an unfortunate member of Red Flag Nation

Vyn and Artem run into each other at the farmer's market and pointedly do not speak to each other. They are, however, clearly competing to get the best produce and practically stumbling over each other for the mangosteen sale.

Vyn's pocket watch breaks. Luke offers to help. Unfortunately, one of the parts he needs is only available in Svart, so Luke ropes Marius into it and all three of them end up flying to Svart for a tiny little watch part.

Artem goes to the movie theater and is horrified to discover that a) not only is Marius in attendance, but b) they have seats in the same row. Marius is wearing a pair of sunglasses and a hat, but Artem knows deep down in his heart that Marius could never hope to fool him. Artem spends the whole time in the theater hoping that Marius has never seen the film before so that he can avoid spoilers at all costs.

A very sleep-deprived Luke drops a mug in the NXX headquarters and accidentally cuts himself picking up the pieces. He heads off to treat the minor injury but forgets to double check the floor for leftover pieces. Vyn walks into headquarters and steps on something crunchy. In the next NXX meeting, Vyn opens with an icebreaker game ("Who Broke the Mug?") but it's not a very fun game because he's glaring at Luke the whole time.

p.s. i saw that you enjoyed action movies a lot more and i feel like luke would be the exact same !!

HULLO CROW!!! very sorry this ask took a while, my brain has been the pear_wiggler.gif for a few days kJBKJSKFSD

nxx boys' favorite movie genres (and how it's like watching movies with them bc i swerved a bit with my thoughts)

wc: 1.6k

luke pearce: enjoys watching action movies but oh my god you do not want to watch them with him

ur right, i love action movies and also i love projecting on luke pearce and thus luke pearce loves action movies as well. the caveat though is that if you watch an action movie with luke pearce, you will want to strangle him the entire time. because every second any fight scene or car chase or ANYTHING is happening on screen, luke quietly murmurs "Well, Actually---" before going on to explain why whats going on is unrealistic, see, john wick is using a Heckler and Koch P30L and this type of handgun doesnt actually---

mc: SHUT UP SHUT UP JUST WATCH THE MOVIE OH MY GOD

luke cant help it!!!! hes BEEN in most of these scenes irl and i just remember that one time in his personal story 2 when they were in the escape room talking about Zero and Zero's lover mc was like "hhhh this is so sweet, Zero fell in love" and luke was like "Well, Actually thats not possible because Zero is an android and according to the Turing Test---" LIKE. LUKE DOES THIS. HES SUCH A DORK AND ANNOYING ABOUT IT (AFFECTIONATE)

the reason luke enjoys action movies isnt because of the accuracy (which he maintains is never present) it's because action movies are fun and stupid and gets adrenaline going with no risk to anybody irl. plus, he just seems like the type of guy that has to see an explosion every week for his emotional wellbeing.

his favorite action movie, even if it's inaccurate, is The Raid (2011). the fight choreography in there is just fuckin impeccable to him (and to me KJBKJSKF)

luke's guilty pleasure tho is romcoms. he and mc had watched a bunch of them growing up and so theres a handful of "old" (remember: luke and mc were born in 2006) 90s romcoms that are comfort movies to him. so watching any romcom will get a pavlovian response of "ah, cozy happy content peace and harmony on earth" from him

artem wing: many genres because hes That Guy Who Likes Film but hes not annoying to watch those films with, drawn towards historical/period and sci-fi movies tho

artem the movie critic!!! the guy who reviews movies under an alias apparently (god hes such a nerd)!!! the guy who, in his personal story 2, was so puzzled when he watched that one office romance drama that the only review he left was "..." (REAL SHIT, NOT JOKING, IT SAYS HE DID THIS IN THE ILLUSTRATION). artem wing is That Guy Who Likes Film and one would think thatd make him fucking insufferable, but artem's Film Guy energy is softened like butter into something beautiful and endearing and, most importantly, tolerable, because i think artem would rather jump off a building than ever "mansplain"

but yea since he likes films, hes been around, in terms of genre!! very well rounded and will probably have polite and earnest recommendations for any genre u want to get into.

hes never the type to Talk while a movie is playing as well, he wants to enjoy the experience and if hes with another person, he wants them to enjoy as well. any and all discussion on what has been watched only occurs once the credits are rolling. artem wing clenches his fist ever so slightly, when hes watching movies with the others. "marius, luke," he says calmly but in the kind of calm that betrays his desire to get a roll of duct tape to shut those two up. "stop commentating, the movie is not done yet."

his faaaavorite genres though are historical/period films and sci-fi!!! former is bc hes SUCH a repressed bastard and i know hes watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) way too many times always internally thinking, "God, Darcy, you held her hand without gloves? What's next, a lapdance?"

and latter bc hes a nerd and hes mentioned his love for sci-fi!!! just my two cents, but i think artem is a trekkie through and through and he absolutely fucking hated what JJ Abrams did to star trek in the reboot. in general artem gravitates to the more cerebral sci-fi movies. Arrival (2016), Interstellar (2014), Annihilation (2018), that kinda stuff.

i cannot stress this enough, artem is the best to watch movies with if ur the type to really fixate on the movie. because hes fixating on the movie too. like no thoughts, head empty, only cinema, and when the movie is done, thats the only time u will both realize that over the course of watching, the two of you had fallen into a Position Of Cuddling. artem dies, immediately and politely extricates himself from the cuddle, turning away so that nobody sees 1) how red his face is and 2) how badly he wants to go back into that cuddle

marius von hagen: just the most dramatic bullshit possible

okay if what marius is watching does not have a scene where a door is slammed open and a character comes in saying "the paternity test came back and.....HE'S.....HE'S THE FATHER!!!!!!!" or something equal or more than that kind of ridiculous over the top drama, then hes honestly not that interested in it anymore kJBKJSKGJKSDG

his favorite movies are not limited to the defined and accepted genres of movies, his favorites are all over the place but are similar in the sense that theyre kitschy and camp and Doesnt Have To Be Like That But Valiantly Continues To Be Like That Anyway, these are movies that have the vibes of a neon purple flip phone with enough colorful keychains hanging off of it that it wouldnt look amiss if you put it in the hand of the roman who was beating jesus.

I KNOW THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION SOUNDS ABSTRACT so i will give examples: Mamma Mia! (2018), Con Air (1997), Tall Girl (2019)

yes marius has watched Tall Girl (2019) but the one time he said "You think your life is hard? I'm a high school junior wearing size 13 Nikes." luke stuck his foot out and tripped him, sending him face first into the floor. true story. mc, vyn, and artem were there. they clapped.

additionally, hes a noisy person to watch movies with. not in terms of reactions but in terms of his OPINIONS ON EVERYTHING. if luke is only commenting on the accuracy of being able to drift a car sideways on the road, marius is commenting on everything and then commenting on his comments on everything. the only way hes gonna shut up during a movie is if somebody makes out with him (which was his plan all along 🥴🥴🥴)

vyn richter: nature documentaries

mc: ah, vyn, technically a nature documentary isn't a movie genre-

vyn: watch Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise (2015) with me and afterwards, let me know if you have changed your mind

and they watch it together and mc changes her mind

IT'S CINEMA, OKAY!! IM ON VYN'S FUCKIN SIDE HERE!!!! nature documentaries have the plot, the cinematography, the direction, the emotional stakes, theyve got it all while showcasing the narratives of nature. of course, vyn is aware that some nature documentaries can overdramatize some aspects of nature for the feels points, but thats fine for him. if hes going to cry to anything, hed rather cry at animals. they deserve his sincere tears.

(sidenote: ive been thinking lately about how in canon, vyn is/was a hunter. that fascinates me hugely, i see him having a very staunch and unshakeable respect for all creatures of nature. he thinks hunting for sport is distasteful and wrong as it does not utilize the body of the animal for a needed resource food/clothing/etc., instead just as a medium for (mostly) men to stroke their own egos. IDK, I THINK VYN HAS A RLLY GOOD GRASP ON the circle of life, in nature, it's lovely, please feed me venison u hunted, vyn. thank you)

(sidenote 2: vyn would make a REALLY good nature documentary narrator. now thats some asmr i'd love to have...)

watching movies with vyn is much like watching movies with artem, he is focused on the movie and does not speak much unTIL it is somehow made clear to him that you do not mind commentary. once that has happened, please expect vyn to be quietly making jabs at anything he sees onscreen that he thinks is particularly stupid kJBKJF.

bonus: hey what if mc actually really really fucking loved horror movies?

luke is going on and on about how "nope, you cant actually use that murder weapon like tha---[jumpscare]---jeSUS FUCKing CHRIST" and he pulls a knife out of his boot, ready to attack

artem is absolute silence. once the movie is done, mc is excited to gush about all the parts she enjoyed when artem stiffly says "would it be alright if. you did not. leave me alone. tonight."

marius is doing a running commentary the entire time but every time something scary happens he jerks in shock, steadily getting more on edge. once it's done, he's switched on EVERY LIGHT IN THE APARTMENT.

vyn seems fine the entire time thru the movie and even after it. but then he gets up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and then the sound of a raccoon outside rattling a garbage bin makes him scream so goddamn loud.

i need to feel something so i’m going down the list of artem’s shockingly extensive sweater collection. please enjoy my descent into insanity.

casual attire

this is it. this is our base we’re working off of. this is the original. looking at it up close, it’s more grey than i remember, but a staple nonetheless. i like how you can pull the turtleneck up. incredible. need to work on unlocking this outfit in game. 7/10.

the Classic

a legend in its sweater community. described as being incredibly soft, this absolute staple made its grand comeback with artem’s halloween sr. existing in both normal, apron, AND chibi form, it’s hard to beat this cream colored ensemble. i can only describe it as an irish sweater? but BETTER? because it has a turtleneck and quite frankly looks more comfortable than one. 11/10. can’t beat this shit. look he even rolled up the sleeves in the second pic, it has RANGE.

this sweater i didn’t even know existed until someone pointed it out to me

i love the pattern we got going on here. it goes from a cream color to a warm brown; it reminds me of a toblerone chocolate bar for some reason. it also looks really warm and comfortable, so bonus points for that. however, some points are gonna have to be deducted for the lack of a turtleneck. artem goes for the save with the button up underneath but it’s not enough to totally recover it. 6/10. also this sweater looks really familiar for some reason????

oh that’s why it looks familiar

this is basically just the superior version of the sweater above. also its in chibi form. i like the implication that artem owns two sweaters w identical patterns but one has a turtleneck while the other doesn’t. 10/10.

that one fit he wears in loving memories

sorry i blacked out bc i just experienced an actual color for a second. love the sass of this one. the red velvety look is perfect for getting your phone confiscated, stumbling around in a haunted house during a power outage, and falling in a prop coffin w your “we are Definitely only work partners and nothing more” work partner. would do again. 7/10.

from this point on we’re working with art that haven’t been released globally yet so beware.

white sweater

oh okay, so we’re back to the basic colors. knew i couldn’t live in luxury for too long. this one just looks really crisp and nice, especially w the white jacket. bit simple though so i’m gonna have to give it a 6/10. also imagine getting a stain out of this one. nightmare.

black sweater

thank god for a second i thought we were missing a monochromatic staple. i actually really like this one, the black looks nice and classy. i think i’m biased though bc i wear black turtlenecks all the time so i feel a bond with this one. top ten sweaters to wear while getting walked in on getting changed. 9/10.

holy shit it’s a sweater vest

hold on!!! we got a shake up!!! we got a sweater VEST (IT COUNTS OKAY)! i feel genuinely rattled right now. not a suit and tie? not a sweater? artem wing you fashion devil, i’m so proud of you. i like the blue with the white accenting. 7/10.

casual grey - but with a twist!

and finally we got artem’s new top-up ssr. not sure if this is what his casual sweater actually looks like (if it is, just assume its bumped up to what i rate this), but i felt like this was different enough to warrant its own rating. i adore the accenting on his shoulder, it’s absolutely gorgeous. it’s subtle but really nice. also this sweater apparently does wonders for one’s Tits. noted. 10/10.

I’m always impressed by the live2d animations (or whatever other software is used) in ToT