, not a scene telling of how he died, just an assumption from Kage that it was bloodloss

GUDMANZ: A 286 year old tech priest, so you already know he took my heart from just being a tech-priest. I Mmmeeean, he did a pretty serious crime, but 40k is just “choose your warcrime” sometimes and I dig it. Anyhow, Gudmanz was a decent dude.. a.. more or less nice old man. Kinda sad how he died

STRIDEN: The only non criminal on this, I just love his enthusiasm for orbital bombardments and his really good moral compass. It was neat to see how Gav Thorpe seemed to write him being.. uhh.. I’d dare to say fascinated about the Colonel’s crew before seeing them as the criminals they are

KILL TEAM:

OohohoHOHOHOHOHOooooo MAN this one’s got all the things I love, T’au, Kage, Kage being an asshole, Colonel being an asshole, sassing off to the T’au, Kage saying he has patience and then flipping off the lid 2 seconds later. I’m actually kinda upset that Marn died cause he seemed kinda chill, I mean we’re ignoring how he’s described as my dream guy, but I digress Characters I love this time? Orak, Trost,Moerk,, and Quidlon

ORAK: He’s a Kroot! A cool Kroot, so far from what I’ve seen, all Kroot are cool characters. Love ‘em a lot

TROST: Demo man!! He’s great, snaps off at Kage and picks his battles. I love how smug he is about demo stuff 

MOERK: HERO!! And a hero’s end he got! A fucking travesty he was put into the 13th, he seemed a great Commissar, loyal to the end

QUIDLON: Brains! I love hi mm! All the way to the part where Tech Priests didn’t like him cause he liked to tinker with things. HOLY SHIT I wasn’t prepared to find out how I guess T’au battlesuits are wired to their pilots or something cause it fried him QwQ

ANNIHILATION SQUAD:

This one, THIS is where Gav Thorpe officially took my heart. Kage finding out he’s a psyker and the possession scenes?! GOD DAMN the possession scenes got me! As much as the ending was tragic, it was the tragedy that befits Kage in the best way. He’s a broken man, a devastated man. He well established how the reason he lives is because he wants to live.

He just wants to live to be alive. And his death is just so MAN! I can’t word it properly and it upsets me, but just.. WOW! He takes fate by the throat and does what he does beast: Complete the mission at hand through the means he has. Even if it’s unconventional. However, I think the part that really marked his ending, was the death of Lorii. I really feel like she was the only human Kage relatively cared about on some level, hell, I feel like while he would’ve fought back, that if it wasn’t for the daemon possessing him, he would’ve at least convinced her or die trying

Not as many characters like the others, but I do have a precious few:Erasmus ‘Razzy’ Spooge, Oaheb, Brin Dunore, adding Colonel Schaeffer and Kage to the list too.. Okay maybe it’s a lot, Annihilation Squad was amazing

ERASMUS SPOOGE: Asdklfasklfh I love him, he’s such a strong dude even if he’s non-combatant, unlike Kelth he actually helps and gets a nickname from Brin! I love his questioning words and the servoskull of his dad he totes around

DERFLAN KIERK: While not one of my faves, I feel like it needs to be put out there how much of a character he is! Love it! Love the whole shenanigan with the Firefather too

OAHEB: I think he’s a psychic-blank? It’s super hard to tell but I love how he’s just sort of There. There to the point Kage downright dislikes and ignores the dude but he gives such good pieces of advice and words of wisdom the few times he speaks aksldfklh

BRIN DUNMORE: Brin ‘Brownie’ Dunmore, I like how he sees the humor in the nickname he just can’t shake off and MAN he’s a great character. A trooper to the end and overall, I just think he’s a great dude. He’s not ‘criminal scum’ like the rest no idea about oaheb tho and not counting Spooge He adds a little bit of light to the dreary darkness, even if Kage shoots him down a lot

COLONEL SCHAEFFER: The COLONEL! My MAN! I love how much of a force of nature he is! How terrifying he feels. How he’s over 300 years old and still an.. well not angry but very determined individual. There’s no care for Kage at all, but he does have some sort of odd comradrie with him, especially when he talks to the daemon inside Kage. MAN! He’s so fucking awesome and badass I can go off all day on him

KAGE S.: We don’t know much about Kage, admittedly, we only know his last name starts with an S, he’s maybe 30 something years old. That he was raised in the hives of Olympas before getting sent to the 13th for killing his Sargent and he and the Colonel have some sort of.. They have some sort of hatred for each other going on but they’re still comrades in the end, in a warped sense. Overall, I love how he sticks by his morals, even if those morals are very few and very slim. He’s a bulwark against threats of the Imperium, not even a Daemon could get him even if it caused so much havoc. And he’s  such a broken man. Corinatorum, I feel, is what really broke him. The description of how he saw the living children as just piles of dust. It haunts him day in and day out, but he still keeps going. He still puts one foot after another. Yes he’s an asshole and yet there’s.. there’s just something admirable in how he keeps going. How much that despite he says he’ll leave everyone behind, he still goes back to save Franx. How he still helps others, whether he realizes it or not. He’s such an amazingly written character and I love it!

Overall, the Last Chancers was an amazing book and a wonderful [albeit unconventional] entry into books about Imperial Guardsmen and their lives. I’d honestly say that, so far, it’s revealed a lot of things I never would’ve thought about in the Imperium and it’s wonderful! Wonderfully grimdark!

[who-is-olivia]

Who Is Olivia?

Harry Styles x OC

Harry proposes during the recordings of Made in the AM. [4.2k]

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: hello! fine line is on the way and i think i might have a creative meltdown when it arrives, so i'll just keep posting whatever i please with all the beautiful content harry's ever brought to light. this chapter is a throwback to old school 1D fanfics, bringing the boys back because i'm soft and i miss one direction =) enjoy xx

August 2015

“And you will find me... in places that we’ve never been, for reasons we don’t understand, walking in the wind” he sings in the booth for the 8th time, then stands quietly for a few seconds to give her a clean cut spot. “How’s that?”

“You’re almost hitting the note, but it’s not quite yet” Olivia comes over to the booth, “If you put more pressure in it you might find the best placement, come on, do it again”

He rubs his frown in stress, it’s late and he’s tired, having Oli press him is not helping at all. “Don’t we have a take already?”

“We have, but you can do better”

“Come on, love...”

“Trust me, you can do better-“

“Can we take 5?” he asks Julian, who just shrugs. It’s already late, it makes no difference. However, Olivia doesn’t take it half as well as him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m bloody exhausted, that’s what, and having you... diss me every two takes is not helping”

“You think I’m picking on you?” she asks skeptically.

“I’m just saying you don’t criticize Liam or Niall half as much as you do me” he fires back in frustration. Instead of lashing out as he expects she will, Olivia waits for him to calm down and then spells it out for him.

“The only reason I push you is because I want you to give your best. If you want someone to pat your head and shower you in compliments, you’ll sound fine, but fine is also mediocre” he nods in agreement, letting his head fall embarrassed. At the comfort of that position, he almost lets his eyes close but he knows once he does that he’ll probably fall asleep. “We’re almost there, just help us out”

“Alright... I’m sorry” he replies with a small sigh and so she pulls him to a hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulder as she strokes his back.

“Forgiven” she leaves him with a small smile and a quick kiss, “Don’t forget to put pressure on it”

Julian starts the recorder once again, signaling to him that they’re rolling before playing him the playback. “And you will find me... in places that we’ve never been, for reasons we don’t understand, walking in the wind”

Oli waits for a couple of moments before grinning, “I think it’s the take, come out here”

  After Zayn left, making the fifth album was insane. The four of them kept pulling to completely different artistic directions, Julian could barely help them with the singles so little he could give some coherence to the album. That’s when Oli decided to step in.

  Harry knows he pales in the shadow of her abilities as songwriter, virtuosi and producer altogether so he willingly gave her the helm. At first, the other lads were uncomfortable with her command, fearful that this was one of Harry’s things he does for love, but surely enough Olivia proved herself to be very experienced. Harry always wanted to be an entertainer, but he never truly endeavored to become one before the X-Factor, however Oli’s been almost genetically programed for that, studying music ever since she could talk, studying every part of the process and also rubbing shoulders with generations of rockstars. She’s the woman for the job.

  For their luck, Oli and Frank have been touring across America keeping track of One Direction’s leg in there, often making shows in the same city but a few days apart. To keep up with the recordings, she’s been making an extra effort, dedicating almost all her vacant hours to the album. As they often record in hotel rooms, it at least offers a place for them to pass out after endless hours of work.

“Check it out” she places the heavy headphones over his ears so he can hear the mix with the guitar base. Her whole equipment lies on the bed and over the tables, it’s the best she and Julian could assemble... at least it gets a really great sound.

“That sounds really nice” he smiles at her.

“See? I told you”

  She takes all the material they recorded and starts mixing with Julian at their improvised studio. At some point, Liam and Louis decide to participate, leaving Oli free to rest after long hours of work. She curls up in the bed and immediately blacks out, making Harry feel a bit guilty – through all his hissy fits about exhaustion he never once considered how tired she must’ve been feeling, as not once did she bring it up. But now there’s no point in apologizing, he just lays behind her and spoons her back, holding her like a big teddy bear through deep slumber.

  He wakes up hours later with her still unconscious in his arms. It takes a moment for him to realize where he is, getting up without moving her the slightest he notices Julian and Liam still glued to the computer. At the balcony, he finds Louis and Niall sharing a beer and laughing while the sun creeps up the horizon, so he decides to join.

“Morning lads”

“Morning, Romeo” Niall pokes.

“What’re you up for?”

“Trying to come up with something, we’re still missing a couple tracks” Louis explains, taking a gulp of beer. “You’ve got anything?”

“I always do, just don’t know if it could make it to the album” he mentions while resting his back on the railing. He keeps a writing journal full of poems ever since the band started, and in it he keeps great ideas that never saw the light of day. Recently, he wrote one that feels very personal and very cheeky... just thinking about it makes him laugh. “I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I have a really great one”

“How does it go?”

“It’s silly...”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I just play around with Oli’s name” they raise their brows, ready to mock him. “One of these days she was telling me something about alliterations or something like that, and I just played around with the phrase-“ he blushes, “‘I love Olivia’, because the L sound just bounces off. So I wrote a song for her that went I live for you, I long for you, Olivia, I’ll be now idolizing the light in your eyes, Olivia... see? It bounces off”

“S’ a bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Niall comments skeptically but Louis is thoroughly entertained. “Using her name on the song, it’s not very subtle”

“We’ve got songs with names on them” he argues, playing with the glass bottle. “Don’t see why not”

“We better tell Liam about it-“

“Tell me what?” the man himself walks through the door to join his bandmates with a bottle of his own.

“Harry’s got a cool song for the album but it’s got Oli’s name on it” Niall explains.

“Is she cool with that?”

“She doesn’t know yet” Harry clarifies.

“Well, is it a good song?”

“It’s not done yet, but it has potential” he insists while noticing how much their confidence as a group has grown over the past few months. They embark on his idea without even hearing the full song, although they’ve been rewarded for their trust time and time again. Harry came up with some great compositions this time around, taking all his experience with the band and Olivia in consideration.

“If you want, you can make a demo when we get to London and show us what you’ve got. I think we booked Abbey Road for a couple of days”

“Alright, I’ll give it a go”

  Before they start the British leg of the tour, they get a couple weeks off schedule which give Harry some time to finish the melody before actually recording it. The last shows of the American leg take place fairly close to New York, so he and Oli get to go home ahead of everyone else. Sadly, one side effect of touring for three months in a row is an empty fridge, making them drag their already exhausted bodies out of the house for their meals.

“Do they need someone for the orchestras? I know a guy who can help” Olivia tells, holding her Starbucks cup in one hand and Harry’s on the other.

“Thanks love, but we’ll record the rest in London”

“Oh, right! I forgot... shit, I’ve got to book a flight” she gets ready to fumble for her phone but he holds her wrist.

“I’ll get a private one, just chill, I’ve got this” he soothes, pulling her hand to his lips then smiling amicably.

She smiles back but it immediately flips into an irritated growl. “For fuck’s sake”, he turns around and notices a couple paparazzi snapping at them. When they notice they’ve been caught they lose all decorum and just harass them.

“Harry, how’s the tour? Are you taking a break?” one of them asks, shoving the camera on his face.

“Hey, back the fuck off-“

“Oli, don’t” Harry holds her closer, taking the sunglasses from his shirt and handing them over so she can at least cover her face. “Let’s get a cab”

“Have you been talking to Zayn?” another one asks.

“Would you please let us through? We just wanna walk” Harry pleads politely.

“Sure man, I’m just doing my job” a third one steps out of the way, helping him and Olivia reach a cab and leave the streets for good.

“77th with Central Park West, please”

Olivia watches the paparazzi stay behind as the taxi speeds by, “Where are we going?”

“It’s a restaurant beside Central Park, I went there the other day, thought you might like”

She smiles, “Look at you, all local and stuff”

“I’m looking forward to at least a year of vacation, might as well learn my way around”

“Oh, thank you, by the way” she returns the sunglasses which he stores in his shirt once again.

  They disembark at Central Park, being faced with an enormous queue outside the restaurant they were set to enter. In spite of it, they decide to walk around anyway. The park is a couple blocks away from their apartment, a purposeful decision as Harry appreciates extensive morning jogs when he sticks around. Although they come from polar opposite backgrounds, they both grew accustomed to New York and truly built a life in the city.

“A little blue bird told me that we’re recording at Abbey Road next week... is it true?” she taunts.

“Yes...” she celebrates discreetly, “You’ve never been there?”

“No, never! I always wanted to record something there”

“And Uncle Paul never took you?” he mocks.

“Very funny” she scowls in return, pushing him away.

“You know, it’d be crazy to go to Abbey Road with a Beatle...” he pulls her back, “What do you say? I give you the Road, you bring the McCartney?”

“He’s probably busy” she laces her arm around his, “Uncle Jim used to say Paul and Ringo only show up if there’s a wedding or a funeral... let’s see which one comes first”

“Let’s see” he looks down, his mind immediately sinking deep in thought.

  They’ve talked about getting married, they agreed to it months ago but they never made a move to officialize it.  They didn’t arrange a party, invite their friends or consult a register office — hell, he didn’t even buy a proper ring. For a moment he frets she might think he’s given up, they’ve been living in good graces for three years straight, the only reason they’re not properly married yet is... inertia. Maybe, with the stars aligning and time on their side, he can come up with something.

“What is it?”

“Hm?”

“You got all quiet all of a sudden” she rests her chin on his shoulder, “What is it?”

“Just random things in my mind”

“Yeah, no shit!” he chuckles, “Mind to share?”

“Have you ever written songs about me?”

She frowns, “Not exactly... I usually write about what I feel, and you’re usually the cause of that but it’s way more complex than that. Feelings are a mix of all the baggage you have from life and a catalyst, something that makes you express that. Sometimes that’s you, sometimes it’s not”

He sighs, sometimes she’s humiliatingly clever, “That’s very... fancy”

“I know” she holds on to his hand, holding another over her eyes as the sun hits them directly. “Have you ever written songs about me?”

“All my songs are about you in some way, shape or form, I don’t even have a fancy answer for that” he takes his sunglasses off again and places them over her face, she mutters a small ‘thanks’. “And it’s a bit weird ‘cause I always want people to relate to the songs but I feel like they’re too specific, might as well just slap your name in the title” he suggests almost as an internal joke with himself.

“I think you’re not getting this right”

“Yeah?”

“Take Uncle Paul for example: he wrote a bunch of songs with names on them and people still relate to it. Like Michelle, Dear Prudence, Sexy Sadie...”

“I think they listen to it more like made up stories than like autobiographies”

“Maybe, but you see, these songs have a clear subject and yet everyone can be touched by the lyrics. When you hear Dear Prudence do you think about Prudence Farrow locked up in her room at an Indian meditation camp?”

“I didn’t even know that story” he admits.

“Exactly, and you don’t have to! ‘Cause when you hear Dear Prudence you understand it’s about going outside, enjoying the day and feeling good about yourself”

He ponders, maybe his song can make its way to the album like that: being based on this incredible experience he lives every moment they’re together but still describing something everyone goes through, “Yeah, it feels like that”

“See? And he’s not talking to you, he’s talking to Prudence” she points a finger on his face to prove a point. “The best art makes you feel personally addressed, even if there’s a name between the artist and the listener. You can quote me on that”

“Alright, clever clocks” he pulls her to a hug and presses a playful kiss on her lips, which extends to this sweet contact in the middle of Central Park. This last album has been challenging, it’s pushed Harry so hard he sometimes feels he’s not up to task as a singer, a composer or a producer. And having her beside him’s helped him realize all the things he can do as well as what he can be better at. He breaks the kiss but keeps his forehead pressed against hers. “Thanks, love”

“I can tell when you need a pep talk”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my left nipple starts aching” he laughs between them and curtly gropes her left tit.

“This one?” she pushes his hand away.

“Stop it!”

  Their domestic week ends too fast, soon they’re back in London to record the rest of the album. Her words help him finish the song without any insecurity holding him back, in fact it inspires him so much that as soon as he gets to London he walks into Cartier and buys her engagement ring. He chooses a delicate one in rose gold with flowers engraved on it and a small diamond nestled between the carvings.

  Today is the last day of recording at Abbey Road and he decides this is the day he’ll propose. However, to do it right, he’ll need a plan:

“Lou, keep her busy in studio 1” he instructs, gathering the four of them on a circle with their arms around their shoulders, almost like a football team, “mess up as many takes as you can-“

“That won’t be hard” he mocks.

“Liam and I will record the strings and the vocals at studio 3, remember, you have to stall her there”

“We get it mate, keep her in studio 1” Niall sighs tiredly.

“Right, when I call her up, you wait outside the hallway. I’ll play her the song and ask, if she says no... please, pretend like it never happened-“ Lou smacks the back of his head. “Ouch!”

“Stop saying that, focus!”

“Alright!... when she says yes, you can bring it on” they all nod excitedly, “Don’t forget to bring Frank up!”

“We’ve got this” Liam hypes, putting his hand in the middle so they follow. “3, 2, 1-“

“We push!”

  The plan gets into motion when she arrives at the studio, leaving her coat at the door. She starts taking pictures of the lobby to send her Uncle, but as soon as she crosses the security Louis comes over and drags her to studio 1.

“Come on lass, we’ve got loads to do!” he pulls her by the hand playfully.

“Calm down, I can walk!” she groans but jogs behind him nonetheless.

  While she’s busy recording Lou’s uncannily messy vocals, Harry and Liam greet a violinist that plays the sheet music for the chorus and the outro. They’re recording and mixing at the same time, hurrying to get a decent enough base for the vocals with what they’ve been working on for the past couple of days, skipping through compressors and equalizers just to get something done.

  At the hallway, Niall is returning from the restroom when he catches Olivia sneaking out studio 1 to look for Harry.

“Oi! What’s up?”

“I can’t take this anymore, if Lou messes up one more time I’ll hit him with my shoe” she pulls her braids out of her face. “Where’s Harry?”

“I... I don’t think he’s here yet” he messes up the last few words. God he sucks at lying, and his hard accent doesn’t help one bit.

She frowns suspiciously, “You  sure?”

“We can call him later, come on” he pushes her frustrated self back to studio 1, “we don’t have all day”

  Few more hours pass and Niall replaces Louis in the recording booth to give her a break, they know he’s got the best intentions at heart but it’s not working a treat. Harry steps into the booth to record his vocals in one go, it doesn’t sound great but he can work on it better if they actually decide to put it on the album. He’s got a lot to prove with this song: for once, he has to prove himself as an artist that can make something incredibly specific and still relatable; and then prove himself to the band, even if it’s probably their last album he wants to be relevant in it. His songs were never really taken seriously, neither were Zayn’s, and he doesn’t want to thread the same path as him.

At last his input is enough, they get great takes and start mixing it together with time to spare — that is, until Louis rushes inside: “Lads, come on, she’s not buying it! Tell me you’ve got it”

“We’ve got it!” Liam replies enthusiastically but Harry holds him back.

“Wha- No! I-I haven’t got anything!” his heart starts racing as it never did before, the prospect of the big moment being so close terrifies him. “I’m not ready for it”

“Of course you are! Mate, you’ve been together for ages, this is just one more step” he encourages, holding Harry by his shoulders.

“Bloody hell... what if she says no?”

“She won’t say no!”

“What if she does?!”

“Then nothing changes! You keep on living your life just without a ring and a wedding date” Louis argues, crossing his arms casually as he tries do play it cool. “Now, can I call her in?”

Harry takes a deep breath and nods, Liam’s hands slip from his shoulder with a friendly pat. “You’ll be great”

  They leave the studio with encouraging looks, leaving him alone and anxious in the vast studio. He pats his jacket to find the box safely stored inside his pocket, one more time he takes a deep breath. This is happening. The silence seems to extend for ages when the door opens again, this time for Oli to sneak in. Once he sees her it dawns on him what is about to happen, but he doesn’t panic... instead he feels at ease.

“What are you up to?” she tip toes inside and sits on his lap, pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

“Just checking this demo”

“Hmm, quite the professional!” she mocks, looking at the tracks. There’s too few of them, only one vocal track and three instrumentals. She’s about to mess with it when he holds her hand.

“Before you play... just bare with me, it’s not ready yet, it’s just a demo –“

“It’s okay Haz”

“– I know, but it just might not reach your standards...”

“Harry... look, I know how hard you’re working on this, I’ve watched you learn this bit by bit for years. I had a lifetime of learning what you learned in five years, don’t be harsh on yourself” she strokes his hair with a humble smile, as if she’s begging him not to torture himself about it. “Now, may I?” he nods in response so she hits the space bar.

 The metronome count starts and a simple violin chord plays before Harry’s vocal kicks in blasting around the room’s sound system. Although she loves every piece of him to the bones, there’s something special about his raspy voice that gets her weak in the knees. She listens to it keeping her eyes fixed on the ground to better focus on her hearing. The first couple of verses are a bit weak, but she won’t say anything to an already nervous Harry. The following ones sound a bit better until it comes to the pre-chorus.

“Please believe me, don’t you see the things you mean to me oh! I love you, I love you, I love-I love- I love Olivia”

“Wait” she frowns at the computer, then the chorus progresses.

“I live for you, I long for you Olivia-“

“Oh my god...” her eyes turn to him in a bolt, he only smirks with those cheeky dimples of his and hugs her waist closer.

“... I’ll be now idolizing the light in your eyes, Olivia. I live for you, I long for you, Olivia-”

“Oh my fucking god...” he laughs at her reaction, covering up her mouth in a struggled gasp. “You didn’t!”

“I did!”

“When you’re gone and I’m alone you live in my imagination, summertime and butterflies all belong to your creation. I love you, is all I do, I love you...”

She chokes a bit at the lyrics, and that is the moment Harry chooses to get the velvet box from his pocket and show it to her. “Oh, come on...” she cries absolutely overwhelmed at the sight of that beautiful delicate ring. She was successfully fooled, in no way would she ever imagine that the sound he was working so hard on was for her and that it was also his proposal... still, all she can do is smile and cry at the same time.

“I think I’ve said it all already, but still” he starts, her reaction causing him to tear up a bit. “You said you wanted a ring, a speech and an ugly cry”

“I did, didn’t I?” she tries to say through a sob.

“Will you marry me, love?”

“Yes! Of course!” she cups his cheek earnestly and kisses him with all she’s got, leaning into him gently but with the sheer will of a hurricane. She breaks the kiss only to wipe her own cheeks and leave a strained chuckle, “I swear to you, one of these days you’re gonna kill me”

“No way, who’s gonna finish the album” to that, she can only roll her eyes. “May I?” he takes her hand.

“Please” she watches him slip the delicate ring on her finger, astounded by his attention to detail. “It’s so beautiful... everything Haz, seriously, the song is...” she huffs, absolutely speechless. Harry smiles in satisfaction, lacing her hips as she hugs his neck pressing herself completely against him, feeling his love irradiating from every pore.

“I meant every word” he whispers, cupping the back of her neck and showering her with small pecks on the cheek.

“She said yes?” they both turn to the door and find Liam, Niall, Louis and Frank lining up at the frame waiting to come in.

“Of course she did!” Harry answers smugly.

“She said yes!” Lou screams, sparking a big celebratory mayhem of champagne popping and flying paper around them. “You should’ve seen his face when we left, he was totally passing out”

“He was shaking” Liam adds.

“Thanks mate, cheers”

“Were you stalling me today?” she points to Louis in accusation.

“In my defense, I was told to stall you for the whole afternoon”

“Can’t believe you were all in it... how long have you been outside?”

“We got here when the music started, I gotta say... it’s really good” Lou compliments, handing them plastic cups of champagne.

“Really good” Niall joins, “We should put it on the album... I mean, if you’re ok with it”

“I’m more than ok with that” she laughs.

“Than that’s it! Just missing another three songs” Louis mocks.

“Can we take a break? Just got engaged, if anyone noticed" Harry shrugs, his inner egomaniac begging the attention to turn back to him.

"Cheers!" they join cups in the center an down the content of their cups merrily, then doing it again this time with Harry and Olivia crossing their arms to do so.

A/N: and that's it! just a small taste, i've got more stuff cooking, adore you has been driving me crazy all week but i'm still figuring out how it makes me feel and how it can become a story... you'll see xx

Check more at masterlist

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

“i had a dream about the Borderlands are Yours trailer last night for like the 7th time so i guess i ought to do the analysis before i have a breakdown”

find the trailer here

~discussion of the cloth map spoilers occurs in here, but nothing else. if you’re worried about those spoilers do not read~

non-spoiler tl;dr: we discuss why rhys’s head implant is yellow instead of blue in this one particular scene and also go thru a bunch of theories as to what tf is up with Zer0. and some other stuff about giant space lasers

so the intro is pretty much the same as the we are mayhem trailer so we’re gonna ignore that since we figured out where sanc-iii was

pretty sure this scene has been shown already too, in the official announce trailer, i remember taking note of the pink shots

another cov camp on pandora (see elpis in the back). ive said it before and ill say it again i adore amara’s as animations

seen this a bajillion times as well

from we are mayhem near the end. also im still lowkey convinced that robot directly to the right of moze is jakobs. i know i’m probably wrong but... i want to believe. it reminds me of a cowboy

The Are. this is directly below Sanc-III (u can see the wall in the background)

eden-6!!! im interested in the signs in the back there

Prison, Reliance, Jakobs Estate, and... amoe kyuri??? wtf does this say?? idek.

This A Way (glad to know Claptrap will haunt us from beyond Sanc-III)

im interested in the Prison. i wonder if that’s any of those concrete structures/buildings we’ve been seeing across eden-6. i was under the assumption those were like testing facilities, but a prison would also make a whole hell of a lot of sense.

actually

given this sign here over the bridge to the left of the above shot

and the fact we see this concrete structure on the far left in this coming shot

that might actually make some lick of sense...

also can i just say i love the aesthetic of this supply line

so there’s a lot of shots here we’ve already seen and gone over multiple times, im not going to do that again. sorry but... eh.

maliwan = cultists confirmed

i mean if the cult-themed t-shirts being maliwan colored didn’t already cue us in on that, this definitely should lol

and speaking of this shot, i wonder if this has anything to do with Rhys’s building? the one his office would be in. it looks like there are multiple levels to the right of this robo

ah maliwan working with the cult why am i not surprised

rhys gets fucking annihilated (TM)

in all honesty... given this quest name

“Space-Laser Tag” and the subsequent quest “Atlas, At Last” makes me honestly think rhys is about to seriously get fucked up

which sucks. i like rhys. we’ll talk more about this in a second, but i don’t think its coincidence the VHs have come up to the asteroid belt to stop the giant space laser and thus are not on Promethea where the laser is going to hit

better look at this shot, that definitely looks like a rampager to me. i get it, i think. gearbox is hyping up this rampager fight to be super awesome, show it in all the promotional material, have a kickass fight with it, then the twins come in and steal the kill from you. they steal the satisfaction from getting to kill this super hyped-up vault monster.

im picking up what you’re putting down, GB. 

did not realize fl4k actually snaps. how the heck do they do that?? gotta be hard with metal caps as their fingers tbh

404 space station not found

we’re back on the asteroid

... why this gun shoot tentacles :|

this is art

wheres his head going

i was so distracted by the razor blade status effect (??? zeroes??) i didn’t notice the giant-ass A on this banner

OwO what’s this for

~A~

also this which... looks like it could be an amara skill. maybe the one that releases elemental projectiles after an enemy is damaged? feel like we would’ve seen that one already tho.

thinking of this one, im pretty sure we should’ve seen this in one of the many, many gameplay videos (im so jealous) already available.

so if it is, baller, if it’s not, im not too surprised.

it does also seem to be targeting the double cause its shield becomes visible after being hit

i thiiink this is eden-6? in which case it may be that facility tina, brick, and mordy are in (the windows). which may, in retrospect, be that prison we’ve been hearing about

cool angle of the HBC. im pretty sure we’ve seen this shot before, too.

before we get to the actual best part of this scene

this looks very Athenas-like. possibly eridian? although the lights are throwing me off. i suppose the order or someone from the order could’ve built these structures... but what for??

heheheh

also this fucker has those rocks growing out of his head, too

the ones from the alien guns

somewhere outside the RC

back at it again in the space station

also this maliwan thing looks so fucking cool

duuuude looks like the cult got their hands on more than just maliwan hoverwheels, check out that dropship on the left!!! looking cool asf

the cars are STUNNING

holy shit this skin is amazing

very siren-esque

we’ve gone over this clip already but given now that we know the maliwan base thing is on the asteroid, it’s fitting to re-address it i think

a look at one of the metal bois (that im still convinced are jakobs lol)

i love the way this thing looks

the portal seems to be giving off the same blue sparkles we’ve seen on pandora

these

[edit] we also see them in the newest new trailer as Sanc-III zooms off into space. which is interesting.

dunno wtf that means, but yeah. they exist

probably some weird eridian/other dimension shit.

more eden-6

goliath looking amazing. not red and is wearing a helmet, so that’s interesting

looks like a part of the space station

biggggg hallway. im honestly loving how huge these maps seem to be

geniviv! i love her boss fight sooo fucking much.

honestly looks like so much fun

more c a r s

this fucker

probably eridian

i mean it seems to be absorbing the pink-ish energy from the moving stones so i assume its got some sort of link going on

also comparing the mask and arm bit to what we’ve seen rhys hand us on promethea

this thing???

but yellow instead of pink

u kno all this

ye

then again it does sorta ruin the eridian tech so maybe... it’s not lol

honestly my other guess is this is part of that ‘experimental forest’ we’ve seen signs for during the eden-6 demo. dunno why it’s destroying the eridian ruins tho. maybe those pink b e a m s are hurting it? entirely possible. some sorta... life succ ability like Tyreen.

but i don’t think it’s coincidence this thing has shown up right on top of some Eridian ruins/buildings/whatever. the leftmost part though looks like it could be human technology, which is weird. maybe some weird sort of mish mash. human tech that trees/plants grew onto and eridian ruins accidentally powered up. iunno man. im tiored.

rhys’s implant is glowing orange/yellow-ish which is very new

this is from the dev trailer (not glowing at all in the darkness)

from the promethea twitter trailer

and honestly that’s pretty wild to me because in tftbl rhys’s implant glows blue 

shown when he’s in the vault next to fiona

in bl3 during the We Are Mayhem trailer while using his ECHO eye

oh also since i just noticed

from the promethea demo

this scene

also from the promethea demo

they’re missing their monomolecular edge!

we’ll get back to zer0 in a secco

anyway you know who else’s head implant glows?

im not saying katagawa is replacing rhys because their implants are on opposite sides of their heads, but i am saying Katagawa WANTS Rhys in Maliwan and... well, Rhys’s forehead implant isn’t glowing yellow in any other shot we see of him

idk gamers i just think its sus

also rhys is holding onto that thing we see him handing to us in the Promethea trailer

this thing?? you know?

the eridian thingie majig

tho these look like two different areas... unless there’s like a very drastic wall change between angles (which there may be- these fans look identical)

which makes sense that Maliwan would want it (for the big laser thing maybe?? since we know they’re going for activating said laser)

... but honestly i get the feeling this is in some way related to... after the laser. especially since we know that that eridian thingie matches up with this one on pandora

in which case... wtf is the laser for? it definitely looks like its destroying stuff on the surface...

rhys also seems to have knowledge about the eden-6 vault key since he projects it during the dev trailer

me thinks someone got h a c k e r o n i e d

alright galaxy brain theory time:

rhys gets hacked by maliwan not only bc they want a merger, but also because he has info on the vaults/giant space laser, forces zer0 to be maliwan branded now since atlas is joining maliwan, zer0 finds out rhys is not willingly joining maliwan and is instead under maliwan control and tries to forcibly take the key away from him, we stop zer0 and save rhys from both the assassin and maliwan control

🤷‍♂️

Alright but in all seriousness there’s only 2 ways this can go

1. that’s actually our zer0

2. that’s actually not our zer0

and there’s a lot of theories running around about that and i guess we ought to address them

so for 1 there’s a few possibilities:

1. zer0 is a robo/cyborg and got hacked by maliwan (i personally don’t like this one bc i don’t want to know what zer0 actually is. it is a ~m y s t e r y~)

2. zer0 got paid more money to eliminate rhys and is doing so

3. zer0 decided killing their boss would be the ultimate challenge and thus decided to try it out... by joining maliwan

4. they’re faking rhys’s death and/or zer0 is infiltrating maliwan

5. zer0 got the brainwashed/their bodysuit got hacked (i would be interested to see if the monomolecular edge tech caused them to get captured or smth. i mean if there’s a tracker on it, then zer0′s decepti0n wouldn’t exactly work cuz they turn invisible... but they’d still be seen)

6. rhys got the brainwashed/hacked and zer0 is attacking him to get the eridian thingie/key/relic/whatever back

personally i’m curious how they’d play off 1-3 given Zer0 and Rhys are both shown on sanc-iii and zer0 even has crew challenges

im saying idk if the crimson raiders would appreciate zer0 attacking/trying to kill an ally without very good reason.

which is why i’d imagine 4-6 are the more reasonable answers?

also given the explosion of Promethea (what we’re assuming is Promethea) is green and also the laser we see maliwan controlling is purple, i wonder if that’s some brainwashing juice instead of... other stuff. cuz like.

this is elpis’s giant space laser. very radiant and like... ribbon-y? and has all that blue stuff and orbs and mm.

THIS is Promethea’s very solid and has circles and just. looks straight up like a death laser.

and yeah again it could be modified by that human-looking (?) tech around it to be like a brainwashing b e a m or something

or just more precise. that too.

and honestly idk if this could destroy a planet like how we see the planet (that we are assuming is promethea bc of the asteroid belt) in the sanc-iii article

it’s a solid ‘yeah that’s more likely than my theory’. might take a lot of time tho. or maybe those energy rings power it up or deal more damage when they hit the planet...

oh also given Tina literally says “WE blowing up this whole mother humpa”

and the reason im questioning the human-looking tech around it is because

typhon and leda 100% noticed something here. i guess if it was altered by humans after typhon and leda found it then that would make sense?

we’ve also got this from the tree guy, so i don’t know for certain.

anyway number 2

(2. that’s actually not our zer0)

i love these ones

1. that’s 0ne (zer0′s assassin’s assassin from the son of crawmerax dlc)

2. maliwan made a/hired a copy of zer0 and it’s easy to copy their voice/way of speech bc of the modulator (that’s just a fake implanted into atlas to steal all their secrets)

and all of these have the idea that the real zer0 shows up to save rhys at the end of this scene (explaining the blue light)

this

i personally disagree on that being zer0′s sword. tbh it looks more like a maliwan weapon or a laser or smth to me. that said it could be a weird effect because they’re in decepti0n or smth.

most of these theories have the idea that the real zer0 is either off with Fiona or Lorelei or just off on their own and only show up later. i wouldn’t even be surprised, given their line at the end of Tales. you know the one where they diss rhys like “i was talking to her” lol

so i don’t really have much to add to these. personally i believe that’s our zer0 up there, but i wouldn’t be shocked if something happened with the monomolecular edge that allowed maliwan to create a copy of zer0. or brainwash/control them. whichever. 

i do like the reintegration of 0ne into the story, that’d be a hilarious call-back, but i worry it’d be too obscure (a side quest in a headhunter dlc) for the majority of players. we’ll see

it’s weird if brainwashing or mind controlling thru the maliwan tech is the case bc the monomolecular edge isn’t present on their maliwan sword. or their future sanc-iii sword (but that part DOES make sense bc why would they keep that).

(alright also so i just took a bunch of nyquil cuz im sick as a dog so if this devolves into incoherent rambling im so sorry)

ah aurelia

i love her to bits but i don’t trust her because i mean... she worked alongside Nisha and Wilhelm and Alistair dislikes her. there’s like a 50-50 shot she’ll become evil

i would not be surprised if this is a boss fight (door looks frozen over on the left there) but also i would not be surprised if she’s helping us fight off waves of enemies given it looks like we’re in the jakobs manor

like i said 50-50

her attack does make the camera wiggle a bit, usually that happens if the attack injures the player viewing it (with the hud off) cuz it will give a stagger effect

so take that with a grain of salt. also we don’t see aurelia on sanc-iii when hammerlock and wainwright are both there in the group shot in the launch trailer

this fucker i already talked about a bunch in my reddit post on the eridium subject so im going to link that here. i might have already spoken about it on here tbh... i can’t remember lol

anyway here’s the copy and paste from there to here

you can see a huge Tink with Eridium growing out of his head and what look to be Eridium horns. And he's being elementally charged from an Eridian floor tile (in one of those temples, probably the Pandoran one but it could be Athenas, I guess). Kind of like how Bloodwing (also bigger) becomes elementally charged by Jack using element-throwers to change her element. i know it's a cultist tink because on his right shoulder (our left) he has those glow-y pink/purple tubes that are on the CoV guns and other cultists (like goliaths). and while i'm not sure if this is solely Eridian stuff (since they're in a temple) or because of the twins, it's definitely something that should be talked about. 

wait no yeah i did talk about this because of the athenas post. i just remembered lol

uhhh whoops. double dipping i guess lol sorry

still not sure if this is Pandora or Athenas. kind leaning towards Pandora atm

i like how this guy is able to make a cryo wall thing

he goes to smash it but we don’t get to see what happens cuz it cuts to another rampager

dishing out corrosive/radiation (??) attacks while someone shoots it with a fire weapon

this bamf which i KNOW i discussed in that athenas post

also something i haven’t noted is that his roar seems to be activating something here, like a spiral light of dooooom. also more blue sparkles. maybe summoning an assist? or a debuff/attack aoe. 

there is also this weird light near its legs that moves with the camera and sorta reminds me of the weird real-life face talky siren thing. you know the one

very curious as to what this is cause i haven’t seen it in any other scene with a rampager in it. maybe some sort of connection to the spiral/whirlwind thing it’s making?

oh wow im tired now lol

well bl3 is fully downloaded on my computer gamers, so we can officially say it’s happening!!!

[squiddybeifong]

Retrieval Ch. 8

@dyketectivecomics angsty emo music and editing go great together 

It’s on Ao3 here! and also below but it got kinda long but no one ever worries about that

--

Raven sighed, her eyes closing as the wind rushed past her face. It was the perfect temperature; not cold at all, warm but not too warm. Like Azarath at any given time of the year or Gotham during the summer. The empath welcomed the brief reprieve that her fall gave her, her grin softening to a weak smile as she felt her body morph back to normal.

She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to watch that blank expanse of her mind pass her by. But through that darkness light shined behind her closed lids and she opened her eyes, her face brightening at the plethora of memories around her, none larger than a small TV.

The windows passed her by, each highlighting a vision of her and her mother: Arella tucking her into bed after a frustrating day where meditation just wasn’t good enough; Zatanna all but tackling her into a spinning hug after finally tracking Pam and Harley down from their impromptu roadtrip; her head in the lap of one mother, thin fingers running through her short bob; Gotham in the background as the other, bobby pins in the corner of her mouth, pulled her long hair into a French braid.

Her hands outstretched, Raven sadly smiled as her fingertips brushed against the edges of the memories. They left little streaks but her mind wouldn’t allow her to linger. And each vision passed by all too quickly, static in time as the empath kept her steady descent. Constantine’s words rang in her head, about her unfinished business.

But she had chosen; so where was Zatanna?  

Her mind held no answers as she continued her endless fall, only allowing the briefest of glimpses to her past. Arella, Zatanna, Arella, Zatanna. Mom, Mom, Mom. Azar and Constantine, Azarath and Gotham, the doves that Arella sung to in the early morning and the pigeons that hopped near her feet as Zatanna unwrapped her pre-show donut.

Raven sighed, frustrated. She’d accepted to leave that anger, she wanted to see her mother; where was she?

The further Raven fell, the more the knot in her stomach twisted. Her sapphire eyes glanced around at the familiar darkness around her, the light from her memories causing spots in her vision. The empath rubbed at her eyes and then squinted, finally spotting something foreign travelling through her mind.

It was a blackbird, its inky feathers tinged with navy as it glided down. There was no purposefulness to its glide; the creature was content in its fall towards its inevitable death, not even attempting to flap its wings. And although she could have let it be, although she wanted to ignore the creature and figure out where she had to go next, something was off about the bird and Raven rushed forward to help it. Hands outstretched, first her magic and then her body curled around the bird, firmly tucking it against her stomach.

Her body occupied, her mind slowed their descent, cushioning their landing as the dark ground suddenly rushed up to them. A curse escaped her as they landed, finally feeling the full weight of the bird, but her magic kept both of them unharmed.

Raven blinked, incredulous as the creature gleamed white and morphed into a body. She let it drop and scrambled back, her brows furrowing as Zatanna hastily stood.  

The magician looked wary as she glanced around, confused when no memory awaited her landing. She sucked in a hopeful breath at the sight of Raven, her heart fluttering as she recognized her daughter’s aura, “Blackbird?”

The young woman nodded, her fingers twitching in her fists as Zee rushed forward. “Oh!” She wrapped her daughter in a hug, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head and squeezing her tightly, “It’s really you this time.”

Raven kept her face cool, still hesitant with her last decision ringing the back of her mind. Her hands came up to squeeze her mother once, her stomach twisting at the knowledge that Arella would have to wait.

She broke the hug and took a step away from the magician, looking around her mind. She noted the tiny blips of light high above them and sighed, thinking of Arella again, “We must be getting close.”

Zatanna bit the inside of her cheek, speaking to the elephant in the room, “Blackbird…”

When Raven didn’t answer, her bright eyes focused on those blots of light, the mother softly revealed, “I saw some of your memories.”

“I know you did.”

A pause. The sound of Zatanna thickly swallowing at the undercurrent of animosity in her daughter’s voice. A deep breath as the magician took a step forward.

Raven’s stare on the windows faltered, her stoic face nearly crumbling as her mother touched her shoulder. Her concern was all but palpable when they touched and the empath shifted out of her grasp. Still, Zatanna wasn’t to be deterred, “What did you see?”

“That isn’t important right now,” Finally, she dared to get a good look at the magician’s face. One that was just as maternal as Arella’s, if not more so. Eyes that bore the same color as her own, the same long black hair, the same affliction for magic; a reason people walking on the street automatically assumed they were actually related. Would people think the same if they saw her and Arella? Raven didn’t know for sure if they would.

She also didn’t quite know how she felt about that just yet. But rather than let herself fall into another mess, she instead squared her shoulders, trying to be serious before the emotions consumed them, “We need to focus on finding the lost memories, not lingering on the ones that were always there.”

Raven turned to walk and paused, one shoe in the air as the floor rippled. Her foot fell back down and the blackness they stood on morphed into an all-too-familiar image. The old but incredibly comfy couch that sat in the middle of Constantine’s apartment; the one Raven had slept in as a five-year old, unsure if she would be sent back to Hell or not; the very same couch that hosted many a movie night and hangover naps and heartbroken sob sessions; the couch that they knew Constantine currently leaned against, keeping watch as the two mystics searched throughout her mind.

The couch sported the very same throw blanket that she’d sat on her first hour on Earth, nibbling poptarts as her soon-to-be parents decided what to do with her. But it wasn’t daytime, nor was this young version of Raven awake. The little demoness was curled on her side, drooling onto one of the cushions as she slept, Constantine and Zee watching her from the bedroom door frame.  

An old lamp that had been broken long ago still sat on the counter and Raven sighed, bracing herself as the image of that nicotine-scented couch got a shade brighter. White light filled her vision and the mystic reached for her mother, her jaw setting as the memory cleared completely, as vivid as the night it occurred.

--

Raven laid on the couch, the corner of her blanket clenched in her tiny fists. A cold sweat made her forehead clammy but she didn’t notice, so consumed in twisting back and forth, a mix of horror and fear crumpling her face. Her fingertips crackled with uncontained magic, fighting out against the demons that plagued her dreamscape.

Not even ten feet beyond her, Constantine’s voice whispered out, “Are you sure about this, Zee?”

The crash! of yet another piece of furniture flipping on its side, toppled by the demoness’ magic. Already, the lamp and the coffeemaker lay in pieces on the floor, joined by the curtains after another jolt of black magic and the girl’s sob of “No!”  

The adults glanced at each other, both nervous and determined as a chair was flung against the wall. Twiddling the wand in her hand, Zatanna took a deep breath, “Go set the bed for her.” The magician aimed a confident half-smile the Brit’s way, “I’ll get her to the room and stop these terrors. Promise it’ll only calm her down, that’s all.”

The ground below their feet quivered, furious at the lie.

Zatanna whispered a quick protection spell around herself, dodging the flying furniture to the best of her ability. She paid no mind to the sound of Constantine cleaning his bed the best he could, instead focused on the distressed crease in between the girl's eyes.

Although she had yet to truly trust this half-demon, yet alone to the extent that Constantine had already, Zee sighed and leaned down in front of the couch. She put a hand to the child’s head, damp with a cold sweat, and set about smoothing her uneven bangs back. When Raven continued to fuss, the magician stretched, kissing the girl’s forehead.

She kept her breathing as calm as she could, paying no mind to the zaps of black magic that nipped at her. “Ehtaerb, Raven…” It took a few beats, but the girl did as she commanded, her chest heaving as her near-hyperventilation slowed. Zee, satisfied at how the demoness’ fists loosened in the blankets, rested her elbows on the couch.

Raven’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up as the couch dipped under her mother’s weight. Lit up only by the crescent moonlight, her pristine snow white robe completely out of place in Constantine’s apartment, Arella looked like a figure out of a daydream. The Gothamite slowly leaned down and ran her hand through the girl’s short hair, humming a melancholy lullaby, the sound throaty and scratchy in the darkness.

“Oh, my Little Bird,” Soft and sad, Arella sounded as her memories portrayed her, warm and maternal and loving. Her face was tired as tears began to fall from her sapphire eyes and Raven’s welled up in response, her blurry vision watching as the tiniest of flickers of white light began to nip at her edges, desperately trying to work their way into this memory.

The sight of those light splotches brought back her last broken recollections of Azarath; Raven thought of the leaping flames of fire, of her father’s form, of his howling laughter as the people of Azarath were turned to stone, their faces stuck in terror forever. Memories that she didn’t truly remember, memories that she had been forced to forget.

Through the girl’s tears, Raven watched as Arella’s face began to morph, sinking in some places and tightening in others. Her eyebrows got a tinge wider, her cheekbones a smidge less pronounced, her nose less angular and her lips fuller. The fingers in her hair grew a size larger, and her shoulders broadened under her cloak. The empath’s lower lip quivered as her mother, the one that everyone assumed was her real one (and really, would they be truly wrong?) stared down at her.

Zatanna tenderly ran a hand through Raven’s short hair, stopping just past her ears. Slow and steady, from the girl’s temple to the still-uneven ends of her bob as she shifted in her sleep, awake yet not, comfortably curled on her side as the tightest clutches of the nightmare ceased for just a second. This was wrong, this was right.

Raven twitched as the magician continued to scratch at her scalp, stubbornly fighting against the surge of emotion. This memory was the strongest, the realest of all the ones she had faced and, judging by the glassy sheen on Zatanna’s eyes, her mother would probably say the same.

Her previous memory rattled in her head once more. That vision of Dad had laughed at her, goaded her to finish what she’d started. Finding her mother, but which one?

She’d yet to feel anger, but Raven was all too aware that Zatanna had taken over Arella’s presence yet again. Zatanna had never donned the flowing white cloak, she never walked the grassy paths of Azarath, feeding her doves as she went. She never shielded Raven when Azar’s restrictions on her emotions got to be too much.

Zatanna let the smallest of smiles curl her lips as the furniture stopped moving. There were still crackles of magic at the girl’s fingertips, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. “Tel em pleh htiw ruoy seramthgin, Nevar.”

Raven shifted on the couch, languidly angling her resting face towards the magician. Behind her closed lids her nightmare raged on, but the external world couldn’t hurt her now. Not with her mother watching over her.

But, a treacherous voice reminded her, Arella had never stayed up all night stitching together a superhero costume, she had never sprinted through Arkham in search of her, fighting off specters and villains as she went. She never had to shield Raven when her nightmares about Hell got to be too much.

With the destructive bursts of magic all but gone, Zatanna softly scooped Raven up into her arms, blankets and all. She kept her steps light and even as she made her way to Constantine’s bed, pressing her lips to the crown of Raven’s head.

Constantine gave her a cocky smile as she passed by, one that screamed ‘See? She pulls at your heartstrings so damn fast, huh? You can’t deny that I’m the only one falling for her.’ Zatanna pointedly ignored him, instead carefully setting the girl down and tucking her in.

She ran her hand through the demoness’ short hair again, glad when Raven didn’t stir. Keeping her ministrations up, Zatanna hummed as she felt the push of the dark aura against her own. Silently hyping herself up for what she was about to do, Zee mentally went through the steps she had to take. The magician rolled her shoulders once and closed her eyes, intertangling her magic with Raven’s with a touch of her thumb against the crimson gem in the girl’s forehead.

Not used to delving into memories, yet alone minds, Zatanna admittedly fumbled her way through the girl’s most recent recollections: her confusion and hesitation of getting adjusted to earth, her curiosity and joy at learning more about the magic that she and Constantine used. Had she not been working for a more important mission, Zatanna might’ve lingered just to enjoy the child’s enthusiasm at her new living situation. But she kept her course, instead immediately jumping past recent days to the thick of things. The air in the room seemed to get hazier as the refuge of Constantine’s apartment faded away, but nothing was immediately clear to the mystic as she continued on. Bit by bit, Zee began her wade through the press of Raven’s memories of her time in Hell, not seeing or even experiencing them but feeling the horror that they carried.

Her method was rather simple, all things considered: feel that thrumming hum of magic between her thumb and Raven’s gem, allow those volatile emotions that clung to the memories to flow through, command that they “eb dehsinab yawa ni yreve mrof dna reven laever sevlesmeht ot siht lrig niaga,” and let them go. Zee kept a steady pace as she went.

Her arms nearly gave out, her concentration stumbling as she felt the strongest of emotions yet; the magician’s lips twisted down into a frown at the feeling of another presence through the demoness’ memories.

Raven hadn't spoke too much on her other parent, but Zatanna was sure that this was the demon responsible. His imprint of magic on the girl was all-encompassing, infinitely woven within her magic and her body. The part of the girl that allowed her to survive in Hell, the one that thrived among the devilish, brutish, spindly creatures that resided there, the part that was strong enough to propel her to John's magic when he made that oh-so-timely portal.

That hint of magic slithered through Zee as she bypassed that particular memory, her lips pressing into a thin line at the emotions whispering out a threatening hiss, a warning. A cold shiver tap-danced down the magician’s spine at the feeling, but she pushed on past the horror, getting to the dread of his arrival and the guilt that preceded his finding Azarath.

Trembling under Raven’s emotions as she got to the heart of the nightmare she had lived, Zatanna decided to overshoot her goal, locking away some of the less-than-traumatizing memories from just a few hours before the girl's home planet was destroyed.

Taking a breath and mentally groaning as she had to go through the plethora of emotions again, the magician retraced her steps, repeating her spell with the finishing “Won, rednu ym dnammoc, etanimile eseht seiromem morf s’nevaR dnim reverof.” Zatanna kept her thumb to the girl’s forehead, ensuring that all the memories she had bypassed were securely erased. It reminded her of deleting files off a computer, nice and straightforward, although having to endure Raven’s emotions was far from pleasant.

Zee shuddered, hunching over as the last wave of Raven’s turmoil washed over her. Her shoulders relaxed some as she felt the confusion when the demoness all but plopped out onto the hardwood floor in front of Constantine and stopped, satisfied that she'd done enough. Keeping her thumb pressed to the girl’s forehead, the magician didn’t stop the words from building in her throat, determined to finish this. She didn’t notice how the girl’s eyes glowed white under her lids, but the twist of black magic fluttering around the demoness’ body had her on high alert. Once the feather-light, inky coils started to fade away, Zee leaned down and kissed Raven’s forehead, “Dloh tuo tsuj a elttil elihw regnol. Uoy tsum eb mlac rof siht.”

The effect was near immediate. Raven’s body stilled, going so limp so quickly Zee worriedly pressed two fingers to her pulse, just in case. But the little mystic’s heartbeat was strong and calm under her fingers and Zatanna sighed, watching as all of Raven’s magic settled down with her, spent.

Satisfied when the girl seemed to have calmed down completely, Zee picked up her wand and glanced behind her, glad at not seeing any hint of John listening in. She kept her voice low as she let the tip of the wand touch the gem on the girl’s forehead, whispering her final command, “Won peek gnipeels litnu gninrom semoc… dna reven rebmemer esoht seiromem. Rof ruoy ekas dna enim.”

Raven cooed as she turned on her side, her cheek completely smushed against the pillow. Zatanna shifted, the white cloak heavy on her frame as she brushed aside the girl’s bangs. Her lips trembled as her fingers fidgeted with her wand, still buzzing with the incredibly invasive magic she had just used.

That flood of emotions, as clear as the night they witnessed, so complex and overwhelmingly complicated. The drowning realization that she was beginning to fall in love, the lingering suspicion that any distrust towards the girl was lessened by her empathic powers, the fluttering in her chest when she’d woken up earlier that morning to Raven curled in between her and John in bed, the troublesome air of evil that the demoness bore, the trusting aura of a girl who’d lost everything but was starting to make another home.

The satisfaction of repressing the worst of the girl’s memories and the nightmares that were born of them, the stomach-twisting guilt of establishing their growing relationship with so intrusive of a lie.

Zatanna felt all of this as she watched Raven’s memory play out. A hand came up to rest on her stomach, clutching the cloak as a wave of her daughter’s ire washed over her.

The magician rested a hand on the girl’s stomach, her lips in a thin line as Raven shifted again, her eyes just barely creaking open as she readjusted to the bed’s mattress, softer than the couch. Everything about the girl sang out her comfort, from how she sunk into the blankets to how the light danced off her face.

Zatanna smiled down at her daughter as she watched the result of her memories being solidly locked away. The magician’s face was less of a memory and more of a mixture of faces that she’d make in the future, imagined by the five year old as she slipped further into sleep.

“It’s fine, Raven,” Zee’s voice was quiet as her face softened again, a sigh slipping out as she conceded that the little mage was here to stay. And, admittedly, she wasn’t all too broken up about the fact. Maybe not as eager as Constantine, but still excited.

The mystic set her wand down on top of the blankets, and as the horribly familiar white light of Raven’s mind consumed the rod, the pale gold flicker of magic gave way to heat. Orange and red, as explosive as as lava eruption, yellow and white, as blinding as molten metal.  

The two women couldn’t look away as the memory melted under that heat, the comfortable scene of Constantine’s bedroom burning into the dark, into something hot and intense and dangerous.

Raven's face steeled at the uncomfortably familiar sight. Every ounce of self-preservation screamed at her to run away, to flee from the hypocritical clash of pure darkness and blindingly bright hellfire. She wanted nothing more than to turn back in the face of the coldest ice forming in her stomach, seeping through her very core and the stifling humidity of Hell around her, hot enough to singe the inside of her lungs if she dared to scream out. The empath felt her mother's horror, felt every flicker of mind-numbing fear that the magician projected, but she did not reach for her. Maybe it was the resentment born from over a decade of lies finally coming to light, maybe it was the memory of the last time she was here, and the acceptance that it ultimately brought.

Hell (no pun intended, honest), maybe it was the easy choice, that she just that wasn't ready to forgive her mother until she had all the information.

She thought of Arella, of Azar, of being adopted, of all the memories she had reclaimed so far. Without truly having to think about them, she thought about Azarath, about Jason, about her grandfather, about the memories that her mind told her that her mother had seen. Her hands stayed at her sides, tightening into fists as Zatanna took a deep breath, big enough for both of them.

And as the hellscape in front of them pried itself open, flame by flickering flame and tendril by inky tendril, as those last coveted memories revealed themselves to be within reach, the memory of Zatanna's voice wafted down over them, warm and maternal:

“Sleep tight, Blackbird.”

[fivesaucekisses]

RARE || Awsten Knight Fanfic 1

Chapter Two:

I introduced Waterparks effortlessly and quietly walked off the stage as the curtain drew showing the three men behind me.  They apparently just released an album two days before the show and from the response of the crowd at least a good handful knew about it already.  The crowd roared excitedly as the sound of guitars filled my ears.  The beat made my head bob, but the voice that came out of lilac man was something I was prepared for.  It was rare, you could tell he meant every word he was singing.

I stood behind the curtains, not taking my eyes off of the stage just as infixed as the audience.  My foot started tapping to the beat as I reached for my phone and quickly typed a note to myself: "Waterparks."  I'd have to check them out later.

"Sophia, let's get you back to your seat," Isabel states, coming up from behind me.

"Actually," I smiled, turning around to face her.  "Could I maybe stick around back stage just for a little while?"

She gave me a look that made it seem like I had just inconvenienced her plans, but she sighed giving in.  "I mean I guess you could hang out back here for just a few more minutes, but please be back to your seat after the next commercial break," she pleaded.

I tried to hide my excitement as I eagerly clapped my hands, turning back to the performance just in time to see both guitar players bouncing around the stage.  A few moments later, Otto, the drummer finished with an impressive solo before the lights went out and the crowd erupted yet again.  The curtain fell and the three men came jogging off stage, goofing off as they did so.

"Good job guys!" a man yelled as he met up with the three of them a few feet from me.  He had a camera around his neck and a head of bright red hair.  A colorful bunch, I note.

"I got so nervous just as the curtains came up," lilac guy admits, letting out a breath it seemed like he had been holding.  "I can't believe we just did that," he's suddenly beaming, jumping up and down some.

A smile spreads across my face as I finally take the opportunity to approach them.  "Hey, I just wanted to say that you guys were really great out there," I say as nonchalantly as possible.

"Really?" lilac man questions, shooting me a wide grin.  The other two say 'thank you' in unison before turning to their friend with the red hair who seems intent on not speaking at all as he blatantly stares in my direction.

I give him a smile, trying to hold in my laughter before responding to his question.  "Honestly, I put your bands name into my phone halfway through the song because I wanted to hear more later," I admitted, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Do you want to hear more right now?" he asks tilting his head to the side just slightly, reminding me of a very cute dog.

"Definitely," I grin, knowing full well I was going to get in trouble with Isabel when I wasn't back in a few minutes.

"I'm Awsten by the way," he says, holding his hand out to me for a simple handshake.  "That's spelled with a 'w'," he clarifies as I nod.

"Noted."

"That's Geoff, and Otto," he says pointing out the other two members of his band as we walk back towards the dressing room I had first noticed him.  "Oh and Jawn, he's our photographer.  He spells his name with a 'w' too, in case you were curious."

Forty minutes later I was sitting cross legged in my Versace dress on the floor in their green room, listening to demo's off of Awsten's lap top he just happened to have on him.  We'd gotten past the star struck phase and gone straight into Awsten's universe and I was so okay with it.

"And right here, I was thinking I could add in some cool harmonies and it would add this dope effect to the sound, so I decided to throw something together and, well just listen," he's talking quickly, quieting down when he wants me to hear something specific.  His music is good, better than good, it's fantastic and his passion speaks for itself.

"Hey Sophia," his friend Jawn says, pulling me out of my trance.

"Hmm?" I hum, looking up at him from the ground where Awsten and I were crouched.

"Is it weird if I ask for a picture?" he asks, clearly trying to tread lightly.  I appreciate his asking and not just doing.

"Oh yeah, totally," I say, running a hand through my hair some in preparation as I began to stand.

"No no, you can stay down there, I just-" he pauses, looking down at Awsten and over to me.  "you two looked really candid, and it'll make the band look pretty cool," he stated as Awsten's face began to get a red tint.

I look over at Awsten who's just a few feet away from me and smile some.  I guess I didn't always have to have the exact right angle for a photo.  Falling back down beside him, I gesture towards his lap top.  "Alright, what's next."

We stay that way for a while, all five of us talking as the music continues to play in the background.  The longer I'm there, the more they seem to relax around me.  They begin kidding with each other, talking about anything and everything, laughing loudly and occasionally embarrassing themselves or each other.  These are the moments I missed the most when I was working 24/7.  Every person I spoke to was normally older, my boss, or a coworker who acted like they liked me for the sake of a film.  A content sigh leaves my lips as my head bobs to the music.

A knock on the door causes us all to quiet down.  It opens seconds later and I see a familiar face come into view.  "Sophia are you kidding me right now?"  Isabel says in a very similar tone to that of my own mother.

"Isabel," I say, standing up quickly, flattening out the ripples in my dress, "Hey."  The four guys stand up, trying to clear out as fast as possible, causing me to frown some.  "Way to ditch," I mutter as Awsten waves at me, a playful smile on his lips as he runs for the door.

"Do you even know what time it is?" She's now shrieking as she grabs my wrist and begins pulling me out the door.  "You have to be at Andy Cohen's after party in less than 30 minutes.  The award show is over and you dipped literally half way into the show.  Not a good come back for you, Sophia."  Her lecture seems to have ceased for now as we walked in silence towards the exit.  I look around in hopes of spotting Awsten or Jawn's bright colored hair but they're nowhere in sight.

A few minutes and a lot more lecture later, I had finally made it to the overly crowded club.  It's now becoming clear to me that I missed the memo of free booze at the event making me one of the only sober people in the room.  As soon as we're through the door's Isabel is gone, probably already beginning to network.  More power to her if she wants to spend every waking moment of her life working.

"Sophia, so good to see you!" I hear a slurred voice say as a clearly drunk Andy Cohen makes his way over to me.

"Hey Andy, this party is amazing.  Thank you for the invite," I say giving him a hug and a smile.

"Oh stop it, you know you're always invited to my parties babe, you're one of America's favorite faces, who by the way has to make an appearance on my show now that you're back in the spotlight" he laughs, shooting me a wink.  I had to hold back the urge to roll my eyes.

"You're too sweet, but I'm only back for the night." I wave off his statement as best I can, patting his arm.

"That's a real shame Sophia.  Don't let that dumb boy stop you from being the true star I know you are," he coos, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.  "I've got to go make my rounds sweetie and you've got to get a drink in that hand of yours," he states, turning me towards the bar before letting go of me.  My eyes can't help but notice a familiar head of purple hair.  No way.  "Go have some fun," he mutters into my ear before disappearing into the sea of people.

Third time's a charm right? I wonder to myself before taking a deep breath and walking over to him.  He's leaning against the bar, staring at the bar tender who keeps blatantly ignoring him and taking other's people's orders.  "Need some help?" I ask, squeezing in beside him.

He glances over to me briefly, smiling some when he does.  "Hey Sophia, are you stalking me?"

I laugh at his comment, trying to hide the redness in my cheeks.  "Actually, I was going to ask you that."  I look back over at the bartender and catch his attention with a quick wave and a smile.  "Hey, could I get a glass of champagne? And whatever he wants," I say gesturing over to Awsten who's just staring at me incredulously.

"Water please," he says, breaking eye contact with me to look at the bar tender who just scoffs at him.

"Water?" I question, furrowing my eyebrows together.  "Bold choice," I grin.

He lets out a slight chuckle, looking down at his hands in front of him.  "I'm a risk taker, what can I say?"

The bartender hands us our drinks and I take a small sip, looking over at Awsten.  He was attractive and his purple hair looked good against his lighter skin tone.  He peers up at me from his glass, noticing that I'm staring.  "Do you have two different colored eyes?" I ask, flicking my eyes back and forth between his.

He lets out a laugh at my bluntness and nods, "yeah, look!" he says excitedly, opening his eyes a little wider and leaning into me some.

I giggle more than okay with him closing the gap between us.  I stare at his eyes intently, noticing the slightly darker hue of his right eye.  "Your eyes sort of remind me of the ocean," I smile some as I see pupils dilate.

He leans back a little, a smile spread across his lips.  "You're very smooth," he admits honestly, laughing some as his cheeks slightly redden.  He grabs his glass off the counter and takes a quick drink.  "For the record, your eyes are a much prettier blue," he says with a nod.

I lean on the bar some, taking another sip of my drink as I bat my eyes at him playfully.  "You think so?"

"You got something in your eye?" he quips back, causing me to drop my act and begin giggling.  He smiles wide again as the silence falls between us, "you're pretty cool," he states matter of factly, seemingly happy with his discovery.

"Do you not think I was cool before this?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"No, I've always thought you were cool," he clarifies, "it's just been that most actresses are fake these days," he winces some at how that came off.  "Wow, uh I'm sorry, that was the worst way I could have said that.  You're great, I swear I think you're the coolest, you're talented, you're beautiful, I mean you're you, you know?" Awsten is full on rambling, trying to dig himself out of a hole and I can't help but smile.

My face is starting to hurt from smiling so much in one sitting.  I cover my mouth with my hand to try and hide my amusement as he continues.  He doesn't stop until he's completely out of breath.  "Can we pretend I stopped talking after I said you were cool?" he asks, red in the face from talking so fast.

"And ignore the fact that you said I was beautiful?" I grin as he scratches his head, now avoiding eye contact with me. "Absolutely not."

"Awsten!" I hear someone shout as we both jump apart.  Jawn comes plowing through the crowded bar and over to the two of us, camera still hanging from his neck.  "We thought you'd gotten lost," Jawn states, shaking his head at Awsten before turning to see me.  "Oh hey Sophia," he smiles and gives me a quick wave.

Awsten shakes his head some rolling his eyes at his friend.  "I've literally been gone ten minutes."

"I can let you get back to your party," I interject, "I've got to make my rounds anyways."

"Hey before you go," Jawn says, turning towards me.  "Can I actually get a picture of you and the band?"

"What he's asking is for you to give us free promo," Awsten says, nudging my side with his elbow.  "Which I think is a fantastically generous thing to do with your social media power," he states holding his hand over his heart.

Jawn laughs as he leads us away from the crowded bar to the tables near the edge of the club.  "Otto, Geoff, come here for a sec," he beckons.  The two are sitting at a booth talking back and forth with drinks in their hands.  They look up to see the three of us and walk over.  "Hey Sophia!" Geoff waves happily as he approaches.  I wave back with just as much excitement.

"Group photo," Jawn states, the four of us come together, Awsten's on one knee in front of me, his elbow resting on his knee and his chin resting on his hand.  God.  Otto and Geoff are on either side of me, smiling wide.  The camera goes off and we all relax before Awsten stops us.

"Wait wait, I need one on my phone, Travis will never believe this if I don't text him immediately," he insists handing the phone over to Jawn before hopping up and standing directly in front of me.  "This is the perfect picture," he says through laughter, his entire frame blocking me from view.  What a nerd.

"Funny," I fake laugh, pushing him to the side a little to pose for the camera a beaming smile on my face as Awsten looks down at me still laughing at his own joke.  Jawn takes the picture amid the chaos and nods with approval at his job well done.

He hands the phone back to Awsten and starts looking through his camera at his other photos.  "This is great!" Awsten shouts, laughing at his phone before turning it to face me.  It was a pretty great picture.  The two of us are in the center, both smiling extremely wide, while Geoff and Otto are on the outsides, with looks between a smile and confusion.  "Please tag me in this if you post it."

"I'll tag you in it, but you can't get a follow from me," he states seriously.  I stop smiling for a second and furrow my eyebrows.

"What? Why?"

"I don't just follow anybody," he says as if I should somehow know this.  Meanwhile I'm literally following thousands of people.

"How many people do you follow?" I ask, now completely curious about this.

"Like 350 maybe?" he says, thinking for a moment.

I stare at him for a moment, in awe.  "You're pretty cool," I laugh, quoting his statement from earlier.

He takes the compliment with an eye roll and a scoff, "I'm posting it right now."  With that he unlocks his phone and opens Instagram instantly.

I try not to stare at his phone too intently as he begins editing the photo, looking up at me briefly.  "What's your handle?" he chuckles before adding.  "God what a millennial thing to ask."

"It's 'thesophiamontgomery'," I say leaning in some to take another glance at the picture.

"Hey hey, look away, you'll see it soon enough," he says, shooing me away, turning his back to me.

"Sophia!" I hear Isabel shout over the noise.  "Sophia, we've got to get going.  There's another party I want to hit before we're done for the night," she says as she approaches me.

The smile I had been sporting almost all night slowly fell from my face.  "Another party?" I ask, trying my hardest not to sound like I was whining, even if I was.

Isabel looks behind me at Awsten who's turned around now, phone slid away.  "Again?" she whispers to me as if he couldn't tell she was talking about him.  Shaking her head some she sighs, "say goodbye to your friends, we have to go," and just like that she's gone again, holding her hand in the air wiggling her fingers around to indicate I had exactly 5 minutes to say my goodbyes.

I turn around to face Awsten who's giving me an understanding look.  "If I follow you on twitter, will you at least consider giving me a follow back?" I ask, as his eyes light up.

He nods, "Absolutely."

Before I know what's come over me, I wrap my arms around him and give him a quick hug.  "It was really great meeting you," I smile as I pull away.

"You too," his cheeks are still flushed pink and I can't help but smile.

I give a small wave to his bandmates and Jawn who wave back.  "Goodnight Awsten," I say, tucking some hair behind my ear as I turn and walk back into the crowd of people, towards the exit.

Chapter Three X

-------

This was a long one, but it was also super Awsten heavy so you’re welcome.  This story can also be found on wattpad if that’s more your scene for fic.  Also I’m picturing Sophia as Barbara Palvin, but you’re welcome to picture her however you please.  This story will eventually have some social media stuff and I needed someone, you know?  Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I’ll see you with another chapter in a week.

[chasholidays]

Maybe something along the lines of bellarke working at stores on opposing sides of the street + warring holiday window displays?

The thing about the holiday window display is that Clarke is—kind of—a real artist. She certainly wants to be a real artist, and is getting her MFA in graphic design, and has even won some contests for her work. She has, not to put too fine a point on it, skills.

Which is why Roan asks her to do the window displays at the store in the first place.

Well, okay, that’s why he says he asks her to do the window displays, but Clarke’s pretty sure about ninety percent of his motivation is that he doesn’t want to do it himself, and he’s just using the art thing to butter her up. But she’d be pissed if he asked any of the other employees, so whatever his motivation, she’s not objecting. She likes doing the window display. It’s fun. Usually, she changes them once a month, with different themes, and everyone agrees she does a good job with that.

But the holiday season is on another level.

“I’m thinking one every week,” she tells Raven. Raven doesn’t actually work at the store, but is dating Roan and therefore hangs out a lot because she likes spending time with him and he gave her the employee wifi password. Clarke considers her a perk of the job.

“You want to do a new display every week?” Raven asks. “Starting when?”

“That’s the question. I’m against holiday creep, but I accept that it’s a thing, and if we don’t go with it, it might hurt business.”

Raven frowns. “Has anyone in the history of the world ever looked at a store, found they don’t have Christmas lights up, and decided not to shop there?”

“There are people who believe the war on Christmas is a real thing,” Clarke points out. “Honestly, anything is possible.”

“Yeah, okay. So, getting in early?”

“I was thinking I’d do weekly after Halloween,” she admits. “Just lean into it.”

“You’re part of the problem. But yeah, sure. Knock yourself out. No one cares, so it’s not like anyone’s going to stop you.”

“Wow, thanks for your resounding support,” she teases.

Raven shrugs. “Do I look like I care about holiday windows? I’m just nodding and smiling here.”

“And I appreciate it. It’ll be good, right?”

“Sure it will,” says Raven, and goes back to her laptop.

*

Clarke is outside on November 4, checking out her first window, a winter scene painted against with some of their taxidermy animals and some fake snow set up beyond it, when Bellamy stops next to her and asks, “Already?”

“Already what?”

He takes a sip of his coffee, eyes fixed on the display. “It’s not Christmas. It’s not even Thanksgiving.”

“What part of this says Christmas to you, exactly?”

He snorts. “Come on.”

“It’s the holiday season.”

“Every season is a holiday season,” he shoots back. “I didn’t see you starting to paint fireworks at the beginning of May to get everyone pumped for the Fourth of July.”

“You still haven’t told me how this is holiday-themed.”

“Evergreen and red berries,” he says, gesturing to the painting with his travel mug.

“Winter.”

“It’s November and it’s like sixty degrees. Climate change is real.”

She elbows him. “I’m modeling good behavior for the weather,” she says. “Showing it what it should be doing.”

“Uh huh,” says Bellamy. “Let me know how that works out for you.”

“Dick,” she says, and he smiles.

“Happy holidays to you too.”

*

Bellamy and his best friend Miller run a board game cafe across the street, but Clarke has never actually gone in there, mostly because she knows if she did, it would just be to talk to Bellamy. She isn’t actually interested in board games, and she’s sure that if she tried to show interest, it would become immediately and undeniably obvious why she was really there. So it’s safer to just see him around, or when he stops by the antique store every week to see if they have any new (to them) books he wants.

On November 5, though, someone has painted IT’S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET in bright orange print, with an arrangement of apparently fall-themed games under it. The opposite window adds, YOUR WAR-ON-CHRISTMAS HEADQUARTERS, which Clarke would worry is bad for business, except that they also have a rainbow flag and a black lives matter sign prominently displayed above the door, so she’s pretty sure they are actively trying to alienate alt-right nerds. Which seems like the right call.

Regardless, the window seems like a very clearly an invitation for her to go in and yell at Bellamy, and she will happily take it.

Inside, the store is cute, mismatched chairs and tables with a bookshelf full of demo games and hourly rates for table space on the wall. They also have a regular retail area and the cafe area, and that’s where Bellamy is.

She nods to Miller at the game counter, but her focus is on Bellamy.

“Morning,” he says. “Coffee?”

“Are you really picking a fight with window displays?”

“Who said anything about a fight?”

“Your war-on-Christmas headquarters,” says Clarke, and Miller snorts.

“Shut up,” he tells Miller, reflexive, and then he turns his attention back to Clarke. “I’m picking a fight with Christmas, not with you.”

“The day after you told me it was too early for a holiday window display.”

He smirks. “I thought it wasn’t a holiday window.”

“So I don’t have a holiday window and you’re not picking a window fight,” she says.

“Sounds right, yeah.”

“Yeah, this is clearly a bunch of mature adults having a normal conversation here,” says Miller.

“Clearly.” Bellamy slides Clarke a mug of coffee. “On the house.”

She takes a sip; it’s perfect, which means she has a new excuse to come in here. “You know I have to go back to work, right? I’m taking this mug with me.”

He shrugs. “I’ll get it back later. I know where to find you.”

“You do. Thanks for the coffee. Happy holidays,” she adds, and he smirks.

“Happy holidays.”

*

Bellamy doesn’t change his display until the week of Thanksgiving. The war on Christmas remains in the right window, but the left switches to HAPPY PIE AND GENOCIDE DAY get a board game to avoid talking to your racist relatives about politics, with a new selection of games under it. Someone’s put star-shaped post-it notes onto the boxes, with notes like Cooperative, low risk of murder and Talking is against the rules.

“You need any?” Bellamy asks, and she jumps.

“What?”

“Thanksgiving board games. They’re great if you don’t know how to interact with your friends and family.”

“Do you not?”

“My only relative is my sister, and we do Thanksgiving with her dad and his family. It’s usually ten to fifteen white people and me, and we all know I’m not actually related to them.”

“Ouch.”

He shrugs. “I just bring a couple games and sit in the corner waiting for people to get curious, it works out pretty well. So, you need any?”

She considers for a second. “Something for me, my mom, and my stepdad, to fill awkward silences?”

He unlocks the store and holds the door open for her. “Yeah, I’ve got some ideas.”

*

Clarke spends her Thanksgiving break trying to figure out what to do for her next window. She’s definitely culturally Christian, in the sense that she grew up celebrating Christmas and Easter, but always in a pretty secular way. She got presents and candy, but they never went to church or said prayers or anything. So she’d like to actually capture something like the spirit of the season without going full Christmas.

Hanukkah starts on December 12, so that gives her two weeks right there. A couple of her classmates are Jewish, so she enlists their help in designing two theme windows, one to go up on the ninth and one on the sixteenth. The week before that and the week after, she can do more generic winter stuff, and then Christmas, the new year, and then she’s done. Holidays solved.

It’s going to be fun.

To her delight, Bellamy’s already at his store when she arrives on the second, working on his own display. He’d been doing them on Sunday, apparently so he could react to hers, but she’s much happier seeing him working across the street, trying to figure out what he’s doing. It’s definitely more than just text.

Once he’s got the games arranged, he brings her the usual mug of coffee.

“Finally time for Christmas?”

“Hanukkah first, and then solstice, then Christmas,” she says. “It’s the holiday season, remember.”

He snorts. “No Kwanzaa?”

“I have no background in Kwanzaa and don’t have anyone I can call in for a consult, so I figured I should just skip it.”

“Yeah, that sounds right.” He sips his own drink, waiting, and she tries to figure out how to ask without asking.

“You’re no longer fighting Christmas?” she finally says. He scrubbed the right window clean, and there’s nothing new there yet.

“Want the space for other stuff,” he says. “Need any heavy lifting done?”

“Nope, all set.”

“Cool, good luck.”

When she’s working, she’s oblivious to the outside world, so it’s not until she’s done that she sees his display, finished before hers. As usual, he’s got less art than she does, with more focus on text.

The text, though, is new. In the left window, he has WORLD AIDS DAY, DECEMBER 1, with an AIDs ribbon in the right, and, below it, the smaller text 25% of all sales through December 8 will go to AIDS research.

Roan’s in by now, so she says, “Can I go across the street for a second?”

“You know I’m not paying you to flirt.”

“Your girlfriend basically lives here,” she points out, and he inclines his head, granting her the point.

“Be back in fifteen minutes.”

Bellamy’s at the cafe, as usual, and he’s actually looking a little nervous.

“Like it?”

“It’s great, yeah. I feel like I should give you money.”

“Or you could just donate to a good cause. I like yours,” he adds. “All of them. I feel like I haven’t mentioned that yet.”

Her smile is probably a little much, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “You haven’t. But thanks.”

*

“I assume you don’t have class on Friday morning like I do,” Clarke tells Bellamy, the next Saturday. They’re both done with their displays, and Roan gave her another fifteen minutes to flirt, because he’s a good boss.

“Good assumption. Why?”

“Because you could just update your windows on the appropriate days, instead of doing it on Saturday.”

This week, his left window is celebrating “Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day” (December 8) and his right “National Cupcake Day” (December 15). It is, admittedly, a good way to promote both games and food, and Clarke can’t help being a little charmed.

“It’s a week-long thing. Also, they’re time travelers. They can show up whenever they want.”

Clarke has to laugh. “How do you find these?”

“Google. It’s not hard. I’m just trying to give some attention to the lesser known holidays. There’s lots going on in December.”

“Looking forward to the next one,” she says, and he ducks his head, looking pleased.

“Cool, I’ll try not to let you down.”

*

December 21 is, apparently International Dalek Remembrance Day, which Clarke tells Bellamy she’ll take his word for, and then she wishes him a happy holiday, because she’s going out of town to spend Christmas with her father.

“Where’s he?”

“Washington state. He’s one of the Seattle hipsters.”

“In a good way?”

“I don’t know if I like the hipster thing, but it’ll be good to see him.”

He nods. “Cool, have fun. I’ll see you–”

“I’m back at work on the 29th,” she supplies, trying not to smile too much. He totally wants to know when she’ll be back. “Getting up a New Year’s Eve display on the 30th.’

“Then I’ll see you then.”

It feels oddly weighty, the last holiday display. She and Bellamy have definitely been seeing more of each other, since November, and Clarke doesn’t want that to stop. And, obviously, she can still go to get coffee and flirt with him when he comes in to look at books, but she’d like something more permanent.

Something like a date.

Bellamy comes by on December 29 and gives her a giant coffee mug covered in paint splotches, which is cute, and makes her feel better about having bought him a book on typography.

“I thought you could use it for your window lettering.”

He laughs. “Room for improvement, huh?”

“There’s always room for improvement, Bellamy,” she says, prim.

“Always,” he agrees. “Thanks.”

He shows up after she does the next morning, but, as always, he finishes his window before she finishes hers, and she emerges from her art haze to find that his right window says, December 31: Make Up Your Mind Day, while his right has a bunch of suggestions for things to make up your mind about.

The third one is, Ask out the cute blonde girl you like.

“I might take half an hour to flirt today,” she tells Roan.

“Fair enough,” he says. “Happy new year.”

Miller isn’t around when she gets to the store, which doesn’t feel like a coincidence, and Bellamy has his arms crossed over his chest, his expression vaguely homicidal.

He melts into nervousness within about half a second of seeing her. “Nice display.”

“You too. Some of the decisions seem a little specific.”

“I figure they might help someone. Like horoscopes.”

“Is asking someone out really making up your mind? Isn’t your mind already made up?” She bites her lip. “Mine is.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

He nods. “Cool. So, my sister’s having a party tomorrow. Trying to seduce her neighbor. I figured I could piggyback. If you don’t have plans.”

“Getting drunk with my roommate. As long as he can come–”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. He thinks Miller’s hot, he’ll owe me.” She swallows. “Were you going to wait to kiss me until midnight? Some grand gesture?”

“I was. Should I not?”

“Definitely not,” she says, and he grins, comes out from behind the counter and leans down.

“Does this mean I win the war on Christmas?” he murmurs, after kiss that makes her toe curl.

“I don’t know about the war on Christmas, but I think we’re winning something.”

He laughs. “Me too, yeah,” he agrees, and kisses her again.

*

In January, she starts coming early so she can do paintings for his windows too.

“Come on,” she says, smiling at his confused expression. “What are girlfriends for?”

[jorjathomas]

CAD Illustrator

This is my third CAD workshop and working with the new software Illustrator. Id like to say I began to get used to this software and realised a lot of the tools I have visited before in previous CAD workshops. However this lecture we looked at digital garment illustrators which made me discover how much I had yet to learn. Most fashion courses will cover this so it was beneficial for me to begin a understand on this topic. We began with a demo on how to create a symmetrical t-shirt on illustrator and then began to create one our self. I faced a lot of changes with open ended shapes and other errors which I have discussed below.

After following the first instructions smoothly (dragging an image into the artboard) we began the intricate work of the t-shirt. I was merely fooled by the simplicity of the garment as I thought all you had to do was to trace the image however my tutor proved me wrong quickly and made me realise how much effort goes into these templates. This demonstrated relied heavily on the Pen Tool and we was told to drag this onto a more accessible side of the page. Once doing this, I began using this tool and its features such as holding down to create curves. It was important to create anchor points here so I could then create the sleeve of the t-shirt. So far this was okay as I had done this briefly when using the type on a path tool in InDesign.

Once completing the previous steps we then had to duplicate the outline and then reflect it over on the other side. This saves you having to create the outline again and keeps the template symmetrical. I did this by going into Object- Transform and then the Reflect option. After dragging this across, we was then told to join these to outlines together. As the ends of the pen shapes are open, joining them created the other outlines of the t-shirt, the bottom hem and the neckline. I did this by using ctrl and J on my keyboard however once doing this I came across a problem. When showing my tutor this problem, she mentioned that I may have done the outlining wrong. Because it has joined in the middle there must have been a gap I may have created accidently when using the pen tool. Unfortunately there isn't a way to fix this other than starting the process again. This was okay for me to do as it enabled me to remember the steps and get used to this practise.

As I had to repeat the previous steps and completed the design without the points joining at random anchor points I was able to move onto the next step which was adding in ribbing on the t-shirt. This causes even more trouble as before which frustrated me as I didn't understand what I was doing wrong. I began to be wary of the amount of times I pestered my tutor in this lecture so I decided to listen and create as much notes as I can for the following steps and then look at the tutorials on teams once I had perfecting the previous instructions. Firstly I didn't realise that you had to create numerous copies of the neckline which caused me to use the undo buttons more frequently than before. I created the neckline by using the Ellipse Tool and clicking on the points on one half of the circle to delete one half of the circle. Once creating the semicircle we had to make it fit into existing outline however the problem I face was when we were told to change this circle into an outline. You do this by going into Object-Path and then Outline Stroke. However I may have missed a step in this lecture as I didn't see any changing in the template. I felt slight pressure to keep up with the call so I worked around this quickly and tried to find an alternative for creating the outline. I think this is what caused the issue in the second image above.

This is all I got up to in the lecture however I am going to recreate this and aim to finish the template with the help of the video tutorials. I will record my progress and final results below. In the meantime, I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to the members of my group. I showed them my CAD work from Friday and we shared with each other our mood board which we had created over the weekend. I was glad when my group members liked the work samples I had created for the brand and wanted to include some of them to portray our ideas. They specifically liked the illustration of the heart hugging itself as they felt this correlated with our vision of the brand and its purpose to highlight the importance of self care for women. For the rest of the afternoon the rest of the group members worked on their mood boards and blogs meanwhile I developed the ideas I designed on Friday with the help of the group members suggestions. below is some designs I developed.

My group suggested that I tried creating the potential logo in different colours, although we all liked the pink and red combination, its best to allow new colours so we have more to choose from. We are open to not sticking to a set of colours which is why I tried to make as many options to see what it would look like if we were to place this on our products. I like the Neutral and Pink combination as I think this reflects our idea of combining bright colours to loungewear. I think this because when looking at competitor research, the garments always consisted of neutral shades. Showing this in contrast with the pink could help a person perceive our intentions in a quick glance. I created this design using the Brush tool and made sure that I didn't have any background behind the design so it can go onto any element of our brand. What I liked about this feature is that I didn't have to be too precise because when I lift my pen off the screen, Illustrator automatically curves any imperfect lines. My aim of these designs is to focus on the curves and staying away from any sharp points as I think this wouldn't relate to our brands soft and delicate aesthetic. The heart design was inspired by the one to one I had with my tutor on Friday. He put forward the idea of creating a recognisable symbol within the text that you could pull out and use as another form of identification. As the group liked the heart, I asked them if I should include this into our brand name. They all agreed to try and do this which is what I had done in this practise. Above was my initial idea however I didn't know how to develop this with the skills I have learnt so far. As the tutor that proposed this idea wasn't available I had to google how to make the design which he has demonstrated the previous Friday.

I researched how to move the letters within the text box I had created so I could move them closer and on angles. I did this by going into Type and then Create Outline. I then went into Properties and clicked on the ungroup option which caused each lettering to become its own object. This enabled me to move the letters around and place them in a way that they slot into each other rather than on top of one another. I used the activated Adobe font, Soap, and then decided to use one of the letters to create the heart which I had drawn. Using the letter D I began to increase the stroke so the letter expanded into the shape above. I then added the heart drawing onto of this design and highlighted the two layers so I could group them together. Once reaching this point, I realised it didn't want to keep certain areas of the letter D as it doesn't make the heart as recognisable. I didn't know how to do this in Illustrator so I decided to transfer this problem into Photoshop where I could use the skills I had learnt in the previous trend research lecture. This design won’t be my final outcome if we were to use this logo, I will ask my tutor if there is a way to do this in Illustrator as this step has affected the quality of the heart. Initially, it took me a few times to transfer this into Photoshop as there was multiple options to choose the shapes outcome when pasting the design. Once finding the right one, I used the Eraser tool to get rid of the unwanted areas. I then pasted this back into Illustrator and arranged it so it was set back behind the other letters as the transfer between the two software's created a white square around the heart. Below is the results.

Above you can see some options of the logo which I made. I decided to choose some different stroke outcomes as I felt the first outcome on the left didn't look as eye-catching. I experimented with stroke thickness as it ties in with the drawn heart. I think my favourite is the third outcome on the left as it isn't too thick. With these results, I am wary not to make it too childlike with these types of font which is why it important that I create something with a simpler font as well. I created the planet design after these designs using the Ellipse and Brush tool. I decided to add some text into the earth using a classier font which we could use however, I don't know how to warp the text so it fitted into the globe. I will ask my tutor this if he doesn't cover it later on in the week. I am looking forward to showing the group this work and working in Illustrator more as I am beginning to like certain elements of it and the results I am making from this software. The next post will the groups mood board designs which they had shown in this discussion on teams

[suzanneshannon]

How to Use CSS Grid for Sticky Headers and Footers

CSS Grid is a collection of properties designed to make layout easier than it’s ever been. Like anything, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but Grid is honestly fun to work with once you get the hang of it. One area where it shines is dealing with headers and footers. With a little adjustment in our thinking, we can pull off headers and footers that behave like they are fixed, or have that “sticky” treatment (not position: sticky, but the kind of footer that hugs the bottom of the screen even if there isn’t enough content to push it there, and is pushed away with more content). 

Hopefully this sparks further interest in modern layouts, and if it does, I can’t recommend Rachel Andrew’s book The New CSS Layout strongly enough: it covers both of the major modern layout techniques, grid and flexbox.

What we’re making

Let’s implement a fairly classic HTML layout that consist of a header, main content and footer.

We’ll make a truly fixed footer, one that stays at the bottom of the viewport where the main content scrolls within itself, as needed, then later update the footer to be a more traditional sticky footer that starts at the bottom of the viewport, even if the main content is small, but gets pushed down as needed. Further, to broaden our exposure to grid, let’s design our main content holder so that it can either span the whole width of the viewport, or take up a nicely centered strip down the middle.

A fixed footer is slightly unusual. Footers are commonly designed to start at the bottom of the viewport, and get pushed down by main content as needed. But a persistent footer isn’t unheard of. Charles Schwab does it on their homepage. Either way, it’ll be fun to implement!

But before we move on, feel free to actually peek at the fixed footer implemented on the Charles Schwab site. Unsurprisingly, it uses fixed positioning, which means it has a hard-coded size. In fact, if we crack open DevTools, we see that right off the bat:

body #qq0 {   border-top: 4px solid #133568;   background-color: #eee;   left: 0;   right: 0;   bottom: 0;   height: 40px!important; }

Not only that, but there’s the balance of making sure the main content doesn’t get hidden behind that fixed footer, which it does by setting hard-coded paddings (including 15px on the bottom of the <footer> element), margins (including 20px on <ul> in the footer), and even line breaks.

Let’s try to pull this off without any of these restrictions.  

Our baseline styles

Let’s sketch out a bare minimum UI to get us started, then enhance our grid to match our goals. There’s a CodeSandbox below, plus additional ones for the subsequent steps that get us to the end result.

First, let’s do some prep work. We’ll make sure we’re using the whole height of the viewport, so when we add our grid, it’ll be easy to put the footer at the bottom (and keep it there).  There’s only going to be one element inside the document’s <body> with an ID of #app, which will hold the <header, <main> and <footer> elements.

body {   margin: 0; /* prevents scrollbars */ } 
 #app {   height: 100vh; }

Next, let’s set up our header, main, and footer sections, as well as the grid they’ll all sit in. To be clear, this will not work the way we want right out of the gate. It’s just to get us started, with a base to build from.

body {   margin: 0; } 
 #app {   height: 100vh;      /* grid container settings */   display: grid;   grid-template-columns: 1fr;   grid-template-rows: auto 1fr auto;   grid-template-areas:      'header'     'main'     'footer'; } 
 #app > header {   grid-area: header; } 
 #app > main {   grid-area: main;   padding: 15px 5px 10px 5px; } 
 #app > footer {   grid-area: footer; }

We’ve created a simple one-column layout, with a width of 1fr. If that 1fr is new to you, it essentially means “take the remaining space” which, in this case, is the entire width of the grid container, #app.

We’ve also defined three rows:

#app {   /* etc. */   grid-template-rows: auto 1fr auto;   /* etc. */ }

The first and third rows, which will be our header and footer, respectively, are sized with auto, which means they’ll take up as much space as needed. In other words: no need for hard-coded sizes! This is a super important detail and a perfect example of how we benefit from using CSS Grid.

The middle row is where we’ll put our content. We’ve assigned it a size of 1fr which, again, just means it takes up all of the remaining space that’s left over from the other two rows. If you’re wondering why we aren’t making it auto as well, it’s because the entire grid spans the viewport’s whole height, so we need one section to grow and fill up any unused space. Note that we do not have, nor will we ever need at any point, any fixed heights, margins, paddings — or even line breaks! — to push things into place. Such is the good life when working with grid!

Shall we try some content?

You’ll notice in the Sandbox that I used React to build this demo, but since this isn’t a post about React, I won’t belabor those details; React has absolutely nothing to do with any of the CSS Grid work in this post. I’m only using it as an easy way to navigate between different chunks of markup. If you hate React, that’s fine: hopefully you can ignore it in this post.

We have Header, Main and Footer components that render the expected <header> , <main>  and <footer> elements, respectively. And, of course, this all sits inside our #app container. Yes, in theory, #app should be an <article> element, semantically speaking, but that’s always looked weird to me. I just wanted to covey these details so we’re all one the same page as we plow ahead.

For the actual content, I have Billing and Settings sections that you can navigate between in the header. They both render fake, static content, and are only meant to show our layout in action. The Settings section will be the content that we put in a centered strip on our page, Billing will be the one that spans our whole page.

Here’s the Sandbox with what we have so far.

The Billing section looks good, but the Settings section pushes our footer off screen. Not only that, but if we scroll, the entire page scrolls, causing us to lose our header. That may be desirable in some cases, but we want both the header and footer to stay in view, so let’s fix that.

Fixed header, fixed footer

When we initially set up our grid, we gave it a height of 100vh, which is the entire height of the viewport. We then assigned the rows for the header and footer an auto height, and the main a height of 1fr to take up the remaining space. Unfortunately, when content exceeds the space available, it expanded beyond the viewport bounds, pushing our footer down and out of view.

The fix here is trivial: adding overflow: auto will cause our <main> element to scroll, while keeping our <header> and <footer> elements in place.

#app > main {   grid-area: main;   overflow: auto;   padding: 15px 5px 10px 5px; }

Here’s the updated demo that puts this to use.

Adjustable width main section

We want our <main> element to either span the whole width of the viewport, or be centered in a 600px space. You might think we could simply make <main> a 600px fixed width, with an auto margins on either side. But since this is a post about grid, let’s use moar grid. (Plus, as we’ll see later, a fixed width won’t work anyway).

To achieve our centered 600px element, we’ll actually make the <main> element a grid container. That’s right, a grid within a grid! Nesting grids is a totally legit approach, and will even get easier in the future when subgrid is officially supported across browsers. In this scenario, we’ll make <main> a grid with three column tracks of 1fr 600px 1fr or, stated simply, 600px in the middle, with the remaining space equally divided on the sides.

#app > main {   display: grid;   grid-template-rows: 1fr;   grid-template-columns: 1fr 600px 1fr; }

Now let’s position our the content in the grid. Our different modules all render in a <section> child. Let’s say that by default, content will occupy the middle section, unless it has a .full class, in which case it will span the entire grid width. We won’t use named areas here, and instead specify precise grid coordinates of the form [row-start] / [col-start] / [row-end] / [col-end]:

#app > section {   grid-area: 1 / 2 / 1 / 3; } 
 #app > section.full {   grid-area: 1 / 1 / 1 / 4 }

You might be surprised to see a col-end value of 4, given that there’s only three columns. This is because the column and row values are column and row grid lines. It takes four grid lines to draw three grid columns. 

Our <section> will always be in the first row, which is the only row. By default it’ll span column lines 2 through 3, which is the middle column, unless the section has a full class on it, in which case it’ll span column lines 1 through 4, which is all three columns.

Here’s an updated demo with this code. It’ll probably look good, depending on your CodeSandbox layout, but there’s still a problem. If you shrink the display to smaller than 600px, the content is abruptly truncated. We don’t really want a fixed 600px width in the middle. We want a width of up to 600px. It turns out grid has just the tool for us: the minmax() function. We specify a minimum width and a maximum width, and the grid will compute a value that falls in that range. That’s how we prevent the content from blowing out of the grid.

All we need to do is swap out that 600px value with minmax(0, 600px):

main {   display: grid;   grid-template-rows: 1fr;   grid-template-columns: 1fr minmax(0, 600px) 1fr; }

Here’s the demo for the finished code.

One more approach: The traditional fixed footer

Earlier, we decided to prevent the footer from being pushed off the screen and did that by setting the <main> element’s overflow property to auto.

But, as we briefly called out, that might be a desirable effect. In fact, it’s more of a classic “sticky” footer that solves that annoying issue, and places the footer on the bottom edge of the viewport when the content is super short.

Hey, get back to the bottom!

How could we keep all of our existing work, but allow the footer to get pushed down, instead of fixing itself to the bottom in persistent view?

Right now our content is in a grid with this HTML structure:

<div id="app">   <header />   <main>     <section />   </main>   <footer /> </div>

…where <main> is a grid container nested within the #app grid container, that contains one row and three columns that we use to position our module’s contents, which go in the <section> tag.

 Let’s change it to this:

<div id="app">   <header />   <main>     <section />     <footer />   </main> </div>

…and incorporate <footer> into the <main> element’s grid. We’ll start by updating our parent #app grid so that it now consists of two rows instead of three:

#app {   /* same as before */ 
   grid-template-columns: 1fr;   grid-template-rows: auto 1fr;   grid-template-areas:      'header'     'main'; }

Just two rows, one for the header, and the other for everything else. Now let’s update the grid inside our <main> element:

#app > main {   display: grid;   grid-template-rows: 1fr auto;   grid-template-columns: 1fr minmax(0, 600px) 1fr; }

We’ve introduced a new auto-sized row. That means we now have a 1fr row for our content, that holds our <section>, and an auto row for the footer.

Now we position our <footer> inside this grid, instead of directly in #app:

#app > footer {   grid-area: 2 / 1 / 2 / 4; }

Since <main> is the element that has scrolling, and since this element now has our footer, we’ve achieved the sticky footer we want! This way, if <main> has content that exceeds the viewport, the whole thing will scroll, and that scrolling content will now include our footer, which sits at the very bottom of the screen as we’d expect.

Here’s an updated demo. Note that the footer will be at the bottom of the screen if possible; otherwise it’ll scroll as needed. 

I made a few other small changes, like minor adjustments to paddings here and there; we can’t have any left or right paddings on <main>, because the <footer> would no longer go edge-to-edge.

I also made a last-minute adjustment during final edits to the <section> element—the one we enabled adjustable width content on. Specifically, I set its display to flex, its width to 100%, and its immediate descendant to overflow: auto. I did this so the <section> element’s content can scroll horizontally, within itself, if it exceeds our grid column boundary, but without allowing any vertical scrolling.

Without this change, the work we did would amount to the fixed footer approach we covered earlier. Making section> a flex container forces its immediate child — the <div> that contains the content — to take up all of the available vertical space. And, of course, setting that child div to overflow: auto enables scrolling. If you’re wondering why I didn’t just set the section’s overflow-x to auto, and overflow-y to visible, well, it turns out that’s not possible.

Parting thoughts 

We haven’t done anything revolutionary in this post, and certainly nothing that couldn’t be accomplished before CSS Grid. Our fixed width <main> container could have been a block element with a max-width value of 600px, and auto margins on the left and right. Our fixed footer could have been made with position: fixed (just make sure the main content doesn’t overlap with it). And, of course, there are various ways to get a more traditional “sticky footer.”

But CSS Grid provides a single, uniform layout mechanism to accomplish all of this, and it’s fun to work with — honestly fun. In fact, the idea of moving the footer from fixed to sticky wasn’t even something I planned at first. I threw it in at the last minute because I thought the post was a bit too light without it. It was trivial to accomplish, basically moving grid rows around, not unlike putting lego blocks together. And again, these UIs were trivial. Imagine how brightly grid will shine with more ambitious designs!

The post How to Use CSS Grid for Sticky Headers and Footers appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

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[worldsandcenturiesfunposting]

Late to the party: Should Video Game Journalists be good at video games?

You might have seen that cuphead video where some video game journalist spent over a minute trying to get past the tutorial and then proceeded to get railed over and over in the first level. The video is a little less than 27 minutes long and he doesn’t get through the first level in those 27 minutes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848Y1Uu5Htk Take note that the original title was Cuphead Demo at Gamescom: It Isn’t Easy

What you probably didn’t see was the description in the video. No one reads those but I think there’s a lot to pick apart and ramble about at 4:30 in the morning because I’m a lonely sack of shit with nothing better to do

But here’s the man himself writing to his defense: https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/08/the-deanbeat-our-cuphead-runneth-over/

My game crime: I was so bad at playing I was deemed unfit to be a game journalist. My Cuphead gameplay video from Gamescom blew up, inspired rage, and spurred discussions about the death of game journalism across Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter.

Don’t flatter yourself that much. People were talking about how game journalism was dead well before your video. Hell, you even mention GamerGate later in your article. 

It was a failure to communicate.

In the description of the video, they mention that the guy playing the game isn’t good at platformers in general and the video was uploaded as a joke. I don’t know how true that last part is, but assuming it is, they’ve apparently put in 0 effort to make that clear. No tongue in cheek title like “Let’s Fail at Cuphead!” or giving context in the description. Only after shit hit the fan did they edit the description explaining why the guy sucked so bad. 

I only wish my two books on the Xbox business generated as much attention as the Cuphead story. It is a humbling experience.

It would help if you books were available to buy at the store. I’ve been in plenty of book stores and haven’t found anything about Xbox business practices. There are ones partially written by Anita Sarkeesian though so I guess that’s close enough.

The more people looked at my poor gameplay, which I myself labeled shameful, the angrier they got. I played the tutorial so ineptly — failing to read the onscreen instructions to jump and dash simultaneously — and then went on, failing to conquer a single level. I said it was hard, and the fans saw my gameplay and decided I was a poor judge of difficulty. By a ratio of more than 12-to-1, the ratings on the YouTube video are negative. It wasn’t just the troglodytes of the internet who hated it. Most people hated it.

You failed an incredibly simple puzzle, one that literal children can figure out, and you want to throw out insults like “troglodytes” at people saying you were shit because they either didn’t see or don’t buy the “lol it’s just a prank bro” deflection.

Another game journalist (and some say “shitlord”

Including you or someone from your website in the description of the video itself:  A shitlord on Twitter also linked to this video and claimed these are the same people doing reviews. 

The guy they’re talking about is Ian Miles Cheong. Once a turbo feminist switched sides to a more pro-gamer stance during the whole GamerGate thing. Outside of that, I don’t know much about him and I don’t give enough of a shit about him to find out. 

He clipped it to the 2.5 minutes of the most damning inept gameplay, and he posted it to his followers. He used me to condemn all game journalists

The guy is literally a video game journalist though so it wouldn’t be a condemnation of all video game journalist. Just pointing out that you (and presumably others) are awful at video games despite being paid to write about them. Which is true. Like if this was a video of some 4 year old failing the tutorial, there wouldn’t be this ire. 

Raising the smoldering issues around Gamergate and its focus on game journalism ethics. His post was political propaganda for the disenfranchised gamers, the sort who went from Gamergate to the alt-right and elected Donald Trump as president.

At least you admit GamerGate was about ethics. The fact you then went on to then claim that its proponents went on to support the alt-right and got Trump elected is fucking horse shit for a few reasons. 

1. GamerGate was comprised of various people of various different political backgrounds. Yes, some members were what we’d now call the alt-right, but a lot of its members were also incredibly left leaning. A few political compass tests were taken over the course of GamerGate and it seems a huge portion of its membership were what’s described as left libertarians. 

2. Of all the reasons Trump was elected, gamers aren’t one of them. The shit system that is the electoral college. Mass propaganda efforts from Russia. A bunch of idiots who’d literally vote Republican even if Hitler rose from the dead and was the nominee simply because they’ll always vote Republican no matter what....but not a bunch of gamers upset over poor practices in video game journalism and attempts at shaming and censoring from SJWs. 

Get fucking real, Dean. You’re out of your element. 

Before he got to it, my video had maybe 10,000 views. Afterward, the Gamergaters, or hardline reactionaries — or whatever we would like to call them 

How about people who know how to play video games. I wonder if there’s a name for that. 

Crying conservative boogyman doesn’t help your own personal cause and it certainly doesn’t help your political side either. 

— believed this narrative fit into their views about game journalists just fine

That’s because even before this clip, there was a general negative opinion of video game journalists and here you are proving that it’s pretty well founded. Not only are a lot of them unethical, but some of them fucking suck at their jobs objectively. 

I despise how this was triggered by a viral post that represented the worst of fake news

Fake news is a Trump term. ALT RIGHTIST! ALT RIGHTIST! DEAN TAKAHASHI SUPPORTS DONALD TRUMP! 

Hmmmm, maybe that’s a stupid line of reasoning. Tell you what. I won’t use it if you don’t either? Deal? 

So he continues on whining about haters, giving his own life story, and he actually has the balls to say this: But during all of the time I have written about games, none of my bosses cared about exactly how good I was at playing. They required basic knowledge and competence, but not skill on an esports level.

He whines frequently about how mean people are for saying he shouldn’t be a games journalist if he sucks so bad at video games....and then goes on to say that the thing his bosses cared about was the very thing that people were pointing out he utterly lacks. 

Not a skill on an e-sports level? Nigga, you were playing a tutorial! Stop acting like people are demanding the world of you and realize that people require you have basic knowledge and competence. 

So blatantly dishonest. 

Guess what? Unskillful gaming is authentic.

That’s literally the excuse DSP uses to justify being bad at video games and leaving in all of the footage of him bumbling around not knowing that he’s doing. 

Here’s where my nonapology starts. Gamers need to stop being mean to those who aren’t skillful. They don’t need to put others down to elevate their own subculture. Games have gone viral. They’re more popular than ever, reaching 2 billion people around the world. They have become a $108 billion industry. It’s silly to look down on games.

No one’s looking down on games and no one’s looking down on people for no other reason than their lack of skill. For a lot of people if they’re having trouble, people will be more than willing to provide advice and pointers. Just ask any question about how to do something in a game on a game related subreddit and people will be perfectly fine to tell you how things are done without insulting you.

The fact that you’ve spent so much time playing and reviewing games, and it’s literally your job, is where it starts to cross the line. Games are 2 billion people and 100 billion dollar strong industry as you’ve said so clearly the ire thrown at games journalists who suck ass at their job isn’t a problem within the industry. 

That industry will grow bigger, and gamers will get better games, if we embrace the new gamers. 

You. Are. Not. A. New. Gamer. 

Stop acting like you’re defending other people getting shit when it isn’t other people who are a problem. This deflection is as apparent as it is pathetic. No one’s going after Minecraftkid2003 because he couldn’t figure out redstone when he first came across it. They’re pointing out that Dean  Takahashi, a video game journalist with 18 years worth of experience and has himself boasted he was playing video games since Pong isn’t able to figure out a simple problem solving exercise any faster than a goddamn pigeon. 

We don’t need to dumb games down. 

And then he says 

We can have adjustable difficulty, so that the unskilled and skilled alike can play. We can make tutorials even easier than the one that I failed at so miserably.

Alright, dumbass. I’m sure everyone reading this has seen the video I linked. Here’s what the tutorial required. It required you to jump on a box....and then jump in the air...and then use a dash move to get over a pillar that’s too high to jump over from the ground. 

There’s no losing conditions. Time is infinite. There’s no enemies. There’s no bottomless platforms of thing chasing you...it’s literally the easiest part of the game second to moving around map itself. How the fuck can it get easier? Does it need to outright say “Alright Dean, now comes the doozy. You need to press this button and then this button afterwords to solve the exact same problem. Here’s an animation of what it should look like. Can you follow it, Dean? I’ll play the animation over and over on the top of the screen so you can see what you’re supposed to do. If you do it, you get a gold star and Anita will give you the good boy award!”

No, I’m not blaming the developer for my own shortcomings. I respect the designers, even if I didn’t truly understand at first the games they’ve made. I would just like to make sure that they make their games for people who are new, or noobs, as well as hardcore fans.

Cuphead is specifically designed to be a challenging platformer for gamers who like more challenge. Designing it to be easier, especially a tutorial that has no losing condition, is counterproductive to what the devs want to achieve. It’s like asking Stephen King to tone down the horror in his books so that non-horror fans can enjoy them too without being too scared. 

If you want an easy platformer designed with everyone in mind, there’s plenty of great games that will fill that roll. Not every game needs to be made for everyone.

As Nolan Bushnell, cofounder of Atari, said, games should be easy to learn and hard to master. (Yes, I know Cuphead’s tutorial isn’t that hard to learn).

Then what’s the fucking issue, ding dong? 

No, I’m not celebrating mediocrity

You literally just did when you whined that Cuphead wasn’t designed for noobs in mind. Here’s one big thing though: You were’t even mediocre at it. Garfield is mediocre. You were just awful. 

like the Antonio Salieri character in Amadeus. I’m arguing that all gamers, casual or hardcore, deserve recognition.

They do, but not in cuphead. And all gamers aren’t paid to write their opinions on video games. 

We are not all going to be esports stars who rake in millions of dollars. 

You’ve been at this for 18 years and got money for it. You got to play a demo that a lot of people much more skilled and much more deserving would have liked to play and you did poorly at it because you couldn’t figure out how to do 2 step logic. 

But we’re going to be the masses of unskilled players who make the game companies, including the makers of Cuphead, as rich as they can possibly be.

If there’s one happy ending, it’s that Cuphead did do well on the market showing that contrary to what Dean believes, it isn’t a good idea for all games to be dumbed down to the point where even video game journalists are able to play. 

The rest is more sob story and personal history. 

---

So what are my final thoughts? Well first of all, if you can’t solve a simple 2 step logic puzzle in part of a game with literally no losing conditions, you really are stupid. Pro or noob, there’s some point where you have to wonder how dumb the person with the controller is. There’s plenty of cases like the previously DarkSydePhil and also this blast from the past from IJustine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkYxfjJ72k4 Like seriously: use your eyes and brain homie!

But what about being just generally bad at games or just not knowing how to play well? It doesn’t matter. Contrary to what Dean thinks, tons of people aren’t going to be major assholes to you just because you picked up a game for the first time, don’t know the ropes, but decide to record yourself playing and slowly learning them. Plenty of let’s players do blind runs where they go into a game with no prior knowledge of it and yeah, they make mistakes but people are generally cool about it. 

However, there’s a point where making these silly mistakes over and over becomes...something of an issue. I’ve been driving for several years. If I legitimately couldn’t figure out which pedal is the break and which is the gas after all this time, it would be fair grounds to call me a dumbass or wonder if there’s something seriously wrong with my brain. As people do something more and more, it’s expected that they’re better at it than someone completely new. When someone does that thing for a job, it’s expected that they’re better at it than the average joe. 

And that’s the big thing here that Dean never addresses: it’s his job. He writes more about the tech than he does actual gameplay, yes, but he still boasts in his own article that he’s been in the industry for 18 years and have been playing games since Pong. 

It’s not even the rest of the video that was the issue but instead those 2.5 minutes (which he complained about Miles Ian Cheong trimming the video down to as a highlight) where he’s unable to solve that simple two step logic puzzle in a tutorial level. I drove cars for years because I have to get from point A to point B and it’s beyond walking distance and it would already be stupid if I couldn’t figure out the absolute basics of it. If I reviewed cars for a living and drove cars for longer than most car drivers have been alive for and I couldn’t figure out the basics of starting it, that would be beyond pathetic. I don’t think there’s a word in the English language that would be able to describe that amount of disconnect between the experience I should have and the amount I display. 

He constantly hides behind the idea that we’re not all professional e-sport people and gamers come at all skill levels...but he’s not at all skill levels. He’s literally a professional. Playing and reviewing games is literally his profession just like writing code or cooking meals is a profession.

You know how on Kitchen Nightmares Gordon Ramsey gets so pissed off at people who don’t know the basics of cooking and how to handle a kitchen even though it’s their job and they should have learned that in training? It’s like that. We’re basically Gordon Ramsey here watching some guy call himself a chef and his output is microwave heated frozen mac and cheese that’s somehow still raw and yet also on fire. And he wonders why people are yelling at him over the internet. 

Should video game journalists be good at video games? Yes! Just like food critics should understand how to cook a meal or reviewers of literature should know how to read! I don’t even know why video game journalists are trying to make this a contestable point. If you suck at your job, either get better....or don’t have you job! Get another one! 

I’m aware that this whole thing is a bit of old hat and I’m rambling on more and more than this guy deserves, but it is indicative of a larger problem within the industry. Just like the Zoe Quinn thing or the doritos pope thing was indicative of issues in the larger industry. Video game journalism has an effect and if some of them aren’t able to beat a simple tutorial level and then without any hint of irony, whine that video games should be easier when people call him out on it....it’s just baffling. 

It’s now 5:45 and I still have nothing better to do lol so I guess I guess it’s time for a few final words

I don’t think this event will lead to GamerGate 2. Hell, one article defending this guy had the title that GamerGate 1 never really ended. I don’t know how true it is but it seems over three years later since it started, the issues and arguments that were the foundation of GamerGate are still a bit relevant. But now there’s a new one: Some video game journalists are not only unethical....but they’re also utterly incapable! 

Anyways, join me next time as I’m even more late to the party and write my epic response Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis followed by a point by point breakdown of Oag the Caveman’s declaration of “Fire bad!”

[plaidstiel-wormstache]

Finding Home

This is for Becka @beckawinchester and Johanna’s @boredoutofmymindwriting Challenge ... hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it. Prompt - “He knew that he was home when her lips touched his.” Song - Free Fallin’ by John Mayer Word Count - 2511 Characters - Jensen x Reader, Jason Manns, Rob, Rich and so on... Warnings - none I hope; fluff, hints at smut, more fluff Summary - It’s nice when you find someone you’re so at home with, so comfortable with, but can still surprise. A/N - Let’s pretend Daneel is living her happily-ever-after with someone else. Thank you to the wonderful @avasmommy224 for beta-ing! And a shout out to @whispersandwhiskerburn just for putting up with me!

He’s a good boy, loves his mama, loves Jesus and America too. He’s a good boy, crazy ‘bout Elvis, loves horses and his girlfriend too. YN had her headphones in and was singing away to her favourite song as she scrubbed the kitchen sink. She’d managed to clean the whole house. Jensen would think it was because he was arriving home, not that her nerves were getting the best of her.

It’s a long day living in Reseda, there’s a freeway runnin’ through the yard. I’m a bad girl ‘cause I don’t even miss him, I’m a bad girl for breaking his heart. Jensen pulled the suitcase from the trunk and wheeled it to the door, finding it was unlocked, as always if she was home. No matter how many times he begged her to lock it, she seemed to always forget. And I’m free, free fallin’, fallin’. And I’m free, free fallin’, fallin’. He placed his case inside the door and followed her voice, she was singing. He loved to hear her sing. He wished she’d come and record for Jason, he’d even suggested a duet, but she wouldn’t, she’d get nervous just at the mention. She tried to record something for him once, but her anxiety took over and she almost threw up. Jensen leaned against the doorway and watched her as she washed out the sink of bleach she’d been scrubbing with. All the vampires walkin’ through the valley, they move western down Ventura boulevard. And all the bad boys standing in the shadows, and the good girls are home with broken hearts. He smiled as she wiped at her face with her shoulder and arm, catching a glimpse of him in her peripheral. She jumped, spinning. She pushed the inside of her wrist to her chest and shed the glove from her other hand, ripping out an earphone. “Baby!” She squealed. “Did I scare you?” He asked, the slight chuckle from knowing he had, only built when she shoved him in the chest. “Why didn’t you say something?” She asked, finally free of the other glove and headphone, she pulled him back to her by twirling a finger in the hem of his shirt. She slid her fingers over his chest, snaking her hands over his shoulders and around his neck. And just like a practised routine, Jensen bent to meet her awaiting lips with his, wrapping his hands under her thighs and lifting her with ease, wrapping her legs around his waist. “How long are you back for?” She asked, leaning away from his lips, brushing his nose with hers. “Tonight, conventions start tomorrow.” He breathed, it was a tough life, coming and going. She had her job, friends, and life here and he was constantly on the road. But every time he was home, or she came to visit, they spent every second together, they’d even bought this house together. But all this time apart meant that YN could get up to mischief, she’d known he was starting the convention circuit now, knew he was more than a little annoyed that he only had one night with her. So, with Jason’s help, she recorded a demo of his favourite song. With Rob and Rich’s help, she was joining the convention. Little did Jensen know, she’d taken the next five months off, partly for him, partly for the expansion of her company into Vancouver. And with more help from friends, she had a little something up her sleeve, if only the butterflies and the doubt would ebb long enough. “So we better make the most of it.” She breathed against him, he smiled and fit their lips back together, like the puzzle pieces they were.

“YNN, let…” Jensen chuckled as he tried to gently pry your fingers open from where they’d locked behind his neck. “No. They have you for long enough.” She pouted into the crook of his neck. “You’re stronger than I remember.” Jensen said, resting for a moment, awkwardly across the top of your body on the bed, his feet still planted to the floor. “Please don’t go.” She whispered against his collarbone, relinquishing her grip. He held himself up, hovering over her, searching her eyes. “Need me to stay?” He asked, she could see how serious the question was. She sighed and reached up, letting her lips linger against his till her muscles ached and her neck threatened to seize up. “They need you. I want you.” She murmured against his lips, pecking them one last time. “I love you.” He said, pushing his lips against her forehead before he stood up. He cupped her cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone as he memorised the look of her, naked under his gaze, warm and blushing for him. She turned her head into his palm, holding his hand in place as she planted a kiss in the center, then folded his fingers around it. “Hold on to it for me.” She made him promise and he nodded. “Now, Mr. Ackles, go or else you’ll be late.” She warned, kicking at his bottom as he walked around the bed. He stopped at the door and looked back at her, she raised an eyebrow at him, they both chuckled after a moment of silence and he turned, shaking his head. She got up and watched him from the window, still naked as he looked up while climbing into the car, he smiled and winked. It didn’t go unnoticed that he still had his fist clenched around her kiss.

“Hey Rob, how you doing?” She answered the phone as she collected her luggage off the carousel. “Where are you?” He asked, it sounded like it had all kicked off already. “Just got off the plane. They already on?” She asked, hearing Jared’s distant laugh through speakers, the question answered itself. “Yeah, Jason said he’d collect you. He’ll run over the song a few times and get you in without anyone seeing.” Rob answered, she could hear Rich in the background, second last question, I’ll go find our lucky last. “Thanks Rob, for everything.” She said goodbye and hang up, tucking the phone into her pocket, she looked over her bags, satisfied she had everything, she wheeled out to the awaiting families, friends and cabbies. Sure enough Jason was there with a sign SUPERSTAR. She smiled and navigated through the crowds over to him. “Really?” She asked, nodding at the sign after hugs and kisses were exchanged. He took her large bag and guided her to the exit. “Thought you’d get a kick outta that!” He smiled. Once in the car he put on her demo and insisted they go over it. She sung, timid at first, but with a nice long pep talk from Jason, she belted it out the second time round. “Nice, we’ll get you recording for real, yet!” He said, nudging her arm with his elbow. She shook her head, letting her Y/C/H hair hide her reddening cheeks. “Can we listen to anything else, I swear this song has been the only thing I’ve listened to for months.” She whined, turning their attention to anything else. Jason punched a button on the dash and the radio blared ‘Proud Mary’ at them, they shared a smile before joining in, happy and carefree, her nerves settled for the moment.

The band played their last note, Rob swung his guitar and everyone finished. YN was watching from the very back of the room, standing behind one of Cliff’s men, Steve. Rob pushed his guitar round to his back and stepped back to the microphone. “We should make a move.” Steve whispered over his shoulder, pushing the door behind her open. “Please welcome to the stage, Jensen Ackles.” Rob’s voice echoed through the speakers just as Steve ushered her out. She turned around and pouted at him as he nudged her forward while chuckling. “You’d be surprised at just how perceptive he is to an audience.” Steve promised, but she knew that all too well already. “You can wait in the green room, he won’t be back till the songs over.” Steve explained, opening the door to the open room that housed most of the bored cast. “YNN!” Jared called, crossing the room and hoisting her into a bear hug, lifting her off the ground. “Nice to see you too, big guy!” She laughed, her arms were pinned by her side as he squeezed her tight. “I thought you were working?” Misha said, looking at Steve and Jared as he pecked her cheek. “So does Jensen, please don’t say anything!” She begged, he gave a sly smile and nodded. “YN! What are you doing here?” Kim asked, jumping out of her seat to pull YN into a swaying hug. “Trying to surprise Ackles!” YN answered, collapsing onto the sofa between Brianna and Matt. “Hey, YNN?” Rich called as he came through the door that lead to the stage. YN put her hands out for Rich to pull her up from the couch, which he did and straight into a hug. “Jason asked me to run through warm ups with you…” He pulled a face as he saw the colour drop from hers. “Just breathe, YNN. Remember why you’re here.” Jared was suddenly whispering reassurances in her ear, thankful she had a friend like him. She squeezed the hand on her shoulder and nodded at Rich.

Jason’s prepared something special for us, so while we take a breather, please make him feel welcome! Rich introduced before placing the mic next to Jason, who was already seated and setting up his guitar. The crowd quieted down as Jason tapped the mic. “Howdy y’all, thanks for having me.” The band behind Jason squeezed past YN on their way off stage, all patting her back and wishing her good luck. Jensen and Rob were still on stage, meandering back as Jensen wasn’t aware of the switch up of plans. “Do y’all mind if I bring a special someone out here?” Jason asked, the crowd whooped and applauded in agreeance, “Thanks! She’s someone I’ve wanted to work with for ages, she’s a last minute addition to the show…” Jason looked round at Rob who whispered something into Jensen’s ear, his jaw dropped. “Please give a warm, Jax welcome to YFN YLN!” He called, holding his hand out to the side of the stage, Rich gave YN a push out into the light. All the nerves and butterflies and doubting voices had assured her it would be terrifying, that she’d see disapproving faces and the lights would be too bright. But it wasn’t. The audience was screaming and cheering and whistling, but she couldn’t see their faces, the lights made the room in front of the stage black, yet they didn’t blind her. She smiled at Jason and waved at the anonymous pit of applause. Rob was walking toward her, leaving a dumbfounded Jensen standing on the side of the stage. “You’ll smash it.” Rob whispered as he pecked her cheek on the way past, she winked at him and continued over to Jason, patting him on the shoulder, collecting her microphone, ignoring her statue of a boyfriend for the moment. “Hey y’all! Thanks for having me!” The crowd cheered again, a few people yelled out different welcoming phrases. YN turned to Jason and nodded, he smiled and began strumming, she looked over at Jensen then, holding one of her hands out to the side. “Surprise baby! This is for you!” He’s a good boy, loves his mama, loves Jesus and America too. YN began, enjoying the shocked look on her man’s face, but there was an audience and they deserved a show if you were gonna interrupt their paid weekend. He’s a good boy, crazy ‘bout Elvis, loves horses and his girlfriend too, yeah, yeah. YN really got into it on stage, broke free from her stand by Jason’s side and moved across the stage, relishing in the fans singing along to the chorus. Now I’m free fallin’, now I’m free fallin’... I wanna glide down over Mulholland, I wanna write his name in the sky. I wanna free fall out into nothing, I’m gonna leave this world for a while. Now I’m free, free fallin’, fallin’ Free fallin’... YN finishes, letting Jason playout the ending. Once the last note from the guitar fades, it’s silent for a moment, no one moves, no one breathes, then the room erupts. Jason removes his guitar and places it in the stand, bringing her into a tight hug, whispering congratulations and how she HAS to record for him now. Jensen crosses the stage, mouth open. He’s speechless, and Jensen speechless is truly a compliment. He lifts her in his arms, his mouth moulded to hers, hoping beyond hope that he’s conveying everything through touch as words would not do him justice. He releases her lips and lets her slide down his body till she’s on her feet. She brings the mic she hadn’t let go of, back up to her mouth. “I believe you have something of mine.” She says clearly, no one in the room understands except for him. He smiles and brings his fist around from her back. The room goes quiet as he releases her and brings his hand between them, opening his fingers, one by one till his palm is facing her. A simple ring in the center of his hand. No one else can see what she can, they don’t understand the reason she almost drops the mic, or why her eyes begin to water. Then he gets down on one knee. There are shouts, whistles, cries, and sobs from the crowd as he takes the mic from her hand and gives it to Jason who’s still on stage, Jason positions it between the couple. “YFN YLN, would you do me the absolute honour, of becoming my need.” He asks, beaming up at her, tears flowing from both their eyes, another small comment only they and close friends would understand. “My want an’ need.” She answers, pulling his face up to hers, pecking his lips several times, running her thumb under his eyes to wipe away the tears. He slips the ring on to her finger, then pulls her back to him, cradling her in his arms, so tight that her molecules might just shift and fit together with his to form one perfect combination. “Did you just say wanton need?” He whispered into her ear so only she would hear, he felt her lips pull up into a smile as her head faintly nodded yes. “I didn’t tell you, the business is expanding to Vancouver, we’ll actually have a home that we both live in.” She said, pulling back to look into his eyes, searching for a sign that this was another good surprise. Fresh tears spilled over as he pressed his lips back to hers. But it doesn’t matter where they live for he knew that he was home when her lips touched his.

Tagging: @impala-dreamer@jalove-wecallhimdean@whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname@melonberri@percywinchester27@avasmommy224@wayward-mirage@waywardjoy@wi-deangirl77@sdavid09@ellexirmalfoy@bringmesomepie56@babypieandwhiskey@kristaparadowski@gabby913@charliebradbury1104@blacktithe7@thegreatficmaster@impala-dreamer!@mrswhozeewhatsis@i-like-your-assbutt@yoursmilemakesmeloveyou@chaos-and-the-calm67@frenchybell@chvalkenberg95@ackleholic-hunter@green-love-red-fantasyhearts@impalaimagining@leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid@lucifer-in-leather@manawhaat@nichelle-my-belle@lipstickandwhiskey@grace-for-sale@hasta-impalasta@hideyourdemoneyes@oriona75@ilostmyshoe-79@eyes-of-a-disney-princess@kazchester-fanfiction@ellen-reincarnated1967@beckawinchester@notnaturalanahi@jalove-wecallhimdean@autopistaaningunaparte@loveitsallineed@mogaruke @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @purgatoan @clairese1980

[caepaecaesurae]

> CC + AC : Stop Tiptoeing

caepaecaesurae I apologize for not restricting my advwice to things that are useful in sparring.  I did not mean to intrude, or cause unease. I'll leavwe off. aberrantcadenza I mean you kind of cause unease just by being as you are, mostly because I don't know you. I don't hate you, because you're with Nadaya, but I don't *like* you because I don't know you. So I don't know how I feel about you, which puts me on edge. It's something I hope to remedy in time. That's not something you're doing, by the way, so it's not something you can really help. I guess I wasn't clear about the context of those posts, so don't worry about it. I still appreciate the advice in truth, I was just... unprepared for it.

aberrantcadenza And especially since my background with psi users is "the one i know best is my best friend who I would lay down my life for in a pusher pump," you can imagine how that advice sounded :'33 When I'm more consciously prepared for a serious discussion, I am curious to hear more. I want to be prepared. I just wasn't this time. caepaecaesurae I...get reactions like this sometimes.  I suspect it's at least partly me, or at least my caste and history, and can't entirely blame anyone for it. All I can do is apologize wvhen a conflict comes up, and try to stick to safe subjects. aberrantcadenza You know you can't keep darting back and forth like this, right? If you're going to talk to me, commit. Don't half-ass it, don't play it safe. If I didn't like you I'd tell you upfront. I'm taking the time to sort this out with you because I WANT to like you. caepaecaesurae In wvhat wvay? caepaecaesurae I'd like that too. aberrantcadenza What is that to? caepaecaesurae You seem close wvith Nadaya, and I knowv you're close wvith Xanthe, though my tie to him is far far lesser.  It leads to a curiosity. You seem pleasant, to those you can stand. aberrantcadenza So I need to work on being more abrasive and awful. Noted. caepaecaesurae WVell, if you wvish to make it a part of your brand aberrantcadenza I wish for people to know they can't mess with me, but mostly that was a joke. Kind of. Nadaya is a friend of mine, and I like to be on good terms with mates and clade of friends. Disliking you would cause tension. Tension is uncomfortable for everyone. caepaecaesurae I find myself in much the same position. aberrantcadenza Then commit. Stop being polite, throw caution to the wind, have fun. If I didn't want to talk to you I would have blocked you already. caepaecaesurae That goes counter to most of my experience trying not to cause upset, but I'll givwe it a try if you like. aberrantcadenza If you haven't noticed, breaking status quo is kind of my thing. :PP caepaecaesurae I'll aim to be less hesitant, then.  Pardon if it takes some time to adapt. ..Also, likely less formal.  I don't knowv wvhy I do this. aberrantcadenza XPP Because you're used to it, probably. Loosen up, have fun, make jokes. Make cat puns if you have to. I act like I'm annoyed but most of the time I'm not. If I'm really annoyed, I'll tell you directly. Oh, and speaking of which: Imperial bullshit isn't going to win you any favors with me. Just saying that now so we're both clear. caepaecaesurae Entirely fair.  I livwe somewvhere wvhere the hemospectrum's been abolished, and rather like things this wvay. aberrantcadenza Doesn't mean you can't still have allegiances. Don't think I missed your comment about not taking sides. caepaecaesurae True enough, I do vwiewv myself as more of a neutral than a rebel. caepaecaesurae Former imperialist, before I got tired of that. aberrantcadenza "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." - Troll Ke$ha, probably. caepaecaesurae Entirely fair. aberrantcadenza Grubmeal for thought, I guess, if not a further challenge to prove me wrong. caepaecaesurae It's a reasonable point. aberrantcadenza And you're doing the evading thing again. caepaecaesurae Does it help that I happened to be in the lead of the team that assassinated Sparks' Empress?  I havwe a photo on my blog somewvhere of his moirail posing wvith the trident. caepaecaesurae If you wvant to delvwe into the depths of my political stances -- current and historical -- wve can, but I suspect you'vwe heard most of it before, from one mouth or another. aberrantcadenza :vv Like I said, if I didn't like you, I'd tell you. Right now I'm just waiting. I don't think it's fair to judge you on that alone, although I'll admit it earned a side-eye. But truth be told, I don't know much about you at all. caepaecaesurae Fair enough. caepaecaesurae ... A pleasure to meet you, miss.  Cronus Ampora, currently a teatrader and helping auspisticise a few conflicts. aberrantcadenza Felide Leijon, no respecter of persons. Felide is fine, and I'd prefer no honorifics - although I understand it's habit. caepaecaesurae Some trolls are vwery selectivwe about wvho is allowved to use their hatch name, so I try to err towvards the neutral.  Yet again. Felide it is, and a pleasure. aberrantcadenza :PP I understand, but thank you for adapting. caepaecaesurae Once upon a time I wvas more or less a typical highblood, absorbed in my owvn concerns.  I thought people should be treated wvell, but owved a duty to the empire to do wvhatevwer role they wvere forced into, suitable for their person or otherwvise.  My caste included.  There wvere sevweral aspects I did not consider, wvhich my moirail Kankri VWantas has expounded on at length. Nowv I'd rather people just do wvhat they're suited for, so long as society remains stable enough around them. caepaecaesurae "Suited For" being personal temperament and skills, for the record. ...since I am a highblood and that is vaguely phrase. aberrantcadenza I'm assuming your Kankri Vantas is... some iteration of the one called Signless? caepaecaesurae He is.  The same wvay I'm technically a "Dualscar". caepaecaesurae Not proud or fond of that title personally. aberrantcadenza Noted. I'm not fond of mine either, so we're even there. ... How you two ended up together is a little surprising, objectively - since I don't know him and barely know you - but. I'm glad you have him. I'm glad, too, that you've been receptive to change. caepaecaesurae WVe first met after death.  After being ashen for a wvhile, wve receivwed memories of a past (Beforan) life, wvhere wve had been friends. Then ashen fell apart, and pale bloomed. caepaecaesurae He's the primary proprietor of the teahivwe.  Another childhood friend wvorks there, and I help find and ship the tea.  I play music most nights, as wvell. aberrantcadenza :oo That... sounds kind of nice. I've never been to a teahive before. caepaecaesurae It mostly smells of herbs and has places to sit. Places to buy pre-made vwarieties, or to mix things arbitrarily. caepaecaesurae I should probably mention that the other friend wvorking there wvas once better knowvn as the Demoness.  Some trolls from other univwerses find that .. more startling than others. aberrantcadenza Death's Handmaid? caepaecaesurae Damara Megido, yes. aberrantcadenza I've met a couple iterations of her... I'm respectful, but not startled. Honestly it kind of sounds like the ideal. :PP aberrantcadenza Do you like it there? caepaecaesurae I'm not sure I actually knewv wvhat happiness wvas before I came here. It's wvorth protecting. aberrantcadenza :33 I'm glad, then. Everyone deserves to have a sense of belonging in a place they're happy. caepaecaesurae An ideal to strivwe for. caepaecaesurae Is it rude to ask if you'vwe found somewvhere like that for yourself? aberrantcadenza Not rude at all. :oo I have... but my "somewhere" doesn't have its own location. It's with my family and loved ones. I never stayed in one place very long, in life, so I form no particular attachment to the places I stay. caepaecaesurae A travweller. caepaecaesurae I spent the vwast majority of my time wvandering from place to place aboard ship, on Alternia. aberrantcadenza You didn't swim? caepaecaesurae Ports are far apart, and I had much cargo to deal wvith. I'vwe nevwer actually liked the wvater.  Ruins guitars, for one. Music and alcohol wvere about all I cared about in that life, and neither wvorked particularly wvell belowv the wvavwes. aberrantcadenza :PP Fair. In all honesty I struggle these nights to stay in one place. Recently my mate and I took a few nights to wander Alternia with our family again, just to sate the need to move. caepaecaesurae There are some vwery clevwer vwalvwed and stoppered bottles that try to enable aquatic bevwerage use, but it just doesn't wvork, and laying on the surface like an otter -- wvhile amusing -- isn't the most dignified thing. caepaecaesurae I think one needs vwariety to stay sane.  WVhether it comes from travwel, or just seeking advwentures to become invwolvwed in. aberrantcadenza Agreed! aberrantcadenza Or well, at least that's true for me. I'm sure there's some people that would prefer to have the same thing every night. caepaecaesurae Sparks finds his in other rebellions, nowv that wve'vwe a peaceful place. I'vwe taken up as Makara's top leaf, wvhich is its owvn unique and indescribable advwenture. aberrantcadenza :oo Congratulations! caepaecaesurae Thank you aberrantcadenza Beforus is too quiet for me... but only because the parts that aren't quiet aren't mine to touch. I shouldn't be here. I'm trying to lie low and be as non-disruptive as I can be, but... :'33 caepaecaesurae I wvant to joke about your rebellious tendencies, but I sympathise slightly too much wvith the attempting-to-behavwe aspect. aberrantcadenza Give it a shot. :00c Cae, about to attempt the infamous joke... caepaecaesurae Tsk, it wvouldn't flowv wvell nowv.  I'm not much for jokes that are labled as such. Today at 3:34 AM aberrantcadenza :'(( What a noble joke is here o'erthrown... Alas. I still end up causing more trouble than I likely should, really. Which is admittedly part of why I'm trying to spend more time on my family's new Alternia... We live out in the desert, so there's less people. Today at 7:53 AM caepaecaesurae It is hard to fight one's instincts.  May I ask wvy you are trying to lay lowv on Beforus?  Or, rather, wvhy you consider it not your place to meddle? aberrantcadenza Well, for one thing, I'm illegal. :'33 My sign is registered to Nepeta, and to my eventual Beforan iteration, who doesn't currently exist, and well... At this point in time, Beforus doesn't actually know the multiverse exists. aberrantcadenza For another... It's just not my planet. I'm essentially a guest here, both on this planet and in this timeline. I was brought here by a friend when I was first revived and I feel kind of weird about causing shit when it's *their* planet, you know? Like going into someone's Hive and wrecking their stuff, except on a much larger scale. caepaecaesurae It's rare, but is it unheard of for multiple trolls of the same sign to exist at once? caepaecaesurae You could probably get some sort of magical frippery from someone in one of the more supernatural timelines, as wvell.  Swvap to a seadwveller or blueblood in public, tell evweryone wvhy they're wvrong and enjoy being listened to for once. aberrantcadenza F uck. caepaecaesurae If they're going to insist on the hemospectrum, use it as you see fit. aberrantcadenza That veers into some different problems for very different reasons, but... I'm currently talking to the government now about registering. My mates and I came up with a story to explain my existence in this timeline, and if all goes well, we might be able to help Xanthe get registered too. caepaecaesurae Havwe you discussed this at all wvith your friend?  WVould they mind if trouble wvas caused? Though...  Legality certainly is a plus wvhen one can manage it. aberrantcadenza X'33 Yeah, my friend would prefer me not to cause trouble. Friend(s) I guess, since my moirail is also included among the people against my brand of rebellion. So I do "soft trouble" now. Annoying the neighbors and all that. caepaecaesurae Compromise may wvin the night, then. aberrantcadenza :33c ! caepaecaesurae I admit soft trouble is far more my style.  I'vwe taught a fewv people to be slightly pickier about wvhich highbloods they listen to, and wvhich ones they use caste authority around. ..Long ago, admittedly. aberrantcadenza No reason you couldn't pick it up again. There's always an opening for trouble somewhere. caepaecaesurae There's a hemoflip timeline I'vwe been looking at lending assistance to, here and there. It's... nice to not be looked at as a highblood, evwen if it's unfortunate that that's the only place I can do so. aberrantcadenza Are you sure you're ready to be seen as a lowblood, though? caepaecaesurae By lowvbloods, yes.  Anything else...  I'm easing towvards. caepaecaesurae It does not seem like an easy or lowv-risk proposition, but it's a perspectivwe I'vwe nevwer seen either.  I'vwe been sticking to sharing resources rom afar. *From Maybe somenight, if a reason devwelops. aberrantcadenza If it does, godspeed. Flipped timelines tend to be particularly vicious. caepaecaesurae I'vwe observwed. caepaecaesurae ..Thank you, though. aberrantcadenza What can I say? I'm always an advocate for raising hell. :PP Those who recognize where wrongs have been done and are willing to stand against them where you can are often my friends. caepaecaesurae I'm still learning to recognize them.  It's important to improvwe the wvorld though. aberrantcadenza The fact that you're making an effort speaks volumes on its own. We're all learning in that regard, and admittedly you have a more significant distance to go, I think. Just in general. Are virtual fist-bumps a thing? They should be. caepaecaesurae I wvas raised in a vwery different time and place, and it's hard not to see things in comparison to it.  ...except for the newv addition of being raised again on Beforus. I imagine they are if one says they are.  Consider the gesture hypothetically returned. aberrantcadenza :?? Raised again on Beforus? caepaecaesurae ...Sorry, I'vwe been babbling about my history and forgetting wvho to. .. Past livwes are strange. aberrantcadenza If you want to talk about it, you have my attention. caepaecaesurae I havwe a fewv centuries of Alternia, and under a decade of Beforus, in me.  My mood leans more towvard one life or the other depending on the night. caepaecaesurae ...The univwerse-chronological gist is that Beforus happened, that Game happened, something in the game reset all of time in that univwerse turning it into Alternia instead, the game happened again, wve wvon, and wvhen wve wvent through the door, wve remembered the first go around. From my perspectivwe, I livwed four centuries on Alternia, sevweral as a ghost, and then suddenly spent a bit under a decade being raised Beforan wvith no memories of Alternia, and then remembered Alternia gradually ovwer the course of a half swveep. Leavwing me rather muddled. Sparks had the same happen, but he had a bit under a decade of Alternia, and then centuries of Beforus wvere pushed into his pan. aberrantcadenza Jesus christ. caepaecaesurae WVell put. aberrantcadenza Honestly I don't know how anyone deals with memories from more than one life, I can barely stand one. :PP But I think I understand now, yeah. Well. As much as I can. caepaecaesurae The end result is that occasionally I am dignified and ovwer-formal and fussy, and occasionally I startle and blush like a ten swveep old. WVhich is somewvhat frustrating at times. ... It is wvhat it is. The really unfortunate part is that quadrants did not match up from one life to the next. Leading to such oddities as my evwerything. caepaecaesurae Or my generation's Captor and Makara havwing unresolvwed pale feelings at eachother to deal wvith, and flush ones at Pyrope wvho hasn't gotten here yet to make that particular decision. aberrantcadenza Oh boy. That's... Eugh. I'm sorry. I can only imagine how much that sucks. caepaecaesurae mm.  I came through light, I only quadranted once across both lifetimes. She's not here yet, I'm largely ovwer her, and she's likely to be summarily executed on sight if she does arrivwe. aberrantcadenza Did you end up keeping that one? Oh jesus. caepaecaesurae ...It's not entirely unjust.  ...I appreciate the implied sympathy though. On the plus side a fewv crushes that nevwer wvent anywvhere havwe resolvwed into actual quadrants.  So...there's that? aberrantcadenza There is that. :00 And I'm glad to hear it. aberrantcadenza Lil remembers his past life on Beforus too. He doesn't tell me much about it... Probably because I never ask. I'm curious, sometimes. The rest of the time I'm aware that knowing about it before it happens in this timeline, while I'm still on Beforus, could be detrimental to the progression of events. caepaecaesurae Kankri did, on Alternia.  Apparently it wvas a bit of a relief wvhen he arrivwed here and wve all remembered too. I think time's sturdier than all that.  It can take a bit of pre-knowvledge, if you don't mind the risk of being the cause of some of it. Also, it does all vwary from timeline to timeline -- things that wvere true in one univwerse's Beforus don't necessarily happen evwerywvhere.  Just like any case of Alternates. I don't think you'd feel particularly resolvwed or complete if you learned evwerything though.  Mostly just more questions. aberrantcadenza Probably. Beforus and its culture are completely foreign to me, and I find myself frequently questioning trolls and their motives. I'd imagine knowing what my Beforan iteration got up to might even frustrate me as a result. :'33 I readily admit to having a touch of alternate-frustration, as we see in several Vantii. caepaecaesurae As do I, for vwarious reasons. caepaecaesurae The Leijon that I knewv wvas young, energetic, and friendly, and nevwer had the chance to become much more than that.  Fond of teasing. It may be wvise to keep the age of your hypothetical beforan self in mind, if you evwer do go seeking. No one is particularly enlightened at that age, and if she became invwolvwed in the game, she likely didn't growv old. caepaecaesurae .. Also, it is remarkably rare for Leijon and VWantas to be romantically invwolvwed on Beforus. aberrantcadenza :(( Age sucks lmao. I would have been content to die at 15. But... at least she had friends? From the sound of it, anyway. caepaecaesurae Many.  I don't think there's anyone that didn't like her. aberrantcadenza That's good, I think. She deserves that. Since we grew up so differently... It doesn't really strike me as surprising that she and her iteration of Xanthe weren't together. We're only alike in genetics, essentially. caepaecaesurae More or less.  The..difference, betwveen Alternia and Beforus, in univwerses like mine wvhere one becomes the other, is that the game purposefully shuffles around the circumstances of one's life for its owvn gain, to make you wvho and wvhat is needed. aberrantcadenza Oh, good. caepaecaesurae There's room to do wvhat you wish wvithin its framewvork, but it wvill stack the world around you. aberrantcadenza So... everything. It was predestined. caepaecaesurae More like shoehorned. Again, if your wvorld wvas like mine. Ewery time the Handmaid changes something throughout history, it is because she is being forced to set up the situations the game requires. ...wvhich leads to many trolls being vwery hesitant about her. aberrantcadenza Fun. Excellent. Awesome. caepaecaesurae ... Sorry aberrantcadenza Oh - no, that wasn't directed at you. I'm basically always cynical and bitter but I try not to let it get the better of me. I'm grateful to know, at least. :00 Thank you. caepaecaesurae There's plenty to be cynical about. Good luck deciding wvhether or not to ask. I think she'd be just as curious about you, and maybe hesitant to ask as wvell.  Knowving wvhat could havwe been is intimidating sometimes. aberrantcadenza If the situation ever arose, I hope hesitation would have won out. caepaecaesurae WVhy so? aberrantcadenza Well for one thing, the story isn't interesting. :PP Nor is it pleasant, nor something to be proud of. caepaecaesurae Young trolls often romanticise tales of struggles against harsh circumstance. aberrantcadenza Struggles that failed. I have no wish to dishearten someone so young with tales like this. caepaecaesurae If you evwer receivwe an anon that brings her around, I'll keep that in mind. aberrantcadenza Anons can do that? caepaecaesurae Magic anons seem to be able to do a number of things.  They seem particularly obsessed wvith the different forms of a person. aberrantcadenza Eugh. caepaecaesurae Muralist wvas swvapped into the body of a near-alternate of his. I wvas once split, so that my beforan and alternian halvwes wvere face to face. caepaecaesurae The Alternian half got cornered to deal wvith some unfinished business that no one wvanted to subject 'Cronus' to.  Cronus spent the wveek mostly alone or wvith Kankri. aberrantcadenza Oh boy. I'd say I've managed to evade them thus far, but... really all I can say is that I've had some good and some bad. With luck none of that will hit me. caepaecaesurae I think the most pleasant one I'vwe evwer had gavwe me chest sacs for a fewv perigees.  It leavwes an awvkwvard gap in my selfie record, though. aberrantcadenza The most recent one I got gave me a purrbeast. :'33 Her name is Karen. caepaecaesurae Congratulations, dare I ask wvhat sort she is? aberrantcadenza A "forest cat" apparently? http://aberrantcadenza.tumblr.com/post/155413389164/a-friend caepaecaesurae I acquired an Earth purrbeast a wvhile back.  Treasure's the bossiest little thing. Quite poofy aberrantcadenza Very - and she's still small. :'33 caepaecaesurae http://68.media.tumblr.com/71de97f78b8ab931c661fcbbc4162d32/tumblr_inline_n2lb35iXZ21rl9cr3.gif aberrantcadenza PRECIOUS. aberrantcadenza I'm so proud of them. Treasure, you said was their name? caepaecaesurae It wvas almost explorer since they wvon't leavwe anything alone, but aye. aberrantcadenza Precious, wonderful, perfect. Please pet them for me. caepaecaesurae I'll be sure to aberrantcadenza I've got work now, so I'll need to go silent for a bit... but I'm glad we talked. Thank you. caepaecaesurae I think I am too.  Any time, Felide.  Havwe a good night at wvork.

[megareviews]

Summer 2019 First Impressions

Hoo boy, three in a row, I think that’s a new record. Let’s just get right into it then.

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-dono yo. (Maidens of the Savage Season): A high school literature club that actually reads literature, that’s a twist. The one issue with this is that a lot of literature has sex, and not all the girls of the club are particularly comfortable with sex yet. Those readings then cause those girls to become hypersensitive to sex and innuendos in the world and it looks like the show will be dealing with how they all deal with this.

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (Arifureta: From Commonplace to the World’s Strongest): Watching the descent into madness of a character generally takes a while, but in this show the main character snapped minutes after the point in time the show starts at, excluding a few flashback ranging from 10 minutes to 10 days back. Part of this included him eating monsters in the dungeon he was trapped in, which luckily granted him a bunch of strength and abilities. There was a lot going on, but overall I am cautiously putting this in the “so dumb it’s funny” category.

Bem: After getting sent to the seedier half of a city due to not getting along with her superiors, the main character proceeds to keep annoying her superiors with her dedication to justice, just in a more corrupt place. While trying to do her job, a water monster that’d been killing people throughout the episode appears before her. In addition a man who had helped her previously also shows up, and it turns out he’s a monster too. This looks like it will be two forms of justice, neither fitting in with the world, working together to protect humanity.

Cop Craft: If you’re expecting a buddy cop style show just based off the name, you’d be about right. It’s in a fantasy setting, with aliens and fairies, but the main character loses his partner while they attempt to arrest fairy traffickers, and his replacement is an alien knight who has come to the city to save the fairy. Since the main character wants revenge on whoever took out his partner, their goals would seem to align, but a young girl who doesn’t know the world too well isn’t his ideal for a new partner in the job.

Dr. Stone: What starts out as a normal day of school ends with all of humanity petrified for millennia. After all the achievements of man crumble to the sands of time, two friends break out of their petrification and start working to rebuild all that had been lost. A lot of scientific processes are explained as the characters do them in the new world so there’s a decent amount of educational tidbits in addition to the plot.

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? (How Heavy are Your Dumbbells? / How Many Kilograms are the Dumbbells that You Lift?): Edutainment anime have hit many topics, but this time we’re learning about working out, mainly focused on weightlifting. The main character joins a gym due to putting on a bit of weight and is joined by a muscle obsessed classmate and they are taught various lifting techniques by one of the trainers of the gym, who has the face of a prince and a body of unparalleled strength. It looks even better than I expected, with a lot of detail put into the workouts.

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka II (Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? / Is it Wrong That I Want to Meet You in a Dungeon 2?): Oh god the blue ribbon dress is gonna be all over the internet again.

Enen no Shouboutai (Fire Force): In a world where immolation has risen to the top cause of death, fire fighters play an even more important role in saving lives than usual. The only problem is that many of these deaths are caused by Spontaneous Human Combustion, which sends the afflicted into a berserk state while being on fire. That’s where the Fire Force comes into play, a specialized hybrid of fire fighters and the military, laying these afflicted souls to rest, often with unique fire abilities of their own. This first episode introduces the main character and the company he just joined with a trial by fire.

Ensemble Stars!: It’s an adaption of a male idol mobile game, so as expected the “main character” is supposed to be the player / viewer, which means she doesn’t get many opportunities to speak while all the other characters speak at her. The actual plot of the show looks to be an underdog uprising at a school with a fairly strict hierarchy system. As usual for mobile game adaptions, there’s a ton of characters, with a main unit of about 4 guys that the show will probably follow.

given: While trying to get to his favorite nap spot, the main character finds another guy with a broken guitar. After fixing it with the tools he had due to also being a guitarist, this other guy ends up following him around asking for guitar lessons, and while it never happened in the first episode, I’m willing to bet those lessons are coming soon. The background music is especially noticeable in this show, and it’s pretty good too, if not always fitting for the scene in my opinion.

Granbelm: When a high school girl gets sucked into another world for a monthly mecha fight for a yet explained title, she’s a little confused. She ends up teaming up with another girl in this world, since a lot of the other pilots tried to capture her since she got here. After an explanation and a quick mecha summoning scene, she’s ready to fight, and fight she does. The first episode eschewed a major exposition dump, instead showing off a decent amount of fighting, which looked pretty good overall, so I’m definitely checking into at least one more episode to figure out what’s going on.

Hakata Mentai! Pirikarako-chan (Hakata Pollock Roe! Pirikarako): It’s a short for young kids, and it’s about food fairies, which is about all I got from the 3 minutes of the first episode.

Isekai Cheat Majutsushi (Isekai Cheat Magician): The premise is pretty standard for the isekai genre but this time it’s two friends who are brought to another world together. This episode was just exposition and a quick look to the future, both explaining how overpowered the main characters’ magic abilities are (almost like they’re cheating, hahah). In addition it just looks pretty bad, the animation generally looks to be missing a few frames of animation and tries to not have multiple things moving at any given time.

Joshikousei no Mudazukai (Wasteful Days of High School Girls): It’s just a class of high school kids, at an all girls school, trying to live their lives. Most of the characters seemed pretty unique, only a couple that seemed to rely heavily on tropes so far, and the comedy hit hard a couple times. A solid start, and I’ll be testing at least another episode to see how well it keeps up.

Kanata no Astra (Astra Lost in Space): What starts out as a sci-fi high school field trip / challenge turns into a full fledged survival disaster when the group gets warped from a deserted planet near civilization to just offworld of another planet months away from where they should be. Survival in space isn’t as common as I’d like it to be, and this is giving off some Apollo 13 vibes, which I love, and I trust Studio Lerche to make it look good, as it has through this first double length episode.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 (Skilled Teaser Takagi-san 2): I wasn’t really a fan of the master of teasing in the first season, so that carries through to this season.

Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e (To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts): During a civil war, the losing side turns to human experimentation to create super soldiers, and is successful. These soldiers are turned into hybrids with supernatural strengths and abilities, and using these powers, force the civil war to an end. The downside of these powers unfortunately has been manifesting in the soldiers throughout the war, eroding the minds of the soldiers and causing them to lose control of their abilities. The anime and manga start off completely differently, with the former showing all of the above and the latter briefly describing it, which kinda changes the monster of the week format by introducing all the “monsters” as friends of one of the main characters before starting the main plot, as episode 2 looks like it will start where chapter 1 did.

Kawaiikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Natte Kuremasu ka? (Would You Love a Pervert as Long as She’s Cute?): First off, I have mixed feelings with the title, as it kind of spoils the main plot twist of the first episode. The main plot so far is that the main character has received an anonymous love letter from one of his clubmates, with a pair of panties attached, and is trying to figure out who sent it. The show already is hurtling towards a harem of girls with mid-level fetishes, with petplay already on the list. In general the lighting of a lot of the scenes also felt weird, a bit too bright a lot of the time, with some odd splotches of color.

Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga (Gorgeous Butterfly: Young Nobunaga): Nobunaga is a popular main character choice for anime, and not always for the historical setting. Though this show looks like it will be focusing on a younger Nobunaga, before many of his military accomplishments, starting during his childhood and getting to his 14th birthday, by the end of the episode. I want to say this is going to be historical fiction, but since they put a time skip right at the end of the episode, I can’t tell if this one was just for character introductions, or was also tone setting.

Lord El-Melloi II no Jikenbo: “Rail Zeppelin” Grace Note (Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: “Rail Zeppelin” Grace Note): Another side story of the Fate/ series that follows one of the characters from Fate/Zero after the events of that series. There’s an episode 0 for this that I feel embodies more of what the show will be about than the episode 1, which gives the viewer context of how the main character got from the end of his role in Zero to the beginning of this series. The magic system of the series is pretty interesting, and exploring it in a more mystery fashion than action is promising. I think this will be a lot like other Fate/ spin-offs, where you can watch it without prior knowledge of the series, but it helps to know when certain events are referenced.

Machikado Mazoku (Demon Girl on the Street Corner): This is the opposite of a magical girl show, where we follow a girl who has just gained the powers of a demons, who needs to sacrifice a magical girl to become stronger. The main issue is that she is overwhelmingly unfit to do so, and the local magical girl has significantly more experience doing her job. The show is overloaded with sound effects and onomatopoeias on screen which can get a bit confusing depending on how it’s subtitled.

Maou-sama, Retry! (Demon Lord, Retry!): Pretty much the only creative thing I noticed while watching this was the protagonist’s facial structure, everything else feels like it could be traced to some other isekai show. Guy gets sent into game world that he made as his character, saves a girl from a demon, girl joins party, guy heads off to major city, episode ends. The OP and ED hint at modern technology involved with some shots of guns, but the bog standard plot so far and sub-par animation prevent me from spending any more time on this.

Naka no Hito Genome [Jikkyouchuu] (The Ones Within [Now Streaming]): A group of video game Let’s Players get kidnapped to an unknown location and are forced to participate in random events while being live streamed to somewhere. They’ve been told that they can’t leave until their game has gotten 100,000,000 views and have been indirectly threatened with death upon failure to do so, and as a possibility of the events. There’s some awkward visual and sound effects so far, but I’m intrigued enough by the premise to continue watching.

Odoru Mowai-kun (Dance, Mowai): A short about a Moai head that gains arms and starts dancing, which is difficult to find online.

Re:Stage! Dream Days♪: The show plowed through a significant a significant tropes so far, with a transfer student living in the shadow of her sister saving a dying school club by joining, and all of this as one character’s reason and conflicts for joining an idol club. On the other hand, the rock band showcased and non-CGI dance routine tell me that the team behind it are willing to put in effort towards making the show good.

SD Gundam World: Sangoku Souketsuden (Chibi Gundam World: Three Kingdoms Origins): It’s related to another SD Gundam series, and will be out soon. I’m not sure it’s worth updating this entry when it comes out, being a sequel.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV: I actually want to watch Symphogear but there’s just so many anime always.

Sounan Desu Ka? (Is that So? / Are You Lost?): 4 high school girls, stuck together on an island with only the shirts on their backs and various fields of knowledge and expertise. Fortunately one of them grew up with a survival nut father, so their chances of not dying is higher than your average group. It got a little lewd at points, but overall I liked the practical approach taken so far for surviving together.

Star Mu 3: Season 3? Of a boy band anime? HA.

Tejina-senpai (Upperclassman Magician / Magical Sempai): Due to his school requiring students to join at least one club, the point of view character finds himself checking out the magic club. The only member there is practicing, but as soon as she notices that she’s got a visitor, she goes through a short routine, flubbing every trick spectacularly. The anime seemed to downplay an important fact a bit in the first episode, which is that the upperclassman is actually great at magic tricks, as long as the audience isn’t larger than 0.

Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator (A Certain Scientific Accelerator): I have read some of the A Certain series, I have watched some of it, I know the main character of this series. I don’t think that’s enough to be able to watch this and understand what’s going on.

Tsujou Kougeki ga Zentai Kougeki de Ni-kai Kougeki no Okaa-san Desu ka? (Do you Like Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?): The most inspired isekai of the season in my opinion, as it’s not the main character who’s overpowered, it’s his mom, who got brought into a video game world with him. There’s a decent amount of jokes about video games and the betas for them and going on an adventure with a parent is pretty rare. I’m just worried about how it’ll be handled, given that the OP and ED didn’t have any other guys besides the main character and that’s usually a red flag for harem business.

Try Knights: There’s still two more weeks until this starts, so this entry will be updated then.

Uchi no Ko no Tame Naraba, Ore wa Moshikashitara Maou mo Taoseru Kamo Shirenai (If it’s for My Daughter, I‘d Even Defeat a Demon Lord): While working on a quest in the forest, an adventurer happens upon a child all alone, and finds out that she’s a demon exile, thrown out with her dead father. Not wanting to leave a defenseless child to fend for herself in the forest, he brings her back to the tavern where he lives, and cares for her a bit, and they end up getting attached to each other. By the end of the episode, he decides to adopt her and raise her with the help of the tavern owners, leading the show to be a cute show about raising a child, probably.

Vinland Saga: The episode hooks you with a bit of action, and then transitions into daily viking life in Iceland. . It looks pretty slick overall, and from what I remember from the manga is that a lot of the future content will be leaning towards the action side of that.

Waresho! Warera! Shodobutsu AIgo Iinkai (I am! We are! Small Animal Protection Committee): Something about aliens traveling to Earth to save endangered animals. Unfortunately I can’t find any way to watch it, subbed or raw.

Yama Shibai 7 (Theater of Darkness 7): It’s still about Japanese ghost stories.