#I also just love to hear new music so curious what people say

[owmylasagna-blog]

What songs, albums, or artists remind you of eene?

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of late ‘90s- early ‘00s alt rock / power pop that fits nicely into the Eds vibe.

Most of CAKE is big eene sound waves to me, Comfort Eagle as an album especially. The use of jazzy brass instruments screams of Patric Caird’s score and the lyrics and storytelling are really playful. The song of the same title makes me wish there was a fake religion scam episode (literally would never happen). Or someone would make a reboot where as adults Eddy becomes a cult leader and Edd and Ed do damage control. Love You Madly is a fav and of course an eddeddy song to me because I have it so bad for the stupid ship.

Fountains of Wayne reign high as a band that distill some stupid essence of suburban life - I say affectionately. More specifically growing up in a NJ suburb both near and somehow too far from the city. Each song is like a mini episode following various characters and recalling places and events that feel both highly specific and weirdly relatable, which I think has been my experience watching eene. Again, whether it’s their eponymous debut album or their most well known Welcome Interstate Managers (thanks Stacy’s mom) there are plenty of punchy jokey lyrics mixed in with achey nostalgia.

Anyway that’s all I got from rubbing my two brain cells together for now. There are others but I’m leepy gn

[shuenkio]

Midas touch | 선우 (͡⁠°⁠‿⁠ ͡⁠°) 엔.하.이.픈 ᝰ.ᐟ

Paring: Sunoo X Male!reader ᝰ.ᐟ Genre: Suggestive, Fluff.

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Synopsis: Big boy is upset and sulking knowing that you'll be working as a makeup artist on the other members

Cw: slight Curse, jealous, a lil possessive.

Non proof read / Eng is not my 1st.

This is a work of fanfiction, do not throw unnecessary tantrums on this nsfw/sfw blog. ©Shuenkio

AᝰN: Sorry to my anon that I didn't do justice for this to be smau :( after thinking and write through for a while I'm okay with the suggestive instead. I hope you don't mind and give it a go >< thanks for the idea .

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Every fans dream was to be close to their own idols, such as work as stylists, make up artists, managers and so on. But little did they do, there was no love involved. Work means work, you can't go to work just to love your idol, you go to work for passion and living, isn't that right? Common sense.

However it was one in a million that you get chosen as a male make up artist for one of a popular boy group, ENHYPEN. Yet that was in the past, actually you've worked for them for God knows how long, ever since their Debut era, Given-Taken. If somebody asks how many things you've witnessed watching them grow, Proud is the only answer.

Being this young, and getting to walk in the same journey with the 7 boys, it's truly life changing, not only watching them grown, your mindset, maturity, emotional have grown too. You get to pinpoint what's right or wrong.

Present time, the one and only member that you've been working for the ultimate is Sunoo. To say how experienced you were with him, is quite easy. Sunoo is a guy who's easily outgoing, fun to talk to, making you feel exist, being by his side is never bored just sometimes when he's bored, he's scrolling his media.

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Making your way to the music show make up room, because ENHYPEN just came back with a new repackage album. There'll be tons of work for shooting promotions music shows, make up is very... Important.

Today is different, the boy's manager approaches you with some other new staff as well. He announced that you will be moved to work with another member, that turns out to be Jungwon for the next few months since the former staff took their break, while Sunoo got a new female staff member. Somehow it makes no sense why you have to move, when the new staff could go right to Jungwon but soon, was explained by the manager himself, that Jungwon suggested he wanted to work with you, also Sunoo is getting along pretty well with girls so why not. It clicked after the manager in the state, nothing more to be curious about.

Get to work right after, as you are doing make up for Jungwon, the leader seems happy that you agree to work with him while he chit chat with you how he had seen your work, your calm presence, and your aura around Sunoo and other people as well which response by your chuckle. Is that all he wanted? Silly boy. Beside that, Jungwon would find many dad crack jokes on you, practice his flirty skills out of the blue that affect you a lot, finding yourself tummy freeze from laughing.

Unbeknownst to you, Sunoo is upset and sulking on the other side. He was pouting all the time as the new female staff did her job quietly, and didn't dare to ask why. He was seen taking a deep sigh, chin resting, and introvert the whole time. Not when he heard Jungwon is flirting with you, all the goofy and cheese stuffs hearing from the other side that would make him hot. Yet he bottled it up, waiting for the right moment to have a talk with you?

Nearly time up for the attendance for the promotion shooting, the manager would ask all the members to get prepared, pee or drinks and essential things to do, that could delay the time. Coincidentally, as you are making your way to the bathroom, you see Sunoo was there too, but it seems like, when he looks at you, his eyebrows furrowed together just like you did something to make him mad.

Just like usual, best friend for many years, you go up and ask what's wrong with him, politely when he responds back making you surprised.

"M/n you never know who I am but... Seeing you with Jungwon makes my heart hurt!! Come back to me" instead of throwing a tantrum, Sunoo jotting his bottom lip out, pouting on the edge of crying as he speaks.

What is going on really, this is not sad but funny.

"oh gosh Sunoo snort i never knew you'd cry for this, but it's just a few months. It's not like

I only did it on him bias, sometimes I'd work on other members too including you, stop sulking it's not Sunoo anymore" You claim, explain how it works, as results that does light him up a lil bit, before flashing you a bright smile like he used too.

"Hug? Please~"

" sigh Okay, Hug" intended your arm open, as his talk frame wrapped around your small body. His hand smoothed over your back in slow, soothing circles, and you could feel the unspoken comfort in the way his chin rested on the crooked of your neck. All at once, the naughty hands of Sunoo grope both of the cheeks behind your back, His hand found your cheek with a touch that was both rough and unintentional, the calluses of his fingers brushing against your skin like an afterthought.

"Sunoo!? What's this behavior" You whine, as his hand feels your butt cheeks, carelessly on it as if he worships them, giving them some attention in case they need it but that's just him.

"but I miss this saur much, well I think it's bigger than mine now the last I've touched it, haha" Sunoo wheeze under his throat, as he pulled back his hands away and handed up like a police officer arrested him.

"You naughty boy, you're only sunshine in front of the fan but not for me" Blushing, tinted on your face. Crossing your hands over your chest, turn away from his playfulness. At some points his touch does make you feel the unspoken strange too, it kinda... Hot?

"okay okay, I won't do it again M/n don't be mad at me. Oh they're calling! See you later, I'll treat you to a cup of coffee after this, mwah" Blowing the sweetest kiss, before disappearing out of your sight.

Exhaled softly alone in the rest room, you find yourself thinking about his sudden touch earlier that does magic on you that can't be forgotten easily. It's just a few weeks apart from him before the comeback, but he grows more bold? Sigh deeply.

"Shit, why am I rock hard over this. Pull yourself together M/N!"

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[bleedingoptimism]

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚

part 1

“You look pale,” Jeff comments making Eddie snort loudly.

Of course he looks pale, he’s got vampirism, doesn't he? But then again, so does Jeff and he looks great.

“When was the last time you fed?” He asks.

Eddie sighs heavily trying to reign in his bad mood. He knows Jeff’s just worried and wants to help, and he’s grateful to have run into an old friend from high school as soon as he moved into the big city. 

Because he’d be utterly lost without him.

He doesn't know where anything is, he gets lost in the subway, and he has no idea when he’s being charged too much for a muffin or suspiciously too little for a hotdog, or where all the blood markets are.

“Like, two weeks ago,” Eddie finally answers.

Jeff looks surprised but it’s not actually that bad, people with vampirism can go up to 4 to 5 weeks without blood. 

It’s not the same as those vampires from movies and books, they still eat food and they can stand in the sun with just minor cases of sunburn. There’s also the light sensitivity, making them all look like assholes wearing sunglasses everywhere.

Also, they are not allergic to garlic. Which, thank the heavens because Eddie loves garlic, a lot.

There’re a couple of side effects that do come in handy sometimes, like augmented hearing and smell. And the healing spit is super weird but nifty. No super strength regrettably, that would’ve been awesome.

Anyways, it’s like they have super anemia or something.

“I went to a blood bar, hooked up with some dude but. I didn't have a good time, at all. I kind of don't want to go back to bars for a while,” He elaborates and when Jeff frowns worried, he shakes his head,

“No, not like that. It’s just… the dude was like way too into it, you know? It kinda freaked me out.”

“What do you mean? Don't you find it hot? When you feed?” Jeff asks him, curious. 

Eddie nods quickly, “Yes, of course I do! It can be really sexy with the right person, but this guy, he was like- like way too loud and like, he was faking it? I don’t for who, though. And halfway through it, I started getting worried I’d accidentally hired someone instead of just hooked up and I didn’t have any money, and then I started thinking about money and my dick-”

“Ok! Ok, I get it.” Jeff thankfully interrupts him. “Dude, why didn’t you say something, I know of a place. I didn’t mention it before because it’s kind of boujee and handles itself a little differently.” 

“Oh? Do tell” Eddie tells him excitedly, he loves going to new places, especially if they are weird.

“Well, it’s real private, like ‘can’t get in unless you are on the list’ private. And it’s run by this girl. Blonde little thing, super cute. Scary as fuck. Everyone calls her ‘The Boss’” he says doing air quotes.

“Dramatic, I like it.” Eddie smiles.

Jeff chuckles, “So the gist of it it’s you go there and just hang out normally, like any other kind of bar. The place is beautiful, the music is good, and the drinks are delicious. But what's interesting about this place is the hostesses,” he says and even does a little pause for effect before continuing, “Similar to a blood bar there’re people there willing to be fed on but what’s cool about it is they get to choose.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows, “That sounds kind of fun, actually.”

“Right? And it feels, safer somehow? For them?” Jeff agrees and Eddie nods and smiles at him, waiting for him to keep going.

“Anyway, the hostesses choose and then you get to go upstairs and talk through what you want to happen, just feeding, sex, talking, anything they agree to, it's on the table. I once ended up just playing a game of Uno with the girl I fed on and two other hostesses that hadn't picked anyone that night.” he finishes and Eddie laughs delightedly.

“Ok, this place sounds amazing, what’s the catch?” 

“Well, you have to pay an entry fee, the drinks are expensive and there’s always the possibility you’ll leave empty-handed. The first time is free though,” Jeff says.

“Like drugs,” Eddie replies and Jeff nods solemnly, 

“You know the hostesses can be kind of addicting.” 

…

That night, on the way there, Jeff tells him they have to sign a guest list at the entrance,

“No one uses their real name, not because the place is shady or anything! But because they want to leave that choice to us and the hostesses if you ever get too close with one. It's not like, frowned upon.”

Eddie nods listening intently, he feels kind of nervous in a way he hasn't in a while, but he’s not sure why.

“Also, secret nicknames are fun! I’m known as Jay there. So please don’t dox me. Or yourself.” Jeff tells him.

After careful consideration, Eddie smiles and says, “I’ll be… Strider”

“Nerd”

“Shut up, you are just jealous you didn't come up with it yourself”

Jeff laughs, “You got me there,” he says, and then, “We are here” and he opens a big glass windowed door and vows to Eddie, inviting him in.

Eddie chuckles and enters and immediately almost runs into someone—a tall, massive guy with short curly hair and the shadow of a beard.

“Hey freak,” Jeff greets calmly, “He’s with me,”

Eddie cringes at the nickname, bad memories from high school bullying. But the dude just nods and gives Jeff the tiniest of smiles, so he figures it’s the nickname the bouncer chose for himself.

They enter and sign their name in the guest book, a girl about their age with dirty blond hair and hundreds of freckles on her nose and cheeks is there and she asks Eddie a couple of questions. Not in a weird way, but in a ‘you are new and I’m curious’ kind of way.

Eddie feels comfortable and excited as they go in.

Jeff was right, the place is beautiful. The lobby leads to a big room with high ceilings and fake candle-lit lamps. The chairs and tables are antiques and all different but roughly the same time period so they look good together. There’re old signs and posters from all kinds of drinks and different products adorning the walls. And the music is instrumental and oldie too, sounds like probably 40s or 50s.

It is incredibly boujee. But in a fun way, cozy and warm.

They get a seat at a small round table in a corner and Jeff lets Eddie look around for a while before asking,

“So? Weird right? It’s like stepping into another time,”

Eddie snorts, “Yeah, one that has no idea which time period it wants to repre- who is that?”

Jeff looks at where Eddie is looking and sighs, “Of course you noticed Sunshine,”

“Sunshine?” Eddie sighs.

“That’s what they call him. Because apparently he smells like flowers and summer and tastes like orgasms or something,” Jeff says amused rolling his eyes.

The guy, Sunshine, is probably the prettiest person he’s ever seen in his life, definitely the most beautiful man in this room. His face is a contradiction of sharp and round angles that is just absolutely perfect, and he’s wearing a black suit that clings to his body like a second skin, showing off his big shoulders and his tiny waist. He’s looking around the room with big, brown eyes that look bored as he leans against a wall like he’s above it all, he’s a fucking dream.

Eddie swallows audibly and looks smirking at Jeff for a second before his eyes drift back to the man, “Tastes like what, you said” he teases and Jeff snorts.

“Not that anyone would know, as far as I know, he’s never taken anyone upstairs,” he tells Eddie in a conspiratory tone.

That makes him incredibly curious, “Really? Why is he still here then?”

“I don’t know for sure, mostly rumors but he’s the boss’s favorite, that’s for sure. Oh!” Jeff exclaims and then nods his head to a girl sitting on the other side of the room, in a big fancy-looking chair that looks more like a throne than a simple piece of furniture.

She’s got blonde hair up in a ponytail and she’s wearing a flowery dress but there's something about the way she looks around the room, something about the way people walk around her and look at her, with respect or fear, or maybe both. She’s fucking intimidating.

While Eddie’s looking, the girl from the front desk, with the freckles, comes to sit on a small stool beside the “throne”, there’s another one on the other side that’s empty. The blonde girl moves her hand towards freckles and she kisses it and then her shoulder and smiles as she leans in closer and starts whispering to her.

It’s kind of surreal. 

“That’s The Boss, and the girl from the entrance, that’s Sparrow. She’s her girl.” Jeff explains.

“Respect for looking scary in a sundress,” Eddie comments.

And Jeff nods, “Anyways my theory is, Sunshine is actually just a bodyguard and not a hostess but the people that come here like to think they actually have a chance with him, so no one says anything to the contrary.”

Eddie snorts and nods, it makes sense. It's actually very good marketing, just like the ‘the first one is free’ thing. That boss girl is really smart with her business.

Jeff and he get a few drinks and they chat calmly, Jeff isn't looking to go upstairs tonight, he only came by to accompany Eddie and Eddie knows he should be looking around, trying to make eye contact with someone, but he can stop staring at Sunshine.

He even looked at their table at one point, and Eddie thought he was going to faint. He was scanning the room as he apparently does every couple of minutes when he caught Jeff’s eye and Jeff lifted his hand in greeting.

And Sunshine’s face completely transformed, his bored calculating expression changed into a beautiful smile that made his eyes shine. He wiggled his fingers at Jeff cutely before going back to looking like fucking Droopy Dog. If Droopy was the sexiest motherfucker alive. It was amazing to see.

Eddie’s jaw almost hit the table and he turned to look at Jeff stunned and he just shrugged,

“Sunshine was one of the hostesses I ended up playing Uno with. He’s fucking vicious,” he says smiling at the memory.

Eddie chuckles as his eyes follow Sunshine moving across the room, he just can't. Stop. Looking.

But the thing is, Sunshine is looking back now. Keeping eye contact with him obviously and unashamed. It’s thrilling and it makes shivers run down his spine.

He watches as Sunshine sits on the stool on the other side of The Boss’s throne and grabs her hand and holds it, intertwining their fingers. 

The Boss and her girl turn and look at him and the three of them start whispering, looking at him.

“Dude,” he says and turns to Jeff to see if he’s seeing what he’s seeing.

Jeff looks from him to the whispering party, “Un fucking believable, first time here and tonight is the night Sunshine is taking someone upstairs” he says looking fed up, but clearly in a joking manner.

“Is that what you think it’s happening? No way,” Eddie shakes his head as Sparrow says something that makes The Boss chuckle but Sunshine speaks up and she sobers up immediately. Curious.

“He’s looking right at you, he probably went to ask Sparrow about you,” Jeff insists.

“Maybe he’s looking at you”

“He’s seen me before,” Jeff scoffs.

He’s about to reply but their conversation gets interrupted by someone shily clearing their throat. A girl, a hostess, is looking at him with curious eyes, and shit… she’s cute and looks like a nice person but, Eddie can’t- he needs to know what those looks from Sunshine meant.

He needs him.

He looks back at the group quickly to see Sunshine and The Boss in deep conversation and Sparrow… is she glaring at him?

He rejects the girl, as nicely as possible and Jeff scoffs and murmurs ‘unbelievable’ under his breath again as Eddie turns to look back at Sunshine.

Who is walking toward them, holy shit.

“Holy shit,” Jeff says and then moves to stand. Eddie grabs his wrist and tries to pull him back.

“Wait what are you doing, dont-” But Jeff frees himself and starts walking away,

“Good luck!” He sings songs and then leaves him alone.

part 1: you are here

part 2: 👄

part 3: 🩸

bonus content: ☀️

ao3: 🌙

art: 🦇

coffee?☕🥐💕

[lookninjas]

So I usually try to do music from a bunch of different countries on these playlists, but now that the Latvian thing has become an acknowledged running joke, it's time to take it to the next level. Also, while I dunk on the algorithm as much as any tumblr user... it really has taken my love of Citi Zēni and turned into a plethora of awesome artists that I've had an amazing time listening to. So I'm gonna just give Latvia some love here.

The game is simple: Pick a song from one of my bad descriptions. You do not have to recognize the song to pick it. Just go with the description that suits your mood. Feel the vibes. Vote, reblog so other people can vote, and at the end of a week I will make a playlist out of the results, from the song with the least votes to the song with the most votes.

If you are burningly curious about a song and don't want to wait a week, shoot me an ask and I will tell you what the song is. And if you want to hear the playlist (I promise you do), leave a comment asking to be tagged, or ask to be tagged when you reblog, and I will tag you.

Except I'm tagging @not-kaiva now, because you asked for recs that were similar to Bermudu Divstūris on the country poll, and I didn't really get back around to answering, but there will probably be something on this playlist you like, so stay tuned.

Okay, that's it. Please vote, please reblog, and please listen to something new this week. It's fun.

[thisgirlnamedblusy]

Heey! I hope you're doing well! I would like to request a story about gp Donna having a daughter with a maid who abandoned her when the child was born. Donna raises her daughter alone and homeschool her for most of the part until her daughter tells her that she wants music lessons so Donna asks the duke a piano. The duke being all noisy gets the tea about Donna's daughter wanting music lessons and suggests Donna to hire reader as her teacher, an excellent pianist with good reputation. Both Donna and her daughter (like mother, like daughter) fall in love with reader with Donna's daughter wanting reader to become her other mom (and unlike Donna, her daughter is not that shy and is always complementing reader and dropping hints to her that Donna is very much single).

One afternoon after a lesson Donna listens to reader sing while she plays the piano and is mesmerized by her beautiful voice. Perhaps reader is singing a classical piece like Ave Maria by Schubert and that sort of reminds her of her family before the black gods faith and all that (I suppose it would make sense not to sing about other gods except for the black ones? So that's why gets more enamored with reader, for bringing her back those memories). Anywaysss, Donna with a little help from her daughter confesses to reader, who of course has fallen in love with Donna and her offspring.

welll, I hope that wasn't too much of a request 😅

Have a good day!

Yesss!!! I have to say I loved that request, thank you :D! I hope you like it and sorry about the language mistakes!!!! :)))))

Rebuilding a broken life

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Fluff, a bit of angst, Donna being Donna and a single mother, that's curious :D, G!P Donna (implied), Donna's POV

Word count: 8,709

Summary: I only have my daughter...

N/A: Sorry about the language mistakes!!! Requests are open, I'm waiting yours!!! I love you all!!! :))

Sometimes I try to live in the past, to remember what those times were like, when life was much easier. I would have given anything to go back to that moment, to reject Mother Miranda's offer to make me her daughter, a Lord.

But being named Lord, obtaining the divine grace of the Black Gods didn’t illuminate my path, rather, it darkened it. I always lived isolated. I was never interested in people. They were evil, they laughed at me, at my appearance, at my scar. I could consider my transition from villager to Lord a success, since those mocking laughs turned into cries and screams of terror, but, apart from that, nothing else changed.

At least nothing that had to do with my condition as a lonely and isolated woman. The reason for the mockery and for my behavior mutated in an unpleasant way; turning me into something like a deformed monster, as much as Miranda denied it.

The Gods' whim was just a moment of fun, and with me... they went too far. Not only did my eye disappear, not only did they turn me into an unpleasant being. They also played with my body.

I didn't care too much, I got used to it soon, but I didn't know how to get used to loneliness. My solitary life only ended partially. Angie, my doll since I was a child, came to life thanks to my efforts, to my desperation to hear another voice other than those in my head.

It might seem like a positive change, in part it was, but it wasn't what I was looking for by giving myself over to the black claws of the village. Getting out of that spiral of madness and loneliness was my true goal, but things never turn out the way you expect. Neither the new parts of my body, nor my powers, nor my appearance made it change. Madness continued to eat away my brain, the madness that came from an illness that had stalked my family for years.

If you put it all together, a deformed face, a different body, terrifying powers, madness and absolute loneliness, you get a legend, a character from a scary story, you get me: the last Lord, the doll maker, Donna Beneviento.

I stopped aging. I stopped being a baseless legend to become a woman to be feared, respected or even revered. My new siblings seemed to enjoy that change, to exercise power over the rest of the villagers, to inflict terror on them.

I was never interested in that kind of power, the power to get what I wanted when I wanted and the power to never be questioned. I had become so accustomed to my solitude that it became my refuge, a refuge for all eternity.

One day, after my sister Alcina convinced me, I decided to try out what it would be like to live with someone, to hear other different voices in the mansion, and I accepted one of her maids. She was a beautiful girl. Her name was Helga.

It could have been because of the lack of habit, because of my heart's longing to not feel alone, the reasons really didn't matter. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with her. I had never believed in love, I never had the chance to experience what my books talked about. I was eager to do it, to love, to be loved.

Looking back on the past, I now think that maybe I should have thought things better, understand that love is something that happens between two people, and not just for one of them.

Helga accepted my feelings and let herself be loved by a monster like me. In her eyes I could see the lie, the deception. I could see a false smile when she heard me say: I love you. I didn't give it any importance, she had to love me.

Of course I let myself be carried away by my clumsy feelings, by my erratic heart. I took that girl. I made her mine when I wanted, when I needed. I thought everything would change from that moment on, and I was right.

I wasn’t careful when I claimed her body as mine, and there were consequences. After a few months with the illusion of living a romance, it happened, I got her pregnant. I never thought about having a family, about starting one.

I had to get used to the idea of ​​having a baby with someone who, deep down, I knew didn’t love me, but seeing my child grow in her womb mesmerized me too much. After a few months, that child came into the world, a beautiful girl, Maria Beneviento.

I came to think that I couldn’t be happier. I had a beautiful girl, a young maid at my side, everything was perfect, but, again, it was just an illusion. I remember the blizzard of that night, that terrible night.

“Shh, ti prego non piangere, tesoro…” I whispered while cradling the newborn, who wouldn't stop crying. “Oh, hai fame, vero?” I said, getting up to look for Helga, who, she told me, needed to rest.

I couldn't blame her. It had only been a week since the girl was born and she was exhausted.

I walked through the house with the girl in my arms. Poor thing, she was crying inconsolably. I looked for Helga in her room, the one she never wanted to leave. I will never be able to get over what I found.

The room was empty, there was no one there. I looked for her, but she was gone. In the baby's crib there was a note, a damn note that I burned in the fire, and whose words still burn in my heart.

I can't stand it anymore.

Everything I did, I did because I was afraid, because you scared me.

I can't stand having given my life to a monster like you, having a baby who will soon become a monster too.

I can't stay with you. I can't look my daughter in the face, a daughter I never wanted.

I never loved you, and I never will.

I'm leaving, Donna, I'm leaving forever. I wish I could have taken that innocent baby with me, but you terrify me, I know what you'll do to me.

I screamed, I cried, I hit everything within my reach. I couldn't believe those words and at the same time it seemed like I had read them somewhere else, perhaps in her sad and complacent gaze.

Without thinking twice, furious, with my daughter in my arms, I went out to look for her. It was a dark night and the snow didn't stop falling. I called out to her, I threatened her, but it was too late.

On the snowy ground there were footprints, her footprints. Desperate, I followed them, followed them until... they disappeared, they disappeared at the edge of a cliff.

Surely that stupid girl didn't know how dangerous my land was, how dangerous it was to go out at night in the middle of a blizzard.

She would never come back, she abandoned me forever, she abandoned us.

I might have thought that I had the consolation of still having my daughter, that my baby hadn't fallen into the void with her mother, but I didn't see it that way. My soul was broken in two, my heart was crushed mercilessly. That girl left me alone with my daughter, that girl never loved me.

I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have my daughter in my arms, I don't know what the consequences would have been. I spent days complaining, even though I barely had time. I was left alone, my daughter too. Helga abandoned me, but Maria was still with me. She was a newborn baby, she needed me.

Pain, suffering... at first that was what I felt when I had to take care of my daughter alone. I never knew how to do it well. I was overwhelmed several times, desperate. Then I realized what I had to do, my responsibility. I had to take care of my little girl; it didn't matter if I had to do it by myself. I had no other option.

Luckily, I managed to get used to the situation, and move on.

The years went by and my little Maria grew up, perhaps faster than I would have liked. She was a girl... well, a bit strange girl. Physically she was exactly like me, but... her personality was not similar at all.

Maria was intelligent, extremely intelligent. She was a happy, funny, outgoing and obedient child. I like to think that I was a good mother to her, although that wasn't the case.

From a very young age she had to put up with my madness. Dealing with a sick mother like me, without having anyone else (apart from Angie, of course), must have been hard for her, but she never showed it.

Eight years after that fateful night, my daughter and I lived peacefully. She knew me and understood me, and I loved her madly.

I knocked on the girl's bedroom door slowly, as it was a reasonable hour to sleep.

“Come in,” my daughter said, in a sweet voice, as always.

“Maria, it's time to sleep,” I said softly.

The girl, lying in bed, looked at me over the book she was reading with Angie, and made a gesture of silence. I couldn't help but smile and obeyed her request, slowly approaching and sitting on the mattress.

“Cinque minuti,” she whispered in an intriguing voice, turning a page. “Mamma, they've killed Dumbledore…”

“Oh,” I sighed with a tender smile, watching Maria devour the book.

“I told you Snape was a traitor from the start! I told you!” Angie shrieked, pointing at the book with her wooden hand.

“Angie, don't shout,” I told the doll, who relaxed her attitude.

“It's true, you were right, Angie,” Maria said, nodding to the doll, who laughed in satisfaction.

The little girl closed the book with a sigh of suspense and left it on the table, passing a hand over her forehead.

“Wow... it was interesting,” she said, letting me get a little closer and cover her with the sheets. “I can't wait to see what happens,” she said rubbing her hands.

“Mm,” I murmured with my eyebrow raised, arranging my daughter's hair, a gesture she liked less and less.

“Mamma…” she protested amused. “I'm not a child anymore.”

“Aren’t you? So, what are you?” I asked with the same mocking tone.

“Mm…” she murmured thoughtfully, looking at the ceiling. “An impending pre-teenager.”

I laughed, shaking my head at my daughter's bold responses. I definitely don't know where she got that audacity from. It couldn't be from me… maybe from Angie?

“Excuse me, my impending teenager,” I joked, making sure the girl was well protected from the cold.

“Um, mamma…” Maria murmured nervously, attracting my attention, when I was about to leave. “Can I talk to you?”

“Va bene,” I answered frowning and sitting back down. “What's wrong, tesoro?”

“I was just wondering…” she said, without looking at me directly, thoughtful. “Mamma… Who was my mother?”

The smile immediately faded from my face and memories appeared to haunt my wounded mind. I had to make a great effort to control my nerves. I didn't want to lose my mind in front of my daughter, not again.

“Maria, what's that question about?” I said nervously, with a cold tone.

“Well…” Maria said, sitting on the bed while scratching the back of her neck. “I have a good memory. I remember I asked you when I was… I think I was 4 years old. You told me I was too young to know.”

“Mm, certo,” I said blinking erratically.

“But I'm not so young anymore,” my daughter said, with an expectant look. “Per favore, mamma, tell me what she was like,”

I sighed, undecided, but motivated by her bright eyes, identical to mine.

“W-Well… y-you…” I stammered, trying hard not to let my voice get stuck, something complicated. “Your mother was… her name was Helga and… she was my maid.”

The girl nodded curiously, barely blinking.

“She was very beautiful,” I whispered, remembering that treacherous look.

“What happened to her?” she asked impatiently.

“Um… she left, she abandoned us shortly after you were born,” I said, knowing there was no point in lying to her. That girl was devilishly smart, she would find out sooner or later.

“She left you alone with a baby? Wow, she wasn't a good person then,” the girl whispered. “Do you think I'll ever get to meet her?”

“No, I'm afraid… she's gone,” I murmured, shaking my head and holding back a tear.

“Oh, well… thanks for telling me,” Maria said with an indifferent voice, opening the drawer of her nightstand and taking out a paper and a pen. “Yes, it’s progressing…”

“Mm?” I murmured curiously, trying to see what was on that sheet of paper, on which Maria seemed to cross something out. “Cos’è questo, Maria?” I asked, tilting my head to try to make out something.

“Questo?” she said, showing me the paper. I nodded slowly, studying those phrases that were written on it. “Oh, it’s nothing… just a wish list.”

“A wish list?” I asked curious and amused, trying to bury the memory of her mother, so her words wouldn’t penetrate my mind, and destroy it again.

“Well, I'm already 8,” she explained with that knowing tone I adored. “Soon I'll reach adolescence and lose my mind, you know, hormones…” she said with a passive voice and an amused gesture. “Before that happens and my head starts to think about stupid boys, I would like to do some things.”

“Mm, you're cautious,” I commented, surprised, as always, by her intelligence. “Can I take a look?” I asked, extending a hand towards the paper, paper that Maria handed me, nodding and shrugging.

Yes, it was a list, the wish list of an eight-year-old girl. Some things were crossed out, the most recent was:

Meet my mother

I sighed somewhat sadly knowing that she would never do it, but I continued reading, hoping to distract myself enough with the girl thoughts and ambitions.

“Maria…” I whispered, looking at the girl with a frown and pointing at one of the phrases. “To have a sibling?” I asked with a trembling voice.

“Yes,” my girl nodded, with an innocent smile. “I think it would be really cool to have one,” she said without caring about the impossibility that it entailed. “Don't be offended, Angie.”

“More minions? I like how it sounds,” the doll said, with an amused gesture.

“I'm afraid that wish is impossible, tesoro,” I said with a low voice, with a sad look.

I could never, ever fall in love again, not after what happened the first time I did.

“No, it's not impossible,” Maria protested, leaning towards me and reading her phrases. “Look, mamma, if this one here comes true, it would be possible.”

I looked at where her finger was pointing, and I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry in despair.

Mamma stops being alone

I read it several times, glancing at the girl and hiding the trembling in my hands.

“Maria…”  I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Y-You should think of another wish.”

“No, they are my wishes, you can't influence them,” the girl said, crossing her arms. “You just have to read them, not judge them.”

“Va bene, you're right,” I said, briefly pinching her cheek, something that made her laugh embarrassedly. “Mm, learn to play the piano?” I asked, reading more of her wishes. “Do you want to learn to play the piano?”

“Oh, yes, do you remember the day we went to see Aunt Alcina at the castle?” she asked, coming closer, she seemed excited.

“Yes, of course I remember,” I answered, looking at my daughter curiously. “You mean the maid who played you a birthday song, right?”

“Well…” the girl sighed, rolling her eyes. “The song was childish and squeaky, but the sound of that piano… it was beautiful, so I decided to learn… but… we don't have a piano,” she said in a much lower voice, looking away, as she always did when she wanted to ask me for something.

“Actually we have one in the basement,” I said. “You could learn on it.”

“Mamma, that's not exactly a piano,” my daughter said in an innocent tone, biting her lip. “I want a real one, a piano as cool as the one in the castle.”

“You want a piano,” I murmured, arching my eyebrow. “Do you want me to buy a piano, Maria? Is that what you're trying to ask me?”

“Well… I wouldn't say no if you do,” she said amused, with her eyes wide open. “I know my birthday has passed and…”

“Cut the crap,” I said amused, shaking my head. “Well… I guess it’s something much more feasible than some of your wishes.”

“Does that mean you’ll do it? Will you buy me a piano?” the girl asked, standing up on the bed, excited again.

I looked at her tenderly and thought for a moment. I could never deny my little girl anything, I never would.

“If you behave,” I said amused, pointing at her with my finger before she jumped into my arms.

“Great! Grazie di cuore, mamma, you’re the best, the best!” Maria yelled enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a tender hug that I always appreciated, that told me I would never be alone, I would always have my daughter.

“Okay, okay, tesoro,” I said, overwhelmed by her affectionate kisses, gently patting her back. “But you’ll have to be consistent and learn to play wonderfully, mm?”

“Certo, I have to read more books,” my daughter said, moving away and letting herself fall on the bed, with a hand on her chin, thoughtful. “Now go, I have to think,” she said with a concentrated expression. “Where could we put it, Angie?”

“Well, you better go to sleep,” I said, laughing tenderly, giving her a kiss on the forehead and looking at the doll coldly, telling Angie with my eyes not to bother Maria and let her rest, something almost impossible.

“Mamma,” Maria called me, before I went out the door. “Ti voglio bene”

“Anch’io, tesoro… Anch’io…” I whispered, closing the door slowly.

Maria was not a capricious child, even though I always did whatever she wants to see her happy. I will always be surprised by her ability to educate practically by herself, taking advantage of my absences, my crises, to fill her mind with knowledge.

Sometimes I regretted having had a maid, but I changed my mind when I saw my little girl. She was the most important thing to me, and that would always be the case.

If Maria wanted a piano, she would have a piano, without a doubt.

The next day I took advantage of the Duke's weekly visit to make the request. I still find it hard to believe how different Maria is, how little she resembles my withdrawn and shy personality…

“Hello, Duke,” Maria said, waving her hand politely with a mocking smile.

I was standing next to her, with my face covered with the veil and the Angie doll in my arms. No matter how well that horrible man treated my little girl, I never trusted him.

“Miss Beneviento, you look well,” the merchant murmured, handing me the things I needed for the week. “Lady Beneviento…”

“Hi, fatty,” Angie said, moving in my arms. “How are you?”

“Great,” he replied, counting the coins I threw at him in an unpleasant manner. “What do you say, Miss? Did you manage to solve last week's riddle?” he asked, looking at my daughter with a sinister smile.

“Of course,” the girl answered, with a smug smile. “The answer is the Sun,” she said, lifting her chin. “Although… there was something wrong with the riddle. Yes, normally the sun rises and sets, but… did you know that there are certain areas of the world where it doesn't rise or set for several months?”

“Oh, I guess I forgot that detail,” the man said, laughing amused at the girl's words. “You got it right again…”

“As always,” Maria said, making a gesture to play it down.

“Come on, we want to see that chocolate bar,” Angie demanded, climbing into Maria's arms while I watched in silence.

“Here you go, Miss…” the Duke sighed amusedly tossing a sweet to the girl, one that she caught gracefully. “I hope I don't make it so easy for you next time.”

“Grazie,” the kid said, kindly. “Mamma, tell him, tell him,” she said, tugging at my dress, somewhat impatiently.

I looked at her and gestured for Angie to come closer.

“That's it, Duke, we want a piano,” I said, speaking through the doll.

“A piano?” the man asked, taking out a small notebook.

“Yes, yes, a piano,” Maria said, jumping on the ground. “I'm going to learn to play it.”

“Oh, that's wonderful, Miss, music is the voice of the soul,” the Duke said, writing something down. “Is an upright piano okay?”

I looked at my daughter, who did the same, nodding.

“Yes, okay,” she said, smiling with satisfaction.

“For your sake, fatso, fatso, I hope you don't fool us,” Angie said, climbing up the carriage and looking at the merchant in a menacing manner. “A nice piano for Maria, is that clear?”

“Like water, Miss Angie,” he said, amused, gesturing for the doll to move away. “Tell me, how do you plan to learn?”

“Well... By myself, I guess, Donna doesn’t know to play it,” my daughter said, making me look at her embarrassed. “Don't be offended, mamma.”

“I see,” the Duke said, looking at me with a mocking smile. “It turns out that I know someone. There is a girl in the village who is an excellent pianist, perhaps, Lady Beneviento, it would be good for your daughter if she gave the little Miss some lessons.”

“A piano teacher?” Maria asked, while I pondered the offer. “That would be great, mamma, say yes, say yes…”

“I don't know, tesoro… I don't like people coming to the house,” I murmured, putting myself at the height of the girl, who made a sad gesture.

“Please…” my daughter begged, putting her hands together.

“Please, please…” Angie said, imitating her gesture.

“Ugh,” I sighed, looking at the Duke, who was impatiently waiting for my answer.

“Well? I promise you won't regret it, my lady,” the merchant said, studying my movements. “I'm convinced that she will get along very well with your offspring.”

“Oh, I…” I muttered, gesturing to Angie, giving up. “Okay,” the doll said, speaking in my voice.

After a few days, the piano arrived at the mansion and, with the unpleasant help of some lycans, I managed to find a suitable place for it. Maria was very excited, but I, not so much. The idea of ​​a gossipy villager entering my house… talking to my little girl… I didn't like it, but just seeing Maria's shining eyes, I got used to it.

“Here she is!” the girl shrieked, running towards the door, which someone had knocked on. It was that disgusting teacher, no doubt. “Vai, mamma!”

“I'm coming,” I said in a whisper, putting on my veil and approaching the door, opening it slowly.

I was expecting to find an old woman, a petulant old woman who was no longer in her prime, but I was petrified. Behind the door, there was a rather young woman, smiling and… beautiful, terribly beautiful.

“H-Hello,” the young woman said, waking me from a reverie. I wasn’t expecting someone like that. “It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Beneviento.”

“Are you the teacher?” Angie asked, speaking for me, uncomfortably studying the girl, who seemed scared by her presence. I don’t blame her.

“Yes, my name is (Y/N),” she said, extending her hand towards me, a hand that I briefly looked at, but didn’t shake, making her withdraw it awkwardly. “Um… well… so you want to learn to play the piano, right?”

“No,” I said with my hoarse voice, while my daughter came out from behind me, looking with the same surprise as me at that girl. “Not me.”

“Hello,” Maria said, with an elegant gesture. “I'm Maria Beneviento, and I'm your new student,” she said with an amused smile, shaking her hand, something I couldn't do.

“Oh, wow, I didn't know that... that it was you,” the young woman said, looking at me and then at the girl, making a small, friendly bow “I thought I was going to teach you, Lady Beneviento.”

“No, my mother doesn't have a clue about music, she only knows how to make dolls,” the girl said, amused, causing me to give her a gentle slap on the shoulder as a reprimand. “Oh, but she makes them very well, I promise.”

“Your mother? You mean...? Are you her daughter?” the pianist asked, looking at me with a frown and a bewildered expression.

“Yes, of course,” the little girl said, guiding the visitor through the house. “Don't you see how much we look alike?” she asked, pointing to the portrait on the stairs.

“Oh, um… is that you?” (Y/N) asked, looking at me and pointing at the portrait. I didn't move, nor did I say a single word, obviously. “W-Wow, your really look alike, you're like two peas in a pod.”

“Isn't that right?” Maria laughed, taking the stranger's hand and leading her into the living room. “This way, (Y/N)”

“I-It's funny. I didn’t know you had a daughter, my lady,” the young woman said, walking towards the piano next to my little girl, looking at me out of the corner of her eye, distrustful.

“Mm,” I murmured, not giving importance to her comment, approaching Maria. “Tesoro, I'm going to the workshop, Angie will stay with you, if something happens…”

“Mamma… non preocuparti,” Maria said, sitting on the stool in front of the piano, next to that unknown girl.

“Va bene,” I whispered, giving one last look to the young woman, who did the same quickly. I could see the fear in her eyes.

Reluctant, but with no other choice, I left them alone.

It must have been an entertaining afternoon, since Angie didn't warn me of any danger, but she did when that girl was about to leave.

“Grazie, (Y/N), see you tomorrow,” Maria said, waving her hand goodbye, while I, suspicious, walked with the young woman to the door.

“Your daughter is very talented, my lady,” (Y/N) commented, before leaving through the door.

“Mm,” I murmured in an impatient tone, wishing she would leave at once.

“Well, she has to practice, but I think she can be a great pianist if she puts her mind to it,” the young woman said, with no intention of leaving. “It's unbelievable that she's just eight years old, she's very intelligent.”

“I know that already,” I whispered impatiently, handing her a bag of coins.

“Oh, um, thanks,” she said, putting them in her purse. “I was surprised that you had a daughter… well, in the village we never…”

“I know,” I cut her words off abruptly, with a tired sigh. “No one has to know about my life.”

“Yes, well, I understand,” she said, scratching the back of her neck. “Forgive my indiscretion, I know it's none of my business but… What about her father?”

The Angie doll, who was listening next to me, began to laugh outrageously, drawing our attention.

“Stupid,” Angie said, pointing at the girl with her finger and pretending to laugh loudly. “You're so stupid… Donna is Maria's mother, get it? She's her mother, she impregnated a maid and…”

“Angie…” I hissed nervously.

“What?” the pianist asked, looking at me and speaking in a small voice when she realized her mistake.

I, nervous and embarrassed, clenched my fists tightly on both sides of my hips.

“Oh, shit, I mean… I understand, oh, I… w-well, I had heard rumors but they seemed… I mean, it's okay, well, there's a huge woman, a fish man… it's not that I find it strange or anything like that, I mean…” she said nervously, not knowing where to run.

I crossed my arms furiously, wanting to make her live the worst of her nightmares, but then I thought of Maria and I restrained myself.

“Shut up,” I demanded with a firm tone. “I advise you to stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong,” I threatened walking a step towards her, making the girl back off.

“I'm sorry. It's just that…” she said, visibly nervous, refusing to look at my face.

“Does my Donna's penis disgust you, silly?” Angie said, making me burn with rage.

“Angie! Taci, taci, taci!” I screamed furiously, kicking the floor. The piano played in the background, Maria was oblivious to the conversation, fortunately.

“What? Oh, no, no, not at all… I have no problem with that,” the pianist said, putting her hands in a position of surrender. “B-besides, I'm just your daughter's piano teacher, I have no intention of snooping in your… business. I was just… I was just curious.”

“Curiosity…” I began in a dark tone, making it clear to that stupid village girl what her place was.

“Killed the cat, I know,” she finished, with a nervous smile. “I just want to say that, well, that… your daughter is great.”

“Mm,” I growled, looking away and closing the door in her face. “Cazzo, Angie…”

The doll, realizing that she had given too much information, ran off towards Maria, who was playing the keys, surely putting into practice what she had learned.

“Look, mamma, I know the scale,” the girl said, gesturing for me to come closer as she softly played the piano.

“Meraviglioso, Maria,” I sighed, relaxing with the soft sound of the instrument.

“So… what do you think?” my daughter murmured, looking at the floor. “About (Y/N).”

“(Y/N)?” I asked annoyed, sighing as I took off my veil. “She's just some ordinary village girl.”

“No, not at all. She's great, she's super smart, and she plays really well, and she's also really beautiful, don't you think, mamma?” Maria said, following me through the mansion.

“Mm, maybe she is,” I commented distractedly. She was right, that girl was very beautiful… but a nuisance too. “Your lessons, Maria, don't forget them,” I said in a motherly tone, pointing to her study books.

The visits from that unpleasant girl continued. Maria learned a lot from (Y/N), although I didn't like to admit it. Little by little I got used to the presence of that nosy villager, maybe too much, since, from time to time, I came up from the workshop to see how she taught my daughter.

They seemed to get along really well, and every day her beauty was much more evident to me, but I didn't give it any importance, she was still an idiot.

“That's it, you learn very quickly Maria,” (Y/N) said as I approached slowly. “It's noticeable that you practice a lot.”

“Of course I do, so I don't forget,” the little girl said, swinging her legs on the stool.

“Um, Maria… I'd like to ask you something,” the teacher whispered, looking around, probably afraid that I would appear.

That made me back off and hide in the shadows. I wanted to hear what that stupid girl was saying about me, I was sure she would say something about me.

“Va bene,” my daughter said, distracted, touching the keys.

“Hey, your mother…” the young woman murmured, attracting my attention even more. “Your mother is a bit scary, isn't she?”

“Mamma Donna?” Maria asked and shook her head. “Not at all, are you scared of my mamma?”

“Um, well,” the girl said, with a nervous smile. “She's a Lord and… well, in the village everyone fears her.”

“Bah, nonsense,” my daughter said, gesturing with her hand. “That's because they don't know her. Donna is nice.”

“Really? Does she take good care of you?” she asked in a more confident tone, something that made me burn with rage.

How could that stupid woman question my way of taking care of my daughter?

“Oh, yes, she is very intelligent, she teaches me many things,” Maria said, making me sigh with relief.

“Um… what about your other mother? Don't you miss her?” (Y/N) asked, making me want to end her existence.

“Not really,” the girl said, lowering her head. “I never got to know her. Mamma Donna told me that she was her maid and that she… abandoned us.”

“Chiudi il becco…” I muttered in a whisper. “Maledizione…”

“Gods, that’s… horrible,” the young woman said, changing her expression.

“Well, it's the past. Donna took care of me and raised me by herself, and I assure you that it must not be easy to do that, and even more so with a daughter like me,” Maria said amused. “I don't usually give her any trouble, but… she has to put up with me.”

“Mm, I see,” (Y/N) said, tenderly stroking Maria's hair. “I see that I was wrong about her, I'm sorry for doubting your mother.”

“It doesn't matter,” Maria said, putting on a strange expression. “People say horrible things about her, but I know they're lies. My mamma is mentally ill, but that doesn't mean she's not a good person, she really is.”

“Yes, I see,” the pianist said, looking back, without seeing me. “If you say so, I believe you…”

“Forgive her if she was abrupt with you,” my daughter said, apologizing for my aggressive attitude. “She's just very lonely. I'm convinced that her character will improve when she meets someone.”

“Mm, maybe, but being alone isn't that bad, you know? I am too,” the young woman said.

“Oh, really?” the little girl asked. “That's interesting…” she murmured, with a tone that forced me to intervene. “Wouldn't you like to meet someone?”

“Well, I…”

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat, walking nervously towards them. (Y/N) looked at me briefly, immediately lowering her head. “It's time, isn't it?”

“Mm, sì, mamma,” Maria said, getting off the stool.

The young pianist stood up with a friendly gesture.

“Your daughter has been great, as always, my lady,” the young woman said, not daring to look at me. “It's a pleasure to teach her.”

“You don't have to be that formal. You can call her Donna, vero, mamma? Maria said, with a slightly strange voice.

“I guess,” I said reluctantly, making the girl laugh nervously.

“W-Well, Donna then,” (Y/N) whispered, with a shy laugh.

“Mamma, do you know that (Y/N) is also alone? What a coincidence, huh?” the girl asked, comically tugging at my dress, putting the stupid villager in a tight spot.

“Maria,” I said in a dark voice. I didn't know why, but that comment made me blush.

“Don't worry, Donna, your daughter is adorable, she just says what she thinks,” the young woman said, picking up the scores.

“Ma, mamma, are you going to let her go?” Maria insisted, making me very nervous. “You should be nice and invite her to tea. She’s been coming here for almost a month.”

“Maria…” I hissed nervously, while (Y/N) laughed again, shaking her head. “Stop annoying her, I’m sure she’ll have better things to do.”

“T-Truth be told,” the pianist said, arching her eyebrows. “I could use some tea, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Ugh, okay,” I muttered, threatening with my daughter my gaze making her fled with Angie.

That was the beginning of a strange routine. After piano lessons, (Y/N) started to stay with us for a while, having tea, helping Maria with her homework…

Over time, I couldn't say that that stupid girl started to catch my attention, but I did stop thinking that she was... well, stupid. She was a kind, funny girl, who made Maria and Angie laugh, and she was kind to me, kinder than anyone ever was, no one, not even Helga.

I couldn't help but notice a certain conspiracy in my little girl's words and actions, hinting several times at how lonely her poor mother was when I wasn't around, or telling me directly that (Y/N) was single too.

I couldn't blame her for wanting to have what she never had, for wanting another mother, but... it was simply impossible, it would never be possible, although deep down, that pianist girl caught my attention more than I would like to admit.

“Well, I better go, thank you very much for the tea, Donna,” (Y/N) said, after an afternoon of games with Angie and the girl, something of which I was only a spectator. “See you tomorrow, huh, girls?” she said amused, high-fiving Maria and Angie.

“Hey, but it's really late,” my daughter commented, looking out the window. “Hey, (Y/N), why don't you stay for dinner?”

“Oh, for dinner?” the young woman asked blinking and looking for an answer in me. “W-well, I…”

“Don't listen to her,” I said quickly, putting a warning hand on Maria's shoulder.

“Mamma,” the little girl protested, breaking away from my grip while (Y/N) smiled, picking up her coat. “I'm trying to help you.”

“Who asked you for help, brat? Basta,” I hissed sternly but nervously.

“Well… it's true that it's late,” (Y/N) said, oblivious to my reprimands, looking at me shyly. “Maybe it's not a bad idea.”

“Of course it’s not,” Maria said, freeing from my reprimand and taking the young pianist by the hand. “Come, sit down, did you know that la mia mamma cooks like an angel? You'll see.”

“Maria!” I growled, clenching my fists. “What are you...?”

“Show her that what I say is true, vai, Donna,” my daughter said, pushing me by the legs.

I had no choice but to obey, going down to the kitchen to prepare that improvised dinner.

“Mm, where's Maria?” I asked dryly, leaving the food on the table, a table that was only occupied by (Y/N), who looked at me amused, shrugging.

“She told me that she wasn’t hungry and she wanted to leave us alone, you know, so that we could talk about adult stuff.”

“Oh, questa bambina…” I lamented, understanding her intentions.

“I think she's set us up, hasn't she?” the young woman joked, while I, exhausted, served her some wine.

“I'm sorry, I don't know what she was thinking,” I said, apologizing for Maria's behavior. Oh, yes, that girl would get a deserved scolding.

“It doesn't matter, it might be good to get to know each other a bit better,” (Y/N) commented. “Um…” she said, frowning as she saw how, clumsily, I handled my black veil to eat. “Um… Donna, that's not necessary. You don't need it, you can trust me.”

“You'll get scared,” I said nervously, paralyzed.

“No, I won't,” she said, with a lower voice, somewhat trembling.

It was absurd to continue with that nonsense, the best thing would be to scare that stupid girl away so she never came back and stopped… constantly sneaking into my thoughts. With a slow gesture I took off my veil, refusing to see her expression.

“Mm, wow…” the young woman sighed, with a smile that I couldn't interpret. “It's true, you two are exactly the same.”

“Don't pretend. You know I'm horrible,” I said, gripping the fork tightly.

“No, you're not… Let's see… what have you prepared for me?” the girl said, ignoring my hisses and taking a look at the dinner. “Everything looks great.”

“Pici all'amatriciana,” I murmured distrustfully.

“Oh, well, let's check if it's as good as it looks,” she said, rubbing her hands and starting to eat, without erasing that smile from her face.

At first it was a tense, silent dinner, only interrupted by (Y/N)'s praises. Everything seemed wonderful and perfect to her, even… even my face. Little by little, I suppose thanks to the wine, the conversation began to flow naturally. It seemed unlikely, but that girl and I had a lot in common and we even… we even laughed, laughed a lot.

I realized why Maria was so obsessed with her. She was a wonderful girl, kind, funny… and terribly beautiful too.

“I had a great time,” the young woman said with a tender smile as I walked with her to the door. “Really.”

“Yes, um… me too, (Y/N),” I said in a low voice, with a strange blush on my cheeks.

“You know what? I think I now understand your daughter’s insistence on me getting to know you,” she commented distractedly, looking at the floor, turning her ankle on it. “You are a very special woman, Donna.”

“Yes, special is the word,” I said suspiciously, crossing my arms.

The girl laughed, shaking her head and putting a hand on my arm.

“No, what I mean is that… well, I don't regret having gotten to know you,” she whispered in a low voice, leaving behind her words, an awkward moment of silence.

“M-Me neither,” I stammered unintentionally, smiling genuinely.

“See you,” the girl said, removing her hand from my arm with a tender smile, suddenly stepping back. “Oh, bye girls,” she said, waving her hand and looking upstairs, where Angie and Maria were discreetly spying.

“Ciao!” they said in unison when I closed the door, sighing and glancing sideways at my daughter and the doll.

“Cazzo…” I hissed, quickly climbing the stairs while those two mischievous girls fled to their room. “Hey, you two!”

“Oh, mamma, I was going to sleep,” Maria said, putting on her pajamas in a hurry.

“No, young lady, what were you thinking?” I asked, annoyed by the trick, with my hands on my hips. “Who taught you to conspire like that?”

“Um…” the girl murmured, looking unintentionally at Angie, who hid under the sheets. “I only did it for you, mamma, so that you are not alone anymore.”

“Oh, cavolo…” I lamented, with a hand on my forehead. “Maria, tesoro, you don't have to decide those things for me, do you hear me? They are adults’ matters.”

“I know but… I think you two get along wonderfully,” the girl said with an almost pleading voice. “And you two are alone…”

“Maria…”

“Besides, dinner was a complete success, you even took off your veil,” she said with an amused smile, climbing into bed while I reluctantly tucked her in. “Although you have to improve your conversation, you're very clumsy, mamma.”

“That I’m…?” I asked, feigning offense. “Well, it doesn't matter.”

“Don't you like (Y/N)? Not even a little?” Maria asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes.

“Um, I… W-Well I… yes, I like her,” I admitted embarrassed, with a sob. “But tesoro, that's not…”

“She likes you, she speaks very well of you,” she sighed, exhausted, closing her eyes. “Mamma.”

“Mm?”

“If I could go back in time and choose… I would like (Y/N) to be my other mother…” she said in a sleepy whisper, without really being aware she had said it.

I sighed, moved by her words and approached to kiss her on the forehead, thoughtful.

“Mm, I'm not surprised that you want it, tesoro... (Y/N) is... wonderful.”

Admitting that I had feelings for (Y/N) took me longer than I thought, but I couldn't help it. Without wanting to, knowing that there would never be another chance to feel love, to believe in it, I did it, I fell in love with her, madly.

Dinners were common, laughter, too. Sometimes we were alone and sometimes Angie and Maria accompanied us, making the laughter increase more and more. I began to wish for those visits, to get sad when that girl left. There was tension between us, I could notice it, I could notice her bright gaze in mine, silent pauses in which neither of us knew what to say.

Too much pressure and I was too much of a coward.

“You have to do it, mamma,” my little girl told me, while I waited for (Y/N) to arrive, walking around the living room and shaking my head.

“I can't do it…” I sighed, rejecting her proposition again.

“If you don't tell (Y/N) how you feel about her, she'll never know, imagine if she meets someone,” the girl said walking exactly like me.

“It's not that easy, Maria, you'll realize when you're older,” I said in a dark, nervous voice.

“I don't want to lose the opportunity to have another mom just because you're a coward!” the girl protested, nervous, impatient.

I turned around abruptly, gritting my teeth and crouching down next to my daughter, grabbing her by the collar of her dress.

“You think I don't know!? Huh?” I screamed furiously while my daughter, scared, covered herself with her hands.

“Mamma,” she said trembling, making me react.

“Gods… tesoro, I'm sorry,” I said, placing her dress and caressing her cheek.

Maria nodded slowly, comforting my nerves with a tender hug.

“I don't know how to do it, I don't know how to tell her that… that I love her,” I murmured, with the girl's warm hands in mine, controlling my madness.

“Calm down, mamma, I'll think of something,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek and going to the door, since (Y/N) had already arrived.

The smiles danced between us again. I had long since gotten used to staying in the living room while (Y/N) taught Maria, to watch her fingers caress the keys, to see her beautiful and tender face, the incredibly sweet way she treated my baby…

“Well, very well, mate,” (Y/N )said when Maria showed her what she had learned. “I think we can move on to something more complicated.”

“Yeah, hey, (Y/N),” Maria said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. “I thought… I've never heard you play… you know, a whole song. I'm sure my mamma would really like to hear you.”

“Would her?” the young woman asked, looking at me with blushing cheeks.

I looked at her and nodded slowly, tilting my head.

“Mm, okay, well… let me see…” the girl said, searching through her folder of music. “Let's see… Oh, what do you think of this one? It has your name on it,” (Y/N) said, handing a sheet to my daughter, who looked at it carefully.

“Oh, yeah, this one is perfect,” Maria said with wide eyes, looking at me over the paper with a knowing smile.

“Ahem, well…” (Y/N) coughed as Maria stood up to sit next to me.

“Di niente,” my daughter whispered with a discreet clearing of the throat, making me frown.

“Cosa?” I asked, silenced by a nudge.

“Shh… ascolta, mamma.”

The music started to play, and I recognized it immediately.

“Ave Maria…”  (Y/N) began to sing, letting me discover her beautiful voice, the most beautiful I had ever heard. “Gratia plena… Ave, ave Dominus…”

My mind immediately transported itself to several decades ago, before Mother Miranda, before the Black Gods, when I was just a girl, a tormented girl. Yes, I remembered those times when villagers were allowed to profess the faith they chose as long as they lived with the dark deities.

They were difficult times, but nothing compared to my current life.

I remember my family singing that song at Christmas, on special occasions. My mother, my father, my little sister, my grandparents… all of us together, like a vision of what once was and never came back.

I couldn't help but let a tear run down my face as I remembered, as I imagined what would have become of me if Miranda had never been so ambitious, if my life hadn't changed, if my body hadn't changed and Maria had never been born.

No, Maria wasn't a mistake, she was the best thing that ever happened to me, my little laughing baby who wondered where her mother was, what had happened to her.

I regret many things, my little Maria, but not having you as a daughter.

I remembered those sleepless nights with inconsolable cries, I remember losing my nerves, my mind, and I remembered… I remembered how I rocked my little Maria, how I sang to her to make her fall asleep in my arms, how I sang that song to her, that Ave Maria, by Schubert…

Damn clever girl, she knew it, she knew that the melody, those words in Latin would touch my soul. I'm proud of you, tesoro.

Slowly, unable to move voluntarily, I got up from the couch while (Y/N) played and sang, approaching her, sitting next to her on the stool. She looked at me, still singing, but smiling.

I looked at the keys, bringing my hand closer to them and looking for a sign to continue. The young woman nodded, with a tender smile.

“Nunc et in hora mortis…” we sang at the same time while playing the keys. It had been a long time since I had done it. “Et in hora mortis nostrae… Ave… Maria…”

“Great!” Maria said, clapping enthusiastically along with Angie.

I paid no attention to her, my eye were fixed on (Y/N)'s and hers on mine.

“Wow, Maria told me you didn't know how to play it,” she whispered after a tense moment, without moving from my uncomfortable proximity.

“W-Well, I don't know as much as you… I'm quite rusty,” I said with a honeyed, but nervous voice.

“Angie, let's go,” Maria said, looking at me and winking, taking the doll's hand that was protesting in a childish way.

“I-I used to sing this to Maria as a lullaby,” I said, daring to break that silence. “It brings back memories to me.”

“It must have been very difficult to raise a girl on your own, right?” (Y/N) commented, playing nervously with her hands.

“Yes, it was but… it was worth it,” I said with a smile, looking at the corner where Maria ran off to.

“Yes, of course, she's an amazing girl, Donna,” the young woman said, looking away.

“Yes, I… (Y/N) I…” I stammered, with a cold sweat running down my forehead, hitting the keys unintentionally. “I'm sorry, I… I want to tell you that… when you're here I… I feel, I feel like smiling again, and seeing you leave… It makes me sad.”

The girl laughed embarrassed, lowering her gaze but letting me continue and gain enough courage to extend my trembling hand to hers, which she let me do, interlacing our fingers.

“I would understand if you said no but… I don't know, (Y/N), maybe… maybe you'd like… not to leave again.”

“Mamma! Don't tell her that! It's creepy!” Maria, who was, of course, spying, shrieked.

“Oddio… go to your room!” I shrieked nervously without taking my hand off (Y/N)'s.

“Donna,” the pianist said, putting a hand on my cheek, turning my face towards hers. “Do you want me to stay? With you?”

“I… yes…” I said looking down, something I couldn't really do, since her hand prevented me from doing so. “I want you to stay… with me, with us and…”

I couldn't continue speaking, since her lips collided with mine without warning, kissing me deeply, slowly, in a sweet and addictive way.

Without wanting to do so, I pulled away, blinking confused, looking at her sweet smile, her eyes shining as she looked at me.

“I'm in love with you, (Y/N),” I finally confessed, throwing myself back into her slow, wet kisses, into her laughter that bounced off my lips, tickling them.

“You're a wonderful woman, Donna Beneviento,” (Y/N) whispered. “I'm crazy about you… And… well, I wouldn't mind staying with you. Well, I would like that you and Maria… were my family…”

“Really?”

“Really”

“Great!” Maria shrieked, running into (Y/N)'s arms, catching her off guard. “See, mamma? It wasn't that hard.”

“Oh, taci,” I said amused, shaking my head.

“It's the happiest day of my life,” my daughter said, hugging us both. “I love you!”

“Hey, come on, stop bothering,” I said, lowering her to the floor lovingly.

“Certo... I have to talk to Angie... my little sibling is getting closer...”

[junosmindpalace]

Suna isn’t the type of person to go out of his way to impress someone. To quit slacking off during practice when he senses Kita’s watchful gaze, sure, but to invest time grooming himself into other people’s likeness? No way. 

He’s secure in himself for the most part, laid back and nonchalant. It wasn’t as if he didn’t put any work into himself, it was just that he only gave effort in areas he cared about or where it was required of him, and that usually didn’t transcend outside the realms of school and volleyball.

Most of the time (when he isn’t slacking off), Suna is practicing getting down a more efficient spike and doing his best to keep up with his agonizing classes. That was the most he cared about in terms of himself…until you had started to talk up a classmate of yours.

Suna was used to getting attention as an athlete, a lot of times indifferent to it. Atsumu was the one who enjoyed that sort of attention more, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t a blow to his pride when he hears you gush about a guitarist friend of yours. You would seemingly drone on and on about how impressive he was. You swooned, you would say. Guitarists are so cool. Rintaro listened to all your starstricken rants with raised brows and an annoyed look on his face. He couldn’t help but scoff and look away when you once mentioned something about attending one of his gigs. 

You were enthusiastic about Suna’s volleyball games, but never had you talked about his plays with such reverence. What was so great about guitarists? You could get all the excitement from a concert at one of Suna’s games. There was no need for you to attend that guy’s show. The rush in the stands are pretty much the same you’d feel at a concert venue. 

“Athletes are obviously better. What does plucking some strings have on power and scoring points?”

Suna’s mouth curled downward into a small frown as he listened to Atsumu’s attempt at trying to pick him up during practice. Suna didn’t mean for it to start getting discussed, but Atsumu, dumbfounded by Suna’s irritable mood, got curious on what could possibly make his very nonchalant teammate so…chalant. And so he poked and prodded, making exaggerated comments about his ugly face due to the deep frown on his lips and how he could see the steam coming from his ears until Suna caved in. 

“Obviously something.” 

Rintaro, you should see him play! He’s incredible, it almost has me falling for him. You had joked, but alarm bells were going off in his head, a wave of nausea washing over him and wiping out the remainder of his ego and any sort of nonchalance he was able to feign. That was his final straw. 

It was Aran who was the first to find out about Suna’s new hobby when he visited his house one afternoon, staring in surprise at the new addition to his usually unchanging room sitting in the corner.

“When’d you get a guitar, man?”

“Last week.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in playing an instrument.”

Suna's gaze shifted to the ground as he only gave a shrug in response, because he really wasn’t. At least, not out of a passion for it. He liked listening to music, he didn’t mind listening to other people play, but he himself had never been interested in learning. Well, until he learned about your love for guitarists. 

“They’re just so….you know?”

“I don’t.”

You laughed, even though Suna had meant the words with all the sincerity in the world. And he never got a clear explanation, so now he’s taking it upon himself to figure out what makes a couple of chords so impressive. 

He’s ready to bash his head into the guitar only a couple of days in. The metal strings on his acoustic were harsh on his fingers and always slipped from their position on the fretboard. He gets down the chord shapes decently quick, which motivate him to immediately move onto barring and suddenly he’s back to square one. Transitioning between each chord was also a pain, and don’t get him started on reading sheet music. Injuring his fingers during a game set his progress back a week.

He tries focusing on learning to play your favorite music; solos, riffs and the like. But each tutorial requires another tutorial, and it becomes a vicious pattern of Suna going down a rabbit hole trying to learn one thing after another. 

He’s ready to give up on the whole thing and find some way to impress you with volleyball, but the plan to abandon his progress halts after your reaction to him casually bringing up how difficult it was to play. 

“Wow, Rin, you play? I had no idea! That’s awesome! I’m sure you’re incredible!” 

And suddenly Suna’s back to looking up various tutorials, practicing transitioning between different chords and properly starting out with the basics. He even borrows workbooks from the music rooms to practice outside of school. The patience required of him made his head spin, but it was no matter. He was an athlete with an oblivious crush- patience was his middle name.

He’s surprisingly dedicated, not staying too late after school for volleyball practice and instead opting to work out of his books in the afternoon. He’s gotten farther than he ever expected he would- he even picks up on the language naturally. He doesn’t even realize it until he’s ranting to you about some annoying technical details, not even in an attempt to make you fawn over him.

When he turns to look at you, he’s caught off guard by the impressed look on your face.

“Sounds frustrating. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.” You said slowly, tilting your head to the side. 

Suna admits that despite having a lot to learn and a lot of practice to be doing in order to improve his musicality, he’s actually found this new hobby of his decently fun. He was slowly starting to understand the appeal you talked so much about, the satisfaction of being able to play a set of chords correctly reminiscent of hitting a good spike.

But ultimately, it’s your almost shy smile and tinted cheeks as you look up at him in admiration that, despite the insane amount of frustration, make Suna glad he decided to pick up guitar. 

[caeunot]

johnnie x reader

new years angst (18+)

PSA: the johnnie i'm going to write about is the fictional version we all have in our minds, we truly don't know how he actually is and it's good to make a balance to avoid any uneasy or parasocial feelings when writing about a real person.

it had been a very long night for everyone, new years party's obviously only actually get started at 12 so the night only truly ends early hours of the morning. johnnie was fast asleep on his bed, the sheets unmade as he lay on top in the full clothes from night before. as he lifted his head he felt all the drinking all the smoking all the talking from the night before rush straight to his head, like a heavy boulder he has to now carry for the next 12 hours. this isn't anything new to him but that doesn't make it any more fun to deal with.

he gets up and looks at himself in his mirror, scrunching his face as he notices how he still had his makeup on, though completely different from the way it had spread all across his face messily from lying on it. he turns on the tap and splashes himself with the cold water, waking him up but also somehow making his migraine worse.

as he starts getting changed into something comfortable he starts remembering the events from the night before, as if in pieces he has to puzzle together.

one thing that remains the most prominent in his memory is the countdown for midnight, he was excited. he had a plan. he wore his best outfit and put contour and primer on his face to make that days makeup extra fancy(he never really does that). he had been anticipating this moment the whole night, his eyes darted around looking for something specific. he squeezed past a few people pushing one slightly too hard making him have to awkwardly apologize which he hated doing. but at that moment it didn't phase him and neither did the flashing lights and the aggressive music playing a bit too loudly in the background. his mind was focused on one thing only. you

his plan was that at the moment it hit 12 he would kiss you, in his mind he decided this would be the best option since if you weren't into it he could pull it off saying it was a friend thing. he was absolutely too nervous to actually just ask you out since he personally feels you are quite out of his league. he hoped this would spark something between the two of you. so that he no longer has to look away when you laugh at his jokes because of the prominent blush that would always come up on his pale skin, or the way he had to hide his enthusiasm when you were around. he was absolutely infatuated with you.

who did you think zombie was about?

but as he finally caught his eye on you with seconds to spare he started jogging towards you but as he was about to approach you, you turn to jake cupping his face and leaning in for a deep kiss. he saw the way you smiled as jake held onto your waist. the way your kiss lasted longer than the others around the room. suddenly he jolted out of his mind as he hears a knock on his bathroom door.

fuck. he thinks to himself as he puts his hand sloppily through his hair in attempt to neaten it. "yes?" he says, still sounding half asleep.

"can I talk to you" you say, wait. you say? johnnie is confused. you don't live here, he just shares this place with jake..

fuck

he bites his lip before answering, "yeah uh just- just gimmie a min I just got up". " oh ok no problem! I'll be in the living room, take your time alright?" you say, he waits for your foot steps to sound lighter before he leans against the door and slides down to the floor, hands in his hair he curses. curses how he could so easily give someone his heart and so easily let them tear it apart, even without them knowing they did. love was fucked and he was tired and his migraine was getting worse and he just wanted everything to disappear, but as much as he would love to lock himself in the bathroom forever he was also curious what you had to say to him.

around 10 minutes later he emerges from the bathroom still rubbing his towel around his wet hair from his shower, he walks into the living room to see you scrolling on your phone and his heart immediately starts aching. before you noticed he was there he took full advantage of being able to admire you, you had no makeup on which johnnie had never seen before, but god you might look even better without it.

he admired the way your hair was slightly messed up and the way you were still in the clothes from the night before, that tight black dress that has a low v neck showing off your breasts which he realized he was obsessed with, even in a normal setting you made it work.

"so what's up?" he asks sitting down next to you on the couch. "wait first before anything can i ask you a massive favour..", "hit me" he says with a half smile, "well as u can see im still sorta in my dress from last night uh.. i maybe slept over here last night and my place is pretty far and i have a splitting headache, would it be cool if i stay at your guys place tonight too?"

"oh sure no problem we don't mind! but what about your clothes? im guessing u didn't pack any extra in that handbag of yours." you shuffle in your seat feeling a lil embarrassed, "that's my second favour.. could i borrow some of yours? well uhm not yours specifically but your the only one awake at the moment and i dont wana wake poor jake"

johnnie got a bit red imagining you in his clothes, but nonetheless lent you one of his hoodies and sweats which fit you perfectly. as you were getting changed he couldn't help when his mind slipped to the fact you never wore a bra with that dress, meaning you would be wearing one of his hoodies completely bra-less which turned him on much more than he would have hoped for, especially since the two of you agreed to go get something to eat after you get changed.

the car ride was very silent and it was freaking johnnie out a little, once you two have ordered your food and are started waiting you decide to break the silence, "if im being real, i got wayy too blasted last night like i honestly don't even remember talking to you.. at one point i wasn't even sure if you were there, but saying that i barely remember anyone i spoke to haha". johnnie lets out a small laugh, "dont worry abt not seeing me, im not a party guy i always end up lurking in the shadows like a vampire instead of making conversation." you turn your head to the window looking out at the sun as it melts like honey into the blue sky as it sets.

the two of you ended up eating in the car because you guys were so hungry. as you guys made it back inside the house you see jake facetiming someone on his phone, you sneak up behind him and shove him a little while going "BAH", which made him jump like a cartoon character. "fuck you y/n im on a call" "not my fault your a scaredy cat", "dude that's just wrong im braver than u and johnnie combined okay" you guys laugh and jake takes his call to his room, leaving you and johnnie alone again.

"i like how he didn't ask why im still here" you ask slumping onto the nearest couch. "i think you scared him too much that he stopped thinking for a sec" he said plonking himself next to you.

"you down to watch a movie?" you ask, "sure sounds good! i mean what else is there to do anyways". "perfect ill choose kay!! since im the guest i get privileges heh", "whatever makes u happy miss y/n" he says giving a genuine smile which made your heart race slightly.

the movie dragged on for johnnie, not that it was a bad movie but for the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about how close you guys sat next to each other, plus the way you were still wearing his clothes and how absolutely gorgeous you looked in them. all of a sudden you turned towards johnnie as he was staring at you by accident, the two of you sat there in silence for a little before you broke it

"uh johnnie can i be honest with you", "sure y/n, what's up". "well let me get straight to the point, by the time it hit new years.. did you see who i kissed?" johnnie tilted his head in confusion, "you kissed jake.. don't you remember?". "honestly i don't remember anything past 11pm.. when i said i was blasted i really meant blasted. well the reason im asking is because there was someone specific i wanted to kiss"

"oh really? and who was that". "it uhm was you"

johnnie felt his face start heating up and without thinking he immediately pulled your face in for a deep kiss, "johnnie.." you whisper as the kiss ended, his hands still on your face and the two of you close enough to where you could see all the pores on face and feel his cool breath against your lips.

he doesn't respond, even the kiss took him off guard and he initiated it! he realized that you reciprocated his kiss and that gave him enough motivation to lean in for another, this one was more sloppy and more intense. you two wanted each other badly and it was visible, as some tongue was slipped you climbed on top of johnnie and felt his bulge already from his thin pants. that turned you on even more and you accidentally let out a small moan.

you started to feel johnnies hands gently hold your waist from under the hoodie, you started to get a tingly feeling as he gently graced his hands higher and higher till he reached your boobs, he let out a small whimper as he gripped and played your breasts. you take your hands from his neck and instead use them to take off the hoodie itself giving him a full view of your boobs now making him gasp mid kiss.

you start grinding on him gently while taking his shirt off, once its off you slowly get off of him and pull down his pants, "are you sure?" he said shakily as he sat more forward on the couch preparing for what's coming, "you don't know how long I've wanted to do this, yes baby i'm sure" you say which made him go even redder and before you get on your knees you see him biting down an excited smile.

as you pull his boxers down you take your hand and gently rub it back and forth before taking your tongue and starting right at the base, giving a mix of wet kisses and licks as you slowly go higher and higher. when you finally get to the tip you hear a small whimper and you feel the top of your hair being grabbed desperately, you slowly put the tip fully inside your mouth moving it gently back and forth and going faster and faster deeper and deeper making his member twitch inside of his mouth and as you start hearing him moan deeply you realize he has already hit his climax and ends up finishing inside your mouth. when he was done you take your mouth off with a plop and immediately go back up to johnnies absolutely flustered face, you have never seen him look so submissive.

without hesitation you kiss him with his cum still inside your mouth, making a mess as it spills onto both of your chests.

johnnie sighs in delight "fuck y/n how did you do that" -when he knew exactly how :)

❣

[neoballsucker]

The boy is mine

Summary : your mom was a hopless romantic until she found the perfect man for her , little did she know he was the complete opposite

Pair : kun × fem!bodied reader

Waring : smut , smei stepcest (he's the mom's boyfriend) , cheating , daddy kink

W.c : 2.7k (I love my man)

A/n : in honour of red haired kun

Your mom always hooking up and dating new men every once in a while wasn't something new to you , she was always looking after handsome men , and rich ones as well , she did this since your dad died , you were used to your mom coming home with men at night and having sex with them drunk or high, so you accepted your faith and lived your life , even though your mom seemed to hook up a lot , she always made sure to take care of you, your health and education, so it doesn't really matter to you what she does, but since your rooms’ walls are kinda attached you could always hear her or the new man she’s with moaning, whining or crying, it always reminded you how miserable she is , One day she comes home really happy from one of the clubs. You were confused, cause she usually comes home wasted and really drunk cause her boyfriend dumps her.

“Someone looks happy today?” You say teasingly and smile

Your mom shrugs and chuckles “well today I met that man” she smiles softly

“Oh and what's so special about him that made you smile ear to ear?” you ask teasingly

“Oh he's so sweet , you should meet him , he's not like these other guys I've dated , he's so special” she sighs and smiles.

“Oh and what's his name?” You ask curiously.

“Well his name is kun” she says, you nod and smile .

“Well I hope that one lasts” you roll your eyes and go to my room.

your mom goes to few other dates with that man kun always very happy , you were glad your mom found the man that made her feel happy and fulfilled after your dad's death , but you were always curious who's that man that could possibly date a woman at her 40s right now , since all men prefer younger women that are still living their youth, you assumed it was a man that was in his early 50s. Your 18th birthday was coming on the way. And you and your mom were planning on the decorations, the cake and the people you'll invite.

“So you'll invite your friends , some of your friends' parents, is that right?” your mom asks looking at the list you gave her

“Yeah that's right , feel free to invite someone as well!!” You offer her , busy decorating the room

“Oh , can I invite Kun over?” She asks excitedly.

“Oh of course you can mom.” I chuckle hearing her tone.

Few days skip and it's finally your birthday. People come over , music takes over, all your friends come over and their parents, some people that you don't know or are not familiar with also come , you assume that was your mom's friends, you also see some of your family members. People are congratulating you , and wishing you a happy birthday and giving you presents. Your mom approaches you and pulls you to a quiet place suddenly.

“Gosh mom you scared me” you chuckle softly. You hear your mom chuckle.

“I want you to meet kun!!” She smiles excitedly.

“Oh and where is the lucky man?” I chuckle softly. She walked away for a few moments and pulled a young looking man that looked really attractive if you're being honest, he had red hair, his smile was charming and his eyes were shining.

“Kun c'mon, this is my daughter y/n” she smiles at kun.

“Oh hey there y/n , happy birthday!!” Kun smiles.

“Oh thank you kun” you smile shyly before he hands you a small box.

“Ah, thank you , you didn't have to.” you smile softly, taking the box.

“This is nothing, it's just a small gift” he smiles again, it makes you melt, you both hold eye contact for a bit , noticing how young he looks.

“Uh sorry to ask but how old are you?” You ask curiously

“Oh I'm 28” he answers, you looked surprised a little

“Oh wow you're pretty young…for my mom” he chuckles as you say that.

“Everyone says that but your mom is just really sweet” you two smile at each other until your friend called you

“ahh you're here” she pulled you with her as you waved to kun.

“Who's that cute dude?” she asks and bites her lower lips.

“Don't get too excited he's my mom's boyfriend” I roll my eyes

“They'll break up after a while like she usually do”

“I don't think so, she seems so happy with him” you sigh

“Whatever birthday queen let's go enjoy this shit , you became an adult” you smile slightly and nod , heading back to enjoy the loud music and your friends, one of your friends suggests you a glass of alcohol , you would be lying if you said it was your first time trying it , you sometimes tasted the alcohol your mom left on the table while cleaning up after her , sometimes weed , cigarettes, you had some experience with these things, you take the glass of alcohol from your friend and drink the whole glass , after a while you head to kun since you couldn't find your mom

“Yo kun um do you know where did mom go?” you ask taking in every detail of his face, he had a glass of alcohol in his hand

“Oh she said she'll go stay at a friend's house since she didn't like the noise here , I'll stay here with you if you want”

“Ah no it's okay” you say heading back to your friends. You went to enjoy the rest of the night eventually getting drunk, and since you just started actually drinking just now you collapsed, after feeling dizzy from all the alcohol. You woke up the next day , but you felt someone next to you , you felt too sick to even turn and see who was it. Finally turning around seeing kun, you knew it was wrong but it felt nice next to him ,how his hair is messy and it's covering most of his face , you wanted to lean in more into his touch , kiss him, feel him. He was just looking at you and smiled softly.

“Good morning sleepy head” he says a d chuckles.

“Oh good morning…what happened yesterday?” You asked and took a deep breath

“Well you just got too drunk and collapsed, I didn't wanna leave you cause your mom isn't home, yet” you nod listening to him.

“Anyways do you want breakfast?” He asks.

“Oh I can do it myself” you smile and get off the bed before he pulls you back right next to him , there was almost no distance between your faces , you felt his warm breath against your face

“Don't move, I'll cook for you , you're still tired” he says , his voice was lower than before, you couldn't help it but get closer to him and kiss his lips, he surprisingly kisses you back closing your eyes feeling your lips against his, he wraps his arms around your waist as you cup his cheeks between your hands , after a while you pull away and take a deep breath ready to get scolded by him, but you heard a Chuckle coming from him , you open your eyes and look at him raising an eyebrow.

“You're much better than your mom could every be” he whisper as he nibbles your neck gently.

“r-really?” You ask, trying to hold in a moan , your voice kinda shaky.

“Oh definitely yeah” he chuckles

“I'll go make you some breakfast now” he stands up and gets out of the room.

It felt wrong, it felt wrong enjoying that kiss , it felt wrong liking how his lips felt , all of it was wrong. You felt so guilty…but it felt so wrong. You take a deep breath before getting off the bed. Going to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. You then go to the kitchen seeing that kun is still cooking.

“You really didn't have to cook anything I always go the cafe near by” you say standing next to him.

“You don't have to waste money on food that won't make you full for even three hours” he chuckles softly.

“I just know mom chose the right man , he'll definitely make her full” I chuckle as he rolls his eyes.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” He asks curiously.

“Oh I don't, just focusing on getting to college now you know” I roll my eyes as you hear the door opening

“Oh what is that sweet smell?” Your mom says as she enters the house

“Oh it's some breakfast, want some babe?” Kun says with a smile.

“Oh I'd love to” she chuckles , kun also chuckles and get the food ready , you all eat together , talking about the party and how it went. Your mom decides to go sleep since she couldn't sleep at her friend's place.

You and kun are at the living room , each of you scrolling through their phone boredly.

“So have you ever thought of having a boyfriend before?” Kun breaks the silence between you two.

“I mean of course I did but you know I'll be too stressed in the next years and it will be hard for me to keep up with my studies and boyfriend at the same time.” You say looking at him boredly

“When will college start?” He asks

“In about a month?” You say as he nods.

Time passes it's time for college, kun drives you there as you discover he works in the same college you're in , you liked it cause it might get you more grades since you know one of the teachers personally.

After the day was done he takes you with him.

“So how was college today?” He smiles and looks at you

“It was nice , I got to know some people out there”

“You never told me you work there before?” You say as he chuckles.

“I mean you never asked” you chuckle as you hear his words

“I mean fair enough”

“How about we go eat outside today?”

“And what about mom?”

“She's going out with her friends, typical, she never spends time with us” he rolls his eyes

“I love her though” he chuckles, you felt happy that your mom that loves her truly…but you felt jealous at the same time, what if you were the one that met him first?

You'd have been in love, going out on dates but it was too late they're getting married in two weeks. He takes you to the restaurant, you two eat together and get kinda drunk , he holds your hand and takes you to the car which was parked in a dark alley as he helps you sit in the backseat , he sits next to you and brushes his fingers against your thighs.

“Are you okay?” He asks

“Mhm , yes I am” you lean in on his chest, burying your face against his chest , he chuckles and nod.

“You don't look like it though “ he says teasingly.

You look up and kiss his lips softly,he chuckles against your lips and kisses you back , running his hands through your hair, you moan slightly against his lips, as his fingers touches your inner thighs, he pushes you flatly on the seat and gets lower , raising your skirt a little , seeing your red panties and chuckles , he pulls them down and leans in , feeling his warm breath against your pussy you whine slightly. He leans in more and presses his tongue against your pud, you arch your back slightly and whine. You remembered your mom and immediately felt bad but it was too late…too late to stop him it already felt good , his tongue pressed against your pussy , the car is filled with stem , you body feeling hot , your hair sticking to your sweaty forehead. He raises his head and leans in to pull your lips in a sloppy kiss sneaking his tongue inside your mouth, it was a guilty pleasure, it was the nicest kiss ever.

“You taste nicer than your mom, she's old anyways don't you think?” He chuckles and kisses your neck gently.

“I- kun I don't think we should”

“Shhh , it's okay princess, it's only this time , okay? Just for me , just for daddy okay?” He asks and kisses your lips.

“O-okay daddy?” It was a new nickname for you to call him. He smiles as you call him that.

“It sounds so sweet coming out of your mouth” he smiles and kisses your lips. He helps you get dressed and fixes himself and you and drives back him , and he sees your mom there.

“You guys finally came, kun should cook for us” your mom says with a smile

“Oh me and y/n ate outside, I thought you were going to eat with your friends?” He says curiously.

“Oh , yeah we ate together but it wasn't a big meal , what a shame” she sighs. You felt at that moment really bad for doing that with the man she loves , but it kept going on , whenever your mom wasn't around , you'd just walk and sit with him and talk a bit before you find him on top of you fucking you as you plead him to fuck you harder.

One day , you went to a party and came back late at midnight. You saw a figure standing in the kitchen..it was kun , what is he doing at this hour? He usually sleeps early? Was the first thing you thought of.

“Why are you late?” He asked in a slightly sleepy tone. Hearing his voice sends shivers through your spine.

“Well , I was gonna come early but my friends begged me to stay” you smile awkwardly

“Sure” he looks at you , he looks tired…very tired.

“Why are you awake now anyways?” You ask worried

“Well your mom was worried , cause you're so I had to calm her , she just went to bed..” he says angrily.

“Oh..I'm sorry” you whisper as you hear him sigh. He suddenly pulls you against the kitchen counter.

“You think sorry will do anything?” He asks angrily, trapping you between his body and the counter , you shake your head in guilt. He grips on your chin tightly making you look at him in the eyes and attacks your lips , you were shocked but you returned the kiss. He kept kissing you for what felt like forever as you pulled away to take your breath as he pulled you to your room.

“Get naked” he commands as you nod and strip out of your clothes and get on the bed , he gets on top of you and kisses your lips again before taking off his pants , he brings the lube and puts a generous amount on his cock before he starts getting inside you. And you moan at the sensation of his cock in your tight pussy.

“Do fucking tight” he chuckles and thrust inside you.

“Please daddy…be gentle” you plead but he ignores your pleas.

“Why would I be gentle when you're acting like a whore coming late at night in that dress that makes you look like a slut?” he says.

“I'm sorry , I won't do that again I swear”

“Keep talking like that and I won't let you even cum” he says strictly, you shut your mouth as he continues thrusting inside you , hitting all the right spots..he knows you…more than he should.

“Oh you're much better than that old hag in the other room” he whispers , his red hair sticking to his forehead due to the sweat on it, he pulls your lips in a sloppy kiss as you moan against his lips as you felt like you're at the edge.

“Please daddy…I'm gonna cum” you beg

“Not now” he says as he thrusts more inside you , your eyes roll back trying to hold back your orgasm. He thrusts faster inside you for a few times before he releases his seeds inside you , he slows down before speaking up.

“You can cum now” as you heard these words you immediately release your orgasm, he pulls out of you , as you calm down from your high taking a deep breath.

“You okay now?” He whispers as he lays next to you kissing your lips. You nod , as he smiles and stands up and helps you get up and you two shower together and change your bed sheet and he sneaks back to your mom's room after leaving a peck on his lips

[pineapplefulfillseveryneed]

Annette (the original Sparks pre-movie 2013 version)

I've been waiting for this to be released since my early days as a fan! I've not seen enough hype about it out there and I think that is because there's not been a lot of info about this to put things into context for newer fans. So let me remedy this!! (I know they've added some more info in the newsletter but I don't know if everyone gets that.)

At the end of the THOM era Sparks started teasing us about "the new album", which would be in a similar format to Bergman as it was also a full story in audio format. They were fully intent on touring it as a 3-people live theatrical performance with them + Rebecca Sjöwall performing the roles. (They would've liked to tour Bergman as a live performance as well, but logistically that wouldn't work so they were excited about this.) … And then we stopped hearing about it. Until the first news about the film came out!

I've seen people refer to this as a demo or even a mockup album (?), but let me set the record straight: what we have here is the FINISHED Sparks album for Annette! This is what would have been the new album in 2013, the original story for Annette, exactly how Sparks themselves created it (before the film collaboration with Leos Carax). For the film some things were changed, for example I think Carax said that a lot of the irony and humour wouldn't work in a film so that aspect of it was mostly taken out. AND NOW WE GET THE VERSION WITH THAT IN IT! I kid you not I had to be one the phone with a friend to yell about it for 2 hours straight, this is one of the most exciting things to happen!!! (Also, Annette being a literal singing pram? R&R remain the funniest guys alive - this is SO GOOD! I'm so hyped about the beautiful art by Galen Johnson, too! (Who also did the art for the THOM era, and was one of the directors for some music videos over the last few years.))

What we get with this release is Russell as Henry McHenry (and believe me, YOU WANT TO HEAR RUSSELL PERFORM AS AN EVIL GUY), Ron as the conductor as well as some other voices (RON ON VOCALS, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!), and the wonderful vocal performances by Rebecca Sjöwall as Ann/Annette (she was the Hollywood starlet on Bergman and she also sang on Life With The Macbeths - a highly relevant song in reference to this release we're getting, I think, "each murder the ratings soar"). I am a huge fan of the Bergman album, but I'll be very honest and say that while I love their choice of accurate voices to tell the story - the most beautiful voices out there are Ron & Russell's and that's the only thing that might have made me love the sound of The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman more. And now we're getting that! This is them taking on the roles of the characters they wrote! I love it when they're acting, because honestly they are really really great at it!

[SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH] Russell Mael - looks like a cinnamon, can actually kill you - will be committing murders, Ron - looks like he could kill you, actual cinnamon roll - will once again not get the girl as the guy portrayed by his brother takes her away from him in more ways than one. (Fuck I still so wish I could've seen this on a stage.)

Also there will be songs we've not heard at all, there will be songs that might sound very different than what we've heard in the film, the story ends differently (and I personally really like that). …I don't know what I'm most excited about, I JUST CAN NOT WAIT. While I'll forever be curious what their stage performances would have looked like, I'll not have to remain curious about what the album and their original version of Annette would have been like. Because here it is!!! :)

I say this without slandering the film, but this version of Annette is the one that's going to hit me hardest. (I am calling my 2013 self to tell them the good news, holy hell!)

As a final note, here's something they've shared in the newsletter:

"Writing in the sleevenotes of this boxset release Ron and Russell Mael have said "...we feel that this earlier version of Annette should be listened to not as the preparatory or demo step toward a filmed version, but rather as a complete and alternative version in itself. We are very proud of it.”

[uravitypng]

Hello So I have a dirty Kinktober request so it's okay if you decide not to write it…

Your Haikyuu character of choice is in a new relationship, okay? A really healthy and full of love. He is sure that Y/N is the woman of his life.

Things change when he and his friends (other characters of your choice) meet to have a few drinks and play video games. Then, his friends show him some videos they recorded some time ago, before Y/N was his girlfriend. A curious videos to say the least...

The videos were sextapes of them with her (individually and other threesomes, foursomes, etc).

He knows he should be horrified, but for some reason he tells his friends to keep showing him more videos…He was never so horny and hard in his entire life.

You could write little drabbles representing each video or whatever you want!

atsumu is really happy, more than happy, he's ecstatic, he's in love. for the first time in his entire life he is in love and in a wonderful, beautiful, perfect relationship. his whole life has been a string of flings and one night stands, he thought that was what he wanted, he didn't think he'd ever settle down. until he met you. you're his soulmate, he knows you're the one.

it's off season currently so everyone is out for a couple of drinks. everyone's close together around a table so they can hear each other over the music. that night, just that one night changed how atsumu saw his perfect girlfriend forever. " 'm just saying shoyo ya don't seem ter type to be into freaky." atsumu shrugged his shoulders in dismissal, he honestly has no idea how they got in this conversation but everyone has already left apart from him, hinata and bokuto and they're talking about their sex life as bokuto's been complaining that he hasn't gotten laid in months.

"don't be so sure tsum tsum, last year with shoyo here was amazing," bokuto's replies.

"wait, what? you two?" atsumu was completely clueless, having no clue that they ever were together.

"not just us, we had a girl with us." hinata elaborates.

"yeah you wanna see?" bokuto asks making atsumu furrow his eyebrows in confusion momentarily. "do you still have the videos sho?" hinata reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his phone and moving closer to atsumu so he can properly view the screen. he goes through his phone a bit trying to find the right videos while atsumu is still processing this situation thinking this is going to be such a weird thing to say to you if you ask what he's been up to with the guys tonight.

"found it!" hinata says before tapping onto a video and bokuto also moves closer. as soon as atsumu sees the thumbnail his eyes widen and he covers hinata's phone with his hand. you've never told him about this but there's no way that isn't you, even from one frame he knows what his girlfriend looks like. "what are you doing atsumu?" hinata asks, looking around him to see if there's any reason for him to be covering up his phone.

"that's- that's m' girlfriend." atsumu says, close to shouting. everyone stays silent for a second.

"the one that's..."

atsumu finishing the sentence for shoyo, "yea, love of m' life."

more silence, just the music and the chatter of everyone around them but they don't say a word. atsumu is in complete shock, he never expected anything like that from you. he's not saying you're vanilla but he didn't think you ever had a threesome. "it was before you even met her atsumu." he knows it's a serious thing when bokuto chooses to call him by his given name.

atsumu's mouth is dry as he tries his best to think clearly on the situation, he's only had a couple of drinks but it's overwhelming to be sitting next to two people who have slept with his girlfriend. "you don't know it's her for sure. we could just check?" hinata tells them both.

he knows it's you, he knows, but he needs to see. he doesn't know why he needs to see but he does. he agrees and hinata presses play. he watches you moan around bokuto's dick as the camera pans down to where your body connects with hinata's, repeatedly, hard and fast. atsumu hates to think it but it's turning him on incredibly, it's better than any porn he's ever seen and he knows it's wrong and should feel conflicted but watching you get destroyed by two of his closest friends is making him harder than he's been before in his life. he watches with rapt attention. "do ya want'a come back to mine tonight?"

this might not be exactly what you wanted but i hope it's alright! people may be a little ooc in this but i'm not sure, i still think it's good <3

[writing-for-life]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN DREAM'S HAIR USED TO BE WHITE!! oh my god. i just saw your post about killala and i have now perished. thanks for breaking my heart.

but also hi!! i'm relatively new to the fandom and it's a great place to be. i haven't finished reading all the comics yet but i'm curious to know:

what do you think are the main differences between TV!Dream and Comics!Dream? i've heard so many people claiming that he is incapable of changing, for instance, and though the show does convey his overall rigidity pretty well, i'm not getting the vibe that he's immutable.

also!! it's clear that he feels a lot. which is always funny to me when the corinthian is like yo, try this and maybe you'll feel something for a change but like. he does!!! or i get the impression that he does. he probably feels too much if anything?? all of it simmering just beneath the surface, barely contained. how would you personally analyze his relationship with his own emotions?

i hope all of this is coherent enough for you to answer lmao, i saw your post about enjoying being asked sandman questions two seconds after i woke up and barged into your inbox. hope you have a lovely day!

Thanks so much for the ask, and welcome if you’re new(ish) to the fandom! 🤗

I’m sorry I broke your heart—much more heartbreak to come I fear if you haven’t read the comics yet, so I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

I am one of those people who believes the differences between comics!Dream and show!Dream are actually not as big as they are made out to be where it matters, and you will definitely find people who disagree. At the end of the day, we all read it through our own lens and will never be fully objective about it.

The main difference I see is that they filed off the rough edges of the comics a bit to make a new audience sympathise more. It’s very hard to do that with a character who is basically in full arsehole mode for most of the first 40 issues or so, and even then only slowly begins to come out of it (although we can obviously see glimmers of what lies below the surface at the beginning of the comics, too, but it’s far more subtle than in the show). I’ve worked in musical theatre for a over decade of my life and understand a bit about bringing the written word to stage/screen, and some things simply don’t translate well from book to stage/screen, and you have to change it. So my personal opinion is we get a more sympathetic Morpheus and certain changes so the audience can do exactly that—sympathise off the bat. You will lose an audience pretty quickly if they don’t care about the protagonist and the universe he moves in, and you can’t be as nuanced about it as you can be in a written work. We’re talking about streaming services thinking about profits here, even if people don’t want to hear it.

Also: The more you sympathise with a character, the deeper the emotional investment and the more you feel, even if it hurts.

Having said this, I don’t think Morpheus is incapable of change, and I never got where that idea comes from. His biggest flaw is that he believes he cannot change (and even he has moments when he admits he might have). In the introduction to Endless Nights, Neil Gaiman says that he was once asked to describe The Sandman in twenty-five words or less, and famously, it was this (you might have heard it):

“The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”

And I think some people might have wrongly taken that for an either/or thing. I don’t want to say too much at this point because I don’t know how much you know (if you’d like spoilers or already know how it ends, let me know, I’ll happily expand on it). Only so much:

He is capable of change, also in the comics. Very obviously so. But just like he denies he has his own story (which also isn’t true), he denies he can change. Or at least he thinks he perhaps cannot change enough (it’s actually hard to write about this without giving everything away, help! 🙈).

As for his feelings: He does feel, but again, it is something he pushes down and will deny himself. Until it bursts to the surface and breaks through, and when that happens, it’s usually with, well, let’s say varying results, and that’s putting it mildly. Personally, I’d say he has problems relating to his feelings, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel. Quite the opposite in my view. He holds the collective unconscious—all unprocessed feelings and whatever else floats around in that collective mess, and it’s exactly what he says to the Corinthian in that famous scene: he needs to keep a lid on it and keep that lid firmly closed so all of it doesn’t consume him. But that also means denying himself the feelings that are linked to his own personhood (if you want to call it that). There’s Dream of the Endless, and then there’s Morpheus. And while they’re one and the same and inseparable, Morpheus is also the “point of view”. The character, the person, if you will. And deep down, he craves that personhood so badly. Out of all the Endless, he is the only one who basically collects names because they mean having something beyond his function, which is also mirrored in what he tells Death in “The Sound of her Wings”: he wants something more. He is the only one whose realm is populated with sentient beings (yes, I know Despair has rats, but I think you get my drift). He is desperately lonely and struggles with it. He seeks connection yet denies it to himself. That’s not someone who doesn’t feel.

I don’t know if this answers your questions at all—I was doing the wild “spoiler-free” dance 🤣 But please let me know if you want me to go a bit deeper, I love talking about this stuff.

You can also have a look at my metas if you haven’t already. The headers pretty much explain what they’re about and what spoiler-level to expect, but none of them are truly spoiler-free I guess:

Again, thanks so much for encroaching on my inbox, and feel free to follow up if anything was left unanswered.

@dreamaturgy ask answered

[kailoraurelius]

Dr Mitchell and Sheila are invited to the family dinner in AIAOY while in SG it took Beca a longer time until Chloe forced her to see him and is still a bit awkward between them. Beca did say her dad left when she's 11 but she wasn't all that sad, I'm just curious does having a huge loving group of relatives and friends lead to the earlier reconciliation? I would like to hear more about your psychological thoughts you put in your stories

Okay, I been excited all day to get off work so I could dive into this ask lol! First off, thank you so much for it, cause I love to nerd out about this stuff. Second, absolutely yes, the huge support system changed how I wrote them in this one! Strap in, I'm about to go off and write a fuckin' essay.

In the movie, it's canon (as far as I know) that Beca is an only child who favors her mother over her father, because she sees him as someone that abandoned them. This is a fundamental characteristic of her character. It's why she's so rude to him in the beginning and, even though she claims she just wants to get to LA and make music, it's very obviously a contributing factor to why she's so against college. Seeing as she later proceeds to stay in school and have an amazing time that she is very proud of, it's easy to assume college was never the actual issue. Sure, she didn't think it was the future she wanted, but she KNEW it was the future her dad wanted for her and she hated that.

It became a core tenet of her character: "You don't walk away from family." She says this to the Bellas in PP3 while she's explaining that she's turning down the very thing she's always said she's wanted: to make music. Why? Because it wouldn't be with them. Because making music is NOT her truest, deepest want. She wants a family. People she loves and trusts to have her back. The thing her father was supposed to be to her. (And I think he is, this is not a reflection of my thoughts on his character, because I love him, but we'll get into that in a bit. This is just what I think Beca feels.)

That's why it's so interesting that she does walk away from the Bellas in the first movie. She does EXACTLY what she hated that her father did. She tried to make it work, it didn't go well, and she dipped. And this, obviously, is why she goes to her father to talk it out. Yes, she's sorta pushed away Jesse at this point and she doesn't have anyone else around to talk to, but I think some part of her also knows her dad will understand. If you watch the deleted/extended scene of that conversation at her dad's house, he tells her, "Look, Bec, the day I left you was the saddest day of my life. I should have... I'm still trying to make it up to you." And THAT is where I took inspo from for AIAOY.

In Stained Glass, their dynamic is incredibly different from the movie. Beca's mother has passed and there's this whole thing about how strained the relationship was with her father. "For her, family time was quiet dinners with her mother in a hospital room and even quieter dinners with her father at home. And when they were together, it was like sitting around a time bomb with the timer covered." So when I wrote Dr. Mitchell and Beca in that piece, I did it with the constant knowledge that they both blame him. She blames him for not emotionally being there for her when she needed him and he blames himself for being too heartbroken to be able to take care of her or her mother the way he wanted to. They both just shut down.

And that anger and guilt and silent hope that the other person would fix things created this huge rift between them, to the point where they both sorta iced each other out because that was easier, less terrifying, than trying to jump the gap. Beca moved away, pushed all of her old life into the back of her mind, even the good parts like Jesse. And her dad eventually moved on, started a new family. In my head, that guilt from before ate at him all the time and made him a better father and husband that time around, because he was desperate to not have a repeat performance.

That's why Beca is so much more prickly in SG. In fact, (slight spoilers for Teach Me Something) when you see more of her back when Stacie first meets her, she's kind of a total bitch lol. She isn't interested in letting people in, she takes care of herself and that's that.

But then Stacie worms her way in by being persistent. And that softens her enough that Chloe is able to get in too. Then Emily. Then the rest of them lol. And, eventually, that softens Beca enough that she lets her dad back in too.

When Beca's getting ready for her wedding and thinking about how she's glad Chloe kinda forced her and Dr. Mitchell back together, there's a moment where she realizes, "She forgot he was kinda funny." They've been so distant from each other for so long and they've purposely shut out all the good things because it hurt too much. So, at that point, they're sort of relearning each other. The new people they've become, the old people they still were. While also trying to reconcile that they both made mistakes in the past. So yeah, it's awkward. But it's just the start for them in that story. A new start.

In AIAOY, (I'll try to be careful of big spoilers lol) it's already past that point. When Chloe first meets Beca in college, it's probably the closest it would have been to their dynamic in SG.

In this one, Beca's mother is alive and she has this huge support system of Stacie's family, her cousins, her other friends later on. So when I was writing them here, I thought a lot about that. In SG (and in the movie, maybe) I feel like Beca didn't believe in permanence. Her mother died, her father faded away, she shoved everything else away and, more importantly, it went. (Jesse was a good friend to her and he respected that she didn't want him around, but that wasn't probably best for her in the long run.)

But in AIAOY, Beca is surrounded by permanence. Yes, her dad left and she was righteously angry at him, but then was able to realize it was his loss. Her mother was still there and still just as wild and loving. The rest of her family was still all around her, unchanged. Stacie and Amy were at her side always.

So, of course, when Chloe came along and was like, "I'm staying in your life forever, thanks", Beca believes her. And lets her in much easier than she did in SG or the movie. Because she's spent her whole life surrounded by people that have softened all those hard edges we see in canon. So this Beca is softer, more prone to silliness and sincerity.

Which is why it made sense to me that she would be on good terms with her father by the time of the story. In my head, there was no fault in the marriage. They just didn't love each other anymore and he didn't really know what he wanted, so they split. Beca blamed him and hated him, of course. She says, "For a long time, I would get so mad if someone said I was anything like him. Even if they just said I looked like him. I didn’t want to be compared to him at all. Because I wanted it to be clear to everyone that I was nothing like him. I’d never leave my kid. You don’t walk away from family, you know?” Different from SG or the movie, Beca doesn't have the option of shutting everything out and growing resentful. She's surrounded by too much that she loves and she's just angry her dad left that behind. Left her behind. Like the great life they had just wasn't enough for him.

So yeah, it's difficult for a long time. And she barely goes to Barden because of it all. But other circumstances--the house, Stacie and Amy going there, the nice studio in town--swayed her. So she kinda had to deal with seeing him more. And, in that time, she started to see he was different. Happier with Sheila. And she was, eventually, able to realize it wasn't that their family wasn't enough for him, it just wasn't right for him. So she forgives him and even gets close to Sheila. And she's emotionally able to do so because she knows her family and friends have her back. The thing her character so dearly needs.

As for Dr. Mitchell (hey, we made it back to him, told you!), he's probably the most canon character in the story lol. He's made mistakes and didn't handle his divorce or keeping in touch with his kid as well as he wanted to, but he loves her very much and wants to do better. And Beca realizing that both in the movie and AIAOY AND SG is what eventually lets them be good again. Closer than they even were before the divorce, because now they understand each other better.

Next chapter, tiny spoiler, you'll get to see that for them. How it isn't awkward like in SG or borderline hostile like the movie. Those things have already been worked through by this point in AIAOY. And I hope it will be enjoyable to read them together in this new way!

Sorry for the literal essay lmfao. I was joking, but then I wasn't xD

[mapliusoup]

my big theory about whats going on in the bp universe- pt1

hey guys!!!! im just so excited abt the whole tour and the possibility that theyll release new stuff so i thought. why not share the brainrot with the swarm!!!

this is gonna be a i think 5-part (maybe more, maybe less) series of theories im gonna be doing :)

i also wanted to clarify that these are my theories and i am not in any way claiming they are true! im just having some fun lmao, if u wanna add anything just share with me im curious

(i dont include house of wolves and teenagers in the story btw they just dont fit in for me)

this is the part 1, the beginning.

the black parade, for me, is about death. and coming to terms with yourself. i am going to tell the story how i view it.

the story is about the patient, a man dying of terminal illness, most possibly cancer. he is alone, he is sad, and he has nobody to spend his last moments with. this is about him. and death.

his story starts with i dont love you. his partner has had enough of him: he is selfish, broken, and they dont think they can fix him. so they leave him. and he is alone.

the patient never had anyone he could remember of apart of them: his family? he didnt remember them.

in between that and the next song of the album, his fate is sealed. he gets diagnosed with terminal cancer and admitted into hospital. he has no one there. he cant remember anything about his past, in between these white walls.

the sharpest lives, the next song of the album, is the patient being angry. he is angry, at his partner, at the hospital, at himself, at the non-existent god that cursed him to this fate. he cant die, he does not deserve to. he complains, shouting at no one, about his unfair fate.

in this is how i disappear, his anger slowly starts to dissipate, shifting, and turning into slight sadness, maybe even remorse. he misses his lover: he wants to be normal. he wants them back. he doesnt want to go just yet.

in cancer, the patient is starting to realize his fate: hes dying. and there is nothing he can do to stop it. hes regretting every single mistake he ever made. the patient hates himself. he is alone because he deserves it: dying will free him for all this loneliness. he says his goodbyes to no one. and then he dies.

the end.

he opens his eyes, and he is in a place he does not recognize. a land of gothic infrastructures, tall and cutting the horizon into strange shapes. (we'll talk about this landscape more in the future; remember it.) he is surrounded by silhouettes, faceless people he does not know, but that yet seem so familiar. a young white-haired man approached him, smiling. "welcome," he said. "to the aftermath of your life."

the young man, the parade leader as he calls himself, explains to the patient that he is dead. he tells him that because of what how much of an asshole he was when alive, he is here, now.

in welcome to the black parade, the parade leader tells the patient about this place.

the parade, for me, is the purgatory: they send lost souls there to repent themselves- or, alternatively, to get them to hell. the parade leader and his band sing for them, they sing for them to make them remember all their past mistakes and to decide of their fate. the band is stuck there, in this limbo, forever: what got them here, they do not know. maybe the tour will shed some light on the origin of the parade.

then comes dead!, where the parade leader laughs at the patient, explaining to him that he made these mistakes, that he is unloved and he deserves whats hapenning to him now. the patient tries to deny it so hard, but he knows its true. he knows he fucked up.

in a burst of pain, for knowing that this is his fault, the patient has a vision.

he lays in wet dirt, the smell of blood and death in his nostrils. he hears screams and gunshots all around him.

suddenly, he remembers. the patient went to war, probably world war two (i like to think he went there because of the ghost of you music video. maybe im overthinking it lmao), and killed people there. a lot of people. it was normal to kill people at war, of course. but it haunted him. during the battles, he lost so many friends. so many brothers. the only person he had left was his mother.

mama.

his mother cried when he came back. because she could see the blood on his hands. she cried because her own son had murdered other women's flesh- their families.

she died quickly, too sad to live like this.

from that moment and then next song, there is a big gap that im going to try my best to explain.

basically, after the patient recovered his memories of his mother and the war, he started regretting all that he did even more. at the same time, he accepted it: everyone was imperfect. everyone was human. he comes at peace with himself, and prepares to die. i mean yeah he already died but like just his mind died? like he was still technically alive because his old memories still attached him to the living world.

in famous last words, the patient tells his last regrets to the parade leader: how he couldnt tell his mother and his partner that he loved them: that he couldnt live a long healthy life: that he couldnt say sorry to the mothers of all the men he killed.

but in disenchanted, he comes to terms with that: it is sad, but it is how it is. just a sad song, with nothing to say. there is nothing he can do to stop it, so he might as well go peacefully.

the parade leader, himself, had grown attached to this man: the patient was like him in many ways. he couldnt quite explain it, or understand it, but it hurt to let him go.

and so, in sleep, the parade leader sets him off. his song comes from deep inside, from his guts. it hurts. it hurts so bad to let him go. as he screams at him to go to sleep, there is a flash of darkness. and so the patient ends.

thats kind of my interpretation of the story! a man who is broken and does not know why, who is going to suffer an unfair end, and who finally comes to terms with who he is thanks to another lost soul. ofc, thats just how i personally see it!

last little thing before he start working on the next parts, for which i have wayyy more evidence for what im gonna speculate hehe

blood is the "transition" to the next part of the story. the parade changed after the death of the patient. it wasnt the patient directly, but something had changed after he left. the parade had become more defiant, more unstable, more resisting. so someone had to stop them.

thats when swarm comes in.

feel free to share ur theories with me!! i love to hear them :3

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #15

Work Her Magic

There is some seriously cruel irony in posting the episode where Hazel's mom clearly wants to engage with her, but can't right now because she's busy (and thus Hazel's upset about how her mom is always working) IMMEDIATELY after the double-length episode where Dev was unable to get his dad's attention whatsoever. What the heck, Hazel? Did you learn nothing?

I love Hazel's parents so much. They're adorable. Marcus being a little jealous about how his wife's always talking to her publisher / coordinator when he wants to plan a date night is fantastic.

-> Assistant, that's her role.

omfg, the title card was grown-up Hazel?? I was multi-tasking on these notes and thought that was her mom. She's ADORABLE.

What the fliiiip? I'm not sure I've ever loved a design more... This is so good. Her color scheme is the same. She's still predominantly blue and those pink bits resemble her shirt stripes, and she's still got green shoes. That's impeccable. A+ thoughtful design.

I love her... I have no 'fic ideas for her at this exact moment, but I like her a lot.

Is the silverware at this school made of wood? Wanda has a funny texture on her disguise.

Hazel is gossiping about herself with her mom at lunch. I'm bracing for Hazel to find out info she'd rather not hear, but so far everything is just Angela gushing over her. I love that.

-> She didn't have a bad word to say, only how much she loves her daughter. Pure...

Antony!! And it was indeed a hand-me-down shirt!

I have some questions about these posters.

Terrible brand name.

I enjoy how Wanda has consistently put on shades this season. I was going to make a joke back in the dinosaur episode about how she did that in the OG series too. I think it was only twice, but those scenes are some of my signature memories of her (The Musical & trying to get her son out of Crocker's house during "Fairly Old Parent").

This was Cosmo as Rice President of Pixies Inc. (to me).

omg, ceiling sprinklers. The detail! Very curious to learn more about how these environments were rendered.

Return of the Meerkat-adjacent voice! Daran Norris!

???

Date night is back on!!

"So, you're probably wondering how I got here..."

Crock to the Future

Crocker?? Huh. Can't say I'm surprised.

-> I've always headcanoned Crocker with witch genes due to the Alden Bitterroot connection. I wonder if he's aged or looks the same (In "Secret Wish," he looked the same after aging 50 years and claimed it's because he was altered to look like that even when he was 10, so it prevented further signs of aging).

-> My theory is that he'll resemble Jorgen and have a patch around his mouth. No justification for this beyond "That seems to be the style to symbolize an older character from the OG series." I still want to know if Doug Dimmadome is dead.

-> If this Crocker turns out to be Kevin, I'm gonna lose my very last marble. Doesn't look likely though due to the freckle placement in that title card. But can you IMAGINE...

Marcus only has 9 toes... Wh- Why does he have more than 8? I thought everyone had 8. Did he cut it one in half with the weedwhacker and count it separately?

The Galax Institute is celebrating its 96th annual event. If that's an in-city location, Dimmadelphia is at minimum 96 years old.

-> He's 100% meeting Crocker at this parascience convention. If he meets the Fentons with that ghost machine, that'd be great.

A.J. NAME CONFIRMATION!! ... I don't love it because I headcanoned him as Archimedes Junior and I think that's cooler than Anthony James Jr., but I'll accept it! Curse my slowness in getting my A.J.-centric multi-chapter out.

-> A.J. founded the Galax Institution at age 10 and is Marcus's hero. First of all, I love that, and second of all... good to know. I was pretty sure Dimmadelphia was still close to Dimmsdale, but it's always nice to have confirmation.

Also, I am once again asking people who have strong feelings that Chloe is a Mary Sue to give me their opinions on A.J., who ends world hunger in Season 2, works with the government at age 10, can build a time machine in 10 seconds with paperclips and string, and who apparently founded the Galax Institute as a child. They would be friends, I think.

Don't actually give me your opinions, but I do think about them a lot.

-> I'm sad my Happy Peppy Betty plotline has her moving to Brightburg instead of Dimmadelphia. It's not like I knew this was coming, but... SHE.

Angela (to me): This is my super hot husband. I love him very much and anyone who calls his interest in parascience dumb will get a high heel to the eye.

I can't believe Mark is banned from the institute. A.J., I have some questions.

Oh, there he is! Baby face...

Huh. I don't have anything to say.

I'm unclear as to why Cosmo and Wanda aren't trying to avoid the magical detectors? Why can't they just leave? I feel like this plot would work better if they'd been sleeping inside Hazel's bag.

I like how Mark, his ship, and Dark Laser's ship are in the mural.

Oh, he has aged:

I'd LOVE to see Crocker interact with A.J. I don't think we'll get that lucky, but it would be fun.

-> I've been thinking this since Episode 1, but I'm starting to seriously debate changing all the times I had Crocker say "cryptozoology" in 'fic to "parascience" instead.

I am super puzzled that A.J. went into parascience after all the time he spent with Crocker. He certainly seems to believe it (unless there's a plot twist that he just wants to give people the opportunity to discover things but he doesn't personally believe in it), but like... that's a STORY. Are we gonna talk about that?

-> This dovetails so nicely into my "Norm & A.J." AU and my head is in my hands but there is nothing I can do about it right now. help.

Oh, I didn't clock that he was a janitor here. Either I was typing and missed that or it was said off-screen. Also I enjoy him crawling without using his hands.

/blinks. Wadjet dying in Age of Mythology sound effect, is that you? Usually in shows, I just hear the donkey sound (I think it's the same one Minecraft uses). This is a surprise.

It is the same sound; I looked it up. I don't know what to do with this information.

Is Crocker going to take Hazel's bag, but open it and ignore Cosmo and Wanda on the outside?

-> Wanda, why don't you just leave? I don't understand.

Wanda: Crocker used to terrorize our last godkid. Cosmo: And before that, he WAS our godkid Roy, Viv, and Chloe awkward monkey puppeting somewhere:

I mean, Chloe was also terrorized a little, but...

Okay, so... Cosmo and Wanda have clearly explained the godparenting basics to Hazel. She's aware she'll lose her memories. But... why didn't we get to see that?

The miserable godkids plot and the memory loss haven't been explained well in this series and I'm a little surprised, seeing as that's one of the biggest pieces of worldbuilding in the OG show. Since Hazel seems to have a loving home life, I wasn't sure if either rule was still canon until Poof-Peri showed up.

Wanda: Crocker would have to cover the entire building in a butterfly net to catch us. Which is impossible! Me: /"Viral Videots" flashbacks

Oh, please give me a sequel to one of my favorite jokes in the entire series...

Eh, I'll take it. I'm disappointed Cosmo and Wanda can still float, though. Hey, you guys aren't supposed to do that!

Hazel: I wish Crocker stopped trying to reveal fairies! Wanda: Oh, we can't do that, squirt. As long as the building's covered by a butterfly net, we're powerless!

W... Wanda? What exactly are you saying? You wanna run that by me again?

I like how A.J. came prepared for Crocker to interfere so he brought a back-up award to give to Marcus, haha.

... Hm. I feel slightly unsatisfied, but I'm not sure I could put into words why. I didn't really have expectations and yet I feel confused.

[rzyraffek]

Hey umm are you still doing people requests? Umm can i request about Billy lenz,michael myers,the sinclair brothers,and Jason with a bassist s/o? i mean like s/o can play a bass or a guitar!! like that, im sorry if its too hard for you and sorry for my bad english

Im still doing requests!! And I will for long while! I never played any indtrument but I did my best. Also your English is great! (And sorry for long wait) Request open

Slashers with guitarist s/o

Billy Lenz

Lisening to gossip and drama all day might sound cool, but it isn't lol. Imagine sitting in attic and the only things you can hear is some girls talking shit 24/7

So yeah when he hears music he is more than intrested

This guy never was huge music fan but oh boi its good to hear something new

Gonna sneak into s/o room and play with guitar 100%

If s/o is a professional player and has some sort of medals/rewards im sure he gonna steal some frf

Micheal myers

Guy was in hospital for 30years i doubt he heard anyone play in real life. Maybe in radio or guard himming but omg its been long time since he saw somone do it irl

My guy is gonna stalk the hell out of them

When they are in relationship He gonna just grab guitar and bring it to them and stare. He wanna hear you play so much😭😭

Doesnt understand that most guitars aren't made out of super strong materials and he probably step on it few times or trow it at them for no reason. So they either have to buy new ones or scod him so much he never goes near that thing again

Vincent

He just gonna sit there awkwardly, enjoying the music😊😊

Loves it!

Wants s/o to teach him! He is a fast learner! Pls!!

Will beg them to play his favourite songs (dude looks like my chemical romance fan)

If s/o plays some slow calm songs he will acually fall asleep to it

Bo sinclair

Hes not big music fan tbh

Guy will say "oh? Cool cool" and move with his life

But he likes to have backround noise when he does stuff so he won't mind them just vibing with guitar while he does he work

After a while it kinda gets in his routine to lisen them play so he might acually come around once or twice asking them to continue

Lester Sinclair

Omg THE VIBE

Imagine IMAGINE JUST driving on empty road in Forest, great vibes, and nice guitar. Man it sounds amazing!

He gonna sing to it frfr. Does he know what theyare playing? No. Does it stop him from singing some random lyrics? No

Will tell them all complements in the word. That he never heard such amazing play or that he could fall in love with them again if he could ect ect idc

He gonna flex to bo and vince. Like: watch this yo shes soo good with that guitar

Jason Voorhees

I can imagine how they met really

S/o just trying to vibe on trip, having casual walk in Forest, they decide to have lil break and sit down and maybe play a little. And this precious bean hears it and is soso curious and he just ends up standing behind them lisening to them play for like good 10minutes untill they either see him and evaluate or just leave without even noticing

Pls this guy doenst even care about killing at this point, pls play more rn!!!! Please?

I can see this guy accidenlty kidnapping them and just giving them guitar and probably panicking as much as them tbh😭😭😭

But the best vibe is when s/o and Jason just sit next to campfire and vibe. He plays with their hair/makes flower crowns while they play guitar

[vixendoesstuff]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

ARIGHT, SO-

Continuing on where I left of, the gang sets of on their sentient hot air balloon to the outside world, to meet the other Troll tribes and, in Poppy's words, to "unite them in Barb's grand World Tour plan to make one big party again". And also to possibly find Cooper and Branch's respective tribes.

Generally speaking, the plot of this part of the saga doesn't change much beyond character interaction and mini events diverging from canon. Branch being a Techno Troll doesn't change a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, so this is what you get.

Anyway, onto the story!

The gang (Poppy, Branch and Cooper) decided that their first destination is Symphonyville, in Classical Troll territory. They decided on that since its the closest place to Pop territory relatively speaking and that, after some begging from Poppy and Cooper's part, Branch relented and told them of his hypothesis of his possible tribe relation to one of the 6 tribes mentioned in the scrapbook; that being the Techno Trolls, to the far east of Classical Troll territory.

Obviously Poppy is ecstatic of this news and can't wait for Branch to meet his possible tribe members. Then she asked Cooper if he knows what his possible Troll kin looked like, since by now it's up in the air that Cooper is not a Pop Troll and is in fact one of the 6 Troll tribes mentioned there. Cooper told them of his own hypothesis after admitting he snooped around to the scrapbook when no one as looking, to Branch's chagrin. But he is somewhat happy nonetheless, since the two are sort of on the same boat, with the whole "apparently we're not the only ones that look the way we are", sort of thing.

All the happy chatter is cut short when they arrive at Symphonyville to fine the place ransacked to the ground up, scorched mountains and ruined buildings as far as the eyes can see. After hearing the explanation of what happened from a little whistle critter (I'm assuming Pennywhistle's a critter) the trio were devastated and shocked. Barb doesn't wanna unite them; she wants to destroy them.

The three of them are undoubtedly disturbed and horrified by the news. Poppy and Cooper was under the impression that Barb just wanted all the tribes to unite so they could have one big party again, just like they used to do before their separation. But to see the destruction caused by Queen Barb, who had declared her World Tour not out of good intent but for evil; it scared them, to say the least.

Branch was silently panicking. The information that he's not the only one out there was shocking at first, and then terrifying. But later on it turned into intrigue. He was always curious what was out there beyond the borders of the village. He never dared go out there because of his paranoia of the Bergens at the time. But now he really has no real reason to keep staying inside the village borders and explore what the world has to offer. Try as he might, he was excited to meet his own kind out there.

But now with Queen Barb's world domination plan by destroying and stealing everyone's music made him think that he shouldn't have come on this mission at all.

He dismissed his plans on meeting his kin; the safety of the people he had come to love and cherish, the people that he had grown up with for all his life, no matter the relation, comes first before his potential kind, as cruel as it sounds.

He said so to the others, saying that Barb's plan will endanger everyone in the village, and their string in turn. Only for Poppy to reveal that she has the string on her, to Branch's disbelief. After some arguing they decided to warn the other tribes of this news, to avoid any further confrontation from the Rock Queen and possibly find a way to stop her.

Lonesome Flats of the Country Troll's territory is their next stop, since it's right beside Symphonyville. Right away Branch is uncomfortable in this place, the heat not doing his skin any good. Good thing Cooper offered his cloak, or else Branch might've melted under the sun lol.

They soon encountered the Country Troll's home, where they witness the way these Trolls sing and dance. Poppy and, to an extent Cooper, found their way of doing things kinda depressing, Branch says that it fits them and he likes it. Poppy then decided to sing them a medley to teach them that music is supposed to make them feel happy and dresses them up in that extravagant pop outfits they wore in the movie (I might draw them in the future, who knows).

Before they (ie Poppy and Cooper, Branch decided not to participate due to obvious reasons) could go halfway through the song, Branch stops them after seeing how disturbed and annoyed the Trolls here are. He then reprimanded them, saying that maybe they don't want a song medley from a genre they're unfamiliar with forced down their throats; maybe they like their sad and depressing songs.

Delta Dawn soon cuts in their convo and agrees with Branch's statements, before demanding why three weird looking Trolls are in her town snooping around and singing cheerful songs (that makes her want to puke lol). They quickly explain Barb's World Tour and her plans to steal all the strings so that only Rock would survive. Obviously this unnerves Delta and the rest of the Country Trolls, so the trio and them gathered around to discuss possible plans to stop them.

Poppy, Cooper and Branch don't stay long 'cause they still need to warn the other remaining tribe of this news, and Branch is suffering under the heat. Delta thanks them for their forewarning and sent them off with some extra supplies for them to reach the Funk Trolls on the west side (which excites Cooper since he's about to meet his own tribe for the first time). Before they got far, a Country Troll catches up to them, claiming that he's their delegate to get to the Funk Trolls safely, introducing himself as Hickory.

Since they don't get chased out of town like in the movie, the journey to Vibe City here is relatively peaceful. Poppy and Cooper gleefully initiates conversation with Hickory, with Branch sitting by the sidelines listening in. Branch is not as suspicious to Hickory as he is in the movie, as he has no real reason to be suspicious about since they parted with the Country Trolls on good terms. But he does sort of have a feeling that Hickory is not really telling the truth, because he doubts Delta Dawn would want one of her citizens to go out of her sight with the news of Barb's invasion coming along. So while he's civil with him, Branch keeps his distance.

Same thing happened in the movie with little conflict between the group, Chaz hypnotizing the crewmates except for Hickory (which kinda rings alarm bells in Branch's mind since during his interaction with the Country Trolls, they have little knowledge on the outside world, like the Pop Trolls do). He secretly shares his observation to Poppy, who reprimaded him for not trusting their friend. He rebutes back by saying that it's not that he doesn't trust him, but the possibility of him hiding something from them bases on the clues given is too much to ignore, which again, Poppy admonish.

Before they could go any further, suddenly a giant UFO was seen on the horizon coming their way, and before they know it, they all got bubble'd. Once they got inside the ship, they were amazed by the sights of futuristic looking equipments, dazzling lights, and most importantly, the Trolls. Cooper was over the moon when he realized where he is, as is Poppy and Branch to a lesser degree. They soon landed on a platform, where they're greeted by the person who beamed them up to Vibe City.

Prince Darnell, twin brother of lost "prince" Cooper.

Haha, cliffhanger! Suffer before my hands! But seriously, I just needed an excuse to split this into three parts, and this one's already long enough.

A lot of changes in this one. First, they don't get chased off of Lonesome Flats by Delta Dawn unlike in the movie. It's mostly 'cause of Branch and Cooper coming along, honestly. Branch, while being from another tribe but grown up with the Pop Trolls, can sorta understand the hesitance and wariness the Country Trolls have with Pop music. Imagined your hobby is cooking and suddenly this person comes up and forces you to do soccer 'cause they think it'll be "fun" for you more than cooking. It's kinda like that, and Branch can sorta see that point of view, even though he doesn't know any other music than Pop at this point.

Cooper will probably realize his mistake as soon as Branch told him as such (Poppy took a little longer to understand).

And since they parted ways with the Country Trolls on more or less good terms, Branch really has no concrete reason to fully distrust Hickory coming along. He finds it strange that he's coming along at all, as he thinks Delta Dawn as a person to want to keep all of her people under her watch during an invasion, no matter the reason. Taking that into account, Branch still won't give his full trust to Hickory, due to the reasoning above and that he's a wary person by nature. Who knows, maybe his suspicions of Hickory hiding something is right? (Oh, you're in for a surprise, Branch lol).

But anyway, sorry once again for the word vomit, I just like to ramble. Until next time!