Your Voice Remains

Intensely thinking about Spike rn

losing my mind over this brown turtleneck

This is literally so precious

i got a cameo from danny so i requested red wine supernova by chappell roan and it’s truly life-changing <3

i knew his voice would be AMAZING for the song! i love chappell & danny so much, i had to combine them as a special little treat for myself and it was 100% worth it :)

they are so in love it's actually disgusting.

For them I might even step out of my comfort zone and write something else than x Reader

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

Masterlist

Pairing: OneyPlays Crew X gn!reader

Warnings: Mentions of Weed; Alcohol Consumption; Sexual Innuendos

A/N: A small little Christmas Fic that is mostly platonic! Does feature some flirting but all in good fun :)

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“Dude be careful. Careful now… CAREFUL!”

“I am careful you annoying critter!”

THUMP

Christmas ornaments rolling over the wet floor and a wide-eyed Lyle standing on top of a shaky and rusty ladder, holding up a christmas star in one hand with the objective of putting it on the now fallen tree.

“You fucking retard oh my god!”

Oh, and Zachs screaming as he stood there with this hands at his hips, looking at Lyle like a disappointed mother after her child inevitably fucked up.

That was only one of the scenes which greeted you as you had entered the office on Christmas Eve. Not to mention Adam and Cory’s attempt at baking cookies which you could smell throughout the entire house.

“You guys need any help?” You laughed as you watched Zach pick up various ornaments. You put the presents you had brought on the couch, seeing as there was currently no tree to put them under.

“Yeah I need you to take Lyle out back and put that dumb christmas star between his eyes and through his skull.”

“Well if someone hadn’t been stressing me out the entire time, maybe I would have done a better job!”

Lyle was still standing on the ladder, looming over the fuming Zach from high up, arms crossed.

“(Y/n), can you please help with the tree for a second? I do not have the mental capacity to put up with Tribal over here..” Zach sighed and looked at you with a defeated expression.

Earning a quick laugh from you, you eventually decided to help after listening to some more of the back and forth between the boys which wouldn’t lead anywhere any time soon.

“You know what, I don’t even care, I’m just gonna help Adam and Cory in the kitchen.” Lyle huffed, stepping from the ladder and making his way out of the room.

“By the smell the cookies are burned already so you can’t do any more damage at least.” Zach spat back as he heaved the tree upright again with you. Lyle only stuck his tongue out at him in response.

Especially during the holidays it seemed as if each and every one of the boys reverted back to high schoolers. The way that they tried to “plan” everything also seemed akin to all those events that the students back at your school tried to do.

The entire building was busy, Chris was on the forefront of frantic. Checking how everyone was doing and if anyone needed any help as well as Tomar who tried to “gentle-parent” every conflict or wrongdoing that occured. Spoiler Alert:

It only worked with Adam.

And although the rooms smelt of burned cookies and wet pine needles; the Christmas atmosphere was surely building up. Everyone was wearing red and green elf caps and Ugly Christmas Sweaters™. Especially Zach’s had you giggling once you got a good look at it.

“Wow, awesome sweater you got there dude..”

He looked down on himself before looking you dead in the eye.

“Well he is my hero sooo ... you got a problem with that snowflake?”

His sweater read: “O.G. Don. Making Liberals Cry One Tweet At A Time.” And of course, a picture of a knit Donald Trump accompanying it.

You laughed at his impression. “Sure, yeah. Sorry.” “Tz, yeah I thought so.”

One by one Zach hung the fallen ornaments back on the tree and you started putting your gifts under it, earning a gasp from Zach.

“Holy shit why are some of them so big, how much did you spend?” He wanted to look at the tags, trying to spy for the one that was meant for him. You swatted his hand away quickly.

“I’m not gonna tell you how much I spent, Zach. Just be happy you’re getting anything with the way you annoyed me this year.” “Fair enough.”

You helped Zach with the decorations and the lights, accidentally spinning them around yourself as you tried to untangle the 4 metres of cable as quickly as possible. The mismatched ornaments were all over the place look-wise. Some of them were classic red and golden spheres with glitter over them. Other ones were… more explicit. Santa was definitely presenting a little more than you were used to from the Coca Cola Ads back in the day.

Zach also tried to debate you on the Sonichu ornament which he wanted to hang up right in the middle so it’d be the first thing that anyone saw when coming in. You really tried to convince him otherwise yet his argument of: “Well Christmas is all about friendships and Sonichu was Chris Chan’s best friend so you’re pretty ignorant if you want me to put him in the background” left no room for further discussion.

Once you made sure that Zach wouldn’t take a peek at any of the presents, you followed the smell of candies and burnt cookies to the kitchen where your gaze immediately found Adam who was sitting on the kitchen floor. Joint in hand, staring intensely into the oven (the light inside wasn’t even turned on).

“Oh, hey (y/n)! You wanna try the first batch?” Cory greeted you excitedly. Your eyes couldn’t help but wander from him pointing at the crumpled-ashy piles on the tray on the counter, to the apron he was wearing.

An arrow pointing upwards at his face with the subtitle: “This Guy rubs his own meat”

A Cory original it seems. He looked quite proud as he noticed your chuckle.

“Uhh- think I’ll pass..” You tried to weasel your way out of trying those science experiments. “The second batch won’t be..” “Akin to burn victims? No, I made sure of that.” Lyle chimed in from behind Cory.

“Burn Victims?” Adam gasped calmly yet with a hint of hurt. “Those are my babies all right? You guys are just judgemental..”

“Adam.” Lyle began, he stopped mixing more batter and turned to his friend on the ground. “Eating one of those would be like smoking 20 cigs at once.”

You chuckled at their little banter. You were just glad that there was no more fighting happening. Although that was probably thanks to the separation of Zach and Lyle.

“And what would be wrong with that?” Adam pouted, his eyes still fixed on the dark oven. You wondered how high he was flying already.

“Nicotine, Adam. Not weed.” Cory said before trying to pick up one of the burnt cookies which turned into something that could be compared to dust. Leaving Cory to blankly stare at his ashy hands.

“Mr Stark… I don’t feel so good.” You mumbled, earning a laugh from Adam who hadn’t even seen what you were talking about.

“By the way, where are Josh and Chris at? I saw them running around when I came in and I thought they’d be here with you guys.” You asked the three men in front of you.

“They’re in the recording room I think” Cory said, running a hand through his hair.

Just as you were about to turn around and make your way to the recording room, Adam spoke up quietly. “Noo, No! Chris and Tomar wanted to get a karaoke machine from one of Chris’ friends.”

“What, when they say that?” Befuddled, Cory looked down at Adam who’s attention was still on the oven.

“They stopped by and told us.” Cory’s gaze met yours, utter confusion apparent on both of your faces.

“How did you catch that but I didn’t?”

Adam just shrugged and took a drag of his joint. At that moment he looked like an Astronaut who experienced Zero Gravity for the first time.

“I think we can take out the second tray now and put these bad boys in.” Lyle spoke up. He held up the whisk. “Who wants to lick?”

“Don’t say it like that dude..” Adam finally got up from the ground, he looked like a toddler while doing so.

“What? I’m only offering my creamy left-over dripping liquid to someone in the room? What’s wrong with that?” A grin spread across Lyle’s face as Adam mimicked gagging at his words.

You and Cory simply laughed at the scene. “Besides, I’m sure (Y/n) would love to help me out with that.” A blush spread across your face, a nervous giggle leaving your lips as you took the whisk which Lyle handed to you with a wink. “You’re disgusting dude.” You said before trying the batter. Surprisingly enough, it actually tasted really dang good.

“That’s genuinely quite-”

“LAST CHRISTMAS I GAVE YOU MY HEART-”

Besides making you drop the whisk and probably waking the entire street, George Michael seemed to want to shatter your eardrum with those vocals.

There was a deafening silence after the sudden jumpscare.

“Sorry!” A muffled apology was shouted from the living room, causing you and Cory to double over in laughter.

“What the fuck, Zach?” Lyle wanted to seem pissed but he couldn’t help the corners of his mouth twisting upwards as he shouted back.

The Man, The Myth, The Goblin then appeared in the doorframe to the kitchen, laughing at Adam’s shocked face.

“I just wanted to set up some atmospheric music”

“Yeah and how’d that work out?” You asked as you turned around to him.

As Zach profusely apologized to specifically Adam. Lyle began to put in the third and probably final batch of cookies.

“But in my defense!” Zach raised his voice along with his finger.

“It is kinda funny how that got you like ‘WHam!’ y’know.”

The silence that followed his wordplay was even more deafening than before.

“Alright yeah I get it, fuck you guys.” And with that he turned around on his heel and back into the living room.

Soon after though you heard the rustling of keys in the hallway, announcing the last two of the bunch who were hopefully coming to stay this time.

A bunch of grunts and huffs later, you and Lyle decided to take a look at what was going on and whether or not you were about to witness some extra Christmas-loving, judging from the sounds of panting.

“Oh (y/n), Lyle, hey there!” Tomar greeted the both of you. He and Chris were currently trying to carry in the karaoke machine that had been mentioned earlier.

“Uhh, do you guys need any help with that?” Lyle said, stepping from one foot to the other.

“I mean if one of you could hold open the door so it stops spanking me that’d be great.”

Chris’ back was turned to you, and the door indeed kept wanting to close on him. You quickly got to holding it open for him.

“Oh c’mon you like getting slapped on the ass though, don’t lie.” Zach suddenly spoke up after he entered the hallway to watch the scene along with you and Lyle.

Chris let out a strained laugh. “Sure, but you can do that later, babe.” He said, his voice dropping a few octaves lower, making Zach chuckle.

As you kept standing by the door, you finally noticed the familiar sound of “Jingle bell Rock” in the background, you were impressed that it took only two tries for Zach to set up something as easy as a stereo system. Although his hard work would soon become irrelevant again because the big-ass karaoke machine was now finally inside the office and on its way to the living room.

“Whoa, great job with the tree guys!” Chris exclaimed, wiping some sweat off of his brow before taking off his jacket and scarf.

“Yeah, wait till you see the first batch of cookies.” Lyle said jokingly, nodding toward the kitchen where Adam and Cory were peeking their heads out. “The cookies look good," both of them exclaimed, almost in unison.

“I’m sure you guys did your absolute best.” Tomar gifted them a warm smile, his fatherly demeanor unmistakable in his words.

A genuine smile broke from Adam’s lips: “Thank you Tomar!” to which the other shot him a thumbs up.

Chris then got to setting up the whole machine and for some reason, everyone including you just decided to watch him quietly. There wasn’t really much to do, the tree had been set up, the cookies were cooki(e)ng and music was playing. All of that combined created a sort of awkward atmosphere with some cover of “Winter Wonderland” playing quietly in the background.

Suddenly, Chris stopped handling the cable to turn around to face the onlookers. “What the fuck are you retards doing? Booze is in my car, Jesus christ.”

Lyle was the first to run outside, you and Zach following swiftly after.

As the first opened the trunk, he let out a sound of astonishment. “Holy shit- how much does he want us to drink?”

The trunk was filled with beer, rum, mulled wine and ingredients for eggnog. There was so much that it was no surprise that none of it had fallen over, there was literally no room for anything to fall over.

You rolled up your sleeves and clapped your hands together dramatically. “Alright, let’s get this stuff inside.”

Zach let out a guttural whine as he heaved the first six pack from the trunk, over exaggerating the physical effort to a maximum.

“Stop whining or I’ll give you something to whine about.” You joked at him. Lyle was already gone with some of the wine and rum under his arms.

Zack spat back at you: “Well maybe I’d like that!”

You both looked at each other for a second, blankly staring into the other ones eyes before bursting out into laughter.

“Alright dude, c’mon let’s get this over with.”

20 minutes and a couple of back’s cracking later, all of the booze was finally inside and the karaoke machine was all set up. The fridge had also been emptied for the eggnog and beer, leaving all of the healthy stuff on the counter, unrefrigerated. Cory’s response to your worry about there being mold was simply: “nah it’ll be fine.” And who were you to argue against such a well-thought-out point. (You tried and were just met with the same response).

Soon all of you found yourselves huddled together in the living room. Adam and you taking the carpet as the others made themselves comfortable on the couch.

“Okay! Who’s gonna bless us first with their beautiful, god-given voice?” Everyone’s eyes landed on Zach who shook his head profusely. “Nu-uh, no way. I’m not gonna go first, I’m not drunk enough to embarrass myself like that!” Cory stuffed a beer into his face and Chris was expectantly looking at him. He was the only one standing, excitedly holding out the mic to his friend.

“I hate you people, all of you.” He said, but gave in eventually (after downing about half the bottle in one go.)

After Zach’s (very sentimental) performance of “Don’t stop believing”, Lyle followed with a very metal rendition of “I want it that way.” Growling his way through the song apparently.

You finally decided to get on the couch between Chris and Cory since your bones did not like the floor as much as you had hoped.

Chris laughed out loud multiple times as he listened in on Zach, Tomar and Adam who were desperately trying to get the latter to understand how the machine worked and what song he wanted to pick.

As he doubled over, his hand landed on your leg as he tried to stabilize himself.

“Sir?” You exclaimed at him in a deep voice.

He realized then where his hand actually was. The alcohol seemingly giving him drunk-courage though with how his hand was moving upwards now.

“Oh- oh I’m sorry, I didn't mean to.” He kept babbling, his hand moving further, sending you into a fit of giggles.

“Chris!” You laughed a little louder as his hand was now dangerously close to your lap.

“Sorry, sorry.” He chuckled and removed his hand, holding it up in a feigned gesture of ‘you got me’.

Just as Cory was about to ask what is taking so long with the next song, Adam suddenly spoke up loudly, pointing outside:

“Oh my god it’s snowing!”

As if you were all connected through some secret hivemind, all of your heads whipped around to the balcony.

It was actually snowing. Holy shit.

In a matter of seconds, everyone put on their jackets, boots, scarfs and hats, storming outside to marvel at such a true christmas miracle.

Zach and Adam tried to catch the flakes with their tongues almost immediately upon arriving outside.

You were astonished as you stood there. Under the streetlights, the snow seemed to dance, each little snow crystal seeming like little stars falling from the sky.

“You alright there kiddo?”

Tomar came up to you, putting a hand on your shoulder as he spoke.

“Yeah just- just really surprised is all..” You huffed, leaning into the touch of the man beside you. The temperature dropped quite quickly.

“As soon as there's enough snow for me to form a ball, y'all better run!” you heard Lyle shout from across the lot, he and Chris were trying to gather as many flakes as possible. They were really hopeful for a snowball fight.

“Me too, I reckon we enjoy the snow for now though, might be gone in like an hour.”

You nodded, following him further out.

It didn't take long for everyone to fully revert back to little kids, you included.

Shaking the snow from one person's beanie into the hair of the other or picking up a little from the ground and trying to stuff it in someone else's face. Truly, no one was safe.

The Presents had long been disregarded, almost forgotten in the Winter wonderland you now found yourself in.

Even if it was a cliché, among the merriment and laughter around you, you realized that maybe the real Christmas was the friends you made along the way

:)

I wrote smut for the first time since like 8 years and I felt filthy as fuck.

it turned out good though so

what am I gonna do with that now

Save me punk Tom Hanson save me

A Heartstruck Collision

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

Masterlist

Pairing: Zach Hadel x f!Reader

Warnings: None

A/N: This is gonna be a slow burn fanfiction and Zach won't show up til some chapters in so I hope you can have a little patience for me :> This is super self indulgent btw as you can see from me making Game Grumps an intrinsic part of the story

Tags: If you wanna get tagged for the next chapters, just let me know!

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

Living in L.A was.. different, to say the least.

Don't get it confused, it wasn't horrible but it certainly was a different experience from what you had known of a “normal life” up until that point.

If you had to use just three words to sum it up, you'd probably say: loud, busy but fun.

You had moved there a few weeks ago after landing a job as an animator at the Game Grumps Company. Your bosses, Arin Hanson And Daniel Avidan, had, after years of only talking about it and never acting on it, started working on an animated Series called “Game Gyaru”.

The ad hadn't just drawn you in because you had been a fan of them for many years, but also because of the style that they were going for. 90's anime with all the good stuff: Magical Girl Transformation, feel good humor and beautiful sparkly, saturated images.

Not only the job offer was great in and of itself but the pay you were about to receive would definitely make up for some of the left over student debt as well as the fact that your apartment was being paid for you by Arin or rather, his company.

They say “never meet your heroes” but in this particular case, you might've just gotten extremely lucky.

You had your first meeting with the Grumps just a week ago. It hadn't been anything special. A few awkward handshakes, tripping over your own words and an introduction to your new workspace (which featured one of the most expensive and fancy drawing tablets you had ever seen by the way) and of course, a brief meeting with your future colleagues. Well- a brief meeting with their names so to speak.

Apparently Ross O'Donovan, which you had been following as well, would be working on the project alongside you in addition to some other names that you haven't had a face in mind to connect them with.

They were most likely cut from the same cloth as you, other kids who just graduated from an art school that totally drained them and that have been begging for a stable job and finally getting a chance to put their degree to something useful.

As you had gotten home after your first day there, it had felt surreal. It still did even a week later and the mere thought of what your younger self would say if they saw you working under their favorite content creators was definitely tripping you up (hence the periodical screeches you had let loose whenever you thought about the matter at hand)

Much to your dismay though, all of the excitement for your new job was not enough to get you to finally properly move into your home. There were still about a dozen boxes standing around, just waiting for you to finally confront all of the useless stuff you had bought and acquired over the years.

Then again, you justified the leftover boxes by saying that you had already unpacked all of the very important stuff like dishes or clothes and yet you knew that someday you would have to face the consequences of your own procrastination.

“Did you just move in?”

“Oh no I uh.. I've been living here for a year now”

You could already hear the conversation happening in real time if there ever came a moment where you invited someone over.

‘Not today though” you thought, a sleepy yawn accompanying It. The last few days had been spent wandering around L.A or doodling various characters to try and get yourself in the right headspace for the coming months. An Art-Block would definitely be the worst thing that could happen right now so drinking in the entirety of a new city should hopefully keep your inspiration going.

Deciding to wrap up for today though, you finished your glass of water and closed your sketchbook, letting the pen collide with the hardcover of the book.

The apartment wasn't really big, yet that was absolutely fine. It meant that keeping the place clean was going to be significantly easier and the chances of losing your keys or important letters sank by at least 5%.

Just as you closed your bedroom door behind you, your phone vibrated in your pocket.

>>Hey there! Arin wanted to text you himself about tomorrow but he got kinda caught up so I just wanna make sure you're ready for tomorrow? :D<<

The text you had gotten was from Ally. She often aided Dan and Arin with their endeavors and all of their projects so it was no surprise that she also assisted with this one. Your encounter with her last week had been quite short lived yet her welcoming personality had you immediately feeling like this was going to be a comfortable working environment and one of the first things she had said to you was:

“And if there is anything you need, you can always come to me, I've got an ear for everyone”.

If that wasn’t the sweetest first thing you had ever heard while being somewhere completely new, you didn't know what was.

>>Hi :) Yeah I'm good, a little nervous but I'm sure I'll manage o7<<

You threw the phone onto your bed, pulling out your pajamas and putting them on, another vibration from your phone telling you that Ally had probably responded.

>>Oh yeah I totally get that dw! Just for your own peace of mind though, you really don't gotta get caught up with putting on a show or acting super professional, we're all friends here :D<<

You couldn't help but smile at that message. That interaction alone contradicted everything that you had heard about working life. Your parents and teachers had done a great job with the whole “that won't fly later in life” and yet here you were, using emoticons while speaking with one of your superiors.

Part of you was excited to rub it in their faces the next time you would call and yet you knew that they probably wouldn't look at animation as being a serious job. At least not if you weren't working for an actual company that had their shows playing on public tv.

Even though it was a sad thing to think about, they'd probably be more impressed if you were working on Family Guy.

With a tired sigh you plopped down on your bed, the slatted frame squeaking beneath your weight.

You contemplated for a second about whether or not you should cover yourself with your blanket. Another aspect that needed adjusting was the heat.

Luckily your apartment had air conditioning but you didn't want it running the whole time. Just because someone was paying for your place didn't mean that you had to max out every cost as much as possible.

Before drifting off to sleep, you decided on the old “one leg covered and one not”, using your body's built-in AC system (which actually worked quite well).

As you slowly succumbed to your own tiredness, your head was filled with all kinds of different images. Some were familiar, clearly influenced by the events of the past days but there were some which didn't quite fit into any picture.

You had met one of your, up until now unknown, colleagues. His face was obscured, your mind clearly leaving out the one part which would make it realistic.

You couldn't really make out what the conversation was about, only the feeling of butterflies to indicate what it was about.

Your hands had touched briefly as he took the pen from your hands, leaning over your shoulder from where you were sitting at your desk. You swore that your body actually started to heat up from what was just a random dream.

He was correcting your drawing a little and then he looked at you, his face so close to yours now and even though he had no face you just knew that he was smiling at you, his gaze softly looking at your lips and back into your eyes.

Gently, he put the pen down onto your desk while you were slowly closing the distance between you.

You felt his breath on your skin, his lips ghosting over yours, almost, finally touching-

“Ughhh what the fuuuck…”

Alright, your first paycheck would buy you an alarm that doesn't sound like an army drill.

Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you slowly sat up in your bed. Motivation to start your job wasn’t necessarily the issue, of that you had enough. Sadly though, your sleep schedule had a mind of it’s own. Still remembering all the nights you had spent up and working on your portfolio only for some company that ended up using the Chairman’s son (who had no degree or any creative abilities whatsoever) to design their new bougie logo.

Some might say that there was bitterness attached to memories such as those.

Deciding that huffing and puffing over previous job opportunities wouldn’t get you out of bed though, you finally stood up. Immediately regretting it as you felt your head spin from the sudden movement.

Maybe a little less motivation?

You slowly made your way toward the small kitchen, coffee being the only thing on your mind when it came to the matter of waking up. As you waited for the old machine to get started, you went back into your bedroom. Opening the wardrobe and looking at it. Contemplating.

You wanted to seem put together but also not too much - didn’t want to set expectations that you would only be able to hold up for a week maximum.

A simple t-shirt and jeans. Yeah, that is business casual, right?

In a way you felt stupid for even having to think about the whole thing. It would most likely be no issue if you showed up in sweatpants and a tank top for your whole time being there, as long as your work was good nothing else mattered.

Especially working as an animator, you had learned from personal experience that after 30 minutes your body seemed to magically shift into the most absurd positions anyway. So better be comfortable than not.

After donning on the not so carefully planned outfit, you walked back to your now steaming coffee. One look at the watch on our wrist told you that you had about 20 minutes left. Downing the beverage in a span of time that would definitely result in stomach issues, you opted for the bathroom. The mantra here was the same as with the clothes: Not too much but not too little.

***

The office was nicely cooled, a stark contrast to the humidity outside. You already heard many unfamiliar voices coming from your workspace, nervousness bubbling up inside you. ‘What are these other people like?Would they be way better at this whole stuff?’ Would they fire you if they saw that the others were more qualified? Usually you wouldn’t talk so negatively about the degree that you had worked so hard to get and yet in moments like these you always felt so inferior.

“Yeah, (y/n) should be here any minute now as well.”

As you heard Ally’s voice, you took one last deep breath. ‘It’ll be fine, just play it cool. You’ve come this far’

Turning the corner to the animator’s space, you were met with three unfamiliar faces. They weren’t scary looking or anything, the whole scene itself just felt comical and intimidating. As if you had been intruding on something even though they had been waiting specifically on you.

“Hey, sorry, hope I’m not late or anything?” You glanced at your watch once agin. Just on time.

“Oh no, we all showed up more or less right now so nothing to worry about!” Ally showed you a sympathetic smile to which you couldn't help but reply with one of your own.

The introductions luckily went by quite fast, leaving little room for any awkward silences that you always dreaded when it came to meeting new people.

For one, there was Hayley who seemed to come straight out of the hipster era from the 2000’s. She had long blonde hair that went far past her shoulders and was contrasted starkly by the red beanie which she had pulled halfway over her head so that a lot of the fabric was casually hanging down at the back of her head. It was already clear as she introduced herself that she was an energetic type of person. That and the fact that she had been living in L.A for 3 years now, definitely made you feel a little inferior, even though she seemed friendly.

Jackson, a tall brunette guy whose style was very normal (in a good way), had also been living here with his girlfriend for about one and a half years now. The way he talked and the ease with which he spoke made him appear confident and yet there was something very humble about him. Perhaps a sort of ‘gentle giant’?

Lastly, there was Raphael. He came over to the USA all the way from France and although his english was as good as that of any foreigner who dismissively says that their “english wouldn't be very good” (which was the universal sign of their english surpassing even shakespeare), he still had a french accent which drew everyone in as he was talking. It sounded so much more fancy even though it was just a regular introduction. His hair was tightly coiled at the top and what especially stood out about Raphael was the white tattoo on his right forearm. The white ink stood out like it was some magic seal and depicted a moth breaking out from its cocoon, one wing already free'd.

Out of the other two, he was the most timid one and the only one that felt like he felt as out of place as you did.

“Alright, now that all of us are here, I just wanna make sure that all of you got the mail about the concept for the Pilot?”

Everyone agreed in a half-unison “yeah”.

The Idea for the Pilot was quite simple in and of itself. It was no secret that the whole series was heavily inspired by shows like Sailor Moon or Cowboy Bebop which is why it was set in a sci-fi world which still felt all retro-y. The episode was supposed to start with a little sequence in which Arina was playing an arcade game in their little spaceship and of course, she was losing and punching the machine. Then, Daniella was supposed to come into frame and tell her, in typical Dan-fashion, that it was alright to which they’d have a little banter.

Afterwards, the actual story of the series was supposed to begin. Their superior, a man who coincidentally had a lot of similarities to Barack Obama, informs them about a mission. A woman apparently paged them because her son was acting strange.

The whole episode basically forms about one bit where Arin pretended to be a monkey child called Franklin that was out of control. With the crucial detail that this behavior was caused by some cursed jewelry. The Pilot should end by Arina and Daniella stopping the main villain's henchman who was hexing said jewelry - meeting the big bad guy in the end as well. Typical foreshadowing.

After the brief recap of what was about to happen, all of you sat down on your desks, getting comfortable with the new equipment. Since Arin and Dan had already evaluated some of your concept art and decided upon which would be the best way to start, it was basically just piecing together the puzzle. Well, a puzzle which had to be drawn up and then cleaned multiple times but still.

After a while of experimenting and Jackson and Hayley actually getting somewhere with their segments, Ross also entered the office.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, I had to work on this other thing as well. I'll try to be on time in the future.”

All four of you reassured him immediately, partly also because you all had immense respect for the guy and his abilities.

“What have you gotten so far?”

“Me and Hayley just finished sketching up like three frames of our scenes.”

Ross nodded, trying to see where he could fit into the picture.

“You guys are still getting used to the program?”

His gaze fell onto Raphael and you who could only reply with a sheepish smile in return.

Was it bad that you weren't working as fast?

“If we have to hurry up you can tell us, it's just like new and all. I for one never worked on an actual series up until now.” Raphael spoke up, his accent naturally swallowing up certain letters.

Ross immediately put up his hands:

“Oh no, no, all good! I just wanted to check where everyone was at.”

He scratched his chin, seemingly in thought.

“Okay, this might sound super stuck up and shit but should I maybe take on the role of director? If I remember correctly from your portfolios, none of you have worked on a series so far, which isn't a bad thing-” he hastily added in between.

“I'm just saying cause I've been here the longest as well. Might make things a tad bit easier for all of us.”

It really didn't sound arrogant, it was just the truth after all. No one opposed the idea of having someone as an actual director, seeing that it would probably help the entire flow of the team in the future.

After a brief discussion of how the program worked and how to approach the whole project in the best way, the tension that had been present in the room before practically dissolved immediately.

Ross, having worked with multiple animators already, was definitely educated in how to make beginners feel alright with their abilities and there was a silent aura of thankfulness surrounding all four of you as you continued to work.

***

“Whew, good job everyone! Holy shit that is like so much for one day!” Ross looked at your screens with an astounded expression.

Very much exhausted from concentrating and your hand having cramped up like five times today, you finally stretched. It was one of those that made you feel dizzy and like you were ascending into another plane of existence.

“Do you guys have any plans now?” Ross asked, cracking his fingers one by one.

“Nope, not really. Well, aside from sleeping.” Hayley let out a breathy laugh and got up from her chair.

“I’d invite you guys out for a drink if you want to, some team building and what not.”

That offer would definitely not be turned down.

Ross had mentioned a pub that was actually in walking distance (a miracle from what you knew of American cities). And so, after telling Arin that you'd be finished for today, you guys made your way over there.

The conversations were held light, except for Jackson who saw this as a great opportunity to shower Ross in compliments about his works. The Australian seemed to be slightly overwhelmed by the onslaught of support but he hid it quite gracefully.

You stayed behind everyone as you walked, your social battery needing to be refilled a little before entering a place where conversation was inevitable. You weren't opposed to social interaction, you pretty much appreciated it and realized that you needed it and yet being in a new environment with what were basically just strangers (no matter how famous they were online), was absolutely draining.

As you entered the bar, you were immediately hit with the smell of alcohol and sweat. It wasn’t irritatingly strong but it was recognizable by everyone as you entered, faces twisting for just a split second.

Ross sauntered over to the counter, it was clear that he knew the barkeeper behind it. She vaguely gestured to a corner of the establishment, a little round booth where you were supposed to sit down.

You were leaning back against the soft cushioning off the wall, stretching your legs beneath the round table. The bar looked quite nice, you had to admit.

The whole place looked like it came straight out of another century but not worn out or scuffed. No, it looked fairly well looked after and it seemed that there was definitely no shortage of customers. If anything, you had gotten lucky that Ross had connections or otherwise the plans of a drink after work would have been quickly snuffed out.

The conversations started flowing once again after everyone had gotten their drinks. You mostly decided to listen, chiming in here and there if you had anything in mind that you thought would contribute nicely to the conversation. Otherwise you just sipped on your beverage from time to time, letting the alcohol relax you a little bit more, your fingers still hurting a bit from the way you were holding the pen the entire day.

“Yeah, my parents weren’t really happy with me moving across the entire world.” Raphael confessed, a look of guilt on his face. “I can imagine, you gotta tell us what it’s like in France, I’ve always wanted to go!” Hayley exclaimed, interest clear in her voice.

“It’s not super special, although the cities look nicer, no offense!” Raphael giggled. That you had to agree with. The beach was about the nicest thing in L.A that you had seen so far. Not to mention, walkable cities, who?

“I’ve been to europe once and yeah, it’s like entirely different with how the streets are and all-”

“Ross?”

You all looked up to the voice that interrupted the conversation.

“Oh Chris, what the fuck? What are you doing here?”

Ross got up and hugged the guy whose name apparently was Chris. Could that be the guy from DoodleDoods back then? You remember enjoying the creepy things he used to draw up seemingly on the spot. Didn’t he also have a gaming channel? What was the name again? Oney or something?

“I wanted to come here with Lyle but I think the fucker forgot or something cause I can’t find him anywhere.” He half laughed, he didn’t seem to actually be bitter about it.

“Aw that sucks, well yeah I’m here with my new animation team!” He excitedly pointed toward the four of you now awkwardly sitting in the booth. You gave a little wave to Chris who showed me a little smile in return.

“Animation- oh yeah right! The Game Gyaru thing I remember.” Ross nodded.

“Yup, that’s Raphael, Hayley right next to him and there are Jackson and (y/n)”

“Awesome, nice to meet you, I’m Chris!”

“Wait, you do OneyPlays right?” Jackson spoke up to which Chris threw up his hands in a gesture of feigned defeat. “You got me.”

After another minute of standing around had passed, Chris decided to simply sit down along with all of you, Lyle wouldn’t be showing up anymore anyway - his own words.

What surprised you about him was that talking to him felt very.. normal.

With the Grumps for example there was this feeling of “Oh my god they are internet legends” and although they were just regular everyday people, it still felt surreal talking to them.

The atmosphere in the bar was casual, like you couldn’t make any mistakes and as everyone was agitated in conversation, you realized that living here and working with all of them might actually turn out to be a really fun experience.

Today I'm feeling

on the Lyle scale

(I've got high fever and threw up three times, help me god)

therapist: it's ok, hyper realistic Lyle Oneysona isn't real and he can't hurt you

Hyper realistic Lyle Oneysona:

bleh