#SHOUT OUT to whoever it was on here that made a post about etc having a yellow neckbow 10000 years ago

[hysterical-cats]

Etcetera ref!! She's one of the cats that's always been hardest to nail down for me, but I think I've finally got her design locked down!! Based on broadway etcetera obviously because that's the best one

[the-aleator]

endeavour musings, ix

featuring: Pylon s6e1 What an episode. Powerful, raw.

The cinematography is breathtaking, capturing the pensive and aching beauty of this landscape. I love DeBryn's "Something has to be lovely," and Bright's Old-Empire Fortitude in a shameful post. Strange gets a shout-out for not giving up on Fancy, and Joan has finally found a boss she can emulate (who is the Distaff version of her Dad....) Also, everything about this episode is a Trauma Conga Line for Morse and Thursday. And Shaun Evans and Roger Allam play this to the hilt. The Regret on screen is actually palpable. Thursday gets the brunt of it, of course, but Morse comes in for some of it, and also gets the added sorrow of watching Thursday fall apart.

Random Pointed Remarks from Side Characters: Mrs. Kirby, to Thursday, "You've made a mistake," and he reacts as if she's just hit him. The Vicar to Thursday, "You've lost your faith," "I didn't have much to lose," Morse replies. Let's just set up their character arcs for the rest of the season, shall we?

The fact that Thursday tells the truth about the Lott's planting of evidence to BOX, of all people. On the one hand, it's absolutely a way that Thursday is self-harming; on the other, in light of s6's ending, you can see how Thursday, even at his lowest, is planting a seed of integrity for Box to think about.

It's hard not to feel some pity for Box here: from the beginning of this episode, he is over his head, outclassed, inadequate, and doesn't even have enough sense or character to listen to Thursday, much less Morse. He won't go to the autopsy, or tell the dead girl's parents, a scene juxtaposed by Thursday, patiently waiting, humbly, hat in hand in respect for the dead.

We now have canonical proof that Fred Thursday is a legend even in universe. (BOX: "You're Fred Thursday!"). But we also know that Thursday loathes himself. He can't even answer Morse when he says: "Well, you're worth a hundred of his sort. Don't forget it. Because I won't."

I know we are supposed to feel Fred Thursday is doing a Bad Thing but it gives me a little cathartic cheer inside every time he punches out a pedophile. So far our count in the show is 4 for 4.

JUSTICE: does the end justify the means?

THURSDAY: That's what I told myself. It's what did for him, though. Even so, he went to the gallows swearing his innocence. BOX: But he wasn't, was he? He was a wrong'un. So's his boy. Bad stock. We don't know he did it. We never know. It's a balance of probabilities. You go with your gut. What's important is types like that get put away. THURSDAY: And if we've got to nudge the jukebox to get the penny to fall? BOX: What are you saying, Fred? THURSDAY: Not sure I'm saying anything. We're just talking.

It's pretty clear throughout this episode that Box thinks the end justifies the means. Any means: violence, planting evidence, railroading the nearest suspect, not respecting their rights, etc. It's culminates in this idea of "bad blood" which, to his mind, justifies his methods. Every time he says this phrase, "bad blood," it makes Thursday wince.

"Some...nobody" is the phrase Thursday uses about whoever killed Ann Kirby, and yet, when it might Stanley Clemence, who Thursday "carried out of a bloodbath," he can't justify it. "Guilty or innocent," he says to Morse, "I can't give up on him." 6. The ARC OF MERCY The music in this episode clearly states the motif: MERCY. When we first see Morse, it is to the soundtrack of Turandot: Signore, ascolta Giacommo by Puccini, a warning that solving a riddle wrongly has the penalty of death. At the end of our first scene with Thursday, standing over Ann Kirby's body, it is Spem In Alium by Thomas Tallis ("I have never put my hope in any other but in Thee, God of Israel who canst show both wrath and graciousness, and who absolves all the sins of man in suffering Lord God, Creator of Heaven and Earth Regard our humility"). Later, Thursday's flashback of Peter Clemence being hung is to the first line of Miserere mei, Deus by Allegri ("Have mercy on me, Lord"). It reappears after Thursday has decided to hand in the hammer, "Tell the truth and shame the Devil," and Morse has taken that responsibility away from him. It's an exquisite choice, further on in the Misere: "Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin." Was there ever a man so thoroughly heartsick with guilt in these two scenes? Thursday is clearly broken to pieces by the revelation of the hammer: what he did, what he didn't do. And then: the culmination, Morse takes the Third Option by returning the Sample Case to where it was hidden in the church. It is a striking narrative choice, that it is concealed in the organ. Finally, Morse stares at the stained glass: The Virgin Mary, robed as Queen, and a striking panel of Christ in the iconography of Salvator Mundi, who holds the globus cruciger in his hand, a Christian symbol of Christ's dominion over the whole world.

Finally, Morse turns away, evidence hidden, and leaves. I think the music + this scene is very suggestive. To do justice (as Thursday decides on), to reveal the truth, is no kind of justice at all--the only plea here is for mercy.

[nullnvoid911]

Happy new year!

As 2024 draws to a close, I thought it'd be fun to show some fun statistics about the thousands of posts I've made this year!

Here are the final totals:

Posts cited: 2436/5187 (46.9%)

Total followers: 524 (Thank you!)

#needs-attribution: 265 | #needs-more-info: 48

Posts still queued: 967 (how do I do this to myself...?)

Keep reading for more fun details!

Who's shown up on this blog?

Every cited post has been assigned tags based on their contents, using an auto-tagging system I built a while back. It's helpful if you want to see other posts of the same country, agency, etc. - but it's also great at finding stats like...

Countries

This blog has been quite the world tour! I've mentioned a staggering 58 countries in my posts. But by country, who have I posted about the most?

The top 5: Germany (491), Russia (369), France (321), USA (197), and Ukraine (131).

But enough about me - what did you all think of my posts? This next map is per capita, meaning the average number of notes each country's post got. (Countries with less than 5 posts are set to 0, and my reblogs are excluded.)

A surprising twist - Bulgaria takes top spot with 19.4 notes per capita! While their limited number of posts reveals a flaw in this measurement, the posts that are there really hit it off with the masked men lovers:

If you're curious, the runners up are Finland (14.3), Kosovo (14.1), Serbia (13.4), and France (13.0).

As an aside, I'd like to give a special shout out to the Czech Republic for stumping me the most when trying to cite posts from them. Where do you post your police photos?!?

Agencies

Okay, but which specific units have shown up the most this year?

Just pretend CBRN and K9 are units :)

I guess it's not surprising, but I forgot how much I posted about Germany's SEK! Then, Russian (ОМОН) and French (GIGN, RAID) agencies aren't too far behind.

And what did you think?

French agencies drift to the top. I know some of you reading this really like GIGN, so it makes a ton of sense! PI2G simply ranks first because of their limited number of posts:

But GIGN (and GIPN, FIPN, RAID, CDI, whatever...) also did respectably in the rankings:

GSG-9 also beats the more regional SEK in terms of notes per capita. They might be cooler, but way too many posts claim photos of SEK officers to be GSG-9!!

Dates

Every cited post comes with a date. But when did things happen the most on my blog? (Approximate dates, e.g. "<2014", are excluded.)

My earliest post is from July 20, 2001, during the G8 summit protests in Genoa:

And my latest post was December 26, 2024 - just a few days ago! A Swedish police officer searches for parachuters:

Some hotspots also arise in the graph. My most posted dates are:

January 31, 2021 (22 posts) and January 23, 2021 (19 posts) - Riot police during Alexei Navalny protests around Russia.

March 30, 2023 (19 posts) - German riot police exercise in Uelzen and Esterholz.

November 18, 2015 (17 posts) - French national police apartment raid in Saint Denis aimed at capturing Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

February 18, 2022 (14 posts) - Canadian riot police during COVID-19 protests in Ottawa.

Closing thoughts

To end off, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's followed this blog since I started it in May. I never thought I would sink this much time into collecting and sourcing images, building citation tools from scratch, finding VPNs, uncovering lost media... but here we are.

I read every note, so your comments, reposts, and deranged tags make the process all worth it :)

Whoever you are, wherever you come from, and whatever reason you follow my blog, thank you for sticking around. I hope you had a great 2024, and here's to a properly cited 2025!

-null

[amoreva]

omg I saw your post referencing newsies... and (1992sies or broadway idc, whatever u want) with (whoever you choose bc I only saw u talking about Jack and I'm not really sure [I don't care I'm just starved of newsies content]) and they're helping reader become a newsie, showing them spots to sell at, helping them use their voice and be louder etc etc

ignore if you don't wanna do this, no pressure! and thank you if you do!!

RUBS RIGHT OFF

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

pairing: newsies x platonic!reader

summary: in which, you are introduced to the ropes and strings of being a newsie (it’s a little harder than you expect)

warnings: swearing, fluff, self-doubt

a/n: missed writing for newsies, sorry if it is a little short.

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

“Now listen, with that cute mug of yours, you’ll be selling papes like a pro.” Jack Kelly, the infamous leader of the Manhattan Newsies, promised you. Your new (old) shoes slapping the New York concrete as you walked side by side by the leader, gripping your newspaper bag.

“Cute mug?” You questioned.

“It’s an expression!” Race ran by. A shit-eating grin on his face. A hand on his newsie cap, the other gripping a cap that wasn’t his.

Albert ran by you. His auburn hair unkept. He didn’t have time to brush it because he woke up late, “Racer! You get back here. When I catch your ass—”

A small laugh escaped you as Albert chased Race in front of the circulation gate. It was amusing how close everyone seemed to be, yet a small feeling told you you won’t every be able to achieve that closeness.

You washed up in the Manhattan Newsies Lodging House by chance. “Selective amnesia.” Race commented when you only told a few things about yourself. It was by choice.

Jack shook his head with a breathy chuckle escaping his lips. “He’s not wrong.” He referred to Race’s words. “But it’ll be tough even with a cute mug.”

“Bad business?” You asked and looked up at Jack. Your gray newsie cap covering your full view of the so-called leader.

“Nah, today is great business. We get real good cash when everyone is out on lunch and stuff.” Jack reassured and pat your shoulder. “It’s the boredom you gotta’ get used too.”

“And them.” Davey gestured to two boys. They looked a little older than the newsies, but not too old.

The Delancey Brothers. Barely making enough money to get nicer clothes than the newsies. Even if they made money through not so morally good ways. It was evident with the shiny brass knuckles in Oscar’s pocket.

“They won’t bother you.” Jack reassured with a steady smile.

You watched as Jack gave the brothers a run for their money. A couple of this and that’s and the brothers were hot on Jack’s tail, until Mr. Wiesel said something. It was effective with taking the attention off of you, the fresh meat.

Morris only shoved the stack of papers into yours chest, grumbling nonsense.

Sweat trickled down your back, New York’s beamed sun cooked you alive. You felt like you were rolled your sleeves up for the umpteenth time. Jack had to be as warm, if not warmer, but the boy didn’t show it. The two of you had been out here for god knows how long. Your voice hoarse from shouting fake headlines.

Or “shouting” as Jack put it. He thought you could be louder. With your cute mug and the creative headlines you’ve been “shouting”—he thought you could sell fifty papers a day.

“C’mon.” He encouraged. “Miss Medda would say you gotta project. Shout it so the whole city could here the news of…hundreds swimming in an enclosure to live!”

A new aquarium opened up.

You were exhausted, fanning yourself with a folded up newspaper. The heat was unbearable. “Jackie boy!” Race slung and arm around your shoulders. Crutchie in tow. A grin on his face. “Journalist, 10 o’clock, around the corner.”

Race and Crutchie quickly steered you away as Jack when to see his girlfriend. Race may have lied, but it was all in good cause.

To save you from the brutality of work.

It wasn’t that Jack wasn’t a good mentor. Quite the opposite, but some of his selling spots were less than ideal—paired with his natural talent to sell papers quickly, he really could sell anywhere.

Race and Crutchie show you the best selling spots that some of the other boys have already snagged up. They didn’t mind sharing for a day though.

“No wonder why you have most of your papers left.” Race snorted and perched himself on a stone ledge. You looked at your worn out boots, feeling slightly embarrassed for not being able to sell fast.

“Be nice, it’s their first day.” Crutchie replied and leaned against the fence to put some weight off of his foot.

Race looked up at the sky. His hand covering the blinding sun. “Listen.” He trailed off and glanced at Crutchie, Finch and Jojo. “We already have most of our papers gone.”

He gathered the leftover papers and handed them to you. “You stand there with your cute mug and we’ll yell out headlines!”

You paled. “What?”

“I’m sure Jackie boy tired you out with all the notes he was given.” Race grinned and gestured you to hold out a newspaper up.

“The embarrassment will rub right off.” Finch reassured as his eyes followed a passerby. Crutchie, Race and Jojo follow his line of sight.

“Baby born with three heads!”

“Terrified flight form burning inferno!”

“Man discovers an unidentified object in his backyard!”

“Witch reported in Salem!”

By the time the New York’s skies were a burst of warm, radiant colors, you were walking back to the Lodging only ten papers. Race suggested you burn them in the fireplace later.

“So how was it today? Fun?” You chose to walk with Crutchie at a slower pace due to his leg.

“Yeah.” You shrugged, adjusted your newspaper bag.

“Listen, you’ll get used to it. Then you’ll be selling papes in no time.” Crutches reassured.

Light streamed out from inside. The newsies were already settling in for the night. Games of poker and wrestling matches were going on. Race ducked behind Jojo to avoid Jack’s wrath. They greeted the five of you and you sunk into a ratty sofa. Too soft from overuse, but it felt wonderful on your aching legs.

You observed the lively atmosphere, a small smile on your face. You could get used to living here, working everyday—coming back to shenanigans.

Fatigue and exhaustion have you in their clutches and you’re soon dozing off on the sofa. If there was shushing and harsh whispers to be quiet because of that—you didn’t hear a thing.

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

[ghuleh-recs]

♡ Fandom Faves Tag ♡

Tag 1-3 (or as many as you want) of your favorite creators (writers, artists, outstanding members of the community etc) and link your favorite creation if you can.

Thank you for the tags @midnight-moth and @coffeeghoulie! I'm gonna challenge myself to not wax poetic and keep these extra short and sweet. That way it's not as intimidating for others to participate (hope that makes sense). Oh and I'm not putting a "keep reading."

Witness my faves (ง •̀_•́)ง

@midnight-moth (who started this tag game ♡) drew THE Phantom art of all time and I recently went absolutely feral for:

Buried in Treasure - Dew x Phantom - E, 3.6k

When his eyes roll forward again, he notices more than just the same riff playing over and over. He notices Phantom’s grip on his hand simultaneously go still and tight. He notices the rosy flush on his cheeks, and the tent in his pants that he tries to conceal with the hand holding the phone. It takes more than a few seconds for all of the dots to connect and when the thought is fully formed, Dew grabs the phone and launches it to the end of the bed.

@ramblingoak hey why is there an angel in the satanic band fandom? I created this whole blog so I could shout about:

The Cardinal's Bride - Cardinal Copia x F!Reader - E, 91k (wip)

A Romantic Adventure in the Old West: After being forced into a marriage with Mr. Saltarian by your father you are sent west to his estate in Nevada. Along the way you end up meeting one of the cowboys you have always fantasized about…

@conjuring-ghouls finds the perfect moments and turns them into the loveliest gifs. On top of that she is endlessly kind and supportive. Look at these!!!

@coffeeghoulie is writing the Aeon x Swiss hurt/comfort fic of y'all's dreams and I got to do my first "official" art collab for it yay!!

Eternal Heatstroke - Aeon x Swiss - M, 17k (wip)

For once in their life, Aeon feels lucky. Whoever's opened this portal, whoever's summoning ghouls Up Top, specifically wants a quintessence ghoul. They may not be the biggest or strongest quintessence ghoul, far from it, but they'll do anything this summoner wants if it means they get to live. Or: being Topside is a drastic change from the life Aeon's used to.

@writingjourney truly the kindest soul and an absurdly talented writer. I screenshot Ibi's tags on my posts all the time because they cheer me up so much 🥹🥹

Friday Nights (series) - Papas x GN!Reader - E, 40k

“But to die as lovers may - to die together, so that they may live together.” ― Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla Each of these stories features a vampire papa and a gender neutral reader.

@anamelessfool writes some of the best world building and characterizations that I have ever read in fanfiction AND she's a fantastic artist.

Violence & Gentleness - Primo x OC - E, 50k (wip)

You made me forget myself...I thought I was someone else, someone good... LATE OCTOBER 1979 Primo has his work cut out for him as the bodyguard of the beautiful and fearsome Mater Emerita Jocasta. As mystery after mystery unfolds, it becomes harder to remain a honest man in this den of thieves called the Ministry.

@foxybouquet makes wonderful art and her colloquial Italian posts are an incredible resource for the fandom.

@angellayercake has angel in her username for a reason tbh. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I learned important things about myself and my love language whilst reading the brilliant:

Banchetto - Terzo x F!Reader - E, 22k (wip)

Papa Emeritus III is struggling to adapt to his life after the Ghost project but perhaps some good homemade Italian food will do the trick.

(I'm cutting myself off here because I could do this all day. I will probably be making another list in the near future because I love and admire so many of you. 😅)

No pressure at all but I would really love to see this tag game keep going! If you're reading this please consider adding some of your personal favorites to the list! This fandom could use some positivity right about now ♡

[ottokallenhonkai3rd]

⚜ 𝒦𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃 𝒦𝒶𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓈 𝒮𝑒𝓍𝓊𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 ⚜

Kallen Kaslanas Sexuality ------------------------------ I'd better stop reading the posts below the Otto and Kallen search results. Every time I searched for it or for OttoKallen (without a hashtag), I got in a pretty bad mood. ~♥~ I still don't know how people figure out that Kallen is still homosexual. Please inform yourself. The chapters of the St. Freya High manga that your ship classifies as canon, have been rescinded by Mihoyo. And why? Because a) they didn't control what their animators put into the manga beforehand or b) because they found that people take that as evidence of a romance that isn't quite there in the game. Except for the first two chapters, which have nothing to do with Kallen, everything has been taken from the official Honkai site. So why is it still claimed that Kallen is homosexual? As I said. Just because you fall in love with a woman, it doesn't make you a lesbian. Kallen could very well have been bisexual. Could. But in my opinion she isn't. And that has nothing to do with censorship of homosexuals. Mo Dao Zu Shi is a chinese anime based on a chinese novel and the main characters are two men in love. There's a mobile game, manga, paperbacks, etc. And I can legitimately buy that stuff in my favorite bookstore in my country. Where is the censorship? OK. In the anime, the love affair between the two isn't shown in an obvious way, but no effort was made to match one of the two characters up with another female one, come hell or high water. So it can't be the case with honkai either. So how do you please explain that Kallen runs away with Otto in numerous timelines in GGZ and even marries him in one? Kallen has never been interested in Sakura. And I wonder why OttoKallen fans go and say: "Kallen can be bi." when gay shippers say: "Kallen is strictly a lesbian."? Oddly enough, OttoKallen fans aren't half as toxic as a certain other shipping community. But whoever shouts the loudest gets it. Otherwise, I don't know why Kallen Fantasy III wasn't set the way it was meant to be. And why, with Kallen as a sin hunter, it was so important to mention that she can only remember the incident with Sakura. Because Mihoyo saw Otto and Kallen as lovers, it should be clear for now. That's why the couple was implemented in GGZ and not in HI3. As far as I know, GGZ is only available in Chinese, if at all. Though there have always been clues. 1. Kallen never referred to Otto as her friend or best friend, but as her inventor. My dear Inventor, my giftet Inventor, my great Inventor, my Otto or just as Otto. 2. If you carefully read the conversation between Otto and his father and between Otto and Kallen, which was about the wedding, you realize that the two must already be engaged. Otto said the following to her: Just fulfill our betrothal, please... You know me. I won't let you die. And just in case that was an unfortunate wording. Here it is again: Otto Apocalypse finally understood— The truth was, he was not important, and neither was Kallen. The only thing that mattered was their betrothal, which could put Kaslana in the palm of Apocalypse. If they were already engaged and it was only about a wedding, Kallen must have had feelings for Otto. So she can't be exclusively a lesbian. 3. When she meets Otto for the first time, not only does he blush, but there is also a slight red tinge to be seen on her. The two are also seen cuddling together in "Thus Spoke Apocalypse" with their fingers interlaced. Both of them are 13 years old at the time. You can't argue with "They're just children". Except for the scenes from "Cooking with the Wallkyrs," Kallen has never even remotely revealed that she's in love with Sakura. And any young woman would blush if another woman came that close and flirted. Even is and I define myself as straight. And that is also Kallen Kaslana's sexuality. She is straight. I don't care if she's bi. I don't really care if there's a Sakura involved. Ship what you please. But don´t force Kallen to be gay only, when she isn´t.

[hwrryscherry]

HARRY x MODEL Y/N  facts part.1

HARRYxMODELY/N masterlist is here.

Credits: The middle manip on this edit picture (the one with Harry’s yellow suit) was made by the beautiful @/94sbells.

Author’s note: HEY GUYS! I know that I’ve been kinda gone lately, but I have reasons for that. My summer vacation ended, and I had to go back to school. We’re still studying online, but I had to take a diagnostic test this past week so they’d know how’s my scholarity level. So, because of all the studying and trying to keep up on a new school (yes, I moved from schools.), I didn’t have any time to write or finish my writings. I’ll try finishing a request today because I’m feeling super creative and nostalgic BUT to everyone who follows HARRYxMODELY/N series, like it and miss it, I just did this ‘’facts-timeline’’ in a hope to feed you guys lol. Anyway, this is like a time line of 2017 and how their relationship developed on that year. I plan on doing one for each year till 2020 and post it on the break between posting the requests. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and maybe discover things about them that you didn’t know yet. Love you all and thank you for the support and love! TPWK and remember that you’re so golden.

The first ever communication between them was on May 12th, 2017(Model Y’N’s 20th birthday) AND the realesing of HS1 album.

She sent a DM to him on instagram congratulating him by saying she loved the album and wished him all the success.

No, they didn’t know each other and she honestly thought that he’d never answer to her.

After a few hours, Harry answered to her message and she freaked out but never answered back because she didn’t want to bother him.

They officialy met on November 28th, 2017 when Harry performed on Victoria Secrets Fashion Show that occured in Shanghai, China.

It was the first time that Model Y/N ever walked for Victoria Secrets.

She walked the Goddesses segment while Harry sang ‘’Only Angel’’.

Harry literally got on his knees when she walked past him.

He likes to describe his emotion at that moment as “mesmerized”.

Even though she knew that VS models and the singers are supposed to flirt a little on stage to create a teasing sensation, she was so surprised by his actions.

After the show was done, Harry wasn’t going to attend the VS after party but decided to attend last minute because he wanted to know her.

He approached her very calmly and gentle and invited her to ‘’hang out’’ with him and his band through Shanghai as he was going to leave on the next day to complete his tour.

She asked Bella to go with her because she didn’t want to hang out with him and his bandmates alone as they didn’t know each other.

But she did felt a huge connection between them almost immidiately.

Through Shanghai, Harry was hitting on her the ENTIRE time! He was complimenting, being super nice, and flirting as well but she honestly thought he was just being nice.

Harry thought for a while that she was playing it hard to get until he realized that she wasn’t.

They spent the whole night going through Shanghai.

They went to Nanjing Road and walked around seeing the lights.

They bought those film cameras and took the funniest pictures ever. They still have those films but never digitalized it to the computer.

They went to all those mini bars and had a few drinks while eating chinese food.

Btw, Harry and Model Y/N LOVE chinese food.

They were on the same hotel.

They didn’t go back yet but plan to do so when quarantine is over.

When it was about 8am, they came back to their hotel.

They both agreed that they would come back to Shanghai one day to go to disneyland.

So Harry went back to his tour and Model Y/N went back to NYC.

On the night out in Shanghai they exchanged numbers because Bella Hadid(Model Y/N’s bff)noticed that Harry was interested on Model Y/N, so she casually told them that they should get each other’s number.

The media was crazy about them. First it was the VS move and then there was tons of paps photos of them out in Shanghai.

The media was trying to sell the story as if they were already dating before the VS, which wasn’t true.

They talked for months as friends because of the number exchange.

They talked via texts, calls and face time all the time but it wasn’t anything more than friendship to her.

Model Y/N and some friends of her was planning on traveling to Ibiza, Spain to celebrate New Year’s Eve and as she and Harry were getting really close to each other she invited him and told him that he could take whoever he wanted.

Of course she thought he was cute and had a small crush but nothing extreme.

Harry did invited her for some of his shows but she couldn’t attend any of it.

That made Harry think that she didn’t like him.

She thought he was going to take a girlfriend.

Harry took Gemma and her boyfriend to the trip with him.

Yes, their whole group of friends were there as well but midia acted like there was only them in it.

They were in Ibiza from December 28th, 2017 to January 3rd, 2018.

The group of friends that was in Ibiza with them included Bella Hadid, Fai Khadra, Imaan Hammam, Grace Elizabeth, Gemma Styles, Machine Gun Kelly, Model Y/N’s brother, etc.

And yes, there were TONS of paps in Ibiza following them because the media was selling the whole ‘’Harry Styles’s new girlfriend’s thing.“

Harry is super private about relationships and Model Y/N had ended a serious relationship early that year so they just didn’t address any rumors because they didn’t care about what the media said.

They “saw” each other as friends and that was what mattered.

It was probably the most random group of friends that she ever traveled with, but it was fun on the same way.

They had a really cool and funny vibe, and it was really easy to everyone to get along.

When fans noticed that Y/N’s friends were following Harry on social media they really thought all the rumors were real.

Their house was really close to the beach, so you could actually see it by Harry’s bedroom barricade.

They usually went to the beach or stayed by the pool during the day and went out at night.

Honestly, they used to come home from the nightlife of Ibiza at 3/4am.

They’d wake up after noon for sure.

Harry wouldn’t eat his breakfast until Model Y/N’s woken up.

He’d cook an avocado toast sandwich to her every morning and wait for her to wake up.

He’d do it because on one of their late night talks, she had told him that she loved it so much.

They’d eat at the barricade while watching the beach.

Model Y/N HAD always been obsessed with Harry’s hair and she’d tell him that he needed to moisturize his hair as they were under the sun all the time.

It was just an excuse to touch his hair.

So they’d exchange it. She’d put oil on his hair, and he’d put on hers.

If they had to go to the beach, Harry would convince her to do the craziest things like fly board flying, going on jetskis together and those things.

He was the only one to convince her to do it because she is TERRIFIED of swimming in the ocean.

They’d all go out for lunch on some restaurants and after going shopping before the sunset.

Harry would always come to her saying like “oh, this would look good in you” whenever he saw a piece of cloth that he liked.

Some fans would post pics of them on social media only making the rumors go hard.

Then one fan would post that met up with them and they said they’re just friends, which was true at that time.

Back at the house, they’d get ready to enjoy the Ibiza nightlife.

They’d dress a little better and go out to some bar or club.

Do you know those videos of Harry dancing in Anguilla? It would be the same vibe. Harry and Model Y/N would vibe so hard to the songs, and dance and shout and sing. It would be really funny.

Model Y/N used to go to his room at 4 am when they came back from the street because they usually sit by the barricade and talked for hours.

They’d talk about all the things that mattered to them, like: career, fashion, music, video, paintings, friends, family, how fame changed their lives.

They’d laugh about all the dating rumors as well, but it would be that type of laugh like “lol I wished it was true.”

They’d tell each other dad jokes and stories about their lives and experiences until the sunrise.

By the afternoon of December 31st, 2017, they were all talking about their new year’s kiss and they decided that Harry and Y/N would be one of the pairs to kiss.

Model Y/N agreed but it was more of a joke to her than a real kiss; she didn’t take it seriously.

They all got ready to celebrate NYE on the beach.

On the next day there were tons of videos of them dancing on the beach and them with fans as well.

When the New Year came, they had their first kiss and of course that changed everything.

Both of them felt sparkles and by the effect of a few drinks that both of them had on that night, they did share some other kisses here and there on that night.

For a miracle, no one captured them kissing on camera.

FACTS OF HARRY & MODEL Y/N’S RELATIONSHIP THROUGH 2018 WILL BE CONTINUED ON THE NEXT POST.

[an-actual-angel]

Pairing: Connor (RK800) x Reader, Collin (RK800-60) x Reader, Richard (RK900) x Reader

Summary: The year was 2082. 44 Years after the android revolution. Things have turned south for humanity. Androids now rule the world, leaving humans to be considered as mere animals. While some Androids still have a general disdain for humanity some have taken to the idea of keeping them as “family pets.” You, born in captivity, specifically bred to be the perfect pet happen to get adopted by the RK brothers.

(If anyone wants to be added to the tag list, either dm or reply to this post <3)

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Chapter 36 -  Running away is easy, Its the leaving that's hard

It had almost been two weeks since you last saw Connor and Collin. It had been tough, to say the least, you missed them like crazy. You would constantly check your phone for messages that would never come. Perhaps it didn’t take them long at all to forget about you. You couldn’t let yourself get too upset about it though, this was your decision. Maybe it was easier for them to keep their distance. It would probably work out better this way in the end.

Danny was right when he said that life in the settlement wasn't going to be glamorous, it was hard work, something you weren’t used to, coming from living cushy in a penthouse. You mostly helped out with farming the land and tending to the chickens, feeding them, cleaning out their coop, collecting eggs, etc. You also got stuck with the job of babysitting some kids from time to time. It was good to keep busy though, to keep your mind away from androids.

When you had free time, you spent it mostly with Emily, catching up, attempting to look after her, although insisted she didn’t need the fuss.

You had been staying in Emily’s shack, it was just you her and her cat Pepper, but you made a good little family. You wondered whatever happened to the father of Emily’s child, she didn’t want to talk about him too much, whoever he was. She’d just say he was away.

You didn’t want to push her but your overbearing curiosity would not sit at peace. Some other ladies around the settlement had told you he had been taken by androids.

What Emily did tell you about the child’s father was that his name was James and he was the one that saved her from the adoption centre. Well, he’d been one of the humans in the midst of the one of the riots in the city who also happened to help some of the humans escape the centre.

“Took down two androids right in front of my eyes, that how I knew he was the one.” She laughed.  

“He took down two androids? On his own?” You spluttered out, not believing her.

“Yeah, with one of these,” Emily smirked handing you over a baton.

Taking it in your hand you examine it, slightly confused until you see a button near the bottom. “Is this one of the electric ones the cops use?”

“Yep, can take out an android with a few quick buzzes.” She points her chin at you and smiles. “That’s my man, always got the good weapons.”

“I’m quite surprised you settled on a man honestly.” You smirked, “Last time I saw you, you were giving puppy dog eyes to Olivia.” You cock your head to the side, raising your eyebrows.

“Yeah, I did have a thing for her, until she got adopted and you know. Kinda couldn’t see her anymore.”

“Liv got adopted?”

“Yeah.” Emily shrugged plainly and looked away.

“I’m sorry Emily.” You reach out your hand to touch hers.

“Why are you sorry?” She shakes her head, pulling her hand away from yours to rest on her baby bump.

“It just must have been lonely for you, without me and Liv.” You bite at the broken skin on your bottom lip.

“Yeah it was a bit, but then I met James.” She smiled a little but it faded fast. “He’ll come back you know.” She said quickly, more telling it as a way to convince herself, rather than you.

You nod back to her, not wanting to hurt your friend. “Of course Emily.”

Her hand wipes at her eye a little. “Best be getting to bed.” She stands to her feet. “You should as well” she smiles placing her hand on your shoulder.

“That’s probably a good idea.” You nod. “Big day tomorrow.”

___

You woke to the sun shining through the thin material of your makeshift curtain, with a rub of your eyes and a quick stretch you were up to start your day. Making breakfast for yourself and Emily was first on the list and then feeding Emily’s cat Pepper was second. The next few hours would be spent outside on the farm tending to some of the plants and vegetables, you would do this until lunchtime when you would have a quick bite to eat and then on to the ‘town’ meeting, a quick impromptu one that had been called by Danny.

They had received word from another settlement, one not too far from them that they would aid them in their next city raid.

“City raid?” You whispered to Emily, not understanding what he had meant.

“Yeah, we’d been planning this one for a while.” She whispers back quickly. “It’s how we get more weapons, people, stuff like that.”

“Does Connor know you guys have been doing this?” You ask.

“No. but he doesn’t need to know.” She shrugs. “We send our doughboys out with masks anyway.”

“Doughboys?” You asked even more confused than before.

“Yeah, our fighters.” She snaps as she furrows her brows. “Don’t you listen?” realising how quick she was with you she apologises “Sorry, I forgot that you’re still new around here. We call our ‘recruits’” she says with parenthesis. “Doughboys, and they get shit done. I was one before, well before y’know.” She rubs her bump.

“Never pegged you as a fighter.”

“Well, I guess there’s a lot you don’t know about me then.” She laughs.

“Ladies,” Danny calls Emily and your attention back to him.

“This time it’s going to be the big one.” Danny looks around at everyone’s faces. “There are people from other settlements in the city as we speak. It’s almost our time to join them. Three days. Three more days!” His weathered hand hits the table he was standing in front of. “And we're getting our boys back.”

You notice Emily nod to Danny, her lip wobbles as she turns to you.

“James.” she half-smiles half whimpers as her hand grabs yours.

You give her hand a tight squeeze and whisper a silent prayer that they will indeed find him alive and well.

As the day goes on most of the camp seems in a mixture of excitement and fear about the upcoming raid.

The ‘Doughboys’ as Emily called them, coordinating their plan of attack, parents ensuring their children that everything will work out, farmers, bakers, and medics in a tizzy to prepare the needed supplies.

As the evening settles in you begin to worry for Emily, what if they can’t find James? what if he’s not even alive?

Poor Emily has been through so much. She doesn’t deserve any more grief.

A part of you wants to tell her to not get her hopes up but saying that would be cruel. You just nod along and try to keep her comfortable. After dinner Emily ends up falling asleep on the recliner chair she had been sitting on. As you wrap a blanket over her shoulders you realise that you're almost out of firewood and the fire its self is beginning to dwindle down.

Grabbing one of Emily’s cloaks from a hanger, you drape it over your shoulders before heading out on your quest to seek out more wood.

Wooden logs were usually kept in an area just west of the settlement, it was a little walk through the trees but not too far. You usually preferred going out when it was brighter. The light from your phone only made the place look creepier. The quietness of the area didn’t help either, if it wasn’t for the noises made by nearby animals the place would be downright eerie. At least you could still see the warm glow of the settlement in the distance through the trees.  

You knelt down on dry dirt to pick up some of the logs from the bottom of the pile to put in the wicker basket that you had brought with you. After you make your selection you stand back to your feet and dust off the dirt of your clothes. Just as you are about to reach down for your basket again you are abruptly stopped by a large hand being placed over your mouth as well as an arm wrapping around your front holding both your arms in place so that you cannot struggle from the grasp. You try to wrestle your way out of the grasp in a fit of fear but a familiar voice sends you into shock.

“Please calm down.”

Is that?

Your body is frozen.

“I only grabbed you like this in case you screamed. Sorry, it was a bit abrupt, I know.”

Your heart begins to thump harder in your chest but this time not from fear.

“When I let go, please don’t scream.” The voice pleads.

You manage to nod your head, still, in your state of shock, the hands and arm loosen from you and you try to steady yourself on your feet before turning around.

You take a deep breath as you slowly move on your feet towards the person whose grip you had just been in.

“Richard.” You exhale deeply.

His tongue wets his lip before he attempts to speak, however, you cut him off.

“What are you doing here!? If anyone sees you!” You shout in a whisper at him.

“Look, I know, I know.” He lifts his hands in defence. “I was just lucky that you happened to be out here so I didn't have to go in there.” He gestures his head towards the settlement.

“Don’t dare step foot in there.” Your eyes widen as if he’s gone mad.

“I won’t, I won’t… If you come back.”

“What? No.” You shake your head.

“No?”

“I can’t Richard. I belong here.”

“Y/N, Look at this place. It’s disgusting.” He shakes his head as he scans his eyes across the poorly put together ‘town’. “Surviving on scraps, like an animal. You have a nice home, come back.” He reaches out to hold your hands.

You lift your brows to look up at him, your mouth becoming straight as you shake your head and slowly pull your hands away.

“I can’t, I just can’t.” You pick your basket off the ground and turn to walk away from the android.

“I’ll give you anything!” He shouts out. You turn your head to him.

“I’ll do anything.” He moves towards you again. “Just say the word. Please.”

He reaches his hand towards yours once more, his other caressing your cheek.

“I’ll even help with the rebellion.” He whispers.

“The rebellion?” You look up at him, your face plagued with even more confusion.

“Whatever it is the humans are planning. I can help, I can be of use just, please come back.” He begs his forehead now resting against yours.

“Wha- I don't understand. Why?” You whisper to him, closing your eyes as you press your forehead back against his.

“Because I love you.”

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 37 -  Alrighty Aphrodite

You had entered the settlement on your own again. Going back to your shack, you had to explain the situation to Emily.

“If he can get James back.” She stopped for a minute to steady her breath. “Then I’m on board.”

After a quick hug and farewell, you had a bag packed and you were off.

“I’ll be back.” You said once more to Emily before leaving.

“I know.” She nods.

Richard had been waiting for you just outside the gateway, you had told him to wait there so he wouldn’t spook the residents.

“I can carry that” Richard insist, taking your bag from your hands, before you could say anything he had it thrown over his shoulder. You bite at your lips not really knowing what to say but walking through the forested area with him in silence.

“It’s not too far of a walk to the car,” He said. “I did try to park as close as I could.”

You just nod and continue to walk. After another while of insufferable silence, you finally speak up to him.

“So, is it true?” You turn towards the Android. “Do you really love me?”

His eyes fall to the ground for a moment as he continues on. “Yes.” He fell quiet again for a moment before continuing on. “I think I first began to realise when Collin got in that accident. You stayed with him.” He let out an artificial sigh. “I started to think about if something had happened to you and-” He shrugged.

“It took me a long time to come to grips with my feelings as you could probably tell. I never experience this type of emotion before.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” You tilt your head attempting to make eye contact, his gaze still avoiding yours as he trudged forward.

“I was an idiot. A scared fool.”

“You are an idiot.” You stop for a minute causing Richard to stop as well, he moves closer to you, to see if you are alright. Taking him by surprise you lean up to press a kiss to his cheek. Richard hums for a second moving away slowly, he looks into your eyes before he tries to kiss your lips.

You however hold your hand out and say “I can't do that, I have boyfriends.” Before walking on.

“Yeah, ones that left you behind.” Richard sighs moving again to walk beside you.

“They did that to protect me.”

“Connor in his twisted reasoning. He probably did it more to protect himself. He is selfish. You have no idea what your leaving has done to Collin.” Richard grumbles.

“So you’re guilt-tripping me now?” You roll your eyes.

“I’m just saying.” Richard grunts, re-adjusting your bag against his back. “Why’d you not bring your suitcase?”

“This is just temporary.” You shrug.

“I see.”

“How’s Connor doing?” You change the subject before Richard tries to convince you to stay forever.

“He’s stressed about all of the attacks that have been happening in the city and he’s stressed because Collins current mental stability is not too fun. I think it would cheer him up to see you.”

“Yeah and he might murder you for bringing me.” You quip back.

“True. I guess we’ll just have to see.” He retorts as you notice Richard’s car parked in the distance. He did park quite close. Something Connor would also be pissed about.

“How did you find me anyway?” You ask the question that’s been on your mind since you first saw him.

“I’m afraid the truth of the matter might unsettle you a little.” He explains as his car beeps at his arrival.

“Go on.” You encourage him. “You can’t stop now.”

“I am one of the most advanced androids in existence.” He explains whilst throwing your bag in the back of his car. He then opens the passenger side door for you to get in. When you do he leans down to your ear to whisper, “I’m everywhere.” And with that, he closes the door.

You sit for a moment in contemplation as he gets into his side of the car to sit down. As he puts his seat belt on you turn to him with confusion on your face. “Did you hack my phone?”

Richard rolls his eyes as he starts up the car. “I was able to tap into the journey history of Connor's vehicle. I knew he was behind all of this.” He begins to explain as his own car sets out.

“When I got to the location of the factory I was able to scan for signs of nearby technology. Your settlement stood out like a beacon. Didn’t take too long for me to tap into some phones that were being used yes, and then I saw you.”

“Can other androids do all that?”

“Not a lot can. And definitely not to the extent that I can. As I say, I’m everywhere. Any piece of technology, I can tap into if I desire so.” Richard explains proudly.

“So, do you ever use it to spy on people?”

“Only if necessary.”

“You ever watch people naked?” You smirk a little.

Richard’s brows furrow as he blushes slightly. “No, I would not do that.”

You burst out in laughter at his defensiveness. “I’m just teasing.”

Richard adjusts his shirt collar in discomfort. “Indeed.” He replies dryly.

You smile and rest your head against the back of the seat.

“You know you can lie in the back if you want, it’s a long drive and you could do with some sleep.”

You swivel your seat around to look at the back seat, assessing it. Swapping your seat with your bag that had been put in the back and lay down on the cool leather.

“You don’t have any blankets do you?” You ask Richard as you attempt to find some level of comfort on the cold seat.

“No, sorry. I can turn the heat up if you like?”

“hmmpf.” You think for a minute. “Isn’t this car self-driving?”

“Yes,” Richard replies, not really sure at what you’re getting at.

“Why don’t you just put in the destination and then come back here and lie with me?”

His LED begins flashing red. “I think Connor would definitely try and kill me if we sleep with each other again.” Richard stammers.

“I wasn’t suggesting we have sex, oh my god!” You smack your hand over your mouth to not laugh.

Richard's face began to turn in cringe, “oh I just thought-”

“I meant so we could cuddle.” You explain, smirk still present on your face.

“Do you think Collin and Connor would be okay with that?”

“I think they’d be angrier if you let me get sick from the cold.” You tease.

“That is a fair point.” Richard raises a brow as he puts in the location for the car to self-drive. When he has it tapped in, he too swivels around in his seat to move to the back with you.

Richard is a little awkward at first as he clumsily shifted to lay down in the backseat with you, eventually pulling you into his chest. The thrum of his thirium pump makes you grin in triumph as he settles his head to rest on top of yours. Richard then changes his body temperature to a comfortable setting so that he could be your personal radiator for the next few hours.

Was this weird? Absolutely. Was this wrong? Maybe. Was this comfortable? YES.

But you allowed yourself the brief comfort of being in Richard's arms, even if it was just for this one night. Maybe you felt like you deserved it, you were entitled to some amount of comfort after all the crap you’ve been through.

A part of you was angry and Collin and Connor for not reaching out, even to send a measly little text message. Your more rational mind told you to drop it, something might have come up, you didn’t know the full story, and maybe it was too hard for them. Although that didn’t stop it from stinging your ego any less.

You managed to drift off to sleep rather quickly, that was one of the benefits from all the hard work you had been up to at the settlement, sleep found you a whole lot quicker. Richard had stayed beside you for the majority of the journey as well, cherishing the feeling of having you in his arms once again. Deciding to himself to never be without this feeling anymore. His face snuck its way between your neck and collar bone to take in your scent and to delicately place his lips against your skin just for a sweet moment of indulgence. He had to wiggle his hips away from yours so you would not awake with his growing hardness against your ass.

Feeling a little guilty for his body’s response he decided to give you some space, sliding his form out from the side, slowly as not to wake you. He couldn’t help but smiling down at how comfortable you seemed as he made his way back to the driver’s seat, the seat still swivelled around to face the back.

Richard did eventually wake you up as the car pulled into the private garage area for the RK’s apartment building.

“We're here, little dove.” He coos to you, brushing his knuckles down the length of your arm.

Your eyes squinted open, feeling blinded by the violently bright fluorescent lights of the garage you had found yourself in. Looking down you had noticed one of Richard's coats had been draped over you. You rubbed your eyes briefly before reaching down to it to hand it over to Richard.

“You put it on.” He insisted, pushing it back towards you. “At least until we get inside. It gets cold in the garage, at least that’s what my sensors tell me.”

You didn’t object you just nodded in silence, still in that groggy half sleep-like state. Throwing the oversized coat onto yourself you open the car door and hop out, Richard grabbing your bag soon follows behind, hand on your shoulder as he directs you towards the elevator.

It felt strange being back in the city, even stranger to see the apartment building again.

When you entered back into your old home, it had felt different somehow, a little bit eerie even. Suppose it didn’t help that most of the lights were off.

“Collin and Connor are both out at the moment.” Richard finally spoke up again, leading you by the shoulder into the dark living room, with a flash of his LED the lights were on.

You squinted again at the harshness of them before Richard had dimmed them to a more pleasing brightness level.

“Why don’t you go and get a nice hot bath and I can put your stuff away.” He awkwardly half-smiles over at you.

“Are you sure?” You ask skittishly.

“Of course.” He tilts his head in confusion, it’s not like having YOU here was any bother to him, he was bloody delighted. “After that, I can go get my brothers?”

“Right now?” You stuttered out the question, fidgeting with the large sleeves of Richard’s coat that you had forgotten to take off.

“Do you want some time before?” Richard asked, head tilting once more, exposing his pale neck to you.

You shook your head and looked back down at your hands. “I don’t know, maybe. It’s not that I don’t want to see them. This is all just a little overwhelming.”

“I understand.” Richard nods. “Just one thing at a time.”

You look up at him once more, catching his cool eyes in a stare, you nod. “A hot bath sounds good.”

________________________________________________________________

Notes:  I lowkey called Emily's love interest James after Bucky Barnes (cause for some reason I imaging him looking like Bucky lol)

Sorry I'd been gone for a while, just been really busy with work and general life stuff.

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[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Back at it again with my self-indulgent comic posts. This time! It’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3, perhaps the most tonally-distinct entry yet, with shades of The Twilight Zone. 

Spoilers!

So, as mentioned, this issue is the most deliberate in terms of both its pacing and its tone, IMO.

What is that tone, you ask?

To quote Alex Danvers, from “Midvale”: Hello, darkness.

THE STORY:

Kara and Ruthye are still looking for Krem Clues in the alien town of Maypole.

(Which is actually just Small Town, USA, complete with vintage 50s aesthetics.)

But the locals are clearly hiding something! So Kara and Ruthye continue to investigate, and they eventually discover what it was that the residents of Maypole were so keen to keep hidden. 

Genocide, basically. 

As I said, this issue struck me as very Twilight Zone; a genre story involving the build-up to a dark twist, all set against the backdrop of an idyllic small town. (Think, like, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” but instead of focusing on the Red Scare, it’s classism and racism.)

The wealthier blue aliens kicked all of the purple aliens out of town, and when space pirates showed up to pillage and plunder, the blue aliens made a deal with them: the lives of the purple aliens in exchange for their safety.  

Which is where the episodic story connects to the larger mission; it was Krem who suggested the trade, and then joined up with the Brigands (space pirates) when he was freed by the blue aliens.

The issue ends with no tidy resolution to the terrible things Kara and Ruthye discovered, but they do have a lead on where to find Krem, now, as well as Barbond’s Brigands.

KARA-CTERIZATION:

Ironically, it’s here, in the darkest chapter yet, that we get the closest to what might be considered ‘classic’ Kara. 

Which I think comes down to that aforementioned deliberate pace--this issue is a little slower, a little quieter. It gives the characters some room to breathe.

That’s not to say Crusty Kara is gone. Oh no. She is still very much Crusty. XD 

But anyways. A list! Of Kara moments I loved!

I mentioned a few of these in a prior post when the preview pages came out: I like the moment where Kara blows down the guy’s house of cards, and I like that the action is echoed later in the issue when she grabs the mayor’s desk and tosses it aside. A nice visual representation of the escalation of Kara being, like. Done with these creeps. (Creeps is an understatement but you get the idea.)

Another one from the preview pages: Kara explains to Ruthye that her super hearing won’t necessarily help her detect a lie, especially if she’s dealing with an alien species she’s not familiar with.

It not only reveals her level of competence and understanding of her super powers, it also shows that, you know. She’s a thinker. She’s smart. 

Amazing! Showing, rather than telling us, that Kara is smart! Without mentioning the science guild at all wow hey wow.

(Sorry, pointed criticism of the SG show fandom.)

Anyways.

I dig the PJs! 

And Kara catching the bullet! Not only are the poses and character acting great, it’s also a neat bit of panel composition:

We start with Ruthye’s POV, and then move to the wide shot of the room. The panel where Kara actually catches the bullet is down and to the side of the wide shot panel--we move our eyes the way her body/arm would have to move to intercept the bullet. Physicality in static, 2D images!

Also, like. It’s a very tense moment, life-or-death, but. Ruthye’s wide-eyed surprise at the bullet in Kara’s hand? Kind of adorable. 

I was pretty much prepared for the page of Kara shielding Ruthye from the gunfire to be the highlight--it was one of the first pages King shared and I was like, ‘yeah, YEAH.’ But, shockingly? The TRUE highlight of the issue?

Where do I BEGIN?!?!

EVERYTHING. About this moment. Is lovely.

From Kara holding Ruthye above the bench to explaining the concept of a piggyback ride, to telling her:

“I’m going to hold my hands here, and these hands can turn coal into diamonds, so they’re not going to let go. I’m going to keep you safe.”

HNNNNNNNNNNNG.

Ruthye’s narration--about how Kara had avoided flying as she was concerned it would freak Ruthye out--just adds a whole additional layer of YES, GOOD, YES, and her line on that splash page is great: “You see, all that time, she was worried about me.”

HNNNNNNNNNNNG. AGAIN.

To say nothing of the STELLAR ARTWORK.

And SPEAKING of that stellar artwork, Evely and Lopes continue to knock it out of the park. Each issue is distinct and beautifully crafted, a true joy to look at.

Before I jump into more of the art, a few final notes of character stuff in general.

Ruthye is the one most affected by the experience in Maypole, as she can’t comprehend how a society of people that look so nice and gentle and peaceful could have been party to such a horrible act.

One of the big criticisms of the book thus far is that Supergirl is not the main character, and I guess I can agree with that observation. Typically, in Western media, the main character is the one who goes through the most change in the story. 

And, yeah. That’s Ruthye.

As I was reading the end, where Ruthye sits on the curb and Kara hugs her, I was imagining how the scene would’ve played, had King stuck with the original idea for the series: Kara as the one learning to be tough/experiencing all of this for the first time, and while I think that could certainly work...

I continue to appreciate that King literally flipped the script; that Kara, especially in this issue, is like, ‘I’ve seen this, I know this,’ as opposed to being the one going through a loss of innocence.

*Marge Simpson voice* I just think it’s neat!

Because Kara’s been a teen in DC comics for so long--ever since she was reintroduced to the main DCU continuity, actually--so this is all brand new territory, here. Having an older Kara who’s SEEN SOME STUFF.

(Alsoooooo, since Bendis made the destruction of Krypton not just inaction and climate disaster, but rather, genocide, and the subtext of a Kryptonian diaspora text, the waitress’ derogatory comment regarding the the destruction of Kryton, as well as Kara picking up the bad vibes the entire time, suggests not just a broad commentary on discrimination in all its forms, but specifically allegorical anti-Semitism. The purple aliens being forced out of their homes and into substandard living conditions, then the blue aliens--their neighbors and once-fellow residents--essentially allowing the space pirates to kill them, making them literal scapegoats, Kara discovering the remains of the purple aliens, and Ruthye’s horror at the ‘banality of evil’...yes. A case could be made, I think.) 

(Which would probably require a post unto itself and a lot more in-depth discussion, nuance, and cited sources.)

(Should mention that King has brought up that both he and Orlando--the other Supergirl writer he talked to--are Jewish, and for him personally, that shaped his views on Kara’s origin story.)

I guess my point is that this issue is perhaps not as out-of-left-field as some might think, and just because there isn’t as obvious an arc for Kara, doesn’t mean there isn’t some sharp character work at play. 

(I could be WAY OFF, of course, and I’m not suggesting it’s a clear 1:1 comparison. I’d actually really love to hear King talk about this issue in particular.)

Anyways.

Here’s the final page, which I think works, because as I mentioned before, there is no easy answer/quick wrap-up to the story of Maypole:

THE ART:

I mean. How many times can I just shout ‘ART! AAAARRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!’ before it gets old?

I dunno, but I guess we’re gonna FIND OUT.

There are some panels in this issue that I just. Like ‘em! From a purely artistic standpoint! Because they’re so good!

Like, I just really love the way Kara is drawn in that top panel. Her troubled, confused expression, the colors of the fading light, the HAIR. 

Evely draws the best hair. I know I’ve said this before. I don’t care. I will continue to say it, because it continues to be true.

The issue I find myself running up against when I make these posts is that I really don’t want to post whole pages, as that’s generally frowned upon (re: pirating etc.) but with something like this, you just can’t appreciate it in panel-by-panel snippets.

(Guided View on digital reading platforms is a BANE and a POX I say!)

Anyways.

LOVE the implied movement of the cape settling as Kara speeds in and stops. 

And, obviously, Kara flicking the bullet away is just. A+. 

And the EYES, man. LOPES’ COLORS ON THE EYES???!?! BEAUTIFUL.

Also, should note the lettering! The more rounded letters for the ‘WOOSH’ of Kara’s speed (and, earlier, the super breath) work nicely, and contrast with the angular, violent BLAMS of the gunshots. 

And, I gotta say, the editor is doing a really great job of not cluttering up the artwork with all the caption boxes. Which is no small task.

(I assume the editor is placing them, as editors usually handle word balloon/caption box placement, but I suppose it could be Evely? Sometimes the artist handles it. Either way, whoever’s taking care of all the text, EXCELLENT WORK! BRAVO!)

Okay I think that’s everything.

Ah, nope, wait.

MISC.

Just a funny observation, more than anything else: Superman: Red and Blue dropped this week, and King had a story in there, “The Special” (which was very good, btw.) Both Lois and the waitress swear a lot so I’m beginning to think that this is just how King writes dialogue for any adult character who isn’t Clark. XD

This is absolutely a personal preference but when Kara was like, “And my name IS Supergirl,” I was like nooooo. I know King is trying to simplify all of the conflicting origin stories and lore but I LIKE KARA DANVERS, SIR. XD

It’s almost assuredly a cash-grab/an attempt for DC to get all the money it can out of a book they don’t have much confidence in, but I like the cardstock covers! Very classy, much Strange Adventures.

(OH my gosh, can you imagine that issue 1 cover with spot gloss???? Basically the only way you could possibly improve on it.) 

Okay NOW I’m done. For real. XD NEXT TIME: Kara and Ruthye go after Krem and the Brigands!

[fandomlovingfreak]

Take Two (2/?)

Fred Weasley/Reader

Rating: E for everyone

Word Count: 2871

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: Quidditch rivalries can cause tension between the houses but nothing is like the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Fred Weasley and (y/n) take Quidditch rivalries just a bit too seriously.

Disclaimer: Fred Weasley (George Weasley, any of the Weasley Characters, Harry Potter etc) is a character from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I don’t own Harry Potter or any of it’s characters, and I do not profit financially from any of my posts. (This is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.)

Enjoy

I pass Fred Weasley in the halls multiple times a day, and every time I can't help but raise my chin slightly with pride. In turn, he scowls at me nearly every time we pass each other, making himself busy talking to whoever he's walking with or pushing his group of friends or twin into another corridor to avoid contact with me. Maybe it is a bit roguish of me to say, but I'd like to think I was to do with his discomfort. 

"Scared off Weasley, have you?" my Ravenclaw friend, Jack, jokes with me.

"Seems like it. Can't handle losing a fight to a girl."

"I think it's more like he can't handle losing a Quidditch game to Slytherin and then getting absolutely owned by their star Chaser."

"You flatter me. It's not that much of a victory when you're arguing with someone so dimwitted, though."

Jack snickers, "I'll see you later (y/n). That is if you're still available to study after dinner?"

"Yes! I desperately need help with my potions homework."

"Only if you'll help with Charms."

"Obviously! See you, Jack." I wave to my friend, turning a corner towards the Transfiguration classroom when I run into someone. I nearly fall to the floor, but whoever I've run into grabs me up and pulls me towards their chest before I can hit the ground. I'm about to thank them for saving me from a nasty fall when he speaks.

"Watch where you're going, (y/l/n)." I wince, looking up at Fred.

"I was turning the corner. What are you doing walking on the wrong side of the hallway?"

He rolls his eyes, "unbelievable. Should've let you fall."

Through my teeth, I growl back, "maybe you should've."

"Whatever." He lets go of me before he maneuvers himself around my person. Instantly, I feel terrible as I watch him walk away.

"Fred!" I shout down the hall getting a bit of attention from the other students walking. He stops and turns back towards me. He's wearing a scowl on his face as he barks out an annoyed 'what?'

"Thank you..." My voice is weak sounding, and I can't bear to say anything more. Fred's face softens a tiny bit, and it looks like he's going to say something... But it's all too embarrassing, so I turn and make a beeline towards Transfigurations. Hopefully, no one's noticed any of that. At least, I hope if they have, they have the decency to not remind me later on.

***

Unfortunately for my pride, I have Defence Against the Dark Arts with Fred and a handful of the Fifth year Gryffindors later that day. I glance his way for a moment when I walk in, feeling too embarrassed to do much more. Hating that he saved me from toppling over in the corridor, I try to busy myself talking to my deskmate, a Hufflepuff girl named Ava, who's become my friend since sitting by me at the very beginning of the school year.

"Are you okay, (y/n)?" Ava asks, decidedly concerned as to why I'm acting so frazzled today. I'm too uncomfortable, feeling Fred's gaze on me every so often during class. Why does he have to stare? 

"I'm fine. Did you understand question seven of the homework?"

"You seem odd today."

"I'm fine, really. I got counter jinx for question three, but I wasn't sure if that was correct."

Ava rolls her eyes, "quit changing the subject. Why are you being so strange today?"

I sigh, knowing Ava too well. She won't give up on asking me why I'm not acting like myself, "Were you at the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin this past weekend?"

"No, but I heard you got into it with Fred Weasley over the game-winning call."

"Yeah, well, that happened. We got into this whole argument, and of course, I won--" Ava giggles, "anyways, I ran into him. Literally ran into him in a corridor earlier, and he's such a--prick. I can't stand the Gryffindor brave type. Honestly, Ava, I'm convinced calling them brave is just the kindest way they could think of to call them thick. Of course, it's gone to their head..." Ava cackles over this, causing me to grin widely. 

"You ran into him? What do you mean exactly?" She glances over her shoulder at the boy in question.

"Don't draw his attention over here!" I squeak out, glancing at him to see if he's noticed. He looks up from his own work when I glance over my shoulder, causing me to whip my head back around to face the front of the classroom. I exhale shakily, suddenly feeling nervous...? No, not nervous. That isn't exactly what I'm feeling. 

"Anyways..." I whisper to Ava, "I ran into him when I was turning around a corner when I was walking to class, and I almost ate it. But--he caught me." Scowling, I go back to looking at my assignment.

"He saved you from falling, and now you're--what? Upset about it?" She begins to giggle again, finding my dilemma funny of all things.

"No, I'm not upset about that! Well, maybe I am a little... I'm more upset that I quarreled with him over it and then thanked him after he'd been a complete ass. And then-- I got all flustered over it and practically ran the other way to avoid any further embarrassment." She gives me a little grin like she's figured out something I haven't. I absolutely hate to feel like I've been left out of the joke. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing," she shrugs, going back to her answers, "He's been looking over here quite a bit."

Pursing my lips, I look back at my own assignment, "I know. He's making it so much worse!" I scribble down the answer to question seven, my knuckles almost white from the way I'm gripping my quill.

"It's curious," Ava comments as she's reading from our textbook.

"What is?" 

"It's just strange that he's looking over here, I guess? Did he say anything back when you thanked him?" 

I chuckle, "I ran away before he got the chance."

"Maybe he wants to say something?"

I groan, "I hope not. I've had enough of him for the rest of the school year in one single week."

***

Class is dismissed. I say goodbye to Ava as I gather up my possessions. I'm about to walk through the doorway when I feel a tug on my robe's sleeve. I turn, expecting one of my friends to be getting my attention but find Fred Weasley's hand on my robe.

"What do you want?" I spit out before pulling my sleeve from him.

He frowns, "Can I talk to you?"

Sighing, I ask, "why?"

"Just--" he looks increasingly flustered... Odd. "Come." Again, he tugs at my sleeve, pulling me away from the crowds of students that flood the halls.

"What do you want?" I ask again when we're away from others.

"Why did you thank me and then run off?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Frederick. Should I have not thanked you?"

"You had the opportunity before you mouthed off to me."

My frown deepens, "Fuck you." I take a step away from him, but he's got a hold on my arm this time.

"Why--Why do you hate me so much?"

I scoff, "I don't have the time to hate you. Besides, you don't make it hard to see you're the one who hates me."

A dusty flush covers his cheeks, reaching the tips of his ears, "I do not! I doubt I've given you any impression that I hate you."

"You argue with me every instance you're given!" I raise my voice. How ridiculous to assume I wouldn't have caught on to how much he dislikes me. It's insulting really to think I didn't catch on! 

"I do not!"

"What is this, then?" I lean my weight onto one side, tapping my foot impatiently.

He scowls at me, "You're the one raising their voice! I didn't intend to argue with you." His grip on my arm seems to tighten momentarily. I don't want to be in the corner of the corridor any longer with him.

"Just let go of me!" I yell back. Right then, Professor McGonagall walks by. She stops and frowns at the two of us.

"What is going on here?" She comes up to us. Fred instantly drops my arm, and I let it drop dumbly to my side.

"Nothing professor," I try to look as innocent as possible.

"Nothing? I could hear the two of you arguing from down the hall."

"Professor--"

"Not a word Mister Weasley. Detention, both of you. After dinner at my office. We do not yell in the hallways. And Mister Weasley," she directs her authoritative glare towards him, "we do not grab other students. Do I make myself clear?" 

I try not to make a face, knowing Graham would chew me out tomorrow for getting detention and missing our night practice. There's no reason to get two detentions, and McGonagall looks to be in a rather unforgiving mood.

"Yes, Professor," Fred and I say in the same dull tone. McGonagall nods once before leaving.

"Good job! I had practice after dinner," I hike my school bag further up my shoulder.

"Oh, please. You can't blame me entirely for this."

"I can, and I will!" I walk off without another word.

"See you in detention (y/n)," I hear him call after me. I flip him the bird as I continue down the hallway.

***

"You got detention? You? (y/n) (y/l/n)?" Carina bursts into laughter, "and with Fred Weasley of all people! This is perfect."

I roll my eyes, "shut up. I'll be lucky to keep my spot on the team now, thanks to him. I bet this was Gryffindor's plan!"

"Or Fred's personal plan to get to hang around you," Carina teases.

"As if." I flick her on the shoulder.

She snickers, "Your First date under the dim candlelit glow of old McGonagall's office.. writing lines or whatever. It's so romantic, well, maybe for a Weasley."

I shake my head. This sudden hate instilled within my own house for the Weasley's was born when Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin. It was a bit ridiculous, in my opinion, and the comments made to the red-headed family were uncalled for and downright cruel at times, "There's nothing wrong with the Weasleys. Just Fred."

"Right," she rolls her eyes.

***

Changing into more comfortable clothing, I make my way to McGonagall's office. Unsurprisingly I get there before Fred.

Clearing my throat to get her attention, I ask, "What do you want me to do, Professor?"

"You and Mister Weasley will be hand cleaning the Trophy Room."

I nod, not surprised by the punishment, "Do you want me to wait for Fred, or can I go up and get started now?"

"You may wait for Mister Weasley in that chair. You shouldn't get a longer punishment just because you've arrived before you were summoned."

"Okay..." I sit down in one of the chairs, trying and failing to be patient. If he arrived on time, we'd already been starting our detention, but in Fred Weasley's fashion, he's made the task more complicated than necessary.

Finally, after ten minutes of waiting, Fred walks through McGonagall's door dressed in a casual sweater and trousers.

"Sorry. I had to sort something--"

"I don't want your excuses, Mister Weasley. You'll be hand cleaning the Trophy Room with Miss (y/l/n). You'll find all the necessary cleaning supplies waiting for you." Fred looks like he's going to complain but thinks better of it, stiffly nodding instead. Oh, so Fred Weasley can hold his tongue, eh?

I stand, "Do you want us to come back once we're done?"

"If it's a reasonable hour, then yes. If it's very late, you may be dismissed. Remember, I will be checking the Trophy Room tomorrow morning and will know if you've ditched." She gives Fred a look. I suppose as the head of the Gryffindor House, she knows a bit about Fred and his habits when it comes to detentions.

"Okay," I walk away, knowing Fred will follow behind me.

***

We sit on opposite sides of the room as we clean through the trophies. Fred's brow is furrowed in concentration, and his sleeves are rolled up above his elbow. It's only slightly distracting to watch him polish the trophies. I turn back to my own work, determined not to get distracted by the sight of him. Pathetic, really.

Somehow Fred has managed to get three done while I've only just finished my first. There's no way he's doing a satisfactory job at this pace!

"How are you so far along?" I stand, my hand on my hip, my polishing rag in the other hand.

"How are you so far behind?" He responds quickly, continuing to clean the golden plaque he's holding.

"Let me see one of your finished ones--" I walk towards him, picking up his first trophy. Much to my surprise, it's spotless.

I glance at him, shocked. Fred smirks, still continuing to work, "What's wrong (y/n)?"

"How?"

Fred chuckles, "I've done this exact work at least six times. You get faster with practice."

I roll my eyes, "How does one person get detention enough times to practically become a professional trophy cleaner?"

"Detentions my specialty, darling."

"Do not call me that," I walk back towards my side of the room. 

"No pet names in detention?"

"No pet names, period." I pick up the trophy I was working on before.

"C'mon. It's detention. You don't have to act like you hate me anymore. No one is around to witness."

"Like I said earlier, Frederick, I don't hate you."

"Well, I hate it when you call me Frederick."

I sigh, "That's exactly why I call you Frederick."

I hear him mutter, "I figured."

***

We continue cleaning in silence for what feels like days. Every so often, Fred will try to start up some small talk. Eventually, feeling sorry for him after I've shot down his attempts at conversation, I respond to one. That doesn't mean I choose to be perfectly civil with him as I respond...

"Obviously, I enjoy Quidditch. I play for my house's team, remember?" My back's to him, so I'm safe to crack a small grin over this.

"Oh, yeah. Obviously." I look over my shoulder at him. His back is also facing me.

He's got at least a third more of his side of the room done. "Honestly, I'm a little ticked you've got more of your side done..." I turn to face him, the trophy I've been working on for a hot minute in hand. 

"There's no 'my side.' We have to get the entire room done. If anything, I should be irritated that I'm going to do way more than half of the work." His voice has a tinge of annoyance to it.

"Calm down, fire-crotch," I roll my eyes as I continue to polish one of the golden trophies.

"I thought we said no pet names, (y/n)." He turns to face me, an annoying smirk twisting his lips in an admittedly attractive way.

"Shut up," I look down at my trophy, unwilling to meet his eye.

***

Fred does end up doing most of what I had designated as 'my side.' We end up sitting next to each other, chatting some as we finish up the last of the dingy trophies.

"Honestly, how do they get so dirty?" I laugh, glancing up at him.

"I have a theory," he grins at me.

"Let's hear it."

"You know my experience in this department...I've decided McGonagall must be the one who comes and dirties up the trophies so she can use the chore for detention."

I roll my eyes playfully, "c'mon. You think McGonagall, Professor McGonagall, who is notorious for being incredibly tidy, comes up to the third floor and what? Smudges each and every trophy just to make a little chore for naughty students?"

"What other explanation is there?" he chuckles.

Shrugging, I grin at the shiny surface of another cup for Merlin-knows-what. "I just don't think McGonagall has the patience for that nonsense. Shouldn't you know? You seem to be on her radar at all times."

"Still get away with a lot if that's the case," he bumps his shoulder against mine like we're buddies or something.

I stand to set down the newly polished trophy back in its glass case, "Oh! Looks like you've got the last one."

"Really? And it's only..." he glances towards the clock, "nearly eleven."

I can't help but yawn at the mention of the time, "well... I can wait for you to finish--?"

"No, go ahead. If you're tired--"

I don't understand why I feel sad that detention is over. "Oh--well, I'll see you in class soon?" Merlin, why does that sound so--

"Yeah. I'll er--see you." He looks down at his trophy. I falter over what to do next, ultimately deciding to leave the room.

I make my way back down to the dorms. It's quiet, the fire's crackle and the scratch of a seventh year's quill the only noises in the common room. 

[sebastianshaw]

Someone at one of the boards I write at wanted to know if we had any advice or pointers about RP, and I got to thinking. I’ve been RPing fifteen years so it’s definitely a thing I have thoughts and opinions and tips on. I don’t mean to posit myself as the all-knowing expert whose standards you have to meet, but these are some things I think are genuinely helpful for a RPers to keep in mind no matter how long they’ve been writing. But also, just my opinions! SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT This is the biggest, first and foremost. RP is a two-way street, and I think the bulk of RP sins all trace back to people not understanding this and thinking that their character is the “main” character and everyone else is just an NPC in their story. This takes a ton of variations, with commonly seen ones being insisting that other characters act OOC for their sake (your character should fall in love with mine despite the fact they just met, your character should bully mine so I can be the victim in a hurt/comfort drama even if that’s totally unlike them to do that, your official-head-of-something character should bend the rules for mine because they’re just that special, etc.), needing to be the center of attention (the character who ALWAYS limps into the room having just suffered some terrible tragedy and needing immediate help, the character who always saves the day in such a way that the others weren’t even needed, etc.), or the character whose writer just can’t stop reminding everyone at all times how tragic/beautiful/powerful/helpless/witty/skilled/etc they are. This can go in opposite directions---the helpless character who always needs to be saved vs the all-powerful character who saves the day every time all on their own---but it comes from the same mentality, that their character is the star and everyone must revolve around them. This isn’t to say you can’t have RP arcs that “star” your character and are devoted to their story/development, or that your character can never be the hero, or never need to be saved, or any of that. That’s NOT what I’m saying. I’m talking about the person who does it EVERY time, often to the detriment of the story, derailing the plot, or showing up someone else’s cool moment to get the attention back on their own muse. If you’re gonna do that, just write your own fiction. DON’T DO PASSIVE STARTERS Something I see repeatedly in RP, whether it’s at a board or on Tumblr or on Discord, are starters where the character is just...sitting there. They’re studying in their room, or chilling at a coffee house, or just standing around at a party, or overlooking the ocean from a beachside balcony, or brooding silently in the corner... ...and not making any move to interact with anyone around them. It’s on the shoulders of the person replying to have their character make the first move and find some reason to walk up to them and engage with them. A starter is meant to begin an interaction, so if the second person is starting that interaction, why even bother with the starter you made? Starters where your character is just passively waiting for someone are not usually good starters, and that’s a big reason, in my opinion, why people usually don’t reply to a starter, because they’re stuck looking for a reason WHY their character would just walk up to this person and begin an interaction. My solution to this is, if it’s a planned starter, talk to the person you’re starting it for and try to work something out. For instance, the party starter. Ask them “hey, could it be a costume party?” and ask if their character might be dressed as a character from a show/movie/book that your character really likes---that gives your guy a reason to walk up to theirs and begin a conversation about that thing, and there’s your first post right there! A much more active starter! If it’s an open, it can be a little more difficult, but still doable. For instance, one open I did, I had my girl walk in and speak to whatever person was nearest; she was carrying a basket of Halloween decorations and asking if they’d help her decorate the place. I did not specify who it was, so whoever replied could decide if it was their character or not, but it was “active” in that she gave my partner something to respond and react to, rather than if she had just, say, quietly come in by herself without greeting anyone or doing anything. Obviously this might not work with characters who are shy or antisocial, but if you’re the one who decided to play that kind of character, it’s up to YOU to find ways to get them engaged; it’s not fair to make everyone else do it for you. For instance. Shaw is NOT a friendly person like Laynia, but I had him immediately address another person in one open by creating a situation where he’d have reason to do so, and would be stuck interacting with them. MAKE YOUR CHARACTER REALISTICALLY APPROACHABLE. This often goes hand in hand with passive starters; not only will the character not be engaging anyone around them, they will in fact be in situations giving signals that actively DISCOURAGE engagement. For instance, if someone is sitting in their bedroom, it’s entirely weird for anyone to come in that ISN’T their sibling or roommate. In a Discord college RP, one guy wrote his character going home and walking into his house and had that be an open...no one played any of his family members, so I’m not sure what he expected, that someone from school would just be waiting inside his house? There are also lots of situations where people are around, but realistically are not going to speak to you. Having your character studying in the library, sitting on the subway, or at a table in a restaurant are all common starter types I’ve seen...and all of them are situations where it’s extremely unlikely someone would engage you, unless it was an absolute emergency or they completely lacked any understanding of social norms. And if that’s the case for the character you planned it with, go ahead, you’re good. But if it’s not, or it’s an open, ask yourself---”If someone else made this open, how could my character realistically respond to it?” And if you have a hard time, change things to make it easier for the other player and their muse. This also applies to muses who are hard to approach regardless of the situation. People who are shy, or antisocial, or just for whatever reason do NOT want to engage with others. Those characters are great and I’m not saying not to play them, I play lots of people like that. But you shouldn’t expect other people to have to PRY an interaction out of them, and I see people do that---they write their cool loner or shy wallflower brooding in the corner, and if someone actually DOES walk up and talk to them, the character keeps pushing them away. It relies entirely on the other character just having to be that desperate to talk to them for some reason. And again, some characters will be, like I write a Squirrel Girl at another board who definitely WOULD pull someone out of their corner and into the party...but don’t RELY on other people doing that. Instead, try to find ways to make your character have to be engaged, instead of other people making them. See my Shaw example again. Shaw doesn’t normally like to talk to anyone unless he’s giving an order or has something to gain, but I found a reason he would for him. To use another example, there’s a very grumpy guarded girl that I write at another board, she doesn’t trust people or like them to begin with, and I put her on a subway car, aka one of the examples I gave about places where people realistically aren’t going to talk to you. No one talks to each other on subway cars except mentally ill people or beggars, unless you already know each other. So, how did I make it work? Well, I started the thread with just her and a few other people in the car. One of these people was a large man acting in an extremely threatening manner, pacing the car and muttering hostile things and occasionally shouting at the other passengers. It was in NYC, that shit happens. She kept her head down and ignored it, as most people would do, but when he singled her out and began to get her face, she confronted him back and stood her ground. I got things just to the boiling point, then had the subway doors open to let a new passenger in. Whoever stepped in would be walking immediately into a conflict, in a closed-off situation they couldn’t get out of once the doors shut again, and they would have to react to it in some way. If their character was the type to get involved immediately, great. If their character was the type not to, that’s also fine, because I could have the big scary guy turn his attention to them, basically dragging them into it. Either way, my open created a situation to REACT to, instead of just hoping the other person would do it, and it created a situation where interaction could realistically occur, even though it was in a setting when normally it would not. Btw speaking of that---”my muse bumps into yours on the street/in the hall/etc” is rarely a good idea for this reason. What do you think people normally do when they bump into each other? They say sorry, maybe help the other person pick up something they dropped, and go on their way. It’d be very odd if I bumped into someone and they tried to make an entire conversation out of it. Likewise it’d just be completely bizarre to, say, join someone you DON’T KNOW at their cafe table, etc. You can make these work but, as with the subway situation, you MUST get more creative to make a reason why it would work. “YES, AND” OR “NO, BUT” Okay, you got your interaction started, how do you keep it going? Well, there’s this rule in improv theatre for how to keep a scene going, and it’s that all your responses to your acting partners should be “yes, and” or “no, but” What this means is, whatever reply your character makes, it has to give the other character some hook to continue the interaction. Here are some examples. BAD Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Yes. GOOD Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Yes, and can we grab some pizza on the way? Joe doesn’t just agree to do the thing, he gives Sally something to reply to and keep the conversation going. And he could do this even if he DIDN’T want to go to the skating rink! BAD: Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: No. Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: No, but I was thinking, do you like the aquarium, how about that? Basically, whether he’s responding yes or no, he’s not closing the conversation. Of course, you do not ACTUALLY have to use the phrases “yes, and” or “no, but” just do stuff that will give the other person something to answer. Here are more good examples: Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Yes, I loved skating as a kid, but I haven’t been able to do it in years, so I might make a fool of myself! Promise not to laugh? Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Yeah, that would be great! It’ll be my first time. Do you skate a lot? Can you help me? Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Hell yeah, I’m the skatemaster! Prepare to eat my rink-dust! Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: No, I hurt my ankle last Saturday, it’s a...long story.  Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: No, and listen, Sally? I think you’ve really misinterpreted our relationship. We’re co-workers, and I think that’s what we should stay.  Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: No, I’m sorry, my mom is sick and there’s just...so much shit going on. I don’t know what I’m going to do if this keeps up.  Sally: Do you want to go to the skating rink? Joe: Are you serious?! That’s what you’re thinking of at a time like this?! I can’t believe you! Some of these are positive, negative, angry, happy, sad, competitive, but they all keep the conversation going better than a “closed” response does.

[queenlists]

Twisted Halloween

A Dandy mott x reader where the reader is Dandy's friend and gets kidnapped by twisty on halloween and Dandy is angry but doesn't reveal his identity to the reader only gives them special treatment! (Sorry if that doesn't make sense!) ~signed just a simple Dandy loving anon~ (Request)

Word Count: 3104

A/N: Thank you to the Dandy loving anon that sent me this request! I hope that this is similar to what you wanted. We are at 168. Thank you all for the support! I really do appreciate you all. If you want to find my masterlist, please click here! I hope you enjoy this ✌

Post Date: 05/14/2020

“We can just come pick you up. You’re cutting into our Halloween party time,” Dandy whined into the phone. “I’m almost done! Don’t worry about picking me up, I will take my bike,” I stared at my costume, wondering what it was missing. “I’m sure you want your own mode of transportation after everything. I understand,” I bit the inside of my cheek as I slowly worked on my costume, not sure how to respond. “It’s okay. Really it is...is this tomato on my sandwich? I specifically asked for no tomato! Where’s your manager?” I sighed, listening to Dandy tear into an unfortunate caterer. Stepping back, I admired my work “Alright, I’m on my way!” I chirped into the phone before ending the call.

It’s Halloween. Every Halloween, Dandy and I have a small party. Just for the two of us. We haven’t missed a single Halloween since we met and despite the heated fight we had, we couldn’t miss this one..

“You can’t do this to him. You can’t do this to me. Please, Y/n, one more Halloween. Just one more!”

What a mistake

My eyes fluttered open as the sunlight danced on my face, waking me of my involuntary deep slumber. My head pulsated with pain as my dirt covered body shivered. As I lifted my arm to rest my hand on my aching head, I could hear the chains scrape across the floor. Where am I? My eyes scanned the dusty room. A cage. I was in a cage. In a cage on a bus. My eyes continued to scan the room as they fell upon old toys that must have been older than I am. Dirty dolls in worn, ragged dresses. Some missing one eye, one arm, one leg, or even their head. Wheeless toy trucks. Squeaky toys that probably spat dust out when squeezed. I heard a small cough nearby. I slowly turned my head, wincing. My neck felt so stiff. My eyes connected with another's. A girl around my age and a little boy. I immediately identified them as the missing siblings from just a few weeks ago. No one knew just how long they were gone. Their parents were on a vacation at the time of their disappearance. Their faces were plastered on flyers, newspapers, milk cartons, the news channels, etc. They looked different now compared to the clean, polite, bright eyed children the pictures portrayed. They were covered in dirt, dirtier than I was. Their hair matted. Their clothing torn and riddled with holes. Their eyes sunken. They must’ve been here for awhile now.

"D-do you know who did this?" I stammered, licking at my cracked lips. I tasted blood and my lip was swollen. I continued to run my tongue over my enlarged bottom lip as the girl began to sigh "The clown. Twisty the clown," 

Twisty. Dandy, my best friend, had talked about Twisty over a million times before. Dandy became obsessed with clowns and even had his mother buy him a clown costume. A few of them actually. I had always assumed the disappearances were blamed on an urban legend as they were so mysterious and unheard of in this part of town. Nothing happened like this in Jupiter. The streets were innocent. They were so innocent that the cops were so bored from the lack of action in town that they’d drive on down to the freak show to stir up some trouble themselves. As corrupt as that was, no one really complained because without it there would be nothing for the bored to gossip about. There would be nothing to gasp and read about in the daily newspapers. Nothing to wake up tired eyes. Nothing to shake and stir the town. Kids were free to roam around until nightfall and even then as long as they stayed in or around their yards, they continued to play with little to no adult supervision. No harm done. Every child accounted for by supper. The only odd and sometimes looked down on thing in town was the freak show and even that wasn’t bad. Jupiter was safe..up until now anyway.

“Twisty? Isn’t Twisty just a name they plastered onto the missing case?” I looked between the girl and the boys. “Twisty is real. He’ll come back sometime today to give us supper..maybe,” the little boy looked down, poking at a stale piece of moldy bread. “How long have you been here?” I chewed on my lip, producing more blood. “It’s hard to remember,” both the boy and girl whimpered, their eyes lowered as they stared blankly at the floor. I choked down a sob as I shook my head in disbelief. Why me? Why them? Why is this happening?

There were crunching footsteps coming from the distance. My ears perked up as I scrambled to my knees. “It’s him,” the little boy whimpered as the girl pulled him towards her, rocking him back and forth as she hummed to him. As the footsteps got closer, I could hear the tingle of little bells. Goosebumps perked up on my skin as the bells and footsteps got closer and closer. Louder and louder. After a minute or two I could hear maniacal giggling. Shuddering, I closed my eyes as shivers shot down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the bus door peel open. I could hear the tingle of bells paired with heavy breathing. I felt myself slip into an abyss of panic, so I went to my happy place:

The warmth of the sun kissed my skin as I frolicked in the flowered garden with him. My cheeks burned from the stretch of my smile and my stomach clenched with my heavy laughter. His blue eyes hid behind wrinkled eyelids, his sparkling white teeth shone in the sunlight through his smile. I ran my thumb over his hand as he led me towards the big mansion that he lived in. The inside of the mansion smelled of sweet baked goods as a hint of cinnamon lingered in the air. Fresh bread. Fresh pie. Fresh cookies. You name it, it was there. Flowers. Big bouquets of flowers placed here and there, adding a pop of color to the big mansion. A sweet treat for the eyes. 

You could hear the faint tune of Dora’s hum from the kitchen as well as you could hear the gentle, light clicks of Gloria’s heels coming towards us. “You look absolutely wonderful today, Y/n. You look handsome as ever, Dandy!” Gloria pressed her lipsticked lips together in a pleasant smile as she stood in front of Dandy and I. “Mother, have Dora bring us up a platter of desserts as well as finger sandwiches and some iced tea!” Dandy ordered. “Please,” I added with a smile. Gloria’s eyes were glued to our interlocked fingers. “Mother!” Dandy shouted, tightening his grip on my hand. “Yes, dear! I heard you clearly. I will send her right up when it’s all prepared,” Gloria’s eyes slowly travelled up to my eyes. We held eye contact for some time before she nodded, walking away towards the kitchen.

“Let’s go!” Dandy grinned, leading me upstairs. I looked through the design on the staircase railing at Gloria who stood in her place, looking back at me. Her eyes were quiet and gentle, but at the same time telling. Almost warning. My footsteps quickly matched Dandy’s as he began to drag me up the stairs and through the house to his playroom.

We laughed and joked around from sun up until sun down. His laugh, contagious. His smile, breathtaking. Time flew by with him. There was so much to do in so little time. “Together we can do anything, Y/n! We’re the bestest of friends that ever existed. We can be rulers, we SHOULD be rulers! We could rule the universe and take over galaxies. We’re unstoppable. We’re immortal and invincible!” Dandy preached, flailing his arms around with a big smile. Pointing everywhere as he stomped around with his head held high. His confidence beamed and poured right out of him as he spewed “Y/n, we could move mountains and drain oceans. Shall we take over?” Dandy’s smirk slithered across his face as he leaned in closer to me. “We shall,” I grinned at Dandy.

Pleased, Dandy flopped onto the big couch that I perched up on, laying his head on my lap “I got this for you,” Dandy handed me a piece of my favorite candy as well as a flower that he had picked from their garden “To an amazing friendship,” “To an amazing friendship,” I smiled back at Dandy, smelling the flower.

I could feel the warm bursts of heat coming from the other side of the cage as Twisty breathy panted by my face. The smell of mint drowned my senses. I heard the wired cage dangle and shake as Twisty grumbled. I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes as I heard the locked cage door screech open. I could hear the bells jingle as metal clanked and spun on the floor. “Mr. Clown, can we leave after supper?” I heard the boy squeak before the girl shushed him. Twisty didn’t respond. There was a continued shuffle then a brief pause. I knew that Twisty or whoever this clown is was staring right at me. I refused to open my eyes even after I felt something drop at my feet. I kept my eyes shut when the cage screeched to a close and keys jangled as the door locked.

I finally opened my eyes when I could hear the shuffling start to fade away. I could see the back of the clown walking away before prying the bus doors open then closed again. I looked at the girl and the boy who were shoveling what looked like plain oatmeal into their mouths from metal plates before looking down at my feet. My favorite candy and a familiar flower along with my favorite meal that looked eerily similar to Dora’s style of cooking. I scrambled to my feet to try to get a glimpse of the clown, but by the time I made it to an open window the clown was gone. I could only hear the faint jingles of the costume.

My stomach grumbled as I fell to my knees, unwrapping the candy and shoving it into my mouth with a satisfied sigh. “He never gives us candy,” I heard the little boy whimper. “Or anything other than oatmeal,” the girl added. I slid the container with my favorite food in it to the siblings “It’s yours,” I watched as their faces lit up, small smiles as a thank you. As they began to eat, I sighed and twirled the flower in between my fingers awaiting Dandy.

“Oh my gosh, Dandy! You can’t just say that,” I giggled, covering my mouth as Dandy stood in front of one of his many mirrors. “But the beauty of it all is that, I can!” Dandy grinned, staring at himself in the mirror. “Do you know what you want to be for Halloween?” Dandy nodded before turning towards me “Have you heard of Twisty the clown?” his eyebrows wiggled as his eyes stared into my soul. “Oh yeah, Jupiter’s killer clown! Instead of pinning the cases on a legend, the police need to be searching and catching leads” I rolled my eyes. “No Y/n it’s not a legend. He’s real!” Dandy stamped his foot before sighing “Twisty is real,” I watched as Dandy pulled out a clown costume, dangling it in front of himself as he posed in the mirror. “You’ve been into clowns a lot lately,” I watched as Dandy began to admire himself in the mirror, his eyes dressing himself up in the costume. “I met Twisty. We are partners,” Dandy ran his fingers up and down the costume.

I mildly laughed, shaking my head at Dandy’s ridiculousness. Dandy was known to come up with fantasies in his head and get wrapped up in them. It was best to not argue with him. “Why are you laughing?” Dandy snapped, his eyes burning holes into my head. “Calm down!” I defended, shocked by his tone. I was used to him speaking harshly, but to everyone else and never me. “I will not calm down. You are disrespecting me,” Dandy began to slowly creep over to me, his tone getting louder and louder. His tone of voice sending unpleasant chills up and down my spine over and over again “You’re supposed to be my best friend and you don’t believe me?””

I quietly stood up, backing away from Dandy “I just didn’t think he was real. I believe you Dandy. I do,” I backed myself up into the wall as Dandy got closer and closer until his body pressed against mine. His sharp eyes searched mine before a smile ripped across his face “Okay! Let’s play a game, huh?”

My thoughts were cut short as I heard the bus doors pry open. I snapped my head towards the clown, gasping. I felt a thousand bullets tear into my body as I looked Twisty up and down with watered eyes. “Dandy,” I whispered, covering my mouth. Dandy grunted through the dirty mask, walking towards the cage. Dandy stood in front of me, staring at me with those eyes. I stuck the flower through the case, staring Dandy in his eyes “Why are you doing this Dandy?” Dandy’s eyes were glued to the flower. “You’re better than this,” I whimpered, looking at the boy and girl behind me “Let them go. Let me go! We can talk about this,” I snapped my head back towards Dandy with pleading eyes “Please,”

Dandy wasn’t hiding behind that mask. It only covered his mouth, leaving his slick back hair and bright eyes open to see. Dandy grunted into the mask, his eyebrows squeezing together as he jumped up and down, rattling the cage. I heard shuffling as the girl held onto the whimpering boy. I didn’t move as I stared at Dandy who continued to rattle and shake the cage in an attempt to scare me. “You don’t scare me. I know you!”

Dandy ripped the flower through the cage, tearing it up into pieces and throwing the tiny brightly colored pieces towards the boy and girl. “Leave them alone!” I demanded “You are a monster!” Dandy began to heavy breath as he threw the bag of stuff at the cage before stomping away and out of the bus. I crouched down as I reached for the bag. Pulling on the string, the bag fell over and some of the contents spilled out: my favorite snacks, my favorite bottled sodas, a greasy brown bag of food from the small diner that Dandy and I frequented, a container of sloppy oatmeal, wet wipes, a brush, a crumpled up ball of paper, and one pair of clothes.

My clothes. The clothes that I had left the night I ran out on Dandy.

I tried to stay away from Dandy as much as I could without him taking much notice. He started to become increasingly angry. More physical. More uncontrollable. More spontaneous. We were enjoying a late night snack with Gloria. We were dressed up in these new, silky pajamas that Gloria had spotted on one of her out of town outings. I had agreed to a sleepover after Gloria showed up to my house, proposing the idea that I come spend time with Dandy sick or not due to his lonely behavior. “He misses you dearly and so do I” she pleaded. The woman goes through hell with that boy, so it was hard for me to not agree.

“Let’s shoot the freaks!” Dandy laughed, waving a gun around. “Let’s not,” I bit my lip as I glanced at Gloria who sipped at her cup of tea. “Stop being a buzzkill!” Dandy shouted at me. “You’re being so unreasonable! You’ve been acting so different, Dandy. This is why I’ve been avoiding you!” I screamed back. I covered my mouth as I shook my head. I didn’t mean to say those words. It was supposed to be subtle. Leaving his house an hour early. Two hours earlier. Three hours earlier. Staying home “sick” for a day. Then two days. Then a week. Progressively detaching him from me was the plan and now it’s out in the open with no way of backtracking.

Dandy stumbled back “You weren’t sick last week?” I pressed my lips together as I looked down. “You are such a liar! No wonder why you refused our doctor to visit. You are nothing, Y/n!” Dandy screamed “You are..nothing,” “Dandy, no!” Gloria screamed.

It all happened so slow. I heard Gloria scream. I heard the tea cup shatter. I felt little drops of the hot tea splash at my legs. I felt Gloria’s hands as she pushed me down and out of the way onto the floor. I heard the loud bang of the gun. I could smell the smoke and gunpowder. I could hear the bullet crack through layers upon layers of the living room wall. Gloria kept shouting, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. The only thing I could really hear was the ringing in my ears. I laid on the ground for a moment not wanting to believe that my best friend would have shot me dead.

I would have been dead had I been alone with Dandy.

It took a minute for that to seep in, but once it did..

“You’re crazy! You’re a monster!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet and running out of the door. I could hear Dandy shouting followed by more gunshot noises. I could feel the heat from the bullets as they chased and missed me. My feet had never ran faster.

“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” Dandy screamed with every bang of the gun.

I opened up and smoothed out the piece of paper and sat down on the floor to read it:

“I’m kind of sorry” was sprawled out in beautiful red writing. Not Dandy’s handwriting but it was Gloria’s.

I shook my head in disbelief as I passed the boy and girl the greasy bag of food and snacks. I watched as they tore open into the bags, hungry for something other than cold oatmeal. 

I could hear erratic jingling of bells outside along with the famous words of Dandy “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

[rainingpouringetc]

So up until a few days ago, the number of blogs I followed was 176. This figure hadn’t changed for some time, and I always kept tabs on this - for no particular reason - I just liked to be organised with the running of my blog. Now the day came when I noticed the number being reduced to 175, which is strange because I hadn’t unfollowed anyone recently. I didn’t think too much on it, assuming the person (whoever it was), deactivated.

But just today, I was searching for CC’s blog, to access an ask she had regarding the Jordelia whispering room scene. There was this one particular ask where she revealed she might write it from James’s perspective. And I wanted to go through the reblogs to understanding nd who was for/against it, to determine where majority of the tumblr fandom stood on the subject - given a few of my mutuals/ people I follow, already expressed their displeasure after it was released last Thursday. But I suddenly realised that she blocked me.

It was then I put the pieces together. Yes, I enjoyed some books from TSC in the past. But I’d been critical about TLH (in terms of poc rep), within the past few months - even being vocal about my inability to finish CHOI because the storyline might’ve been interesting - but I hadn’t been able to connect with TLH gang (in terms of their characterisation and arcs - this is mostly in relation to Alastair, Anna and Kamala btw).

Bare in mind that in all my criticisms, I’ve been careful not to tag her, her book titles or her characters. Most of the time, I hadn’t tagged anything at all. The only people who would’ve accessed my commentary were my mutuals and followers. And I made it pretty clear from the get-go last year, that my opinions on CC and her books were nuanced. So unless you followed me, or followed someone who reblogged my posts, you’d have to actively seek out my blog to see these critiques. I didn’t think a lot of people had time to pay attention to mine, that is. But I guess that’s how CC’s rolling these days.

Not once had I said anything derogatory about her - just that her rep (or the lack of accuracy in it), was poor. Believe me, the last thing I EVER want to do is vilianise one of the few Jewish writers in YA lit. But those who hold a large audience and platform, hold huge responsibilities as well. I wasn’t shouting into the void or anything, because a lot of my fellow poc, agreed with me. Nor was I making open-ended statements because, not only did I say that her rep was bad, I suggested ways it could’ve improved. But if blocking is CC’s only strategy to avoid critiques (a VERY clear distinction from ‘hate’), it seems like a cowardice move on her part.

wowowow

that is a LOT to unpack wow ok

that’s... very messed up. i keep coming back to all the times cc has claimed to try to represent people w her books that don’t normally get representation. but it seems like every time we try to tell her ‘hey here’s a better way u could represent us’ or ‘actually this representation isn’t actually good for us like u think’ she turns around and tells us that it’s HER books and she can decide what she writes

it just seems very hypocritical of her

and don’t get me wrong, i fully believe that for most people blocking ppl you don’t want to interact with or see on your dash is healthy and creates the best possible tumblr experience, but i also think it’s different when you’re a fandom blog spending lots and lots of time on tumblr every day and creating friendships and making content etc vs if you’re an author just using the site to promote your books. there’s a different level of responsibility that you’re held to, whether it’s fair or not to her.

there’s a quote that comes to mind: “you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. there are ALWAYS going to be ppl who don’t agree with the books or downright dislike them. blocking ppl who disagree w those books tho is definitely from my view just what you said above: a cowardice move. and yeah. that sounds kinda harsh. but how long have we been screaming about our representation? how long will we have to continue screaming about it? it’s getting really old, trying to hold authors accountable for their works. it’d be nice if just one of them would listen.

ty for bringing this to my attention babe

[angelthefirst1]

The ballerina begins to dance again in fifteen minutes...

Last season I was extremely hopeful that perhaps masked Ninja would end up being Beth and that a big reveal would be similar to Morgan at the end of Coda-not far from finding team family, taking his mask off and revealing that he was indeed still alive. Providing us with a repeat Coda. Anyone that has been followed my posts over the years knows that I believe the actors use social media to give hints as to what is coming in the show, and that specifically-Emily's side projects since she's been gone, are planned by AMC and deliberately picked for her to symbolically shadow TWD. Thinking about some of the projects she has worked on, they include... The following-where she is a member of a cult and she is killed like this... 

Same overall theme to Alpha who had "A following"with the whisperers, and is killed in the same way. The flash (self explanatory)

Ten days in the Valley-About a missing girl The concussion-About a lady who gets a blow to the head. The Knick-About a brilliant surgeon who pushes the boundaries of medicine. If Beth is to survive her gunshot, she would at some point need medical attention. Forever-about a medical examiner who is immortal and studies the dead. In TWD universe we have seen examples of studying the dead/immortality, at the CDC in season one, and Milton in season three-who is a researcher and scientist, and we see hints of something similar happening with the helicopter group too. Love on the sidelines, which-as the title suggests would indicate her love story is on the sidelines. Being played quietly PPP Bullet proof Picasso-also self explanatory...

The messiah (Beth has always been portrayed as a sacrificial Christ figure) she sacrificed herself for Noah while wearing the cross bracelet. And we believe she will rise again and as with Jesus there was an empty tomb and Beth we saw no grave.  All of these could well be symbolic of Beth's story in part... And then there's some of Emily's songs which many in the past have speculated are about Bethyl. Songs like Last chance and more recently her song played on the TWD The Turtle and the monkey which played in episode 1005 (10+5=15) So keeping all this in mind...when I saw her post this...

About doing ballet and getting stronger, my mind at the time was focused on Ninja and I hoped she was learning to fight like Ninja and perhaps was just saying she was learning "Ballet" to cover for leaning marshal arts. But after re-watching 510 (5+10=15) the other day I saw Maggie open the music box and my mouth fell open and my brain exploded...

How did I miss this connection???

I suddenly remembered Emily's new album called THE SUPPORTING CHARACTER (PPP)

And her new song called 15 minutes (5+10=15) in which she becomes the BALLET DANCER.

Carl hands Maggie the music box in 510 and says "I found this when we were looking for water" (water = looking for the Lord-I'll explain this further down) Maggie "What is it?" Carl "I think it's used to play music" Carl "It's broken, I thought you might like it" Maggie "Thanks Carl"

Emily's new single/album is produced by SEAHORSE SOUND STUDIOS which is also represented in 510 (5+10=15) by this...

The walker trapped in the car in 510 is release by keys with a yellow seahorse. It’s trapped in the yellow "Seahorse studio" and even looks to have pointed toes like a ballerina and possibly a nod to ballet shoes to match...

Daryl, when he sees this car, deliberately runs away from it and goes on his search for WATER and comes across this dead deer

Time and again in this show (and others) whenever a deer dies (Christ) a person lives. If the deer lives-the person dies. Carl, Rick, and Magna's group prove this-just to name a few. In biblical symbology, deer represent devotion, and safety in God's care. Deer are a symbol of thirst and longing for the Lord. (Beth) Old testament David wrote about God, “As a deer longs for flowing streams (Water), so my soul longs for you. Jesus said "whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" Understanding the eternal water that Jesus speaks of will make more sense of 510 and why they were so desperate for water and then get drenched in it.

It's all about Beth (Jesus) return.

So for those who perhaps don't fully understand or haven't heard the gospel of Jesus Christ it's basically this. Mankind broke God's moral law (The ten commandments-Don't lie, steal, dishonor parents, commit adultery etc...) The payment for breaking even one of God's laws-even once is eternal death. God became a man (Jesus) who was free of the fallen nature and so was sinless. He sacrificed himself to pay the fine or penalty that was owed to mankind, having broken God's laws. So he died on the cross, but because he sacrificially paid for the sins of the world that were not his, God raised him to life and he defeated death (He wasn't owed the death penalty) He defeated death not just for himself but for all who ask him to take their place or payment. Water is life for humans so the reason Jesus calls himself the living water that springs to eternal life is because his water (sacrifice) if accepted brings eternal life to the drinker. So if a person lives (eternally) it's because Christ dies in their place, and they receive the eternal water Jesus has offered them. Beth was heavily portrayed as Christ, and Daryl (like old testament David) was longing for Beth when he went looking for water and he found the dead deer. Indicating Beth was indeed alive, he just didn't know it.

Emily's new song, video clip and album has heavily included symbolism of Beth from 510. including Beth being water and also the music box/ballerina. 510 (5+10=15 minutes) The water aspect is shown-or not shown i should say, by her album art cover. Which depicts her in the dessert (showing a lack of water just like the group in 510) but Emily is wearing the same pink that is found inside the music box. With the white shoes a nod to the white skirt. 

And this post Emily made about getting stronger at Ballet...

Was a repeat of this scene with Daryl and Maggie...

Daryl "She was tough, she didn't know it-but she was".  

The music video for 15 minutes is depicting the music box in 510. The video clip is very short and on a repeat loop, just like the ballerina in the music box it spins round and round.

For added emphasis i have hummed part of the music-from the music box that plays at the end of 510, and combined it into the introduction of Emily’s song, (please excuse the bad humming) but oddly the two fit together. whether that’s just pure luck or not, i don’t know but i found it interesting.  

In the video, Emily is dressed as a ballerina in the background but doesn't actually dance, it's a different ballerina dancing. Just like the music box ballerina represents Beth, but isn't actually her.

In photo’s Emily posted of the Video shoot, we see a ballerina dancing in front of oval lights-a hint to the oval mirror from the music box in the background.

Some of the lyrics to the song also made my ears prick up. Such as this...

While filming the small video clip for Fifteen minutes Emily posted some Instagram stories, which also tell Beth's story and I will go into below. Watch it and then read below.

This may seem to be an unplanned impromptu video, but it's not. Everything in this clip is scripted and planned. Every action and word is repeating Beth and Daryl scenes.  I'll point it out to you line by line... "Jacob's playing the piano, in my music Video that's coming soon" a reminder of Beth (music) playing piano and the music box playing again soon.

Jacob throughout this conversation is stuffing his face. Repeating Daryl doing the same in Alone.

Emily "Do you want to add to that?" Is a play on "What changed your mind?"

Jacob "Yeah you're gonna love it" (Daryl was trying to tell Beth he loved her)

Emily "What else? Ya think it's gonna be pretty good" Another play and repeat of the "What changed your mind" line, good people, and Beth playing “Be good” on the piano. Jacob "It's beautiful"

Emily "Thank you" repeating the thank you note. (In the background while Emily says thank you, we hear someone shout ooohhhh repeating the oh moment)

Emily laughs and says "what if you'd said no" which i think is a play on Daryl saying nothing to Beth when she asks "Don't you think that's beautiful?" Emily "Do you have some notes for the song?" A play on the thank you note. Jacob says he doesn't have any notes, repeating Daryl telling Beth she doesn't have to leave the thank you note.

Emily "Okay GOOD, because it's already mixed and mastered. Another mention of good.

Jacob ends the short clip with another reminder of the good theme by saying "The good thing is..." and it ends there abruptly, just like Beth and Daryl's story ending on the good people theme abruptly. This whole clip is a playful version of Beth and Daryl's main plot points from Alone.

Considering Emily posted about her ballet teacher saying she was getting stronger. I really find it odd that Emily doesn't actually dance in this video, she is just in the background.

I mean... she was apparently taking Ballet lessons and then does a ballet themed video clip-that would be a perfect opportunity to show some moves in. But it seems the Ballet theme video actually serves a different purpose-to tells us beforehand that the music box ballerina is about to start dancing again... 

Hopefully you can all see the connections here, and it's provided you with some much needed hope that Beth the music box ballerina is about to dance again soon. 

I do want to give a shout out to Emily Kinney Info on Instagram who is amazing at archiving all Emily's posts and provided me with some Instagram stories, clips and photos, which would have been lost in time.

[cindereleanor]

I was so happy to read your post about your sister being a neurotypical ally for you! That’s wonderful. If you are comfortable, would you mind sharing more ways people can be allies? Thank you so much!

💜😭aww thank you whoever you are, this was such a sweet message to receive! Of course I can try - people asking respectfully how to be good allies is just The Best!

Okaaaay advance warning this will be a bit jumbled. (Also for reference the point of view I’m coming from is someone with ADHD, possibly also autism, though I am still in the process of getting an official legal diagnosis, am relatively new to neurodivergent spaces, and still have massive imposter syndrome. AKA I feel the need to make it clear that I am by no means an expert and this is just from personal experience😅). Anyway, disclaimers aside, here are some thoughts :)

A big thing is to let us stim freely without feeling judged! (Unless the stim is causing physical harm!)

Always ask before making physical contact! TBH this is a good rule for everyone, regardless of neurodivergence.

Be patient if we struggle keeping in touch: ignoring texts/cancelling plans/not calling you etc etc. I often feel like I’m a bad friend because I really struggle to actively maintain my friendships, especially long distance, and it’s really helpful to have people in my life who are understanding of that and will reach out to me, but without putting me under pressure <3

I didn’t quite know how to word this one, but always be happy to clarify things we don’t understand - especially in arguments! It is easy for many of us to misinterpret people’s intentions and that can lead to our feelings being hurt, but also us unintentionally hurting other people’s feelings. A very common experience is being told that we “overreact”: perhaps consider that our brains may literally process things in a way which makes us feel emotions differently. Being told that something is an “overreaction” or “we shouldn’t have been upset by that” can be super invalidating. Instead, maybe try to explain your point of view calmly, and reassure us without just telling us that the reaction was inappropriate. Sorry, I’m still not sure how much sense that made!

Consider accessibility needs we may have: this can be as small an action as lowering the TV volume for your noise-sensitive friend, or adding tone indicators to online messages to show when you’re being sarcastic etc (calling myself out here because I am terrible at remembering to do that one).

This one may be less universal, but I think it’s important to remember that we might not all be comfortable discussing our neurodivergence in front of everybody. Maybe don’t go shouting about our conditions to people who didn’t know - it isn’t your information to disclose. If this analogy helps, I personally find that as someone who is relatively “neurotypical passing”, disclosing neurodivergence can really feel akin to “coming out of the closet”, and it can be similarly uncomfortable if someone outs you against your will.

Sort of following on from that, try not to assume that people are neurotypical until told otherwise. Many people will be totally accepting of certain "weirdness” in someone they know to be neurodivergent, but won’t accept the same behaviour in someone else. That person may just not have told you they’re neurodivergent, perhaps they don’t have an official diagnosis so don’t feel able to claim accommodations, perhaps they aren’t even sure they are neurodivergent. Whatever is true, there is no reason not to treat people with respect regardless of what you do/don’t know about their specific diagnoses. 

The most important piece of advice I have (which clearly you’re already following :)) is to listen to advice from actual neurodivergent folks!

This is longer than I meant it to be, but by no means exhaustive! Any other neurodivergent folks feel free to add on to this, because obviously it varies from person to person! And anon, I hope this was vaguely comprehensive and could help!! Lots of love!!!

[destinyvoiddreaming]

Bad Things Happen Bingo 1

Summary: Tommy’s having a bad day and the stress of everything gets to him. What’s worse, though, is how he’s already spiraling down a rabbit hole.

Notes: Written based around three prompts, which are listed at the endnotes, along with some songs that are mentioned within the story.

           This story is me writing the CC’s minesonas and putting them in the real world. I haven’t watched the CC’s videos/streams for a while, so I am basing this purely off of memory and fanfic, so I apologise for any inaccuracy or OOC-ness.

Warnings: Referenced abuse, Implied past abuse

Also Posted: Ao3 (LightningCyclone)

Tommy sighed as he ended the stream, looking at the mountain of schoolwork he had to do. Damn it. Better get started on it, though, or else it’d overflow and he’d never finish it. He opened a voice chat on discord, just in case someone wanted to talk. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself. He didn’t want to tell himself the real reason.

Over the next hour, Tommy played some music in the background while he completed his homework. It was slow going, but he eventually finished it and decided to just mess around with the guitar he keeps in his room.

«»«»«»

Wilbur smiled when he saw Tommy in a vc on discord. He’d started a ‘Just Chatting!’ stream on Twitch a couple hours ago, and he was really enjoying himself. However…

“Chat, d’you want to see if Tommy wants to chat with us?”

Replies, almost immediately, started flooding the chat, overwhelmingly affirmative, so Wilbur joined the vc Tommy was in and went to greet him when he heard the strumming.

“Wasting your time, you’re wasting mine,

Hate to see you leaving, fate worse than dying.

Your city gave me asthma, that’s why I’m fucking leaving,

Your water gave me cancer, the pavement hurt my feelings.

Shout at the wall, ‘cause the walls don’t fucking love you.

Shout at the wall, ‘cause the walls don’t fucking love you.

There’s a reason London puts barriers on the tube line.

There’s a reason London puts barriers on the rails.

There’s a reason London puts barriers on the tube line.

There’s a reason London puts barriers on the rails.

There’s a reason London puts barriers on the tube line.

There’s a reason. They fail.”

Wilbur, though he was concerned at the amount of emotion Tommy was singing with, hid it behind a smile as he gave an applause with his chat spamming compliments for Tommy’s singing.

«»«»«»

FreshSmash: Doesn’t he sound like that one really small-time YouTube singer, Songbird or something?

Wawawoo: Yeah, he does

DorkyCocoa: Who?

«»«»«»

Tommy startled at the applause coming from his headphones and almost dropped his guitar trying to put them on.

“Woo! Tommy, that was awesome!”

“Thanks, Big dubs! I was really fucking bored, so I decided to just fiddle around with my guitar.”

“Well, you’re really good at it. I’m currently streaming, but I think it’s time to finish it off, wouldn’t you?”

“How about one more song, Wil? I’ve taken a look at your chat, and it seems like they want another one.”

Affirmative replies spammed through the chat, and Tommy laughed.

“Okay! I’ve got a song in mind, if you’d like me to sing it…?”

“Go ahead, Tommy!”

“This one is directed to a person or two in particular, but I’m not mentioning them; they’ll know it’s them if they watch this.”

“Okay. Start when you’re ready.”

“You gave me a shoulder when I needed it,

You showed me love when I wasn’t feeling it,

You helped me fight when I was giving in,

And you made me laugh when I was losing it.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why I’m still hanging on.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why my head is still above water.

And if I could, I’d get you the moon, and give it to you.

And if death was coming for you, I’d give my life for you.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why I’m still hanging on.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why my head is still above water.

And if I could, I’d get you the moon, and give it to you.

And if death was coming for you, I’d give my life for you.

‘Cause you are, you are, ooh, you are.

Ooh, you are, you are.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why I’m still hanging on.

‘Cause you are, you are, the reason why my head is still above water.

And if I could, I’d get you the moon, and give it to you.

And if death was coming for you, I’d give my life for you.”

“Wow. That was really good, Tommy!”

“Thanks, Wil.”

“Anyway, it’s time to end this stream, so, thank you all for coming down, it’s been fun. I’ll try to stream more again soon, it’s been wonderful having you all here, goodnight!”

«»«»«»

Wilbur closed down his stream, exiting out of twitch and focusing fully on the discord call he was in with Tommy.

“Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you turn on your camera?”

“… Okay.”

The camera flicked on, revealing Tommy’s tear-streaked face, his right eye bruising and lip swollen.

“Oh, Tommy…”

“Yeah.”

“Why were you singing Jubilee Line? You know where the lyrics came from, right?”

“I… Yeah. Yeah, I do know where the lyrics came from. That was… That was kinda the point, sort of?”

“Tommy, those lyrics came from a really bad place.”

“I know, Wil.”

“Why were you singing them?”

“The lyrics came from a bad place, I know this. And, sometimes… It feels like I’m being sucked further down a rabbit hole. A bad one. And I don’t know how to get out.”

«»«»«»

Wilbur went silent.

“But- but I should be able to get out, right? So, why can’t I? Am I that- that stupid, that I can’t get out of it? I-”

“Tommy.”

“Yeah?”

“What- what’s the rabbit hole like? How’d you fall into it?”

“I- It was… It was small, unnoticeable, at first and…”

«»«»«»

Wilbur listened, upset and horrified, as Tommy told his story. How hadn’t they noticed it? How hadn’t they noticed that the youngest on the SMP was struggling so much?

If the people doing this to you want it to be hidden, then you go to every measure you can to make sure no one finds out, a traitorous voice in his head whispered. Just like you did.

“Tommy, your parents shouldn’t be doing that to you. That- that’s abuse, and neglect, and-”

“I know it is, Wil, but I can’t just leave!” Tommy’s voice was choked with tears, like he was trying to hold the sobs back.

The sound of a door opening sounded through the vc, and a human silhouette showed in the light that came from the open doorway. The figure, whoever they were, caused Tommy to relax, which Wilbur was thankful for. The person was decently tall, possibly taller than Tommy, if only slightly, and their blonde hair was eerily similar to Tommy’s. Must be a relative, then.

The person was whispering to Tommy, and, though Wilbur couldn’t hear what was being said, he knew that it was calming Tommy down.

Wilbur watched on as Tommy slowly let down the façade he put up, melting into a hug from the figure.

«»«»«»

Cadmus smiled down at his brother, before glancing up at the screen that was still glowing slightly from the discord call Theo was in with Wilbur.

“Thanks, mate.”

“It’s no problem, um…”

“Clay. Tommy’s older brother.”

“Well, it’s no problem, Clay. Look after him, yeah?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll log off now, hope he feels better in the morning.”

“Bye, Wilbur.”

Cadmus logged out of the vc and closed discord, before saving the websites Theo would need for school later on and shutting the computer down.

«»«»«»

Wilbur sighed as the person logged out of the vc and discord as a whole, before remembering that he’d somehow known his name. It could be that Tommy talked about the SMP members and basic appearances, but the man’s voice was somewhat familiar as well.

Come to think of it, actually, he’d spoken with Clay before, but where?

«»«»«»

Cadmus took a breath before pulling Theo tighter to him and picking him up, moving him to the bed and laying down next to his younger brother. Theo seemed to snuggle closer to him, and so he started running his fingers through his brother’s untamable hair, causing Theo to start crying into his chest.

God, this kid…

Notes: Anonymous Singer!Tommyinnit is mentioned, but never explicitly stated. Also, ‘Clay’ is a fake name, obviously, that Tommy (Theo)’s brother gives to Wilbur. This is probably going to be the first part in a series, and there’s a vague hint to who ‘Clay’/Cadmus is, so you can make guesses in the comments, and I’ll do my best to respond to them.

Bad Things Happen Bingo (Tumblr):

Prompt: Cry into chest

MCYT prompts (Ao3; littlepisspie):

Prompt: Chapter 4 – Tommy sitting in vc alone, starts singing, Wilbur streaming and joins, etc.

Songs (YouTube):

Prompt: Jubilee Line – Wilbur Soot

Prompt: Get You The Moon – Kina