#yeah the CD drama is the big one that hooked me

[tofueggnoodles]

Drama CD Saiyuki Memorial Pack Disk 2 – Track 1: Fishing

Summary: Sanzo came up with the genius idea of using one of his ‘servants’ as a fishing bait. The Ikkou ended up with an unexpected catch.... [Hello, Cthulhu?]

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Gojyo: Damn it! When are we ever going to get out of this forest?

Hakkai: According to the map, we still have a long way to go. We’ve barely made it through half of the forest.

Sanzo: This seems to be the toughest spot. If you wish to turn back, now’s the time, Gojyo.

Gojyo: Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the gentle reminder.

Goku: What about our next meal, Sanzo?

Sanzo: Not yet.

Hakkai: Please hang on there, Goku.

Gojyo: What a surprise. The monkey’s so hungry that he’s turned docile.

Sanzo: Just like a kid in a nursery school.

Hakkai: He can hear you, you know. Nevertheless, Sanzo, the way things are going at the moment, I’m worried about our food supply. We should come up with something before too long.

Sanzo: Hmm.

Gojyo: Shall we order pizza or something?

Goku: Pizza? Where is it, where?

Hakkai: That’s not nice, Gojyo.

Gojyo: My bad.

Hakkai: We might still be able to put up with our hunger, but just in case, it might be a good idea to replenish our food supply now.

Sanzo: Yeah.

Gojyo: Even so, if we were to turn back and shop for food, wouldn’t it be quite a distance?

Hakkai: Let’s catch some.

Sanzo: What?

Hakkai: We’ll do some fishing.

Goku: Wai! Food, food!

Gojyo: Are you seriously suggesting that we get into the river in this cold weather?

Hakkai: We’ll catch fish with these. (tosses something onto the ground)

Goku: Are these fishing tackle?

Hakkai: I’ve prepared them in case of situations like this.

Gojyo: Where have you been storing all this stuff?

Sanzo: Can we really catch fish with these?

Hakkai (spreads out the map): There should be a big body of water about two kilometers ahead from here. I’m sure there are fish to be caught there.

---

Gojyo: Fishing tackle does not suit you, Sanzo.

Sanzo: If you prefer, you can swim in the river and catch some fish yourself.

Gojyo: No, thanks.

Goku: How do you set this up?

Hakkai: Put this through here, and this in here – all right, the rod is done. Next, attach the earthworm to the hook and toss the line into the river.

(No-one speaks for a while amidst the sound of rushing river and bird calls.)

Goku: Not yet?

Hakkai: Patience is the key.

(The fishing reel starts to click.)

Gojyo: Something’s pulling the line, Hakkai.

Hakkai: Got it!

(A bird calls a few times.)

Sanzo: It’s a killifish. [a type of small fish, 2.5-5 centimeters on the average]

Gojyo: What a joke! The bait is bigger than the catch.

(Hakkai laughs abashedly.)

Goku: What are we gonna do?

Sanzo: It’s the bait.

Gojyo and Goku: Huh?

Sanzo: We can’t catch anything big with a small bait.

Hakkai: I see.

Gojyo: So you’re saying that if we use a big bait, we’ll get a large-sized catch?

Hakkai: But, we don’t have a big bait in hand.

Sanzo: You three, decide with a game of rock-paper-scissors.

Gojyo: Oh?

Goku: Rock-paper-scissors?

Hakkai: Sanzo, are you seriously–

Goku: Are you saying that one of us is to sacrifice himself in order to save the rest?

Sanzo: I think it’s a good idea.

Gojyo: Why aren’t you included in this plan, Sanzo?

Sanzo: I’m more than happy to give up this opportunity for a glorious ending to you three.

Gojyo: That’s playing dirty!

Sanzo: If I were to become the sacrifice, there would be no-one to recite a prayer in the worst-case scenario.

Hakkai: That’s a flawless rationale, isn’t it?

Gojyo: Don’t be talked into it so easily!

Goku: We’re stuck here if we can’t catch any fish anyway.

Hakkai: There’s no other way. Shall we do it? A game of rock-paper-scissors?

Goku: I’ll do it!

Gojyo: Right on! Goku, start with rock.

Goku: Yeah. Then, let’s go.

Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai: “Let’s start with rock!”

Goku: Ah!

Hakkai: Sorry, Goku.

Gojyo: Hakkai and I threw paper.

Goku: You tricked me, Gojyo!

Gojyo: I didn’t do anything like that. All I said was ‘start with rock.’

Goku: Hakkai....

Hakkai: You’re putting me in a difficult position by staring at me.

Goku: Sanzo....

Sanzo: You’re being cowardly, Goku.

Goku: Gojyo....

Gojyo: I’ll pick up your bones for you. ❤️

Goku: Okay, okay, I got it! I’ll be the bait!

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(A rope is being tightened around something.)

Goku: It’s a bit painful, Hakkai.

Hakkai: It’d be more dangerous if it were to become untied.

Gojyo: Hey Hakkai, is it okay not to tie him up around the neck too?

Hakkai (laughs): Gojyo!

Sanzo: Farewell, Goku.

Goku: Don’t say that!

Hakkai and Gojyo (lift Goku up): One, two–

Goku: Aargh, stop it! (hits the water with a loud splash)

Hakkai: He’s sinking, isn’t he?

Gojyo: Yeah, he’s sinking.

Sanzo: It’s over too soon.

--------

(Sound of air bubbles being released underwater.)

Goku (thinking): Why, there are lots of fish here! All right!

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(Sound of a rope being pulled tight.)

Hakkai: He’s tugging at the rope, isn’t he?

Gojyo: Yeah.

Hakkai: Shall we pull him up?

Sanzo: No, not yet.

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Goku (thinking): This is incredible! If I catch this amount of fish, everyone will be amazed for sure! But, how do I catch them? My hands are tied up, so I can’t use them to catch these fish. Well, there’s no other option!

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Hakkai: Please look! Goku’s in hot pursuit of a shoal of fish!

Gojyo: That’s impressive.

Sanzo: Shall I ask him to teach you how to swim?

Gojyo: Gimme a break!

Hakkai: Ah! Goku’s starting to catch some fish with his mouth.

Sanzo: Isn’t he supposed to be the bait?

Hakkai: Isn’t this fine, Sanzo? He’s catching fish with his feet as well.

Sanzo: Even so–

Hakkai: Er, rather than a bait, he seems more like a cormorant. [Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants, a type of seabirds, to fish in rivers.]

Gojyo: Yeah. A cormorant.

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Goku (thinking): I’ve caught quite a lot of fish. Hmm, hold on....

(Something large swims past him.)

Goku (thinking): All right! I’m gonna catch that big creature too. It’ll be the crowning achievement of my effort. Here I go!

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Sanzo: This has somehow turned into something amazing.

Gojyo: The idiot monkey’s head has taken a strange shape.

Hakkai: Isn’t that because he’s holding a large catch of fish in his mouth?

Sanzo: Is he preparing to hoist a big-catch flag? [a fishermen's banner hoisted to indicate a rich haul]

Gojyo: Ah! That’s nice of him.

Hakkai: Somehow, I’m filled with a sense of foreboding.

Gojyo: He’s coming up.

(A loud splash of water is heard, followed by Hakkai’s, Gojyo’s and Sanzo’s screams. Goku lands on the riverbank and makes choking sounds. Various water creatures leap out of his mouth.)

Gojyo: Whoa! Unbelievable! How did he manage to fit all of these in his mouth?

Hakkai: This looks like the human raw fish salad I once saw on the television. **

Goku (thinking as he continues to make choking sounds): What is it? Something is stuck in my mouth.

(A creature starts to hiss.)

Gojyo: Oi, oi, what’s that thing? Looks like something enormous is coming out of his mouth! **

Sanzo: It seems to be quivering.

Hakkai: Those are tentacles, aren’t they?

(Liquid starts to splash on the ground with loud splats.)

Gojyo: H–hey! D–don’t come here!

(The creature hisses again.)

Hakkai: You saw that too, didn’t you?

Gojyo: That’s not a fish!

Hakkai: This is bad....

Gojyo: Don’t come near!

Sanzo: Gojyo, Hakkai, I have no interest in rare seafood delicacies. Take care! (runs away)

Hakkai: Wait, Sanzo!

Gojyo: Don’t spit it out, Goku! Swallow it!

(Hakkai and Gojyo scream as the creature continues to shoot splashes of liquid. Goku makes one last choking noise.)

(A telephone rings. Someone picks it up. The creature hisses and is cut off as the receiver is replaced.)

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(Round brackets): actions and sound effects. [Square brackets]: translator’s notes. Double asterisks **: Stuff I am not sure with. Suggestions for improvements and corrections are more than welcome.

[deus-ex-mona]

A Love Letter for Valentine’s Day: Chapter 4

unprovoked.

previous part (chapter 3)

next part (chapter 5)

Sena: Huh? Is that LIPxLIP on the poster?

Mona: Wha…

Mona: Of course not! Why would I have a poster of those guys?!

Mona: I don’t even like them!

Sena: Ah, it’s true! I’m so sorry.

Sena: I mistook those actors for LIPxLIP because they’re in a pair. I couldn’t tell that it wasn’t them from here.

Sena: Though, do you really hate LIPxLIP that much?

Mona: I hate them!

Mona: …I mean… just talking about them pisses me off…

Sena: Hehe, I see.

Sena: In any case… that poster sure brings back memories! Weren’t we totally hooked on this drama back then?!

Mona: Yup, we sure were. I haven’t taken this poster out in a while before today, though.

Mona: (I could talk about it with Big Sis… But it’d be embarrassing if Mom found out about it too...)

Mona: Y’know, I wanna know more about the feelings of love for the sake of my upcoming Valentine’s Day live.

Mona: I was wondering if I’d be able to understand something close to those feelings if I thought about the idols I like, or something.

Sena: I see, the feelings of love, huh…

Sena: It’s certainly true that… the feelings one may have towards an idol or a celebrity are similar to the feelings of love, but they’re completely different things, huh…

Sena: This is tough…

Mona: (But… Big Sis definitely knows what love is, doesn’t she?)

Mona noted that Sena had become cuter than she usually was as of late, in addition to noticing how Sena would chat away happily over the phone. She was certain that the CD Sena had asked to borrow was related to the person she would call as well.

Mona: (I’m a little upset that Big Sis seems to have been taken away from me, but…)

Mona: (Big Sis looks even more beautiful when she’s in love.)

Mona: Hey, Big Sis, just tell me your thoughts on this. What do you think the feelings of love are?

Sena: Eeh?! Me…?!

Sena: Eh, lemme think… Umm…

Sena: Y-you start wanting the other person to think of you as cute, or something…? Or maybe just thinking about that person fills you with energy, or something…

Mona: (...She’s blushing again. She’s so cute.)

Sena: Or maybe you’ll become energised after hearing that person’s voice, no matter how tiring work was that day…

Sena: No, maybe you’ll start wanting to hear that person’s voice because you’re tired, I guess.

Sena: You’ll start thinking about how you want to see that person again today, even though you just met up yesterday.

Sena: And you’ll find that the time you spent apart from that person feels so long, yet the time you spend together seems to pass in the blink of an eye…

Mona: …That was a strangely realistic answer, no?

Sena: Eh?!

Sena: Ah, um… It’s for a drama!

Sena: I recently read a script for a romance drama, so…!

Sena: It had tons of descriptors like that! I’m just reciting what I read!

Mona: …Yeah, yeah. Sure.

Sena: Co-come to think of it! A friend of mine from High School had a childhood friend that she got along really well with.

Sena: Somehow, I get the feeling that they’re each other’s first loves, you know? They look so good together that just looking at them makes my heart pound. 

Sena: You should talk to her too next time…!

Mona: (She got way off-topic… But…)

Mona: …Yup! Thanks, Big Sis!

Mona: I’ll think it over by myself for a little longer!

[confessionsofabargainbinaddict]

My Favorite Albums of 2022*

*not necessarily from 2022

Over the past 12 months, I've somehow acquired 260 CDs, so instead of doing a standard, "Top of 2022 list," I figured I'd share 10 favorite additions to my ever-growing collection, no matter if they were released in 2022 or not. I'll also do it in alphabetical order by album name for simplicity's sake (and 10 out of 260 is already subjective enough!). Here goes!

Tyler, the Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost

The brilliant wordplay more than warrants Tyler's oozing braggadocio but the fact that, in many cases, that same braggadocio is only thinly veiling deep insecurities elevates this to a truly astonishing level. "Drama, I need you. Can you turn the noise up?" isn't about getting the party hyped, it's about drowning out that critical voice in the back of your head. It's a call for help. It's a masterwork by an MC who's, somewhat surprisingly, coming for a Top 5 spot.

Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems

The CD came with liner notes and lyrics but you basically need a magnifying glass to read them. But you should get one. Because they're worth it. Verbose, brilliant, genre jumping hardcore.

The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

Do you remember when "Mr. Brightside" came out and it basically was the "end-all, be-all" song about jealousy? "Expert in a Dying Field," is "Mr. Brightside" for breakups. The rest of the album is just icing on the cake. But the icing is also ridiculously good. Like nearly as good as the cake itself.

Origami Angel - Gami Gang

Dumb puns for song titles ("Neutrogina Spektor," "Tom Holland Oates," "Bed, Bath, and Batman Beyond,"), Pokémon, Game Boy, and Taco Bell references, and a smattering of sick riffs, anthemic choruses, and furious tapping. These 20(!!!) songs are more than just an album, they're a goddamn mission statement for a new generation of nerdy emo kids.

The Hotelier - Like No Place Is There

I can imagine Guy and Ian listening to this album and saying, "yeah, this is exactly where we imagined the genre ending up 30 years later." Devastating, cathartic, rough around the edges, but full of melody, and, most importantly, empathy.

Drug Church - Hygiene

Folks keep labeling this "hardcore," but its New Wave and 90's Alt-Rock influences are too abundant to keep it pinned down. Plus, it's catchy as fuck. An excellent 26 minutes that gets better with each listen.

Pusha T - It's Almost Dry

Focus on the latter half of Pusha's statement of purpose: "Cocaine's Dr. Seuss." It's not just that he raps about slinging coke, it's that he loves the words he uses to rap about slinging coke. That joy, that creativity, that fun is abundant on these 12 tracks. Hell, he even gets Jay to join in. (Hot take: Jay's verse on "Neck & Wrist," is better than his verse on "God DID.")

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour

A stone-cold-classic that I finally picked up on CD. Maybe my favorite from the fab four.

Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future

Stripping away the vocal acrobatics and spectacle that instantly hooked me, Denzel keeps his tone simple and direct and his lyrics powerful and personal, further highlighting his talent and chameleonic abilities.

Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Holding the controversial opinion that DAMN. was a clear step backwards, from the opening moments of "United in Grief," it was clear that K. Dot made a sharp turn back to the complexity and nuance of TPAB and GKMC. It's a deeply uncomfortable listen, giving us an in-depth view of a man struggling to find his true self and how that clashes with who others want (need?) him to be. It's messy and difficult and problematic and exactly the type of album only Kendrick can make.

Other assorted 2022 stuff

Favorite Albums NOT acquired in 2022:

mewithoutYou - Brother, Sister

Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride

Broadway Calls - Comfort/Distraction

Iron Chic - The Constant Ones

The Beths - Future Me Hates Me

The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation

Hot Water Music - Light It Up

Teenage Fanclub - Songs From Northern Britain

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Queens of the Stone Age - Villains

Favorite Live Bands seen in 2022

Cursive (Irving Plaza - 1/26)

The Wonder Years (Webster Hall - 3/16)

Motion City Soundtrack (Terminal 5 - 6/19)

Less Than Jake (Saint Vitus - 12/12)

Favorite Movies watched in 2022

Terrifier 2

Nope

Don't Look Up

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Inside

Favorite TV Shows watched in 2022

Severance

Joe Pera Talks With You

The White Lotus

Abbot Elementary

The Rehearsal

Favorite Books read in 2022:

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

Sellout by Dan Ozzi

The Power Broker by Robert Caro

Favorite Podcasts listened to in 2022:

Love and Radio

The Secrets Hotline

Detoxicity

Will Be Wild

The Trojan Horse Affair

[ridiasfangirlings]

Ridia-san!!! You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but I want to know how you fell in love with this anime and why did you start posting about it? Please don't hate me! I can't stop my curiosity. Thanks again!!!

Aw, I won't hate you anon, this is a nice easy ask XD The first thing I ever saw of K was a PV before the first season came out, I actually assumed it was a movie at first and made a mental note to check it out when it was released because it seemed to have many pleasing meganes. When I saw it was a series I was really happy, though my excitement was tempered a bit after seeing a character list (Neko being described as hating clothes did not exactly fill me with confidence). So I watched episode one all intrigued....and then was just utterly confused as to what was going on and after a couple episodes the show had gone from my most anticipated to 'thing I'm watching because I may as well finish it.' I did get a bit more interested around episode five – Fushimi caught my eye due his character design from the beginning and I was happy to finally see him in action – but mostly I was kinda on the fence. Around episode ten I remember poking around Tumblr a bit and finding some old meta focusing around the betrayal scene and Fushimi's clear attachment to Yata in that short flashback where we see Homra!Fushimi watching Yata talk to Mikoto and that intrigued me a little.

What really ended up grabbing me though was after the show ended, I was a little impressed they'd had the guts to kill off Mikoto and I was curious what other people were saying about it so I hopped back onto Tumblr. This led me to downloads and translations of the trading CD dramas – the one with the Yata and Fushimi interview and the hero show drama. Honestly I think the first part where I really got hooked was during the interview drama, where Yata asks Fushimi what he likes and Fushimi says 'nothing' – like really, nothing, this kid doesn't like anything? Then the hero show drama pretty much sealed the deal, it was just so angsty and tragic and made me want to protect Fushimi (honestly if anyone hasn't listened to it I highly recommend tracking it down because just a translation doesn't do it justice, Mamoru Miyano is always on point but his voice acting in this drama in particular is phenomenal, he puts so much bitterness and pain into Fushimi's voice). After that I pretty much devoured whatever K stuff I could find, the final piece in the 'I love Fushimi Saruhiko so much' puzzle was definitely the “Don't you laugh” scene in MoR because damn Saru's face kills me in that part.

Blog wise, I didn't actually intend to start posting so much about it, this was supposed to be my multifandom side blog :P Basically when LSW came out there was a lot of info being tossed about regarding how Fushimi's betrayal of Homra had nothing to do with Yata and how Japanese fandom hated him now for being so mean to Yata and all kinds of similar things. At the time I started writing a big meta piece about Fushimi but I abandoned it half-finished because I figured no one would want to read it. Then when MK came out I wrote a post detailing my feelings about the movie along with a little analysis of the Sarumi phone call scene. I got an ask praising what I wrote and saying it would be cool if I could write a whole Fushimi meta post and I mentioned the one I'd started writing in reply. I got a few lovely encouraging messages after that so I posted the giant meta post of doom that started this whole thing. After that I got a couple asks about Fushimi's relationships and some other K things and soon I had a K ask blog without ever even intending to make one XD

[coffeeew]

soulmate | lee seokmin

❀ → genre: fluff | best friend love |

❀ → synopsis: Seokmin is your soulmate, but people don´t seem to understand the right definition of one.

❀ → pairing: lee seokmin x female reader

❀ → warnings!: |  I think there´s cursing, I don´t remember sorry :( | English is clearly not my first language so excuse any grammar mistakes.

❀ → word count: 3.3K

❀ → note: I got 100% inspired from vmin videos to do this.

"I'm scared of love."

You said as you stared at the white ceiling of Seokmin's room. It was Sunday midnight when you appeared on his door saying that you were mad at your roomie and didn't want to see her in some time. He, being the good friend he is, let you in and even made you a cup of coffee.

"You should."

He responded. He was sitting beside you, Nintendo Switch on his hands while he played Animal Crossing.

"Really?"

"Well, depends, if we're talking about romantic love, yeah, kinda, but if we're talking about the other love, no, not really."

You nodded and yawned. Both of you stayed quiet for a while, the silence was actually really comfortable, just the sound of breathing was able to be heard. Then a new topic came into your mind.

"Jiyoon likes you."

"Yeah, I know, she confessed to me."

You raised your eyebrow in surprise.

"How?"

"The classic card pasted with tape into a snack."

"Are you going to date her?"

You looked at him and he just shakes his head.

"Why?"

He giggled.

"I talked to her afterward and she said that she didn't confess earlier cause she thought I liked you."

You scrunched your nose and shook your head aggressively.

"Yeah, I told her that it was like it would be like dating my dog or something."

You frowned.

"Your dog?"

He nodded and looked at you.

"You are kinda small, cute and aggressive when I try to take your food, you're also really protective when someone insults me and you like when people pat your bead or caress your hair. It's kinda like a dog."

You gave him a killing gaze.

"I'm not an animal, I have a common sense and I can talk."

He shrugged yet again.

"Details."

You rolled your eyes and looked at him again.

"So you aren't going to date her because she thought you liked me?"

He stayed quiet for some seconds, trying to remember what he was talking about.

"Oh! Nah, she also said she got jealous when I hanged out with you and I'm not up for toxic people."

He simply responded. You smoked and lightly slapped his leg.

"That's my Seokmin."

He laughed.

"What are you talking about? The one that always gets into toxic relationships it's you."

You frowned again and slapped his leg again, but this time harder.

"We don't talk about exes on this Christian household."

"This is my house, and I'm not a Christian."

You whined.

"You ruined my joke."

He laughed and poked your cheek.

"It wasn't funny anyway."

You stared at him in silence for some seconds, just for then talking yet again.

"And you're the one I call my soul mate."

You said in between teeth.

"You'll never meet a better guy than me."

He winked at you and you just kicked his chest, making his back hit the wall.

"Ouch?"

You stuck your tongue out in a goofy way, he just giggled and took his sight back to his game. You stared at the ceiling again and began to get sleepy, but just before you closed your eyes to maybe fall asleep, he talked.

"Maybe we should stop using the term 'soulmates' to refer to our friendship."

He murmured. You frowned with your eyes half-closed.

"Why?"

"People keep mistaking the term."

"And? They're dumb for thinking that a soulmate has to be your lover."

You answered. He sighed and placed the console away, then he laid beside you.

"I don't understand how we suit each other so well."

"Hm... I don't know, I try not to question it and just enjoy the fact that I got the luck to find someone like you so soon. People take their whole lives finding their soulmates and other times they can't find them even in their next lives."

You yawned again and moved to place your head on his tummy, using it as a pillow, you looked at his face and poked his cheek.

"I'm going to kill you if you can't find me in our next life."

He laughed.

"Why should I find you?"

"Cause I found you in this life, so it'll be your turn."

"We found each other."

"No, I was the one that approached you in middle school, so I technically found you."

He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Let's just find each other, it would be easier if we both look that just one."

You thought about it for some seconds.

"Okey, just because I know you are going to get lost or something."

You both giggled and stayed silent when the noise faded away after some time. You sniffed and closed your eyes.

"Seokmin."

You called him.

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave me."

He chuckled and placed a hand in the top of your head, caressing your forehead slightly.

"I won't leave you if you don't leave me."

"Deal."

After that final short conversation, both of you fell asleep in that kinda uncomfortable position. But you didn't care, the way your bodies felt was not important when your feelings we're so calm and you felt so emotionally comfortable in that small bed. The body warmth of both of you made it feel better.

It was always like that. It wasn't important how mad, sad or exhausted you felt when you went to see Seokmin and talked about it with him it felt like everything faded away, and you knew he felt the same way towards you.

You always knew that the friendship between you two was different, but not in a romantic way, you just felt better around him than anyone else. That's when Minghao kicked in and told you that it could be because 'maybe he is your soulmate.'

Back then, you had the image of a soulmate that everyone else has. The love of your life and the person you're going to marry and live happily. But the boy explained to you that a soulmate was a person that was compatible with you in a different way than anyone else, it could be a friendship or a romantic relationship, it didn't matter.

As you had already said, you met Seokmin in middle school, both of you were the 'new kids' so you decided to approach him because that way you wouldn't be anxious about him telling his friends how awkward you were around new people. You weren't shy or introverted when you were in your comfort zone or somewhere you were used to, but if you were in a totally new environment around people you don't know, you turned into a ball of panic. So you thought that approaching someone that was at the same level as you could be better, and it was.

Seokmin was really shy the first month, but after some time you two clicked instantly, you made more friends by yourselves but never stopped talking out of the school or by message and during a school project, you needed to be in the same group.

You loved Seokmin and you knew he loved you back, you both loved each other in a form that you both knew you couldn't love anyone else, and it was okay. There are all kinds of love, and even though you haven't met anyone else that you felt the same affection as you did towards him didn't mean you weren't going to be able to have a romantic relationship.

There has to be someone that understands that even though you are dating them, doesn't mean you are going to stop being friends with Seokmin. Someone that understands that the kind of love you two shared wasn't the same as the life you have towards your couple.

People should stop thinking of every couple of good friends it's a couple of lovers because it could cause awkwardness between both of them, and even though it didn't happen with you, it did happen to one of your friends.

Seokmin was your soul mate, not your lover, not your boyfriend neither your hook up, and people needed to understand that.

════════════════════════ ════════════════════════

"C'mon! We want to be there before midnight."

Hollered Seokmin's mother. Since summer vacations we're already there and you usually did nothing but lay in bed and watch the same series and dramas, Seokmin decided it would be a nice idea to invite you to his grandmother's farm. His mom had just picked you up and brought you to their place since Seokmin woke up late and hadn't finished packing.

Some minutes later the brown-haired boy came out with a big suitcase and a black backpack.

"Finally."

You huffed. His mom helped him put his suitcase and backpack inside the car while he locked the house door correctly.

You remained in the back seat of the van, looking at the movements of the Lee's through the window.

Once they finished they got inside the van and turned on the vehicle to make their way to their destiny.

"Hey, y/n."

Seokmin called your name and you looked at him, making a small noise that meant a "what".

"Seungkwan is also coming."

You frowned and crossed your arms.

"Why didn't you told me? That way I could've brought more snacks, now he is going to eat them all."

You whined while hugging the medium-sized tote bag that contained all the snacks you had brought for the road. Seokmin told you to bring for everyone since he was going to be the one paying for gasoline and stuff, but he never told you Seungkwan was going too.

He laughed and stretched his arm, placing his hand on top of your head.

"It's okay, we can buy more when we stop by a gas station."

"Okey, but if he eats all of my gummy worms and there's no more on a gas station, we are going to have a dead body to bury, and you are going to crave the whole it."

He giggled and nodded.

"Okey then."

The car stayed silent for a couple of minutes until Seokmin's mom decided to turn the stereo on and play a cd. You didn't recognize the music but it was nice.

You just hoped to not get that bored because if you did, the trip was going to be ages long.

════════════════════════ ════════════════════════

It was already 8 pm and there were still some hours of road to come. Seungkwan was on one of the single seats doing something you didn't really care about in his phone and Seokmin was on the back seats with you, he decided to change place when he got bored of being "alone" on the front, his head in one of your thighs while he played smash bros on his Nintendo Switch. He has offered you to play but you decided that you would do it later since you were really enjoying the landscape, but no that the sand had gone down, you only saw darkness which was freaking you out a bit, you didn't like the dark, yes, at your 20's you were still afraid of it.

"Hey, Min."

You called him and moved your keg slightly for him to pay attention to you and take out his earphones.

"What's up?"

He asked while taking one of the earphones out of his... Well, ear.

"Let's play smash."

"Yeah, let me just finish this match."

He responded, still focused on the screen. You nodded and took your gaze away from him to look at Seungkwan, now his phone was turned off and he was looking outside.

"Hye."

The boy called Seokmin's mother's name.

"Yeah?"

"If you see someone struggling with their car or something, please don't stop to help them."

The woman laughed.

"Why?"

"That's how people disappear and I'm too young to die, I haven't finished my career yet."

This time you joined the laughter. What Seungkwan said was right, but the tone he was saying it it was goofy and playful, which made the situation funny.

"What are we laughing about?"

Asked Seokmin, taking his head off of your thigh and sitting down beside you.

"Seungkwan."

"We're laughing at him or with him?"

You shrugged.

"Both."

"Hey!"

He turned and looked at you with a killing gaze.

"Don't give me that look, Hye laughed too."

Seungkwan grabbed a bag of chips and threw it towards you, hitting your face.

"Oh you didn't"

You took off your seat belt and threw the chips bag harder.

"At least hit me with quality!"

He opened his mouth and frowned.

"Veggie chips are super good!"

"No, they're not, they taste like fried broccoli."

"Have you tried friend broccoli?"

"No, but if I do, I know it would taste like that, disgusting!"

"You should respect each other's opinions."

Murmured Seokmin.

"Shut up!"

Seungkwan and you hollered just for then looking at each other and smiling while high fiving. You heard Hye's laugh and you giggled.

"I bet your mom is having a great time."

"Oh, she better be, she was whining all week telling me that she was going to miss a Knowing Bro's episode and I told her that having you two in a car was going to be a comedy."

"You calling us clowns?"

Asked Seungkwan.

"I mean, we are, but you are one too."

You said pointing at Seokmin. He frowned and turned off his console.

"Well, I'm a fancy circus one, y'all are children party ones."

You slightly punched his arm and Seungkwan threw him the now beaten up bag of chips while he laughed. You smiled and rolled your eyes.

"So, are we playing smash?"

"Oh, no, I ran out of battery."

You pressed your lips together, making a straight line.

"Ok, now you gotta distract me cause we are surrounded by darkness and your girl doesn't like darkness."

"Oh, about that."

He said while leaning over to the front seats, graving his backpack and opening it, taking out what it seemed like a white bear.

"Here."

He sat down back in your side and extended you the bear. Your frowned graving it and tilted your head.

"What's this?"

"Press the belly."

You did as he said and instantly, the white plastic stomach of the bear light up, making you jump.

"I knew you were scared of the dark and the farm is usually dark at night because grandma likes saving power by turning off the transformer at night, so I bought you this."

You made a small pout and leaned over to hug him.

"You truly are my soulmate."

You said against his chest. He laughed and patted your hair.

"I swear that if I didn't know both of you I'd think y'all are dating."

You frowned and pushed yourself away from Seokmin, looking at Seungkwan with a deadly gaze.

"You are making it too hard for y/n not to kill you Boo Seungkwan."

He raised an eyebrow

"Like she could."

You gasped and placed a hand in your chest, indignation filling your body.

"Are you underestimating my homicidal tendencies and skills?"

"Kinda, yeah."

“Oh, you shouldn't, she's small but she once almost broke a guy's arm on a club.”

“Evidence.”

Said the boy sticking his hand out towards Seokmin.

“You expect me to record while my best friend almost gets sued for physical abuse?”

“Evidence or fake.”

“I have none.”

“Then she did nothing and I would beat her ass in a fight.”

"Hye, stop the car, I'm throwing some hands with his guy."

You said as you rolled up the sleeves of your long-sleeved shirt.

"Oh my God, can we go back to the cute environment that we had ten seconds ago?"

Asked Hye looking at all of you through the rearview.

The three of you looked at each other.

“Nah.”

The three of you said at the same time just for then continue arguing about who would win in a fight between you and Seungkwan.

Hye sighed and giggled while slightly shaking his head. About thirty minutes later and some snack throwing, Seungkwan ended up falling asleep. Seokmin had his headphones on and was watching a movie that he had downloaded on his phone for the trip.

You were caressing the fur of the plushie that has it's tummy light up in a soft yellowish color.

“Seokmin.”

You called him while still looking at the plushie. Since the volume of his phone wasn't high he could listen to you, so he hummed in response.

“I don't like the fact that I got way too used to being all the time with you.”

You said while frowning, still caressing the soft fur.

“Why?”

“Because there's gonna be a day where we both get married and have children and won't have as much as time as we have right now. And when I think about it, it kinda scares me. I mean, what if I feel too pressured and can't talk to you and all of that just transforms into a ball of feelings I can't express because I'm scared of what they'll say. You're the only person I know for sure won't judge me.”

He stayed quiet for some seconds.

“Well...  We can always text or call, there's always a way.”

You sighed, not convinced with his answer. He smiled slightly and placed a hand on top of your head, caressing and making it lean into his shoulder.

“Don't think about that right now, there's still plenty of time for that if you think about it now and stress about it would do everything but good to your little head.”

He said while caressing your hair.

“Sometimes I feel that you treat me like a child.”

“You are a kid on my eyes, like a little sister I have to take care of.”

You chuckled and yawned.

“I'm older than you.”

“4 months doesn't count.”

“It does.”

You couldn't see him, but you knew he had rolled his eyes.

“But you are as stubborn as a kid.”

“It's part of my beauty.”

“Sure.”

He was the one that chuckled this time. Both of you stayed silent again until you broke the silence.

“Seokmin”

“Yeah?”

“If you have kids first then I do, which I know is gonna happen, would you let me choose the name of one?”

“Sure.”

Silence again, but as always, you couldn't be quiet for long.

“Seokmin.”

He giggled.

“Yeah?”

“Do you love me?”

“Of course.”

“How much?”

“Isn't that too cliché?”

“Just answer.”

He huffed.

“You can't measure love in numbers, if I could say how much I love you it would still be short.”

“Yeah, that is cliché.”

Both if you silently laughed to not wake Seungkwan up.

“What about you! How much do you love me?”

“Hm... I love you more than I love gummy worms.”

“Oh my God, really?”

“Don't get too noisy about it or I'll love you as much as I love veggie chips.”

“Rude.”

“You're rude too.”

“No, I'm not.”

“Yes, you are, you didn't play Smash Bros with me.”

“You told me too late and the first time I asked you declined.”

You crossed your arms.

“Then you say you're not like a child.”

“I never said I'm not.”

“But- you know what? Let's just sleep.”

You chuckled and grabbed his arm, putting it around your shoulders and leaning into him. Then you remembered you hadn't thanked him for the small gift he had given you.

“Seokmin.”

You called ones last time.

“Yes?”

“Thanks for the bear.”

He hummed in response and closed his eyes. You yawned and closed your eyes as well, falling asleep in a lapse of 30 seconds in a kinda uncomfortable position that both of you always ended up in, but made it feel as cozy as a bed. It wasn't about the situation, place, or environment if you had a huge affection and love towards the person you were with, even the coldest place would feel like home.

[rosesvioletshardy]

can we do it? - billy/four - chapter 3

chapter 3 is here and i’m surprised i’m still writing this story despite y’all don’t really read it (not really begging you guys to do so but it’s your choice) but it keeps me sort of busy until i get called into work and start school.

also this isn’t edited btw

summary: one team, seven people, two lovers, things are about to get crazy and zero and four don’t know if they can do it with everything that is going on

masterlist

# of words: 2,246

warnings: angst?, language, fluff?

taglist: (message or inbox me if you want to be tagged)

The next few days were a blur for everyone. Seven has officially met everyone but questioned as to why there were only six of them instead of eight and why they skipped six. Zero did the part and explained it to him despite One wanting her not to tell him and everyone could still see that she was grieving. One gave Four a talk about him and Zero and he felt more guilt than he could imagine. He didn’t know that One had practically forced her to say that they were only friends but even then she still wouldn’t talk to him. Not after the way he treated her. It was his turn with Seven to talk about what they do and talk about One. They were sitting in another trailer that wasn’t really occupied that he used to watch his shows that were filled with dvds with Wally the dog and the Beaver show One loved so much playing in the background. Four was sitting in a chair throwing random cds after seeing what they were as Seven asked him a question.

“Hey, what do you know about One?”

“Well, for starters, he loves Wally the dog. He’s obsessed with this beaver show. I think he’s an orphan now that I come to it actually. We got a little bet on it if you want to put some money in. He really got rid of every evidence about his existence that even Zero can’t find, but I think she knows.” he told him

“This is an interesting crew you got here, bro. How many missions have you guys run?”  he asked

“Counting Florence? Uh, one.” 

“One what?” Seven asked eyeing him confused

“Actually, no, there was, um this, like, mini-mission, so maybe one and a quarter. It was in Sicily. But Florence? Absolute shitshow. I mean, if I wasn’t there, probably more than one of us dead. That’s all I’m saying” four said turning to face him 

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I don’t fuck around”

“You realize I just buried myself in front of my family and friends?” “Yeah, One told me about that. Big military funeral. Guns popping, flags. It was pretty cool. At my funeral, there were only five people there and two of them left before the end. It is tough watching your mum cry at your grave. I feel like mine is still cursing at my grave for it. Love that woman, I do miss her, but you get over it. Anyways, this mission. I got a good feeling. I got a really good feeling about this mission.” Four said with a proud smile

“Yeah. how come you can’t find this guy?” Seven asked looking at a picture of Rovach’s brother

“I don’t know. Zero can usually find anyone but she’s been off since the last mission and isn’t in the right headspace for it. I tried telling her to take a break but she isn’t listening. To me or the advice. The only thing she said was that Americans caught him a few years back.”

“Americans?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Zero has something to do with it? Maybe Two as well, she has some sort of training that seems like it would tie into it.  Not sure but that’s all she said and won’t tell me anything else without One’s permission.” Four told him as seven went and sat next to him

“What’s going on between the two of you? Are you guys dating? Did you date in the past? What is it?”

Four didn’t know how to answer the question because he still wasn’t over his feelings for her and neither was she but the two couldn’t be together and she wasn’t listening or talking to him. He sat there quietly as he tried to figure out something to say. 

“Well, there isn’t anything going on between us because One has this rule that none of us can hook up and if we do, it basically has to be if we are undercover, with someone else,  and it’s the last thing we need to do.” “But what about two and three? They seem like they’re hooking up.”

“Yeah I don’t know why he’s all up in our business when he should be paying attention to them but I think it has to do with the fact that we almost kissed and I guess he saw us. Which is really creepy if you think about it now. Also, maybe because he sees her as a little sister and he doesn’t want to get hurt again.” he said before finishing what he was talking about Rovach’s brother

“Back to what I was saying. The Americans caught him years back and gave him to his brother. The bald looking fella. You like him though, One?

“I mean, I guess I didn't really get to know him that much and we mainly talked about me. Feel like he was an asshole when he was younger.” Seven told him

 “Yeah he's definitely an asshole, but a likable asshole, no?”

“No.”

“Well, out of all of us, probably likes you the most.” four said

“What about Zero? She seems to be on his good side and close to him”

“Yeah she was the first one recruited and knows most of her past. Thinks of her like a little sister. They’re like twins but not twins. They’re both good at hiding their trails and finding people and all that. From what I’ve heard they actually had a run with each other when she used his tech to find out all this stuff on American politicians that almost got her arrested before all of this. They both realized how helpful this stuff is since the government doesn't help anyone.”

 One knew all about her past and he wondered if that was why he didn’t want someone like her to be with someone like Four but he didn’t tell either one of them that to make sure there wasn’t going to be drama between them.

“So you guys aren’t together? Even going behind his back and trying to secretly date?”

“No it’s too risky mate, and plus she said she only sees me as a brother and a friend”

“Damn. I haven't even known you guys a whole week and I think the two of you would’ve actually been good together.”

As they continued to talk, Zero walked past them and overheard the last of their conversation and how Seven liked her and Four together. It made her a little red until she remembered what One said and she continued to walk to where she was going. 

They haven’t done much besides try and figure out where the four generals were and figure out a plan as to who was going to get the information out of them. Deciding it should be Three and Two since they have the most training and are more qualified for it they got everything ready. Four and Zero have started to talk again and are slowly reforming the friendship they had before. He tried to make it look like he wasn’t hurt by the fact that the first person he liked didn’t like him back and that he wasn’t threatened about dating her. 

The day of the mission had everyone feeling nervous. Even though they had gone over everything they still felt like something was bound to go wrong like what happened in Florence. They had packed up everything they were going to need while in  Las Vegas after finding out who is in charge of handing off Rovach’s brother. After gathering in their “Batcave”, Zero started to list off everything that was going to happen when they get there and how they all needed to be careful

“Listen, there are pretty much cameras covering every single inch of Las Vegas. You have to be careful about what or who you decide to go as or else they’ll have your face plastered on the news within the minute. Rovach set the four generals up in the penthouse and there’s going to a party, so be careful of who you injure.” zero told them

“Don’t worry, I used to be a hitman. I got this.” Three told her as he started packing everything

“Didn’t you almost shoot Four before Florence?” Five asked smirking remembering the memory

“Nearly took my ear out. Couldn’t hear anything out of the left ear for almost a week” Four grumbled

“I paid you back with the spaghetti carbonara and the many beers.” 

The rest of the group couldn’t help but smile and laugh while One let out a sigh at the group he had created and how they were acting like children. 

“This means that you can’t fuck up and you have to choose wisely. Even though she’s going to be staying, Zero is going to keep an eye on all three of us at all times and stay in communication with us. Who knows what they’re going to do while they're there.”

“Please I’m a grown man. I can handle my shit. I know what i’m going to be though”

“Don’t think that’s how the expression goes. Don’t handle you shit, flush it down the toilet like a grown ass man. You have to disappear. One more thing, just because all three of us are going to be doesn’t mean any of you can do shit.” One said mainly aiming at Zero and Four as their eyes darted each other for a split second

Now, we’re done. Leave and get ready.” He finished

The rest of the night was just them getting everything prepared as Zero made sure every form of communication was connected to each other was hooked up with one another and her computers. The group disbanded and went their separate ways back to their trailers before Four stopped in his tracks wanting to talk to Zero. He waited until everyone had left the room before he talked to her. Why he wanted to talk to her was so he can make amends but he didn’t know if she would talk to him or even want to be alone with him so he decided he wasn’t going to do anything and left her alone. Before he left, he took one last look at her and the way she was focused on getting everything set up. Yeah, he knew people as quick and smart as her, but he never has met anyone who was just as kind as her and would rather deal with other people’s problems rather than take on her own. She has been like that since she was a child, always had this maternal instinct to make sure everyone’s needs were put first. Maybe that was why she was so reserved and didn’t talk much of her own life that night and she made sure he didn’t feel uncomfortable when talking about his past life. Rather than hanging out with the crowds and going to parties throughout high school and college all the time, she would focus on her studies, only going every now and then. 

Gathering up her stuff and the papers she had, but stopped as soon as she saw Four turn around and she didn’t stop him in time as he skated off back to his trailer. She let out a sigh and walked back to hers. It took her awhile to get adjusted to her new life and she still wasn’t used to how they lived. They had everything they could’ve asked for, yet it still didn’t feel like home for her no matter how many things she had with her from her past life. Turning on her music and getting ready for a bath to relax, she heard a knock on the door interrupting her quiet time. Setting everything down on the sink, she went back to the front. Opening the door she saw Four standing there with his hood up and hands in his pockets waiting.

“Hey”

“Hi”

The two stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before she remembered to invite him in instead of standing outside.

“I’m sorry, please come in.” she gestured moving out of the way letting Four step in. He looked around her place and noticed everything she talked about with him about herself and from what he saw that one time looked like everything she’d described. Vinyls were neatly stacked, fairy lights were hung all across, monitors that covered one corner of the room, and pictures of family and friends everywhere. He thought it felt right for her and more her style. The two of them walked over to her bed and sat down in quiet for what felt like forever before Four spoke up.

“I’m sorry.” 

“For what? You didn’t do anything wro-” she tried to tell him before getting interrupted by him

“Yes I did. I treated you like shit even by not talking to you and just overall being me” he said

“But you didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, it’s my fault I'm the one who had to hide away their true feelings and then forced to say something I didn’t want to say.”

“Zero please, cut the b-” Four started to say before he felt lips on top of his. 

At first, he was shocked until he loosened up and kissed her back. Their lips began to move together in sync as his hands moved to cup her face as hers snaked around his neck.

[paulcotter]

Please tell me all about your love for t swift. This is the content I need in my life.

god yes okay. i’m gonna put this under a read more before i even start because i have. so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to say

okay so like. i’m 24. young millenial, old gen z, one of the inbetweeners maybe, right? so many of my peers (esp post college) grew up with internet from day one (or early enough that they don’t remember not having it) but i’ve only had internet in my house for like. the last 9ish years? with a gap in the middle

so all of my music was from cds. and when i was like, 10/11, i gained access to taylor’s self titled and i just. fell in love! her country twang! her heart felt lyrics about not fitting in! the outside!!!!!!!!!!!! mary’s song about falling in love with your childhood best friend!! (jokes on me that was comphet and we’re both gay now) the spicy homophobia in the original picture to burn (i know i should be mad at it but that version goes so hard!!!! it’s fine!) i was hooked

fearless and speak now are records that i have like, major nostalgia for them as albums but also? and this is a hot take because people hate  her first few albums: some of her best work. I have this super vivid memory of being in a car with two friends listening to better than revenge and trying to impact the internalize misogyny in our freshman year of high school but not having the words for it.

(also side note: breathe is the best song written. ever. by any artist)

red and 1989 were ones where i was hesitant with the lead singles (god, i’ve said it so many times but with the exception of st she always picks one of if not the weakest songs for her lead singles and i hate it so much) but i was like, okay i’ll give the album a chance. 

red is. red is so good. i love the way she reimagines these songs on tour now and how it feels like such a pivotal moment in her growth? this album is bangers only (the bsides dont’ get the respect they deserve. girl at home! the moment i knew!) and yeah all to well is sad but have you ever listened to the last time? i almost do? this entire album wrecks me to this day.

1989 is (and no one agrees with me) my least favorite album. does it have some of her best individual songs? yes, no doubt. but as a whole the album just. isn’t the one i love the most? which i know is a hot take because people love this one so much (and like, i am attached to it still. i still love it. my partner and i got together around the time it came out and used to listen to it together and i remember us disagreeing about shake it off when it dropped and i just. i dunno. it has a special place in my heart)

god, the scandal and the drama pre/during rep is. something. i really thought even then that so much of it was blown out of proportion/literally if it was any other artist people wouldn’t have cared? (not that i’m saying taylor’s perfect. i’m a big fan of being critical of what you consume / engage with) but god. rep (like self titled) doesn’t get the energy it deserves. and maybe i’m biased. this is why we can’t have nice things and new years day came when someone who had been my friend for over 15 years just....stopped and the album felt right, for that time in my life. it felt like what i needed and home and a place to let out all the bad feelings i had. (tho, if taylor wanted to redo this album with just like, piano and strings? unreal how stunning that would be)

lover and folklore are a softer thing, and i feel like both make so much sense from where she started? it’s really where you start to really see her personality a lot again and you get this wide range of subjects in these two albums and i just. this is her collaborating to make beautiful, beautiful music 

and like. i grew up with taylor. she’s older than me, yeah, but i’ve got to be here and see her grow as person in real time. that’s been so so so rewarding for me, and seeing her find her voice on politics (yes she could do more and i hope she does!) and start just. not caring what the media thinks? i’ve cried every time i’ve watched miss americana. she’s just. she’s trying, and yeah thats not much, but it’s more than we get from so many artists and it really seems like she’s learning and doing the work to be better and maybe she’ll disappoint me, but she hasn’t yet

[thewritingstar]

I would ask you 1-100 but that's a huge request and doubt you'll do it, UNLESS🤔🙃

UNLESS....

1. Name- Deanna or as everyone knows me, Star

2. Nationality- American

3. Age- 19

4. Birthday- April 5th

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign)- Aries

6. Gender- Female 

7. Sexuality- Bi/Pan (im fine with either)

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)- Dark brown hair, greenish eyes and body of a 12 year old boy

9. What do you/did you study?- Animation

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have?- I work in an ice cream shop just as a job but i wanna be an animator or writer for shows

-

11. Your birth order- Youngest of 2

12. How many siblings do you have?- One

13. Do you have good relations with your family?- for the most part

14. How many friends do you have?- I would say I have about 8 close friends and then just a ton of other friends

15. Your relationship status- single but accepting applications 

16. What do you look for in a SO?- usually a pulse and good hair 

17. Do you have a crush?- kinda but also no

18. When did you have your first kiss?- haven't yet :(

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?- prob meaningful

20. What are your deal breakers?- smoking and drugs and how they treat others

-

21. How was your day?- well i just woke up so i guess good. 

22. Favourite food & drink- Raspberry iced tea/Vanilla Lattes and Chowmein or burgers

23. What position do you sleep in?- either on my side or stomach. Im usually curled up in a ball so prime cuddle position...just saying 

24. What was your last dream about?- I think it was about cake..

25. Your fears- bugs and the overwhelming thought of me being a failure

26. Your dreams- being someone where others can be inspired by 

27. Your goals- to live a life with no regrets (i know typical right?) but also have a successful career. 

28. Any pets?- 2 doggos 

29. What are your hobbies?- drawing, painting, writing, video games, reading 

30. Any cool places in your area?- kinda but you gotta drive to them so not really 

31. What was your last awkward situation?- me stuttering over my words at work

32. What is your last regret?- idk 

33. Language/s you can speak- English and barely any French 

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.)- hell yeah

35. Have any quirks?- i can make a guinea pig noise and can stand on my head for a while. 

36. Your pet peeves- having my neck being touched and mouth breathing

37. Ideal vacation- Any disney park

38. Any scars?- only mentally 

39. What does your last text message say? “Shes being a big girl and taking 5 classes.” 

40. Last 5 things from your search history- im to lazy to check but prob youtube or fics

41. What’s your [device] background?- Phone background is a painting from a museum and my computer is a bunch of Nintendo items

42. What do you daydream about?- being a voice actor or a pirate 

43. Describe your dream home- one that looks like a castle

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion- I was raised Catholic but i really dont practice it anymore. I think it its a beautiful thing and alot of good comes from it, however i dont like it when it is used to harm others or defend evil people

45. Your personality type- So i took a test based on the 16 different ones and I am an Advocate type which apparetnly is very rare and less than one percent of the pop are it. https://www.16personalities.com/ heres the link if you wanna take it!

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done- I used to suck on batteries as a child

47. Are you happy with your current life?- for the most part 

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life- Snorkeling in Hawaii (which i almost died), Crystal Cave tour and donuts which i hate

-

49. What does your wardrobe consist of?- hoodies and graphic tees 

50. Favourite colour to wear?- black

51. How would you describe your style?- comfortable and sometimes i look good 

52. Are you happy with your current looks?- ye

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?- I want blue hair one day 

54. Any tattoos or piercings?- have my ears and now my nose pierced but i do want tattoos in the future

55. Do you get complimented often?- usually for my hair and i find it happens often 

56. Favourite aesthetic?- Gothic and pastel 

57. A popular trend that you dislike- crop tops 

-

58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with?- “Good Night Moon” by Go Radio

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like.- My Little Pony and Sofia the First songs slap

60. Favourite genre?- pop punk or pop 

61. Favourite artist/band/genre? -Panic!, Taylor Swift

62. Hated popular songs/artists?- I wouldn’t say hate but im not really a fan of Billie Ellish, maybe i need to sit down and really listen but its just not my jam. I think shes a cool person and i love watching her on tv and what she stands for. By i hate Drake and Chris Brown for sure. 

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5- Head above Water, Happy when im sad, Love bug, Casual affair, I believe. So Avril Lavigne, Jonas Brothers and Panic!

64. Can you sing or play any instruments?- Im not the worst singer but im also not fantastic and i can’t play

65. Do you like karaoke?- sometimes

66. Own any albums?- like cds then yes

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations?- not anymore

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68. Favourite movie/series?- Any disney or pixar 

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc- YA like adventure books 

70. Your fictional crush/es- oh here we go. Juvia and Gray (Fairytail), Catwoman, Danny Phantom, Captain Hook and Regina Mills and Henry (Ouat), Steve (stranger things), Riddler (gotham) and Molly Hooper (Sherlock) and prob more. 

71. Which fictional character is you?- prob a mixture of Momo and Deku from My Hero and Honey from Ouran 

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so. Am I a shipper? ha. aight Gruvia, Nalu, Gajevy, Jerza, Kiribaku, Kacchacko, Todomomo, tododeku, LadyNoir and the love square, Captain Swan, Outlaw Queen, The powerpuff girls and the rowdyruff boys (respected partners) and like five thousand others

73. Favourite greek god?- Hades and Persephone 

74. A legend from where you live that you like- literally nothing from where i live

75. Do you like art? What’s your favourite work or artist?- love art and i cant just pick one

76. Can you share your other social media?- i mean you can follow me on twitter at StarsnShortcake but all thats there is my shitty tweets and interactions with my friends and Voice actors lol

77. Favourite youtubers?- Mikes Mic, Macdoesit, Twamiz, Larri, Dan Howell, Amazing Phil, Jenna Marbles, Shane Dawson, Steph Inc, Garret Watts, and like a ton more

78. Favourite platform?- Tumblr or twitter

79. How much time do you spend on the internet?- too much

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite?- I love anything Nintendo

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts)- Kingdom Keepers, Suicide Notes and the Selection Series to name a few

82. Do you play board/card games?- Yes

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema?- nope

84. Favourite holiday- thanksgiving for the food

85. Are you into dramas?- ye

-

86. Would you use death note, if you had one?- haha ye

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?- no racism, sexism, homophobia and legal marriage everywhere. Also that no one goes hungry and everyone has a nice place to live.

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?- probably 

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?- a hot demon

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?- I turn into a goddess

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?- ooo Celeste is a cool name 

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week?- hmmm Tara Strong 

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo- either the stars or the black heart or the fireworks

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true- Ive never eaten a chicken nugget, I can do the splits and I have cat

-

95. Cold or hot?- hot

96. Be a hero or be a villain?- oooooo um im a sucker for villains

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?- Rhyme

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time?- Shape shifting, i could be a plant

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?- bold of you to assume i would wanna live forever

100. ….. or …..?- :0

--

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ANON CAUSE IT TOOK FOREVER. 

[suckitsurveys]

a rare saturday survey!

Let’s start with you. How are you? Shitty because I am at work and my co worker is blasting his shitty music What motivates you to get up every day? My need for money. Do you have a true best friend? Yes. Sarah, Mark, Randal, Ellen. Do you see yourself as a sensitive person? Yeah. Have you been upset recently? Yeah

Do you still leave/receive voicemails? Yeah. Do you live in your hometown? Yes I do. Are you a festive person? Do you enjoy holidays? Yessssssssssssssss. Did you/Will you attend college? I did. How many alarm clocks do you use? I have several set on my phone. Do you consider yourself to be an open-minded person? Yeah, with some things. Do you eat fruit? Yes, of course. What is your favorite subject to learn about? Sociology. Pop culture. Architecture. How many meals a day do you typically eat? 3.

Music, eh? Have you seen any live shows? Oh yes. Name three of your favorite bands/artists… Vampire Weekend, Lana Del Rey, Lorde. How big of a role does music play in your life? I love music, but it’ not a HUGE part of my life. I’d be sad if we didn’t have it, but I’d get over it. And I’m not particular about what I listen to. As in, I don’t care about time changes and the instruments used and all the specifics. If I like how it sounds, I’ll listen to it. Can you play any instruments? Nope. You’re feeling down - do you listen to sad music or happy? I don’t really listen to music when I’m sad honestly. If you’ve ever been to a concert, how old were you and who did you see? I’ve been to sooo many. My first was when I was like 3 and we saw Bob Dylan. My last concert was Vampire Weekend in May. And my next concert is also Vampire Weekend in October in Utah!!!! Unless of course someone wants to buy me $200 Lizzo tickets which would be great thanks. Do you prefer music to be meaningful and deep, or purely for dancing/fun? I like both. Is there a song or artist that you secretly enjoy, but don’t want to enjoy? No. I like what I like, I don’t care. If you could only listen to music from one decade, which would you choose? No thanks. How boring. Has your parents taste in music in any way affected what you like? For sure. My dad as amazing taste in music. My mom did, too. You’re looking for some new music - what’s your preferred way to discover? Spotify. Do you still own any CD’s/records/tapes? My collection is still at my dad’s. Do you download music for free or pay for it? I have Spotify Premium. Do you ever hear a new song on tv that you like and find it? Yup.

Speaking of television… (look at that smooth transition!) Do you watch a lot of television? Whether that be shows, news, movies etc. I loooooooooooooooooooove TV, Do you watch the news? Not so much. I follow Chicago news sources on FB. What about the weather channel? No. I just use the app on my phone. What’s your favorite holiday movie? Hocus Pocus!!!!! What hooks you to a television show? Drama, suspense, comedy etc. If I feel a connection to the characters. How do you feel about adult cartoons? Love em. BoJack Horseman and Bobs Burgers are a couple of my all time favorite shows.

Talk shows - boring or entertaining? They can be entertaining but I don’t follow them unless they have a guest I like. Do you prefer cable, satellite or streaming? Streaming. Have you come across any new shows you like this year? YES. Bonding, Tuca and Bertie, Undone, Shrill, Russian Doll. And some older ones I just now got into like Great News and Jane the Virgin. Do you still watch shows that you grew up watching? Not super often, but yeah. What about movies that you grew up with? Lion King and Toy Story are mine! Yeah. Are you subscribed to any streaming services? Netflix and Hulu and Prime. Reality shows - entertaining or horrifying? Eh. What is the first movie you ever saw in a cinema? The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Let’s talk about what you don’t discuss at Sunday brunch… Do you identify with any organized religion? Not now not ever. If so - is it how you were raised, or have you found your own? I wasn’t raised with any religion. Do you think that marijuana should be legalized? Yes. If so, would that be for medical use only, or recreational? Both. Pro-life or pro-choice? EVERYONE should fucking be pro-choice. Have you ever protested or been on strike? Yes. Is gun control necessary or no? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fucking yes it is. Are you happy with the political state where you reside? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Why do you feel that way? Because America is bullshit. Have you read the book 13 Reasons Why or watched the show? Fuck that show watch BoJack or Undone instead. The tv show brings teenage suicide to light in a graphic manner. Should shows like this be available to everyone or could it be a trigger? Yeah except again don’t watch that shit there are better shows that depict mental illness.

Okay, let’s simmer down. Back to happy things. Do you like animals? Of course I do. If so, do you have any pets? 3 kitty babies, What is your favorite day of the week and why? Friday. Do you have a favorite season? Summer. How do you enjoy nice scents? Candles, wax melts, incense, oils etc. I do. Do you live in a large city or small town? 3rd largest city in the US. Are you happy with that or would you like to change it? I have a love/hate relationship with it. Do you have any children? Nooo. Are there any colors that you think compliment you? Purple. Black. Grey. Do you enjoy cleaning or find it to be a chore? It can be relaxing in a way honestly. What is your absolute favorite food? Crab legs and sushi.  If you were any color, what would you be? Purple. Do you spend a lot of time on social networks? Yeah. Books or movies? Movies.

[lovemesomesurveys]

Let’s start with you. How are you? Struggling, but here we are. What motivates you to get up every day? My body wakes me up and I finally drag myself outta bed for coffee. Do you have a true best friend? My mom.  Do you see yourself as a sensitive person? Very.  Have you been upset recently? Mhm.

Do you still leave/receive voicemails? I hateeee leaving voicemails. I very rarely get voicemails anymore. Do you live in your hometown? Yeah. Are you a festive person? Do you enjoy holidays? I love the holidays. Did you/Will you attend college? I did. I graduated in 2015. How many alarm clocks do you use? I’ve been known to just turn it off and fall back asleep, so I have to set several. Do you consider yourself to be an open-minded person? Yeah. Do you eat fruit? I like some fruits, but I’ve never been a big fruit eater. I honestly haven’t had any fruits in at least 3 years, possibly 4. What is your favorite subject to learn about? Psychology.  How many meals a day do you typically eat? 2-3 on good days, sometimes just 1, sometimes none. Music, eh? Have you seen any live shows? Yeah, a few. Name three of your favorite bands/artists… I have many. How big of a role does music play in your life? I enjoy music, but I don’t listen to it as much as I used to.  Can you play any instruments? I used to play some piano, but it’s over 10 years now since I’ve played. You’re feeling down - do you listen to sad music or happy? I gravitate toward the sad stuff. Ya know, #relatable and all that. If you’ve ever been to a concert, how old were you and who did you see? I’ve been to a few. My first one was when I was 16. The others were when I was 18 and early 20s. Do you prefer music to be meaningful and deep, or purely for dancing/fun? I like both. Is there a song or artist that you secretly enjoy, but don’t want to enjoy? No. I like what I like, I don’t care. If you could only listen to music from one decade, which would you choose? That’s toughhh. I love my 90s, but I like variety of music from different decades and like to listen to a bit of everything, so it would be hard to choose just one.  Has your parents taste in music in any way affected what you like? Yeah. We like a lot of the same stuff, especially my mom and I. You’re looking for some new music - what’s your preferred way to discover? Spotify. Do you still own any CD’s/records/tapes? Nope. A few years ago I sold them to a record store. Do you download music for free or pay for it? I use Spotify. We have the premium subscription, so we pay for it. Well, my mom does :X It’s a group plan thing that we have. Do you ever hear a new song on tv that you like and find it? Yeah, there’s been many times I’ve heard a song in a commercial or TV show/movie and looked it up. Speaking of television… (look at that smooth transition!) Do you watch a lot of television? Whether that be shows, news, movies etc. My TV is always on, but it does serve as background noise a lot. I have my shows I watch and pay attention to, and then there’s times I have something on and I tune in and out.   Do you watch the news? I watch entertainment news more often, but yeah I watch the regular news like The Today Show or some of our local news sometimes. I get most of news online, though. What about the weather channel? No. I just use the app on my phone.  What’s your favorite holiday movie? I love Christmas movies, there’s too many to name. What hooks you to a television show? Drama, suspense, comedy etc. I like all that, just depends on the plot really. How do you feel about adult cartoons? Not really my thing.

Talk shows - boring or entertaining? I watch a few. Do you prefer cable, satellite or streaming? We have satellite and we have streaming services like Netflix and Hulu as well.  Have you come across any new shows you like this year? I have a list of shows I want to watch, but haven’t gotten around to, yet. I think the only new shows I’ve watched were The Hills: New Beginnings and I got into Whose Line is it Anyway?, both new and old seasons lol. I used to watch it during its original run, but I recently started watching again because this one channel airs it every weeknight. OH, The Act on Hulu was really good. That was the Gypsy Rose mini series. But yeah, there’s a lot of shows I need to get around to watching.  Do you still watch shows that you grew up watching? Yep, a few.  What about movies that you grew up with? Lion King and Toy Story are mine! Yep, many. Are you subscribed to any streaming services? Netflix and Hulu. Reality shows - entertaining or horrifying? I watch quite a few, ha. What is the first movie you ever saw in a cinema? I don’t know the very first, but the one that always comes to mind for some reason is Stuart Little. I know that’s not the very first, though. Let’s talk about what you don’t discuss at Sunday brunch… Do you identify with any organized religion? Christianity. If so - is it how you were raised, or have you found your own? My paternal grandparents are Christians and I went to church and Sunday school sometimes with them, but my parents weren’t/aren’t religious. They both believe in God, but they didn’t raise me with any religion. I was actually atheist and then agnostic for most of my life, up until 3 years ago. Do you think that marijuana should be legalized? Yes. If so, would that be for medical use only, or recreational? It has a lot of benefits so definitely for medical/health purposes, but I don’t care if people want to do it recreationally.  Pro-life or pro-choice? Have you ever protested or been on strike? No. Is gun control necessary or no? Yes of course.  Are you happy with the political state where you reside? Blahhh politics. Why do you feel that way? Have you read the book 13 Reasons Why or watched the show? Both. I read the book in high school or middle school, I don’t remember which and I’ve watched the show. The tv show brings teenage suicide to light in a graphic manner. Should shows like this be available to everyone or could it be a trigger? I mean, I think it’s something that needs to be talked about. It’s a real thing and we can’t act like it doesn’t exist. Mental illness is already so taboo and people don’t want to talk about, so it gets pushed under the rug and there’s stigma attached to it and people aren’t educated on it like they should be. I understand it can be triggering and difficult for people and that’s fine, they don’t have to watch it if they feel they can’t. I also want to note that there were warnings before each episode.  Okay, let’s simmer down. Back to happy things. Do you like animals? Yes. If so, do you have any pets? Yep, I have a doggo. (: What is your favorite day of the week and why? * I dont have a favorite day of the wk. They’re prtty much all the same to me <<< Same. Do you have a favorite season? Fall and winter. How do you enjoy nice scents? Candles, wax melts, incense, oils etc. I have a few candles actually, but I never light them lol. They smell great, though. We have a few wax warmers around the house, though, which are nice. I like those because I don’t have use fire. I also like to use some air fresheners, just nothing too strong. Do you live in a large city or small town? It’s medium sized I’d say. Are you happy with that or would you like to change it? I’d like to live in a smaller city, I think.  Do you have any children? Nooo. Are there any colors that you think compliment you? Black. Do you enjoy cleaning or find it to be a chore? I definitely don’t enjoy it. What is your absolute favorite food? For the past few months it’s been scrambled eggs with cheese and spinach by itself or wrapped in a tortilla, bologna sandwiches, Ramen, and pizza.  If you were any color, what would you be? Gray. Do you spend a lot of time on social networks? Yeah. Books or movies? I enjoy both.

[lillaxtrigger]

Young Hope: Chapter 21

The salty starch of a curly french fry is dipped into a small cup of delicious ketchup; the spicy delight soon chomped in half by Kingsley’s teeth. “Mmmh...” After swallowing the piece, he goes on to compliment the flavorsome fries with: “This restaurant always makes some of the best fries. The salt and spices in each piece just burst flavor. You really outta try them Damian.” From the opposing side of the table does a tan brown hand pinch one of the longer curly fries before him; lifting it near the head of a hooded teenage boy with curly black hair drooping out from underneath. Before him, the boy watches as the long strand of potato simply droop down until it rips under its own weight; a depressing sigh escaping from his mouth as he turns away. “Hey, what’s the matter? Afraid you might burn your tongue? They’re not that hot.” Kingsley question. “I’m just not that hungry is all.” Damian moans.

Right after saying such, a small toddler smacks into his chair;  Damian disappearing upon the sudden bump. The toddler looks back, staring curiously towards the seat he’d just ran into; Kingsley watching as the little kid slowly starts to approach. Right when he was near, both hear the cry of a woman; demanding the toddler to: “Get over here, Jimmy! Quit bothering them!” On those orders does the little kid retreat from the table; the boy genius looking back towards the seemingly empty seat. “You wanna talk about what’s been eating you up? You been acting more withdrawn then usual this past week or two.” Before Kingsley does the boy reappear back in his seat as a disheartened groan leaves his lungs; answering him with: “I don’t know. I...I just haven’t been the same since that whole Circe episode. Going through that whole kidnapping and life threatening drama’s just been a little hard for me.” “I ain’t really seeing anything wrong with ya.”

Beside the two, Cayenne sat woofing down the burgers and fries before her like a savage animal; bits of fries and meat spilling back onto the table as she scarfs her food down. “Ya still lookin like the same overly dramatic try hard emo pansy you’ve always been.” she mentions, her mouth stuffed with overly greasy burger pieces. “I don’t think that’s the case. I haven’t heard him speak a single poetic line the whole time he’s been around.” Kingsley denies. “I still ain’t getting what’s eating your ass. Ya got outta that circus of horrors and lesbian magic without losing a single speck of your powers. So what the big deal?” “Cayenne! He’s probably still scared about being kidnapped and nearly getting killed. I’d know I’d be.” “You did, and so did most of my cousins too. Most of the kids that went through that shit storm turned out just fine in the end.” Hearing the spice queen recall such causes Damian to let out a disheartening moan; the boy hanging his head over the batch of spicy fries. “Uh, Cayenne. Maybe it’d be best if you sit this one out.” the boy genius suggests. “Whatev.” Rising from her seat, she takes whatever food was left in front of her before taking her leave; bidding her adieu with: “Still thinking he should just get over it.”

Watching the Spice queen depart, a defeated groan leaves Damian’s lips; hesitantly agreeing with her crass judgment with: “Saying it hurts, but…she right. A lot of the kids that witch had snatched up bounced back from it all without so much as a hiccup. Like the mighty grizzly, the chilling winter of her icy grip had lulled them into a long slumber. But the comforting spring of your warming rescue had awoken them once more; springing back from the brink with more vigor than before. Alas, the cruel winter shows little mercy for me. Like the graceful gazelle, unfit slumbering through the harsh bitter ice; growing ever more frightened and frail than ever.” “Quit thinking like that. You’re not as weak as you make yourself out to be. Everyone just goes through trauma differently, that’s all. That doesn’t make yours any less valid.” The boy genius’s encouraging statement unfortunately fails to perk Damian’s spirits, remaining ever drowning in his woes.

Kingsley slapping the table baits the ghost boy’s attention; Damian hearing him offer: “Tell ya what, how about you and I go out on day through Townsville together. It’s been a while since we done something with just the two of us. We can go wherever your ghostly heart desires. Whadya say?” “I-I don’t know Kingsley. The only thing I’m really wanting to do now is just go home and cry my eyes out.” “Did I mention that the underground cafe downtown is having a poetry evening?” “...Alright, you win.” Rising from his seat, Kingsley rejoices from the agreement by concluding: “Fantastic! Just need to pay the bill and we can hit the road.” Picking up the bill, the boy genius’s chipper demeanor is swiftly cut upon viewing the cost; finding several meals that he knows neither of them had ordered. Over a hundred bucks worth of burgers, fries, sides; Jesus! Only one person was with them that could stuff themselves that much. “Ugh, Cayenne.”

Through the streets of Townsville, the duo walk together among the countless urbanites going about their day; the boy genius asking Damien: “So, you still listen to stuff like Hip Hop and Rap?” “Nn, yeah. I’ve also been branching out more towards the tranquil melancholy that Lofi has to offer.” “Glad to hear your music tastes are still intact. I’ve been seeking out stuff through techno and synth wave myself. Guess our first stop on this cheer up trip’ll be something that both of us will be into.” “Where exactly are you taking us?”

Stepping through a shop door, the specter’s question is answered then and there; beholding a vast cavalcade of music in a slew of forms. Cassettes, records, CD’s, all hailing a multitude of countless genres for all to enjoy. “A music shop? Why is our first stop here of all places.” Damian wonders as both he and his host enter. “I figured since both of us are exploring new genres, I figure we’d stop here to look through some of the new and retro stuff they’ve got stocked.” “Can’t we just do that online?” “Well, yeah. But I find there’s this oddly comforting novelty of having physical media as opposed to just pure data. Just nice to have something displayed on the shelf I guess.” Grabbing hold of the specter’s shoulder, Kingsley guides his guest towards the collection of music as he urges him to: “Come on. I bet we’ll find a ton of amazing stuff sitting in these racks.”

Along the racks of tracks, the duo search the surprisingly vast collection of synthwave music; one of which was a CD labeled “Mitch Murder”. “Think that this might be good, Kingsley?” “Mitch Murder? Oh yeah. My dad used to listen to him a lot while he’d be making gadgets and bots. I remember when I was little, I’d here the soothing synth echoing through is lab and just lull me to sleep. Really relaxing stuff there. Thinking about taking it home?” “Me? Hmm, maybe. It be rather a curious to listen to what music others might enjoy and find out what got them hooked to it.” “Really?” “Venturing out in such unexplored territory can offer a window into the souls of others. Even if it’s completely subjective, you can tell a lot about a person from the sounds that best resonate with them.” “Sounds like you know more about this stuff then I do.” “The souls of others are a very curious endeavor to explore, Kingsley. Every single life in existence is a completely unique being.”

Their search through the shop send them leaning towards the newest lofi hits; Damien trailing his finger across the cases until coming to a particular album. Pulling out the track makes the ghost boy lets out a small sigh, followed by mentioning: “The first Lofi artist I’ve discovered, a hidden diamond sparkling out in the rough that would spark a love for the secluding melody that such a genre offers.” Popping the CD out form its case, Damian flips it into the drive of a nearby music player; grabbing hold of both the headphones attached. “Care to drift along in the sea of melancholy with me, my friend?” the specter asks; offering the extra set of headphones to Kingsley. “Uh...Sure.” Grabbing hold of the pair of headphone, the boy genius dons them right over his ears; first notes and beats he listens to sound...depressing, like really depressing. Slow beats, low droning reverb, soothing piano and guitar; really sounds like something you’d listen to when wondering of the pointlessness of life and contemplating the futility of our own existence, wondering if anything that we strive to achieve will simply just waste away in the march of time until it corrodes into something far less than memory… Depressing stuff, honestly. Not really the kind of music anyone going through those thoughts should be listening to. Best to switch to a much more joyously relaxing experience.

While Kingsley moves over and flips through the countless other lofi tracks, Damian takes in the idyllic desolation playing in his ears. The depressing strums the guitar mixing with the low key strikes of the piano truly a create a comforting misery that eases the pain; as if the musician sympathizes with the woes of trauma and depression.

Such a symphony of gloom is swiftly silenced; the specter opening his eyes as he snaps back to reality. His gaze shifts over towards the player; a new CD being inserted into the slot. Looking to who changed the track, he found Kingsley holding onto the music he was listening to with a caring smile; a new piece swiftly playing for them. This time, a more upbeat,  relaxing melody fills Damian ears. A piano, playing higher, more uplifting strikes sings alongside a similarly slow beat much like the previous melody. A complete contrast of the last lofi track, this one envelopes more of a chilling beat, a far more comforting rhythm. Like a friend saying: “Let’s just kick back, relax, and listen to some sweet, sweet sound.” A relaxing breath leaves the specter as a faint smile cracks between his cheeks.

After that change of tune, their journey through the genres continues unabated; both Kingsley and Damian scanning through the seeming endless walls and racks of music track. It’s in this moment that an all too familiar tune reaches the boy genius’s ears; gazing up towards the intercom to find it playing: “You used to call me on my...” Is that… “You used to, you used to” Is that really… “Yeah...You used to call me on my cellphone.” Oh my god, it’s playing Hotline Bling. It’s one of Damian’s favorites. Does he even knows its on? “Late night when you needed my love.”

Turning back to the ghost boy, he found not a single inch of his body dancing to the rhythm of the bass. “Call me on my cellphone.” Guess Damian hasn’t caught on yet. Probably too preoccupied with his woes to even notice. Perhaps a little push in the right direction might break him out of his shell. “Late night when you needed my love.”

Vaulting right over the racks between him and the specter, Kingsley slowly encroaches over to Damian’s side. “And I know when that hotline bling.” The boy genius’s head next to Damian’s, Kingsley starts to serenade along side the songs hot bassline; following the rhythm as the intercom continues with: “That can only mean one thing. I know when that Hotline Bling. That can only mean one thing.” Though not strong at first, Kingsley starts to see the specter’s body moving with the music; Damian foot stomping to the rhythm. “Ever since I left the city, you...Got a reputation for yourself now.” The further he hears Kingsley repeat the songs lyrics, the more Damian starts to break from his shy and apathetic standstill, beating his hands in tune to the bass. “Everybody knows and I feel left out. Girl, you got me down, you got me stressed out.” In the midst of harmonizing with the song, Kingsley begins to hear a low hum from the side; turning to the ghost boy to find him humming to the words. “Cause Ever since I left the city, you...” In tandem with his humming, the ghost boy starts to bop his head to the beat; slapping the racks with more vigorously. “Started wearing less and goin’ out more.” Damian’s whole body begins to move with the rhythm; Kingsley backing away from the dancing boy with a smile. “Glasses of champagne out on the dance floor.” The specter backs away from the rack of music tracks; his hood lowering to uplift his curly black hair. “Hangin’ with some girls I’ve never seen before.”

Finally, Damian turns away from the rack, dancing in full as he joins the boy genius on his chorus; singing out: “You used to call me on my cellphone.” Kingsley soon joins the phantom in his rhythmic bop; dancing side by side with Damian to the beat. “Late night when you need my love.” Both boy spin with one another, soon catching the attention of everybody in the music shop. “Call me on my cellphone.” Both boy then halt their twirl close to the carpet, slowly rising as they stay back to back to each other. “Late night when you need my love.” Once having fully risen, Damian jumps in the air and starts leisurely floating across the CD racks. “I know when that Hotline Bling.” All of the shops patrons watches the ghost boy glide through the store; the cashier even can’t help but gaze upon Damian as he moves to the rhythm of the music. “That can only mean one thing.” One of the shoppers joins in the phantoms serenade; her hips swaying with the beat. “I know when the Hotline bling.” Alongside her, the other shop patrons are gradually pulled into the rhythm; shaking their hips and bopping their heads to the music. “That can only mean one thing.” From the back of the store does a man with a shirt labeled “Manager” burst from the door; joining his patrons in their rapping chorus. “Ever since I left the city, you, you, you.” Gliding through the store; Damian twirls through the air as the other shop goers dancer. “You and be we just don’t get along.” Kingsley looks towards the ghost boy; happy to see a bright smile across his face as he sings with all his heart. “You make me feel like I did you wrong.” Damian lands back upon the carpeted floor with a dazzling flip; spreading his arms out in both directions. “Going places where you don’t belong.” The specter soon leaps back in the air; the people beneath him throwing CD cases in the air all at once. “Ever since I left the city, you-”

From the phantom’s carelessly joyous flight, Damian smacks himself into a whole wall full of tracks; the wall careening down upon another set of tracks beside it. That wall soon knocks over another wall of CD’s, spiraling an entire domino effect of collapsing sets of music tracks. The other patrons scatter away from the chaos, fleeing out the exit in panicking packs. Kingsley rolls away from the falling walls of music track, soon finding an entire rack threatening to topple upon him. Before the collection of songs could slam down upon the boy genius, somebody push him away from the descending rack; Kingsley finding himself thrust out from danger by his phantom friend. The boy genius can do little but witness the CD display tumble down upon his savor in a thunderous bang; soon seeing him buried under more dropping walls and racks.

The collapsing mayhem soon settles into a calming close; leaving the shops vast collection of music in ruin. Though the destroyed merchandise be the furthest worry from the boy geniuses mind; screaming out for his fallen friend. “Damian!” Kingsley lunges towards his buried friend without so much as a hint of hesitance; lifting up one of the falling rack as he assures him that: “Don’t worry buddy, I’ll getcha outta there soon! Just hang on!” Just as he ready to lift away the next piece of debris, the boy genius soon sees the translucent head of his friend; the ghost boy insisting that: “I’m okay. I’m okay.” Like an intangible spirit free from the physical plain of this world, Damian phases right through the toppled collection of tracks; turning corporeal once more as he lands back in front of the boy genius. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” A hearty sigh slips out from between Kingsley lips, the boy genius admitting: “Thank goodness. I really though you were done for a second there. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” “Trust me Kingsley, I’ve made out out of worse.” “I meant like...Are you feeling any better?” “Um...Kind of, but not a lot. Thanks for trying Kingsley.” “Hey, don’t quit just yet. This is just the first stop on the encouragement express; the next surprise in store might just fix your spirits yet.”

“You think so, huh?” a third voice questions. In that moment, a wayward fist breaches out from the rubble of the racks behind the boy genius; the emerging arm soon erupting out to show it belonging to the music shops managers. “You figure out how you’ll do the same with my store?” the manager growls. Presenting the resulting destruction to the two, he points towards the wrecked racks of broken CD’s and cracked case; reinforcing how: “The walls of records ruined, the racks of CD’s reduced to rubble, the tracks that I’ve stocked in shards. My entire music shop’s been completely destroyed! You got a way to fix all that!?” With a worrying groan, Kingsley pulls his wallet out from the depths of his pocket; slipping out from one of its folds his credit card.

Strolling through the concrete streets, the boy genius can’t help but notice Damian’s troubled glare; a gloomy moan leaving his lungs as the phantom stares out into space. “Hey, don’t look so down. I guarantee that the next stop were gonna visit will turn that frown upside down.” Kingsley promises. “You think so?” “I know so. It’s been someplace I’ve been wanting to take ya for quite awhile now. I guarantee your ghostly spirits will soar when you see it.” “Mind I ask where exactly are you planning to take us?”

Guided to his next stop, the ghost boy’s question is answered right then and there; Damian caught off guard by Kingsley surprise. Witnessing the astonishment in his eyes, a smile stretches across the boy genius’s face. “So, what do ya think? Your mood lightening up?” he asks. “I- I can’t believe it.” Standing before them be a brightly colored shop; the phantom beholding the assortment of exotic, almost otherworldly flowers displayed beyond the windows. “I’m guessing that’s a yes. Come on, I want to show ya the inside.” Taking the ghost boy’s hand, Kingsley gently leads Damian through the bright blue doorway; the wind chimes attached to the door ringing through their ears as they enter.

From within the shop, the duo beheld the quaint collection of blooming bunches surrounding them; a rainbow of flora encircling the pair. “All this is simply beautiful. The colors and fragrances all just blending harmoniously together in a symphony of natural beauty. How did you know?” the specter questions. “You kidding? With the whole array of flowers I see all over your house, it’s just a matter of putting two and two together. But all this, it simply pales in comparison to what they got set up in the back. Amazed me the first time I saw it all. It’s what got me thinking it bring you here.”

Stepping out the stores backdoor, both beholding a majestically expansive site spread before them; flora from every corner of the world and beyond gathered within a single enclosed garden, free from the influence of the outside world. The numerously vast collection of foliage leaves the phantom utterly speechless; left at awe of the overwhelming beauty of nature his eyes lay upon. Noticing the amazement in Damian's eyes, Kingsley lets out a little chuckle alongside mentioning: “Yep, that’s pretty much the same face I made when I first saw all this. Ain’t it neat?” “Neat? Neat simply isn’t enough to describe a site such as this. A wondrous union of flora from every corner of the world. The enchanting allure of such an earthly gathering simply draws forth the soul of nature within.” Having poetically described his feelings of wonderment and awe; Damian glides further into the wide collection of flowers before him.

The first set of flora to bait the ghost boys site be the seemingly dangerous cacti; planted upon patches of dry earth surrounded by brick. Drifting closer towards the green desert plants; Damian can’t help but let out an admiring sigh. “The mighty cactus, flourishing among the scorching desert sands. And yet, despite their unwelcoming appearance, they hide beauty among their prickly spines.” Glazing across the barbed patches, the specter soon finds a disturbance to the green; a bright pink flower, blooming right on the surface of a single cactus. “A single beauty; radiating among the harsh shells of the countless cacti.” Gliding his fingers across the flowers petals, Damian feels the gentle, almost silky texture of its petals. “Such a truly remarkable site bares with it a striking statement. How even the seemingly deadliest among us can show truly tender beauty.”

Breaking his site from the cacti underneath him; Damian is soon drawn towards another gorgeous site. “Ah! A deceptive contrast.” The ghost boy floats right over the prickly spines of the cacti and soon faces a glorious set of bell shaped flowers; a glass cage standing between him and the pure white flora. “The duplicitous brugmansia. The Angels trumpet. Truly a name none more deserving to represent the diabolical side of nature.” Phasing his arm through the glass, the specter delicately lifts one of the bells; continuing his description by adding: “Though their bell like bulbs may show themselves to be delectable and tempting, their petals hide an insidiously toxic poison. Even a single bite of this bell may very well send one on a terrifyingly painful trip towards the gates of heaven.” Taking his arm out from beyond the glass cage; Damian concludes is poetic statement with: “An example none more fitting for deceptive beauty. For what we may find as graceful and innocent may well be far more deadly and toxic than we perceive.”

Away from the lethal bells, the specter continues to drift through the glorious garden. Swiftly are his eyes taken towards a small bush sporting white flora all throughout its branches. “Quite the rare site. Never in my life would I imagine laying eyes upon the delicate hawthrons.” Nearing the bush of white, Damian gently brushes his palm along the white flora; adding how: “A flower seemingly so bland and uninteresting; blending in alongside the other beauties of nature. Alas, these tiny, fragile flowers hold within their stems an extremely potent healing property; the perfect ingredient to create powerful herbal medicine.” Pulling his hand away from the delicate flora, the phantom finishes his poetic dialect with: “A bold statement on how the small and blandest in our lives can have the biggest impacts.”

Out from the side; the ghost boy hears the call of his friend; Damian turning towards the source of his voice: “Hey Damian, come check this out.” Quickly, he glides towards the boy genius; gazing up to the majestic site right behind him. Witnessing the look of amazing upon his ghostly friend, Kingsley questions him with: “Ever seen something like this before.” “Only in myth.” Standing tall above them was the grand centerpiece of the entire exotic garden; a glamorous emerald tree enveloping a regal fountain. “An emerald evergreen. I’d never thought I would lay eyes upon such a wondrous site.”

The dazzled specter begins to ascend towards the top; the emeralds shine glimmering across his body as he rises. Near the trees crest, Damian plucks a piece of emerald hanging from one of the crystal branches; holding the piece of naturally grown jewelry towards the sun. Through the glass dome, the sun shine beams through the emerald; shining green upon the phantoms face. Dancing whimsically with the piece of rock in hand, Damian recites how: “This beautiful tree of shining jade truly brings the entire garden together; standing alongside the majestic flora to create a stunning symphony to represent the earth as a whole. A magical union of natures wonder.”

Finishing his dance, the ghost boy casually tosses the emerald leaf in his hand aside; soon descending back down towards Kingsley. The piece of rock ends up lodging itself into the sprinkler set at the top; the rock blocking the fountains water flow.

Landing right beside the boy genius, Damian lets loose a blissful sigh; Kingsley questioning if: “Guessing your spirits are soaring high now, aren’t they?” “As high as the stars themselves, Kingsley. My soul has soared beyond the atmosphere and has drifted through the planets themselves.” “Great to hear. You uh...You still hung up about you know who?” “As a matter of fact, I-” Right before the specter could give his say, both hear a violent shaking of metal and rock behind them. Turning back towards the tree, the duo witness the emerald evergreen swiftly start to furiously tremble; the loose bits of jade shaking off the crystal branches.

Right in front of them does a jet of water breach out from the hard emerald; Damian turning intangible before the gushing stream could hit him. The water jet phases right through the ghost boys body, soon striking the boy genius right behind him. “Kingsley!” Damian screams; watching as his host careens across the garden. Soon, the boy genius is smacked against the shops back wall; dropping down upon the grass with a thud. Witnessing Kingsley rise from the wayward flight, a relieved moan escapes from the phantoms lips. That same relief is swiftly withdrawn when he turns back towards the evergreen; geysers of fountain water breaking out from every side of the emerald tree; the sharp shards of which scatter all across the garden. As he gazes upon the disaster acting out before him, panicking cries reach Damian’s ear; glancing to his side to find the people fleeing from the ensuing chaos. One of these passerby’s lags behind the absconding crowd as he trip right onto the tiled walkway; looking above to witness a shower of sharp emerald pieces raining down towards him. The man braces for his inescapable demise; curling up as he awaits for the shards to impale his backside. But he feels not a single sting to his back, soon curling out from his brace to notice an emerald green glow shining right behind him; gazing back to discover the specter shielding him from the lethal shower with a translucence green plasma shield. “Get out of here!” he hears his savor demand. Not hesitating for a single second, the man scampers away from the ghost boy; Damian’s shield dissipating from the palm if his hand once the emerald rain ceases.

Back upon his feet, Kingsley beholds the escalating pandemonium ensuing before him; whole chunks of the evergreen now spraying out from around the fountain. Oh god. This is getting bad, really, really fast. They got have a water pressure control around her somewhere that can shut all this down. Hoping to find such, Kingsley swiftly scans through the garden for something that fails to blend in with the scenery; an element that clashes with the background as a whole. Out from the other side, his eyes soon lay upon a gray box nestled among a bed of gorgeous lilies. Jackpot!

The control box in his site, the boy genius sprints through the tiled walkway; passing through the retreating garden patrons. Kingsley glances up to witnesses his ghostly pal surveying through the sky; Damian’s attention soon baited by the boy genius when he calls. “Damian!” Gazing down to Kingsley below, the phantom listens as the boy genius orders that: “I’m going for the water control box! Get everyone outta here!” Hearing these demands, Damian descends down to the tiled pathway towards a couple of fleeing people. Hugging both by their wastes, the phantom sweeps the two out of the enclosed garden; phasing both him and the couple right through the glass dome.

Witnessing his phantom friend working on rescuing duty, Kingsley continues his race towards the control box up ahead. Out from the evergreen does another chunk of emerald come blasting out from the tree’s surface; the large jade rock careening towards the sprinting boy genius. Rolling along the tile, he slides right under the careening jewel as it passes right over him; the rocks rugged shards just inches away from his back. Once the emerald flies by, Kingsley leaps right back on his feet and continues towards the control box.

From there, the boy genius hurries towards the patch of lilies; green shadows sliding across the pathway baiting his attention up. Above, Kingsley witnesses several large shards descending right towards his path; refusing to halt for their landing. Continuing through, he sidesteps out from emeralds piercing crash down; witnessing the sizable shards digging straight through the tile. Finding another ready to crash before him, he jumps out from the jade jewelry’s landing; pieces of tile scattering upon impact. One more jagged jade digs right into tile pathway in front of him; Kingsley moving right by the broken piece of emerald.

Within the shop itself, two scruffy looking fellows calmly browse through the selection of flora along the shelves. One of them puts his nose up to a set of blue flowers and takes in the present aroma they emit. “I’m telling ya man. These hydrangeas will really make the place pop. Be a nice site among all those moldy hallways.” one of the suggests. “Hmm. Not to sure if blue really is the color we should go for.” the other doubts as they withdraw their nose from the flower. “Well, what kind are you thinkin about?” “I don’t know, man. Something like looks more natural. Maybe something green?” “Man, don’t fuckin joke about that. You remember the last disaster that happened when green came into our lives?” Before the other gent could answer, a crowd of fleeing patrons passes right behind them; the two turning their sites to the absconding shopper. “The hell’s got them so worked up?” one of them wonder. Glancing out through the window, the other answers with: “I think I might know what.” Both gazing out into the enclosed garden, the two scruffs stare out as they watch the specter and gifted scientist zoom through the scenery; their sites specifically locked towards the racing Kingsley. “Oh ho… ain’t that a familiar motherfucker.”

The boy genius lethal race through the garden seems to begin reaching its finish; Kingsley making out the piping hooked to the water control box among the lilies. Threatening to halt his progress however be another jet of water erupting from the tree. Though none of the shards tempt to fly in Kingsley’s direction, the speeding stream of water shoots right for him. Right on the mark, the geyser of fountain water strikes him aside; the technician sent flying through the garden. Kingsley’s forceful flight starts to take a turn for the worse, soon finding himself rocketing right towards the desert dwelling cacti. Kingsley closes his eyes, knowing there’s little he can do to to stop his careen towards the sandy pin traps but brace for the spiny impact.

Just before he could feel the sting of their sharp needles, he’s is snatched out of harms way. Failing to feel any of the cacti’s deadly pins pierce his skin; Kingsley opens his eyes and gazes up to find himself held in the air by his ghostly friend. “You okay?” Damian wonders. “I’m fine. Just fly me to the control box.”

At his friends request, the phantom teen glides across the garden to deliver his friend towards the lilies. Right when nearing the control box, Damian hears his passenger then order him to: “Now, drop me down!” “What!? But where nowhere near close to the ground! You’ll get hurt!” “There’s no time to land, Damian! Other peoples lives are at stake!” Although reluctant, the ghost boy heeds to his friends request and releases his grip on Kingsley’s arms; the super genius plummeting down towards the lily patch. While Kingsley’s descent proves trouble free, his landing shows to be anything but; breaking his ankle upon the solid concrete. The rough landing makes him tumble back; the gifted technician grabbing hold of his foot as he cries out; “Ah! My ankle!” “Kingsley!” his phantom friend concerns as he starts to descend. “Don’t worry about me! Just keep getting people out of here!” With that order, the ghostly teen flies away; leaving Kingsley to limp towards the control box.

Zooming back into the fray, Damian witness a huge chunk of the evergreen burst from the tree; the emeralds trajectory sent straight towards a fleeing elderly couple. With all his might, the specter jets straight towards the couple; coming neck and neck with the careening piece of crystal. Outracing the chunk of jade by only several inches, he reaches his arms out towards the two; grabbing hold of both senior citizens. The hunk of shining rock however slams down upon all three; the tiled pathway around the crashed emerald fracturing on all sides. Thankfully, all of them remain completely unharmed; Damian intangibly leading them out of the chunk of jewelry.

Finally making it to the control box, Kingsley leans over and begins digging through his pockets; soon pulling out his beloved screwdriver. With but a single stroke, he jams the tip of his tool right between the box and its cover; soon starting to wedge the lid off. It takes only several motions before he finally pries off the lid, revealing the valves and button controls held within; immediately beginning to turn the valve clockwise. The fountain set around the broken evergreen begins to finally calm; the water spurting out from the shattered walls of emerald soon dying down as a shimmering rainbow is left in its wake.

Finished leading the elderly couple out of the garden, Damian zooms back towards his technically gifted host. Kingsley himself sits relieved; a peaceful sigh escapes him as he knows the destruction is at an end. Seeing his phantom friend approaching, he rises from the patches of dirt to complement the ghost boy with: “Thanks Damian. You’re a big help. Your bravery and swift thinking here saved everyone's lives.” “Are you kidding. You’re the real hero here. I just simply kept people out of harms away. You...Your the one that actually stopped this whole mess.” Tempting to rise from the dirt, the boy genius stands on his feet; his ankles soaring horribly upon standing. Watching Kingsley fumble back down, Damian approaches worried; asking him if: “Oh my god! Are you alright!?” “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just my ankle. I’ll walk it off.” Rising to his knees, another question pops into Kingsley head; making him wonder aloud: “Still, kinda curious to know what screwed the fountain up so bad. Piping just doesn’t burst outta nowhere like that.”

Wondering such himself, Damien glides over towards the fractured fountain; taking a curious glance at its crown. Looking within the warped pipe at the top, the phantom teen spots something green clogging the inside. Phasing said object out with an intangible hand revealed to be a solid emerald leaf, a very familiar emerald leaf actually. Upon wondering why it seemed to recognize the jade crystal foliage; the answer suddenly hits him. “Oh...Oh my...” “What’s the matter, Damian!? Find something up there!?” he hears his host shout from below. Reluctant to show him; the phantom teen slowly descends to the base of the fountain where Kingsley stands. Without a word, Damian shyly presents the jade leaf to the boy genius; Kingsley surprised how: “That little thing caused the fountain to burst? That’s nuts. How did it even get up there?” “It’s because of me...” the specter shamefully admits. “What?” “I was the one who carelessly tossed this beautiful crystal leaf into the fountain’s crown. It’s because of me that the pipes burst and caused so much trouble.” “So it’s you’re fault, is it?” a third voice blames.

Gazing towards the source of the raspy intrusion, the duo are joined by an approaching old lady pointing her finger at the phantom as she continues with: “You’re the reason the piping went haywire!?” “Huh?” Damian wonders. “Look at the mess you made out of my precious garden!” Gazing upon the destruction that the owner presented, the two see before them the countless chunks of emerald having destroyed the tiled walkway, but the various flora as well. The rhododendrons ripped to shreds, the carnations crushed, the anemones annihilated, the peonies pulverized; almost every single flower in the garden pierced by jade shards. “All the work that I’ve put into this glorious garden, now reduced to nothing but a bejeweled catastrophe! But the worse of it all is the centerpiece.” Pointing towards the crystal tree; all three of them behold the result of the fountains clog; the emerald evergreen fractured by the burst piping. “My beautiful evergreen, shattered and destroyed beyond recognition and repair. Never to be beheld in its former glory again.” Contemplating the destruction of this once gorgeous garden that he had caused, despair ridden feelings begins to well within Damian. “Look, we’re sorry, okay. We didn’t mean to cause any of this.” Kingsley attempts to defend. “You think saying that’s gonna fix my garden? You know how much I’ll have to spend to restore all this; to track down another emerald evergreen!? How do you think your gonna compensate for the destruction you’ve caused!?”

With a guilty conscience weighing him down; the ghostly teen digs through his pockets to pull out his wallet. “I can-” Getting his wallet out, Kingsley lowers his phantom friends while he insists that: “Relax, I got it.” “But Kingsley, I can’t let you pay for what I did.” “You really think that you or your parents can afford to pay for all this? I got this covered.” A weak moan leaving his lips, the ghost boy puts his wallet away.

Limping through the twilight streets, Kingsley can’t help but hear his ghostly pal beside him berate himself on how: “It’s all my fault. All the wonder and beauty held within that glorious garden, all the CD’s and records that the music shop had gathered; all squandered and ruined because of my carelessness. The very pleasantries that deliver me joy and happiness, all come to ruin by my thoughtless actions. Truly, the universe wishes for me to weep; to wallow in the sorrows of my own doing.” “Step beating yourself up so much. You managed to save a whole bunch of people today; twice myself included. Swooping in and flying people out of the face of danger. You should be proud.” “Danger that I’ve caused. None of them would even have to be saved if it weren’t for me.” “It ain’t even remotely your fault. It’s how those places were constructed that was the problem. What made that flower shop keeper think that growing an emerald tree around a fountain wouldn’t lead to a disaster.”

Even with these statements, Kingsley finds his words showing little in lifting his friends mood; Damian simply staring down onto the concrete streets. “But uh, hey! Don’t be too down. We still got one more stop left on this encouragement express, and I guarantee that this final stop will really make the day. Trust me.” Upon those words does the boy genius lead Damian down a small flight of stone steps; soon opening the door at the bottom to reveal a small bar. The specter’s eyes are set alight on beholding the small stage behind the crowd; hearing the woman on stage sound off a haiku. “The wind is blowing. With it carries the glow of spring. The lily orchid blooms.” The end of her poetic haiku is met with a slew of snapping fingers; Damian's mouth open in astonishment. “The underground theater bar. I was so busy wallowing that I’d forgotten.” “I knew this would brighten you’re mood, even if it is kinda smokey. Think your up to get on there and perform.” Kingsley asks, waving away the puffs of cigarette smoke. “Are you kidding? I can’t wait.”

Brimming with excitement, the ghost rushes to the nearest empty table; soon pulling out a notebook and pencil as Kingsley sits next to him. Teething upon the neck of his pencil, a pondering groan escape from Damian’s lungs. “Nnn, I just can’t decide. What do you think I should write about?” he asks his host. “Whatever you want to write about, Damian. Poetry is a beautiful free form art with only the limits of your imagination.” “Kingsley, that not an answer. I need inspiration, dammit.”

The chime of the mic cuts in between their conversation, both looking out towards the stage to witness a woodland dressed gentleman tapping upon the tip. Drawing the entire bars attention, the gent clears his throat and begins his poetic anecdote with: “Few have never had the pleasure to experience an enchanting encounter with the heart of Asian nature such as I; beholding the unfiltered majesty of the Thailand jungles. The sunlight shinning through the bamboo thickets revealed the beauty reflecting within our precious earth. The elephants marching through the tall foliage as they guide their young showed to me the parental bonds we humans take for granted. Witnessing firsthand the symbolic relationship between the flock of oxpecker birds and pack of hippopotami proved to be a heartwarming example of the harmonious relationship between different creatures. All stunning examples of what we as a species should be striving for.” The woodland gents description of his trip through the Asian jungle lends him a mild snapping applause from the audience.

Fresh off hearing this performance does the distinct sound of rumbling hit Kingsley’s ears; the boy genius glancing down to see his stomach in an uproar. “Esh, guess those fries ain’t sitting too well. I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me.” he mentions as he rises from his seat. “Don’t take too long in there, Kingsley. Once I’m done, it’ll be my turn on the stage.” Damian insists without looking up from his notebook. With the boy genius strolling into the bathroom, he fails to witness the next poet come on stage; a woman in gothic attire standing within the spotlight.

Grabbing hold of the mic with her nail polished hands, the goth girl begins to recount the her tale by starting with. “The waxing moon shines down upon the decrepit remains of a Norwegian castle; the midnight lunar glow illuminating the rustic and dust ridden ruins of its halls revealing a haunting beauty one of which can only behold to believe. Traversing through the keeps darkest corridors, I had witnessed a magical site before me; fractured vision of the abodes glory days flash through the hallways. Passing through these sparks of nostalgia, the very air itself felt out of time; the furnishings and decors feeling new down to the very touch. But alas, these visions fade all too soon; the battered and decayed remains of the castle returning to shambles once more. Never have a seen anything more decadent such as that Norwegian keep, as if whatever haunts its halls is attempting to recollect memories lost to the unforgiving ages. Perhaps the day shall arrive when those that linger within the castle release themselves from the grip of their troubled memories and finally rest once and for all.” Having finished retelling her trips throughout the haunted castle, the gothic woman sets the mic back onto its pedestal; the audience lending her story a much stronger set of snaps. This haunting experience also sparks inspiration within the ghost boys own thoughts, Damian rapidly scribbling down words within his notebook.

Fresh from leaving one of the bathroom stalls, Kingsley draws in as much of the ocean breeze air fresheners captivating scent as he can; a refreshed breath leaving his lips. Ahh! That smells so much better. Certainly beats the puffs of smoke wafting outside. Don’t really know how anybody can live in that nicotine fueled air.

His shadow trailing behind the streetlights out the window, the technician strolls to the sink as he takes in more of the bathrooms pleasant incense. As he turns the sinks nobs, he wonders where exactly the refreshing smell originates; pressing the soap dispenser to find the scent coming from it alone. Whoa, that is some strong smelling soap; the scent itself leaking out from the dispenser just to grace everyone with its majestic scent. Almost as if the air of the very tropics themselves boarded a plane to town just to forcefully jam themselves straight into the noses of others. Wonder who sells this stuff?

Beside him does another stall open, a shadow trailing along the tiled floor as it approaches the boy genius’s backside.. All the while Kingsley himself remains distracted by his personal hygiene. Lathering his hands with the strong smelling soap, he finally rinses his palms; washing away every last bit of the suds. Taking in the smell of his palms, a relaxed sigh escapes from Kingsley lungs; the ocean breeze soon replaced with the scent of chloroform as a rag is forced over his mouth. Struggling against his assailants grasp, the boy genius looks within the mirror to find somebody holding him tightly, unable to make out any distinct details as his vision slowly fades. Kingsley soon falls into a deep slumber, the red swirling goggles once strapped to his neck slipping off onto the bathroom tile.

Upon the bars stage, the Damian’s chance in the spotlight finally arrives; the specter shyly putting his mouth to the mic as he announces: “Thank...Thank you all for giving me the chance to tell all of you my own tale. Truth be told, I’ve had this chronicle on the back of my mind for quite a long time now, and am happy to finally share with all of you one of my stories.” Sharing such earns the phantom teenager a small set of snaps from the audience before him; Damain looking down onto the paper of his notebook.

“Through a man made portal of swirling green, my entire body was cast into the emerald afterlife. Beyond the gates of the dead, I float through a seemingly endless void of tormented spirits and haunting beings; wailing in never ending agony over the mortality they’ve lost. Among the countless lost souls, creatures beyond words drift alongside them; praying upon their despair and sorrows like emotional predators. Floating along the swirling madness, a countless cavalcade of doors rest to my sides; each one unique to the next. Living behind their wood lie the countless memories of the departed, some being little more than single lit rooms, other massive expanses as far as the eye can see; though they all attempt to keep what little shards of memory their mortal lives once held. Soon, my journey led me faced with exotic islands beyond the reaches of the living; struggling against weathers of blistering heat and freezing winds. Venturing through the beautiful paradises of lost roman cities, to the unkempt hellscapes of torturous ruined prisons; I’ve ventured out through the most alien and imaginative worlds that human imagination has yet to comprehend. But at long last, my search for home came at an end; led to the very portal I was thrust into. Without a single moment of hesitance, I bolted through the swirling gate, soon met with my loving parents arms once more.”

Upon finishing his daring story through the dimension of the dead, Damian steps away from the mic and gives the audience a graceful bow. The silence is then shattered by a wave of snapping fingers, everyone in the bar applauding the ghostly teen’s haunting tale. Hearing himself receive such an ovation brings a bright smile to his face, the phantom casting away his dark hood to reveal his long sleeved dark yellow garbs underneath. That smile however starts to dissolve upon staring back towards his table; realizing his friends failed return from the bathroom.

Entering the men’s washroom, Damian sees not a single soul beyond the door; not even a sign of his host. “Kingsley? You in here?” he calls out. Alas, he fails to bait even a remote response, hearing only the acoustics of the tile repeating his call. His sites soon turns to the stalls, checking underneath to find not a single pair of feet. Opening all three of them yield nothing either, each one completely vacant. Quite peculiar to be honest. He definitely said he was going to the restrooms, certain that he was. It’s not like him to just depart without so much as warning, especially during a day out such as this.

Upon pondering this does Damian feel something crack below his feet, glancing down and lifting his foot to find a familiar set of goggles, one of the lenses shattered by the specters foot. Picking them off the floor, he knew right away who they belonged to. This-these are Kingsley’s favorite pair! He’s almost always has them around his neck. Something must have happened. He wouldn’t just leave them on the floor so carelessly like this. Betting he was kidnapped, this is a job for the cops.

With this in mind, Damian feverishly pulls out his phone; his finger resting on the police dial. Right when he was ready to make the call, a worrying thought perks up and causes him to hesitate. Hang on! If he was kidnapped, it’s almost a safe bet they plan to hold him hostage; having him at gunpoint and could cap him at any sign of the heat. Might wanna call in somebody that can make things go smoothly. Thinking this, the phantom teen scrolls up to the “C” list; his finger hovering over Cayenne’s number. Eh, maybe not. She might wind up making things worse.

Putting his phone back, the ghostly teen lets out disheartened groan. It’s no use. It doesn’t matter who can help out, they’ll just draw attention and put Kingsley in danger. Guess its more of a solo rescue mission then. Still, there is one thing that can track him down. Something that Dad talked about a couple years back. Might be kinda rusty at it, hadn’t really had much need to practice. Oh well, guess now’s a good a time as any.

Taking in a deep breath, Damian lets out calming sigh; shutting his eyes as he holds the pair of broken goggles before him. An emerald green aura begins to emit from the ghost boys palms, soon enveloping Kingsley’s swirling goggles in their glow. From the aura do the pair of goggles start to ascend from his hands; the phantom focusing upon the eye wear until nothing else remains in his mind. With enough concentration, the aura surrounding the goggles transforms into a violet hue; soon trailing away from the pair of eye wear and drifting towards the left. Opening his eyes, Damian witnesses the aura trial phasing through the bathroom window. Walking to the small window, the specter lightly taps the glass; the window falling over onto the concrete street. From there, Damian phases out from the bathroom and in to the alley; swiftly following the aura of his friend out into the streets.

Trapped within the dim confines of a ruined room, two thugs finish tying the gifted technician from neck to toe tightly to a wooden chair; remaining oddly calm to the daring situation at hand. “Sooo...why did you guys kidnap me again?” he nonchalantly asks his captors. “For real, you saying don’t remember a thing about us?” the one to his front wonders. “Mmm...Nah.” “Not even the time we kidnapped ya a few months back?” the goon wonder, hurt by the boy genius’s lack of memory. “Eh, ain’t ringing any bells.” “Seriously, how often does ya sorry ass get ganked that you don’t recognize us?” the other behind him wonders as he walks to Kingsley’s front. “Happens more times then you’d think, honestly. Ya mind being a bit more specific?” “The Raw Shuck gang?” Mentioning their identities leaves their captive ever clueless; Kingsley simply starring at them with a confused gaze. “Those three brats you had with ya tore up our sweet hideout the last time we took ya.” “Nnn...sounds familiar, but...You sure that was you guys?” Upon this absence of memory, the two crooks are left speechless; one of their eyes beginning to well up with tears. Wiping the tear off his face, the goon pulls his partner aside to talk in private.

Facing away from their captive, the one goon goes on to mention: “Told ya our reputation’s been plummeting the past couple months. Gotten so bad that this mofo we ganked a while back can’t even remember us.” “Maybe it wouldn’t have took a nose dive down to the earths core and out the other side if we had more than one hideout. The damage that assholes kids caused took out half our gang.” “Hey, it ain’t my fault that some new brats in town are muscling in on our turfs and beaten the shit outta us.” “Who’s even stompin us out anyway? Didn’t even hear a single name.” “I don’t fuckin know. Bunch of young ass mofo’s going around callin themselves the “Yellow Jacket”. Some shit like that.” “You fuckin playin with me here? What kind of twink ass freaks just strutten through the streets like tough shit name themselves after a bunch of damn wasps?” “Well, who names their gang after a psychological test?” Kingsley interjects. From behind their back, the two goon look back towards the boy genius; glancing to each other to realize their captive listening their private conversation. Fulling turning back to their tied up hostage, the two gaze upon Kingsley with intimidating glares; one of them putting their face to the boy genius’s and threatening with: “Ain’t nobody gonna bust you outta here this time.” Both make their exit out; the other goon leaving Kingsley with a departing promise. “You gonna pay for make fools outta the Raw Shuck.”

With these parting words to the two thugs leave the boy genius tied up; Kingsley himself left apathetic to their warning. “Oh no. I, Kingsley Spicer, have been captured once again by a menacing gang of thugs and entrapped under their ropes. If only I had come prepared for this inevitable situation. Oh wait...” he claims with droning sarcasm. Loosening his wrist from the tight hold of his restraints, the boy reveals a watch from under the ropes. Pressing a button to its side causes the watches face to open; a small mechanical appendage soon firing a small laser. “I did.” the boy genius sarcastically recounts as the laser cuts through the rope holding him down. Once the last of his binds has been severed, Kingsley rises from the wooden chair, brushing off the loose strands of rope. “And people wonder why I wear a watch with smartphones around.”

Outside, Damian stares onward as a nervous gulp passes through his through; beholding the run down hospital blending into the night. “Get it together, Damian. It’s an abandoned hospital...filled to the brim with murderous thugs ready to unload their guns towards an intruder at a moments notice. No big deal, nothing to fear.” Glancing down to the pair of broken goggles in his hands, the phantom teen witnesses the voilet aura trail winding through the front door. “If I play my cards just right, I can swoop in and get Kingsley right out. All with no one else the wiser.” This strategy cemented in his head, Damian makes himself invisible to the naked eye and glides right through the front door.

Set deep within the dark corridors of the hospital, two goons stroll past an open desk sitting right in the middle of a big intersection. “So they asked you how you want your pork cooked?”. “Yeah, it was really weird. You told me that pork has to be cooked in a specific way right?” “It has to be cooked thoroughly so that all the bacteria in it get burned off. Kinda shocking that they even asked in the first place.” “Yeah, probably won’t be long before they catch the heat of the FDA. That steakhouse is a lawsuit waiting to happen, just wait.” Once the two turn the corner, their thought to be captive peeks out over the counter; glancing in both directions before sneaking away in the opposite direction.

Prowling through the molding hospital halls, stealthy technician gazes up towards the ceiling; the exit signs hanging over head beaten in. Beyond it however laid another sign, pointing where the fire escape is located. Seems like the perfect getaway at first, doesn’t it? Just slip through the emergency exit and book it as fast as ya can. But with the tempting bait lies an insidious trap. Judging by the dim lights, this place is still holding the power together. The alarm to the fire escape probably hasn’t been cut. Try and walk out through there and the blaring alarm will get the whole hospitals attention. Still, there’s gotta be another way out. Somewhere nobody will even notice anybody making their getaway. Upon wondering such does Kingsley witness a shadow creeping out from the corner; soon frantically looking around for a place to hide.

Out from beyond the corner, disgruntled goon walk through the empty hallway with a mop and bucket in hand. “Man, why the fuck do I always get stuck with janitor duty. Ain’t like anybody else is going through this moldy ass shit hole. Only got me on this one man clean up crew with just fucking mop and bucket; don’t know what makes em think that anybody can clean this whole crap dump with just these thing.” Caught up in his aggravated rantings, the janitorial grunt fails to discover Kingsley hiding within one of the open patient rooms; the door broken from its hinges. Once the angry cleaner was clear from the halls, the sneaking genius slinks away from the janitor; sadly unaware of his invisible ghostly pal searching for him on the other side of the hall.

Passing the pissed grunt overhead, Damian continues to trail through the dim hospital halls; following the violet aura emanating from his friends broken goggles. His trailing search soon takes him to a split in the middle; Kingsley’s energy venturing off in both directions of an intersecting hallway. The phantom ponders why his trail would fracture so distinctly like this; only two explanations at the top of his head. Either these thugs couldn’t decide where to stow him, or...he must have broke free! If the latter is true, then Kingsley would be attempting to sneak out towards the exit. Best track him down post haste, lest these brutish thugs catch him in the midst of his escape. Judging from where the entrance is located, Kingsley would likely be going...right. Having thought this, Damian takes a right on the 4 way hallway; resuming his rescue as he continue to follow his friend’s aura.

His invisible pursuits soon lead him to an alarming predicament. Standing before him be a whole cavalcade of thugs, crooks and grunts, mingling to one another of their criminal escapades within what looked to be a small lobby. Oh...oh boy...Okay, this gonna be tight. Just gotta not make a single sound and this’ll go as silky smooth as melting butter on top of toasted bread.

Carefully does Damian start to fly over the pack of thugs without so much as a peep; as getting close to the ceiling as he possibly can without touching it. Only a few feet of space stand between their countless heads and his body; the specter quieting his breath so not to draw any attention. As the phantom teen carefully floats over the murmuring crowd, he regrets not making enough time to practice his other ghostly abilities with his father; maintaining intangibility alongside invisibility being a skill that would have come in handy in situations such as this. Perhaps once this is all over, the father could explain how to do so without contracting overwhelming migraines.

A trouble that bares its fangs when Damian’s clothes are caught on the ceiling, the unexpected jerk making the mineral fiber tile over him tremble. Glancing back, the phantom had found the bottom back of his shirt caught along a loose wire. Hearing the murmuring cease underneath, Damian gazes down to find the crooks below him staring up towards him. “Anyone else see that?” “Yeah, part of the ceiling moved.” “I saw it too!” “Probably just rats! This place is crawling with them.” “I don’t know, I ain’t hearing any scuttling.” With the crowd under him growing curious, Damian slowly attempts to pick out his shirt from the wiring; his endeavors causing the tile over him to shake. “There! It’s moving! I knew it!” “Da faq’s goin on up there!” “Someone got a stick or somethin?” “We could just stack on each other and reach up there.” “Hell, no. I ain’t havin someones dirty ass dick on the back of my neck.” “Found a broken IV pole. Will that work?” The crowd beneath him gathering ever closer, Damian hurries to unhook his shirt from the loose wire; someone from the band of crook drawing forth with a long metal pole. Right as the goon with the broken IV pole was under him, the phantom manages to free himself from the wires grasp. The crook below begins to thrust the pole upward; Damian slipping right past its metal neck just in the nick of time. Floating away from the mineral fiber tile, the lackey instead pokes at the loose bit of ceiling; lifting the tile to reveal simply the loose cables underneath. “Huh, maybe it was just some rats.” “Well, what else do you expect from an abandoned hospital?” “Don’t know. Fuckin ghost.” “Josique, shut yo damn mouth.” Finally putting the curious crowd behind him, Damian lets loose a quiet sigh; glancing back to find not a single one of them the wiser.

The phantom then attempts takes off from the gang of goons, hoping to gain as much distance from them as possible; his getaway immediately interrupted when slamming into a wayward henchman. Both the invisible ghost and goon fall right on their asses on impact; the entire crowd behind them drawn by the unexpected fall. “You okay there, man?” one of them worries. “Ah! Anybody see what the hell happened?” the crook on the cracked marble wonders. “Think you might have tripped?” “No, felt like I ran into somebody.” The crowd of criminals behind him approaching the two, Damian wastes not one more moment to escape while he’s still remains relatively undetected; zipping right past the baddie before those behind him could realize his presence.

Peeking out from the other side of a thick metal door; Kingsley finds himself having reached the roof of the hospital; the full moon illuminating the entire top of the building to reveal not a soul wandering outside. With nobody in site, the wonderous genius steps out into the night; the cool fall winds brushing past as he shuts the door behind him. Although a little shivering, the freezing night air is welcoming none the less; taking in a breath free from the foul stench of aging mold and dried blood. It never really crosses the mind the kind of horrible odors that can originate from a hospital with cleanup being a constant need. With barely anybody around to keep up maintenance, all the fowl smelling bacteria comes out to play. Kinda surprising then that no one down there has contracted any diseases yet.

Putting these thoughts behind him though, Kingsley opts to take a glance out from the side; staring down below to spot an armed thug patrolling the face of the hospital. Pretty obvious that they’d have the front of their hideout covered, but what about the sides? Looking down to the left shows a couple of crooks creeping along their HQ’s first half. Okay, maybe the right might prove more lax. But alas, walking across the rooftop revealed the hospitals right side to be just as secure as its left. Right, they probably have the back covered as well. And just as predicted, the back shows to be just as covered as the rest of the outside. They’re not really being lazy with security, are they? There isn’t a single blind spot to climb down to and sneak off. With every corner of this place covered, there’s really only one option left to take. Digging through his pockets, the boy genius pulls out his smart phone; unlocking his screen and brings up his contacts. Hard to believe they didn’t think of taking this away.

Scrolling through his friends number, he ponders who exactly to call in this time of need; knowing all too well that calling in someone like Cayenne would risk causing one heck of a commotion and could end extremely poorly. No...a situation such as this calls for someone with a far more careful hand. Somebody who can easily slip into the shadows and go by undetected; as if turning invisible to the naked eye. But who exactly can fulfill such an insanely careful and incredibly crafty roll... Eh, Damian could fit the bill.

Finally making his decisions, Kingsley taps on his ghostly pals number; putting his phone to his ear to hear the dial tone sound off. Come on, please pick up…

On the floors below, Damian himself floats through the dim halls of the hospital in pursuing his friends aura. The phantoms search soon leads him to a run down patients room, opening the door to find before him a peculiar site. Behind the destroyed equipment at the end of the room be a lone wooden chair with a set of rope surrounding its bottom. Picking the rope off the old marble floor shows the binds having been cut in half at the back; sporting scorch marks around the severed end. Touching these marks felt hot to the touch; the smell of burnt cloth still fresh.

They definitely tried to keep him held up in here; but knowing Kingsley, he swiftly figured out a way to escape. The goons outside don’t really seemed particularly alarmed; they must not realize that he’s free yet. Gahh! Should’ve took the left instead of the right back at the split. Guess there’s not much else that can be done but backtrack and hope that Kingsley can stay outta site long enough.

Right as he ready to trudge back through the halls, the phantom’s phone blares out Drakes “In my feelings”; Damian scrambling through his pockets to pull out the source of the echoing ringing. From the side, the phantom feverishly puts his call on hold and shuts down his phone entirely; regrets of not doing so sooner flaring in his mind. Though there’s little time for self deprecation, as the specter soon hears the sound of approaching footsteps. “Who the hell’s playing Drake in here?”

Three thugs soon storm through the doorway; gazing within the seemingly empty patient room as one of them assures that: “Swear I heard it come from in here.” “Think some dumbass might’ve left their phone in lyin around?” the other wonders. “Maybe. Let’s look around. See if someone’s hiding in here.” the last suggests. All three of them start to look deeper within the ruins of the patients room, unaware of the source of the noise standing right beside them. Damian remains completely quiet as the crooks search through the broken hospital furnishings; inching closer towards the rooms open exit.

One of the lackeys soon comes across the chair surrounded by freshly cut rope. “Hey, guys. We kidnapped anybody recently?” he wonders. “Yeah, somebody finally knocked that Spicer brat and brung him back. Have him stowed up somewhere. Why?” one of them questions. “Uh, think they might have got out.” “What!?” From the other side of the room, the goon rushes to her comrades side and beholds the very same site as he. Picking the rope up, she ran through its string to come upon its severed end. “Dammit! How the hell, he get out so fuckin fast!?” “We gotta go tell the others. Who know’s how long he’s been sneakin around here?”

With the crooks alarm does Damian finally leave through the doorway; soon meeting with the blunt force of a wayward baseball bat. The impact causes the phantom to fall to the marble floor; soon becoming visible to the world once again. All within the patient room stares down onto him; surprised of his sudden appearance. “The fuck! Where the hell’d he come from!” “Swear, this town is full of freaks!” “Didn’t even see him at all. Who punched his lights out?” “That be me, mofo’s.” someone speaks up. Coming out from the hall, a forth crook wearing an odd pair of goggles comes in wielding a baseball bat. “Josique!?” “Ya’ll callin me fuckin stupid for blowin my cash on inferred goggles! Bet all ya’ll asshole kickin yoselves for constantly given me shit! “God dammit, Josique. You wastin yo greens on stupid shit stead of crack or hoes? The fucks wrong with ya?” Well, that look like a waste a greens, mofo’s!?” he gloats, points to the groaning ghost boy. Writhing on the floor; Damian’s consciousness begins to elude him; the last words he hears before blacking out be: “Just shut up and get the cuffs.”

Anxiously awaiting atop the roof, Kingsley stands by as he attempts to call for his phantom friends; the droning ring sounding out in his ear sweat drips down his forehead. A disheartened sigh leaves his lungs when the tone goes straight to voicemail; spurring the chance to leave a message and jumping back to his contacts. Guess there really isn’t much options left to take now, is there? Things might get kinda messy with Cayenne charging straight in, but what else can be done at this point. Just hope she doesn’t go overboard this time.

The boy genius scrolling back up towards the C’s in his contacts, his finger hovers over Cayenne’s number. Just when he was ready to make the call, his phone picks up an incoming call; the oncoming number soon turning to Damian’s name. Seeing his ghostly pal calling, Kingsley waits not one more moment to take the call; putting the phone up to his ear and pleading: “Damian! Thank goodness I finally caught you. Listen, I’m trapped up here at the top of an abandoned hospital. I need you come get me before the goons down below find out I’m-” “Hello, dear friend.” a deep voice greets. Kingsley nerves wind right back up when hearing the unfamiliar tone on the other end. “Mind staying on the line as you come back down, buddy? I have a guest down here that I think you be interested to reunite with.”

Held within the dim confines of a central office, Damian struggles to free himself from a set of neon green handcuff. Turning intangible fails to release his hands from their grip; a painful shock delivered to his whole body that forces him back to the physical plane. As he recovers from the sudden shock, a voice to his side warns that: “Slipping outta those cuffs ain’t gonna be that easy for ya, pal.” The specter gazes over towards a slim man donning a pale business suit; his face sporting black markings around his eyes. “I know. These are standard phantom containment cuffs. Only official phantom patrol officials are allowed access to these. How did someone like you get your hands on a pair?” Damian demands. “Kinda hate to admit it, but nabbing a pair of those puppies wasn’t easy. Had to go through a ton of black market channels just to try and find the damn things. Course since last time, we knew that it had to be a necessary investment. A little precaution just in case. And judging from the way your struggling in those cuff; I’d say it was all worth it.” Turning away from his ghostly captive, the man puts his feet up over his desks and lays back on his chair.

Right after he gloats does his office door creaks open, the boy genius himself being led in by a crook with a gun pointed to his back. “Ah, speaking of which, glad to see you back. Allow me to formally welcome you into the depth of the Raw Shucks den.” Damian steps out from the shadows, fervently asking: “Kingsley! Are you okay!? Did they hurt you!? I- Hang on second.” The phantom then turns his sites back towards the man behind the desk, wondering: “The Raw Shucks? Really? What kind of crime boss would name their gang after some psychological test?” “I was asking the exact same thing.” Kingsley adds. Slamming his fist against the desk, the boss rises from his seat; insisting that: “It’s meant to be a bad ass name! It’s supposed to tell others that we’ll psychologically ruin them. Get inside their mind. The trauma we cause’ll fuck them up. Ya get it? Come on.” Everyone in the office stands in the office in silence; perplexed of the boss’s naming reasons. Glancing to the goon holding Kingsley at gunpoint; Damian watches as she simply just shrugs. The lack of a response makes the boss pinch his nose as an irritated groan escapes his lungs. “Where the hell was I?” Snapping his finger; he reminds himself that he cut off at: “Right. Right. Threats.”

Sitting back down, the boss picks up where he left off; promising Kingsley that: “We’re gonna make you pay for crashing our party last time, Spice boy. Those brat you sicked on us ain’t here to help you out this time. Not to mention having your ghostly pal here on his leash. The bust up since then set us back big time. Rival gangs have been coming in and muscling in on our turfs, drug trafficking ring’s been shafted, heists and robberies have been dwindling to a crawl; it’s all been just a really shitty month to be honest. But ya know something?” The boss then vaults right over his desk; finishing his statement as he lands with: “All that’s gonna change real soon once we cash in on the pretty pennies both your ransoms will make. The investments we made in our hour of need will pay themselves back tenfold. With all those greens fueling are return, we’ll take back Townsville’s underbelly and conquer what lies beyond!”

His painted gaze aimed towards the boy genius, boss commands him with: “Now, hands up, phone down.” Feeling the cold steel of the iron barrel on his back, Kingsley calmly complies with the bosses orders; dropping his phone and raising both hands over his head. After picking up the mobile device, the boss glances right above his hostage’s head to find the boys hands balled tightly; immediately ordering his guest to: “Fist...Open.” With those words does Kingsley look towards his ghostly friend; Damian staring back as his eyes squint. Following the bosses words does the boy genius open his palms; releasing a small black ball that drops towards the ground. Both the boss and phantom watch as the featureless ball rolls along the marble crack; Damian’s eyes widening as he realizes his friends plan. The little ball finally explodes; Kingsley giving his phantom friend a determined smile as the entire office is swiftly enveloped in a shroud of white. Coughing up the smoke bombs discharge, the crime boss flails about to try and clear out the clouds; several gunshots sounding off in the chaos. The smoke eventually dissipates, the boss and his armed lackey finding their guest having vanished. Glancing back to his desk’s side, they saw that the phantom has disappeared as well. A small growl coming from between his teeth soon morphs into a full blown scream; the boss crushing the boy genius’s phone with his bare hands. He swiftly turns towards his goon; demanding that she: “Don’t just stand there, go after them!” Once the crook sprints out into the hall, her boss vaults back on the other side of his desk; grabbing hold of the intercom and announcing to the entire hideout. “Attention, my lovable pack of marauders. We got a couple escapees scuttling in our halls! Get yourselves armed and scramble towards the west wing, on the double!”

His announcment echoing across the entire hospital, Kingsley and Damian sprint as fast as their legs can carry them. “You really can’t phase us outta here?” the boy genius question. “Unfortunately, no. As long as these accursed cuffs cover my hands, nearly all of my powers are locked under its steel. Curse the bounding achievements of paranormal technology!’” “Damian, relax. I can get them off. We just have to find someplace to hide so I can pick the lock.”

Winding and weaving themselves through the molding halls, the duo attempt to break down every door they can in hopes of finding a place to hide; most of the doors they encounter either locked or stuck shut. Those few with no doors fail to be effective hiding places; rooms they come across either being cluttered messes or small closets.

Their escapades are eventually come to a dead end, Damian stopping in his tracks when turning the corner. Kingsley unintentionally tackles him down, both boys falling upon the dirty marble floor. “Ah, why’d you stop?” the boy genius wonders; soon looking along his side to find the answer. Rising from the floor, the duo are faced with a squad of armed goons and crook; all their firearms aimed right at the two. “Oh, wow. They gathered faster then I anticipated. That’s...quite impressive actually.” the technician admits. “Yeah, bitch. The Raw Shucks don’t slouch around. Now, you two piss ant’s scramble back your rooms before we cap yo asses.” one of them warns.

To the specters side, Kingsley whispers that: “I only packed the one smoke bomb. I don’t got anything else up my sleeves.” Gazing out to the group of armed thugs set before him, the phantom puts on his bravest face and counter that: “You might not...but I do. Stay behind me and plug your ears.” With that answer, Damian start to approach the front of the crowd; Kingsley frantically whispering: “What are you doing!?” “Something that my dad said that I should only do in emergencies.”

The phantom teen stepping to the front of the pack of lethal crooks; one of them warns the boy to: “Come on, kid, don’t be a hero. Just back away and play nice.” Breaking his determined glare, Damian takes in a mighty breath of air; the crowd before him perplexed why the boy was holding his breath. Their answer is soon given in the form of a bellowing screech; Damian letting loose powerful emerald waves from his mouth. Kingsley backs away towards the wall, covering his ears upon the horrifying screech. The intense wail starts pushing the thugs before the phantom back; the emerald waves causing them to careen into the walls. While some try to block out the unholy shrieking, others attempt to fire upon the bellowing phantom; their bullets failing to travel far as the emerald waves push them back. The constant blast of booming screams starts to make the entire hospital tremble; the walls before him beginning to give way. Soon, Damian’s tormenting wails breaking through the facilities structure, entire chunks of the hospital being blown away by his green screech.

Eventually, the boy genius hears the ear piercing screams die down; Kingsley opens his eyes to find an astonishing site. Before his ghostly friend, the entire side of the hospital had been completely destroyed; a funneling hole left remaining in the aftermath. He finally breaks his stare out into the open night sky when he witnesses Damian fall to his knees; the specter coughing up blood onto the broken marble floor. “Damian!” the boy genius shouts; rushing to his phantom friends side. Kneeling to Damian, Kingsley worries if: “Are you okay!?” Ignoring the boy genius’s question, the ghostly teen puts his entrapped hands before Kingsley. “Get these cuffs off. They’ll be here any minute.” he wheezes out. Upon this request, Kingsley frantically digs through his pockets, soon pulling out his trusted screwdriver and jamming its tip straight into the cuffs lock. As he shifts his tool through Damian’s binds, both begins to hear the echo of constant footstep approaching; the ghost boy urging his friend to: “Hurry...” Kingsley looks back to see shadows he begin to creep out from the corner, making him haste his lock picking. Finally, the specter’s cuffs come undone, the technological metal binds falling to the floor.

Damian witnesses a pack of crooks turn the corner, witnessing their barrels aimed right towards the two. Before a single one of them could open fire; the phantom bounces on the boy genius. Kingsley hears the sound of gunfire echo through the hall; looking beyond his phantom friend to find the goons behind them unleashing their salvo atop the two. Though dozens of bullets pass right through them, not one does any harm to them. The teenage genius looks down to find Damian hugging him as tight as he possibly can, the phantom turning them both intangible against the led shower. With whatever strength he bares left; the specter jumps away from the small cavalcade of armed of criminals and rockets out from the very hole that he’s created. The thugs behind them attempt to shoot the escaping duo right out of the sky, none of them coming close to land a single bullet on either of them.

In his flight, Kingsley looks back towards the hospital disappearing in the distance; admitting that: “I can’t believe we actually made it outta there in one piece. Damian, your-” Just before the boy could speak any further, his friends strength finally fades; both boy soon begin to plummet down towards the buildings below. Both soon land right on top of an apartment building; the duo rolling across the rooftop before stopping right near the edge.

Slowly rising from their rough landing, Kingsley looks on towards the direction of their escape; claiming that: “I don’t think they’re gonna pursue us this close to the city.” Turning back to his savor, he begins to conclude that: “I think we should be safe to-” Silencing his statement, Kingsley witnesses his phantom friend kneeling on his knees; the sound of sniveling sounding out across the rooftop. “What...What the matter? Are you still hurt?” the boy genius wonders, nearing Damian’s side. “I’m...so...worthless...” Taken aback by his self loathing statement, Kingsley looks to his phantom friends face to find tears trickling down his cheeks. “What?” “I screwed practically everything over. I couldn’t keep you from getting kidnapped, I broke your favorite pair of goggles, and when I tried rescuing you, I just wound up getting caught myself.” he reviews, presenting Kingsley shattered lens to him. Taking the eye wear from his ghostly pals palms, the boy genius hears him continue with: “All day, things how been taking a turn for the worse and its all cause of me. I’m nothing but trouble. Cayenne was right. I’m nothing but a melodramatic coward.” Kingsley throws his broken set of goggles aside; patting his self loathing friend on the shoulder as he denies that: “Damian, that ain’t true in the slightest. Far from it. I probably would have wound up becoming a led filled organ pinata if you hadn’t came in and got me out of that nest of crooks.” “But...you still had to come and save my spectral hide after I got locked in ghost proof cuffs.” “And you still went and blew a ton of them away. Even with those things on; you not only took them out, but blew up a whole half of a hospital, all just by screaming. We would have been caught dead if you couldn’t do that.”

Wiping away the snot from his nose; Damian adds with his retort with: “No one’s gonna believe any of this coming out of our mouths though. People like Cayenne’ll still see me as nothing more then a spineless poet.” A melancholy sigh escaping from his lungs, the teenage specter, continues with: “Much like natures mighty lifeline, the graceful honeybee. Keeping their world beautiful and full of life. But alas, those that benefit from them the most see them as nothing but a nuisance, much like I.” “Stop thinking like that. You shouldn’t care what the vast majority of people think of you anyway. Doing that’s just gonna make you get all kinds of unnecessary stress. You know who’s opinion you should really be concerned with?” “Who’s?” Pointing his finger right to his ghostly pals nose; Kingsley simply answers: “Yours.” Kingsley sees that this statement fails to waver Damian’s self doubt; swiftly thinking what he should add to cheer up his phantom friend. “But…even if you still aren’t too sure about yourself. Just know that...you’ll always be a hero in my eyes.” This final guarantee makes a smile crack between the spectral teens cheeks; a laugh soon escaping through his teeth. “Thanks Kingsley.”

Rising from the course roof, Damian stands tall by Kingsley’s side; both boys starring out up to the full moon as it shines its lunar glow down upon the town. “The full moon. Shining its brightest when facing the earth and its struggles. Much like how all of us can shine when we face our existence.” “Glad your feeling better, buddy.”

------------------------------------------------------------

Might’ve given credit about Damian earlier, but just in case:

Damian belongs to: @princesscallyie

[readingwebcomics]

Analyzing Questionable Content: Pages 1-50

And so it begins.

The very first comic of Questionable Content, posted way back in 2003 and what would eventually be Jeff Jacques’ claim to fame, the reason why everyone remembers his name and what has made him a wealthy man today.

…’s alright.

Of course, by modern standards it’s not very good. This was the early 2000s, the wild west of online artists who had nothing more than an art creation software and a dream. The Webcomic Review has a VERY good post about it right here, which explains what the landscape of webcomics were like around this time and why exactly Marten has a pet robot (tl;dr, EVERYONE had a pet robot in ye early days of webcomics because Megatokyo).

But aside from the… awkward art, this comic at least serves to set up the protagonist (as far as we’re aware right now, we’ll get into the roles of protagonists in QC later). He’s a lanky, assumedly average guy who hates where he is in life but doesn’t know what else to do or even where else to go…

…as he goes on to spell out two comics later. He’s unassuming, not really much you can say for or against him, miserable and stuck in a rut in his life that he’s too scared to escape. Sooo basically, freshly graduated college students – the exact kind of audience a RomCom like this would go after.

Oh, did I forget to mention?

Yeah, QC started off as a RomCom.

This young woman is Faye, and she immediately cuts through the bullshit with an aggressive but to-the-point introduction of herself and her intentions.

While aggressive and to-the-point, she’s also set up as someone who meshes with Marten and Steve’s interests well enough and quickly makes friends. This is probably best exemplified in the seventh page, which serves two purposes:

Purpose the First: Showcase Marten and Faye have a shared niche interest, immediately establishing chemistry between the two of them. Be it platonic or romantic, they’re quickly hitting it off and, being a RomCom, will serve as the first rope potential shippers can grasp onto.

Purpose the Second: Jeff is a MASSIVE indie music nerd and he wants the fucking world to know it.

Also Pintsize is there doing funny robot things because 2003 webcomic.

It’s not long before this initial relationship is set up that two issues serve to sew the seeds of initial conflict:

This, likewise, serves two purposes: To show where Faye works and create a believable life for her to exist in when she’s not in the story with Marten, and as previously stated to sew potential romantic conflicts in the future. Jeff employs this tactic many-a-time throughout the course of Questionable Content, beginning a conflict and letting the implications sit with the reader while life goes on in the regular comics. Is this good writing? I honestly can’t say. Is it always done well? Oh good God no, some plot beats are outright dropped or left to sit for so long the reader straight-up forgets it’s there with this method. But does Jeff make it work? It’s all on personal taste I’d say, but personally it sits well with me.

Also, for those of you wondering why it looks like the word “hump” is just pasted onto the text bubble in post… well it was. The original comic implied sexual assault much more overtly, using the R-word instead of “hump.”

*Away from mic* Wait, can-can I say [NOPE]? Better not to risk it? Alright, fair ‘nuff.

But yeah, this was pointed out by readers to be pretty fucked up and it was swiftly changed, for good reason.

Later that night, Faye asks Marten to dinner with her. Platonically, of course. And here I believe I should point out the dynamic of their relationship as it stands – Faye is the aggressor. Marten is basically a doormat. Whenever something happens, Faye is always the instigator, be it going out to dinner or tagging along with him when he’s getting shopping done. This will feed into their relationship dynamic and sets up a decent inter-personal conflict: Marten is far too passive to reach out to Faye and make the move to start something, but Faye, despite how openly and quickly she attaches herself to Marten’s life, never takes that step into making it romantic. The two clearly have the hots for each other, but their respective personalities make it so neither one crosses that threshold.

Yes I know this is basic character writing for a RomCom 101, but the fact that so much about these characters are said in 12 four-panel comics says a lot. It hooks the reader quickly and gets them on the page Jeff wants them to be, and I respect that.

And in the next page, Faye’s aggression takes on a new level, albeit extremely briefly.

This is an isolated incident of actual physical aggression rather than implications and threats in these first 50 pages, but it becomes a trend as we go along – one that feeds into Faye’s character, mind, so it’s not just physical abuse for humor’s sake – so just keep it in mind as we go along.

Also on a personal note the actual restaurant they go to is simultaneously the worst and best idea I’ve ever heard of:

This is horrible. I should not encourage this. And yet some dark part of me finds the concept utterly hilarious even though I know I’m a piece of shit for liking it.

Actually, now some part of me wants to do the exact opposite – advertise a place as a steakhouse only serve an all-vegan menu. It feels less mean but just as funny to me.

…oh right, the comic.

After sharing dinner, exchanging banter that establishes good chemistry and parting ways, we come to this comic that I’m only showing because I’m a slut for good puns and I will take any and all opportunities to share with people.

(Pintsize totally won that round with the John the Baptist zinger by the way, if I’m allowed to judge this.)

And one page later, we get the biggest shake-up in the comic thus far:

It’s established Faye herself ended up burning down the apartment because she burnt toast, but that’s not really important. I know, the fact Faye BURNT DOWN A BUILDING isn’t important sounds completely ridiculous, but follow me here – the important thing for this setup isn’t the how, but the why. “How did Faye’s apartment burn down?” isn’t the question Jeff, nor the audience, is intended to be asking, that’s merely a vessel into the situation we’re in – the answer of “Why did Faye’s apartment burn down?” which is, of course, so Marten and Faye can become roommates and facilitate future antics and further their relationship. Familiarity breeds into both affection and conflict, and the obvious case of “Well you two are already living together, aren’t you?” will serve to further the flames of their potential relationship with one another.

…granted, a better reason to create this setup would’ve been nice, and from a writing standpoint it’s ridiculous that Faye never suffers any consequences for burning an entire BUILDING down, one that had many more people than just her in it. If present-day Jeff wrote this plotline… actually. Now that I think about it, Jeff DOES re-do this plot point and make it make a lot more sense and have a lot more impact on everyone involved.

But we’ll get to that when we eventually talk about Brun…. Three thousand and something pages from now.

Either way, my point stands: This plot thread serves mostly to create the situation we’re facing now, one where Faye and Marten end up living together. This shake-up to the early comic settles us into the new status quo, one that we’ll be riding with comfortably for the foreseeable future.

Further evidence of Faye’s aggressive and troll-ish nature… one that may or may not play into future revelations about her, now that I think about it.

Remember what I said about sewing the seeds of drama? Well here we stand now – a misunderstanding, or the beginning of genuine conflict between these two?

The answer is… they talk it out like actual goddamn adults, avoiding a stupid, unnecessary fight.

Honestly? Kind of refreshing. But what makes it better is the following page:

Honestly? This moment never fails to make me laugh. The one-two punch of complete betrayal of the reader’s expectations as well as the utter dismantling and defusal of the romantic interest subplot between these two dorks – while denying some genuine romantic conflict that may force Faye into being more upfront with how she feels about the situation – is a fun denial of the kinds of RomCom clichés that one might expect to find in this story.

Sure, there are other stories that do this better, I’m not denying that. But isolated in a bubble, this stands by itself and, frankly, works well enough for the story Jeff’s telling.

Also say goodbye to Sara, once she walks out that door she goes to join the little sister from Family Matters and the big brother from Happy Days on the twisted Island of Irrelevancy, visiting the story only when she can spare the time to craft a raft out of banana leafs and... where was I going with this?

…okay, personal story time. The Walmart I’m doing contract work for this week has a CD display of new-ish albums, and honest-to-God I completely forgot music CDs were even a THING. MP3s have spoiled us, and I now feel old for some reason.

Right, getting back on track.

I wanted to show this comic to establish three things.

1) Marten is the kind of person who sits on things that bother him and lets them stew for awhile. As established in the previous image I showed with Marten and Steve at the music store, it’s been at least a day since what happened with Sara and Marten’s still thinking about it. This, for better or worse, becomes a core part of Marten’s character moving forward.

2) Faye, for all her faults, is a genuinely good friend who cares about Marten and knows when to channel her natural aggression into support rather than ribbing.

3) This is another comic that always makes me laugh whenever I read it. Yes I know that’s much less of a real reason than my other two points but let me have this dammit.

This particular page itself isn’t terribly important to the ongoing narrative but I wanted to include it because it introduces QC’s unquestionably best character, Jim. Hi Jim! I like Jim.

(He’s a minor character at best but he’s just so earnest and fun and every time Jeff brings him back he just gets better and better.)

Oh, and for those who were skeptical that the more-than-platonic interest was mutual between Marten and Faye, the next two issues serve to showcase that… yeah, both parties TOTALLY have the hots for each other.

The first of those two comics, by the way, gets called back to much later down the line. And the fact that Faye speaks in a southern accent is more than just a joke, it’s going to be touched on more later.

Jeff says in the description of this comic that this is based on personal experience, and it shows – this is the most backbone Marten displays to my memory.

And in the very next page, we’re introduced to a new character – although you wouldn’t guess it from her appearance.

That’s Raven. I like Raven. Her personality changes a ton once she’s properly introduced as a character and not a nameless employee, but for posterity’s sake: Here’s her very first appearance in the comic.

There’s only one more important comic to touch on in this batch of fifty, and it’s about both Marten and Faye’s families:

While this could be as simple as a “har-dee-har, my family drives me up the wall,” this comic serves to say a lot about both characters once we know more about their families. Both Marten and Faye actually have very good reasons why they don’t want to see their respective families or go back to their hometowns… Faye especially so. We’ll touch more on that when we get more into her backstory.

Before we wrap things up, I’d like to do a quick comparison between page 1 and 50 to see in what small, subtle ways Jeff’s artistry has improved:

There’s not a LOT of difference, but the small details really showcases just how different they look. Small changes from the placement of everything on Marten’s face, to the size of the eyes, the width of the eyebrows… It’s good shit.

Overall, what did I think of batch 1? Well… for an early 2000s webcomic, it’s engaging. The characters are likable, the plot is progressing at an enjoyable pace, and I’m already on-board to see if Marten and Faye will get together. I mean, I know the answer, but my point stands.

Also because I’m a freak or something and like data compilation I went ahead and kept track of who showed up in what comic and made some numbers for it:

Not counting the one guest comic and two non-canon pages, Marten showed up in 45/50 pages, being in 90% of the comic so far.

Faye was in 38/50 pages, taking up 76% of the comic so far.

Pintsize comes in third place being in 15/50 comics, taking up a paltry 30% of the comic thus far when compared to the screen time Marten and Faye have taken up.

Likewise, Steve has been in only 8/50 pages, making up 16% of the comic up to this point.

Sara was in 5/50 pages, making up 10% of these first 50. That percentile will grow smaller and smaller with each update, believe you me.

Jim was in 2/50 glorious pages, making up 4% of the comic up to this point. And that was the best 4% this comic had to offer, let me tell you.

Raven, although still unnamed, I’m counting – she’s in 1/50 of the first batch of pages, making up 2% of screen time.

Tune in next week as we continue onwards to pages 51-100 where we’ll be introduced to the next major character in the series, who’s mere existence will further the plot more than anyone we’ve previously met. See you then.

[kanasmusings]

Here’s the third track of NEMOPHILA’s drama tracks after a long while of not posting any QUELL stuff XD As always, this is dedicated to @angrypainternerd ^^

Track 3 -「和泉柊羽のオンとオフ」 “Izumi Shu's On and Off”

Translations under the cut, enjoy~

SHU:               Yes, then I’ll see you later.

  ***

  SHU:               (sighs)

(opens door)

EICHI:           Ah, Shu, welcome back!

ICHIRU:        Are you done talking?

SHU:               Oh, you three. So you were waiting here?

SHU:              Sorry I took too long.

ISSEI:             It’s okay. We don’t have anything much to do after this.

ICHIRU:        We’re always free anyway~

ISSEI:             Ichiru.

SHU:               (laughs) Were you bored? Sorry about that.

(Shu sits down)

SHU:               I’m sorry that I made you wait but… Would it be okay if we rested for a bit?

EICHI:           Ah… Sure, go ahead.

ICHIRU:        It’s fine.

ISSEI:            …

SHU:               Hm? What’s wrong?

EICHI:           We just thought that it’s rare for us to see Shu so worn-out like that…

SHU:               Is that so?

ISSEI:            Yeah.

ICHIRU:        I mean, you’re normally all energetic.

SHU:              I guess that’s just how I seem to look like.

ICHIRU:        You’re saying that about yourself?

ISSEI:            Ah, could it be…

ISSEI:            You can’t handle that actor from a while ago?

SHU:               Wha--? Was it that obvious?

SHU:              I guess it’s a little different from “can’t handle”.

SHU:               He’s a good person.

SHU:               He;s a great senpai and I learned a lot from him.

SHU:              I admire him a lot as an actor.

SHU:              It’s just…

SHU:              He loves alcohol so much.

SHU:              He goes drinking every week. His face just screams “I love alcohol!”

SHU:              He keeps inviting me even if I can’t handle alcohol.

EICHI:           H-his face…?

EICHI:           I guess he really does give off the image of a strong drinker.

SHU:               Is that so?

SHU:              You know how useless I get from just one cocktail, right?

SHU:              It’s kinda hard to refuse him without telling him that.

SHU:               If this keeps on happening, I’ll run out of excuses to say.

ICHIRU:        You’re really weak to alcohol so isn’t it fine if you just tell him clearly?

SHU:              I’ve thought of that but…

SHU:              It’s a lot more difficult than it seems.

ISSEI:            So there are people that even Shu can’t handle?

SHU:              Do I really look that tolerant?

ISSEI:            You don’t really but, I thought you’re the type to say what’s on your mind directly.

EICHI:           It’s not as easy as it seems. There’re just some things you can’t say out loud.

ICHIRU:        Plus, you’re not sure if they’ll really listen to you.

SHU:              That’s…

SHU:              (laughs) You’re repeating to me what I told you the first time we met?

SHU:               That time’s an exception, you know?

ICHIRU:        You’re lying.

SHU:              (laughs) I’m not.

SHU:               I can only show this side of me to you guys.

ISSEI:            Us only?

SHU:               Yeah.

SHU:              Now that I think about it…

SHU:               This is the first time I’ve talked to someone about my alcohol tolerance.

ICHIRU:        Ah… oh?

ISSEI:            So, it’s only us, huh…

ICHIRU:        H-heh~

EICHI:           Doesn’t that make you want to let him off the hook now~

EICHI:           (giggles) I’m so happy~

SHU:               Ah… Can you please keep this conversation about alcohol to yourselves?

ICHIRU:        What should I do~

SHU:              I’m begging you, Ichiru.

ICHIRU:        (giggles)

  (Someone knocks on door)

(Shu suddenly stands up)

STAFF:          (over the door) Excuse me, Izumi-san.

SHU:               Ah!

EICHI:           (suddenly standing up and going to the door) Ah, yes, coming!

EICHI:           Did something happen?

STAFF:          Ah no. I just thought of saying my thank you and greetings.

EICHI:          Thank you for coming all the way here to do that. He’s resting right now but thank you for the gesture.

STAFF:          Ah, is that so? I’m so sorry for the trouble.

EICHI:           Ah, no, it’s okay. We’d like to thank you as well.

STAFF:          Oh, please, you don’t have to! Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.

(door closes)

(Shu sits back down and sighs)

ICHIRU:        (laughing) What’s with that weird face just now, Shu?

SHU:              Ah… I just didn’t think that someone would come while I’m lazing about like this.

SHU:               I was startled.

ISSEI:             (giggles) You were panicking so much. It’s my first time seeing you like that.

SHU:               I was saved thanks to Eichi.

EICHI:           I’m glad I could protect Leader’s dignity.

QUELL:         (laughs)

SHU:              I’m sorta feeling a little thirsty.

ISSEI:            I’ll go buy something. What would you like?

SHU:              Let me see. Then water—

ICHIRU:        Ah, I’ll go, too! I wanna go drink some juice.

EICHI:           Then, can I ask you to get some for me, too? I’d like some tea.

ISSEI:            Got it.

(Eichi hands them money)

EICHI:           Here’s some money for all four.

ICHIRU:        Thank you~

ISSEI:            We’ll be going now.

(door opens and they leave)

  ***

  EICHI:           Shu~

EICHI:           You wanted to tell them that you’d go buy it yourself, didn’t you?

SHU:              Ah…

SHU:              Lately, it’s been tougher hiding my real intentions from Eichi, huh?

EICHI:           (giggles) My role now’s similar to that of a wife’s after all.

SHU:               I used to not like having people do stuff for me before.

SHU:              I felt so bad making them do things for me.

SHU:              I thought that as long as I could do them, I should do things on my own.

SHU:               But, I guess being spoiled isn’t so bad once in a while.

EICHI:           Yep~ I think Issei and Ichiru would be happy about that, too.

EICHI:           Oh, Shu. I’ve been sleeping on this for a while now but…

SHU:              What is it?

EICHI:           Thank you for your hard work!

EICHI:           I saw the recording on the sub-monitor a while ago and you looked so cool.

SHU:              Thank  you.

EICHI:           HaruKimi’s1 quite popular and I’m sure your other works will be as interesting!

EICHI:           Even the last episode’s quite thrilling, wasn’t it?

SHU:               You’re really good at praising people, aren’t you?

EICHI:           Finding good points about people and praising them for it is my specialty~

EICHI:           Oh, by the way, that café scene where our song played…

EICHI:           It gave me goosebumps! It made me think that it’s a really big deal.

EICHI:           Even me singing as an idol is already surprising for me but to think that the song would be used for a popular show.

EICHI:           It was such a wonderful experience.

EICHI:           My being in QUELL together with Icchi and Issei is all thanks to you, Shu.

EICHI:           Thank you.

SHU:              What’s with you? Suddenly being formal.

EICHI:           (giggles) The atmosphere just made me do it.

SHU:              Issei and Ichiru’s discerning eyes aside, I don’t really have that much power.

SHU:              It’s true that QUELL’s song may have only been used since it’s a drama that I was a part of.

SHU:              But this time it’s really passed assessment.

SHU:               I’m happy about that, too.

EICHI:           Yeah.

SHU:              I wish it would be the theme song, though.

SHU:               And I wish the drama where I’m the main character will use QUELL’s song as a theme song, too.

EICHI:           But, was it a no-go?

SHU:              “It’s too early for that,” is what they told me.

EICHI:           I see…

EICHI:           But, if they say “too early” then surely there’ll be a “someday”.

EICHI:           Someday…

EICHI:           Let’s make it come true someday! A drama where you’re the star and QUELL will sing the theme song!

SHU:              (giggles) You’re right. Ah, though it’d be good if it’s also a drama I’m not a part of.

SHU:              I want to watch a show where you three are the main characters.

EICHI:           Me, a main character?! It’s still too early for that!

EICHI:           It’s not a matter of how early or not it is, we still don’t know if I’m fit for acting.

SHU:              (laughs)

EICHI:           Geez, don’t tease me!

EICHI:           Ah, that’s right. That thing from a while ago is all ready so don’t worry, okay?

EICHI:           I already got the agency’s permission and all that.

SHU:              Is that so? I feel like I already asked too much but it seems like people really trust in you, huh?

EICHI:           As a manager and not a talent for now.

SHU:              Even so, it’s a big help. Thank you.

SHU:              I’ll contact the agency before it starts and go over it once more.

EICHI:           (giggles) I’m looking forward to it~

  ==END==

 Translator’s notes:

1 HaruKimi’s the fictional drama that Shu’s a part of in this drama CD.

[marshmallowgoop]

Opinion on human versions of senketsu?

Probably a bit complicated!

I’ve written a few posts that get a bit into it. (The numbers in parentheses note that the essay was included on that page in my compiled meta book and the * is a warning for mentions/discussions of rape and sexual assault.)

Buff Human Senketsu (52)

A Misinterpreted Platonic Relationship, “Big Buff” Senketsu, Further

Author’s Notes/Commentary for my fic “nonsense”

How Could Anyone Not Ship Ryuko and Senketsu?*, 8 Reasons Folks Can’t Get Down with Pairing a Girl and Her Sailor Uniform Together: Masterpost of Rebuttals to Common Criticisms Against Ryuketsu*

Basically, though, I don’t see anything inherently wrong with the idea of a human version of Senketsu. So much of Senketsu’s story is about growth and transformation, and I’ve always liked the idea—and find it so much more fitting narratively—for Senketsu to “grow out of sailor uniforms” with Ryuko. The whole show is centered around Ryuko and Senketsu’s shared growth together, after all!

And while one way Senketsu could “grow out of sailor uniforms” is to simply gain the ability to transform into any outfit he would like to be, I think it also works just as well for Senketsu to have a humanoid form. He is partly human, so why not? (Especially when it might be argued that he wants to be human based off of this Drama CD bit?)

Buuut human!Senketsu can also rub me a bit the wrong way, too. So often it seems human versions of Senketsu exist purely to make him viable as a romantic partner (for humans). And that’s just a bit uncool to me!

As I wrote in Author’s Notes/Commentary for my fic “nonsense”:

While I have no inherent problem with human!Senketsus, the fact that practically every romantic depiction of him alters his form sends a message, loud and clear: in order to be a “suitable” romantic partner, Senketsu must undergo a drastic change. He cannot be as he is.

Of course, it’s not like this is a ridiculous concept. Pairing a human and clothing together is bizarre as fuck and yeah, not something you can really take seriously. There’s nothing traditionally ~aesthetically pleasing~ about this kind of match-up, so it’s no wonder that the idea of Ryuko/Senketsu is considered as baseless and wrong as Ginny/Sorting Hat.

But, honestly? Kill la Kill is a series about naked people saving the world from clothing aliens. I hardly think the idea of two people hooking up when they don’t happen to look alike is the weirdest thing here—and I think it has a Good Message.

Mind you, Kill la Kill is an anime and attracts audiences in their teens (even if it’s technically made for the seinen (older male) demographic). How nice is it for teens to see that hey, you don’t have to look “traditionally” hot to be deserving of romantic love?

And as I expanded upon in How Could Anyone Not Ship Ryuko and Senketsu?*:

…in our world? There are people who are not traditionally attractive. There are people who can’t do—for a variety of reasons—the things couples are “supposed” to do: kissing, cuddling, etc.

Is it fair to say that, because a person cannot express their love in the “accepted” romantic way, they are undeserving of romantic love at all?

I certainly don’t think so! And, though it is an outlandish fantasy situation, when I look at Ryuko and Senketsu, I see potential for that kind of message. Folks get so hung up on appearances, but you know what? Love isn’t all about looking hot together or making out!

Basically, human!Senketsu is perfectly okay in my book! But when there’s the implication that Senketsu must be human in order to have a romantic relationship (with Ryuko or anyone else)… that doesn’t sit well with me. (And as discussed in other posts above, it sits even less well with me when Senketsu’s personality changes along with his looks and he becomes aggressive and overbearing with the humanoid appearance; a “male” character in a female/male relationship doesn’t have to act that way in order to make a good romantic partner!)

As for common fan designs of human!Senketsu, I know there’s some discontent with the big, buff, and muscly designs, but as I wrote in Buff Human Senketsu (52) (and expanded upon in the other posts linked above):

I enjoy seeing all kinds of designs for [Senketsu] and how he might look as a human, and think it’s really neat to see how others imagine him. But can I just say that there’s something really charming about someone who is such a cinnamon roll being huge and intimidating? It’s an intense contrast, it defies expectations, and it rather fits with Senketsu’s character in that he is seen as this horrible, monstrous thing while in reality he’s immensely caring, protective, and loving. Really, the whole “big and buff” sort of design says to me that appearances aren’t everything, and that’s… kinda crucial to Senketsu’s story. He’s not just an outfit, he’s not a monster, and he’s really… not what you would expect by looking at him. (Or hearing him.)

So, that’s probably the gist of my human!Senketsu feelings! 

And it’s still hella long…

[aryanarecords]

INTERVIEW WITH RYAN WISE

I have absolutely no idea where to start with this.  I have been thinking about how I would start this article for months, and now that the moment is here I still don’t know.  Not in a bad way at all, it’s just that the person I interviewed has changed the way I view the world, a lot.  There aren’t many words to describe it.  I guess I’ll start with how we met, which is also kind of hazy.  Bear with me. I was in the common area at the NYU hall I stayed at for two weeks over the summer.  I was trying to play pool when I saw two guys dressed in really cool clothes.  One had grey overalls with an orange polo shirt and yellow sweatband on.  The other one had a black tee, Comme Des Garcons sneakers, and a bandana with flames.  I guess it was the vibes they were giving off, but I somehow managed to approach them.  I learned their names were Justin Miller and Ryan Wise.  You’re probably thinking Justin Miller sounds really familiar. It’s because I interviewed him! You can read it HERE. (By the way, Justin was wearing the overalls and Ryan was wearing the bandana with flames.)  I don’t remember what we talked about, or how I even approached them, but I told them how a bunch of us jam out every night in the basement and they should come.  They did end up coming, and it was probably the best jam sesh we had.  We even ended up writing a song all together.   On my last night at NYU, I don’t really know how Ryan and I found each other, but I feel like that’s how we grew closer.  We ended up in the jam room together and he started talking about his experience at NYU and ended up showing me a song he wrote.  I fell so in love with it and I promised to share his music on here when it’s finally out.  When I went back home, I had some stupid drama going on and he was always there to listen.  In fact, he would share his problems with me too, which would become the basis for his EP.  I specifically remember talking about how NYU sick we were, and how we felt so at home there.  We felt like we belonged.  I don’t think my NYU experience would have been the same if I hadn’t met THE Ryan Wise himself.  This was honestly all over the place, but without further ado (can’t believe I just said that, OK), here is my favorite interview to date! 

Give us some basic facts about yourself!

Name: Ryan Alexander Wise Born Day: 9/13/2000 Sign: Virgo Favorite Food: Rice Favorite Color: Black Base: Central Ohio Nicknames: Whatever you want, but don't call me RyRy or nigga if you ain't black.

How and when did you start making music?

I wrote my first song when I was a toddler and my dad recorded me singing it and like put music behind and it and everything. It was hella extra. I've come up with songs for as long as I can remember, but I guess the turning point was when I was 11 and I got my grandma's old iPad. I downloaded GarageBand on there and started producing and have been going ever since.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I wouldn't be doing any of this if it wasn't for Michael Jackson. When he died I looked him up to see what all the fuss was about, and was literally obsessed with his discography for 18 months straight. My current favorite artists are Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Childish Gambino, so I'm sure they have a big influence on me. However, whatever influences my art is really what I'm listening to while I'm creating it.

What have you been listening to lately?

I've been trying to broaden my scope and get away from hip hop a little more since that's been all I’ve listened to for like 6 years now. Willow Smith and Tyler Cole came out with amazing albums this year, especially for how young they both are. Hella inspiring. Speaking of the Smith family, “SYRE” by Jaden Smith has been in rotation since its debut. “Chamber of Reflection” by Mac DeMarco, “Lone Wolf” and “Cub” by Thundercat, and “Swell” by Archy Marshall are favorites now too.

What was your inspiration for your new EP, Room & Bored?

My time at NYU this summer. I was working on a different project going into my month long stay there, but I ended up writing some new stuff while there and as a reflection of my time there when I got back. I looked at what I wrote (R&B’s three songs in particular) and realized that I had something there. I dropped everything else and started making those, because I felt an urgency to get that out there. Through the help of people at NYU, like you Aryana, I finally had enough confidence to release a body of work. NYU influenced what I wrote about, how it sounded, its title, aesthetic, everything.

This is a picture I took of Ryan in the jam room on the last night.  He was performing one of the songs he wrote during his stay at NYU.  Bad pic, but high quality sentiment.

How long did it take you to write and produce R&B?

I wrote 227 in a couple minutes one day at the beginning of my stay in New York. Same with 908 but like two weeks later. 197 amassed itself over a couple of days after I got back and was eventually trimmed down from 9 minutes to 5. I then produced the bulk of it through August and kind of sat on it, making tweaks until I told myself I had to put it out and tweeted “november 1st” to hold myself to releasing it on that date. So all together a little over 3 months.

How did you think of the title, Room & Bored?

I'm still kinda iffy on the title. I like it, a lot, but not sure that it really connects with the story of the project much. It’s playing on Room and Board obviously, and I think it’s clever and fits within my aesthetic, but the EP doesn't really convey a sense of boredom. Maybe 227, since it’s about suggesting that fun should be had rather than describing the fun. I don't know. But since it was based on my experience at a college, I wanted that to be incorporated into the title. I wanted this to be a project where different people can experience it differently based on their relation to me. So if you just happen to find this on SoundCloud, you might think I'm a college student. If you know me, you probably know that I was at NYU for a part of my summer and will get that it’s a reference to that. If you were at NYU and were good friends with me, you might get more things: who the songs about, the events that inspired the songs, the room numbers’ significance, and the title plays into that.

Each song title is a number, what do those mean?

Each is a reference to a room that was significant to the circumstances that inspired the songs. 227 was my friend Anthony's room, and that's where we would hang out and party most of the time. Since that song deals with themes of not necessarily fitting in at the party, but wanting to because “she” does, I named it after the room where I felt that. 908 was another friend of mine’s room, where an interaction happened between me and someone else. To fully feel and release the emotions that were ignited as a result of that interaction, I wrote 908. I also learned that it was the room number of my other friend, on the opposite wing of the dorm, and coincidentally it applies to things that happened there too (coincidence = the universe stunting on you with Jay-Z double entendres). 197 has to do with where I live. Since I wrote it after returning home from New York and it was a reflection on my experience there, I named it after where I was at the time.

What’s your dream venue to perform at?

I'd love to say like Madison Square Garden, but that seems hella overwhelming. Maybe like the Roxy, because I'd love to be in a more intimate setting with people that know my music better than I do. I’d take a ton of those over one MSG performance where 60% of the people there only know that one song that charted.

What genre would you define your music as?

I'd love to say Alternative, which to me just means the industry doesn't know what to call this, but right now I'd say hip hop or alt hip hop. I'm still very much in that state of mind. My ear is farther along than my voice, if you pick up what I'm putting down.

What was the first record or CD you bought?

I don't remember the first song or album I spent money on (it was probably trash and definitely on iTunes), but the first physical album I bought was Jay-Z’s “Black Album” on vinyl. Didn't have a record player yet. Hadn't even heard the album in full. I just saw it and impulse bought it because I felt like it. Listened to it later, and fortunately, it’s amazing.

Who would you want to open for?

Opening for Kanye would be dope but I'd probably be crying too hard to perform. Opening for Frank Ocean would be dope but I know everyone would forget about it as soon as Frank walked on stage. Maybe Kevin Abstract. Yeah, that would be dope. But opening for any of them would be a privilege and I would be so geeked to do so.

Any advice you have for young/ local/ up and coming artists?

Keep grinding. Don't let people discourage you. Yeah, not everyone gets to be a star, but you'll never be one if you let that get in your way. Don't aim for fame, aim for happiness. At least that's what I'm doing, and I hope it works out. Making connections with other, artistic peers can be very helpful. I wouldn't have R&B if it wasn't for people like Aryana and Justin (JUM The Lover) and others that I've become close to. They’ll help inspire you, make you feel at home if you're in a place where people don't tend to think like you, and will hook you up if you can't think of another verse and need a feature.

Can we expect more music from you? Is yes, when!!??!

Of course you can, but I don't want to give a date that I most likely won't keep. When it comes, it will probably be another EP, but longer this time. I'm not ready to come out with a full album yet. I don't know why. I have enough material, but need a concept or theme to tie it all together. If everything goes as planned, my next EP will be called COVER and you should look out for it.

Is there anything else you want to add?

If you've listened to R&B thank you so much. Even if you hated it, at least you tried. If you haven't, please give it a shot. The whole thing isn't even 10 minutes long. Support young artists. Retweet, reblog, repost, share, like, favorite everything by the young artists you know. Even if it’s not that great to you, it might be to someone else who’s in your sphere and wouldn't come across it otherwise. Listen to Room & Bored, or don't, it’s your prerogative, and why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you can just be quiet?

You can listen to Ryan’s debut EP Room&Bored HERE

Rock On,

Aryana

[kpopcorn-requests]

admin lil’s q & a that was supposed to be a video but now is a mass post

so since youtube won’t upload my stupid video I’m just going to answer the questions I got in my messages here and I’ll answer the other ones in the asks i got them in (unless you sent them to my other blog, they will be answered here too)

okay here we goooooooo

the anons from my main blog asked:

hello beautiful~ for your video: do you have any tips on how to become a greater writer? 

Hey there! I have a couple so I hope this helps!

Don’t rush yourself. It’s easier said than done, but if you rush yourself, your writing is rushed too, and the readers can tell. If you take your time, you can write your thoughts better and you over all feel better about what you wrote.

Describe details vividly!! It is way more attention grabbing and hooking than just simple details. It’s also easier for you to describe the image as you see it in your head, and if you want your readers to visualize it the same, vivid details make it easier. (for example: The girl was blonde and blue eyed. OR The honey blonde girl had striking sky blue eyes.) That’s how I like to do my details. 

Be yourself. Everyone has their own writing style and writing process, and even if you like someone else’s, it will feel forced and come off as such. Take influence, but don’t copy it. Write the way that makes you comfortable! 

I hope these help<3

I LOVE YOU- okay, so what do you like to do besides writing and seeing kpop stuff? 

I love you too!! I like to listen to music and watch crack videos on youtube lmao. I draw some but it sucks. I also sing! I like to hang out with my sister too! (She’s like me but older and more mature lmao)

Do you prefer horror movies or dramatic movies? In fact, what's your favorite movie genre? 

Is neither an option? Horror movies freak me out and dramatic movies either make me sad or bore me. If I have to pick, I guess I would go with horror. And I like superhero movies! Not really a genre, but I like how it’s like a mixture of comedy and action and drama, ya know?

Hey!! Just some questions for your video: cat person or dog person? you prefer to read you-fanfic or member x member fanfic? Do you like to read fanfic? If so, do you have any favorite writers or a favorite platform (ao3, fanfiction. net, etc)?  

Heyo~ I am more of a dog person personally! I love both but puppies are my weakness. (but cats make me very happy too) I do like to read fanfic! And what I read 

@buriedindreams asked me:

What is something you've always wanted to do?

I’ve always wanted to travel, and now I have so many internet friends (Like Admin Lionheart and you and Miche and Cassie and Kathryn) that I want to travel to meet you guys! 

If you could say anything to your past self, what would it be? 

It gets better. It’s super stereotypical but I went through some hard mental shit when I was younger. That or, don’t change yourself to make your friends like you more, it’s dumb and you’ll just change yourself back later.

Who was your first kpop bias? 

While I found Seventeen first, the first group I stanned was EXO and my first bias was Kai

Do you have any regrets? What are they?

I hate that my temper is so quick, so I have a lot of regrets revolving around me overreacting, and there is this recent thing but I don’t want to get into that.

Do you have a playlist of songs to listen to on bad days? 

I actually have a playlist titled “angst” so I listen to that or to Broadway musicals like Hamilton or The School of Rock

Have you ever cosplayed? 

No! But I really want to. My family and I have agreed that if we ever have the money to go to ComiCon that we will cosplay as X-Men 

What would be the "perfect day" for you? 

Talking to my friends, having no stress, getting enough sleep and having no homework lmao. maybe watching movies too? I like movies a lot

What are your biggest fears? 

spiders, snakes and losing all of my close family/friends for dumb decisions I make

Any pet peeves? 

hmmm I guess hypocrites and people who talk so much I can’t respond. or people not taking the blame for their actions

What was the pettiest thing you've done? 

I once dated a guy for three hours because I felt sorry for him (a dick move I know but I would have stayed with him longer [maybe] if he didn’t tell me he loved me two hours into dating)

How did you and your best friend meet? 

In real life? She’s my college roommate and we met on the first day of class. 

Online? tumblr. 

How did you discover kpop? 

Youtube! 

Who is your ultimate bias? 

Johnny Seo, Amber Liu, and Lee Sanghyuk

Do you have any kpop merch? 

I have a BTS hoodie and MANY cd’s but nothing other than that

What would you say to your favorite group/bias upon meeting them? (Doesn't have to be kpop) 

Assuming I haven’t fainted or that I’m not ugly crying at that point, I would tell them that they are doing such a great job, thank them for doing what they do, and tell them to rest well/eat well  *cough cough* mark lee

Do any of you non internet friends like kpop?

I have one friend who thinks Jackson Wang is hot and she listen to Got7 sometimes, that’s it lmao

If you could go on a road trip with your friends (internet or non) where would you go? What would you do?

I love the idea of going with a group of friends and each person picking ne specific spot they want to go, and then making a trip out of those spots. and well, with what we did, i guess it would depend where we went? 

Have you ever traveled outside the country, and if not, where would you want to go? 

I have not! and I really want to go to Ireland, Thailand, and Korea. Those are the main places.

Do you have any pets? 

I have three cats and two dogs! One labrador mix named Angel, a rescue pit mix named Watson, and then two black cats, Smalls and Morpheus, and a gray striped cat named Smokey!

Do you cry easily when watching sad movies?

HELL YES I’m so sensitive to sad things. like even a hint of death and I’m sobbing

Any movie or show recommendations? 

Tv shows, I love Stanger Things, Mudrock Mysteries, Bones, Drama World, Danny Phantom and Full Metal Alchemist (all of these can be found on netflix)

Movie wise, I like Spiderman: Homecoming, Atomic Blonde, Wonder Woman, Weird Science and the Power Ranger movie! 

Any song recommendations? 

OH GOD okay i listen to music everyday so here we go 

Sugar You - Oh Honey

Thunder - Imagine Dragons

Where Did The Party Go - Fall Out Boy

Trees - Twenty One Pilots

Friend Please - Twenty One Pilots

Bad At Love - Halsey

Oh Love - Misterwives

My Type - Saint Motel 

Innocent Love - Astro 

Go Go - BTS

Confession Song - Got7

Exodus - Exo

The Eve - Exo

 Loser - BigBang 

Sober - BigBang 

What’s Wrong - iKon 

M.U.P - iKon

Liar Liar - Oh My Girl

Red Light - f(x)

Sentimental - Winner

Really Really - Winner

Walk You Home - NCT Dream

0 Mile - NCT 127

Sherlock - Shinee

What is your style of fashion? 

I guess I’m grunge? I wear a lot of dark colors and like... chokers and heavy makeup and converse and stuff like that. I don’t know tbh lmao

@jaehyunskitten22 asked me:

What is your least favorite thing about kpop? 

How it’s so sexualized!! and how idols think they have to risk their health for us, and how some fandoms are the actual worst and uhhh i guess that’s it

what makes you attracted to your bias? 

this sounds weird but i really like his hands and his lips? and of course he’s fucking hialrious and so sweet and i just ... i love him

Have you always liked writing? 

yeah! i used to write to vent lmao

What first comes to mind when you think of your bias? 

hands, hair and humor, the true triple H lmao

@haneun-seomie asked me:

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? 

Pasta or pizza! I like cheese and carbs lmao (also i’m pro pineapple on pizza, fite me bout it)

YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? 

X-Men First Class, The Nightmare Before Christmas or Big Hero 6!

How did you meet kpop?! 

Youtube recommended me Seventeen’s debut video!

How old were you when you started writing? 

Writing in general, I was about 11 maybe? Writing kpop, I was 16

Are you happy with your writing now or do you want to improve more? 

I am happy with how I write now, but I still think I can definitely improve more, so yes to both. 

How can you be so cute? 

BABY AWW This is adorable why are you so adorable

fun fact: when i have bad days, i just think of how hard we flirted when we weren’t dating. it was hella obvious but we were both oblivious

What are you planning to work on? 

If you mean career wise, I want to be a kindergarten/primary school teacher.

Project wise, I want to finish my vampire k!idol story!

Do you want a life-long career or you are open to changes in your profession in the future (if they come)?

I would prefer a stable career but if I find something that makes me happier, then I will definitely go for that. I just want to happy basically. 

@heartofafae asked me:

What's your favorite color?

Teal or aqua! (these shades)

 Are you in to any other fandoms? 

Kind of? I’m into superheroes (both Marvel and DC) and Disney. 

What's your dream vacation? 

Travelling!! Anywhere really! (Although... you know. Brazil would be hella awesome!)

What's your dream job? 

i’m in college, majoring in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, so a kindergarten teacher is my dream job!

Do you have a specific style/aesthetic? 

Style wise, I usually go for more grunge stuff? I don’t usually wear heels, but I wear dark colors and shorts, mainly.

Aesthetic wise, black and white with pops of teal and blue is my aesthetic!

How'd you get into kpop?

youtube recommended Seventeen’s debut music video to me, actually

Who was your first bias, and are they still your bias? 

My first bias was Kai from Exo, I guess? And no, he’s not. My Exo bias is Chanyeol now!

My first ultimate was Key from Shinee, but that’s also a no. Johnny owns my ass now. 

My first female ultimate was Amber from f(x) and yes, she still is my female ult!

Have you ever been to a Kpop concert? 

no, sadly. I’m planning on going to a kpop mini-con my city is having in november, and that will technically be my first kpop experience that isn’t online

I have however been to three other concerts! Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco and Twenty One Pilots!

How did you get into making texts/snaps/ect? 

I actually found a Magcon blog do them when I was hella into the Magcon boys (that was such a traumatic time for me they are so problematic) and I thought they were cool. and then i got into kpop and i wanted to make a blog but do something kind of different so.. I made this blog!

What's your favorite music video? 

Power by Exo is high on the list, as well as Fire by BTS, BoomBoom by Seventeen, Baby by Astro, My Page by NCT Dream, Cherry Bomb by NCT 127, and Still 24K by 24k. Those are probably the only ones that I’ve watched over and over again, boy group wise.

Girl group wise, Hate by 4minute, 4 Walls by f(x) and Ah Yeah by Exid are super good videos that I like.

Do you also like kdrama? 

I actually haven’t watched any but if you guys have any recommendations, I would love to take them! 

Who's your favorite boy group? 

why do you hate me

UHHH NCT Dream or Astro right now, actually.

Favorite girl group? 

f(x) or Exid!<3

@unironic-shitposter asked:

What got me into kpop?

That fateful day that YouTube recommended the Seventeen Adore U music video for me the day they debuted

How long have I been into kpop?

Almost two years!!

Where are you from?

Alabama in the United States of America!

Have you ever moved?

Cities, yes. States or countries, no. 

What’s your all time favorite song, both kpop and not kpop?

My favorite songs change all the time, so these are it right now. 

* non Kpop- Sugar You - Oh Honey or If Only You Would Listen - The School Of Rock Broadway Cast

* Kpop- What Can I Say - Day6 or Power - EXO