#yes this is about that arcade drawing. Apparently come and get your love is the song my brain has decided is close enough

[albino-parakeet]

I sometimes hate how dependent I am to drawing while listening to music is.

Like I’ll have this fun drawing idea, rough sketch in place, but I can’t start it because I can’t find a song that fits the exact vibe I’m going for.

So I’m at a stand still. Staring at the sketch.

[soobasaur]

are you mine?

— a lee minho au

genre: enemies to lovers minho x gender neutral!reader

a/n: this is for my bestie who has been in a minho obsession lately and needs more content, you know who you are :]

« masterlist

you and minho didnt exactly,,,get along very well for a while

the only reason you both even knew each other was two of your best friends were dating and merged ur friend groups

(thanks a lot binsung 〴⋋_⋌〵)

you wouldnt go as far as to say you hated him

but you liked to pretend you did

you just barely saw him around so why not just mke him your mortal enemy??

it was easier to hate him then admit he was decent company!!

you had a reputation to uphold!!!!

and apparently he did too because he never really disagreed,,,,

you guys just ever had a chance to get off on the right foot and really talk

mutual disagreement <33

the thing is, the both of you were never left alone together

like ever

until that one time yall were abandoned (-д-；)

you and ur friend groups planned a hang out but everyone ended up cancelling last minute with no excuse

it was just you two who didnt get the memo and ended up alone

now that you think about it,,,that sounds like smth ur friends would do on purpose

(again, fuck u binsung!! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ )

so just picture this,,,you and minho both showing up to an arcade and sitting in silence for an hour before getting a text that everyone cancelled

your immediate thought was to go home bc why would minho want to hang out with you???

but after the both of you read the text in the groupchat he got up and made his way inside, holding the door open and quirking his eyebrow up at you

“well, are you coming or not? I wanna try the new vr game.”

and you were just like \\(⊙︿⊙)// ???

he? wants?? to hang out??? with just you????

but u ended up following him in and he paid for your guy’s tickets ≧◡≦

“just buy me lunch after and we’re even”

lunch??? now this mf wants to get lunch together?!$%

you learned one thing about minho that day

he was,,,competitive,,VERY competitive

like what demon possessed him kind of competitive

whenever he won he would flash you a smirk and skip to the next game as he dragged his row of tickets along

it INFURIATED U!!!

ur pride was in shambles

so you unleashed everything after that and won a good amount of games ;)

u had been eyeing a cute cat plush the entire time but u didnt have enough tickets at the end :((

o(╥﹏╥)o damn it capitalism u just wanted a plushie

you didnt rlly want anything else so you gave your tickets to minho and waited to the side for him to get his prize

he came out with tHE SAME PLUSHIE YOU HAD BEEN EYEING \\( ಠ_ಠ)//

but before you could sulk about it he handed it to you and started to make his way to the exit Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

and during lunch this bitch ended up paying even after saying you should (｀ε´)

\(▰˘◡˘▰)//\\ (▰˘◡˘▰)//\\ (▰˘◡˘▰)// \\(▰˘◡˘▰)//

After that...hang out if you will,,u started to notice minho everywhere

LIKE E V E R Y W H E R E

why was this bitch all over your college campus?

you never noticed minho was in ur class for the longest time jsskkfk

like all of a sudden u just spotted him out of the corner of ur eye and were like o h

once he noticed you too there was no going back

say good bye to paying attention in class

(as if you ever did anyways)

he started to inch closer to you during class

he even started sending you notes

ಠ▃ಠ and u were so paranoid the professor would catch you

but this bitch was slick so u were fine

ヽ(๏∀๏ )ﾉ

he was the type of guy to throw little crumpled sticky notes at you whenever he wanted to say something during class

they’d be covered with doodles of cats and his scribbly messy handwriting + little hearts

it was usually just some dumb thought he had or a crude drawing of the professor (. ﾟーﾟ)

other than those few notes you guys never really talked outside ur friend group

there was one incident late at night tho

you had a big project coming up and it was 2am and you were...2 sentences in T_T

you deserved a coffee break <3

so that was how you found under the awning of an all night coffee shop

except it wasn't all night and closed right after you got ur coffee!!

and now u were stuck under the awning!!

all you had was your measly hoodie that you stole from changbin and your now soggy cup of coffee as you waited for the rain to pass

you might as well of just stayed home since ur wasting all this time you could’ve been working on your project standing outside

were you gonna work on the project once you got home? no

but did the thought of wasted time still make you mad? yes

you slumped against the shop as you bitterly drank your coffee, crushing the cup between your hands

after a couple minutes you felt the rain above you stop

you look to your side to see,,,minho?!

this mf was holding an umbrella above your head

“here, take my umbrella.”

thats when you noticed the cafe uniform he had on

“you work here?” you asked, before taking the umbrella from his hand

“yeah, your observant ass didnt see me literally make your coffee,”

“oh whoops,,,i thought you hated me, why are you giving me our umbrella?”

“i do, but id rather you uh...not die in the cold looking like a dead rat.”

was it just you or were his cheeks dusted pink?

probably the cold

(y/n you dumb bitch-)

you both walk back to your dorms after that

and he insists you carry the umbrella

cus his poor arms are tired from making coffee all day :((

and maybe it's an excuse to be closer to you

since hes a bit taller he has to crouch and scoot closer to you in order to not get wet >_<

⊙﹏⊙ ⊙﹏⊙ ⊙﹏⊙

over the next few weeks your find urself at the cafe he works at more often

one time you got the hours wrong and he wasnt on shift :(

but when you got up to leave he walked in and spent the day helping you study instead of working

you went for the coffee!! not for him!! definitely not,,,

(¬‿¬)

“look, im only hanging out with you cus you get the employee discount.”

“sure, and not cus you enjoy my company-”

“i 100% despise your company.”

ok but u didnt

u actually /REALLY/ liked his company

like WTF

where has he been all ur life

ew that sounded too romantic

but like fr where was he hiding

(・ε・｀)

soon you both were joining binsung on their dates

but it wasn't a double date!!

it was just four friends hanging out and two happened to be a couple

and they liked to hang out at fancy restaurants and do couple like activities

totally normal!!

there was one incident where you were about to pay for your meal but minho placed his hand on top of yours and slid his card instead

“you can pay on the next date.”

NEXT? DATE??

excuse me sir what do u mean-

you ignored changbin and jisung’s snickers behind you the entire night

when minho walked you home you couldnt help but let urself blurt out

“was this a date?”

minho gave you an incredulous look

“...was it not??”

oh my god this is embarrassing

“OH MY GOD WAS IT NOT?!!”

you ignored how minho was now turning crimson red and panicking and tugged on his collar, pulling him down for a kiss

“it was...a date” you mumble, now shy at the close proximity between the two of you

“...im gonna kill jisung.” he muttered, pulling you in for a hug, “he told me this was a double date”

“that can be our next date, the murder of our best friends.”

“wow i am in love with you.”

＼（＾○＾）人（＾○＾）／

minho and y/n murder besties!!

for legal reasons that is a joke

( ˶˘ ³˘(˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)♡

thank you for reading !!

[annepikachu]

MORSE CODE AND CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS (EXO Xiumin × Reader)

(FANFIC)

- Anne (Pikachu)

Note: Reader= Yn (Your name) (female)

13 chapters. Fluff. Lots of beautiful smiles.

(Also, there’s a small reference to Taylor Swift's lyrics because I love her.)

Happy reading!

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

I

Yn sighed and plopped down on the seat in her favorite corner of the library. She has a painful assignment to complete. Yes painful because she has been procrastinating until the day before she has to hand over the assignment.

“Humm, lately this library has been bustling with so many visitors”, she observed. “What’s up? Are they giving out chicken drumsticks for free?” Her eyes wandered around trying to figure out the reason. “Aah, that must be it" as her gaze stopped and hovered over the librarian’s desk. There’s this unrealistically cute guy who joined the post of the librarian a few days back. His predecessor had retired. And since then the library is mostly housefull. “Okay Yn stop staring at him as if you’re looking at a pizza. You look like a creep right now. Do your homework”, she mentally slapped herself and put on her headphones, opened her favorite Playlist and focused on her assignment.

Kim Minseok was surprised at the drastic change in the number of visitors in the library since the third day of his joining. He had heard from his predecessor about the library being usually empty. He was actually relieved by this fact. He was happy to see that a puppy eyed guy and a Yoda eared guy who seem to be a couple, a guy who always wears a bear hoodie and sometimes accompanied by two toddlers, a pair of cute granny and grandpa, and a clumsy handsome young lady are the only daily visitors. But it seems that his relief was short-lived.

The library has turned into Dalian Beach these days. The girls come with the pretext of reading books here but end up gushing about how handsome he is. One of them didn’t even realize that she was ‘reading’ her book upside down and yet another straightaway came up and put a can of coke on his desk. But these don’t bother him much because he is used to the flood of compliments coming from people irrespective of gender and age. Thankfully the library gets quite empty an hour before closing.

“Oh that handsome girl is still writing. She must have a huge assignment. She usually reads some interesting books at this time of day”, he kept looking at her. “Later on I should suggest her some of my favorites as well". He resumed his work but was soon distracted by the sound of a continuous tapping. His eyes narrowed.

Yn was frustrated by the last portion of her assignment and soon found herself tapping her fingers to the beat of the music playing in her headphones. “Screw it, I give up.” She paused. “Oh well I’ll just do the rest after having my supper. Don’t wanna upset Professor Junmyeon.” She slammed shut her notebook and was startled to find the cute librarian standing right in front of her.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

II

“Umm sorry for startling you, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?” Yn was confused. What could this cute guy possibly want to know?

“Did you miss your lunch? Or are you craving for chicken drumsticks just for the sake of chicken drumsticks?”

“Huh?”

“I mean I heard you saying ‘chicken drumsticks’ over and over just now, tapping, to be precise”

“I did not. Well I had thought about it a few hours ago but not now. What makes you think so?”

“Those tapping sounds you made just now. They kinda translated into ‘chicken drumsticks’ though.”

“Really? Are you talking about Morse code?” Yn replayed that portion of the song and tapped consciously, noting down the codes while Minseok looked at her with amusement. “Holy Guacamole!” She sprang up. “You are right. Wow this is amazing!”

“So you were just tapping to the beat that turned out to be saying chicken drumsticks?”

The next moment they collapsed on the floor laughing at this curious conversation.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

III

Yn couldn’t spare time to go to the library for a week but finally she was back on her usual routine. She waved back at Minseok and broke into a giggle as she remembered the conversation about ‘chicken drumsticks’. After sometime she got up to search for another book and almost bumped into Minseok, shrieked and fell on her butt. She got back on her feet, “Whoa, you really do have a knack for scaring off people”.

“My bad. It was you who bolted in here though.” His pout made Yn's heart go UwU. “Anyway which book are you searching for?...This? Okay. Here you go"

Just as she turned and started walking back to her desk, Minseok suddenly asked “By the way Yn, you didn’t ask me my name yet".

“Oh right.” She proceeded towards him. “What is your name Mr Minseok Kim a.k.a Xiumin?”

“H-How did you know my name? Even Xiumin?” He stuttered.

“Doesn’t everyone in the college? You’re probably the only librarian who has a fan-page dedicated to him.” She chuckled in amusement.

“Wow, I had no idea", he whispered.

“They post your pictures from shooting range so I guess those are already pretty much on public domain. But you can check if they have posted any private picture of yours and maybe hit report", she suggested. “Anyway I’ll borrow this book for a week.”

“Huh? Oh right. I’ll issue it right away.” He was dazed from the information overload.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

IV

“Earth to Minseok. What are you thinking about? And what’s with the occasional smile too? Did you inhale Nitrous Oxide?” Sehun asked puckering his brows.

“Uh just two weird conversations I had with a girl. By the way, do you know I apparently have a fan-page dedicated to me?”

“Really?” It was evident that Sehun was feeling nervous for some reason.

“It seems you know something about this. C’mon spill.” Minseok insisted.

“Err well it was I who created the fan-page. Because you’re undeniably the coolest one here in the range. I even added the tagline ‘that’s right, my type’!"

“You little rascal!” He flicked Sehun's forehead. “I had the shock of my life when I came to know about this!”

“But Xiu, who’s the girl you were talking about?” Sehun had a mischievous glint in his eye. “Is that why you were smiling just now? Tell me more about it!”

“Dude it’s not what you think! She is a regular visitor in the library and we had just two conversations. I was surprised that she knew my arcade name Xiumin. And it was she who told me about the fan-page.”

“You have a crush oh her, don’t you? How is she like? Did you ask her out?”

“Relax Hun. We just talked about Morse code.”

“Ugh that’s such a turn off.”

“But she’s quite interesting. She’s handsome yes. And cute too.”

“I knew it! You’re whipped for her! Ask her out.”

“Calm down Hun. I’m not sure about how I feel and I don’t even know if she has a lover. Or if she is at all interested in me.”

“Don’t you underestimate your charm Xiu. And she isn’t interested in you? You get so many love letters, did you forget that? She might be charmed by your smile but probably doesn’t show it. She has a set boundary maybe?”

“I don’t want to draw inferences” Minseok sighed. “But yes I’d love to keep talking to her.”

“Use Morse code.” Sehun chuckled.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

V

Finally it’s FriYay night and Yn couldn’t be happier staying in her pajamas and being lazy for the next two days. But what the hell! She can’t find her headphones anywhere. And she doesn’t remember where she had last placed them. They were a gift from her cousin. Chanyeol would be upset. She will ask his boyfriend Baekhyun to calm him down and herself buy a new one in the meantime.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Hey Yn, Minseok here. I got your number from the library register. Sorry to call your number without your permission but I just found your headphones in the library and thought I should inform you right then.” He sounded sheepish.

“Phew, I’m so relieved! I was searching for them everywhere and almost decided to buy a new one. Thank you Minseok! I’m glad that you found them.”

“Uh it’s okay. I’m relieved too. So do you need these urgently? Then I can wait in front of the library and hand them over to-"

“No no, I don’t need them right at this moment, but… Umm can you please keep them with you until Monday? I visit the library everyday anyway. I’m too lazy to step out now.”

“Hahaha, okay okay. Don’t worry about that. See you on Monday”

Yn rolled back on her bed smiling. “I’ll have to treat him to chicken drumsticks for real.”

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

VI

“Thanks a lot Minseok." Yn took back her headphones and smiled with her heart eyes now making Minseok's heart go UwU. “Even if it’s not a big deal for you, I am really grateful to you and so I got something for you as a token.” She then started tapping on the desk. Minseok looked at her inquiringly but soon started interpreting the codes as she tapped away. “Got a box of chicken drumsticks for you. Hope you like them.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Who does not like drumsticks? You did not really have to do this though. Thank you for this.”

“Bon Appétit”, she said as she gave him the box. “Well, I need to hurry now. See you later.”

“Why is she so adorable?” He wondered while staring at the box in his hands.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

VII

Yn was having several bad days at a stretch now. She spent weeks without sleeping at night and watched FIFA world cup instead. Her favorite team was eliminated in the semifinals. And now the lack of sleep was taking a toll on her. She barely managed to complete all her pending assignments on time. Professor Junmyeon was still upset with her because she omitted a portion of her assignment carelessly. Her neighborhood cat disappeared without a trace. She avoided a freak accident but witnessed several persons getting severely injured. She has grown tired of her menstrual cramps which were being very cruel to her this time. And the last nail in the coffin: she had a quarrel with her bestfriend Jongdae today. Physically and mentally exhausted she placed her hand on her stomach and sat on a bench behind the canteen of the college and started sobbing silently.

Minseok was leaving early today because the library was practically empty today. Even Yn didn’t come. He suddenly spotted someone sitting hunched on a bench at a distance. It seemed that the person was hurt in the stomach. He rushed over there.

“Yn? What happened to you? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt somewhere? Tell me what’s wrong.” Minseok sat beside her worriedly, held her shoulders and turned her towards him. She buried her face in his chest and burst into loud sobs. He instantly engulfed her in his hug and patted her head. “It’s okay Yn. Let it out.” Over the months he grew close to her. They both had a lot of friendly banters and of course some crazy conversations through Morse code. Seeing her cry now tugged at his heartstrings. “Breathe Yn. Take deep breaths. Yes. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I hate crying. I-I don’t want to be like this.” Yn said between her sobs. “I had way too many bad days to handle and-" she paused abruptly. The cramps were back again. She curled up in pain.

“And you are having cramps?” He finished her sentence. “You’ll be fine. Yn. Just endure a bit, okay?” Still holding her tight in his hug he reached out for his bag and took out a heating pad. “Here, Yn. Take this.” He kept on stroking her head and occasionally rubbing her back while she tended to her cramps.

_

“You okay now?”

Yn pulled back from the hug when the cramps subsided. “Thank you Minseok. Yes, I feel better now.”

“I’m glad.” He handed her some tissue paper. “Now wipe your tears and come with me” He led her to the canteen.

“Here, have a cup of hot chocolate. You’ll get relief… That’s right yes. Drink slowly.” He sat beside her and stroked her head. “Done?... Okay"

Yn started sniffling. “Yn, is everything okay?” Minseok panicked.

She nodded her head. “I’m just touched by your gesture. Thanks for making me feel better.”

Minseok smiled. “That’s what friends do. Well, it’s pretty late now. Let me drop you off at your house. Let’s go.”

_

“I have an extra helmet and I drive pretty well and my bike is well maintained.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Yn giggled.

“Well I just made a declaration so you don’t feel threatened. Just don’t fall asleep that’s all.” He was relieved to hear her laugh again.

“Aye aye Master Xiu.”

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

VIII

Yn saw that Jongdae wasn’t present in the classroom. She decided she’d visit his house later today and sort out the misunderstanding. She walked out of the classroom during recess hour. Suddenly someone hugged her tight. She smiled and hugged him back. She knew it was Jongdae. “I’m sorry Yn. There was a misunderstanding. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s okay Dae, I realized that. And I would have anyway barged into your house had you not come to college.”

“So, are we good now?”

“Of course!”

“Okay then pretty please! Help me pick out a pendant for my girlfriend. I’ve selected some of them but couldn’t finally decide among them. Come with me to the shop later today.”

Yn scowled. “This is why you rushed to patch it up with me huh?”

“Gosh! No no no that’s not it! I’ll treat you to ice cream. Okay?”

“Okay. Deal"

Jongdae sighed. “The way you react to food, I’m pretty sure you’ll drop me in a heartbeat if someone offers you food.”

Suddenly Ji-eun appeared out of nowhere and fake punched Jongdae's face. “How dare you make my Yn baby upset? Yes Yn drop him right away. I’ll treat you to a truckload of ice cream.”

“Guys!!” Jongin appeared and walked towards them making the corridor his runway.

Yn couldn’t deny once she had a tiny crush on him.

“Guess what? Kyungsoo cooked Spaghetti for us!” Jongin screamed. And the four of them dashed to the canteen.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

IX

Yixing was already there with Kyungsoo when they reached the canteen. “Dig in guys", Kyungsoo said as they huddled around the table.

“Okay guys! I’ve some tea to spill", Ji-eun announced while looking at Yn intently.

“Spill! Spill! Spill!” They chanted in unison.

“Apparently Yn has gotten herself a boyfriend and decided to conceal the fact".

Yn almost choked. “Wha- when? Even I don’t know I have a boyfriend?”

“Oh yeah? I saw that cute librarian dropping you off at your house yesterday night. You turned to hug him but you seemed shy.” Ji-eun added with a glee “And friends don’t feel shy Yn.”

Yn protested. “I had my reasons. He’s not what you guys think.” She remembered that she hugged Minseok out of gratitude towards him for taking care of her. She had hesitated initially thinking whether it would be appropriate. But she hugged him anyway.

Suddenly someone put their chin on Yn’s left shoulder and yet another put their chin on her right shoulder and both said in unison, “Well well Yn, you never told us anything about this!”

Yn almost fell from her seat. She turned around to see Chanyeol and Baekhyun smiling mischievously at her.

“So is he or is he not-” Chanyeol said while taking a seat. “Your crush?”, added Baekhyun.

Yn shrugged. “I am not sure. I’ve way too many crushes at this point and you guys know that.”

“The most recent crush is our senior Jessi, right", Yixing asked.

“Well yes but I can only admire her from afar”, Yn replied dreamily.

“Anyway get to the point guys.” Chanyeol took the reins. “So apparently it seems he has a soft corner for Yn. I’ve noticed that. And now we must root for Yn and make sure they end up together. So whats our plan?”

“How about kidnapping him and threatening him to date Yn"? Kyungsoo asked excitedly.

“No way!” Jongin protested.

“You’re going to get all of us in trouble, Soo", Baekhyun chuckled.

“Isn’t that the easiest way out?”, Kyungsoo pouted.

“That’s not how things work, Kyungsoo-ah", Jongin said while poking at Kyungsoo's cheek.

Yn could sense that everyone noticed something was brewing between Jongin and Kyungsoo but unsurprisingly they chose to focus on Yn today.

“Well even I agree that’s the easiest way out but we don’t want to get in trouble.” Jongdae said seriously, “so Yn you better speed up and ask him out. And don’t deny that you don’t feel anything for him.”

Yn was again reminded about how she felt fuzzy while being engulfed in Minseok’s hug. He’s definitely a good friend. But she didn’t want to rush things up.

“And Yn if you want to daydream instead of eating that last spoonful of Spaghetti”, Yixing got up and snatched her spoon and finished off the remaining Spaghetti. “Let me have it.”

“I swear to God Yixing!” Yn sprang up. “I’m gonna train Inzaghi to chase you!”

“Now who’s Inzaghi?” Jongin asked suspiciously.

“It’s the Vincenzo effect.” Baekhyun explained. “It’s a neighborhood pigeon and the naming courtesy goes to Yn", Ji-eun added.

“Don’t you guys dare to give out spoilers, some of us are lagging behind an episode or two”, the rest of them warned.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

X

Minseok was standing in the balcony of the library replaying in his head the events of yesterday. He didn’t expect Yn to hug him again and make his heart beat erratically. Sehun was right. He is falling for Yn gradually.

“Hey Minseok are you alright?” Minseok heard Yn’s voice and realized he had zoned out thinking of her. “You seem to have caught a cold.” Yn was worried.

“Oh yes it was raining in my area yesterday and I got drenched".

“Uh oh I’m so sorry. You wouldn’t have gotten drenched had you not accompanied me to drop me off.”

“Well it was raining for quite a long time and I’d have anyway gotten drenched even if I had reached my place earlier. So blame the clouds Yn.” Minseok chuckled making Yn giggle at his explanation.

“But seriously though, you don’t look good. I think you have a fever too.” Yn put her palm on his forehead. Minseok was flustered looking down at her worried face. Yn didn’t realize she was standing at almost zero distance from him. Before he could utter anything Yn grabbed his wrist. “You need to visit the doctor right now", Yn said dragging him downstairs towards the doctor’s room.

_

“He’s running a high fever. I’m giving some medicine.” The doctor took out a file of capsules. “And I think it’s better if you lie down and take rest in the sick room until your fever goes down.”

“But the libr-" Minseok tried to protest but was cut off by Yn’s stern glare.

“Library can wait. Health first Minseok". Yn crossed her arms.

“Tell your assistant about your situation. He can handle the library for sometime.” The doctor suggested.

_

“You should head back to library Yn. You went there to read, right? I’ll stay here until my fever goes down. Don’t worry I won’t run away from here.”

“I can read later. Now you close your eyes and take rest.” Yn said sitting on the chair beside the bed while stroking Minseok’s head absent-mindedly.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

XI

Yn could sense that Minseok was staring at her for a long time. The library was crowded as usual. She mouthed “what happened?” but he just smiled and shook his head and resumed his work. He seemed tensed for some reason.

She heard him tapping on his desk when the crowd thinned. Her eyes grew wide. He- did he tap “will you go on a date with me?” She saw him walk towards her.

Minseok spoke hesitantly, “I know I asked you all of a sudden, but I like you. I’ve been debating whether I should tell you this for weeks but I couldn’t hold back any further. You don’t need to tell me right now about how you feel. Take your time. And it’s absolutely fine if you don’t feel the same way. But can we maybe go on a friend date atleast?”

Yn thought for a while. “Sure. Let’s have a friend date.” She smiled. “Where are we going then?”

“I was thinking of taking you to my shooting range. We can play some rounds and have snacks later on there. How about this Sunday afternoon?”

“Sounds great!” Her eyes lit up. “But! On one condition.”

“And what’s that?” He asked cautiously.

“Bring me a bouquet of chicken drumsticks that day.” Yn replied with a wide grin.

“As you wish.” He smiled widely as he touched her nose-tip with his forefinger.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

XII

“This is such a cool place!” Yn ran around inside the shooting range, looking at everything in awe. Minseok watched her with an amused smile. Yn picked up a gun and aimed at the target.

“Wait.” Minseok came up behind her and held her arms. She felt her back against his chest. Her heart started thumping. “Focus Yn. Keep your arm straight while holding the gun. You don’t wanna hurt yourself when the gun recoils.” He adjusted her arms. “Now fire.” She hit the target.

Yn was ecstatic. “Minseok let’s play a round then. I’ll go first.”

He kept on smiling and hyped her up every time she aimed with the gun. She was just unbelievably adorable. And a sharpshooter too. She missed the target only once. He fell for her deeper every time she flashed an adorable smile at him after hitting the target.

“It’s my turn now. And I’m going to beat you in this round.” He winked at her.

Yn gaped at him while he shot the targets one by one. He looked darn sexy in that pose. He got ready for the last target and was just about to press the trigger. “I like you too, Minseok!” She blurted out. Minseok was shocked and turned his face towards Yn. The trigger went off and he missed the target.

“It’s a draw! It’s a draw! You didn’t beat me!” Yn jumped and danced gleefully around him.

“So, you- you said that just to make me miss my target? And nothing more?” Minseok looked at her sadly and turned his back to her.

“No! Oh no no you got the wrong idea.” She tugged at his sleeve. “I really meant it when I said I like you.” Minseok turned towards Yn in surprise. She went on, “I have been thinking about it ever since you told me about your feelings. I had already decided I’d tell you about my feelings today. But I couldn’t just suppress the urge to fool around a bit when I got the opportunity to.”

“You’re such a cheeky girl!” Minseok exclaimed and chased her.

“You won’t catch me that easily! I run fast.” Yn shouted while running ahead of him.

“Well not faster than I!” Minseok wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her off the ground and spun round, making her blush.

_

“It’s getting late, Yn, let’s go now.” Minseok said tugging at her.

“I’m not able to handle this gun properly.” Yn pouted.

“It’s okay, I’ll show you how to. But later, okay? It’s getting really late now.” Minseok couldn’t stop chuckling at her antics.

_

Minseok and Yn bumped into Sehun outside the shooting range. “Yn, this is Sehun, one of my teammates in the shooting range. And a TMI, he’s the one who created that fan-page.” Minseok gave Sehun a fake glare. “And Sehun, this is Yn, my date.”

“Nice to meet you, Yn.” Sehun gave her a warm handshake. “Do you like this place and my bro here?”

“I love it here! I’m gonna come here often now.” Yn replied. “And yes I like him too.” She said looking at Minseok shyly.

Minseok blushed. “I’m dropping her off at her house. I’ll see you tomorrow Hun.”

Sehun smirked and managed to whisper into Minseok’s ear, “you are lucky that she’s into Morse code. So did you confess to her using Morse code?”

“Don’t give me that look you cheesy little brat.” Minseok whisper-yelled at him.

_

Yn stopped by her gate. “I really had a great time with you. Thank you for today Minseok.”

“I’m also glad to spend some time with you. See you tomorrow.” Minseok stopped before turning back to his bike. “So are we dating officially now Yn?”

“Yes. A thousand times yes.” Yn smiled.

He walked closer to her, leaned close to her lips and locked his eyes with hers seeking permission. She nodded nervously while standing on her tiptoes and placed her hands on his shoulders. Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her in and she was a little more brave. It’s the first kiss, it’s flawless, really something. It’s fearless. Yn didn’t care now if Ji-eun was sitting by her window and keeping an eye on her. Yn would tell her group of friends everything tomorrow.

But the thing is, Ji-eun really saw Yn with Minseok. She had a triumphant smile on her lips.

^_^ ^_^ ^_^

XIII

Yn saw that everyone in her squad was giving her a cheeky smile while swarming towards her. “Guys, I can explain. I wanted to tell everything face to face. That’s why I didn’t text anyone.”

“And I saw them kissing too!” Ji-eun said excitedly and made a kissing gesture towards Yn.

Yn had a flashback of yesterday. He was very gentle with her. She absolutely melted in his kiss.

“I bet Yn is having flashbacks of that moment.” Jongdae smirked. “Look at her. Her face is a beetroot now.”

“You guys!” Yn stomped her feet.

“Okay, okay calm down Yn. Let’s have a lunch together today, shall we? Tell Minseok to join us.” Chanyeol spoke.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, call him.” Everyone shouted in unison.

“Okay. Okay. Chill.” Yn giggled while dialing Minseok’s number.

_

Minseok blended well with Yn’s noisy and cheeky friends. Yn was glad how things turned out.

“So, Yn and Minseok. Tell us how did you two end up together. What was the catalyst? The squad wants to know.” Yixing said holding up a spoon as if it were a mic.

The couple turned to each other and smiled. They both knew what they were about to say. Minseok and Yn turned again towards the squad and said, “not just one. There were two catalysts. Morse code and Chicken drumsticks.”

-----(The end)-----

_____________________________________________________________

P.S. Those who are wondering how did Minseok know Yn’s name (in chapter III), I leave it to your imagination. ;-)

He might have seen the library register, or might have noticed the name on her notebook when she shut it, or maybe her headphones were customised to bear her name on them and he noticed that. The choice is yours. And why did Yn not get surprised? Well she’s quick-witted too.

I hope this wasn’t too boring. This is my first time writing a story. Thank you for reading :-)

If you wish you can take a look at my fanart account on Instagram. Here's the link.

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Thank you Ayushee for hyping me up. She has written a fanfic too. Check it out.

[angelguk]

another prerequisite to the things i never told you fic that is coming [eventually]. i do suggest u read this or else oc’s behaviour/reactions will not make sense in the main fic. kinda angsty. jeongguk is mean. jeongguk’s girlfriend is mean. listen to being freezed by heize. 1.8k.

He’s late. You should have expected that. And yet, it still stings; an odd pain tightly gripping your heart as a gentle autumn breeze whispers through the air. Sunlight wanes against the worn brick pavements, splaying across your dirty sneakers, the shoelaces untethering themselves despite the firm knot you’d tugged them into before sprinting up the hill where you promised to meet. You tap your feet against the ground, the pounding that your soles make harmonising with the erratic beating of your heart. His present is clenched between your tense fingertips, the crinkle of plastic melting into the rustle of leaves. They sway gently above your head, courtesy of the zephyr that settles over the hill. You hope he likes it. You’d taken time out of your exhausting high school schedule to thread together his bracelet. Lilac, violet and a dash of white flowing through the amateur design. His favourite colour is purple. Or at least that’s what you can recall. You don’t remember the last time you had a full conversation with Jeongguk - despite him being your best friend.

And it was all because of her.

Even the thought of her name has your heart plummeting to your gut, your fingertips taut around the plastic bag that contains his presents. There was also a new sketching pad and a bunch of expensive colour pencils you’d forked your savings over for bumping inside the bag, hopefully not rumpling the card you'd made for him. But it was worth it. You know how much Jeongguk likes to draw. But you don’t know if he’d appreciate these gifts as much as you think he would have if she wasn’t in the picture. Jeongguk has changed, drastically, since he’d started seeing her. From the way he styled his hair to his interests - little by little the things you knew and adored about your best-friend gradually vanished, replaced by a person who was virtually a stranger to you. Sometimes you go whole days without seeing him, he’d even swapped seats with a classmate to be closer to his viper of a girlfriend. She’d been so smug when you’d walked into class to find nosy Yongsun as your new seatmate instead of seeing Jeongguk planted in the chair whose leg he’d carved his name into at the start of the year with a sheepish grin tugging at his petal pink lips. You had felt her eyes boring into your head, and when you snuck a glimpse at her direction (right in front of the class where she could suck up to the teacher; a position that Jeongguk had always abhorred) you couldn’t miss the sly upturn of her lips. Jeongguk would have seen it too, if he wasn’t so busy writing her a stupid cheesy love note. 

He would have seen a lot, if he bothered to pay attention.

You’d only showed up to the hill because this was your tradition, something she hadn’t been able to taint with her toxicity just yet. There’s only a slither of hope inside of you that believes he’ll show up. But you stay regardless, because it’s your best-friends birthday and you’ll be damned if you let some girl who’d only shown up in the middle of the school year take this away from you too.

It’s the rough pedalling of a bicycle that yanks you from the pit of despair that you’re currently wallowing in. Jeongguk’s face appears around the bend a second later, soft brown curls ruffled by the wind that wipes around his frame. He’s still got his school uniform on, white sleeves rolled up the elbow and his navy tie loosened from its hold. It’s a stark contrast to the sweatpants and knitted jersey you’d tossed on after coming from school before hurrying to the hill. And then her face pops up from behind his, the dark bangs cut across her forehead unmoving even with the breeze whistling around you.

You don’t say anything, the greeting you were about to mutter caught in your throat. Instead, your gaze follows them cautiously, watching the disdainful look his girlfriend gives you as she halts her bike behind Jeongguk’s.

“Hi,” Your best-friend says. He even sounds different. It makes your heart ache violently.

“Hey Jeongguk,” You return, praying he doesn’t note the waver in your tone. And then you throw her a glance. “Hi, Minjoo.”

She doesn’t say anything in response. Apparently, her nails are more interesting than acknowledging your presence. What’s worse is that Jeongguk doesn’t even bat an eyelid at her behaviour.

“Happy birthday!” You try instead, gaze flickering back to Jeongguk. But your heart drops when you find him sending you the same air of disinterestedness emitting from Minjoo. “I haven’t even seen you today! How are you?”

“I’m fine, just busy.” You hate how monotone his response is. “How are you?” That simple question is enough. Something to show you that he still cares. You hang onto it like a fish caught on bait.

“Exhausted, dude. I have so much to tell you. Where are we going for dinner? The stories I have have to be told over food.” Birthday dinner was part of your tradition. Exchange gifts on the hill, share anecdotes over food, spend way too much at the arcade before moving to linger at the park until sundown and then crash at each other’s house (at yours on your birthday and at Jeongguk’s on his). It wasn’t extravagant or wild. It was simple. Like your relationship. Nothing complicated. Just the two of you together, enjoying each other’s company.

The silence that spans between the two of you indicates that, for the first time, in the sixteen years you’d know Jeongguk, that something was complicated.

He scratches the nape of his head first, bottom lip caught between his lip as he thinks of a way to navigate through the problem that you’re still unaware of. If it’s Minjoo’s presence, you can work through that, an assurance already drifting from your lips. You don’t know why she hates you. But if she’s the girl that Jeongguk loves, you’ll tolerate it. He’s your best friend, after all, the person you cherish the most. You’ll just have to learn to find the things that Jeongguk loves about her with your own eyes. You’ll get there eventually. You know you will. Because you don’t know what your life would without Jeongguk. 

But then he glances back at Minjoo, who’s staring at him impatiently, rapping her long nails against the metal handle of her bike and you sense that something is off. Very off.

“Are we not going out?” You softly murmur, intentionally putting emphasis on the ‘we’ as your eyes flicker between their unreadable faces. Their eyes are speaking full-length paragraphs to each other but you don't understand what any of their weighted gazes mean, the look Minjoo is giving Jeongguk practically indecipherable. “Are we going to eat at your mom’s? That’s okay! I haven’t seen your mom in a while.” You stand up without thinking, your sneakers shuffling the fallen copper leaves around, a resounding crunch emitting from your steps. Minjoo stares at you like you’re dirt for doing that. 

“Um…” Jeongguk eyes are apologising when the words aren’t even out of his mouth yet. They’re round, innocent, gaze anywhere but on you. “We already have plans.”

It’s clear, immediately, that that we doesn’t include you.

“Oh.” Your voice is meek even to your own ears, a strange small sound that makes your heart crumble inside of you. “Okay. That’s fine. You can just take your present then.”

He plucks it out of your hands, not even bothering to peer inside, feet already moving to place themselves on the pedals of his bike. Minjoo’s already turning her own bike away, bone straight onyx hair staring back at you, shoulders triumph in a manner that makes the pain gripping your heart spread across your chest, gaze swimming with the torrent of tears that you’re furiously blinking away. 

It’s not fine. It’s not fine at all.

“Jeongguk!” You catch him before he speeds off, Minjoo already flying down the worn pathway. Her silence isn’t missed.

“What?” He spits the word out like you’re a nuisance. It takes everything in you not to punch him right across his pretty face.

“We need to talk.” The words wobble into each other, tone quivering with the tears you swallow.

“Now?” He ruffles his hair again, an exasperated sigh floating from his lips. There’s a sly eye roll that you catch instantly. Your heart lurches sharply in your chest.

“Yes now.” 

“Can’t it wait? Minjoo’s planned something and she’ll get mad at me if I mess it up.” The impatience in his voice is palpable. You really want to punch him in the face. It’s alright for him to suddenly abandon a tradition that both of you treasure, at the drop of a hat all for some even that his annoying girlfriend planned for him? And she’s allowed to get annoyed about him messing the surprise up while you’re meet to just swallow the sudden despondency that sits heavy on your chest? 

“It can’t wait.” You try to be firm, but like the autumn leaves that hang loosely from the branches above, your resolve is weak. It crumbles, when he settles on his bike, huffing loudly, a frown marring his features. And you hear her voice, frill as she screeches his name. She’s a banshee, a bringer of misfortune and pain. Some part of you wants to sew her mouth shut. That part grows bigger when you note how his back straightens and his eyes widen, feet faltering back to the pedals of his bike.

“Later.” Jeongguk dismisses you. “We’ll talk later. I don't want to fight with you right now.”

And then he’s off, swift with his movements, a hurry that indicates trepidation driving his frame further and further away.

You plop back down on the bench, fists clenched with the ire that blazes inside of you. You ball your hands into your lap, blink away the sudden heat you feel in your face and try not to dwindle on the fact that Jeongguk didn’t even thank you for the present. Or look at it. Or even pretend to care. It hurts. More than you expect it too. You wish you could erase it, all of it. Especially Minjoo. How she’s managed to worm her way into Jeongguk’s life and rip him right from your fingertips is lost on you. But it’s becoming clear now, how little Jeongguk values the relationship you have. If he even cared in the slightest, he would have stayed to listen. Faced whatever consequence Minjoo would have waiting for him with valiance. But with how fast he scrambled, it’s evident Jeongguk didn’t think it was worth it. You weren’t worth it. Not anymore. 

[markie-baby]

We'll Go Way Back

Dream Log | 12.20.20

Hi EVERYONEEEE. It’s been an exponentially long time since I’ve been on here and an even longer time since I posted a Mark dream (mainly because I haven’t had many worth telling). But I figured after the year we have had that I should get back on here and post some the good ones I had for ya’ll as well as a bunch of shit I had in my drafts :) I hope you all are safe & healthy, and have continued health & safety in this new year. For all those who have been heavy effected by the events of last year both physically and mentally, I want you know that my heart is with you <3 I love you.

Disclaimer | ALL of my “Bias Dreams” posts are 100% actual dreams I’ve had of my biases. I hate the smell, look, taste, and sound of bullshit, so why would I serve it to you guys on a silver platter with a side quail eggs, cheese fondue, and some assorted fruits, and call that shit a five star meal? Enjoy!

~

So the dream is really weird (and slick beautiful & powerful) and there are some pieces I don't remember but I think it starts off with me going on a plane to go to college. And the college campus is huge and picturesque. Especially the cafeteria. So I'm there and kind of feeling so-so about the experience and I'm socializing with other students there, I don't recognize anyone there. So then I head to the café and I'm sitting there alone and kind of hating the food and starting to hate being there, so I get up and throw my food away. As I’m leaving the café, I notice that it’s suddenly night time and then I see Mark in a corner sulking. But I guess in my dream, the universe that I am in exists out of the current one. He’s not Mark of Got7, he's just Mark to me. So I kind of look at him and then he nods at me and I nod at him.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask him.

"I don't really wanna be in there. Don't really want to be here." He says back. "What about you?"

"Um, it's my second year (of college) but I just got here so I don’t really know anyone. I don't even know if this is what I really want." I respond.

He doesn't respond back for a few seconds. "Wish you could turn back time?"

"Yeah..." I sigh.

"Do you want to go back in time with me?" He smirked at me.

"...yes."

So Mark pulls out this little handheld blue remote contraption with like a small antenna on it, a little screen, and a little dial and button. Then he turns the dial and presses the button and 4 years are taken off our physical bodies (19 & 23) not effecting the time in our current environment. So while I'm standing there trying to figure out wtf just happened, Mark is like, "Wanna get out of here?" And smiles that smile that just UGHHHH. So I'm like "Yes." What follows after happened almost like a montage in my head. We decided to run off of campus and just do random, but beautiful shit. We got into his vintage, yellow car he had parked on the street of the campus and we went to see a superhero movie, and then we played in the arcade where we got really competitive lol. Then he drove us to an old school amusement park by the beach and we were the only ones there and we rode on a bunch of rollercoasters and screamed and laughed. And then it got dark, we went stargazing and talked about our interests and dreams. Then Mark asked me if I wanted to go furniture shopping. I was like furniture shopping for what? And he was like for our house when we live together.

So I was like "Sure, why not!"

So we went to some Target IKEA hybrid, and legit started furniture shopping but it was so cute because he was holding my hand the whole time, and asking me what I think what would be good for the apartment, making sure we both came to an agreement. But then it got really sad and weird, because while we were looking at bathroom mirrors and then the glass in the mirrors turned into moments in time from our past, like Mark's baby pictures, his debut, etc. And my baby pictures, and me going to highschool and college DEPRESSED, and then me finding myself & drawing again. And then Mark turned to me and was like, "we gotta go back." And in a beautiful kind of way, I knew what he was taking about and why. We cant live in the past, we need to move forward and actually live like we did with each other today. So, nodded and took the little way back machine out of his pocket and turned the dial and I was about to press it when he pulled me closer, put his hand on my cheek and kissed me. BICH. WHEN I TELL YOU I LITERALLY FELT. HIM. KISSING ME. JESUS. TMI, but he’s such a good kisser. On GAWD. And he was passionate!!! OOoooowEeeeeee. Anyways, he's kissing me and my hand slips and presses the button slowly turning us back. Then he pulls away still holding my hand and I ask him, "So what now?" Then he's smiles, "I think I'm gonna pursue music like I wanted. What about you?"

"I honestly don't know...but I want to live my life how want it. I want to be happy this time around." I say.

He smiled. "What about us?"

"Pursue your dreams first. When you get all big and famous then come and find me :)"

"Okay..." he answered.

Then we both started walking away from each other and next thing I knew , I was back on campus and it was super bright and sunny outside and I was feeling great. A bich was doing cartwheels on the front lawn and shit saying hello to everyone. Then I see two classmates who I apparently know, (a guy and girl) and the guy asks me where I've been and I tell him that I went of with this guy named Mark and we had an amazing time together. And girl asked me why I am super happy like what happened to me. And literally I just blurt out "I'm dropping out!" And I get up and run to the cafeteria to get food to drive back home.

A bich chasin her dreams.

~until next dream~

[sky-blaze]

Restart And Try Again

Summary:

Sam has found Rinzler, and is trying to turn him back into Tron, but thirty-year-old code requires an expert touch. Enter Alan Bradley, who ends up unexpectedly attached to his creation.

---

“I need your help.”

Alan turned to see Sam in the doorway of his office at ENCOM. His godson looked unusually agitated, despite the faux-casual pose he had assumed, leaning against the doorframe, the way his leg jiggled with barely-suppressed nervous energy gave the game away.

“Hello Sam,” Alan greeted with exaggerated formality, “Nice to see you.”

There was the barest twitch of guilt that he was abandoning politeness, but even Alan’s subtle admonishment didn’t deter him, “It’s… Dad’s… uh… project. I need your help with something.” Sam blurted, the words coming all in a rush, making him sound like the awkward teenager Alan remembered with a mixed amount of fondness. The words, however, made Alan raise an eyebrow.

“I was under the impression,” Alan said slowly, “That you and Quorra were handling that.”

“We are… mostly. But there’s one thing that needs your...uh...personal touch.” Sam said, his eyes darted around warily, and Alan understood that this was not something Sam was comfortable discussing in the ENCOM officers, where just anyone could listen in.

After only a moment of hesitation, Alan grabbed his keys of his desk, “Lead on, then. I can’t promise anything, but I can take a look.”

Sam’s answering smile was full of relief.

-

Neither Kevin nor Sam had revealed the full details on Kevin Flynn’s ‘project’. The closed system hidden in the basement of the arcade was still largely a mystery to him, Lora and Roy, but Sam had at least told him about Kevin’s ultimate fate; saving the system, The Grid, by reintegrating himself with his rogue program, CLU. Alan was torn between being impressed at what his old friend had accomplished and wanting to raise him from the dead so he could strangle him for being so reckless.

A prickle of apprehension crawled up Alan’s spine when he saw the digitising laser; so familiar from those early days at ENCOM. It looked so incredibly incongruous sat there in front of a workstation terminal. Alan took a deep breath of the dry, stale basement air and looked at Sam, who shuffled uncomfortably.

“Would you care to explain?” Alan asked carefully.

Sam looked at his shoes for a moment, taking his own deep, fortifying breath, “You gave a copy of your security program to Dad for his project, right?” Sam began.

Alan frowned, “Tron. Yes, I did. What does this have…” Alan’s eyes widened, “Is he still..?” Alan had often found it difficult to reconcile the work he did every day - coding, compiling and upgrading software - with the ideas that Kevin had espoused about programs being like real people, living within the machine, but Tron had always been… different. Special. There was a connection there that Alan had never been able to explain. Thinking Tron was… gone had been unexpectedly and inexplicably painful.

Sam looked uncomfortable again, “Sort of. CLU got to him. He… repurposed him. Turned him into an attack dog, renamed him Rinzler. I don’t know how, but something in him must have… fought back. Towards then end, before the reintegration, Rinzler turned on CLU - tried to attack him.”

Alan frowned, his brows drawing tightly together as apprehension congealed into worry, “But you found him?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah but… his code is a total mess. I’ve tried to help him, but some of his core kernal is… well, its beyond me.”

Alan blinked, “And you think I can help?”

“He’s your program.” Sam said softly.

“Sam, in case you forgot, I wrote it – him – in the eighties. Its been a while.” Alan replied, anxiety rising in his chest, tension making his shoulders ache as he stared at the laser and the darkened terminal.

“You’re his best shot,” Sam insisted, “You’re his user. He’s… well, he’s been asking for you.”

Alan couldn’t help but stare, “Asking for me?”

Sam sighed, “He’s not completely conscious, but whenever I try to work on his code, he pushes me away and says ‘Alan1’ over and over.”

“My old username at ENCOM.” Alan said faintly. He sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose, “All right. You’ve convinced me. I’ll give it a shot. What do I need to do?”

Sam nodded at the seat in front of the terminal – the one with the laser pointed ominously at it, “Sit right there. I’ll handle the rest. Oh, and don’t worry when you get there, I’ll be right behind you.”

For the first time since Sam had arrived at Alan’s office, Sam flashed one of his bright smiles. Alan wasn’t sure if it was meant to be reassuring, but since that same smile was often on the face of both father and son right before some of their more outrageous stunts, Alan decided he was correct to be concerned.

–

Arriving in the Grid was just as disorienting as Alan had feared. He materialised – for lack of a better term – to almost total blackness. The only faint white light in the small, closed-off room was… himself. His shirt glowed with a faint white radiance, while his suit pants and jacket had gone from dark grey to jet black. His face felt… odd. He reached up to touch his glasses, but once his fingers made contact with the frames, there was a spark of white across the lenses and his vision suddenly came alive with a host of information, scrolling across like a military-style heads-up display.

“Huh.” He said.

A column of light coalesced beside him, and in moments Sam had arrived, wearing some of sort of… armoured black suit covered in glowing white circuitry patterns.

“Nice outfit.” Alan commented dryly when Sam had fully materialised.

Sam grinned back, “Nice glasses.”

“I appear to have come equipped with an augmented reality display.” Alan said, “I can’t say I don’t appreciate the upgrade.”

“Advantages of being a User in a computer, I guess.” Sam shrugged.

“Apparently.” Alan’s gaze sharpened as it fixed on Sam, trying to ignore the little pop-ups of information on the heads-up display, which described Sams’s clock speed, code integrity and power level, “Where is he?” Alan asked softly.

“This way.” Sam said, leading Alan out of the darkened room and into the city streets.

The city was something of a revelation for Alan, who was almost mesmerised by the colour, the angles, the beauty of it all, especially with his glasses providing him with helpful information on each point of interest, right down to its code composition, if he so chose. Getting control of the flow of information was a challenge; Alan was a programmer, and the beauty of this place, not just on a physical level, but on the level of pure code, was almost too much to resist. Only the knowledge that someone – that Tron – needed his help, let him keep his focus.

Sam led him through the neon-laced streets, up into a glowing tower. Quorra greeted them at the door, the usually perky ISO oddly subdued. The room Alan was guided into was comfortable, decorated in muted shades of white and pale blue. It almost like a high-end hotel, except with more glowing parts.

A figure lay motionless on the plush-looking bed. Dressed entirely in black, an opaque helmet covering his face, the glowing circuitry lines were strangely truncated, pulsing an ominous dark orange. The most distinctive marking was the set of small squares near his throat, set in a T shape.

“Tron.” Alan breathed. The figure on the bed twitched, and made a rattling moan. It was a ragged, pained sound, like a fan with a worn bearing, or a failing hard drive. Either way, the noise worried him.

“Here.” Sam said, handing him… a disk? It looked like a hollow Frisbee, its edges its edges pulsing the same malevolent, fiery orange as Tron’s circuitry. Alan’s glasses promptly displayed information telling him how to bring up a code overview from the disk. Helpful. He was starting to wish he had something like it in the real world.

He sat down on a sinfully comfortable chair and watched as the code spiralled up from the disk, appearing in a splay of holographic light. He examined it for a few long moments, turning it this way and that, marvelling at the 3-D representation that revealed data structures, variable arrays and other things that Alan usually had to keep track of in his head, all presented clearly but… something wasn’t right. He dug further, finally finding something familiar. He wasn’t usually one to blow his own trumpet about his programming prowess, but the core of the original code he had written looked remarkably elegant next to what appeared to be hastily hacked-in patches with more recent timestamps.

After further investigation, Alan sat back with a scowl, “Who wrote this additional code?”

Sam looked up from where he had sprawled on a sofa, “Uh...why?” he asked.

Alan scowled harder, “Because I’d like to punch them in the mouth.”

“It was probably CLU,” Quorra said, almost making Alan jump. She’d been so still and quiet he’d almost forgotten she was there, “Well, either CLU or Dyson.” She continued, “They’re both… gone now.”

“Hmph.” Was Alan’s only reply. He spent another few moments staring at the butchery that had been made of his creation, trying to fight down anger on Tron’s behalf at what had been done to him. The new blocks of code emphasised obedience, and violence. To have this done to Tron, who was created to be self-sufficient, to protect, not attack, it felt like nothing so much as torture and brainwashing.

“I think I can fix this.” He said finally, “But it’s not going to be quick. I’ll need time, and access to my usual suite of programming tools.” He gestured to the swirling holographic code, “This is lovely, but its not what I’m used to. It’ll be quicker and easier for me to use a normal workstation.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, I get it. Programming in the Grid is… different.”

A thought occurred to Alan, “Is it even possible to transfer data to this system? I didn’t see any ports, except the I/O and display port, and the operating system is bound to be completely unique.”

Sam nodded again, more slowly this time, and Alan heard Quorra take a sudden, sharp breath, “It… is…”

“I hear a ‘but’ at the end of this sentence.” Alan said.

Sam gave a slightly forced chuckle, “Yeah, okay. It is possible, but you kinda need to use yourself as the data storage medium.”

Alan blinked, “What?”

Sam chuckled, sounding far more natural this time, “It’s okay. I’ll show you when we get back.”

Alan’s gaze went back to the figure lying so still on the bed, seeming almost lifeless if not for the dull pulsing of the circuitry, and the scrolling information on Alan’s heads-up display. “Will he be all right?” he asked.

“Quorra’s staying with him.” Sam replied. Alan caught the look that flickered between Quorra and Sam, suddenly understanding that it wasn't just a case of keeping Tron company; it was making sure that that awful ‘Rinzler’ code-butchery didn’t cause him to hurt himself or anyone else. Quorra was more guard than nurse. The thought made his stomach knot up. 

Without thinking, Alan reached over to pat Tron on the arm, “I’ll be back, and I promise I’ll help you.”

Tron made a noise, that odd grinding sound, but softer this time, sounding almost like a purr, and then, a barely audible rasp, “Aaalaan onnneee…”

“I’ll be back.” Alan reassured again, feeling a lump in his throat. He forced himself to let go, ignoring the odd look Sam gave him as he marched out of the room and heading back towards where the laser had dropped them, not really knowing why he felt like crying.

–

Less than a week later, Alan found himself back in the basement beneath Flynn’s Arcade. True to his word, Sam had taught him how to port code to and from the Grid. It was something of an involved process, and needed one of the obscure ‘floptical’ storage systems to interface with Flynn’s ageing, custom-built computer system. It had taken almost as long to find the right storage system as it had to actually rebuild Tron’s code.

Now, he loaded the disk caddy into the semi-hidden drive slot and loaded his own ‘profile’ on the workstation and hit ‘import’. Sam then took over and loaded the laser digitisation program.

“Ready?” Sam asked.

Alan shifted, feeling both impatient and anxious, “Yeah, let’s go.”

The dizzying sensation overtook him and he once again found himself in that darkened room inside the Grid. This time, however, there was significantly more light – still coming from himself. The sensible suit he had worn before was replaced by a long black overcoat, decorated with glowing white circuitry lines. His shirt was still softly glowing white, but he could feel the weight of an ID disk on his back.

“That’s new.” Sam said, frowning, “You okay Alan?”

“Yeah,” Alan smiled, “I think it’s due to the extra data I had to import into my profile so I could help Tron.”

Sam chuckled, “Looks good on you. No fair you get a cooler outfit than mine, though.”

Alan couldn’t help but smirk, “And the cool glasses.”

“Yeah, rub it in why don’t ya?” Sam lightly smacked his godfather on the arm, and once again led Alan through the twisting streets to where Tron lay.

It looked like Tron had barely moved, but when Alan stepped through the door, Tron made that painful-sounding grinding noise, his arms twitching. “How has he been?” Alan asked Quorra.

Quarra shrugged, “About the same. He twitches sometimes, and calls out for you. If anyone else tries to touch him, though, he tries to get away, despite how damaged he is.”

The bluntly spoken assessment chilled Alan, and he took a deep breath, reaching over to the program laying motionless against the plush blue bedcovers, “Tron? It’s me, Alan. I’m here to help you, but I need your ID disk. Is that okay?”

The grinding noise grew louder, and Tron’s body twitched almost violently, “aaaa...aaaa.” Tron rasped, trying again to move. It took Alan a few moments to realise that Tron was trying to roll over, to expose his ID disk at his User’s request. The display of trust made something in Alan’s chest twist.

Reaching down, Alan helped his program to roll onto his side, noting almost absently as he did so that where he touched Tron’s circuits, the orange faded into bright blue, just for a second, before it bled back to orange.

As gently as he could, Alan disengaged Tron’s disk from the port, and reached to his own back to pull off his own disk. Praying silently to whatever gods looked after programmers, he slowly brought the two disks into contact.

Holding his breath, Alan watched as the white light of his disk slowly melted into the orange, and wherever it touched, the light changed, transforming from deep orange into blue. When the process finally completed, Alan felt like he could breathe again, but the knot in his stomach still remained, a reminder that it wasn’t quite over.

Carefully pulling the two disks apart, Alan clicked his own back into place before leaning down and carefully, almost reverentially, placing Tron’s disk back in its port.

The change was immediate. The blue light flowed like water from the disk port, spreading across the circuitry lines. When it reached Tron’s neck, the mask dissolved, revealing a face that looked precisely like Alan himself had thirty years ago. Tron’s eyelids fluttered and he blinked open his eyes, looking unerringly at his User, eyes full of wonder and joy.

“Alan1.” Tron said, his voice almost...worshipful, which was deeply embarrassing, but at least it was at last free of the awful grinding growl.

Alan felt tears in his eyes, “Welcome back, Tron.” he said, reaching out to take his creation’s hand.

Tron frowned, “I… so much has happened.” Sorrow filled the program’s face, “I...I failed. I did terrible things. I’m so sorry, Alan1.”

“Shhh,” Alan soothed, perching next to Tron on the edge of the bed, unable to tear his gaze away from his creation, “It’s all right. You did everything you could. You fought back against CLU. I couldn’t be any prouder of you.”

The awestruck wonder was back in Tron’s face, his fingers curling tightly around Alan’s own, apparently totally unwilling to let go. Alan gently touched the circuitry on Tron’s arm, marvelling at the colour – it wasn’t quite the electric blue of Quorra’s lines, it was paler - closer to ice blue, and Alan wondered at the reason for that difference, if it had any particular significance.

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled them both, both Tron and Alan apparently forgetting that Sam and Quorra were in the room. Sam looked somewhat embarrassed, “Uh, so yeah. Me and Quorra have… stuff to take care of. We’re gonna head out, okay?”

Alan rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand, feeling his own embarrassment climb up his cheeks, “Uh, sure.”

Tron tugged on his hand, “You’ll stay with me, Alan1?” his face and voice full of hope.

Alan couldn’t help but smile, “Of course, Tron.” he said, and Tron shuffled over on the bed to make room, not once letting go of his User’s hand.

Alan lay down next to his creation, the security program he had coded with his own hands, trying not to melt under said program’s adoring gaze. Without really thinking about it, Alan brought Tron’s hand up to kiss his knuckles, wondering exactly how this had become his life.

Once he turned to see the joy shining in Tron’s face, free of the pain he had suffered, Alan couldn’t bring himself to mind.

End of Line.

[tori-beanie]

PART TWO IS HERE!

You know that soulmark AU? Yeah? Well I made another chapter and I’m proud of it.

Let’s talk about some stuff first. I did not come up with these designs. Nope, that belongs to FanartFunart with this post here! I’ve been given permission to use the idea for fanfics, and I am very grateful for that. Make sure to give them some love!! https://fanartfunart.tumblr.com/post/184661279405/filed-under-aus-i-do-not-plan-on-actually-doing

Please also check out the last part of this I wrote, the first part of the ‘Soulmarked’ Series!

Without further ado, please enjoy,

The first Encounter

~~MORE~~

Logan was ten years old, and he still had four blackened marks on his forearm. Not a single one had gained color yet, and it was starting to drive him insane. He tried to distract himself with as much as possible with extra work and so many books. However they were his soulmates. He knew they would eventually meet. That didn’t make Logan’s life easier though. People accused him of faking the extra marks, and some were disgusted by the amount. Five people all going to be in a relationship? How was it even possible? Luckily Logan read. He read far above his grade level, even able to get his mother to buy him a book about people with multiple soulmates. It was one that he was working to memorize, one of the ten year olds most important things.

At the moment he was at school, bored. He had already finished the homework for his advanced math class. He had skipped a grade easily, so instead of being a fifth grader, he had moved up to sixth and took advanced classes. It was work that was a bit more his level. If he had to take basic fifth grade classes he really would go insane! They would be far too easy for Logan Foley! But even now he had worked ahead and now had nothing else to do. For now he would stare at the marks on his arm, and hope that one of them started changing color. At least then he would have something to focus on…

Patton Foster had been living in shades of white black and grey now for about five years. He honestly had trouble remembering what color things were. Obviously he knew the sky was blue and the grass was green, but what were blue and green? What did their pigments look like? They were both different shades of grey, but that didn’t really help him. All the nine year old could do was stare at a colored pencil or marker and hope he picked out the right one. Did hair come in purple? Who knew anymore. It was going to be purple this time.

In his art class, Patton and the two other colorblind students were given passes on their art. And although he still tried to be accurate, sometimes he’d draw a red skinned person with blue hair and yellow eyes. The teacher told him it was okay, and Patton tried to believe it. He kept a smile on his face. He could be perfectly happy, even without color! He would get them back once he met his soulmate! Yes, Patton was still a bubbly bouncy fourth grader, just as he should be.

Roman… Roman O’Ryan was sick of hearing the same song over and over again. It seemed his soulmate favored playing one song on loop just to drive him crazy! However it was okay. It may be a weird song that he wouldn’t normally listen to, but Ro has memorized all the words. In fact, he memorized most of the songs his soulmate played. Although tastes seemed to shift around a lot. Once or twice he could have sworn that the songs overlapped as if more than one was playing at the same time. It was weird to think about. How could one soulmate listen to so much music!? Oh well. He’d deal with it later when they were able to meet.

It was nearly Romans tenth birthday, and he was really excited. He was a fifth grader at a school near the edge of town, and would be having the best party ever! His mother was bringing them all to a themed arcade for his double digits! Roman had been handing out invitations to anyone who looked like they were friendly, when he saw someone. The boy was covered in black swirls, like a pattern that the boy couldn’t memorize. As he moved forward towards him and held out an invitation, their eyes met. This boy had one green eye, and one that was a yellow tone. However both boys gasped when his left arm began to glow red and yellow through his clothes. Yes, this was interesting…

Declan was minding his own business. Honestly the sixth grader had been sulking about being in another new school. His parents moved frequently, which meant a lot of bouncing around schools. De had been rather annoyed, not looking very inviting when a boy stepped up to him. When he met the boys red eyes though, a warm pleasant heat began to swirl down his arm. De immediately looked at it, seeing a red filling up what had been a blank black flower, and yellows mixing together until there was a proper crown atop its petals. Both boys were utterly speechless.

What should they say first!? De took initiative and held out his hand, voice still a bit shaky from the shock of it all.

“Hey. I’m uh, Declan. Declan Shea.”

“Roman O’Ryan… Are you my soulmate?”

“No, my shoulder just flowed and colored itself in for no reason at all.”

He couldn’t help the sarcasm. De was a habitual liar, something that normally made people annoyed with him and got him in trouble. However Roman… He just laughed and grabbed De’s hand, pulling him up with a bright smile.

“Come with me! My mama is picking me up today! We’ve gotta show her this!”

Honestly Declan didn’t have it in him to object, a small half smile on his face as he was dragged along by a hyperactive boy.

Virgil was quiet. He had grown to be an average student, but he had a few problems. Mostly with anxiety when around other people. Due to that fact, he was homeschooled by his mother and father. Overall he was a happy boy though, learning to read and write at his level. However he excelled in science. More specifically, when it came to the human body. It was always fun to learn about it, and maybe then he would understand ‘Dark Blue.’ He had no names for the soulmates he knew existed, so he just called them after the color their words were written in. The dark blue one was written in long science speak, making it Virgil’s favorite to learn.

He would read all the phrases written on his body every day, smiling as each one was looked at. It was a bit anxiety inducing to think about how he had four soulmates waiting for him, and it was a lot of love to give, but he was still excited. Who wouldn’t be!? Although his favorite at the moment was the yellow one.

‘So you’re the little stormcloud!’

It was written across his neck, and he was happy to read it. In fact, it inspired the boy to learn to sew so he could put a storm cloud patch on his jacket. Maybe it would help his soulmate recognize him. Yes, maybe one day...

General Taglist: @midnight--fox @your-friendly-neighborhood-enby @heathers-dorkness-0923

Soulmarked Taglist: @fanartfunart

[sailor-cresselia]

The Great Ex-Aid Rewatch: Ex-Aid & Ghost, Part One

:grabs the popcorn:

This is gonna be hard, because I wanted to try and do this without in-movie spoilers. I mean, I’ve seen the entire show at this point, and if you’re reading my liveblogs, I’m basically assuming that so have you, so not touching on plot points is a little impossible, especially with my overbearing love for going into meta and theories.

Also, it’s going to be in multiple parts. This first post covers about twenty minutes of run-time over the course of several hours of real-time, and nine pages.

Whoops.

(links to the other parts will go here)

–––

Okay, so. In the first two minutes, we have Dr. Pac-man’s three assistants start shooting up the GenmCorp lobby, and I’m pretty sure that the muscle guy broke a guards neck. And then they go after Kuroto, with a very… glitchy Dr. Pac-Man alongside.

We’re talking ‘pre-bugvisor Graphite’ visual glitching, here. As though he doesn’t quite have enough… I dunno, cohesion to stay intact on his own.

Thing is, Kuroto seems genuinely… if not scared, then at least shocked to see him. The dude’s supposed to be very dead, after all.

And seriously, why do people keep jamming proto-gashats into their bodies?! No! Don’t do that! Stop it! I don’t care if you’re a bugster or not, it doesn’t actually help you at all, it’s just going to make you physically unstable!

–––

And here we have Tougo, victim of the day. I have to say, I’ve never liked him much. He’s… annoying. Also, I’m aware that the choice of color for his school uniform is most likely ‘because Pac-Man’, but that doesn’t change the fact that’s it’s ugly. The girls jacket is a nice dark tan, but the boys have this gaim-awful mustard.

And then the Pac-Viruses attack.

–––

Emu’s such a good guy, helping one of his young patients out in both work and as a sort of mentor-friend. Pity we’re still very early in Ex-Aid, and he’s still a horrible klutz. There’s no time to be tripping over your feet, Emu! We’ve got people to save!

–––

…oh no… It never quite clicked before, but I think Takeru had to repeat a year! He was clearly planning on going to university, if only because he and Akari are/were in the same year of school, and she’d never let him live it down if he didn’t. And here? His teacher, who’s practically mocking him for being six months behind, is asking whether he’s serious about his entry exams or not.

So. Since it’s December now, and it was early April when he came back, Takeru missed the entire last half of what was supposed to be his senior year of high school. So here, he’s probably about three months into what he missed before.

Akari, Onari, please don’t disrupt the class like this, they probably all think Takeru’s weird enough as is without him getting called out for superhero business.

–––

You know, Akari reminding Takeru to be careful, because he’s got a regular body now, implies that he hasn’t been careful. Maybe not as Ghost, but… you know, in regular exertion stuff. (And as Ghost, because there’s probably a number of times he’s had to help Alain with. Like. Less-than-satisfied court members or something over in the Ganma world.)

So, both teams are here at the outbreak site. Team Ghost, consisting of Takeru, Akari, and Onari, and team Ex-Aid, consisting of Emu and Asuna. Both of the lads put on their drivers, and simultaneously notice the other one there.

They didn’t meet outside of the suits in Ghost’s final episode, which was an epilogue to his story and a Bonus Sneak Preview Of The New Challenger, so it makes sense that the drivers – both of which are very distinct – would be how they recognize each other.

–––

Of course, that gets us into the slight issue of ‘when does Ghost ep 50 take place.’

See, it’s implied in-show that it’s not long after Takeru comes back to life, which puts it in early to mid-April. He has a line about ‘are we really going to celebrate my birthday twice from now on?’, to which the answer was a definitive yes, so it makes logical sense for it to not be on his original birthday in October.

Except for how Emu couldn’t show up for his Big Damn Heroes moment if it were in April, because he didn’t put on the Gamer Driver until October.

So, when Emu comes to try and get the Shakariki Sports gashat from Ayumu, it isn’t quite chronologically possible… unless you take into account who Ayumu is.

He’s Takeru’s son. From the future. Meaning he time-traveled to get there.

It’s not even unprecedented for the season – Takeru’s father opened the portals that brought Takeru and Shinnosuke back and forth from 2005 in the Ghost & Drive movie, after all. So, it stands to reason that the portal ability, which Ayumu also shows, is a familial power.

What I’m positing is that Emu traveled back in time, and probably didn’t even know it.

He goes to the game worlds and battle stages fairly often, and since suddenly being in a different location isn’t exactly new to him… it would only makes sense for him to not realize that he’s in a different month, too. Especially when one of the stages looks just like the forest behind Daitenkuu Temple, and he has all sorts of flashy light effects going on all the time. An eye-shaped portal could totally just be another one of the standard special effects.

Yup, nothing unusual here.

–––

Okay, that aside, nobody actually gets to transform just yet, because the whole group is swarmed by Pac-Viruses before either of them can activate their drivers, with the viruses quickly singling Takeru out and chewing into him.

He doesn’t get hit with the literal fever that everyone else they’ve done this to are suffering from. No, in Takeru’s case… the Ghost Driver disappears. He pulls out his eyecon to try again… and it clicks uselessly.

Onari suspects it might be because he ‘hasn’t transformed lately’, adding more credence to his and Emu’s encounter being more than two months ago.

Since nobody else here can… time for Ex-Aid to make an appearance.

In level one.

Cue Opening Credits.

–––

So, Emu can’t so much as dent the Pac-Viruses, and then two of Zaizen’s lackeys show up. The man, apparently named Kazushige Ryuzaki, uses the Drago Knight Hunter Z proto-gashat to turn into… (quick search of the wiki) the Doral Bugster. Since I don’t feel like typing out his name, and it’s never said in show anyway, I’m just gonna be calling him Doral from here on. Similarly with the woman, Ageha Takeda, who uses Giri Giri Chambara to become the Giril Bugster.

So, you know, of course the one with a sword is the one Takeru faces off against. Why not? Not like he’s probably got some incredibly justified trauma relating to them. Not like it’s not actually incredibly ironic that his first heroic Eyecon arms him with a sword. Why not re-open some old less-than-metaphorical wounds right off the bat?

Doral basically corners Emu into the parking garage that Takeru and the others tried to bring Tougo through. Oh, yeah, they were trying to get that guy out of the area when he collapsed. I didn’t mention it because he’s not a good character, and exists primarily to guilt-trip Emu. So, yeah. Doral and Giril knock both our heroes down, breaking Emu’s level two transformation in the process, and here comes Dr. Pac-Man, being all ominous and glitchy, saying that he’s doing this for ‘revenge on humanity’.

Suuuure, that’s how you wanna spin it. Humanity in general. It’s totally not against a few very specific humans, one of whom you’ve recently had held at machine-gun point, and the other who has no idea what’s going on.

–––

They use the scene of bringing Tougo into CR for a brief exposition dump – which is fair, both in-universe and out. Takeru’s team wouldn’t know what’s going on, and it helps just in case the parents in the audience haven’t been following what their kids have been watching. It just gives us that little bit of elaboration on the bugster virus, enough so that people aren’t completely lost.

Tougo’s – oh, wow, his ‘infection ratio’ is already at 63%. Usually when they get someone in here, they’re only in the 30% range. But, of course, there isn’t any data to define what’s going on, because this isn’t one of the normal bugsters. There’d be no reason for Pac-Man to be programmed into a Genm Corp system.

(Which actually raises the question of how they were able to see an icon for Burgermon in episode 17, since he wasn’t supposed to be a Bugster, either. Then again, he is from a game Genm Corp was developing. But I digress.)

Anyway, Emu’s justifiably confused as to why Takeru doesn’t seem to be having any of the usual symptoms of an infection. Oh, sweetie, if you only knew- :ahem: sorry, distracted.

Takeru says that no, he’s not feeling any sort of fever, he’s doing fine.

Onari reminds him that ‘he’ll only get hurt if he pushes himself’, and Akari feels his forehead to make sure he’s telling the truth.

Once again, we’re getting the implication that Takeru has developed a habit of going too far.

–––

upstairs, we’ve got a conference call with Secretary Hinata, the Official CR team, and the Ghost team. Onari bursts out laughing at Poppy’s last name – and freaks out when she hops out of the arcade cabinet.

Both of these are understandable reactions, but maybe don’t immediately declare this a supernatural phenomenon? You know, since a government official was the one to first address her.

I will always be frustrated at the reverb effect they gave Poppy’s voice in this movie. There was no reason for Toei to do that, it’s just excessive, and it’s not like they did it in any of the promo materials or shorts, to say nothing of the show itself. Actually…

–––

I wonder if some parts of this movie draw from early planning stages of Ex-Aid? Like, there’s no explaining the voice thing otherwise, and Emu was pretty close to freezing up for a long time in here… despite the setting for it being explicitly between episodes 10 and 11, at which point they’ve already faced an approaching pandemic, with what Graphite pulled in episodes 9 and 10. So, either the team just didn’t think of that, or there were aspects that got… left over.

I mean, it’s not nearly as inexplicably different as the entirety of the OOO section of OOO & W, but it’s not exactly fitting with where Emu would be even just in the first few episodes.

And yes, I’m aware that OOO & W was made when they had one whole episode of OOO to go off of, but that’s why I think there might be artifact plot elements in here.

–––

Okay, back to the film itself. Again. Emu – Genius Gamer M – uses his genre savvy to realize why he couldn’t damage the Pac-Viruses. If, like some of the other bugsters, they’re operating on the logic of their game, then the only weakness they would have would be ghosts. AKA, instead of infecting Takeru, they burned out his ability to transform into Ghost, thus removing their biggest threat.

I mean, only some bugsters use their games that heavily. Motors, for one, the bugster from Bakusou Bike, is ‘prone’ to racing, and technically speaking, Emu and Kiriya cleared the game before destroying him, by beating him in a race. And the Doremifa Beat Collabos bugster was using music just like it would have been in the game itself – if you miss the notes, you get punished. In game, that’d just be a bad score. In the real world… painful explosions. Poppy, the actual bugster from Doremifa Beat, can’t sing without a backing track. And then there’s Burgermon, who was cleared in the same method as beating a level in his game – making a burger for him.

So, yeah, the Pac-Viruses might be in that class of bugster.

Anyway, enter Dan Kuroto and Hanaya Taiga.

Taiga’s all “No, I’m totally not here to help you guys, I’m just not letting these freaks run loose.”

Kuroto tells the ensemble that they stole the ‘heavily guarded’ proto gashats.

If by ‘heavily guarded’ you mean you were clearly reading their data out in the open, in your office. Again. And by ‘stole’ you mean “They had two machine guns pointed at me, and a sword, and I’m not immortal just yet! What was I supposed to do?! Just not hand them over?!”

…Yeah, he may be an evil bastard, but he didn’t exactly have a choice even if he wasn’t trying to keep up his ‘benevolent CEO’ facade.

Taiga’s comment of ‘those gashats are very dangerous’ is not only an understatement, but also… it’s foreshadowing. We know that Kuroto’s been using Proto Mighty Action X, and that it’s slowly wearing him down – Parad told us as much in episode 8 or 9. We know that Drago Knight was actually hurting Graphite, and he’s from there.

And, although we haven’t seen it yet, Taiga also has experience using them. Proto Bang Bang Shooting is what he originally used as Snipe, back in 2011. But we don’t know that even outside of the show just yet.

This movie came out in theaters in December 2016. We found out that the proto-gashats were involved during the Snipe Episode ZERO specials… the first of which wasn’t released until April 2017.

So… here, have some foreshadowing, I guess!

Emu asks if Kuroto has any idea who the culprits could be… and Kuroto pauses before saying he doesn’t. There’s a… not a scare chord, but a ‘you should be really, really suspicious right now’ sound effect when he says that.

I can’t tell if Emu looks disappointed or suspicious.

…Disappointed. He didn’t believe Kuroto could be evil until he revealed himself, so… yeah.

–––

At the totally not sketchy base, Dr. Pac-Man and his lackies are planning something. They’re waiting for Tougo’s symptoms to break out – he was the one they were targeting, after all. I think the Pac-Viruses went after Takeru on their own. They’re also working on something called the ‘genome graph’.

Complete with a diagram of a human gene… that starts off normal, and then becomes blocky… pixellated, almost.

So that’s not sketchy at all.

–––

…oh what the heck. The next scene is the next day. How can I tell? Everyone is in different outfits. It’s not just how Takeru is noticeably no longer in his school uniform, and back to his normal wardrobe. Akari and Onari are in different outfits, too, and Emu was wearing his yellow binary shirt, but now he’s on one of his dark blue ones.

How long does this movie take place over?

(No wonder Haruto was able to show up out of the blue! It’s been at least a day, so he’s had time to find out about this!)

Anyway, Tougo (finally) wakes up, and Emu and Takeru both start questioning him as to why the people in white were after him. Well, Emu’s telling him to go lay back down, because he can barely stand for more than a few seconds without wobbling, and Takeru’s asking questions.

Tougo cares not for your platitudes and worrying about his health, he’s got school and game development to do! Both Emu and Takeru take incredibly personal offense to this attitude.

Casual reminder, both of them were 18, the same age as Tougo, when things went wrong. Well, went wrong a second time in Emu’s case, when he went and decided that he needed to focus on his studies after… well, as we find out later, doing almost exactly what Tougo’s doing. Neglecting his own well being in order to do what he loves – games.

…ohhh no Emu is same hatting really hard with this guy.

(Listen, Tougo, as long as you don’t start identifying with the primary game designer in this show, we’re set. Just accept the fanmail gracefully, and everything will go much smoother.)

But, as Hiiro points out, they technically can’t force treatment on him. But also… well. There are some pretty nasty folks after Tougo.

–––

On the roof, Takeru and Emu have a little chat. They’re both basically going ‘how on earth are you handling the Rider thing?’ to each other’s situations.

Pulling out the Ex-Aid Eyecon, Takeru says that he couldn’t have imagined that the rider that gave it to him is a doctor. He was just so incredibly neon. But the fact that ‘Doctor Emu’ is saving lives as both a doctor and as a Kamen Rider… that really impresses him.

(Please note that Takeru consistently uses “Emu-sensei” to refer to Emu both here, and in HeiGen Final. No, there’s no hero worship going on here, what are you talking about? That’s silly!)

Similarly, Emu’s incredibly impressed by Takeru’s resolve to have kept fighting after dying, and speaking as a doctor, can’t even begin to imagine what that takes.

And then here comes Kuroto, asking to see Takeru’s Ghost Eyecon to analyze it, so they can make something that will effect the Pac-Viruses.

Since Takeru agrees, it means that he’s not tied to it the way he was in the series. It’s probably a different Eyecon completely – seeing as in-show, the Ore eyecon was literally him. Technically, the Takeru we saw was almost a projection – his tangibility depended heavily on his emotional state.

(There’s a reason I occasionally joke about Ghost’s Eyecons being ‘Soul Gem Two: Spooky Boogaloo.’)

(Also, Yurusen shares a VA with Madoka, and that just drove the joke home. Turns out Meduka Meguca is the cat, after all!)

–––

Hatesate Puzzle is an Android game – you can tell, because the list of files includes four different .apk files. Also, it’s up to version 7.21.

But the programming screen? Uses the same stupid block of text that all of the programming screens use in this show. Like, it’s even more egregious this time, because it’s shown very clearly, in decent lighting, unlike in Kuroto’s assorted lairs. Also, it talks about game physics such as collision detection for the ground.

This is a match three game.

Anyway, turns out Hiiro’s idea was to allow Tougo to leave the hospital, as long as he was still being observed. There’s a hundred thousand people infected right now, and the people who did it want him. So… Tougo is bait.

Needs of the many, blah blah blah you could have at least run this by someone, Hiiro. I get not telling Emu. But Asuna should have been informed, at least.

Almost immediately after Hiiro takes his leave, letting Emu take over, we hear static as Tougo staggers backward in his seat and passes out.

–––

We come to a busy office – a busy police barracks. Team Ghost waits anxiously on a visitors couch.

“I’m glad to see you’re back.”

Enter Officer Tomari Shinnosuke: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (active duty); Kamen Rider Drive (inactive).

Takeru and co had called in a favor, and Shinnosuke was only all to willing to help cover this case. Not only is it rider business now, but they’re threatening the city. Not to mention the police squad they destroyed yesterday – handily confirming that a day has, in fact, gone by – means Shinnosuke really wants in.

Turns out the three they’ve seen the faces of were all researchers into genetic therapy with the Next Genome Institute. Doctor Pac-Man is ‘most likely’ their boss, Zaizen Michihiko. Unfortunately…

They’re all supposed to be very, very dead. They died six years ago, as a matter of fact.

Most of the institute’s data was destroyed when the facility was sealed, but there’s a bit of closed circuit footage remaining of the event. Only a few seconds, but it’s enough to show them standing over an operating table, as orange lights encase and dissolve them, squares of light patterning the floor and walls.

Squares of light eerily similar to what they just say the other day, when people were activating Gashats.

Bugster work isn’t the only sketchy thing they’ve done – there were rumors of the institute working with cloning, creating mutants… basically, as Akari says, mad scientists.

(Anyone want to place odds on them being funded by Foundation X? No? Just me? Okay then.)

–––

Emu and Asuna are with Tougo as he wakes on a bench. THey’d moved him somewhere out of the sun, and he’s… An asshole about it. He never asked for their help, and he’ll die when it’s time, anyway, so why are they bothering?

Doctor Pac-Man, still very glitchy, strolls up. “He’s right. None of you are needed here. Why not just hand him over?”

Running time!

–––

Back at the precinct, Shinnosuke promises that he’ll let team Ghost know as soon as they find where the Next Genome researchers are hiding.

Y’know, except for that part where he’s too late, and they’re already going after Tougo, and by extension, Emu.

Shinnsouke’s fired up and ready to go after them.

Y’know, except for the part where Krim locked all of the Drive tech in his depression garage the Drive Pit at the end of the season, and Shinnosuke can’t transform, which Takeru points out, saying that it’s too dangerous for Officer Tomari to go.

Of course, Onari, logically, tries to point out that Takeru’s in the same boat right now, to which Takeru hurriedly shushes him.

Takeru and his team run off to deal with the situation.

Sad music plays as Shinnosuke laments his lack of belt.

–––

And here’s where I decided I had to cut the liveblog for now! Because again, twenty-some minutes, and nine pages of text. This is going to take a while.

See you next game

[valyrfia]

My Eurovision 2019 Top Ten

Yes! It’s that time of the year again folks! The Europeans are here! 

Let’s jump right into it:

1. The Netherlands: Arcade - Duncan Laurence Jesus where to begin. It doesn’t matter where, when or why but every single time I hear this song I get such intense chills. For me this is such a clear winner, he’s got such clear and clean vocals and the staging (as seen in Amsterdam) is perfect, it doesn’t detract from the song at all and I think it’ll make it really stand out. I really think this is the best Eurovision song I have ever heard.

2. Malta: Chameleon - Michela  I seem to be in such a minority on this but you guys don’t understand this is such a bop. I didn’t like the post-chorus the first time I heard it but now I can’t stop jamming to it. If this were any other year it would be my clear winner. Every single time I hear it it has me dancing (especially the last chorus! GIVE ME WATER I’M A SWIMMER, GIVE ME FIRE I’M A FIGHTER, GIVE ME LOVE I’M YOUR LOVER). She’s got such a good voice (those voice cracks anyone?) and she’s so young! I really hope this catapults her into fame. Malta really need to step up their promo game, they’ve got a perfect song, it’s so 2019 and if they play their cards right I can imagine hearing it all over the radio. I have a strong feeling Malta will be this year’s dark horse. 

3. Italy: Mahmood - Soldi I love this, you don’t understand. A bit like with Chameleon, this song is so 2019. It reminds me a bit of Stromae and Drake mixed together. The beat is intoxicating and the lyrics are poignant. It’ll be really popular with the juries, but I’m not too sure about the televote (I don’t trust democracy lmao). I really hope they go for simple staging/lighting and that he at least gets top ten. 

4. Switzerland: Luca Hänni - She Got Me This is a really bizarre year for me, any of my top 4 in other years would have been my first, but the competition is just really good this year. It’s also really bizarre because one of my own countries is in my top 10, which usually never happens. I’m literally so in love with our entry. Sure it’s been pushed out of my top by Arcade and Chameleon but I’m no less in love with it than I was before. I think people are a bit unfair comparing it to Fuego and everyone needs to chill about the live vocals, he has a month to improve and lest we forget Eleni wasn’t much better imo, it’s hard to dance and sing at the same time. I really hope they keep the low red light they had going on in Amsterdam, I can’t wait to see this properly live. 

5. Cyprus: Tamta - Replay If anyone deserves comparisons to Fuego it has to be Cyprus. They went with the same formula as last year and yeah, it’s working. I don’t think it’s quite as good as Fuego and does sound quite melodically similar to Switzerland’s which might disadvantage both, but I still groove to it every single time it comes on my playlist. It is a shame about the drop though, it’s worked the other way than with Malta, I started out liking it and now it’s just a bit too much for me. All in all though, a really good song, Cyprus keep coming for the crown. 

6. Azerbaijan: Chingiz - Truth Am I the only one who think this sounds really similar to Bones by Equinox (Bulgaria 2018)? Apparently it’s written by the same guy, which makes sense. Hopefully this’ll do better than Bones (my winner :( ). I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I can tell that this is my type of song, that I should be loving it but it’s just not doing it for me the way my top 5 are. Maybe it’s reminding me too much of Bulgaria’s painful robbery last year. Either way, it’s very slick and very well produced and should catapult Azerbaijan back to the final where they belong. 

7. Belgium: Eliot - Wake Up The verses are beautiful, his voice is beautiful. The chorus is beautiful and fits perfectly and is the perfect song to listen to on the bus home after a night out when you’re still tipsy (based off true experience lmao). I have a strong feeling this’ll be City Lights all over again. Only thing is that I think it might draw unfair comparisons to Arcade, hopefully they won’t be placed too close to each other. 

8. Hungary: Joci Pápai - Az én apám I really did not like Origo, but I love this. It’s really chill and perfect for just throwing on when it’s late at night and you’re working late. His voice is beautiful and we all know he can deliver live. Keeping my fingers crossed for this making it to the final. 

9. Sweden: John Lundvik - Too Late For Love It’s not a Eurovision top ten unless you have Sweden somewhere in it. While I think there are better songs in the contest this year (and Sweden can’t really afford to win it again) if this song doesn’t make you dance then you’re lying.

10. Norway: Keiino - Spirit in the Sky This sounds like old-school Eurovision and I am in love with it. Yeah sure it won’t get played anywhere outside of Eurovision but it feels like a love letter to the old-school pre-2015 Eurovision (read: before everyone started actually making an effort) and it just makes me so nostalgic. I reckon it’ll play well with the televote as well and the ethnic vocals are gorgeous. 

[ticktockthem]

this got really long but here’s a bio for Charlie

Name: Rimon “Charlie” García, formerly Rimon Rosenthal

Age: about 24-25 (obviously it would depend on when in her canon we’re talking about but that the age i usually draw her at)

Birthday: June 8th (Gemini)

Sexuality: Pan/Bi

Relationship status: In a very complicated open polycule

General physical description: 5′10″, skinny with lean muscle, red curly hair cropped short, green eyes, red-toned medium/light skin (often sun-damaged), freckles freckles freckles.

Scars/skin markings: a two-inch scar on the outside of her upper left arm, where she removed an implant. Two scars on the left side of her neck from a raider that had attempted to slit her throat. A large uneven scar below her right collarbone from a Legion spear. An approximately 8-inch long scar on the left side of her rib-cage from another Legion spear. A large patch of road-rash looking skin on her right forearm, caused by localized radiation exposure.

Hometown: Vault 46. Originally meant to breed animals to be used in the war effort, the equipment for genetic splicing is now used to combine animal and human DNA to try and create offspring better suited to survive and fight in the wasteland.

Current family/group: She has a family group that has its homebase in the Stillwater reservoir, which dried up long ago. It’s in Rhode Island. It’s now called the Stills. Her adoptive mother and father, Paul and Stephanie García live there. Matthew, the leader of the group, is Paul’s adoptive father as well as Charlie’s genetic great-great-great(etc) grandfather, because he is one of the original humans that was used to introduce human DNA into the cocktail that eventually became Deathclaw DNA. Charlie’s maternal grandmother, Wilhemina, lives in Louisiana with her girlfriend, Audrey. Wilhemina also escaped the vault, and left a trail for Charlie to follow. When they finally met up, Charlie stayed with them for a while, learning survival skills from Audrey, a ghoul who had been a homesteader before the war. Charlie calls Audrey her ‘Meemaw,’ as Audrey hates being called ‘grandma.’ Charlie’s twin brother, Reid, still lives in the vault. It’s Charlie’s biggest regret that she left him behind, but the security in the vault makes it unlikely for her to get back and escape a second time.

Family background: Daniel and Lisa Rosenthal are her biological parents, though Charlie hates them because they support Vault 46′s Overseer and don’t want to escape the vault. Her family is Jewish (specifically Polish Ashkenazi) on her mom’s side and Choctaw/white (the common american blend: a little French, a little Scotts-Irish, a little German, not particularly tied to any culture) on her dad’s side.

Other close relationships: god there’s so many uh im just gonna list them

Merlin (princeof-flowers‘s oc, also a dethclaw hybrid, they consider each other siblings)

Callinan (undeadcourier’s oc. more to come on that? which would necessitate that she’s also buddies w/)

Arcade

my SoSu (CherryBomb. General of the Minutemen),

Hancock,

Preston,

Alma (a french ghoul that cooks drugs and lives in Goodneighbor),

William (Alma’s husband, a Russian merc),

Jude (a synth based on pre-railroad Deacon),

Atlas (a Greek man who lives in The Stills),

Castor (Atlas’s ghoul husband)

Claude (a ghoul frenemy of Charlie’s, who is in a band with a friendly rivalry towards Charlie’s)

Lyre (my raider queen of nuka world)

Luca (Lyre’s eye-candy husband)

Relationship with men: Trusts them less as a rule, tends not to feel as romantically attracted to them even when close

Relationship with women: she tends to idolize strong women a lot more, and is willing to forgive women easier

Dress style: Armor when she’s scavenging/travelling, loose tops and tight pants when she’s in a safer area and feels more comfortable

Religion: Jewish, non-practicing

Attitude to religion: You keep yours and she’ll keep hers. She can’t stand  someone’s religion encroaching on the personal freedom of others, or cult-like recruitment and captivity.

Favorite pastimes: Once she’s made sure everything is safe, all of her weapons are clean, and any upkeep on her items is done, you can find Charlie reading anything legible she can get her hands on, fixing up old lighters, and sewing or embroidering.

Favorite foods: Steak, eggs, candy, cake, anything with loads of protein or sugar really.

Strongest positive personality trait: Will defend her friends, or any apparently helpless person with everything she has.

Strongest negative personality trait: Runs away from and ruins relationships due to her fear of abandonment/rejection (“If I leave them, they can’t possibly leave me.”). Incredibly stubborn and refuses to ask for help.

Sense of humor: Loves snappy quips and wordplay, especially literary references. Uses gentle ribbing and antagonism as a bonding exercise.

Temper: Yes.

Consideration for others: Probably too much, considering her environment.

How other people see them: Manic, moody, jittery, flirty, just very much all-over-the-place.

Opinion of themself: Pretty much beats herself up constantly, but won’t stand for anyone talking to her the way she talks to herself. She’s garbage but she’s better than everyone she doesn’t like. Sees herself as a massive hypocrite because she’ll kill people she doesn’t know (she often takes mercenary work), when that’s most of what people vilify raiders for.

Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story: hates being seen as weak or naive, incredibly loving, extremely sympathetic to others, she expresses love by giving gifts and sharing stories but prefers to receive it via words of affirmation and touch, she’s extremely guarded about herself and her past, and worries a lot about people close to her

Ambitions: She wants to prove herself to her new family, provide trade and safe interaction with others to The Stills. She wants to help take down the Institute and any other faction that seeks to control people.

[dailydoseofidiocy-blog]

Input:THREE

Hey. Sorry, it’s been like two weeks or something, I couldn't really find time to write for a little bit. So, last time I wrote, I said I’d talk about my homecoming this year that also doubled as Will and I’s one year anniversary. So, it started out quite nice actually. Will and Tyler had gotten to the park that we were going to take pictures at before we went to dinner before the dance; Tyler's mom tagged along as well. My mom and I walked over to the fountain where Will and Tyler were since she also had wanted to take pictures. We waited like a half an hour for Jamie to get there, but it was okay because we made sure that we had had enough time in the first place. The three of us also joked about it and I took pictures of Tyler while he was pretending to have his arm around a ghost and we captioned it “When your date is late to pictures”, and they were as if he was telling a joke and laughing which was really funny and quite nice. Once she had finally gotten there, her mom and older sister came as well to take pictures and help with posing. We all had some fun walking around the park and taking pictures together. Messing around and messing with each other, looking back, it was quite blissful. Then the four of us went to dinner with Jamie's mom and sister because they drove us and Jamie's cousin worked at the restaurant that we were going to and would be the one serving us. We met up with our friend who I will call Mers, he was pretty cool. While we were all sitting at the table talking and making fun of each other, I sent a video of Will to Tyler that I had taken while we were home alone at his house. I was lying on the couch looking over the edge where Will was lying and I blew into his ear which always made him squirm which I thought was adorable. Will obviously knew that I had sent something to Tyler since only him and I were laughing about it and it made him kind of mad, but I was a little dumb and when I said it was nothing it was just something dumb and he said it was alright and I believed him. Then he had acted as if he was fine for the rest of the time that we were at the restaurant. We then all went to the dance, minus Mers because we just had felt bad that he was left out so we had invited him to dinner. We waited in line with our ID’s, since they doubled as our tickets, and went into the dance. Will had kind of not been talking by this point but I brushed it off not really noticing it much. The dance started at 7 and it was maybe 7:10-15 by the time we got into line, so it was maybe 2:20-25 by the time we had gotten in. We put our stuff in the bags that they had sitting in the cafeteria for us and Jamie and I put our shoes in them as well. And we walked into the gym together, we went to somewhat of the back but not completely so we’d still be with the crowd. Jamie and Tyler were having fun and dancing so of course, I wanted to dance and tried to get Will to dance with me since we were at a dance. He seemed to not want to really do anything and I pegged it as he has some anxiety with crowds so maybe he’s just not really into it. So I tried harder and took his hands and was messing around, trying to talk and looking at him while he seemed to be looking everywhere but at me. And it made me feel like complete shit. Yet I still tried to dance with him so we could have fun and took his hands in mine and started moving them back and forth when he all of a sudden started to sort of aggressively doing what I was doing which got really annoying and I still tried to slow him down and make it more smooth. Yet he still seemed to never look at me or even try to talk to me. While I asked if he was alright about three times throughout this, and each time he said he was fine. I then got really upset and started to tear up but I obviously didn’t want anyone to see so I texted my friend if she would meet me outside but I realized she didn’t have her phone with her so she didn’t see it for a while; it was 7:36 when I looked at my phone. Though I am grateful that as I walked out the gym doors I saw my friend, who I will call Marie, and pulled her aside when she said hi and explained what was happening while trying not to cry. And she asked if I had wanted to go and join her and her group of friends which I gratefully said yes to because it seemed to be exactly what I had needed. So I danced with them and a few other of my friends, almost forgetting about how much of a terrible time I had been having before, almost. Then Tyler and Jamie came up to me saying that Will was looking for me and that I need to go dance with him because it was kind of rude that I had just left him. And I’d agree if he hadn’t been making me feel like shit the whole time and make me run out crying. Which is what I told them, but then Jamie was like, “Just go talk to him then”. So I did. And, in the loud gym with everyone, we talked and I said how it made me feel and how I ran out of the gym almost crying. He then explained how I made him feel with talking to Tyler and not telling him what it was about, which Tyler ended up showing him anyways to make him feel better. We stood there, at homecoming, yelling at each other. The funny thing is, while we were in the middle of screaming at each other, my friend danced up to us and saw we were yelling and danced away. I am a stubborn person yet I realized, from a rational perspective, and in the middle of it, thinking how I’d feel if the roles were switched, I admitted to being in the wrong so we’d stop yelling. I apologized and he mumbled an apology which I could tell was forced but I’d take what I could get because I knew that it would not be much more from him at this point. We then danced to the slow song that was playing together. Which I know seems like a complete 180 after everything that happened at this point, but what else could I do. Anyways, tonight was out One Year as well. I hadn't brought his gift with me for fear of something happening to it. I had painted him a picture, since I like to draw, of two hands holding each other, and I loved it because it meant so much to me as well. I gave it to him before one of my games since it was a home game and I had my backpack with me. He was getting out of his marching band practice when I saw him walking outside, behind the gym, and called his name and told him to wait for a second while I grabbed it. I ran and got it and gave it to him, he said he loved it and we kissed. The dance was Saturday night, the day I gave him the gift was Tuesday. And I had not heard of the gift that I would receive. I painted a picture because I could not afford anything and it was the best I could do. I also wrote him a small paragraph that morning. I got nothing for two weeks, with word that he still had not ordered it, they still had not “reordered it” when it had apparently not gon through the first time. All I had gotten was a stuffed animal that looked like it had come from a children's arcade. It made me feel horrible and was the last straw. I broke up with him the Friday, two weeks after homecoming. I’ll tell you about that later though because I didn't realize how long this one was getting I am so sorry lol. Bye for now.

[attract-mode-collective]

Nothing Sez “Student Game” More Than The Dinosaur Evening News (that’s a good thing, btw)

The above is Mediazoic, which takes place in an alternate reality in which dinosaurs have come back to rule the earth and they've hired you, puny human, to make sure their televised broadcasts are dino family safe.

You moderate comments left on message boards, censor full frontal dino nudity, and so on. It's a student game alright, and one of my top picks from the NYU Game Center Student Showcase2018!

I was also fond of Dreams For Your Computer because CRTs, magnets, and cats...

... Here's what it looks like in action, btw.

Though the one game that I liked the most, and which would actually fare well on the marketplace, would have to be Static...

And honorable mention goes to an updated take on Flight Simulator, which recreates a 6 hour long commercial flight as a passenger...

... The best part was the look on Stephen Totilo's face, who kinda didn't get it.

When was the NYU thing btw? Over two weeks ago, and it’s been even longer since the last update. Sorry about that. You know the deal: a million, billion things going on. As usual.

Hence why it’ll take not just one, but two bursting at the seams posts, to cover the second half of May! So onto part one…  

Please, please, PLEASE let these Game Center CX Blu-rays have an English language option (via miki800.com)...

Not a day goes by in which I don’t wonder how that guy who appears in the instruction manual for Bomberman B-Daman is doing these days (via videogameartarchive & videogameartarchive)...

I really love the “are you for real?” vibe that Samus gives off in the instructions for the original Famicom Disk System release of Metroid (via nintendometro)...

If you’ve ever wondered what a pair of bosses from Mega Man 9 & 10 would look like with 8’s 32-bit sheen, well here ya go (via mendelpalace)...

A print ad for the Famicom adaptation of Akira that wasn't all that hot (via videogameads)...

Though whenever anyone hears the words “Akira video game”, this is basically what immediately comes to mind. Anything else is a disappointment, no matter what (via aaronkraten)...

Welcome to the rabbit hole that is the Memorex VIS (via @ColinWilliamson)...

Is the soundtrack to some ultra-obscure home banking software for the Mega Drive worth a listen? You goddamn right it is (via mendelpalace)...

… The accompanying article is also totally worth a read.

It’s the Battletoads X Blue Swede mashup that you can’t believe hasn’t been done yet (via SiIvaGunner)...

Replace Link with myself & Navi with my iPhone, which I use as an alarm clock, and you have earlier this morning in a nutshell (via nintendometro)...

“So where you going?”

“Down a road. A low poly road…”

“Where you headed towards?”

“Whatever’s at the end of this street. This low poly street...”

“If you look up, what do you see?”

“Low poly buildings, under a low poly sky. Who knows, maybe there’s some low poly birds up there, behind those low poly clouds…” (via pmpkn)

From looking at low poly skies to soaring high above them, but what a difference an arcade board makes huh (via kazucrash)...

This is what Metal Max 2: ReLoaded on the DS looks like, at its normal resolution...

And this is what it looks with the resolution bumped up (via gaucheartist)...

Is this sprite of a BMX biker animated unusually well or am I just out of touch when it comes to 2600 software? Granted, it does come from a game made in 1989 (via segagenesisevangelion)…

According to the law: “NO JUMPING” (via vgadvisor)

“Hi guys.” (via beowulf-ultra)

Such a heartwarming scene (via @PicturesFoIder)...

This is what VR looked like many years ago, which is basically how it still looks today as well (via peazy86)...

It’s Yuji Horii, from way back in the day, presumably before he had created Dragon Quest (via videogamesdensetsu)...

Why yes, I have heard of the Ocelot Arcade System, by virtue of it being Quality Simon Carless content...

... BTW, “Quality content” is in reference to this. Moving on: yes, I've also heard of VecFever. It plays games that you might be familiar with, since it emulates old vector MAME titles...

Meanwhile, am only just learning that Tiger released their handhelds in Japan under the Game Vision label (via segacity)...

The Sega Dreamcast: it's thinking... about you, cuz it cares about you (via posthumanwanderings)...

"Wait… was he always there?" asks the official Sonic the Hedgehog Tumblr (via sonicthehedgehog)...

And the final nail in the coffin for this gag came courtesy of the official Sonic Tumblr as well (via sonicthehedgehog)...

"Good news everyone skyrim has been ported to the Bethesda offices carpet" 

"Who the fuck designed support pillars to obstruct a quarter of the hallway?" 

"Bethesda" (via mysteriouslypeculiar)

Yet another "it's funny cuz it's true" (via highlandvalley)...

So annoyed that I only find out about this Games Glorious shirt on the very last day of kylefewell‘s Japanese extrusion (via miki800.com)...

Not a fan of the game (don’t hate, I just don’t find it very enthralling), yet for whatever reason, I REALLY want this vintage Mappy sweatshirt (via namcomuseum)...

When video game attire looks plausible IRL (via @cvxfreak)...

Much like with regular attire, with cosplay, sometimes it’s all about the accessories (via frankiebalboa)...

Don’t think I’ve ever seen this piece of Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter art before (via segacity)...

For those who dig POC, as well those who dig VF, and also those who dig FV... that last one's Fighting Vipers, BTW (via fightersmegamix)...

It’s a crying shame that Fighting Vipers is such an unknown commodity these days (via kazucrash)...

Virtua Fighter vs Virtua Fighter… Kid (via segacity)...

It’s a crying shame that Fighters Megamix is such an unknown commodity these days (via segacity)...

So hyped for RPG Time, based solely upon the headline image used for this 10 ten list of BitSummit games (via @indiegameweb)...

Please enjoy yet another thing that I originally posted on a Saturday late at night, whatever time it might on your end right this second (via contac)...

Been a while since I’ve seen the handiwork of Joe Bleeps, largely since it’s been a while since I’ve been collecting Game Culture Snapshots; the man has certainly stepped up his game (boy mods) since way back when (via kotaku.com)...

Am also very much impressed by the Game Boy Macro, though once again, am super irritated that GBA games do not rest flush with the DS Lite’s body...

An example of function over form I guess (@gamesyouloved)...

Familiar with Line Wobbler? Ever wished you could play it on the go? Are you into demakes? For the Game Boy Advance? (via @diskmem)

Today’s corrupted GBA boot up sequence is (via corruptionasart)...

Can anyone tell what Famicom game we’re seeing that’s all glitched out? (via mendelpalace)...

My fave part of this NES 2 print ad is how, in order to truly drive the message of “EVOLVE OR BECOME EXTINCT” home, whomever felt it necessary to include a little picture of a dinosaur (via nintendometro)...

Was this an ad for the SNES? I ask because it’s considerably more sophisticated when compared to what you usually encountered in gaming rags at the time (via nintendometro)...

This ad for the GoldStar version of the 3DO, hailing from Korea, makes me so proud to be (half) Korean, you have no idea (via notablegamebox)...

This Space Invaders tribute piece is like the cover art to some 80s heavy metal record (via shmups)...

Meanwhile, the album art for the Metal Black soundtrack feels more Pink Floyd-ish than anything else (via reportal)...

As amazing as it would have been to attend a ZUNTATA concert 20 years ago, I desperately wanted to see them perform various Darius cuts live just the other week (via miki800.com)...

This cover art for a tribute album celebrating 25 years of Mega Man is still quite good, 31 years after the fact (via rnn-draws)...

My recommended reading this time is a comparison of all the various Mega Man sprites that have been, including a few that you may not be familiar with (via retrovania-vgjunk.blogspot.com)...

Apparently there was a Mega Man boss that was part arcade machine, but he only appeared in some mobile game, for f's sake Capcom (via mendelpalace)...

Guess now’s a good time to share another random game canter pic (via gogopri)...

Pathos at the game center, even among Sailor Scouts (via funnysailorm00n)...

A pride & joy of my personal collection is both the original retail Japanese release of Jet Set Radio & the available via Sega Direct only edition: De La Jet Set Radio (via videogameartarchive & videogameartarchive)...

Here's an alternate take on it’s alternate cover star (via @Drooling_Demon)…

Putting together the necessary gear to properly grind the streets of Tokyo-to (via kiroziki-cosplay)...

JSR tales place in a fictionalized, idealized interpretation of Japan, whereas this gif is a very realistic take, yup (via dehtyar)...

Meanwhile and elsewhere, somewhere in the United States of America it would seem (via behexagusthegreat)...

There's still dinner time in the future (via kirokazepixel)...

My contribution to #WorldGothDay (via it8bit)…

From dark & dreary, to warm & fuzzy, yet still black & white (via this old post from a few years back)...

Old photos of a Japanese school kid obsessing over the Famicom are somewhat dime a dozen, but the PC Engine? A very rare treat (via gamingremembrance)...

From black & white photographs of Japanese 80s kids playing consoles, to a full color animated gif of US 80s kids at the arcade (via tvneon)...

Time to wrap things up by touching upon something that kept me awfully busy over the past few: Death By Audio Arcade X Dreamhouse II. Here's a rather mysterious image that appeared on the FB event page, and which was utilized in my promotional push...

... Did it work? You’ll have to find out in my part 2 of my Attract Mode X Tumblr: May 2018 recap! Due tomorrow. Maybe.

[sunshinetoday]

It’s been ten weeks since our favorite show is back in production!! Let’s see what happened in this week. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. week summaries.

*Clicking on links will take you to the original posting of the video/article/tweet... X marks the posting of linked content on Tumblr. It takes you to be Tumblr link of the person who posted it here.*

This week started with everyone being high on the Comic Con. Like, everyone! The wide range of press coverage and fangirling everywhere was overwhelming and we did enjoy it, for sure! 24 years and we’re still going like crazy.

David and Gillian are the sweetest to meet according to a Bleeding Cool journalist!

The panel had it’s ups and downs but we did learn a lot of the new season and we were all really proud of David for being the man of his word: “In 20 years he will be doing X-files panels” And, yes it did send us down to the rabbit hole again of all the speculations, conspiracy theories and such. All in all, we a fandom based on THAT! Soooo let’s see how this all looked like in terms of facts and figures 😂😂But before that, I’m just gonna include this adorable gifset post from @justholdinghandsok to warm your heart and bring a smile on your faces! 

David Duchovny checking on Gillian Anderson since 2013.

The beginning of this week was mostly just press releases, which you can find listed below, so...

Let’s jump to Thursday, and this weeks' #tbt which referenced once again how badass Dana Scully is: “Dana Scully, parkour pioneer” @gillianaofficial

Happy Birthday, Fox Mulder!! 

Fox Mulder turned 56 this year and we celebrated accordingly with fanfictions, gifsets, many many sexy Mulder pictures...check out the dash of your favourite bloggers for the cool stuff!

Brick is getting more and more famous and apparently, he seems to notice it; “Yeah, my dog apparently has about 10.000 twitter followers. It’s gone to his head. We were leaving set and there is a van that takes me to and from the set that has one of those sliding back doors and then the passenger seat door. So they both open at the same time and my dog started…after the twitter thing blew up, he started jumping into the front seat. (X)

Also, in case you didn’t know here is Brick’s story, how he found this amazing human being, his best friend David Duchovny.”Life is a journey and adventure. You never know where it will lead. Thanks for the bath, snacks and home @davidduchovny! #fam Woof” (X)

David is trying to fool us stating: We might think we want a sex scene, but not really ‘cause they are too old...

I mean it’s a nice idea, David but it’s not gonna happen. WE WANT OUR SEX SCENE. And also, I don’t believe anything you just said...

Chris Carter is making the rounds with his Season 11 spoilers: This is something he said at the press table, NYCC...; “Q:...but are we gonna get any kind of peace? Ever? Basically…” Chris Carter: “I mean what is Closure?” (X)

But David and Gillian keep sharing cute and heartfelt behind the scenes stories like the story of the wandering bear: “David Duchovny recalls how he would have saved Gillian Anderson from a bear. “ @youreadarkwizard

I did do a post about all the information we have so far on the episodes, it’s pretty long and full of spoilers... The X-files, Season 11 - What we know so far

On Sunday we had David’s concert at Imperial, Vancouver. There were many tumblrinos there, so we do have many materials to catch up on what we missed! Thank you to all of you for sharing! 

Brick was one of the stars of this event, as well! David was rocking in his Lifeguard hoodie before changing into his rock star outfit! Also, please never ever reference David’s dance moves, Dad Dancing, ever again. Thank you😂😂

David Duchovny concert entrance in Vancouver 14th oct. 2017 @becksndot5

The necessary arm porn picture @xf-fan1993

Some definitely not Dad Dancing moves @ccoblee

David covers Bowie’s “Heroes.” story and video shared by @greeneyes0526

And we also learnt that: “Chris Carter totally surprised David by having a local punk band cover ‘Unsaid Undone’ and putting it in, I think it’s the 3rd episode that we shot.” (X)

And thanks to IMDB’s official The X-files Season 11 pages, now we know that Mulder and Scully will have sex in each episode and we have  William Bill Williamson - Love Scene Supervisor to thank 😂😂😂 (X)

And one more sweet tweet from Brick in this week’s summary; “It was awesome to meet so many fans at the @davidduchovny concert this weekend! Time to get back to work Directing @thexfiles! #action (X)

Filming news:

Gillian was filming on Monday 

#TheXFiles in West Vancouver today. Mulder & Scully (David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson) at Arcade Station on Marine Drive. (X)

SEASON 11: THE X-FILES Mulder & Scully (David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson) in West Vancouver (X)

MILES ROBBINS (susans son) playing William Scully??? #TheXFiles (X)

@WhatsFilming  3FP Signs on 96th Ave. into 14th in Walnut Grove. Could that be X-Files? (X)

Press of the week: 

GILLIAN ANDERSON’S RETURN TO TV IS COMING AT THE PERFECT TIME (X)

NYCC 2017: Gillian Anderson On Cliffhangers, William, And Immortality (X)

NYCC 2017: David Duchovny On Fox Mulder, Fake News, And More (X)

'The X-Files' Cast Talk Season 11 and Thrill of Still Chasing Aliens 25 years Later (X)

The X-Files Eyes Robert Patrick for Season 11 Encore as Doggett (X)

THE X-FILES CAST ON HOW THE REBOOT LIVES UP TO THE ORIGINAL (X)

Mulder and Scully hunt for their son in The X-Files season 11 trailer (X)

The X-Files Mega Buzz: The Search for William Will Bring Mulder and Scully Even Closer (X)

The 25 Best TV Love Stories of The Last 25 Years (X)

Interviews/Videos of the week:

Gillian Anderson & David Duchovny on Mulder/Scully’s Kid | New York Comic-Con 2017 | SYFY WIRE (X)

Gillian Anderson & David Duchovny Take on Social Media (X)

David Duchovny Says Keep An Eye On Mulder's Bulletin Board on 'X-Files'(X)

An Interview With X-Files' David Duchovny at NYCC (X)

Interview with X-Files Gillian Anderson At New York Comic Con (X)

Gillian Anderson & David Duchovny on Mulder/Scully’s Kid | New York Comic-Con 2017 (X)

In other news this week;

David does look like a puppy, thank you @mulders-boyish-enthousiasm

David Duchovny: Songs in the Key of X (X)

Printed version from the Vancouver Sun posted by @becksndot5

David at the Nat & Drew Show (X) 

Remember when Mulder complained about rain and felt Vancouver's wrath? (X)

Gillian Anderson in 200 women

The First Trailer For Agatha Christie's 'Crooked House' Shows How Family Drama Can Make A Murderer (X)

The Movement of #MeToo @gillianaofficial 

David Duchovny stopped by The Nat & Drew Show to talk about his new music, The X Files... (X)

Some awesome gifsets, pictures, and fan arts:

You have to stop him. Before he unleashes hell on earth @tatianagmaslany

Favourite NYCC 2017 moment @mulders-boyish-enthousiasm 

Gillian and David spent a lot of time looking at each other at the New York Comic Con X-Files panel (October 8, 2017) @lilydalexf

Because with all she’s been through, Scully deserves nice things. @msrafterdark

Then and Now @allyinthekeyofx

Colored in my ‘first contact’ drawing I made for inktober @random-ship

Digital painting of Scully inspired by a photo from the set of TheXFiles s11   @chimerart

I think this is it for our tenth week! *Let me know if I missed something or if you have suggestions what to include in the next week summary, feel free to message me anytime*

Lots of love, fam! For another great week ahead!  ❤️ 👽😄👽

[middayfiddler]

Geodes

AO3

Walking feels like being trapped in the joints of a mechanical giant, every movement of the cogwheels and springs resonates deep into his bone marrow. The smell of copper and taste of rot - as if every living being in the world died many years ago and left him to spend eternity counting their bones - and he screams and screams and his own voice echoes on his eardrums thousandfold. It doesn’t sound like his voice anymore. It feels like the darkness around him stole it right from his vocal chords, just like it stole his sight and touch and hearing. He screams and there are no words anymore, because he doesn’t remember what words are. There is no one to call for, no one to save him; and soon there is nothing, nothing anymore.

“And don’t forget,” mom says in her no-nonsense voice over a stack of cardboard boxes under her chin, “bills will be split in half .”

“Sure,” Hopper mumbles, chewing an unlit cigarette. He’s easy to read once one gets over his scary Police Chief exterior; there is no doubt he will pay only half of the bills, just like there is no doubt there will be insane amounts of food appearing in the fridge, followed by a rant about how grateful people bring those to the station to “rot, Joyce, really, and those people are so unrelenting .” Will would know, even if he hadn’t overheard him explain his plan to Mrs. Flo. Will likes Mrs. Flo. She gives him and the boys the donuts she forbade Hopper to eat and pats him on the head in what he imagines is the grandmotherly way.

There are no donuts today. Only reheated chilli and Eggos and whipped cream for El and beer for Hopper, new staples in the Byers’ pantry. It’s good; the changes are good and make Will feel less like something is crawling under his skin.

El doesn’t speak. She is sitting in the living room window, feet with mismatched woolen socks hanging outside and touching long-unmowed grass. Her cuffs are stained with blood from her nose, even though hers and Hopper’s things were mostly light stacks of papers and easily packed onto the backseat of Jonathan’s car. There is something calming in knowing that you can come out of the Upside Down and still be a good person.

Will sometimes doesn’t even feels like a person. Other times, he feels it too much.

“I put El’s things in Will’s room,” Jonathan says and flicks Will’s forehead. It’s how Will wanted it; he keeps on saying that Jonathan’s room is better and has wanted it for years. Everyone pretends they believe him.

Not everyone; El doesn’t. El knows.

Music starts playing and he startles. There used to be no record player in the living room; apparently there is now, and it’s El-controlled and playing something that sounds like music Hopper might have listened to in high school.

Sure it is - Hopper and mom put the boxes away and start dancing in the small space between the sofa and the table, much slower than the rhythm of the song demands. Mom puts the unlit cigarette in her mouth and smiles, her hands on his shoulders and their legs entangled to fit into the space. They look like they belong there, like the space exists just for the two of them to be there at some point in time.

Jonathan leans to his ear and whispers: “Do you think he will arrest me if I tell them to get a room?” and they both laugh, because there is weird and there is supernatural-weird, but then there is the local Police Chief in love with your mother in your living room.

Later, when everything finds its place in the Byers-Hopper house and the record player mysteriously keeps on putting the needle to the start of the record right after it finishes, El is still sitting in the window, although the evening has gone cold and wet with dew. It’s fine with Will; it’s easier to draw people when they are not looking. The neon light from the television screen throws pretty shadows on her back.

“Mike,” she says silently, only for Will to hear.

The boys are not coming until tommorrow. Will cannot see her face, but he’s drawn enough people to recognize the tilt of the head, the posture of shoulders, the level of cheekbones to know when a person is smiling. After the Upside Down, names and people and atoms of matter are more concept than anything else. El originated from there; that’s how language works for her. Will knows. Will understands.

“Yes,” he says, only for Eleven to hear, and it’s good, it’s good, for an evening, everything is so good.

There is fire under his skin, inside his muscles, inside his organs. His body - what used to be him, because what are people without their bodies - is disintegrating into ash, but the ash is still him and it still burns and it still hurts. And he cannot scream, for he has no voice, and he cannot cry, for he has no eyes. And it hurts, it hurts, with pain human bodies were not created to endure.There is something terrible happening - somewhere, out there, outside of the range of his forgotten senses, of his clouded mind, somewhere in the world filled with people he has no remembrance of - but there is the pain-filled nothingness and he’s floating in million pieces and it’s almost - almost - like he’s at peace.

“...and as you’re coming close to the source of the weird sound, you turn to the passage to the right, and there is it - the Sphinx!”

“No, not the Sphinx! Steve! It’s your turn!”

“Ehh...I...hit it with a racing car.”

“You’re a bard, Steve. You don’t have a car.”

“A racing car, kid. And there’s nowhere written in that thing that I can’t have a car.”

“Actually-”

A half-empty pack of Cheetos flies a circle around Will’s head before landing neatly on the kitchen counter. Will looks where El and Max are sitting in the corner of Byers’ living room, Max immersed in Mike’s Atari and El immersed in watching Max play. Both of them claimed they didn’t have enough patience for hours-long campaigns. But Will notices El startling with every monster conquered, every kill claimed. He knows; he will read her bedtime story, after, with everyone gone, a story with happy ending and summer and flowers and little girls with loving fathers.

“How come he rolled eighteen? How does he always roll so high?”

The Sphinx is, indeed, defeated by the wondrous appearance of a racing car. Lucas seems offended on a personal level, while Dustin is attempting to convince Mike to let the whole party into the vehicle and just ride through the dungeon. Steve seems equally confused as he did at the beginning, except now with the enthusiasm of a person unexpectedly accomplishing something.

Mike leans to Will: “When I die, write on my gravestone: Cause of death - My D&D party.”

Will chuckles weakly. They survived unimaginable monsters, other dimensions, possessions and multiple almost-ends of the world, and yet he knows that his - Will’s - cause of death will probably be the warmth of Mike’s breath on his ear, his heart palpitating at the sound of his voice breathy in whisper, his barely suppressed need to turn his head just a tiny, tiny bit to where Mike’s lips are and where they will stop being in the matter of seconds. And, most of all, that he shouldn’t feel any of that.

Will is sure the cause of his death will be one Michael Wheeler.

And then it’s Will’s turn, and he uses magic - reasonable, from the manual - and throws twenty, then he miraculously keeps throwing twenty again and again while Steve’s character obtains a nailed baseball, a flamethrower and a flying racing car. Steve is banned from playing as a bard ever again by common decision, which Mike repeats to Will’s ear in that certain kind of whisper. Will wants to run away, but he doesn’t, because they are winning and Mike gives him a half-hug and a smile.

And if a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows inconspicuously lands in front of Will sometime during the campaign, well, no one seems to take notice.

The neon arcade sign is turning slowly in the nightmare-tinted night. There is snow falling, and it tastes like ash, but the ash tastes like despair and fear and he is alone, alone, alone. The pavement is empty and cracked, as if all the people on the Earth just decided that since this minute, he’s not worthy of being one of them, of being in their material, fluctuant, erratic presence. He isn’t, maybe; there is no one to ask, and his screams return to him thousandfold, unanswered. Stay with me, he hears the clouds whisper, and the trees and the walls and the grass under his feet (have they always had a voice? he can’t remember; yet their whisper is familiar, and calming, and enticing at the same time; he’s heard it before, somewhere). You belong here, with us, they say. His hands are covered with lichen, his lungs full of spores that will grow into vines through his respiratory tract, he’s becoming one with this other world. Maybe I do, he wants to say, but there are no mouth anymore to make a voice.

The girl is called Donna. She was in his English class last year, and Mike’s mom sometimes goes to her mom to get her hair done.

Will disliked her the moment she came to ask him to dance, then disliked her more when Mike’s hand touched his elbow only to push him to the dancefloor. He hated the way her waist felt under his fingers - curved in premonition of woman to come, pliant and criss-crossed with the humpy lines of her blouse seams. And he hated, hated so much the look in her eyes, when she leaned to his cheek - the same way the couples around them were doing, the same way Mike and Eleven were doing, and Will’s eyes are burning and his throat is itching with bile and he wants to look away and can’t - and whispered: “You’re too obvious, Zombie Boy. Tone down the staring on Wheeler.”

She’s waiting for him by his locker now. Her eyes are following him from under eyelashes painted black and curled. He is almost sure he can hear the thoughts of the passing students; it’s the way they wordlessly agreed, back then, from behind fake smiles and eyes straying sideways. It was infinitely easier to start rumours than to wait for another ones to be started.

Will doesn’t want to be here. The boys are probably in the AV room already, with Max pretending not to be fascinated by the machinery and El - Jane now, at school always Jane Hopper - training her reading by syllabizing the Heathkit manual. It doesn’t seem to matter; not wanting to be where he is seems to be Will’s perpetual, unavoidable state of mind.

“I kissed Maggie Thompson,” Donna says. She’s wearing the ugly ribbon headband all the girls seem to wear this year, and her farce of a smile is more forced than usual.

“Congratulations,” he says. “How did it happen?”

“She saw Rick Jordan kissing some girl behind the church,” she says. “I told her he was an asshole. And that we could practice kissing.”

Will thinks that if they weren’t standing in the school hall, with a carefully crafted image to keep, she would be crying.

“Was it-”

There is nothing to say, really, and if there was, Will wouldn’t know. I would never do that , he could say and doesn’t.

“We don’t have much choice, me and you,” she says carelessly and the ribbon moves from side to side like a trapped moth; but there is sadness in her eyes, the sadness of a person who knows that some things will never change. Will recognizes it. It’s the sadness on Hopper’s face, when he forgets to go to sleep and stares at the out-of-reception TV in the hours before dawn; it’s the one his mom tries to hide when she’s looking at him. He doesn’t want to know what his own face looks like when he’s not careful. He has a hunch; it always mirrors in Mike’s eyes, wide and scared and full of unreasonable resolve to shield his friends from any harm. Will knows that falling out of love with him would be impossible, even if he tried.

“Maybe you should tell someone,” Donna says. She’s put her head on his shoulder. Wetness is soaking into his sweater, but she doesn’t sob or hiccup and maybe it’s just his own sweat. Will can hear some girls go “awww” in the hallway and they are both good at lying, so good. “After something like this, there is no way back.”

Will pats her on the back. He will not; his mom knows, maybe, and El for sure. He’s not sure either of them knows what it means. It feels like there are many people living inside Will, some of them still trapped in the Upside Down, some of them in the labyrinth of the Mind Flyer, some of them in the 80’s Indiana. Neither of them is a particularly good place to be.

He’s a hero, Mike said once, and so he has to be.

“I know,” he says, because people like them are both great at lying and terrible at it.

It’s a game of chase or being chased. And his legs are tied and his eyes are blindfolded; he’s touching the walls, but the walls are shifting and right is left and up is down and the end is the beginning and all is the same. Run, run, run, he’s calling, or maybe it’s his mind or maybe someone else.

It’s not him. Someone else is being chased; he’s just standing inside it all, unmoving like a stalactite, with eyes closed and yet still seeing. He sees shadows and the light that brought them to life. He sees the shadows move. They have bodies and limbs and look like someone had drawn them on a piece of paper and left it outside during rainpour. He wants to touch them, feel their ethereal existence on his fingertips, but his fingers are blocks of ice and he cannot move. Someone is talking, but the words - mother, friend, his own name - the words have no meaning. They are but an entropy of sounds and the sounds are hurting his ears. His ears are bleeding, but they are bleeding crystals of frost. It’s pretty, white and glistening and dead, and thus harmless.

Run, run, run, someone calls, but he cannot recall what it means.

Jonathan is home from New York and Nancy from Indianapolis, which is as good reason as any for everyone being gathered in the Byer-Hopper’s living room.

The room did not get any bigger since the last time; if something, it got only more cramped, with Hopper’s new armchair and El’s blanket fort she doesn’t allow to be taken down. It does not seem to matter to anyone. The painted letters are hidden under the new pink wallpaper; the drawing of Bob was taken down last year together with all the other Will’s drawings.

The stories are being told that Will has heard thousand times before; but it’s what is connecting all these people beside unconditional love for each other, and Jonathan has no stories from the college to tell and Nancy pretends to have none. How Mike wanted to attack a perpetrator with a candlestick. How Dustin locked a demodog in Henderson’s cellar using a trail of ham. How Hopper made a random kid sell him the whole stack of Halloween candy. The last one is new; it feels nice to hear a story no one else has been present to. It feels less like standing behind a glass wall, watching everyone assuring themselves that what happened was but a series of unfortunate, maybe entertaining events. Mike is laughing and Dustin chokes on his Coke; Steve pats him on his back and jokes that he should have become a kindergarten teacher instead of Hopper’s assistant.

A finger is put between Will’s eyebrows.

“Bad lines,” El says, reaching from her favorite chair near the record player. Her curls are hidden under Hopper’s police hat and she’s got whipped cream on her upper lip.

“Wrinkles,” Will corrects her.

“No. Bad lines. Go away.”

Will smiles. She’s whispering; she’s been taught concept of privacy and concept of things not being talked about loud, and that’s how Will knows she’s not trying to learn a new word. Mike was right, back then - El understands, understands everything, without unnecessary words, as if they were born from the same womb. And, like any other older brother, he pretends to be oblivious.

“Full sentences, El, remember?”

She shakes like an annoyed cat, but complies. “I don’t want you to be sad.”

He wants to say that he’s not; her eyes slide to Steve, recounting some event Will recognizes and doesn’t care about, then stop at Mike - smiling, happy Mike, with his long legs folded carefully under the coffee table and wonderful ability to see through Will’s lies, but not through what Will doesn’t say at all. He doesn’t say anything. She knows, of course she knows.

“I’m sorry,” he says, even though he knows it carries concepts El didn’t grasp yet, like being sorry for things that don’t hurt anyone. So he crosses his eyes to look at her finger, still stuck to his forehead, and makes her laugh. He pinches her nose and pretends to point out her own wrinkles and teases her about her hair like any other brother would and ignores her pointed looks amidst the bursts of laughter and what they mean.

Hopper is telling a story about when El started calling him Dad. He’s looking at El fondly, like his own heart was sitting before him, materialized into a curly, gangly girl. El sends him her mostly eaten plate of waffles and then hugs him, when she remembers that’s how other people show affection.  Will looks at Mike, still smiling, still happy, still here, still Mike, who looks at him with eyes full of unreadable thoughts. Will figures that maybe not tomorrow or the next year, but one days things will be how they were made to be.

He’s been burnt to ash and put back together; he’s been frozen, his veins blocks of ice under his skin wrinkled like that of old man who forgot to die; he’s been turned into atoms and wandering without hearing and sight and remembrance of who he used to be. And he was scared, in the way one is scared of death or pain or getting lost in the dark and not finding way back.

He’s alone now.

The landscape is that of desolation, of oblivion, of loneliness permeating every molecule of being. There is moss on the walls, dust on the pavement, crumbling stones under his fingers; the skies are empty, as if moon and stars were too much of companions for him. He doesn’t try to scream anymore. He knows there is no one to help, no one at all.

Something touches him, something shakes him. It’s not good; he wants to stay in this quiet, peaceful world, before something else, something more terrifying will come. Something touches him again and he recognizes the pattern of fingertips, recognizes the heat of human skin, recognizes the voice calling for him in desperation and panic. He recognizes his own name and that there are words that his throat can say and that the words can belong to him.

He opens his eyes.

“I’m having nightmares.”

They are sitting on the edge of the quarry, legs hanging toward the water-filled depths. The earth is still a bit too cold to be sitting on, and the breeze seeps through their jackets, but it’s good. It’s spring, and bad things don’t happen in spring.

Will doesn’t turn. There is something mesmerizing about the quarry, about how the sky and water seem to be one and the same. Mike’s breath is on his nape, even though it has no business being there.

“What are they about?”

Mike’s breath hitches. His hand moves on the gravel towards where Will’s rests. It’s warm; the inch of space between their fingers holds whole universes in their hopeless infinity. Will considers crossing it, less because he longs to, and rather because he doesn’t want to listen anymore.

“About you,” Mike says.

There’s the sound of universes shattered, galaxies broken to dust. Will is not El; he doesn’t think he was born a monster or made into one. He doesn’t have nightmares of regimens of people bleeding from their eyes and mouth and writhing in pre-mortal agony, the ones that always wake everyone up and Hopper hugs her until she calms and then hugs Will, too, just for good measure. A small part of his mind - the one that daydreams of school dances and ice cream parlor dates and a world different from the one outside - is pleased that Mike’s dreaming about him.

“Am I hurting you?” he asks anyways.

Mike startles, like the idea never crossed his mind, not now and not before.

“No!” he says and his hand brushes Will’s and maybe, just maybe it was deliberate. “No, nothing like that! It’s just…”

His hand grips Will’s in a spasmic, panicked movement; it’s warm and shaking and it feels like it longs to permeate the skin and the flesh and become one with Will.

“I am you,” Mike whispers. “I’m in the Upside Down and I see the Mind Flayer, and I’m the Mind Flayer, and the Spy, and I’m trapped and alone and no one is coming for me- Oh, God, Will, I’m so sorry, so sorry- “

Will kisses him.

There’s a constellation of freckles that looks like Orion but turned upside down, and it stands out against the pale skin. Mike’s hug is different from Hopper’s - he still has years to come to grow into his limbs - and Will doesn’t remember when it happened. It doesn’t matter; there’s Mike’s cheek under his lips, and it’s warm, the whole world is warm as if all the suns died and were reborn anew again.

“I know,” he hears Mike say, and of course he knows, because he’s Mike and Mike knows .

And before Will apologizes or runs away or throws himself down to the quarry - because now, he is no better than Donna, now, he’s done the worst thing and there is no way back and he doesn’t even regret it - he feels Mike’s cheekbones move and his lips open and he doesn’t have to look to know he’s smiling.

“I’ve always known,” Mike says and the Will in his eyes seems more real than Will himself; and that’s how Will knows that everything is fine and everything is good. He thinks that if this is how it ends, then maybe - just maybe - it was all worth it.

There is white and hospital smell; there is headache and blurry figures.

There is a head of black hair and striped shirt and voice he recognizes.

There is a feeling like his heart is about to burst out of his chest.

That’s the one he knows; he’s been feeling it for a long, long time.

[joker-0717]

WOULD YOU RATHER: INAZUMA EDITION

Game/Meme by @inazuma-eleven-translations !!

1. Eat the ramen at Rai Rai Don Noodles (when Tobitaka takes over) OR Eat the giant Mochi Mochi Kinako Mochi. - I like ramen & would love to eat Tobitaka’s, I’m sure is great. 

2. Have a sleepover with Natsumi, Aki, Haruna and Fuyuka OR go on a date with Kidou. - Ehem, sleepovers are fun but I’m more curious to see where Kidou’s gonna take me, what we’ll do, what we’ll eat, etc.

3. Babysit Yuka with Gouenji OR help out at the Sun Garden. - I could never miss the chance to see Haruya being “tortured” by little kids lol

4. Play video games with Tsurugi at the arcade OR hang out with Yuichi while he’s in hospital. - Ah I love both brothers but I also love video games... Sorry Yuuichi </3

5. Go see the penguins with Sakuma OR go see the big cats (lions, tigers) with Genda. - I like cats, I like Genda, I like cats&Genda lol

6. Help Inaguni Raimon build their boat OR help the GO Raimon kids rebuild the old club house. - GO babies are GO babies, if they need me I’ll be there.

7. Let Aphrodi do your hair OR let Kidou buy you a new outfi. - His hair is GOR-GEOUS, if he can make mine be as good as his, even if just a little, he can do whatever he wants with it.

8. Go for a run with Kazemaru OR go snowboarding with Fubuki. - I don’t like running, if you ever see me running there’s definitely something chasing me, but if it’s with Kazemaru I could run a marathon <3

9. Go for a drive with Hiroto OR go for ice-cream with Midorikawa. - Mido is one of my favs so, let’s eat ice cream together!

10. Eat Natsumi’s cooking OR have to share all your food with Kabeyama for a whole day. - I don’t wanna get sick.... lol 

11. Make chocolate with Max OR go to the movie with Handa (he pays). - Sorry Handa but I like Max more xD

12. Sleep on a park bench with Fudou all night OR help an extremely busy Midorikawa with his assistant job. - It’s my opportunity to try & see if what we see in dramas it’s true or not. If we wake up and we’ve been robbed then it’s all a lie lol. But since he love benche’s so much he’ll probably push me to the ground once I’m sound asleep, he wouldn’t like to share lol

13. Go stargazing at night with Tengawara OR visit Taiyou in hospital with the rest of Arakumo. - Yes to stargazing with Kita&Hayabusa <3

14. Bring Sasuke for a walk with Tenma OR play with Aria and Lutte at Shindou’s house. - My cat runs a lot while we play & I like to chase him, so I think I would end up doing the same with Lutte&Aria so what if one of Shindou’s maids comes and tell me “Miss, please be quiet, Madam’s trying to read” or something? xD No no no, better take Sasuke for a walk. 

15. Do one of Kidou’s intense training regimes all day OR do laps with tyres around your waist with Endou. - Al least Endou will try to cheer me up & encourage me to keep going.

16. Have several special moves OR have your own keshin. - Didn’t have to think twice, keshin’s are awesome, I really want one.

17. Attend Raimon OR Teikoku. - I love Teikoku’s uniforms so much, they’re so pretty <3 And being Sakuma’s,Genda’s&Fudou’s classmate (especially Genda’s&assuming Kidou’s in Raimon) is an opportunity I can’t miss!

18. Attend one of Shindou’s piano recitals OR let Kirino teach you the art of flower arrangin. - I’m sure I’ll be a disaster at it but what’s important is not what do, but with who you do it! lol xD <3

19. Kiss Kageyama OR eat his legs. - WTF... Oh God... But wait? Wich Kageyama? Reiji or Hikaru?  You didn’t specify! In that case I’ll kiss Kageyama Hikaru! lol But I still choose to kiss Kageyama, at least that’s faster than eating his legs...

20. Go on a date with Minamisawa OR go to a reptile exhibition (snakes etc…) with Kurama. - Love em both but Minamisawa is just... he’s... you know... I can’t turn him down, never.

21. Eat a bunch of Jeanne’s candy OR let Okita Souji dress you in a yukata. - Even if Midori kills me after.  

22. Go shopping with the managers from the original series OR the mangers from GO - Don’t know why but I think Midori & I might like the same style? And I’m also curious to see what Aoi’s gonna choose, same for Akane.

23. Do military training with Gassan Kunimitsu from early morning OR train late into the night with Kaiou Gakuen aboard a ship. - I want to be a pirate so yeah, let’s train at the ship! I just hope I don’t end up falling....

24. Go fishing with Hamano OR go shopping for CDs with Hayami. - I don’t like fishing, so I’ll go shopping with Hayami. I would love to show him the bands/groups/singers I like and see if he likes them too! Also I’m curious about his taste in music.

26. Let Kirino design your keshin OR let Kariya name your special move. - Well... since apparently Kirino can’t draw a thing and I want my avatar to be at least something cute, I guess I’ll deal with Kariya’s awful very original name. 

27. Eat popsicles with Gazel OR plant tulips with Burn. - I already talked about Haruya so now let’s go with my other love, Suzuno <3

28. Go surfing with Tsunami OR grab a coffee with Tachimukai. - I can’t swim & I don’t think Tsunami’s way of teaching would be “safe” (he’ll probably throw me into the ocean lol) so I think it’s better to go have some coffee with Tachi while we chat.

29. Go to the zoo with Kishibe OR drink hot chocolate with Yukimura. - Well... since I already drank coffee with Tachi, I’ll go to the zoo with Taiga <3

30. Play ping pong with Shinsuke and Tenma OR play electric guitar with Kariya and Hikaru. - Ping pong is fun, I wanna try playing with Shinsuke and Tenma!

31. Go to karaoke with Hakuryuu OR go to an onsen with Shuu. - Can we invite Shuu? lol I really really really really like to sing and I always wanted to go to a karaoke, also I want to see that side of Hakuryuu.

This was really fun&sometimes hard but I enjoyed it!! Thank you for making it!! ^^

[cemeterygatesmedia]

Stranger Things 2: An Entertaining, Soft-Remake of the Original?

The first portion of this review contains no major spoilers, while my comments on the individual episodes in the second half, will. 

The first two episodes, or ‘chapters,’ of Stranger Things 2 unequivocally reminds us that we identify ourselves by the media we choose to consume. When the characters are reintroduced we’re practically nostalgic for the first run of the series, which only aired a little over a year ago. The first series created an environment reminiscent of many of our childhood brushes with pop-culture, adventure, the awkwardness of navigating puberty etc. The second run practically doubles-down on recreating that environment from the get-go, and then as the series progresses the Duffer Brothers deftly ease off that particular pedal, and let us settle back into the day-to-day troubles of Hawkins without the distraction of a constant barrage of ancient product labels, toys, fashion, and music to take note of.

Stranger Things 2 is a grander remake of the first series. Our heroes reemerge to once again take on the government lab baddies and its out-of-control science experiment, although this time the threat looms even larger over Hawkins. One would assume that replaying the same plot points might mark this series as stale, from the third or so chapter on, but the characters do grow, and there are enough mini-arcs involving our favorite returning heroes to maintain interest. For me, the first run of Stranger Things often dragged, while the characters did keep me watching, Stranger Things 2 certainly kept up the pace of the story, and only hit a road bump with Eleven’s side-story in the big city. 

Speaking of which, I do have to address the opening chase scene, with the cast of characters we’ll only come to again in Chapter 7. There seems to be no purpose for introducing these folks here. The van chase should probably begin the fifth chapter, where the lead, Kali, is hinted at in a flashback. For me, Kali and her gang is the one glaring misstep of Stranger Things 2. Her Eleven-like powers are introduced in the first few minutes of the series, and the viewer is left waiting for some sort of explanation, or purpose for her in the story arc, yet the distraction has little to no payoff.

Before I get to comments on individual chapters, I must say that Stranger Things 2 is well done, a superior product to the original, if you don’t detest, or fixate on, the fact that this second series is nearly a soft remake. I’d recommend Stranger Things 2 to anyone who broadly enjoys sci-fi or horror.

The following portion has spoilers and should serve as a brief episode guide, so here’s your warning if you haven’t seen the complete series.

Chapter 1: Madmax (Rating: 4/5)

Max is a redheaded girl who is always at the arcade, the boys are instantly enamored of her and stalk her. Her older brother, Billy, quickly becomes the new, even more narcissistic and nasty version of series 1 Steve, now that Steve is a sweetheart, older brother archetype to the boys.

Barb’s family has hired a private investigator and are selling their house to pay for it, although Nancy and Steve know she’s dead, but won’t say. It’s a real moral dilemma for Nancy, as it should be. We figure out quickly that most of the characters have kept quiet about what occurred at Hawkins National Lab. 

Paul Reiser is Will’s psychiatrist, Dr. Owens. Dr. Owens is the a more sympathetic version of Dr. Brenner, although he still represents faceless, uncaring bureaucracy that manufactures horrible weapons and wants to treat special kids like guinea pigs.

Eleven is living with Hopper in a cabin deep in the woods.

Chapter 2: Trick or Treat, Freak (4/5)

Eleven is still having visions, mainly to let the viewer in on the fallout from the previous season.

Hopper begins investigating poison pumpkins and vegetation. First major, “Come on, dude” moment. Hopper is only a year away from dealing with plant issues. The first thing he should think when he sees a field full of rotted vegetation is Inter-dimensional Plant Monster.

The boys go trick or treating with Max and have a great time until Will has a vision of a menacing behemoth in the sky. This is such a rich, nostalgic episode, although it doesn’t quite have enough trick or treating scenes as one might hope.

Chapter 3: The Pollywog (3/5)

Dusty finds creature in trash can outside his house. The creature transforms and Dusty is a dummy who will smack himself (again) when he sees Life (2017).

El wants to leave cabin and see Mike, but Hopper wants to keep her his secret. This was probably a missed opportunity to have an ultimate Halloween episode with Mike and El’s reunion. She already had the ghost sheet made, there’s no real reason why she can’t just interact with Mike and have him keep her secret.

Steve’s hair is out of control. It’s distracting by this point.

Hopper figures out the lab is the cause of the plant decaying poison…duh.

Joyce finally gets back to her paranormal investigating and uses camcorder footage from Halloween Night to see Will’s behemoth in the sky.

El goes to the middle school just to knock Max off her skateboard out of jealousy. It’s not a good look, nor a good scene.

Will stands his ground against the behemoth, taking Bob’s advice to heart, after he’s thrust back into the Upside Down, and gets consumed by the monster.

Chapter 4: Will the Wise (4/5)

They find will nearly catatonic in the parking lot of school. Will is now possessed by the entity from his visions and begins coloring a ton of pictures.

El returns home and has teen tantrum, destroys the cabin and Hopper leaves. She then finds a box with Hopper’s notes on Hawkin’s Lab under cabin and gets ideas.

Joyce and Hopper put Will’s picture together and decide they represent destroying vines.

Nancy records Dr. Owens admitting to Barb’s death. She and Steve want to burn the lab to ground, which is silly at the point, because they already knew Hawkins National Lab was most responsible for Barb’s death.

Dusty’s creature has escaped, and is found eating his cat. The creature now looks like the monster from the first season.

Hopper discovers the vast root system and tunnels under the poisoned fields.

Chapter 5: Dig Dug (4/5)

Hopper is investigating underground and gets blasted in face by sporing vine, and is trapped. Will has visions of Hopper in trouble.

Nancy and Jonathan meet up with conspiracy nut/the private investigator who was investigating Barb’s death and let him listen to Dr. Owens’ confession.

Bob walks in and solves Will’s drawings, deciphering them as a map of Hawkins, almost instantly.

El communicates with her Mom, finds out her Mom went into Hawkins Lab to try and rescue El aka Jane, and another girl, whom we can assume is the chick from first episode. El/Jane’s mom is caught, and Dr. Brenner fries her brain with some intense ECT.

Joyce and Bob manage to find, and free, Hopper. Hawkins Lab people also discover the underground tunnel system and they torch the labyrinths, which makes Will freaks out.

Chapter 6: The Spy (4/5)

Dusty and Steve discover that the creature has escaped from Dusty’s bomb shelter.

Will gets amnesia, and the episode begins feeling like It (2017) with the way everything leads back to one, evil wellspring which must be approached underground and conquered.

At this point the show begins feeling more like a horror movie than a sci-fi adventure. The kids battle monsters in a blockaded bus, while Hawkins Lab is overrun by the demadogs and the adults must fight their way out of the building.

Chapter 7: The Lost Sister (2/5)

Eleven finds Kali, her lost ‘sister’ from Hawkins lab, in Chicago. They share information and decide they’re going to track bad guys. Their first target states that Dr. Brenner is still alive, Kali seems to believe him. This bit of incredibly important information is quickly forgotten.

Cops bust Kali’s gang, while El has a vision of Mike in trouble, and parts ways with Kali and her gang. There was no reason that Eleven had to meet Kali or take part in any of Kali’s vendettas. It cheapened the overall story and was a distracting element from the first episode onward.

Chapter 8: The Mind Flayer (4/5)

The adults are still trying to escape Hawkins Lab, which is overrun by monsters. Bob’s going to reprogram some computers on the fly and save everyone.

This is the episode where we go full horror movie, fun clichés spawning left and right. Bob dies, brutally to save Joyce and the others.

The group plan to kill the underground behemoth, in order to destroy the hivemind, it generates.

They need to get information out of Will, but he’s possessed by the behemoth. Will’s friends and family tell him loving stories and anecdotes, and he ultimately gives them no new information.

El returns in time to save everyone from demadogs at Joyce’s house. She took a bus home using the money which she and Kali’s gang stole, apparently.

Chapter 9: The Gate (5/5)

Comedy finally returns to the series in the beginning of this episode! Yes, levity gives perspective, and character, to heavy drama.

The group separates to burn the entity that has possessed Will, and to take on the behemoth underground.

“I shouldn’t have left.” - Eleven. Exactly, she shouldn’t have had a side story about meeting her mom and sister, as they ultimately told her nothing about herself or gave her meaningful direction to overcome her demons.

El and Hopper go into lab and run into Dr. Owens, who’s given a tourniquet and pistol by Hopper. No real reason for this run-in to occur here.

Entity/behemoth ultimately leaves Will when Steve and his gang of kids start fire in the underground hub. While El defeats the behemoth and pushes it back through the gate.

Epilogue: There’s justice for Barb and Hawkins Lab gets shut down for good. Which is really a no-brainer as the entire structure and everyone in it got destroyed.

Hopper gets Eleven/Jane’s birth certificate from Dr. Owens, and she is now his daughter. The kids have a winter dance and hook up with each other. Final moments show Hawkins Middle School in the Upside Down.

-Joe Sullivan