#London's underground story

[ranjith11]

The London Underground: History and Construction | London's underground story

In this captivating video, we delve deep into the fascinating world of The London Underground: History and Construction. Join us on a journey through time as we uncover the secrets behind this iconic transportation system. From its inception to the intricate details of its construction, this video will leave you amazed. Explore the rich history, the challenges faced during construction, and the lasting legacy of The London Underground. Get ready to be transported through history itself!

[darklight-owl]

Professor Layton games will present you with a story that's the most over-the-top ludicrous shit you've ever fucking heard in your life that no human being could possibly think for a second could ever be remotely feasable but execute it so damn well that it leaves you like this

[punchholesinthesky]

You stumble upon a dark seemingly abandoned train/metro station, and you see a train. Its is very old. No one is on it.

It opens its doors

[itslookingback]

I Need To Draw Sherlock Holmes on the London Underground

[deckerroosevelt]

Chapter 18

The next thing I recall was that I was in a hospital with a concussion. The headache was unbearable and I hated the odor of hospitals. I tried to inquire about the incident on the tube but nobody seemed to understand. They just said that I had hit my head hard. I tried my best to interrogate about the music box too but it was like nothing had happened. I was left to self-doubt and confusion which made me irritated. And the doctors and nurses introducing themselves all the time didn’t help it. 

 On the next day that I woke up there, the news were running on the TV. I watched them for a while and then footage of a familiar tube popped on the screen. I was there and so was the drunkard and the elderly man. The events happened as I memorized it and apparently a few minutes after I had lost my consciousness the camera suddenly broke down. The old man had passed away and the alcoholic was in a coma. His body had collapsed as nearly every organ had weakened. He also had bruises around his neck that according to the forensics were from a rope. But there was no rope in the tube. The music box was also missing. 

 Then, a zoomed picture of me filled the screen, and the reporter explained something about a young boy vanishing from the screen. Some bypassers were interviewed, and they talked about supernatural causes and stuff. Supposedly, the media had blown up with conspiracy theories centering my disappearance overnight. I hadn’t even disappeared! I was taken to the hospital, which I quickly left after seeing the news. 

 I was shaken by the fact that people were talking about me. Suddenly I was a known person and the supernatural cases were being dug out with me. All at once things were out and people were trying to find my information. And not just the police. After a few days passing by I had my own websites where people tried to track me down together. Some people said things that weren’t true like that they saw me somewhere where I wasn’t. Or that I came haunting their house and I was a ghost. Some people said that I was kidnapped but that theory quickly shifted to me being abducted by aliens. 

 Decker went mental because they had dug some cases like Millie’s out and found proof of the supernatural. Anonymous police had leaked information and pictures which the netizens believed. The trust people had in alleged authorities was absurd. According to the real professional police that we usually worked with, they were fired and it wouldn’t happen again. We all knew the damage was done already.

 I was in a situation that I had never been in yet and I didn’t know what to do so I followed Decker's instructions. Stay inside and stay away from the news and the forums. However, after a day I was already roaming through the internet. It was an addictive cocktail of emotions that took fully over me. I had never felt quite that way. It was a mix of joy and satisfaction that filled my chest but at the same time, anxiety and shaking fear were eating my insides. I was glued to my bed reading through my very own fan pages and the less positive pages about me. 

 The official news had hastily banned all supernatural articles. When they wrote something about it, it was usually just keeping people updated about the facts. The music box had appeared twice more out of nowhere. Though there was a theory. Each time the box arrived, it was in the underground tubes and a person with a certain ring left the train. Now they left it somewhere a bit hidden so it wouldn’t be seen before the tube left again. But the alleged person never bent or placed the box. It just appeared there after they walked past the spot. 

   After the music starts to play, people go through their worst memories. Some people aren’t much affected by it and at worst might feel some humiliation from the school days or such. But so different people use the tubes. Some who have gone through terrible times have faced horrifying things. There was a man who had been shot in the chest. He was an ex-police. He had to go through the shooting again and an invisible bullet had gone through the old wound just like it had years ago. But this time he didn’t make it through the non-existing shot. 

   The trust of people was declining on the authorities and official information. Everyone was turning to stories and rumors. The tubes were soon closed everywhere in London and the buses and the roads were packed. A dramatic change had happened in the streetscape of London. The streets were filled with bicycles, cars, scooters, motorcycles and buses. It took distinctly more time to get from place A to B and it had affected the whole economy from people’s health to education to economy. London’s tourism declined drastically over a short period of time except those one in a million weirdos who wanted to get a glimpse of the supernatural. 

   A new threat araised as a new attack happened on the rammed street. Ten people were dead for a variety of different reasons from getting trampled under the horrified mass to drowning to air. 

   Everything was falling apart and we didn’t know anything about the box nor did we get our hands on it. We had no way of protecting the citizens so we had to hurry. 

   But I was in my cozy room that was invisible to the outside world, safe and warm. Wondering why I saw nothing and just blacked out. My ‘disappearance’ had sped up the fear and I did nothing. What could I even do but sit inside? After all, it was dangerous outside. Or was it? I was clearly nearly immune to the melody. But for some reason I couldn’t find myself objecting to Decker's commands. I didn’t feel like going out. Or even getting up. How long had I sat there reading? Two full days without sleep.

[theendorisit]

Horror story reccs

If you are looking for some meaty horror books, and love stories within stories, or short story collections, have a go with Family Business and Thirteen Storeys by @jonnywaistcoat

I love a story that takes its time to get you invested, slowly revealing more of the world and the characters, and the inevitable changes they have to experience. The author is superb at writing relatable, engaging and entertaining character who develop over time. Even characters that you hate, you still want to follow and find out what happens to them!

another key element of these stories is thoughtfulness. I close the books and find myself ruminating, days later, on the nature of community, palliative care, grief, forgiveness and forgetfulness. The stories aren’t polemics or essays, rather the themes are subtly woven into the tapestry of the story. It takes a remarkable skill to write stories like this.

I also recommend the audiobooks - top tier performances from a range of voice actors that will make you shudder!

Finally, the third book by Jonathan Sims Burnout is in production! This book is set in the London Underground. I am very excited, because there is a lot of horror potential in a setting like that.

Burnout is pitched as “a dark tale of the horrors lurking in the heart of London, in plain sight and ignored by seething masses around them”. 

It’s the hottest summer on record and London is dying. Prices are high, pay is low, and stressed commuters are packed on to London Underground trains again like the pandemic never happened. To add to the misery, the temperatures underground just keep climbing and climbing, the heat trapped in the clay with nowhere to go. 

Five travellers on an unlucky tube carriage find themselves bound together one morning as witnesses to a single horrific event – an event they can’t quite seem to remember. They make an unlikely team: weary tube driver, a disillusioned civil servant, an ambitious city trader, an overwhelmed hotel worker and an unhoused young man just trying to get by – but now they must come together to confront what they have seen and stop it in its tracks. Because there’s something lurking in the stifling darkness and labyrinthine tunnels that run below London�� something old, something vicious, and something very, very hungry.

So keep an eye out 👁️, and make sure to mind the gap between the train and reality.

[agatablogging]

Arctic Monkeys Concert

Last weekend, I went to the Arctic Monkeys concert in London at the Emirates stadium. It being my first ever concert, I found myself slightly overwhelmed, which was followed by travelling in London through the Underground, also something that I wasn't very familiar with. Once all the stress was put behind me, I found myself surrounded by thousands of people enjoying the same things that I did.

It took hours for the stadium to fill up, as thousands of seats became covered in people flashing the torches on their phones. Almost not noticeable if not for the blinding light, followed by screams of excitement.

Due to it being my first time at a concert, I made the foolish and naive mistake of not realising when the concert actually began. Originally, I had thought that the concert would begin at 5, as that's what the ticket said. I read online that the Arctic Monkeys act took 90 minutes, so I assumed I'd be out by 7pm. Little did I know, I was let into the concert at 5:30, only to be seated. It was quite the mistake to make, as I had friends waiting for me in London... still unaware that they would be waiting till roughly midnight when we arrived in London for around 11 in the morning.

When the supporting acts began, not all the seats were taken still. Many people waited for the "real" start of the show, when the Arctic Monkeys arrived. I didn't see the point in not being there from start to finish, especially as I arrived an hour before we were even let inside the stadium. If I was going to pay so much money to see an artist I love, I will get every second I possibly can from this experience.

The supporting acts weren't anyone I ever heard of, but I suppose I do live under a rock when it comes to discovering new artists. The acts were enjoyable, as the loud music and sounds began to quickly deafen me. For the concert, I was seated in the upper isle, giving me perfect view of the stage, and the mosh pit beneath me- which quickly began acting wild.

People began dancing, singing, and doing everything they wanted. For quite some time, I observed something that looked like a fight, which was broken apart quickly. People without shirts on began pushing each other around, which I can only assume was their form of fun due to the smiles that I could see on their faces. Nevertheless, as quickly as it was broken apart, it still occurred often at the concert, always in the same place.

After one support act, came the other, clearly much more experienced, and charismatic. With loud rock music blaring from the speakers, people only grew louder, wanting more validation for their screams.

Outside the stadium, I noticed some very fancy looking apartment blocks, which I can only imagine must have been either a blessing or torture having to hear concerts none stop. I suppose it must depend on your style in music, as I can definitely say with certainty that the entire local area heard this concert due to how loud it was.

Turning 8pm, I looked at my friend in horror as we realised on how wrong I actually was. My other friends in London were stranded with their phones near 0% with most shops closing, as we weren't any closer to being finished. My phone was on 15%, realising that I would need to pay for the underground I quickly turned my data off, and began to enjoy the main act of the show.

The stage was impressively designed, with a massive wheel in the middle - which I assumed was meant to resemble a car wheel due to the concert being a tour of their new album: The Car. Just before the concert began, on the huge monitors it displayed the little car icons such as the engine icon, which I felt was a nice touch.

Once the act finally started, the wheel began showcasing different camera angles of the band members- which looked glorious on the large screens. Smoke and lights surrounded the stage, followed by music louder than before. It was something extraordinary, as the stadium was now full, with everyone singing, screaming, and clapping.

As the darkness surrounded the sky, the brightly coloured lights on the stage surrounded the area. When the songs began, everyone joined in unison to sing along. It was something that put a smile on my face, as for years I used to be insecure about my music taste, and now so many people were experiencing their favourite artist in the same place as me, and they were happy.

I joined in with the singing and clapping, to the point that my hands and thighs turned sore. Ignoring the pain and numbness, I kept going, deciding that this was an experience more important than the pain, something that changed my life forever. The songs kept going, which only made the crowd grow more insane. Some people had canisters of pink smoke that they opened anytime their favourite song played, while others waves a yellow banana inflatable. It was a bizarre experience when I would reach for my drink, and I would feel vibrations inside the cup, and inside my stomach. It like as if I was swallowing sounds, rather than liquid.

When the clock reached 10pm, it was all over. All that excitement and joy finally left people as they began turning drunk from the cheap beer they had bought at the stadium. Leaving the loud concert hall, I found myself partially deaf, having to scream into his ear to say the simplest things. Naturally, this was something I should have expected but I did go into the concert with a "vibes only" mindset and didn't know what I was getting myself into.

We quickly made our way out the stadium, and to the Underground. While all seemed well, we made our way to the station ever-so quickly, there was one mistake we didn't factor in. This station was closed, and we were roughly 20 minutes away from the next one. Swiftly turning around, we used our phones which were 5% and 20% and found our way to the station. The streets now overran with drunk people, we decided we had to run to the station to make it in time and try to overtake everyone.

It was the first time in a very long time that I had actually ran, and it was the first time in such a stressful situation that I felt no stress whatsoever. When I look back at the experience now, I see myself as an idiot, but in the moment, it was so much fun.

When we were close to the next station, we ran into the crowd who was also heading there. Everyone was singing and vibing, with half the crowd definitely being intoxicated. We were left with two options, stay in the back or try to navigate through. Choosing the latter, we zigzagged past people, constantly looking back to ensure we didn't lose each other in the crowd of hands.

Almost falling over a plant pot, we made it to the station. Not being educated on the underground, we had a choice to go left or go right, as no signs told us where to go. We went left, and luckily made the right decision as it was exactly where our tube was. We jumped on and found seats not long after. It was now 11pm, before my friends' phones died, we were texted that the last tube to Richmond left Kings cross at 11:30, which gave us very little time to get the tube that we needed, or we would need to find alternative ways to travel to the Richmond carpark.

Finally leaving the tube, we rushed our way to our next station. Laughing at the situation, we had to run up the stairs, to not miss our next tube. It was now 11:40 at our next station, and I almost fell down the stairs as I jumped up every 2 steps. I do not recommend doing that after only having 3 hours of sleep the night before.

As soon as we ran up the stairs, our tube arrived and left 30 seconds later. If we never jumped up those stairs, we wouldn't have gotten on the tube in time. We made it, we could relax and head to Richmond. Our friends no longer had any charge in their phones, so it was impossible to communicate, we weren't certain whether they were waiting at our next station or at the car.

After almost falling asleep on the tube, we finally came off and reunited with our friends. They had been waiting for us for hours and saw many other people in Arctic Monkeys merch arrive before us. We were roughly 2 hours late, as we arrived at Richmond at midnight.

The drive home was roughly 2 hours, and I think I passed out on the couch as soon as I got home.

Lesson learned: Read more about events.

[meoun-uk]

The Best Kept Secrets of London's Hidden UndergroundThe Hidden Depths of London London, a city steeped in history and mystery, is home to a network of u... https://www.meoun.uk/the-best-kept-secrets-of-londons-hidden-underground/?feed_id=92368&_unique_id=67706b9107b30

[fizzseed]

oh oh oh!!! i love tube horror

[ranjith11]

The London Underground: History and Construction | London's underground story

In this captivating video, we delve deep into the fascinating world of The London Underground: History and Construction. Join us on a journey through time as we uncover the secrets behind this iconic transportation system. From its inception to the intricate details of its construction, this video will leave you amazed. Explore the rich history, the challenges faced during construction, and the lasting legacy of The London Underground. Get ready to be transported through history itself!

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Year - 2023 Edition

Welcome to our special edition newsletter recapping the best news from the past year. I've picked one highlight from each month to give you a snapshot of 2023. No frills, just straightforward news that mattered. Let's relive the good stuff that made our year shine.

January - London: Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment

A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date.

2. February - Utah legislature unanimously passes ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy

The Utah State Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that enshrines into law a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.

3. March - First vaccine for honeybees could save billions

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world’s first-ever vaccine intended to address the global decline of honeybees. It will help protect honeybees from American foulbrood, a contagious bacterial disease which can destroy entire colonies.

4. April - Fungi discovered that can eat plastic in just 140 days

Australian scientists have successfully used backyard mould to break down one of the world's most stubborn plastics — a discovery they hope could ease the burden of the global recycling crisis within years. 

5. May - Ocean Cleanup removes 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

The Dutch offshore restoration project, Ocean Cleanup, says it has reached a milestone. The organization's plastic catching efforts have now fished more than 200,000 kilograms of plastic out of the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Cleanup said on Twitter.

6. June - U.S. judge blocks Florida ban on care for trans minors in narrow ruling, says ‘gender identity is real’

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, ruling Tuesday that the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

7. July - World’s largest Phosphate deposit discovered in Norway

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource.

8. August - Successful room temperature ambient-pressure magnetic levitation of LK-99

If the claim by Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim of South Korea’s Quantum Energy Research Centre holds up, the material could usher in all sorts of technological marvels, such as levitating vehicles and perfectly efficient electrical grids.

9. September - World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects.

10. October - Nobel Prize goes to scientists behind mRNA Covid vaccines

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to a pair of scientists who developed the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines. Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman will share the prize.

11. November - No cases of cancer caused by HPV in Norwegian 25-year olds, the first cohort to be mass vaccinated for HPV.

Last year there were zero cases of cervical cancer in the group that was vaccinated in 2009 against the HPV virus, which can cause the cancer in women.

12. December - President Biden announces he’s pardoning all convictions of federal marijuana possession

President Joe Biden announced Friday he's issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted.

------

And there you have it – a year's worth of uplifting news! I hope these positive stories brought a bit of joy to your inbox. As I wrap up this special edition, I want to thank all my supporters!

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[cultoficarus]

this is probably gonna be weird but i think i remember you as an alastair carstairs blog before his series came out i was wondering if you ever finished the series and if yes what you thought of his story

I was thinking about him a lot yesterday actually lmao

the series quit bringing me joy just about the time the first book released, but I kept up with the developments on my baby anyway. I was so pleased to see I divined his backstory thru intuition lmao but I was annoyed when, after being described as someone who "digs his heels in" and can't admit he's wrong, Alastair just keels over and redeems himself at the end of the first book

not to mention that I just find the "closeted gay person comes out and that solves all their problems" thing super annoying which didn't help

all in all, he should have been worse. He had good reason to be

[theniftycat]

What other Neil Gaiman work might you like?

The biggest thing to know about Neil Gaiman is that each work of his is a mixture of horror, fantasy, and subtle comedy.

That being said, each of his projects is pretty distinct from one another and there might be some that are more up to your tastes than others.

I haven't read some of his newer stuff (because I largely stopped reading as much since the early 2010s), but I'll do my best to remember what matters in other works.

Horror

The Sandman is a great work for horror fans. It's also great for mythology fans and other nerds, but horror is a major push and pull factors.

The comic is probably the greatest body of work Gaiman produced and it's recommended if you're a goth at heart and are comfortable with themes of death and humans being gods' toys.

The Sandman (TV) is a great adaptation, but it's very short so far and doesn't cover the best stories.

Coraline is a horror story for children. It doesn't have anything that's not suitable for kids, but it can be viscerally scary to some people. Both the book and the film are great.

Mirrormask is my personal favourite, it's a low budget film with mindblowing surreal imagery and one of the best soundtracks ever.

It's about a teenage girl who has troubles with her parents (who run a circus, btw) and who gets swiped up by her imagination into a bizarre world that is being eaten by her depression. Not a scary film, per se, but it's disturbing. However, it's a very warm film and it always makes me feel better.

Fantasy

Neverwhere is set in a dimension of twisted London Underground where everything that's straightforward in our world becomes weird and too real.

It really tickled my imagination, I highly recommend the book.

Stardust is set in a more high fantasy setting.

It features kings, witches, ghosts, and a star that fell to the Earth. It has a young protagonist who's not exactly the best or the brightest person, so if you hate such things, stick to the adaptation. In my opinion, the book is just lovely.

American Gods is a darker fantasy that asks the questions: "What if every god people ever believed in became real through the power of their worship? And then what if that worship started fading?"

It's set in the USA and because that country is such a melting pot, there are many gods. And not all of them are happy. This is the book that gave Neil Gaiman his reputation of a writer who loves weird sex scenes.

Humour

Stardust the film is often compared to Princess Bride. It's lighthearted, funny, full of imaginative adventures.

Just a very nice film with an all-star cast.

Anansi Boys is a spin off of American Gods, but it's a lot more lighthearted.

Anansi is a trickster god, so you know things will get funky.

I haven't read The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane yet, but I hear they're very good as well.

Also, short story collections or Norse Mythology might be a good place to start if you want to get a feel of Neil Gaiman as an author first.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

incomplete list of fun stories about my dad:

at uni he and half a dozen of his friends stole a half-ton stone statue of a lion from another college, got it on a barge, and hoisted it up under London Bridge where it was found hanging the next morning

my mother and I once lost him at Trafalgar Square and he told us later he was just sitting on top of the plinth of Nelson's Column waiting for us. we never found out how a 55-year-old professor who barely ever went outside scaled a 6 metre bronze relief of the Battle of the Nile or why he thought we would look for him up there

he worked for the UN for a while and ended up in Prague on a research trip in the '60s. within three hours of landing he'd ditched his government handler and found his way to an underground anti-Soviet resistance speakeasy

he was raised Catholic. when the Vatican came out against the birth control pill he formally left the church but only after screaming "all you care about is controlling women" at his priest in public and sending the Pope a personal hate letter

when I emailed him to tell him I had started seeing a nonbinary person he wrote back with a six-paragraph rant about how much understanding of the wondrous variety of human experience had been denied to his generation

he got invited to an event at Buckingham Palace back in the '80s and responded with a letter addressed directly to the Duke of Edinburgh saying he might try and make it if he didn't have anything to do at work or anything he wanted to watch on TV that day

one time I was on a bus with him and he saw someone he thought was doing a cosplay but he was very wrong and basically went up to a stranger who was out having a perfectly normal time and complimented her on looking like a robot assassin

he started a formal debating society in his nursing home without any of the staff knowing about it

[alovelywaytospendanevening]

George Walton and Reg Mickisch first met each other in 1949, in an underground London gay bar. Back then, George was a professional photographer and Reg was a shop window dresser. Together, they traveled for years through Europe, before settling in Darowen, rural Wales, in the early 1970s. There they ran a successful lodging in their house, called Rhiw Goch (The Red Hill, in Welsh).

George and Reg officially got married in February 2006. After 62 years together, Reg passed away in the summer of 2011, followed five weeks later by George – they were 84 and 94 year old, respectively.

George and Reg's life story was chronicled by Mike Parker in his book On the Red Hill (2019). The couple left Rhiw Goch to Parker and his husband.

[endless-ineffabilities]

Chemical Override (bonus chapter three) - In the Modern World

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n: I knew I wanted to do a fun bonus chapter after part seven, but I wasn't sure what about. Then came this music video, with this feral slimey cat, and the rest is history. Not to mention this brilliant anon further fueled the idea for the plot!

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

Seems so hard just to be If it matters You complete me 🦎

This is set between part two and part three of the story. Right after the rumours of the reader with Jacob surface and she clarifies to Ewan that it's all just PR, and before he gets boozy and sends the voicemail.

Ewan

Martin’s room is typical of any unemployed and aimless outcast in their late 20s. Particularly, one with a penchant for conspiracy theories, reptilian critters, diorama building, and surface-level anarchy. 

“So he’s just like a regular guy,” Ewan jokes, making the director Luna laugh. 

“Sure, I bet this is how your own room is like back in… Derby, was it?”

“Yeah,” Ewan nods. “I actually have a place here in London now, too. The room is the same. But I’ve got more than one lizard.”

“Good one, mate,” she claps him on the back, before walking further into the room. She stops in front of the craggly stands that Martin passes off a workstation. “Here is where he keeps his pets. As you know, he’s got spiders, iguanas, and the rogue chinchilla.”

“Look at that little guy,” Ewan stoops down to inspect the grey rodent. “You lost there, buddy?”

“That one is our cameraman Eddie’s,” she remarks. “The bugs - we borrowed from the local habitat. All under code, of course.”

“Mmm,” he looks around the room. Maroon sheets, used up art supplies like glue and various unclean brushes, pieces of silver wire, old cables, duct tape, painted figurines, a scattering of old tickets for an underground fighting ring. Propped up on the headboard of his bed is a stolen street sign. On the wall is an assortment of posters - some of bands, some of comic strips, but mainly just scraps of art Martin finds from the internet. A rabid dog with its teeth bared. Grotesque humanoid figures. 

Standard, regular pictures. 

“You like the posters?” Luna notices him perusing the wall. “You know, I had the idea of incorporating something you like here. Maybe a band or… you like Metallica, I heard?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I love them. So I get to choose a poster that would fit Martin?”

“Sure,” she shrugs. “Something that represents both yourself and Martin, why not? Make up a backstory for it. It can be anything you set your mind to, really. Let’s start with - what would you have on your wall?”

He considers just taking her up on her suggestion of Metallica, maybe a live image of the band in their 2009 Mexico show. But he didn’t want to settle on that idea just yet. What is he fixated on at the moment? What film, what song, what popular character…

Then it strikes him, causing the blood to rise to the surface of his pale cheeks. Of course. There is you. 

But if he props up a full-blown image of you, just you, maybe from a photoshoot or a candid photograph, would that be too much? Would he be crossing the line?

Last he heard from you, he found out that the supposed relationship you have with Jacob Elordi is but a ruse for the sake of publicity. Thank the gods, as Aegon screamed before Aemond set him ablaze. 

But in this instance, Ewan’s relief is not entirely unfounded. You aren’t with anyone. He knows he should make a move, a proper one, and not just drop hints of his admiration in interviews like the one he just did for Vanity Fair. But what can he do? You’re all the way across the Atlantic, far from his desperate reach. 

As selfish as it sounds, he couldn’t bear the thought of hearing you’re with someone else and knowing it’s true. The confession is yet to stumble out of him, but he knew he was already yours. 

He calls you whenever he can, whenever he misses you, which is quite often, as evidenced by the lengthy log of long-distance calls on his phone, from England to America. 

“What about something House of the Dragon related?” he asks. “Could serve as a nice easter egg for the fans, if they see this.” 

“I don’t see why not? If you can convince us of Martin’s motivation for it, of why he would put that poster on his wall, then we can add it right away.”

He smiles shyly, glancing down at his sneakers. He knows his own motivation for putting your image up on his wall, but what about Martin’s? He tests some ideas out, gauging Luna’s reaction, “What if he’s a sci-fi, fantasy fanatic? If he’s a devout follower of George RR Martin, and so… naturally, he had a look at House of the Dragon as well?”

She purses her lips, tilting her head in thought. “That’s something right there, yeah. But we kind of saw him as being against television, you know? Against popular media in general, and he's a guy with an affinity for obscure dark video games and comic books.”

“Hmm, yeah, yeah,” he does his best to form the proposition in his mind. How does he offer the suggestion without being too obvious? “So what if, you know, he happened to see this one character in the show, and he’s just enamoured with them for some reason? This makes it remarkable, because he does admire her, but as an act of rebellion, he still doesn’t watch the show and only bothers himself with her scenes and the art style to her character, and - ”

“Wait, her?” Luna smiles, her confusion dwindling. She’s heard the rumours. Or fan theories. Or whatever the kids call it nowadays. She hasn’t been living under a rock, and Ewan definitely hasn’t kept mum about his crush either. 

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck, unable to look her directly in the eye, “I was thinking of having a poster for a character from the show.”

“I thought you wanted a poster of a dragon or something,” she jokes. “So, which character? Apologies, I’m not too familiar with a lot of them.” Ewan would recognise the knowing glint in her gaze, if he wasn’t too busy pretending to inspect a scrap of faux moldy wallpaper sticking out of the wall. Set design really outdid themselves in the details, all to give the impression that Martin is a negligent slob.

“Uhhm,” he dithers, a crooked smile breaking out despite him chewing on his bottom lip, “she’s, uhhh, one of the new characters this season.”

“Oh?” she plays along, nodding, “Which one? From what I saw, there’s two camps, right? And your camp is green, is she in that?”

“No, actually,” he shakes his head, “she’s in the opposing team, you could say.”

“That’s interesting,” she nods, slowly, trying to encourage him to simply spit it out. “You know, Ewan, mate, if you don’t actually tell me which character you want to put up, then this poster idea isn’t going to work out.”

His gaze snaps back to her, and he awkwardly titters under his breath. “Right, right. Uhhm, she’s called Alyna… Alyna Rivers.”

Luna’s mouth forms an O, as if she’s enjoying this little gotcha moment. She realises that Ewan, while reserved, wears his heart on his sleeve. What a lucky girl you are. 

“And… why would Martin want her specifically up on his wall?” 

The emphasis on Martin came off as superficial, her tone humorous, leading Ewan to believe that she actually pertains to him and not the character.

“He might see her as some sort of muse, you know… she’s a fighter, she’s got a fire in her…”

“And he’s got a crush on her.”

“Oh… well…”

“He likes her.”

“Uhhh… yeah I guess…”

“You guess?” she raises her eyebrows, grinning, “come on Ewan, what does Martin feel about her?”

“She’s his… his ray of light,” he decides. “His world is a mess. He’s lost. His one release entails getting beat up bloody every other day. But the idea of her is his beacon of hope. Untainted, you know. She’s… she’s perfect. She wouldn’t hurt him like the rest of the world already has.”

Luna nods in understanding, satisfied. She casually slings an arm over his shoulder, then says, “You know something, mate? That sounds a lot more than a crush to me.”

“Mmm,” he smiles, agreeing, the welcome image of you flooding his mind like always, “it sure does.”

The entire cast and crew for In the Modern World have the subsequent three days to accomplish filming.

Ewan sits in the makeup trailer, awaiting his cue, his vision now impaired by the unkempt strands of his long black wig. Spiky grunge cuffs decorate his wrists. He wears an ill-fitting pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the costume for the first scene to be filmed. 

He has already gone through the process of trying to get in Martin’s head, seeing what makes him tick, what drives his actions, priming himself to jump inside his skin. He’s ready. At this point during filming, he has the habit of eliminating any distraction to maintain focus, and his phone is tucked inside his backpack on airplane mode. 

Defying his routine, he retrieves his phone, nervous fingers clicking away until they land on your contact. He hovers over the voice call option, opting at the last second to do a video call instead. 

The front camera turns on, catching him off guard with how messy he appears. Maybe this was not the best idea, he falters, what am I doing? I’m gonna scare her off.

“Ewan?” It’s too late to change his mind when your cheerful voice answers, your expression curious and inviting. His ray of light. “Is that you?”

He timidly brushes his hair - his wig - away from his face. “Hello, darling. I thought I’d ring you for a second.”

You laugh openly, drawing your face closer to your phone to get a better look at him, “Are you shooting the music video right now? Oh my god, look at you!”

He smiles sheepishly, teeth clamping over his bottom lip. “What do you think?”

“Wow,” you shake your head, the sunlight reflecting on your face from wherever you are. Likely walking around outside the studio, as he spots the white buildings in the background. “You look so… cool. This is like Aemond in the modern world, rebelling against his mother with the help of cheap hair dye.”

He appreciates your clever assessment, feeling much better about himself. “Don’t I look shabby?”

“Ewan,” you click your tongue, “judging by what you told me about your character, I think you’re supposed to look shabby.”

You’re right. He shakes his head, mostly at himself, for being so concerned if you still find him attractive even in this get-up.

“I feel like Kirk Hammett. Very rock n’ roll.”

You smirk, “I’d say this is your hottest look yet.”

He blushes profusely. You think he looks hot. It may just be a passing quip, a casual thing to say, but it has him in a grip. His reaction would nearly rival that of Martin’s, who would probably jump right on to making a mini-figurine of Alyna. After just a single interaction with you, Martin would probably spend the next few weeks occupied with objectionable fantasies. You and him, rolling around in the car. Only, car jitsu wouldn’t be the physical activity at play. 

Ewan shifts in his seat, adjusting his trousers. In the end, he’s no better than Martin after all. 

“Ewan?”

“Oh sorry, darling, I was just - ”

“I said that I have to go back inside,” you say, “I do appreciate your call, though.”

His face falls, despite the fact that he has to be on set soon anyway. “Of course, darling, go ahead.”

“Kick some ass for me?”

For you? Anything. “You got it, baby.” The name jumps out of him before he can stop himself, and he justifies it as a ‘Martin’ reaction. He’s in character, isn’t he?

You roll your eyes. It is your turn to blush and fail at hiding it, and you do. “Okay, rockstar. Talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay,” he says, then adds, “Wait!”

You raise your phone again. “Oh, what is it?”

“I, uhhh, I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you smile, and he commits the image to memory. This moment is his, just his; Martin can bloody wait. 

Martin

Martin throws himself down on his bed, limbs limp and flailing about. It must have been the hundredth time for that afternoon -  getting up, rolling back on the mattress, prodding his pets, jumping around the room to incoherent punk music, cigarettes burning out between his chapped lips. 

He has nothing to do today, not until it’s time. Just like every other day, every other week, in this drudgery of an existence. Everything means nothing, and the twisted truth of it is that he thinks himself free. 

Free of the cycle. Free of meaningless friendships. Free of love. Free of her.

The ghost of his ex-lover still haunts him, golden haired and rosy-cheeked, bundled up in her puffy coat like some cheap caricature of an angel. But she was no angel. Angels would not abandon someone they claim to love, with a mere snap of their manicured fingers. 

But she haunts him. What they had, and what they could have had. Was it even his? Would it have come out with a thin sprig of dark curls? He did not care to know now. 

She was his everything once. But isn’t that overrated? Falling in love is so overrated. 

His fingers clumsily mess with the controls for his toy helicopter as he lays down. The apparatus hovers above head, filling the room with a buzzing noise. His lit cigarette stumbles from his lips, and the noise is joined with his frantic, fuck, fuck, fuck, as he tries to shake it out of his hair. He succeeds, but the helicopter teeters in the air, until it slams against the poster of Alyna Rivers displayed over his headboard.

He lets it fall, becoming distracted with her image. It’s a promotional still of her in her complete hunting attire - a fitted leather jerkin over a dark red tunic, tight breeches tucked into knee-high boots, a dagger sheathed in her belt. But his favourite addition is the longbow she grips in her hand, her fierce expression making it known that she is prepared to draw it back at a moment’s notice. 

Martin gets on his knees on the bed. He kisses two fingers, then gently touches them to her poster in a gesture of reverence. 

If only…

“Good morrow, my lady,” he says in a sing-song voice, “always a pleasure to come upon your visage.”

He leans closer, tracing her figure with precision, “I bet you can fix me. I bet you can make me feel alive.” 

He chases after euphoria that night, over and over, fucked up and depraved and empty. But it hits different this time. It’s better.

As white spots flicker and dance in his vision, and the fog in his mind threatens to swallow everything, it’s not the vision of his ex that flashes before him - it’s Alyna he sees. 

Her face is sharp and real, cutting through the haze like a beacon. She holds him together as exhaustion takes over him and the oxygen is slowly cut off from his windpipe. She anchors him, even on the precipice of oblivion.

The opponent is alarmed by Martin’s eyes rolling back revealing the whites of his eyes. He loosens his hold, letting go even if Martin refuses to tap out. 

“Fuck, you alright?” he rasps. 

Martin doesn’t hear him. His bloodstained, cracked lips curl into a ghost of a smile as his hand trembles, reaching out to press against the fogged-up windshield. 

With a fragile sense of peace, he murmurs, “You fixed me.”

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Some notes in the margins...

I know I said I would include the reader's reaction to the music video, but I decided to use the time to work on part eight... I still might get to writing this idea as a drabble though 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not Ewan having beef with his own character HAHAHA this lad I swear

Part eight out very, very soon! It'll be a wild ride. Oh, I'm not even kidding :)