#1) Watch Queen perform at Live Aid

[quite-right-too]

If you were to travel with the Doctor, reblog this with which Doctor and what three places/events you would to go first.

[justforbooks]

When Tina Turner, who has died aged 83, walked out on her abusive husband Ike in Dallas, Texas, she feared it would spell the end of her showbusiness career. It was 1976, and she had been performing with Ike for two decades, since she had first jumped onstage and sang with his band at the Manhattan club in East St Louis, Missouri. Yet, although she was desperate and had only 36 cents in her pocket, she was on her way to a renaissance as one of the most successful performers in popular music during the 1980s and 90s.

She had to endure several lean years, but a turning point came in 1983, when David Bowie told Capitol Records that she was his favourite singer. A version of Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together followed. Produced by the electro-poppers Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh from Heaven 17, the track went to No 6 in the UK, then cracked the US Top 30 the following year.

Turner cemented the upturn in her fortunes with the album Private Dancer (1984). Driven by the huge hit What’s Love Got to Do With It? (her first American No 1), the album became a phenomenon, lodging itself in the American Top 10 for nine months and going on to sell more than 10m copies. Suddenly Turner was one of the biggest acts in an era of stadium superstars such as Michael Jackson, Dire Straits and Phil Collins.

In 1985 she was recruited to play Aunt Entity in the film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, for which she recorded another international chartbuster, We Don’t Need Another Hero. A second Thunderdome single, One of the Living, won her a Grammy award, and she was an automatic choice to join the Live Aid benefit concert in that year, as well as to participate in its American theme song, We Are the World.

Her follow-up album, Break Every Rule (1986), launched Turner on a global touring campaign, during which a crowd of 184,000 watched her in Rio de Janeiro. The tour spun off a double album, Tina Live in Europe (1988).

The album Foreign Affair (1989) sold 6m copies and generated another trademark anthem, The Best, which was subsequently used to add oomph to numerous TV commercials and adopted both by the tennis ace Martina Navratilova and the racing driver Ayrton Senna. The subsequent Foreign Affair tour ended in Rotterdam in 1990, after which she duetted with Rod Stewart on the old Tammi Terrell/Marvin Gaye hit It Takes Two. Designed as the theme for a Pepsi advert, the track was a chart hit across Europe.

Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, to Zelma Currie, a factory worker, and her husband, Floyd Bullock, a Baptist deacon. Abandoned by their father and temporarily by their mother, in 1956 Annie and her elder sister, Alline, moved to St Louis, Missouri, where they encountered Ike Turner and his band the Rhythm Kings. After Annie had talked the initially reluctant Ike into letting her sing with the band, he recruited her as one of his backing singers.

It was in 1960 that Tina – who had by then changed her name because it reminded Ike of the cartoon character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle – first sang a lead vocal with Ike’s band. A session singer failed to turn up, and Tina’s stand-in performance of A Fool in Love was a hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Ike immediately rebuilt his act around Tina, and christened it the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. They married in 1962.

Featuring nine musicians and a trio of skimpily dressed backing singers, the Ikettes, the Revue took the R&B circuit by storm. Tina rapidly developed into a mesmerising performer, radiating raw sexuality and bludgeoning audiences with the unvarnished force of her voice. They began to pepper the charts with hits, including I Idolise You, Poor Fool and Tra La La La La, and even if they only intermittently crossed over from the R&B charts to the pop mainstream, the band’s performing reputation was second to none. Evidence of their stage prowess was preserved on the 1965 album Live! The Ike and Tina Turner Show, recorded on tour in Texas.

However, the seeds of the couple’s destruction were being sown in their successful but intense lifestyle. Ike was a habitual womaniser, and also developed a destructive cocaine habit. This provoked violent outbursts against Tina, who, as she later revealed in her 1986 autobiography, I, Tina, was beaten, burned with cigarettes and scalded with hot coffee. She gained a glimpse of what life beyond Ike’s intimidating orbit might be like when she worked with the “Wall of Sound” producer Phil Spector in 1966. To Ike’s frustration, Spector refused to allow him in the studio while he worked on the single River Deep, Mountain High, which subsequently became regarded as a high point of both Spector’s and Turner’s careers.

The Turners’ work won them the admiration of many of their peers, not least the Rolling Stones, who invited them to open a UK tour for them in 1966, then to join them on their American tour in 1969. Mick Jagger was regularly spotted at the side of the stage during Tina’s performances, fascinated by her stage presence and dance routines. One of the high points of Live Aid in 1985 was Tina and Jagger performing together at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.

Working with the Stones prompted the Turners to import a rock-orientated edge into their work, a ploy that worked most successfully when they recorded John Fogerty’s Proud Mary in 1971. It was their first million-selling single and a Top five hit on the American pop charts. In 1973 they notched up another landmark with Tina’s feisty composition Nutbush City Limits, inspired by her Tennessee origins. She took the role of the Acid Queen in Ken Russell’s film of The Who’s rock opera, Tommy (1975): her performance was one of its few critically acclaimed moments, though her spin-off solo album, The Acid Queen, made little impression on the charts.

After her split from Ike, Tina stayed with friends and was forced to survive on food stamps. When their divorce was finalised in 1978, she preferred to take no money or property from the settlement, to establish a complete break from her husband. She earned cash from TV guest appearances on the Donny & Marie and the Sonny & Cher shows, but her late-70s albums Rough and Love Explosion sold poorly.

In 1980 she signed a management deal with Roger Davies, an Australian promoter working in the US, who secured some lucrative engagements in Las Vegas. The following year the Rolling Stones galloped to the rescue once again by booking her as the opening act on their Tattoo You tour of the US, and she also appeared with Stewart in a California concert broadcast internationally by satellite.

By the time she was inducted (with Ike, though he was then in jail) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, Turner had little left to prove. She was able to spend more time at the homes in Switzerland and the Cote d’Azur that she now shared with the German record executive Erwin Bach. A singles collection, Simply the Best (1991), reeled in more platinum discs as Turner entered the senior stateswoman phase of her career.

In 1993, as she launched her first US tour in six years, her film biography, What’s Love Got to Do With It, based on I, Tina, was released, starring Angela Bassett as Turner. The film brought forth a bestselling soundtrack album and another hit single with its opening track, I Don’t Wanna Fight.

A three-disc anthology, The Collected Recordings – Sixties to Nineties, appeared in 1994, and the following year came Turner’s recording of GoldenEye, the theme tune of the eponymous James Bond movie. The tour that accompanied her eighth studio album, Wildest Dreams (1996), became another record-breaker, grossing more than $100m in Europe alone. Twenty Four Seven (1999) teed up what Turner announced would be her last major arena and stadium tour. She had intended to tour with Elton John, but the idea was scrapped after she argued with him about the piano arrangement for Proud Mary during rehearsals for a TV special, Divas Live ’99. Her subsequent solo dates became the top-grossing tour of 2000.

A quiet period ensued, during which Turner confined herself to hand-picked events, such as a 2005 performance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She contributed a version of Edith and the Kingpin to River: The Joni Letters (2007), a tribute album produced by Herbie Hancock. She performed alongside Beyoncé at the Grammy awards in 2008.

That October she went back on the road with the Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour, synchronised with the compilation album Tina: The Platinum Collection. In 2010 she became the first female artist to score top 40 hits in the UK in six consecutive decades (1960s-2010s) when The Best bounced back into the UK Top 10. Her Love Songs compilation appeared in 2014, and her remix of What’s Love Got to Do With It with the Norwegian DJ Kygo in 2020 made for a seventh decade containing UK hits.

Between 2009 and 2014 Turner appeared on four albums by Beyond, an all-woman group formed with her neighbours in Küsnacht, near Zürich. The music reflected the spiritual and religious beliefs of the participants, with Turner considering herself a Baptist-Buddhist (she was raised as a Baptist, but began practising Nichiren Buddhism in 1973).

In 2013 she married Bach and gave up her American citizenship to become a Swiss citizen. Three weeks after the marriage she suffered a stroke, and in 2016 she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, then suffered kidney failure when “the toxins in my body had started taking over”, as she put it in her second autobiography, Tina Turner: My Love Story (2018). Her husband volunteered to give her one of his kidneys and a transplant operation was carried out successfully in 2017.

The following year, the biographical stage musical Tina opened at Aldwych theatre in London, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starring Adrienne Warren in the title role. Turner received a Grammy lifetime achievement award, to go with her existing tally of eight Grammy awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame awards. Among her vast collection of honours, Turner also had five American Music awards, two World Music awards and three MTV Video Music awards.

In 2021 she joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an outright solo performer and sold the rights to her music catalogue to the publishing company BMG for an estimated $50m. Ready to retire fully, she bade farewell to her fans with the two-part HBO documentary Tina.

Alline died in 2010. Tina’s eldest son, Craig, from a relationship with the saxophonist Raymond Hill, took his own life in 2018. Ronnie, her son with Ike, died in 2022.

She is survived by Erwin and two sons, Ike Jr and Michael, from Ike’s first marriage.

🔔 Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock), singer and songwriter, born 26 November 1939; died 24 May 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[mazarin01]

Isak. 

I slowly roll the name across my tongue over and over again, a smile blooming as the butterflies multiply in my belly. I climb down from the top of my bunk bed, landing on my feet with a heavy thud. Quickly rolling my chair across the floor to lean against the open closet, I climb on top of it, holding on to the door so as not to fall down. 

I pull out the black shoe box hiding behind my old ski pants I haven’t worn in years, losing my balance as the seat swings to the side, nearly crashing with the floor.

I flop down at the bottom of my bunk bed and lean my back against the wall, then carefully open the shoe box and pull out a clipping from the local newspaper from last fall. 

Isak stands with a gold medal around his neck, a football under one arm, the other raised in triumph, eyes big and smile broad. I stare blissfully at the picture before kissing his face gently, butterflies swirling around my belly like they’re dancing to a music video on MTV. 

I’m not sure, but I think he likes me. And not just as a friend, but maybe as something more? Maybe the way that makes you want to kiss someone and hold hands. Maybe the same way I’ve heard rumored about Freddie Mercury, the vocalist in Queen. 

I love Queen, love the performance they had at Live Aid in 1985. I love Freddie Mercury in tight jeans and a singlet. But most of all, I love Isak Valtersen. 

On Sunday I went to school with Yousef and Mutasim. They wanted to skate since the national ban had finally been repealed. I don't skate, it looks so scary, and when I got bored of watching them, I walked over to the football field next to the school to look for Isak. I often see him there with his best friends Jonas, Magnus and Mahdi playing football. 

That afternoon he was there all by himself, repeatedly shooting against the wide open goal. Just when I was about to call his name, he spotted me. He ran towards me, greeting me with a shy smile. 

We talked for a long time, leaning up against the fence. Isak told me about a cool old Nintendo Game & Watch he’d gotten from his mum and I told him about the movie Cinema Paradiso I forced Mikael to watch with me last week. 

As we were saying goodbye to each other, something absolutely magical happened. Without looking Isak pushed his pinky against mine, gently brushing his finger over mine. A tingling sensation raced through me, turning my legs into jello and quickly short circuiting my brain. I couldn’t speak and my heart pounded so fast I started to worry it might explode. 

When I managed to somewhat gain control of my body again, I glanced at him. He didn’t say anything, just bit his lower lip and sent me that same shy smile. His dark red cheeks took my breath away and all I could do was smile back.

💖🥳🧡🥳💛🥳💚🥳💙🥳💜🥳💙🥳💚🥳💛🥳🧡🥳💖

To @ghostcat3000

You lowkey wished for fan made birthday presents this year, and since you were so cool and wrote me into your EVAK fic 1 Thing last year, I thougt I'd gift you something for your birthday.

1989 is a story I posted in Norwegian on AO3 back in 2018. It's honestly one of the stories I've written that I'm most proud of.

I've translated it into English so more people can read it. @alterlove2021 is my trusted beta and has done magic to the story, sanding down the rough edges and polishing it, making it shine like a diamond.

It's not the 25th just yet, but since I have no chill what so ever, I decided to post a little sneak peak here on Tumblr along with some art I made for the story.

The whole story will be available on the 25th on AO3 for you and everyone else to read.

Happy Birthday in advance.

XO Mazarin

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 6 (7 of 7)

Episode 25: The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Plot (as given by me):

As Voyager enters a nebula, it cuts main power, interrupting the regeneration cycle of the Borg children.  Seven, anticipating that the power-down may frighten the children, asks Neelix to watch over them, a task which Neelix is only too happy to perform to distract himself.  The children inquire whether the shut-down has any relation to a section of deck 12 that has long been off-limits to all but senior personnel, and which Naomi Wildman has claimed to be haunted.  Seeing that he won’t get anywhere by deflecting the questions, Neelix tells the children about a series of events which occurred just before they came aboard Voyager.

Several months earlier, Voyager collected deuterium from another nebula, and somehow caused the nebula to begin dissipating.  Captain Janeway ordered the ship to leave rather than risk the ship’s safety, and aside from what appeared to be a random energy discharge, the ship left the nebula unscathed.  Soon after, Voyager began experiencing various malfunctions.  Eventually, Janeway and the others deduced that a space-dwelling life-form had come aboard Voyager and was trying to return to its natural home in the nebula.  Using the computer voice-command interface, Janeway convinced the alien to let them take Voyager back.

Unfortunately, the nebula continued to dissipate in Voyager’s absence and no longer existed.  In anger, the alien tried to force the crew off the ship.  However, it relented when it realised that it could not maintain Voyager alone, but with the crew’s help could find a new home.  The crew returned, and the alien has lived in the sealed part of deck 12 until Voyager could find it a new home.  During all of these events, Neelix confronted fears of his own with the aid of Tuvok.  In the present, main power comes back on as Neelix’s story concludes, but now the children are afraid in case the alien hasn’t left the ship.  Neelix allays their fears by suggesting he made the story up, something Icheb suspected due to a technical inaccuracy early in the story.  When Neelix goes to the bridge, however, the story is revealed to be true as Neelix hopes the alien lives “happily ever after”.

Review:

After a long run of episodes without character development or any issues to explore, the prior episode to this was certainly a relief, and here the trend of getting back to proper Trek story-telling persists.  The story of an alien life-form losing its habitat through resource-mining on Voyager’s part is a clear metaphor for deforestation and other forms of habitat loss, an issue even more relevant now than it was when this episode first aired in May 2000.  Of course, the episode doesn’t particularly explore this issue, but at this point, having a Voyager episode even include an issue of any kind in the story is a minor miracle.

The episode also deals with the issue of not letting fear get control of you or lead you to hasty conclusions, which is explored through Neelix’s part in the story he recounts to the Borg children.  This is another good issue, and is probably the intended issue or “morality play” of the episode.  However, that too doesn’t get much exploration.  This episode is well-performed and has good underlying issues, not to mention character exploration of sorts for Neelix, but by trying to do so much at once, it can’t really do it well.  Still, a substantive episode in a season of Voyager that has struggled for substance overall is still commendable and worthy of a decent score.  For me, this one gets 8 out of 10.

Episode 26: Unimatrix Zero (Part 1)

Plot (as given by me):

In the Borg collective, the Borg Queen is interrogating drones and having them killed and dissected as she tries to find the cause of some “disease” affecting some drones within the Collective.  On Voyager, Seven experiences what is initially believed to be an unsettling dream where a strange man addresses her by her human name, and shortly after Tom Paris regains his former rank of lieutenant, the ship responds to a distress call.  They arrive at an asteroid colony two hours later to find that they’re too late; the colony has been attacked and its occupants presumably assimilated by the Borg.

Seven’s dreams turn out not to be dreams at all; instead, the strange man turns out to be a friend known as Axum.  He explains that there is a secret shared unconscious among the drones of the Collective known as Unimatrix Zero.  Within this world, certain drones with a recessive gene are able to exist as they once did before assimilation while they undergo regeneration.  The Borg Queen has learned of this mental link and is searching for a more efficient means of detecting and eliminating the affected drones.  During her time in the Collective, Seven also visited this secret Unimatrix, but as no one in the Collective retains any memory of it while awake, she has forgotten.  Axum explains that the members of Unimatrix Zero have created a virus to mask them from detection by the Queen, but their inability to retain their individuality in the real world means that they need the assistance of Seven and the crew of Voyager.

Following a debate among the senior staff, Captain Janeway visits Unimatrix Zero with Seven, Tuvok acting as a telepathic “bridge” so Janeway can access the virtual world.  Unfortunately, during the visit, the Borg Queen also finds a way to send drones into Unimatrix Zero; anyone “killed” in that realm awakens and is detected by the Queen.  When Janeway takes down a drone, the Queen becomes aware of Janeway’s involvement.  After a brief threat from the Queen in the waking world, Janeway devises and implements a revised plan.  Instead of a virus to mask the Unimatrix Zero drones, the Doctor and B’Elanna devise one that can enable those drones to retain their individuality while awake.

Initially planning to infiltrate the nearest Borg vessel alone to administer the virus, Janeway is cajoled by Chakotay into taking B’Elanna and Tuvok with her as well.  Seven also volunteers, but Janeway insists she remain on Voyager to liaise with the Unimatrix Zero residents.  During a subsequent trip to the Unimatrix, Seven learns Axum was romantically involved with her in the past, but had kept this from her.  Meanwhile, Voyager attacks a Borg Cube, distracting it and causing a shield fluctuation that enables Janeway, B’Elanna and Tuvok to beam over from the Delta Flyer, which is subsequently destroyed.  Nearing the vessel’s central plexus where the virus must be released, the away team is caught and assimilated.  As soon as this is detected aboard Voyager, Chakotay gives Tom permission to get the ship away from the Borg vessel.

Review:

Again, we find ourselves at the point where a season-bridging cliff-hanger is worked in, and as often happens with Voyager two-parters, it’s Borg-centric.  There’s also a bit more to look into on Memory Alpha this time round, which helps to frame any possible critique of the episode.  Apparently the originally pitched plot involved accessing some kind of intergalactic cyberspace via the holodeck, and while some elements weren’t accepted, alternative ideas for a virtual world were also pitched.  The writer, Mike Sussman, apparently had the least faith in his third of the three alternate ideas, which was a Borg-related concept, and yet this was the one picked up and used for this two-parter.

Personally, while I think the original plot idea would have been interesting in retrospect, looking back from an age where social media and VR technology is a big part of our technological landscape, I don’t think it would have worked during Voyager’s time on air.  Back then, virtual communication was still in the process of being accepted, and I’m not sure you could sell even a Trek audience on the idea of a holodeck-based intergalactic chat room back then, never mind the custodians of Trek in that era.  Also, given the subsequent misuse of social media since it took hold in society, and given Gene Roddenberry’s philosophy for Star Trek, I’m inclined to think that social media in this version of the 24th century will be like television; an obsolete application of technology.  However, that’s just a gut feeling more than anything else on my part.

So, instead of a holodeck-based chat room, we get a hidden layer within the Borg collective consciousness that has the potential to undermine the suppression of free will inherent in the wider hive-mind.  It’s an interesting idea, one that kind of taps into the original inception of the Borg in TNG as a metaphor for what life might be like if you over-depend on technology.  In that context, the existence of Unimatrix Zero could be seen as a necessary psychological reaction against an over-reliance on technology.  However, these issues take a back-seat to plot and action, along with beginning to develop Seven of Nine.  This two-parter is the first to really give her any kind of a romance in the show, her previous attempts at dating notwithstanding.  This actually foreshadows things to come in the next and final season of the show, but we’ll save that for another time.

The long-and-short of this is we’re seeing Voyager close out its penultimate season by getting back to at least some basic principle of Trek, but without necessarily nailing their execution.  We also get Tom Paris restored to lieutenant, so that’s a nice touch of continuity, though the episode lacks continuity in some other areas.  Also, I find it strange that the Borg Queen’s efforts to find Unimatrix Zero drones focus on technical components within the affected drones when Axum claims a recessive gene is the key, suggesting the focus should be on the biological part of each drone.  Either the Queen’s not yet found a species with very good genetic scan technology to assimilate, Axum’s getting wrong information from somewhere, or the staff writers and science advisors for this episode really dropped the ball.  Without these niggles, the episode might have surpassed the one before.  As it is, I’m going to give it just 7 out of 10.

[neowitcher]

5 Favourite Films | Fall 2022 Releases

We’re already way into winter but better late than never. Due to my lack of reading last season, I’ve kept it to films only this time so here are my top five films that releases last fall.

1. The Menu (2022), dir. Mark Mylod ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

A couple travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises. (Letterboxd)

Generally, thrillers and films that are anxiety-inducing aren’t usually my cup of tea - I’m trying to escape the stress, not add to it. The Menu is one of those great exceptions where being sat at the edge of your seat isn’t all that bad because it is just that good. With incredible performances and a very interesting premise, The Menu had me laughing and gasping the way I could only have hoped it would.

2. Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), dir. Anne Fletcher ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

29 years since the Black Flame Candle was last lit, the 17th-century Sanderson sisters are resurrected, and they are looking for revenge. Now it’s up to three high school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve. (Letterboxd)

This is a great example of why I use favourite instead of best films in the title. The sequel to Hocus Pocus definitely isn’t better than anything else on this list but it sure was a good time and exactly what I was hoping for when it was announced. An incredible comeback with a solid ending and great new witches, it easily made the fall season a lot spookier.

3. Wendell & Wild (2022), dir. Henry Selick ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Two demon brothers enlist the aid of Kat Elliot — a tough teen with a load of guilt — to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other. (Letterboxd)

Talking about spooky, Wendell & Wild is the animation film I didn’t expect to get but once I had watched it, I absolutely loved it! It’s undeniable that Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is great and deserves all the awards and nominations it is getting, I just wish this one also got some more recognition. It brings back so much animation nostalgia but in a much more modern jacket. Incredible collaboration between Selick and Peele, that’s for sure. Full review can be found here.

4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), dir. Ryan Coogler ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. (Letterboxd)

Closing another chapter within the MCU with a stunning film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is definitely one of the better recent additions to that universe. Despite the great amiss, the film is written well and the acting is incredibly well done (especially Danai Gurira). Phase four had a bit of everything and there wasn’t a whole ton of cohesion, but this sequel shows the potential of everything to come (and shows that Ryan Coogler is one of the best MCU directors up to date). Full review can be found here.

5. The Wonder (2022), dir. Sebastián Lelio ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Set in the Irish Midlands in 1859 as an English nurse, Lib Wright, goes to a tiny village to observe what some see as a medical anomaly and others a miracle, that a girl has survived without food for months. Tourists flock to see 11-year-old Anna O’Donnell, and a journalist has come to cover the sensation as two strangers transform each other’s lives in a story of love pitted against evil. (Letterboxd)

Finally, the film that shows that Florence Pugh is even better when cast in an actually well written film (sorry, Don’t Worry Darling). Although the fourth wall breaks confused me in the beginning, The Wonder proved to be a gorgeous and heart-wrenching historical drama with incredible costumes and even better acting. Definitely a great story that makes you want to pick up some history books to discover more, just how I like it.

Honourable mentions: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Enola Holmes 2

[natromanxoff]

FELIX TAYLOR INTERVIEW WITH QUEEN ONLINE - OCTOBER, 2006 (INTERVIEW-2)

PART-1

What kind of father is Arty? How you do describe him?

He’s a very nice man – generous and kind-hearted, and actually very funny when you know him well. My brother and sisters and I are quite mean to him, we’re always taking the piss, but we all love very much. He’s as much a friend as a father to me. Good drinking buddy too.

I know you're writing a new novel. Are you planning to publish it one day?

Of course, why else would I bother writing it? No takers as yet unfortunately, and I’m working on my second book – an occult thriller.

What is your unfulfilled dream?

To learn how to surf, become really good at skiing, and have a wicked job that allows me to do both for a good spell of the year. Oh, and have a lovely wife and kids, be really successful, and generally the don of everything. I’d like to be seen as a cross between James Bond, Sir Walter Scott, the Beach Boys and Ghandi. I’m quite clumsy and the idea of being super-dextrous appeals to me, but I know that I will always fall over if I do anything physical (it’s actually quite reassuring now – at least I know what I’m going to get if I try t show off).

Would you like to become a writer?

Very much, you can choose your own hours and be the master of the worlds you create. It’s such fun coming up with storylines and characters. What a great job if you can make any money out of it! The bit I like less is the actual writing, but you just need to grind on with that I suppose. I’ll carry on writing till I’m senile or I get a book properly published at any rate.

Where do you live?

In East London – it’s fun, and it’s the oldest part of London along with the City, so there’s buckets of weird stuff to discover. It’s also changing faster than any other part of London, and you can literally watch the buildings come down and go up.

Are you in contact with Brian's and John's children?

Not as much as I should be. We should see more of each other really.

What was the first single or album you ever bought?

I have never bought singles. I would like to be able to say that the first album I bought was something g really cool, but unfortunately it was Bon Jovi’s Keep the Faith. I later learnt the error of my ways and started liking proper music.

Did you often follow your father when he was and is on tour?

I went to quite a few dates when I was very young, but they stopped playing live when I was six. The only one I can really remember is Live Aid (glad that’s the one that stuck in my mind). I joined my dad on their last tour quite a few times (we got very, very drunk one night in Japan in particular – bet he remembers that one!), and boy was I impressed – they are leagues ahead of most bands in terms of live performance.

Have you ever been in Italy? If so, when and where exactly?

I’ve been to Rome, Sardinia and Naples. Great country, fun people and good food, and the attitude to life is very different. Bad politics though, such a shame for italy to have so many crooks in power (I suppose the UK’s not much better).

What kind of education your parents gave you and your sister?

I went to a French Government school in London, and then boarding school when I was 13. I was very lucky to get such a good education, and I loved boarding school – don’t understand why people would knock it as a concept (though I do understand why people have a problem with the idea of private schools).

Is your personality more on the same wave-length as your dad or as your lovely mum? And why?

I’ve got a temper, which comes from my mum’s side, and I’m quite stubborn (not sure which side that’s from – they’re both a pain like that). I look like my mother, but I’ve got my father’s tastes when it comes to most things, and we share the same sense of humour. They’ve both made me who I am, and I ask them for different types of advice. I love them both to bits though.

PART-2

What are you currently listening too?

Hot Chip’s new album, but there’s only one good song on it. My friend Kamila Thompson’s music, which is quite brilliant, lots of the Who, Muse’s new album (superb), Stevie Wonder’s Inner Visions and a little bit of Razorlight.

Do you plan to promote this single on MTV or other TV channels, perhaps with a video to accompany the song?"

Not up to me, trying to get it out there, and would love to have some video footage, but we need some radio play first.

As Arty and Brian May are close friends I was thinking if you and his son are in contact and if so do you see him often?

I do see him, though not as often as I should. He’s just got married and he’s one of the nicest people you could ever meet.

What did you study at College?

European history, philosophy and politics, with French language and literature. I loved my degree and worked really hard for it, but it was a fat lot of use to me really – a degree’s worth nothing these days, too many people have them.

When you were a child you often stayed with Chris Taylor, Arty's personal assistent. Are you still in contact with him?

No longer. Lost contact with a lot of people since those days. It’s a long time ago.

Is your nature similar to your mother's or your father's?

Bit of both really – good and bad elements from both.

Would you ever consider starring in We Will Rock You?

No, I’m not an actor and I don’t like musicals either. I think they’re silly (apart from the one you are talking about of course, which is the greatest show on earth, a must see for the whole family etc.) Besides, nobody’s asked me to do it anyway.

You have a wonderful voice, you said back in Part 2 that your teenage brother is a drummer, are there any other musical members of your family (apart from the obvious)?

Nope. My sisters are all very talented in other ways (medecine, painting/drawing, showing off…) but my brother is the musical one. He’s quite cool too, and good-looking, the cocky bugger – really annoying actually.

You had mentioned your favorite album by your father is Happiness? which contains a few political statements. Are you as politically opinionated as your father, or share similar beliefs with him?

Yes, I’m quite intolerant sometimes, and have to stop myself from being a dick in conversation when I get too passionate about certain things. I share many of my dad’s beliefs, but we differ on some things. I’m a liberal in the old fashioned sense I suppose, and I think everyone should have the same opportunities and freedoms, but not at anyone else’s expense. I think both socialism and neo- liberalism/Thatcherism are bogus, and don’t concentrate on what actually makes people happy, which is feeling like they are part of a community with those people around them and being free to make their own decisions.

Will we be hearing more of your music in the near future?

I hope so, depends on whether this record goes anywhere. We’ll make some more, but we need to see how well this one does at the moment.

PART-3

What artists, past and present, do you enjoy listening to?

Anyone with soul, balls (not in the literal sense – there are women on my list of favourites) or an attitude.

Are there any other creative outlets besides music that you wish to pursue?

Writing, writing, writing. I’m quite a good mimic too actually, and I want to submit a voicereel for radio, just to see if I get anywhere.

You can save one thing from your burning house, what would it be?

Passport – doh! No, it would probably be my girlfriend, though I might be tempted to take the playstation at the time instead.

What is your favorite memory during your childhood?

Playing doctors and nurses.

Are there any popular songs that you would like to give your spin on (i.e. "cover")?

Several – I don’t like Mondays, concrete jungle by Bob Marley, do you wanna dance by the Beach Boys… loads.

Who created cover to the " 'Woman You're So Beautiful'" single?

I drew it, the graphics dudes coloured it.

What music you DON’T you like?

Middle Of the Road, contemporary R & B (what is it for?), contemporary hip-hop and things like Justin Timberlake… even a pop song has to have soul. Nothing wrong with good pop. I also hate pretentious music which is rubbish but trying to be clever: Captain Beefheart, Franz Ferdinand et al…

My first question is, how did having a famous father affect you as a child? Was everyone eager to be your friend because of your dad's status or were most people pretty relaxed about it? Did your classmates give you a hard time about being related to a rockstar?

No, was always very lucky. Made sure to make friends with people before they knew my dad was a popstar. Never teased about this or anything, always had good solid friends. Never really helped with the girls either – I had to win them over with my natural good looks and charm.

Second, I was reading your answers from your last batch of questions and I was wondering if you would care to elaborate on your ambitions of being an author.

What a vague question. I want to write a book and sell it to lots of people. I like odd stories that involve the macabre or political/spiritual ideas. My favourite twentieth century authors are Lewis, Huxley, Robert Graves and Orwell.

I'd like to see how you look like. How about showing us a recent pic of yours? A real one of course, not that comic thingy. Wink

No sweat, I’ll post one on the Myspace site then. I look better in cartoon though.

What are your 5 desert island discs?

Not necessarily my favourites, as I would play them often…

Dark side of the moon, Inner Visions, The Who, live at leeds, Catch a fire and 2 Many DJ’s (the Soulwax mix comp.)

What did you think of the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour?

Brilliant, my dad has never played so well as on some of those dates… not just saying that. I was really impressed.

Beatles or The Stones?

Beatles! The Stones are a silly joke band after the Brian Jones period… they vastly inferior songwriters compared to the Beatles, they can’t do the harmonies or perfect vocals that the Beatles managed to put together, and they’re a twangy, plinky-plonky white blues band, so much less groundbreaking or sophisticated than the Beatles. They just had attitude when they played live.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

Drink, being naked, taking a valium and walking around the house a couple of times a year. I like cold leftovers more than hot food as well, doesn’t matter what it is , if it’s been in the fridge overnight, it’s gold.

Roger’s PA is lovely could you introduce me?

I’m afraid she’s a taken woman! She is lovely indeed, a really special person, and I think of her as family. She can be scary sometimes though – she’s very good at her job.

INTERVIEW-1

[mirkwoodshewolf]

On set visits; Queen x reader x Borhap boys pt. 1

*Author's note*

Alright so this part is broken up into 2 parts so here is the 1st part of the Bohemian Rhapsody film set visit. Part 2 will be up in just a second after I get done with this author's note. So expect some crazy stuff happening, fluffiness and the Rock Angel reminiscing on her past with the boys. 

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queendeakyy​

@wormzteef​

@geek-and-proud​

@starswin​

@isabella-bby​

@onebigfangirlworld​

@labessieisallama​

@5sos-wdw​

@ssa-sadboi​

@naturalswifty89​

@bohemiansweede

_________________________________________________________

*Sept. 2017. Filming Bohemian Rhapsody*

I almost couldn't believe it myself. I mean I knew that the boys were planning on a film about themselves and that it was taking them almost 10 years just to get it off the ground. But now after multiple rewrites of the script and better casting, the film was ready to get off the ground.

"So you're absolutely sure I can stop by whenever I feel like it? No matter how many times?" I spoke into my I-phone.

'Absolutely love, just as long as you don't spill any secrets.'

"Please Bri, when have I ever revealed anything to anyone about you guys?"

'Well there was the time—'

"That was a fluck and you know it!" I snapped.

'I'm kidding love, you've never spilled any secrets. You've gotten better at lying lately.' Brian chuckled.

"Well when you say it like that it makes me feel guilty."

'As it should love. So when can we expect you?'

"I'll try to get there before the filming starts, so I may end up going to bed now so that way I can get on the road early enough to beat traffic."

'I know Rog is looking forward to seeing you again.'

"I just did the summer tour with you guys, how could he already miss me?"

'It's a mystery to all of us, but he is your father after all.'

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay well I'll see you tomorrow Bri."

'See you then (y/n). sweet dreams and drive safe tomorrow.'

"Will do. Love you."

'Love you too poppet.' I then hung up and couldn't help but grin.

"You still going over to see them film tomorrow?" I turned and low and behold after a long day's shift there was my husband coming in from his police work.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat threw up." I teased.

"Ha-ha you're hilarious my love." He said as he undid his tie and unbuttoned his short. "So the film's finally taking off the ground?"

"Yep, and they finally found a better Freddie Mercury."

"Yeah cause I remember when you called and told me about Sacha Baron Cohen."

"I just couldn't stand the fact that he was wanting to expose the dark side of Freddie. I mean yeah he had the parties, and the drugs, the sex, but that's all what Rock and rollers did back in those days. Plus that's all he seemed to care about. The scandal that came with Freddie's name, nothing about the music. I'm only just glad Bri sided with me on it." I ranted as Jack came up after taking his shirt and undoing his pants and began to rub my shoulders.

"I know love. You're as protective of this project as Brian and Roger are. So do you know who exactly they got to play Freddie this time?"

"No, but I'll find out tomorrow."

"Okay well, my team's got a heavy lead on the case so I won't really be available tomorrow."

"I understand. Just—promise me you'll be careful my love. I haven't forgotten that one killer that shot you in the line of duty."

"I survived didn't I? Plus now we both have a bullet story to share." He leaned his forehead against mine.

"Not funny Jack." I muttered.

"I know. C'mon let's get some sleep. We both have got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I nodded and then we both got into bed and we fell asleep.

Early the next morning I was on my way over to the set driving in my own car without a driver. As I approached the set gate of course I was stopped by security.

"Badge and proof of visitation ma'am." I handed him the badge that Roger had sent in for me and some documentation that I needed to show him saying that I was not only visiting but a consultant for the movie to help the actors get to know the true Queen. "Everything checks out Mrs. Kline, here you go and have a good day."

"You too uhh—Marvin." I read his nametag before putting my VIP badge around my neck as the gate opened and I drove on inside.

After about 10 minutes I finally was able to find a parking space. I got out of the car and locked it up before walking towards the set. I was told by Brian that the actors had been prepping for the biggest scene they were going to film, the Live Aid sequence.

When I came around and actually stepped up onto the stage, I was blown away and taken back to the summer of 1985. Jesus they—the production got every single detail down to the paint chippings. The rigged lights that Queen had the day they performed, Roger's kit and the grand piano with Freddie's Pepsi cups filled with beer.

"Oh my god. Jack if only you were here to see this." I muttered to myself. It was then I saw Brian talking to someone but—wait did he? Did he seriously dye his hair back to its original dark curls? I walked up to him but waited till he was done talking to some of the producers. Once he was I tapped his shoulder and he turned around and—oh wow I just....wow.

I don't know whether this is a prank or time travel does exist but I swear I'm literally looking at Brian the day I had met him.

"Okay it's official. I think I have finally cracked." I said as I placed my hand over my forehead.

"I'm sorry ma'am do you need to sit down or can I get you a cup of water?" Oh god he even sounds like Brian.

"Ahhh seems you two have already met. And here I thought I could surprise you." I turned and there was—Brian? My Brian with the grey curls now. Wait what!? What is going on here!?

"What the f—"

"Ah, ah language young lady!" Brian scolded.

"You must be the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline, Brian and Roger have told us a lot about you. Pardon me, Gwilym Lee." He said as he extended his hand to me. I shook it and said in awe.

"Ahhhh, now I see it. Sorry Gwilym dear, never did I think I'd see two Brian's at once. I swear to god you look—exactly like Brian when I met him."

"Anita said the exact same thing. Cheeky woman was even trying to flirt with him." Brian said as he pouted towards the end..

"No she didn't." I gawked.

"I'm afraid it's true." Gwilym said with a blush. I shook my head softly laughing.

"Oh that woman I tell you what."

"Well I can tell you one thing I know a certain someone of the cast who will flip out once he sees you." said Gwilym.

"And just who might that be?" I asked him.

"The young lad whose playing Deacy, Joe Mazzello."

"Kept ranting on and on about your Live Aid performance and how you and Deacy used to interact with each other in your performances together."

"Ahh yes. Me and my dear brother mine." I sighed with a solemn smile.

"I—I'm sorry I-I-I didn't mean to......"

"No, no Gwilym it's fine. While sometimes I do wish he could still be around, I completely understand why he chose to leave the band. Hell without Brian and Rog I—I don't even want to think what I would've done after Freddie died." I soon brushed my sorrows away and said, "Now come here Gwilym I want to get a closer look at you." he came up to me and we stood face to face of each other.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him up and down before cupping each side of his face gently.

"God they chose right for my Brian. I swear, it's like Gwilym is your long lost son Bri." I said as my eyes turned toward Brian.

"I'm beginning to think you might be right." Joked Brian. I stepped back from Gwilym and said to him.

"I can't wait to see the full Live Aid recreation with you all in full costume."

"I hope we do you proud Mrs. Kline."

"First of all, call me (y/n). Secondly, I'm already proud. From what I've heard from Brian and Roger, I have no doubt in my mind that we've entrusted the right group of actors with Freddie's and Queen's upbringing tale to absolute rock gods."

"You flatter us too much (y/n)." Brian gushed.

"Only because you old fossils deserve it." I teased as I stuck my tongue out at him to which Brian did his little eyebrow quirk at me. I giggled softly and continued. "Well before filming starts, I'm gonna continue to look around the set. I'm told the lower decks where all the performers were settled in are just like how they were when we were there. Ciao Brians'." I walked away from them with a wave of my hand.

After exploring more of the set design and going down memory lane it was then I came across another look-a-like. Holding the famed natural Fender precision Bass guitar and wearing that god awful tacky shirt that I secretly wished I had told him not to wear, and having the iconic mushroom fluffy hair was the actor who was playing Deacy, Joe Mazzello.

One of the hair designers was fluffing up the wig to make sure it was up to Deacy's standard. And god just like with Gwilym, Joe was practically identical to Deacy.

It was just like seeing Deacy again back when he was happy and content with where Queen was at, just before finding out about Freddie's illness (which I had found out from Spike several years ago that Deacy had actually known since the last tour Queen ever did with Freddie).

I smiled softly as I watched him get ready for the camera. His wide smile reminded me so much of Deacy's. Slowly I walked up towards him and as the hairdresser looked him over Joe asked.

"So how does it look?"

"I think you look terrific." I said.

"Wait who said—OH MY GOD!!!" he screamed as he turned around and saw me. Like all usual fanboys, he jumped back, his mouth was gaped and his eyes were wide.

"Close your mouth please Joe dear we are not a codfish." His mouth immediately closed.

"Y-you-you-you're....."

"The Rock—"

"Rock Angel." We both said together slowly. "Call me (y/n)." I greeted as I extended my hand out to him and he took it hold of it and shook it.

"I just—I can't believe that I'm-I'm-I'm actually standing beside the Rock Angel." I softly giggled.

"Just know that beyond the glam and the rock star female empowerment, I'm just a normal 55 year old woman."

"But you still look good." He said. I quirked my brow at him so he quickly tried to save himself, "Not that you're old or anything. I mean I don't mean to offend you I just....."

"Joseph. Relax dear. I'm not offended at all. Freddie always said that I would end up being an eternal beauty. At first I thought it was just Freddie being Freddie but as the years have passed I think he—that he must be behind giving me this youthful glow."

"The Rock Angel called me dear," he first gushed with a shy smile. "Sorry I just...... I grew up listening to your albums along with Queen and the first time I saw one of your broadcast performances, I kinda had a little crush on you" He said gently.

"Aww I'm flattered Joe, really I am." I said as I gently cupped the side of his face and gave his cheek a stroke of my thumb. At that point he looked like he was about to melt into a puddle with how much joy he was probably filled with. "Now Joe forgive me for saying this, how long have you been acting?"

"I was a child actor actually. I've—always been in the acting business. Why do you ask?"

"Well besides seeing some of my brother's features I feel like I've—seen you in something before."

"You might recall a little film that came out in the 90's known as Jurassic Park?"

"Wait hold on—you...." I gasped. "You played little Tim Murphy!?!"

"Yes, yes I was Tim Murphy."

"Oh my god. When that film came out my twin boys were literally obsessed with that movie. Would not watch anything else for a full year. They even wore out the old VHS tape we had for it. Oh my god how could I not recognize you sooner?"

"Well I was 8 just turning 9 while we were filming it."

"You had a birthday while filming?"

"Yeah. It was during the kitchen scene with the raptor. I actually got injured on that day."

"What? What happened?" he then proceeded to tell me exactly what had happened. Of how the raptor they used was on wheels and he was running toward the fridge and he was supposed to go left while the raptor was supposed to go right, but the guy controlling the raptor lost control and went the same direction as Joe and he ended up getting hit in the face with a metal claw.

And it was at that moment the director Steven Spielberg and the rest of the crew sang Happy birthday to him.

Then of course he tried to ask Joe at that moment if they could try it again, but when Joe proved he couldn't do it, they wrapped for that day.

"Oh you poor thing."

"It's okay, I survived."

"Well I hope you never suffered an injury like that since then. And on your birthday too? That's never a good birthday present to get a concussion."

"I was cleared out with no concussion, just a little dizzy and a bit of bruising."

"Oh I'm sorry love, it's my inner mother instincts kicking in."

"She always was an overprotective mother." We both turned around and I saw Roger walking up sporting the black beanie I gave him for Christmas last year and another actor who was sporting the Roger Taylor look he had for Live Aid.

"Oh look who's talking smother father! For years since I've known you you've been the definition of helicopter parent." I gawked at him. "You still sometimes even threaten Jack with missing out on our dates cause of our jobs."

"And I've always told you that boy would be trouble one day." He teased as he came up to me.

"Wow so it is actually true, you guys do look at each other as father and daughter." Said the young actor playing Roger.

"Yes Ben, my adoptive daughter (Y/n) Kline, otherwise known as the Rock Angel." Roger introduced.

"So you're the young actor playing my main father figure eh?" I said as I looked at the young man.

"Yes. Ben Hardy, it's a real honor to meet you in person Mrs. Kline. To say I was nervous to meet Roger is nothing compared to the thought of meeting you."

"Are you saying I'm intimidating and unapproachable?" I asked offendedly.

"Wha? No! No! God no I-I-I-I didn't mean it that way I was just...." I interrupted him with a laugh and said.

"Dear, relax. I was just pulling your leg."

"And be thankful she was. Otherwise, I'd beat your arse boy for insulting my daughter." Roger protectively stated.

"See there you go you old hypocrite. Besides Rog you haven't been able to kick anyone's arse in years. Don't want you breaking a hip now do we?" I mocked him.

"You're lucky these boys are here little missy." Roger scolded me.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now then Ben, you were once on EastEnders right?" I said turning my attention back toward Ben.

"Yes. I played Peter Boyle on the show. My recent film before this was the new X-Men movie that came out about a year ago. X-Men Apocalypse."

"Ahh yes, my youngest son is always obsessed with all the superhero films. Marvel or DC. Now I'd like to see you two more closely, stand together." Both Joe and Ben followed orders and I looked both of them up and down.

Circling around them before cupping each of their faces once by one. And yes Ben was a bit more muscular than Roger was and of course they didn't get his hair right for this part in time, but there was just something in Ben's eyes that just made me think back to the first day I met Roger.

That sparkle of mischief but also protectiveness that shown through those blue eyes of his.

"That is most definitely my Roger. You both have the same spirit in your eyes. I can't wait to see how you play the drums up on that stage."

"Yeah, me neither." He said with a hint of nervousness. I then went over to Joe and cupped his face too. Just—my god just like with Deacy the profile was just uncanny. Of course, Deacy's eyes were more of a hazel type while Joe's were like a brownish type color. But I couldn't deny he looked so much like my brother. "And you my dear Joseph. Gwilym isn't the only one to resemble the man he's playing."

"It was kinda scary after getting the wig on. So much so that I called my mom and asked her what she was doing in 1983?" I laughed and said as I took my hands away from his face.

"Unfortunately, I can tell you for a fact that John Deacon is not your father. The only lady he's ever loved and will love is Veronica."

"I know." I chuckled softly.

"Now then Joe if you'll come with me there's important things I need to discuss with you."

"Like what?"

"You'll see. It was wonderful to meet you Ben, I hope we can get to know each other better later after you all film the Live Aid concert."

"Yeah of course, it was wonderful to meet you Mrs. Kline."

"Please call me (y/n). Dad you better not be too hard on this one, I like him."

"Don't worry I won't break him too much." The four of us went our separate ways.

Joe and I arrived at my trailer (all thanks to Rog and Bri). We entered inside and I told Joe to take a seat. He sat down on my couch while I went over to the kitchen.

"Tea?"

"Yes please. One sugar please."

"Just like how he liked it." I muttered to myself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing love, nothing." I prepped the tea for him and once it was done I handed him his cup and he thanked me. I watched him take a sip and he said,

"Ahh never gets old. I'm telling you after this I may just be the biggest tea fan ever."

"It is good for the soul. I myself have always found Jasmine to be the way to nirvana." I paused for a brief moment before saying, "Joe." He looked at me giving me his full attention, "As you know probably from weeks of research and maybe even from Roger and Brian themselves, Deacy chose to exempt himself from all forms of stardom. To live a quiet life with his family."

"Yeah. When I first got the part I did reach out to him on just any personal advice on certain quirks that he did. Cause even though I've played real life people before, this is the first time I'm playing someone whose still alive, and I wanted to do him justice."

"Yes, quite."

"However all I got back was just that he approved of the project and just for me to take it as any other actor would. Not that I'm saying that I'm mad at him for saying that. But I just—"

"I get it. Really I do." I took his hand and gripped onto it comfortingly. "Look. Ever since Freddie died, Deacy has been—grieving. Just like he did for me, it was Freddie who helped bring Deacy out of his shell and become more involved with the band. Not just being the bass player or the quiet guy."

"The King of the one liners, the tie breaker of Queen." Joe stated.

"Yes, although John could be loud and rowdy when he wanted to. He was definitely Queen's wildcard, but he was also their Ace. Unpredictable but incredibly brilliant. Never have I met a bass player quite like him. Nor do I think I ever will." It was quiet for what felt like forever when Joe asked me.

"Do you—do you still speak to him? I mean, cause I read that you both basically grew up close together, even for being 11 years apart from each other."

"Yes. We actually lived 20 minutes from each other back in our youth. He was and will always be my brother mine." I sighed heavily. "And to answer your question, I must remind you he's always been.....a cautious subject to me. Any remembrance of Freddie just makes him break, and as I'm sure you've seen from my concert footages I, sometimes, subconsciously find myself doing some Freddie movements on stage. Whether it's flicking my wrist like he did, strutting around the stage or waving my arms like he did. Deacy's.....he knows those things. But he's always there for me when I needed him. The last time was—on the tragedy of 9-11."

"Wait you mean....."

"Jack's cousin Jared and his wife Gen, they—they were on the plane that was overtaken by the terrorists. Took five days to finally find their bodies. Jared holding Gen in his arms. It was a risk but—I knew Jack needed more support than just his American family. So he and I went over to John and Veronica's place. We went at the early mornings of course just so that way no one would spot us driving in midday and try to track us down, then at sunrise we walked up to the door and—there he was. When Jack told him what had happened, he—actually invited us in and allowed us to stay the entire time. He ended up being the right support Jack needed."

"Your husband and John were close?"

"Oh yes. More alike than you know. Both incredibly talented bass players. That's how Jack got Deacy's approval when Jack and I started hanging out. He even gave my husband private lessons."

"Wow."

"Yes. They were practically inseparable the two of them for that summer. Even during their rehearsals, you would see Deacy go in the corner and practice what riffs he'd teach my Jack next. However that was the last time I ever actually saw Deacy, 16 long years ago. Haven't gotten in contact with him since. But occasionally, at least according to Brian, he asks them how I'm doing as well as Jack."

"I hope he's living a quiet and happy life with his kids and wife."

"I know they are. I still keep in contact with Ronnie whenever I can, sometimes we go out shopping, fawn over grandchildren pics, and just catching up. She was the mother I needed when I first had Kelly."

"Sounds like she was the ultimate mama."

"You have no idea." I felt Joe place his free hand on top of mine that still had his. I smiled softly at him before I got down to the real reason why I brought him here. "Joseph, now I know that when it comes to acting, Hollywood can pick whomever they deem worthy for a role, especially if it's for a real person. I'll be honest with you; hearing your American accent puts me a little on edge. Cause I have heard some pretty bad English accents on screen that just make me want to pull my ears off agonizingly slow. Now I know Deacy has probably the most unique accent from anyone in Leicester, I mean you hear my accent and I sound nothing like his dialect. So what I want to ask of you, just for the sake of you playing my brother, may I hear you speak with John's accent?"

"What-what would you like me to say?"

"Maybe say what you did for the audition. Or anything that comes to your head. It doesn't even have to be an interview Deacy did, I just want to hear your accent." He nodded before sitting back on the couch while I leaned back on the chair.

He adjusted himself before finally miming that he was driving a car before he finally spoke about when Deacy first joined the band. The one interview he did during the 'News of the World' tour with Bob Harris.

I felt like at that moment my heart had stopped. My hands slowly covered my mouth in a prayer style while the corner of my eyes watered. And sure there were certain words that he said that still sounded American but—this was my brother. I....I was actually looking at my brother right now. They got it right.

By the end of it, Joe looked at me and his eyes grew concerned as he said.

"Did I screw up?" I stood up from my chair in silence. I then walked over to him and knelt down in front of him cupping his face. A wide smile spread across my face as I immediately hugged him and softly sobbed.

"You are my Deacy! My brother mine." I then felt him embrace me back and the two of us rocked side to side. I looked up to the heavens praying that Fred was looking down knowing he would've loved Joe playing his Deacy. "If you ever need any advice or help, I'm here for you. Promise me Joe Mazzello that you will come to me with anything regarding Deacy."

"I promise (y/n)." he still spoke with Deacy's accent which filled me with both sorrow and happiness.

We stayed that way for god knows how long. After composing myself, we left my trailer when one of the volunteers came up to us and said.

"Joe, they're ready to start filming the concert."

"Shall we go on?" I asked.

"Yes, let's." God he had my brother's quick wit already. He crooked his arm out which made me grin softly. I looped my arm through his and the two of us walked on towards the Live Aid stage.

I stood alongside Roger, Peter Freestone (Freddie's former assistant and the other consultant for the film) as well as Brian's youngest daughter Emily (who in every way was so much like her father from the hair to the smile).

"I think this will be a great shoot, don't you think (y/n)?" asked Peter.

"Indeed Pheebs. And I'm sure Freddie would've loved to have seen it."

"He would indeed." He said as he wrapped an arm around me and soon Brian came and stood beside us after being backstage with the young actors who then came out just as Queen did that day back in 85. When I saw the young actor playing our Freddie, I was already impressed.

Sure he was skinnier than Freddie was, but seeing him move about just as Freddie did it was like I was seeing Freddie right before my eyes. The boys got into position and soon began to perform the entire Live Aid concert.

Besides actually being there and seeing them perform from the wings that day over 30 years ago, this was about the greatest concert performance I had ever seen.

The boys in full costume had everything down. Gwilym channeled Brian's solo on Bohemian Rhapsody, Ben was pretty impressive on the drums, Joe had Deacy's rhythmic moves down, and the young man playing Freddie he—it was beyond what I could imagine. He wasn't just moving like Freddie, it was like he knew why Freddie would move a certain way to a song.

I was in awe cause it felt like I had actually traveled back in time and was watching Queen's most historical performance once again. I stood behind Brian and wrapped my arms around his shoulders leaning up against his head smiling from ear to ear, I felt Brian take one of my hands and gently patted it every now and then.

When the Aye-Oh's happened I could help but lowered my head and holding my laughs of joy. I swear when this is over, I need to talk to this new actor playing Freddie cause unlike Sacha, this was our Freddie. Soon Hammer to Fall came on and I couldn't help but bop my head along to the song.

I felt a tap at my shoulder and I turned to see Emily holding her phone out with the notes app open. In the app it read.

'Is this how you remember it Aunt (y/n)?' I walked towards her and gestured for me to have her phone. She handed it to me and I typed out.

'Everything and more. God I wish your cousin Kelly could've been here to see this as well as your uncle Jack. They would've loved it.' I showed her my message and she came up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders as the two of us smiled happily up at the stage.

When Hammer to Fall concluded, the extras and even me and team Queen applauded. I let out a loud whistle from the sidelines as I applauded and took pictures with my own phone to show Jack and the kids later. Now I recall that it was at this time the guys ended up surprising me and the world with our duet "Set it all free" instead of the planned 'Crazy Little thing called love'.

Now I've been skeptical about having a biopic film about me, even though I knew both Queen and Elton were starting theirs at the same time, hell one of the producers Dexter Fletcher is currently directing Elton's film 'Rocketman' as we speak right now. So I didn't know if they would plan to do Crazy little thing or if they'd go the set as it was all those years ago.

I got my answer however when Ben started to play the drum intro to my song.

"You guys didn't." I muttered.

"We wanted to be historically accurate with the Live Aid set." Brian started.

"So we cooked up a little surprise for you." Roger said. It was then I heard the actor playing Freddie began chanting out along with the audience "An-gel! An-gel! An-gel!" it was then I saw a young girl come out and—by god it was like looking at my younger self from that day.

She was dressed exactly how I was with a pregnant belly suit underneath her shirt. Her hair was designed the same way as mine was, everything just took me back. Instead of a playback that the Freddie actor was using for all the singing, this young woman was actually singing and she had a pretty good voice.

I continued to watch in awe as the young woman basically became me doing each step or movement I did that day on Live Aid. I felt Brian and Roger wrap their arms around me as I couldn't even take my eyes off the young woman up on stage. I could hear the extras singing out the lyrics, even some of the crew members were bopping their heads and singing along.

She walked across the stage at the second verse right towards the Freddie actor and just like Fred and I did, they stood forehead to forehead singing the duet before she walked back out and went back to center stage. When the guitar solo came on, my eyes turned to Gwilym and he amazed me that he actually could do my hard rock solo.

After the song was over, the crowd applauded and cheered and I turned to the guys and hugged them and whispered into their ears.

"If this is you guys way of trying to get me to sign onto a biopic film......I'm highly considering it after seeing her."

"We'll introduce you later." Said Roger as we separated from the hug and we turned our attention back to the guys as We Will Rock you now began playing. I couldn't help myself by stomp my feet to the rhythm and mouth out the words.

I was just amazed by not only Gwilym's guitar playing but also the young man who moved just like how I remembered seeing Freddie move, using the mic stand as Fred always did (the cheeky man), even the facial expressions that he made were exactly like they were.

It wasn't until when 'We are the champions' came on that I could barely hold my tears in. Seeing not only Fred's actor but my actor singing the famed Queen anthem that has literally been played in every victory sport or award winning singing competition.

Seeing the two of them interact with each other, it was pure nostalgia.

By the end of the song, tears welled up in my eyes and I looked toward the heavens hoping that Freddie could see this and running through my mind I already knew what he'd say.

"Amazing jobs my darlings, not as fabulous as me but very, very close." When the extras and even some crew members cheered, Brian, Roger, Peter, Emily and myself all applauded and cheered for the boys and that's when the director called cut.

"This.....is gonna be a great movie." I said.

"I think so too. After just seeing them come together like that, I think we've finally casted the right people to play us." Said Brian.

"I agree you two, I'm liking what I've just seen so far." Roger said.

"And—I'm sure he would've liked this too." I said solemnly. I felt Roger gently rub my back and Brian said.

"I know he would."

After a few more takes of filming the Live Aid concert, the director said that it was enough for today. I walked around the set to find the producer Graham King and when I approached him I asked him.

"Graham tell me, who's the young man you got to play Freddie?"

"Oh his name is Rami Malek. His recent project was a show called Mr. Robot."

"Ahh yes I've heard of that, my Freddie is obsessed with that show. Never misses an episode."

"When we were casting Freddie I happened to come across an episode and when I saw him I—just thought I was looking at Freddie. So we brought him in, he gave us a mock interview as well as an audition that your boys saw when they first met him. And from then on it just fell into place. Do you approve of him? Is there a problem Mrs. Kline?"

"Absolutely not. Do you know where I can find Rami at right now?"

"Probably in hair and makeup getting undressed."

"Well, when he is done would you be so kind as to bring him to my trailer?"

"Of course (y/n)." I nodded in gratitude and walked off to my trailer.

I sat there once again on the chair looking through an old photo album. Each picture held a deep and personal memory for me, I thought back to the day that each picture was taken and remembered exactly what was going on at that very moment.

A knock was soon heard at my trailer. I composed myself with a deep exhale and said.

"Come in." the door opened and there without costume or the tache was Rami Malek.

"Graham said you wanted to see me Mrs. Kline?"

"Yes Rami, love please come in." he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Take a seat." I gestured towards the couch. He sat right where Joe had sat down earlier this morning and I said. "Would you care for a biscuit, or as Americans call them cookies?"

"Uhh yes please." I smiled and handed him a tray of biscuits I always kept around me (hey a woman's gotta have her sweet tooth fix right?) and handed him my best plate of chocolate chip cookies (all thanks to my mother in law's secret recipe). He thanked me as he took one and took a bite out of it. "Mmm. Oh my god," he cleared his throat and closed his mouth before finishing the biscuit up. "This is so good."

"Thank you, it was my mother in law's secret recipe. She passed it onto me shortly before Kelly was born." He took another bite of it and swallowed that piece before saying as he set it down on a napkin that I had also provided.

"What-what was it you needed to see me for Mrs.—"

"Before we continue, I'll ask you to call me the same way I've asked the other three of the band to call me. Call me (y/n)."

"Yes of course, (y/n). What was it you wanted to see me for? Is it to talk about what you saw out there? Did I screw it up already?"

"No, no dear relax. This is nothing in the way you're thinking." I saw him take a sigh of relief.

"Oh good. Cause I know I obviously wasn't the first choice for the job."

"In my books Rami, you should've been the first one to be called for the role."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, but first there's a couple of questions that I want to ask you that Brian and Roger might not have asked you, and I want you to answer them as Freddie would've."

"Okay." I smiled softly and stood up from my seat as I set the phot album aside.

"Who is Queen not without?"

"That's easy. It's you darling. There's no Queen without their beloved Rock Angel, and no Rock Angel without her four aging Queens." I felt my heart clench at hearing Rami speak with a British tone. The softness of his voice almost sounded identical to Freddie's voice. I turned towards him and walked towards the kitchen area of my trailer.

"Who is it that you trust the most?"

"Mary. Mary is the one I trust the most. For she knows me like no one else ever will." I reached the kitchen and rested my hand against the island.

"Who are you?" Rami looked at me before finally answering something that would forever stun me.

"I've been asked that all my life. By my family, student peers, professors, the entire world. I've been told who I should strive to be but I say fuck what they say. They don't define me. No, I decided who I am. I'm going to be what I was born to be. A performer who gives the people what they want." He pointed towards the ceiling as he whispered, "touch of the heavens." He dropped his hand before finally answering, "Freddie Fucking Mercury."

My lips quivered and I ducked my head as tears began falling down my face for—god knows how many times right now.

"Oh (y/n) I—I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry, I—did I say something wrong?" Rami said urgently as he stood up and stood in front of me.

"No." I choked out. I sniffled and that's when he handed me a tissue. Oh ever the kind gentleman and concerned about my wellbeing, just like Freddie was. "No you—you've prove to me that you know just who Freddie truly was."

"Didn't want to be put in a certain category or be stereotyped." He said. I nodded as I wiped my tears with the tissue he had given me.

"For as long as I have known Freddie, especially to his last, various people have chosen one of two sides. There's the one side that the press made him out to be. The one that-that—bastard Cohen wanted to portray Freddie as. The wild, crazed, homosexual drug addict. That he deserved what he had gotten because he was so reckless and stupid. That AIDS was his form of suicide. Never did I want to punch and murder so many people. Every time I got asked about whether Freddie's death was his own fault, I just wanted to rip the interviewer apart."

"I can see why. I bet a lot of true fans and the people who knew Freddie well would've done what you've felt like doing."

"But people like you Rami, who understand that Freddie wasn't just a frontman or greatest performer to ever live. That he did come from a harsh background but rose above all the trials and tribulations that came his way to define himself as he sought out to be. That's why he was my biggest idol." I grabbed the photo album and sat down on the couch and opened it up taking out a picture that was always a favorite of mine.

It was a picture that Deacy took of Freddie and I together just after my very first performance as the Rock Angel at Madison Square Garden. Fred's arms wrapped around me as he had picked me up, huge wide smiles were spread across our faces. I felt a dip on my left side I looked up to see Rami sitting close beside me. He looked down at the picture before saying.

"Was this your first performance?"

"Yes. Out of four members of Queen, it was Freddie Mercury who truly believed that I could make a name for myself in the industry. Taught me everything there was into getting the self-confidence I needed to get up on that stage. Sure we had our ups and downs, but through all the falls we had, he never gave up on me. He gave up on no one that he loved. And Rami," we looked at each other and I told him the utmost truth, "If he were alive today, he would've loved you."

He smiled as I gently touched his cheek and the two of us looked through my photo album of every picture Freddie and I took throughout the 11 years I knew him.

At the end of the day, just before the four boys left to go hang out at a pub nearby, I stepped in and offered.

"Why not have dinner over at my place boys?"

"Oh we couldn't impose." Said Joe.

"Nonsense Joe, I insist and I won't take no for answer. Plus it'll be a more homely environment. You boys can't live on catering and pub foods for the next several months to a year. No I absolutely won't have it."

"Best go along with her boys, she got her persuasion from the best there was." Roger added in.

"Well—if you think it's a good idea." Said Gwilym.

"Of course it is. Now come on, you four can fit in my car. Let's go. Meet you there Brian and Roger?"

"We'll be right behind you love." Said Brian. I gestured the boys to follow me to my car. Ben sat up in the passenger seat, Joe sat behind him, Rami was in the middle and Gwilym sat behind me. I turned the engine on and told everyone to buckle up (mama instincts what can I say?) and we pulled out of the gate and I drove us on home.

"So (y/n), what other kind of music do you listen to?" asked Joe.

"Whatever song has a good voice and a good beat, with no autotune I will love. You can look through my Spotify and see what I have." Ben took my phone out of the phone holder and turned around as Joe took over the controls and went to my Spotify.

"Wow there are a lot of songs. And I thought you would've just stuck with what you grew up on."

"Unlike most rockstars like Roger who think everything after 1979 basically became trash music with the rise of pop or as they called it 'disco'. I'm a little more open minded. But I deny all songs that use explicit language every three words, degrading women, or promotes violence."

"You even got some old Christina Aguilera songs on here?" asked Rami.

"Who do you think helped produce her?"

"Shut the front door. You produced Christina Aguilera?"

"Yeah. I even gave her rights to a song that I wanted to do. But even singing it brought back some old wounds. So since I was helping her produce her album at the time, I turned to song over to her."

"What song was it?" asked Ben.

"Fighter."

"Shut up! That was literally my jam."

"I can attest to that. Throughout the filming of The Pacific, he would never shut that song off when getting into Eugene's character for certain episodes." Rami rose his hand.

"Yeah. I have an entire playlist of some songs I helped produce or make. You can play that playlist if you'd like. Or my typical playlist my boys best songs."

"I think in the light of our first day filming, we should go with Queen. What do you guys say?" Joe asked.

"Agree."

"Yep."

"Oh yeah."

"Aright then Joe, we'll each pick our favorite Queen song. You're up first little Tim." He grinned and scrolled through my playlist until Somebody to love came up on the speakers. "Read my mind Joseph." The piano began playing and that's when I vocalized alongside Freddie and the five of us began singing the song at the top of our lungs.

The entire car ride contained each of us picking our top favorite songs. Ben did 'White Queen' which I commended on him cause people nowadays tend to forget the old Queen songs, Gwilym picked Love of my Life, Rami chose Radio Gaga, and I, of course chose Bohemian Rhapsody.

Thanks to Wayne's world (yes I saw the movie and yes it was silly but just the opening scene alone made the movie worth watching) we basically did the same motion by motion that those boys did in the film when the operatic section came on. And of course when the headbanging rock out came on, the boys proceeded to bang their hands while I did mine not as aggressively (responsible driving kids!)

We continued to rock out to the song and it wasn't until by the end of the song that we soon arrived at my home. I pulled the car up into the garage and hit the clicker button which opened up the garage door and I pull inside just as the last line came up and Roger's gong rang off. I shut the engine and said.

"Here we are boys, welcome to casa de la Kline." We all exited out of my car and right behind us as scheduled were Brian and Roger with Bri getting out of the driver's seat. "Bout time you two got here, I was beginning to worry that I'd need to call in an ambulance."

"We're old dear, not dead." Roger sassed at me.

"But I still love you old coots. Just like I said all those years ago."

"That I do remember, the day right after you got so shitfaced after your 21st birthday. You remember that Brian?" Roger said.

"Indeed I do Rog, I even remember what we did to her to get her to apologize, think we need to do it again?"

"That might have to be arranged."

"Oh no you guys don't! We're not doing that now, now let's get inside before we all catch a cold." I guided them all inside. Once we stepped through the backdoor of the garage I could already smell something cooking, and I knew who exactly was cooking at this rate. "Baby! I'm home!" I called out from the hallway.

We turned the corner and soon came to the kitchen where a young man of 19 (going on 20 in a couple months) stood by the oven. He shut it off and turned around. He was every bit like his father when I first met him back in '83, but he had my eyes. When he saw me, he softly smiled and I came up to him.

"Sorry I didn't call in advance telling you that we would have more guests than your uncles."

"No worries mom. You know I've always cooked way more than I should." I smiled and cupped his face and we kissed each other's cheek. "Uncle Brian, uncle Roger."

"Hello Fred." Brian greeted.

"Hey lad, how's school been?"

"Oh you know, NYU's a challenge but I manage." He then directed his attention towards the young actors but when he eyes landed on Rami, he quickly grabbed my arm and whispered to me. "You didn't tell me you'd be bringing Rami Malek to our house!"

"Again slipped my mind." I teased him.

"Mom how dare you bring my celebrity crush here without telling me, look at me I'm a mess."

"Oh you're fine. Now best behavior." I wrapped an arm around my son and said. "Boys, this is my youngest son Freddie Mercury Kline. Fred, these are the boys that will be playing your uncles. This is Joe Mazzello, he'll be playing your uncle Deacy. Ben Hardy who's playing your old uncle Roger."

"Watch it lion cub." Rog warned me. I gave him a cheeky look before continuing the introductions.

"Gwilym Lee will be playing your uncle Brian, and you know Rami, he'll be playing the man you were named after."

"Uncle Freddie?"

"Yes. And—from what I've seen so far, you'll finally get to meet him through the screen."

"I don't doubt that. I'm a big fan of yours Rami, your role in Mr. Robot has been—amazing."

"I'm honored."

"Alright since we've all had a long day today, let's get some grub. Everyone grab a plate." I grabbed some extra plates from the cabinet and handed four plates out to the actors and we all assembled around the island to grab a piece of lasagna, peas, mashed potatoes with gravy and Hawaiian rolls.

Once we gathered around the table I set out the iced tea Jack had made a couple of days ago as well as some champagne or wine. "Okay guys, before we dig in I want all hands on deck." I extended my hand out.

Freddie immediately placed his hand on top of mine, Brian and Rog soon followed after and it was then Rami, Gwilym, Joe and finally Ben placed their hands on top.

"Thank you for this family, thank you for this meal. Thank you for this day. It'll be a wild ride, but I feel this movie will soar, and—that this new family will forever stay." I said ending the traditional family prayer. The young actors looked at me with warm eyes and soft smiles.

"Alright, let's dig in. You boys will never eat the same way again once you taste (y/n)'s cooking." Roger said.

"That bad?" joked Joe. I gawked at the young cheeky actor.

"On the contrary she's the best chief on this side of London. Even when she was an intern she made us this one Christmas pudding that was to die for." Brian spoke on my behalf.

"It's true. She put all the other PTA mom's to shame when it came to my school's bake sales." Freddie said as he took a bite of his lasagna.

The entire dinner was filled with talks about our lives, stories and embarrassing moments in life. Not a single person was excluded from a conversation. After dinner, Rami and Gwilym helped Freddie with the dishes while I got some other scrapbooks out and bonded a bit with Ben and Joe about my time with Rog and Deacy.

"Now this Joe was taken during my first Japan tour. At the very garden where Queen went to near the Tokyo tower, Deacy refused to let me leave without having a cherry blossom crown."

"He seems to be doing good in the picture."

"Except one twig got so tangled in my hair it literally took 15 minutes just to get it out." We both laughed before I turned the page and found a great picture of me and Roger. "Now this picture Ben, both Roger and I have this picture, this was taken after my first Hyde Park performance."

"She performed to an audience of half of what Queen did when we performed at Hyde Park." Roger spoke.

"She could've performed for more but times changed and better security measure for the public's safety prevented it from happening again." Brian added.

"One thing's for sure, I was damn well proud of her for performing at her biggest crowd at the time just barely two years into her career." Roger spoke again. I looked up and winked at him.

"You guys really do have that father-daughter bond don't you?" Joe said.

"Have ever since she gave me the real 1 and 3/7th's sugar."

"It wasn't until Brian told me the next day that Roger just says that to pull people's leg. God I felt embarrassed after that."

"Aww lovie, but it was due to that I became your favorite. And I don't regret it as I'm sure you don't."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." As Gwilym, Rami and Freddie came back in I continued going through the scrapbook sharing my photos of my days with Queen with the boys, and allowing Freddie to finally hear all the stories that he was denied cause of my grief.

As the night got darker and darker, the young actors at this moment were so full of food and exhausted from a long day's filming they actually passed out along my living room. Joe and Ben cuddled up on the couch, Rami asleep on the recliner, while Gwilym was curled up along the loveseat.

Meanwhile I was watching over them and couldn't help but think it was like seeing my boys all over again. I remember back when I was still an intern and would see the guys all passed out whether at Freddie's parties or in the studio, I always had to provide the guys comfort (which I never minded). So seeing these four young men passed out just brought me a sense of nostalgia.

"I got the spare blankets mom."

"Thank you dear. Your uncles tucked in the spare bedrooms?"

"Uncle Brian's in the room across yours and dad's and uncle Roger is in Georgie's old room."

"Good boy." I then proceeded to cover up and adjust the young actors. I wrapped both Joe and Ben in the same blanket and closed Joe's mouth gently so that he wouldn't drool in his sleep, followed by giving them each a soft kiss goodnight. Without trying to wake him up, I uncurled Gwilym from his pretzel position and covered him up.

I gingerly stroked through his hair before placing a soft kiss to his temple. He groaned and lifted his head up which allowed me to place a pillow underneath him. He hummed in content as he snuggled into it. I then went over to Rami and adjusted the seat so that he would be more comfortable. Pressing the button on our automatic recliner, his legs slowly rose up before finally stopping in full recliner mode.

I tucked him in while looking down at him. God even without the tache it was like looking at Freddie from when I first met him in person at a concert, long before I became an intern. I gently kissed his cheek before faintly stroking his cheek.

Sitting outside along the deck, Freddie and I were looking up at the stars.

"So you think this movie's gonna be a hit?"

"Critics are always hard to please, no matter if it's music or movies. From what I've read of the script yes there's misinformation but that's why it's called a biopic. There's some truth but it's the touch of Hollywood in order to make the film not a boring documentary. But those four boys, they are just how I remember your uncles being when I not only worked with them, but grew up with them hearing their music."

"I wish I had gotten the chance to meet uncle Freddie." Fred said after a brief moment of silence. I turned to him to see him looking down sadly.

"So do I love. He would've loved you as much as he did your brothers and sister. And he would've been over the moon had he found that I had named you after him." I brought my baby close and he wrapped his arms around me as we both looked up at the moon and the stars together.

The star right by the moon glowed the brightest, the very same star that shined just as bright the night after the tribute concert we did back in '92. I couldn't help as a tear slid down my face and a smile spread across my face.

I knew that it was Freddie's star, telling me that he was watching us and that he was proud.

[sophieebridgerton]

thoughts on semi 1 having finally watched all of it:

albania: i DO NOT get how this didn't qualify! maybe the staging was a bit ... generic? compared to the music video but even that feels like a stretch

latvia: whoever put them in at number 2 should be punished i mean it. this is one that could've done with a proper led backing? i'm in shock this didn't get through its just fun. and do we not, as a continent, still love men with saxophones? i could go on

lithuania: god i LOVE HER, im so glad this one qualified i was worried about it. its a song i think id enjoy even more at 2am after a bottle and a half of wine (this is a good thing)

switzerland: no words. i would find nice things to say if it nqd but as it stands... fuck off. its like frans from 2016 but with the most horrendous vibes.

slovenia: funky jazzy little boys! obsessed with the song with the staging... juries across the world should be shivering in their boots about what i am going to do when the split results are revealed.

ukraine: i actually like it on stage a lot more than i did just listening to it, rap's not always my kind of music but i like this a lot. i've always adored the chorus and i love the folkiness of it :)

bulgaria: it's alright! it's nice but i get why it didn't qualify. for me this was a very strong semifinal, and if it hadn't been i think this would've had a better chance. points for pyro and guitar solo

netherlands: this was the first i watched live! it's pleasant and i love the staging of it – a bit city lights esque? – would've been a shock if it didn't qualify. it has that sort of vague country/western sound i really like (and that the netherlands generally does really well)

moldova: one of those songs i couldn't fit in my top 10 but i'm not upset at all it qualified. joyful, an actual representation of their country, makes me want to take a train from chisinau to bucharest... what's not to love?

portugal: love her so much wow. when do portugal not bring beautiful songs, for one? i don't think any country does it better. i was a little worried it would get lost as they sometimes do but i'm excited to see it again in the final!

croatia: MIA. you may have put together from my other posts that i am devastated she didn't get through. i knew it was a low chance but i love this one so much, it gives me ivy by taylor swift vibes in particular? one of the songs that will make it on to my non-eurovision playlists. i love you mia i'm so sorry my queen 😔😔

denmark: like bulgaria for me, i think it was a strong semifinal and this just wasn't quite the top for me, although i don't dislike it. i don't know if it was intended or if it was just the broken sun but the backdrop looks like vinyl records and i love that

austria: i liked the music video a lot! if i'd just seen this for the first time... i understand how it did not qualify.

iceland: its very first aid kit, which i really like. it didn't capture me before the show but the performance is lovely and i'm happy it qualified. (just noticed the flag on sigga's hand, as well, i respect that a lot)

greece: she ATE. lapped them all. my favourite qualifier of the semi. i don't have any words for this because all i can say is watch the performance then watch it again. askhgvdfjl

norway: i have to admit i'm not the biggest fan of this, in terms of i guess 'novelty' songs i much preferred latvia, and i don't tend to love extra effects on the screen (though that is very specific personal nitpicking). i'm not unhappy its in the final, i understand why and the song is alright i just wouldn't pick it personally!

armenia: i liked armenia a lot when i first heard it but i think i might have listened to it too much asgdjfh. i wish we could hear a finger click when she snapped her fingers.

[ohblackdiamond]

life and life only (paul/victoria) (arguable gene/paul) (pg-13) (part 10 of ?)

part 1 | part 2 |  part 3  | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11

Mermaid AU. Paul lives in isolation in a sunken ship with his sister, until a new mer comes by to see his ship, and he starts to reassess the human world. In this chapter: Paul and Gene's friendship progresses, and Paul watches Victoria's movie.

He learned a lot from Gene. Gene taught him more about Judaism than the snippets he’d figured out from the Eisens. For the most part, Gene didn’t even seem to think Paul was too odd for being so ignorant, just blaming it on his family being Reform Jews. Gene would’ve been unhappy to know that Paul was raised, if a little indifferently, on the mer religion, a combination of old mer and human traditions that hardly resembled Judaism. It took many years before Paul ever really got a handle on where the human aspects of mer beliefs came from, a highly uneven merging of Greek myths, indigenous religion brought mainly by the Iroquois and Cayuga, and the Christianity that had permeated New York for nearly three hundred fifty years.

Through Gene, he learned about human advances, too. Once, Gene slept with a girl who had a hearing aid, and Paul, fascinated, had kept asking Gene questions about it after the girl was gone.

“I’ve never seen one of those before.”

“Haven’t you been around any old people?”

“Not a lot of them.” He was getting excited. Why hadn’t Victoria mentioned anything like this before? “Was she always deaf? Did you ask her?”

“Why the hell would I ask her something like that? We were fucking, not telling our life stories.”

“Do you know how it works?”

“It amplifies sound.”

“Oh.” So she wasn’t completely deaf after all. The hearing aid just made everything louder. With no ear, and no hearing on that side, a device like that wouldn’t be of any use to him.

“You’re funny, Stan. I used to think you were fucking with me when you’d ask questions like that.”

He could feel himself flush. Gene was probably going to insult him. He tried to think of something acrid to say in response, but couldn’t get a word out.

“But I don’t think you are anymore. I don’t know anyone in Queens like you.”

“That’s not a compliment, Gene.”

“It is. It’s refreshing.” Gene cleared his throat. “You know, when I got to America, I’d never seen a T.V. before. I walked behind it, looking for the newscaster on the screen.”

Paul couldn’t suppress a small smile.

“I’ve never done that.”

“I hadn’t seen a grocery store before, either.” Gene seemed like he was about to trail off, a distant look in his expression. “I never knew there were so many foods at once anywhere. I couldn’t believe it. That’s what you remind me of.”

“A kid in the grocery store?”

“A kid who looks at everything like it’s brand new.” Gene cocked his head. “‘O, brave new world, that has such people in’t.’”

“What?” Paul’s eyes widened, prickles running up his arms. No way. No way in this world that Gene could possibly suspect him. Gene didn’t believe in anything supernatural, beyond God. Paul had been careful. He couldn’t have given himself away-- “What are you talking about?”

“The Tempest. Shakespeare.”

“I haven’t heard of it.”

“So much for your performing arts school.” Gene elbowed him, and Paul jerked back just slightly. “‘’Tis new to thee.’”

--

They formed a band not too long after. It didn’t last. Gene, Paul found, was able to worm his way into anything, including getting on other people’s records, and so the name that Victoria had given him ended up in the credits of some girl singer’s demos. It was a start, the both of them singing a couple choruses, but Gene didn’t want to only do session work. He wanted what Paul wanted. He wanted to be a star.

Gene used every resource he had. He’d appropriate the mimeograph machine at the Vogue office to print out band flyers. He wrote out his own glowing reviews of their band (when they had one) and would mail them out to whole scads of New York music execs. Paul would help, utterly fascinated at Gene’s determination. He wondered if that was ever what Victoria had done, building herself up through these menial means, or if her youth and talent and parents had done a lot of the propelling for her.

He was thinking less of Victoria these days, and more of Julia. He hadn’t tried to find her. He thought that Omar Medlin might have been able to pinpoint that commune she was living at. Her and her little baby girl. She’d have to be several months old by now. He wondered if she had the same dark curls as he and Julia. He wondered if she’d have an affinity for the sea.

He only told Gene about Julia in small snippets. The misframing of his human backstory meant that Gene really didn’t understand Julia’s situation at all. Without knowing that their parents were dead, without knowing about Paul’s ear, and the liability that was in the ocean, Julia seemed insane to Gene. Hateful for no reason whatsoever.

“I bet she’s manic-depressive,” Gene offered once, while they were sitting around in Paul’s cousins’ apartment, flipping through the newspaper, looking through the movie listings. He had taken two psychology courses, which he seemed to think made him an expert on human behavior. “When did she start running off?”

“When we were teenagers.”

“Was she ever on drugs?”

“No. Not that I know of.”

“Communes are crappy places to raise a kid. You and your parents need to find her, to take care of that baby.”

“Julia doesn’t want me finding her.” But he couldn’t tell Gene why. At this point, he didn’t care too much about all the lies he had to keep up on a daily basis, just to pass as human. But he did care about lying so much to Gene. Warping how Julia really was. Warping himself in the process. “Did you find something you wanna see?”

“Vanishing Point just opened.”

“What’s that about?”

“It’s a road movie. I think it’s like Easy Rider. The review’s shit.”

“Then why watch it?”

“I like shitty movies.” Gene loved movies in general. “Besides, look, there’s a lot of praise for the chicks here. Read this-- ‘The nicest thing about the movie is the women—not only Victoria Medlin and Gilda Texter, both beautiful in supporting roles, but--’”

“Victoria Medlin?”

“Yeah, Victoria Med--”

“From Hair?” Paul could feel his mouth twitch hard, lump forming in his throat. “And the shampoo commercials?”

“How the hell do you know who she is?”

“She was my girlfriend. She’s the one that left for California.” His voice was on the verge of wobbling. “She said she got a part in a movie. I-I guess that’s the movie.”

Gene looked at him closely. Paul thought he was going to scorn him, call him a liar, but he only offered up a question instead.

“Do you want to see it?”

He didn’t know if he really wanted to or not, but his head drooped into a nod before a word could come out.

“All right.” Gene traced his finger down the listings. “There’s a showing at five-thirty, seven….”

“Five-thirty.”

“Okay. I’ll buy your popcorn.”

--

His hands were sweating before he entered the theater. The previews and advertisements washed over him like sewage, and he stuffed himself on mechanical fistfuls of Gene’s popcorn. The opening credits rolled and he saw her name in bold capital letters. Fourth billing. Fourth billing was a good start. Fourth billing was worth moving across the country, to a place she hated. A bad movie could still be a good investment. It was all marketing. That was what Gene had said.

He couldn’t pay attention to the story at all. He was just waiting to see her face, blown up to ten times its size on the projection screen. He hadn’t seen her in nearly a year now. He would jerk every time he saw a blonde girl onscreen, only to realize after another glance that it wasn’t her at all. Hazily, he realized the main character was doing the same thing. Kowalski, that was his name. He was driving across the country. He was making a delivery. Something. Paul got the feeling it didn’t really matter. This wasn’t Patton. This wasn’t important.

He kept waiting. Gene was glancing at him sometimes, but mostly kept to himself, aside from polishing off what was left of the popcorn. The cars onscreen were chasing each other, speeding down those empty desert highways, horrible in their desolation-- was this California? This dry, yellow-brown place, full of faded, poor people? Paul wasn’t sure.

More waiting. He had almost thought she wouldn’t be there at all, before he heard her smooth, honeyed voice.

“I love you.”

He tensed. His hands found the armrests, gripping too hard. Victoria was there, her long blonde hair barely covering her breasts as she kissed Kowalski. Her hands roamed his chest the way they had once roamed Paul’s own, fingers sure and gentle. The waves were washing up on the beach as the scene changed, as she walked with Kowalski. She was playing a surfer, but that barely registered at first. He was only aware she was touching that man instead of him.

“I love this. I love your scar. You hate it, but I love it.”

“No, I don’t hate it.” Kowalski. “I just hate what it means.”

“What does it mean?” And she kissed his chest and said something that might’ve been profound, murmuring the words against his body.

(i love you)

(i love this)

(i love--)

The words she’d never said to him, she was saying to that man. Touches he’d only shared with her, she was sharing with him. For a role. For a part. Paul wanted to throw up.

He had no claim to her anymore, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. Every moment she was onscreen, he felt sick and angry. Defiled. He knew it wasn’t reasonable. When she’d played Sheila, her character had a boyfriend. But it felt different now. Sharing this all across the country, sharing a part of herself that he’d only seen in those soft, private moments in her bedroom-- made him feel lost.

Victoria told Kowalski she’d make another wave, walking out past the shoreline, and then she was gone. The screen flashed briefly with a newspaper death notice. A drowning.

(who ever heard of a mer drowning)

And then the flashback ended, Kowalski back on the road. That was all he saw of her, all that her fourth billing had merited her. She had moved all the way to California to only spend two minutes on the screen.

He didn’t remember the rest of the movie. He just filed out with Gene as the end credits rolled, Gene, who eventually patted him on the shoulder. He kept expecting Gene to say something smart, but Gene said nothing at all.

“You believe me now, right?” Paul said finally, stepping onto the filthy sidewalk. California with its browns and yellows; New York with its grays. It was all the same. All grotesque and human and useless. “You never thought I had a ma-- a girlfriend at all.”

“I believe you.”

“I’m never gonna be with her again.” The words kept spiralling out. ��Gene, did you see her, did you see her with him-- touching him, she… she can’t--”

“Stan, it’s just a part.”

“You don’t understand. Victoria’s, Victoria’s my only--”

“I know. You’re gonna have others.”

“Don’t say that. I won’t. Not like her. Not ever like her.”

Gene’s face was unreadable, and he shook his head.

“Stan, let me walk you home.”

His eyes watered. He shoved at them with the back of his hand, then blinked hard.

“Don’t call me that anymore.”

“What do you want to be called?”

“Paul. L-like I put on that chick’s demo. Call me that. I-I never can pronounce Stanley right anyway.” He was rambling, and he couldn’t stop himself. Anything to take that image of her away, that image he was sure he’d never see again. “I got a lisp. I, I have it at home, too, in the wa-- I can’t--”

“C’mon, Paul,” Gene said quietly, slinging one arm around his shoulders as they walked, there in the stale chill of that March evening, back to the obscurity of his cousins’ apartment.

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

Do the same thing for Heaven Official's Blessing (use Maas characters to tell the story)!

Heaven Official’s Blessing // TGCF told using ACOTAR characters (Obviously there will be spoilers, read at your own risk)

TGCF is told in a non-linear form, with Books 1, 3, and 5 taking place in the present, and Books 2 and 4 acting as flashbacks. I will be telling the story in a pure linear format.

** I’m going to have to ask people to ignore shipping stuff for the sake of this. I matched characters based on their personalities, so things became kind of scrambled.

THIS WAS VERY VERY HARD TO WRITE OKAY

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Crown Princess named Elain. She was completely beloved by her people not only for her looks, but for her kindness, warmth, and incredible talents. Whatever she put her mind to, Princess Elain would easily accomplish, and those who read fortunes often said she was born on an auspicious day and was blessed with unparalleled good fortune. 

Princess Elain’s father was fairly elitest and tended to ignore the common folk, but Princess Elain made it her mission in life to protect them and ease everyone’s burdens.

When Princess Elain was 17, the royal capitol held a parade to the king of the heavens, Helion. In this parade, an elite warrior dressed as the Divine Hero would actually spar with another elite warrior dressed as a Demonic Beast. The parade would circle the capitol as the two warriors fought, only ending when their stamina ran out and they were too tired to carry on. The more laps the procession completed before this happened, the more good fortune it would invite and the more honor to the god Helion. Generally the goal was around 15-20 laps.

On the third lap, as people clamored to see clearly the Hero and Beast battle, there was a horrible accident. A deformed child in the crowd, barely 8 years old at MOST, was knocked from his perch on a high wall and fell to his death.

As he fell, the Divine Hero abandoned their battle and leapt high into the air to  catch the poor child. Picture like wire work when I say “leapt high”, it counts more as minor flight.

In the rescue, the Divine Hero’s mask comes off and it is revealed to be none other than Princess Elain herself! The Divine Beast was Elain’s bodyguard, Cassian.

While the common people go FERAL for this beautiful Princess who saved a wretched orphan’s life, the royal priests are angered. They warn Elain that her actions are an insult to Helion, and she must repent to avoid his wrath.

Elain famously and simply replies that if a god would begrudge her saving a child’s life, then they are not worthy of becoming a god.

And in spite of the priest’s words, the heavens agree with Princess Elain.

The child Elain saved has half his head heavily wrapped in bandages, but Elain is not afraid of him. She cradles him in her arms and he is mesmerized by her face. Still, after someone tries to move the bandage to see his face, the child runs away and vanishes.

This child was Azriel.

Tamlin is Elain’s cousin. His mother was a royal lady who had a baby with an abusive brute, and she ended up dying in disgrace after being abandoned by him. Tamlin was therefore raised by Elain’s mother, and he is disturbingly obsessed with the glory of his Princess Cousin. He is also dangerously unhinged and violent.

Just a few days after the ruined parade, Tamlin is racing through the city streets in his carriage, whipping his horses raw and yelling that if he runs over anyone it is their own fault. He has no cares for anyones lives, and Princess Elain considers him a thorn in her side.

Princess Elain is out with her bodyguard, Cassian, and her personal servant, Lucien. They see Tamlin coming and no only is he driving dangerously, there is a bloody sack tied to the back of the chariot.

Elain and Cassian leap onto the carriage to stop Tamlin, while Lucien breaks the rope on the sack. Elain and Cassian take Tamlin into custody, knocking him out, and Elain is ready for Tamlin to be thrown into prison for his behavior.

She opens the bloody sack, and inside finds Azriel. Tamlin was so incensed that the royal priests were angry with Princess Elain that he decided to kill Azriel to “avenge” his cousin!

Elain brings Azriel to the royal palace to be healed by the physicians within. He has broken bones and cuts all over his body, but again he strikes out if someone tries to move the bandages on his face. For his part- Tamlin is locked in his rooms and his carriage is destroyed, he is banned from leaving the palace.

But once again, Azriel slips out and runs away.

A few months later, black clouds swirl over the Royal Palace, and in a massive thunderclap, Elain ascends to the heavens as a newborn Warrior Goddess. Though by the laws of the heavens she cannot enter her kingdom for one thousand generations (to make sure she doesn’t give favors to the families of old friends), her father and his people build 10,000 temples in her name, several with massive statues of pure gold.

Goddess Elain brings Lucien and Cassian to the heavens with her, to help her in her duties as a god. She must intercede when appropriate (if there are demons or ghosts attacking people) and answer prayers. Despite the ban, she likes to sit on the altars of her temples, invisible, and listen to the prayers of her followers.

Elain doesn’t like the wealth and splendor of her temples, she wishes people would not bow, and just wants things to be simpler. 

After a few years as a goddess, while wandering her city, she notices a crummy old shrine tucked into a forgotten alley. It is roughly made, with only a flower and a bun on the offerings table.

She watches this little but clearly loved shrine for a long time, and notices that it is tended by an 11 year old boy. He is homeless, cold, malnourished, and had bandages wrapped around half his face. Rather than eat what food he manages to get, he puts it on the offerings table to Elain, only taking a few rotten fruits or moldy buns for himself.

Elain hates to see this- the boy is so desperately starving and yet he leaves food for a goddess who has no need for it. Bullies come and destroy the boy’s shrine. He is beaten by them, but when it is over he only fixes her shrine back up, and curls in a ball beneath it to sleep.

Elain feels that this boy is more sincere in his devotion than those who leave gaudy offerings at her temples, so she leaves the boy some food, a blanket, a straw mat, and some food. When he wakes he knows it was the goddess who heard his prayers, and he is delighted.

She does not realize that this boy is Azriel.

Elain’s country becomes embroiled in a civil war. Elain breaks the rules of the heavens outright and tries to end it before it begins by helping refugees of a horrible drought. She is kind to one refugee, taking on mortal form and helping him bury his son’s body, which he brought to the capitol to show the king of how severe the people’s suffering is. Her father didn’t care, and would not see the poor man.

Elain’s attempts to stop the refugee situation from becoming a civil war as the capitol refuses to send aid go nowhere, and in the end the war begins. She feels she has no choice but to openly step out as a Goddess of War and take the side of the capitol, where her parents still rule. Her heart aches at fighting the common folk, and she is still trying to end the drought in their homeland, but war is inevitable.

During the war, Elain meets a young soldier of only around 15. He is brave and good with a sword- though she advises a saber would suit him better. Though he is too young to really fight, she keeps him by her side. Together they witness the desperation of the refugees, whose leader- the man who she helped bury his son- summons a horrible demon.

Amarantha- a monster who always wears a mask that is half crying, half laughing.

Amarantha calls forth a plague that rips through the capitol. Elain realizes that the only ones who aren’t becoming infected with this plague are the soldiers and criminals- anyone who has taken a life. She realizes if others figure it out, the whole world will be consumed in blood as everyone tries to kill one another for immunity.

Elain’s favorite soldier is removed from the army by Lucien’s command, outing the boy as too young. Azriel is once again thrown aside- not that Elain realized it was him.

Meanwhile Elain, heartbroken at the suffering of her people, makes the ultimate decision: she saves her parents, but leaves the capitol to die and fall. If the refugees- now rebel army- kill everyone inside the capitol then the disease won’t spread (since soldiers would do the killing), and no one would ever know what the cure was. One city to save the world.

Helion knows the Goddess Elain’s heart was in the right place, but her intercession not only failed to stop the war, she made it worse. He is forced to put a Cursed Collar on her, stripping her of all her powers as a goddess. However, instead of her becoming mortal again, Helion gives her an immortal body.

Elain, after all, was only seventeen when she ascended and now could be counted in her twenties. Young by any standard. She is a good person, so Helion grants her the immortal body believing that some experience in the world will help her learn. With time and dedication, she can ascend once again to be a goddess, and he will remove the Cursed Collar.

Lucien and Cassian descend with her.

But her confidence has been shattered. To keep the royal family hidden, they are forced to perform tricks on the streets for meager coins, do manual labor (including on monuments insulting and demeaning the Goddess Elain), and are constantly on the run from members of the new government’s army who are hunting the King and Queen mercilessly.

Eventually, Lucien tells Elain and Cassian that it is simply too much, he’s sick the struggles, and leaves to take care of his own mother. Cassian and Lucien always hated one another and bickered nonstop, but this is the ultimate betrayal. If Cassian could kill Lucien with his bare hands, he would.

Elain becomes paranoid and terrified that Cassian will leave her too. She has no possessions of worth- they’ve all been pawned- but she has a single golden belt left. The mark of a heavenly official. A reminder of what she was and what she must work towards becoming again. She gives it to Cassian, for its value is very high, as a way to beg him to stay.

Soon after, Elain finds a shady merchant selling lanterns she realizes are lit not by fire, but by little flame spirits- remnants of souls that should have been allowed to rest in peace. These spirits were taken from the battlefields around the royal capitol, her soldiers. Elain manages to use a few meager coins to buy them, and goes about releasing the spirits.

One small flame spirit will not leave. It tells Elain that it cannot move on, because its beloved is suffering and it must watch over them always so they will not be alone. Idealistic and lovely, but Elain is too disheartened to feel anything by cynicism towards such words. 

She leaves the little spirit- Azriel, who had snuck back onto the battlefields after being removed from the army and was cut down.

And then the king falls ill.

Elain is desperate for coin to help make things easier for Cassian (who is earning most of the money now) and to buy medicine for her father. Everything she tries fails, and, utterly at her wits end, she is forced to try her hand at robbing.

Though Elain is too horrified to actually rob a man, she chases after him and runs afoul of several junior heavenly officials who recognize her. She begs them not to tell anyone, and flees. They swear they won’t say a word. 

Elain returns home, and she’s terrified of what she almost did for money. She decides to leave, going to find a mountain with good spiritual energy to meditate and hopefully make progress back towards gaining the merits to become a goddess again.

As soon as she arrives thirty-three heavenly officials come to train on the mountain, as such a thing can even help gods advance among their own ranks. They bully Elain, and eventually mock her for trying to rob the man (those junior gods were assholes and didn’t keep their word). 

What’s worse- Lucien is among them. He didn’t go back to care for his mother, he abandoned Elain to become a god once again, a junior in the service of another (not a path Elain can take since she was once a full goddess). He helps chase Elain away.

That little flame spirit- Azriel- is there to witness the humiliation.

Elain flees in tears, running down the mountain until she collapses, sobbing. When she is left staring at the ground, a hand appears to help her up- Lucien. Elain slaps his hand away and screams at him, and leaves.

When she arrives home, Lucien is there with sacks of food and medicine for the King. He tries to explain that he only left to return to the heavens- betraying one master to go to a new one- because he knew he could use the position to get food and such for Elain, Cassian, and the King and Queen. 

Elain screams at Lucien to go, throwing the sacks of food at him. Cassian takes Elain’s side, and Lucien lets slip that Elain tried to rob for money. He doesn’t know Cassian didn’t know, and Elain is thrown even further into despair.

More time passes, once again the money and food and medicine run out. Elain starts seeing figures around her where there is nothing- the figure of Amarantha all in white with that horrible mask. Her own robes are sometimes replaced with Amarantha’s, and she is slowly driven mad.

At the absolute edge of sanity, Elain feels a summons drawing her into the woods. She follows it, even when ghostly flames try to block her path and stop her from advancing, and ends up in a ruined temple. A ruined temple that was once hers. The divine statue has been destroyed.

Elain sits on the altar and waits, knowing Amarantha will show up to claim her.

Over hours, people trickle into the temple, and lured by a mysterious summons even they don’t consciously remember following. When there are 100 people inside, wild howls come from around them and crazed figures appear, all infected with the plague that destroyed Elain’s kingdom.

They fall back into the temple and Elain seals the door. She is grabbed by Amarantha, bound, and Amarantha holds her up on the altar by her skull. Amarantha tells the people what Elain was so scared of anyone finding out:: that the plague can be cured if the person is a murderer. Amarantha helpfully explains that Elain cannot die, but if they land a blow on her that would be fatal on another, it counts. To demonstrate, Elain is run through.

The pain is horrible, and when the next person picks up the sword and stabs her, she screams. A white flame spirit enters the building, the one who tried to stop Elain from coming in the first place. Amarantha captures it to play with (torment) as the villagers line up.

No matter how much Elain screams, they stab her. Some slash her throat, so that she can no longer make a sound. She is trapped in her body as it is mutilated and wrecked, staring up at that flame spirit and imagining she can hear it screaming at what is being done to her.

People stab her two or three times, just to be sure they landed a would-be-fatal hit and unable to tell what they are stabbing as she ceases to look even human anymore. Just a pile of ruined flesh spilled across her own altar. Even her face is destroyed.

That flame spirit- Azriel- screams out with every stab, until he can’t take it anymore and loses his sanity. He explodes in a wall of flame that turns all the humans inside the temple- and the infected outside- into ash. Above the skies roil, marking the birth of a particularly dangerous spirit.

Elain lays in agony as her body slowly knits back together. She is dazed as she stumbles away from the ruined temple. Traumatized beyond the brink of insanity. What was done to her horrifies her, and she feels only rage and grief. She was a Goddess, and now not only is she living in squalor and humiliation and degradation, she was attacked by humans for no reason other than personal gain. Not an ounce of kindness shown to her as they hacked at her body.

Elain sees Amarantha, who wants to take her as a disciple and raise her to wreak vengeance against the world. Elain flees.

When she gets home, two weeks (or months, the translation is inconsistent) have passed. Cassian has kept the king alive and the queen has been beside herself. She swears she will never chide Elain again, just please don’t leave.

None of them know what happened to her body. None of them can understand. Elain is sick and tired and broken. And she knows the worst will pass sooner or later- Cassian will abandon her just like Lucien did. Leave her in disgust. She can’t bear thinking about his friendship turning to hate, so she attacks him. She rips him apart with the worst words she can muster, until he leaves in disgust.

You can’t fear something that already happened.

Elain locks herself in her rooms and ignores even her mother’s pleading to come out.

When she wakes, she bathes. She has to go and try to find coin again, but cannot find the bandage she uses to cover half her face and hide her identity (since, you know, as a disgraced goddess her face is everywhere). The house is too quiet, and when Elain opens the doors to her parents room, she finds out why:

With the king’s health failing, and the humiliation of being deposed and on the run, living in squalor, he has lost all hope. Her mother won’t be left behind, and she knows her life is a burden on Elain’s as the fallen goddess tries to care for them.

So the king and queen have hung themselves. Elain carefully takes down their bodies and tries to hang too, but of course this immortal body- a gift from Helion himself- cannot die.

The hangman’s noose has absorbed two lives, and was used in incredible grief by a goddess herself. It is imbued with the love Elain’s parents felt for her and their tragic desire to die as a way to help them. The cloth comes to life, sort of like a snake meets a puppy, but when not in use, it wraps around Elain’s wrist as if her arm were injured.

At the king and queen’s deaths, whatever is left of Elain shatters.

She goes to the battlefields outside the dead royal capitol, her home, and wakes the souls of her people. Millions, all killed in battle or in the plague. She screams to them all, demanding to know if they hate. On her face is the white mask of Amarantha- half crying, half smiling.

And thus, the White Clothed Calamity is born. A twin to the White No-Faced demon (Amarantha).

The souls appear as black smoke that floods into Elain’s blade- the one that was used to mutilate her body. All that hatred condensing.

And in front of Elain appears the form of a soldier. Also wearing a mask. A particularly powerful resentful spirit on his way to becoming a demon.

Not that Elain would recognize Azriel even if she could see, so consumed is she by her hatred and wrath.

Elain takes those souls to the new royal capitol to kill the leader of the rebellion- that man whose child she helped bury. The man who rained hell down on all.

But he’s dead. Killed by the plague. She can’t even take her revenge right.

So Elain goes next to the lands ravaged by that drought, the whole reason for the civil war in the first place. The very city she tried to save as a goddess to stop the war from starting. She drops from the sky, impaled by the black sword. She has given herself three days.

Three days for a single soul to show her an ounce of kindness. If none do, she will unleash those souls and the plague will begin again as the hateful spirits infect body after body until the world runs red with blood.

No one helps her. Not until the third day, when a man trips over her body, cusses her out, and then feels bad for losing his temper. Right as the sun sets on the third day, he takes off his bamboo hat and offers it to her, to protect her from the rain.

A single act of kindness.

But it’s too late. The souls trapped in the sword explode into the sky.

Elain tries to tell the gathering crowd to pick up her sword and just stab her. She’s resigned to being hacked to death again and again if it will save even a single person from what she unleashed in her wrath and grief.

But no one is willing to hurt her. Not even to save themselves, and not even when she is begging them to. Unlike the group in the temple, who attacked her for themselves even when she begged them to stop.

So Elain does something painful and horrible- she raises the sword and draws all those hate-filled spirits into herself. It could very well destroy her, and the pain is worse even than being stabbed, but she will do it. If she can even save one person to undo her own mistake, she’ll do it.

But that second soldier appears again, the one who stood across from her on the battlefield.

He takes the souls into himself. Elain absorbs 300. He takes a million. It destroys him utterly- that kind brave man giving his soul, extinguishing himself forever- just to help her right a wrong.

But Azriel didn’t die. He was blown apart by the power, and re-formed bit by bit later on to become a Wrath-level (tier 3) ghost.

Helion descends from the heavens to meet Elain. Yes, she nearly did something unforgivable, but she was willing to destroy herself to right the wrong. For this- and all her suffering- Helion wishes to bring Elain up to the heavens once again as a goddess.

Her wrath extinguished, her spirit broken, Elain refuses his offer. That poor man’s soul was destroyed (seemingly) because of her. Someone suffered for what she did. She wants to atone, and atone for those one million souls she roused rather than helping them lay at rest in peace.

Elain asks Helion to put a new Cursed Shackle on her. This time not one that banishes her spiritual powers. Once upon a time she met a small boy she saved from falling. She was told she had infinite fortune, well above a normal person’s, but that child’s fate was endlessly dark and wretched.

Elain asks for a shackle that destroys her luck. That takes all of her good fortune and shatters it. Fortune is something that ebbs and flows through the world, by removing all of hers, that luck will be redistributed, and could bring good to the lives of others.

But an offer to return to heaven was granted, so Helion and Elain come up with a little show to explain away the new curse shackle without Helion appearing to punish a goddess who has done no wrong:

Elain ascends, as offered, and storms through heaven, hacking at the bodies of gods and challenging Helion himself. It becomes known famously as her Second Ascension, which lasts all of 10 minutes before she is fitted with a new cursed shackle and hurled form the heavens.

Elain’s life will be wretched, luck-less, and full of strife. Nothing she ever tries will go right. it is a life that would shatter the spirit of anyone. But for Elain, every misfortune means someone else has better luck than they should have. Every harm she suffers means someone else is blessed. She is atoning for what she did, and that makes her happy. She still mourns the soul of that boy who was destroyed, still lives in repentance of that, but she is atoning for her crimes.

During this time, that boy- now a Wrath Level Demon- finds he cannot loose. All the good fortune lost by Elain is funneled into him, and it is impossible for him to not get what he wants. He enters the Demonic Kiln and is re-forged as a Supreme (highest level) Demonic King. His weapons are the Silver Wrath Butterflies- a form he grants to those million souls he swallowed to help Elain.

He wears around his finger a red string, one of the ones that had bound him to that ghost lantern as a little flame spirit, a red string of fate that promises he will find his way back to Elain one day.

Azriel walks into the heavens and challenges thirty-five gods-- those who humiliated Elain on the mountaintop plus Cassian and Lucien, her hateful servants who abandoned her.

Cassian and Lucien refuse the challenge, but thirty-three gods take Azriel’s challenge--- 

He kills them all.

Not only does he humiliate them in front of their worshippers, he destroys 10,000 of their temples in a single night. One temple for every one of Elain’s that was destroyed when she fell as a goddess. Without worshippers or temples, the gods fade from existence.

Until, 800 years later, the heavens explode. Godly palaces are destroyed (including those of Cassian and Lucien, who are now full gods), the infrastructure shatters, and when the smoke clears there is Elain. A goddess once again. Except instead of being a goddess of war, she is a goddess of misfortune and junk.

To atone for accidentally ruining so many palaces (though she had no power over the size of the boom when she ascended, it corresponds with power), she goes to the mortal realm to solve a mysterious haunting.

The moment she arrives, she finds a silver butterfly following her and is enchanted by it. The butterfly vanishes, and as soon as she steps into the haunted forest a man in red appears, takes her hand, and gently leads her through a blood-rain, destroys barriers that would have kept her contained, and delivers her safely to the lair of the creature she is hunting.

From then on, Azriel is never far from her side. He has hunted for Elain for 800 years. The beautiful princess he fell in love with as a child, and met time and time again without her realizing it. After their second adventure together, Azriel gives Elain a diamond ring to wear around her neck.

If a ghost’s ashes are destroyed or scattered, they die. Elain doesn’t want this to happen to Azriel, who has made himself an enemy of heaven. Azriel only tells her that his ashes are safe, and if their hiding place is ever destroyed or if they are cast away, he has no will to exist any more anyways.

His ashes are contained within that diamond ring, imbued in the stone itself. 

Elain doesn’t know why the gods hate Azriel so much, he is warm and kind to her (though admittedly cold to others). Azriel accompanies Elain obediently on many adventures, though every mystery they solve they run afoul of one heavenly official after another.

Elain starts to realize there is a rot in the heavens. So many gods with so many horrible secrets. 

Elain and Azriel invade the home of a particularly evil ghost- the Green Demon. Tamlin. After Elain’s fall from grace he went mad, his obsessive feelings towards her turning from admiration to hatred. It was Tamlin who commissioned all those statues of Elain in humiliating and degrading positions. Tamlin is a cannibalistic evil ghost, though lower than Azriel in power.

He quickly takes possession of the body of a man with a small child and refuses to leave, so Azriel cannot even kill him without Elain being angry. 

Realizing something is rotten in the heavens, Elain makes her base a rundown cabin barely standing. She lives there with Tamlin as her prisoner and Azriel as her constant companion. That child becomes a noose around Tamlin’s throat- endlessly obedient and loving towards his “father” (whose body Tamlin cannot leave or else Az will kill him). Bit by bit, Tamlin’s cruelty starts to fade (though he’s never really nice per-se, it’s just that he likes the kid).

On her journey she is joined by Nuala and Cerridwen- two low level gods in the service of Lucien and Cassian, who hate one another as much as their masters do. Their masters also hate Elain with a burning passion, so Nuala and Cerridwen help her in secret.

Out of courtesy, Elain pretends that she doesn’t know Nuala and Cerridwen are only Cassian and Lucien in another form, trying to atone themselves for abandoning her so long ago.

As Elain, Azriel, Cassian, and Lucien go on adventure after adventure the crimes of the heavens are unearthed one after another- from a god who killed humans to hide his own crimes to another who worked black magics to steal the good fortune of a man about to ascend to a god and attached it to his unwitting brother, leaving the man’s family to be raped and murdered while his brother enjoyed the divinity that should never have been his, to another god who tortured a mortal to death just for fun.

They start to realize too that Amarantha- who vanished from the world when Elain refused to release her curse- has been close by all along. 

For the Demonic Kiln that forges Ghost Kings- that imbued Azriel with so much power- was born of a horrific tragedy 2,000 years ago in which Amarantha’s entire kingdom fell around her.

A tragedy which Amarantha turned into an opportunity- she raided the heavens, slaughtered all of her fellow gods and changed her form.

And as new gods rose, she placed herself upon the throne with this new face--

as Helion.

Elain, Azriel, Cassian, Lucien, and all of their new friends must work together to destroy Helion, find the true King of Heaven, and restore balance to the world before Amarantha plunges it all into chaos and destroys everything Elain loves.

The only one powerful enough to stop Amarantha is Elain, but with her luck sealed away and her powers still stifled by the Cursed Collar, it is up to the Demonic Realm to save the Heavens above before the mortal world is destroyed.

Azriel already died for Elain once. To see her smile freely once again, he’d die a million deaths more. No matter the hardships, this boy who has followed his princess for 800 years will follow her to the ends of the earth and beyond.

And their growing love might just be enough to tip the tides of war in their favor. King Azriel will always find a way to his Elain. Not even a two thousand year old Demonic-King of Heaven can stand in their way.

[glassworkspiderlilies]

the earth shudders at the tower asunder (1/4)

Genshin Impact | Lumine & Aether | AO3 Summary: Not all gods have long memories.  (Primordial!Travelers AU, in which Lumine and Aether are not just gods, but amongst the oldest ones.) Notes: oops, forgot to post this here yesterday, so voila. approx 4.5k words. not a holiday fic, but happy holidays!

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Their first memories are these: the expanse of bright blue sky, the glow of gentle light. Their true names. Each other—recognition of you, me, brother, sister. We, us, together. 

And a voice, a soft, kind echo of stay together, now. 

It is a long time before they settle on names in the human tongue, but when they do, they cycle through many, though Aether and Lumine they tend to favor. In the early days, it is only the two of them. They learn to walk and run and fly together; they learn to speak, though in a language only the two of them understand, and more than half of it nonverbal regardless. Not long after, they learn to traverse through worlds too, though at first they did not realize they were doing so, having only crossed into open plains and isolated forests for some time. It is only until they are found by humans one day and taken in as spirits to be worshipped that they grow to be a little more like them through observation.

Two shimmering, golden twins who, somewhat inadvertently, brought fortune to the small village...it wasn't long before they were hailed as gods. 

The then-nameless twins decide to stay out of curiosity, and as they watch generations come and go, they learn about the blessings and trappings of mortality. There is still a barrier; they cannot feel wholly what it is their human friends feel, but they continue to learn, and recognize that perhaps, some things are not so different between them after all. Love, loyalty, joy…the villagers are eager to please their gods, and feel relief to see that pleasure reflected on the twins' faces. All this too is a language, and the twins are ever evolving. 

Life around them flourishes. The twins bend their surroundings to ways that please them: clear skies, warm sunlight, light breezes. An abundance of flowers and other flora. Bountiful harvests for the seeds sown. They read the earth and temper the ley lines, and the lives that they have come to lead, which in turn is that of the village's, is mild and peaceful. In the beginning there was only two of them, but since then they have gained much, and they are grateful for it. 

It does not last. 

The village grows into a town, and then a city. The times change, the people change, and the values change. The twins, now sequestered in their aging temple, watch and feel the energies shift. The earth groans, the ley lines diminishing slowly. The so-called god-twins haven't been forgotten, no, but the eyes that are turned upon them are hungrier, more calculating, and sometimes, even malicious. The priests that tend to them range in the service, too; in the past, they did not have priests, just friends who helped them of their own free will. Now, those who tend to the twins are either careless or fanatic. 

It is tiring. The world is no longer as they know it, and it is no longer comfortable to stay. But they have seen this city grow from the cluster of huts it used to be, and so, is it not what humans call “home”? But time continues to pass, and the energy continues to bubble and burst in unpleasant ways. What the twins can do for the people is no longer enough; their own values are too outdated, and what they are and aren't willing to do is not understood by humans who lead such different existences.

The twins have grown too mortal-seeming for the people to be intimidated by any aspect of them anymore. And so the day comes when an organized group breaks into the temple and shackles them, with the intentions of forcing them to do their bidding, for the good of the city, or so they say.

It is a new pain, the cold iron chafing their ankles and wrists, the spite turned towards them, the abandonment by many of those whose ancestors they could easily trace back to someone they liked. There is pain on their mortal flesh, too; if the men no longer believe in the gods, they do not think twice of striking them. That they bruise and bleed seems only to reinforce that they are not so special; there are others with abilities now, and the twins have not shown all their hands—and even less of them, with the times.

Lumine licks the blood from her lip and looks to her brother, who spits his own blood from his mouth.

They were born of the sky and light; they do not want to be contained like this.

They cannot, and will not be contained like this.

“This is no longer home,” the sister says, her eyes melancholy.

“Let’s go,” the brother says, his eyes angry, and the twins join hands.  

“Goodbye,” they say together, their voices—one wistful, one disgusted—echoing across the city, and in a shimmer of light and a puff of wind, the twin gods are gone.

The shackles hit the ground with a damning clatter.

They do not return, though many, moved by the farewell and feeling their abandonment, pray and hope for years after.

The changes in the city are not so explicit, but noticeable. There is a certain life missing in the city, a certain protection, and a certain watchful tenderness.

The people lament and regret their hubris, but it is too late.

By the time the civilization falls, the twins are past looking back.

Stay together, now.

The first lesson is the hardest. In the end, they only have each other.

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They are more careful, the next time they stay longer in a place. They traverse through several worlds before they decide to again, and it is because of a young boy who saved their life—or is under the impression he did, anyway—from animal traps in the woods.

It starts, as always, with a curiosity; the boy, Idris, excited by their foreign clothes and manners, wants so badly to hear their stories.

The other townspeople are warier of them, but as the twins get to know the boy by entertaining his requests, it is slowly revealed by his aborted sentences and the scars on his arm that his home life is…not good. He sneaks out to escape his family, and his talks with the travelers from places he’s never heard of before are the highlight of his life.  

They cannot take him with them. But they can, at least, stay.

Unfortunately, there is not much they can do for him besides tend to his wounds and keep his spirits up, but that is enough for Idris.

He grows from a boy to a teen, and then a young adult, and runs away from home. Aether and Lumine aid his escape, and the joy on Idris’ face as they shoot through the woods brings them joy that they had not felt so keenly in a long time.

Idris eventually grows to lead a simple, comfortable life at the edge of a faraway town. Aether is amused that Idris never tires of listening to his and Lumine’s stories, and that he even asks for some to be repeated. They spar with him and teach him better ways to defend himself so he is not subjugated again, the twins themselves having been taught by both peasants and masters alike as they traveled through worlds.

In turn, Idris teaches them to cook—properly, with pots and pans and assorted seasonings. He teaches them other recipes over the fire too, but the fascination the twins show with what he considers regular home cooking makes him laugh.

The three spend their days living as simple huntsmen, though Idris performs more of the day-to-day business transactions. Though the bond between the twins is—something sacred, Idris grows to be something of a brother, too. They note how easily he smiles and laughs now, compared to his reservation as a boy, as well as his growing strength and his eternal kindness, and are glad.

And then—he becomes King.

Soldiers come to their little house in peace, with a representative to explain Idris’ history. A child was lost in a storm and presumed dead, but the body was never found, though his mother the Queen’s was. The information was hidden by the first prince’s faction, who was quite a few years older, and already quite prepared to be heir. But a few months ago, the first prince had been assassinated, and the news that the second prince might still live was revealed due to the sudden lack of succession.

And so, a hunt was mounted, and now, finally succeeded.

His return to the King’s side is not a mere request to be denied, and so, pleading that Aether and Lumine go with him, they are all escorted to the royal castle posthaste.

As it turns out, the King does not have much time to live, hence the increased desperation to find his lost heir. Idris is, of course, baffled and confused, but there is an instant—and real—fondness between father and son, who have such little time between them, and surprisingly more in common than the first prince had with his father.

The King’s last days are filled with conversations with Idris, both personal and official. Idris is unprepared, but he has his father’s last minute lessons and his most trusted advisors, and—though in his heart, he thinks this position is not for him—he cannot back down from the expectations placed upon his shoulders.

No one knows what to do with the strange twins that come with him, but Idris’ first command is that they not be bothered. Aether and Lumine are free to do as they please—he is adamant about this, because he always, and continues, to know them as travelers, even if they have been with him for so long and grown near and dear to his heart.

The twins sense the distress at his position under the brave façade he puts on, however, and continue to stay, much to his relief. In their travels they have seen kings and queens and various types of rulers; though this is the first time they have truly spent their time in the company of one, they can, at the very least, share stories that may help, as they always have.

In time, they become King Idris’ closest and most trusted advisors. He becomes a wise and benevolent ruler with their assistance, the kingdom flourishes—and the air feels once more like home.

Yet—as years go on, the twins, no matter how venerable they are, begin to be regarded with wariness and suspicion.

They do not age.

For a long time, Idris had simply accorded it to good genes; there have been others who look younger than they are. His own Queen is one of them. But as he grows into a proper man while Aether and Lumine still look like adolescents…he would be a fool to continue making excuses.

Still, no one asks. The twins have served well, and have done nothing to give doubt to their character. If they are spirits or fae or gods, then it is in their better interest not to offend them by probing unnecessarily. This uneasiness and curiosity sinks into the background anyway when the Queen finally gives birth to her first child after many difficulties, and there is joy all around at the arrival of a new prince.

And then—war begins to brew.

Small skirmishes around the border begin to grow into larger battles. Villages on the outskirts are razed to the ground; hostages are taken. Full-scale invasion looms, and quickly the kingdom prepares to go to battle with their neighbor.

The King dons his armor, prepared to lead his armies, and yet…and yet—

He looks at his firstborn child with desperation. His Queen cries on his shoulder; the King is a good man and an able fighter, but he is no skilled warrior, and the tides of the battle are not optimistic. The few sorties he’s led are nothing compared to what is to come. Idris looks at his wife and child and wonders if he is a weak man for not wanting to die in battle, no matter how glorious the cause.

At night, after his son has been settled and his wife has fallen into a tearful, exhausted sleep, he prays.

He prays, and as he does, has a thought.

There is a tower that the twins favor, as it is the highest point in the castle. Oftentimes they have been seen perched precariously on the topmost point of its roof—and it is a mystery how they get there, every time. Some swear that they must have flown, but the twins have never been caught in the action, and so it had become something of a joke.

But…perhaps…it is not a jest, after all.

They are not on the roof when he finds them but on the balcony proper, and their eyes are somberly luminous in the moonlight. That they say nothing, their faces blank as they wait for him to speak, makes him nervous. Suddenly there is a gulf between them; they’d been so close for so much of his life, but as he became more comfortable in his role as king and confident in his own decisions, he had sought them out less and less. And now…now, he is about to ask the impossible, his heart beating so loudly surely they must hear it.

Idris licks his lips and steels himself, squaring his shoulders.

“Aether. Lumine. Will you go to war with me?”

A pause, and Lumine’s lips twist into a sardonic smile. It is a severe expression on her young face, but her eyes are much older than her appearance belies.

“That is not,” she begins quietly, “The true question you are asking, is it?”

Idris flinches as if slapped, and Aether leans against the balustrades with deceptive nonchalance.

“Well?” he prompts, his faint smile matching his sister’s, and Idris covers his face with his hands, the accumulating stress from the past few months crashing down upon him all at once.

“Forgive me,” he rasps out, his voice raw, “Will you fight this war for me? It’s true, what they say, isn’t it? You aren’t…aren’t human. Gods, perhaps. If it is you two, surely you could turn the tides. I have…I have my people to think about. And my wife and child. Call me selfish if you must, but I cannot…we cannot win this battle alone. I am desperate to keep the peace and prosperity we have built. We have come too far to lose it all now…and if this is my only option…I will beg for it if I have to. So please…”

His voice cracks, and tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

“I beg of you…save me and my kingdom from our fate.”

He lowers his head and waits, squeezing his eyes shut, the tears falling without reserve, afraid of what will come next.

“We will fight your war,” Lumine whispers.

Idris’ head snaps back up, gratitude on his tongue, but freezes when he catches her expression.

Sorrow.

“But it will be the last thing we do,” Aether adds, holding his gaze.

His face is grave, though there is no accusation.

Idris’ throat is tight.

“I understand,” he says, “Thank you.”

The twins walk past him without looking at him again, and the King feels his heart break. But the choice is made. He will not regret it.

He cannot.

(On the battlefield, too few moons later, the twins walk ahead of Idris’ main army and cross their swords with each other’s at the first wave of enemy soldiers.

“Turn back,” they call, voice echoing across the terrain, and of course it is met with crude jeers and hollers before the opposing army charges.

None think to question just why it is the twins’ voices carry so far, with the wind whistling sharply and the dark, cloudy sky rumbling with thunder.

Wings of shimmering light burst out of the twins’ backs; both the King, his soldiers, and the enemy gasp at the otherworldly sight, the charge slowing just for a moment.

“We gave our warning,” the twins say sadly, and the field erupts into light.

It is over quickly, all things considered. By the time the light fades completely, many of their opponents are dead, and the remaining stragglers who do not flee are taken care of swiftly with plain swordsmanship.

They grant mercy where they can.

Rain turns the ground to mud as the battle comes to an end, and the twins return to Idris’ side streaked in blood afterward.

“Goodbye,” they say, their voices flat.

Idris means to say—something. I’m sorry, or thank you, or I hope to see you again. But the words stick in his throat, and the twins walk past him once more. This time, when he turns, they are nowhere to be seen.

Gods, or a kingdom? Idris is only mortal, and so must make a mortal choice.

Love for his land, love for his people, love for his family…there are things he wants to protect.

The twins cannot fault him. After all, they would have chosen each other, too.

.

But they sleep, for some years after that.

.

(“You forgive them, don’t you?”

“Ah, Lumi…it’s not about forgiveness. It’s about letting it go. We just…aren’t mortal, right? What good will it do to carry it with us?”

A pause. She presses her lips together, then sighs.

“I can’t help if it hurts,” she admits, turning her face away, and Aether chuckles.

“Well,” he says, ruffling her hair, and she immediately reaches over to ruffle his in revenge, “If it displeases you so much, then just forget, little sister.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snaps, but her tone is merely mildly annoyed. The creation of his physical form a few scant questionable seconds before hers has been an age-old argument between them.  “Fine. I suppose you are meant to just…accept.”

“And it’s both of our so-called jobs to just be. Isn’t it? But if you can’t let go, then just let it be, and let time take care of it. We are made of time.”

A silence.

“Why are we here, Aether?”

He smiles. This, too, is a question his sister asks often.

“Why worry about it, when we already are? Come. The sun, the flowers, the air. Isn’t that enough to live for?”

Lumine doesn’t have an argument. She sighs again.

“So be it,” she says, with a faint smile. )

.

When they wake, the landscapes are different, both earthly and spiritual. There are more spirits and gods and other celestial beings, and—

They don’t know if this is less lonely.

For a while it is, at least; the lesser spirits greet them mostly with fear or awe, and some brave ones with curiosity. (There is a small wind spirit that is unequivocally bold, circling around them for some months with brazen interest, and the twins miss its company as soon as it is gone. Wind is a free, fickle thing, after all; the twins had not expected it to stay, and the few months it was with them was already considered long.) The more powerful gods are wary, and greet them with respect and obedience, though not all are happy about it. The twins know not what it is they sense, that they think the two more powerful than them, but nor do they know enough to contest it. They travel, and roam, and bend the world in what they consider minor ways; surely these other newer gods can do more than that—and do what they hope is better by the humans who have grown more numerous. Many of these new gods have a people to watch over and guide with care—more than the twins can say for themselves.

Time passes, and the challengers begin to come.

The different gods of battle and weaponry and other such related things request duels. The twins win every time, for many years, treating these fights with polite amusement. Some take those losses with respect, others take it with anger, feeling belittled. But Aether and Lumine are not aggressive beings, so why should they respond with aggression?

Nonetheless, their behavior draws ire as year after year as they accept these duels and continue to win. Lumine’s style is clean and efficient, Aether’s is flashy and acrobatic. Those who are foolish enough to challenge them together see only a flash of light before they are flat on their backs, swords crossed at their necks.

“Must they persist?” Lumine asks her brother one day, as they start hiding from challengers.

Aether laughs.

“They must enjoy the challenge,” he says, spinning his blade, “It gives them something to live for, when life is so long.”

“And us?” Lumine asks, “What is there to challenge us?”

Aether pauses.

“Each other?” he says, grinning slyly. “Why, sister, if you wanted to lose, you need only ask.”

She throws her sword at him for that. He dodges as she summons her weapon back, and lunges forward just as her fingers close around the hilt.

They spar.

A mountain is flattened for their trouble, and the Lord of Mountains expresses his displeasure at them loudly, later. They take his scolding with good graces.

Making friends amongst gods is easier, truth be told; especially with the lesser ones. The Lady of Flowers and the Lord of Birds are among those they are closest to, the both of them having more placid natures, and also rulers of things the twins love best.

Among the stronger ones, they have a polite relationship with the God of Blizzards, and a slightly warmer one with The God of the Woods. The God of Storms they avoid, for he and the twins always seem to clash when they meet. They care not for the flavor of energy he cultivates, and he dislikes many things that are stronger than himself.

Somewhat surprisingly, they get along well with the newly minted God of Commerce, who is already starting to go by many names—including the God of War. He may be young, but his power grows at a rapid pace…and perhaps too quickly. Still, he is level-headed if sometimes rash, and the twins feel at ease watching someone be so sure of their place in the world.

Among the gods, even despite—or simply including—the annoyances, life is fuller. They share the same—or at the very least, similar—time; lasting friendships are formed, abilities are challenged and grow, and the twins laugh more easily in the skies.

And then, the gods start dying at the hands of one another.

Lesser gods go first, and it is a dark day when the twins see the Lady of Flowers wither away.

The God of Crags dies by their hand.

It accomplishes little, but nor can they bear to let such a thing go.

The cycle continues to turn, and grow more vicious; some spirits rise to power in these gruesome times, their potential unlocked by adversity. Some gods grow more powerful as they slay their friends and brethren.

As the Archons rise, the twins finally feel something new: their own abilities draining.

It is a disconcerting feeling. They retain the core of their abilities—their flight, their weapon-summoning, their attacks drawn from light. But something in their existence wavers, like a hazy mirage, and they know something within them is quickly being lost.

In their confusion, they retreat as far as they can from the continuing war between gods, and for a long time, are forgotten.

.

Among their last memories of each other is this: their hands, grasping each other as they feel the pull of spiritual essence leaving them, whispering to each other don’t leave me, do not go without me.

We must stay together.

The nausea passes, and as they start traveling through worlds once again, they feel like they are running from something, instead.

It finds them anyway.

Teyvat is on the cusp of being consumed by war, and almost immediately after they touch down, they make the decision to leave. No, no more; enough of this. It sickens them, and they are already gathering the energy to shift elsewhere. However—

“Outlanders, your journey ends here.”

They do not know this god, but they can feel her power, and briefly, they think, perhaps, this is how others felt about them so long ago.

The twins summon their swords and their wings as the Unknown God attacks, weaving in and out of her red streaks coiling through the sky.

They are still very skilled, but they are aware: over the millennia, they have grown so weak.

And so, as decreed, their journey ends.

Lumine watches as Aether is swallowed up, and she screams for her brother when he meets her eyes in horror.

Stay together, now.

She doesn’t remember moving, already behind the white-haired god; lightning crackles in her hand, and she yells as she lunges with her blade, the sky exploding into fire upon impact.

She almost, almost grabs her brother’s small prison out of the Unknown God’s hand.

But she fails, and as Lumine too is swallowed up by black and red, she screams for her brother’s return as the red god watches on, mercilessly.

(After all, the gods do not listen to the ones who do not belong.)

.

Lumine wakes, cold and alone—without her brother, without her wings, without her powers.

In the end, we only have each other.

But that’s not quite true, is it?

“Aether,” she whispers, trembling, her voice cracking.

How is it that there is more to the end, and without him? They were never meant to be separated. They were never meant to exist alone.

“Why are we here, Aether?”

“Why worry about it, when we already are? Come. The sun, the flowers, the air. Isn’t that enough to live for?”

The sun, the flowers, the air. The world tilts around her, and all she can see is utter darkness, despite the blazing sunlight.

She has lived long, and much of it among mortals. She has felt sorrow, and joy, and anger.

But for the first time, as she stares up at the sky, bereft of everything that has ever mattered to her, she feels crushing, consuming despair.

[takurotan]

FEH Book V, Chapter 9 Echoes of Truth

Part 1: Rightful Place MID_SCENARIO_OPENING: Reghin: NGYAAH! A m-monster! I'm too young to be eaten! ...Huh? Oh. It's just a bird, I guess. Maybe heading off to the Tower of Niðavellir alone wasn't a great idea after all… I'm not sure I can make it all the way by myself… No! I can't get discouraged now! My country and my brothers need me more than ever! The foothills should be on the other side of this forest. If I just keep going this way, I should get there soon! I'll just have to do my best! FighterAX_M: ...inn… ...Reg...inn... Reghin: ...Huh? Wh-who's there? I can hear your voice, but I can't see anyone! Are you...over this way?

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN: Sharon: Phew... This is exhausting! And the Tower of Niðavellir is higher still? This slope is so steep... Alfons: We'll make it, Sharena... There, look. You can see it now, over there. That is our goal, the Tower of Niðavellir… Though it's incredible that Reginn managed to climb this mountain on her own... Anna: Right. I thought we would catch up to her right away. It's strange… And since we know the tower is guarded, it's almost unthinkable that she'd attempt this by herself. Alfons: We've seen no sign of battle thus far, so we can only assume she is still somewhere ahead of us. Anna: I suppose you're right. All we can do is trust she's safe and keep heading toward the tower.

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_END: Sharon: There she is! Princess Reginn! Reghin: Oh, you...you followed me!? Anna: Of course we did! You don't have to do this alone. Reghin: I-I'm sorry. It's just...I've caused you all so much trouble already… I wanted to take care of this one thing myself... I just thought I'd— Sharon: After everything we've been through together?! Alfons: This isn't a problem that concerns you alone, or even just Niðavellir, for that matter. You don't need to take it on all by yourself. You can trust us to help you. Dagr: After spending all this time together, I've started to think of you like my little sister, Reginn. Let your Big Sis help you out! Nott: ...As the proper elder sister here, if you need someone you can count on, your best choice is me. Anna: Princess Reginn, you are a valued member of our Order of Heroes, and in light of that… I will not accept you going on any dangerous missions by yourself from here on! Reghin: ...Thank you. All of you… You...you're all so wonderful! *sniff* You're going to make me cry! Nott: All that said, you have done rather well climbing this mountain on your own, haven't you? Reghin: *sniff* ...Oh, that's right! I heard this strange voice, and I followed after it... I hardly even noticed the climb! Alfons: A strange voice? We didn't hear anything like that... Reghin: Oh... Really? Hmm... Maybe I was imagining things!

MID_SCENARIO_ENDING_IMAGE: EvBg_NisaverilCastle MID_SCENARIO_ENDING: Fafnir : ... Otr: Brother! You're all right! I thought… Weren't you taken captive by Askr?! ...I'm so glad to see you! You had me worried. I never thought you would invade Askr while I was away. And Reginn... Unbelievable! How dare she side with Askr and aid them in capturing you! She is no sister of mine... No, not anymore. Don't you agree, Brother? Fafnir: What endless yammering… SILENCE! Askr... The gate, it... What's on the other side?! ...Damn it! Otr: Brother... Have you...remembered something? What is it? Fafnir: ...Hm. I've noticed you've been fixated on Askr recently, haven't you, Ótr? ...What do you know? Otr: M-me? ...I-I don't know anything! What do you mean, Brother? Fafnir: Don't play the fool with me. Do you think your sneaking around with Eitri has gone unnoticed?! Hhng— Gyaahh! My...head! Otr: Brother, try to calm yourself! You mustn't try to force your memories to return. Fafnir: It is more than my memory that's wrong... My strength is far beyond that of others… Sometimes, it is too much for even me to control... I have this thirst for destruction that I cannot satisfy… When...when did I become this?! Hrrk! Guhhh... Otr: You haven't changed, Brother… That strength is what made you king, and king by right! You need not worry. I'm here with you. I won't abandon you like Reginn has, that traitorous, conniving... Fafnir: Mmrrgh... H-huh? ...Wh-what is this? Otr: Ah, there you are... Are you back with me now? You're likely exhausted after having escaped Askr... You lost consciousness for a moment. Fafnir: Ah, that's right... That woman, Loki… She appeared to me in Askr, and… Ótr, begin preparing to invade a new target. Otr: ...O-of course! What target? Fafnir: The Emblian Empire.

Part 2: Merry Diviner MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN_BGM: BGM_EVENT_PLAIN_01 MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN: Orochi: Queen Mikoto...please watch over me...

Part 3: Rulebreaker Mage MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN: Nyx: I took countless lives in my foolish youth. For that, I was cursed with this unaging body...

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_END: Sharon: Finally! We made it! Now, to get that gate open. Hmmm-MMPH— Huh… Alfons: This is no time for playing around, Sharena. Sharon: I'm not playing around! The gate won't budge! Anna: But there's no lock... Strange. Reghin: Oh no! That's right... I'm sorry… This gate can only be opened by those from Niðavellir's royal line. Alfons: So we have no way to get past the gate? Reghin: I'm afraid not... I wish I knew of any other way to open it… If we can't get past it, we'll be unable to investigate whatever it is my brothers are up to… SUMMON_STONE_FLASH| Sharon: H-huh?! ...I-it just opened! Reghin: Yes! This is amazing... The kings of ages past must be watching over us! Thank you, Your Majesties! Anna: Convenient... That certainly saves us some trouble! Let's hurry through before the kings change their minds. Alfons: Right! Let's get going! Er...what's wrong, Kiran? What's that you found? Oh! That looks like...

MID_SCENARIO_ENDING: _ Eitri: The gate...is open. Heh... Heh heh heh… AH-HAHAHAHAAAHH! So this is how things are, is it?! How dare you, Ótr… The divine dragon has not abandoned Niðavellir yet. You will not be allowed to simply do whatever you please...

Part 4: Wily Warrior MID_SCENARIO_OPENING: Reghin: Hmmm... Where is... Huh! Alfons: What is it, Princess Reginn? Reghin: Well, this is where the king would have come to perform the formal rites of ascension to the throne. The rite involves climbing from the bottom of the mountain to the tower and placing a treasure on the altar… But...I don't see Fáfnir's treasure here anywhere. Anna: Did Fáfnir...not perform the rite? Reghin: He did! Well, he took a treasure and climbed this mountain… Sharon: But he went alone, right? Reghin: W-well, of course, but not becau— Alfons: Is this the treasure he carried? Reghin: Th-that's it! ...Why do you have it, Prince Alfonse? Where did you find it?! Alfons: It was on the ground out as we approached the tower. It seems to have been thrown into the thicket. It was Kiran who found it. Reghin: But...why would— He said he gave his treasure as an offering! Nott: He was unable to open the gate, in all likelihood. Blocked from making his offering, he tossed it aside. Dagr: Then...what does that mean for us? Alfons: You mentioned that only the royal line is able to enter the tower, right, Princess Reginn?How does the tower recognize someone as king? Reghin: To be claim the throne, you need to have the Crown of the Dvergar and be born of Niðavellir… Nott: He bore the crown. Which can mean only that he is not born of Niðavellir. Is that not the case? Alfons: It's possible... As I understand it, Fáfnir lost all of his memories. Reghin: Th-then...just who IS my brother? And where did he come from? Alfons: As of now, we have no way of knowing. Anna: It's possible even he doesn't know anything about his past life… But if the fact that he's not born of this realm were to become widely known, he could be deposed. It's likely that is the reason why he didn't tell anyone... Reghin: Aha! And maybe Ótr knows the truth... Alfons: Right. He probably found the treasure as well, and threw it into the thicket himself. Dagr: That's all great, but… the only thing this tells us is that he isn't from Niðavellir, right? Nott: We've gained insight into our foe. It is a step in the right direction. Sharon: What step comes next then? Do we pursue Ótr and Eitri? Alfons: Hmmm... Making our way back down the mountain will be dangerous after dark—we should hurry.

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN: Charlotte: I'll make you my extra-special lunch!

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_END: FighterAX_M: ...Reginn... Reghin: Wh-who's there? You were the one who called out to me at the foot of the mountain, weren't you... FighterAX_M: You have done well, child of our blood... Wrest the crown from the heretic... Return it to rightful hands... Reghin: The...heretic? Do you mean Fáfnir? But...but I— Sharon: Princess Reginn? Who are you talking to? Reghin: H-huh? You can't hear it? Sharon: H-hear what? ...I'm not falling for this trick again! Anyway, I came to tell you it's nearly time to go. Reghin: Right... Of course.

Part 5: Sensitive Soul MID_SCENARIO_MAP_BEGIN: Benoit: I like animals. They aren't scared of me.

MID_SCENARIO_MAP_END: Dagr: How many of these guys are there?! They just keep coming! Nott: They must have arrived while we were investigating the tower. Anna: Their reinforcements seem almost endless! If we don't retreat now... Alfons: Stay focused, everyone! When we have an opening to get clear, take it!

MID_SCENARIO_ENDING: Sharon: Enemies! Wait—who's that?! Alfons: That lance-work... It couldn't be! Bruno: ... Alfons: Zacharias! Where did you come from? Sharon: Are you here to help us? Wow! What incredible timing! Bruno: ...That is not why I'm here. If anything, I've come to ask for your help. Niðavellir's army... Fáfnir has invaded the Emblian Empire. Alfons: What? He escaped from Askr?! I-is Princess Veronica all right?! Bruno: She's managed to hold them off somehow, but it's only a matter of time before she's overwhelmed. I'm well aware we are in no position to ask favors of you, but... Please, help Veronica. Help my sister. Alfons: Zacharias, you've been away, so you may not know this, but… Despite her initial aggression toward Askr, Veronica has cooperated with us on many an occasion. We will respond as we would if any ally were in trouble. We will not abandon her to Niðavellir… Everyone—Embla is in need! We must hurry to their aid!

[theodora3022]

The Outlaw Prince Part.1 (Fanasty AU Shigaraki Tomura x F!reader)

Summary: As the sovereign Queen, you must sign every execution order before the punishment is performed. This give the criminal a final chance to plead for their case. You would summon them into the castle, treat them like guests, and hear their final words. Your grandfather was the one that made this tradition, to show how he is a merciful ruler (he is not, he is only doing this to save his reputation of a being tyrant).  If they have some small final wishes, like what kind of coffin they like or some money for their family, you will fulfill that. Always have mercy on the dying, even they are murderers or human traffickers. That is what Grandpapa told you. You seen your father did this many times, but this is the first time you host such an event. Unfortunately, this criminal seems to have peaked your interests.

Notes: You all seem to love Shigaraki, so here I am. Maybe yandere in second part? This has been stewing in my mind ever since I thought about that fantasy AU. The reader is still the new Sovereign Queen, this happens before she takes suitors. Of course I am not going to make Tomura a conventional Prince! I may or may not write a bit nsfw in the later chapters, but don’t get your hopes up lol. I planned three parts, but it could get out of hand and become a multi-chapter project...

The other fics can be found on my master list. 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Warnings: Swearing

           This is the moment you dreaded ever since you put that ruby ring on. Signing death sentence warrants. You know it is going to come sooner or later, since you watched your father perform these duties, even accompanied him on several trials. It should not frighten you.

           So why does this sense of unease have been plaguing you as of late?

           Now you are sitting at your desk, studying the file of this unfortunate soul.

           “Tomura Shigaraki, Crimes: attempt murder of one of the most renowned mercenaries, All might.” The stunt failed, and this man received the death sentence for it.

           You had met All Might back when you were a princess and think of him as that caring uncle everyone wants. He once praised your sword techniques, leaving you flustered. Who would want such a wonderful man dead? Sociopaths, probably. That is what most criminals are, after all.

           “Age:21”

           He is about your age, although you cannot even begin to imagine what happened. What made a young man commit such immoral acts? There is more to this file, but you want to hear him firsthand without any prejudice. Shutting the folder, you massaged your temples and mentally prepared yourself for the trials. You received a messenger yesterday from the State Prison that they are transferring him here today. You are supposed to greet him in a few hours.

           Grandpapa surely knows what he is getting his descendants into. Meeting criminals? Did he have too much time in his schedule? I know most of these people deserves death, but why do I have to be the final judge?

           Cursing your grandfather under your breath, you decide to take a little nap before. Such an exhausting activity surely calls for a little rest prior, right?

           As the third bell of the afternoon rang, you got up to stretch and yawn, then takes your time to the special dungeon. You had always disliked attendants trailing behind you, therefore you always traveled in the castle alone. Even if something were to happen, the sword in your skirt pocket can be put to use (That is one advantage of such elaborate crinolines). You are your most dependable protector, or so your grandfather said. So far the castle has been peaceful, thanks to the capable guards.

           Even though you were supposed to treat them like guests, you cannot just let them occupy the regular guest rooms. Your grandpapa had built a special building in the northeast corner of the castle gardens, especially for this matter.

           The door guards bowed to you as you stood in font of the metal gate, contemplating your mindset. Your father usually treated them like official business partners, cold and distant. That approach is prudent, but you want to do something different. You want them to open up to you, get to know them before you send them to their dooms. Maybe you can even get some wronged ones spared!

           “This is the room, your majesty. Should I accompany you?” The steward of this building asks you nervously. Ah, your mind had wondered too far. You did not notice how you had followed him to the location.

           “Thank you, but I’ll manage. You can sit on the other side of the glass and aid me if necessary.” You smile, though your tone is firm. This is a good chance to prove you are a competent monarch, interrogate a criminal alone.

           The room was decently furnished, without a single unnecessary decoration. Except that big mirror that almost covers the entire wall, a mirror made with two-way glass, see through from the other side. Two armchairs, a little tea table in between and a couch.

           There he is; the criminal you’re going to interrogate for the next month. He is sitting on the couch, with shackles on his wrists and ankles. His back is facing you, so you cannot see his appearance beside that messy blue hair.

           “Finally here? Your Majesty? You certainly took your sweet time.” He did not come kiss your hand, as expected. Gods, how long has it been since he had a proper drink? Those chapped lips did not form within a day. Even with those scars, his crimson eyes still stood out as beautiful. Ignoring his mocking tone, you told the servants to bring tea and refreshments.

           “Mr. Shigaraki. I am sure you know who I am, so I will skip the pleasantries. So, tell me about yourself.” Settling on one of the sofas, you start to caress the wooden handle of your sword. Even though this man is in tied in chains only long enough to just move around this room, the best thing to do it stay on your guard.

           He laughs, almost sent a chill down your spine, but decides to take a set on the opposite sofa regardless. “Your country is an odd one.” Shigaraki studies you with that unsettling red gaze, with a grin on his lips. “The Queen has to have tea parties with criminals. Do you have nothing better to do?” That is when the maids brought the tea trays. She offers to come in to act as a chaperone, but you took the tea tray and assure her you are doing just fine.

           “This is part of my duties. Sugar cube? Honey? Whichever you prefer.” Pouring yourself a cup of your favorite blend, you offer him some as well. Your mouth already started to water at the chocolate cake on the set.

           Tomura is stunned, to say the least. He did not expect you to be so...friendly with a lowly criminal like him. He thought this is just another interrogation session, despite the guard had him bathed and dressed him in nice clothes. Sure, he knows this process, but he thought it was just a gesture of the ruling class to appear merciful.

           Still, it would be rude to turn the invite from a beautiful lady like you.

           He had heard about you before. A spoiled little girl who took the crown due to family tragedies. So why not indulge in some lighthearted conversations before meeting his end?

           “...One teaspoon of honey.” Tomura wanted to add please at the end, then remembered the current situation. This tea sure smells good. When was the last time he drank such sophisticated beverage? He honestly cannot recall; it was such a long time ago...

           The clear sound of fine porcelain landing in front of him woke Shigaraki from nostalgia. “So, mind introducing yourself, Sir?”

           “You already read files about me.” “Maybe, but I want to hear your story from your lips.” You wonder whether it would be possible to let one of the guards apply lip balm on him, by force or otherwise. Taking a sip from the cup, Shigaraki begun to tell you about his hidden past.

           “Despite my current situation, I was born to a high station. Although I am also the one who thrown all of it away. I abandoned my old name and took the current one. I have no family left, nothing to hold me back from my goals.” The tea is sweet, almost too sweet for his liking.

           A noble fell from grace, then. You seen those kinds before, usually quite well-mannered, but bitter about how fate had treated them. At least you do not have to bear with profanities. You nod to signal him you are listening, stirring to dissolve the sugar cube. “So why would you kill Mr. Yagi? I personally would never do that, for example.”

           Of course you would not. You are too good to even think about killing a hero like All Might. Girls born with golden spoons like you would never understand what peasants had to go through just for a mouthful of food.

           “The current social order is crooked. Someone must fix it, by whatever means possible. Even if you were to kill me now, there’ still countless others like me. Have fun with them.” Putting down the cup, Tomura turns towards the small window on his right.

           “Interesting. What is wrong with the current society?” Taking out a notebook, you begin to scribble with your pencil. “Do you think this continent should have anarchy?”

           “Do you wish to give up your crown this badly? I thought you know better, little Queen. I guess I could tell you, you’re curious one.” Most people would spit on him as if Shigaraki is a rat from the sewers, forgotten who he was before descends to villainy. You are one of the few who shows compassion to him, fake or not. He wonders if this is your usual business attitude. Something in your knowledge hunger attitude, your glistening eyes makes him want to open up to you.

           Kindness do come from least expected places.

           “Those mercenaries, self-proclaimed heroes, disgusts me. They did the same thing as outlaws, taking lives. But they earn all those praises and adoration? Because of what? The f**king greater good.” Scratch the polite part, Shigaraki is clearly not above using swear words.

           “Could you refrain from using vulgar language? You said you are of noble birth; you should know the proper protocol for talking to a monarch. Also, what is your place of birth? Which kingdom are you from?”

           “I forsaken my status long ago, right now I’m nothing more then a lowlife. It is only fitting that I act like one. How about you tell me a bit about yourself, little Queen? It’s only fair, and I don’t have anyone to tell.” Cracking a wide smile, Shigaraki took amusement of how you shiver a little. Not so fearless after all, unlike the urban legends.

           You do not see any harm in sharing whimsical details about yourself. Just treat him like those irritating distant cousins, you told yourself.

           You start by how your grandpapa is a cruel tyrant, but you still love him dearly. How he taught you swordsmanship, riding, cooking simple meals, bandage minor wounds and make a fire in the wild. In between you offered Shigaraki some sweets on the tray, frowned when he only took a pretzel, the least sweet one.

           That does not sound like a spoiled upbringing at all. That sounds like how an assassin or soldier was raised. One of his formal guards used to said how hard it was.

           “Mr. Shigaraki? Are you feeling alright? Do I need to send for a physician?”

           “You’re a funny girl. I think I will give you one clue of my past if you are so eager to learn. Others used to refer me as Tenko.” Shigaraki threw out the bait already, now it is time to wait and see if he can catch the big one. Even if he loses this gamble, this should provide him some entertainment in his final days. A fruitful endeavor either way. You wrote that name down, ready to do research on it.

           The gentle knocks on the door reminds you it is time to wrap up this little chat. This is...a lot better than you expected. You cannot help but feel he is charming, in his own twisted, wicked way.

           “Is there anything that can improve your stay? A change in meals, perhaps?” Putting the notebook back into your skirt pocket, you fetch up the tea tray and ask.

           Look at you, being the good hostess, really care for Shigaraki like a guest. So nice and naïve, it would be a shame if some villain like him to take advantage of that.

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taglist: @kazooli​

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[rose-of-pollux]

1, 3, 11, 17, 20, 21 and 22? :o)

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it? My current project is my in-progress BTTF fic "'Cause I Might Not Make it Back" (which I just posted the next chapter of!). Basically, in the summer of 1986, Marty gets caught up in a case of time-traveling spy intrigue and ends up in 1932 with amnesia and a Bon Jovi tape--and young!Doc finds him. Fun fact: before I went with Bon Jovi, the original outline had him go back to 1932 with a tape that Marty had made to record Queen's Live Aid performance; the chapters were all originally Queen-themed (and it was originally titled "Though You're Many Years Away"). I switched to Bon Jovi after I remembered that Live Aid was summer of '85, not '86, which was when Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album was released.

The other project I'm planning is a 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo fic called "Sands of Time and Space" (so yeah, bit of BTTF influence in this one); since I don't count the Curse movie as canon to the series timeline (they retconned waaaaaay too many things for it to make any coherent sense), this will be my way of showing how Fred and Velma found out about the shenanigans they missed out on after the rest of the gang visits Velma in Florida to watch the launch of a new Mars probe developed by her supervisor at NASA.

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be bothered to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway) A. MYSTERY. SCENE. ON. A. TRAIN. Like something intriguing a la Orient Express, but I am thwarted either by either by there already being such a scene in canon (MFU, Scooby-Doo), or there isn't enough of a premise for it (Hogan's Heroes, Pokémon). ...At this point, BTTF might be my only chance to pull this off; maybe Doc and Marty end up on the actual Orient Express via time-travel... (and Marty breaks out his "inconspicuous" Secret Agent Man disguise from Part II again while Doc just facepalms in the background).

11. What do you envy in other writers? HOW DO YOU ALL UPDATE YOUR FICS SO QUICKLY???

17. Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations? I honestly don't know if they perceive my work differently than I do--they'd have to tell me themselves. At this point, I don't think I have any surprises--most people know I write about character relationships, with some drama and angst, but always with a happy ending.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?) Most of the fics I write are all meant to be in the same timeline. And I have a lot of references that tie events from other fandoms together; if I listed them all, we'd be here all day, but here's one example-- In my MFU Halloween fic, "The Jack o' the Lantern Affair," I had Victor Marton mention to Napoleon and Illya that he had a "very distant cousin in Tibet" to whom he bore some amount of resemblance to. This was meant to be a throwaway reference to Vincent Van Ghoul, an in-joke since Vincent Price played both roles--at the time, I never imagined I'd be writing 13 Ghosts fic. Now that I am writing 13 Ghosts fic, I have to make it come full circle--Napoleon and Illya will have a cameo in the party scene in "Sands of Time and Space," as Velma's supervisor is also Napoleon's childhood friend, Takeshi (who, in one of my many MFU short affair pieces, I revealed as working for NASA--which I only did at the time because I wanted him to have a space-themed bachelor party so that Napoleon would come home drunk after having one too many drinks that had been dubbed "Supernovas"), and Napoleon and Illya will pull the mother of all double-takes when they see Vincent Van Ghoul at the same party and momentarily mistake him for Victor Marton.

21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?) Well, I intend for my stories to fit right into canon, so I generally see them in the same medium that they're originally in. Exceptions are whenever there are crossovers/cameos--I wrote a Scooby fic last year that had the 13 Ghosts fam being chased through ruined Hyrule by Calamity Ganon and basically imagined the fam drawn in Breath of the Wild/Age of Calamity-style for this fic, which was a very intriguing image, indeed.

22. Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them? Yes, I do! For the most part, I like to see it as how far I've progressed since I started posting fic. Obviously, I'm going to think my newer stuff is better (though I also consider some of my older pieces "classics"), but that's only natural.

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Wembley Stadium in London, UK - July 13, 1985 (Part-1)

Queen were one of dozens of acts to perform at Live Aid, one of the biggest and most important rock concerts ever. Their performance has been lauded by many critics and voted in numerous polls as being (at least) one the greatest rock concert performances of all time. The event was watched on television by 1.9 billion people worldwide.

Bob Geldof approached Queen's manager Jim Beach asking them to appear at the show. "Tell the old faggot it's gonna be the biggest thing that ever happened," implored Geldof. Indeed, Mercury quickly complied. It was the perfect antidote to their recent struggles behind the scenes.

Each band was permitted precisely 20 minutes on stage with no playback tapes or soundcheck. Queen's basic philosophy was to cram as many hits into that small time frame as possible (shortened versions of Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You made room for an extra song or two), and they succeeded with flying colours. It was Freddie Mercury's finest hour, as the surpreme showman connected with 80,000 people in Wembley Stadium (having them sing and clap along to their anthems) and about two billion at home on television. Combined with the energy and spirit of the event, Freddie's voice was in phenomenal shape, and the rest of the band were propelled to give a much more gutsy performance than usual, particularly Brian May. The narrator of a 1995 BBC Radio One special perhaps said it best:

"Of all Queen's 704 [actually 705] live performances, perhaps the most important was Live Aid. It enabled them to show that without all of their trappings, their own light, their own sound, the power of darkness, and only an 18 [actually 20] minute set, they were still able to conquer the world."

And this wasn't something recalled in hindsight. Roger Waters was interviewed backstage, and shortly after Queen's set he was quoted saying: "Everybody's been buzzing about Queen that I've run into. They said they had everybody completely spellbound."

Brian and Roger were interviewed backstage after their set, both clearly buzzing from the energy of their performance. Brian described it as "The time of your life; I'll never forget it." Roger notes how amazing the audience was, but also admits that the sound on stage in the monitors wasn't great. When so many bands play on the same stage in one day, it's often a technical nightmare for the artists and techs alike. Roger had a slight miscue at the end of Hammer To Fall, but it's likely that he couldn’t even hear that Freddie was ending the song.

In another interview shortly after Queen's set Brian said how the band were in the midst of planning their own headlining show at Wembley Stadium around this time, but elected to do Live Aid instead because it was the "more important" event (they would famously headline Wembley twice the following year). Brian adds that there was "so much adrenaline that you don't play your normal way, but you give something better and something unusual."

In 2011 Roger recalled, "The sound on stage was so terrible. It was, and it was very archaic if you look at it. I just looked up at the end there and I could see this like a field of wheat [referring to the arms waving], and I thought, "Oh, it's gone well."

He expanded on that in a 2013 interview. "We had gone through a slightly jaded period. Live Aid had quite a galvanising effect. We had a huge resurgence afterwards. We weren't expecting that. I mean, we went on with no soundcheck. It was daylight. The crowd was not necessarily 'our' audience. At one point I looked out and thought 'oh, it's going well'. Only later did we realise it had gone VERY well."

Also, in a 1999 interview with Mojo magazine, Roger elaborated: "Live Aid was a shot in the arm. We were so jaded by that point. We didn't think we'd tour again for five years if at all - we'd just had it. But we thought we'd better rehearse a bit, and we ran the whole 17 minutes into one medley of hits: why bore them with something they've not heard before? We didn't have a soundcheck, but we sent our brilliant engineer to check the system, so he set all the limiters for us. We were louder than anyone else. I remember being in the audience and hearing the first few acts thinking that I could hardly hear them. You've got to overwhelm the crowd in a stadium."

Brian May later recalled the audience doing the hand claps in the choruses of Radio Ga Ga: "Everybody thinks that everything about Queen was calculated and sure, some of it was. We weren't stupid. We understood our audience and played to them. But that was one of those weird accidents, because of the video. The video-producer thought, 'Oh, that's nice, a double-clap. We'll have people actually doing it,' because it was a parody of Metropolis. Everybody saw that video, because it was one of our most successful. And [at Live Aid] this is not a Queen audience. This is a general audience who've bought tickets before they even knew we were on the bill. And they all did it. How did they know? Nobody told them to do it." In a 2011 Sun interview, he adds that it was "a real moment of specialness. We hammered it. That day we realized our influence had reached out beyond our immediate fans. That day also showed what a great frontman Freddie was. He knew how to handle a huge space and make it seem like he was in your living room."

Brian also once offered, point blank, that "It was the greatest day of our lives."

Later in the evening, Freddie and Brian returned to the stage to perform an emotional rendition of Is This The World We Created, which fit perfectly with the vibe and message of the day.

U2 and Dire Straits played right before Queen, and David Bowie and The Who had the daunting task of following them. Paul McCartney and a reunited original lineup of Black Sabbath also performed. Despite being in such legendary company, the show's organizers, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, amongst countless others, insisted that Queen were the best band of the day. "They played the best, had the best sound, used their time to the full. They understood the idea exactly - that it was a global jukebox. They just went and smashed one hit after another. It was the perfect stage for Freddie: the whole world. And he could ponce about on stage doing We Are The Champions. How perfect could it get?"

The band's triumphant performance gave them some much-needed rejuvenation (particularly after the controversy of last year's South African shows), inspiring them to write One Vision collectively as a band, something which hadn't happened since Stone Cold Crazy from the Sheer Heart Attack album in 1974.

The audio from TV and/or radio broadcasts ended up on a few bootlegs, but it has since been officially released on DVD twice - as part of a Live Aid compilation in 2004, and by Queen Productions in 2007 as an extra on the 2-disc version of Queen Rock Montreal.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Bono of U2 talking about his encounter with Freddie that day:

“I was walking with Ali [Bono's wife] and Freddie Mercury pulled me aside and said: ‘Oh, Bo-No….is it Bo-No or Bon-O?’ I told him, ‘It’s Bon-O’. He said, ‘Come over here with me. We’ve all been talking, Roger [Daltrey] and Pete [Townshend] and David [Bowie], and we all agree there’s no singers any more, everyone is shouting these days, but you’re a singer.’ I was up against a wall and he put his hand on the wall and was talking to me like he was chatting up a chick. He had me laughing but I was shifting nervously at the time, with Ali and myself exchanging glances. I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s really camp.’ I was telling somebody later and he said: ‘You’re surprised? They’re called Queen!’ But I was really amazed. It hadn’t dawned on me.”

In 1986, John Deacon recalled Live Aid as "the one day that I was proud to be involved in the music business. A lot of days you certainly don't feel that, but that one day was fabulous. Elton John told us we were great, and Sting, who'd never seen us before, congratulated us. People forgot that element of competitiveness and it was a good morale booster for us too. It showed us the strength of our support in England, and what we still had to offer as a band."

In the December 1986 Music Life magazine Freddie Mercury candidly speaks of the effect this event had on them: "From our perspective, the fact that Live Aid happened when it did was really lucky. It came out of nowhere to save us. For sure that was a turning point. Maybe you could say that in the history of Queen, it was a really special moment."

The first two photos are from rehearsal at the Shaw Theatre in London a few days earlier. The shot of Brian and Roger in the crowd with Prince Charles and Princess Diana were taken by Nils Jorgensen.

(x)

Part-2

[forever--rain]

1 and 18 from 50 Questions?

(Totally not me trying to get inspiration to watch something new...)

Hi, darling! Hope you’re doing well today. 💜💜

1. What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

I don’t have many shows in my watchlist. I’m really weird about TV shows, I guess. I’m hung up on old stuff and haven’t found many new things to interest me. But there are some things I’m eager to dive into!

Moxie with Amy Poehler (film)

Knock Down the House (a documentary)

Feminists: What Were They Thinking? (another documentary)

Good Girls (Hey! A TV show! Finally!) (AND MAE WHITMAN, MY QUEEN!)

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (true crime)

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (true crime)

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Hotel Cecil (true crime)

The Ripper (true crime)

I think... Maybe I’m a feminist who likes true crime???? Heh...

18. What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

Another one! Haha.

Alright. This time I’m going more mainstream and super cliché: I’d love to have seen Queen perform at Live Aid! Freddie Mercury’s voice gives me chills on RECORDINGS, so witnessing him sing live would have been MIND BLOWING! The closest I’ll ever come to this is watching Bohemian Rhapsody and falling in love with Rami Malik over and over again.

50 questions just because!