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genius11rare · 3 years

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AH ChitChat Notes 3 22 21

Chitchat 32221 with Jeremy , michael and matt ft disembodied voices of lindsay and maybe kaden , gus in chat and joins

Jeremy: Kaden spoke up because of donuts earlier… Michael: Jacks time is over now… but he will be on stream later. Jeremy: oh yeah schedule. Slight last minute changes doing Fall Guys first cuz S4 came out… me michael lindsay and matt did a letsplay in it earlier today … gus will be doing fall guys this stream (eyyy)... oh yeah and i wanna impersonate what jack does. Matt: do it. Jeremy: and if you're watching on the site we can see your chat like FatHippoHippo wrote BET in all capitals … yeah i just wanted to get into the spirit and be like “what would jack do, what would he think is funny” and that was it. Lindsay: alsoone of those WWJD bracelets from the 90s What Would Jack Do… (matt: ive repurposed them) Jeremy: so how are you doing? Lindsay: good weekend i guess , just telling Matt we watched Big Hero 6 yesterday (Jeremy: aw hell yell) still an awesome movie , kids loved it. Jeremy: where they scared of - idk if he has a name the kabuki villain… *looking it up* apparently its Yokai… guess they never really say it cuz that's generic. Lindsay: that's VERY generic. Michael: IVE GOT TO TAKE THIS CALL *facecam becomes void* Jeremy: ok spoiler alert for Big Hero 6 but just looking at the wiki… it makes an audacious claim. It says “professor robert calahan OR ALSO BETTER KNOW as his villain name Yokai”... is it? Lindsay: well its based on a comic right so i guess canonically he has a name…. But to answer your question No they werent scared … anyway something we noticed upon rewatching is that 2 characters before a MAJOR event happens to the fistbump… but DON'T do the explosion… like oooohhh foreshadowing. Michael: not really foreshadowing if they keep doing it throughout the movie , if anything its foreshadowing that like… hell… whats the robots name - baymax learning it… not really foreshadowing the building explodes (gen notes MAJOR EVENT) … what blew my mind was that movie has a post credits scene. Jeremy: oh yeah was it like with the dudes father. Michael: Fred yeah! Remember remarking upon them entering the house theres a portrait of the dad and i just went “his dads just Stan Lee… just a portrait of him” Post credits scene and guys talking to painting and - wasn't paying attention but he like hits his head on it and the wall opens up to show a superhero room with paraphernalia everywhere and Stan Lee walks in like “son we got a lot to talk about” Jeremy: Chat asking about if i watched the wrestling PayPerView… remember how i updated you last that the guy died in the ring after being set on fire (Michael: lemme guess hes a zombie now) - yep exactly last night a hand reached up and grabbed someones leg , he came out of the smoke with a melted messed up mask so yeah…. Hes a furry (i think?) zombie clown Michael: hey wait a minute let me read the chat , someone named Gus said “whoa no idea there was a post credit scene” “what is a fastfood restaurant combo wish would open” Lindsay: Miss my KenTaco Hutt… Michael: idk im usually just in the mood for SOMETHING , not looking to combine , only time is when i want a certain food and they don't have the same sides i want other places have . like Sonic is amazing for sides , apps and drinks… don't care for entrees , but if i could get Sonic sides at McDonalds or Taco bell or something.. Jeremy: guess in the same vein id combine Dairy Queen with a lot of places (Matt: i was about to say) to get a BLIZZARD with whatever. Matt: that's how it usually goes anyway , you get the food , you drive by the Dairy Queen and get a desert - you don't get the food at Dairy Queen cuz why - just why Lindsay: i mean theres icecream but there isnt really fastfood places for other deserts… like theres not really a Cake or Cupcake place (Matt: not yet *tilts head at camera like “you know what i want”* ) there IS the cupcake ATM Matt: alright checking the google… Michael: Matts checking the driving distance. Jeremy: another questions whil matts looking up cakes (Matt: oh i already have it) nevermind then. Conware asks “what is your fave controller for console and whats fave controller you own” Jeremy: Idk really… i know for a while everyones was the Elite 2 Michael: yeah just most comfortable. Matt: well that's like a specialty type… if its a stock one then the switch pro controller is pretty good. Michael: i mean i also have this 8Bit do SNES bluetooth controller thing , love it Lindsay: i love the nintendo switch controller grip… makes it feel like it curves comfy around your palms Jeremy: the XBOX sea of thieves one is great (Matt: i was about to say…) got a glow in the dark skull in the middle , RT is like a gold tooth , is partly see through Matt: and it comes with some exclusive stuff for Sea of Thieves Lindsay: yeah like Motion Sickness. Matt: i got one that's just a donut. Lindsay: gave me an idea… you know how theres Pez Dispensers (matt: heard of them) yeah and how you don't really even use them right you just eat the candy and play with the thing ( *matt nods approvingly* yeah about right) what if we invent a controller where every once in a while it opens up to give a snack. (Matt: yeah like everytime you get an achievement, Jeremy: yeah i did good! Just go up to the controller and eat it) “You Are Good Boy” Matt: be funnier if it just throws at you “everyone have a fave seasons and followup do you like seasons where you grew up or where you are now?” Jeremy: i mean springs probably my fave its easy to be outside , not boiling hot nor snow everywhere… great time to camp and fish , falls cool with changing colors… texas is like “do you want REALLY hot or hot?” Michael: i do really like Fall on the East Coast but its like - yeah i miss it and its nice to be there when it happens where its light jacket weather. I used to wear sweatshirts all the time - i don't bother with long sleeves in texas cuz i know im taking it off within 30 min… never knew about the Water Cup thing until i lived in texas where restaurants just HAVE water cups… blew my mind its free - because people will drop dead . noticed they just have this seperate stack of clear cups which is i guess like “i BETTER not see any soda in that cup THAT'S A WATER CUP!”. I don't like it when its 105 degrees but i do like being able to just wear Tshirts most of the year and not dealing with snow Lindsay: i like Fall the most cuz like its blend of i guess i embrace the basic bitch stereo types of fall , want my pumpkin spice latee but ALSO i know halloween is coming and ive said before how THAT'S like my religious holiday so like… i come alive. Matt: probably fall , maybe winter. I don't go out much but fall is like the right amount of cool but not TOO cool. Jeremy: over the weekend me and kat went to a town called rockfort (i think?) which is like right on the ocean , the weather was a little cold for it , like 50 maybe and the sea breeze made it chillier… im not really a beach person just more water. You say beach and you think like Boogie Boarding Bros (Michael: whoooaah boogie. Lindsay: beach volleyball) yeah .. id reather be on a rocky shore than a sandy beach. Michael: youd rather be like a mermaid sitting on the rocks *jeremy laughs loud* is that what you're saying Jeremy: yeah Matt: attracting sailors to their DOOM Lindsay: i gotta send you a link but theres this one TikTokker i guess that i watch that talks about that an eastern european beach she went to and was like “i cant wait to go on my beach outting yeah!” and she gets there its rocky , really windy , noones there and goes “ooh its really cold” Matt: depends the kind of beach to me… for me East Coast beaches SUCK *jeremy nods yep* its water you cant see anything in its terrible Lindsay: that's also texas beaches , all brown. Matt: its just one of those things where you get in the water and your like “ok… at anymoment i could be attacked by everything around me” Michael: well that can happen on land too matt (Gen Notes WELCOHME TA JOISEY!!!) (paraphrasing jeremy here) Jeremy: theres this guy who flys a drone out over beaches into the ocean , and he released the footage… apparently due to there being a lot less people now theres just Great White Sharks that go relatively close to beaches now… there are times where hes filming people playing and like 10 ft away is a fucking shark ya know just swimming. And cuz they're really far away hed be like “id see it , film it , then go to a lifeguard and show it like “oh btw…” “ Michael: so you know 2 hours ago someone may have been eaten. MattL he should put a speaker on the drone to like announce the sharks like HEY! DEATH OUT THERE!. Lindsay: “whats that Dronie? Theres a shark in the water?!?” Jeremy: and it was funny seeing that behavior where everyonce and a while a shark would be swimming then someone would do something near it not seeing the shark and the shark just goes “fuck dat” and swims away MattL god dude…. So close to death *gus joins* Lindsay: oh you're the guy who was like Texas beaches have Tar Gus: oh yeah i grew up in texas and i thought all beaches were like that just “oh you don't sit on the tar”

#text #gen notes #ah #achievement hunter #chit chat #chitchat #march 2021 #michael jones #jeremy dooley #stream #live stream #notes #idk what else to tag #qna #for later

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fs-rambling · 4 years

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Reactions to SkAm 2020 - ladies short program

This isn’t really a formal analysis, just some thoughts and opinions upon watching the ladies’ short programs at Skate America this year.

Gracie Gold: Aww, Gracie... I feel like she’s lost a bit of confidence, and it’s affecting her skating, but I think that the music she chose is personal to her and with time and practice she’ll be able to sell it really well. The double Axel was excellent, but the triples didn’t work out today - I could feel some hesitation going into the jumps and I think it was mostly her holding herself back a little that caused her to double them. I hope the free will go better for her.

Finley Hawk: It was a pretty nice program, and I like her layback spin. I noticed she doesn’t hold spiral positions long, so longer spirals is a thing I'd like to see from her. I also think she needs a little work on performance and interpretation; I couldn’t feel that much emotional involvement, but she’s young and I’m sure she’ll develop more as an artist as time goes on. Her Lutz edge looked a little questionable to me, though the flip and the Axel were both really strong.

Audrey Shin: Absolutely lovely. I could tell right away that her mind and feelings are really focused on the music and performance - I love how expressive she is, and the passion and commitment with which she skates is magnificent. Her jumps all looked well done, and her spins were good but not outstanding. Plus, she has a really pretty costume and it matches the program well. I like her a lot and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her in the future!

Paige Rydberg: Very nice overall. I think she needs to tone up the intensity a bit in some places, and I didn't feel enough from her movement, but I do like her confidence in her ability. Her jumps looked good, and her spins were nice as well, so she did very nicely and the program does have a consistent, tangible vibe to it.

Pooja Kalyan: I liked her program a lot! She has a lot of energy, so I really enjoyed watching her. I kinda wish she held that layback Ina Bauer a bit longer; it was a really important moment and it could have had more impact. Concerning jumps, a few mistakes, and I think her air position could be a little tighter, especially in the first rotation, but they were alright, and overall her program was a pleasure to watch.

Sierra Venetta: She’s a very nice skater. I like her transitions; they’re numerous and very interesting, and her spins aren’t bad either. A fair amount of commitment to the choreography, so that was good, but perhaps in between elements a little more attention to her hand movements would go a long way. Her jumps were all fairly decent, besides the doubled toe in the combo, and again, she has a lot of transitions so I can’t exactly fault her too much.

Shan Lin: Right off the bat, I can already tell that I like her costume - the soft variation and blend of colors looks awesome, and the design is pretty as well. The darkening gradient on the gloves really calls attention to her hands at the right moments. Also, I really, really love this program. The way she uses the music and reflects its character with her skating makes it so nice to watch, although I’d like to see her emphasize some more choreo in the beginning. The long, drawn out Ina Bauer, into the Besti squat, into the spiral? I loved that. Plus, her spins are good - very fast, with controlled, flexible positions. Her double Axel was incredible too - so much height and distance, and so much flow throughout the jump. There were some mistakes in the combo and the solo jump, so that’s unfortunate, and her air position could be better in the flip and the Lutz. Still though, it was a magnificent program.

Karen Chen: Oh, how I love Karen. And this program. Holy cow. Every one of her movements pulls in attention, and the choreography is exquisite. Her commitment is indomitable. Her emotions are so clearly in it. Also, her spiral!!! So amazing; I’ve been waiting so long to see her incredible long spirals again. And as always, her layback was incredible. The combo wasn’t quite perfect, but I loved the transitions into the loop, and the double Axel was so powerful. I’m definitely going to be rewatching this program again and again and again.

Amber Glenn: She’s incredible. I like the costume, it fits the program well, and the design and movement of the skirt definitely helps. Her performance was good, and the program is really well-crafted. Also, her Biellmann spin was so nice to see - I’m pretty picky when it comes to Biellmanns and Amber’s isn’t perfect, but it is lovely. The mistakes on the combo were unfortunate, and I really think the toe loop wasn’t too bad, but the double Axel looked light as a feather (can’t wait for her 3A!!!!) and the loop looked good as well. Overall it was super good.

Starr Andrews: A very enjoyable program. I love her interpretation, and each of her movements is controlled and deliberate, which makes the choreography really stand out. I also like Starr’s spins - especially her donut spin, and the layback spin was pretty nice as well besides that tiny bit of traveling. The twizzles and that bit of choreo out of the double Axel were so nice. Plus, I also liked that spiral she did, matched the music nicely. Her costume is also super cool. The popped loop killed her score, but the program as a whole was excellent and with more time I think it could be absolutely brilliant.

Mariah Bell: Overall, it was a pretty nice program. I do like Mariah’s spins - very nice layback, lovely catch-foot camel, and she does a Y-spin (my favorite!!!). I loved her energy in the step sequence, though I feel that some parts of the program could have been better connected. The double Axel looked effortless, but the combo was a little shaky and I’m not sure I liked her landing posture on all her jumps. The score was a bit higher than I’d expect. However, she did fairly well and I’m happy for her.

Bradie Tennell: I really like this program! I enjoyed Bradie’s interpretation, and her spins were very nice - good speed, and that I-spin at the end looked really flexible. I would like to see Bradie really throw herself into her choreo though, because I couldn’t feel that she was really in it. I did love that triple flip, plus the transitions out of it, and the double Axel was fine, but she didn’t get enough height on the toe to fully rotate. Nice program though, so it will do nicely for her.

#figure skating #skate america 2020 #gracie gold #finley hawk #audrey shin #paige rydberg #pooja kalyan #sierra venetta #shan lin #karen chen #amber glenn #starr andrews #mariah bell #bradie tennell #rambles

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spearxwind · 4 years

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correct!

KHLFDKH God i mean. Thats genuinely how I hope my HR shitposts read as

if i wasnt going for a horrible dark comedy/tragedy combo the story would be a rly edgy slice of life

I honestly dont know what to say to this bc Im very bad at comparing what I do with others, but if you havent checked them out my friends and I are mostly into the same kinda nonsense!

@/limesquares @/silvaerial @/theashpit @/excaive and @/sharpibees

OH THANK U SM I RLY APPRECIATE THAT,,,

oh well for dragons take my advice with a grain of salt because i have been drawing those bitches for 13 years straight so a lot of the process has been automated for me >:’)

advice i can give though is definitely think abt what kind of environment it lives in! and then choose real animals that live in those biomes, so you can take the attributes that would Make Sense for them to have (things like claw/spine shapes or lack thereof, feather shapes, wing shapes, coloration... etc)

There’s a lot of misconception around making cool creatures and having them look cool by just grabbing a bunch of attributes that LOOK cool, but when you look at them all put together its very hard for them to look cohesive as you said.

A lot of it falls into creature design in general and just... asking questions abt ur creature like? How does it fly? How does it hunt? Obviously you dont need to do a whole scientific research or be anatomically accurate but thinking a but about that animal knowledge applied to what youre making. If youre going to make a night hunter, give it owl wings! Soft skin/hide/fur so it doesnt whistle through the air and alert prey. If it lives on snow give it wide paws with fur/feathers on them (like winter ptarmigans or winter hares!) so it can walk on the snow softly without falling in. A lot of irl animals are incredible and its sad that a lot of people just fall back on ah yes i will make Big Beefy Beast With Huge Claw and call it a day

(not that... im not guilty of that myself of course. huge claws are horribly cool)

sdkfjdsfkjl Hed just Eat It on the spot

also man I really dont have that much on him but I can say that he has a huge scar on his back from :) happenings :)

and volites cant ever scar unless theyre literally on the verge of death, so thats fun!

ah well, admittedly a lot of my ocs are cis, but not a single one is straight and you can count on that! Here’s a bunch!! If their orientation isnt listed here its just bc i havent figured it out 100% yet so just default it to bisexual aight

Adri - he/him agender aroace Rip - he/him cis pan Alex - he/him cis bi C - she/her cis bi (ace) Orion - he/him trans bi Ethan - he/him cis gay (ace) Dianne - she/her cis lesbian (ace) Nirven - he/they nb aroace Reina - she/they trans nb Gala - she/her cis(??) lesbian Sol - they/them nb Caval - they/them nb Amara - she/her cis lesbian

-thick russian accent- he Crush It in his big hand like mere grape

omg idk what I could say?? He’s a CEO !! of what? well, guess we’ll find out someday he also has.... many suits. and thinks cars are cool. imagine the most basic Rich Businessman ... yeah. hes a cool guy though!

this is going to sound so fucking wack but my favorite icecream is literally donut icecream (and if not then... white chocolate. im one of those white choc apologist bitches)

#ask #anon #ask dump #long post

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shiftysdogtags · 4 years

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Hello! Can o request a ship? I’m 5”2, black hair, dark brown eyes. I’m quiet and shy but once you get to know me the crazy comes out. I love to dance, write, read, and a whole lot more. I love tapping into my creativity, I’m sarcastic and sassy and great at arguing/proving people wrong lol. I love the color purple and going on long roadtrips!

I really hope you like this💕

Romantically

Bill Guarnere

When you first met Bill, he didn’t expect you to have a wild sassy side and once he realised you did, he fell in love

It was probably after Sobel was chewing you a new one over your shoelaces not being tied right

While you would be tempted to fight, it took everything in you not to, but that didn’t stop you from ranting to him about why your laces were perfect and making lots of facial expressions behind your CO’s back

Bill loves your sassy side and when you sass someone, he puffs his chest out like ‘that’s my person’

Your craziness mixes so well with his loud personality, which kind of surprises everyone, but when they see you together and how you vibe in your own little bubble it makes perfect sense

But it can also lead to a tiff between you both when he has had a bad day

It's normally over something stupid like one asking of you asking the other if they wanted help when they dropped something while their hands are full

The simple ‘no I'm fine thanks’ and the accompanied eye roll can be enough to ignite a spark and start a miniature war

You both like to be right and you have to argue your points to the death

You don’t have arguments often but when you do it's 90% sarcasm and explosive

It is the only time your personalities clash with each other and it reaches a point where one of you has to walk away because it's going nowhere but in circles

Neither of you can stay mad for long though and it might not be the same day or the day after, but sooner rather than later all is forgotten, no matter who was right or wrong, but you don’t vocally apologise either

Bills way of saying sorry is buying you flowers, purple ones of course, and asking you to dance

I can really see you sliding around the kitchen in fluffy socks and Bill trying not to drop you during an iconic dip

And the after-dip kiss you give him is your way of forgiving him

When you're in a creative mood, Bill loves the little smile on your face as you proudly show him your work and it's followed by a sweet kiss to the temple

Bill is such a sweetheart and he isn’t given enough recognition for it

Friendship

Lewis Nixon

Okay bare with me😂 for this i am channeling the scene where Nix is like I'm a captain now and i don't need to hide my drink in Dicks footlocker, and

This man is the best best friend to ever walk the planet

He is the best hype man, but he always gives an honest answer when you ask for his opinion which normally leads to you throwing the nearest object at him playfully because it was sassy

He loves all your drawings, but your quick doodles are his favourite, and he hangs some of them in his office

You and Lew would just disappear for two weeks and then magically reappear with a story like ‘oh we went to get donuts in the next town, but we kept going and ended up three states over’

I had to include the gif because he is always promising to take you places once you express the slightest interesting in going there and who doesn't like an excuse to look at Nixon (and Dick)?

When he has to go to formal events, you're his date end of discussion

It totally platonic of course, and he invites you because he knows you like to dance and he loves to people watch with you and comment on the different activities going on around you

You always have him smiling and laughing when you make up a little scenario about the people present

The same people tend to show up to all the different events and they hate when you and Lew are together because they know you're a crazy combo

A favourite game of yours is to talk to people and say sarcastic comments with completely straight and emotionless faces and betting how long it takes for them to walk away after becoming uncomfortable

You roll with what he says, and vice versa, always trying to outdo each other

You can communicate with each other with a facial expression, or a single glance from across the room, and you always know what the other is trying to say

When he has danced you out, you both bail early to get ice cream together, being totally and completely done with the snobby people tutting at you both

That and your feet hurt

#bob ship #bob ships #band of brothers ships #band of brothers ship #lewis nixon ship #guarnere ship #bill guarnere ship

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destiel-love-forever · 4 years

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15.3 CODA: Part 2

Read part one [HERE]

Castiel wakes just as the sun is rising. Despite not getting much sleep, he feels rested and ready to take on the day. As rested and ready as possible under the circumstances, anyway. The coffee pot is full of dark liquid that’s still warm. A yellow sticky note is stuck to the front of the machine, neat writing informing him that Jody had to go into work early, and telling him to help himself to anything he needs until she’s back at four P.M.

After pouring himself a cup of coffee, Castiel walks over to the two large sliding glass doors by the kitchen table and heads outside. The air is cool and crisp, but it feels nice. Refreshing. Castiel leans on the railing of the wooden deck and looks out at the brilliant colors of the back yard. The leaves are breathtaking.

“It’s freezing out here,” Castiel hears from the sliding doors. He glances over his shoulder and forces a smile when he sees Claire standing there.

“I don’t mind.”

She gives him a critical look before stepping out onto the porch and offering him a blanket, hat, scarf, and mittens. When he stares at them instead of taking them from her, she rolls her eyes. “You’re such a doof. Come here.”

When Castiel approaches her, she tugs the burgundy hat over his head, then winds the scarf around his neck. He gets with the program and gives her his coffee so she can hold it while he puts the mittens on as well. After, she wraps the flannel blanket around his shoulders and pats him on the shoulder.

“Much better,” Claire declares. Castiel just now notices that she’s dressed similarly, her black jacket matched with a black hat, a gray scarf, and a pair of mittens that are black with white and gray polka dots. She gives him his coffee back and smiles. “Now, you go ahead and do your weird staring off into space thing that you were just doing, but when you’re done, come inside. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“We do?”

“Yup. All sorts of plans.”

“We have plans? You and I?” Castiel asks, trying to clarify.

She rolls her eyes. “And Alex, too, yup. Chop chop.”

With two claps of her mitted hands, she heads back inside. He stares at the sliding door for another moment before turning his focus back to the trees.

“What in the world could they have planned with me?” he asks the myriad of red, yellow, and orange.

The trees don’t answer.

Just another reason to hate Chuck.

----

The first stop on their schedule is to a bakery. Castiel, Alex, and Claire all get something to drink and eat before hopping back in the car. As they drive, Claire and Alex talk to each other in a constant babble, letting Castiel be as he enjoys his hot cocoa and blueberry muffin. He's feeling much better now that his stomach is full and he's decently rested. Claire must be able to sense this, because she broaches the subject they've all clearly been avoiding as Alex pulls the car into a store parking lot.

"How are you, Cas? Jody said it was a rough night?"

"Rough few days," Castiel says quietly, looking down at his empty to-go cup. "I'll be fine, though. I am always fine."

There's a pause long enough for him to glance up. He finds that both girls are now frowning at him. "What?"

"Well, you're talking to two experts on pretending to be fine when you're really a fucking mess, so don't bullshit us," Claire says matter-of-factly.

"What Claire meant to say in a much kinder way, I'm sure," Alex says with an eye roll, "Is that you don't have to pretend with us. We don't have to talk about it, but feel free to do so. Or to just be sad or whatever else you feel like being. Okay?"

Castiel nods, understanding. "Okay."

"Great. Now, let's fix your coat."

Looking down at his trench coat, Castiel asks, “What’s wrong with my coat?”

“First of all, it’s thin, and you’re clearly more human now considering the way you scarfed down that muffin, so you need something warmer,” Alex explains. “It’s nearly winter now. You’re going to be too cold in that, Cas.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, that thing is atrocious, and old. My dad got that for Christmas when I was like… five. Time for a change, dude.”

Castiel doesn’t like change. He’s had enough damn change in his life recently. Eleven years ago, he commanded a garrison. He was one of Michael’s chosen few. Was given the privilege to save the righteous man. Michael’s true vessel. It was one of the highest honors.

He was respected.

He was feared.

Then he fell in love with humanity. With Dean, if we’re being honest. Those freckles that were like a galaxy on pale skin. Those green eyes that held so many questions and even more answers.

Castiel lost it all.

But he’ll tell ya what - he still has this trench coat. It’s been to hell and back - more than once. It’s all he has left.

That’s why, even though he’s shown multiple options, given at least a dozen eye rolls, and told twice that he’s a doof, Castiel walks out of the coat store with something very similar to his trusty trench coat, just made of wool instead so it’s warmer.

----

Pumpkin patches are wondrous places. Castiel had assumed it'd be a small farm with pumpkins everywhere, but that's not the case. At least not here. Yes, there are pumpkins. Many, many pumpkins, all of different shapes, sizes, and even colors. But there are also apples - an entire orchard of gorgeous red apples. There’s a corn maze, which Castiel finds both entertaining and frustrating. He gets lost so many times before a five or six year old child takes pity on him by leading him out. It was still a lot of fun, even if Alex and Claire teased him for being terrible at it.

They went for a hayride, too. The farm provided them with big flannel blankets and hot cocoa as they rode in the back, brought around the entire farm, the man driving telling them fascinating information on the crops and harvest, as well as the history of the area and the farm. Then they got to pet the farm animals. Castiel became fond of a horse that enjoyed licking his face. He even giggled, which felt very good to be honest.

Of course, Castiel’s favorite part of their day at the farm was the Bakery & Farm Store. He’s never tasted anything so delicious. They sat at a little table for over an hour, stuffing their faces until Castiel nearly got sick. Between the three of them sharing their treats, they all tried apple cider donuts, cinnamon rolls, strawberry crepes, apple pie, strawberry cream cheese danish, chocolate covered croissants, strawberry rhubarb pie, blueberry muffins, and caramel apple pie. The little old lady running the place liked them so much, she shared her pumpkin pie recipe with Castiel, who promised he’d go home and make it that night.

They left the farm with seven pumpkins, two bags of apples, a dozen apple cider donuts - which were Castiel’s favorite - and caramel apples to-go. By the time Castiel got to the car, he was full, happy, and exhausted. It was the perfect combo to curl up in the backseat and take a little snooze during their long ride home.

He fell asleep smiling.

----

Dean is wide awake despite it being the middle of the night. He's been stalking Castiel's Instagram. Yes. Instagram. Apparently Claire and Alex thought he needed one. Dean only has the damn thing to stalk Dr. Sexy MD actors, but now he's using it to stalk a certain falling angel he can't stop thinking about.

Since he saw the first picture, Dean has been refreshing the page every other minute. It had been a picture taken by Claire, which is how Dean originally came across it, with Castiel tagged in it. He was standing outside, wrapped in a flannel blanket and drinking something from a mug as he stared off at the colorful backyard. Claire's caption had been: Finally finding his peace.

That was at 4:07 P.M, though clearly it had been taken much earlier in the day.

Suffice to say, Dean has gotten nothing accomplished tonight. He hasn't even eaten dinner. All he's done is sit in his room, drink whiskey, and refresh the page.

At 4:37 P.M, there had been the first two photos uploaded by Castiel himself. One was of him reaching up to pluck a leaf off of a tree. The other was just his mitted hand holding the same leaf. The caption for the two was a simple: My favorite.

Dean ached at the fact he wasn't there. He wondered what Castiel's face looked like when he caught sight off this one perfect leaf. Wondered if he had smiled when he finally got it in his hands. Wondered if Castiel still had the leaf, or if he had easily tossed it onto the ground after the photo, just like Dean had done to him.

At 4:42 P.M, Claire uploaded a few photos. One was of Castiel in his new coat and winter gear Dean noticed in the previous photos. He was smiling at something off to the side, a pumpkin patch lined by colorful trees behind him. The next was of Castiel's mittens holding a blue travel coffee mug. Then a photo of Castiel's torso as he holds a pumpkin. Dean knew it was Castiel because of the tiny scar on his thumb. It was from nicking himself with an angel blade last week. With his lowered grace, it hasn't healed properly. Dean had to choke down a new wave of guilt at that reminder before he could look at the final photo. It was of the girls and Castiel around a table where they seemed to be carving pumpkins. They were laughing.

Castiel was wearing a new sweater.

At 5:13 P.M, Castiel posted a photo of a carved pumpkin. It was quite awful. The eyes were different sizes, the nose was partially cut out, but the piece of pumpkin was still stuck inside of it for some reason, and the smile was… unique. The caption was: Claire said I 'nailed it.'

Dean had to wait two hours for another photo. And that's what he did. He waited. Did nothing but drink and hate himself. And, of course, refresh the page.

At 7:22 P.M, Castiel finally posted another photo. It made Dean's heart skip. Well… the caption had, anyway. The pumpkin pie itself was a bit shaky, considering the darker-than-they-should-be edges. But the caption had brought tears to Dean's eyes. It would have tasted better with you.

Dean had tried calling Claire after that. Then Alex. Then Claire again. They ignored him. When he tried calling Jody, she sent a text back saying she was at work, asking if it was an emergency.

With a fresh glass of whiskey, he had waited.

At 8:36 P.M, Castiel posted two more pictures. One of someone making a s'more, a bonfire in the background. The other, two pairs of feet wearing wool socks as they rest up against the side of the fire pit. To the right were blue socks with little snowflakes on them. To the left were bright yellow socks covered in bumble bees.

Dean knew which one was Castiel.

The caption was a simple: Happy.

It made Dean curl into his pillow and cry.

The last one that Dean saw was at 11:57 P.M. It showed Castiel sitting on a bed, holding a purple mug with Witch Please written on it in one hand, and holding an open book in the other. He was in a gray hooded sweater, his legs covered with a blanket the same color as his gorgeous eyes. It was captioned: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

It's at 3:09 A.M. that Dean realizes Castiel must have fallen asleep.

He crawls under the covers and closes his eyes after, heart racing even though it has no reason to be. It takes a while for the whiskey soaked exhaustion to win over his mind, but eventually Dean slips into a dream.

Castiel is there. In a pumpkin patch. He looks at Dean with a smile and hands him a beautiful leaf. "My favorite for my favorite."

And Dean kisses him.

He kisses him like his life depends on it.

He kisses him like he knows, deep down, that he'll soon have to wake up.

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#supernatural #spn spoilers #season 15 spoilers #15.3 #15x03 #supernatural coda #15.3 coda #the rupture #fall activities #Cas gets an instagram #Claire and Alex give Cas a day to remember #Dean's regretting all decisions #HAPPY CAS #Part 2

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lizord-lord · 5 years

Text

(I AM!!! NOT DEAD!!! I STILL!!! WRITE!! Or at least I like to think I do. I got stuck on multiple parts of this chapter, and just buckled down and finished it last night, and it ended up being the longest chapter yet, not to mention entirely fucking over my outline. Hopefully more updates will come sooner, but given..everything about me, don’t count on it. But I am SUPER excited to bring you this chapter, so enjoy!! And thank you to @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 for beta reading/ feeding my tiny gremlin ego.)

Ships: Royality

Word count: 6,585

Summary: Patton’s always believed there’s more the the world than meets the eye. Or at least-meets others’ eyes..his own have always seen glimpses of shimmer in the bushes, colors in the breeze, movement in the shadows.It was only distant hope-until a day of exploration in the woods led him to become acquainted with a pair of Fae twins. They call themselves Truth and Lies… But does he really know which is which?

Warnings: brief body image issues, sympathetic deceit

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Will O’ The Wisp, Chapter Three

I say you intrigue me, bright as you are

Work was torture. Not because Patton disliked his job-far from it, he enjoyed watching people splash color onto cups and plates and little figurines. And even working at the kiln wasn’t too bad-though hot, but it was summer in Florida, so that wasn’t too much of an issue. He was pretty used to the heat at this point. It being summer, of course, there were more customers, which meant more hectic days, but this specific establishment was run by a very nice lady named Via who believed in the workplace being a friendly environment for all involved. And her wife Esther always brought donuts on Wednesdays, so there was that too. Even if Patton had stopped partaking lately. So overall, it was a pretty nice job.

No, Patton’s suffering was not at all employment-based, but rather, patience-based. How was he supposed to just stand around doing normal person work when he, Patton, just a few hours ago, had met faeries?? It was taking all of his self-control to not bounce on his toes and begin to gush on about that magnificent experience to every one of his coworkers and the customers to boot!

Luckily, he managed not to. Roman might share his joy when they both got home, but the general populous wouldn’t, and Patton knew that they wouldn’t, and furthermore he did not want all his work friends thinking he was crazy. Heck, half of them already thought he was for refusing Esther’s donuts! Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite the same thing.

Nevertheless, by some very human miracle, he managed to make it through the day with only the occasional comment about how he had more energy than normal. Which was fine. He managed to be his usual outgoing self without too much suspicious activity up until clock-out, where he ditched his uniform as quickly as possible and hopped on his brand new baby pink bike with so much gusto that he very nearly fell flat on his face. In fact he likely would have, had Elliot not also decided to bike to work today. They caught him just in time, tugging him back to his feet by the shoulders. In an effort to play off his near-death (okay, maybe not quite that bad) Patton laughed, but he was sure that between his face and hair, he looked entirely the same color.

“Thanks,” he said, slightly breathless. Elliot rolled their eyes, but there was a fond smile on their face. “Yeah, no problem Patt. Pretty sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t want you faceplanting into the pavement.” “Oh for sure- if you hadn’t been there I would have been Splatt-on!”

Patton beamed as Elliot sighed.

“Take it back, you can perish on the floor for all I care.” “Aw, C’mon, it’s not that-” “Nope.” They held up a hand, face deadpan. Patton only giggled. “I am not letting you get a combo in there. How’s the new place?” “Oh!” Puns forgotten (much to the very sun’s relief) Patton brightened, brushing a few stray curls out of his eyes.

“It’s lovely! Even moving in was a blast, it’s just so...homey, y’know? Like something out of a storybook. And the woods! There’s this forest out back you see, and it has the most beautiful little stream, and the trees are huge, and- oh gosh you won’t believe this-”

He caught himself just in time. No! Bad Patton! God, was his mouth really that big? He just couldn’t wait, he’d had this massive revelation bottled up inside all day, and he’d almost been that careless? “What?” “Oh-” thinking quickly, Patton swung his leg back up onto his bike and made a bit of show of being careful to buy himself another two seconds. “I found this strawberry patch! Yeah, maybe I’ll pick some and Ro and I can make strawberry shortcake this weekend!”

Phew. Elliot tilted their head, clearly interested, but didn’t add anything until Patton was done putting on his helmet. “Sounds like a fun time. I won’t keep you any longer- I’ve been late to too many shifts already, now you get back to your man!” They laughed good-naturedly and gave a small wave as they headed inside the shop, and Patton grinned back over his shoulder before taking off down the road.

“Oh there you are my sunlight, my world is golden and warm again!” Patton laughed at his boyfriend’s dramatic, but routine greeting. And on par with that routine, he shut the door, dropped his keys in the little dish that they had put on the windowsill nest to the door, and let Roman sweep him into his strong arms, giggling as they kissed with way more passion necessary for people who had only been apart for about eight hours. If there was any perk to not have or be visiting Virgil constantly, it was that he wasn’t there to loudly call them gross and chuck a pillow, stuffed animal, blanket, comic book, magazine, tissue box, or on one occasion of extreme sleep-deprivation, his cat SV- at their faces.

They separated eventually, both giggling, and Roman set Patton down with a slight “oof.”

“Roman you won’t believe what I saw in the woods today!! Faeries Roman, I met real faeries!!”

The words spilled out of Patton’s mouth before anything else-even a hello, nearly squealing the last words in his pure excitement.

He felt Roman’s hands go still in his, a look of pure shock spreading over his boyfriend’s face. An expression that soon morphed from shock to disbelief, then hope, and then an excitement so strong that Patton was sure that, if they were cartoon characters, his eyes would have turned into stars. Patton laughed, and then Roman laughed, and they gripped each other’s hands tight- and before long they were dancing like children in a little ring, laughing and squealing, because faeries were real and they lived in their backyard!!!

“Tell me everything!!” Roman exclaimed breathlessly once they had finally run out of energy and stopped the gleeful dance, and Patton nodded wildly, grinning so hard it hurt his cheeks as he dragged Roman to the couch, bouncing on the white cushion in his poorly-contained joy.

“Okay so- after you left I hung around a bit, and then I got bored, so I headed out to the woods y’know? It wasn’t really as fun without you at first, so I ended up back by that tree we saw last time. Beautiful tree, I think it looked even prettier in the morning! Oh- but anyway I think I fell asleep for a bit- and then I was hearing these voices, so I stood up and turned around- and when I did- faeries!!”

“How many?” Roman asked eagerly, his eyes sparkling, “How big were they? Did they have wings? Were they butterfly wings or like- insect wings? Or petals? What were they like?” Patton shook his head quickly, but the smile never left his face. “No, no wings- they were actually your height I think, maybe taller? But they were beautiful Roman, the way they moved- they were like dancers, or acrobats..it was amazing. But they talked to me, and we introduced ourselves- I’ll tell Virgil not to worry, I didn’t give my full name- but they’re called Truth and Lies, and they’re brothers! Well, sorta..they’re cursed you see- well, I think- Truth can only tell the truth and Lies can only lie, so they talk a little weird, and sometimes it’s just wind? Anyway- they said I could see them again tomorrow!!”

And just like that, Roman deflated.

“...I have a shift tomorrow..” he moaned, sparkle fading from his eyes like a puppy who had just had its favorite treat thrown in the trash. “Oh. Well-” Patton quickly squeezed his hands, worry flashing over his face- oh dear, in his excitement he’d forgotten, “Don’t worry- if they’re okay with meeting up tomorrow I’m sure they’ll be okay with showing up on Friday, right?”

“..right.”

“I’ll tell them you want to meet them okay? They’re really friendly, I’m sure they’ll be okay with it! Plus, who wouldn’t want to meet such a charming prince?” Smiling, Patton leaned in to nuzzle Roman’s nose, which caused his boyfriend to let out a high-pitched squeal. And then a bout of giggles, which Patton soon found himself mirroring as Roman’s hands cupped his round cheeks and he began to pepper kisses over every single freckle. And then finally, his mouth landed on Patton’s, and the kisses turned from feather-light and playful to slow and sweet. By the time they separated, the immediate concern had been forgotten, and somehow Patton had ended up on Roman’s lap. Neither of them minded this, however.

In fact, for a few minutes they just sat there in the light of the sun streaming through the window, with Roman’s arms slung around Patton’s middle- until Roman’s stomach rumbled.

“So….Chinese tonight, Rosebud?” he suggested- then pouted when Patton frowned and firmly shook his head. It wasn’t dinnertime quite yet, but Patton was hungry too, and with their slightly uncoordinated work schedules, he and Roman often ended up eating early, so food was something to be thinking about. However, despite his enjoyment for Chinese takeout, a more disciplined part of Patton’s brain rejected the suggestion.

“No, we had pizza last night Ro- and I made waffles this morning! We should get something healthier, at least make something ourselves?”

“Oh, alright, fine,” Roman sighed, though he was milking the disappointment a bit. “How about...enchiladas?”

Patton smiled conspiratorially at that, then rose from the couch and turned, trading out the expression for his most over-the-top stern look, placing his hands on his hips to really sell the bit. “Are you going to going to spill the sauce all over the counter and then draw a dog with it instead of cleaning it up again, young man?” “Nooooo?” Roman laughed, putting on his best “innocent face”, which made him laugh, and then Patton laughed, and Roman jumped up from the couch and took Patton’s hand, tugging him towards the kitchen. “I promise, no enchilada sauce masterpieces on the counter!”

The enchiladas went without incident (well, except for Patton dropping a bowl on the floor, but nothing was spilled and nothing broke, so it was fine) and soon the couple was seated together at the table, happily eating. It was well into the evening now, and Roman had been recounting work stories. Mostly bitching about this one lady who had come in with her seven-year-old son (which was fine as long as he didn’t break anything) and upon Roman coming up to her to ask if she was finding everything she needed, glared at him, covered her son’s eyes, and backed out of the store as if he was some ghoul asking if he could eat her child’s heart rather than a store employee just doing his job. Patton was listening intently and offering his full support in the rant, and Roman had just started to list all the other times people had been horrified to see a man in makeup working at a beauty store- when the doorbell rang.

That was odd. They weren’t expecting anyone, Virgil wasn’t the type to show up out of the blue and for that matter- neither were most of their friends. It could be the mailman, but that was unlikely, so that really didn’t leave much. Then again, after this morning, the oddness of the doorbell ringing when no one was expected seemed like nothing. Nevertheless, Patton quickly pushed back his chair and stood, Roman following, and opened the door.

Before them stood a friendly-looking man in perhaps his late thirties or early forties, with pinkish-purple hair and a tan sweater. He looked a tad surprised that they’d answered the door, but waved, then held out a hand to shake.

“Heyo! So you’re our guests for the summer, hm? Nice to meet you, I’m Emile Picani.”

“Oh!” This must be one of their neighbors. Patton took his hand and shook it, then offered a large smile and stepped back slightly.

“Sorry, we weren’t really expecting any visitors- I’m Patton Sanders, and this-” “Roman Prince, delighted to make your acquaintance.” Patton rolled his eyes playfully at the little bow his boyfriend offered their neighbor before taking his hand and shaking it firmly.

“My boyfriend,” Patton finished with a sigh, slightly relieved at the way Emile laughed at said boyfriend’s antics. “Why don’t you come in?”

“Oh no, I just wanted to say hello, I shouldn’t be intruding-” “Nonsense!” Roman proclaimed. “We were just finishing up dinner, and it’s always good to get to know your neighbors, right?” “Well..if you’re alright with it, I suppose.”

He stepped inside and Roman closed the door behind him. Patton quickly excused himself to clean up their dinner dishes, and before long they were all seated in the little living room area, Roman and Patton together on the couch and Emile in a white wicker rocking chair.

“So where are you two coming from?” Emile asked.

“Oh, not far,” Roman replied. “I’ve been around, but my family moved to Portsmount city when I was sixteen, and dear Patton has lived there all his life.” “That’s right! I’d always really wanted to see some country, so we figured rather than renting a place together we could try somewhere a little more rural for the summer and..y’know, see how we liked it!” “Aww, how sweet,” chuckled Emile “Though I wouldn’t call our little spot of town country really.” “Well it’s pretty close to me!”

“Fair. Suppose I’m kind of the same myself in a way- I’ve lived here all my life. Makes the commute a bit of a pain, but the view is worth it.” “You have?” Roman asked, leaning forward a bit with interest. “Got any stories to tell?”

He was grinning slightly, and Emile laughed again, though it was a bit high-pitched.

“Oh, plenty, but if I recounted all of them we’d be here all night. Maybe I can humor you another time?” “Of course,” Patton replied. “Plus, most of them aren’t really the town’s, if that’s what you’re after. Dare I say it’s not really too eventful a place, but it’s pretty darn homey.”

“Seems that way..” Patton’s voice trailed off almost dreamily, but his eyes sparkled- not an eventful place? He’d never heard anything less true.

“So what do you two do?”

“Well I, am an actor!” Roman proclaimed, puffing out his chest slightly, “But in between shows I’m just a Sephora cast member for now.” “An actor? My my, that’s wonderful! Though I can’t say I’m surprised, you definitely have the attitude.” Roman beamed at the compliment, while Emile turned his sights on Patton. “And what about you?” “Oh, I work at Color Me Mine.” “Color Me Mine?” he tilted his head, confused, “Can’t say I’ve heard of that place.” Patton just waved a hand, unbothered. Most people didn’t know where he worked. “It’s a shop where people can come and paint their own ceramics- bowls, plates, figurines-that sort of thing.” “Creative types then?” “Mhm!” Emile pushed his glasses up his nose. “Well our little spot is going to be lucky to have you then! I’m a therapist myself. Shame I can’t have my office out here, I think a natural environment can really help clear the mind and make sessions easier. But it’s obviously too far.”

“You can say that again,” Roman snorted. “Our friend Virgil still lives in the city and most of his texts so far have been asking if we’re dead. I’m only half-certain that he’s joking…” “I’m sure we’ll get him out here for a visit sooner or later,” Patton assured.

“Sounds like you’ve got a mom friend experiencing empty nest syndrome,” Emile joked, and they all laughed.

“Virge means well, he’s just a bit uh..” Patton rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, Ro and I can be a bit crazy when left alone, he’s normally kinda a voice of reason for us.” “Ah, I see.”

“Speaking of friends,” Patton began, eager to keep the conversation flowing- he liked Emile, wanted to keep speaking with him. “Have you got any around here?” Emile let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “No, not around here. There aren’t really too many people here anyway- not on the edge of the country at least. Most of the people I know live up in Vaybury proper.”

Vaybury was the actual town they were staying in- well, technically. Houses trickled off once you got out of the main area of town, and the house Roman and Patton were staying in was on Becker Street, pretty much the last real street before you hit real country, and there were only about six or seven houses on it. Some of them weren’t even occupied. So what Emile said made sense, though it disappointed Patton somewhat.

Their chatting continued for another ten minutes or so, pleasantries and enjoyable-if shallow, small talk, before Emile announced he was grateful for their hospitality and happy to make their acquaintance, but he should be getting back home. But of course, Patton being Patton and Emile seeming to have similar traits of good-natured talkativeness, they had ended up continuing the conversation with Emile leaning by the doorway. Roman had just finished up telling the story of all the hoops they’d had to jump through to even be able to see this place, and Patton picked up right when he finished with their first impressions.

“You can see why we picked this place,” Patton laughed, gesturing to the rosebud wallpaper. It was very 1950s, but when Roman saw it he had picked Patton up and teased him about how he was all over the house already- and Patton had giggled and blushed as pink as the little flowers themselves. But he didn’t reiterate that part to Emile, it seemed a bit too personal. “It’s just beautiful, and the view is gorgeous- I know it seems a bit silly but it was kind of the home I always pictured living in as a child..” he ducked his head slightly, brushing vermillion curls from his eyes, but their neighbor smiled along with him.

“You can see why I just had to insist,” Roman said with a large smile, wrapping his arms around Patton’s middle and making him squeak, “My dear sunlight was shining like his namesake when we finally got here- not to mention on our walk in the woods! Though I doubt I was much better,” he chuckled, “That forest is just magical, is it not? I swear I was certain we’d come across Rapunzel’s tower any minute!” But Emile frowned at that statement.

“You...went into the woods? For how long?” “Oh, only an hour or so,” Roman responded, waving a hand, “At least when I was there anyway-Patton was telling me all about his adventure this morning as soon as I got home!”

“You went alone into the forest?”

Patton nodded- and for a moment he was afraid Emile would be angry- or that there was some terrible danger there that the fey hadn’t warned him of..but Emile only looked concerned. He sighed, pushing horn-rimmed glasses up his nose. “I...wouldn’t do that if I were you. The fringes are usually fine, but the deeper you go- well, there are wild boar in there. Not a good place for visitors, or locals for that matter.” He shook his head and placed one hand on the door frame, stepping out into the evening sun.

Roman and Patton shared a glance, and after a moment Patton stepped out of his boyfriend’s arms and offered the concerned man a small smile.

“We’ll keep that in mind- thank you. And it was great meeting you!” “You too,” Emile replied, giving them one last friendly nod, before he stepped down the path and Patton closed the door behind him.

They stood in those positions, staring at the door, until Roman voiced what was going through both of their heads. “...Do you think he knows?” “I...I don’t know.” Patton’s voice was quiet, his gaze cast to the floor. “He could.” “Perhaps you could ask them tomorrow?” “Oh- yeah, I can.”

There was a moment of silence. “I’m sure it’s nothing though,” Patton assured. But only the air would relax at the words, because though both of them nodded, neither of them would really take the comment to heart.

It rained the next morning. Not a light drizzle either, but the heavy summer rain- Patton left the house swaddled in a bright blue raincoat, his hands shoved in his pockets. It felt better once he got into the woods, but the branches would often bow under the weight of the rainwater and dump hundreds of drops down onto is head. Despite his hood, by the time Patton reached the clearing the fey had appeared in, his red curls were plastered to his face and his glasses were completely fogged over.

He honestly wasn’t sure if Truth and Lies would appear today, with this weather...but he wasn’t going to assume anything. The massive oak that stood proud in the center of the clearing, to Patton’s relief, was tall, dense, and wide enough that it didn’t seem to be showering the ground with droplets, so Patton found a relatively dry root to perch on and pushed back his hood, shaking the water from his hair like a puppy.

He unzipped the raincoat too, just enough so that he could use the hem of his faded pink shirt to clean away the moisture from his glasses and slip them back on- and then jolted backwards in shock, smacking his head against the trunk of the oak and letting out a yelp of pain, for there were the two faeries, hanging from a branch by their knees and twisted together like a butterfly’s cocoon, both pairs of eyes staring straight at him.

“Oh, Patton!”

With his eyes closed, he couldn’t be sure as to whose petal-soft fingertips lifted up his chin before sliding around to feel among his wet curls for any sort of bump on the back of his head, but judging by the silky tone, it was Lies. “We don’t offer any apologies for startling you so..that looked comfortable.” Definitely Lies. Patton opened his eyes, still seeing flecks of sparkle at the edge of his vision- ow, that was going to swell most likely- to see the green fey only inches from his face, with Truth just a little farther away, his hands placed on the root right next to Patton’s right thigh and leaning over his shoulder. Instantly, Patton’s cheeks flushed, and he let out another squeak, this time one of embarrassment.

“No! No it’s okay, just a little bump- clumsy me really, not your fault, it happens all the time!” “Are you certain?” Patton’s nodded vigorously, and to his relief the two moved back a bit, sitting down on a raised root opposite him. Not that he minded their presence, it just...it surprised him, and despite his friendly nature having such fantastical creatures only inches from his nose- it just- it was scary! Not because he was scared of them, of course, it just...it felt like they were looking right through him.

“Well...that’s good. We almost thought you wouldn’t come. What with the rain and all. I find most humans prefer not to go out in such weather.” “Oh- I wouldn’t miss it!” Patton quickly exclaimed, “I mean, sure the rain’s kind of a pain, but that’s why I have a coat!” “That’s good,” Truth smiled, “We’re glad you’re here.”

“Of course- what was I going to do, watch TV instead of meeting with faeries?” The notion was ridiculous- Patton laughed, and the two fey added their musical giggling to the mix of sound. Patton felt a spark of pride for getting them to laugh.

“True, true, but you must remember that of course not everyone is willing to accept our existence.”

“Right.” Patton..he felt bad for those people. Those who refused to accept there might be childlike wonders in the world..maybe he got called immature or gullible for his willingness to accept the fantastical- but that was fine. Their loss.

“So..Patton.” He was jolted out of his musings by Lies’s smooth voice, and looked up, to see the green fey tapping his glimmering cheek.

“What do you think of that tour?” “Tour? Oh-OH!” Patton flushed, embarrassed at his absentmindedness, “Of the woods?” “No.” “Um...well, I don’t really think I should. Don’t want to lose track of time, y’know?” They just blinked.

Patton shifted on the damp root, suddenly self conscious, and looking for a subject change- when he remembered the conversations of the previous evening.

“Nevermind- actually, I kind of wanted to ask you two something?” “Of course,” replied Truth, leaning forward a smidge as both tilted their heads. Patton brushed a hand through his wet curls, trying to push them back into something that made him look a little less like a drowned poodle.

“Well..Roman really wants to meet you, but he couldn’t actually come today- but he’s free on Friday...so if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I was kind of hoping maybe we could meet then too? So he could meet you?” The words came out in a bit of a rush, and when Patton looked up almost sheepishly, he was met with the sight of the two fey sharing another one of their odd looks.

“That sounds terrible Patton..” Lies said with a smile, after a moment of that silent discussion, “Was that all?” “Ye- no! No, there was actually one other thing..” bringing up Emile felt..more invasive. But he’d promised Roman he’d ask..and he was horribly curious himself.

“Our..new neighbor came over last night. He’s really nice- but it kind of ended on a..not-so-good note. He warned us to stay out of the woods.” “Well of course, none of the humans who’ve settled here find themselves afraid of the forest,” Lies dismissed, waving a hand and leaning onto Truth’s shoulder. Judging by the blue fey’s expression (hard to read as it was) he didn’t seem to think this anything important either. “...Well yeah- but you know, we were just a little worried that he knew something- you don’t know an Emile, do you?” He felt a bit bad, possibly giving out part of someone else’s name..but it’s not like he could just describe him right? They had to have seen so many people.

“Emile?” Truth frowned, tapping his delicate fingers on Lies’s knee, “No, I don’t remember any human by that name in recent years..” “I definitely remember him.”

Patton felt his shoulders relax slightly- and a laugh escaped his throat. “Of course- I knew it was probably silly, but I just wanted to check.” “Of course, cautiousness pays off well.”

“You sound like Virgil,” Patton chuckled. Well, Virgil would have phrased it more like “People can call you paranoid, but they won’t be laughing when you’re stocked for the apocalypse and they aren't.”

He missed Virgil..

“Well then Virgil must be immensely intelligent,” Lies commented, holding out one hand in front of his face, observing his nails- and Patton almost frowned. Lies’s odd opposite-speak was a bit hard to adjust to, true, but Patton caught on quick- and he swore the fey had just called his friend stupid! “Hey, he’s n-” But Patton was cut off by the sound of Lies’s laughter as Truth, his face pinched with offense, pushed the green fey off of the root and onto the slightly muddy grass. Lies let out a shriek, his laughter turning to something of disgust as he leapt to his feet and quickly brushed the mud from leaflike skin. And Patton suddenly felt immensely silly for jumping to conclusions, as he realized that Lies was in fact, taunting his brother. But he also didn’t really blame himself- years of going to bat for his friend had conditioned him to be very protective. And that was a good thing!

He found himself muffling a giggle with one hand, then almost jumped as he suddenly felt a body press against his side. Quickly turning his head, he realized that Lies had slid onto the root next to him instead of his brother, and wrapped his arms around Patton’s left arm, tucking in close. It sent Patton’s cheeks absolutely ablaze, his laughter dying in his throat (along with any other sounds he might consider trying to make) but the fey didn’t even seem to notice, instead flashing a wide smirk at Truth.

“Well, if you’re going to be that way, maybe I’ll just make sure to share this one..” “As if you wouldn’t have been caught in your own web centuries ago without me,” Truth sniffed. “Well excuse me for refusing to have any fun at all..” Lies drawled, letting go of Patton’s arm only to drape himself over his lap, slinging one slender arm around Patton’s shoulders to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. Warm tingles spread down his spine, and Patton shivered. He almost felt like he couldn’t move, or speak. He didn’t want to disturb the delicate scene.

“Now who’s groping the poor thing?” “Hm? What do you mean?”

It was then Patton realized that the two were indeed aware that he was still there- and probably even his reactions to their actions..which made him hide his hands in his face in order to cover up a blush that probably made every freckle on his face stand out like seeds in a watermelon. “No-it’s um-” god he couldn’t even get a word out “fiNE it’s fine I don’t really mind.” Lies laughed- and leaned up to press a delicate kiss to Patton’s temple before sliding off his lap. Patton went absolutely rigid, and by the time his thoughts calmed down he realized the green fey had perched himself back on the branch over Truth’s head, dangling one arm and one leg over like it was a perfectly soft sofa and not a cylinder of wet, rough bark.

“Now now Patton, remember, obvious lies aren’t my job.”

He had the feeling he was supposed to laugh at that, but as he was currently engrossed in trying to function like an actual person who wasn’t a tomato in a raincoat and could speak words, it was a bit difficult.

“I apologize for him…” Truth sighed, brushing a droplet of water off of one of the cobalt spots on his cheek.

“No- no, it’s really fine I mean it,” Patton managed to get out, though he did end the sentence with a very awkward high-pitched giggle that he would rather have avoided. He kicked his legs a little in an effort to distract himself.

“Hm...you said your “boyfriend” couldn’t accompany you today- why is that?” “Oh, he has work. His shift is a lot earlier than mine,” Patton explained quickly, grateful for a subject change. He received no answer immediately, but did notice Truth tilt his head thoughtfully, and heard Lies let out a scoff from his place languishing on the branch. “Work. I didn’t think humans would have gotten over such a notion by now, of course I suppose it wasn’t vital a time ago..but now you seem to do it just for boredom!”

...Patton couldn’t honestly argue too much there. He might be an optimistic soul who, while having a very strict moral compass, didn’t like to dwell too much on the terrible things about the world he couldn’t do anything about as a single person, but you couldn’t live around Virgil without being fully educated as to the sins of capitalism and the emptiness of what most people were brainwashed to believe was “necessary” work in order to earn the basic right to live.

“Yeah..it’s a..thing.”

“What does he do anyway? You’ve all gotten past farming right?” Truth asked a bit boredly, tracing a pattern on the root with his finger. Patton pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to explain it all.

“Well...I mean no, a lot of people still farm since we need food, but thanks to technology most people have other jobs. Roman um...well he works at Sephora, which is a store that sells makeup, which is like- facepaint! Yeah, humans paint colors on their face to make themselves look different.” “Oh how despicable!” Lies exclaimed- a little to Patton’s surprise, considering the...well not disinterest, he wouldn’t call it that, but general..detachment, that the two fey had expressed so far. “What?” “Oh, it’s just so awful to hear you’re finally taking some enjoyment in your little lives,” Lies said with a smile- and Patton felt his own lips curl up too, the faerie almost seemed to glow when he grinned, despite the cloudy sky and tree shading the three of them. “Humans in the past were just so interesting, not scared of their own shadows and not a single hour of the day spent working!” ….Honestly, Patton could...see that. He wouldn’t want to live a few hundred years ago, even if it was some alternate universe where there wasn’t any of the admittedly awful social norms..he’d feel trapped. Trapped in one role, in one or two places, with little ability to know what else was out there or meet new and interesting people unless he dedicated decades to traveling. He wouldn’t quite call the humans of the past “scared of their own shadows” as opposed to “superstitious” but here he was talking to a pair of faeries so...that assumption could be wrong. In fact it probably was. Goodness, he was still having revelations!

“....tton?” “Huh?” Patton’s head snapped up in surprise- and immediately felt something soft against the back of his skull. He quickly realized it was Truth’s’ hand, and then came the embarrassing realization that he had almost bashed his head into the tree again. His cheeks flushed, also because he had just realized he had gotten lost in thought while being spoken to. “Oh-thanks..” “Of course, we wouldn’t want you to hurt your head again.” “Are you alright?” “Of course!” Patton scooted forward, a bit away from the tree that the back of his head seemed so very fond of at the moment. “Sorry, I just..got a little lost in thought there. Again. How very..root of me!” He giggled, tapping the twisting root he and Truth were sitting on, and felt a little bit of pride in his chest as he noticed Lies’s lips quirk up again. “I wouldn’t say that’s a clever bit of word play.” “You think so?” “Of course not.” “..Gee, thanks..” Patton dipped his head a little, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Normally people just laughed (or groaned, but oftentimes it was really the same thing with puns) not acknowledge the little joke. “You’re a real sap, aren’t you Lies?” And there were the reactions he was used to- a musical laugh from Lies, and an agonized groan from Truth. “Please don’t encourage him…” “Come now Truth, his jokes aren’t darling..when will you learn to humor people?” “When doing so doesn’t result in being subjected to terribly constructed wordplay,” Truth responded flatly. “Plus, flattery is your job.” “Oh yes, and that’s why you’re the favorite.” “Excuse me?” “Face it, no one knows I’m the better seedling.” “It is likely they only say that so you don’t throw a tantrum.” Lies gasped, a look of exaggerated hurt flashing over his pointed face as he drew his hands to his chest protectively- and in that moment, the two of them so much resembled Virgil and Roman- one responding to goads with dry wit, the other teasing but reacting with “horror” when the words were turned back on him, that Patton was unable to stop himself from bursting into laughter. “..Pardon?” “It’s- oh, it’s-” Patton let out another bout of laughter at seeing the expression crossing the face of the two faeries, and by the time he stopped, his face was still glowing with mirth.

“You just- you argue just like Virgil and Roman!” “...We do?” Truth’s voice was...actually surprised. And a little confused. It was the first time in the hours he’d spent with them that Patton was actually certain that he knew what was going on in the fey’s head. “Yes! They bicker just like brothers sometimes, it’s adorable!” He got no response. Truth and Lies simply glanced at each other, but Patton was too full of glee to feel embarrassed at the silence. “..Say, do you think we’ll ever meet this Virgil?” asked Truth, and Patton briskly answered. “I’d like you to- but it probably won’t happen. I mean, he lives in the city, and it’s about an hour away when there isn’t traffic..and Virge really doesn’t like driving in traffic. So if he does visit it won’t be often- and…” his smile dropped, “Well, no offense, but Virgil isn’t really..well, he probably wouldn’t feel too comfortable around you two.” “...I see.”

Lies’ response felt..wrong, to Patton. But thankfully, he was saved from delving further into that awkward topic by the sound of Night Owl. Not the actual bird of course, though it was dim out due to the rain it was still late morning, there wouldn’t be any owls about- but the sound of the alarm Patton had set to remind him when he had to start heading home to get to work on time.

“What was that?”

“Just my alarm,” Patton responded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and turning off the alarm, sliding off the root and onto the damp grass. He noticed the way Truth and Lies leaned towards him and the phone- no doubt curious, but as much as he’d like to explain, he really had to get going. Especially considering that he might get lost on the way back.

“...An alarm,” Truth repeated, and Patton nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a noise I set to play so I remember to do certain things- like, I need to go right now, for my job.”

“Oh, must you?” Asked Lies, with a tone of voice that could only be described as a whine as he slid from the branch and wrapped his arms around Patton’s waist- which made him squeak as his face was pressed into the faerie’s chest.

“Can’t you stay just a little longer?”

“....No, I’m sorry, I really have to go,” Patton insisted, very gently squirming out of the fey’s grip and ignoring his pout. “But I’ll see you on Friday, right?”

“Right,” Lies sighed, and Patton heard the soft sound of feet touching down onto grass, turning to see Truth had stood from the root, and was smiling gently.

“Right. And we are so looking forward to meeting your partner.”

He placed a kiss on Patton’s forehead- and though Patton did not squeak this time, he did blush and giggle. He turned, zipped up his raincoat and pulled his hood up over his damp hair, still smiling.

“Goodbye!”

“Goodbye,” the fey chorused, but when Patton turned back around to wave, they were gone.

Well, that seemed to be their way. So he waved anyway at the empty glade and turned around, marching off through the woods and savoring the smell of damp leaves and wood.

Tags: @patton-croc-agenda @why-things-go-boom @tawnyevergreen @jynxlovesluck @towersandmyrtles @notveryglittery @per-seph-o-nee @definitely-a-plant @starryfirefliesbloggo @karmels-stuff @impatentpending @the-parentheticals @chinesewaffles2 @whatwashernameagain @em-be-lievable @theincediblesulk @xx-fandom-potato-xx

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beanfic · 4 years

Text

Pumpkin Palooza

Kae & Sav’s Spooky Special | Masterlist

Warnings: None

Word Count: 5610

Authors’ Note: Hey frens! Here is the first chapter of our three-part miniseries!! Our beloved spooky special :) Hope you enjoy!!! (picture credit)

Tyler’s POV

The sounds of whatever song was playing on the radio carried softly into the bathroom as I stood brushing my teeth. I bopped my head slowly from side to side, barely matching the rhythm of the drums. Sunlight filtered in through the window on the far side of the room, illuminating half of my body. A few shadows danced across my face as I stared at myself in the mirror, scrutinizing my appearance.

The song came to an end, which I took as my cue to spit out my toothpaste and rinse my mouth. In my bedroom, I could just make out the sound of my phone vibrating on the bedside table. I dropped my toothbrush into its holder and leaned closer to the mirror, using one hand to run over my scruff. It was getting long, but not long enough for me to consider taking the time to shave it down. After taking a couple moments to run my hands through my damp hair and fix it to my liking, I headed into my bedroom to see what I had missed.

My phone was lit up with a couple messages from the group chat that I had with Josh and Y/N. I read over them as I walked out to the kitchen to make myself some cereal.

Y/N: good morning, my dudes

Josh: good morning :) you’re up early today

Y/N: casper woke me up early this morning because he wanted to go on a walk. trust me, i wish i was still sleeping :p but at least i have you two to talk to all morning :)

I sighed. Three messages in and the two of them were already starting the flirting for the day. It was something that I had quickly grown used to. I had never really been bothered by their near constant back and forth, although I was bothered by neither of them being bold enough to just admit their feelings for the other. Even if I tried to step in and hint at their mutual feelings, they both brushed it off as me playing around.

That’s why I had come up with my master plan.

Tyler: good morning

After sending my message, I set my phone down on the counter while I made myself a quick bowl of cereal. My hands had been off my phone for a grand total of five seconds before it buzzed again. I looked over at it while I poured my cereal.

Y/N: ty! how’s it going? now that you’re both up, are plans still on for today? it’s day one of our spooky extravaganza!

Josh: i’m down if you two are

I put the cereal away before sending my response.

Tyler: i’m in. i’ll pick you up around noon?

Y/N: are you picking up josh first? :(

Tyler: it makes the most sense, so yes

Y/N: just once i want to be the one who gets picked up first

Josh: maybe you would get picked up first if you didn’t live on the opposite side of town

Y/N: it’s not my fault!

I shook my head as I grabbed a spoon. I had watched this same exact argument unfold hundreds of times before, and it always ended the same way.

Josh: hmm i think it is. there are plenty of houses for sale

Y/N: you think i can afford them? not all of us have money from all our successful albums and tours, joshua

Josh: you were the one who said you wanted to get picked up first!

Tyler: alright, you two, i’ll see you at noon

I set my phone down on the coffee table without waiting for a response and sank into the couch. The remote was already sitting on the cushions, making it easy for me to grab and switch on the TV. My phone vibrating against the coffee table soon become nothing more than background noise.

* * *

Josh dug his hands deep into the pockets of his sweatshirt as he walked down the path towards my car. He smiled as he opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, immediately moving his hands in front of my air vents.

“My heater isn’t working properly,” he explained, skipping over a hello. “I’ve been in sweatshirts and sweatpants since last night.”

“Do you have someone coming to fix it?” I asked as I pulled out of the driveway.

“Yeah, there’s some people stopping by to take a look today. I’m hoping they can get it fixed by tonight.”

“If not, you can always come crash at my place. I wouldn’t want you freezing to death.”

“Thanks.”

After a few more minutes of warming up his hands, Josh leaned back in his seat and dropped his hands to his lap. He yawned loudly as he did so.

“Yikes, sorry.”

“Tired?” I laughed.

“Yeah. I was up late talking to Y/N last night.”

“How late?”

“Like, I’m not sure, three in the morning, maybe?”

“Oh geez. Are they ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. They’re fine.”

“Why so late, then?”

“I just really like talking to them. I don’t know what it is.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Stop.”

I turned and shot Josh a look. His cheeks were dusted pink, but he had been in the car long enough that I knew it wasn’t from the cold outside.

“Come on, man. You’ve already told me how you feel about Y/N, there’s no need to hide it now.”

“It’s not that.” He shook his head. “I’m just… I don’t think it’s going to happen. I can’t keep letting myself get my hopes up like this.”

“Josh, you and I both know there’s something there.”

“Is there?”

“Yes.”

And I was going to make sure that both of them finally realized that.

* * *

Your POV

“It’s colder than I thought it was going to be,” you said as you stepped out of the car. The makeshift parking lot was jam packed with cars and families making their way towards the farm. You pulled your sleeves down a little further over your hands.

“This is what my house felt like last night,” Josh said, pulling his beanie a little lower on his head. “It was awful.”

“I told you that you could have come over! But somebody didn’t want to make the drive.”

You just barely noticed the way Tyler turned to Josh with raised eyebrows out of the corner of your eye. A brief desire to ask what that look was all about crossed your mind, but you decided against feeding into it. It was probably better that you didn’t ask.

“It was like one in the morning and you were already in bed! I didn’t want to make you get up.”

“Hey, I am not going to listen to the two of you bickering all day. Let’s go,” Tyler said, tilting his head towards the entrance of the farm.

“Can we get something to drink?” you asked, falling into step with the boys. “It might be nice to have a warm drink to carry around so our fingers don’t freeze.”

“Yes!” Tyler grinned at you. “Let’s get donuts too.”

“Good thinking.”

You held a hand out to Tyler who happily engaged in the high five. Josh smiled at the two of you and shook his head.

“Hey, did I already say you look nice today, Y/N?” Josh added.

You looked down at the jeans and flannel combo you had opted for today. It hadn’t looked particularly special when you were studying yourself in the mirror, but you couldn’t deny the butterflies in your stomach at Josh’s compliment.

“Thanks, Josh,” you smiled. “You look nice too.”

A gust of wind hit right as you finished speaking, prickling at your cheeks. Josh’s face immediately flushed a dusty shade of pink, and you were unable to tell if the color was from your compliment or the cool air. Biting back a sigh, you turned away from Josh and continued to follow Tyler through the crowd towards the building that housed donuts and hot cider.

“Ok, what are we thinking?” Tyler asked. You didn’t immediately register his question at first, you were too busy enjoying the relief from the crisp autumn air outside.

“Powdered sugar,” Josh answered immediately.

You turned to him with furrowed eyebrows, “You would rather have powdered sugar than pumpkin donuts?”

“Just one or two,” he shrugged. “I like powdered donuts.”

“What are you thinking, Ty?”

“I definitely want a pumpkin donut. Or maybe a cinnamon one? I can’t decide.”

“Oh wait, they have a variety bag,” Josh chimed in, stepping closer to you. He rested one hand on your lower back as he used the other to point at the menu. “See it? Three powdered donuts, three pumpkin donuts, and three cinnamon donuts.”

“Would you be willing to trade your pumpkin donut for my powdered sugar one?” you asked.

Josh looked at you, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. “I think I could be convinced.”

“Then I think that sounds good. Ty, you in?”

He nodded, “I’m in.”

You made casual conversation with the boys as you stood in line. Josh continued to stand close to you, not that you were complaining. His close proximity meant it was easier for you to take in his body heat, as well as the faint laundry detergent scent coming from his sweatshirt. The only part you weren’t enjoying so much was Tyler shooting you knowing looks every so often.

With donuts and warm drinks in hand, you found a nice stack of hay bales outside to sit on. They were tall enough that they blocked most of the wind, making the temperature much more bearable. You got comfy on one of them and immediately reached into the bag for your first donut.

“Cheers,” Tyler said, holding out his own donut.

You giggled as you tapped your own treat against his and Josh’s. Josh immediately took a large bite of his donut, covering most of his mouth in powdered sugar. You watched in amusement as he attempted to lick most of it off, but there were some spots he couldn’t quite reach.

“Need help, Josh?” you asked.

“What?”

“With the…” you trailed off, instead gesturing vaguely towards your own mouth.

“There’s more?”

“Just a little,” you laughed.

He sighed and tilted his chin out towards you, “Alright.”

You gently reached out and brushed the excess powdered sugar away with your thumb. Josh’s skin was smooth beneath your fingertips and it was hard to resist the urge to just run your fingers along his bottom lip. He had such nice lips.

“Did you get it all?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said, snapping yourself out of your daydream. “Try to be a little more careful next time.”

“No promises.”

“What’s the plan after this?” Tyler asked, joining the conversation. “Pumpkins?”

“I think that makes sense. I’d rather not stay here too long since it’s freezing out,” you answered.

“Agreed,” Josh nodded.

“Are we still going to your apartment to carve pumpkins?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah. We can order some pizza and watch horror movies too.”

“Awesome.”

“Hey, do you think I could do a backflip off this hay bale?” Josh asked, completely redirecting the conversation.

You took a second to assess your surroundings, then nodded. “Totally.”

Josh wasted no time in stuffing the rest of his donut into his mouth and climbing up a couple hay bales. After taking a moment to make sure nobody was in his way, he flipped off the hay bale and landed gracefully on the dirt. You bit back a smile at his proud smirk as he adjusted his beanie.

“You think I could do a flip?” you asked.

“Y/N,” Tyler warned.

“Sure, but only if I’m there to spot you,” Josh said.

“Of course. There’s no way I’m flipping on my own.”

“Please be careful,” Tyler said.

“I will be.”

Josh held a hand out to you and helped you up onto the taller hay bale. Flipping seemed a lot scarier now that you were up here.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” you said.

“It’s ok, I’ve got you,” Josh smiled.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

You listened carefully as Josh told you exactly what to do, although you were struggling to listen while he had one of his hands pressed firmly into your back as he spoke. Once you felt like you knew what you were doing, you gave Josh the ok.

“On my count, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Three, two, one, jump!”

You leaned into Josh’s hand and kicked your legs up over your head. His other arm caught your legs and helped them get all the way over so that you landed firmly on the ground beneath you.

“Woah, wait, I did it,” you grinned, stumbling slightly into Josh after your landing.

“Yeah, you did.” One of his arms was still wrapped around you, holding you close to his side. You were pressed up against him, still reeling from the adrenaline rush of doing a backflip… well, kind of.

“Impressive,” Tyler garbled around the donut in his mouth.

“Hey! Was that my cinnamon donut?” you asked.

Tyler’s eyes went wide as he realized what he had done. You shook your head and unwrapped yourself from Josh to instead go sit next to Tyler again.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” he sighed, swallowing down the last bit.

“It’s ok, Ty, but you do owe me now.”

“I think that’s fair.”

You sat around a while longer until you and Josh finished the last of your donuts. Once they were gone and Tyler took the opportunity to show off his residual basketball skills by tossing the crumpled bag into a trash can, you headed off to the hay ride that would take you to the pumpkin patch.

“How do we do this?” Tyler asked, watching as the tractor slowly grew closer. “Do we hang on to the sides or something?”

“No,” you laughed. “You get inside and sit down on the hay.”

“More hay?” Josh sighed. “My allergies are going to start acting up.”

“You’ll be fine,” you said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be five minutes at most.”

“If you insist.”

“The most important rule is to not fall off, alright? Because that’s bad news for everyone involved.”

“Don’t fall off,” Tyler nodded. “I think I can manage that.”

The tractor pulled up in front of you and you quickly helped the boys up and onto a hay bale. Other families filled in the space around you. A couple teenagers were giving Tyler and Josh prolonged glances, but you hardly even noticed. You had known the boys long enough to tune things like that out now, although there were still many times where you ended up taking pictures for a fan or two.

“It smells like gas,” Tyler commented, wrinkling his nose up.

“You sure it’s not your hands?” you grinned, bumping him with your elbow.

“Oh, come on,” he laughed. “That was too easy.”

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist.”

Tyler shook his head. Next to you, Josh was furiously rubbing his hands - which were now a lot redder than the last time you had seen them - together.

“Put your hands in your pocket!” you said, reaching out to push them closer to his body. “They’re going to freeze.”

“I think it’s a little late for that,” he laughed, but still put them in his pocket nonetheless.

After a few more minutes, the tractor came to a stop at the edge of a field of pumpkins. There were parents all over the place, chasing their toddlers as they happily smacked pumpkins and tried to climb all over them. You were already on the lookout for a perfect pumpkin to fulfill your vision.

“Where should we start?” Tyler asked.

“I don’t know, I’m overwhelmed,” Josh answered.

“Do you guys have an idea of what kind of pumpkin you want?”

“I want a big one,” Josh said. “Like a really big one.”

“I’m just going to see what calls to me,” Tyler said. His hands were also dug deep into his pockets as he looked around. “I don’t really have anything particular in mind.”

“Ok, then let's start wandering around.”

You led the boys through the field, occasionally pausing to survey a pumpkin here or there. Josh took any opportunity he could get to show off his strength by picking up excessively large pumpkins for you to look at. None of them had caught your eye yet, however.

“Wait!” Tyler called out. You stopped walking and turned around, only to realize that he was nearly ten feet behind you.

“Did you find one?” Josh asked.

“I think so.”

You and Josh wandered back to where Tyler was bent over a pumpkin. It was a little oddly shaped with weird bumps here and there, but he seemed completely pleased with it. After taking a moment to brush some dirt off, he scooped the pumpkin into his arms.

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s the perfect pumpkin for you, Ty,” you smiled.

“Agreed.”

Tyler lugged his pumpkin around while you and Josh continued to look at the pumpkins. You eventually found one that you liked: it was nice and round, had a smooth surface, and didn’t seem to be rotting anywhere that you could see. Plus, it wasn’t too heavy which meant you would have no problem getting it back to the car.

“Alright, Josh, it’s all up to you now.”

“Oh geez,” he smiled. “That’s a lot of pressure.”

“It looks like there’s a lot of big pumpkins over there,” Tyler added. “Should we start there?”

“Good idea.”

You and Tyler followed after Josh with your pumpkins in your arms. Tyler’s pace started to slow, and for a moment you thought he was going to stop completely. It wasn’t until Josh was out of earshot and he beckoned you closer that you realized that this was deliberate.

“What?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s going on between you and Josh today?”

Your shoulders dropped in annoyance, “We’re not really doing this, are we?”

“You two are flirting nonstop! Did something happen that you didn’t tell me about?”

“No, nothing happened. Josh is just being friendly.”

“So I suppose that you wiping powdered donut off his lips was just friendly too?”

“Yes!” you whisper-yelled. “I would have done the same thing if you had food all over your face.”

“I can guarantee you that there would not be that much love in your eyes if you were wiping food off of my face.”

“There was no love in my eyes, what in the world are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“There’s nothing going on. Josh and I are friends and that’s it, alright?”

“Yeah, alright,” he said sarcastically.

“Hey! What are you guys doing all the way over there?” Josh called.

“Sorry, we just needed a rest!” Tyler answered, playing it off like nothing was going on. “It’s hard carrying around pumpkins while you keep aimlessly wandering around.”

“I found a good pumpkin.”

Before you made your way over to Josh, Tyler made sure to get in one last comment.

“I think there’s more there than you’re choosing to see.”

* * *

Josh’s POV

I smiled as Tyler sang along to the Halloween music that Y/N had put on as background noise for our pumpkin carving escapades. They were sitting across from me, carefully cutting out the top of their pumpkin so that they could start scooping out all the insides to start carving. That’s what I was currently doing with one hand as I munched on a piece of pizza with the other. Across from me, Tyler, aside from singing, was carefully sketching out his design on the face of his pumpkin.

“Hey! Watch the wood floors,” Y/N warned as some of my pumpkin guts went flying and landed dangerously close to the edge of the trashbags we were sitting on. “And Casper. I don’t want him covered in pumpkin by the end of the night.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled around pizza, glancing at where Casper was curled up next to Y/N. “I’ll be more careful.”

“What design are you doing, Ty?”

“I’m trying to do a skeleton,” he said, holding his pumpkin out for a moment to get a better look at it. “But I’m struggling to get the design right.”

“That’s why you’re a musician and not an artist,” I joked.

“Hey! Who said music isn’t art?”

I held up my hands in defeat and the both of us erupted into laughter, resulting in me nearly dropping my pizza onto the ground. Y/N shot me a look, but they were smiling.

“What about you, Josh?”

“I’m doing an alien, which I’m sure is a shock,” I laughed.

“Oh yeah, I never could have seen that one coming.”

“We have to stay on brand,” Tyler chimed in.

“What design are you doing, Y/N?”

“I was thinking a ghost. You know, spice things up instead of just doing a normal face.”

“I like it,” I nodded.

I admired Y/N as they worked on their pumpkin. They were chewing gently on their bottom lip as they sketched out their ghost design on the front of the pumpkin. My own pumpkin was completely forgotten until Tyler kicked my leg, drawing me back into reality. He held up a pumpkin seed and pretended to throw it at Y/N. My mouth immediately curled into a grin as I grabbed a seed from inside my pumpkin. After taking a moment to line up my shot, I tossed it at Y/N and immediately went back to pretending to clean out my pumpkin.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Y/N looking between Tyler and I. It was taking all my energy to not let a smile completely overtake my face. Once they finally gave in and went back to working on their design, Tyler and I shared a look and nearly burst into laughter. Since they were distracted again, I grabbed another pumpkin seed and threw it at them. Unfortunately for me, they were ready this time and looked up before I had a chance to go back to looking innocent.

“Josh,” Y/N said, drawing out the vowel. “You’re not throwing pumpkin seeds at me, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said, but the smile that I was trying to hide was completely evident on my face.

“Liar!” they laughed, grabbing their own handful of pumpkin seeds and starting to toss them at me. I quickly reached into the bag of discarded pumpkin insides and started to throw them back at Y/N. A couple of them missed and skidded along the hardwood floors and under the couch. “You’re going to have to help me clean those up!”

“You started this!” I said as I threw another seed at them.

“Did not!”

We continued to throw pumpkin seeds all over the place until I finally ran out. Casper was running around, attempting to catch the pumpkin seeds in his mouth. More than once, he nearly crashed into Y/N, throwing them off their rhythm. Tyler mostly ignored the entire thing and continued to work on his own pumpkin, enjoying the peace of not having small objects hitting him in the face every few seconds, despite the fact that this war had been his idea in the first place.

“Are you two done?” he asked once the seeds finally stopped flying.

“For now,” Y/N said, shooting me a look.

“I’ll call a truce if you do.”

“Deal.”

I held out a gross pumpkin-goop covered hand. Y/N studied my hand for a moment before giving in and shaking it anyway.

“Good. Now no more pumpkin projectiles,” Tyler laughed.

“Pumpkin projectiles,” I repeated with a snort.

Things went back to being peaceful for awhile. The three of us were working away on our pumpkins and talking about potential snacks Tyler could make for the party that he was hosting tomorrow. My pumpkin design was going well, or at least, well enough that you could tell it was an alien. As for my artistic ability, that was an entirely different story.

Deciding that it had been long enough since the last time I messed with Y/N, I started to hatch a plan to bother them yet again. They had been pretty consistently skipping over songs, which involved them turning their back to me for a couple seconds while they waited for one they liked enough to let play. This was also the perfect opportunity for me to take the tool they just so happened to be using to make their ghost design.

“Don’t like this song,” Y/N huffed, setting down their tool and yet again turning their back to Tyler and I. While they were distracted, I scooped up the little scraper and tucked it beneath my leg where they wouldn’t be able to find it. Tyler took notice of this and immediately began to smile.

I watched as Y/N turned back around and reached for their tool, only to find the spot where they had left it empty. They began to look around, even going so far as to lift up their pumpkin to see if it had somehow slipped under there. Tyler and I were barely containing our laughter, which Y/N eventually took notice of.

“Alright, which one of you has it?” they asked, crossing their arms.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tyler said.

“Oh, come on,” they huffed. “I know I’m a bit absent-minded at times but there’s no way I misplaced an entire pumpkin tool.”

“What does it look like?” I asked, pretending to be concerned.

“It’s a little, like, orange tool. This big,” they said, holding their fingers up for reference. “Wait, hold on a second. I’m still not entirely convinced that you didn’t take it.”

“Does it look like this?” I asked, grabbing it from beneath my leg.

“Yes, thank you,” they said, reaching for it. I wasn’t ready to give in so easily, so I pulled my arm back and out of Y/N’s reach. They frowned and scooted closer to me, reaching their arm as far as it would go. “Josh! Give it here,” they laughed.

“No way.”

“Josh! Come on.”

They moved forward, grabbing onto my bicep and trying to pull it towards them. I resisted, but not so much that I would accidentally punch something if they decided to let go all of a sudden.

“I thought we had a truce,” they laughed as they tugged on my arm.

“We had a truce for… what was it? Pumpkin projectiles?”

“That was it,” Tyler chimed in.

“You two are the worst.”

I tried to move the arm that was supporting my body a little further back, but I miscalculated how much weight was on it and ended up falling straight back onto the hardwood. This caused Y/N to tumble right on top of me, leaving our noses only a few inches apart. I didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that my face was the brightest red that it had been all day.

“I’ll be taking that, thank you,” Y/N grinned, taking the tool out of my grip that had now loosened significantly.

I was still in a daze when Y/N fully climbed off of me and went back to sitting behind their own pumpkin. Tyler was looking at me with raised eyebrows, but I was avoiding his gaze. There were already enough butterflies in my stomach as it was and I didn’t need Tyler’s taunting look to make them even worse.

“Are you two almost done with your pumpkins?” Y/N asked as if nothing had happened. “I want to start the movie soon.”

“What movie are we watching?” Tyler asked.

“I was thinking The Conjuring. One of the best horror movies there is. Is that ok with you two?”

“Fine with me.”

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing hard. “Me too.”

* * *

“Do you have any other blankets?” I asked, noticing there were only two sitting on the couch.

“No, those are all I’ve got. We can share, if that’s ok with you?” Y/N asked, raising their eyebrows.

“Yeah, that’s ok. I’d rather not be alone under a blanket by myself while watching a horror movie, anyway.”

“Agreed,” Y/N smiled. “And there’s no way that Tyler is going to want to share a blanket with anyone.”

“Definitely not.”

I grabbed the larger of the two blankets and got settled on one end of the couch. Y/N always liked to sit between Tyler and I, especially when watching scary movies. They always joked around, saying that they felt safe with two celebrities on either side of them.

“Coming?” I asked, holding the blanket up for them to get comfortable.

The microwave went off in the other room, drawing their attention away. “Let me grab that, then I’ll come get comfortable.”

“Sounds good.”

I stared at some of the posters that Y/N had on their walls while I waited for them to return with snacks. Most of them were for movies that they particularly liked or bands that they had gone to see, although Tyler and I didn’t have the honor of being hung in the living room. Y/N always said that it was too cheesy to have their best friends on the wall, especially when they had guests over.

My looking around was interrupted by Casper joining me on the couch and plopping himself down right next to me. He looked at me for a moment before resting his head on my thigh and blinking up on me. Unable to resist his puppy dog eyes, I happily scratched at his fluffy ears.

“Ok, snacks are here!” Y/N grinned, returning with a bowl of popcorn and a bag of candy.

“Smells delicious,” I smiled.

“Thanks, I made it in the microwave,” they giggled. “Casper, down.”

I once again held the blanket out so that they could crawl under it once Casper was out of the way. They sat down next to me, leaving a small gap between us. I tried my best to mask my disappointment, but then decided that for once I wanted to make a bit of a move.

“You know, if you get a little closer to me then we can wrap the blanket around us a little tighter. It would be warmer.”

Y/N looked at me for a moment before they began to smile. “Good idea.”

They scooted closer so that our legs were now pressed together, sending tingles all the way up to my scalp. Tyler would undoubtedly have some comment about this situation, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Y/N was cuddled up next to me and that was more than enough to combat anything he had to say.

“Tyler!” Y/N called. “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah, I’m coming! I was just trying to get the bleeding to stop.”

“I should have gone in there and helped him,” Y/N sighed. “If he wasn’t capable of carving a pumpkin without injury, I should have known he wouldn’t be able to bandage it, either.”

Tyler appeared from the bathroom a few minutes later, now sporting a spooky bandage on his finger. He let his gaze linger on the two of us cuddled up under the blanket, but didn’t immediately make a comment. He just grabbed his own blanket and got comfortable on the other side of Y/N.

“Only two blankets, huh?” he smiled.

“I don’t have that many blankets here, Ty. I live alone.”

“I just asked a question!”

Y/N rolled their eyes and grabbed the remote from where it was sitting on the coffee table. The movie hadn’t even started and I could already feel my heart starting to beat a little harder in my chest, although that could have just been because Y/N was pressed up next to me.

“Ready?” they asked, hovering over the “Play Movie” button.

“Ready,” I nodded.

“Ready.”

Thirty minutes of the movie had passed and it was going surprisingly well. There hadn’t been anything too scary, and I was beginning to wonder if it was really going to live up to all the hype that Y/N had given it. Tyler had even fallen asleep on the opposite end of the couch and was now snoring lightly. Next to me, Y/N was watching the screen intently.

I was about to make a comment about the movie not being scary when the music ramped up and the first of what would eventually be many scary scenes played out on the screen. Without realizing it, my hand flew out and grabbed onto Y/N’s arm, gripping it tightly.

“Ow, Josh,” they laughed softly. “My arm.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, immediately loosening my grip. “I just wasn’t expecting that to happen.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

I let out a long breath of air. Maybe watching a scary movie hadn’t been such a good idea. Y/N must have noticed my distress, because they reached out and put a hand on my arm.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok. I’m right here.”

They slowly moved their hand along my arm until their fingers were laced with mine. All of the fear seemed to instantly melt away as I held their hand in my own. When I gave Y/N’s hand a light squeeze as thanks, I was met with one in return.

Maybe Tyler was onto something.

****

Tag list: @topownsmyheart @tylersheavydirtysoul @wearebxnditos

#kae & sav's spooky special #tyler joseph #josh dun #twenty one pilots #tyler joseph fanfiction #josh dun fanfiction #twenty one pilots fanfic #twenty one pilots fanfiction #josh dun fanfic #tyler joseph fanfic #tøp fanfiction #tøp fanfic #beanfic #blurry-fics

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gamersonthego · 5 years

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Chase Koeneke’s Top 10 Handheld Games of 2018

2018 could’ve been a bummer of a year. The game I was most excited about – Fire Emblem: Three Houses – got pushed to 2019. We were getting a new Pokemon game...but it was based on a mobile game and was fundamentally changing the formula I loved. And outside of Smash Bros., there was little left I was anticipating.

And yet, 2018 turned out to be a fantastic year in handheld gaming. I got a turn-based strategy game that’s up there with any Fire Emblem game I’ve ever played. That Pokemon game ended up being pretty great! And there were a bevy of unexpected indies that kept me entertained all year long. Here are my top 10 handheld games from 2018 (as well as a few honorable mentions).

Honorable Mentions: Mark of the Ninja Remastered, Gris, Kingdom Rush Vengeance, Donut County, West of Loathing

10. Minit (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

I like to take my time in games – fully exploring worlds, talking to NPCs, reading item descriptions. In that sense, Minit, a top-down Zelda-style game that only allows you to play in one-minute sessions should be my nightmare. But it’s not. In fact, I really liked it. Minit’s limitations freed me from my thinking and made me engage with the game on its level. In a world dominated by GPS and a games’ landscape dominated by easily accessible maps, there’s something refreshingly challenging having to commit the area to memory and make plans on not only what to do next, but how to make it there in time.

9. Golf Peaks (iOS, PC)

I’m bad at real golf, but golf video games, especially the ones that don’t try to meticulously recreate the sport, are my jam. Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color is one of my favorite games ever. Golf Story was one of my favorite games last year. And Golf Peaks takes that crown in 2018. Golf Peaks expertly mixes golf, card and puzzle mechanics to make for a uniquely pleasing combination. New obstacles are layered in world by world and get increasingly bizarre, until what you’re playing is barely recognizable as golf. Golf Peaks feels meticulously crafted, and it makes for a difficult, but rewarding experience. Unfortunately, because it’s so bespoke, it’s a finite experience, and once you’ve completed it, there’s little reason to revisit it. A new world has been added since the game’s release, but after completing it in less than an hour, I’m back to waiting for more.

8. Alto’s Odyssey (iOS, Android)

Alto’s Adventure was one of my favorite games of 2015, a gorgeous and fun take on the infinite runner genre. Alto’s Odyssey further refines the formula by adding in even more things to do. The silky-smooth jumps, grinds and backflips return, along with the sublime wingsuit power-up, but they are joined by Tony Hawk-style wall rides that add a new dimension to the game. With uniquely skilled characters to unlock and upgrades to literally and figuratively grind for, Odyssey will keep you busy for a long time. It’s one of those rare phone games that’s good for play sessions both long and short, and its action never gets old.

7. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition (iOS, Android, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

I was intrigued by Final Fantasy XV on the PS4, but ultimately bounced off its combat and general milling about. Pocket Edition fixes both of those issues and lets me enjoy what I really like about the game: its story and its characters. The miniaturized version of FFXV has turned it into a linear game with simplified controls (touch controls if you’re playing the phone version). The way it retains quite a bit of the themes and depth (and voice acting) of the original game despite streamlining it never ceased to impress me. And weirdly, playing Pocket Edition has actually reawakened my desire to play the original game. I want to see this treatment given to other Final Fantasy games.

6. Florence (iOS, Android)

Florence is not a game I would traditionally play on a phone. It’s not an infinitely replayable, puzzling experience like Threes or Drop7 or even a Kingdom Rush. But it is an experience, and one I deeply appreciated. Florence made me feel more than any other game this year, and it did it in a game that takes only about a half hour. It tells a mundane, yet impactful story about relationships. It’s beautiful. It’s funny. It’s tragic. But most of all, it’s real, and it uses its touchscreen controls to great effect to make you feel like you are an active participant in the story. It’s somehow simultaneously abstract and extremely specific, and I think it’s something everyone should witness.

5. Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee (Switch)

This is the Metal Gear Solid 2 of Pokemon. Let me explain. In MGS2, you play as Raiden, and you learn that you are being put through a similar adversity to the original MGS’ Shadow Moses Island in the hopes of turning you into another legendary hero like Solid Snake.

In Pokemon Let’s Go, things start familiar enough to anyone who’s played the first generation of Pokemon games (particularly, Yellow). You get a starter, you battle your rival, you face Brock and Misty and the other gym leaders and you stumble into and interrupt a nefarious Team Rocket plot. It’s all there. Except then you run into Blue, who is the real rival from the first generation of Pokemon. Which means your rival isn’t your rival. And you aren’t you. It’s fascinating and I ended up loving it.

Mechanically, it’s a weird mix of adding from more recent games while also stripping away complexity. Mega Evolutions are in. Held items are out. HMs are out. Steel, dark and fairy types are in. And there are some brand-new mechanics like catch combos that are a fun and new way to engage with Pokemon. It’s not all rainbows (I’m still not sold on the GO-style catching system,) but I hope the next mainline Pokemon game takes a little inspiration from these games. And I hope they remake Gold and Silver in this style too.

4. Holedown (iOS/Android)

Holedown became my go-to phone game for most of 2018. While you can beat it in a manner of hours, the game is so addictively fun and replayable with its final, seemingly endless level that you’ll be happy to dive back in again and again to improve your score. Holedown is satisfying in every sense of the word. Endorphins rush when you see and hear massive streams of balls ping-ponging off walls. Hitting the perfect angle to keep the combo going higher and higher is intensely gratifying. It’s so easy to play and understand, and yet you’ll be learning new tricks after your hundredth attempt. Holedown rules. Play Holedown.

3. Super Robot Wars X (Vita, PS4)

OK, this one’s a bit of a stretch. Super Robot Wars is not available in the US last I checked (though it is available in English.) Also, I did not play its handheld Vita version. Instead I played it on the PS4. So, on one hand, this game doesn’t really belong on this list. On the other hand, I love Super Robot Wars X so much, so it’s staying.

This was my first dip into the series and immediately found it to be an incredibly dense and confusing experience. It’s a turn-based strategy game like Fire Emblem, which sounds right up my alley, but the number of things to account for is staggering. To list all its mechanics would be a daunting exercise. Slowly, but surely, I learned to engage with more and more systems until finally, I felt like I could see the code, that I had entered the Matrix. I suddenly knew strategy game kung-fu. The game would set up almost impossible odds and, sometimes after an insane amount of consideration, I’d find a solution. I could boost the range on one weapon for the one turn I need it. Or maybe that shield I’ve never used would actually come in handy here. Oh wait, this pilot has a special skill I could utilize. The solutions are always there, you just have to look for them. It’s a beast of a game, but one I became utterly mesmerized with.

2. Dead Cells (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

I jealously watched early access PC players make run after run on Dead Cells. I heard people extol the game’s virtues on countless podcasts, and then, finally, the game released on Switch and I too could experience its splendor. And boy, did it deliver. Dead Cells bends over backwards to tailor the game experience to you. It allows you to choose what and when to unlock new skills, letting you further customize your arsenal as you play. It accounts for novice players who need to take their time getting through its sprawling levels while also providing options for crafty veterans who are able to speed through its content. And yet, as much as it caters, you’ll inevitably get to a point in your run where the game says “OK, now we’re going to test you.” I have failed that test every time. I have not beaten Dead Cells. But I am damn sure ready to try again.

1. Into The Breach (Switch, PC)

Where Super Robot Wars X is a turn-based mech strategy game on a macro scale, with an inconceivable amount of systems and options to deal with for your double-digit army of robotic fighters, Into The Breach stuffs all the same intensity into a comparably tiny grid and only a trio of battlers. It maintains the perfect amount of complexity, making every unit, every weapon, every move and every choice matter. It’s the ultimate chess game. And just when you think you’ve wrapped your head around its mechanics, it hands you a new team of mechs that plays completely differently. Runs are short, but meaningful, and the optional challenges (that let you unlock more new teams) push you out of your comfort zone to learn new strategies. Not only is it my favorite game of the year by a country mile, it might be one of the best games of all time.

#goty #gotggoty2018 #chase koeneke #minit #golf peaks #alto's odyssey #final fantasy xv pocket edition #florence #pokemon let's go #holedown #super robot wars x #dead cells #into the breach

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illustratedtapes · 5 years

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Welcome to Illustrated Tape’s favourite releases of 2018 that sounded and looked good, chosen by this year’s contributors. We’ve put together a playlist featuring one track from each of the releases featured so you can check out the sounds we were digging this year. Happy listening!

➔ spoti.fi/2LCgrQp Listening in order recommended

Delta Sleep - Ghost City Big Scary Monsters, 10 August Artwork: Owen Findley at Or8 Design Selected by Megan Reddi // IT014

This is my favourite music/artwork combo of 2018! The whole album is just amazing - it is beautifully arranged and has this lovely dreamy quality to it, with repeated musical motifs woven throughout to really pull the whole album together. Not only is Ghost City musically fantastic, but the artwork is beautiful and so fitting for the album. It is designed and screen printed by Owen Findley and the warm colours, imagery and textures are just spot on.

Definitely my favourite release of 2018. It is my go-to driving album and I will be blasting it while we’re driving around this Christmas!

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 014: Nautical Dusk by Megan Reddi

Okay Kaya - Both Heavy Body, 1 June Artwork/design: Kaya Wilkins, Aaron Maine, Phillip Wong

Selected by Hannah Buckman // IT016

Okay Kaya’s Both as an album that came out this year which I enjoyed, and which I feel has a strong visual component to it. To me the album feels sickly (in a good way), gloomy but still pop. I think the mood is conveyed really well through the Adinah Dancyger directed music vids and the album art.

I liked finding out more about Kaya’s thinking behind the project, like how the twin in the videos is like a physical manifestation of trauma... it’s something that once I read I couldn’t stop thinking about. The idea of something traumatic inducing this birth of a second self, a kind of split off part that is still attached in some way to the whole, but there being a kind of safety in acknowledging what might be a darker part of yourself, from a distance. Also the album art kind of conveys the idea of duality and how that relates to race/sexuality, but I didn’t feel like that was really explored as much. I think I like this album ‘cos it kind of ties in with things (mentioned above) I’m currently interested in, but maybe it feels a bit surface-y at times.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 016: Protect Your Extremities by Hannah Buckman

Quavo - Quavo Huncho Capitol / Mowtown / Quality Control, 12 October Artwork: Mihailo Andic

Selected by Conner Perry // IT020

I think my favourite music/design combo of this year has to be Quavo’s Quavo Huncho. Not only is it full of bangers, the cover by Mihailo Andic is just brilliant. It really sets itself apart from the Migo’s visuals and changes the way you listen to the record. Definitely check out the rest of his work, especially the stuff for Lil’ Yachty.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 020: Nice one bruva by Conner Perry

Parquet Courts - Wide Awake! Rough Trade, 18 May Artwork: A. Savage

Selected by Holly St Clair // IT021

I was really late to the Parquet Courts party, but actually both of my initial encounters with their two recent releases have been solid arguments for the importance of decent album artwork. For both Wide Awake! and Human Performance I ran into - literally - the artwork before the music. Twice, two years apart, whilst wandering around London I turned a corner and came face to face with Adam Savage’s superb cover work. He smacked me in the face with poppy colours and amorphous dancing forms and I loved every moment. Add in an anarchic use of type and you’ve got me shouting, “Oh shit! A new Parquet Courts album!” to no one in particular outside an old meat market in Shoreditch.

A. Savage is both front man and painter and that adds a special flavour to the whole affair. Album marketing can be a laboured, commercially driven affair, there’s something authentic - a little DIY flavour - about this relationship between artwork and music. It’s a nice parallel to the musical throwbacks typical of the bands style. Wide Awake! dropped earlier this year and it’s fab. (Although, I love the artwork so much even if it was god awful I’d still buy the record and hang it on my wall.)

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 021: To: You, Love: Me by Holly St Clair

D.A.L.I - When Haro Met Sally Burning Witches, 23 May Artwork: Luke Insect

Selected by Thomas Hedger // IT017

According to my recently played, I’ve been stuck on a pre-'90s loop. I've crept slowly into 2018's releases picking out albums like books - by their covers - and it really paid off! I don’t often delve into electronic but I love this album, it’s a perfect blend of hopping on your bike and hitting the tracks, nailing the look of how the album feels in all its haze. A solid sunny day good time.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 017: Sink by Thomas Hedger

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar Ninja Tune, 9 March Artwork: Tom Hingston

Selected by Katie Chandler // IT003

This cover was immediately striking and memorable to me. Upon listening to the album, I found that the artwork resonated with this feeling of odd, unrestricted expression. It's a little unsettling, ultimately bold and intriguing. Much like the music, it feels hot and cool all at once, like a burst of energy that leaves you in a sweat. It's the exhilarating soundtrack to your runner's high, and you're not really sure why you're running or what you're running from.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 003: Porch Light by Katie Chandler

Gesu no Kiwami Otome (ゲスの極み乙女。) - Suki Nara Towanai (好きなら問わない) Taco Records, 29 August Selected by Greg Stasiw // IT009

Although it’s not the ambient and electronic fare I usually enjoy, Suki Nara Towanai (好きなら問わない) by Gesu no Kiwami Otome. (ゲスの極み乙女。) is a hoot. The artwork features a stylized neon pachinko machine. Or maybe it’s a console in a rad indie pop spaceship, which would also make sense for this funky fresh group! It feels somehow familiar, somehow alien, and altogether really, really cool.

The neon suggests something retro, and there are some retro leanings in their funkier tracks, but it's definitely neon as seen in 2018. Modern pop (and J-Pop) tropes emerge, but infectious basslines, tight drumming, and smart keys make this album something special. Some math rock even surfaces at times, and the remix included proves that this group goes for whatever feels fresh. One look at the artwork reminds me that this is one of the funnest albums I've listened to in a while. “Funnest” is definitely a word when you’re talking about this band!

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 009: Atmospheres by Greg Stasiw

Aphex Twin - Collapse EP Warp, 14 September Artwork: Weirdcore

Selected by Alex Vissaridis // IT002

2018 was a great year if you grew up listening to the music I was into. Some of my all-time favourite artists released new stuff this year, and they didn’t disappoint. The artwork was pretty excellent too, but nothing grabbed my attention like the world created around Aphex Twin’s Collapse EP. Album art doesn’t seem to mean as much as it once did, so it’s always exciting when it appears outside of the little square on your screen in unexpected ways.

This year, Aphex Twin logos appeared all over the world, from Elephant & Castle tube station to the side of a record store in Tokyo, designed in a way that made it look like the logo was collapsing into the environment around it. I’m a sucker for stuff like this; random cryptic messages that send internet detectives into a frenzy. It was eventually announced as marketing for the Collapse EP, but they kept the ‘collapsing logo’ visual going on the EP artwork, in the music video for the track ‘T69 collapse’, and even through to projection-mapped videos around London (again announced in typical smoke-and-mirrors fashion) and a collaboration with Crack magazine. Way more than just a collection of pixels.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 002: Tape Fuzz by Alex Vissaridis

Flohio - Wild Yout EP Alpha, 2 November Selected by Rachel Maughan // IT012

I got into Flohio after I saw her on COLORS in January with 'Band'. She's fucking explosive on that track, you can feel her spitting straight into your chest. She's been savvy with her producers and killed her work with God Colony - 'SE16' was my most played track of the year. Her 2018 EP, Wild Yout is a cocktail of perfection.

Mashing up genres it's a high energy listen with punchy, grimey hip-hop that is uniquely South London. The artwork is beautiful simplicity - her achingly slick androgynous aesthetic, the clean photographic composition, with a flowing chain to bring it tightly back to SE. Gorgeous.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 012: High Rise by Rachel Maughan

Sudan Archives - Sink EP Stones Throw, 25 May Photography: Jack McKain Design: Jeff Jank

Selected By Tom J Newell // IT004

Sink submerges the listener in flowing loops and beats, with splashes of violin and vocals floating above the sunken monolith, which stands tall on the deep blue cover art. The composition is reminiscent of two of Jank’s other iconic Stones Throw sleeves, Donuts and Madvillainy and continues his striking yet varied art direction for the label.

Check out the ‘Nont For Sale’ video from the EP too, which adds powerful choreography and styling to create another successful visual accompaniment to the music. Much love to Sudan Archives and hats off to Jeff Jank. I painted a tribute to the cover art on a 12x12” piece of wood.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 004: FEAR. by Tom J Newell

Drinks - Hippo Lite Drag City, 20 April Selected by Molly Fairhurst // IT015

Hazy, dazed, an album I hold dearly to 2018 (and many strangely lit walks in a then new, unknown city).

A collaboration between Cate Le Bon and White Fence’s Tim Presley, the pair took an (isolated) retreat to St Hippolyte-Du-Fort in the south of France to record, frankly, crudely, seemingly, whatever the fuck they wanted to. Hippo Lite is born, a joyful, playful, sometimes quiet, sometimes screaming object.

What senses like an eavesdrop through closed doors rightly has a cover that can’t be quite understood- a narrow column of, at the glance of the reader, ‘nonsense’ notes, which flank photos of Le Bon and Presley. Both are snapshots of an absurd holiday we have been invited along to, so long as we sit across the table. A tender and private piece.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 015: The Wilder Woman by Molly Fairhurst

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - King of Cowards Rocket, 28 September Artwork: Sophy Hollington

Selected by Drew Milward // IT010

First off, this album is wall to wall, solid gold bangers. Kind of like the lovechild of The Fall and Black Sabbath, who has been cautioned by the police for possession of a massive bag of skunk, a bong in the shape of a skull and a copy of ‘The Holy Mountain’ on DVD.

Aside from the fact it’s a full on riff-o-rama, the artwork by Sophy Hollington is absolutely incredible. It summons up the sound of the band, via folk horror infused wildness. It really captures the sonic landscape of the album, yet completely avoids any of the cliched imagery that could so easily have taken its place. It really is the whole package.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 010: BE GONE, YOU CREATIVE GREMLINS! by Drew Milward

Djrum - Portrait With Firewood R&S, 17 August Artwork: Michael Mitsas

Selected by Sam Ailey // IT001

Portrait With Firewood is one of those rare gems within the electronic genre - a true ‘album’. With holistic production, emotional range, and a captivating narrative, this really is a stunning listening experience from start to finish. Felix Manuel combines electronic and acoustic sounds seamlessly on this intimate record, with exceptional attention to detail in his sampling and tender piano sections played by Felix himself.

Michael Mistas’s cover art is a real departure from the typical design aesthetic of electronic albums and caught my attention straight away. I love its composition and rough, imperfect execution. To me these feels reflective of the range and depth of emotional states explored across the album, and the feeling that some things are easier to express through your craft than with words. Plus I’m a sucker for pink things.

➔ Listen to Illustrated Tapes 001: Quiet by Sam Ailey

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birdie02 · 6 years

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Thoughts on Skate Canada 2018 Ladies’ SP

I had a very busy schedule, so wasn’t able to catch Mako or any of the earlier skaters.

Mariah Bell – Dazzling outfit! Love that scrappy back as well as the flowing ends. The glittery rhinestones in the front provide a lovely ombre from silver into purple. Easy 2A, landed a bit frontward-ly. Good 3Lz3T, though the 3T could use more height and better landing. Both 3Lz and 3T seemed to be a bit more angled than normal? Idk. Beautiful spin omg, that was so fast. I love that I-spin! That is a really nice low leg on the sit spin. She has such a nice smile. Good 3F! What a fast layback into haircutter into Biellmann. That dramatic moment xD Love those twizzles! Mariah nicely presents to the crowd and her emotion feels so genuine with her smiles. Great job! 63.35.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva – Love the multi-colored rhinestones on the black dress. Ooh the music is cool. Love it. Nice 3A! Landed cleanly. I thought she could use more speed into and out of it, tbh. Nice and easy 3T3T. Love that illusion (butterfly) into layback. Tbh I started recently looking at her tweets on Twitter and she is one sass queen omg. Dang that highkick. Again, nice and easy 3Lz, who can beat that in effortlessness though lmao. Dang, when the music intensified, those choreo movements xD Interesting take on the spin (it looks like a scratch spin but leg is positioned near the knee). That high tech score though :o 74.22. Holy cow!

Elizaveta Tursynbaeva – Interesting dress. Not a fan of that jagged side panel that is sparkling with rhinestones, but it’s ok. Overall a meh for me. It’s Beethoven’s Moonlight… quite overplayed (then again, I play the piano so xD). 3Lz had a nice rippon but stuttered on the landing. Good 2A! Nice illusions! Nice spiral! 3S3T. Donut spin had nice extension but a bit slow. I’d love to see it up close if they had close-up views for the camera. Nice half-Biellmann! I’m not a fan of these music cuts :( That was a very beautiful and unique Biellmann variation, omg. 61.19.

Evgenia Medvedeva – She changed her costume. Omg. It’s a blue, the contemporary color to orange lmao xD Not a fan of this costume, especially those dull-looking side-panels, but the ruffles on the edges are nice. Nice tano 3Lz! That tano is nicely positioned. 2A a bit low but clean. Nice half-Biellmann! I like the choreo after the spin, it’s light-hearted and makes me smile. Oh my god, she fell out of a 3F. Shoot. No combo for that. Omg. I’m shook. 60.83. The PCS really saved her. She will be skating in the first group tomorrow…

Wakaba Higuchi – I heard she is borderline stress fracture. I am super worried about that. Even though I’m not a fan of the dress, she has a nice headband! To be honest, I’m not a fan of the program music, but she makes it work, I don’t know how. Big and easy 2A. Nice half-Biellmann. Nice 3Lz3T! It looked clean and I won’t think she is competing with an injury with that tbh. Nice I-spin! 3F was outside and landed okay, but landed. Nice layback into haircutter, that is a nice haircutter! 66.51.

#figure skating #my commentary #skate canada 2018 #mariah bell #elizaveta tuktamysheva #elizabet tursynbaeva #evgenia medvedeva #wakaba higuchi

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h1de-s0urce · 7 years

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do all the unusual asks! B)

Oh my goodness, you’re giving me a lot of work hahaha!

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? Spotify

is your room messy or clean? Right now it’s a bit messy, but I like having a clean home

what color are your eyes? Green

do you like your name? why? Nope. I just feel like it don’t suit me

what is your relationship status? I’m in a committed relationship, and we live together

describe your personality in 3 words or less. Caring, slick, immature

what color hair do you have? Ashy blonde

what kind of car do you drive? color? Don’t have a car. Don’t know how to drive either.

where do you shop? For what?

how would you describe your style? Fluctuating and changing depending on my mood

favorite social media account. I use most time on tumblr, and instagram

what size bed do you have? My bf and I share a,, uhh, I think a Queen size? It’s approx 200cm x 150cm

any siblings? YES! I have a younger brother. On my dad’s side I got three half siblings and a stepsister, and on my mums side I got two step-sisters

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? I would stay right here. Although I love travelling and would love to explore several countries

favorite snapchat filter? hOW CAN i CHOOSE?

favorite makeup brand(s) I love NYX, Kat Von D & Urban Decay

how many times a week do you shower? As many as I have to. Minimum every other day

favorite tv show? Right now it’s Lucifer, on Fox. But I also love American Horror Story, and Supernatural still have a special place in my heart even tho I quit at season 9 I think

shoe size? I’m a EUR 38-39. It’s like a UK size 6 I think?

how tall are you? I am 167 cm tall / 5 feet 5¾

sandals or sneakers? Sneakers. Sandals are a pain to wear

do you go to the gym? Nah, I do Taekwon-Do twice a week.

describe your dream date A picnic, at nighttime, just watching the stars

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? I just have my cards really

what color socks are you wearing? White

how many pillows do you sleep with? 1

do you have a job? what do you do? I am a full-time student, but I am looking for a part-time job

how many friends do you have? I can count my closest friends on 1 hand

whats the worst thing you have ever done? When I was 8 I broke windows at an abandoned storage house nearby. I thought it was alright because most of the windows were already broken

whats your favorite candle scent? Juniper tree

3 favorite boy names I really have to think, beacuse I love names! But I think I love Loke, Sirius, and Abel the most

3 favorite girl names The same goes with Iris, Aurora, Luna. I literally have a long list of names I love

favorite actor? Johnny Depp

favorite actress? Sarah Paulson

who is your celebrity crush? Ryan Reynolds

favorite movie? I can’t count how many times I’ve seen Tangled

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book? I read when I have the time. It’s either nothing for 6 months or 10 books in a day, there’s no in between. My fave is The fault in our stars, I cried like a baby

money or brains? brains

do you have a nickname? what is it? nah. My name’s too short for a nickname.

how many times have you been to the hospital? been visiting family a couple of times

top 10 favorite songs It all depends on my mood tho, I cant choose just 10!??

do you take any medications daily? I take birth-control pills hahah

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc) I honestly don’t know. Its a combo I think

what is your biggest fear? I have a phobia for clowns. tried to watch the new IT movie to try to defeat my phobia. really clever..

how many kids do you want? I’d like two, although I have a fear of giving birth so idk???

whats your go to hair style? A messy bun , my hear is sooo long it’s in my way all the time

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) Live in an apartment in an apartment building

who is your role model? I look up to several people

what was the last compliment you received? “You’re too kind to me”

what was the last text you sent? “That’s okay, I’ll take the time xxx”

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? hE’S NOT REAL????

what is your dream car? ‘67 Chevy Impala

opinion on smoking? Looks cool on old pictures, smells like shit

do you go to college? Yeah, I go to Uni

what is your dream job? Translator. Or actress, but we all know that’s not gonna happen

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? suburbs

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? Just the ones I need

do you have freckles? Yeah, but they don’t show very well

do you smile for pictures? If i have to, I don’t like cameras, I think everyone turn on their fake side once they see them

how many pictures do you have on your phone? too many memes

have you ever peed in the woods? once

do you still watch cartoons? Heck yeah!

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds? Never had wendy’s so I have to go for McDonald’s even tho I hate them

Favorite dipping sauce? dipping for what food tho?

what do you wear to bed? Depends on how hot/cold it is. Sometimes PJs, sometimes butt naked

have you ever won a spelling bee? We don’t do that kinda thing where I live

what are your hobbies? Bingewatching tv-series and staring into the wall as I realize I’ve got an existential crisis and have no idea what I’m doing with my life

can you draw? I’ve heard I’m good at it. Think I am decent enough

do you play an instrument? Know some chords at guitar and ukulele

what was the last concert you saw? Went to the Pstereo festival in Trondheim, and I’m going to Gorillaz in November, that’s gonna be sweet as heck

tea or coffee? Tea! Coffee is the devil’s work

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? We don’t have dunkin donuts where I am from so I have to go with ‘bucks

do you want to get married? Yes!

what is your crush’s first and last initial? V.R.

are you going to change your last name when you get married? I want us to have both our names if you get what I mean. So he’ll have mine in addition to his own and vice versa

what color looks best on you? Green and purple

do you miss anyone right now? Nah, I’m good

do you sleep with your door open or closed? It has to be closed or I’ll freak out

do you believe in ghosts? I believe there’s a lot in this world we don’t understand and can’t explain. I believe in energy, not ghosts per se

what is your biggest pet peeve? I hate it when people are cracking joints

last person you called I called Doctors Without Borders

favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate

regular oreos or golden oreos? regular

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? chocolate

what shirt are you wearing? a gray one

what is your phone background? It’s a disney themed one

are you outgoing or shy? shy. I try to be more outgoing tho

do you like it when people play with your hair? Depends who

do you like your neighbors? They’re alright I guess

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? I do it at night after I brush my teeth

have you ever been high? I was on the top of a mountain once hahah

have you ever been drunk? three times

last thing you ate? A sandwich

favorite lyrics right now Oh no do I have to think?

summer or winter? Winter, because chRISTMAS

day or night? I’m a night owl

dark, milk, or white chocolate? yes to all please

favorite month? DECEMBER

what is your zodiac sign Aries

who was the last person you cried in front of? My bf

@tricksterfrog you’re welcome!

#asks #about me #tricksterfrog

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gameridernews · 7 years

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Ex-Aid review: Heisei Generations

Time to review Ex-Aid's first movie: "Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man VS Ex-Aid & Ghost With Legend Riders". Long, long title. Since I've not done a review for a movie yet, how do I format this...

Well, for starters, some preliminary timeline placement: The movie came out when Kuroto Dan was still pretending to be sane, and there was still a bike among us. The Kamen Rider Genm spinoffs would tip you off to that since those take place after this movie. It's a nice early "In case you're new to Ex-Aid" timeline placement.

Also, since this is post-finale Ghost, Drive, Gaim and Wizard... I won’t hold back on spoilers for those shows!

This is a real treat, I tell ya. For those who don't know, I love crossovers in general. And when it comes to Kamen Rider, I usually get some kind of enjoyment out of the crossover movies. I say this because, well, they're not usually... logical. Due to trying to work in this show and that show with their crazily distinct styles and lore, it gets hard to make crossovers actually make sense.

But the ones that have come out since Gaim have been doing a better job of that. Generally I'm talking about the spring movies in this context, but what I should be talking about are the winter movies. These are typically movies where the current show gets its own plot, the previous show gets its own post-finale plot, and the two plots merge in the final act... or final 10 minutes.

Ghost/Drive did something impressive with this format: It ditched it entirely. Instead of having two shows meet at the end, this movie realized that a movie about Ghost and Drive should really be about Ghost and Drive having some adventure that affects both of them. I'm glad to see this movie follows that notion with Ex-Aid and Ghost meeting within the first few minutes, and even Drive gets to be involved in continuity with the aforementioned Ghost/Drive movie. I'll talk about the cameos as they come up.

So right away, things are falling into chaos as we meet our villains, Dr. Pac-Man and his three lackeys, who I'll call Robol, Dragol and Giril since that's easier to remember. This is because they steal the Proto Gashats from Kuroto Dan, along with the Bugvisor, and the lackeys use Proto Gashats to transform much in the way Graphite did to gain his black recolor form.

I appreciate that, from the moment this movie starts, you know that you're in for a wild time. The lackeys themselves all do some fun fighting even as civilians, in particular Giril who literally brought a sword to a gun fight even before getting a Proto Gashat. Dragol, the tall lanky one, also does a good performance. And Dr. Pac-Man... boy, that outfit and mask combo is so 70s it hurts. I can't hate it.

I should take some time to talk about Ghost, shouldn't I?

Yes, this is Ghost's return after the show ended, and to be honest? Not much has changed for this cast. Takeru is in school making up for the time lost, but everyone else... is about where they were when the show ended, which is fine. The monks and Kanon also appear briefly, and of course Makoto/Specter and Alain/Necrom, but I am disappointed that Javert didn't get to show up - I wanna see what his monk training has led to, man.

The Pac-Man Bugster Viruses end up taking away Takeru’s ability to transform for some reason... but then we learn why later! Pac-Man's weakness is ghosts! I shouldn't be surprised that was actually a plot point since that's a line in the trailer, but it's still absurd in a way that made me smile. Apparently Kuroto Dan is being trusted with his Eyecon to work on a new Gashat, which sounds like A VERY BAD IDEA but y'know, at this point Kuroto Dan was actually a trusted supplier.

The three lackeys go on to use Proto Gashats stolen from Kuroto Dan, transforming into what are essentially reuses of the Collaboss Bugsters from the show, sans the Gashat lodged in the head - ironic since they transform shoving the Gashat into their body ala Dopant Memories. With that and the white outfits I can't help but imagine this is Foundation X related...

The undersuit of the Collaboss Bugster is colored a bit differently, but to me the main attraction is Dragol since Drago Knight Hunter Z never got used this way in the show. It's a nice design, too! It's a thing that makes me go "Oh I should use that in fanfiction..."

The movie mainly revolves around a high school student who becomes infected, and in a twist I kinda wasn't expecting so early, they make a Bugster from a game HE created - a game not associated with Genm Corp, Hatesate Puzzle. Kind of a neat twist. They tie this Bugster's powers into the villain's ambitions in a way that is kind of nonsensical to me, though.

What I do like is the way they handle the kid. Sure, it's mostly an Ex-Aid plot, but Takeru's respect for enjoying life comes into play since the patient really enjoys making his game, and the two of them, despite some minor differences later on, both want to see him be happy once it's over.

While this is going on, we do get an interesting subplot with Dr. Pac-Man and crew. Takeru, Onari and Akari go to Shinnosuke/Drive of the Metro PD to find out who these villains are, and the plot thickens when he reveals that they were part of some shady business shrouded in rumors and mysterious deaths.

Shinnosuke's life sucks during this first half of the movie. It's become apparent to him that he can't be a Rider with his gear being put away and all, so he's feeling pretty powerless. It's a bit of a random stroke of luck how he is reunited with Belt-san to become Kamen Rider Drive again, but I will get into that once I talk about Gaim. Yes.

Hey, wait, I've seen that scene in the show recently...! Let's talk about this now even though they reveal more about it later.

Perhaps there were detailed synopsis' available way back when the movie came out, I dunno. It's hard to come across this stuff in English unless you follow the right people, and even then you might only learn bits and pieces.

But I did not know the movie actually reveals that Emu is patient zero AND Parad was created from his Bugster Virus! And I bet a lot of folks outside of Japan were not privy to this reveal either, since I'd always seen/received theories about Emu possibly maybe being patient zero. I even theorized it at the end of December when the movie had already come out. I feel dumb but at the same time, that's what happens when you can't be there to see the movie when it comes out.

I'm talking a bit out of order, but I will say that there's a double edged sword to this reveal. On the one hand, we the viewers learn about Emu being patient zero because Ghost's sporadic touch-someone-and-see-memories power triggered when he put a hand on Dr. Pac-Man. On the other hand... bro, you should've probably told Emu something this eerie. Perhaps not the best way to reveal it.

Anyway, just thought that was real interesting for a movie that contains the name "Dr. Pac-Man".

Back to the plot at hand, the new Hatesate Puzzle based Bugster causes some trouble for Takeru as it just about kills off Akari, or at least badly injures her. It's easy to say she was killed since it's Ghost. But we'll get to him near the end...

Oh yeah, Makoto and Alain show up around this time. Just... kind of slide into view during a fight since they read the script.

Sadly I don't really have much to say about them in this movie since their dialogue literally consists of saying "You'll pay for this!" in slightly different ways each time they speak. We do get to see that they and Kanon return to the Ganma homeworld at the end, so... that's still a thing.

The movie then proceeds to provide the kind of fight porn you enjoy from one of these movies. Giril, Robol and Dragol take on Specter, Necrom, Brave, Snipe and Lazer (cause hey he's still alive), all while summoning Bugster Viruses that are themed after their Gashats; Samurai, futuristic soldiers(??) and fantasy soldiers that may or may not be using costumes from Wizard's summer movie. Fact-checking is for kids.

And of course, the new Gashat from Kuroto Dan has arrived for Ex-Aid to use. After he and Ghost start working together to take on the giant CGI Pac-Man, Ex-Aid uses the wonderfully colored Ghost Gamer form while Ghost uses the uncanny Ex-Aid Damashii form he now has (an Eyecon obtained at the end of his show because crossovers), and the two defeat the giant Pac-Man.

The day is saved. Wait, weren't there more Riders in this?

Yeah, that shocked me when I was watching - we're only halfway through and we've gotten the big crossover fight out of the way! If I wasn't already so aware of what happens in the movie, I'd be left wondering what comes next.

But Emu is still affected by all that happened. The other doctor Riders came to help, and are even caring for the Riders from Ghost who are injured, but Emu couldn't save his own patient. Not only that, but the villains have said patient, and are using him to create a new form for Dr. Pac-Man. Standard toku movie villain stuff.

Is there any hope left for our hero?

No, but at least we have our donuts.

So this cameo is a bit out of nowhere for a couple reasons. One, it just kind of happens suddenly. Two, holy crap they got Haruto's actor to come back and his hair is perfectly on point. But alas, much like Wizard's show, his involvement here isn't living up to its full potential. He doesn’t say much beyond catchphrases and the fact he’s a mage, and doesn’t explain why he’s here. I have a way this could've worked, which will be addressed when I talk about Gaim. Yes.

There is also a kinda funny scene where he convinces Dr. Pac-Man into letting him be a bodyguard with no trouble at all. It was funny but not for the right reasons. He and Dragol also don't get along and that's funny because theming.

Once Emu, Takeru and Shinnosuke know where to go, they see the new bodyguard Haruto... who says he's here to escort them in - okay. The three engage in some fun out-of-suit fighting with Dr. Pac-Man's lackies, and arrive to a familiar part of this abandoned office set that led me to wonder how he was going to make his entrance...

Turns out he just kind of crashes the party and lands like a badass. I can dig it. Okay, so NOW I talk about Gaim!

Gaim's a glaring part of this crossover. Whether the actor was busy with another role, or disinterested in returning, he never appears out of costume and there's not even a voice credit.

Gaim DOES talk in the movie, and he sounds on point, but one thing you'll notice is he never says anything too specific. It's believed that his dialogue is just recycled audio from previous media, and sadly, as the resident Gaim fanatic, I could not even begin to find transcripts that would lead me to having properly spelled Japanese dialogue that would lead me to previous instances of said dialogue existing. Just wanted to explain how much dumb work I was doing for this one paragraph of the review.

But what I can tell you is this: Gaim has dialogue that’s real teamwork-y, so it’s probably from previous crossovers.

Anyway, I had two things to address with Gaim. First, they do a cute thing where Gaim retrieved Belt-san for Shinnosuke, to which he acknowledges that Gaim DOES have god powers that make it easy for him to just warp into the Drive Pit and snatch him up. That's a nice way of getting Drive to transform.

A shame they didn't think to have a flashback where Haruto is warned about Dr. Pac-Man by Gaim, thus explaining why either of them are here to begin with. I mean, Gaim's probably privy to movie villain plots, since he's got god senses.

As a real specific thing, I would have also liked if Gaim explained away his lack of out-of-suit appearance with "By the way, I'm on another planet right now, so this is just an avatar." If you don't follow Gaim then I'm sorry for throwing these spoilers out so crazily, but y'know. I gave the appropriate spoiler warning.

There's a lot of lovely fight porn where Wizard, Gaim and Drive each take on the lackeys and their Bugster Virus grunts, who happen to fit their motifs, going through their various forms while their respective themes play. It's beautiful. Also Gaim has a real out-of-place line delivery when he gives a final blow, lending credence to the theory this is recycled dialogue.

When Ghost gets insultingly overpowered by the puzzle themed Bugster, making his supposed infinite potential form look bad, Ghost receives an out-of-nowhere visit from the spirit of Nobunaga who decides to fight alongside him with two other rulers of Japan who unified the nation. Tenka Touitsu Damashii represents three historical figures, and I gotta say, I'm glad to see it get used in a movie.

A shame they gave it to Ghost since the toy Eyecon is literally only capable of playing Specter's standby music. But I guess I can't feel too bad for Specter since he got his own movie with a final form?

It's a nice idea, looks good, and the fact that it makes use of the three Riders' weapons is cool. Maybe in a world where Ghost made more Eyecons, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu would've been forms used by Ghost and Necrom.

Things are not so hopeful for Emu. He's been given a legitimately-painful-to-watch beating by Dr. Pac-Man in his new monster form, and is pushed to the ground. The kind doctor decides to give Emu a taste of what it's like to go through death by Bugster Virus by basically forcing Mighty Action X into his belt alongside Proto Mighty Action X (since Proto Gashats have been established to be deadly), which doesn't work out quite how he wanted.

Instead, Emu inexplicably (but we know why now) connects the two Gashats to form the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat - which appears to be lacking in some paint here for some reason, gonna guess it's an error. With a very ominous and emotionless persona overtaking him, he transforms into the separate Ex-Aids, Double Action Gamer Level XX.

It's a real interesting way of giving you a taste of what's to come in the show in a way that's different. Ghost/Drive did this as well with Ghost's Toucon Boost Damashii form, and there's also Hibiki which kind of... created its own crazy origin for Hibiki's final form which is completely ignored in the show.

Point is, I find it interesting the way they pulled it off. By the end of the fight, the villains have been defeated and Ex-Aid's double Gashat turns back into separates, with him having no memory of what he did - cleeeverly avoiding continuity problems with the show, I see.

With that, the movie is just about over, but wait! It's a Ghost movie where Takeru doesn't die? Of course not, that'd just be silly.

Yes, as the cast of Ex-Aid and Ghost are meeting up again, Takeru randomly passes out. Apparently all the beatings he endured today was just too much for him. It seems that he's really dead this time! No pulse or anything! Tears all around!

You know what's coming, though. It's a crossover with a doctor. In a scene that's strangely reminiscent of the fakeout CPR scene in episode 1 of Ex-Aid, Emu brings Takeru back to life. He then thanks Emu for giving him another chance at life, fulfilling Ghost's other requirement of being sugary sweet.

The credits roll as we see what everyone is up to now. Haruto is on a rooftop eating donuts just as you'd expect, and Shinnosuke is dealing with coworkers congradulating him on his new kid way too early... not sure if that's a Drive Saga 2 thing or not, since that's on my list of toku to watch.

And finally, the last scene has Parad with Kuroto, holding the Pac-Adventure Gashat that will be used in the Genm spinoff which doesn't make anymore sense now that I've seen the movie. Oh, and a nice shot of Perfect Puzzle's title image, teasing at Parad's future Rider status! Neat.

So... that's a lot of text I'm gonna have to edit. But that's also Ex-Aid's first movie. How was it?

Well, I generally enjoy crossover movies for the fun things that can happen, and within the last few years they have gotten really good at telling a story. Especially Ghost/Drive which I have referenced several times here, since it and this movie have its format in common.

That being said, this movie is kind of an oddity of its own. It gets the Legend Rider-y crossover form stuff out of the way halfway in, and goes on to do more stuff later that feels reminiscent of the spring crossover movies as of late - even using returning actors, and directly acknowledging previous crossovers to give a legitimacy to them. These 4 returning heroes felt like they'd met before and were reunited, which is probably the most pleasant surprise of the movie.

I know a lot of folks out there hate these kind of movies, or even ignore all the toku movies, but I think this is promising. Kamen Rider crossovers have been getting better at character writing with each movie, and I am excited to see the spring movie once it hits DVD.

With that all being said, I'll see you all in... a week maybe? With Ex-Aid taking a week off, I should use that as an excuse to catch up and actually talk about May's crazy bunch of episodes.

#kamen rider exaid #reviews #feed

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