#Also why worry from set it off gives off musical vibes

[unablethethird]

📚 book

🎬 movie

🎶 musical artist

you get it by now

Eye color: Dark brown [apparently theres no such thing as black eyes] nationality: confusing, so i just say arab technically i was born in kuwait and both my parents were, but i speak iraqi arabic [dramatically more different than kuwaiti arabic], i look iraqi, and thats what most of my culture is, but my mum says im irani [WHICH I DONT LOOK IRANI AND I DONT SPEAK FARSI HUH???] [[except for a few words but that dont count]

gender identity:Agender and transmasc, bassically none of the above but i want to present more masc than fem sexuality: 100% aroace, i feel romantic attraction but i dont want or feel the need to act on it, its kinda just there

religion: None because i dont think god exists. i like to believe in spirits n shit like that but its more of a for fun thing than a 'i 100% believe in this'. Hot drink: Right now tea

cold drink: Chocolate milk Dish: Imjadarah [rice n beans bassically, but i put yoghurt on it and then its yum] fruit:

both

Veg: Cauliflower maybe, or broccoli [but i need like a kilo of salt for both] Holiday: Eid, i may not believe in it but i like money Game: I assume it means irl game Hallway dancer [me and my sibs played it a lot when we were younger but it only works in long hallways]

one person is the hallway dancer [evil] They hide in one of the rooms 2 players [the youngest siblings] must walk through and try not get scared, usually they also look for the hallway dancer so they dont get scared when it jumps at them Hallway dancer is the eldest [me], they must jumpscare the players, usually you chase them until they're at the living room [the hallway was long asf], even if they know its you they get really scared lol

sport: Dodgeball, I am notorious in that game lol animal: CROSS FOX

Flower:

or sunflowers Weather: Sunny asf, i love hot weather Place: Arcade

Means of transport: If i could choose i'd be in a limo lol, but if it measn stuff i've actually been in, car

Blorbo: Len, Kel, Vox [three letter trio]

meow meow: No idea what a meow meow is lol

otp: Suntan [omori] cross x killer is also a good one I find Vox x luci really interesting aswell Tv show: Murder drones book: The outsiders Movie: The outsi- hard to decide Fantastic mr fox is a good movie tho AND DEAD POETS SOCIETY

Musical artist:

LOVE EM BOTH

[islandofsages]

hello!! I was hoping I could request gn!reader (aka Yuu) who loves dancing (and is actually really good at it, preferably something like contemporary dancing?) but hasn't told anyone in nrc. basically, the boys' reaction to stumbling upon them dancing one day!!

(requesting for cater, lilia, riddle, jamil, malleus, rook and vil!!)

thank youuuu <3

characters: riddle, cater, jamil, vil, rook, malleus and lilia x gn!yuu

tags: relationship not specified, fluff, imagines format; grim mention in riddle's, cater's, malleus' and lilia's. vil mention in cater's. kalim mention in jamil's. vil's is set in book 5

warnings: use of the word "dear" as a term of endearment in lilia's part

author's notes: i tried making them stumble yuu in different places so if they seem random thats why lol also i almost forgot about the "hasn't told anyone at nrc" part i get so carried away sometimes help 😭

Riddle Rosehearts

He has a deep appreciation for dancing and consequently, he respects anyone who is a connoisseur of the art

He would tell you everything he knows about the art and comes to you to inform you on any new things he learns about it

You would tell him that you’re a dancer yourself, especially contemporary dance; the freeing nature of your favorite form has proven to be an effective way to relieve stress and express yourself

…But you’re a bit too shy to admit that to someone as amazing as Riddle - so fate takes the matter into its own hands

You were dancing in Ramshackle’s lounge, all by yourself since Grim is napping, a luxury you don’t get to afford too often

You simply felt like it; you put on some music and suddenly your body grows a mind of its own

You were so absorbed in your performance that you didn’t manage to hear knocks rapping on your door, let alone the sound of footsteps leading up to it

Sensing no answer from you and immediately growing worried, whoever was at the door bursted in to search for you… only to be met with a you in the middle of a dance move

It takes you a few seconds to notice him standing there in awe of your movements. When you do, you instantly ran over to the source of your music and switched it off in embarrassment

He asked you why you did that and would love for you to continue dancing but you only shook your head and tell him you weren’t fully ready to show off your moves yet and that you were simply going with the flow

“I mean, that’s kinda the whole point of contemporary dancing, just going with the flow? But still, I need to choreograph some parts of it to actually look like a form of dance.”

He chuckles at your response and doesn’t push you to resume if you feel uncomfortable. You thank him for respecting your boundaries

Though everything between you goes smoothly after the incident, you’ll never forget the look on his face when he laid his eyes on: the pure wonder in his eyes told everything you needed to know.

Cater Diamond

He thinks dancing is super cool and he sometimes try to demonstrate that - and in your opinion, he’s not half-bad at it despite what Vil would say

You would show off your own moves but you don’t wanna kill his vibes, even if he’d think you’re super good at it

But one day you’ll tell him how much you love contemporary dance and the fact that it can convey every human emotion and experience; and then that day comes, though very unexpectedly you would say

It was late in the evening; the school hallways are mostly empty, save for you and Grim casually having a conversation while walking your way back to your dorm

But one glance outside gives you all the inspiration you need for an impromptu dance session - the sky is bleeding orange, blazing yellow bandaging it

Your movements shift. You are now a tribute to the sunset. Grim stands aside and watches you with a sigh but he holds back his witty comments for after you’re done with your performance

Little did you know you have another person in your audience - Cater also had late evening classes and only now he’s heading back to Heartslabyul

At least, that was his initial plan. Seeing you dancing in the hallway caught him off guard, firstly because who in their right mind would dance in the hallways but secondly (and mainly), the way you move enchanted him

Could it even be called moving? Your limbs bend and flex so smoothly that he thought they turned into water somehow

By the time you’re done, you’re given a standing ovation by both of your spectators - one of whose you jump at in shock

“Yuu, that was like, crazy good! Are you secretly some pro dancer or something?”

You blush a little at the fact that he saw you and at the compliment; after that event, it’s impossible to hide anything from him so you simply tell him everything you know

You’d give him pointers and you’re happy to see his improvement from day to day but most importantly, his shining, genuine smile is something you wouldn’t miss for the world.

Jamil Viper

You know he’s very passionate about dance and you truly admire his skill for it

Although he’d be the perfect dance partner, you feel a little self-conscious sharing your own passion for dancing with him

He seems to sparkle when he shows off his skills and you think you lack that type of shine to your own - he begs to differ though, you’ve come to learn

The two of you were hanging out in his room, music pouring out from his stereo and you drowning in it, your limbs spread out on the floor

Then your room is shaken by some unknown noise, though you can assume it’s Kalim-induced, to which Jamil sighed and excused himself to go check out and possibly fix up

You lay there on your own then, nodding your head to the music, until a song you liked dominates the speakers, taking you by surprise

You don’t know what happened but as soon as the first note hit, you’re on your feet and your body was swaying side to side

Losing your mind and body to the music felt good, but then Jamil entered the room when you were mid-dance. You would’ve stopped if it weren’t for him joining in, but not without a taunt

“What, too scared to dance with me? Come and show me what you’ve got, Yuu.”

You accepted his challenge and continued where you left off - the two of you twisted and turned and ended up on the floor lying on your backs once again, gasping for breath

The two of you laughed breathlessly. He then praised you and your dancing abilities and wondered why you never showed him how skilled you are

You shrugged, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, but then he put a hand on your shoulder and offered to have more dance-offs. You didn’t hesitate to agree

When dancing with him, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, as if you were born to do this. And maybe, just maybe, you were born to meet such a wonderful person too.

Vil Schoenheit

You were a bit let down when you couldn’t actually participate as a dancer for the VDC but at the very least it allowed you to give yourself a bit more time to truly showcase your dancing to others

And hosting a training camp for the actual competitors isn’t too bad if it’s for your dorm and for something you’re passionate about

Ramshackle Dorm is lively, what with everyone there. Conflict was inevitable in this school but it did drive you crazy somewhat

One particular day, everyone was taking a break from Vil’s scrutinous training and you can feel the tension in the air

At some point, everyone left the ballroom. Only you remained seated on the floor, your back to the wall. You stared up at the ceiling and sighed. You couldn’t take this anymore

You got to your feet and simply started dancing, as quietly as you could. No music, nothing - you didn’t want to risk garnering attention by being noisy

It definitely served to alleviate some of your stress. You even smiled to yourself and at some points, fought the urge to laugh out of joy

The ballroom seemed different then. The images of your friends came into your mind - all their smiles, their frowns, the determined looks on their faces. You felt your movements growing more fluid at the thought of them

Once you’re done and panting, bent over your knees gasping for air, a loud clap reverberates in the room. Then another. Then a third. Then a figure emerges, their hands clasped

“What a pleasant surprise. You’re not bad at all. Though it’s a bit too late to recruit you, I surely hope you continue to hone that skill of yours.”

Did… did Vil Schoenheit just praise your dancing skills?

Let’s just say you took his advice to heart - it’s hard not to when it’s Vil Schoenheit himself

You also helped the others with some of your advice after the confidence boost and you’re happy to see their improvement. Seeing Vil satisfied also brought a smile to your face.

Rook Hunt

After the VDC, you found yourself more exhausted than usual by the events that occurred and you begged for a break from whatever deity is there in Twisted Wonderland. Dancing was the last thing on your mind

And for a while, that’s what you got - you were able to simply attend classes and watch your friends bicker with each other like a normal student. It was a well-needed break for everyone

Sometimes you’d chat for a bit with any familiar faces you run into and these days, you found yourself chilling by yourself in the courtyard

One day, you suddenly felt a longing to dance once more. And luckily for you, you had the courtyard all to yourself

It went from being some regular courtyard to your stage and the sun was your spotlight; you shone and you twinkled. You were like a star

And that was what you were told by the end of your performance, accompanied by applause from a singular person

“Très bien, Yuu… your performance has moved me to tears!”

Rook exclaims as he makes his way over to you; that certainly wasn’t your intention. You didn’t even think it was worth watching

But then Rook continues to comment on certain aspects of your performance, elaborating in very vivid detail. You’ve never felt so seen before

He would shower you with compliments, as if to say that you shouldn’t have a single doubt in your mind

And you hardly ever do after that since he very much threatened you to be kind to yourself or else

He would tell everyone about your wonderful skill (with your consent, of course), as if you’re his child who he’s been watching grow up over the years

He may be a bit loud about you at times but when you look over at him and see how proud he is of you, you only sigh fondly and hold back a chuckle.

Malleus Draconia

He doesn’t know a lot about the subject but he appreciates it as a form of art and expression of the people

And so you would tell him all about it while being careful to not let on that you’re one yourself which is surprisingly easier than you thought, considering how oblivious he is sometimes

He merely sees you as some sort of dance scholar and as if he doesn’t respect you a lot already, he definitely holds you in higher regard now

And somehow, that elevates to an even higher level when he suddenly finds you out

He was on his routinely walk around Ramshackle; it was a windy night, weather as pleasant as his conversations with you

Coincidentally, whilst his thoughts were on you, he spotted you in the backyard of your dorm with the ghosts and… hm? It’s brightly lit for once

Curious and wanting confirmation, he changed his route to suspiciously festive-looking Ramshackle instead

Meanwhile, you and Grim were dancing to some music the ghosts were playing for you. You all were having a simple party to forget your worries

The ghosts would comment on how you should stop outshining Grim so much, just to mess with Grim. But they had a point; you had a certain glimmer to you when you dance

Malleus saw that much when he reached your party. He stood within the frame of the backdoor, watching your every movement, entranced

After a few minutes did you notice him there, unmoving. Your steps trace their way to him instead. You extend a hand to him

“May I have this dance?”

And you may - the two of you danced, him slipping in flatteries in between moves. Maybe it was just you, but the party seemed to feel much more lively with him. No, not just the party; the whole world was.

Lilia Vanrouge

He knows a thing or two about dancing from all his adventures and he’d love to show you proof of it

So he does - he's definitely got the moves and you definitely want to show him some of your own… someday

You feel a little self-conscious about your own skills after his show but that doesn't stop you from working on your dancing. You're determined to make your skills worthy of Lilia’s attention!

Little did you know. It's futile to really hide anything from this sneaky bastard (affectionate)

You were on your way to class from Ramshackle with Grim and unfortunately for you, you had a little earworm stuck in your head that day

It started off as a skip, then two skips. By five skips, it turned into a full on dance. You felt alive, like you were a main character in a musical

Grim was making fun of you at first but then he started linking his arm with lampposts and swinging himself alongside you

Lilia was watching this all happen from afar, as one does. A student dancing their way to class is no everyday spectacle after all. And it's you too! All the more reason to play peeping tom

Just when you're about to reach the main building did he finally give you the jumpscare of a lifetime

“Why, you didn’t tell me what a wonderful dancer you are, my dear Yuu! I must admit, I feel quite offended.”

He was jesting of course - he was merely glad that he got to witness such a sight. And you’re glad that you’re not as unskilled as you thought you were

He tries his best not to boast your skills to others but you know he can never keep such hidden talent, well, hidden from his beloved Diasomnia family

You got the Diasomnia stamp of approval - not only that, but you’ve definitely impressed someone you hold dear.

[bananadramaaa]

Idk if you’ve got any ideas or backstory for Alastor’s sisters, but I love the designs for them and have kind of taken some ideas about them and ran with it, mostly about the eldest, Adeline, though:

• Adelice was definitely a protector of the whole bunch. Alastor helped protect the younger sisters and worried a lot about his older sister, but Adelice would make a target out of herself to make sure the younger kids faced as little of their father’s bad days as possible.

• Leonore and Bertilda (the younger two) still experience a lot of the family drama, but it’s a little less than what their older siblings do since they try to keep them out of the fire, so while the older two seem to mature way too quickly, the younger two stay kids for a bit longer. This, however does piss off their father, who takes every moment to ridicule them on their inability to act like their older siblings when their older siblings aren’t able to keep them out of the fire.

• Adelice also gives off Tiana from Princess and the Frog vibes. She’s got a Dream and she’s gonna work hard every day to make it happen.

• Alastor Worries™️ and thinks she’s pushing herself too much, taking on the brunt of their father’s anger, taking on so many jobs, and trying to get as much of an education as she can for as cheap as she can get it. So he becomes her Distraction, constantly dragging her off to parties and out drinking and listening to music. Anything to get her to chill tf out.

• He’s also a hypocrite though, considering he takes on a ton of “side jobs” by the time he’s 15 before he starts working in radio to try to help out their maman. He somehow manages to get all the fun jobs though. She’s out here working in restaurants and factories and he’s playing piano at the speakeasy and working at a nearby gator farm during the summers. And even the jobs that shouldn’t be fun, he manages to turn into a blast, like apprenticing at the butchers or working the graveyard shift at the cemetery. He thinks he’s so damn funny, while his bosses low-key wanna strangle him. This somehow makes him more likable as a radio host.

• Eventually, Adelice manages to find herself a nice, rich, Creole man who she and Alastor run through the wringer trying to test just how wholesome of a man he is before she’ll accept his hand in marriage. This man is confused, but he is dead set on winning her heart. He offers her the money to achieve her dream, he offers her the happy and stress-free life that New Orleans won’t afford her, he offers a life where she’s free and not trapped by anybody, himself included, and most importantly, he offers to take her whole family away from their father and the impoverished life that keeps them with him.

• Their maman can’t fathom a life without her husband, but she can see why they’d want to leave.

• Alastor doesn’t want to lose his sisters, but he knows someone has to watch out for their maman and he’s far to attached to New Orleans to leave it now.

• Before all his sisters leave, Adelice jokingly says she’s gonna name a son after him and he politely declines the offer.

• They move to Alabama or something and he never sees them again, but Adelice has a bunch of happy children that she loves who know all about him :)

• Bertilda also gets married, but Bertilda and her husband find themselves unable to have kids so they adopt a cute little red-headed girl and her green-eyed little brother.

• Leonore dates a lot of people before she finds the perfect gal for her and they move in together as “friends.” Their maman was a bit progressive in some ways and taught them not to judge, where most others would do when Adelice and Bertilda don’t make a big deal out of it when they find out about it.

• All three of them keep an eye on the news regarding New Orleans and whatever can be said about their famous radio host brother from far away.

• The only times the lot of them return to New Orleans is when they hear about Alastor’s death and their maman’s death.

I've talked briefly about them in this ask :3 And I really enjoyed reading your version of their story. It seems more wholesome compared to what I have in mind for them (like Adelice definitely won in this one) XD

[artist-issues]

Watching Arcane. I’m starting episode four. Anyone who’s watched Arcane, can you please tell me whether it gets less melodramatic-manic-warrior-woman-wish-fulfillment, and whether the writing gets better? Because with the whole “check out how unhinged we can make these girls look, it’s every punk-rock Hot Topic 16 year-old fanfiction author’s dream” and the over-dramatic “the father figure’s dead no—wait not yet—NOW the father figure’s dead—wait, not yet—okay, for real, NOW he’s dead” dramaction pacing of the episode’s climaxes, I’m about ready to give up.

But hey, maybe it gets better. Does it get better?

I’ll show you how the writing’s bad, so you know it’s not just a “oh you don’t like girlboss violent rage scenes, well, this is a video game, you just have a taste issue” thing.

That one sequence where Vi is telling Powder about how their friends have done embarassing things, so she feels better about failing—it vibes like a sweet, emotionally fulfilling, character-building scene thanks to the music and the tone, but if you think about it for two seconds there’s nothing about it that should be character-building or emotionally fulfilling. Because Vi’s little “advice” moment makes no sense.

So her bunny rabbit got stuck in the wires. So what. She didn’t throw it too high, like a moron, and get it stuck up there—which would’ve been a parallel to Powder’s screw-ups—some bully threw it up there. Out of her own control. And then she waited for it to fall back down. That has nothing to do with the emotional need Powder has. There’s no lesson there. There’s no callback to what they were just talking about. No encouragement. The story about her friend slipping while vandalizing? The story about the other friend getting stuck running from enforcers? Those things could’ve gone somewhere. But “bullies threw my bunny into the wires?” No through-line.

And what was the piece of advice going to be? “We all have awkward phases? We all mess up in the heat of the moment? You just need more time to grow?” No. It’s “we all have bad days.”

Blahhh. Thanks for saying nothing.

Your sister’s never had a “good day” on the job. Telling her “we all have bad days” is totally not going to make anyone with a brain feel better when that is the context. But Powder just accepts the little speech like it perfectly cheered her up.

And then??

Vi goes, “but we learn!” But we learn? What? How, in your little anecdotes about your friends screwing up and you getting bullied, did anyone learn? You didn’t tell a story that ended with people learning. Where was “but when was the last time you noticed Klagger getting his feet stuck? You mess up enough times, you learn.” That bit of connecting dialogue would actually turn this disjointed, empty dialogue exchange into a believable conversation, with a point.

And then she goes, “and we stick together!” Again, that has nothing to do with the little stories she just told, or any kind of bandaid to Powder’s particular insecurity. “Sticking together” has nothing to do with Klagger’s foot getting stuck or her bunny getting stolen. And also, it was never something Powder indicated she needed to hear.

Because you know why? Until she has her little sobbing freakout tantrum when Vi leaves her behind to go rescue Vander, were never shown that Powder’s worried about being abandoned. We’re shown she’s worried about not being “good enough.” That’s the focus. Not “my sister who’s clearly always stuck with me might someday abandon me if I’m not good enough at fighting and stealing.” So. See how Vi capping off her already-disjointed speech with “and we stick together” made no sense, actually, for this character moment?

Guess why they did that? Because they needed a little added guilt and drama to play on later, when Vi appears for two seconds to abandon her sister. They just wanted to set up the already-overdone “sisters-divided” scene they were planning, later, for maximum drama. “How will we get people to believe that Powder would stop considering Vi her sister? Well, make it seem like THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL for Vi to walk away! How do we do that? Ehh, let’s just throw a line in here where Vi basically promises they’ll stick together.”

Doesn’t matter that that line doesn’t fit, wouldn’t need to be said, in the rooftop conversation. Doesn’t matter that there’s been no indication before the battle and the death of Vander that Vi would ever really abandon her sister. Just throw the line on in there. Because you can’t remember where you were going with this whole pep talk scene, anyway, you just know you needed it to end on a vaguely big-sister-advice moment. 🙄

Whole show feels like that. Stringing moments together that actually only feel impactful when they’re separated from the larger context. Like, this would make a great clip-show, on YouTube, so far. But as one cohesive whole? Nothing makes sense. Feels slipshod.

But hey. Maybe the writing gets better? Maybe it starts to be more story, less worldbuilding-fanfiction-writers’-wish-fulfillment?

…I mean honestly if I had to describe it, it feels like Coolness Chess.

That’s when you have a bunch of cool interplay ideas, like a list of “emotional character moments,” and you just have to figure out how to maneuver everything so that you can string those moments together.

Like, I can see that they needed that stupid enforcer-classist, Marcus, to witness something traumatic because of his own actions—but I’m guessing having him “see the error of his ways” by working with Silco is just so that he can check two boxes: one, somebody needed to be there to dramatically knock Vi out juuust as she was about to go make amends with her sister, at the contrived moment when her sister appears to be at death’s door with Silco standing over her, after their devastating fight—and box-to-check number two, somebody needed to give Vi a new outlet/“cause” to fight for in the future, so that the contrived-to-be-estranged sisters can dramatically be pitted against each other and fight. So Marcus needs to reform and dedicate his life to, I’m guessing, stopping Silco, so that those two dramatic moments can be strung together.

See what I mean? Coolness Chess. A story that’s not really a story, it’s an emotional-amusement park ride. That’s what this feels like, so far. But again, I only just started Episode 4 and noticed the time-skip after the naively-broken little girl gets together with the twisted villain, all fanfiction-author’s-dream, again. Haven’t seen much past that. So I could be wrong, and this post might age poorly. What do those of you who’ve seen it all think?

[mintaii]

hiii i love your art it feels so edible to me and this might be a dumb question but i love your work so i wanted to ask someone who i looked up to: how do you know what you wanna make?? i want to make more art myself but usually all i know is “i wanna use these colors” or “i wanna try painting w this technique” but i don’t know what i wanna draw, if that makes sense. how do you pick an end goal, or even an idea?? how do you get ideas in the first place yk??? idk if you even have this issue. thank you for reading this!!

hi!! not a dumb question at all, don't worry!! and yeah. thinking of ideas sometimes is a PAIN but i'll try to answer this as best as i can...

i think u can look at it like there's 3 main starting points to jump off from: character, scenario, object(s).

with character, i usually figure out what i like about them or if there's a facet of their story that i want to portray. or maybe it's an emotion i associate them with. however, u can also pick out a specific design element u like about them and expand upon it. if the character's main color palette is black and white, why not try painting a portrait of them only using that limited color palette?

scenarios are where u can go 'i want to draw this interaction', 'i want to draw this outfit' or 'i like this specific scenario/setting, why don't i draw something in relation to it?' sometimes i work backwards from 'i want to draw them in this specific type of genre' and then think of a scenario would get the characters into that genre LOL

with objects, i kind of mean it super broadly so it includes like. the stars. pretty architecture. a microwave idk. but if there's something out there that u really like the design of, u can try to figure out what u want to do with it and combine it with a separate concept.

i.e, pretty vintage music box designs -> i could draw something from the nutcracker, since the combo gives off christmas vibes -> i could draw something also inspired by the phantom of the opera, since the musical featured a music box and the combo gives off a certain atmosphere that reflects the story as a whole. tasia.m.s on instagram does a series where she draws women in dresses that are inspired by inanimate (typically vintage) objects.

i unironically think using tarot cards– specifically the major arcana– as art prompts help with practicing idea generation for original art LOL

the names of the cards can range from abstract to very literal and each of them are tied to specific meanings and are chock-full of existing symbolism, which can assist with learning how to craft ideas in response to them

really hope this helps!! sorry it got kind of long...

[graycats-arcane-blog]

Lightcannon Week, Day 4 fic!

Prompt: popstar au

Title: All this trouble for a Music Video

Rating: T

Length: 7.4k words

@lightcannonweek

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57035287

Synopsis:

Luxanna could smile all she wanted, but Jinx had a feeling that the popstar's mental breakdown era was long overdue.

. . .

"I don't like this," Ekko said warily, his shoulders curled inward as he stepped into the warehouse. His footsteps echoed in the cavernous space, whispering against the pale stone walls and wavering in the empty air. Pausing a few meters from the door, he scanned their desolate surroundings and added, "We shouldn't be the only ones here."

With far less circumspection, Jinx tossed her duffel bag, letting it hit the concrete floor with a resounding clank. Surveying the same broad floor and dusty walls, she broke into a broad grin, defiant of her companion’s worries. "Are you kidding? This is perfect!" Kneeling next to her bag, she dug noisily through the pockets. "No nosy producers to yak about how we're doing shit wrong. Complete artistic freedom!" Once she found her tape measure, Jinx leaped to her feet and darted to one of the side-walls. The smack of her boots rang out like falling shale. 

Ekko followed her, shaking his head. "If the producers don't get their word in from the start, they'll just ask us to redo our work later," he warned. "But, honestly... I'm more worried about why they're not here. Don't you think it's weird that they've been so hands-off?" 

"What..." Jinx arrived at the wall, brushing an appraising hand over the exposed stonework. "...do you think they all died or something?"

"No! I just think this feels like some sort of scam. Professionals are never like this."

With a snort of laughter, Jinx gave the stonework a fond pat before pulling at her measuring tape. "They'd have to be a pretty dumb scammer, wiring us all our fees in advance. I've got next year's rent in the bag, and I haven't even had to sweat for it yet!" She poked the end of the her tape to Ekko's chest. "You worry too much, Little Man. Now, hold this!"

Ekko accepted the tape. He pressed the metal tab at the end flush to the wall. "If we get mugged here, I'm blaming you."

"If some Demacian tries to mug us, we'll show 'em how sump-rats kick ass!"

Jinx darted with the other end of the measuring-tape to the opposite wall. At her back, she heard Ekko offer one last grumble of suspicion. 

"If the client we spoke with over the phone had at least told us who we're building this set for, I'd feel a lot better about this."

 

. . .

 

By the time Jinx and Ekko had finished measuring their workspace, the street in front of the warehouse had woken. The burble of chatter and clatter of foot-traffic fluttered through the walls, creating a bustling ambiance that made their surroundings feel more alive. These signs of life seemed to put Ekko at ease. Jinx was pleased that he no longer complained about sketchy directors as they settled onto the floor to review their design notes. 

"Since the client wants to start with concept shots before gettin’ decisive on scenes, let's give her variety," Jinx proposed. "I'm thinking we should set up a different style in each corner of the room."

Ekko nodded. "And let’s put a stage in the room's center, something that'll combine elements from the four corners. That way, the client can see how they compare side-by-side."

"Yeah!"

"Now, about the styles to showcase. She said she wants a grungy, street-art vibe. She liked the authentic feel of the intro to Seraphine's Downriver music video..."

At the mention of the Downriver video, Jinx felt a spark of pride. It was the biggest project she'd worked on, the gig that had put both hers and Ekko's set design skills on the map. She always felt good when she thought about it.

Downriver was also the first time she and Ekko had collaborated on a set, unless you counted a childishly-rendered music video they'd cobbled together in middle school. Only Jinx's sister and Vander had been nice enough to watch that old trainwreck. Nevertheless, it was a good memory… 

… One of few good memories they'd made before life had gotten complicated.

In high school, Jinx’s mental health had taken a steep nose-dive. After some fits of violence, injuries to Ekko's friends, and a stint in juvie, she’d become isolated and angry. If Vi hadn't practically dragged her to a psychologist and made her commit to therapy and meds, Jinx might not have escaped the dark pit she’d been spiraling into. 

After she'd regained a decent measure of stability, blind luck had guided her and Ekko down the same career path, reuniting them on the set of Downriver. Their reunion was rough. Ekko had seemed ready to quit when Jinx showed up, but after some awkward-as-hell apologies that Jinx's therapist had helped her script, plus a less-scripted confession that "life had been a bitch since she'd got fucked sideways by her own dumb brain and she wished she hadn't kicked all her goddamn friendships into hell," Ekko had hesitantly agreed to try and work with her.

Their artistic chemistry had been incredible, and after Downriver came out, they'd been hit with offers from several studios to collaborate on more work. As much as Jinx enjoyed creative freedom, it felt good to have a friend to work beside.

“… Obviously, we can’t put a whole river in this warehouse, but I’m thinking we should imitate the dockside in Downriver,” Ekko continued, starting to scrawl some notes onto a blank sheet. “Weathered wood walls, rusty railing, some boxes and barrels. We can spice it up by carving pictures into the wood, maybe nailing up some old ripped posters…”

“And we’ll need fog machines!” Jinx chimed in eagerly, bouncing in her seat. “Gotta have fog to get the river’s vibe!”

“Yeah, that’d be a good touch.” Ekko titled his scrap paper SET #1 - DOCKS.

Glancing at each of the room’s corners in turn, Jinx suggested, “If they want street art, we’ve gotta have a graffiti corner. Brickwork and neon paint.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “We might even wanna have two graffiti corners. One Zaun-style, one Demacia-style.”

Ekko raised an eyebrow. “Does Demacia have graffiti? Every street I've seen has been spotless, even the alleys.”

“Then we’ll show ‘em what Demacia-style grafitti ought to look like!” Jinx gestured to the stone walls. “Instead of puttin’ up false brick walls, we’ll leave the stone exposed, since they use the same gray rock in all the buildings around here. We can focus on murals instead of words, paint stuff like their native trees and mountains and shit. Maybe the sun and moon? Didn’t the director say one of the video’s big themes would be light and darkness?”

“She did. Speaking of which, I think we’ll want sheer lighting for all four corners, bright spotlights, tall props to cast interesting shadows…” Trailing off, Ekko frowned, glancing at one of the walls.

Jinx followed Ekko’s gaze to the featureless wall, wondering if he’d spotted something she wasn't seeing. Then, she picked up a sound that she’d missed from being so tuned-in to set design.

Some people outside the warehouse were having a loud argument.

“… need you to stop being…”

“… not immature, I’ve been trying to tell you…”

“… can’t fathom what you think you’re accomplishing by…”

“… living my own life, Garen! I can’t…”

“… your family, your country, your own image, and if you can’t see how…”

“… how everything our family wants is right, and everything I want is foolish?”

Jinx and Ekko exchanged a glance. “Yikes,” Jinx said.

Ekko sighed. “One of those voices sounds a lot like the client.”

“Then make that a double yikes,” Jinx amended, staring after the unseen voices as they stomped closer to the warehouse’s back door.

Rather than approaching from the babbling street, the quarrelers were coming from a private alley behind the building. The back door swung open with an agonized squeal and banged against the wall. A man and woman entered the room, alike enough in the set of their angry faces that Jinx guessed they were related - siblings, her gut insisted, recalling her turbulent relationship with her own sister.

The man was broad-shouldered and imposing, sporting a heavy scowl like a soldier confronted with an enemy. The woman was taller than Jinx, but still not up to her brother's looming height. Nevertheless, she wasn't cowed by her brother’s displeasure, keeping her own brow furrowed and her hands closed tightly at her sides.

“All my life,” the woman seethed, not seeming to notice that Jinx and Ekko were present, “I’ve been the perfect doll of a good Demacian that you and the others have wanted me to be. I’ve put up the act, put on the show! I feel like I’ve been wearing a mask ever since I was ten!”

The woman might not have noticed her company, but the man did, his eyes going wide as he spotted them. “Luxanna…”

“Don’t cut me off!” The woman’s red-hot glare remained trained on the man. “I never had a choice in what the family made of me! No one asked me if I wanted to be on a stage...”

“Luxanna…”

“… but if I have to keep doing this, then for once in my life, I’m going to do it my way!”

“Luxanna, we are no longer in private!” the man hissed.

This statement halted the woman’s rant. She stood still for a moment, her eyes still fixed on the man and her breathing heavy, before slowly turning to face Jinx and Lux.

Well, fuck, Jinx thought to herself. I guess we’re working with an angry, shout-y client for this gig.

However, to Jinx's pleasant surprise, the woman's glower disappeared. In the blink of an eye, she'd fronted a placid smile which made her look as if she’d never been mad a day in her life. Hell, she looked like the happiest person in Runeterra! She spoke with a pleasant, sunshine-y voice which seemed at odds with the temper she’d sported seconds before. “You’re here – good! Garen, these are the set designers I hired to work on my new music video. Jinx, Ekko, welcome to Demacia!”

“Um…” Jinx was caught off guard by the woman's sudden warmth, but she recovered quickly. “Thanks! I'm lookin' forward to painting a splash of Zaun on your shiny city!”

Beside her, Ekko was having some trouble reacting. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly agape as he stared at the new arrivals.

At the door, the man let out a heavy sigh. “I apologize,” he said slowly, wielding a more demanding edge to his tone than his sister. “I’m afraid the music video you’ve been hired for has been canceled.”

“It has not been canceled,” The woman corrected immediately, still chipper-toned and smiling.

The man closed his eyes, lips twitching as if he were counting out a long breath. “I’ll make sure you’re compensated for your travel, as well as any time you’ve spent planning…”

“I’ve already paid them in full up-front,” the woman told him cheerfully.

“… and I hope you can remain professional and not spread word of this canceled operation,” the man stated through gritted teeth.

“I look forward to seeing your work!” the woman’s smile stretched ever wider.

Jinx felt tempted to laugh. While it sucked to find out that her latest project was in jeopardy, she couldn’t help but find the blithe way this blonde chick contradicted her brother amusing. Jinx respected a gal who could one-up her sibling with a smile.

Since Ekko still looked too shell-shocked to provide input, Jinx cleared her throat. "Well, seein' as how I've already been paid, I think I'd better keep doing the thing I was paid for." She aimed a playful salute at the woman. "You've got the reins, boss!"

The man shot Jinx a look that was cold and... surprised? It made complete sense that Jinx would side with the woman who'd paid her, didn’t it?

Then again, behind her fronted smile, Jinx thought she saw a flicker of surprise on her client's face, too. Maybe the woman was used to her big brother winning their arguments.

Raising a hand, the man pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked every bit like he was about to wage war against a headache. “I would appreciate,” he ground out, “if the pair of you would leave so that I can speak to my sister in private.”

“We can speak in the alley,” The woman told her brother. “This is their workspace.”

“You can’t possibly think I’ll let you continue this project now that I’ve found out about it.”

Jinx didn't miss the spark which passed through the woman’s placid eyes. It was subtle. Jinx had a feeling that the woman was well-practiced at hiding negative emotions, but Jinx had a keen sense for hidden rage, and she felt the woman's ire like an itch under her skin.

“You can’t possibly think I’ll let you stop me,” the woman said smoothly, maintaining her bright tone even as her words betrayed her defiance. Flipping her hair back over her shoulder, she turned and walked back to the gaping door. As she passed through, her gaze flicked back - Jinx swore it landed on her for a fraction of a second. Something about the woman's parting grin made the phantom itchiness in Jinx's skin multiply, a feeling that lingered even after the woman slipped into the street and out of sight.

The man stayed put for a few seconds. Jinx thought she saw a vein pop out in his jaw as he ground his teeth. Then, with hardly a parting glance at Jinx and Ekko, he stormed out after his sister.

“We don’t do refunds!” Jinx belted as the door slammed shut.

All was quiet for several seconds, save for the unperturbed chatter from the street in front of the warehouse. Jinx rubbed a calloused palm over her arm, soothing the last dregs of her strange itch away. “Well,” She stated once enough hushed, thoughtful moments had passed, “That was weird.”

Ekko blinked. “Damn,” he said. “I’d heard a rumor about tensions in the Crownguard family, but… Wow.”

“The who?” Jinx stared at him quizzically. “Are those two from some famous family I’ve never heard of?”

Incredulous, Ekko raised both eyebrows at her. “The Crownguards,” he emphasized. “One of the most influential families in Demacia? You haven’t heard of them?”

Jinx shrugged. “This is my first time traveling further than Piltover. Never needed to know shit about Demacia.”

“Still,” he pressed, “You’ve at least heard of Luxanna, right?”

“Nope.” Tipping her head aside, Jinx asked, “Is she a big deal or something?”

. . .

 

Over the next several days, Jinx read up on her client and learned several things about Luxanna, including the fact that she was, in fact, a big deal.

Luxanna was Demacia’s Seraphine – maybe even bigger than Seraphine, considering the near-royal status her family held. The Crownguards mainly concerned themselves with politics, but had dabbled in other venues of bolstering their family image, like sculpting their bright-eyed, ever-smiling daughter into a popstar. Luxanna’s parents had first put her on a stage when she was ten, and she’d been Demacia’s radiant idol ever since.

Jinx learned that, although she wasn’t a politician, Luxanna presented her family’s ideals at the core of her brand. She was a symbol of Demacian pride and tradition. Many of her songs focused on themes of Demacia’s beauty, valor on the battlefield, and living with honor.

The music videos for Luxanna’s songs were recorded at national landmarks and sets strewn with symbolism of Demacia’s righteousness. They were always well-lit, complimenting the popstar’s sunny smile and bright, cheerful voice.

Oddly enough, her typical style of was the exact opposite of the grungy, shadow-strewn vision she’d expressed in her instructions to Jinx and Ekko. Considering how edgy Luxanna wanted this set to be, Jinx wondered if the lifelong star was preparing to enter her inevitable rebellious phase.

There were signs: The fight with her brother, the tense looks on the faces of her staff, and the tabloid rumors of family drama that Ekko kept telling Jinx about. Luxanna might be good at pasting on a smile, but Jinx could feel in her bones that Little-Miss-Sunshine was bottling up some serious frustration.

Jinx kinda pitied her. She’d heard enough stories about former-child-stars to know that fame never ended well for them. All that pressure to perform, so much exposure when their brains were still young and spongy… That had to mess a mind up! It was a miracle that Luxanna had held herself together into her twenties instead of spinning out of control back when she was a teen.

Luxanna could smile all she wanted, but Jinx had a feeling that the star's mental breakdown era was long overdue.

 

. . .

 

As days of concept design rolled on, Jinx learned something about the pitiable popstar that wasn’t mentioned in any of the tabloids.

Luxanna was a starer.

“Hey, Ekko… Have you noticed Little-Miss-Sunshine looking at us for… I dunno… A weirdly long time?”

Ekko adjusted the position of a wall of faux, foam brick without looking up. “We've talked about your habit of nicknaming our clients," he said.

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Not professional. I'll only call her Little-Miss-Sunshine when she and her lackeys are on the other side of the room. But..."

"Remember how Seraphine's agent tried to punch you when you called her client Pinkie Pie?"

"I know, I know!"Jinx huffed an exasperated breath. "Anyway, back to my question. Weirdly attentive staring from the boss lady."

Ekko shrugged. "We’re building a set for her," he justified, unconcerned. "Of course she’s gonna watch. If her entourage would leave her alone for two seconds, she might even come over and tell us what she thinks of our work.”

Jinx shifted her weight, tapping a paint canister against her hip. “Yeah, but... I mean… I feel like she’s not looking at the set.”

Flicking her sights to the far corner of the room, Jinx saw the popstar seated in a folding chair next to the in-progress dock setup, propping an arm on one knee as she scrolled through something on her phone. A handful of agents and body guards were clustered around her, many of them chattering, trying to get her attention. Luxanna acknowledged them with eager nods and bright smiles, but her eyes...

... Jinx could swear she saw Luxanna's eyes slide sideways right when Jinx glanced over, as if she’d been watching Jinx and had only just looked away. A prickle ran over Jinx’s skin, and she scratched her arm with her free hand. “Do you ever feel like… y’know… her eyes are on you?” Jinx suggested. “Like she’s watching you, specifically?”

At this statement, Ekko gave Jinx a long, hard look. There was something cautious in the set of his eyes that made Jinx instantly feel uncomfortable. “Jinx,” he said in a carefully even tone, “don’t take this the wrong way, but… You’re still taking your meds, right? You didn’t leave them behind in Zaun?”

A flash of hurt rushed through Jinx. “Of course I’m taking them!” she snipped. “C’mon, you remember what I was like before I started ‘em! I’m not like that now! Do I look like I’m like that now?”

“Okay, okay!” Ekko held up a hand in a gesture for peace. “I just remember you saying that you used to feel like things were watching you before you started the pills. Do you think your body might be adjusting to the dosage? That you might need something stronger?”

“This isn’t about my stupid meds, or my brain,” Jinx groused. Then, after a moment’s though, she begrudgingly amended, “I mean, I don’t think it is.” She frowned, glancing at Luxanna again. Seriously, she’d just been looking at Jinx! “Just… Just tell me if you notice her staring in a weird way, okay? And I’ll tell you if I feel like my brain’s going rotten.”

“Sure,” Ekko acquiesced. After a moment, he added, “Hey… I hope it didn’t sound like I was doubting you or anything. I’ll take it seriously if you feel like something weird is going on, okay? I promise. You can talk to me about this shit.”

“Yeah.” Jinx shook her can of spray paint in one hand, then stuck her sights resolutely to the faux-brick wall, resolving not to spend the whole afternoon glancing back at the popstar. “Thanks. I appreciate you having my back.”

There was an itch on her back, beneath her skin where she couldn't reach. 

Get over yourself. A popstar’s got more important shit to do than stare at you.

. . .

 

That evening, Jinx stayed late at the warehouse. She was really getting into their Demacia-style street art concept and hadn’t wanted to stop painting when night fell. After splitting a dinner of takeout with her, Ekko had called it quits, telling Jinx to give him a call if anything odd happened while he was gone.

Jinx wasn’t worried about weird shit happening. At this late hour, Luxanna and her swarm of staff had long since cleared out, leaving Jinx with the space all to herself.

Jinx hummed a tune as she sprayed a few lines of black paint onto the warehouse’s stonework. The murals were starting to look good! Since Demacian streets weren’t as neon as Zaun, Jinx had decided to keep the murals monochromatic. She was even thinking she should suggest recording the music video in black-and-white to draw more attention to the light-and-shadow theme of the set.

Of course, it would be easier to plan ahead if their client would tell them what her damn song was about... But, hey, Luxanna Crownguard could stay as secretive as she liked as long as Jinx got to keep her paycheck.

As she finished painting the lower trunks of silhouetted trees, Jinx frowned, peering further up the wall. She was eager to get started on the trees' higher reaches, but Ekko had asked her not to break out the ladder unless someone was around to spot her. That was a sensible request – it would be a pity if Jinx fell off and bludgeoned her brains out against the floor without anyone around to call an ambulance – but, damn, she was dying to paint those upper walls!

A few unsupervised minutes on a ladder wouldn’t hurt, right?

Sorry, Little Man. I swear I’ll try not to fall and crack my skull!

Jinx retrieved a rust-splotched metal ladder from where it rested on the floor, quickly setting it up next to her painted trees. Climbing swiftly, she licked her lips and grinned at her stone canvas. Shaking her black canister in one hand, Jinx aimed for the top of one of her in-progress tree-trunks and…

CREEEEEEAK!

Jinx jumped. When the ladder trembled at her movement, Jinx dropped her paint, clutching the sides of the ladder with blanched knuckles. The canister clanked several times as it bounced against the ground beneath her.

“Oh," a surprised voice said from the warehouse’s squeaky back door. “I didn’t think anyone would still be here! Sorry for startling you.”

Jinx’s breaths were heavy and her shoulders were stiff. The hairs rose on the back of her neck as she turned to find Luxanna Crownguard, looking as full of sunshine-and-rainbows as ever, watching her from the door.

… Why was the popstar alone?

Lux stepped further into the room, her head tilting curiously. “You really shouldn’t be on a ladder without someone spotting you,” she scolded gently, smile still unabated. “Do you want me to hold the base of your ladder steady?”

For someone who hadn't spoken to Jinx since her words of welcome on day one, Lux's behavior struck Jinx as over-familiar. Maybe that was her drilled-in popstar persona shining through, forcing her to be amicable even in the company of near-strangers. 

Friendly or not, Jinx barely knew the chick. 

"Nah," Jinx drawled, forcing the stiffness out of her tense muscles as she began climbing down the ladder. "I was about to wrap it up for the night. My co-designer's gonna call any minute to check if I made it back to the hotel." As she reached the floor, Jinx quirked an eyebrow at the popstar. "Speaking of nosy coworkers, what are you doing out and about without your entourage? I thought famous types couldn't hit the town without a minder or two."

There it was again, a spark of ire behind Luxanna's eyes, there and gone in an instant. "I think more clearly without them around," she explained in a slow, careful tone, as if she were choosing her words very mindfully. "Of course, I care about everyone on my crew, but... I've barely been able to think about this set while they've been with me. There are other matters they'd prefer me to give attention to than this."

Something clicked in Jinx's brain. Smirking, she leaned casually against her ladder, folding her arms smugly over her chest. "Ah, I see. Big brother's set the staff on a mission to distract you from your passion project, hasn't he?"

Luxanna's eyes betrayed her frustration once more. Maybe she knew she had a tell; she flicked her gaze away, staring at the spray painted tree trunks rather than holding Jinx's gaze. A telling touch of pink stained her cheeks, although her smile remained plastered on.

"My brother... He likes to choose which projects I should prioritize. He truly means well, even if he can be... stifling, at times."

It felt easier to be around the star now that her eerie staring had been replaced with flushed cheeks and averted eyes. Feeling more grounded, Jinx could afford to let pity bloom for the born-and-raised popstar. Considering what Jinx had seen so far of her stuffy company, it was no wonder that Luxanna had wanted to slip away. "Hey," Jinx said, trying to make her voice more kind than its usual brashness. "I get it. You're not the first star I've worked with, so I've seen how crowded the pop-life can get. Just let me pack up my gear and I'll be outta your hair; you can have some space to think about your video."

Before Jinx could stoop to collect her paint canister from the ground, Luxanna's hand darted forward, snagging her wrist tightly. 

Some of the tension returned to Jinx's shoulders. She blinked at Luxanna, waiting for an explanation. 

"I..." Luxanna bit her lip. "I was actually hoping, since you're still here, that we could talk about the set. It'll be easier without my family's staff around to distract me." Awkwardly, she peeled her fingers off Jinx’s wrist and drew her hand back, leaving a slight tackiness from her warm palms on Jinx’s skin. "I mean... Only if this is a good time for you. I know it's getting late."

Well, Ekko would be happy if at least one of them had the chance to collect feedback from their client. "Sure. Yeah!" Stepping to her duffel, Jinx added, "Hold on a sec. Ekko put a notepad in here somewhere with some questions he'd been hoping to ask about the theme..."

 

. . .

 

Over the next half-hour, Jinx became increasingly comfortable around Luxanna - or, just Lux, please, as the star insisted. Jinx was happy to find that, despite her family's status and money, Lux wasn't vain or condescending. Maybe it was just her popstar persona, but Lux was cheerful and attentive as Jinx led her around the room and explained what she and Ekko were going for with each collection of props. Although Lux’s stare had felt unnerving earlier that day, its unwavering focus now made Jinx feel as if she were being genuinely listened to, like she’d become Lux’s top priority now that the two of them could finally get to talking.

Judging by her appreciative touches to the props, interested questions, and unwavering smile, it seemed that Lux was excited to hear Jinx's ideas for the set. Jinx could feel her confidence growing as she explained her creative choices to her rapt audience. Jinx loved talking about her craft, and she was thrilled that her client wasn't the type to nitpick and complain. 

However, as much as Jinx loved touting her own ideas, she did need some input. 

“So.” Pausing by the dock setup, Jinx leaned back against a low stretch of railing she and Ekko had attached to the wall on one side. It creaked slightly under her weight, but ultimately held her steady. Tipping her head, Jinx continued, “What do you think? Do any of the setups fit the look you want for your video?”

Lux cast another appraising glance over the room. Jinx watched her shining eyes travel, quirking a smile at the way Lux’s hair fluttered while she spun to take the whole warehouse in.

No wonder she’s got so many fans, Jinx thought to herself. This chick’s cute as hell – just starin’ at stuff makes her look good!

Lux’s gaze returned to the faux-dock setup where they currently stood. Her eyes trailed up and down an aged wood wall with a sun, moon, and stars carved into the planks, and her lip slipped between her teeth.

Ever so slightly, Lux’s smile shrunk.

An unexpected pang of anxiety swooped through Jinx’s chest. Why had Lux’s smile gotten smaller? She’d looked happy while Jinx was taking her through the sets, but now… Was it not quite right? Was Lux disappointed? “If you’re not feeling any of this, we can spitball some more ideas,” Jinx said quickly. “I’m full of ideas, loaded with ‘em! Just tell me what’s sorta-working and what’s not-fucking-working-at-all, and I’ll build from there!”

Jinx must’ve let some desperation slip into her tone. Eyes widening, Lux was swift to reassure her. “Oh! Jinx, the sets are wonderful, really, I love them! Especially the corner we started at, the one with the Demacian street art concept. I can tell that you and Ekko put so much thought into these ideas!”

The tension in Jinx’s chest warred with tentative hope from Lux’s praise. Okay, but… “You were starting to look kinda bummed out a moment ago,” Jinx pointed out. “I’m glad you like the sets, but if something doesn’t feel right, if there’s anything you wanna mess with, I’m all ears. I can take critique. You don’t have to be little-miss-sunshine with me.”

A flush reddened Lux’s ears as she stared at Jinx, wordless.

… oh, FUCK. I’m not supposed to call the client little-miss-sunshine to her face!

Jinx had been getting too comfortable. Scratching sheepishly at the back of her neck, she hastily pressed on, “so, uh, let’s talk about the song this music video’s gonna be for! What’s it about, anyway? I mean, I know the theme is darkness and light, but details on the lyrics have been pretty… uh… nonexistent. Care to spill?”

Jinx’s hopes of restoring their conversation to its previous happy state were dashed when Lux’s smile drooped further.

After all the smiling Lux had done that day, it felt wrong to see cracks forming in her happy facade. It was like Jinx had peered behind a shower curtain and caught sight of something private and forbidden.

"I mean... You don't have to share the lyrics of the song," Jinx attempted to amend, "just... A bit more about the feel of it would be good to know."

When Lux’s smile dropped entirely, tired shadows congealing around her eyes, it felt less like Jinx had peeked around a shower curtain and more like she'd tripped into it, knocking the curtains down entirely and falling into someone’s vulnerable lap.

Lux’s eyes fell, fixing on the base of the wooden prop-wall. “Jinx… Would you mind if I told you something that you might find disappointing?”

“Uh…” Disappointing? Why would Jinx be disappointed? Lux was the one who’d shelled out a massive pre-payment. Lux was the one who should be disappointed if Jinx under-performed. “… Sure. Lay it on me.”

Turning, Lux leaned against the rail beside Jinx. It creaked a little more under her weight than it had under just Jinx’s, but remained standing and reasonably steady. “There…” Lux took a breath. “There’s no song yet. There might never be one. This music video probably won’t happen.”

Huh? “There’s no song?” Honestly, Jinx was more confused than disappointed. “You started prepping for a music video and put down a big-ass payment for set design before you even knew what the video was gonna be for?”

“I know what it’s for,” Lux responded, frustration straining her tone. Her emotions were more tangible now that her smile had dropped, itching under Jinx's skin and squirming in her gut. “I just… Don’t have the words yet. I’d hoped that, if someone could visualize what I was going for, it’d be easier to make the words come.” A small, bitter laugh slipped from her. “I did write songs – about ten of them. But none of them felt right. They felt like… Like…”

Jinx scooted a bit closer. Aware that she was starting to behave over-familiar herself - Lux's openness must've been getting to her head - she knocked her elbow against Lux’s, feeling a tingle where their warms skin brushed. “Like?”

Lux’s nose scrunched in a way that made her look bitter. “Like they were written by someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“… Okay.” Jinx pondered this for a second. "I think that opens the door to a pretty obvious question. What are you doing?”

Lux raised a hand, toying with a lock of hair draped over her shoulder. “I’m trying to see what I could create if I didn’t let my family pick all my projects for me. Something they might not approve of, a bit dark, a bit ominous. But… I’m not very good at being anything but the smiling star they've made me to be.”

Jinx recalled Ekko telling her about how closely Lux’s songs aligned with her family’s politics. “You’ve never gotten to make many creative choices for yourself, have you?” she deduced. 

Lux scoffed. “Never. The few times I’ve tried reaching for a bit of independence, someone's put a hard stop to it.” The corner of her lip curled, sneer-like, as she added darkly, “You saw me arguing with my brother over this project. Later that night, he spoke to my parents. The next morning, I didn’t have access to my own bank account. I guess they don’t want me pre-paying a video crew like I pre-paid you and Ekko.”

Both of Jinx’s eyebrows shot up. “What the hell? They did shit to your money? Isn’t that fucking illegal!?”

Lux snorted. “Very little is illegal for my family,” she said drily, “especially when they’re committing crime for the good of Demacia. Don’t worry; they can’t cancel the payment I made for your work. Even my parents can’t make money disappear from an account in another nation’s bank.”

“Well, holy fuck.” Jinx let out a low whistle. “I mean, good for me. Thanks for the money and all. But this massively sucks for you.”

“It really does.”

The warehouse lights flickered overhead as Jinx mulled over her thoughts in a minute of uncomfortable silence. She’d known that shit couldn’t be going well for someone who’s family had been calling the shots ever since they’d been ten, but… Wow.

“Jinx…”

Jinx pulled herself from her thoughts, meeting Lux’s gaze. “Yeah?”

“If I went through with this video however I could, without access to funding... If I shot it off a cell-phone camera while singing about not being little-miss-sunshine, as you put it… Do you think the world would be happy for me getting to try something new? Or would people just say I'm going through a phase?”

Jinx winced. “… The world can be pretty judgy," she admitted. "And it seems like a lot of your fanbase are your parent’s kinda people.”

Lux sighed. Her head slumped heavily down, bringing her lower than Jinx despite her greater height. “So I’m doomed to either be my parent’s shining star, or do what I want for once while everyone who knows my name shakes their heads.” She pressed a hand against her temple. “I don't even know what I want to do with this video, or with my career, or with my whole life. How can I do what I want when I don’t even know what I want?”

Incidentally, Jinx had spoken enough with her therapist about lacking direction and watching her life go up in flames that she actually had some tips to give. “Your brain will spin out if you treat what you want like some big, existential question," she said. "Don’t worry about figuring out the big picture all at once. Just pick a few little things you want and start small.”

“Little things, huh?”

“Yeah. Make a list!" Pushing herself off the railing, Jinx splayed her hands with a shrug. "What do you want, Sunshine?" 

Jinx’s tease brought a small quirk of a smile back to Lux’s mouth. “I want my bank account back, for starters," she huffed. "It's been humiliating to have to ask my brother to buy lunch for me.”

Jinx nodded in approval. “Solid start! What else do you want?”

“Hmm..." Lux tipped her head, thinking a bit longer this time. "I want my next music video to not be about national pride."

"You've made more than enough of those for sure." Jinx found herself walking to a wooden barrel, hopping to a seat atop it. "Now do a fun one! What's something fun you want?"

Lux's eyes glimmered. “I want... to travel." She brushed a hand appreciatively over several set pieces as she stepped closer to Jinx's seat. "To know what places outside of Demacia are like. To know how people outside of Demacia think.” Her gaze trailed from the set pieces to Jinx. "Is Zaun a very tourist-friendly place?"

Jinx snorted. "Nope. If you went to my hometown lookin' all wealthy and trusting, the pickpockets would line up for miles."

"Well, if I had a choice between losing some pocket change on the street or having my bank account frozen by my own family, I'd take the former."

"Fair point."

A shadow crossed Lux's face. "At least, if I were anywhere but here, I'd have some agency in what became of me. As long as I'm in Demacia, I'm my family's pawn, nothing more." She shook her head. "I love them, but... I resent them sometimes, too..." Her voice dropped off. Shooting Jinx a sideways look, she said slowly, "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. You'd get paid well for selling a transcript of this rant to the tabloids."

Jinx shrugged. "You're telling me this 'cause you want to. Don't overthink it."

Lux's gaze stayed steady on Jinx. 

A slight itch tingled in Jinx's spine. 

"... I want to feel the way you look like you feel when you're building a set," Lux said softly. "You look good. Free and happy, I mean. Like you know what you want to create, and you have the power to make it happen."

"Heh." Jinx scratched the back of her neck. "I thought I felt you watching me."

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

Well, she had kinda set Jinx's nerves tingling, but Jinx wasn't about to bitch about it. "Don't worry about it. It takes more than a funny stare to send me out of whack."

"Good." Lux leaned against a barrel next to the one Jinx sat on. "I wish I could create my own life the way that you create your sets. I feel so powerless sometimes." Her hands curled into fists. "And I'm really sick of feeling powerless."

Jinx shivered at the bite in Lux's tone. 

She knew a thing or two about feeling powerless. Jinx remembered being overwhelmed by the voices in her head that told her that her insides were going rotten, that all she'd ever do was break and hurt. She remembered how it had driven her mad, making her want to lash out. 

Had Lux ever wanted to lash out?

"Y'know," Jinx murmured, "My shrink once told me that, when people feel like life's going out control, people find ways to claw that sense of control back to them. Sometimes we do bad shit to make us feel in control." She quirked a brown at Lux. "You seem like you're a lot better at keepin' your issues bottled up than me. But the bottle never stays closed. Either ya choose when to open it, or it breaks and cuts you up." At Lux's odd look, she clarified, "I'm sayin' that you gotta find things in your life you can control in a healthy-ish way. Like this music-video!" She gestured to the set. "It's yours! So what if it turns out terrible and nobody likes it? If it lets you feel like you're in the driver's seat of your own life, stick with it."

"Yeah..." Lux stepped a little closer. "By the way, I've been meaning to tell you that I'm grateful to you for sticking with me. With this project, I mean. When my brother said that the video was canceled, and you said you'd keep working on the set anyway... It felt good to have someone in my side for once."

"You're the one who paid me," Jinx said with a shrug. "You brought me here to make some fuckin' art, so that's what I'm gonna do! You're the client, not your brother. You're the one in control."

"... It feels good to hear someone say that."

"I bet it does." Jinx sighed. "Seriously... To think of how much you're family's starved you of control your whole life, you must really be itchin' for it. I'm in your corner, Sunshine." She smirked. "Now, all you gotta do is figure out what you want with this set and take control of it for real. Don't be shy about telling me what you want. You're the boss!"

Lux beamed at her. This new smile felt somehow more real than the ones she'd worn before. At the thought that she'd genuinely made Lux feel good, a giddy feeling swooped through Jinx’s gut. 

Funny. Jinx didn't usually care this much about how her clients felt, beyond making sure that they still wanted to pay her, but Jinx wanted to please Lux. Something about Lux just made her feel so...

Lux leaned forward, shared her arms around Jinx’s shoulders, and hugged her tightly. 

Jinx was startled. She went limp as her chest was pulled against Lux's, strong arms coiling around her back - fuck, did this chick work out? A chin nestled cozily over her shoulder, and a warm voice murmured in her ear.

"Thank you. For encouraging me to take control. I'll make an effort to tell you what I want... I think we'll work very well together."

"Uh..." Jinx's heart thudded. Her brain suddenly wasn't working with its usual finesse. "Yeah. Uh. No problem."

Lux gave her a bracing squeeze, then let go. As she stepped back to smile at Jinx, Jinx could still feel lingering tingles from her touch. "It's late. I'm sorry for keeping you out so long, but I'm glad you stuck around. You've been working so hard for me... I feel like I can trust you to give me your all."

Why did Lux's praise leave Jinx's gut feeling weirdly warm? 

"Anyway, I'll leave you to pack up your things." Lux stepped away, making for the back door. Unconsciously, Jinx let her eyes trail after Lux's back, noting how her hair fluttered with each step. When she reached the door, Lux flung one last parting grin at Jinx. "Make sure you rest well tonight. You'll need your energy for tomorrow."

"... Right. Yeah."

And with that, Lux was gone. 

Jinx sat still on her barrel for a full minute before raising a hand to touch her shoulder, where Lux had rested her chin during their hug. Jinx thought her skin felt weirdly warm. 

"You've been working so hard for me..."

Jinx shook her head, trying to clear it. 

"Thank you. For encouraging me to take control..."

Heat rose in Jinx's cheeks. 

"I feel like I can trust you to give me your all."

Lux's arms had been strong when they'd wrapped around her. Her voice has been smooth. Her stare made Jinx shiver...

... And Jinx really, really, wanted to do a good job for her. 

"Aw, fuck," Jinx whispered under her breath. 

She couldn't get Lux's smile out of her head.

[inklore]

hi my love! do you have any writing tips? and words of encouragement when fics flop :(

hi darling <3 i feel like i always suck at giving writing tips but i'll try my very best for you ok. i hope some of these help! also very honored you'd even ask me 🤎

first and foremost: don't compare your writing to anyone else. everyone writes different, everyone has a certain style, a niche. if you're worried you don't have a 'style' don't, because you do. everyone does. it's not something you can make yourself have or take from others, it comes naturally with how your brain works and how it curates words and prose and scenes. that's why no book, no writing, is ever the same even if it's the same source material. it's a beautiful thing so don't stress about trying to make your writing sound or 'read' like other writers. it'll only ruin the enjoyment of how you write!

if you want to write more detailed just remember that not everything in a scene needs to be put down. the more you give the reader room to fill in the blanks and set the scene themselves the better experience for them (at least that's the case for my brain, others may feel different, but doing it this way makes me feel like i'm not adding too much detail or being repetitive). but visualizing, setting the scene for yourself through music or daydreaming is another great tip to write more detailed.

when it comes to smut i am a huge stan of you don't have to say the anatomically correct part they're using (like the p words or c word), and describing what it feels like to have that part touched, grazed, etc is really great. i struggle with fear of repeating myself so i try to find creative ways to describe body parts without actually calling them like flowery/nouns/different synonyms. i hope that made sense lmao.

don't worry about edits or making everything flow completely well in the first take. i highly rec everyone editing their own work and reading it back to themselves, yes it's tiring but it helps you find flow mistakes, add more detail, take something out that you thought fit in the moment but doesn't really. that's why i get everything out the first get go in a kind of fever dream manner and then when i go back to edit it then i buff out everything, add more, take away something, add more details that will make a scene pop off more.

now for the encouragement when it comes to flops: it's going to happen. there's no secret to making something do amazing or something failing. there really isn't and someone who says there is has just had a few lucky posts. because having a big following means nothing, writing a long fic, a short one, only using small font, being super aesthetic, really means nothing. i've seen writers with the most amazing aesthetic and beautiful prose with 100 followers write something and get 2k notes and then get 90 notes on their next post. same with someone who doesn't have a big aesthetic but a big following and writes short fics get 100 notes on their last ten posts but then that eleventh post randomly gets 1k. like it's really just up in the air on here if something is going to do good or not, unfortunately. so that's why i don't let it get to me when something i post gets 100 notes or 1k because i'm happy with both, less, or more. i don't expect anything anymore because that only leads to disappointment and i'm here to write and to have fun.

that's not to say i don't rec curating your own little community on here. make friends, block ppl with bad vibes, join discords of supportive friends. talk to writers who encourage and understand your feelings and discourse and who keep you going, give you inspo, etc etc. if only my friends ever rbed and read my stuff and there was only 10 of them? i'd say hell yeah and that'd encourage me to write more. having a good space of friends and community is amazing and can do a lot to fight off the writer scaries and the feelings of obsessing over numbers and success.

now this is just something i do but it always works for me; i post something and then force myself not to look at it for a day or two. i post it and move on to the next thing i want to work on. i do not dwell on how it's doing. i may q up some rbs for it but i don't even look at the notes when i do that. i deliberately never look at it because yes while it matters in the sense that we love encouragement, we love seeing people love something we spent hours on, we wrote this for ourselves but hello we want that validation too and that's okay, but like i said above and i'm going to say again notes mean nothing in regards to talent. these notes are not simon cowell judging you on your performance. so when i finally do go back to rb comments and reply to things, or if i just want to look at how it did, and the number is low i'm just like ok shrug at least those 20 people enjoyed it and that's better than 0. and if no one commented or rbed yeah that sucks and is disheartening but i can either dwell and be sad on it or i can continue to do what i love and write more. why let the annoying little brats on here who refuse to show their love on a work they read get you down? because there's a dozen of them out there and they're not going away. and you may have made someone's day for this little fic even if they didn't say something about it. it does suck that content creators on here don't get the rbs and comments and credit they deserve, and unfortunately if you want to keep doing what you love you gotta work around it and remind yourself why you're creating, continue to feel that joy. it's hard, believe me. but don't let your creativity be repressed because of it, because you'd be doing a disservice to yourself!

i'll say it again though: a high note count / following doesn't mean the fic is good or bad, neither does low notes / no following. no one's talent is ever in question here. we are here to write, have fun, fill the void of the rl scaries.

[imichelle-l-rigby]

Reflections: Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition

Season 3, episode 4

✨almost 2 weeks late✨

———————————————————————

*I am a music prof (predominantly classical vocalist), and I LOVE listening to Cillian’s music choices! That being said, sometimes I won’t like a song simply because of a vocalist (it’s a professional hazard - sorry!) 👩‍🏫

** The following are my own observations/opinions. We may not agree, and that’s ok! That’s what makes music fun! 😊

*** I wouldn’t say I’m well-versed in Cillian’s music preferences, but I do enjoy them (for the most part). I always wind up adding to my own playlists after listening to Cillian’s recommendations.

———————————————————————

Hi everyone, thanks for your patience! Here are my thoughts on episode 4:

🎵Set 1 (Makondi - Theme from Failure)

Makondi: percussion makes me so happy! 😊 no specific thoughts other than there needs to be more percussion songs heard in the mainstream.

Hey Dostla!: ok but the background rhythm reminds me of the “Lip Gloss” song by Lil Mama and that’s all I hear now 😂

Theme from Failure: I like the gradual building of rhythmic layers. Again, definitely inspired by minimalist/tape looping technology from the ‘60s. More importantly, this song had me rolling! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

🎤Talking Break:

Of course he prefers Autumn (or as I say, Fall, because I’m American and “leaf fall down”😂)

Of course he watches an old movie by the fire during a rain shower.

“Inane anecdote”

An exclusive!!!!

Oooohhh… playing with Ornette Coleman!

Awwww, sweet that he’s using music that his kids recommended!!

Fun - more Nina! 😊😊😊 and yes, now I wanna know why she hated this song/album.

🎵Set 2 (The Family - Time Is On My Side)

The Family: this is sooooo “trendy” for Nina! I need to listen to more of her discography rather than singles. I’m not sure how often she went more “pop” than jazz, and now I wanna know.

Please Don’t Go: Stevie!!!!! 😍😍 his voice is sooooo smooth! I could just listen to him all the time. And I like the chord qualities in this piece - it’s not an out-of-the-box chord progression, but it’s also not cookie cutter. There’s depth to what he gives without it going overboard.

Irma Talks: yes!! 😂

Time Is On My Side: I looooove this song! I think this is a very singable range (I know that sounds weird, but a lot of songs today are in difficult ranges for most of the population. This is pretty accessible).

🎤Talking Break:

I love how he takes these big long inhales before he talks, like he’s been through a taxing day or something 😂

I haven’t heard “iteration” more than usual… 🤔

🎵Set 3 (Come Down Easy - Kim’s Sunsets)

Come Down Easy: patterned off early rock, for sure! It’s even got that whiny/tinny vocal tracking. The weird drone is cool! Idk how to describe it other than the sound of the wind when you’re driving with your car windows rolled down 😅😂

Kim’s Sunsets: interesting harmonies, but I hate the vocal qualities here! 😖😖😖 I like it instrumentally, but vocally, this is an ick!

🎤Talking Break:

Nice! Instrumental music!

My Russian is no better, no worries!

I do love old film music, and it’s interesting to hear what was being used in Soviet film music, especially! I could go on, but y’all would prob find that boring 😅

🎵Set 4 (Boys and the Sea - Muscle de sable)

Boys and the Sea: I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! The piano sounds almost like French Classical music (a lot of artistic sharing between the French and Russians at one point), and the seagull call recording is so haunting! I kinda wanna watch this film just from listening to this!

Muscle de sable: also a piece featuring random recorded sound clips! Much more modern sounding.

🎤Talking Break:

You can definitely tell his mama taught him French - he’s VERY good at it!

🎵 Set 5 (One Word - Secret Teardrops)

One Word: this is pretty fun!!! 😎 no thoughts, just synth vibes!

Secret Teardrops: I find it interesting that the vocal line is less prominent than the instruments. 🤔 granted, this is not a super skillful vocal line…

🎤Talking Break:

I’m glad you liked Secret Teardrops, Cill, but it’s not my favorite. Sorry 🤷‍♀️

Recent music!

Grief and music is such a complicated relationship.

🎵Set 6 (The Greater Wings - Mole in the Ground)

The Greater Wings: wow. This is so beautiful and touching. I’m in my feelings now.

Mole in the Ground: this transitioned so well from one song to the next! Instrumentally, it’s gorgeous. Sadly, I hate the mumble lyrics. 😖

🎤Talking Break

Ok but so many albums are dropping in my birthday this year!!!

🎵Set 7 (Your Silent Face)

Your Silent Face: very synth. And I did not expect a harmonica in the mix… 😅

🎤Talking Break

Ask a reasonable question!!!

Dude. Why jalapeños on popcorn???? Like… I passionately support all things spicy, but this is a weird one for me

HE IS SHAMING HOT DOGS. I know they’re gross mystery meat, BUT. hot dogs are part of my heritage! 😂 besides, kosher hot dogs are kinda amazing and less gross.

🎵Set 8 (The Heights)

The Heights: this reminds me of something but I can’t figure out what. Either way, this is so atmospheric. I feel like I’m back in HS/early college and life was so much simpler (until you get to the end). That has no objective value; however, that’s what I’ve got!

🎤Talking Break: (sorta)

I don’t guitar, but this is such a great story!!!

Beginning musicians are such a vibe. We all suck but are so brave at the same time. 😂 I kinda miss being a beginner.

Blue Monk: I am LOVING this! Blues picking is fab. 😎

Casbah: ooohhhh. I like this as well! The pedal point is interesting (which is hard to do) and I like how the melody dances all over the place.

🎵Set 9 (Can I Call You)

Can I Call You: why is this spooky??? 😰 in other news, the way the expected chord progression is constantly diverted is cool! And even the structure of the song keeps going in unexpected places. Well-done, but somehow reminds me of Halloween spooky times. 👍

🎤Talking Break:

I love how ppl from across the pond (is that a reasonable way to say from the UK or Ireland?) “Graham” - Americans make it 1 syllable

Yorkshire Man: “the OG Kate Bush, herself”

“Jaunty baroque number”

🎵Set 10 (Bertie - Mirror in the Bathroom)

Bertie: I’m trying to decide if this deserves the term “baroque.” 🤔 Maybe? Most baroque music is polyphonic, and this is still distinctly homophonic. However, it might could qualify for “early baroque inspired” (circa 1600) with the choice of instruments and emphasis on text. I do like this! Definitely agree with the term “jaunty”

Kettle factory! ☕️

Mirror in the Bathroom: this is such a weird song but I like it 😂 I’m also starting to wonder if Cillian just likes stuff with sax solos. He’s chosen a lot this season!

🎤Talking Break:

I am shocked it took this long for him to play Zappa

“Obsessed with Frank Zappa” don’t try to downplay it, dude.

🎵Set 11 (Love)

Love: YES this has a major Zappa influence, even with the George Duke component. I haven’t listened to a lot of Zappa (he’s got so much and I honestly don’t even know where to start), but from what I’ve heard, this has his fingerprints all over it.

🎤Talking Break:

I love how concerned he is with lowering our collective heart rates/bpm 😂

🎵Set 12(Heart to Know - The Veil I)

Heart to Know: reminds me of Philip Glass (minimalist composer) a little bit (specifically lulls in his opera Einstein on the Beach).

My heart rate is lowered. 💗

The Veil I: the transition from Heart to this is weird, but I like this song, too! I feel like I’m in a video game with all the electronic sounds.

🎤Talking Break

“Gentle music”

I also wanna see this movie!

🎵Set 13 (Theme de l’eau - Prayer and Procession)

Theme de l’eau: I do often associate flute music with Japanese styles (and some of the non-Western scales), but this also has a Mediterranean feel to it (guitar), and somehow French as well (accordion). Again, there’s a lot of cultural ties between France and Japan, so that’s not super surprising. Yeah. I wanna see what this film is about! I’m curious!

Prayer and Procession: has some Chopin funeral March vibes to it, as well as Protestant chorale/hymn elements.

🎤Talking Break:

Noooo don’t go!

Yay! More song recs from the boys!

“Mind yourselves”

🎵Set 14 (Sleep - Crescent of Sun)

Sleep: … this song does NOT make me wanna sleep! 😳 Cillian Murphy! It is not Halloween yet! Quit with the spooky songs!

I thought he was supposed to be “lowering my heart rate” - psh! I call BS!

20190127: my slightly number dyslexic self hated writing out that title. 🤦‍♀️ anyway, this is MUCH more relaxing of a piece! Another great example of using recorded elements in music. I like how the tones fade in and out like the tide (heard at the beginning I think).

Crescent of Sun: it’s almost like chamber music at the beginning. I’m wondering if the sun is going down or up. The instrument voicing gets higher (indicating upward motion), but the melodic motif goes down. Huh. Interesting!

———————————————————————

Phew! I finally got episode 4 done! Now let’s see if I can crank out episode 5 within the next couple of days before getting to the final episode! (😭😭😭😭😭 this isn’t his real job and it’s a limited series and it has to end soon)

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Tag list:

@iammrsrogers @deliciousnutcomputer @mariamoonie @brownskinsugarplum76 @look-at-the-soul @kj-davis @neverroad @teapothollow @thepurplearmyposts @possessedmarshmallow

[idv-ask-the-showman]

{Endless Dance}

Phineas X Reader! //...I may or may not have deleted the anon request for this one by mistake.

꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶

Anyway~ I wrote this only around two hours and I am not that good when writing stories in general, but I tried my best to make this one sound good and fancy (by that I mean I just slapped any fancy words I know and hopped to god it would work) is a bit rushed tho so it is a bit short.

Anyway, ENJOY!!

(Also here is an OST to listen to while reading this to match the mode!)

꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶

The Showman had once again orchestrated a grand ball in the manor, creating an atmosphere where worries were set aside and pure fun took center stage. This time, the ball had a Dark Masquerade theme, with everyone dressed in stunningly dark attire that transported you to a world of vampire elegance.

You couldn't help but gaze at the couples dancing together, their movements exuding a sense of urgency and passion. It seemed as though they were seizing every moment, dancing as if their lives depended on it. Meanwhile, you found yourself standing alone on the sidelines, resigned to the fact that no one would ask you to join in. Deciding to make the most of the situation, you retreated to a quiet corner with your drink.

As you swirled the rich red wine in your glass, a strange occurrence caught your eye. A refrigerator materialized on top of the wine, creating a bewildering sight. Before you could fully process what was happening, a voice broke through the confusion.

"Oh my~ Why are you all alone, my dear? You do know this is a ball, right?

You looked up and saw the host of the ball himself—Phineas, The Showman. A mixture of surprise, as if you just saw a ghost yet also filled with delight as you took in his charismatic presence. Phineas smiled with curiosity, acknowledging your astonished expression. He couldn't help but tease, "Hey now~ I know that I do give off a ghostly vibe considering I am a real ghost but you shouldn’t act all surprised like that!" He chuckles at that

Phineas's unexpected appearance took your breath away. Although you had caught a glimpse of him on the stairs when you arrived, his close proximity revealed his effortless style and the mask that embellished his face, enhancing his already undeniable charm.

Phineas chuckled at your reaction, removing his top hat and placing it over his chest. He extended his hand, gently touching yours and planting a tender kiss on top. He then invited you, "Say say!! The night is still young, my dear~ It would be a waste for you to stand there like a beautiful statue. How about a dance?"

Mesmerized by Phineas's elegance and charisma, you instinctively reached for his outstretched hand. The warmth that surged through your fingertips set your heart aflutter. Phineas led you onto the dance floor with grace and confidence, glimmering eyes following your every move. The other guests watched in awe and admiration as you both twirled and swayed to the enchanting music, completely absorbed in the moment.

Time seemed suspended as you and Phineas danced, finding an unspoken connection in the rhythm. Every step felt like a discovery, as if Phineas could hear the beating of your heart and effortlessly guide you through the motions. The world around you faded away, leaving only the two of you enveloped in a private sphere of melody and motion.

With the tempo intensifying, you matched its rhythm with accelerating spins, losing yourselves in a whirlwind of passion. The spectators fell silent, unable to tear their eyes away from the spectacle unfolding before them. The air crackled with an electric energy, a tangible force that pulsed between you and Phineas.

As the dance reached its climax, Phineas held you close, his breath mingling with yours as you both caught your breath. An overwhelming sense of gratitude washed over you, grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an extraordinary experience.

Phineas gently released you from his embrace, and the other masked guests returned to their partners, continuing the dance uninterrupted. But for you, that night would forever hold a special place in your memories.

As the night drew to a close, Phineas embarked on his farewell rounds, expressing gratitude to each guest. But his gaze always returned to you, a knowing smile passing between the two of you. Approaching once more, he leaned in to kiss your hand with a mischievous grin.

"The ball may have ended… but would you care to share another dance with me?"

-Fin.

꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷‧₊˚꒷︶

[complete-idiot-in-love]

Once Upon a Witchlight: Episode 45 (SPOILERS)

Oh no, a warning for graphic themes? If someone died im crying so hard

KEEP YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON TORBEK OR I SWEAR TO THE GODS

My S/I would be so happy to finally explore the material plane!!

Father twin giggle sesh :D

Kremy is going crazy again

When Torbek is worried about YOU, then you know you're acting crazy /j

Gideon and his old man glasses omfg, I love that image so much

“Empath” Gricko gives off astrology girl vibes and idk why

I WAS RIGHT, HE DID A GEMINI JOKE OMG

NAT 20 FOR GIDEON LETS GOOOOOOO

My S/I would be having so much trouble in the desert because of them never having experienced a dessert before and the whole satyr fur thing

My bestie, the eldritch abomination of a bugbear <3

Gricko getting the party into trouble against a desert hydra is so him coded, bro would get the group in trouble at a damn Wal-mart

ANOTHER NAT 20 FOR GIDEON, THAT HYDRA IS SO FUCKIN DEAD!!!

OMFG A THIRD NAT 20 FOR GIDEON!!!! THAT HYDRA IS GONNA BE MUSH!!! (Im stimming so hard right now, my hands are flying like crazy fr fr))

Mace has the same amount of object permanence as I do /j

OH FUCK, I HATE BUGS! KILL EM, KILL EM

I LOVE KREMY’S OMINOUS JAZZ AND NEON FORM :D

OOOOO NIKKIE GOT A NAT 20

What is with all these nat 20’s this episode, loaded dice? /j

Of course Gricko would try to befriend the monster

Mikey's dice bag being full of bananyas is so damn funny

ALCHEMIC WHAT? FLEASHLIGHTS??

NOOOOO, TORBEK GOT A NAT 20 TOO BUT NIKKIE DREADED HIM

WHAT? HUNGER OF HADAR??? KREMY IS OP AF

Hootsie is so smart to not deal w that bs fr fr

Kremy accidentally kills his teammates via mind fuckery /j

My S/I would be so confused during the hunger of hadar thing, they'd be screaming shit like: “IS THIS NORMAL IN THE MATERIAL PLANE, AND WHERE IN THE HELLS IS EVERYONE???”

All these dudes are so OP in their own ways but also complete idiots in others, I love them all so much

NOOOOOO GIDEON IS IN QUICKSAND

“That's from Agwe you dumb ugly bastard!” is a great like Gideon, good job

NAT 20 FOR TORBEK FINALLY!!!!! AND HE KILLED IT YEAHHHHHHHHHH

“Longscarfing it” is my new favorite thing

Fighting with an erection mention lmao XD

They're freaking out about Nikkie playing swamp music lmao

NOOOO DON'T AWAKEN GOREBEK

We love the swoose (Swan + Goose)

Also wasn't one of the cookies Bavlorna gave Torbek a swoose, and Nikkie is using the same accent for the swoose as she did Bavlorna

“Recount the tales to me x3, of a troubled past and what set you free” ARE WE GONNA GET SOME BACKSTORY ON THREE OF THE DUDES???? PLEASE LET ONE OF THEM BE TORBEK, BRO IS AN ENIGMA

GIDEON BEING KIDNAPPED AS A CHILD AWAY FROM HIS PAW IS SO SAAAAAAD, WE NEED TO REUNITE PAW COAL AND MY DAD TOGETHER AND HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY AGAIN (T-T)

“We hit rock bottom and picked up shovels” HAHAHA

I wonder what Andy’s theory is, My theory is that Zybilna is the fourth sister or at least connected to them in some way

[monstarparker]

Soooo… I drew Caz's and my ocs like they're from the Lisa Frankenstein trailer. I am really hoping it’s gonna be good, mostly because Caz is also interested in it and they don’t usually go for romcoms. The trailer really makes the lead look like she’s as unwell/fangirl as one of my ocs and I had to insert them into some scenes. First photos reminded me SO MUCH of *sparkle sparkle* the night they first met (see oc lore below break). Third photo is just so cute and feels a bit Morticia and Gomez. I have no idea what the actors have in their hands, since I think they censored it out, but Caz says it’s just too dark and not censored. Either way, might redraw that later when I know what the thing is, but I’ll also have more content by then soooo might be drawing more stuff from the movie. 

Phe (my little goth bitch) and Wolf (Caz’s big beefcake guy) are super indulgent characters who lean into the ‘tragic af backstories’ some ocs have. Caz has made a big post about Wolf, so check that out. uvu Phe isn’t the usual ‘my parents died and then I suffered more’, but I really haven’t thought about his parents in the first place. That’s probably because he’s not concerned about his parents, but they’re probably either pretty normal or absent. Either way, Phe is seen as ‘weird/outcasted/othered/etc’ by his peers because of the way he dresses and the fact that he really doesn’t talk or interact with anyone but his one friend. 

Phe’s gay (not out in the small community because ya know) and saw some horror movies. Fell in love with the genre and then the misunderstood murders in the horror/slasher movies. One day, he found a spell to sacrifice himself to a demon in hopes that he could get a hot demon boyfriend. The issue is, he succeeded in the ritual, but the demon didn’t want to be in a relationship and Phe talked their ear off to the point that they thought he was too annoying to even want his soul. Tragic. So they cursed him to be unable to die, since they didn’t want him coming back to annoy them for eternity. Sorta the Soldier and Death vibes. This, of course, is an advantage for Phe later on, but gimme a second.

One day Phe is dragged by his only friend, who hopes to become more ‘normal’, to a late night party in the middle of the woods. All the college kids are drinking, there’s a campfire, music, lots of people making out. Classic horror movie setting. Phe is bored out of his mind and he wanders off, only to be cornered by some of the jocks. They start interrogating him on why he dresses like that, why he’s quiet, why he’s so rude, etc. Though Phe tries to just leave, they keep bothering him and grab him and push him to force him to stay. 

Then an unintentional savior, Wolf, comes in and starts killing people for being too close to his house and too noisy. (Don’t worry, his friend is fine.) Phe has a religious experience and falls in love at first sight. He’s stunned silent and gets murdered by Wolf on accident since he had to scare the guy by saying 'hi'. Thankfully, he's only murdered for a few hours thanks to that curse. Phe comes back, ignores all the destruction Wolf caused and the fact that he got murdered. Wolf actually buried him and gives him his first bouquet ;v; 'tis meant to be. Phe goes back to his house to clean up and get cute, so he can go find his new boyfriend. Stupidity ensues and eventually Wolf learns to tolerate and then love Phe. Phe also gets to actually love Wolf instead of just fanboying over him and they get to understand each other more. It’s cute, but ya know gory.

[whinlatter]

say something about the process of your writing. anything you like

(Reading other writers' responses to this prompt today has been so energising and exciting - thank you for sending me this, and for getting everyone to share their writer reflections, what a rich insight!)

When it comes to writing, I'm a vibes-first, plot-second kind of fiction writer. I can talk a bit about a character-study fic I'm in the middle of writing right now, which has the working-title The Hanging Out With Hagrid Award. I'm currently in the figuring-out-what-this-fic-will-be phase, so hopefully this can serve as an example of how I'm writing these days!

My work often starts with a mental image, an emotion or feeling, and/or a dumb joke I've thought of (eg. the idea of Hogwarts having a prize they give out annually to the highest performing student in different subjects, and the one for Care of Magical Creatures being colloquially referred to as the Hanging Out With Hagrid Award). I always begin with a placeholder opener first. Even if (when) I pull it to shreds later, I always use an opening to stand as a sort of creative manifesto for the direction and feel of the rest of the piece as I write it. I never really write chronologically and rarely start with a plan - I just start writing disparate fragments of dialogue, often that are directed more by rhythm than content (my word docs are full of truly tragic little notes-to-self like 'insert a joke here that goes joke-joke-joke-JOKE...joke-joke-joke-joke.'') I also just throw around bits of prose that convey setting and colour and sensory experience, descriptions about how characters are placed or interacting with a space and with each other. Titles often come very early on, and I almost always build playlists to write to before getting going, sometimes little moodboards and colour palettes.

For fanfiction writing, then I go straight to canon and build up a big google doc of canon quotes and information that relate to the themes of the text (thank god for those totally illegal searchable pdfs). For Orchards, this meant loads of setting description for the Burrow, layout maps of the house and garden, links to calendars, as well as every time in canon Harry and Ginny's relationship is referred to alongside mentions of the Orchard, or Quidditch, or the outdoors in general. I'm just building up the doc for the fic I'm currently working on, and so I'm just throwing in descriptions of Hogwarts grounds, Hagrid's speech patterns, canon info on different animals, different moments where characters in the fic interact in canon so I can try and get their speech patterns and relations to one another right. I'm a pedant (and also deranged?), so I often cite canon in footnotes when I'm writing.

And then once I've done all that, I sketch plot and structure. I usually draw a timeline out for that that looks a bit like a musical score (because I am, in my heart, a pretentious arsehole). This new fic will follow the arc of a character's time at school, but probably won't move chronologically - I love work that plays with chronology, hence why Little Women (2019) has my whole heart and La Vie En Rose blew my mind when I first watched it as a teenager. Pacing is definitely the thing I worry most about - like where is the emotional crescendo going to be, how do I have peaks and troughs in intensity and impact on the reader. This is always always is the thing I spend the most time drafting and re-drafting. Often I deliberately stay away from re-reading a WIP for a week or two to try and come back to it with fresh eyes so I can see how it reads and moves more clearly. Or I zoom out of the word document so it's like 20% size and try and see if some sections are literally too big or too long and throwing off the weighting and the pace of the piece, lol.

What's odd is that I write non-fiction for a living, and historically, I've done the opposite of all of these things when I start writing non-fiction. But coming back to fiction writing has changed how I think about approaching non-fiction writing massively. I'm now trying to think much more about how to make non-fiction compelling and legible to a reader in the ways fiction authors do by instinct. (This approach has also started to make the process of non-fiction writing much less acutely painful, which is a blessed and merciful relief after a long time in the trenches).

[hipsofsteel]

69 for ColCa, 21 for Rusty & Kitty and 5 for Chris & Evelyn :]

Well, my beloved, either you picked awful numbers, or I have awful taste in music (unlikely for the Cyrano soundtrack features heavily on my Wrapped this year), because #69 is Mongolian rock music, #21 actually will work for that ship but not in a fun way, and #5 is the song I use to try to calm down my dog whenever the concept of wind gives her anxiety.

Anyhow, everyone whose old enough to remember when this was a Hetalia state OC blog, watch me return to my embarrassing ways.

Also, my most beautiful dearest... Tumblr has FUCKED their post editing and I really despise doing THREE of these fuckers in ONE ask. Goddamn NIGHTMARE post.

This ask is in reply to

#69, Carson and Roberto

"I'll pick #69 for the horniest characters," Katie thought. "Surely the funny number will correspond with a song that's worthy of the number." And then Jess looked at her playlist and found Mongolian rock music. Which was good music, but FREAKING HARD to adapt for these characters.

Absolutely no warnings for this, but the others will feature content warnings of a sort.

*

"What on earth are you listening too?" Carson asked as Roberto was at his desk in the living room, editing a movie script and actually wearing his reading glasses for once.

"Music." Roberto answered, chewing on the end of his pen. A habit he'd developed when he quit smoking.

"I can tell that." Carson deposited the decaf coffee next to his significant other, before taking a sip from his bottle of beer. "But where the heck is it from?"

"Mongolia." Roberto answered. "Bev sent me the album, said 'it fucks severely'. And she was right, it does."

Carson bit back a chuckle. "Of course she did. Is that script even set in Asia?"

"The vibes I need to edit does not have to match the vibes of the screenplay."

"Doesn't answer my question."

Roberto doesn't even glance at him, making a few quick edits and then frowning at something. Carson could have sworn he heard Roberto mutter well that's just a little too cliche for me even as he scribbled something out. Carson just watched him work, and sighed, settling down on the couch with his beer. Roberto's dogs were already fast asleep in their beds.

In a little while, he'd drag him off to bed. But for now, he'd just listen to this music with Roberto, and wonder if that script was set anywhere near Mongolia.

*

#21, Rusty and Kitty

Well. Sure this won't be sad/dark/SOMETHING EMOTIONAL.

Quick Author's note: This is set sometime in the late 1800s, North Carolina, and contains some allusions period typical racial violence. However, the characters, being capable of resurrection, do more violence in revenge. So you're warned in advance.

*

The problems always began when the area they'd managed to eek away a safe place to live in became too settled. When more people came, and asked questions about why a black woman and a white man were living together. Of course, Rusty knew that if the situation were reversed, it would be far worse. But still...

Here he and Kitty were, resurrecting in the ashes of their burned cabin. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. Slowly, he got up, and went looking for their stash.

The spare clothes, food and water, and the weapons were out by the time Kitty stirred. Rusty helped her clean up and get dressed before he worried too much about himself. But once they were both done, they looked at each other with tired eyes.

When they'd come home after re-admittance to the Union, they'd both prayed things would get better. But as Reconstruction had faded away, they'd watched it all go to hell again. Rusty didn't even have to ask Kitty, tossing her a fully loaded pistol and a rifle with a bayonet already affixed.

They didn't speak. No banter of Yellowhammer or Tar Heel. Kitty simply crested the slight hill to look down on the town, and when Rusty joined her, she pointed out the houses of each of the men who'd burned down their home. Tired green eyes met exhausted brown ones, and they sat down, recovering and waiting.

And when night had fallen again, when the town was silent and still with sleep, they went down.

They stayed at each other's backs as they broke down doors and walked into bedrooms. As they shot their way through men who had shot them. They only killed the ones who'd been involved, leaving the others in each family behind.

And in the morning, they were somewhere in the mountains, sitting on stolen horses, and nursing cups of coffee with reloaded pistols.

Others in the north could preach about peace. Of a house divided reuniting. But the North, the Union, had abandoned them.

Alabama took North Carolina's hand as she walked them further south. They'd take shelter in Ashton's home for a while. South Carolina would have probably have heard of the murders by the time they got there, but he wouldn't turn out his sister, or Rusty. He'd frown, and quietly let them in.

Violence answered violence. And as long as justice was not served in this country, Rusty and Kitty, along with all the other states, would have blood on their names.

*

#5, Chris and Evelyn

Not much to work with from a calming, instrumental piece, so I used the title more as the prompt than anything else.

Quick Author's notes: Nothing too serious in this one, but there are some musings on death, so be warned.

*

They're sitting on the porch of Christopher's home in Wallowa county as the last light of the summer day fades into the night. The insects are singing, and the wind is whispering all around them. Both have Pendleton blankets across their laps, just existing in a peaceful silence.

And then, Chris speaks.

"How do you think it'll be when we die a permanent death? Do you think it'll be violent? Or will we just go to sleep? And- will we leave behind any signs we lived at all?"

Evelyn blinks, startled out of her silent reverie. "Well. How long have you been sitting on that one?"

"A bit." Chris admits, looking out at his horses. "I guess it's mostly in the abstract, but the succession movements always bring it to mind."

Ah, this was about Greater Idaho. Fifty years ago, it was about the State of Jefferson. Ten years ago, it was about Cascadia. Chris and Beverly constantly remembering that if they became too fractured, one or both of them might fall.

"Maybe it'll be violent. But I think we'll just- just disappear." She looked towards the softly colored sky, still clothed in dusk rather than night. "People will know we existed. We'll leave behind some sort of legacy."

Chris looked doubtful on that. She knew why. He'd watched languages and people die, while the conquerors tried to pretend they'd never existed at all. She took his hand.

"If something happened to you, and I was still around, I'd make sure you were remembered. Adam would. Clark would. We all would. I promise you won't just disappear.

He nodded, giving her a grateful look without looking directly at her. As their hands fell apart from each other, she heard him whisper.

"I'd do the same if anything happened to you."

[spinningbuster98]

Resident Evil 4's sense of atmosphere is really underrated I feel

Yeah it's way more action packed than other games (I'll get into that next time) and it's extremely silly and corny, but it also knows how to pull off a genuine sense of dread when it wants to

This game has brown as its primary color, a fact that in most other circumstances should lead me to bash it, but here it actually works to its advantage, helping it to push this overall rural, backwater and dusty look. One third of this game takes place in an old run down village in the middle of the mountains, while another third is set in an ancient castle populated by evil cultists, it makes sense that everything would look old, decrepit and dusty.

Then you add things like fog effects galore, rain, lightning and especially the music

RE4's ost isn't exactly catchy, it's mostly atmospheric pieces, and overall I wouldn't put it at really the same level as RE2 and RE1's music, but it absolutely gets the job down when it comes to helping to create an unsettling vibe, or even a rather relaxing one when it wants to

I'm bringing this all up now because, now that Leon has woken up from that little episode of his, it's nighttime, meaning it's dark, it's raining, there's fog everywhere and the first Ganado that you meet surprises you by bursting his own head open, revealing the wriggling parasite inside

This essentially forces you to reconsider how you'll approach these guys from now on. Usually aiming for the head is the quickest way of dealing with zombie-like enemies, but now it has a random chance of revealing the Plaga, giving you another thing to worry about which can be deadly in the middle of a fight against multiple Ganados. But at the same time you kind of have to aim for the head, since otherwise enemies take too long to kill, thus creating a bit of tense decision making during the thick of it

We also encounter a bit of a recurring miniboss: El Gigante

These guys are much better bosses than Del Lago, mainly because they're essentially just like regular enemies only giant-sized. If you saved the dog at the start of the game (which you should, you twisted bastards) it'll even show up suddenly to help you against El Gigante by distracting him!

And then the game trolls you because, on your way back to the church, you'll see a dog far in the distance in the fog. You'll probably think it's the dog from earlier and approach it, except it's an infected dog that can sprout tentacles and who will lounge at you and even has two friends with him. Well played game :)

And inside the church we finally meet Ashley, along with the main villain of the game: Osmund Saddler!

His plan makes little sense because he really can't help but to shoot himself in the foot

He kidnapped the daughter of the president of the USA, infecting her with a Plaga with the intention of sending her back and infect the president too

Ok....so why the hell are you telling all of this to Leon? Why are you even trying to kill him? Just let him rescue her without him knowing all of this and bang mission accomplished! Instead he spills his shit like your typical villain monologuing and won't even kill Leon himself because "eh my underlings will do it for me!". He says he first wants to bargain with the president for some donations....but dude we're talking about controlling the mind of the president of the USA! You can have all the money in the world AFTER you do that!

He's a stupid, STUPID villain....and I love him all the same because look at him. Look at the way he talks! He's so hammy! He's like a cross between Emperor Palpatine and your typical Bond villain! He delights in his eeeevil plan and sounds like he's getting off just telling Leon about it. Considering just how unapologetically cheesy RE4 often is I have little doubt that this was intentional. I'll sure take dumb but charmingly cheesy Saddler from the original over boring and generic religious zealot Saddler from the remake any day, that's for sure!

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (706): Wed 21st Feb 2024

Watched a documentary about American diners which I’ve always had an affinity for. I normally hate  sitting in restaurants when there’s music blaring but the kind of music typically piping over the speaker systems in diners is rockabilly and rock n roll which I am a fan of so I wouldn’t be complaining about the music spoiling my vibe. Also I don’t think diners normally sell beer so I wouldn’t have to worry about drunk cunts making loads of noise and putting me off my veggie burger and blueberry pancakes. I can see why the specific kind of diner with the light coloured booths, the jukebox and the black and white checkered floors more or less died out because they were closely associated with the rock / rockabilly era. When that kind of music fell out of fashion the diners would have also felt outdated and I don’t think that trying to keep up with the times by starting to play newer music like disco or metal would have fit the decor. If I was a billionaire I would set up my own American style diner and spend all my time in my own booth reading and listening to my favourite rockin’ tunes. I’d let my friends and family come in obviously but I would also hire a few MMA fighters to work the door and if I saw anyone I thought was going to spoil the atmosphere I’d shake my head and have Knuckles and Scarface chuck them in a dumpster out back with the rest of the scum. 

Read more of The Stranger Diaries. The first part of from the perspective of Clare the teacher who was a friend of the murdered woman. Part two now focuses on Detective Leah who is investigating the murder and Part Three is told from the point of view of Georgie, one of the murdered teachers students who’s boyfriend reveals he went to see her on the night she died. I’m happy to report that I’m enjoying this a lot and I’m glad that there is going to be at least one more book added to the “must read” section of the Edgar challenge before it’s over. I hope the remaining three books are as engaging. 

I set off in a taxi to the town for my train to Newcastle for a chiro appointment. The driver I got was a big conspiracy theory fan and told me all about how the vaccine was responsible for the rise in autism while I smiled politely and tried to resist the urge to put my headphones in and start blasting some Slayer to try and drown out the bollocks. What makes me laugh most about conspiracy theorists is whenever they’re relating information they’ve been given by another believer in the theory they subscribe to they always punctuate it with “this guys backing up everything he’s saying with facts”. I always think “how do you know that these things your sources are saying are facts? Have you looked into it yourself to see if it’s actually factual? More importantly have you checked more than one source to check if it’s a fact?”. Anywho I thanked him as I got out and when I was about to go catch my train I turned around to give him a wave he had gone. Some might say that he drove off for his next job but I reckon the global media and the pharmaceutical companies probably done him in for speaking the truth. I told the chiropractor that my neck was feeling much much better since I started adding the toe touch exercises to my regimen and now there was only a tiny bit of pinching in my left shoulder blade which she said was a good sign and that we’re probably safe to start scheduling these appointments once every three weeks. 

Fuck me today was a long day. But that’s a good thing 

[pulsdmedia]

The Week Ahead 1/15-1/21

Celebrities. Open bars. Cocktails. Free workouts. Clay Shooting. Why not do it all, and without spending too much dough? We’re all about living your best NYC life, and with all this inflation happening, we still want you to have fun in The Big Apple, minus breaking the bank...

50% Off Tickets To A New York Times Critic's Pick Interactive Comedy Show

"Drink sir, is a great provoker." So is the famed line from Macbeth, and the perfect way to sum up a night at Drunk Shakespeare! Dubbed by Time Out as a “live-action Drunk History,” Drunk Shakespeare always starts the same way: classically-trained actors perform the classics with upgraded style, while one cast member downs shots of whiskey - what's next will be a complete surprise. The stage is set at The Garden New York, a hidden Victorian drawing room with a splendid collection of paintings to take you back to Shakespearean times. This intimate setup will have you right in the middle of all the action! As the drinks flow, both on stage and in the audience, the revelry is only heightened. Prepare to laugh until your cheeks hurt, get swept up in the rowdiness, and cheers to a wildly unforgettable evening...

Kristin Chenoweth Book Talk

Join Barnes & Noble - Union Square as they welcome Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and New York Times bestselling author Kristin Chenoweth to celebrate the release of I'm No Philosopher But I've Got Thoughts. This inspiring high-design, colorful book features philosophical-ish musings on connection, creativity, loss, love, faith, and closure.

$19 VIP 2 Hour Open Bar Tickets: Open Bar Disco Fever Fridays Party

Give in to indulgence, forget your inhibitions, and surround yourself with glitter, sequins, and the music of the 70s at Copacabana's Disco Fever Fridays - a groovy spectacular that harkens to the Studio 54 heyday at the iconic nightlife hotspot, complete with unlimited drinks, DJ sounds, and vibes aplenty. Enjoy a 2 hour open bar as you get lost in a fully immersive disco wonderland, following the Disco Ball to the dance floor and boogying down to all the best Disco hits by the funky sounds of legendary Disco DJs. While you're at it, snap selfies with your pals, learn to Hustle, manifest your inner disco queen or king, and drink until you feel like you can rock your best moves all night long. Let go of your worries and shake it 'til the break of dawn...

Cocktails & Culture: Latinx Flavors

Enjoy Museum of the City of New York's first Cocktails & Culture event of the New Year! Soak in live music by acclaimed bandola performer Mafer Bandola; enjoy specialty Venezuelan Guarapita cocktails and mocktails; and taste delicious bites from their Empanada Mama pop-up café.

30% Off A Clay Shooting Experience & 3 Course Lunch For 2-4 People

Featured in Travel + Liesure, Orvis Sandanona is a place where you can channel major Downton Abbey vibes while discovering the exhilarating fun that comes with clay shooting while surrounded by beautiful, expansive greenery upstate. Surrounded by lush fields, forests, hills, and creeks, this otherworldly tranquility is also easily accessible at just 90 minutes outside Manhattan. Your outing includes an hour-long lesson with a professional shooting instructor covering skeet shooting (precision, repeat target shooting of clay pigeons), sporting clays (shooting in different conditions over a course, also sometimes called “golf with a gun”), shooting games, & more, plus a 3 course lunch to reward all that excitement!

Free AARMY Full Body Bootcamp

AARMY's signature music based Bootcamps focus on building strength and empowering people to tap into a higher standard of authenticity, energy, and excellence, to unlock their inner athlete. AARMY trains both your body and your mind based on a philosophy of constant progress. Don't miss this opportunity to give it a try!