#☆ﾟ*・ﾟ We are made of stardust — ↳ Edits | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

donteattheappleshook · 4 days ago

Text

Not Broken at All Chapter 18/?

Summary:

A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken out the window of a house everyone believes is haunted, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.

Rated E

Catch up on Ao3 (where my italics work) or on Tumblr 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Oh hey! What's up everyone?

I know it's been a while (shocking) but it's Solstice today and the muse decided something needed to be posted for this fic in honour of the fairy orgies XD

This was written super fast and not really re-read because it's already 10pm so I'll probably edit it later but I'm giving it to you all now.

Happy Solstice and I hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

********

Part 18

“Doesn’t look so bad,” Will shrugs when they stand outside the mouth of the cave the next morning. Emma and Wendy roll their eyes at the same time. It does look that bad. For a place called Echo Cave she’d had expected something bigger, something louder. But all she can see as they approach is a narrow tunnel in the rockface, no sound escaping from within. So she jumps when Tiger Lily’s voice suddenly comes from within.

“You’re late.”

“Apologies,” Killian nods. “The forest has changed a fair bit since I last made the journey - it took us longer than anticipated to find the path.”

“You have a habit of doing that,” Tiger Lily scoffs. “Misinterpreting time.”

The reply is so quick, and Killian’s sigh so exhausted, that Emma has to hold back a snort of laughter.

“We came as fast as we could.”

“Come then, let’s not delay any further. The others have gathered.”

“Who are the others?” Emma asks Hook quietly as they follow.

“The eldest of those who were here before Pan. They were barely more than children when it happened, but They have some memory of how things were.”

“I thought you said they’d forgotten all their magic.”

“We did not forget,” Tiger Lily snaps from the entrance. Emma watches as the faint, gold dusting of magic that covers their skin, the only light in the otherwise pitch black cave shimmers and slides over their arm, cascading like water down through their fingers that they trail along the rocky wall, leaving flecks of sparking, gold dust in their wake. “It was taken from us. Through slaughter and cruelty. When the children who were left behind grew enough to become a threat to Pan, we were forced to lock away what little we remembered or meet the same fate.”

Every time she thinks it can’t get worse, it does. The massacre of Tiger Lily’s people and the destruction of their history, the torture and killing of the Lorelei, the horror of the murder of those boys on the beach. There’s no end it seems to Pan’s cruelty, to his thirst for blood.

Emma reaches for the shimmering of light that remains along the wall, glittering and moving with the flow of the rough surface. It glows brighter beneath her touch and something swells from deep within her, rushing to meet it, warm and electrifying, before she yanks her hand back and stumbles the rest of the way though.

The walk is long, this cave buried deep in darkness and stardust. She’s not sure she even hears it at first, a small whisper of a voice from far away, the words too quiet to make out, but repeating. As they continue along and a dim light starts to appear in the distance, they grow louder. It’s a child’s voice, rolling against the walls of the cave - wish I’d never come here… just want to go home. Just want to go home. Just want to go home….

She feels Killian’s hand on the small of her back and realizes she’s stopped walking. “It’s alright, love. It’s just an echo. The last secret that was shared here.” She still hesitates, not wanting to get any closer to the haunting voice. “Whoever they were, they’re not here anymore.”

“His name was Ruffio,” Will says, nearly as quiet as the first echo. “He’s been gone a long time.” He only meets her eye for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing as though he hadn’t said anything. She can’t blame him. She knows by now that nobody in Neverland ever goes home. “Come on - we’ve got secrets to spill.”

The light ahead grows until finally they emerge into a massive cavern. The stone that surrounds them black onyx - gleaming faintly against the dust that covers the ceiling like a galaxy above them. The space feels boundless, endless like the darkness could go on forever and she’s reminded of their flight here, of the endless sea of stars they’d sailed in on.

There are four people standing in the center of the chamber on a platform of the same black onyx, all of them with the same sharp, androgynous features as Tiger Lily, all with the same loose-fitting clothes and cropped hair, and all with that same shimmer of living magic glowing faintly in the dark. Tink stands with them, waiting. None of them are any older in appearance than herself, but she knows better by now than to judge age or power by appearance on this island.

The Constant.

They follow the rest of the way to the narrow, stone bridge that connects the ledge to the platform on which the others stand. When Emma takes a step to follow Tiger Lily onto the bridge, Killian puts an arm out, halting her in her tracks. Emma watches, heart in her throat as the bridge crumbles after Tiger Lily, stone falling away behind every step until they reach the end and there’s no bridge at all.

“The Constant keep no secrets,” Killian explains. “The cave can’t compel anything from them. We, on the other hand…”

“Of course they don’t.” No wonder they wanted to use this place. Easy to make others share their deepest darkest secrets when you’ve got none of your own to divulge and nothing to risk. “What about Tink?” she asks, nodding at the fifth person standing with the Constant.

“The fey have wings.”

Right. “So how does this work?”

“From what I remember, you step out onto the edge and call out your secret. If it’s truly your darkest, the cave will echo it back to you.”

“And then we get across?”

“Aye, easy as that,” Killian attempts a smile, but it comes out as a wince. “I’ll go,” he offers though he looks like he’s dreading this as much as she is. She’s just thankful she doesn’t have to start. He lets out another sigh, bracing himself and then, “I kissed Emma.”

Fuck. Her heart drops into her stomach. He’s been a pirate for two hundred years - How the hell can his darkest secret have anything to do with her?

Will smirks. “Kissed? Is that what they’re calling it these days? And I think you’re forgetting that we were all there when she jumped you at Solstice.” His smirk deepens. “And when Emma came back all wet.” If Emma could reach him she’d smack him.

“I literally walked in on you,” Wendy deadpans.

“I’m not talking about Solstice,” he sighs, not rising to the bait. “It was…” She knows when it was. We’ll keep each other safe, they’d promised. She doesn’t need everyone else to know though. Not when she’s not even sure what any of it meant or what it means now. “It doesn’t matter,” Killian shakes his head. “It was what the kiss - what all of it - exposed.” Fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck. “My secret is… I never believed that I’d be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah.” He breathes her name like a prayer and a wound. “To believe that I could find someone else.” His eyes lift to hers and it’s only by sheer force of will that she’s able to stop herself from taking a step back, from running away from the way he’s looking at her. Because she needs to hear this. They all do. If she wants to get across this fucking bridge, if she wants to talk to the fucking Constant, if she wants to get her son back - she needs to hear this secret as much as he needs to tell it. “That is, until I met you.”

She doesn’t know what to say or if she’s supposed to say something, can’t bring herself to look at Wendy or Will or look away from his eyes still burning into hers. And then before she even can do anything, Killian’s voice echoes through the cave, ‘until I met you’ called back to them like a ghost. A rumble follows as a section of the fallen bridge rises back from the depths below them, rock by rock, rebuilding itself.

Killian lets out a humourless laugh. “So, who’d like to go next?”

“I will.” Wendy stands with her shoulders straight, like she’s ready for a fight rather than a confession. Emma gets a sinking feeling in her stomach from the way she’s making herself look at Killian, with shame and guilt. He doesn’t look surprised - he looks like he expected this to hurt. “Sometimes… Sometimes I wish you’d never found me. Sometimes I wish you had just kept on walking that day when Pan left me to die.” She winces. “I’ll always be grateful to you for saving my life, for taking me in but…”

Killian nods when she hesitates, her eyes damp with unshed tears. “Go on, it’s alright.”

“You trapped me here, Hook. You’re the reason I have to live in this neverending nightmare. Forever. You knew what that water would do to me and I know you couldn’t ask but… you didn’t give me a choice. And I think that if I had one now - if I could have had a say in the next hundred years of my life… I’d rather you’d just let me die because this -” she gestures at herself, at everything around them. “It’s worse than death. And because of you I’ll never leave.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “I can’t even die if I want to. Not unless Pan decides that’s what he wants. You forced this life on me, Killian, you cursed me to live because it made you feel better and I don’t… I’ll never forgive you for that.”

Tears stain her cheeks now, jaw tight as she refuses to let any more follow and Emma can see the heartbreak on Killian’s face. “Wendy…” but she shakes her head and he stops the step he’d taken towards her.

“I’m sorry,” she chokes and he shakes his head this time. Her secret echoes around them like a taunt this time - ‘never forgive you for that’ - and another piece of the bridge rebuilds itself. The silence hangs between them, louder than any echo, until Will steps up.

“I suppose I should go next - while we’re on the topic of never being forgiven.” He takes his own steadying breath. “I’m dying.”

Wendy’s face falls. “... what?” It comes out cracked and small and frightened. “What do you mean you’re dying?”

The look Will gives her - there’s so much guilt there, so much pain and self-loathing and love. Emma may not know much about it but she can recognize it now in his eyes, in the way he looks at Wendy. “I lied when I told you I didn’t know what Pan did to my heart. I’ve seen him do it before.”

“One hundred years…”

Will nods, a self-deprecating smile falling flat. “I really hoped that I could keep it from you for a little longer. Neverland will slow it down but… he squeezed a hundred years from my heart. I’ll start aging faster - a lot faster - and pretty soon…”

“How long?” He hesitates a beat longer than Emma can handle - and Wendy… gods, she can’t imagine. “How long?”

“I’ll be dead in a few months - three, maybe four depending on how long I would have lived if I’d aged like a normal person but - I’m so sorry, Wen. I didn’t want to tell you, I -”

Whatever he was going to say and whatever she might have answered is stolen by the cave calling back to them in Will’s voice, ‘dead in a few months’. Nobody looks as the bridge puts itself back together, all of them too focused on the cruel revelation. He did it for her, Emma realises, for all of them but… he’s dying because of her. Wendy’s losing him because of her. Even Killian looks solemn at the news.

“Your turn, Emma,” Will chokes out with the palest attempt at levity she’s seen him manage since she met him. “Wouldn’t want to be left out of all the fun, would you?”

She looks out towards the chasm between them and the Constant. She doesn’t even know what she expected to confess, or what she’d hear confessed by those with her, and now, with the truth of Will’s fate hanging in the air, nothing feels like it matters in the grand scheme of things.

What even is her deepest secret? That she gave up Henry? That she had her heart broken by a selfish man who used her and then left her? That she spent a year of her life in jail? That she’s spent her whole life searching for the parents who left her behind? That between Neal and her parents she doesn’t think she could ever trust someone again - could ever let herself love someone again, or let them love her… That she might be anyway? None of it feels like enough; none of it even feels like a secret anymore, not since Henry found her and brought her to Storybrooke.

And then, like bile and sick, she feels something being forced up from her throat, words clawing their way to the surface and past her lips of their own volition. She can’t stop them. She doesn’t even know what she’s going to say until they come spilling out.

“I wish Henry had never come to find me. I wish he’d never brought me to Storybrooke.” The confession leaves her gasping, tears in her eyes as though she had been sick. She wants to be, hearing such a horrible truth being spoken out loud. Killian looks at her with sympathy, but she turns away from it. And once it’s started, she can’t stop it. “I never wanted to be a mother. I gave him away because I knew he’d be better off without me - but also because I knew I’d be better off without him. He’s a beautiful, amazing kid and I love him more than anything… but I never asked for this. Every day since he showed up at my door I’ve been terrified - every minute of every day. Those few minutes in the Fae forest when I couldn’t remember him were the most peaceful I’ve felt in months and when it all came flooding back it just reminded me of how much simpler my life was before I had to be anything to anyone. I don’t want to lose him. But I never wanted to find him either.”

The bridge rebuilds itself, completing the path across as the worst thing she’s ever said, ‘never wanted to find him’, is echoed back to her cruelly. She feels drained, numb, and she wonders if the others are feeling this horrible emptiness too. She looks out at where the Constant wait. If this is their idea of having them prove their allegiance, they better be ready to give theirs in return.

“Come on, Swan,” Killian tells her, leading her across the bridge. None of them say a word, Will and Killian both casting glances at Wendy who won’t look up from her feet, and the silence follows them the whole way across.

“That sounded rough,” Tink comments when they reach the platform, the five Constant talking in harsh whispers in a language she doesn’t recognize.

“How lucky of you to have missed it then,” Will snips. He must be feeling worse than Emma realized.

There’s an argument starting, still in that foreign language, but she can tell just the same. Every few words there’s a glimpse of something that feels familiar, a syllable from another language she’s heard, a word that could be French or Spanish, a glimpse of English, not one language but many - like every language spoken at once.

“This meeting has been a topic of some controversy,” Killian whispers. “But I think Tiger Lily might be on our side.”

“You can understand them?”

He shrugs. “One picks up a few things after two centuries.”

There’s a small scoff from Tink. “Yeah, all that pillow talk was really educational.”

Killian ignores the quip. “They’re the keepers of the last of the forgotten history of the old Neverland.” He nods at each as he names them. “That’s Philodendron, Halcyon, Alder, Jacaranda, and you know Tiger Lily.

“Tiger Lily is one of them?”

“Tiger Lily was the oldest Constant to survive the massacre. They were just shy of a century when Pan took over.”

“A century?”

“The Constant are eternal, love. A century is nothing.”

The Constant have gone silent, a tense, begrudging conclusion to their argument that Emma can feel even if she doesn’t know the words.

Finally, Tiger Lily speaks. “Tinkerbell tells us you wish to unearth the secrets of the island - secrets that were buried to keep us safe.”

“Secrets that could return the island to the way it once was if you ally with us against Pan,” Killian counters.

“If our knowledge could have defeated the boy,” Alder interjects, “we would have done so a millenia ago when he first laid waste to this island.”

“Maybe your knowledge alone couldn’t defeat him, but we have the Lorelei on our side, and the fae,” Wendy adds, gesturing at Tink.

Alder scoffs. “You have one fairy. One who’s been without magic for almost five hundred years, who’s magic was corrupted by the very demon you seek to destroy. Our magic was born from the innocence and dreams of children, the purest light magic there is, and even it was snuffed out by Pan’s darkness. What chance have you with a weakened fairy and the duplicitous sirens?”

“We have more than that,” Tink interjects, bitterness and insult obvious in the bite of her words. “We have her.” It takes Emma a moment to realize that she’s the one being gestured at and now every set of eyes is on her.

“Me?”

“Her?” Wendy frowns.

“You can’t honestly tell me you haven’t noticed. She practically reeks of magic. It’s spilling out of every pore. I clocked it as soon as she got here.”

“I don’t have magic.” The Constant continue to stare, questioning, doubting. “I don’t. Don’t you think if I did I’d have used it by now to get Henry back?”

“Not if you weren’t aware of it, love,” Killian offers gently.

“Okay but I’m not some fairytale character; I’m from Boston - the land without magic. I don’t have any power.”

“Oh for…” Tink swears under her breath, crossing the room and grabbing Emma’s wrist. Faster than she can stop her, the fairy pulls a small blade from the complicated twist of pins and leather that keeps her mass of blonde hair piled on top of her head, ivory handle embellished with gold runes, and slashes it across Emma’s palm.

“Ow! What the hell!” Emma shouts, yanking her hand away. That fucking hurt. Tinkerbelle doesn’t resist, the rest of their small crew moving to intervene, but all at once, they freeze. Emma follows their gazes to her hand, clutched tightly in a fist to her chest and her breath catches. There’s light seeping through the cracks in her fingers, golden and swirling like smoke, shimmering like the magic that flows over the Constant’s skin.

Jacaranda reaches a hand out to her, palm upturned in a request and Emma looks to the others before carefully placing her hand in theirs. Carefully, the Constant unfurls her fingers, examining the light that shines from her wound with a careful touch. Their eyes go wide. “This is our magic,” they say, voice soft and tinged with awe. “Ours and… something else.”

“May I?” Philodendron asks, extending their own hand. Emma nods, even as the urge to refuse shouts at her. You don’t have magic. You’re not magic. You’re a goddamn bail bonds person from Boston, not a fairytale character. Philodendron looks at her after taking a moment to examine the wound themselves. “This is light magic,” they confirm. “It’s raw and untapped but powerful, more powerful than anything I’ve seen since before Pan’s time.” They twist her hand a bit, trying to look closer, to read something in whatever they see that Emma can’t. “But this isn’t born of belief and dreams as ours is, it's the product of something else… of -”

“True love,” Emma breathes out, so low she doesn’t mean for anyone to hear it. Henry had said that hadn’t he? That she was supposed to be the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, that she was supposed to be the Saviour.

“Yes, that’s it,” Philodendron nods slowly. “You were right, Tinkerbelle. This is more powerful magic than we anticipated.”

“Can you use it?” Emma asks, still not believing it really, but if it means they’ll help her get her kid back, she doesn’t care what she has to do.

“That depends,” Halcyon takes a step forward. “Can you wield it?”

“No, I…” she doesn’t even know how this is possible.

“I can.” They all turn to Tink, Emma cradling her hand to her chest once more. “If you tell me what we need to do, I can guide her. But you’ll have to let me.” The last bit is directed at her and she hesitates… Tink hasn’t exactly made a secret of the fact that she’s not a fan of hers, and she just slashed her damn hand open… Trust already isn’t her strong suit to begin with. “I’m not going to steal it,” Tink snaps and looks genuinely offended and Emma remembers that she knows what it is to have her power taken from her.

“I know you won’t. I just… what if it doesn’t work?” How powerful could this magic be? She’s not anything special, she never has been. Why would this be any different?

“Then I guess you don’t get your kid back.”

“Tink,” Killian warns but Emma can’t help but appreciate the fairy’s bluntness.

“What do we need to do?”

“This cavern, ” TigerLily starts, taking a knee and placing a hand reverently on the stone, “used to be a sacred place. It held all of the secrets of Neverland, and the dreams of children who visited - the purest and most honest of truths of all - fueled the island as it did our magic. This was its source - the source of everything.

“But then Pan tainted this cave with his twisted version of secrets as power, as something to be wielded, and forced us to sacrifice the last of the light magic that still breathed life into Neverland, the cavern shielded itself from his darkness. Now it echoes truths rather than accept ones taken maliciously. This place… has seen nothing but darkness for centuries. It has not been sleeping, but fighting, the last of the resistance against Pan right under his nose, keeping the darkness at bay and it has hardened. We need to remind it what the light looks like.”

“It can have mine. Whatever this is. If it can help and if this place can defeat Pan it can have all of it.”

Tiger Lily smiles kindly. “Not all of it. It would never snuff out your light. But even the slightest kindling can spark an inferno and with it you can breathe magic back into the island.”

“How?”

They nod to Tink who retrieves her knife again, slashing her own palm this time, the light that glows from her wound a shimmering green, and holds her hand out to Emma. Heat burns across her skin when she takes Tink’s offered hand, the light between them growing, shining and mixing. Tink places her other hand on Tiger Lily’s shoulder and the Constant flattens both their palms against the stone beneath them. After a moment, they look to Emma and she knows she’s doing it wrong. She’s not doing anything but she’s doing it wrong.

“I’m sorry.”

Tiger Lily shakes their head, their smile not malicious, but understanding.

“I have met so many lost boys and girls on this island. So many broken, hardened children lead here by fear and hurt and neglect, so afraid to trust, to love, to admit or even accept what they want, what they desire more than anything - what has been robbed of them. This place is born of dreams and truths and you, dear Swan, strong Swan, brave Swan… frightened Swan, have locked yourself away from both.”

“But I already told this place my darkest secret.” But she doesn’t need Tiger Lily to tell her - this place echoes darkness, resists darkness. That secret was Pan’s magic - not Neverland’s.

“What do you dream of, Emma? What truths do you keep from yourself?” Emma opens her mouth to speak but Tiger Lily holds up a hand. “Do not tell them to me. Tell them to the lost girl. Unburden her.”

What does she dream of? Things she can’t have, things she’s never had, things that were taken away. She wants to find her parents, that’s no secret though, she’s always known that. She wants them to have never given her up in the first place. She wanted a family, the one she could have had with Henry and Neal if he hadn’t turned out to be the vile person he was, the life that she’d had just a glimpse of after one missed period, before everything went to shit. She doesn’t want that anymore. She hasn’t let herself want any of it since then, not love, not family, not hope…

Her skin begins to warm, something flaring beneath the surface. Liar. She doesn’t know if it’s the cave or herself or her magic but it echoes through her like her secret against the walls. Tiger Lily accused her of locking herself away from her dreams, from her truths, but can they even still be truths if they’ve been silenced and stomped down for decades?

She thinks of the lost girl she was, abandoned, a runaway on the street, burning the last of her childhood, of stupid fairytales and stories to keep warm in a world that was only ever cold. What had that girl wanted? Powerless, lost, alone. That girl who felt like nothing, who meant nothing to anyone, who had never mattered and never would, who had only herself to take care of her. She wanted to matter - to someone, to herself, she wanted people to matter to her, to be able to let them. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. Even as she pushed away every foster parent, every friend, every lover as she grew older, she didn’t want - she doesn’t want - to have to do it alone.

That’s what she dreams of, what she refuses to admit that she dreams of. That for all of her rightly earned distrust of everyone, for all of her caution and her fear of abandonment, of love and hope, she wants to be able to let them in, let them matter. She wants to believe that she could have that happily ever after that she’s scorned all her life.

Images flash in her mind as the heat builds, her body tingling, a faint glimmer of light shining against her shut eyelids. Henry smiling in her doorway in Boston, Mary Margaret offering her a home, Killian bringing her to Neverland, Wendy helping her hide from Pan, Will sacrificing himself for her, Killian nearly sacrificing Milah’s name - sacrificing his memories, all of them banding together to help her save her kid, even Tink now, helping her to wield magic she doesn’t understand.

She’s not alone. She’s not in this alone. For the first time in her life she has people she can count on. People she can trust. She thinks of the smile Henry gave her when she let him know she wasn’t going to leave Storybrooke even though she could, of Mary Margaret’s pep talks, of shared hot chocolate and drinks and advice in their apartment, of Killian in that dank brig after one of the worst hours of her life - perhaps I would - of his words whispered in the quiet darkness of his cabin - I’m here. You don’t have to ask - of his confession echoing around them - until I met you. She does matter to people. She’s not nothing. She was never nothing. She matters and she has people who matter to her.

Her whole body alights, the blood in her veins not blood anymore but something else, something powerful and she can feel it surging beneath her skin, pulled by a force as it rushes through her and towards that opening in her palm. The white of her light overtakes the green and Tink’s body jerks like the surge of magic is as jarring to her as it is for Emma. Tiger Lily gasps, the ground beneath them starting to glow, tendrils of golden light snaking towards them across the stone like rivulets. Their body starts to shimmer, the dusting of gold shining brighter until their skin is swallowed by it completely.

Emma can feel sweat beading on her skin, the salt mixing with the tears she hadn’t realized she’d been crying. She doesn’t know how much longer she can keep this up, the power coursing through her overwhelming. Tink’s hand is shaking in hers, both their palms damp and slippery and white knuckled and she can’t imagine how much more effort the fairy is putting in as the one actually channeling all of this.

“There’s so much,” Tiger Lily says in awe. “We’ve forgotten so much.” Their eyes are glowing with the same gold that covers their skin, their mouth pulling into a smile even as tears roll down their cheeks.

“I can’t -” Tink starts, but doesn’t let Emma release her hand when she tries to stop.

There’s another moment, the light engulfing the Constant almost completely, so bright Emma has to look away, before finally, suddenly, it stops. The three of them slump against the ground with a gasp of exhaustion. Emma doesn’t even turn when she feels hands on her shoulders, helping her to sit up, she knows it’s him. Wendy is at Tink’s side helping to support her as well as the Constant circle around Tiger Lily, all of them holding one another in a moment that feels beautiful and private as joy and heartbreak play over their faces.

“Can you. Stop him?” Tink pants out.

“I… I think so. There’s just - there’s so much. I need time to sort through it all.”

“We don’t. Have. Time.”

“All of the secrets of Neverland, millennia’s worth, have just been poured into my mind. It will take me more than a few minutes to understand it all and find what will help us.”

“How much time?” Emma asks. Henry’s already been here too long - too long without knowing that she’s here, that she’s coming for him.

“I don’t… give me a few nights at least. Come back in three days. That should give me time to make sense of what is needed at least.” Their eyes are far away, like they’re not seeing the cavern around them but something far bigger and far more extraordinary.

Emma nods. “Three days?”

“Three days. And then we’ll rid this island of its false king forever.”

***********

Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from my tag list!

@kmomof4 @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @undercaffinatednightmare @jennjenn615 @dramioneswan @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @batana54 @lfh1226-linda @csalltheway @xsajx @xarandomdreamx @onceratheart18 @ownedbycaptainswan @teamhook @pirateprincessofpizza @lostintheskyfaraway @zaharadessert @thejollyroger-writer @ultraluckycatnd @justanother-unluckysoul @spartanguard @jonesfandomfanatic @deckerstarblanche @jrob64 @klynn-stormz @wefoundloveunderthelight @sailtoafarawayland @tiganasummertree @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @stahlop @superchocovian @snowbellewells @xellewoods @sals86 @karlyfr13s @ouatpost @skairipakomtrikru @lonelyspectator12 @anmylica @alexa-fangirl-forever @inspiredbystardust @marcella2727 @paradiselady19 @koryandr @killiansprincss @goforlaunchcee

#captain swan #cs neverland new year #cs fanfic #captain swan fanfic #cs ff #sorry this took so long again #cs angst #cs smut #ouat season 1 au #neverland au #happy solstice!

29 notes · View notes

zaebeecee · 2 months ago

Text

Drowning in Stardust

🦌 RadioDustTober: Short Story Edition 🕷️

Day 15: New Threads

Alternate Universe (1930s gangster AU, secret relationship)

CWs: Period-relevant racism

If Alastor is going to pose as Anthony’s new bodyguard, he has to look the part.

Word count: 1290

•••

Purchasing clothing was a foreign concept to Alastor.

He had clothing, obviously, he wasn’t some Philistine traipsing around ‘naked as the day he was born’ (as they said back home). That clothing, however, had all been hand-made by his maman and later by Alastor himself once he cultivated his sewing skill enough to tailor things. In the little village outside of New Orleans, where he grew up, there was a shortage of things like professional tailors and the newfangled idea of ‘ready to wear’ clothes you could buy off a rack; there had been more options in the city, of course, but they didn’t cater to people like those who lived in the village, so their only option was the one small store that sold a limited variety of cloth and sewing notions.

The building in front of him was not a place where you could buy plain cotton fabric or a pack of sewing needles. No, this was a New York City bespoke tailor, the kind of place where they gave you champagne and let you sit on soft velvet chairs while men with measuring tapes around their necks practically begged to cater to your every fashion whim. There was even a sign in the window that said, in no uncertain terms, WE CATER TO WHITE TRADE. WAITING ROOM FOR COLORED ONLY, with an arrow pointing around to the back of the building.

“Somehow, I don’t think I’ll exactly receive a warm welcome here,” Alastor said lightly, tilting his head enough to look at his companion. With his slicked white hair, entirely white suit, and matching white hat and shoes, his boss (boss’s son, strictly speaking) couldn’t have looked any more like a gangster; it only took one glance to see why so many who worked for the Family called him the Ghost.

“Does that bother you?” Anthony asked, casting Alastor a sidelong glance as his lips curved into a smirk.

Alastor returned the look with a smile of his own. “I think you already know the answer to that, sha. I simply wouldn’t want to waste your time if they’re only going to refuse service.”

“No one refuses the Mezzasalma Family’s money,” Anthony said, his smile growing darker as he took hold of the door handle. “Not more than once, anyway.”

Alastor followed Anthony inside and looked around at the interior that was just as posh as he imagined it would be, the interior all polished wood and fine carpet and largely uncluttered by the usual bolts of cloth and shelves and bins. Instead, cloth samples lined one wall in a neat little row, a large section of the interior dedicated to a seating area and a raised dais with full-length mirrors surrounding it in a half-circle. It was mere seconds before a man strode over to them with a speed that made his attempt at dignified posture downright hilarious, and he stopped near Anthony, clasping his hands together.

“Mister Mezzasalma,” he began, casting Alastor more than one glance from the corner of his eye. “I— This is quite the surprise, we were not expecting to see you.”

“Wasn’t exactly expectin’ to be here myself,” Anthony said, straightening the lapels of his jacket as he glanced around. “I’m in need of a couple of new suits and my usual tailor won’t be back in the city for a few weeks. My father speaks highly enough of your work, so I figured I might as well give my patronage to someone who’s already been good to my people.”

“That… that’s very kind of you, sir.” The shop attendant glanced at Alastor again; Alastor smiled at him, and the attendant’s face blanched to an interesting color that reminded Alastor of bad milk. “We would be more than happy to clear our schedule for you, but I am afraid your man will have to go around to the back of the building for the entrance to the waiting area.”

“Oh, no, he won’t,” Anthony said, clasping his hands behind his back and strolling over to where the cloth samples stood. “They’re for him. He’s recently come close into my employ, you see, and he requires clothing that… befits the position, so to speak.”

The attendant looked panicked. “Sir, I-I’m afraid I must insist, it isn’t just our policy, the law dictates—”

He fell silent when Anthony glanced his way. “Ain’t that a shame,” he said, turning back to the cloth and taking what looked like some expensive gray tweed between his thumb and forefinger, feeling its texture. “I suppose I’ll have to obtain a different recommendation from my father, then. He’ll be very disappointed to hear your establishment didn’t meet my needs, but the law is the law.”

If the attendant looked unwell before, now he looked positively ill, like he might vomit where he stood any moment. While Alastor might have rolled his eyes at the indirect passive-aggression of veiled mafioso threats, he had to admit it was very funny to be on this side of it. “Oh, n-no, sir, it isn’t— I didn’t mean—…” He cleared his throat, gathering himself. “Your father has always been a very valuable patron for us. I’m certain the owner wouldn’t mind making an exception.”

Anthony smiled. “Well, that’s very good to hear. Alastor, come on over here.” When Alastor stepped up beside him, Anthony dropped his voice and said, “Let me know if anybody here says or does anythin’ even a little… inappropriate, alright?”

“You got it,” Alastor murmured with a smile. “Are you planning to shoot them if they do?”

Anthony chuckled. “Nah. Might get someone to accidentally burn down the building, though.” Alastor stifled his laugh as Anthony shushed him, trying to keep his own laughter from bursting out in a giggle.

The fabric was nothing like Alastor had ever held before, and he took his time in making his selections while Anthony told the attendant, in no uncertain terms, that they required the suits as quickly as possible. He negotiated a two-week turnaround that made the attendant sound like he was close to an apoplexy, but he agreed and had Alastor stand on the dais for his measurements.

They returned to the store for fittings three times—Alastor had tried to tell Anthony that he didn’t need anything so extravagant, and Anthony had countered that he enjoyed spending as much of the family money as possible this way—and when Alastor finally stood in a completed suit of light gray cashmere, looking himself over in the mirror, he hardly recognized himself.

“Leave,” Anthony said to the shop’s employees, and as they scuttled away, Alastor watched him in the mirror as he stepped up onto the wide dais and walk up behind him. “What do you think?” Anthony asked, dropping his voice to ensure they weren’t overheard.

“It’s different,” Alastor said. “But I can’t say I hate it.”

“Most positive thing I’ve ever heard you say about somethin’ bein’ different,” Anthony chuckled, and Alastor felt hands on his waist as Anthony leaned in close to his back.

Alastor smiled, leaning back in return as he fixed his cuffs. “I think I could absolutely get used to this.”

“Good. And besides…” Anthony leaned in close to Alastor’s ear, whispering, “I think both these suits will look fantastic on my bedroom floor.” Alastor felt his face heating up as Anthony’s tongue darted out, flicking the shell of his ear, a little bit of that ‘playing with fire’ he was so fond of. Then, he backed off and turned away. “Let’s get out of here, then. Next time, I’m takin’ you to Rosie.”

Alastor took one last look at himself, smoothing his hand down the front of his jacket, before he turned to follow Anthony out of the building. He could definitely get used to this.

•••

#my writing #drowning in stardust #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin angel dust #radiodust #hazbin radiodust #hazbin human version #hazbin human au

30 notes · View notes

vulpixisananimal · 9 months ago

Text

(Siffrin. Loop. Mal Du Pays)

[A:0 C:7]

(Edit from the future: the above title was added later. These early chapters had no plans, so things may change.)

"Did you tell Siffrin already?"

(You shouldn't be listening in like this, just go back to your room. Bonnie is ok, Bonnie is safe, even though they got hurt, they're safe. Listening in like this is just going to hurt your feelings.)

(Or at least tell you what they really think about you.)

"Not yet... Do you think they'll take it well?" (You heard Mira say.)

(Mira, Isa, and Odile were all talking in the common room they had at the Inn, Nille was making sure Bonnie was comfortable in their room after... All that.)

"Prrrrobably not... We should tell them anyways, though." (Isabeau was always looking out for you...)

"Indeed, talking goes both ways after all." (Odile.)

"True! Which I still would have liked you to do yesterday M'dame! I know Sif's been acting strange but..."

(You sigh internally. You were acting strange. You all were.)

(... It still felt weird.)

(There's three of you. Three Siffrins. Sometimes there's a gap of a few days you don't remember. You don't remember doing things you apparently did a few hours ago.)

(Sometimes the others were here, Loop, Mal Du Pays. Thoughts that weren't your own would bounce around your head, argue with you.)

(You weren't paying attention to what your family was saying anymore.)

(We need to tell them about, all this.)

(Now? Oh absolutely not Stardust, poor Bonbon just hit their head, they've got so much on their plate already~)

(You were the one who told me to be more open, Loop.)

(Yeeeeees, but there's a time and a place-)

"Hey Siffrin!"

(You snap back to reality, Nille was walking over.) "Feeling better?"

(You glance away, putting on a smile.) "Oh, yeah I'm feeling much better! How's Bonnie?"

"Oh lil Bonbon is resting up, Mira said they got a big booboo but they're great!"

(You relax your shoulders. As long as Bonnie was ok...)

(Nille raised an arm to put over your shoulder, pauses, then puts her arm back.)

"C'mon, we gotta figure out who that crabbing kidnapper was!" (Nille moved past Siffrin to join the others in the common room. You followed her. You still couldn't look her in the eye.)

(Odile, Isabeau, and Mirabelle were all seated and chatting, Nille joined them. Isa perked up seeing you walk in.)

"Sif!! You feeling alright? I got you fever medicine, and I wanted to maybe get you a gift because-"

"Gems alive Isa" (Odile pinched the bridge of her nose.)

(Nille made a half-laughing noise, and you sat down.) "I'm alright Isa, gift exchange can Wait," (You leaned in. Joke incoming.) "I just know any gift you get me will be my fever-ite."

(The mixture of laughter and pained groans was as sweet as always.)

"Thank you, Siffrin." (Odile said with a sigh) "Now, let's go over what happened."

(And so they started talking. Bonnie was grabbed in the farmers market while Nille was distracted, but was cut off by Mirabelle, who showed up soon after.)

"Thanks again for that, Mira." (Nille said with a smile.)

"O-oh! Well..." (She glanced your way- oh! Mira hadn't told anyone that it was a Loop, right... After some thought, you gave a nod.)

"Well! You should probably thank Siffrin actually!"

"Huh!?!?" (Wait that's not what you expected.)

"Hmm, yes why would you be thanking Siffrin" (Odile was looking at you.)

(You slump down in your seat, she probably already figured out what happened.)

(Just means you're all in now Stardust, unless you want to try going back again~)

(No. Absolutely not.)

"W-well, remember that story about, looping we told you about Nille?" (She nods.) "Well, this morning when I woke up screaming, That was because..."

(You pause for a moment, breath in, and out.)

"Because Bonnie was grabbed from the farmers market when I was there, instead of you. And, And I, I..."

(I told you. I told you not to tell them.)

(You keep breathing, it'll be ok, just keep breathing-)

"Hey, you did better than me." (Said Nille)

(... Huh?)

(she continued) "It it wasn't for Mirabelle I would have lost them too... So, I can't really blame you at all if you're worried about that."

( ... Oh.)

"And!! Since you were able to loop back, we got to try that again and Bonnie's ok!!" (Mirabelle interjected.)

"Although that is somewhat concerning you looped back even weeks since after we defeated the King." (Odile was thinking, it had been weeks after all. Defeat the King, party at Dormont, visit Bambouche and meet Nille, help things there...)

(You still failed though. We did. They wont forget that.)

(Can you just go away.)

"Who was that, anyway?"

(The conversation continues.)

"well, I didn't know! Their face was covered, but, but they must have been confident to try something like that here."

"Oh! What kinda craft did they use? Maybe that'll give us a clue."

"Protection craft, felt it when they tried to hit me, pretty crabbing bad at craft."

"If this was a professional I would have thought they'd target someone with Pierce craft. What were they wearing?"

"Hard to make it out, just a big old cloak and a nasty dagger..."

"Oh!! They did have some broche with a white star on it!! It looked familiar.."

"The Kings armor."

(The others turn to you as you speak up, you continue.)

"The Kings armor has stars on it, white stars." (Wishing stars.)

"I guess you would have seen it a lot..." (Thanks Mirabelle.)

"So this guy's related to the King somehow?" (said Isabeau, thinking.)

"Doubtful, but if they're related to the King, that would explain their choice of craft." (Odile continued,) "If they knew Siffrin was supposed to escort Bonnie then having a craft that beats his makes sense."

(The table fell silent, the King was frozen at the Pinnacle of the house of change. There was no way the King could still be an issue now. Not after all they had been through.)

(all you had been through.)

(What a wonderful joke, Universe! I'm laughing more than I have in a thousand loops! Ahahahahahhahahaha!!!)

(Gentler, please, we already have a headache.)

"We're trying to finish a house without all our nails," (Nille said, leaning back in her chair.) "Boniface is safe now, at least. We could at least go ask the Defenders about it."

"Tomorrow. Today's been headache inducing enough." (Odile said with authority. You opened your mouth to protest, but her look cut you off.)

"It could be nothing, too! Just some random accident, or something..." (Oh Mira...)

"I'm just too popular, naturally, my adoring fans wanted my attention." (You say cheekily.)

"Oh can I be your bouncer, Sif? Can't have your fanclub bothering you!" (Isa said with his big ol grin.)

"Of course! I would be honored-"

"Get a room you two!" (Nille said, obviously having fun with it. That made Isa very embarrassed and you turn away just a bit.)

"Is there anything else we should discuss while we're here?" (asked Odile, exasperated.)

"Nope! All good here!"

"I-I don't think So?"

"Nah, nothing to discuss."

"... Siffrin?"

(Odile was looking at you. You wanted to say you didn't have anything to add. You wanted to smile and say everything was ok.)

(Then why don't you.)

(Because they're our family, they deserve to know, right?)

(And if you are wrong about them.)

(Then we'll just loop back! As the Universe has forced on us oh so many times~)

(That.. hardly makes it any better.)

(Sooo we're agreed~?)

(... We will regret this.)

(Maybe... But we made a promise.)

(You open your mouth....)

#aaaaaaaand cliffhanger #sorry this post was getting way too long #so #two parter #isat #isat au #isat art #isat fanart #isat siffrin #isat mirabelle #isat isabeau #isat odile #isat nille #isat loop #isat mal du pays #isat spoilers #siffrin system au #sifstem #sifstem main story

104 notes · View notes

catsacrossthemultiverse · 5 months ago

Text

I made this sideblog to share my art and then. didn't use it. so im doing that now!!

my friends and I have an ongoing trend of taking games that i'm interested in and fusing our OCs with the cast of characters, trying to make the lore align in a way where both stories get to show through!! I think it's both fun and great for thinking. And I get to draw all my silly critters in situations!!! And new outfits, and behaviors, with new story!! and references to things I like!!!

So.. here's a few of the things I drew!! Current hyperfixation game is In Stars and Time!! We decided to call the AU "In Claws and Time" because most of the characters are silly fluffy critters instead of humans!!! I'll explain a little bit about the characters and why I made the changes I did too :3 SPOILERS FOR IN STARS AND TIME WARNING!!! This includes twohats!! I don't remember exactly which acts have what lore, but just to be safe, if you're avoiding spoilers and haven't played the game all the way through, don't read!!

We've got our Loop design!! They're a little bit less energetic than Loop in the actual game, smoother lines n slightly less exaggeration, because Scribble (who's taking Siffrin's role) has a lot less energy in general. Still keeps the fun sarcasm charm, but with less of an "OMG!! Helloooo~~ Hi Stardust!!" way. More laidback I suppose. Sorry if i'm no good at explaining!! ^^'

Speaking of Scribble, here's the actual design for Scribble themself!! The king would call them Dark one instead of Bright one, because their species has a lot more focus on being darkly colored (I will probably elaborate on that more in the future, but Scribble and a couple of other characters are actually part of an original species I made up, my friends called them the Paradoxes and it stuck!!! I wrapped the Paradoxes into the lore of the Island and stuff, species rules and traits have been edited to mesh with ISaT lore better, and have nicer designs for style purposes. If you're curious about them, please ask!!! I love talking about these guys).

We also have replacements for the Change God!!! The original story with me and my friends' OCs and such had 3 gods. Dune (the little cat in the middle), Umbra (the little dog on the left), and Adair (the little deer on the right)!! They're triplets, and they have a whole bunch of little mythology stories prepared by me and Wyvern (One of my friends) that explain how their world came to be!!! In ICaT, they take the Change God's role, deities that don't really do much, but are still worshipped for being the higher beings, and occasionally giving a little bit of help!! The little symbols on their collars, while in the image don't stay consistent, they'll be changed to be little teardrop shapes, each with different detailing, showing the versatility of even a simple shape like a teardrop. Umbra with a little water drop, Dune with a cut gem, and Adair with a leaf.

We have characters matched up with various characters in ISaT that don't have designs drawn yet too!!

A few matchups we have that haven't been drawn are:

Tiger as Isabeau Windy as Mirabelle Leaverc as Odile Cauli/Cauliflower as Bonnie Creature as The King Phantom as the Head Housemaiden Masquerade as Claude (Mira's roommate) Petunia and Lizard as that one girl and her dog And many more!!!

There's a lot of characters!! And a lot of matchups!!! and even more to be made!!!

We'll also have silly little extra cutscenes, even more lore than there is in the original ISaT!!! To tell people more about our characters. All of this is incredibly self indulgent, it's just for fun!!! Expect a lot of canon divergence from both stories

I don't know if I'll be going anywhere with this, but it's fun to share regardless!!! I just want to get the ideas out there really

#in stars and time #sfw furry #art #oc art #ocs #in stars and time au #self indulgent #isat spoilers #isat loop #isat siffrin #isat change god #In Claws and Time!!!#the sillies!! will probably be appearing again #(If you noticed the change from in paws and time to in claws and time #it's because someone else already had an in paws and time)

24 notes · View notes

sobblesources · 12 days ago

Text

IF YOU BUILD IT , THEY WILL COME .

sentence starters taken from fall out boy's album ' so much for stardust ' . edited to fit rp needs , adjust pronouns as necessary .

❛ you know i'm dying out here , ❜

❛ what would you trade the pain for ? ❜

❛ we were a hammer to the statue of david , ❜

❛ you were the sunshine of my lifetime , ❜

❛ i'd never go , i just want to be invited , ❜

❛ i just about snapped , ❜

❛ every lover's got a little dagger in their hand , ❜

❛ i'm falling in & out of love , ❜

❛ nowhere left for us to go but heaven , ❜

❛ is there a word for bad miracle ? ❜

❛ could we please pretend this won't end ? ❜

❛ don't dare stop , ❜

❛ heartbreak feels so good , ❜

❛ they didn't know , ❜

❛ we'll cry later , ❜

❛ when you ask how i've been , i know you mean well , ❜

❛ i'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky , ❜

❛ i love my life , ❜

❛ i guess i'm getting older , cause i'm getting less pissed , ❜

❛ you put the 'fun' in dysfunction , ❜

❛ part time soulmate , full time problem , ❜

❛ hold me like a grudge , ❜

❛ if you put your heart in it , we'll do more than just get by together , ❜

❛ take a knife & cut through the darkness , ❜

❛ remember us just like this forever , ❜

❛ do you laugh about me whenever i leave ? ❜

❛ love is in the air , i just gotta figure out a window to break out , ❜

❛ my mood board is just pictures of you , ❜

❛ i didn't the love when i had the chance , ❜

❛ we did it for futures that never came , & pasts that we're never gonna change , ❜

❛ kiss my cheek , baby , please ? ❜

❛ will you read my eulogy ? ❜

❛ i will never ask you for anything except to dream sweet of me , ❜

❛ will you still love who i am ? ❜

❛ half your life you've been hooked on death , ❜

❛ i closed my eyes inside your darkness & found your glow , ❜

❛ twice the dreams , but half the love , ❜

❛ i know i've made mistakes , but at least they were mine to make , ❜

❛ i'll be whatever you need me to be , ❜

❛ i cut myself down for whatever you need me to be , ❜

❛ there's no point to any of this , ❜

❛ i take pleasure in the detail , ❜

❛ drop a bomb on all the things we dreamed about , ❜

❛ they never came , ❜

❛ let's twist the knife again , ❜

❛ i guess to you know i'm just a face in the crowd , ❜

❛ oh god , kindly please , would you kill me now ? ❜

❛ last night i dreamt i still knew you , ❜

❛ i carved out a place in this world for two , but it's empty without you , ❜

❛ i got all this love i've got to keep to myself , ❜

❛ i can't be who you need me to be , ❜

❛ no one will remember me when they look back , ❜

❛ what is there between us if not a little annihilation ? ❜

❛ i'm a hard pill to swallow , & i'm not your intended dose , ❜

❛ i spent ten years in a bitter chemical haze , ❜

❛ that's the way the world used to be before our dreams started bursting at the seams , ❜

❛ everything's lit except my serotonin , ❜

❛ baby please , i just need someone to hold me , ❜

❛ i don't wanna be with my own thoughts , ❜

❛ i just wanna be your cherry on top , ❜

❛ when i said 'leave me alone' this isn't quite what i meant , ❜

❛ what a time to be alive , ❜

❛ split me right down the middle , ❜

❛ we though we had it all , ❜

❛ i need the sound of crowds or i can't fall asleep , ❜

❛ i'm pretty positive my pain isn't cool , ❜

❛ ache it till you make it , ❜

❛ i think i've been going through it , ❜

❛ in another life , you were my babe , ❜

❛ i used to think it'd all get better , ❜

#inbox memes #writing prompt #rp meme #rp starters #sentence meme #inbox prompt #sentence starters #roleplay meme #rp sentence starters #roleplay prompt #fall out boy

18 notes · View notes

merlincinema · 10 months ago

Text

Merlin Cinema Round 1 Masterpost

This year, we've had some fantastic fanworks in the form of fic, artwork, and manips. These authors and artists not only blew our minds but forced us to think out of the box and made us so grateful to have such an amazing, hardworking group of people involved in this year's fest. We congratulate all the participants of this year's fest for their successful posting. Without you all, this fest would not have been a success. So, without further ado, we proudly present to you this year's masterlist:

[Art+Fic] Mise En Place by s0mmerspr0ssen, papysanzo based on Bella Martha Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: E Word Count: 30k Medium: Digital Art

[Fic] The Mistaken Bride and the Dragon by Chaosgenes based on I Am Dragon Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: T Word Count: 2,130

[Art+Fic] The Hawk and the Bear by Excited_Insomniac, Papysanzo89 based on Ladyhawk Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: T Word Count: 15.7k Medium: Digital Art

[Art] Merlin Stardust AU by dollopbrain based on Star Dust Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: G Medium: Digital Art

[Fic] The screams of the innocents by HadrianPeverellBlack based on Silence of the Lambs Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: T Word Count: 3048

[Fic] For Merlin by HadrianPeverellBlack based on The Departed Pairing: Merlin & Arthur Rating: T Word Count: 622

[Fic] Return to Oz by Sage_Owl based on Return to Oz Pairing: Ygraine/Uther, Gen Rating: T Word Count: 10,035

[Fic] An Adventure Involving Dragons by thenerdyindividual based on Barbie Island Princess Pairing: Gwaine/Merlin/Arthur Rating: M Word Count: 70 118

[Fic] That Loving Feeling by ravenwilds based on Top Gun Pairing: Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Gwaine Rating: T Word Count: 32,500

[Art] Sweet Home Ealdor by Esseff based on Sweet Home Alabama Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Rating: T Medium: Edits/Manips

View this post on Tumblr | LiveJournal | Discord

#merlin #merlin cinema #bbc merlin #merlin fests #masterpost #merlin/arthur #merlin/arthur/gwaine #uther/ygraine #gwen/gwaine #arthur pendragon #gwaine #gwen #lancelot #elyan #morgana #leon #percival #fests

37 notes · View notes

fallen6253 · 9 months ago

Text

The Stars Have Fallen to Earth, Can You Imagine That?

Tanned skin. White hair. Dark eyes. Their gaze moves slow, steady, makes its way to the window of a subway car. In the brief moment it passes by, a small head with black hair peeks through.

There was no eye contact. But they knew the other was there. On some subconscious level, as if their very essence were attuned to one another.

A rumble. The car trembles. Then it shakes. Suddenly it's been thrown off the course of eternity and into a place of being known.

The subway crashes into solid ground.

A dreaming boy wakes up.

Miles away, a priestess known for denying god staggered in her footsteps. Another migraine. Another message.

Accompanied, for the first time, by an earthquake.

Huh. New.

The priestess picks up a pen and paper and rushes to a place hidden in darkness.

A young man, hair and eyes as dim as night alight with stars, is waiting for her at the door to a beautiful home. He walks her to a sitting room, tables set to the tone of a business meeting as if that was what this was.

Business as usual.

Of course. It is.

He has a message about this world’s newest arrival. And…a request.

She says this looking towards a man known for his wit and wile. Brown eyes saturated to a dulcet red. Blood red hair. Clothes fitting and comfortable.

He was on vacation.

Was.

The note warned first and foremost that nobody would hear from the god for a while. Apparently bringing stars down from the sky costs quite a bit. Well, that was what the note said, but the one reading it did not know its meaning yet.

The note then told them that the epicenter of that earthquake was near his home, and the damage to the forest should not be too drastic, since the cause was made of stardust and dream remnants and memories far too old to recall anymore. It should fade with time, as all memories do. By then it will return to creation and merge with the forest. Again, the reader did not know what that meant. He could only guess some things.

But the last lines caught his attention. For two reasons.

The first being the mention of a child. Far too young and far too ancient for all that it has seen. The second reason being that this god made a request. Not some mission with a reward. Not some threat or warning with a clue as to how these mortals would react. A genuine request he could choose to ignore completely without consequence since the god was indisposed. A sincere gesture for help that does not involve favors or world-blaming calamities.

This being known for death asked a single mortal to save a helpless existence.

And for once the person reading it did not think about rejecting it at all.

He could be annoyed about it, something crashlanding into his forest, but…

There’s a kid that needs help first, we can yell at god for throwing him here later.

Do you think the plotting protagonist kept a library with stories of others like him? Of dying worlds and forgotten names and tired heroes who made too many mistakes?

Edited, bc I have had a title for it and I just didn't change the post for some reason.

27 notes · View notes

munchmemes · 2 years ago

Text

fall out boy lyrics, so much (for) stardust edition

❛ what would you trade the pain for? ❜

❛ we were a hammer to the Statue of David. ❜

❛ we were a painting you could never frame. ❜

❛ you were the sunshine of my lifetime. ❜

❛ i'd never go. i just want to be invited. ❜

❛ every lover's got a little dagger in their hand. ❜

❛ there's no way off the hamster wheel on this rat race. ❜

❛ give up what you love before it does you in. ❜

❛ no matter what they tell you, the future's up for grabs. ❜

❛ is there a word for bad miracle? ❜

❛ we could dance our tears away. ❜

❛ it's open season on blue moods. ❜

❛ i guess i'm getting older 'cause i'm less pissed. ❜

❛ you put the 'fun' in dysfunction. ❜

❛ hold me like a grudge. ❜

❛ the world is always spinning and i can't keep up. ❜

❛ part-time soulmate, full-time problem. ❜

❛ i guess somehow we made it back with a few dreams of ours still in tact. ❜

❛ i got no map to my own treasure. ❜

❛ i thought i knew better, i thought it would get better. ❜

❛ i figured somehow by now, i would have got it together. ❜

❛ if you put your heart in it, then we'll do more than just get by together. ❜

❛ i'll call you up and demand you have no fun without me. ❜

❛ i make no plans and none can be broken. ❜

❛ do you laugh about me whenever i leave? or do i just need more therapy? ❜

❛ love is in the air, i just gotta figure out a window to break out. ❜

❛ i didn't take the love when i had the chance but i swear i'm not sad anymore. ❜

❛ we all started out as shiny dimes but we all got flipped too many times. ❜

❛ we did it for futures that never came and for pasts that we're never gonna change. ❜

❛ i will never ask you for anything except to dream sweet of me. ❜

❛ tell me, when the party ends, will you still love who i am? ❜

❛ save your breath. half your life you've been hooked on death. ❜

❛ be careful what you bottle up. ❜

❛ i closed my eyes inside of your darkness and found your glow. ❜

❛ shake things up and see what comes down. ❜

❛ i got this doom and gloom in my mind but i feel all right. ❜

❛ feeling so good right now 'til we crash and burn somehow. ❜

❛ i know i've made mistakes but at least they were mine to make. ❜

❛ all of my wildest dreams, they just end up with you and me. ❜

❛ let's drive until the engine just gives out. ❜

❛ i'll be whatever you need me to be. ❜

❛ i cut myself down to whatever you need me to be. ❜

❛ it's all just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. ❜

❛ i take pleasure in the detail, you know? a quarter pounder with cheese. those are good. the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain. a moment where your laughter becomes a cackle. ❜

❛ here i am, not sure you should take a chance. ❜

❛ i like playing dumb, letting you figure me out. ❜

❛ just another day spent hoping we don't fall apart. ❜

❛ let's twist the knife again like we did last summer. ❜

❛ i'm just trying to keep it together but it gets a little harder when it never gets better. ❜

❛ late at night in my room, i lie awake and think of you and all your little dooms. ❜

❛ last night, i dreamt i still knew you. ❜

❛ i carved out a place in this world for two but it's empty without you. ❜

❛ i've got all this love i've got to keep to myself. ❜

❛ all this effort to make it look effortless. ❜

❛ confront all the pain like a gift under the tree. ❜

❛ oh please, i can't be who you need me to be. ❜

❛ one day every candle's gotta run out of wax. ❜

❛ time is luck and i wish ours overlapped more or for longer. ❜

❛ but you know what they say, if you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself. ❜

❛ what is there between us, if not a little annihilation? ❜

❛ i'm pretty sure as far as humans go, i am a hard pill to swallow. ❜

❛ i spent ten years in a bit of a chemical haze and i miss the way that i felt. ❜

❛ i felt you at the beginning but needed you at the end. ❜

❛ stop me if you have heard this all before. ❜

❛ oh, but you don't know me anymore. ❜

❛ that's the way, the world, it used to be before our dreams starting bursting at the seams. ❜

❛ we're out here and we're ready to livestream the apocalypse. ❜

❛ the view's so pretty from the deck of a sinking ship. ❜

❛ everything is lit except my serotonin. ❜

❛ everything is lit but my lightning bolt brain. ❜

❛ i just need someone to hold me even though you don't even know me. ❜

❛ what a time to be alive. ❜

❛ they say i should try meditation but i don't want to be with my own thoughts. ❜

❛ when i said 'leave me alone' this isn't quite what i meant. ❜

❛ bad news, what's left? ❜

❛ i'm in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now. ❜

❛ i feel like something that's been stretched out over and over again until i'm creased and i'm about to break down the middle. ❜

❛ the stars are the same as ever but i don't have the guts to keep it together. ❜

❛ life is just a game, maybe i'm stuck in a lonely loop. ❜

❛ we thought we had it all. ❜

❛ i need the sound of crowds or i can't fall asleep at night. ❜

❛ i'm pretty positive my pain isn't cool enough. ❜

❛ ache it till you make it. ❜

❛ i think i've been going through it and i've been putting your name to it. ❜

❛ i used to be a real go-getter. i used to think it'd all get better. ❜

#lyrics rp starters #lyrics starters #rp starters #lyrics rp meme #rp meme #lyrics meme #sentence starters #long post

183 notes · View notes

pisshandkerchief · 1 year ago

Text

When I got into Fall Out Boy on the tail end of last year I never imagined I'd be here. I remember learning all the lore and getting to know the band in the middle of the Stardust release cycle, feeling a little out of the loop, like I was late to the party (kind of like how I felt with MCR). but you guys have made me feel so welcomed and loved, even if I'm so much newer here than the rest of you. I'll never forget getting excited over every new song teaser, laughing and joking about every new music video and TikTok from the band, watching everyone be so supportive of Joe on his mental health break, being so happy when he felt good enough to come back. I'll never forget watching all the interviews, picking them apart with my mutuals, seeing first hand all the love and respect for each other the members of this band have. To get a little personal here, I was in a tough place in my life when Stardust was first announced. I was in my senior year of highschool, and for awhile I didn't have a phone, so I had to keep up with Tumblr at night, on a shitty old computer. At school I would listen to every song teaser in class and talk to some of my Tumblr friends on Google chat about it because it was my only option. I remember as soon as Stardust came out I downloaded it onto my old iPod and listened to it every night to fall asleep. It was so important to me to have this thing I could connect with people over. To witness this band who love each other so much, who pour that love out in every interview, who spread it to the world through the music they make, who are so open and honest about their mental health, who say that it's ok to feel despair, to be frustrated with the world, that sometimes life does feel meaningless, but you can find pleasure in the details, you can always pick yourself up and keep going, because there will always be people who want you whole: that meant the world to me. I bonded with one of my closest friends, Charlie, over Fall Out Boy. The first vinyl I ever bought was the gold special edition of So Much (For) Stardust. The first concert that I actually wanted to go to, that I chose for myself, was the Fall Out Boy show I went to with Charlie (this was also the first time I had the privilege of meeting an online friend in person. it's an experience I'll never forget, and one I hope I get to repeat).

This has gotten rambly, but what I'm trying to say is this: there is so much love in this community. Love for the band, love for the music, love for each other. I may not have been with Fall Out Boy for very long but I know this is going to stick with me. I feel so honored to be experiencing perhaps the best (and definitely the happiest) era of Fall Out Boy as it happens. I feel so honored to be experiencing it with all of you and I hope that we stay in touch. I don't have the words to describe how much this album, this tour, this band, has meant to me already. Thank you. All of you. Fall Out Boy forever 💜

88 notes · View notes

tomboyjessie13-artblog · 2 months ago

Text

This was something that I had been thinking about for quite a while and drew out at Program on Thursday and finished on Saturday morning at 6 AM.

It would've been done on a Friday night, but I got distracted by my little sister playing "Catherine: Full Body" after buying it, as well as going to the edit this several times in order to make it look good lol

That being said, this is what I would imagine what would happen if Medea got her own OVA as mentioned in this post I made 6 months ago: Link

It would play out like an episodic series similar to the "Stardust Crusaders OVAs" and "Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan", and it's all retold in flashbacks from the perspective of an older Medea in a similar vain to "Persona 5", hence why we have Part 6!Medea up there.

Synopsis: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after her daughter was framed and arrested for arson in 2011, Medea sought out the Speedwagon foundation for assistance, there the foundation's agents asked that she recount her experience with DIO and his gaggle of Stand users during her yearlong stay in Egypt.

She proceeds to tell them of what had happened in 1988 as requested, the following events took place a year before the events of "Stardust Crusaders".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The story's genre is: Action, Supernatural, Drama, Horror, Crime, Tragedy, Psychological

Opening theme: "Suna no Wakusei" by Kenshi Yonezu feat. Hatsune Miku

Ending theme: "Drive" by The Cars

BTW that drawing of Midler is fanmade and was founded on Pinterest without a link to the artist, if anyone here knows who the artist is, please let me know so I can give proper credit. The other images are founded on Jojo Encyclopedia, and Medea King and Eris Raitt belong to me

12 notes · View notes

honeyhotteoks · 1 month ago

Note

hi! i spent quiet a while to write this one + english is not my first language, so i'm sorry in advance.

i studied literature, text editing, journalism and much more disciplines which tought me a lot about text, books and writing. i am a writer too. i do not write fanics on tumblr, but i write quiet a lot on my native language on our local platforms. not to be that person, but i can say when i read a good text, a good story with a good plot and characters, and when i read just a graphomania shit. i know about criticism — i studied literature critics too, so i know what i'm talking about.

so, the hell am i talking about? i know you've been writing for your whole life (?) (or almost), but 'across the stardust' shook me so bad i still cannot find right words to explain my feelings. i guess i've read almost all of your works, and your writing has always been so good so i thought sometimes 'wow a real novel by her could be so amazing'.

'across the stardust' not only well written, but it feels alive. to say boldly we change three main locations where we interact with yunho through this part: the dressing room — yunho's room — our room. locations where are not many things to interact with, not many things that can revive the whole scene, so it's about people. about y/n and yunho. it's only about them and there interaction, about their connection and. lots of dialogues. and what i'm trying to say is that you're so good at writing dialogues and chemistry between the characters— this is literally insane.

i have read many books — good and bad — have read lots of fanfiction to broaden my horizons etc., and the main idea or plot could be so so good, but characters were written so... they were boring, to say at least, and i didn't believe to any of their words. you know this moments where characters meet up and boom! the next day they're already in love, already dating, already so into each other. it can work when the chemistry was done well, but in 99% of such cases it just sucks.

i was afraid that something like this could happen with your fic. afraid because i really love your works and i didn't want to be disappointed. but... i don't know what have you put in this work, but... i felt EVERY single thing you wrote. every single goosebump of y/n of yunho, every single twist in their stomachs, every single fire they felt about each other. this is a truly magic how you made me believe that feelings they always had for each other was not just romantic, sexual or something like this, but deeper. this platonic connection they did not know about, but something has been in the air between them the whole time.

i rarely can actually feel in my bones what characters feel, and you did something i did not know someone can actually do to me. this was so, so incredible written. i swallowed all the dialogues, i wanted to understand the characters, wanted to feel what they felt. i couldn't stop reading— and i was at my workplace! felt like i fell into the black hole hawking told us about and its mass was more then sun's in a million times, so my body was stretched and i reached the event horizon — i'll know what's inside the black hole.

thank you so much for your writing. thank you so much for this work, i hope you'll have enough time and energy for the next parts. thank you thank you and sorry for this bad english and dry review, i swear i am much better with my native language :((

🥺 anon, this is genuinely one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me. i’ve read your message twice and what you said is beyond kind ❤️

please never be sorry for your english, you conveyed so much to me i can only imagine how strong your own writing is in your native language.

i think the pacing problems with romance is a huge reason why i prefer to write longer works and read longer works too. i know that’s not everyone’s favorite, but i’m glad it resonates for you and many other readers here.

also…. what you said about writing a novel. that’s been a quiet dream of mine for a very long time, but i’ll admit that i’ve talked myself out of trying because in my mind the quality jump from fanfiction to published work is a big one, and i’m not sure i could do it. but it means so much to me that you said this, and if i ever do try to publish something i would be so happy to share that with all the people here who have supported my fic so warmly.

also lol one thing did make me laugh, when you said “i don’t know what you have put in this work” because my first thought was that it’s yunho. i think this version of him is closest to the one i imagine is real, versus some of my other work, and this reader is more of myself than i even realized initially. the love i have for yunho seriously transcends delulu, i just love him and look up to him, not for me but just as a person in the world. i’m really glad that translates into the work because when i was posting it i was nervous about the romance feeling too fast or too fake.

anyways i’ll stop rambling but thank you very much once again. definitely more chapters coming soon.

#answered anon

11 notes · View notes

neonponders · 2 years ago

Text

I’m not an OG Harringrove person (I call myself a member of the “second wave” lol I watched ST at the end of 2019 and got into the fandom while Harringrove for Australia was popping off in 2020) but I’ve noticed a reoccurring trend in posts/mentalities.

So many of us question how to be more active in fandom. What can we do differently that will get us more interactions? Really, what can we do to be more appreciated? During my time in this fandom, I’ve gathered good news and bad news:

The good news, is that any negligence we feel, isn’t our fault. We feel like something personal is going on, but really, everyone is just living their lives. So many OG’s are older, married, have kids, and have scary big kid jobs. People’s lack of interaction with us actually has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with them just trying to successfully exist lol

The bad news is that we, for some reason, are convinced that praise is intrusive. That rolling up into someone’s tumblr mailbox is the exact same as unlocking their house and yelling, “HEY. NICE COUCH. GOOD TASTE.”

I’ve been there, and I continue to visit this imposter syndrome place, because I’m a nasty little goblin who needs to be pat on the head as much as anyone else. Now for the deep dive:

Humans are pack creatures with an intrinsic need to create. Easy examples are food, and cliff drawings. It’s not enough to eat a banana right off a tree. We take the risk of putting it to fire and creating a different flavor profile. One of the oldest pieces of human art are some animal outline carvings in the side of some Egyptian cliffs that overlook a stretch of the Nile. Archeologists and anthropologists theorize that these are the first signage we ever made: “Hey heads up, these animals live in this mile-stretch of river. Yes, there’s deer here, but also hippos. Hunt wisely.”

These two traits combine into a neediness that doesn’t know how to be satisfied. Worse, we’re in a broken society that doesn’t celebrate the artist/creative anymore (if it ever really did). And that’s so hypocritical. Artists have kept people alive and happy just as much as the hunter and cook.

We create writing, art, edits, videos, etc and share share share share share....because it’s a stupid little wacky gift of stardust in our brains. This human trait trickles down into us making our silly little fanfics and art projects of rotten characters finding peace, getting plowed after a slow-burn, or just making tea for each other.

The honest truth is that creating isn’t enough. Yes, we do it for ourselves, and we always will. We need to create the same way we need water. The unfair flip side is that we also need our pack to answer us when we ring that bell.

All I can tell you is that life is hard, and more than likely, we see the stuff you’re posting for us. And we’re wildly grateful to you. We’re just trained to think that telling you how special you are, and how grateful we are, will make you disappear.

A star died eons ago and gave us its stardust. It’s unfair that shining is hard but we do see you.

#this is a rant #i'm an ancient history nerd i'm so sorry #fandom #harringrove #do you want more of a metaphor on light pollutions? lol

120 notes · View notes

zaebeecee · 3 months ago

Text

Drowning in Stardust

🦌 RadioDustTober: Short Story Edition 🕷️

Day 08: That Tickles!

Canon-compliant (queerplatonic/romantic)

CWs: Tickling?

Alastor and his shadow are one and the same, or so the Radio Demon claims. Angel Dust wants to see how true that is.

Word count: 1005

•••

Alastor’s shadow was widely known, throughout the Pride Ring, to be something of a creepy fuck. Frequently seen alongside its master, the shadow most always wore a grin even more sinister than Alastor’s own and had a level of independence that meant it could wander on its own. It was both a means of surveillance and a threat that the Radio Demon might be anywhere at any given moment, and while it wasn’t exactly typical to see it around Pentagram City, the people who lived there knew its shape and, more immediately, knew to be wary of it.

When Angel Dust and Alastor had first begun growing closer as friends than as simple casual acquaintances who saw each other around the hotel sometimes, Angel had asked about his shadow. Alastor hadn’t been shy at all, telling him that they were technically one entity, if capable of occupying two completely different spaces at a time. “I may not always be directing its actions, but it obeys me. I can see through its eyes; I can hear through its ears; I can summon it to my side at any moment, and if I choose, I can move through it like any other shadow.”

For the first several months, Angel thought of the shadow as a threatening omen that warned the Radio Demon might be watching him. Soon after that conversation, however, Angel started noticing certain oddities where the shadow was concerned. It, like Alastor, was infinitely curious about the world and seemed to get inordinately excited if it was addressed in a positive manner. Once Angel started greeting it in passing like he would any other member of the hotel, it went from confused to intrigued to simply following him around if it didn’t have anything more important to be doing.

Alastor was the one who made the mistake of mentioning this new development to Angel one evening. It got Angel thinking: if Alastor and his shadow were connected through sight and hearing, what other senses might they share?

Pretty early on in his befriending of Alastor’s shadow, Angel had discovered that he could touch it, kind of; it seemed to exist in a space where all shadows were tangible things, and if Angel’s own shadow made contact with it, it was as though it could feel his touch through that.

In Angel’s defense, he hadn’t thought it would actually be that bad when he finally decided to conduct his experiment. (He later stated, when pressed, that it was Alastor’s fault for never giving him an opportunity earlier.) he had a very specific plan in mind, and that plan required Alastor’s shadow to be somewhere it rarely was: namely, attached to Alastor himself. His first opportunity just happened to come in the hotel lobby, while Alastor was going over business matters with Charlie. Angel didn’t have any interest in their conversation—the details of the day-to-day business of a struggling redemption hotel was far from engaging to him—but that wasn’t why he stayed in the lobby. No, he stayed because Alastor’s shadow was cast up on the wall, looking bored, the blackness at its base running across the floor and attaching to Alastor’s feet.

“Could we reschedule for Monday?” Charlie was asking as Angel waved to the shadow. It perked up, smile spreading and curling at the corner, and raised its own hand to wiggle long, spindly fingers at him.

“No, my dear, you already have quite the full schedule for Monday,” Alastor answered. Angel moved closer and raised his hand, crooking his finger a couple of times to beckon the shadow closer.

“I do?” Charlie asked, put out. “Okay, what about— oh, no, it has to be before Tuesday…” The shadow looked towards Alastor, seemed to determine it wasn’t needed, and swooped along the wall to hover near where Angel stood.

“Friday will be your best opportunity,” Alastor said. Angel raised his hand and watched as his own shadow did the same, fingers extending to trail over the shadow’s pointed ear, making its grin widen and its entire body shiver. “But if you’re that reluctant, I could BE—!!!!” Alastor’s voice pitched up into a squeal, and Angel snapped his head around just in time to see the Radio Demon suddenly slam both of his hands down over his ears, his eyes wide and his grin strained as he looked around sharply.

Charlie’s own eyes were wide, her hair poofed out a bit like a startled cat. “What the fuck, Alastor?!”

Alastor didn’t answer. His eyes briefly landed on Angel, but they were twenty feet apart, so he appeared to decide the spider was innocent and kept looking around. “Did you see something… touch me?” he asked, his voice deeply layered with radio static and suspicion.

“…no…?” Charlie’s expression morphed to one of concern as Angel reached out again, fingers extending for the shadow’s side this time. “Alastor, are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, of course, I’m FINE FUCK!!” It was hard to tell if the words were a giggle or a shriek, or perhaps both, as Alastor bent to protect his side from an unseen enemy. He spun around, his microphone staff appearing in his hand as he did so.

Angel bit down on his lip so he didn’t start laughing himself. It was only a matter of time before he was caught out, so… he reached out once more, this time going for a full-on, four-handed tickle of Alastor’s shadow. It looked like it was laughing, flailing and distorting but not making any effort to get away.

Almost immediately, Alastor started cackling, the sound definitely unhinged; Angel knew he had been caught out when Alastor’s shadow was suddenly gone, like it had been sucked away. Angel looked at Alastor as he tried to catch his breath, his eyes wide and his sclera black. “Angel…” he hissed warningly.

“Uh-oh.” Angel turned and started running, shrieking as he heard the sounds of Alastor chasing him down.

“Don’t get blood on the carpet, please!” was all Charlie yelled after them.

•••

#my writing #drowning in stardust #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin angel dust #radiodust #hazbin radiodust #writing challenge #writing prompt

26 notes · View notes