#the rest of the film is fun and fine and all that but Mario and Luigis interactions melt my heart into jelly

[pianokantzart]

Yes please. The first scene of The Mario Brothers sets the tone for their relationship so well, and I’m so glad it carries through the entire film.  Most of the screenshots taken from this posted clip: X

I ADORE THAT THE FIRST SHOT OF THEM IN THE MOVIE IS THEM SIDE HUGGING EACH OTHER. They’re just standing there in front of the television, watching their commercial, two goobers barely able to contain the excitement of what they’ve accomplished together.

The commercial ends, and immediately they start showering each other with complements while teasing each other. “Wow! You were great!” Mario shouts while slapping Luigi’s cap over his eyes.  “I was great? Are you kidding me!? You were great!” Luigi shouts back as he playfully jabs at his brother’s stomach. 

While they’re both proud of the commercial, Mario expresses some minor worries. He says “I’m so glad we spent our life savings on this commercial” as though he was having doubts before, and wonders if the goofy Italian accent was too over the top. But Luigi is fully optimistic, describing their ad as not just some commercial, but true “cinema.” He is about to reassure Mario about the accents too, when the Giuseppe... who naturally has that same goofy over-the-top accent... chimes in to voice his support.

“Well well well...” Then a new voice joins the conversation, and the moment Mario and Luigi hear it the mood changes. Both brothers tense up and turn to look.

In an instant, their instinctual reaction is “Ah fuck, not this guy.” “...If it isn’t Brooklyn’s favorite failures, The Stupid Mario Brothers.”

“Oh great, Spike’s here.” Luigi’s comment is one of passive annoyance. He stays behind his brother, his body language anxious and anticipatory, his expression looking more and more worried the closer he gets to Spike.

“Hey, Spike.” Mario, on the other hand, is assertive. He immediately walks over and stands confrontationally in front of his old boss, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Yeah. IT’S-A ME!” Spike retorts with an imitation of Mario’s put-on Italian accent and aggressively laughs in his face. He isn’t “annoying but well-meaning” the way Mario’s uncles are, he’s deliberately trying to get under his skin. Mario squints when Spike laughs a little too close for comfort, but otherwise holds his ground and maintains his composure.

Spike wipes a tear from his eye and switches gears from obnoxious mockery to cold belittling. “Tell me, have you even gotten one call since you left me to start your dumb company?”

So right off the bat we learn two things: 1. The Mario Brothers quit Spike’s business, and he’s bitter enough about it that he’s tracked their future endeavors and goes out of his way to make fun of them for it. Clearly there’s an issue of pride here– two little nothings quitting his business to try and make it on their own? Who do they think they are? 2. Mario, in return, is bitter enough about whatever happened while they worked for Spike that he takes the bait and gives Spike the time of day. Luigi looks like he would prefer to dip out of the situation altogether, but he does his best to support Mario when he thinks he’s got a leg up…

While Mario is still taking a breath to form his reply, Luigi summons the courage to step out from behind his brother, looking smug as he waves his cellphone around. “Actually, Spike, we have!”

Mario is excited for a moment until it’s revealed the phone call is from their mom. Luigi is proud enough of her support that he sincerely considers it a bragging point, happily clinging to his sibling all the while Mario is internally begging his brother to stfu.

Then, Luigi mic-drops the phone. It audibly shatters. Instant regret. Mario looks like he’s going to implode from embarrassment.

Spike, naturally, finds this hilarious. Giggling, he grabs a napkin, wipes the pizza grease off of his beard, and lobs the crumpled napkin at Luigi. “Good luck running a business with this idiot.”

With lightning-fast reflexes, Mario reaches out and catches the napkin before it hits its target. The music takes a dramatic shift as the mood of the conversation gets more serious.

“Say that again about my brother, and you’re gonna regret it.” At that point, it might have been smarter for Mario to just throw the napkin in the nearest bin and walk away, but Spike just made the mistake of going at Luigi. Nobody is allowed to treat him like that, not while Mario’s around.

Mario retaliates by throwing the napkin back in Spike’s face, hitting him square in the forehead. Spike does not take this lightly. Where Mario has a sense of basic dignity, Spike has an overinflated ego, and he won’t take even the smallest offense lying down. He rises to his feet, fists clenched, chest puffed, ready for a fight. “Oh yeah?”

Mario also looks ready to throw down, but rather than raise his fists his first priority is to press Luigi out of harm’s way. Luigi, in the meantime, looks terrified, stepping back and bracing himself, his already anxious body language tensing further. Both Mario and Luigi are startled when Spike actually follows through with getting physical, snatching Mario by the overall straps and lifting him up off the ground.

“Get this through your tiny brain Mario: You’re a joke! and you always will be.” Mario doesn’t fight or argue, he just squints as Spike talks uncomfortably close to his face like he’s trying to goad him into throwing the first punch. Mario does not take the bait, and does not give Spike the satisfaction of any reaction at all. When it comes to petty insults like this, he can take them like a champ.

Luigi is shocked into a standstill. His gaze rapidly flicks back and forth between Spike and Mario. He has no idea what to do, he’s just worried about his brother in every sense of the word, taken aback by both the vitriolic comment and threat of an actual fight.

Spike, after getting the final word in, throws Mario to the ground. Luigi drops to his knees and holds out his hands to help his older brother up, but Mario recovers himself before Luigi can assist.

Luigi looks far more hurt by Spike’s insult than Mario, and seems to be calculating what their options are if things escalate any further. Mario holds what little ground he has, staring defiantly up with his hands clenched, as if he’s daring Spike to try something.

Luckily, things simmer down. Spike proudly dusts off his hands and heads toward the door, taking a moment to leave money on the table. He’s an asshat and a blowhard, but he still plays by society’s rules. He doesn’t dine and dash, and he’s not going to carry a confrontation further than he feels he needs to, especially not in a public restaurant. Spike has the potential to win this fight, but at the end of the day he has a business to run.

Despite having been dropped flat on his back, Mario is the first to get up. He straightens his cap and dusts himself off, staring daggers at his old employer’s back while Luigi rises to his feet and begins questioning his brother’s decision. “Are you insane!? He’s three times your size!”

Spike’s insult was cruel, but it clearly didn’t effect Mario too much. It’s more of the same ole same ole from him, and can’t be taken too seriously. Luigi is more concerned about the physical risks involved.

“Luigi, c’mon! I mean, you can’t be scared all the time.” To me, this comment doesn’t feel like Mario criticizing Luigi as much as it feels like Mario defending his own approach to life. Both him and Luigi are young (probably early 20s), little guys working in manual labor. They’re at the bottom of the totem pole, but Mario maintains his sense of pride. He’s eager to fight back against adversity and prove himself to the world, even if it means taking serious risks.

“Mmmm, you’d be surprised.” Luigi, in the meantime, has complete opposite approach when facing life’s challenges. He is not as good at rolling with the punches as Mario, and being very anxious and sensitive by nature, his way of getting along is by avoiding confrontation altogether. 

CONCLUSION: Mario’s strong drive pulls Luigi into situations that go against his instincts, but that’s for the better. If Mario hadn’t been there, Luigi definitely wouldn’t have attempted to talk back to Spike like that. Is he skilled at backtalk? Not in the least, but it’s the spirit of attempting to stand up for himself that counts. Mario gives Luigi room to be vaguely adventurous and assertive by providing protection, clearing the path, and making things easier for him whenever he can.  As a result, Luigi would follow Mario anywhere– and does, supporting him in all of his endeavors with full confidence. There is a reason why Charlie Day described Luigi as “die-hard loyal,” and for someone like Mario, who has gumption, big dreams, and a lot going against him, having someone at his side who sincerely supports and believes in him with all his heart is indispensable.

The beginning shows us a good example right off the bat of Luigi’s confidence regarding Mario’s dreams, and anxiety regarding outside threats. Meanwhile, we see glimpses of Mario’s anxiety regarding his own dreams, and confidence when facing outside threats. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: they really do balance each other out. 

[vendily-blog]

Here's the promised longer post I mentioned, on the topic of Mario and Luigi's brotherly relationship, though a significant portion of the post is filtered through the interpretation of Luigi's character over the decades. I touch upon both out-of-universe and in-universe points.

The best place to start is my motivation for writing this post in the first place, which is the annoyance regarding the subset of the fandom who act as if Mario is a cruel character, especially with respect to his brother Luigi. Obligatory, albeit tongue-in-cheek, "Fuck MatPat", due to his video positing Mario as a sociopath. I don't place all the blame at his feet, but he is an easy public target to point at, and I know some people would have been influenced by that video.

In anticipation for the length of the post, I've left the rest under a read more.

The one evidence MatPat mentioned in that video that still sticks with me all these years later was Mario grinding his shoe onto Luigi's foot after the latter wins his trophy in Mario Power Tennis.

However this ignores the context of the other trophy win animations, which are all comedic in nature, as well as the fact that a number of others also feature Luigi getting in some sort of trouble during them.

Mario Power Tennis initially released in 2004, the middle of the 00s. This time period was a marked shift in how Luigi as a character was used, as he really solidified due to Paper Mario 64 and Luigi's Mansion setting a baseline characterization. Later titles tipped further into the "down on his luck" and "lack of respect" aspects of his character.

But this characterization has started to be tipped back again, not having a bad thing happen to Luigi be the "be all end all" of comedy, likely in part due to the Year of Luigi.

Though overall, it's important to remember that the brothers have spanned 4 decades worth of media. That's quite a bit of time, and quite a lot of experimentation, even as the broadest strokes stayed constant. This brings me back to 1988. 5 years now Luigi would have existed, and the Super Show cartoon wouldn't start airing for another year. But we did get Super Mario Bros 3, and every time you booted it up, you'd get this title sequence.

Would you look at that? Luigi jumping on Mario's head? Throwing a Green Shell at him? What a terrible brother he is! This is sarcasm, but it does demonstrate how this really is one of earliest depiction of interaction between them that I'm aware of. (The other being the Japanese animated movie released in 1986, but that film focused more on Mario as the hero, with Luigi mostly causing trouble when he is on screen. It's a fun watch, but Luigi's character was still up in the air at the time.)

To loop back around to the in-universe discussion, they're siblings, these kinds of things happen, but they generally don't break the relationship. No relationship is always perfectly happy and content. It's fine to have moments where they're jealous, or annoyed, or otherwise not being on the same wavelength. But it doesn't mean they hate each other. To make a personal anecdote, my own sibling can get on my nerves at times and mine on theirs (sometimes even intentionally, haha), but that doesn't mean when push comes to shove, we wouldn't help the other. That's exactly the sort of energy I personally see in the Mario Bros. relationship.

This is also where I discuss the major sub-series, as they all emphasize different aspects of Luigi, which provides a different spin on the relationship (though never to the point where it'd flip to them hating each other).

Paper Mario's Luigi still cares for Mario, but he's also looking to prove himself, which is evident in his diary in 64 (wishing he could go on an adventure), his Marvelous Compass quest in TTYD (saving another kingdom), the intro of Super (attempting to interrupt the wedding in the intro), and his Peach's Castle key search quest in TOK (helping his brother by finding incorrect but still helpful keys). However some of his private dialogue in his diary could be read as more resentful or jealous, as Mario goes on yet another adventure while he stays at home. But, to take an in-universe view, just because Luigi has those feelings at times doesn't mean he always feels like that, and at the end of the diary, he's "looking forward to listening to the story of his adventure" and that he's going to "prepare a dinner to celebrate Mario's return". These writings are private, so they're effectively Luigi unfiltered, without some supposed need to keep up appearances for Mario's sake, yet we can see he's happy to see Mario back at home again.

Mario & Luigi's Luigi in contrast, is far more reluctant to get into trouble, with him intending to see Mario off at the start of Superstar Saga before being grabbed and taken along for the adventure, and generally being a lot more cowardly. Despite this, his love for his brother still shines through, with him forcing himself through bad situations because Mario's at his side, or because his love for his brother outweighs his fear of the situation.

Interaction between the bros doesn't happen as much in the Super Mario titles, but you could argue it being a middle ground between these two prior interpretations. Super Mario Galaxy in particular has Luigi collecting Power Stars by himself and getting in over his head, so he turns to the one person he can always rely upon, his brother. Though he also does decide that he's had enough excitement after a few stars and needing to be rescued.

However, one thing is constant, Mario is a great guy, not some cruel jerk. He cares about everyone, but especially about his brother, and Luigi wouldn't place that level of trust in Mario if he didn't deserve it.

[fizzle-fag]

(AO3)

You often found yourself in Donnie’s lab. You aren’t sure how you kept ending up there, considering there was always shit going on all throughout the rest of the lair and whatever hell broke loose on the surface. Though at the moment, Donnie and you were the only conscious creatures under the city. Donnie’s sleeping schedule was absolute dogshit, and since you knew you’d end up not sleeping anyway, you stayed with him. Most of the time you just watched, and now was no different. He didn’t mind having you around, but would never voice such.

“Hey Dontron,” you began, staring him down as he tinkered with some invention. “You wanna play Mario Kart?” He stopped and looked up at you, confusion plastered to his features. He quickly shook any emotion from his face and went back to work.

“No. I’ve told you before, I have to finish this project.” You consistently tried to get him to stop working and just watch a cheesy horror film from the 80s, or play video games together and drink coffee, but he refused as often as you offered. He looked up again, visible annoyance growing. “And don’t try to talk me into it again. I’m not in the mood.”

You frowned, narrowing your eyes. You turned around, placing a hand dramatically on your chest. Donnie couldn’t see it, but there was a smug grin spread wide across your face.

“Oh you’re right, dear Donatello. Gaming with a master like myself could never be in store for a turtle like you. You certainly wouldn’t want to have your ass handed to you by me again now, would you?” You blinked open an eye, watching him closely out of your peripheral vision.

His eye twitched and he instantly dropped his screwdriver. He glared up at you, basically staring though your soul.

“I’m not falling for your pitiful trickery. You are the one who constantly loses and we both know it.” Donnie picked his tool back up and went back to work. What he was working on was a mystery to anyone whose IQ wasn’t ninety points north of genius.

“Mhm. You’re just terrified of losing. Some fear of yours?” Time for your favorite game: annoy the living hell out of Donnie until he plays video games with you.

“Oh? Is that what you think it is? Fine then, I’ll play your stupid game, and I won’t lose to your dumb ass either,” he retorted, storming past you. He muttered to himself in annoyance, blazing scowl prominent on his face. His feet loudly hit the concrete as he went for the door. He grabbed you by the sleeve and dragged you out of the lab, tossing you and your shit-eating grin into their “common area.” It was surprisingly comfortable for being a cement pit in a sewer, but not incredibly. You landed in the pit with a thud. A satisfied thud.

“Mhm. You’re toootally gonna beat me,” you shot back sarcastically. Donnie semi-violently tossed a controller at you. You didn’t catch it, but he was never violent enough to actually hurt you. He’s too smart for that. You came to the lair often enough to have a controller reserved as “yours.” You didn’t own it, per se, but you used it every time you played on the Switch, and only you. This was a strange, fucked-up family of ninja turtle mutants, their half alien sister, some random punk, and a rat—but it was your family now too.

“You’re always such a pain in the ass…” Donnie scoffed, grabbing his usual controller as well. He slumped down next to you as the Nintendo booted up. He huffed out an angry sigh, staring dead ahead. You both slipped the controller straps onto your wrists. They were a fun new addition, token of Raph’s Mikey-induced black eye (which then led Mikey to having a Raph-induced black eye.)

You shot him a toothy, pompous leer, which only ticked him off more. He bumped into you with his shoulder, shoving your smug ass away from him. His attention zipped back to the television the moment the game loaded. He was under no circumstances going to lose to you. You, being the smug bastard you are, crossed your legs with a flourish and sighed, your mere breath teeming with drama.

“Oh? Is that fear on you I smell? Sweet, sweet Donnie, oh what a fool you are to face me,” you crowed, leaning your back against him. You could feel his body tense at the touch, but he didn’t bother objecting to it. He rolled his eyes, attempting to focus fully on the bright screen before you. It was around the fabricated time of 4 in the morning, the only nearby lighting the TV.

You both played as your usual characters. Donnie made sure you could never unsee Rosalina being a girl boss terrifying goddess of death, and you made Donnie unable to not see Waluigi as some strange queer man who made terrible jokes with the humor of a twelve year old.

When the game was about to begin finally, the two of you stiffened, sitting with hunched over posture and rigid forms. The very millisecond you could, you both hauled ass forward, bashing ruthlessly against whatever or whoever you needed to. Which in truth was mostly each other, but still. No one was safe from your driving wrath. The intense silence in the air air was thick enough to cut, broken only by cartoony game sound affects and your harsh breaths.

You were finally able to strike a lucky block not even a second before Donnie, you managed to regain lead. His breath stopped in his throat at being shoved into second.

“Oh dude- a banana peel!? Really?” Donnie criticized I’m frustration, glowering at you for a split second.

Your heated gaming and “mature” trash talk continued for maybe another hour or two before you were both worn to the bone. The two of you had ended up laying down facing the TV, ankles overlapping each other. At some point you’d gotten cold and grabbed about a million blankets, building a small temple over and around you and Donnie. Both of you could feel your eyes drooping, your skills slowly becoming drowsy and weak.

“Hey.”

“What the hell do you want?” Donnie was exhausted, but not in the slightest less salty than before. A smug smirk grew on your face. You would turn to face the mutant, if there weren’t a massive heap of blankets covering both of you.

“I beat your sorry ass,” you taunted, sticking your tongue out. The turtle couldn’t see any of your expressions, but you could do whatever the hell you wanted. Donnie’s foot hit you in the back of the shin.

“Oh fuck you…�� you could almost hear his eye roll. He yawned, causing you to yawn as well.

“No you.” A very mature response from a very mature person. You pulled a blanket over your nose. Your game had timed out by now, the screen frozen in place like a nightlight now. You could feel your eyelids beginning to fall shut.

“Ugh. I’m gonna end you one of these days,” Donnie scoffed out. He yawned again, not being able to stop it. He let his arms fall out to his sides, Nintendo controller clattering softly beside him, not even partially laced with his fingers anymore. “I hate you, you know that?”

“Mhm.” You replied sleepily. You were both moments away from sweet sweet unconsciousness. “Love you too, loser.”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A random one shot I made at like. 5 to 7 AM. AO3 liked it so I might as well put it here as well. I have not played Mario Kart since I was six so ignore any inaccuracies.

[moviemunchies]

For this week’s movie, I was between this one and Snake Eyes, which was free on YouTube at the time of the writing of this post. I’d had vague interest in seeing both films, but not being a super fan of either Mario or G.I. Joe, I hadn’t gotten around to either of them. I’d heard more positive things about Super Mario Bros. than Snake Eyes, so I went with the former.

So! Super Mario Bros! Here we go!

Mario and Luigi are brothers and Brooklyn plumbers struggling to start their own business. Somehow, they get transported to another world; but while Mario goes to the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi lands in Bowser’s realm and quickly gets captured. Upon finding out what happened to his brother, Mario begs the Mushroom Kingdom’s leader, Princess Peach, to help rescue Luigi. Though she’s sympathetic, facing Bowser (who is coming to invade) requires fighting skills and an army, and even then it’ll be no easy task.

Most of the Discourse around the movie that I saw revolved around the voice acting, especially Chris Pratt as Mario. I had my own doubts when it was announced–I did not think he could do an Italian accent. In truth, doing a voice like Mario has in the games would probably be seen as offensive by someone, or too ridiculous to take seriously by others. I don’t think that Pratt’s voice acting here is bad; at the same time, I really don’t think it’s great either, and it’s obvious that him being a big name star is the only reason he was picked. He can do a good voice performance, The LEGO Movie proves that; I think selecting someone else would have fit better.

The same with Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. He’s not bad, and there are moments where he’s actually great, but overall it feels like a miscast because they thought people would like it better if a famous star was Donkey Kong instead of someone who fit the role.

Cranky Kong was mostly awful, though. His voice just sounds all wrong whenever he speaks. He’s not even voiced by a big-name celebrity (it’s Fred Armisen), and somehow I found his lines the worst in the movie. How is this possible?

As many predicted, Jack Black as Bowser is wonderful. He’s a shining star in this film. He’s clearly having a ball with the role. Black would not have been my first choice for voicing this character, but he does such a great job at doing such a ridiculous and over-the-top villain who relishes in wrecking kingdoms, I would gladly overcome any reservations I have about the movie just to see more of him in this role.

Peach is fine, mostly? There were times in this movie that I wondered why Princess Peach isn’t the one doing everything. I don’t know why she’s selected Mario to be her champion when she’s much more capable on her own. Why isn’t she the one fighting Donkey Kong? Well, because Mario vs. Donkey Kong is A Thing, yeah, though in-universe I can’t figure why it’s done as she’s a much better fighter. That being said, the climax of the movie has her and Mario separated, and her actions make sense in-universe.

Toad is… kind of there. 

I won’t lie, though–the final battle is loads of fun. I found myself thinking that if the rest of the movie had this sort of energy all the way through, I’d be having a lot more fun. I don’t know that Mario and Luigi’s character arcs are slam dunks the way they should be, but then again I don’t know how true this is to the game personalities.

There are licensed musical choices I didn’t quite like so much? None of them are bad songs, I just don’t know if so many of them belonged here. It reminded me of Ayers’s Suicide Squad, though thankfully it was nowhere near as bad as using it every few minutes. TV Tropes claims that the licensed songs were originally placeholders, then the makers decided it fit the movie’s scenes well enough to keep. I don’t know if I agree! It sounded more like the director or the producers thought the only way to keep some older audience members interested was through putting songs like “Thunderstruck” in the soundtrack.

The movie is fine, I remembered thinking about halfway through. It’s good, I guess, and I didn’t find anything overtly wrong with it. I didn’t find anything I really loved about it, either, other than Jack Black’s performance. The bits that were obvious references to gameplay in the Mario games were cool. Besides that? Eh. It didn’t feel memorable, it felt like a pretty by-the-numbers animated family film, with forgettable jokes and dialogue. The world is colorful and pretty to look at, at least?

I don’t know. Maybe if I was a fan of the Super Mario games there’s something I wouldn’t miss, or I’d have something in this movie I’d love more. But I don’t. If you’re a fan of the games you will probably have a lot to look forward to here. Otherwise, I think it’s mostly a movie that you can skip. You’d have some fun, though it’s hardly a must-watch.

[a-pale-azure-moon]

I SAW THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE!

Overall verdict: I liked it! The art and animation are beautiful, there are SO MANY fun nods and Easter Eggs to the franchise and Nintendo's history as a whole, and it felt like the creators really wanted to do right by the series. There are some small things in it that either felt out of place or didn't quite work, but taken as a whole package, I enjoyed it. The last third of the movie especially was fantastic and had me grinning like a fool all the way to the end. If you're a fan of the series, you should definitely see it at some point, either now or when it comes to streaming. Totally worth it.

Some other thoughts with some spoilers under the cut.

-I like that they didn't try to explain or rationalize the inherent weirdness of the Mushroom Kingdom. We don't need to know how or why the blocks float, or where the powerups and prize blocks come from. They just exist, and that's how it should be. The Mario universe runs on being wacky and strange and I'm glad the movie didn't try to make it something it's not.

-I generally have a not-so-great opinion about casting celebrities to do the voice overs in animated films, because I see it as a big F-U to actual voice actors. But the cast here is fine. Jack Black's the standout as Bowser as we all pretty much knew, but the rest of the cast does a good job overall. I do not like Seth Rogan and he didn't make any effort to not sound like himself as Donkey Kong, but I was able to ignore it anyway. YMMV. I don't dislike Anya Taylor-Joy's take on Peach, but her voice feels too deep for the character.

-I laughed at the reveal that Mario doesn't like mushrooms (womp womp). Poor guy.

-The brotherly moments between Mario and Luigi were super wholesome and I loved them, especially how they hug when they're reunited.

-One of my fears about the film was what they'd do with Peach, mainly a concern that they'd turn her into a more generic Hollywood "girlboss" and strip her of her personality. Or turn her into a snarky jerk. Thankfully, that's not the case. While she is more of an action princess here than we typically see of her (and to anyone complaining about or questioning that, shut up. Peach has always been capable of platforming and kicking ass since 1988), she is still essentially Peach. She's always in her signature pink aside from when she's using a power up, she's sweet and kind and protective of her subjects, and she grows to be Mario's biggest supporter (Luigi aside).

-They also slipped in an origin story for her (kinda) which was neat. And possibly a sequel hook. And I like how this movie makes clear that she loves the toads and they love her too, something that's implied in the games but wasn't always explicitly shown.

-THE ARE SO MANY EASTER EGGS. I'm guessing it's impossible to find them all without a guide. And the references generally aren't slammed in your face but hidden in background details or in the music, which makes it even better. I think my favorite was Luigi's ringtone being the Gamecube startup jingle.

-Seriously, the art direction and animation are incredible. I hope the entire crew gets a raise. I love how the Mushroom Kingdom looks and my only complaint is that I wanted to see more of it.

-The score is incredible too. It's mind-boggling how many classic Mario themes and musical nods you can hear at different points. If you played a drinking game with it, you'd be dead of alcohol poisoning less than halfway through the movie.

-Bowser's probably the funniest character, and it does nothing to reduce how threatening he is (he's downright terrifying in the climax). But special shoutout to the Luma who spouts some of the best lines in the film. They're incredibly dark, but I love that little guy.

-Dry Bones are nightmare fuel here and I love it.

-The complaints about the pacing aren't entirely off. The movie does feel a little too brisk, but some of that I think is that early in, there's a lot of "bullet points" plot progression, where Mario and Peach are just doing X, Y and Z for the plot while we intercut with what's going on with Luigi or Bowser. There's not a ton of connective tissue between these scenes and so it feels a bit disjointed, and the result is that things happen rapid fire. It's not necessarily bad, but it is something that could've been done more smoothly.

-The third act is by far the strongest part of the film. Once the Rainbow Road sequence starts (which is a gorgeous set piece), the flow of the movie feels more natural. The strong ending does a lot to patch up some of the flaws in the middle parts.

-The final battle with Bowser is awesome. Mario and Luigi both kick the crap out of him while powered by an invincibility star, and they cap it off by spinning him by the tail a la SM64. Perfection.

-While the original score is great as I mentioned, I think some exec made them shove in some 80s pop songs and they feel quite out of place. The worst offender by far is "Take on Me" playing when Mario reaches the Kong Kingdom. It doesn't fit for either the vibe of the scene or for the movie in general. You can't tell me they couldn't have done a remix of some DKC music there instead.

-The jokes are a bit hit or miss at times. There's plenty of genuinely funny moments (Bowser's love ballad is probably the highlight), but there are some one-liners that don't land. They're too "captain obvious" to be either jokes or exposition, so they just fall flat.

-I think the complaints about the "thin plot" comes from Disney/Pixar bias that animated movies are supposed to have hidden deeper meanings and there needs to be angsty moments within the wacky hijinks. And uh...Mario's never been about that. Even the more story heavy RPGs in the series tend to run more on rule of funny rather than trying to be dramatic. If they make a Zelda movie (please), I would expect it to have some genuine pathos, but I don't need that in a Mario movie. To me, the thing that is quintessential about the series (especially the platformers) is a sense of wonder and joy. I think they ably captured that in the movie. There are two emotional through lines: a) Mario and Luigi's brotherly love and b) Mario trying to figure out who he is what he wants to do. And neither needs to be dwelt on much because the brothers are happily reunited and Mario becomes a hero over the course of the film. It's simple and it works.

-The movie is very "safe" in that it didn't take any real risks with the property, but that's OK too. Given how infamously horrible the 1993 film turned out, it's hard to blame Nintendo for wanting to stick with what they knew would work.

-THE YOSHI EGG AFTER THE CREDITS OMG!

-This really is the Mario movie I wanted back in 1993. I had to wait 30 years for it, but I think it was worth it. Bring on the Nintendo Cinematic Universe!

[rookie-critic]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023, dir. Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic) - review by Rookie-Critic

We no longer live in a world where video game adaptations can be written off as soon as they're introduced. Modern adaptations like Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog films or HBO's The Last of Us series have started to change the landscape and the expectation for what these adaptations can do and how good they can be. So, when Illumination announced they had partnered with Nintendo to put a new Super Mario Bros. film project into production, naturally hackles went up. The Mario franchise does house one of the most classic examples of a video game film adaptation gone bad, but there were also a fair number of people who wanted to wait and see what happened. I, at this point, was unsure. I was excited at the prospect of a new film starring some of my favorite video game characters, but at the same time Illumination doesn't have a fantastic track record with me. I love the first Despicable Me film, and I think the second one is ok, but since then I almost actively despise the Minions as a thing that exists and think a lot of Illumination's other films have this really cheap and obvious humor that only children and middle-aged moms would find funny. I also get that this is the exact audience they're trying to please, but I could easily point to animation studios like DreamWorks and a film like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish that manage to be naturally hilarious without ever feeling forced or cringey. Regardless, I was worried. My uncertainty was only deepened when the cast list was announced and I saw that Chris Pratt would be voicing Mario. The plucky, Italian plumber was going to be voiced by Star-Lord, but the rest of the cast looked perfect, so I still held out hope. Then the trailer dropped and my whole outlook changed. It looked good. Really good. Now, after having watched it, I'll come out and say that it was... just fine.

My worry about Illumination injecting their sense of humor into it was well-placed, because they absolutely packed the film with it. Characters deliver one-liners that are neither funny nor clever in places where it completely disrupts the flow of the scene (seriously, sometimes it almost felt like they paused to wait for the laughter they assumed they would get), and there's even a Luma (a little star creature that was first introduced in the Super Mario Galaxy games) that is, in my opinion, a really poor and unnecessary attempt at edgy dark humor that I immediately hated. This thing gets a massive amount of screen time for something that actively detracted from the film's quality (in its defense, I will say I've talked to a handful of people that thought that Luma was the best part of the movie, so maybe it's just a me thing), and every time it showed up to say some really cringey line about the only escape from suffering being death or whatever, I would audibly groan. A lot of the film has an air of an Illumination film that just happens to have Mario characters in it as opposed to a true blue (or red, rather) Mario film. To me, nothing makes this more apparent than the incessant use of licensed songs throughout the film. With a library of music as vast as the Mario franchise's, why would I ever need to hear "Thunderstruck" or "Holding Out for a Hero?" What's weirder is that they do a very good job of working classic themes and music from the games into the film's score already. Why even bother with the licensed music when you clearly are adept at doing it the better way, anyway?

So far, I'm making it seem like I hated it, but that really isn't true at all. I can almost forgive a lot of the very blatant cheap humor because the film is incredibly fun. For fans of the games, it throws a ton of references at the screen, so you're never at a loss for a good dose of nostalgia. Between a fun play on the classic "The princess is in another castle" line, to taking a shortcut on Rainbow Road, to the ringtone on Luigi's phone, to a massively meme'd rap song about a certain red-tie-wearing gorilla, you're being bombarded with beautiful callbacks and hilarious references. The playful ribbing at the fact that Bowser is hopelessly in love with Princess Peach while also constantly in an attempt to take over the kingdom she rules over was very cute and fun, and, while the film's story is very formulaic, the characters feel dynamic and fully realized. The loving, brotherly relationship between Mario and Luigi is very touching, and I loved that they took the baseline personalities the games give the brothers and molded them into this loving sibling unit that always has each other's backs. It's the sibling dynamic I've always wanted out of the duo, and I love that this film gave it to me (even if there could have been way more Luigi, but I feel that way about most Mario properties).

The last two compliments I'll give the Mario movie before I wrap up this incredibly long-winded review are these: the animation is gorgeous. They brought so many set pieces from the games to wondrous, big-budget animation life and it was great to see all these locations and characters that I've grown up with on the big screen. Lastly, the voice acting in the film is impeccable. Chris Pratt did better than I thought he was going to (my main concern was that it would just sound like Chris Pratt coming out of Mario's mouth, which it didn't), and Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen steal every single second of screen time they get. I really do hope they give Luigi a larger role in the sequel, because Charlie Day needs to be this character more. Ultimately, I'm glad that The Super Mario Bros. Movie exists. Sure, it has its flaws, but for fans of the games and fans of Illumination's films in general, this is a fun time. However, if you're not a fan of Illumination or Mario, this isn't going to convert you.

Score: 7/10

Currently only in theaters.

[project1939]

Day 63- Film: Because You’re Mine 

Release date: September 25th, 1952. 

Studio: MGM 

Genre: Musical 

Director: Alexander Hall 

Producer: Joe Pasternak 

Actors: Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, Bobby Van 

Plot Summary: Famous Opera star Ronaldo Rossano gets drafted into the United States Army, putting his singing career on hold. The Sergeant he gets in basic training is one of his biggest fans, giving him leniency and special treatment. Things get complicated when Ronaldo meets the Sergeant’s sister, who also sings. 

My Rating (out of five stars): *** 

I’ll give this three stars, but that might be a little generous. The plot was pretty threadbare, and if it depicted what Army life is really like, I’ll buy a hat and eat it. What made it most enjoyable was Mario Lanza. 

The Good: 

Mario Lanza. I can see why he was such a star- he's handsome, charismatic, and can really bloody sing. I’m not an opera fan or a fan of operatic style singing, but that doesn’t preclude me from appreciating talent or beauty in the artform. His speaking voice was just as honeyed as his singing voice, and when he was on the screen, it was hard to look at anything else. He can definitely carry a movie.  

Some of the music. I think the music in this was good, even if it all wasn’t to my taste. I’m much more Arthur Freed than Joe Pasternak, but there was some beautiful music here. 

The fact that there’s a lot of music. This is not a musical that has a song every 15 or 20 minutes- it's loaded with singing. Part of the reason the plot was so thin is probably because there was so much music. But that’s kind of fine by me- I’d rather have more music and less plot in a musical, than more plot and less music. 

I liked that the actress who played his love interest wasn’t some bombshell. She was pretty, but she wasn’t a Kathryn Grayson type at all. I liked that she didn’t look like a typical movie star. 

The Bad: 

The nearly non-existent plot. “Star gets drafted into the army. Star gets special treatment. Star meets the Sergeant’s sister. Star can’t do too much Army-ing, because he has to sing, you plebs!” That’s about it. 

The depiction of army life. It was highly unrealistic. Ronaldo barely does anything but sing, date the Sergeants sister, and get gently teased by the aforementioned plebs who don’t like opera. You would think the Army’s rules and hierarchy are really flexible and no biggie. Even a General gives in to his wife multiple times, getting Ronaldo out of Army duties so he can sing instead!  

The lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. I liked the actress who played opposite Lanza, but together the two didn’t have much spark or chemistry. 

The Joe Pasternak trait of just putting random music numbers in random places. It happened in Skirts Ahoy! when Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van came out of nowhere to do a comic dance. Here poor Bobby Van again just gets a dance number out of nowhere, completely unrelated to the tone and style of the rest of the movie. Van can really dance, and he’s fun to watch, but it felt odd and arbitrary. Just give the guy his own movie, instead of cramming him into other people’s! 

[terrortriplets]

Hey there! I’d love to send a pic of self titled but I dont think I can while being anonymous!

Red is for sure midnight memories color but I also think a certain shade of purple would look amazing since the original MM cover has some purple and that color would be perfect imo! I really think four should’ve been brown as well!! Blue would’ve looked really nice too. I love yellow as well buuut I think it doesn’t work color scheme/theme wise for the album.

Oh, self titled really is that bitch, no one was ready for her, truly. I think my favorite is Woman, I just fell in love with that song when I first heard it and she’s everything to me still. I think FTDT is up there too. For Fine Line I’d say TPWK was one of my immediate favorites as soon as I heard it and she still is which I know is somewhat controversial since people did not like TPWK. Also Lights Up and many more. For Harry’s House my favs are Grapejuice, Satellite and probably Matilda. The whole album is amazing honestly I loved it. As for the rest of the boys it goes like this, Louis: Don’t Let it Break Your Heart, Defenseless, Only the Brave, Chicago, All This Time, Holding onto Heartache, Saturdays and Angels Fly, Niall: Paper Houses, Flicker, Fire Away, The Tide, Bend the Rules, Arms of A Stranger, Everywhere, Cross Your Mind, San Francisco and Still. Zayn: it’s you, fool for you, blue, scripted, good years, and sour diesel. Same with Liam, his stuff just doesn’t really pull me in 😔

I hope you enjoy severance and the devils hour if you check them out!! They were definitely some of the best tv I’ve seen in a long time and the aesthetics of severance I’m just obsessed with. Pitbulls really are gentle giants, all my pitties are the biggest babies and love attention and scratches. Thank you! Photography is a hobby of mine I pick up when I feel motivated at times and the idea of traveling the world and getting those amazing shots just sounds like a dream.

I’ve not played BOTW or Cult of the Lamb but I’ve seen the streamers I watch play them! I myself never got into Pokémon but my brothers/cousins definitely were. Now, don’t even get me started on Stardew, I love that game! I’ve been told I dont exactly play it right but who cares I’m still having fun! Who has been your favorite to marry and who’s your favorite non-bachelor/bachelorette character? Are you excited for the new game ConcernedApe is putting out? I’m very excited! I dont think you can go wrong with Kirby! I main Yoshi as well when playing Mario party unless I’m playing the one that has Monty Mole, then I’m Monty. With Mario kart I’m always dry bones!! Oh my, this message is already so long but I’ve still got quite a bit to say!

The decline of physical media is my villain origin story. I think what I miss most is physical photos. It used to be so easy to get little disposable cameras and easy to get the film developed but now it’s such a hassle and the cameras are not as cheap. One of the worst parts of declining physical media imo is that trends are cyclical so no matter what they’ll always come back as a trend at some point like vinyl and Polaroid which means the price will just keep going up when the trend picks up. I feel like photo albums, physical ones, are somewhat in the past now because all the photos you ever take are on your phone and that’s a nice convenience of course but it also breaks my heart cause I love pulling out old photo albums and shoebox’s filled to the brim with old photos and film. I wish disposal FujiFilm/Canon cameras were just like 5/10 bucks and I could just pick one up at the checkout of Walmart like before. Also letters and postcards should be a big deal again and like colorful clunky 80s home phones/rotary phones. Like I just live for hands on media and that’s why I love vinyl because you’re engaged with it. You have to clean it, adjust things, press buttons and flip the vinyl. I’m in my early 20s so I didn’t really get to experience some of these I suppose. I just hate the way these forms of physical media are dying/declining and don’t even get me started on dvds. It’s crazy to me that streaming sites can just like erase a show from their platforms and it’s gone forever? Also books, I love holding/feeling books and picking out cool covers. I too love trinkets and tend to fill my room with whatever I can find!! This is so long so I need to stop here and do quick speed round questions.

Speed round: If you could pick any skill to suddenly have, what would it be? I think mine would be easy to learn languages! I’d love to learn ASL.

Do you have a favorite board game? I really like scrabble and clue!

Do you have a preferred brand of shoes? If you look at my shoes I’m always wearing some weird/patterned vans!

Is there a car you’d just die to have? I think mine would be an old Volkswagen Van!!!

Lastly, is there a hobby you want to pick up but just haven’t yet? 

Hope you’ve had a lovely day and again I’m so sorry for the late message and length! I just feel like I need to reply to everything you’ve said! Wishing you a happy/good day tomorrow ❤️

-🎉❄️

Hello, hun!! Wishing you a happy Monday/Tuesday your way!!✨

Ahhh, I see lol. I didn’t know until just recently that you can’t send pictures while on anon and I almost sent a picture to one of my secret santas this year 😬. Would have been a short lived secret santa if I had done so lol. Hopefully, I can remind you to send a pic of the record once we all reveal ourselves!!

Purple would look amazing for the Midnight Memories pressing!! That’s so smart!! I can see it now!! It can be a mix on purple and blue, almost in a swirl!! That would look so nice!!

Self-titled sits on a pedestal that no one can really reach!! Love that for her!! TPWK was also my favorite when fine line came out!! I remember seeing everyone online saying she was the weakest song off the album, to which I understand cause everyone has their preferences!! But look at her now!! People love hearing her live!! I knew I stanned the right one lol. Oh, to hear Lights Up just one more time live!! All of your favorites listed from the other boys are so valid omg!! Did you have a favorite member of the band? Mine has been Zayn from day one up until he left (he still has such a special place in my heart tho 💕). I’d say now my favorite is Louis, but it very much jumps around from time to time to Niall and Harry!!

It does sound like so much fun to be able to fly around the world and take such stunning pictures of the things you see!! Rooting for you to be able to do that one day!!

Stardew Valley has such a special place in my heart!! I love that game so much so seeing that other people have played it as well makes my heart so happy!! My only problem is that I start a new save, play it for a week and a half straight, forget about it and then try and play it weeks later not remembering what I was doing in the first place 😅. If I remember correctly, I’ve only ever married Leah and Maru, but I would love to be able to explore the rest of the available bachelors, like Harvey, Penny and Abigail!! My favorite non-marriageable characters have to be Evelyn and George. He’s such a grumpy old man but Evelyn is such a sweet old lady; their dynamics are so funny and I would like to get to know their story a bit better!! Might have to go after Alex for that, I guess.

I didn’t even know that the game developer was releasing a new game!! I really like the art/gameplay style of Stardew so I guess is am pretty excited about this “Haunted Chocolatier” game that’s coming (edit: I just saw the trailer/early gameplay footage and I’m now actually very hype for this release!!).

Ayyeee Yoshi gang!!! I’d love to hear anything more you have to say about these Nintendo characters!! Never fear if the message is too long, love!! I love reading all of it!! ✨

Now that you mention it, it is very difficult to find disposable cameras nowadays without paying more that $15-20 for it, especially if it becomes so high in demand to meet the trends, like you said… that’s just capitalism, I suppose. I remember when I was younger and getting my parents mail from the mailbox and wishing I had mail, even if it was just spam lol. Now I’m only waiting for the important stuff in the mail and shred everything else. The idea of postcards and letters really does sound nice!! That’s also the same reason why I wanted to get into vinyl collecting!! Your feelings about declining physical media are so valid!! We should all be excited to collect things and show off our trinkets to our friends/family/strangers on the internet just out of pure excitement to have them!!

Speed Round Answers: Sudden Skill? Digital Media!! I want to be able to make digital paintings/drawings/edits of the ideas that pop up in my head!! I wish I knew how to use photoshop in that way, I suppose lol. Board Game? I don’t play many board games as much as I did when I was younger. Me and my brother played Mouse Trap/Operation a lot, so I would probably say those!! Shoes? I also really like vans!! I have about 10 pairs, maybe, of vans and always want more lol!! Lately though, I’ve been really into platform boots!!!

These have been catching my attention for the longest time, but never got around to actually buying them!! I will one day, for sure!! Dream Car? Right now, I have a Toyota Corolla (2008), but I really want a compact SUV, doesn’t really matter the brand, I suppose!! I’ve just always had low cars for as long as I can remember!! I’d say I’m a pretty tall individual, so it would be nice to have a car my size lol. Those old Volkswagen vans are so cute, I totally get the hype!! Next Hobby? There are definitely more things I wanna do, but never got around to actually doing!! I’ve always wanted to learn how to crochet, but out of the multiple times that I have attempted to learn, I’ve failed horribly at lol. Maybe I’ll get back into it at some point, but who knows!! 🎄✨

[aminiatureworld]

Spotlight

Characters: Albedo, Kazuha, Xiao, gn!reader

Word Count: 3,707

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: Modern AU in which the reader’s s/o is famous.

Author’s Note: My first crack at a modern AU and I enjoyed it immensely! My personal media of choice definitely came through in this prompt. I would now kill for Albedo to read Shakespeare. Also streamer Kazuha is an inspired idea, thank you anon for that! Not to mention musician Xiao, truly chef’s kiss.

Albedo

Albedo was a stage actor, both by education and by trade. Starting in high school he began in local productions, before entering into the Mondstadt Theateracademie. After appearing as Estragon in a filmed version of Waiting for Godot, he began to be scouted for various television miniseries, eventually becoming a well-respected film actor.

You arrived somewhere in the middle of his career. Working as a costume assistant at the Academie you had quickly fallen for the inquisitive and deceptively intense soul that exuded every color of emotion onstage, from raging anger to soft sorrow, before stepping into the wings and resuming an aura of utter calm. He had captivated you, both as an actor and as a human being; and when you learned that he had also become slightly infatuated with you, well, it was hard not to feel like you had stepped into a wonderful play, or perhaps simply a wonderful play had been brought to life.

The switch from theatre to screen was certainly a jarring one for both of you. When the first film contract was offered Albedo had stared at it for a long time, rereading it over and over again as the coffee in front of him quickly turned cold.

“Is there something wrong with the contract?” You had asked.

“No, it’s not that. It’s only…”

“Only?”

“Only on stage there is a single audience. You can feel their reactions, can measure their response. There is nothing nebulous about the people around you. But on film you cannot do that. You cannot adjust for time of day, or whether it’s a weekend or a Friday performance. You must let your lines out and hope that they land without even being able to calculate it.”

“It’s not a science experiment my darling,” you had teased.

“Maybe not,” Albedo admitted. Still he continued to read and reread, and it was only until the next afternoon that he had told you his answer.

Still, you had to admit that he made a fantastic actor. The naturally inward part of your partner’s personality, the part that always seemed to jump out the moment he left the stage, worked well to balance with the camera’s need for subtlety, unlike the projection required for stage plays. It was little surprise then that he should grow so popular. Despite all the worries about measuring audience response, there was no doubting the success of Albedo’s acting career.

Being a naturally withdrawn person Albedo mostly stayed off of social media. He had one private Instagram for friends – he didn’t post anything; one private Facebook for family – the only picture was one of you two in the mountains next to a particularly weird looking rock; and WhatsApp – which could barely be counted. Thus when he started blowing up on Twitter – a platform you had a mostly unused account on – the reaction was mostly one of “why are they talking about me?”

Not that Albedo minded fan enthusiasm, indeed when people started showing up in droves at the stage door for him he was always careful to thank everyone collectively and talk to as many people as possible, it just sort of confused him that so many people should take a vested interest in the actor and not just the character.

“It’s because they want to show you how wonderful they think your performances are,” you’d explained.

“I don’t have Twitter,” Albedo deadpanned.

Despite his protests though you sometimes caught him scrolling on your account, face slightly red at all the positive attention. His habit of internal self-deprecation had never truly gone away. That fact became slightly unfortunate in the face of hate comments. It was hard for Albedo not to take things personally. If someone said his acting was shit then you would catch Albedo reading the same line over and over again, as if to achieve mathematical perfection. It was a difficult urge to fight, and you were always careful to give Albedo plenty of reassurance when these things popped up, as well as surreptitiously blocking the trolls that wandered their way onto your dash.

This habit to take things at face value did not apply when you entered the mix. As far as Albedo was concerned you were his partner and no amount of complaining online would make him second guess that or second guess your worth. Even if you thought that you had a better hold on social media assholerly than he did Albedo would still make sure that for every hate comment that floated your way there were at least three compliments on his part. Mentioning you off-handedly in press interviews, saying that he had to go home to his partner, leaving small sketches on post-it notes scattered throughout your apartment, there were no lengths that Albedo wouldn’t go to assure you. And, if you had to admit, these things truly did make you feel better on the days when the small part of your brain said that this wasn’t mindless social media harassment.

Being an actor Albedo had an incredibly fine-tuned sense of the way that people responded to emotions, as if he were performing some grand sort of scientific experiment to see how many people he could sway with his gift. As of such he was always careful that, regardless of his success, things between you were never upturned. You were with him before he was really famous, and you would be there during and after. Albedo loved you deeply; though he often said that he hated romance plays for how sappy they were in his mind your relationship was the one, glowing exception – regardless of the other happy couples in the world. Though it was slightly idealistic, it was the kind of intensity that comprised Albedo’s personality, was the thing that had garnered him so much success.

Albedo loved you deeply, and no amount of surprise movie contracts would change that.

 Kazuha

You had to admit that when you had met Kazuha you had no idea about his double life as a streamer. He was merely one of the many singers that came and went to the recording studios, all people eager to unleash their talent on the world. But unlike the rest of them, Kazuha could make you laugh.

Perhaps then it was unsurprising that Kazuha should be a popular streamer. Though his often florid talking style might seem on paper like it would be too grating for streaming, in reality his soft cadence combined with a dry sense of humor made him wildly popular. He rarely lost his temper, making him palatable to those who wanted to have a fun time without blowing their ears out, and when he did lose it his hyper-specific, often nonsensical insults were the stuff of memes. No, in retrospect it was not all that surprising that Kazuha was a beloved streamer.

At heart though, Kazuha had told you over coffee, the enthusiastic and earnest internet sensation was a poet.

“When you’ve had a life as dissonant as mine, how can you not be?” He’d joked. And indeed perhaps he was right, for Kazuha was as wonderful a poet as you had ever read. He was born to be a writer, you had told him.

You were also an aspiring singer, as well as a friend of the studio owner where you did your recordings. As such you had made it a habit to help around the studio when you weren’t also working or studying. As you and Kazuha were both students with intense side jobs, the good natured complaining of overworked students also made their way into you rapport, a friendship that grew day-by-day. Eventually it sprouted into love.

Though you knew that Kazuha was a streamer when your relationship started, in reality you hadn’t realized how truly popular he had become. The first time you watched one of his streams you were blown away by his popularity. Watching your first livestream only cemented that. It was hard to believe that your down-to-earth, slightly self-effacing, partner could have garnered such a large fanbase. Not that you didn’t think he deserved it. He absolutely did. However after seeing that you admitted you were a bit awestruck.

“Why? Am I not the same person on screen and off?”

“Of course you are! It’s just, well, my partner’s a celebrity!”

“I would go that far,” Kazuha laughed.

“Well you certainly are to me!”

Nevertheless your dynamic didn’t change much afterwards, besides the occasional teasing on both of your parts. Kazuha was after all Kazuha at the end of the day.

At the beginning Kazuha didn’t mention you much on stream, certainly not by name, you had to admit you were a bit intimidated by the idea of being recognizable on the internet, even if it was just by name.

“This is also my partner’s favorite map.” Had been his first mention, during a game of Mario Kart.

Despite this offhanded remark however the chat had almost immediately exploded, followed by the rest of the fanbase. Though there was, of course, some disappointed buzz – isn’t there always – the reaction was immensely positive. Positive, and curious.

After a while Kazuha started mentioning you more often in streams, especially after the two fo you moved in. Sometimes you would hear him as you passed him room – Kazuha liked to keep the door open – other times you would watch it on stream yourself.

“My partner hates this character. Too bad you can’t throw evidence.”

“Nobody tell my partner that I’m afraid of basements. I don’t need them to know that when laundry day rolls around.”

“Hey if you’re watching this dear, I promise that it’s not that much money. You don’t need to look at the bank account. Who am I kidding, this is why we don’t share one.”

“Hey, darling I know you’re watching this. Can you check and make sure I left my keys on the coffee table, they aren’t on my desk. Also can you make tea?”

Despite fans knowing very little about you, you were surprised by the amount of positive comments that flooded the streams. You had to admit that your initial expectations had been “people are going to find me annoying”. Instead funny comics of your voice drifting in from the other room popped up, along with a lot of waving and “tell your partner not to trust you with the keys” after Kazuha fell off a cliff one too many times. It was an odd experience, to be so happy about the comments of faceless people, people to whom you were also faceless.

Eventually Kazuha’s hardwork in singing paid off and his first single was recorded and given a deal. On the evening of the release livestream Kazuha set up in the living room, angling the camera so that you could sit on the chair just out of frame. You had talked about the release for months now, and a few weeks ago Kazuha had brought up the idea of a pseudo-stream reveal.

“I was wondering if you’d like to say hello to the audience or wave when my song is released. I understand that you’re hesitant about those sort of things, and I would never ask of you something that would make you uncomfortable. This relationship is the most precious thing to me, and I wouldn’t want you to feel pressured or exploited in any ways.”

“Thank you for being so considerate Kazuha. I’ll think about it.”

Now you sat in the chair, fidgeting slightly, waiting as the countdown on his laptop reached one. You excitement certainly seemed matched by that of the fans, who were typing wildly in the chat.

Eventually the screen faded to black and the chatting quieted down. The first few notes of a wooden flute emerged, combined with the strumming of a guitar. As the familiar words began to echo through the laptop speaker you found yourself washed away. Kazuha was always enthralling when he sang. At the end of the song was a dedication, and though Kazuha had already alluded to it, the sincerity still took your breath away.

To my dearest partner. My compass and my guiding star throughout this realization of my dream. You are my sun and my stars, and I’m forever devoted to you. Thank you for sharing in this project, and thank you for giving me such love.

Perhaps it was slightly saccharine. Regardless you felt the sudden, uninhibited urge to cry.

“So, what did everyone think?” Kazuha asked into the mic, face reappearing on screen. He was slightly giddy, and you watched as his hand tugged on the fabric of his linen belt.

Immediately the chat exploded, as waves of “that was amazing”, “I’m crying now”, and “the end was so sweet!” flooded the screen.

“Thank you all for the encouragement!” Kazuha let out a laugh, one that you could tell was one of utter euphoria, and no little relief. “There’s someone else I think who would like to thank you.”

Who knew that a small sentence could cause such a splash?

You barely had time to let out a tentative “Hello,” before an immediate wave of excited screaming covered the bottom left of Kazuha’s stream. “Thank you for supporting Kazuha’s song. And thank you for always being nice to me.” With a tentative wave of the hand you collapsed back on your chair, slightly hysterical laughter rising inside you out of the relief that flooded through you upon seeing the enthused fan reaction.

Afterwards your voice became the occasional guest on Kazuha’s streams, always greeted with enthusiasm. Kazuha continued to grow in popularity, and his music continued to capture a larger and larger audience.

All throughout this you never felt a snag in your relationship. Kazuha may have been a big streaming personality, but he was also a kind and considerate partner, the best that one could ask for in a significant other. Kazuha’s love was never in question. And neither was yours.

 Xiao

Sometimes you were a little self-conscious about the way that you met Xiao.

Though Xiao had definitely grown a following by the time you met – being the main pianist for a popular singer and a classical pseudo-prodigy in both piano and flute his own right certainly had roped him an enthusiastic fanbase – you had simply known him as “the guy who hogs the practice room”.

“I swear to the gods, how long can that bastard take to practice!” You texted angrily at your friend one day. Qixing Conservatory was the premiere music place in Liyue, but what should’ve been an amazing opportunity was being overshadowed by a practice room partner who appeared to not have a life, one who also had the obnoxious habit of playing the same damn thing over, and over, and over again.

“Playing the same piece as before?”

“Yes! Ugh I don’t even know what it’s called but I’ve heard it enough times to last a lifetime, maybe five!”

“Damn I’m sorry, what time does he usually end?”

“I don’t even know. Some time in the early evening. It’s obviously never gotten through to his brain that other people also need to practice. Or that hearing the same notes over and over while waiting makes me want to chuck my binder against a wall.”

“Lol. I kinda want to hear it now. Can you send a video, will the sound pick up?”

“I don’t know how it wouldn’t.”

“…”

“Holy shit! Okay, I need you to watch this video and tell me if you recognize the pianist.”

Safe to say you nearly fell out of your chair upon figuring out Xiao’s identity. Not that you weren’t already about to out of pure exasperation. Still, there was something much more intimidating about shaming a successful musician, and you no longer had the urge to glare at Xiao every time he left the practice room. Honestly, you would have been perfectly happy keeping your head down and never interacting with him at all.

Fate, however, has a sense of humor.

To be fair, some of it was your fault. You knew that Erlkonig was a massively difficult piece. You knew that you should’ve picked something else, knew that even Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata mvt. Three had to be less painful than the non-vocal arrangement you’d placed in front of your eyes. You were never trusting your music taste with your piece choices again. This was a terrible mistake.

“These stupid fucking running notes!” You let out, a groan of exasperation racing through you. Half slamming (you weren’t crazy) the piano cover down you swung the door of the practice room open. You didn’t want to deal with this anymore. Trying to ignore the embarrassment that rose up seeing Xiao waiting on a chair next to the door you went to walk down the hallway.

“You should work on it with a dotted sixteenth note pattern.”

It was the first time that Xiao had ever spoken to you.

Afterwards a rapport slowly grew between the two of you. Often Xiao said nothing as you passed, rarely you made a gesture of recognition when he finally reappeared from the practice room. However soon the occasional word or phrase of advice grew into longer sentences, later these sentences evolved into pieces of conversation. Soon enough you discovered, to your slight horror, that you found yourself yearning for Xiao’s company.

Almost as soon as you’d finally figured out your feelings you were hit with a wave of denial. You weren’t falling for Xiao? How could you fall for someone who got on your nerves so much? Sure he gave you advice, but what about it? You deserved it after having to hear him over and over again while waiting. Certainly Xiao didn’t seem interested in you, he barely talked to you! Yeah he was getting more talkative, but it’s easier to talk to people when you’re giving them advice. There’s no way you were in love with Xiao. And there was no way he was in love with you.

To say that Xiao’s career as a musician, never mind his genuine technical talent at two instruments, was a barrier would be an understatement. The moment you thought you were making some progress, finally admitting to yourself that this crush was, in fact, real, a wave of anxiety would pass over you. Xiao was too good for you, he was too important. Here was a man who had a successful musical career already up in the air while you banged frustratedly on the keys. Why would someone that successful be interested in you? Not to mention the fact that he didn’t seem interested.

Because, you had to admit, you did like Xiao’s music. Not just his classical repertoire, but his pop music as well. It was slightly jazzy, mellow and playful and utterly unlike the scowling musician behind it – something you secretly thought extremely cute and surprisingly charming. To him you were just a practice roommate, and you were sure he’d find the idea of dating someone who was more familiar with his public persona irritating.

So you buried your feelings, or tried to. Unfortunately like sometimes attracts like, and just as Xiao secretly had the emotional understanding of a teaspoon, you weren’t nearly as clever about things as you would like.

“Is there something on my face?” Xiao asked, his voice gruff and slightly reluctant.

“No, why would there be?”

“Because you’re staring at it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” You let your head drop, looking intently at the ivories in front of you. Eventually there was a sigh.

“You don’t have to do that. I… I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! You staring down is weird too. Let’s, let’s just hurry up and do this passage.”

After that you became more aware of your staring habit. You also became more aware of Xiao’s own habit, leaning towards you. Sometimes you swore that you could feel the tips of his hair tickling your neck, light and feathery and stealing all your attention.

“Hey, Xiao, do you need glasses?”

“Why would you asked that!” Xiao flared up, face reddening. By this time you’d become more accustomed to these flareups of grumpiness, and ignoring it you pressed on.

“It’s just, you seem to be leaning forward.”

“I’m not!” Immediately Xiao shifted back, almost stepping away. Without thinking about it you reached to grab his hand.

“I didn’t mean it was a bad thing!” You got out, before becoming aware of your hand grasping Xiao’s. The touch felt electric, and you were suddenly so very aware of everything, yet unable to focus at all.

“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Xiao grumbled.

Slowly the musician leaned closer to you once more. You had already half stood up and now you found yourself stepping closer to Xiao. The world continued to shrink until you were almost pressed together. Xiao was leaning forward, as were you, and the longer tufts of his hair were tickling your cheek, helped by the fan whirring away in the corner. Your hand was still in his, but all your thoughts appeared to have died away.

“Xiao?”

“Is this, too close?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Xiao?”

“What?”

“I like your music. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“Why would it?”

“I don’t know. I just, I also like you, not just your music. But I also like your music.”

“I also like yours too.”

Perhaps it wasn’t the most romantic of confessions, but at that point you were far too carried away by the moment, or maybe by the fact that was the most sentences Xiao had strung together that weren’t about triplets. Regardless of the fact, you were suddenly seized by incredible happiness, as all appeared to right itself.

Afterwards initially little changed, Xiao was a gruff as ever, you were still itching to play in the practice room more. Nevertheless when you went to a concert of his for the first time and he let out a small, almost imperceptible, smile your way you knew things had changed. They would keep changing perhaps, or maybe they wouldn’t. After all, this moment was beautiful.

So much that you didn’t even mind the hours spent waiting for the practice room.

[lifeiszestyy]

Gold

*A Sparkle Star Galaxy short story*

Day 3 of @writersmonth - gold / actor au AO3

Summary: Eterna T. is planning a movie adaptation of Mario's adventures and asks for advice. Eterna T. belongs to @juliettelime

Date: Gray Cloud 15, 4512 Scenario: During a period of downtime, the start of Winter Vacation Setting: Mushroom Castle, the Mushroom Kingdom, Astraea Characters: Eterna T. (16) + Hayce T. (20) + Gilding ("55")

“So, who do you think captures Mario’s essence better?” Eterna T. asks, a pen in her mouth, “Zip Toad or Doopliss?”

“I told you before we should have invested in an animated movie,” Hayce T. says, resting his forehead on the table and closing his eyes.

“You and everyone else in the brigade. Do you know how much it costs to hire animators?”

“And yet you’re going to hire CGI animators for the effects and pay them less.”

“It’s not cutting corners if that’s the going rate!��

“Eterna T., did you ask me for my honest opinion?”

“...No.”

Hayce T. sighs. “Then I’m gonna take a nap. You should ask the money Star for help.” Hayce T. produces a pillow from his backpack and places it on the table. “For the record, Zip Toad does a better impression in terms of voice and mannerisms, but Doopliss can look exactly like Mario in a way that Zip Toad will never be able to accomplish.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I can use both of them.” Eterna T. looks over to see Hayce T. fast asleep. She sighs and clasps her hands, closing her eyes. O Great Star Gilding, you’ve chastised me many times since we first met, and even though you’re really rude, your advice is very good, and as long as you never let my friends know that I think that, I’ll follow your advice this time, for real.

Eterna T.’s phone lets out a cacophonous clanging noise, vibrating the entire table. Hayce T. tenses, frowns, then slides under the table with his pillow and resumes his nap.

She picks up the phone and checks the message.

[You don’t have to pray anymore to reach me now that you have my number.]

[Old habits die hard. Give me advice, old man.]

[Eterna T., what are your reasons for pursuing this venture?]

[Because it’ll be both fun and lucrative, obviously.]

[If not for the sake of creating art, what is the importance of adapting Mario’s adventures to the screen when his adventures have already been adapted in the form of theater?]

[Theater is fine or whatever, but there’s something really special about watching movies. Some people are really intimidated by the idea of going to the theater, so they’re more likely to go watch a movie instead.]

[So, your reason for creating this movie is because it will be enjoyable to create and will give you a new source of income rather than for the sake of entertaining an audience?]

[Uh, entertaining the audience is part of the “fun” aspect.]

[I’m sure you’ve done your research so tell me: for the intended audience, would they prefer a live action film or an animated film? Are Zip Toad or Doopliss the right actors to pull in the right crowd, or will they draw in more criticism?]

Eterna T. purses her lips as she thinks, listening to Hayce T.’s gentle snores. She types, [I was told that this movie will air in other kingdoms. There’s conflicting information about what’s popular in the other kingdoms, so it’s honestly really annoying to think about.]

[Who is your main audience?]

[The Mushroom Kingdom, of course.]

[Then they should be your top priority. You wouldn’t want to create something to appease other people only for your main audience to feel dissatisfied, right?]

[Hmm… But I want that fancy gold trophy they give out at the Metro Kingdom award ceremony.]

[Is that your end goal?]

Eterna T. sighs. She types [Yes] then erases it.

[Well, it’s all food for thought. You don’t necessarily have to take my advice. Follow your heart as you always have.]

[Bold of a guiding Star to say such a thing. Anyway, why are you texting me? I’m going to call.]

[Don’t call–I’m in the middle of a meeting.]

Eterna T. snorts. [Aww, you’re texting me in the middle of a meeting? Nice to know I’m so important.]

[Young Toad, you are the only one in the Mushroom Kingdom with a combination of ambition, business acumen, and charisma. Most people have one or two of those traits. I’m interested in what you’ll do. But it’s also my job to make sure you don’t go off the rails. Do you really think I’m chastising you?]

[No, you’re not like my pops and grandpops. Besides, you ask me questions about things that I wouldn’t have thought about. Hayce T. does too, but sometimes I don’t listen to him.]

[Advice can only take you so far. Better to have as many experiences as possible and to learn from both your failures and mistakes. Well! It appears as though I’ve been caught. I’ll take my leave now. I look forward to seeing what kind of art a money-minded young person such as yourself will create. Ta ta!]

[How old are you that you’re getting caught like that?]

[Thousands of years and still young!]

“Thousands of years?” Eterna T. mutters. She puts her phone down and nudges Hayce T. with her foot. “Hey, are you sure animation would be better? Wake up!”

Hayce T. rubs his eyes. “I mean… You were always the one who cried about wanting to see morning cartoons instead of people in suits. I was just thinking about what you’d prefer.”

Eterna T. blushes. “This isn’t about me!”

Hayce T.’s laugh ends in a yawn. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

Eterna T. holds out her hand to help her friend up. “Let’s go! We’ve got work to do!”

[wh6res]

hey love! im so happy requests are finally opened! i really love your writing and when i saw requests were opened, my heart jumped hehe, but may I please request aggressive 11, and 14 with xiaojun? thank you so much!!🥺❤️❤️

frat boys | xiaojun

synopsis. you never should've came to yangyang's party.

warnings. dubcon, betrayal

note. thank you my dear for loving my writing uwu

you’ve never been to a frat party. it was never your thing and no matter how tempting your bestfriend makes it sound, you swore to yourself to never indulge in such matters. but for someone so smart, it was rather stupid of you to think you’ll never attend a frat party when, first and foremost, your own bestfriend’s a member of a frat.

and unfortunately for you, he just had to celebrate his 22nd in his fraternity’s house. you felt annoyed that yangyang forego the usual arrangements where it’ll just be him, you, cupcakes, and beer when the clock strikes 12 o’clock. but it all changed this year when he said—”you don’t even need to give me a gift, sunshine! just… please attend the party? think of it as your gift to me? don’t worry i’ll be looking out for you and you can leave as soon as you feel uncomfy!”

you don’t expect him to stand by his word because this is yangyang we’re talking about. he’s a lightweight and you know he’d be shitfaced drunk halfway through the party because that’s just how he is. yangyang is the star of the night, the birthday boy, of course he’ll drink whatever alcohol his friends offer him. 

it’s been hours already since you’d last seen the boy, right after he put a show of chugging down one whole bottle of gin on top of a table and lucas having to catch yangyang’s swaying body toppling over the surface so he won’t wake up with a fractured arm the next day. 

2am. you’ll go home at 2am. 

so you simply wait another hour by the kitchen (its more quiet there) playing mario kart on your phone while chugging down some orange juice you found in the fridge. hopefully the host doesn’t mind, after all, you highly doubt they’d care for a bottle of orange juice when they have a plethora of alcoholic drinks sitting in ice coolers. 

“really? you’re drinking that in a frat party?”

the voice makes you look up just as you threw your head back to finish the remaining of the juice inside the plastic bottle. you raise an eyebrow when you see one of yangyang’s… frat mate? bestfriend? peer? you don’t know. but one thing’s for sure, he’s definitely a part of the friend group your bestfriend’s in—meaning, he’s a frat boy. 

and there’s only one frat boy you don’t hate and that’s yangyang—then again, it can be debatable sometimes. 

“so?” you reply sharply, not bothering to hide your annoyance of your peace being interrupted. you hear him stalking closer to you before placing something on the counter, next to your thighs. in the corner of your eyes, you see it's a drink—beer, most probably. 

you sneer, not bothering to look at him. “ah, no thank you. i don’t drink alcohol, especially not from strangers.”

“xiaojun, third year, majoring in film making, and thinks you’re kinda cute. there, i don’t think i’m a stranger anymore?”

you can practically hear the grin in his voice, as if his quirky little antics is going to take its effect on you like all the other girls he probably had tried it with. unfortunately for him, you’re far from easy and it’s 2am already. wordlessly, without another glance towards his direction, you tried walking out of the kitchen, wanting to see yangyang one last time before bolting out the door. 

keyword: tried. 

“so, where are you going?” xiaojun pesters. shadowing your footsteps as you aimlessly walk around the house, looking for the birthday boy. for such an ungodly hour, the party seems to be going on full swing and it probably won’t simmer down until after a couple more hours. 

perfect. you arrived unnoticed, and you will leave unnoticed. 

“oh!” you forget xiaojun is still towing behind you. “are you looking for yangyang? i know where he is!”

you force out a laugh, spinning around to face him. “i know what you’re doing. you’re trying to get me alone, aren’t you? do i fucking look easy to you?”

he seems genuinely surprised of your outburst. “woah, chill. he’s upstairs, babe. last door on the left side. we all know that boy’s a lightweight, so xuxi and the rest of the guys have dropped him there to sober him up.”

“i’m not buying it.”

“fine!” he throws his arm up in mock surrender. “i won’t follow you upstairs if that calms your nerves. your welcome, see you around—or whatever…”

you can’t help but scoff at his attitude. you never asked him to follow you around nor did you even ask for his help in finding liu yangyang but before you can say anything else, xiaojun has already stormed away, disappearing into the throng of people in the living room turned dance floor. you huffed, hiking your bag strap higher up your shoulders before marching up the stairs. 

it’s a lot quieter here compared to the party going on downstairs. the music significantly gets muted the further down you walk in the hallway, towards yangyang’s room. keeping in mind what xiaojun said about how they like throwing their friend in here to sober him up, you decided to skip knocking, barging into the room with a grin on your face. 

“hey, lightweight! i’m going… home?”

the room’s empty.

“i can’t believe you actually fell for it.”

you hardly had any time to turn around when you felt his hands pushing you further into the room, a resounding click of the lock can be heard as you try to pick yourself up from the cold tiled floor but it was no use when you felt a heel of a boot against your lower back, forcing you back to the ground. tears starts pricking your eyes but you try everything in your power to not let them fall. no. he can’t have that satisfaction. 

“it was really stupid of you, not gonna lie. but who cares, i get the girl i’ve been eyeing!”

you grunt aloud in frustration as you try squirming out of from under him but the pain of his boot’s heel digging into your flesh made you unconsciously cry out. why is this happening? why did it even have to happen to you?

in a span of seconds he had lifted you off the floor and has unceremoniously tossed you on the mattress, the blankets ruffling underneath your body. you tried crawling off but he was quick, wrapping a firm hand around your ankle before pulling you back to where he wanted you to be. 

“please!” you can’t believe you had resulted to begging but everything is bound to get blurry when the reality of the situation starts setting in and the fear overrules any type of dignity. “if you—if you let me go now, i won’t tell anybody not even yangyang, i swear! just—please—”

“oh, didn’t you know?” xiaojun just finds this way too fun. “yangyang made you come tonight, didn’t he? practically forced you to even when he knew you didn’t like parties?”

as he spoke, you tried sneakily wriggling out from under him until you stop dead in your tracks when his hands dart forward to wrap around your neck. xiaojun sighs as if he’s bored. but when you dare look straight at him, the excited glint in his eyes are unmistakable. 

when he leans down to whisper in your ear…

“i was the one who told yangyang to invite you.”

and then you screamed, trying to push him away with vigor because no your best friend would never sell you out like that. “you’re lying!” you sob. “yangyang would… he’d never do that to me! you’re lying!”

xiaojun rolls his eyes as he ducks down to attack your neck. the first you feel are his soft lips against the skin of your neck, then his hot tongue licking a stripe from your collarbone to the back of your ear before digging his teeth into your skin. you grunt aloud in pain. 

he clicks his tongue, glaring down at your messed up state. “if you’d stop making so much noise, i might not have to be so rough.”

you don’t know why, but his words make you cry harder, it’s as if he’s implying that all this shit you’re going through because of him is your own fault. and by the time he’s done marking your neck, you realize in horror—when xiaojun said ‘rough’ he had truly meant rough. 

a lone tear escapes your eye as you pull your shirt up higher to cover your neck, ignoring the feeling of his ministrations and feather-like touches against the insides of your thigh. but when he sees what you’re doing, xiaojun starts digging his nails into your flesh as a warning. 

“don’t cover my bite marks. if you do, i might have to add something more obvious.”

[violetlou2020]

DAY 02 of @flufftober2021

Sneaking Out Together

Title: In this Moment [Chapter 1]

Author: Vividly_Violet

Fandom: Tokyo Revengers | 東京卍リベンジャーズ

Rating: General

Relationship: Mikey | Sano Manjirou/Takemitchy | Hanagaki Takemichi, Mitsuya Takashi & Takemitchy | Hanagaki Takemichi, Hanagaki Takemichi & Toman Gang

Word Count: 1864

Chapter 1

School just ended and Takemichi wanted nothing more than to go home, eat dinner and then pass out on his bed. It's been a tiring week what with the constant chaos his life has turned out since joining Toman and subsequently dating its leader.

Even before he joined the gang he was already a trouble magnet as the rest likes to call him. Attracting unwanted attention especially from other delinquents that has him ending up bruised and hurting, it's made 10x worst with Mikey added in the equation since anyone who has a grudge against Tomans president or wanted to increase their street cred keeps targeting him since word got out of their relationship thanks to said leader blabbering their status to everyone they meet as a form of showing his possessiveness.

He also has a very punchable face as Baji would laughingly put it and Chifuyu couldn't even refute nor defend him from that statement. At least tomorrow was the weekend. The mizo middle all have different plans for tomorrow, Toman doesn't have any scheduled meeting or any upcoming fight, Mikey and his sister along with their Grandfather are suppose to go on a trip today according to Hina who heard it from Emma herself. So no clingy boyfriend trying to monopolize his time. Finally. A weekend all to himself.

Or so he thought.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked flatly at the crowd gathered in front of his house.

"Takemitchy~ why a sleep over of course!" Mikey exclaimed excitedly.

"Sleepover? I didn't hear any of this. Weren't you and your family supposed to be on some trip." the teen exclaimed.

"Bailed on them, why do I have to hang out with them when I can spent my time with you." Takemichi blushed at that but shook his head. No he will not fall for Mikey's cliche yet none the less sweet words.

"But why at my house, no one informed me of any sleep over."

"Huh, didn't Mikey texted you." Draken asked.

"I didn't received any." Draken turned Mikey.

"Oi didn't I tell you to inform Takemitchy." the taller teen smacked their leaders head.

"Ehh I forgot. Uhhg you keep hitting me, that's why I keep forgetting things." Mikey whined.

"You've been hit by a freaking metal pipe before, the hell does my smack have anything to do with you not texting Takemitchy." Draken hissed at the shorter boy.

"It does so!"

"Why you—"

"I guess we couldn't impose on you like this." Mitsuya said side eying their commander and vice commander who were now pulling at each others hair.

"Who cares we're here, might as well get on with it." Baji said pushing himself from the crowd towards the front door before Chifuyu stopped him.

"Baji-san we came here unannounced. That's rude."

"Sorry for the trouble." Mitsuya apologized. Bless the only reasonable man in Toman, Takemichi thought.

"Ahh no no, don't apologize Mitsuya-kun, it's okay. We can uhh have the sleep over." Takemichi quickly said.

"You don't have to—"

"No, no its really okay. You guys are already here. It'll be rude to turn you away plus— wait where are they?"

"Huh? Oh those guys." the pale lavender haired teen sighed and face palmed as he watch his friends make their way into the house without letting its resident welcome them in.

"How'd you open the door!" the awfully blonde haired teen exclaimed.

"I have a copy pf your key!" said Mikey spinning the key on his finger.

"How!?"

After Takemichi successfully convinced Draken to take the key and compromising that he'll be the one holding it, much to Mikey's pouting or threat all of them gathered in the spacious living room.

"So what are we gonna do?"

There was a chorus of "Movies"

"Video Games"

"Board Games"

"Food"

There was a short pause. Everyone looking at each other and before you knew it the gang erupted into a shouting match on what to do first with Mikey loudly whining about being hungry as he threw wrappers on the others head and Baji almost breaking a vase. It continued for a while until Takemichi had enough of it.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone quieted down, not used to seeing the crybaby loose their temper except for when Mikey and Draken broke some of his stuff but even then the pair couldn't take it seriously because of the dog shit situation.

"But I'm hungry." Mikey whined. Takemichi dragged his hand across his face. He went to the kitchen and came back with a pack of cookies.

"Here. Share." he glared as he handed it out to his boyfriend who reluctantly had the others get one before hoarding the rest to himself and nibbling on the treat.

"I guess that's the extent you're willing to share."

"Why don't we play some video games while others the boardgames before dinner then we can watch a movie after. How does that sound?" Mitsuya, being the only rational person in the group suggested.

"Tch fine." grumbled Baji.

"That sounds okay." Chifuyu said as he swatted his captains hands from taking his cookie. Draken shrugged in acceptance while Mikey gave a thumbs up as he stuffed his face with more cookies.

Takemichi gave Mitsuya a grateful look before showing Chifuyu where the video games and board games were stored.

"Ahh shit. I forgot, I don't have much in the fridge right now. I was planning on doing the groceries tomorrow but I guess I'll have to do it today."

"I'll come along with you. Might as well help out." The second division captain offered.

"Ahh thank you so much Mitsuya-kun! I'll meet you outside then, just let me change out of my uniform."

After Takemichi changed he rushed downstairs and shouted at Draken to keep the damage to his house to a minimum before grabbing Mitsuya's offered helmet and mounting the bike. The pair then drove off to the nearest grocery store.

🔹🔹🔹

After thirty minutes or so the pair returned to a still standing Hanagaki residence much to their relief even thou there were scattered scrabble pieces lying everywhere, Chifuyu sitting on Baji's back as he and Draken Play Mario Cart, the first division captain struggling to remove his vice off him and chess pieces in the fridge when Takemichi went to put away some of the stuff they bought.

"Why are there chess pieces in my fridge?"

"Mikey was being a brat, he put them there after he lost. Against Baji of all people. Now he's sulking at some corner." Draken explained without taking his eyes of the screen.

"I was not, Baji was cheating!" came Mikeys protest from the corner of the room. He was not sulking there. He just thought that the plant was better company than his friends. Takemichi just laughed nervously at them at least nothing was broken before going back to the kitchen to prepare their dinner. Mitsuya was already there preparing the rice. After he placed it on the rice cooker the two worked together to making karage.

"This is the last batch." Mitsuya said as he placed the floured chickens on the pan.

"Ahh thanks, can you ask the others to prepare the table. I'm also finishing up the side dishes."

"Sure."

It was Chifuyu and Draken who came up to set the table working carefully to not disrupt the two who were finishing up their cooking. Takemichi placed the bowl of Kinpira gobo — a salad made of braised burdock root and carrot — in the middle besides the platter of karage before washing up and removing his apron.

"Dinners ready!" he called out and Mikey and Baji came running to the kitchen.

"Calm down you dogs." Draken scowled, taking his seat besides Mitsuya.

"Ahhh this smells so good."

"Huh, You and Mitsuya sure are housewife material." Baji cackled as he shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth. Takemichi's eye twitched at the comment while Mitsuya remained unfazed.

"Hey if they're gonna be housewives I call dibs on Takemitchy." Mikey declared. Takemichi choked on his rice at the declaration while the others just collectively rolled their eyes.

"You— you can't just say stuff like that!"

After they ate, the group dragged some spare futons from the closet down the hallway and set it in the middle of the livingroom, pushing the couch back to fit it in. They then proceeded to raid Takemichi's room, his parents and even the guests room of its pillows. And dumping it all in the middle to create a small mountain of fluffy pillows which Mikey promptly jumped in to.

The rest of the night was spent on watching movies from horror films to comedy to some action films with a little disturbance along the way with popcorns being thrown and pillows hitting some faces that erupted into a pillow fight. But for the most part, the gang had fun till they all passed out in the living room at around 1 in the morning, Mitsuya being the last to fall asleep had the been the one to turn off the television.

🔹🔹🔹

Takemichi batted at the finger prodding at his cheek. After some time where the prodding hasn't ceased he groggily opened his eyes and was met with deep bottomless dark ones staring at him. He almost shrieked in surprise if it weren't for Mikey covering his mouth.

"Shhh" Mikey shushed and mouthed 'come' before he stood and made his way to the front door. Takemichi carefully extracted himself from Chifuyu's hold, the other teen had rolled to his side and clung to his arms. He placed a pillow in place of himself and chuckled when he heard his partner mumble 'baji' under his breath.

"Why are we sneaking out like this?" he whispered as he put on his shoes.

"No reason~" Mikey smiled as he pulled his boyfriend out the door who was struggling to put on the other pair of his shoes.

"Mi— Mikey-kun!"

"Shhh you might wake up the others. Now get your bike." Takemichi rolled his eyes but nonetheless locked the front door and pulled out his bicycle which Draken had thankfully fixed after breaking it again for who knew how many times already.

They rode is silence enjoying the cold breeze that wafted their face. The street was dead with the occasional business men staggering home, drunk or exhausted or both who knew. After a while Mikey pulled on his shirt and pointed to a konbini.

"Doroyaki, I want some Doroyaki."

"You woke me up for this?" Takemichi said exasperated but still followed his boyfriend inside.

Four packets of Doroyaki later the pair rode off again with no destination in mind just enjoying each other's company. A few minutes later just when he thought worriedly that Mikey has fallen asleep because of the quiet, he felt strong arms wrap around his waist. He almost swerved his bicycle but quickly righted himself.

"Mikey-kun?"

"Hmm can we be like this forever." Mikey sleepily mumbled against his back.

"I don't know about forever but we can stay like this for as long as you want or when my legs gives up peddling."

[chaerrie-on-top]

Bts As Your Older Brother (7/7)

bts as your older brother

JUNGKOOK:

- the fun brother - your partner in crime - he'd teach you to make fun of jimin's height and jin's age - the boys would love you lots tho, & even call you something cute like "little kookie" - every weekend he'd hangout with you and do whatever you wanted - he'd take you out around town, out to the movies, or would even just explore or play sports with you - would let you win during play fights - but would wreck you in mario kart - but when the other members tease him about it he'd deny it - "aw look at our jungkookie being a good brother!" - "me ?? nah, y/n's a loser. can't stand being around her for two seconds" *proceeds to punch jimin in retaliation* - but jin would walk into kooks room to tell him dinner is ready - and he'd fine you and jungkookie cuddled up on his bed fast asleep - jin would go all fond & decide not to wake you both up yet - would quietly leave the room - while still smiling over how much jungkook really loves you

TAEHYUNG:

- the unique brother - he'd introduce you to cool, new music he loves - and get you into art as well - he'd also be your really cool, fashionable brother - all your friends would have a huge crush on him - they also had a huge crush on the way he bought you nice clothes he knew you'd like - taehyung would really just shower you in gifts - wouldn't get mad if you fell asleep in his bed - would let you babysit yeontan - and take cute videos of you playing with him - would be protective over you & constantly make sure you're okay

JIMIN:

- the cute brother everyone wishes they had - wouldn't get mad if you stole his clothes - he'd sing to you if you were upset - would play games with you and let you win - very over protective - "is anyone being mean to you in school, y/n??" - 'no jimin. what would you do anyway?? you aren't that scary..." - "she has a point" - "shut up jungkook." - would brag to the members about your smallest accomplishments - he'd tease you a lot for copying everything he does - cries when he's on tour & misses you - "y/n i miss you. how's school? is mom okay? how are your grades?"

NAMJOON:

- the nerdy, but really cool brother - your friends would have a crush on his height & dimples - he'd teach you english - or if your school was teaching you english he'd help you do your homework - he'd literally help you with any type of homework; math, english, science, etc. - would encourage you to do good - "good luck on your test y/n! fighting!" - he'd also take you out for walks whenever he was home & not busy - give you his jacket if the temperature went down while you watched the sun set - he'd also listen to all your drama - and comfort you when you cry - but he'd always give you the best advice and be there to put you back together again - on the outside he's a cool rapper and leader of a famous boy group - but with you he's the dorkiest, wisest & best older brother you could ever ask for

HOSEOK:

- the loud, funny brother - would carry you around on his back no matter where you were - it would embarrass the other members so much - break out into dance together - even in public - "namjoon, hosoek & y/n are being embarrassing again." - would teach you dance routines - he'd drive you to school & embarrass you in the parking lot - "BYE Y/N! GOOD LUCK! STUDY HARD AND EAT WELL!" - 'hooobiiiiii stop you're embarrassing meeee' - would film you & jungkook doing the dumbest things - he could always laugh & be himself with you - "y/n come over to the dorms i'm booorreeddd."

YOONGI:

- the cool, "mysterious" brother - listen girlies, he'd probably scare every boy away from you - but he'd only want what's best for you - you & the rest of hyung line were literally the only people allowed into his studio - he'd yell at you for getting too close to breaking something - but then he'd let you sit at his chair & listen to some tracks he made - he'd even let you make a song with him & teach you everything he knows - yoongi would also hate when you cried - he wouldn't know what to do or say - & he just hated seeing you upset - "y/n stop crying. you're better than this." - might seem a bit cold, but he's really the goofiest, sweetest thing to you - takes care of you and gives you valuable advice - but will also call you an idiot and make fun of you - "if you want to do something then do it y/n. don't hesitate; life is too short."

SEOKJIN:

- the sweet, caring brother - he'd constantly check in on you - would help you study - he'd reward you with food if you studied or got good grades - this little cheeky thing would teach you all his dad jokes - the members would hate you for constantly telling jokes - you'd make fun of jin's windshield wiper laugh - but turns out your laugh is just as weird - like tae, all your friends would have a crush on him - they'd be jealous of how cute yet dorky and caring he was - he'd miss you a lot on tour - & would probably cry about it to jimin a lot - but when he was home he'd take you shopping - or for an adventure around the city - would keep you close & make sure you were safe - he'd be the type to scold you for not wearing a jacket outside - but give you his jacket if you got cold - he'd cook for you & ask you to try new recipes - "y/n, a little birdie told me you had a bad day, so i made you your favorite diiiisshhhh!"

[lemon-boy-stan]

paparazzi problems - kim seokjin x reader

genre: fluff, angst. warnings: none, mentions of anxiety, suicide. also i diss the us the star wars fandom? so sorrynotsorryi’minittoo pairing: kim seokjin x reader.  (AU where jin writes ‘Magic Shop’, guys. Also I changed a few lyrics around but you’ll see.)

There was no doubt that there would be many grey aspects to making your relationship public. You’d been dating for two years even though you’d known him for much longer, the year being 2020, and ARMY was expecting it, you were the eighth and only female member of the group, after all, something like this was bound to happen.

Ever since it’d been announced on BTS’ account (you weren’t permitted your own Instagram and you perfectly understood why), the amount of interviews you and Jin had attended multiplied by double the amount more than the six other band members.

Which was fine, just tedious and mainly uncomfortable because these interviews weren’t about music, the rest of the band wasn’t with you, these interviews were about your private life together - your love life.

It was fun at first, just the two of you answering questions and taking photos and being in separate magazines but it soon became pressuring and even a little annoying. Although you didn’t get a lot of hate (mainly because when and if you did BigHit would shut it down or one of the other guys would Tweet something fiery back in return) the problem with not having any drama whatsoever was that people tried to make drama.

If they saw you and Jin together, frowning at each other because you were halfway between sharing a look and rolling your eyes something stupid someone (probably Jungkook) said, someone would put a photo of the frown on the internet and the supposed-to-be-interesting interview the following day or week would be laced with questions about why you were supposedly arguing when everything was going so well.

If people saw you getting too close or touchy with one of the other band members the faces of you and said band member would be all over the internet and said band member would become ARMY’s chosen flavour to hate on, even if Jin would speak up about it and you wouldn’t be able to joke around with said band member for at least a few months until something else blew over.

Pretty soon, the two of you learned to loathe these interviews and you were now sitting with the rest of the band (who were already in pajamas) in your new outfits and makeup. You were the one who brought up the subject, lifting your head up and off it’s resting place on Jin’s lap with a miserable groan as he looked down and blinked at the space where your head had once been before bringing his attention back to whatever you were going to say.

“Can we just say we broke up or something? I’m tired and I want to play Mario Kart, too!” you crossed your arms and made a grouchy face, making Jin frown before remembering why he was in clothes and the others were in pajamas; he agreed lazily with a sheepish noise and shrug.

Jin didn’t seem to be offended about it, in fact, he looked like he completely and genuinely understood why you’d said such a thing. You could not say the same for the rest of the boys; apparently your words had been an instant mood killer because someone muted the TV and their cheery conversation came to a dead end. 

The six of them turned around in-sync, staring at you with blank, shocked faces and round open mouths before Namjoon repeated what you’d spoken with a frown, “why would you want to fake break up with each other?” Jungkook, who was still watching the silent TV and had only just started paying attention, choked on his drink and span around. “What?” he turned to Namjoon, using a panicked voice, “Seokjin and Y/N are breaking up?! But, why?”

Everyone, including yourself, groaned, but it was RM who groaned the loudest, shaking his head. “Aiyho, go back to school and take extra classes in paying attention.” He said this in such a serious tone that it was hard for anyone listening and watching not to try and hold back a laugh.

Jungkook scowled as Namjoon continued on like what he said hadn’t been, “Y/N and Jin are just discussing that they want to fake break up.”

“It’s actually a really good idea,” Jin said this with such lust in his voice that the others were also scowling, giving him disapproving and disgusted glares. “What?!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms up. “You guys just don’t get it. We can’t go anywhere without being grumpy, without having photos being taken of us and stories made out of them….”

“Yeah!” you agreed much more loudly than you imagined you would’ve used, “I can’t steal any of Jimin’s noodles without people taking a photo and talking about it and hating -” you began. “You shouldn’t be taking my food in the first place!” Jimin shot back hotly, scowling again. 

“Yeah, that’s boyfriend stuff,” Jin grumbled, making you hit his arm loudly. “Really, mister ‘buy your own food’?! If I took a single spoon of your congee you’d drop me like the mic Taehyung was holding in Mic Drop,” you hissed, making Jin grin proudly at this.

“Anyway,” Namjoon cleared his throat, desperate for peace to be restored, “it’s your decision. I’m not saying it’s a good or a bad one but -”

“No, it’s a bad one and even Jesus knows it!” Jungkook contributed to the banter, “ARMY’s going to blame everything on Seokjin because he was the one who kissed her that night at the concert on stage in the song -” 

“People didn’t see that, though,” you began desperately, “so no harm done, right?” when you did not get the response you wanted you raised your voice and said, “Right?!” again, leaning over the table to stare down the person who was currently on their phone (Hobi) so that he would scramble to find a clip of the concert, guilty.

“Here’s a bootleg of -” he began, only to be interrupted by yours truly, you’d grabbed his phone from his hands and scrolled the red line down to where you’d imagined the kiss would be. You were right. Jin, the hopeless romantic he turned out to be, had been keeping his eyes on you the entire way through Magic Shop. 

You could still hear it, with or without the audio of the video, you could still hear the words. Don’t forget that in the end, I found you, you were standing on the edge of the cliff. It’s my last reason, LIVE. The day you hate being you, the day you want to disappear forever, let’s make a door in your heart. If you open that door and enter, this place will wait. 

Then he’d grabbed you, and you were the one crying, not Jimin, you were. Because Jin had told you Jungkook co-wrote that song. But it wasn’t Jungkook, you understood now,  as Jin’s lips were against yours, it was Seokjin who’d co-written the song. Who’d co-written...

Magic shop.

And the crowd was screaming, ARMY was screaming, some were crying… because Seokjin had breathed into the kiss, the magnifying screens for those who weren’t in the mosh pit had been zooming in on the kiss, bringing the entire world’s attention to his love, to the two of you.

Even the person who was filming with their phone was screaming.

You were still crying as Jin breathed the words “IloveyoubemygirlfriendI’llalwaysloveyouandneverletyougo,” into the kiss quietly, forgetting that he still had his headset on. 

ARMY was screaming again at the words, they were happy that you were happy. Because ARMY was not a toxic fanbase, ARMY was not Star Wars. ARMY could see the kiss and relationship coming from the day you were put in the studio, they’d supported the relationship from the day you were put in the studio together. They didn’t pressure you to break up like how they pressured Rose out of the movies so that Rey and Finn could get together.

“Why do you have to be so romantic, Seokjin?” you slapped his finger away from the tear he’d been trying to wipe, glaring at him. “Because look where it got you, right?” Namjoon rolled his eyes. “But maybe just wait until this interview to decide, ‘kay?” he said this in the same breath and now you were the one who rolled their eyes. “Because you’re gonna be late.”

Namjoon, as usual, was right, the numbers on Hobi’s phone (still in your hands) had flicked from nine twenty-eight to nine twenty-nine, the interview was at ten o’clock and it would take you twenty minutes for the cab to get there in time.

You sighed, rolling your eyes again, slapping (or sliding) Hobi’s phone back across the table, grabbing Jin’s arm violently, getting up, about to hiss a backhand comment at the others before noticing the smirks they were giving your boyfriend, “what?” you nearly growled the words at their stupid smirks before turning to Jin himself, glaring at his blank face. 

“Can I - just let me - you still have -” I hadn’t even noticed that tear was there. “Oh,” you breathed, the tension thick. “Yeah. Um.” no-one laughed or snickered even though you didn’t know why, you half expected Namjoon to at least grin but he didn’t. “Thanks.” you muttered, grabbing one of Jin’s scarves from the rack, almost choking yourself gently with it (thankfully RM saved you from it’s deadly clutches, rolling his eyes and loosening it). 

“Well,” you said, your earlier words still having no plausible effect on the other boys, you started to stomp out the door, ignoring more of Namjoon’s huffy eye-rolling before Jin took control and ushered you out. 

Always early, the drive to the interview had given you a good ten minutes to spare (which you admittedly agreed was enjoyable, you’d made sure to bring your camera, learning your lesson hard, and took photos of Jin with the water fountain.) and soon you were in the studio, spraying silly string at each other in expensive clothes.

Okay, so, maybe when you mentioned interviews being absolutely boring and repetitive or something like that earlier you’d used a very generic term for the word interviews. Because there were very rare occasions where the interviews you and your boyfriend went to were incredible, and today was one of those days.

This interview wasn’t just an interview. It was more like the much more enjoyable activity ones like the group ones you’d done on the Jimmy Fallon Show, Late, Late Show with James Corden, VLive, and other Korean/American channels. 

The studio was huge and empty and there were several cans of bright silly-string scattered around the place. The leader of the interview group told you what you’d be doing and you were all of a sudden very pumped up to take part in this.

You’d be answering questions while spraying each other with the neon silly string. Being a mature duo, the studio echoed with laughter and shrieks and snorted replies to the questions (which really weren’t that bad after all). 

Except, of course, you always seemed to jinx yourself right when things were getting good. “So, Y/N. BigHit makes a big deal about how you donate a lot to anti-bullying, anxiety and depression organisations. There’s been talk of you having depression, is this true? Or is it all just a plea for attention?”

You blinked, thinking maybe you were in a dream, because there was no way an interviewer would question something like that. 

Silence reigned and only when Jin’s sleeve brushed past yours did you realise you were not, in fact, dreaming, you closed your open mouth.

The silly string war had lightened Jin’s foul mood (he’d lost the cap of his camera and didn’t want to buy another one because it was ‘too expensive’.) but now it’d gone back to what it was before. He looked right about to punch the guy in the face and ruin his social life and the rest of his career.

Jin remained calm as always. Instead of losing his cool like one of the other boys would if they were with you, Jin breathed through his nose and a clenched jaw. You shot him a pleading look from the corner of your eye but when he didn’t even register it you knew that there was no stopping whatever would come next.

“When people break an arm,” he began coolly, “you can see the broken arm in the cast. You can see it, you know it’s there. You don’t question it. It’s the same with religion, only different. People don’t know if the gods they believe in really did exist. But they believe the words. They don’t question it. So, if you can see her donating to, talking about, raising awareness for, depression and anxiety, I suggest that you take her word and believe it. Because hypothetically, even if it wasn’t true, if it looked true you’d believe it. It’s just like your company, isn’t it? On the media, it looks like people enjoy themselves in these interviews. You capture the good parts and take out the bad parts, you wash out the black into a grey illusion. We’re all on the same page here; we should keep it that way.”

You looked away and down, trying your best to avoid all forms of eye contact. The tension in the  studio had shifted from joivial to awkward and angry. Even after the interview had ended and you’d taken the silly string off the atmosphere was still uncomfortable and you couldn’t bear to be in it any longer so you nodded quickly at the strings of apologies from everyone in the studio with you.

Just like back at the apartment, Jin took full control, ushering you out with a firm hand on your upper back, walking swiftly out the door. 

Once you were in the taxi out of earshot away from your paparazzi problems, you exhaled loudly with a sort of groan, resting your head on his shoulder, looking up into Jin’s endless black orbs. 

“You didn’t have to do that.” you began softly, making him roll his eyes. “But thank you,” you looked up to him again, “I mean it, Jin. That meant a lot.” now he smiled softly, kissing your head, “Anything for you, Jagi. I love you.” you closed your eyes and said, “I love you too,” quietly back.

BTS MASTERLIST - bts requests are open!

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (non-anime heat 1)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. Now, I present my favourites!

Another that was so so so hard to narrow down. I did have to make special mention, though, at the sheer volume of you who (correctly) pointed out Haruka and Michiru either spending their quarantine fucking, or frustrated at being unable to fuck. Thank you, heroes.

If your answer is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

—

Q:  The Senshi are all quarantining together! Describe what a wonderful/terrible/wonderrible idea this is. (YOU CANNOT BE TOO DETAILED)

~~~

*  First things first: if the Senshi are all quarantining *together*, then they must be old enough to be not living with their parents (or lack thereof). Furthermore, they must be living in a place big enough to accommodate all of them. Now, the Outers already have a huge fuck-off house, so if we're cheating and saying ALL the Senshi, not just the Inners, then we can say that Usagi and the girls moved in with Haruka and the girls after high school. Usagi and Makoto and Minako have almost certainly snubbed college; Ami and Rei not only attending, but Ami is aiming to get her Master's, so both of them have to take online courses. Setsuna is teaching them. Haruka and Michiru graduated from college *ages* ago. Hotaru also has to take online courses, but for high school since she'd be about that age at this point. Chibs is not here because she's smarter than to travel back in time to when there was a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. Now then! Usagi is moping because she can't see Mamoru or Chibi-Usa, so she reads manga and watches TV to distract herself. As per her usual she mostly shoves her nose into what everyone else is doing, then gets distracted by a passing butterfly and chases it until she finds something new to stick her nose into. She's honestly taking the quarantine the hardest, even though she's living in a house with all her closest friends. The delivery guy knows her by name and by her super-cute hand-sewn (by Makoto) pink-and-white bunny mask. Makoto has sewn everyone custom masks, actually, which brings us to... Makoto naturally is doing the cooking and cleaning and laundry, and while she does love doing these things, she's now doing them for NINE PEOPLE, and Usagi has never learned to fold a sock in her life, and Ami folds socks but is crazy busy with her coursework, and Minako/Rei/Michiru/Haruka can't be bothered for one reason or another, and Makoto is about to explode because everybody assumes she'll do everything and do it smiling and normally they wouldn't be WRONG but COME THE FUCK ON YOU GUYS. She is in a constant state of being two steps away from an explosion. The only saving grace is Setsuna, who does actually help out in between teaching online courses, and who patiently listens to Makoto vent, because she understands that if Makoto melts down, so will the rest of the household. Makoto has a pink-and-green rose mask; Setsuna has a wine red mask with black stitching. Ami has vanished into her room. STUDY, STUDY, STUDY, STUDY. She is literally taking four courses at once because with a global pandemic, a) what else is there to do with one's life b) the rest of the household is utter chaos c) MUST DEVELOP VACCINE. She has actually be helping researchers online with this under an anonymous name. She *wants* to go out and volunteer, but understands that the best thing she can do is quarantine properly. She is constantly lecturing everyone about Best Quarantine Practices, to the point that the others mostly tune her out now. This is only piling onto her constant stress. Hotaru visits her occasionally with tea and textbooks so they can study and destress together. It's good for both of them, especially since Hotaru, with her health issues, is the most at risk of all of them. Hotaru's also used to isolation, so she's a surprisingly stabilizing presence for everybody. Ami and Hotaru both have standard hospital red-lined white masks along with their custom masks (Ami's is light blue with dolphin clasps on the side; Hotaru's is designed based on that optical illusion that's either a lamp or two people facing each other), because you need one for when the other is in the wash. Minako has become a Twitch game streamer and beauty YouTuber and is updating both CONSTANTLY, with YT guest star appearances by Michiru (who is always effortlessly and flawlessly beautiful) and Rei (who is using Minako to promote her own YouTube channel). Minako tried to get Usagi to be the camerawoman for her YT show but Usagi wanted to be the star too much, so now Minako as strong-armed Haruka into doing it. Haruka is bored out of her mind because she can't go out on drives, so she helps Minako out without complaint. Sometimes she even guest-stars on Minako's Twitch streams, depending on the game. Getting to film beautiful girls making themselves even hotter? Sure, she's into that. Minako's mask is glittery gold with red ribbons for cords; Rei's mask is black with flame decals on the sides; Haruka's is a solid black, tight and sporty; Michiru's is seemingly plain white, "coincidentally" complementing Haruka's, but is made of fine linen and silk. Rei meanwhile doesn't actually know what her channel is about and didn't give two shits about YouTube until Minako started doing it, but Minako is actually raking in a stupid amount of cash from doing this, so Rei figured, how hard could it be?? Right now she's somewhere in between doing her own beauty channel, doing paranormal investigations, cooking channel (she proudly presents instant meals as time- and money-saving masterpieces without an ounce of self-awareness. Haruka has had to hold Makoto back from suplexing her more than once), and a video review column where she tries things out and gives her opinions on them. She's *absolutely furious* that her channel is not as popular as Minako's. She's also strongarmed Haruka into being her camerawoman. Michiru allows this because watching Minako and Rei fight over their respective channels is the most amusement she's had all year. Ami asks Rei when she finds the time to study. Rei ignores her.  -- @ayu-ohseki  [I said spare no detail, AND YOU DID NOT. Thoughtful, considered, and a fun read start to finish, amazing.]

~~~

*  It is the best. Minako has a captive audience, Makoto has everyone to cook for, Rei has taken charge of how to Do Everything, Ami can hole up with her books and tutor Usagi, Usagi has all the time to play games and read comics. It is the worst. Minako has a captive audience and they want new stories faster than she can make them. Makoto has everyone to cook for and they eat so much all the time. Rei has taken charge of how to Do Everything but no one will listen. Ami can hole up with her books but that doesn't mean its quiet enough to read, and she can tutor Usagi but that doesn't mean Usagi is even making a small attempt at listening like in the group study sessions. Usagi has all the time to play video games and read comics, but no one will let her, especially Rei. -- @cakeandpi  [Loved the Dickensian Best of Times/Worst of Times structure, precisely the level of epic this clusterfuck needs.]

~~~

*  In the best of situations, it is difficult to find housing for nine people on short notice, and these are not the best of situations. Given that she had, from at least the age of four, been bound to the moon by a curse of blood, it should not have come as any grand opportunity to Michiru that the opportunity to recuse herself from larger society life would be immediately and aggressively offset by Haruka's invitation for the Senshi to come quarantine at the Kaioh beach cottage. 

One might assume that perhaps Usagi's parents, or Ami's mother, or Rei's grandfather, might have objected to their children being out of their sight in such a time, but that is to discount the general narrative inconvenience that seemed to pursue Michiru to the last. "Babe, there's like 6 bedrooms in the place," Haruka has said, quite missing the point entirely that Michiru had made it her goal to make use of everyone one of them. And so, here she was, where one might be sipping a glass of champagne on the veranda overlooking the sea, lover at her side, instead she was listening to the endless sniping between Rei and Usagi as they pattered about the house, there was no lover next to her, but only Ami with her endless piles of conspicuously books that Michiru felt quite certain had been selected for the view their covers provided others, Mako sending away the cook for what were noted to be COVID concerns but Michiru felt were more the concern of her longing for the spacious kitchen. Her mind preserved her enough not to speak of Minako, nor of the fact that the one she would have beside her was currently playing Mario Kart with such. Hotaru and Pluto were there, also. Michiru took another deep drink of the wine. With the volume she was consuming, she would have to switch to boxed wine. At this rate, she may qualify as hand santizer herself, which nearly stayed her hand. Usagi wailed loudly at Rei. Michiru took another drink. No Matter, she thought, for I will not die before my appointed time. The Moon will certainly see to that.  -- @docholligay  [You absolutely catered this to me and you know it, you whore. Hilarious AND beautifully written, I detest you.]

~~~

*  Usagi is thrilled to have all of her favorite people in one place. Mako will cook! Ami will read to them! Mina will write and Rei will direct plays for them all to perform! Haruka will make sure they stay fit! Michiru will teach them etiquette! Hotaru and Setsuna will also be there! Her favorite cats will be there to purr and offer guidance without actual knowledge and nagging! Yay! After a week, Usagi is still relentlessly happy. To be otherwise would be to admit that her friends are not perfect, perfectly suited for each other, and perfectly happy. She hasn't seen Haruka and Michiru at all in days; they commandeered the back bedroom with it's own bathroom and the others only know they're still in there by the noises *ahem*, by the food delivery people who keep coming to the door, and the empty food containers that appear in the hallway. Mina and Rei are not speaking to each other after the Hair Clip Incident. Ami is still diligently serving as a go-between, but Mako refused and will not give either of them any of her cooking, so Rei keeps making Hello Curry and leaving the kitchen a disaster, while Mina somehow keeps convincing Haruka and Michiru's uber eats drivers to give her stuff. There is only one litter box for the two cats, and that is not enough. And Artemis keeps leaving the seat up on the toilet. No one knows how, or why, but he does. Hotaru and Setsuna are also there. Worst (best?) of all, Usagi doesn't miss Mamoru at all, and hasn't actually noticed his absence. He's been missing for three days. -- @incorrecttact  [I ADORE the little touch of Usagi having to aggressively fake it because even she is struggling THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED. You made me bark laugh at the end. Glorious.]

~~~

*  Rei's Journal: It's day 8 under lockdown and I have somehow managed to retain my sanity. It has not been easy. By day 4 Minako and Makoto were at each other's throats because Minako tried to clip her toenails in the kitchen, due to Ami holing herself up in the bathroom. Makoto threatened to make Minako eat a toenail burrito, and by God I think Minako actually would eat it just to show Mako up. It has been a struggle to keep Usagi from eating all the food, and I fear she is contemplating the idea of eating Luna and/or Artemis. Ami is retreating further and further into her shell. She has solved every math problem in every math book she had at her disposal, and is now showing withdrawal symptoms. The walls of her room are covered in math equations. I am doing as best I can; my rations of "Here!" Quarantine snacks have been balanced to last me for at least the next week, but after that point I am not sure what happens. As a shrine maiden, I'm used to long periods of silence in my meditation. It's been difficult keeping my focus with Usagi and the others slowly losing their minds, but I am a survivor if nothing else. If I could survive D-Point, I can survive this... Wait I didn't survive D-Point FUCK.  -- @judedeluca  [Rei’s journal, yes, thank you for catering to me directly, I appreciate your service and killer ending.]

~~~

*  Everyone's locked into separate rooms by day 2, or make-shift rooms with blankets taped to the ceiling. By day 3, there's lines on the floor. Ami makes a timetable for when everyone can go to shared spaces like the kitchen or bathroom. Usagi is distressed that all of her friends can't get along, even as she has an existential crisis about not wanting to be around them herself. Rei is suddenly the mom friend, when Mako realizes that trying to help everyone leads to her stress-baking leads to her taking too much time in the kitchen leads to everyone more pissed off. Minako is alternately drunk off her ass and egging everyone on, or making notes for pressure cooker situations to add to training. Haruka gets more sullen than anyone's seen her, Michiru loses some of her polish as her nerves finally fray by the end of the week, and is cussing people out by day 9. Setsuna immediately regrets her decision not to hunker down at the time gate. Hotaru's glad to be included but so anxious she starts collecting the house's lamps in her area. Ami has to make a timetable for using those as well, so Hotaru doesn't call death to them all. Somehow, they survive. When things let up, they all promise not to speak of it again, at least not directly, and then immediately all take at least 3 days to be by themselves in their own spaces. -- @katrani  [Usagi’s existential crisis, yessss. Hotaru stress-hoarding lamps though, everything I never knew I wanted.]

~~~

*  Ordered in Michru's least loss to greatest, or conversely, Usagi's greatest loss to least: 1) they stay at Michiru's mansion. It's huge. It's spacious. Michiru disappears within minutes and isn't seen again until 14 days later. Pluto finds her easily enough for tea, Rei does so out of dogged determination, and Haruka doesn't have to try. Usagi does, but she gets lost easily and there are so many snacks everywhere, she gets distracted. what's that? A room filled with tvs? another with comics? Mako worries about her getting cavities and uses the greatest kitchen ever to cook things up. She almost never leaves there. Ami poisons the pool every time she leaves as part of the great Hatemace. Chibs and Hotaru get a chance to be kids and actually play. If the starlights are there, Seiya and Haruka have a dramatic face off. Mina makes sure to leave graffiti everywhere. Despite her best efforts, she can't find Michiru's weakness. Artemis and Luna take a vacation. 2) They stay at Usagi's, Minako's, or Ami's. They do not stay at Rei's because Grandpa is old and Rei has put the fear of god in anyone who dares come to the temple. The houses/apartments are small and cramped with just the five inners. With everyone else? Chaos. Artemis and Luna are glad they aren't affected and escape. Chibs conveniently stays in the covid-free future/"look, I already have teh vaccine! I don't have to stay here with you". Hotaru contemplates reincarnating again. Mako enjoys time with Usagi's mom, cooking together (no, she isn't crying, you're crying). Minako takes extremely long showers to piss Michiru off. Michiru is not sure how she got forced into this, she feels the hand of god in play and curses the writer internally. Pluto unravels the mystery of super!spy!Usagi's Dad but no one will ever know the answer to that. Ami escapes online and plays sims where they all have their own rooms, with Jet's help. Rei turns on the stove and pretends its the great fire to meditate. Haruka likes this long sleepover! She's never got to do one before! Usagi agrees and they plan horror movies and games and fast food. If the starlights are there, Seiya plans an even greater slumber party. Usagi helps both because more parties are always better. 3) They stay at Mako's two-room apartment. Chibs doesn't even step into the past, she's heard the horror stories from her aunts. Hotaru begins the sequence for the end of the world. Word of god or no word of god, Michiru refuses to go. When the narrative railroads her into it, she claims the balcony for herself, furnishes it, and locks the door so no one else can come. Pluto stays in the void, unreachable by all. Mako has never seen her apartment so filled and noisy and she's both elated and afraid for her plants. Her plants are terrified and tremble the entire time. Rei lives in the oven. Minako claims the bathroom--a toll is required for anyone else to enter. Ami puts all her brainpower to finding a cure to escape this hellhole. The bedroom is a nonstop competitive slumber party, and  Minako, Haruka, and Seiya have a song off. A toll is still required to enter the bathroom. Usagi breaks onto the balcony once to hug Michiru.  -- @kumeko  [I love the different branches, ALL THE SHENANIGANS]

~~~

*  (Putting Inners in college so Ami isn’t on call as a doctor) The good news is that the Outers’ ridiculously spacious mansion is, in fact, ridiculously spacious enough to accomodate eleven people (I’m certain Mamoru was not in your intentions, but it was agreed that Mamoru is a good quarantine podmate who will follow all necessary rules, and also Usagi would be insufferable if he’s not there and Mako points out that he lives alone and the social isolation would be killer) and three cats. Haruka’s happy to have Minako around all the time, and Pluto and Hotaru are thrilled to have Chibs. (Rei asked why Pluto and Chibiusa can’t just go back to their own times. Pluto gives a lengthy explanation about past and future virology that may or may not be total bullshit. No one really knows with her.) Ami is continuing her studies, as she does, and has a consistent schedule involving Study Hours and Socializing Hours. She does, however, make sure to swim in the Outers Mansion Pool every day at the same time Michiru customarily does. Neither of them says anything about this. Their rivalry continues. Michiru knows every nook, cranny, and secret passage there, and can easily avoid anyone who’s gotten stir-crazy should she so choose. Mako has taken command of the kitchen, and cannot be talked out of doing all the cooking. The food is delicious, nutritious, and is basically Quarantine Baking Times Twelve. Her skills are appreciated by all. Mamoru is likewise well-behaved, and mostly spends his time being quietly useful, spending time with Usagi, and listening to classical music with Michiru without otherwise interacting with her, making him the one man whose presence she will tolerate. The cats are well-behaved. They are the ones who are quarantining well. Minako, of course, is dying of boredom by the month and a half mark, and proceeds to take up a wide variety of hobbies, only to move on when they turn out way less fun than the video suggested. She annoys the others to show her how to bake tarts, or paint, or whatever it is Pluto does all day. Eventually she does find something she enjoys enough to stick with - wirework. While her preference is for jewelry, she does work with larger scale stuff just enough to present Mamoru with her masterpiece - Chicken Sculpture 2.0. (He seethes.) Rei, meanwhile, has also taken up new and exciting hobbies, but she will determinedly stick with each one until she has reached an arbitrary goal of Accomplishment. Even when she hates them, as is the case with birdwatching, Zumba, Mako’s attempts to refine her sense of taste, and trying to follow professional wrestling. She does take to cross-stitching once she discovers it’s basically stabbing something until it’s art. Felting, too. Between that and cleaning she’s a delight when she and Minako are not grating against each other. Which is frequently, with them both taking up all these new hobbies. (When assigning rooms, Michiru thought ahead. Rei’s and Usagi’s are next to each other, at the end of the hall. They bicker as much as ever but everyone else can get distance when really needed.) Usagi is happy to be somewhere with all her dearest friends, all the time! She is VERY BAD at waiting patiently until everyone else’s Productive Hours are over, be they online classes and homework or painting or quietly stealing Mamoru’s abstract mosquito coil shirt and throwing it through the Gate of Time and into a void where it will never again darken their sight. (Pluto isn’t a monster, and replaces it with a similar but less incomprehensible white T-shirt with a pattern. Mamoru assumes this was Minako’s doing.) Artemis assigns himself as resident Blonde Disaster Watcher, while Chibiusa - currently visiting as a roughly 14-year-old, matching Hotaru - smugly points out that she’s handling quarantine just fine. This prompts a round of furious research by the rest of the house as to whether or not cats can drink alcohol. Haruka’s practically run down a path around the Sprawling Kaioh Estate on which the mansion sits. How can she angst gaily without a mission? Sure obviously staying home and keeping safe is the most important thing and she will do her part, but that’s not nearly dramatic enough to hate herself for if she decides she’s quarantining inadequately! Michiru decides the best thing for this is to take her, Usagi, and Minako and sit them all down with empty scrapbooks. Usagi and Haruka emerge after the pandemic with eighteen volumes of Important Friendship Scrapbooks. There’s an adorable doodle of them high-fiving on the title page of each one. They designed it themselves. Despite this all, quarantine does actually pass without any of them killing each other, though Haruka and Michiru do strongly consider sending the others to Hikawa Shrine instead. Grandpa Hino can manage all this energy. No one except Chibiusa thinks to ask how Hotaru’s doing. They forgot to check her room.  -- Regalli  [I know legit sadness in my Senshi Heart that I cannot see Haruka and Usagi’s scrapbooks with my own eyeballs. Loved this whole thing, but fucking Hotaru at the end hahahah]

~~~

*  It's all a matter of perspective. Mako and Ami will keep themselves consistently busy with cooking/baking, plant caregiving, reading, eating sandwiches, etc. Mako will eventually cave, after like, day 6 and there are 3 dozen scones, they lost count of cookies, and they've got frozen meals for weeks. Rei keeps telling her to stop cooking because she stumbled into Mako's apartment with armfuls of Here! Curry! and convenience store meals. Usagi is sooooo boooooored all the time and that's a dangerous combo with Minako being soooooo booooooored all the time. The Rube-Goldberg machines, the destruction, the pranks. More about Rei sadly as I know you don't particularly care for her at all whatsoever: she is a rollercoaster. Every day is too different but it's also always the same. Usagi is eating too much of her food but nobody else is eating enough. It won't go bad this way, but Usagi STOP I GOT THAT KIND OF CHIPS FOR ME. She finds some peace with Michiru who herself trying to keep a grasp on her ~*ara*~ ness but won't admit that by day four has been wanting out. "The girls are sweet" she convinces herself as she listens to another screaming match between Usagi and Rei while Minako snapchats everything. Haruka lost it by the second day, she can't stand not doing anything and not being in motion. At first this was channeled into doing small workouts that Mako sometimes participated in from a distance, but those have stopped. How long have you been laying on her floor today, Haruka? You gonna get up and have something to eat today Haruka? Hotaru and Chibs keep themselves busy with games and movies (Chibs and Usagi fight over the TV), Setsuna plays sometimes but is just happy to watch and enjoy these moments of peace. Chib's pride is on the line because she is getting bored by day 5 but she will not be sooooooo booooooored like Usagi. Mamoru begins to bring them all takeout by day 10 and slips Michiru a bottle of wine when she comes down, she is grateful, the label brings a tear to her eye, he knows good wine. Luna and Artemis are there. They sure are cats, and they can come and go if they want. They are envied. At some point they are all laying in the living room together. They don't know how long, someone's playlist is playing in the background. They don't care. It's the longest anyone has gone without talking. It's the one of the few times they've truly felt connected with one another as a team. Minako then asks, "If I ate myself, would I become twice as big or cease to exist?" It was nice while it lasted.  -- @thatonemoonie  [Every detail is divine, but oh my god Minako’s question at the end, THANK YOU.]

~~~

*  Michiru does not have enough wine and the Moon will pay for what she has endured. -- the Lord of the Sea  [Summing it up in the perfect single sentence, brilliant.]

~~~

*  It's Usagi's idea, really. Quarantine procedures are announced and she can't help but imagine what it will be like for all her friends. Minako, stuck with family she doesn't get along with. Ami's mom under even more stress as an essential worker, probably avoiding her daughter to keep her safe from the virus. Makoto, completely alone! Rei, probably regressing from not seeing other people! This cannot stand. Usagi has visions of Mako making gigantic family style meals and keeping things scrupulously clean. Ami contentedly petting Luna and Artemis and keeping them all up to date on how things are progressing. Minako livening the mood by driving Rei insane. And all is right in Usagi's world. It IS like that... sometimes. Being stuck together 24/7 has its ups and downs, and there has never been a situation as prolonged as this one. There are tense moments, and fights over silly things like toilet paper and Usagi running up the phone bill by calling Mamoru so often. It's cramped. Ami tries to keep them up on their distance learning, and checks temperatures daily. They try some disastrous DIYS and recipes when supplies get low. Usagi and Rei have an emotional moment when one night, she tries to secretly use Moon Healing Escalation on the city. In the end, they come through stronger than ever, like always. Just with a lot more appreciation for distance and personal space.  -- @yunyin  [All incredible, but you absolutely fucking GOT ME with Rei catching Usagi trying to heal the city, DELICIOUS ANGST]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[gustafsnightangel]

Shattered Lives Ch 39 Pt 1

The noise that filled the apartment woke her up, the sheets cold on Gustaf’s side of the bed telling her he’d let her sleep in. In the few days since the visit from Uncle Elias the kids had hardly been home. Gustaf taking them out for lunch and the movies, Stellan and the boys going bowling, and the pajama party with Valter and Gustaf’s two youngest brothers last night. She could hear Gustaf chatting to Stellan through the ajar door, the boys settling back in after the overnight with grandpa. The happiness in their voices made her smile, far less grief than this time last year, not a hint of anger or sorrow. She heard Gustaf get them situated before he came in, smile wide, damn she loved that smile, the look of him.

“Hey there lovely lady.” He murmured sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning down to claim her mouth. God the man knew how to kiss.

“Hi.” She breathed out, wrapping her arms around him securing him to her. “Sounds like the monsters are back.”

“They are, and they’re excited that we leave for the cabin tomorrow.” His kiss lingered. “Time to get up, lots to do.”

“Yeah, I need to take them shopping later for snacks, I promised them one treat each for the trip.” She kissed him sweetly. “I’m starting to regret my decision as it means I have to take them out in public.”

He chuckled, those laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. “What were you thinking?” He said, the sarcasm thick.

“I wasn’t, that’s the problem.” She snorted, thumb brushing his crows feet. They both laughed at the squeak of dad dad as Lily padded her way into the room all excited, Gustaf picking her up and kissing her until she giggled. “Someone had a good time away.”

“Dad said she was running the house as soon as she woke up this morning, keeping the boys in line.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” She muttered. Just looking at him with her in that instance made her belly flip, the whole kids of their own thought sailing through her head like a bright neon sign. He placed Lily on the bed and she crawled over to Sildie for cuddles while Gustaf took a shower.

“He’s much happier today huh little lady.” She murmured as Lily snuggled in. She’d been worried, the days since Elias had been brutal on him. She’d phoned Elsa and dealt with more paperwork while Gustaf was shut up in his office laying down the law with his lawyers and security team. She’d never heard him so angry, the shreds he’d stripped off the building security, the anger and fury that had unleashed again as he made arrangements to have Dana’s entire family under surveillance. Especially when they were informed he’d made bail and the trial wouldn’t be until April 5th. Sometimes the system just sucked and so did the timeframe. She also knew that being away for filming over the next few months was making this whole situation far worse, she sensed his anxiety already poised to drag him under. It was a clusterfuck and added pressure he didn’t need.

“I’m going over to mums for lunch today, she wanted to chat about the whole Ana thing.” He said as he came out wrapped in nothing but a towel, setting all her wild fantasies aflame. “She’s... concerned.”

“That’s one way to put it.” She said softly. “Do you need us to be there?” Her voice was quiet, apprehension he thought.

“Not if you don’t want to be.”

“I do, I just don’t want the kids around when we’re talking about all that, about her.” She would protect them from it as much as possible. “They don’t need that in their lives.”

“I already told mum it would just be me.” He toyed with her wisps of hair at her face and kissed her tenderly. “For exactly those reasons, and I also know that Eija and Alex are there today too, family meeting about it really. I’ll get them up to speed. It’ll be fine.”

“You know the spiel as well as I do now anyway.” She trailed a finger along his jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” His thumb brushed the dark shadows marring her cheek, it still made his anger flare. He tossed a shirt and jeans on and collected Lily from the bed. “Up you get love, I’ll make some tea.” He kissed her quickly and went to see why the boys were suddenly so quiet.

She could hear them play fighting as she dressed, and smiled. The beginnings of their family, fun times, happy memories, they’d build more tomorrow and over the coming weeks. The ruckus she came out to made her chuckle, three boys tackling the fourth freakishly tall one. He was a big kid at heart, that gorgeous smile plastered across his face, not a hint of anxiety or stress in him. They were both eager to be in the mountains away from everything for a while.

Leaning against the counter she watched, videoing what she could. She laughed as Lily came to the rescue of her dad dad, the boys laughing, so carefree and happy, just as it should be. Gustaf could never fully understand the precious gift he’d given them, stability, love, a family. He’d brought them together as a family unit. “I hope you’re seeing this brother.” She muttered under her breath. “He loves them as if they were his own.” Her smile went wide as Lily tackled Gustaf to the floor, the boys cheering. She fisted a hand and tapped it on the counter thinking. “He’d make a great father.” She whispered, her breath catching. Breathing out a steadying breath she saw Gustaf calm them down and leave them to play some Mario cart.

“They’re ready to go when you are, they’ve had breakfast.” He chuckled, that gorgeous smile lighting up his face as he stopped in front of her, fingers reaching to toy with the soft waves of her hair she’d left down.

“I love seeing you this happy.” She said, hands cupping his face and kissing him sweetly.

“You make me this happy love, so do they.” He kissed her, sensing something had knocked her off kilter a little. “I love you Sildie, the five of you are my world.”

“You’re ours sweet man.” She smiled, her kiss lingering. “Go have a good lunch with your mum, we’ll get some snacks and shopping for the trip. I need to get Lily another jacket, she’s grown out of her other one and the twins need new boots.”

“Fun times.” He grinned.

“Joyous.” She said sarcastically at his chuckle. “Go on. Get going.” She swatted his ass and took a sip of her tea. His arched eyebrow at her butt slap had that mischievous smirk tug her lips.

“A very dangerous game to play kitten.” He growled and devoured her mouth thoroughly.

“Text me your dinner order, I’ll pick something up.” She said changing the subject as her body melted at his touch.

“Mmmm hmmm. Will do lovely lady.” He purred. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

He could tell something was bothering her, more than her usual grief and the shitstorm that Ana had created, the way it had dragged Elias and Dana’s side of the family into the mix. So much going on in that wicked smart brain of hers. He knew she was piecing something together but there was something else she was chewing on. Walking across the street to his mothers he thought about the conversation they were all about to have, the steps he would take, had taken, to protect them all, those measures Sildie had already put in place. They would rally around him, protect him, protect Sildie, the kids, like a family should. It still irritated him that he had to resort to such drastic measures of security and legal restraints but he was out of time, options, and patience.

Sildie and the kids hit the mall, John, their shadow as she like to call him, following their car and staying a respectable distance from them as they shopped, eyes ever watchful. She felt bad for dragging the guy out on a chilly afternoon for them to go shopping, but if this was going to set Gustaf’s mind at ease while he wasn’t here with them she wasn’t going to argue. He was already under enough stress and pressure, he didn’t need anymore. She didn’t think Ana would blatantly harm her or the kids, but there was always the what if, the maybe. Those thoughts that raced through her head a mile a minute. Just look at Elias, she thought bitterly. Not in a million years did she see the connection between him and Ana coming.

Her lawyer brain kicked in as she helped the twins find shoes. How did he fit into it? How did he know her? Was he just a junkie? Was Ana just his supplier? Something more? Had there been a relationship between them? Was Elias part of the syndicate? Was the rest of Dana’s family involved? How far did Ana’s claws dig in? Questions she hoped would be answered when the law finally caught up with her. After that, it wouldn’t take long for Elias to sing, to rat on her to save his own ass.

With a new coat for Lily and new boots for the boys, Brendan included because his toes were already touching leather from the pair she’d bought a few months ago, they stopped in for ice cream. It was their weekly thing, an after shopping treat that had carried over from Dana that she didn’t have the heart to stop, especially when mint chocolate chip was involved and it kept a part of their mother with them.

With groceries in hand they headed back to the car, John helping with the heavier stuff, boys laughing, and a chattering Lily in her arms playing with the zipper on her new coat. As they neared the car the happiness of the afternoon turned to ash and vinegar in her mouth as she looked closer.

“John take the kids to your SUV please.” She said quietly and handed her bags to him. “Brendan, take Lily please and get everyone in the car with John, stay with him ok?” She saw the shock on the teens face, the questions of, who and why echoed there. “I’ll explain later.” Was all she heard herself say as she approached her vehicle slowly.

The windows had been smashed in, seats ripped, red paint covered every surface inside as if a paint can had exploded. The vulgar messages on the doors, the paint splattered and shattered windshield. She felt the panic attack surge up, the nausea and lightheadedness threatening to consume her. “Breathe.” She whispered and sucked in a breath. “Just breathe, the kids are ok, it’s just a car.” A car Gustaf had bought for her, for the kids. He’d bought it to take care of her. Pulling out her phone she took photos of it all and texted them straight to Detective Holmberg, her phone rang a moment later.

“Sildie it’s Leon. I’m on my way. Are the kids somewhere safe?” He said hurriedly. She could hear him moving as he spoke. “Are you safe?”

“Yes they’re with John our security detail, in his car.” She didn’t like how pathetic and shaky her voice sounded. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t touch anything.”

“I haven’t, I just took pictures.” As she was speaking to him she noticed a blonde woman watching her a few cars over. It took her a second to recognize her through the haze of adrenaline and anxiety coursing through her system. “Ana’s here, a few cars down from me.” She snarled, an overwhelming urge to cut a bitch slammed into her so violently the anxiety flipped a one eighty into full on lethal rage.

“Don’t approach her, pretend she’s not there. We maybe able to box her in, I’ll have the parking lot cordoned off.” Which she could hear him relaying that order as he drove. “I’ll be there in two minutes.”

“Ok.” She would not crumble and give Ana the satisfaction, and she would not retaliate. She wanted to though, oh how she wanted some divine retribution right here, right now at her own hand. Everything she’d done to get at Gustaf, to cause him more pain, more grief. Yes, she thought, I’d like to have a knock down drag out with you, you vindictive bitch, she thought as her gaze flicked to Ana and then back at the car.

Calming the rage her thumb hesitated over Gustaf’s number. She knew she had to make the call or he’d be more furious at her for handling it on her own, especially after what went down with Elias. But part of her wanted to spare that sweet soul of his any further pain. She choked back a sob as she knew this would hurt him, cut into him so deeply. Her rage gave way to anxiety once more as she stared at his number. All that peace he’d found these past few weeks was ebbing away. “Together.” She breathed and hit dial, the sick feeling in her stomach growing with every ring.

“Hey lovely lady.” She could hear the joy in his voice and she was about to shatter it.

“Hey handsome.” She breathed, anxiety rising.

“You ok?” He went on full alert, he knew that tone, something had happened.

“I’m fine, so are the kids, the car not so much. Not an accident.” She blurted out quickly and held back the sob.

“Ok, good to know.” His gut threatened to abruptly launch his meal out via his teeth. “Talk to me love.” He said gently at her sudden silence.

“Ana’s here, she vandalized the car and is sitting a few cars from me. I’ve called Leon, and he’s just pulling in.” The lawyer had surfaced to take care of the situation, he could hear it in her voice, but it shook.

“God fucking damn it!” He roared, his temper snapping out. She could hear the chair he was sitting in get pushed back explosively, crashing to the floor. It was the last straw for him, she knew it would be and felt sick for it.

“Gustaf, take a breath, please.” She stayed calm, her voice quavering with the tears that threatened to fall. She was only just holding it together. “Were fine, the kids are in the SUV with John at my request. I’m not in any danger and Leon is here.” She willed her voice to not shake. “He just pulled up.”

“I’m on my way to you.” He seethed, he would fucking murder the bitch.

“You won’t get in they blocked the car park so she has no where to go.” She tried for calm, her voice betrayed her as the anxiety surged forward again.

“The hell I won’t.” He spat and she heard the unmistakable slam of a car door. “I’m on my way.” The line went dead.

She’d never heard him this angry, never had him be so short with her. New Year’s Eve was one thing, confronting Elias another, but this? This was an entirely different level of anger, explosive, reckless, and violent.

“I take it that was Gustaf?” Leon asked coming to stand beside her.

“Yes. He’s on his way and rather angry.” That was the understatement of the century.

“Quite rightly.” Holmberg muttered. “Where is she?” He asked, paying particularly close attention to a spot on the drivers side door as he spoke.

“Your eleven o’clock, four cars down, blue...” She said softly, only flicking her eyes to make sure she had the details correct.

“I see her.” He texted the location to his team and let them handle it. Before Ana could tear her eyes away from Sildie and the mayhem she was gloating over, her car was boxed in and police were hauling her out.

Sildie wasn’t interested in the takedown, or the profanity spewing from Ana’s mouth as they cuffed her. She turned her back on Ana, not giving the woman another moment of recognition. It was difficult not to retaliate, because she wanted to, she wanted to March right over there and lay her out cold for what she’d done to Gustaf. Rarely did Sildie want to get into a physical altercation but she was certainly ready to make an exception in this case.

She peered into the car once more, her focus drawn to the rear view mirror and what was no longer hanging there. “She took it.” Her choked tone had Leon turning sharply.

“Took what?” He asked, but she couldn’t answer him, her voice had ceased working as the grief swallowed her whole. Silent tears tracked down her cheeks and she felt her world bottom out. As they placed Ana in the back seat of the police cruiser she felt familiar arms around her, turning her slowly until she was breathing in that familiar scent.

“Sildie.” Gustaf sighed, the relief that she was ok flooding into him. Eyes searched for John’s car and landed on him a moment later, the respectful nod saying the kids were fine setting his mind at ease.

“Sildie, what did she take?” Leon asked again softly as she buried her face in Gustaf’s chest and wept.

“Something missing?” Gustaf asked flatly looking at Leon with ice cold eyes.

“All she said was she took it.” Leon shrugged.

Gustaf leaned down to peer into the car and his temper went nuclear. “I will fucking murder her.” He snarled, holding Sildie tighter to him. “The charm from her rear view mirror is missing, the one her brother gave her.” He said evenly, barely able to contain the contempt in his voice.

“I’ll need you to check the rest of the vehicle to see if anything else is missing.” Leon’s voice had turned flinty.

“Give us a minute ok?” Gustaf asked, he had to talk Sildie off the ledge of a panic attack and stuff his violent fury back into its box.

“Take your time, it’ll take us a while to process this mess.” Leon said and moved away.

Gustaf stood there, soothing her as best he could when he knew all she’d be able to feel would be the waves of anger rolling off him. “You’re ok love, I’m here.” He murmured. “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry... the car.”

“No, no, you’ve done nothing wrong, look at me.” He said tenderly trying to get his anger under control. “Look at me love.” When she did it crushed him. “I’m the one that should be sorry for dragging her into your life.”

“But the car.” She hiccuped.

“Is just a car. It’s insured. I’m more livid about what she took from it.” His rage banked as he wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, she needed him to be calm. They were both stressed and him letting the anger gain the upper hand wasn’t the answer. He’d have time to unleash later.

“It’s gone.” She sobbed.

“It is love, I’m so sorry.” This was tearing her apart and cleaving his soul into pieces. That charm wasn’t something he could replace. He couldn’t fix it.

“Oh shit, the kids, they’re still with John...” she said hurriedly swiping the tears from her face, realizing she didn’t have the luxury to fall apart. “And I just left...”

“They’re perfectly fine, look.” He pointed to the SUV and the kids waved back.

“We have to get them home.” She sniffed pulling it together, it was a stupid charm, it wasn’t like someone had died, she berated herself.

“How about you hang here for a little bit and help Leon out while I go and grab a new car seat for Lily? Because we can’t take anything from the car and her seat is trashed.” He said softly.

She let her gaze drift over to the items already being bagged, spare shoes, sweaters, and Brendan’s hockey gear. “Leon? Can you open that bag real quick.” She asked pointing to Brendan’s gear.

“Paint in the bag too.” Leon said sharply.

“And his mask.” Sildie sighed, before another sob broke free.

“I’ll have another made love.” Gustaf said softly.

“It’s not the same.” She sniffed. “You had that made for him, your first gift to him. You have no idea what it means to him.”

“I know it’s not the same love.” He pulled her into a hug while Leon was trying his damnedest to wipe the paint off the teens hockey mask. “I might be able to take it back and get it cleaned and refinished. I’ll figure it out, I’ll fix it. Somehow I’ll fix it.” He kissed her temple and lingered, willing his system to calm down so in turn he could soothe hers. “Are we able to get this stuff back at some point?” He snapped at Holmberg and immediately regretted his tone. It wasn’t Leon’s fault, Gustaf was just on a razor thin edge.

“I’ll get them back to you as soon as I can.” The detective looked at Gustaf, yes, he thought, Leon was pissed too, good.

“Appreciate it.” He kissed Sildie softly. “Go sit with the kids a moment ok? I’ll get Lily a new seat and we can go from there ok?” She just nodded and walked to John’s car. The slump of her shoulders told him this had kicked her hard.

“I knew her brother.” Leon said quietly. “My wife was close friends with Dana. I’m doing everything I can Gustaf, but I have to stay within the confines of the law, so do you. Don’t go doing anything crazy, get a good attorney and take the spiteful bitch down.”

“Do me a favor.” Gustaf said bluntly. “Search Ana’a car real quick for that charm, or her pockets. The rest of this I can replace, that I can’t, and it will destroy Sildie if it stays missing.”

Leon nodded. “Go get Lily a car seat, I’ll look myself right now and call it in for when they process her at the station.”

“Thanks.” He huffed and scrubbed a hand over his face. As he started to walk away he turned. “I’m sorry, for snapping earlier.”

“Not necessary, I’d be a little snappy too considering the circumstances.” Leon said, a tight smile gracing his lips.

“Well regardless, I’m sorry. There was no need for it, you’re only trying to help.” He wasn’t that person anymore, to rage without reason, without sucking it up and apologizing like the man he was trying to be.

“All good.” Leon said, clasping a hand of Gustaf’s shoulder and squeezing it in support.

He knew he could be an insufferable prick when he put his mind to it or the rage swamped him, that wasn’t him anymore. “And that’s what you’re hoping for isn’t it you fucking bitch.” He muttered as he walked to the baby store across the street. “You’re hoping to get me so riled up I’ll snap. Well I’m way past that. Coming after me was one thing, going after Sildie was the biggest mistake you ever made. By the end of this you’re going to wish you’d never fucking met me.” He said with conviction.

She explained it as much as she dared to the boys, the plea in her eyes to Brendan to just go with it so she could explain more when they were away from the twins. His tight nod all she needed to have some measure of relief. She watched Gustaf walk back to his car and fit the new seat. This will destroy him, she thought, all that peace he’d found obliterated in the instant she’d phoned him. Destroying another life, just like she’d destroyed the boys. It was a spiral, she knew it was happening yet she was powerless to stop her thoughts diving so deeply out of control. It was all too much and she’d reached her tolerance level of bullshit.

She hopped out of the car as he approached and went to him.

“Load the kids up and head home, love. Take care of them and let me worry about all this ok?” He said gently, he would be her calm now as he knew she was far from done today. “You ok to drive?” A nod was all she could give him. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I need to get them home before Lily implodes.” She said trying her damndest to pull it together, she had shit to take care of not wallow in self pitty.

“I’ll stay here with Leon until the car’s towed and then go hire one for our vacation. I’ll send John back with you to help with the groceries ok?” He watched her carefully and was concerned.

She nodded and leaned her forehead against his chest, breathed him in, his scent soothing her jagged emotions.

“That’s it love. Breathe a minute. It’ll all be ok, you and me, we’ll fix it.” He murmured and stroked the nape of her neck tenderly.

She let herself just exist for a moment, collect the shred of composure she was clinging to and pulled it together. Drying her eyes she kissed him softly, the grief he felt already echoing in his eyes.

“There’s my girl.” He said softly, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “I’ll be home a little later. Do you need me to send mum over, or dad? A sibling? I have plenty to spare.” His attempt at humor got the chuckle from her he was hoping for.

“No, I’ll be ok.” You won’t be, he thought, but nice try.

“I love you Sildie. Together love.” He kissed her tenderly.

“Love you too, not letting her win, it just knocked me a bit.” She sniffed.

“I know, me too, but we’ll knock back harder.” He kissed her brow and looked at her. “Come on, I’ll get Lily bear settled, because I can hear her starting to ramp up for a full on I’m tired and hungry meltdown.”

Gustaf helped her get the kids settled in the car, fielding questions from the twins as vaguely as possible. “Text me when you get home.” He said softly.

“I will.” Her voice was that eerie quiet he didn’t like. It only got like that when she retreated into herself and it killed him to see her like that.

She seemed to be on auto pilot as she drove home, aware enough to drive, but not really caring about what was happening around her. John helped her get the kids inside, the groceries for their trip piled on the counter. With the kids occupied she sat in her office, the process of writing notes about the incident clearing it out of her mind as the words appeared on paper. Gustaf’s text tone interrupted her asking if she’d got home and she swore, she’d forgotten to text him.

We’re home. I’m so sorry I zoned and totally forgot.

It’s ok love. You’re all home safe that’s what matters. I’m headed to hire a car, be home soon. Is John still there?

He left a little while ago but he said they have someone watching the building. He stayed until we were settled.

Ok, that’s good.

I love you.

Love you too lovely lady. I’ll be home soon.

He came home an hour or so later and could hear Sildie reaming someone on the other end of the phone in her office, door shut tightly.

“She’s been in there for nearly an hour.” Brendan said quietly.

“You know who she’s flaying?” He asked carefully and the kid shook his head.

“I haven’t seen her this mad since she yelled at grandma after mum and dad...” He stopped suddenly and shook his head not wanting to voice the rest of the sentence.

“Well she’s super upset about the car so I’m not surprised.” Gustaf said carefully, he wasn’t sure how much he should divulge.

“Why would someone do that?” Brendan asked as he walked with Gustaf to the kitchen out of the twins hearing.

“I don’t know B.” Gustaf sighed, he was beat to hell and he knew he’d have to talk Sildie down before she imploded. “The short version ok, because I’m beat to hell.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to collect his thoughts. “It’s an ex girlfriend, the ex girlfriend, the one that screwed me up. They arrested her and things could get a little messy. Your mum has had to bust ass on making sure you guys are safe and it’s all just a little too much for her today.”

“Is that why we have John and Andrew come with us everywhere?” The kid was a quick study.

“Yes. I promised Sildie I’d keep you all safe too.”

“Oh.” The teen looked a little shocked.

“I love you guys, you’re my family Brendan and there’s absolutely nothing I won’t do to protect you, to make sure you’re safe, that Sildie’s safe.” He said softly as the teen hugged him tight. “Absolutely nothing.” His head came up at the sharp shout from Sildie’s office and he decided he needed to get in there and deal with it. “It’s getting late, you guys eaten yet?”

“Yeah we got something on the way home, there’s some here for you too. We weren’t sure when you’d get home.”

“Thanks. Can you get the twins in a bath or shower, I need to go see if she’s ok. Did the cold groceries get out away?”

“Yeah they’re away.” He said and started to unpack the rest.

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