#I'll Sleep When I'm Dead ;; Human Verse

[thenyoumightaswellwrestleangels]

- masterlist

disclaimer: these are collections of scenes that happen with one couple within their story / verse, not traditional chaptered fics. you can read them standalone or in whatever order you please. they're organized in chronological order here

and I will do the best I can, with the little that I know tim drake x reader x conner kent - please just stay with me tonight (and please don't let tomorrow come) - this shadow is not my shape anymore (and I fear it will swallow me whole)

bloody nose and a crooked tongue (I always wanted to be someone) tim drake x reader - my life does not belong to me (but these secrets are my own) - these hands may be bloody (but they're still mine and I'm still yours) - have I trapped you in this web of mine? (will you let me pull you out?) - I've let this wolf into my home (I feed it even when it bites) - like a watchdog at your door (like a veil over your heart) - there has never been enough of me (and I have nothing left to give) - this devotion of yours is misplaced (but this love, perhaps, is not)

carry me slowly, my sunlight (these colours, they fade for you only) damian wayne x reader - like a lamb led to slaughter (my heart held in your hands) - ask me about my sins (and I'll tell you about my love) - reach for me in the dark (and I will always take your hand) - coming soon - is this my soul, still? (is this my ghost, again?) - this goodness hurts (and I'm drowning in it)

comfort came against my will dick grayson x reader - there's nothing here for you (and there's nothing left of me) - I'll find you always (but I'd rather go alone) - nothing in my life is as easy as you (and nothing in my life is as hard) - you've been holding out on me (but I can't find a way to hold onto you) - it isn't always easy (but how lucky I am to be known) - remember me as small (I fear I've swallowed the sun whole) - Is it worth it, this love? (is it fair to you, this life?)

damn your love, damn your lies roy harper x reader - we're strangers these days (but that has to be enough) - will you come when I call? (will you answer when I beg?) - is there a home here for me, still? (is it the heart inside your chest?)

hope here needs a humble hand platonic bruce wayne x reader, platonic batfamily x reader - it comes and it goes (but it always comes back) - the past is not dead (you buried it while it still breathed) - there's an anger in me (I think I learned it from you)

love is not designed for the cynical jason todd x reader - there is no home for me there (and no solace for me here) - I'm not me anymore (and maybe you're not you) - this pain is inevitable (it sleeps with me while you're elsewhere) - remember me, please (don't let me die a second time) - this may be my grief (but it's you who's made a mess of it) - do you know that I love you? (do you know that that you shouldn't?) - my love has no direction (and my anger is a vice)

let me wrap my teeth around the world poly marauders x reader - I don't know you anymore (maybe I never really did) - please forgive this fear of mine (it used to keep me safe) - there is love in me, I swear (tell me there's something in you, too) - Is there hope in us, still? (is there something worth believing in?) - you are not poison here (and you never really were) - let me stay small, please (let me wait a little longer)

absinthe makes the heart grow fonder rockstar au // poly marauders x reader - you said you'd stay with us (you swore you'd still be you)

this is how it feels to take a fall takami keigo x reader - are we human, still? (have we become something more?) - this sweet plague that follows me (this violence that I call my one)

you will know me, though I have no name kuroo tetsurou x reader x kozume kenma - may I build myself a home here? (may I please call you mine?)

your small hands in the palm of mine gojo satoru x reader x geto suguru - please save me from this light of mine (please stay with me in the dark)

but isn't bite also touch? simon riley x reader - I need an altar to pray to (I need a hand on my shoulder)

this lust is a burden that we both share din djarin x reader - this fear is a part of me (please don't take my hope away)

[sandybrett]

Here are my completely honest thoughts on a bunch of audio dramas I've checked out. (Don't worry, nothing scathing, they're all reasonably good. But please proceed with caution, or don't proceed, if you're involved in creating any of these shows.)

In the order I first listened:

The Storage Papers: Nine episodes in. A little slow paced, but I've heard it picks up in the later seasons. My only real concern is that it seems like a lot of the horror revolves around "this thing looks sort of like a human but it's Wrong somehow. also it kills people (or cats)." I hope at some point we meet a creature that looks and acts as unsettling as the Grinner but is nice, or at least complicated.

The Cellar Letters: Seven episodes in. I LOVE it. I love the natural-feeling messiness of it, the way Nate and Steve talk in circles and go back and forth on what to believe. It's made me laugh out loud multiple times. I can't wait to learn more about that weird little room full of letters with that one random word written on the wall (I forget what).

400 Words a Horror: Three episodes in. I had to re-listen to the first episode because I hadn't been paying enough attention, but I think that particular episode rewards re-listening anyway. Also it is the only show on this list that genuinely frightens me so I have to pace myself. Very good.

Tin Can Audio Presents: Middle:Below: Two episodes in. I won't say I'm hooked, but I am somewhat interested. It's a lot more relaxing than the other podcasts on this list, so I keep thinking I'll save it for listening closer to bedtime, then not getting around to it.

The Grotto: Six episodes in. Very much enjoying. I was SO proud of myself for correctly guessing the twist in the second episode. I love the characters and am extremely intrigued by the mysteries. My only criticism is that the musical interludes drag on too long. And I'm saying that as a WOE.BEGONE fan.

Soul Operator: Three episodes in. It's good but there isn't any particular element that's drawing me in just yet. There's a lot I don't know about the world yet, though, so there is still plenty of time for me to fall in love with this show. (Irrelevant note: I always get "Smooth Operator" by Sade stuck in my head when I think about this show.)

Shadows at the Door: Listened to half of the first episode. It was somewhat interesting, but I decided I had higher priorities for my listening time than disconnected hour-long episodes that are only *somewhat* interesting.

Archive 81: Five episodes in. Quite possibly going to become a major obsession. It's got everything: playing with point of view; the Power of Storytelling but in a menacing way; vivid character voices; probably a cult. I particularly love the way conversations play out on this show--I don't know exactly how to explain it but there's a certain... friction that happens in real conversations but rarely in fictional ones outside cringe comedy. I don't usually enjoy that sort of thing when it's played for laughs, but for realism or suspense? I eat that up. It does make me a little tense so this is another show I pace myself with and I'm glad the episodes are short.

Alice Isn't Dead: Two episodes in. I'm not going to make it a priority--it's got a similar sort of surrealism to Night Vale, but with higher stakes and less humor, and I had enough trouble getting immersed in Night Vale. I could probably enjoy it if I gave it enough time, but for now I'd rather focus on *gestures at some of the shows above*

The Silt Verses: Listened to the first ten minutes of the first episode and got bored, which I think says as much about me as it does about the show. It does get off to a bit of a slow start and leaves more space between lines of dialogue than most of these shows do, but I could probably get into it with adequate time and sleep. Not prioritizing it, for similar reasons to Alice.

[rou-luxe]

THEORIES

babe wake up tragic yaoi dropped *THIS ACCOUNT DOES NOT USUALLY POST ALNST FANTHEORIES. IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT THIS IS NOT THE PLACE. theories / commentary / spoilers under the cut

I don't know 100% ALNST lore... most of this is speculation I think some people have commented on this already but apparently the one in the couple who wears white dies (Sua, Ivan) Following this pattern, Hyuna x Luka's relationship is complicated but if we go by that Luka is dying next round... But the next round is Till vs Luka, which would be different from the pattern (Sua vs Mizi, Ivan vs Till)... so maybe to complete the pattern Hyuna puts herself in instead of Till. mom pick me up I'm scared On top of that, Ivan wore black before, but switched to white. Does this have to do with something... (Was Till supposed to die instead...) Luka and Hyuna evidently have VERY different singing styles though so that would be interesting def Also the characters look older (not only the haircut man... they're taller) so I wonder... how much time has passed in ALNST??? and is it proportional to irl time (probably not) Not sure about the other videos I need to check but this time there are human spectators amongst the aliens in the crowd for the first time??? is alnst so powerful that they want to watch the showdown too??? Till sounds like he's about to break poor bb Till's lyrics in the beginning start off hopeless, asking someone to hurt him. To dissolve and drown in someone, to become one with them. Definitely Mizi. When Till's master shoves his face towards the newspaper, he's probably telling him to snap out of it, sing properly and let go of Mizi??? Then Till gets his ahh beat and he reaches for Mizi, his one hope in the darkness "Icy lips" - he already thinks Mizi is dead??? Ivan's eyes look empty. interruption from mizisua sponsor /j Even though the MIZISUA video is more of a backstory video, it also suits Round 1. I think it might suit Ivantill as well hold on When Mizi and Sua found each other (refer to MIZISUA video), Sua has lost hope already, but Mizi's love gives her some hope in the dark. Then they are torn apart, but still want to be together. The one who lives (Mizi) is in grief. Ivan's empty eyes look like he has lost hope, just like Sua. Till gave him a reason to keep going (see: Black Sorrow, their relationship shown in Cure <- this video)

Back to the video Till laying there by himself, Ivan moves the (muzzle?) restriction, maybe to help him breathe Ivan's verse reflects Till's but it's different in multiple ways "Cold words" - Referring to Till? (well... till has always been naturally sassy...) Similar to Till's statement in the first part, Ivan is saying that Till can break him apart and build him back again (mend) I guess they fought and became friends 💀 "I'll drown in you" as well. Till would sacrifice himself for Mizi, Ivan would sacrifice himself for Till (CRIES) Ivan feels "seen" by Till, Till wants to dissolve in Mizi's gaze Why does he reach for the back of Till's neck? Till unawares (sleeping)? Are the two somewhat related? Ivan reaches for Till (love) but Till unaware (once again 💀) Consume me + licking the blood from Till's wound. they really want to become one person don't they 2:46 Ivan turns away from the camera is he giving Till a kiss on the cheek or is he whispering something to Till in his sleep we'll never know

"We shall dance", with "our story". TOGETHER. THEY WANT TO BE TOGET- *gets shot* PLEASE LET THEM BE YAOI AGGHGH everlasting memory this moment will last forever THE KISS SCENE I WAS SO HAPPY AT FIRST AND THEN WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED I rewatched this video too many times the animation just too pretty man 😭 Till pushes him away I noticed this in a lot of promo arts and stuff because yk Mizi

okay back to the video Ivan's expression when he chokes Till kind of looks like him looking down at the camera like he did at the end of Black Sorrow am I reading too into this Till gives up. He doesn't even fight the choking. Normally this would be uncharacteristic but yk Mizi 😭😭 I'm confused how Ivan gets hit??? I think it's bullets but who knows maybe the rain is possessed or maybe Ivan did it himself Like in Till's song (it's been confirmed by the creators that Till killed his enemy to win apparently), if the enemy is killed then you win. Ivan sacrificed himself so Till could win, so Till could live There was also a theory I read that Luka was pissing off Mizi so she would fight back, so she would continue living BUT LUKA IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY THIS ISN'T ABOUT LUKA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IVANTILL At the end of MIZISUA video, Mizi wakes up crying in the rain. Till stands in the rain staring at Ivan's corpse (but we don't see the body) The light is focused on Ivan, not Till. The light of Ivan's life has been snuffed out, but it also leaves Till in darkness I was expecting Till to make some sort of movement once the lights turned off but nope omg Luka vs Till... Till is gonna kill his ahh for disrespecting Mizi 💀 THE OTHER YAOI DUO!! WHAT HAPPENED TO HYUNA BRO IS MAMA GONNA DIE WHO INTRUDED imagine if the intruder was luka that would be so funny also there is a heavy heartbeat motif in the kick drums for the song omg there is no heartbeat during the music when - Kid Ivan stares deadly at the camera (it stops there) - Ivan enters stage - They build the heartbeat motif again slowly during the backstory part - back to life. Starts with a single kick then double - Ivan is falling insert ivantill my god my universe memes again, Till is literally Ivan's reason for living

thank you for reading my nonsense ramblings it's 3:30 am Ivantill is worth staying up any day THIS IS NOT PROOFREAD I am CRYING 🔥🔥 WE COPE GOOD NIGHT might draw ivantill fanart... doubt I have time though

[randomly--accessed--memories]

Perhaps "I'll sleep when I'm dead" by Set It Off for the playlist?

Oh yeah, that fits!

I'm stuck between the ideas of Vox being able to be shut down by someone else and just... not. If he can't be shut off, then yeah, he'd probably barely sleep– too much nervous energy and the memory loss makes it so he just keeps getting up, forgetting that he's supposed to be trying to sleep. In those situations, he'd definitely need someone there with him to keep him still.

...Maybe that's the compromise between the two ideas? The flatscreen doesn't have an easily accessible off button, but the retro model does? ...We were talking about a song here, weren't we?

This verse gave me a very vivid mental image of Vox on a "I'm completely dissociated from my body and still conceptualize myself as human" day; his human self and demon self are stuck staring at each other and Vaughn fucking hates what he sees.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Code Words: Bacon?

Hi, I absolutely loved your CodeWords fic! It had a good conclusion, but if you were to continue that verse I would definitely read it. Like if it was something like Roman and Janus go on a new mission/adventure or just some fluffy bonding with the agents we love in this fic. – creativia10

Read on Ao3 Masterlist

Warnings: nightmare, sleep paralysis, aliens/monsters

Pairings: none

Word Count: 5008

In an epilogue of sorts to the main story, Janus and Remus show Roman one of the training simulations.

    The worst part about waking up from a nightmare is how truly exhausted his body is.

Roman winces, still staring at the ceiling as he struggles to convince the dead weight that should be his limbs to at least move a little bit. But no matter what he tries, they refuse to do so much as twitch, thrumming with the same bone-weary ache that comes from being put through the Blender; when he first started training at the higher agents' level, they introduced him to the obstacle course that would serve as his qualifier. He almost ended up permanently paralyzed the first time something came at him too fast, and spent the next six months in various stages of pain and suffering until he was finally able to put the fucking thing in the rearview mirror.

Come on, you assholes, he bargains with his limbs as he just manages to roll from his side to his back, just let me fucking move!

But they don't, and so he doesn't.

Closing his eyes to muster up the courage to shift again only serves to reinvigorate the horrors living on the insides of his eyelids. He wrenches them open again, trying doggedly to stay awake until he can convince his body to move. The dark of his room presses closer as he tries to move just enough to where he's not actively restrained by his own stupid limbs.

The ball of fear in his chest doesn't deflate.

His fingers wiggle on one hand, then the other. Bit by bit, he reclaims the use of his arms, but that doesn't mean shit if his lower body won't get with the fucking program. He wriggles around for a bit like a truly pathetic worm until he can flop himself over to the bedside table and grope for his phone.

Logan picks up on the third ring.

"Roman? Little one, is everything alright?"

"How the fuck do you sound this 'wake right now?" he slurs against the wave of relief that threatens to send him back to the bed.

"It's a skill, I'm afraid, but what's the matter?"

The obvious concern lacing his words strikes Roman's chest. "I…it's stupid."

"It's gotten you to call me in the middle of the night," Logan corrects gently, "that's not nothing."

"It's just—never mind."

"Roman," Logan says, a touch firmer this time, "tell me what's the matter."

And suddenly he's eight years old again, in a room that's too big and too small, and he mumbles: "I had a nightmare."

"Oh, little one, I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like me to come over?"

His heart leaps. "You…you would?"

Logan's quiet for a moment before he sighs. "Roman, perhaps I haven't made myself clear over the past few months, but there is very little that I would not do to ensure your comfort. If having me there with you will help in this moment, then that is what I shall do."

"Okay," Roman mumbles around the lump in his throat, "I…um…can you come, please?"

"I'll be right there."

True to his word, it feels like scarcely any time at all before there's a soft knock on his door and Roman's fumbling to pull up the app on his phone to check that it's Logan and let him in. The door swings open with Logan's soft hello, it's only me, and then he's appearing from around the corner—

Roman blinks at the flannel shirt and pants as Logan comes to sit on the edge of the bed. He notices the look and the corner of his mouth quirks up.

"Never thought you'd see me in pajamas, did you?"

"To be honest, I don't think I really believed you sleep."

"Of course not, this is part of my ruse," Logan says immediately, gesturing to himself, "I'm told that most normal humans wear specific 'bed clothes' when they go unconscious, apparently it's quite the intricate ritual."

Roman manages a weak laugh and Logan chuckles too, before his voice gentles and he shifts a little closer.

"What can I do for you, little one," he asks too softly for Roman to keep the whimper inside his chest, "what do you need?"

"Can I have a hug?"

"Of course you can, come here," he murmurs and leans forward to tuck Roman into his arms. The smell of pine and cedar wafts into his nose as he buries his head in Logan's shoulder, clutching the back of his shirt. "There, is that alright?"

He nods and Logan hums, shifting a little bit so there's less of a strain on Roman's still non-functioning legs. The phantom pain still thuds in the back of his brain like a too-loud stereo system, making him whimper again and try to burrow closer to Logan. One of his hands rests at the small of Roman's back as his head turns.

"Are you hurting, little one?"

"'S just phantom pain."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

He shifts a little more. "…yeah, it hurts a little. But I don't want pain meds," he says when Logan goes to pull away, "just—stay?"

Logan stops, to his credit, but he can feel the frown over his shoulder. "Why not, if I may ask?"

"It's more psychological than physical, at least that's what the doctor said. If I try and medicate it away, it makes it…it makes it worse the next time."

"Is there anything that does help?"

"Well, moving them helps, but I'm currently very stuck, so…"

Logan pulls back again, just enough to cup Roman's head so they can look at each other in the half-dark. "Do you want help?"

He opens and closes his mouth a few times. Something works at Logan's forehead before he makes Roman look at him properly.

"I am offering to help you because I care about you," he says, gently yet firmly, "and you are in pain and I wish to help you. This is not a trap, this is not something I will hold against you in the future. You are my charge and I will care for you as best I can."

"I know," Roman nearly whines, "I do, I promise, I just—my brain just fucking sucks."

"Hush, now," Logan soothes when Roman's fists clench, "it's alright, I know it's hard."

"Why is this so hard?"

"Brains are very good at pattern recognition," he explains, stroking his fingers through the hair at the back of Roman's head, "and it is very difficult for them to unlearn them. The brain acts as a muscle with a reflex; if it gets very used to doing something as a reaction to certain stimuli, it will continue to react in the same way until it is unlearned."

"You're too eloquent for this time of night," Roman mumbles, halfheartedly swatting his shoulder, "small-word me."

"I thought those were small words."

"Smaller words. Two syllables only."

Logan sighs in that fondly exasperated way but nods. "The brain is like a muscle."

"Okay."

"Muscles can have a reflex."

"Okay."

"It's very hard to stop a reflex."

"That's stupid."

"Well, I would argue that having reflexes at all is one of the evolutionary advantages that humans—" Roman glares at him and he cuts himself off with a sheepish cough— "the point I'm trying to make is that it's not your fault that you're having a difficult time, little one. You can be a little kinder to yourself over it."

"But that's hard."

"I know, little one, I know." He chucks Roman lightly under the chin. "But a good way to start is by letting others be kind to you."

"I don't have the brain to keep up with you in a debate right now," he says weakly, to which Logan only chuckles, "okay, okay, fine, you can help me."

Logan leans forward to kiss his forehead, which he swears he did on purpose so that Roman's hands would stutter and let him go long enough to slide further down the bed. "Can I take the covers off?"

"Mhm." Only for him to wince at how cold his legs feel, which only worsens the pain. "It's cold."

"I know, little one, I'm here to help. I'm going to walk you through a few physical therapy exercises that Medical had me do in the past, okay?"

"How are you gonna walk me through them when my legs don't work?"

Logan gives him a look and scribbles his fingers across Roman's right foot. Roman yelps, betrayed, and jerks his foot slightly away.

"Well," Logan says, slightly smug, "I think that's a promising start, don't you?"

"If you're just going to tickle me and call it 'helping,' then—"

"I won't," he says, softening immediately when he sees Roman's shoulders hunch, "I'm sorry, little one, that was mean."

"Yes, it was."

"I'm sorry." He takes Roman's ankle gently in hand. "I'll make it up to you, you have my word."

Slowly, Logan starts to bend and straighten Roman's leg, rotating his foot around his ankle, moving up to stretch out his hip too. He does the same with the other leg, working slowly and carefully so as not to strain his muscles. The ache ebbs and flows as Logan moves, still tingling in the very recesses of his brain as his legs slowly start to feel like legs and not useless sacks attached to him. Still, his breath hitches a few times when the pain decides to throb and Logan always stills, lowering his leg back to bed and waiting for Roman to nod that it's okay again.

"You're doing so well," he murmurs as he works, "so well."

"Thank you," Roman mumbles when he can actually move his legs a little bit again, "that's better."

Logan hums, sitting back near Roman's headboard again. When Roman leans closer, he lifts his arm and gathers him back in for a cuddle, kissing his temple and helping to tug the covers back over him. "Are you still cold?"

"Not really."

"That's good." His fingers card through the hair at the nape of his neck. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No."

"Alright."

"Wait, really?"

"I'm here for you, little one, if something I suggest will not help you, there is absolutely no obligation for you to do it."

"Why are you being like this now," Roman can't help but whisper, "you were so—so—so not this for so long, why are you doing this now?"

His head goes up and down as Logan sighs. "Believe me, little one, you have no idea how much I wish I could go back and change some of the things I've done, or how I chose to train you. I—in my own arrogance, I couldn't, or refused to see past yours, to see how hard you really were trying just to keep your head above water."

There's a pause, then Logan turns his head and his breath warms Roman's forehead.

"I thought I knew what was best for you," he says, a tremble in his voice, "and I helped deliver you to the hands of a monster. And for that, I will never forgive myself."

The words shoot a pang through Roman's chest. "Logan, you…you can't blame yourself for that."

"I can and I do, Roman. It was my job to make sure you were safe here, because that is the responsibility of a mentor, and I did not want—or perhaps I was just unwilling to admit that I didn't feel qualified to help you. I am aware," he says when Roman starts to say something, "that Michael was incredibly good at his job. I am aware that I cannot blame myself for the actions of others. But…look at me, little one."

Roman does and balks at the sight of Logan's tears. "Logan—"

"It was my fault that I was not honest with you that I didn't know how to help you," he says, his voice still remarkably clear, "and that I never made any effort to make sure that you knew that I was here to support you, no matter what."

And fuck it, Roman's crying now.

He throws himself at Logan's chest and Logan catches him, holding him as tightly as he can as he murmurs nonsense into Roman's hair. And maybe this really is better than he ever could have hoped for, because as Logan eventually coaxes him to lie back against the headboard, he clings to the flannel shirt with all his might and Logan comes with him, lying partly over him as though he's another blanket to shield him from the world.

There are far worse fates.

But tears have to run dry eventually because the human body has its limits, and when Roman sags against Logan's hold, he moves just enough to ensure Roman can still snuggle into his side and lies next to him. It's a different sort of exhaustion now, one that seeps far more into his chest and stomach than his limbs. He keeps a loose grip on Logan's sleeve as he nuzzles into the crook of his shoulder.

"Better?"

"Mhm."

"I'm glad." His hand cards through his hair again. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

There's a pause. Then: "Can you see if Janus is awake too?"

He can tell he's surprised him by the way Logan's hand falters, but after a moment he murmurs an affirmative and pulls away. Roman lets his eyes slip closed as the bright light from the screen illuminates the side of the bed. After another moment, he hears the telltale buzz of the phone beginning to ring and frowns. Logan shrugs—with the shoulder he isn't leaning on—and answers the call.

"You're on speaker, Janus, and Roman's here."

"Hey, sweetie," comes Janus's voice, "I heard you had a nightmare, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he mumbles, burying into Logan's side, "just…wanted to see if you were okay too."

"I'm alright, sweetie, I'm fine." They hear a muffled voice and Janus sighs. "Look, I'm going to put you on speaker too so Remus doesn't have to act as a cartoon Greek chorus."

Roman snickers as there's a fumbling from Janus's end of the call and then a clunk as the phone must be set down on the table.

"Can you still hear me?"

"Yeah. Hi, Remus."

"Hey, squirt. Welcome to the cool kid's club of not being able to sleep at night."

"Remus," he hears Janus scold, followed by a soft thwap and a muffled yelp, "ignore him, sweetie, he's a terrible influence."

"Okay, one of us started sneaking out of the dorms way earlier than the other, and I'll have you know that your disciplinary record starts much earlier than mine."

"Yeah, well, one of us had to go figure out how to mop up a bunch of green slime because the other one was laughing too hard to be useful to anyone, so there."

"And you know, I've never once heard you say thank you."

"For dousing me in green slime? No, you haven't, and you won't, because that's not something I would thank you for."

Roman chuckles as the two of them keep bickering, his eyes growing heavier and heavier. Logan sets the phone on the bed so he can still hear them, before coaxing Roman to lie back down properly. He drifts off to sleep with the three voices in his ear, laughing about some prank that had gone hilariously wrong.

***

    "I think he's asleep," Logan says over the phone and Janus immediately lowers his voice.

"Is he alright?"

"Exhausted, by the looks of it, and probably more than a little affected by some of the phantom pain still, but he's alright."

Remus grunts, taking another swig of his drink. "Has he had his follow-up with Psych yet?"

"It's at the end of the week."

"They really fucked him over with their booking shit, huh." He drums his fingers on the table. "Is he booked the rest of the week too?"

"No, not as far as I know."

"Might do him some good to get out and moving," Remus suggests, glancing at Janus, "just so he's not sitting in it."

"We have a sim mod coming up," Janus agrees, "it would be nice to do with a team."

"Why don't I see if Roman's up to breakfast with you two again tomorrow," Logan suggests, "then you can ask him?"

"Yeah, that works. Are you going to stay with him?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll look after him."

"Thanks, Logan." He hangs up and scrubs a hand over his face. "Well, we should probably get some sleep, then, huh?"

Remus huffs and finishes his drink. "Yeah, probably. Poor kid."

"Yeah."

"Nope," Remus says, pointing a finger at him, "none of that self-deprecating shit. Get that out of here. We've all been over this, now knock it off or I'll come in there with a crowbar."

Janus chuckles and waves him off, getting up slowly from the table and making his way over to the bed. After a moment, he feels the other side of the mattress sag as Remus joins him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he sighs, "just…you know."

"Yeah." The mattress shifts as Remus rolls onto his side. "You should probably change into something more comfortable to sleep in."

"So should you."

And so, neither of them moves, and they wake up the next morning with slightly bizarre marks from sleeping on things that aren't meant to be slept on, but they clean themselves up and go to meet Logan and Roman at the nearby diner. Roman looks a little tired when he sits in the booth, but he visibly brightens when he sees them walk in and scoots over to make room for Remus to sit next to him.

"Hey, squirt," Remus greets, ruffling his hair until Roman squawks, "what're you having?"

"Bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes. You?"

"That sounds great to me, I'll steal your bacon to go with my omelet."

"Hey!"

Remus winks as Janus rolls his eyes. "Ignore him, sweetie, he'll steal mine instead."

"Look, it's your own fault if you leave the plate right next to mine."

"Or you could order your own and we wouldn't have to deal with this." Remus swats a hand dismissively. "Fine, you can have my bacon, then—"

"Deal."

"—if you promise to give me the long-range flashlight in the sim later," he finishes smugly and watches Remus glare at him, "do we have a deal?"

"I'll order my own damn bacon, keep your paws off my flashlight."

"What flashlight?" Roman stage-whispers to Logan who shakes his head.

"They're talking about a combat training simulation. It's meant to help you refine your stealth skills, though from the sounds of it…"

"We don't use it the way you're supposed to use it," Janus confesses, "we use it to goof off and have fun."

Roman's eyes widen and Remus cackles. "Oh, yeah, we use it to practice stealth, alright, just not the kind they wanted us to."

"Wait, wait, wait, what kind is that?"

"Well, there's the leave-no-bodies-for-the-guards-to-notice stealth, and there's the leave-no-guards-to-notice-the-bodies stealth," Remus explains with a grin, "there's also the who-cares-fuck-it-we-ball stealth, which is my personal favorite."

"And also the least stealthy, look at that." Remus sticks his tongue out at him. "It's meant to be done in teams of four, but Remus and I normally do it just by ourselves."

"Since everyone else gets on our asses about 'not doing it right,' whatever that means."

"If you wanted," Janus continues, smiling as Roman laughs at Remus's disgusted expression, "you and Logan could do it with us. It doesn't count for anything, it's not something you're going to be tested on, it's just for fun."

Roman glances at Logan, who shrugs, before looking back at him. "Yeah, sure. Can we, um, can we eat first?"

"Sweetie, I'm not letting Remus near any sim until he's got at least three cups of coffee in him."

"Yeah, yeah, it was one time."

"Wait, what happened?"

Janus raises an eyebrow at Remus who groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, you mistake an old broom handle for a combat shotgun one time…"

They trade ridiculous stories throughout breakfast until Roman's grinning more than he is frowning. They walk back to the base two by two, Janus walking with Roman as Remus and Logan debate the technicalities of one specification that Janus apparently never bothered to look up. About halfway there, Roman shyly asks if he can hold on to Janus's sleeve and Janus simply tucks Roman's hand in his until they're all the way at the sim room.

"Alright," Remus says, snapping into a somewhat professional manner—at least as close as he gets when he's not on mission— "so the way this works is we're going to be dropped into an abandoned complex. There are going to be clickers in there—those are weird alien-looking motherfuckers that react to light and sound. We will be given something to accomplish while we're in there and we have to do and then make it to the extraction point. Very similar to a lot of video games except this one you actually get to fuck around in."

"How do we deal with the clickers?"

"You can bash 'em over the head with a hammer," Remus continues, taking one of the big melee hammers off the wall, "you can stab 'em with a spear or a knife, or you can shoot them. Shooting them will make noise and wake any others up that are in the area, so only do that as a last resort or if a bunch of them are running at you. There will be alarms inside as well, which will wake a bunch of them up, so that is the time to shoot."

"Are those our only choice of weapon?"

Janus catches Logan beaming with pride as Roman asks all the right questions as Remus walks him through gearing up, leaning close when the two of them have a moment.

"He's an incredible agent, Logan."

"I know," Logan murmurs back, "I can't wait for when he gets to run a sim like this solo."

"Oh, those two are going to be insufferable once Roman gets good at this, I know it."

"Oi, you two! Stop gossiping and get over here, we're ready for the drop."

Janus walks over as Remus secures Roman into the first of the drop pods, ruffling his hair again as Roman gives him the okay. He does Janus next, securing him in before making sure Logan's gear is all good to go.

"He's good at this," Roman mumbles and Janus glances over, "is he, like, is this his sim?"

"It might as well be, he runs it a lot even solo, which is meant to be impossible. He has fun with it, but he'll behave since it's your first run." Roman nods and reaches out. Janus squeezes his hand. "And if at any point you decide you're done, we'll end it. I promise."

The corner of Roman's mouth quirks up. "Should we have a code word that means we're done?"

"Sure," Janus chuckles, "what do should it be?"

Roman thinks for a moment, then smiles. "What about 'I want some bacon?'"

Janus laughs so loudly Remus looks over at him with a frown. He waves him off and nods at Roman. "That's perfect, sweetie."

"You have to use it too, if it gets too much."

"I will, don't you worry."

"Alright," Remus calls, clicking himself into a drop pod too, "let's do this shit."

The room's lights turn low and the drop pods begin to lower slowly into the simulation room proper. As soon as they emerge beneath the floor, Janus squints through the musty gloom of an old industrial prison complex, lit with flickering faraway lights and the eerie glow of something not-quite biological growing along some of the walls. The pods land and disengage with a soft hiss and immediately Remus is out, prowling along the floor until he's scanned their immediate area, returning to the group and beckoning them closer.

"Comm check," he says quietly and they all confirm their lines, "alright. On your wrist there's a map that shows how much of the place we've found. It also has the objective in the corner."

"We need to find the…stasis unit?" Roman glances around. "What does it look like?"

"We need to find a terminal and query it to figure out exactly what we're looking for. Janus and I have sentry turrets," he says, motioning to Janus, "those'll be helpful when we have to deal with alarms. Their fire isn't live, per se, but it will hurt you, so stay out of their range as much as possible when the clickers come. Logan, you've got the gooey globby stuff that slows 'em down, so we'll gum up the floors and doors if we need to. Roman? You've got the scanner."

Roman immediately checks the thing on his belt, squinting at the screen and turning slowly to get his bearings. "This says there's one about five meters that way."

"Any others?"

"Not that I can see."

"Alright, keep your eyes on that. We're gonna go look for a terminal first, okay?"

"We're following," Logan says, taking out his knife and a flashlight, "lead the way."

Remus glances at Janus and he nods, taking the rear position behind Logan. Roman follows Remus, calling out markers when they appear on the scanner. Remus navigates them through the dark halls until they come across an intersection where Roman says there's one right in front of them.

"You can see it, be quiet now, over there," Remus mutters, gesturing, "there, see?"

"Oh, fuck, that's horrifying. Wait, what are you doing?" he hisses when Remus flashes his light at it and it burbles. "I thought you said they were attracted to light and sound!"

"It's a duration thing more than a disturbance thing. You can flash and get away with seeing what's in the room without waking them up. If you ever think you're in trouble, crouch, don't move, you'll be fine."

"Okay."

"You wanna kill this one?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, it's on its own, the rest of us are right here, go on, squirt, you got this."

Despite Remus's assurances, Janus feels as nervous as he's sure Roman does, watching him reach for the massive hammer on his back and slowly approaching the clicker. His footsteps are near-silent, his breathing over the comms is a little heavy, but even. The clicker burbles as Roman gets right up next to it, then the hammer swings—

"Nice one, squirt," Remus says as the clicker falls to the ground, limp, "good job."

"That's it?"

"Yep. Now it does make some noise, so you gotta be a little careful, but for the most part, yeah, keep doing that and you're golden."

He catches a glimpse of Roman's proud little smile as they keep going. Sure enough, the rest of the sim runs pretty smoothly. Roman keeps up the work with the scanner, Logan can type faster than literally anyone he's ever run this sim with before, and Remus behaves. For the most part. There is one time where he goes to scout alone without them and they hear him muttering over the comms.

"I should not have committed to walking into this room by myself."

"You need some help?"

"Nah, nah, I got this. Ooh," they hear a moment later, "I have even more friends over here, awesome."

"If they react to light and sound," Roman whispers to Janus even though they're all on the same comms, "why is he talking?"

"Because he's Remus, sweetie, he does that."

"Hah, take that, you absolute pile of ballsacks," they hear a moment later before Remus reemerges, "okay, we're all good, we can go in there now."

Roman just gives him a look before looking down at the scanner and frowning. "Wait, what does a moving orange thing mean?"

Remus doesn't stiffen, but Janus can see the way his hands twitch on his flashlight. "Let me see?"

Roman holds it out and he sighs.

"That's a scout."

"What's a scout?"

"It moves around and has these long tentacle things that can detect stuff. Basically it's a huge fucking headache to deal with because it can sound alarms and draw a whole bunch of stuff to us."

"Uh-huh. Uh, so it's probably a bad thing that it's in the room we have to go in, right?"

"Yeah, it's not great, but we'll make it work. Stay close, everyone," Remus says as they head for the next door, "alright, let's do this."

Janus finds himself agreeing entirely with Roman's noise of disgust when he sees the scout for the first time, tentacles and all. Remus shepherds them around the very edge of the room, out of the way of most of the tentacles, until they're almost as the next door. Which, of course, is when the thing decides to turn and move straight for them.

"Can it see us?"

"No," Remus mutters, "only the light like the others."

"Can we kill it?"

"Not while its tentacles are out. Hey, what are you—"

Janus's heart leaps to his throat as Roman moves straight for it. "Roman!"

"I got this," Roman mutters, before he swings the hammer just as the scout starts to—

His eyes widen when the scout falls over, dead, and the complex is silent.

"Well," Remus says faintly, getting up as Roman scans the rest of the room, "you and I are going to have a lot of fun in some of the later levels."

"There are more levels?"

Janus can feel Remus grin as he claps Roman on the shoulder. "Oh, squirt, you ain't seen nothing yet."

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash  @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv  @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

[maleficore]

Saw a few other people do it so here's my take on an

✨Arthur Morgan playlist ✨

feat. my terribly inconsistent taste in music.

It's gonna be a long one because I'm about to ramble about each and every song, so I'm adding a cut.

If you just want to listen to it, HERE is the link :)

Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit

"No one knows what its like; To be the bad man; To be the sad man; Behind blue eyes" Come on.

She Burns by Fov Vance

This is the obligatory Mary song. Like the entirety of it. Just listen.

Their Truth by Tyto Grey

Not only is it the ultimate wanderlust song, but also "They’ll pull the shade over your eyes; And convince you to sacrifice; All of your life" Lord have mercy.

Colors by Halsey

Listen, I know this is a love song. But the theme of betrayal and abandonment feels very appropriate for Arthur's relationship with Dutch and the way it progresses throughout the game. Just keep that in mind when listening and you'll understand what I mean.

Youth by Daughter

The whole song. Literally. I have no idea why this is not considered The Arthur Morgan Song™ "And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones; 'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs" Or the entire "We are the reckless, we are the wild youth; Chasing visions of our futures; One day, we'll reveal the truth; That one will die before he gets there" verse. Bro.

Blonde Hair, Black Lungs by Sorority Noise

I'll admit I mainly put this one in because of the title lmao, but also works nicely as another Mary song? Just a way more sad and less lovesick one.

I'll Be Good by James Young

I'd have to paste the entire song here. It fits that well.

It's Alright by Mother Mother

The whole song again. I really wish he could listen to this one on repeat.

Little Dark Age by MGMT

"Forgiving who you are for what you stand to gain; Just know that if you hide, it doesn't go away" :)

Wires by The Neighborhood

This one is probably more Dutch than Arthur in parts, but fits them both as a duo just as well. I'm not gonna paste the entire second verse, but it's very Arthur at the end of it all there.

Art School Wannabe by Sorority Noise

"Maybe I'm my own greatest fear Maybe I'm just scared to admit that I might not be as dark as I think Maybe I am not the person That I never wanted to be" Yeah.

Run by AWOLNATION

Well I'd say "I am a human being capable of doing terrible things" works well and the song is fire so.

Me and My Friends Are Lonely by Matt Maeson

"I was looking for a purpose, what a chance, you had some with you" gave me baby Arthur vibes. Idk what more to tell ya. ("I always figured that I'd be the one to die alone" hurts good too so...)

Oh My God by Ida Maria

"Arthur's inability to leave the gang" the song, basically.

No Roots by Alice Merton

"I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running" no more thoughts than that. Song works well for an outlaw.

Renegades by X Ambassadors

Same thing. Outlaw song :)

Born To Die by Lana Del Rey

I saw a John & Arthur edit on TikTok so good I couldn't not add this one. Lyrics work for them so well.

Trouble by Cage The Elephant

"Trouble on my left, trouble on my right I've been facing trouble almost all my life My sweet love, won't you pull me through? Everywhere I look, I catch a glimpse of you I said it was love and I did it for life, didn't do it for you" *shrugs*

And here's a few last ones that I've added purely because The Vibes felt right:

We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow by Soko

Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Alien Blues by Vundabar

Father by The Front Bottoms

East by Sleeping At Last

[auspex]

(gehenna-calling) ok then. let’s have the song from mark & sampson’s playlist that you are Most Normal About

at first i struggled w this ask and then i saw u specified the Mark And Sampson playlist and not the Mark playlist. so. easy wins.

See I'm so normal about this because it is literally about them? Like IDk why this band The National wrote a song for mark and Sampson like tbh thats so insane. for them. I'm normal about it though. I've ranted about this song before but the lyrics are literally just so perfect OKAY??? It can be interpreted from both Mark's perspective and Sampson's. even the ST said this is the best fitting song on their playlist.

Every time you get a drink And every time you go to sleep Are those dreams inside your head? Is that sunlight on your bed?

From Mark's perspective, abt sampson: Sampson seems to drink a lot, which is fair because of the horrors. He wonder's if its unhealthy but is too distant/nervous to really ask. Not sure if it's his place, you know? As for the dreams - lots of context is required to properly understand this but in short Sampson is worried about a changling invading his dreams to the point where he basically insisted mark get him a bed that is warded to protect against that. Mark wonders what sampson dreams about to make him feel that strongly about it.

from Sampsons perspective, so about Mark: Drinking here is about blood. It's harder for me to go into sampsons perspective cause he aint my character so idk everything, but i can def imagine that Sampson wonders how the changeling is fucking with Mark's dreams (because mark is a kindred he can no longer remember his dreams cause its like hes dead but according to the changeling he still has them). I'll interpret the sunlight bit as being worried about mark being ok.

-

Every time you're driving home Way outside your safety zone Wherever you will ever be You're never getting rid of me

From Mark's perspective about Sampson: Mark knows Sampson is really concerned about being safe and anytime he leaves his home he knows on some level he must be scared. When he interacts with kindred it's always pretty scary for Sampson. And then of course. The bit about not being able to get rid of him. Mark knows that with the ghoul thing he's kind of dependent on Mark and. he doesn't like that. But yea wherever Sampson goes Mark is with him in the sense that vampires and ghouls would know of their connection and there's no gettin rid of that! and he can't flee. And also Mark really needs sampson for reasons of humanity too - he is a touchstone.

From Sampsons perspective about Mark (and also Just about Mark even if Sampson doesn;t think abt it cause again idk all of sampsons thoughts or many of them): Mark put himself in danger soooo mcuh in order to get territory during open warefare w the Sabbat and . idk how much Sampson knows this but mark wanting a safe place / power was very influenced by wanting to protect sampson. not the only reason but a big one. And. again. being his ghoul. makes the last line work. ough.

-

[Chorus] You own me There's nothing you can do You own me

-

So self explanatory. Mark has to be Sampson's domintor because of how fucked up the Camarilla in Detroit is. So even if he doesn't act on it its . kind of a fact that he does. and from mark's side of it he would bascially do anything for sampson out of a WONDERFUL DELICOIUS ANGSTY COMBO of guilt, love, possessiveness, and a desire to stay in touch w his humanity.

-

[Verse 3] You could've made a safer bet But what you break is what you get You wake up in the bed you make I think you made a big mistake

Their relationship was def broke by other things but Mark has fucked it up more with the blood bond and the changeling contract. But its the situation and they live w it every day. The Big Mistake is def the changeling contract.

IDK if sampson feels this way but having sampson is def a risk for Mark - a person who can be easily used as leverage over him. Not a very safe thing. But he didn't really get a choice.

-

[Chorus] You own me There's nothing you can do You own me You own me Lucky you You own me There's nothing you can do

Same stuff as before but i want 2 add that i could totally see sampson word for word saying sarcastically "You own me, lucky you" hhhh

-

[Bridge] You clean yourself to meet A man who isn't me You're putting on a shirt A shirt I'll never see The letter's in your coat And no one's in your head 'Cause you're too smart to remember You're too smart

Lucky you Lucky you Lucky you

Deep fucking breath. OKAY. OKAY. So this fits but. I have to explain.

The first four lines. are about Mark. From Sampson's perspective. Meeting with his sire. He puts on a bit of an act not in a lying way but in the way that he wants his sire to be proud of him and happy about what he's done. And Mark tries to keep Sampson as far away from his sire as possible.

The next part. Is about Sampson from Mark's perspective. Mark has someone in his head - his sire Julius - but Sampson doesn't. And Sampson has memory problems. which is really sad but it in a way it's safer and smart to not know.

but again a sarcastic lucky you cause like. its really sad how bad his memory problems are.

-

Ok i analyzied the hwole song and theres more i could say but this is enough. for you to see. that it is so normal that im obsessed wiht it. <3 thank you

[xhelladirectoryx]

🕵️ Cameron Rose (Crimes of Passion) 🕵️

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

GENERAL INFORMATION

Name/Alas: Cameron Rose

Faceclaim: SIDHARTH MALHOTRA

Species: Human

Birthday/Age: December 22 {28}

Gender/Sexuality: Male - Bisexual

Occupation: Private Dectetive

BIOGRAPHY

Cameron lived in New York his whole life. His father and uncle were police officers. Unfortunately his father was killed in the line of duty responding to a crime at a baseball stadium fifteen years ago. When he grew older, Cameron decided to follow in his footsteps. He were considered to be the top of his class, and were the youngest to make Homicide division. However, there was so much corruption within the force. He hoped to purge it by bringing it to Internal Affairs, but they were in on it, and forced him to take the fall. Cameron resigned before he could be fired. Currently, he live in an apartment above his uncle's bar, The Drunk Tank. He suffer from recurring nightmares and panic attacks about his father's death.

He currently works as a private detective at Ginovesi Private Detective Agency.

More info:[xxx]

VERSES

CANONS AND HEADCANONS

RELATIONSHIPS

Father: Deceased (Jimmy Rose)

Mother: Unknown

Siblings: None

Other Family: Uncle (Tommy Rose)

S/O: None

Pets: None

[applepiesandalibis]

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED...... This will be a long post methinks...

— "cause god hates our country / she told me she wants me to sing out «he's female» / three cheers for the gal in the sky" and "when the blues are washing their mouth in the south / you know they're hiding bodies north" from "you will never take me alive"

— the entirety of "we know where you sleep" tbh

— french words in "wait until i get my hands on you" (idk if that counts but still)

— "sing strong knees / clean kidneys / sing for sharp eyes / let's organize before they rise" from "the most important part of your body" (especially the way John pronounces them)

— "at the other end of the leash" in its entirety

— "our lumbering bodies that we have to feed / put to bed, take to the bathroom" ("the extinction")

— "they cluck the atrocity, their beaks are posturing / at an old vampire, a forest fire" and "we keep our umbrellas down here, we toss the salt behind our ears / cause the good looks weren't worth our seven years" ("the forest fire")

— the whole part about atoms in "the comet"

— for some reason "hara-kiri kids come kill yourself" from "the tornado"

— "are you smelling flowers and looking around for the gardens? / or are you smelling flowers and looking around for the coffins?" ("the human condition")

— "i know, i'll never lose an arm, i'll never stay up staring at the phone / i'll never rot up with disease, don't you bury me and leave / don't you leave me in the ground alone" and the rest of this verse ("said the spider to the fly")

— "lovebird, you haven't touched your bread / revenge served cold, breakfast, deathbed (or "in bed" idk) / i'll never touch a hair on your pretty head" ("one day he went out for milk...")

— "the sinking ship, the grand applause" in its entirety, especially the "fat baby's birth" part and "this sick song moves on, if you're lucky lifelong you can sing a part as it falls apart"

— "i'll come back from the war / but everything I'll touch seems to break" and so on ("now, we're slowly circling the draining fishbowl")

— "WIFE‼️BED‼️SIDE‼️DO YOU WANT TO MEET YOUR GOD⁉️" ("let's be bad, Henry...")

— "i'll use the words used up on commercials / like such sharp boys like to write songs, music, and quick lines / this feeling, i can't confine that to a rhyme" ("dying with decent music")

— "you strike a face like atom bombs, if you will / now did i mention, did i, your nucleus nuclei-eye? / i got you right where i want you" ("a face that could launch...")

— "allocate it, allocate me R.A.M., simple, he said / i got red, i got red, it's always something, she said / there’s disk drives, there’s fax lines, there’s computation routines / i know i got it all, i know i got everything / and now your lyrics are lies" ("paperwork")

— "when (and if) the big one hits..." (the whole song)

— "i have my wants and needs / and want you to's / depends / when the album skips the end / we play it again" ("a little place called trust")

— "cause last night i took my sharpest blade..." and that whole verse ("i did a terrible thing")

— "i'll take your legs, i'll take your arms / i'll take your breath in the night / then give away myself in bloody strips / and barbie doll eyes" ("so, how goes the good fight")

— "the experiment failed as the researcher quell for his boots / yeah, the network delays, i'd make it rain forty days, that's what i'd do" from "this is the return of don't talk backs". also the way he screams "don't you ever talk back to me"

Bonus! Some nighty nite lyrics

— "with the business of being, the business of breathing / the business of eating, the business of being a bad man / i am a bad man" and "you're with a warm body, carbon contents, atoms, and proteins / i'm on a rudderless illusion of meaning / i am a vessel here in vain with no in tow / and if you wanna see a dead body, take off your clothes" ("animal rites")

— "best check your hands for missing fingers once i've shaked them" ("the white powerless")

— "and then there's me, the temporary custodian / of these particles and free floating radicals / that convene for 80 years or so, that's if i'm lucky though / never been very lucky though" ("your temporsry custodian")

— "no raindrop would believe he's the cause of all the flooding" from "just lay still" + the chorus ofc

— "WE PICTURE SEVEN SWINGING BRANCHES!!! WITH SEVEN SWINGING BODIES!!! SEVEN SINGING TRUMPETS!!! AND SEVEN SEALS TO COME!!! WE!!! SHALL!!! OOOOVEEEEERCOMEEE!!!!" ("canaries in the coal mine")

— "we have such sights to show you / above you, below you, mass grave / come be the lord of the harvest / around you, the hugest mass grave" ("put your teeth in")

— the chorus of "until it goes". how could anyone not like it

— the entirety of "a tale told by an idiot"

— "someday this could all be yours / but you chose to stay on all fours" ("you are facing the wrong way". I assume that the second line is a we know where you sleep reference?? and even if it's not, the fact that he referenced someday twice on this song is inexcusable💔 /hj)

OKAY I'M DONE sorry if this is too long. I love this band so fricking much and I love John's writing it's literally amazing I can talk about his lyrics and how they connect with each other for hours????? Alright, thanks to anyone who have read it to the end👍🏻

the paper chase is so good that whenever i’ve tried to list out my favorite lyrics it always turns into a massive essay. but tpc crowd. i know ur out there. what are some of your favorite tpc lyrics.

[hysterical-hypnotist]

Terminally Bored (Closed RP With astiel-c)

|| @astiel-c || 

It was boring as all fuck here at the hospital, but he couldn’t fucking leave since his dad was a doctor here, and if he tried to leave, he wouldn’t have anywhere to go ‘cause he had the keys. 

That was why he thought maybe he should try to at least screw around with some other poor soul here. Verbally, of course; he wasn’t that cruel. 

He decided to pick this one kid on a bed beside him as his target. He seemed around his age-ish, after all. “Hey, whatcha in for?” he asked nonchalantly, resting his elbows and subsequently his chin against the bed rails. 

[multi-lefaiye]

hi hi hi hi hi hello hi i wanna hear abt the void-walkers so sos os so sos o bad hi

HI HI hello thank you,

i've been trying to talk about void-walkers for days but my brain won't function for anything but a ramble so thank u so much for the excuse to ramble <33 i'm gonna do a rough overview here i think!!

OKAY SO!!! [claps] void-walkers are an original supernatural... magical... paranormal.... thing i created for my WIP a modern ghost story, though i'm starting to wonder if i should give them their own wip at this point because the lore. it's getting out of hand.

the short explanation for what a void-walker is is that they're humans whose souls got fuckin YEETED out of their bodies, but done so in a way that didn't kill them. there's more specifics than that, but that's the basic gist.

void-walkers are known by a bunch of other names, but the term 'void-walker' specifically refers to the idea that they literally "walk" a line between the realm of the living and other realms (referred to just as "the void"). this story operates on the idea of the multi-verse and other realms and realities, because i'm such a fan of that as a concept. it's intentionally left a little vague, though <3

void-walkers are created through a very specific murder ritual that requires a lot of time and planning to do correctly. essentially, five people have to die to make one void-walker, and the fifth one to die becomes the void-walker if all steps are performed correctly. if things are botched, it's possible a void-walker will still be created (such as in the case of juno), but that's still very unlikely.

there are actually a few varieties of void-walkers based on the time of their creation, because one of the most important aspects of the ritual is the phase of the moon during which it's performed!! i promise there's a GOOD reason i've been frantically researching the phases of the moon and timing of eclipses in the late 1800s. i promise i have a method here.

they also, for extra fun and flavor, have a variety of supernatural abilities that vary based on which phase the moon was in when they were created, how successfully the ritual was performed, aaand a bunch of other factors but this is getting long.

anyway uhhh okay i'll just list some Facts about void-walkers to round this off.

void-walkers are effectively immortal, but they can still die--they just don't STAY dead, if that makes sense, as without a soul they cannot pass into any afterlife or other realms. so, every time they "die", they come right back and their body heals itself.

essentially, the only way to kill a void-walker permanently is to reunite their soul with their body.

they require less sleep than a regular, living person, but they do still need to sleep sometimes. they also require less food and water, but they do still need it.

one thing all void-walkers have in common is that they can all see and communicate with ghosts. essentially, they can see quote-unquote "beyond the veil." it's a whole thing.

the perfect void-walker is almost completely indistinguishable from a regular human. the more unusual a void-walker looks, the more likely something went wrong in the ritual that created them.

most void-walkers change their names after their creation, as a way of separating themselves from who they once were. not all of them, though; it's 100% a matter of personal choice.

wow okay this was long but thank u for the chance to go AAA