#THERES NOTHING APPEALING THAT I BROUGHT UP IN HERE

[opiopal]

yall wanna know something I think abt a lot? teenage/ little sibling mc au's. Mc gets brought down to the devildom at like 15-16 yr, obviously there is zero romance and instead they just get kinned as the 8th sibling in the HOL.

you guys wanna know what else I think of a lot? little sibling Mc being an agent of chaos when their found family trope isnt paying attention.

I can't help but imagine that once mc is kinned they get crazy spoiled. not spoiled rotten but they know they can get away with a LOT because they're now seen as the cute youngest that doesnt know any better. but obviously they do since they are a teenager who knows how the world works.

and I mention the agent of chaos thing is because they were already attending highschool before hand, so they quickly notice how highschoolish RAD feels, so they were able to jump into the social ring a lot faster then regular Mc. and thus have the ability to get information from people who trust them/like them. so it ends up being useful to them. and now to my leading point: imagine a sort of friendship with Mephisto. its really more like, a symbiotic relationship. they are around each other for a reason. and that reason is RADs newpaper club.

it first started out with Mc staying after at RAD with lucifer to help with a few things, eventually Mc was put in a random room to hang out in after they did all that they could. which turned out to be the room for the newspaper club. after a while they get bored because their D.D.D died and they snagged a paper that was meant for the next day. eventually Mephisto enters the room, goes to tell them to leave which quickly they say "Dia told me I can be in here, if you have a problem with what the lord wants you could always go tell him that!" which shut him up fast. a good couple of minutes go by before the silence is broken by Mc speaking up and going, "You know, this is kinda boring." offended, he whips around, "excuse me?"

"theres nothing interesting here. interviews.. talking about things that everyone already knows about.. like, I could google half this junk." "I- well what would you know!?" "a lot actually. you dont appeal to any of the students here."

he glares for second before inhaling slowly, remembering that diavolo might be nearby.

"oh yeah? as if you could do better." "I could actually," "well i would love to hear it then."

he says sarcastically. though Mc speaks anyways.

mc adjusts how they were sitting and scans over the paper for a second.

"a gossip section would do it good." "what?" "come on dude, its non-sports club 101, if you want people to pay attention to you, you need to appeal to them. I was in theater for a while and we'd bribe people with free food if they sat through the whole show. this place loves drama. and lucifer being drawn riding on a unicorn isn't funny enough to get more then one person to buy it."

slowly they start talking a bit more casually and stop being so hostile. eventually Mc says that they could tell him the gossip they hear if he wants to make a part in the paper for said gossip. so, from then on they slip notes to him about student drama. which does indeed get more papers told!

though one day, someone pisses Mc off. not really that they were the one insulted, but they heard a few demons talking shit about their older brothers. so for the next week Mc takes a good amount of notes on those demons. which eventually they go to Mephisto with their notes and gave them to him. when he questions why these particular demons, he's met with a very angry "if those cunts want to talk shit and not mind their business then why shouldn't their own business get talked about." for a moment he wants to press further... but unfortunately for him he found himself actually caring about this human very much so he couldn't help but just want to make them feel better... and this much of a consititant story would draw people in so its totally not that he kinned this kid as well, totally!! so for about two weeks the gossip section has an ongoing story that causes nearly the whole school to get a paper to stay updated.

of course every bit of gossip uses code names to keep people from being outed on anything. and honestly some of the gossip might end up being people bringing it to the newspaper club themselves, so maybe a small confessions page ends up being opened.

obviously this is something a little cracked, and just a not very thought out thing that exists bc it makes me giggle when I'm daydreaming before I fall asleep<3 and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if there was already a gossip section in the school papers, but unfortunately I was never ever able to make it past the first few lessons of session 2 of obey me, which sucks:/

[sleeping-realist-waking-dreamer]

currently sad abt how paldea just has No culture

long post ahead i rambled longer than i expected

like ive been replaying gen 7 and like. the regional identity and theme is so strong??? the island deitys, the overhauling of traditional progression, the clear messages of friendship and family, kindness, nature, etc. and even between different towns, theres the tourist downtown strip, malie which has been built by those who immigrated from Johto, fuckin PO TOWN. but dont even get me STARTED on how powerful team skull is, being hoodlums of teens forgotten and ignored by the world now rejecting the island challenge and everything it stands for in pursuit of finding their own family with the other team skull members.

what does paldea have. they all need cyclizars to get around this obscenely way too large map or taxi money to go in a cab lofted by parrots because theres seemingly no other ways to get around. also the citys are based off those in spain and like. they type of gym leader there but ultimately have next to no individual flavor. nobody talks to you about the towns or world, the overarching theme of the game is "treasure" which is already dumb but also barely feels present beyond everything you do, the "evil" team is interesting but ultimately a self contained plot point that basically only hinges around the school, noone talks about team star outside of their specific scenes or the intro sequence. theres no god tier legendaries the people respect and look up to, nobody talks about the world at best people talk about that rich school thats so important for Some Reason and yet we still know so little concretely about it and. ARGH.

this game has such good plots and stories but ultimately despite supposedly being open world, the world doesn't EXIST. the people here dont have any serious beliefs or culture, they just talk about battles and sandwiches i guess.

Like, compare this to Every other game in the series. Kanto was. kanto. but like, even then lavender town and some other locations give more character to the graveyardless (DESPITE HAVING A GRAVESTONE POKEMON) Paldea. even while less cohesive, Johto is astonishingly rich even this early on, Hoenn has connection between people and Pokemon, sinnoh has. so much i love sinnoh even tho its a bit weaker imo but still has belief in good versus nihilism with Cyrus, with several towns having their own flavors, unova was unova yall already know its better, gen 6 region name even bests paldea with having beauty of life as a theme, alola i talked about, galar i never played nor got invested in but i feel like its better than PALDEA.

i say this as someone with 200+ hours in this game. i hate how little real identity it has. the fact that this main entry thats actually proud of itself is better than xy-KALOS IT'S KALOS. the fact that this does better than goddamn kalos in generation six, year of the "we got scared of regional identity and were dealing with a lot right now, we put gen 1 in here to appeal to the genwunners pls enjoy and buy game. also we're too scared to even do a pokemon Z. please dont pay attention to anything new this game brought to the series pllllssss" is ASTONISHING. FOR A SUPPOSED OPEN WORLD GAME!

and NO! scarlet and violet are not "open world" games. Theres no world to explore, theres no extra things you Get for exploring, theres nothing to see that doesn't look like Plastic, there is still an intended progression order you need to follow to even have a shot at enjoying the battles, theres no extra stories you get for exploring, no extra cities, noone who talks about anything interesting, nothing. The world exists only as a map you use your sandwich dragon to get across. Which, it's UNNECESSARILY MASSIVE. there is NO reason for the map to be this large.

BECAUSE THERE'S NO CULTURE OR IDENTITY THE OPEN WORLD FEELING SUFFERS. you dont get anything for going out of your way and exploring the world at hand, you just get like, scattered XP candies and berries or an HM or two. a couple trainer battles with generic dialogue. In a good open world, there are sidequests in various locations, that give you something about the world and offer a unique task. A random trainer at the bottom of a cliff is charming but... Why cant we help???!

Also, I'm not talking about DLC. Glimmerazzi, ogre ousting, the absolute dogshit BBQ situation are all interesting but I'm not paying Another 30$ for a finished game and also most of that has nothing to Do with paldea so cope. I will say though that the base game needed more glimmerazzi or perrin's pokemon snap quest. Like, being given the opportunity to do something that doesn't tie back in the story, just being there to do aside from the story.

anyways this post is a mess im so aurgh about this game ok. i love it and i want to see it be better. i keep trying to think about the characters in the world itself but paldea just has. Nothing!!! there's nothing we learn about them and it's so frustrating bc i Want to see that!!! and yet there's just. Nothing.

[pesterloglog]

Jane Crocker, Jake English, Gamzee Makara

Candy, page 30

JANE: Do you need something?

JAKE: Well... i have some terrible news i’m afraid.

JANE: What is it, Jake? I’m rather occupied at the moment.

JAKE: Im awfully sorry to bother you but its very important dear.

JANE: Is something the matter with Tavros?

JAKE: No... eh heh you might want to come with me to our quarters for this one.

JANE: ...As I said, I’m a bit busy right now.

JAKE: W-well I just thought. Maybe its best if you s-sit down for this one. My dear.

JAKE: My delectable honey bunches of oats.

JAKE: The jolly ole capn of my crunch.

JAKE: M-m-my lovely wife whom i love so much.

JANE: My goodness, Jake! What do you want? Can’t you see I’m right in the middle of something?! Just spit it out already!

JAKE: I...

JAKE: Well you see...

JAKE: I guess ill come right out and say it then.

JAKE: I just got news that your father has passed jane. Im so sorry.

JANE: An unfortunate incident, but it’s no matter.

JANE: I’ll simply revive him, and then make sure he’s assigned a security detail.

JANE: Have his body brought here as quickly as possible.

JAKE: I...

JAKE: Im afraid that wont be possible honey.

JAKE: Theres no body for you to revive at all.

JANE: What?

JANE: What... what happened?

JAKE: It... word from the secret service is that it was one of karkats assassins.

JAKE: The target was the human president.

JAKE: He uhhh. Your father that is...

JAKE: He jumped in the way and took the shot.

JAKE: The president is safe.

JAKE: Your dad saved his life.

JANE: I...

JANE: I don’t understand.

JANE: What happened to his body?

JANE: Did Karkat’s rebels abduct him?

JAKE: Er... no.

JAKE: The shot he took was from the barrel of a rocket launcher.

JAKE: Im afraid the assault blew him straight to bits. Theres hardly anything left...

JANE: W... what...

JAKE: Luckily the president was barely harmed as your old man took the full brunt.

JAKE: As far as i know the only harm to him was having his full lustrous mustache burned clean off his face.

JAKE: Its... its a friggin tragedy... :’(

JAKE: (Sniffle.)

JANE: P... please tell me you’re joking.

JANE: Jake, tell me this is just a prank.

JAKE: Im... im afraid not jane.

JAKE: Im so sorry.

JANE: UGH!

JANE: That... that fool!!

JANE: I can’t believe that he would do this!

JANE: How could he do this to me!?!

JAKE: Janey...

JANE: The human president could be anyone!

JANE: My dad can’t be anyone but him!

JANE: I don’t... no...

JAKE: Shhhh. Shhhh. Everythings going to be ok.

JANE: God. I can’t believe he...

JANE: Oh, but of course I can.

JANE: He’s always been...

JANE: Always been so infuriatingly good.

JANE: God, how stupid.

JANE: This is so stupid. I’m so stupid. How could I put him in such a dangerous position?

JANE: Chief of staff?! Anyone could have done that job! Why did I tell him to... my own father... I—

JAKE: Shhh. Janey. You did nothing wrong.

JAKE: Nothing wrong at all.

JAKE: You never have.

JAKE: I love you jane. We all do.

JAKE: I-isnt that right gamzee?

GAMZEE: yEaH mAnG :o)

GAMZEE: We AlL aNd GoT pLeNtY oF lOvE uP iN tHiS bItCh FoR tHe BiG jUiCy j-C!

GAMZEE: hOnK iF yOu LoVe ThIs BiG tItTy BiZzNaTcH!

GAMZEE: WhOoP wHoOp!

JANE: All right.

JANE: Jake! Get the president on the phone.

JANE: It’s clear to me now that it’s past time for the military to strike, and I’ll be giving that man a real piece of my mind until an appropriate counterattack is in motion.

JANE: Obviously, the government’s attempts to be gracious with the troll ilk have been naive and foolish.

JANE: These rats cannot be negotiated with. They cannot be swayed by reason or appeals to peace and civility.

JANE: The only thing that they want—the only thing that they have ever wanted since the ungodly inception of their disgusting, verminous species—is bloodshed.

JANE: And if that is what they truly desire...

JANE: Well, far be it from us to deny them.

JAKE: J-ja—

JANE: Not another word!!!

JAKE: Are you sure this isnt a mis—

JANE: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JANE: THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!

JANE: THEY WILL PAY FOR WHAT THEY’VE DONE!

JANE: EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF THEM!

JANE: I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! THIS IS THE END OF THE LINE!

JANE: ALL OF YOU, RETURN TO YOUR STATIONS! WE ARE CHANGING COURSE!

JANE: WE WILL BE GOING DIRECTLY TO MEET WITH THE PRESIDENT, AND I WILL NOT REST UNTIL HE GIVES THE COMMAND TO CRUSH THIS FUCKING REBELLION AND DESTROY ANY CHANCE THAT THEY MIGHT EVER RESIST AGAIN!

GAMZEE: hEy.

GAMZEE: Do YoU tHiNk ThAt MiGhT bE a BiT mOtHeRfUcKinG xEnOpHoBiC?

JANE: XENOPHOBIC?

JANE: I am not fucking xenophobic!

GAMZEE: i’M jUsT sAyInG mY mOsT bOdAcIoUs Of BaBeS.

GAMZEE: WhAt YoU’rE lAyInG dOwN hErE iS sOuNdInG wIcKeD bItCh GeNoCiDaL.

JANE: What the fuck are you talking about?!?!

JANE: I am not, and have never been, a fucking xenophobe!

GAMZEE: yEa BuT lIsTeN.

GAMZEE: KiLlInG aLl ThE tRoLlS...

GAMZEE: tHaT wOuLd Be BaD yOu FeEl Me?

GAMZEE: I’m A tRoLl ReMeMbEr.

GAMZEE: mAyBe YoU sHoUlD tAkE a MiN aNd ChIlL a BiT, lIl MiNt ChOcO cHiP. hOnK.

JANE: Shut the fuck up!!!!!

JANE: You fucking insects just assassinated my father!!!!!

GAMZEE: HeH hEh. YoU’rE cUtE wHeN yOu’Re MaD, mY tAsTy LiTtLe SnAcCuCcInO :o)

JANE: Security.

JANE: Escort this troll off of my ship. Now.

GAMZEE: wHoA wHoA wHoA, hOlD uP!

GAMZEE: YoU cAn’T jUsT gO aNd ThRoW mE oFf BoArD, mY mIlKy MaMi.

JANE: Oh, but I can!

JANE: Just watch me.

GAMZEE: wAiT!! jUsT hEaR mE oUt!!

JANE: What?

GAMZEE: iF yOu ThRoW mE oUt I’lL bE aLl LoSt AnD sHiT, bAbE. yOu KnOw I bE nEeDiNg YoU.

JANE: What? You think appealing to me with your disgusting little addiction is going to sway me?

JANE: That’s the funniest joke you’ve ever told, clown.

GAMZEE: iT’s NoT aBoUt ThE mIlK, bOo.

GAMZEE: It’S aBoUt YoU.

JANE: What...?

GAMZEE: i NeEd YoU...

JANE: Are you saying that y—

GAMZEE: I’vE gOnE aNd ToLd YoU AlL aBoUt My PaSt StRuGgLeS wItH tHe WiCkEd GrEeN sUbStAnCeS.

GAMZEE: i DoNe GoNe AnD mAdE sO mUcH pRoGgReSs, FiNdInG nEw HeAlThY wAyS tO cOpE wItH tHe VoIcEs AnD rEdEeM mYsElF.

GAMZEE: AnD yOu’Ve BeEn MoRe Of A hElP tO mE tHaN aNyBoDy. MoRe ThAn AnYtHiNg.

GAMZEE: yOu KnOw WiTh ThE NiGhTmArEs I cAn’T sLeEp WiThOuT hOlDiNg On To A mOtHeRfUcKeR!

JANE: I am so...

JANE: Ugh. Forget it.

JANE: You are despicable.

GAMZEE: yOu CaN’t JuSt Go AnD cUt A bRoThEr OfF!

GAMZEE: LeT’s AlL uP aNd ThInK tHiS tHrOuGh AlL rEaSoNaBlY aNd ShIt.

GAMZEE: i’Ll Do MoThErFuCkInG aNyThInG!

JANE: Begone, clown.

[cutekittenlady]

Tbh I think the whole Delphi incident warmed him up to Drift. At least subconsciously.

(Spoilers for More Than Meets the EYE under the cut. If you havent read it yet and dont wanna be spoiled then go read Issues #4 and #5 on readcomiconline or something. Stories too good to be spoiled.)

Theres this moment, of course, but theres an important context here. And its that, at least a little bit, Drift is lying. And I think on some level Ratchet knows it?

Like Drift claims he wouldnt be there if the DJD actually bothered him but in the next issue, after hes infected with the rust plague and is out of the fight we get this interaction.

Drift starts trying to ask Ratchet to "put him out of his [misery]" rather than risk falling into the hands of the DJD.

Its not that the DJD and the fact that hes one of his targets doesnt effect Drift at all. The fact that hes on their hit list and hes within their territority DOES frighten him, probably a lot. But the key thing here is, the really key thing, is Drift came to Delphi with Ratchet anyway. He, out of everyone on the Lost Light, had the biggest reason to avoid accompanying Ratchet to this place but he did it anyway.

If anything hammers home to Ratchet that Drift is a serious ally its not his seeming fearlessness but his bravery.

And just because you brought it up;

The context for this scene and Ratchets line "I'm miles away from anyone I truly care about" ending on "I've got nothing else to lose" is important since hes talking to Pharma. Someone who used to be his friend and fellow doctor. Ratchet really has no relationship with Drift at this point. Their allies and so far through this issue Drift has likely earned his respect, but in this moment Ratchet is drawing on his own post war issues and feeling betrayed by Pharmas actions.

I mean before the full reveal of the extent of Pharmas actions, Ratchet was looking forward to seeing him! He was going to make him his successor!

He was someone whose skill he respected enough to make him the new Chief Medical Officer of the autobots. But then he gets to Delphi and finds out not only that he had a deal going with the DJD but that he murdered his own patients to maintain that deal.

And I honestly think the former effected him more than the later given what he says when he turns his back on a dangling precariously over the edge Pharma on the roof.

Quoting almost exactly what Pharma had said earlier about how he'd picked which of his patients to kill initially.

So you got Ratchet on Delphi. Forced to fight a former friend and colleague who he'd respected A LOT. Someone who some in the fanbase think he mightve even had feelings for (I dont subscribe to that thought myself but hey I can see the appeal), and hes forced to see how depraved hes become.

I mean, Ratchets winning here and hes not even really that happy about it. As he turns away from Pharma he just looks so tired and miserable. (I mean the part of that could be the rust plague) Which opens him up for attack.

And who should show up at this point, when Ratchet is both physical and emotionally vulnerable?

Who should show up in the nick of time when Pharma literally has Ratchet in the sights of his gun and is about to blow his head off?

The way he reaches for Drift in the last panel paired with his earlier statement that he has nothing left to lose...

Yeah Ratch I think you were wrong about that.

All that to say...

Yeah I definitely think Delphi played a role in Ratchets opinion on Drift.

This was the moment when Ratchet fall in love!

After this he literaly says -"I'm miles away from anyone I truly care about." And after this chapter he started to act nice towards Drift.

He was literaly gagged. Like they are on DJD territory, and during the war there were times when the autobots captured decepticons and they literaly begged Ratchet to kill them. Because they rather die by autobot hands than by the DJD. AND THEN THERES DRIFT WHO'S ON THE LIST! HE STANDS ON DJD TERRITORY BUT HE DOESEN'T GIVE A 💩! HE'S THERE AND RISKS HIS OWN LIFE JUST TO HELP RATCHET AND AUTOBOTS HE MAYBE NEVER EVER MET BEFORE!!! (except Ambulon ofc)

[ermuellert]

wtf is this skam show and is it worth watching and why? (Also I speak English and the show is in Dutch/Norwegian so how are subtitles?)

lmao im such a n00b tbh but i’ll give it a go

ok so skam is a norwegian tv show about a bunch of teenagers (i think around 16-19 years old) and each season is focused on one specific character and whatever the hell theyre goin thru atm wow this is like the most awful summary im not making skam sound appealing at aLL yikes

but personally i think it is defs worth watching!! i know i havent said much about it at all but it does, what i think is, a great job of portraying teens and their experiences growing up without being super extra/over the top 

the actors in skam are also all actually p young (unlike so many high school tv shows that have like 25+ actors portraying students like ????) and so so so lovely to watch tbh i doubt skam would be half as good as it is if it werent for their talented cast bc all the actors just make their characters seem so real theres a natural chemistry between all of them and it makes it all very heartwarming to watch 

and tbf the reason i started watching it was bc i saw a bunch of season 3 posts and since youre following me youve probs seen these posts bc woopS but anyway all im gonna say about season 3 is queer representation!!! and its not tacky its not cliche its not fetishized etc etc season 3 has a wonderful and lovely story line its great 

so i mean yeah if youre interested in that and youve seen all the fluffy romantic gifsets ive been postin relating to skam then you’ll probs like season 3 tbh tho it aint a total lovefest bc thatd be boring!! tv shows gotta always make their audience suffer so just beware lmao 

but anyway season 3 is probably a lot of fans’ favorite season (im making a really broad generalization here that may be baseless lmao) but id still urge u to watch the other two seasons!! preferably in order but lol what i ended up doing was watching half of season 1 then skipping to season 3 and then going back and finishing it up

they also have a great soundtrack ok 

skam also tackles a lot of themes (drugs and rape come up just as a warning) that are p relevant in a way that i think is well executed and it also portrays the development (and deterioration) of relationships very realistically so that even if u dont love the ship at first sight.....youre more than likely to start lovin it at least a lil over time!

basically this was all a huge mess i havent been able to talk to anybody about skam so i wasnt prepared for this lmao but skam is a lovely lovely show that i haven’t stopped thinking about it since i first started watching it and im so hyped for season 4 jfc im too in love with this show i swear

as for subs you can find a ton of links with subs!! theyre not always perfectly translated and by that i mean there might be like two or three really minor mistakes but its nothing that impedes your understanding of whats going on tbh and theres always google translate lmaO

if u end up watching it and wanna talk about it hmu!! i love this show too much to keep my mouth shut about it oml

[many-gay-magpies]

oh no my cover is blown i think i failed secret agent school also shhhhh you have seen nothing here im not done burying my posts from 3 years ago yet but yes i agree this dynamic is really fun it feels like we're writing each other letters

honestly now that i read your thing about a new student not seeing the appeal because they're not integrated into decelis's clique culture it really brought to mind just how ROBBED we were in terms of sooha's character— i think it would've been better planned and Much more fitting if instead of her being automatically y/n-ified she showed up to decelis just . entirely immune to the pretty boys with vampire charisma. ik the boys feel a ~strange magical attraction~ which draws them to sooha but wouldn't it have been so great if she was just . weirded out by the attention instead of falling for heli immediately? like SHE could've been that student screaming "this idiot (jaan) just broke a hole in the floor bc he put down a dumbbell too hard and THIS IDIOT (heli) FORGETS THAT YOU HAVE TO MOVE YOUR MOUTH TO ACTUALLY TALK TO PEOPLE." i just think we were absolutely robbed of sooha really becoming part of the friend group instead of being yet another charmed student. and then SHE could become a cryptid too!! bc all the girls think its so strange that she doesn't get shy or blushy around them!! like imagine everyone whispering about sooha just one day sucker-punching solon to get him to shut up. PRICELESS.

help im imagining an exchange between that sleuth student and shion one night when hes ~on the prowl~. they go "hi, shion" and hes like "oh hi there- wait hold on how did you know it was me?? do you have powers too???? is it night vision????" and the student like "wha- no i just know that heli walks around at night so i assumed the rest of you would too and your eyes literally Glow In The Dark and hold on did you say too???? as in you have powers????????" and shion just . panicking like "aha no i meant do you have powers… in general… ahaha"

-vrvr anon

oh noooo hdhfbfjfb-- dont worry i will continue to pretend like i know nothing :> but no omg it is like writing letters thats why i like it so much!! its just. idk its so nice because rather than dms where conversations happen in small increments and can get kind of messy and mixed up, asks let you read over and give special attention to every part of what someone is saying so you can respond to it fully!! and theres less pressure to answer immediately and such (at least with the kind of asks you send) :3

LITERALLY THOUGH like. with sooha i WANT to like her character and mostly i DO but she has fundamentally been a reader insert protagonist from the start and its pretty easy to tell lmao. allegedly its worse in the webnovel (and from all the screenshots one of my friends sent me... y e a h) but she's still pretty heftily y/n-ified in the comic, what with all the boys being ✨mysteriously drawn to her✨ and her basically being a starry-eyes fool in front of heli lmao. we were absolutely robbed because it would have been SO COOL if they made her like... an actually interesting and compelling character... rather than just a love interest for the boys lmao. like it would have been great if she got close to the brothers and became their friend and everything SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE she wasn't disillusioned by the rest of the school's clique mentality and thought they were sort of weird. and maybe eventually theres a whole "man i feel like ive known you forever" exchange that happens between them, alluding to the whole crazy past life connection or whatever tf their deal is, but also it would be entirely platonic and just... kind of sweet, because she's the first person in SO LONG that they've been friends with that hasnt just wanted to be around them in hopes of looking cool or dating one of them. like what if sooha walked up to the brothers after hearing all the shit about them from her classmates and just went "lmfao yall are a bunch of fucking idiots arent you" and then they were friends. i think that would be neat

also now that ive gotten STARTED on this train of thought im just thinking about all the character traits i wanna see more in female characters in media, specifically protagonists... thinking about sooha WITH some of those character traits... just a very brash, not very friendly sooha that maybe built up a hard/defensive exterior due to years of being bullied and taught that showing vulnerability around people would get her hurt... a sooha that maybe isnt very nice, is a little bit mean actually, and clashes with solon because theyre both stubborn af and dont know how to converse or apologize like normal human beings... a sooha that, when heli catches her using her powers, yells "i swear to god if you tell ANYONE about this--" until he's like "whoa whoa its okay i have powers too"... a sooha that learns that being vulnerable around people and trusting people is okay actually, in an entirely platonic way... lots of thoughts hsjfbfjn

YEAH SOOHA CRYPTID!!! now i really wanna see her punch solon lmao

(we could have had it all. we could have had it ALL. but alas <//3)

also sidenote. the mental image of heli straight-up forgetting that you have to open your mouth to talk to people and just staring at someone not understanding why they're not hearing/answering him/why theres no sound coming out has me DYING. then when they call him out for it like "uhhh why are you staring at me like that?" he starts sweating and goes "HAHAHA SORRY NEVERMIND I JUST ZONED OUT HAHA WHAT WERE UOU SAYING.??"

NO OMG SHION. his chattiness/instinctive friendliness being his downfall is such a funny concept hsjfbfjf. like the resident Sleuth Student just casually says hi to him in the hallway and he full-on says hi back and starts being all sweet and polite before his brain goes VERY RAPIDLY through the following thoughts: "wait omg how does she know its me" "WAIT NOBODY'S SUPPOSED TO SEE ME AT THIS HOUR SHIT" "wait fuck why did i respond wHY DID I RESPONd--"

also now i have the mental image of shion with his crazy anti-grav powers just straight-up walking on the ceilings at night because its fun and (allegedly) no one will see him, only INCREASING the cryptid allegations if anyone does

[oh-for-fic-sake]

The Stand In Chapter One

Masterlist

Being an assistant on the witcher set is a dream come true for you, helping bring to life the books and games you were brought up with. But when the project is threatened to be cancelled completely your called in to save the day! But can you really fill in for an actress?

Warnings: swearing

A/N: hello! So this was wrote on a whim sort of. I don't know if Keira is in the books honestly and I have no idea if she will be in season two but I wanted to write somthing different. Got a few ideas of where I can go with this but like I said just wanted to write something a little different. Hone you enjoy xxx

Taglist: @two-unbeatable-beaters​ @thatgirly81​ @angelofthorr @iloveyouyen​

logo divider is by @writeyourmindaway​ other one is by me xx

You moved through the hustle and bustle of the set your trusty clipboard what was you doing? Well the people needed feeding so you were taking orders, some people onset would eat at the food tent some would want to order in today it was your turn to take the orders and deliver them to the chefs. You grunted looking at your watch you needed to move quicker they'd be filming soon and expect the food to be ready by the time they finished...sounded easy but the guys were cooking meals for nearly one hundred  people and that took time... especially out here... You jogged up to the tent with an apologetic smile"Sorry guys had to round em up you know how it is!" You got a few chuckles. Yes they did know how it was having to take turns doing it themselves. You were just a regular onset dogs body, you help in any way shape or form and that’s that.

You smiled at them hanging the clip board on the hook for them to see clearly then They began barking orders to one another down the line  getting to work. You left them to it weaving in and out of everyone to get back to set incase someone needed anything again. Once you reached half way across the site your name was called turning you saw Mathew one of the other assistants.

"Hey y/n your needed in the directors tent chop chop!"

"What? why?" He shrugged then through his hands out wide walking backwards away from you he seemed in a hurry.

"Don't know was just told that you had to be there asap" You sighed and quickly turned on your heal towards the tent...If this was another coffee run you were gonna scream! It took forty five minutes to drive down this god forsaken mountain and you didn't really want to be bitched at by camera crew about delivering a cold fucking coffee again.

Henry and Joey panicked looking to each other Cancelled? They could be cancelled after all the fans and money the show had pulled in? They stood in the tent with Tomasz,Lauren and Talitha or 'Tee' as she prefers.

"So she just decided not to do it? A week before she was meant to be here? She had all the time over lock down to tell you and she left it till now?" Tomasz nodded stiffly to Henry who spoke, Henry and Joey were angry. Hell they all was, but them more so because they were actors and this was something you just didn't do. No integrity or respect. Lauren piped up.

"To be fair its a huge blockbuster role she was offered its no surprize she dumped us in favor of it... But now everything is up in the air she was a big role in this season and we can't start casting for it now, the two other back ups can't come and fill in either, one is recovering from covid and the other has a contract for another role." Joey placed his hands on his hips

"Well what about her contract? She sighed one didn't she? Surely she should honor that?" Lauren and Tomasz shared a look.

"Yes but two things one imagine forcing her to play a role she no longer wants...Could be very awkward and two the contract had dates...We couldn't stick to the them so she managed to wriggle out of it." They each huffed Henry spoke up

"Can't we put it on hold for a few weeks rush through the casti-" he trailed off at Tomasz' severe look and shake of his head.

"No we aren't being given an extension we have to find someone...Preferably here on set so we don't have to navigate the covid travel restrictions, we can't afford two weeks quarantine for whoever it is we bring in" Tee looked up to her bosses.

"So?...You need someone on set to take the role? I suppose they can't be a major part of the crew?" Lauren nodded to her and smiled

"You up for it?" Tee shook her head

"Fuck no but there is someone that could do it...Y/n shes a general assistant, the one you like! the one that picked up the wardrobe the other day when the truck couldn't get up the hill" Lauren's face lit up as she put a face to the name

"Oh! lilac bob? Green eyes?" Tee smiled nodding

"Yeah! Her she isn't to busy really just runs errands, shes an extra pair of hands" Tomasz tilted his head it sounded viable, it would be a god send he crossed his arms.

"But she would have what a week? To read up on the character, learn lines and go through costume...It would be a hectic rush would she agree to it?" Tee smiled knowingly

"Yes..She hasn't done acting before...well not properly she had a part in bugsy malone play at primary school but that was about it...But I have no doubt that she would do it she loves the witcher. As for reading up on the character you don't have to worry I dread to think how many times shes re-read those books and played the games...She even based her gcse textiles project on the witcher making a screen print tapestry! Trust me she will know Keira metz' personality so half of the job is already done!" Tomasz nodded secretly getting excited over the prospect of having another fan in the mix,  yet he covered it well not wanting to get anyone’s hopes to high."Okay call her in get her to read some lines...Lets not tell her what its for first see if theres some chemistry between the three of you first then go from there" they all nodded it was the best way to go about it.

When you got to the tent you instantly knew something was up. First person you noticed was your best friends Tee it was her who'd got you the job here. She had been working on the first season and was one of the directing assistants she was always around the producers and directors making sure everything was running smoothly and when they top dogs changed things it was her who made those changes get through the grape vine to everyone who needed to know. Then you noticed Henry  and Joey were here ,how you didn't see them first is a mystery as they were both fully kitted out in the characters costumes.

Holy shit! He was so fucking hot! So so fucking yummy you wanted to jump him and run away and hide at the same time 'Okay breath don't fucking squeal bitch be cool that's it calm down don't make it obvious you want to hump his leg!...If he offers though ride tat thigh like a fucking pony!...No! Stop your going red! Calm it! There we go...Nice and calm well done give yourself a pat on the back' and breath.

You took a calming breath after your little pep talk the fan-girl locked up tight inside you relaxed slightly. Could you help it? No Henry is like your celebrity crush and has been since your little virgin eyes saw him fucking on Tudors. You'd seen him around set obviously you can't really ignore the huge man in the silver wig. You’d wanted to get his autograph and a photo but couldn't trust yourself not to do something stupid so you kept your distance. But damn he was much finer up close in person. You gulped just praying to god you did not squeak at him you'd never ever live it down.

Everyone looked on edge even the director Tomasz and producer Lauren? none of them noticed your arrival speaking in hushed tones to one another like they didn't want anyone to overhear what was happening. You cleared your throat placing a hand on one of the metal supports by the entrance of the tent unsure if you should enter with them all looking so serious you didn't want to hear anything you shouldn't.

"Err knock knock? you wanted to see me? If its a bad time I can come back..." they jumped a little obviously caught up in their conversation. You shrunk under everyone's gaze as the sets of heavy eyes rested on you.

Henry's eyes widened a little at you he swallowed dryly peering at you from his spot in the tent. You were beautiful he suddenly found himself hoping you would be the one to take the role. Not only could he then have a reason to be around you without you running off. But there were sex scene between the two characters and as ashamed as he felt he had already spent a considerable amount of time envisioning just that, alone at night in his trailer with nothing but his fist to ease his needs. He couldn't help it he had never spoke to you but he wanted you. So selfish or not he would thoroughly enjoy enacting those particular scenes, the image of you below him was just to much.

Joey prodded him slightly making him snap his gaze away and turn to the 'bard' He raised his brows at him nodding to the lilac haired woman as if to say 'look who it is?' Henry flushed a little and blinked yes Joey knew.

It started when Henry had seen you around set, capturing glimpses of you he had wanted to go and talk to you. Each time he saw you around he would excuse himself from whatever he was doing and turn to make his way over to you. But every time he turned and took a step in your direction you flushed and bolted.

He did like you. He liked very much. He found out you were an assistant someone to run errands and Tee had got you the job he was meant to ask her about you but you both seemed close. What if Tee told you? What would you think if you found out he had been asking about you?. So no instead he bit his tongue and kept trying to catch you out and have a chat. He couldn't put his finger on it you just appealed to him, you looked sweet and sexy all in one.

He wanted so desperately to talk to you but you seemed scared of him for some reason so he in the end he settled for admiring you from afar. He'd never got more than six feet near you and that six feet was close enough to make him swoon. You had been diligently taking coffee orders around the set and was taking a list from the directors tent and he was waiting to speak to Tomasz and Lauren queuing behind you in a sense one person separated you.

You were so caught up in trying to take names and coffee orders you hadn't noticed him hovering behind you. He had leaned to the side taking full advantage enjoying eyeing your behind admiring the taught cheeks hugged by your zebra print workout leggings, you must have been in a thong because they snuck up your ass a little making him groan. He'd give anything to be up there himself! He sighed smoothing his hands over his face trying to push away the teasing thoughts, it was not the time to imagine drilling your perfect little ass, fucking you roughly on all fours until your little body sucked the cum out of his balls and he left you with a fully stretched freshly fuck little pucker.

No it was not the time, not when he had another few scenes to shoot. But they were just there! Teasing him a few quick shuffles of his feet and he could be right behind you, he could accidentally graze your pert full bottom. But no he held himself back he groaned when the wind changed and caught a scent of your hair mango and passion fruit.

He had been on a high all day after that. That’s when Joey was certain Henry was getting a little crush on the lilac haired beauty that had gained the nick name Tink's. To Joey you looked like a real life colorful little fairy and he had named you after Tinkerbell. Henry bit his lip trying to contain his excitement, as you cleared your throat nervously today was going from really really bad to absolutely fucking incredible.

You eyed Henry carefully he was..staring well until Joey prodded him then he snapped out of whatever it was flushing. You didn't have much time to consider it as Lauren moved waving you over smiling like nothing was wrong. Okay? Weird.

"No no! Come in your just the woman we needed to see." You walked in slowly still uneasy but managed to cross the threshold. There was a pause and they looked like they were appraising you? What the fuck? Tomasz cleared his throat and nodded giving Lauren the go ahead for something apparently.

"Y/n I was hopeing you could go over some lines with these two, they haven't got anyone to practice with and we really need to start getting rehearsals in. Flights are running few and far between so the actress who was supposed to be here last week, can't get here until we are actually filming the scenes!" You blinked huh? Read lines? You began going shy and shaking your head

"I don't-" but before you could get anymore words out Tomasz spoke up.

"And with covid setting us back we can't afford delays we could be cancelled" you froze at that...Cancelled? You looked to Henry and Joey who both gave hopeful puppy eyes you sighed a shaky breath.

"O-okay I suppose I could...Help out... It is what I'm here for.." You missed the looks all four shared as Joey handed you a sheet from the script. You skimmed it as quick as you could and your face instantly lit up with a bright smile.

"Holy shit keira? I didn't realize you were doing that-" quickly realizing you may have been fangirling you shut up. Tomasz head lifted smiling

"You know the character?" You chuckled nervously well aware of The witcher still eyeing you from the side. Joey smirked at him and gave a chuckle making Henry freeze and look away flustered. You hesitated whilst talking to Tomasz.

"Hehe well Yeah sort of....I know the book's and the games sooo yeah..Sorry...Got excited there..Can't help it" he grinned shaking his head.

"No no its perfectly fine...I do always love seeing people et excited over our work! But you know her so can help the guys immensely. If you could try and portray the character that would help a lot as well, so we can see how these lines and dynamics will work" you blinked looking at the page going blank. Try to in act the scene to? Okay keira what do you remember shes...Playful catty and a little manipulative.Petty but confident yet can switch to cold bitch on a dime. Your not sure our up to the task.

"So? You want me to try and act properly? but...But bare in mind I'm not an actress...Never done any acting or anything so if I'm shit I apologize."

"Its fine, just try your best...We don't want a carbon copy of the games we want a believable character, just create your own Keira for the time being as I said we just want that feeling for the scene and the relationship that's all. If you could read from half way down..'Seriously I mean this is it?' Okay? don't mind the blank we just haven't settled on the last few bits of dialog just keep going...Go with the flow as it were" you nodded taking a breath really out of your comfort  zone  but it literally  said 'help when needed' in your job description so you didn't have much choice. You took a peek at the lines it the scene was based around the camp at night.

Henry and Joey sat on stools you followed their lead really nervous trying not to steal glances or stare at the witcher before you even if he didn't seem to care himself, his gold eyes not leaving you for a second, he wasn't even blinking.

You pulled at the page slightly forcing back the anxiety but sucked it up when were you ever going to get the chance to do this again. To read lines with your crush on set in full delicious Witcher get up.You decided to throw caution to the wind and give it your all if you looked a tit well atleast you had fun and you'd never have to again!

You gulped you were supposed to start. You took a breath and pulled some confidence out of your ass, she was a fierce woman that was almost childlike. You used a sarcastic un-amused flat tone.

"Seriously....I mean this is it? this is the great adventuring? Wandering the continent aimlessly for contract's that may or may not be actual monsters..." you tilted your head to the side blinking slowly as you looked between Henry and Joey. Both seemed to be caught unaware as you transformed from a frightened quivering ball of nerves to a catty confidant sorceress.

Henry smiled cheekily at you  knowing that with that transformation you'd already bagged the role, you were his keira.

"Well you are welcome to return to your healing house" Henry drolled in Geralt's deep voice sounding unimpressed tilting his head at you slightly with a bored expression. Joey hummed.

"Yes I second that witch you don't have to be here you can just go your own way" he waved his hand near you and you leaned in giving him a wicked warning grin making him pull back and lean towards Henry, a typical Jaskier move...Well for the moment he was Jaskier.

"G-go and curse children poison or cattle or whatever it is you do" you scoffed rolling your eyes pulling back a little and tilted your head looking at Henry.

"Geralt your Jester appears to be in a foul mood would you like me to help? I'm sure I have a remedy that can silence him for a while...Permanently if you'd like" you smirked as Joey snpped his head looking between the two worriedly.

"JESTER I-YOU I am a bard! And I have made Geralt here the famed white wolf! Tell her Geralt! " Henry rolled his eyes ignoring Joey's out burst

"The Jester is right you don't have to travel with us you can leave, return home if our adventures aren't exciting enough for you. And I'd warn you keep the potions to yourself"  you paused the page was now empty. You too a breath and spoke anyway.

"What? Me leave? and go back to treating the lords son and his frequent bouts of cock rot..." the two men bite back a laugh managing to stay in character...Just. You blinked leaning forward placing your face on your palm

"That’s not as thrilling as one might think loses its charm on the third and forth round...Much like the boy himself" Joey sputtered trying to hide his giggles. But contained himself to make an insulting Jaskier quip.

"Cock rot...begs the question do you cause it or cure it?" he twitched waiting for your reply. You hissed at him then calmed yourself and fluttered your eyes at him and continued in a sultry tone.

"Your welcome to find out for yourself Jester" he stuttered going red

"I-i a no hah thank you for the offer but noooo...Had enough of witches for a life time.. Thank you very much!" he said almost choking on his words you leaned back huffing

"Hmm...Shame you almost look like fun could have livened up the trip...I do always enjoy the loud ones..." Joey chuckled and looked to Henry with a face saying 'help me out here buddy' Henry was finding it very hard to keep himself together, was he jealous of you flirting with joey? Yes did he want to turn the tables? Yes could he think of a way to do it? Fuck no.

He settled for shaking his head, he was certain you had the role already and if not he was definitely going to vouch for you,you were good and portrayed Keira well enough to make Joey's Jaskier fidget which Keira did.

"I'm sure you can find fun where ever you find yourself Keira" Henry piped in wanting to see where the scene can go, wanting for you to give him your sultry voice and flirt with him. But you stuttered a little his gaze was intense hot and hooded.

"Y-yes you'd think that!..But there is no fun to be had at home anymore!...Well that's not strictly true there is this one acquaintance a deaf eunuch " Henry spoke up needing to hear the end of this one, trying to fight off his disappointment that you hadn't given him the same treatment as Joey, didn't you like him? Was Joey more your type? No there must be more to it.

"And this deaf eunuch is fun? How so?" you wiggled your eyebrows at him

"Well Witcher he only had one way to show me his gratitude...Any man who only has his hands to speak develops a very....dexterous set of fingers~" Joey slipped out of character confused as Henry burst out laughing. Despite his sour feelings over your non-flirting he couldn't deny that was a funny and well thought out bit of improv.

"Deaf eunuch? F-fingers?..I don't get it-OOHHH!HOLY SHIT YOU DIDN'T! OHH OH MY FUCK" he then started roaring with laughter with Henry making you go shy blushing.

"Oh my god yes...She is definitely the one we need...Defiantly my Keira!" Henry wheezed through his laughter leaning over slapping his knee.

"huh what?" You looked between everyone what do the mean need? It was Tomasz was nodding smiling and spoke up clarifying what Henry had meant.

"That was....Well...It was an audition and you got the part. You became the character very easily it was natural and flowed nicely and you were nervous once relaxed you will make a perfect Keira!" you blinked at him. An audition? For a part in the show "Are you having a laugh? I can't act for shit...Like that was...It was err" Henry smirked lifting a brow

"Acting? Maybe?" You  blushed at him as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. You leaned back sitting upright then pulled a face. He was right technically.

"Okay it was kind of acting....But why are you doing this here now? Surely you already have someone? this don't strike me as normal." Lauren sighed

"No your right its not normal...The actress who was playing Keira has pulled out we have a week to find a replacement or will are probably getting cancelled they won't let us delay again" you sat up pin straight

"Wait what? An actress bailed on us last minuet...That’s a bit of a dick move... That's like a big dick move not in a nice big dick way either... Like a dick dick move" Henry and Joey snorted at your statement and Tee creased up. Tomasz moved over to you

"I'm afraid so...I know its a big ask but were were supposed to start filming her scenes the middle of next week and we need a replacement. Fast. Sooo what would you say to stepping in and saving the day? you fit the bill and your here now and from what I've just seen you can do it...You gave her a cheeky, petty vibe which in all honesty was missing from who we selected...We can get you ready I'm sure Henry and Joey can help you, teach you the tricks of the trade so to speak" he lifted his head to the both of them. They nodded Henry speaking up

"I can even mentor you if you want, to get you more comfortable... Me and Joey will look after you I promise" you gulped then looked back to Lauren and Tomasz. You'd never even thought of acting or anything and it was daunting prospect.

"Look...We have run into a problem that could potentially bring production and filming to a halt...Something that could cancel season two completely....But you can help us. We can continue as planned but we understand its a big thing to spring on someone .We can afford to give you a few days to think it over if you need to..." you took a breath it sounded incredible,  like one of those talent scout tales...Could you do it? You didn't want to see the show go down the pan you loved the first season as a viewer and was over the moon when Tee got you the job onset. You loved the witcher as a whole...Maybe helping bring it to life could be fun? A lot of work and you didn't know shit but you could give it a go. But then you’d be working close with Henry who pretty much turned you into a fucking trembling mass of girly hormones "...But I'm not an actress...I doubt I'd be any good.." Tee snorted

"Fuck off 'not an actress', acting is a big expensive game of pretend! And no offense but you've been pretending to be an adult since we left school! You've got this besides everyone will know your situation so if things go pear-shaped or you get confused we can all help sort you out, we wont scream at you over it..." she moved standing between Joey and Henry squishing their faces

"Come on loooook! Look at there poor little faces! Don’t let Jaskier and Geralt die! If we get cancelled that’s what will happen! These charters will die! I will take them out back and shoot them myself! Never to be seen again!" You giggled at her antic as both men in her grasp tried their hardest to pout up at you with there scrunched up faces. You sighed you were gonna regret this.

"Okay okay fine I will try... But don't say I didn't warn you.." everyone took a deep breath relived. Henry and Joey shared a grin now super excited to carry on with the show. Henry more so then Joey he was ecstatic! He can't wait to start getting close to you.

Lauren moved over to you with some long ass looking scripts.

"Here...These are for you! Start reading through these today...Do one episode at a time for now you'd have more chance learning the lines and you need to go to costume.  Tee could you tell them whats happened and get her over there today? let them measure her up luckily it's mostly lace up so shouldn't have to change much" Henry stood up quickly making you jump.

"I will take her and introduce her to everyone...I’m finished for the day so I’m going there anyway" he explained a little sheepish realizing he may have seemed eager. Joey chuckled at him Standing beside him patting the mans back Tomasz shook his head

"Thank you for the offer Henry but we still need you were going to re shoot one of the scenes again, we think there is a better angle we could get" Henry pouted chest deflating a little and nodded to the director

"Right so Tee you escort her , oh where are you staying by the way? In the hotel in town? Well we will need to move you into Keira’s trailer so you'd be onset. Tee could you show her the trailer first then wardrobe and then finally I will pop over with a contract for you this afternoon..." you froze. Contract?. What the fuck? You don't know anything about contracts! Henry caught on to your panic and lit up like Christmas finding another way he could spend time with you.

"Hey its okay...Just a bit of paper saying you've got the job and a bit of legal jargon...I can look over it with you and have my agent look over it if you want? just to be sure everything's good okay? don't worry we will take good care of you I promised didn't I?" You smiled shyly and nodded. 'Holy shit he's looking at you, speak girl stop fucking staring! SPEAK! BREATH!' You took a breath avoiding his gaze a little trying to forget who he was wanting to act cool when you did finally speak it was in a quiet voice.

"I-I Suppose so...I mean yes I'd appreciate someone sorting that out..I get the feeling there are a lot of big words involved" Joey laughed you liked Henry, he could see it and something told him you would both become very close. Well close he estimated you'd be fucking within two weeks. He noted the fact you had both gone quiet Henry's eyes boring into you again as you fiddled with script in your hand. He rolled his eyes you were blushing squirming under the witchers staring gold orbs and he didn't seem to care he was just quite happy to gawk at you. Joey finally decided to cut you so e slack.

"Your not kidding...But like Henry said nothing to bad just a you got the job! And how your being paid really" you chuckled rubbing your neck.

"Fuck! haha you know I didn't even think of that" Tomasz chuckled and nodded. Breaking his silence, he to had noticed the tension between the two of you but would say nothing it wont be a problem after all there was a sexual atmosphere between Geralt and Keira so it would do well on screen.

"Well your an actress now, so of course you'll be paid as an actress, it will be in the paper work, I suggest you go and start reading the scripts Keira is heavily involved in this season she is travelling with Geralt and Jaskier for a while... And a word of advice I'm going to have to take your name to a few higher ups with the video of your audition and names on official websites for the cast will be changed, probably in a day or two...You may want to go and clean up any social media ect that you might have...It could blow up a little bit its...What we are doing is pretty much unheard of" you frowned at him

"You...You filmed that? What? who?" Tee waved her phone up at you gaining your attention.

"Its fine y/n just need it for the records and for a few others to see..." she turned to Lauren

"Might be an idea to put this up somewhere to just to introduce her as the character..." Lauren shook her head

"Not yet get her in costume then a few photos we can film a short teaser scene with them...That can be her debut" Tee nodded and began making a list of things to do then snapped her head up looking at you.

"Seriously change your face book to friends only...And get a fucking twitter on that thought get a bloody snapchat and Instagram to! Okay? life will be easier trust me on this" Henry frowned at you stumped.

"You don't have twitter, Snapchat or Instagram?....No what? How have you? What do you do all day on your phone?" You shrugged and smiled impishly at him.

"I read...Write...Scroll tumblr for hours on end and play games...Never bothered with that social media crap don't know how to use it...Was on tumblr for years before I ever got the courage to post something" Joey smiled taking a step forward and patted your back

"Well at least you have Tumblr which I will want by the way! But never mind about the others I will show you cos your gonna need it!" You smiled at him giggling maybe this wont be so bad? You nodded at him feeling more at ease, it sounded like they were going to help you with all this shit, the only thing you had to do was keep the inner Cavill fangirl at bay, which was gonna be a hell of a job now that you weren't going to be able to avoid him but it was that or watch this show be cancelled and that was not going to happen!. You looked over to Lauren who was still giving Tee a list of jobs and people to contact.

"Okay...So where do I start?" She smiled and quickly stood in front of you as you stood between Joey and Henry both pointing out on the scripts certain things explaining what things meant and how things would work when filming. You nodded trying to take it all in. You took a breath looks like you were doing this.  

[alphi-writes]

Thank you for ur answer earlier! It's crystal clear owo)👌 then, may i request jack jamil and kalim with dancing+bonfire? Thank you in advance! Have a good day/night and don't forget to stay hydrated! 🌸

Of course! (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ I'm really sorry it took so long to get these posted, but I tried to make up for it by putting more effort into the writing. Make sure to get at least a bit of sunlight today if you can🧡

Characters: Jack, Jamil, Kalim

Items: Dancing, Bonfire

Jack Howl

Jack decided to join you tonight, since you invited him to the bonfire earlier in the day. It was almost seven thirty by the time you got the bonfire actually going, and you were beginning to think Jack wouldn't want to stay.

"Alrighty then, Jack-A-Boy, let's get to our late night gab session." You threw yourself into the chair sat next to Jack's, leaning over the edge expectantly.

His ears flattened, "Don't you have any activities planned? Usually you'd want to set off a fountain candle or two, and you didn't bring any snacks-"

You leaned over, tipping the chair on its side where the two left feet lifted above the ground. You pushed your index finger to his lips, shushing him.

"It is autumn, and we are going to be festive without fountain candles. This is what normal people do, Jackie, they sit and watch the fire- oh my gosh are we old people now?"

Honestly, Jack felt lost. Maybe he was overthinking things, but you didn't hang out one-on-one with him very often, and if you did, Grimm was always there. This time it was just the two of you.

You sat quietly for a few minutes, may ten, just enjoying the crackling heat in the cool of autumn. Every once in a while, you'd feel Jack's gaze on you, and finally, you caught him.

"Are you... nervous? Is the Jack Howl nervous to be alone out here with me? A magic-less human? HaH! I laugh in the face of your untimely jitters!" He watched as you laughed in your seat, a light heat washing over his face.

Of course he was nervous! He didn't show it often, but he really liked hanging out with you! He didn't want you to know that though because then he would lose his cool-guy bad-boy vibe.

He'd be reduced to a puppy dog if he let on that he enjoyed being around you. And not only that, but your personalities were vastly different.

Jack was ripped from his thoughts when you stood up and grabbed his hands in yours.

You pulled him from his seat and lead him closer to the fire.

"Come on, let's dance! I know this one dance that we did every year at the festivals back home." Jack tugged against you, albeit flustered from the contact.

"Uhm, no, I don't dance." His hand flew up to the back of his neck at his hairline, and you could see the embarrassment in his furrowed eyebrows.

You hummed quietly, nodding in understanding.

"Fine, I'll show you this dance tonight, and if you can't perform it perfectly byyy... tomorrow- I'll just have to find some collateral for payback." You were obviously joking, but he looked visibly distraught by your words.

You only dismissed his expression before starting your dance.

You weren't the smoothest at dancing, and you were stiffer than you should've been, but you knew this dance well.

Your movements were quick and deliberate, sweeping in directions like a gust of wind. Every so often, you'd catch a glimpse of Jack staring at you with large eyes.

His ears were straight up and his tail was wagging so quickly it was only a blur of grey.

You soon finished swaying around, pausing for a moment to catch your breath before grinning at Jack.

"Dancing is pretty cool, y'know, so I hope you'll dance with me some other time." You gazed down at Jack as he sat there quiet.

He didn't speak, and it caused your smile to falter.

"That was- wow, I've never seen anyone dance like that before." His face was burning and his tail had slowed to a wave.

Your smile returned. You laughed loudly, wiping the sweat from nerves and the heat off hour forehead.

"Phew, I thought you didn't like it for a moment there."

Jack jumped up, "No-!" He yelped, "it was great!"

His outburst startled you, and your eyes widened when his hands lightly grasped yours. He wasn't usually like this, and it made you chuckle.

"Could you teach me to dance like that?"

"Of course."

Jamil Viper

Jamil was suprised by the temperature of the air around your dorm.

"Is it usually this cold?"

"No," you threw a bundle of sticks on the formation of branches, "its autumn now so its beginning to cool down some. Its definitely colder than Scarabia though."

Jamil joined you tonight because you invited him to a good old fashioned autumn bonfire, which he's never been a part of.

You remember freaking out when he told you he'd never been to a bonfire before, and you knew that you'd have to invite him to on that exact night.

Sure you didn't plan on having one this night, but the absence of a bonfire in Jamil's memories just drove your determination.

"And it's just a large fire?"

"Yea, it's pretty cool. You'll see the appeal."

He nodded with his fist on his chin, scanning the surrounding area. He stood there awkwardly as you finally lit the brambles on fire, standing in front of the flames with your arms in the air.

"Hell yea, warmth."

You sat down on a fold-out chair you brought our earlier, patting the seat next to it for Jamil.

He sat down, staring at the fire. He was used to heat and fires like this one, but he'd never been in crisp air while a fire was going. It was a bit odd, but he liked the feeling of autumn. Maybe not more than the temperatures and winds of Scarabia or the Hot Sands, but he could see himself sitting here often.

"Oooh, Jamil, you dance, yes?"

He nodded, turning his head towards you.

When you met his eye, you began to think maybe you shouldn't ask him to dance. Your face began to tingle and you sunk in your chair.

"Why?"

You wrung your hands together, "ah, well, it's nothing, nevermind."

He sat quiet for a moment before standing up.

"I can dance for you, if that's what you want." He had a small smile on his face as he stood up and stretched his back muscles.

You panicked slightly, "No, you don't really have to Jamil-!"

"Do you not like my dancing?"

"Wh- no it's not that," you threw your hands up, "I just dont want you to feel like you have to dance for me."

He chuckled quietly at your panic.

"Its alright, I want to dance for you."

And he did.

He danced for what seemed like only a few moments, but was really about half an hour. Even in that time frame, he never once faltered, never once seemed tired or out of stamina.

He was so fluid, moving as if he were water in the wind. He was elegant, beautiful, gorgeous.

When he was finished, he swung to a stop, a large grin on his face. The largest smile you've ever seen him bare.

You were up in a second, glomping him in glee.

"Jamil, you were amazing! Oh my gosh, you were gorgeous!!" He chuckled while you peppered him with compliments.

When he brought his eyes back up to yours, his breathing hitched quietly.

The look in your eyes.

Not lust or hunger, not an emotion that was anything derogatory.

Just pure, utter, true love.

Your lips curved up and you chuckled quietly.

"Jeez, are you gorgeous." You whispered, gently bonking your head on his chest.

You felt his chest rise and fall steadily before his arms loosely wrapped around your back.

Kalim al Asim

"There you go, the last branch." You threw the last branch on and brushed the excess branch bits from your hands.

Kalim cheered happily, unfolding the chairs for the two of you.

Kalim was practically jumping in joy, "This is gonna be so fun!" He exclaimed.

You chuckled, "Yea."

He was always so exuberant and obnoxious, but it was just another part of his charms.

You were planning to have a bonfire by yourself, and when you mentioned it earlier today during lunch, Kalim jumped at the idea.

You couldn't just say 'nah you can't come to my bonfire in which I am the only attendee'. You weren't some monster.

So of course you invited him, and not begrudgingly, no, you were ecstatic to have him join you. He even helped build the bonfire.

"So you' ve never had a bonfire?"

"Not one like this!"

"What other kinds of bonfires are there..?"

You laughed it off, lighting the sticks ablaze.

"Burn baby, burn, said the pyromaniac!" You laughed as the flames grew.

Kalim grinned at you, moving closer to the fire to feel the heat.

"Its always hot in the Land of Hot Sands, so it's nice to feel heat while theres still the pinch of cold in the air."

It was quite relaxing. Although you liked the nip of cold, you loved the feeling of warmth just as much.

You weren't one for Scarabia heats, but a normal, balanced heat was the best for you.

Kalim swayed as he took in the heat, closing his eyes and grinning up at the night sky.

The way the light of the flames danced on his face made his dark skin light up with oranges and yellows. He looked so warm and peaceful. So happy.

When he opened his eyes and looked down at you, you averted your eyes quickly.

"I have a great idea! Lets dance!" He was already grabbing your hands before you could utter a word.

Now, before you even began to dance, you already knew Kalim was a solo dancer. Sure he would dance near others, but they were never dancing together.

He was attempting the common waltz, and although he was raised as royalty, you could tell that the fairy tale books weren't all factual.

Kalim often stepped on your feed, apologizing quickly. He bonked his head against yours a few times, and even accidentally tangled his leg with yours.

"Okay, let me lead, Kalim." You said through your laughter.

He nodded sheepishly, instead moving his hands to your shoulder and left hand. You intertwined your left hand with his, and rested your right on his waist.

You were close enough that your could feel his breath on your face.

"Okay, we'll start off slow so you can get the hang of the foot movements."

You looked down at his feet, motioning with your left foot for him to step backwards.

Your left foot went forward and his went back, then both of your right feet went outwards.

"This is the box step, the most basic form of waltz. Right foot forward."

You went around your imaginary boxes a few times before he actually began to understand the formation.

Left foot back, right foot out, right foot forward, left foot out. The dance was simple, and the box kept moving as you rotated around the bonfire in a circular motion.

He was a quick learner, and soon you found he could perform the steps without having to look at his feet.

"Y/N, I think I have a hang of it!"

You chuckled quietly, nodding, "I believe so!"

Although the box step wasn't usually performed around a bonfire, yours moved perfectly.

Now Kalim could go back to his dorm to tell Jamil about his partner dance.

"This is actually really fun." His voice had lowered to a whisper, and he was looking at you with a smile.

You smiled back, gently butting your forehead against his.

"Well yea, and it's simple too!"

The box step was a simple four-step rotation dance. Some would even call it boring if it drawled on for too long.

But the two if you continued on waltzing late into the night. You took this as time to share your thoughts and woes, held closely together, hands knitting to each other.

This was your time with Kalim. Just you, Kalim, and the autumn air.

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Gast Adler Card story “Preparations in advance are important”

Translation of Gast Adler’s 4* “THE LINK OF GUNSLINGER ” card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Thanks to anon for providing me with the raws!

Gast: Hhmmm~....

Ren: ……..

Gast: Uuuhhhmmmnnn….

Marion: Gast, you’ve been constantly making noise. Go to your own room to sit and groan if that’s what you want to do.

Gast: Ah, m’bad. Was just thinking ‘bout stuff

Marion: About what? The shooting tournament has ended already, hasn’t it. Is there anything else you’re worrying about?

Ren: Is it about these guys of yours again?

Gast: Naaah c’mon, even I got a thing or two weighing on my mind!

Gast: I actually…. got an offer for an interview.

Marion: From the public relations department?

Gast: Well, from a magazine. One specialized in small arms

Gast: They came off on me after the shooting tournament ‘cuz they want to do a feature ‘bout me

Marion: What, it’s just an interview

Marion: Isn’t it a good opportunity to raise the appeal of our team. What are you worried for?

Gast: Don’t say it as if it’s nothing. It’s my first time doin’ one, which is making me nervous….

Ren: Can’t believe that you’re not good at interviews. You’re always going off rambling about even when no one asked for it.

Marion: Even though there weren’t any problems with the public relations department’s interview right after being admitted? 

Gast: Well, that’s more work-related?

Marion: This is for work too. There’ll be countless chances to take interviews as long as you’re a hero.

Marion: I had taken an interview as… part of the special mission from the other day, but I had thought of it as a hero’s job and did it.

Marion: Go fulfill your duty as expected from a hero. It’s an order.

Gast: Uuh, uuuuh…. understood

Gast: Wait, Ren! Don’tcha wanna do this interview together?

Ren: I refuse. You’re the one that got asked to, remember.

Ren: And neither is it my strong point too.

Gast: Don’t say that, we’ll get over this togethe----

Ren: I’m going back to my room

Marion: Me too

Gast: Wai- let’s figure something out together!

Gast: ….Haaah. What to do…..

Gast: Gotta make up my mind though….

Gast: Haaaaah~~~

Victor: Oh my, that’s quite a sigh.

Gast: Doctor!? Why’re you here!?

Victor: I’ve come to fetch a sample that I’m keeping in my room.

Victor: And, this is also where my room is so no need to be that surprised.

Gast: Yeah, that’s right. No I mean, it’s ‘cuz lately I haven’t been seein’ you around here….

Victor: Either way, any reason as to why you’re sighing that much for?

Victor: I’m merely asking out of curiosity rather than concern, though.

Gast: Haha…. Nice that you get straight to the point, ain’t it

Gast: Well, actually…

---

Victor: I see, an interview for a magazine….

Gast: You’ve got used to doing ‘em, right Doc?

Victor: Indeed. I’ve taken interviews for various media in the name of being a researcher, rather than a hero.

Gast: So you do need to have buncha experience to be good at givin’ answers?

Victor: Being prepared in advance is more important than experience, if anything.

Victor: When it comes for magazine interviews you can form a rough outline on what you’d be asked, which is why memorizing anticipated questions and answers serves as an advantage.

Gast: Right… anticipated questions, huh

Victor: If you’d like to, we could perform a simulation of an interview? I will be taking care of the questions.

Gast: Eh? Is that fine? Ain’t you busy right now? 

Victor: Lately I’ve been persevering despite my fatigue. Taking a short breather ought to help.

Gast: Then, I’ll take you up on the offer…. Thanks, Doc

Victor: Not at all

Victor: Now, the first question. While you’re in battle your weapon of choice is the rifle, but is it also used on a regular basis? 

Gast: Um….right. I got various types when it comes to small arms in general, each one of ‘em are part of my treasured collection but, the rifle’s gotta be my first choice

Gast: It’s a pleasant feeling when I’m putting my mind into it and hitting a far-away target…. Pretty much love that kinda tension

Victor: Hm, I see

Victor: I’ve taken a look at your profile and noticed that you’ve listed darts as your hobby. Would you consider that shooting and darts are similar to each other?

Gast: Eh, darts?

Victor: If there’s any information open to the public about you as a hero, it might unexpectedly be brought as a topic during an interview.

Gast: Really…...

Gast: Um, darts, eh…. Right, it’s the same in the sense that you need to determine where to focus and aim at. 

Gast: It’s that kinda pleasant feeling, like I’ve accomplished somethin’ when I get it onto the point…. It’s what makes it fun and maybe gets you hooked on it

Victor: I see. Thank you very much.

Gast: (Seriously feels like Doc got all the practice in…..)

Gast: (If the real deal’s gonna be like this then I’d be able to pull it off)

Victor: Although you make use of a gun during combat, you do thrive in hand-to-hand combat too, right? Would you say that you have a sturdy body that’s able to withstand pain?

Gast: EH!? Sturdy, body?

Gast: Uh, yeah…. Well, I’ve been working out since I was a kid, and had that time where I was a bit of a rascal, think I’m more solid than some others

Victor: Do you think of wanting to succeed as a hero for the sake of the people, of the world? 

Gast: Y-yeah that's obvious! Theres times where Im still unsure about what I can do as a hero though….

Victor: But there are many things that you’re capable of doing? For the sake of the people and the world, there is something that requires your cooperation.

Gast: Oh, if it’s somethin’ I can do then I’ll help

Victor: Is that so. Fufu, to be honest I have invented a new machine. Which is why I wanted to ask someone to test it for me.

Gast: !? Did you just lead me on to become a guinea pig right there!?

Gast: No no NO way! That answer does NOT count!!!!!!!!

Ren: Oi, shut up

Marion: Why are you making so much noi-..... huh, Victor?

Victor: He told me that he had been asked to do an interview. Thus I had accompanied him for a simulation. 

Victor: It seemed that he had been worried about the interview, yet the answers came out smoothly, which should mean that he’ll be able to face it with no problems.

Marion & Ren: ………………

Victor: Gast. I’ll consult you another time for what we talked about earlier.

Gast: Noooo no no, I said it didn’t count!?

Gast: (.....But, thanks to Doc I feel like my nerves calmed down a lil’. It was more or less a simulation, right?)

Gast: (No way it’ll end up the way it did now, so I’ll just take it easy♪)

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

Ive never really understood the hype surrounding Taylor Swift - I mean, I like some of her songs, but im not big on modern pop music so generally she just doesn’t really click for me. But I find it interesting that theres quite a few of Beatles/Swift blogs - like, they should have very little in common given that they’re from completely different eras and all, but somehow people seem to find a lot of semblance between the two. << and thats not me shitting on any of these blogs btw! Hope I don’t come off as rude or condescending there <3

Anyway, I was just wondering what got you into Taylor Swift? (I think ive read your post on how you got into the Beatles)

Hi, anon! Don't worry, I don't think you're rude or condescending! I agree they don't have too much in common and I don't really like their music for the same reasons.* I do have a playlist of Paul songs that have similar vibes to Taylor songs but it's mostly lyric-based. (Also the Beatles For Sale songs actually have quite the Taylor-tinge because Paul and John were not immune to Country Music)

I saw @stewy say once that a possible reason there are a good handful of us Swiftie-Beatle People on here is the appeal of a vast discography, which I agree with. If you have an artist/group with 200ish songs, it's just really fun to really dive into their work and explore all the facets. I also think: we're talking about the most popular band of all time and one of the highest-selling artists of the 21st century. They have a lot of fans so there's bound to be overlap, regardless of musical differences.

Moving on to your question: Getting into Taylor was an extremely personal experience for me and so my explanation is probably going to be kind of long so I'll put it under a read more.

It was spring-summer 2014, I was 15. I had heard the more popular songs of hers starting with Love Story and enjoyed pretty much all of them (I always found her hopelessly romantic point of view fascinating) but before I got a Spotify account in 2013 it was difficult in general for me to really get into an artists' entire discography so most of her songs had flown under my radar.

At the time, I was in this very weird sort of codependent online friendship with this girl who was basically my first real best friend and my first more or less crush. She was very depressed and I was very much in an I Could Fix Her™ mood, except that I obviously couldn't fix her and it made me feel like I wasn't enough and she had begun pulling more and more away from me and not replying to my messages and it was simply driving me insane. I consider it the saddest period in my life.

at some point during this period, I started trying to connect with other people (all online, I didn't know how to talk seriously to anyone IRL) and explaining the issues I'd been having, and one of the people who brought me joy and whom I actually felt not drained talking to was a huge swiftie. And IDK the fact that she loved Taylor and the fact that talking to her made my life better (and also the fact that I liked all the Taylor songs I knew at that point) just made me decide to give her a listen. And I think that whole "large discography discovery" phenomenon really helped me at the time (funny, because her discography has doubled since then). It gave me something new to focus on; there were just so many songs to discover, all telling such rich stories. I also have always loved bridges, they are almost always my favourite part of a song. And Taylor, god-bless her, loves them too and always puts her ALL in them. Like pretty much every bridge of hers brings the song to the next level, and even a lot of her songs I don't adore tend to have great bridges (Stay Stay Stay and Paper Rings come to mind). I think one of her most underrated qualities is how good she is at song structure and really building up an entire musical journey with a song. She also almost always adds cool ad-libs in her second and third choruses to keep the songs interesting and dynamic (or at least since she's gone pop). Anyways, back to the story: Then Taylor announced 1989 as her next album and released Shake It Off, and it was just like this great happy thing for me to look forward to, when I had very little keeping me going. The era was promoting a lot of happiness which in hindsight was slightly fabricated and it was just a really great thing for me to latch onto.

At the same time I was coming to realize that I was gonna have to pull away completely from my friend and all those break-up songs just… Hit, y'know? Like, some people seem to think Taylor's a one-trick pony because she likes to write break-up songs but to me, break-ups are just like this moment where you as a human can potentially feel every single emotion, and Taylor's songs have covered every facet of the concept. Here are some songs I remember from that period, that all meant a lot to me at the time because they explained my own pain to me so well:

Haunted, for the absolute terror you feel in the first moments you realize someone is probably gonna leave you. Come on, come on / Don't leave me like this / I thought I had you figured out / Something's gone terribly wrong / You're all I wanted.

I Almost Do, for the inner turmoil you feel when you know you have to stay away from someone for your own good but you really, really have to resist just running back to that person. We've made quite a mess, Babe / It's probably better off this way / And I confess, Babe / In my dreams you're touching my face / And asking me if I wanna try again / With you / And I almost do.

Last Kiss, for that absolute sadness that comes simply with remembering everything that was good and not comprehending how it could've possibly ended. I still remember / The look on your face / Lit through the darkness / At 1:58 / Words that you whispered / For just us to know / You told me you loved me / So why did you go / Away?

Forever and Always, for that feeling of desperately wanting to hold on to what you still have but at the same time realizing it probably isn't going to last and having no idea how to fix it, plus feeling like the other person doesn't even care. So here's to everything / Coming down to nothing / Here's to silence / That cuts me to the core / Where is this going? / Thought I knew for a minute / But I don't anymore.

Dear John, my all-time favourite song, for that moment you find clarity and realize that you deserved better and that you were headed in an extremely dark direction because of this other person. [DISCLAIMER: my friend did NOT abuse me nor did we have some inappropriate age difference. But the way she would ignore me and her general moodiness really affected my own mental health and self-worth problems] You paint me a blue sky / And go back and turn it to rain / And I lived in your chess games / But you changed the rules every day / Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone / Tonight / Well I stopped picking up / And this song is to let you know why.

(She's covered more aspects of break-ups in other songs [cheating, divorce, feeling awkward around your ex amongst others], these are just the ones I remember being really important to me when I was first getting into her)

She really helped me feel a lot less alone during one of my loneliest periods and I really can't thank her enough for that. Soon after this, I started crushing on a girl in my class and Taylor's love songs started to take on a new meaning for me as well.

What's crazy to me is, when she went on hiatus for a few years, a part of me thought maybe I'd grown out of her and no longer had much in common with her, but when reputation came out I was pulled right back into my love for her as a person and musician and then when Lover came out I found that she was still explaining feelings to me better than I ever could (specifically with the songs The Archer and Cornelia Street). And now with folklore and evermore she's simply absolutely perfected her story-telling and I find myself deeply moved even by the songs I don't directly relate to. I feel like she has this amazing ability to find the absolute truth in the specific. I've never had a summer romance with someone who already had a girlfriend and mostly wanted to go back to her, and yet the bridge of august feels so real to me, y'know?

Back when we were still changin' for the better Wanting was enough For me, it was enough To live for the hope of it all Cancel plans just in case you'd call And say, "Meet me behind the mall" So much for summer love and saying "us" 'Cause you weren't mine to lose

It's hard to explain but looking at this, like it's so much more than the story it's telling. It's talking about how when you're young you really need so little to feel satisfied; how sometimes the idea of someone maybe spending time with you is better than actually doing things with other people; and how if someone using you without much thought can make you feel like you're not even entitled to grieve what you lost. Sorry. I'll stop. Don't want to go insane.

So, all of this is very personal and unique to me, but I think really the main thing that draws me to her is how vulnerable and honest she is about emotions, how eloquently she can explain the pain of being alive to me. Some people think she isn't the strongest singer, but I think, much like John actually, one of her greatest assets is how good she is at projecting emotion. The song happiness is a song I think has some lyrically weak moments but her vocal performance on it is so raw and devastating that every single line works even when, looking at it on paper, it feels like it shouldn't.

Hope this rambling made sense to you, lmao?? I love talking about Taylor though so thanks for the ask! Also very open to giving song recs if you do want to check her out more but I won't unless solicited to lmao *Sort of off-topic but I do think there's a relation between my fascination with the Beatles' history and my love for a great break-up song. I like pain I guess :)

[pseudophan]

can you tell us the summary of your love of your lives case? I don’t wanna watch the video I don’t have the patience to watch it

it's such a complicated case but in short(ish):

1993 in west memphis arkansas, three eight year old boys go missing and are later found murdered in the woods. the community is freaking the fuck out and because it's 1993 small town arkansas and satanic panic is sweeping the nation people go ITS SATANISM IT WAS A SATANIC RITUAL and the police keep interviewing this 18 year old named damien echols because he was into witchcraft and listened to metallica and wore all black (genuine points brought up in court like this is what the entire case is built on). im skipping some details here cause its all oh so convoluted but basically they eventually interrogate a 17 year old named jessie miskelley jr who confesses to the crime and implicates damien and damien's best friend jason baldwin (16, looks about 11). so then ofc they all get arrested

issue is: jessie is a minor with a reported iq of 72 and they interrogated him non stop for 12 hours with no parent or attorney present (his dad agreed to let them speak to him but they didnt tell him it was an interrogation) and less than an hour of it was recorded. jessie claims the cops coerced him into his confession and even on the 40 something minutes of interrogation we do have available to listen to you can hear the cops just continuously leading him on like theyll ask when this happened and he says a time and they go no the kids were in school then it was later wasnt it and he's like yeah it was [later time] and theyre like no it was around 8 wasnt it? and hes like yeah yeah it was then and it goes on like that foreverrrrr

ok im getting into too much detail here im sorry theres so much more anyway anyway TRIALS HAPPEN and its all a whole bunch of bullshit and hbo recorded it all for hit documentary paradise lost (watch it) and hhhooooooly shit!

theres way too much to talk about w the trial but besides everyone being fucking cracked and damien being a smartass and the judge looking bored out of his goddamn mind throughout the whole thing (FUCK that judge) one notable part that didnt come out until later is that during jury selection this one guy was hell bent on getting on the jury cause he wanted them convicted and not only was he let on the jury he became the jury foreman which goes against like every law cause juries are supposed to go into court with no preconceived notions of what happened. also jessie had a separate trial cause he wouldnt testify against jason and damien which means his "confession" wasnt admissible in their trial and the jury werent allowed to consider it, but the jury actively discussed the confession while making their decision (jury members have said they did + it was written on their goddamn whiteboard) which. h

ANYWAYYY so jessie and jason get life in prison without the possibility of parole and damien gets sentenced to death. damien is 19 at this point with a newborn baby. jason isnt even 18.

so then they go away and the documentary paradise lost comes out and everyone collectively loses their goddamn fucking minds cause how the fuck did this happen they didnt even have a single piece of actual evidence except a piece of hair that MAY match damien but also its the early 90s and they dont actually have a fucking clue

years go by, everythings happening so much, their appeals get shot down one by one cause its the same fucking judge and ofc hes not gonna admit any fault. the public suspect john mark byers (rest in peace he died like a month ago in a traffic accident, btw he also didnt do it but thats also a lot to go into. interesting guy, definitely inbred, violent tendencies but not a murderer) one of the kids' stepdads (technically adoptive dad cause he legally adopted the kid after he married his mum but hes generally referred to as his stepdad) of having done it cause hes fucking massive and is quite possibly the most colourful character ive seen in my life like that guy had no idea what was going on ever and he was hell bent on the teens having done it and wanted to kill them all UNTIL! until. 2007, they test the dna in the case and SHOCKINGLY turns out none of the west memphis 3's dna is anywhere to be found, the shit they had that could be damien's turns out to not even remotely match him in the slightest and suddenly theyre there like. well. now theres nothing. and yet theyre still in prison cause everyone who got them convicted is like NO THEY DID IT :) but the public outrage is so much by this point and finally they get to take it to the supreme court who take one look at it and are literally like ??? what the fuck happened here give them a new trial what the literal hell (theres a video of it their faces are literally so funny they all look like they absolutely cannot believe this required their help) so in 2011 they finally have the opportunity to retrial with a new judge but SUDDENLY the state of arkansas go um actually we are gonna offer you an alford plea which basically means they legally plead guilty to the charges while still saying they didnt do it and then they get let out but the state wont have to admit fault or reopen the case cause in their eyes these three are still guilty but theyre gonna let them out anyway cause that makes a whole lot of sense i guess. lol basically the state realised there was a real chance they could get exonerated in which case they were gonna get sued to hell and back and went FUCK give them a deal

now jason didnt want to take the deal he wanted to wait for the new trial and risk getting found guilty again cause he said this isnt justice for the kids cause the real killer or killers are still free and its not justice for us cause we have to plead guilty to save the asses of the system that failed us all BUT all three of them have to agree for it to be valid and damien's execution date, which he's already narrowly avoided on several occasions like its already been postponed multiple times, is once again coming up and if the new trial somehow goes wrong and hes sent back to death row he's gonna be killed so jason decided fuck all of that and agreed to the plea exclusively to save damien which ok ride or die king

i havent gone into who really did it cause once again there is SO much but the majority of people think it was terry hobbs (the stepdad of another one of the victims) including the kid's mother whos now his ex wife who he abused to no end. theres a Lot to this theory and while theres no concrete evidence cause they did a shittyass job with everything theres already more dna linking him to the scene than the teens. god i really wanna go into everything that points to terry being at least somehow involved but this has already gotten so out of hand

anyway follow damienechols on instagram all he does is post about witchcraft and cats. also watch the hbo paradise lost trilogy and west of memphis. and if u want even more details listen to the three true crime garage episodes on the case. also theres books. theres so much. i have so much more to say. someone stop me

[punkscowardschampions]

Joe & Ronnie

Joe: [Enough time later that you might think you’ll not hear from him again, realistically like a day or two but given what you did it’d seem like longer/regret and dip ‘cos ya should but we know that ain’t it]

Joe: you spent Charlie’s modelling money yet

Ronnie: long gone baby like you

Ronnie: if you were after a cut shouldve taken it sooner

Joe: nah, it’s yours

Joe: his but sounds like he enjoyed himself, by her account

Joe: no need to ask what you spent it on

Ronnie: but you wanna hear my account yeah

Ronnie: thats what this is

Joe: do you think that’s what this is

Ronnie: youre not taking up space in my head mckenna

Joe: and not in your diary, as you pointed out up top

Joe: busy busy yeah

Ronnie: i werent asked to audition to be a doss student cunt 💔

Ronnie: & the one he brought back didnt fancy me enough to ask me to join in either

Ronnie: busy getting out their way

Joe: leave it a couple years you’ll be a mature student and they ask less questions

Joe: how rude

Joe: after you told him about your massive cock and everything? 💔

Ronnie: go ed and dig me up when youve graduated then

Ronnie: 3s a crowd when 2 of em are scousers & the others from fuck knows where didnt have you to translate or the horse for scale

Joe: after an invite? Sure thing, sis

Joe: not Kent then, gutted

Ronnie: less questions you said put your ? away gobshite

Ronnie: not england but i aint a skinhead who cares so hes as alive as dorothy ever leaves em

Joe: people love that though

Joe: black EDL members and asian conservatives, such a laugh for ‘em

Ronnie: too late to go back and put the boot in now he ll have been shown the door & it wasnt me getting a name or number

Joe: his loss all ‘round then, I get it

Ronnie: yeah

Joe: alright, so I need linking

Ronnie: you got cash or you selling yourself

Joe: I’ve got cash, just not the contact

Ronnie: hand it over ill pick up for you

Joe: you think i’m that green

Ronnie: what colour do you reckon you are

Joe: you’ve got no prejudice, apparently, so what’s it matter

Joe: [picture of some of the multi-coloured bruises you acquired]

Ronnie: he was a pussy & you want me to connect you to people who aint

Ronnie: youre an easy target

Joe: you wanna pocket my money yourself instead, I get it

Joe: you can have a % of the shit, alright

Joe: not asking you to do it for nothing

Ronnie: thats all theyd do when you show up with your baby face and habit

Ronnie: ill take your money & still have it pocketed cos i dont need student loans to score no shit are you asking me to do it for nothing

Joe: what you gonna give me to keep hold of ‘til you give me mine

Ronnie: add an arm to your collection what do i care

Joe: yeah, what do ya

Ronnie: you want a easy pick up get a schoolboy plug i dont know any

Ronnie: i care about money youre ready to waste

Joe: that’s part of the appeal

Joe: why get it in a safe, nearly legitimate way

Joe: half the fun, eh, alright, alright

Joe: do it then, I don’t know no fucker else I can ask yet, I’ve gambled on worse

Ronnie: i just wanna get it thats the fun

Ronnie: get into a fight with whoever the fuck you like whenever for a pissing contest

Joe: you wanna start one ‘fore I’ve given you the cash and you’ve given me mine?

Joe: that’s blatant bullshit

Ronnie: you wish

Ronnie: save your childish excitement for the phone call home like

Joe: nah, you’re full of shit that it’s not just as much about the company and authentic experience

Joe: there’s plenty dealers that are nowt but businessmen

Joe: nothing but a transaction and they’ll sell to a junkie and city banker as one in the same

Joe: don’t act like you don’t have a deathwish or what was the point of taking me there and showing me

Ronnie: where the fuck am i meeting buisinessmen or getting the cash to pay em

Ronnie: dont be fucking rem

Joe: everyone’s stupid enough to wanna get their dick sucked over cold hard cash every other deal, no matter how presentable or legit they play

Ronnie: ive got the links ive got

Joe: fine

Joe: where you wanna do this then

Ronnie: whats your problem

Ronnie: [but a location anyway]

Joe: what’s mine

Joe: thought we’d covered that in length or are you less convinced now

Ronnie: convinced youve got fuck all to cry about

Joe: obviously

Joe: definitely bother with you if that were true

Ronnie: you wanted a big sister im doing all the hand holding

Joe: I never did and I still don’t

Joe: but you carrying on with the pretence if it makes you feel better

Ronnie: i didnt come to you or ask for fuck all to make me better

Joe: yeah you’re blameless

Joe: all in my fucked up head and not yours

Joe: what’s it like being an 👼🏼

Ronnie: i already told you you aint in my head & you werent in my veins for long enough to get fucking soft about it

Joe: i’ll be there in [however long that’d take you]

Ronnie: boss

Joe: you sound like them, you know

Ronnie: i dunno who the fuck youre talking about

Joe: the rest of the fam, of course

Joe: glad to see that the level of chatting bollocks to make yourself feel better is genetic, s’not depressing at all

Ronnie: that still dont clear fuck all up for me except that youre a bigger cunt than i thought

Joe: you don’t think about me

Joe: and none of that shit happened, your memory loss and confusion extends to that, don’t worry

Ronnie: you like me but you still compare me to em every chance you get

Ronnie: fuck you

Joe: yeah, fuck me

Joe: like you haven’t just

Joe: forget it, actually forget it

Ronnie: youre as full of shit as you reckon I am

Ronnie: forget that its been ages & youre speaking up now cause you want something

Joe: i haven’t been able to flick my brain onto anything else, never mind shut it down, I haven’t slept or eat or done anything to take me away from it, you

Joe: and it meant nothing to you

Joe: fuck you

Ronnie: gear not me

Ronnie: theres the authentic experience you were going on about

Joe: no

Ronnie: yeah

Joe: this is what I mean

Joe: you know as well as I do what it was

Joe: why are you fucking lying and saying I am

Ronnie: im a junkie all i do is lie & nothing else means anything to me

Ronnie: youre worse than green if you dont fucking know that

Joe: you’re lying that it meant nothing

Joe: not lying that it did

Joe: even if it made you fucking sick, that isn’t nothing and I don’t believe you

Ronnie: dont believe me i dont care who the fuck are you

Joe: your brother

Ronnie: youre nothing

Joe: yeah right

Ronnie: the dealer means more

Joe: already pointed out you’re that much of a cliche

Ronnie: what we can’t both be a cliche take it then

Joe: never heard that one

Ronnie: nows your chance to make a final comparison between me & whatever family member you hate or are turned on by the most

Joe: final chance, alright then, sound even more stupid

Ronnie: sound like more of a pussy that youre kicking off over this but not gonna fuck off

Joe: why would I?

Joe: i’m not pretending that it weren’t a thing

Ronnie: nah youre pretending it was

Ronnie: whoever the fuck ever told you youre special is the liar here like

Joe: your mate don’t count, you ain’t done that before either so fuck off with your jaded routine

Ronnie: hes my brother when & where it counts

Joe: there’s no blood and no reason not to go there, that’s where it counts

Ronnie: if i wanted to fuck you too your ma wouldnt stop me she means even less than you

Joe: yeah

Joe: you and your life aren’t totally fucked because of how much you care

Ronnie: you dont know shit about me or my life

Joe: you wish

Ronnie: you dont

Joe: or do you, actually

Joe: you shove it in everyone’s face, what do you reckon everyone thinks

Ronnie: youve seen a few scars & now youve seen into my soul yeah

Ronnie: shut the fuck up for all you know i lived a couple of doors down from you for your whole bullshit childhood

Joe: you look like that and reckon it doesn’t scream mommy issues? Fuck off, you aren’t that dumb

Ronnie: fuck you

Ronnie: everything you do is pure about her

Joe: not everything but I can admit she contributed

Ronnie: shes the 1st bitch to fuck me over but not the only is the difference between us

Ronnie: that unwanted bullshit was a pattern

Joe: you don’t know me either

Ronnie: i know you had a set of parents who kept hold of you however fucking west you were

Ronnie: no cunt was calling you racist shit or trying to touch you up

Joe: you’ve got a monopoly on fucked then, got it

Ronnie: like fuck have i but mine dont start & stop at mommy dearest how you think

Joe: of course it doesn’t

Joe: neither does mine

Ronnie: stop acting like youre an expert on how and why my head is wrecked and i wont have to kick yours in

Joe: you started it

Joe: but that’s good with me

Ronnie: get over yourself mckenna

Ronnie: you like what i start

Joe: i prefer the other night

Ronnie: yeah i like when youre getting punched in the face too

Joe: you can do the honours in a bit

Joe: fuck healing, yeah

Ronnie: what did your girlfriend say

Joe: oh, I got mugged and her dad’s gonna get her some pepper spray and a rape alarm 👍

Ronnie: hot

Ronnie: but she ll have dreamt you fell off the horse only got the single fantasy in her

Joe: that her dad’s so responsible and caring? would be her #2 if she had the range

Ronnie: if hes delivering that shit in person let me know so i can start something with him

Joe: oh god

Joe: that reminds me

Joe: She wants to invite Charlie over for like, a dinner party or something

Ronnie: if her daddy is there hes gonna need that rape alarm back off her to fend off mary

Joe: 😂

Joe: idk if she’s that oblivious and now wants Charlie to fuck her, or she thinks he’s my only mate 🙄

Ronnie: shes over you baby i scared her off

Joe: or she thought you was gonna ask for a line 😏

Joe: if that’s true I’ll owe you, again

Ronnie: ket hook up

Joe: you think she’ll let her love be in pain on your behalf?

Joe: not likely

Ronnie: not gonna ask politely

Joe: hot

Joe: I was gonna hit you up sooner

Joe: I tried to find you after

Ronnie: you didnt try hard

Joe: I only had one eye, by that point

Ronnie: im an attention whore with screaming mommy issues cant make it no easier to spot me in a crowd

Joe: in that crowd?

Joe: or will you be pissy if I call you dime a dozen

Ronnie: still got the accent as my own personal rape alarm

Joe: where’d you go then

Ronnie: youre a tourist theres no point telling you

Joe: if you left with that lad, no need to go over the details, got the picture

Ronnie: why the fuck would i leave with him

Joe: you mean you weren’t in his pants for his benefit

Joe: careful, getting bit close to honesty

Ronnie: i mean to go where i dont need a horse or an en suite

Ronnie: youre a hopeless romantic like

Joe: that’s a new complaint, I’ll tell my exes

Joe: deffo their fault after-all, buzzing

Ronnie: how many are there

Joe: get less slut-shaming off Soph, cheek

Joe: I dunno, I had to keep it moving because of all the secret mommy issues, you know

Joe: I’ll do a tally

Ronnie: its not already carved into your arm no wonder theyre pissy at you

Joe: if that worked for any of ‘em they could come back from the ex thing

Joe: 💔

Ronnie: try her initials whatever the fuck they are in between dinner party courses and win her back

Joe: you should come

Ronnie: id be made up if she pepper sprays me

Joe: it’d be the only way this won’t be the worst evening ever

Ronnie: loads of ways to take out your other eye ill pass you a spoon

Joe: give a go doing my A-Z carving with it too

Joe: 🤞 she invites her twink classmate and you can try for your threesome

Ronnie: she’ll get in there before us cause youll have distracted me with the state of your cackhanded 💘 carving

Joe: can’t say I’d be sorry

Ronnie: you catholics invented anal but i reckon its overrated

Joe: you’d probably feel different if that’s where your g-spot was but can’t say I disagree with that either, not that that’s anything too deep to have in common so we’re fine

Joe: and raised strictly un-catholic so the pope can’t have a go

Ronnie: nah no cunt would find it if it was there either

Joe: 💔 baby

Ronnie: you mean it

Joe: yeah

Joe: which bit, though

Ronnie: my invite to the shitshow

Joe: ‘course

Joe: if it’s shit, you’ll only have yourself to blame for not livening it up enough

Joe: and I will have to kill myself if I have to be there sincerely

Ronnie: he knows about you

Ronnie: might wanna kill yourself if he opens his mouth

Joe: oh

Joe: so I’m gonna have to act all nice and respectful, yeah

Ronnie: if you wanna make me sound full of shit

Joe: what did you say?

Ronnie: told him i shot you he werent best pleased about it but youre not his brother so fuck all he can do

Joe: sweet

Joe: still not gonna fuck him though

Ronnie: hed get your g spot for you 🍒

Joe: not if he’s worried about my innocence

Ronnie: hes worried about my head getting wrecked not yours only bitch who is

Joe: you’ll have to tell him what you told me

Joe: I ain’t in there

Ronnie: you fairies bring everything back to your obsession with your mothers course hes no fucking exception

Ronnie: & cos i stole my file when i was a kid he thinks i give a shit too you were part of the happy 🏡 picture he was getting in a flap about but i tore through that 🌈 optimism with the 💉

Ronnie: you can have lively

Joe: better he knows than goes on about it

Joe: it’s far from 🌈☀️ even if you were up for it

Ronnie: every soft lad but him knows its ⛈ if not outright 🌨

Joe: when I started looking, if you were like them, I weren’t even gonna bother to talk to you

Joe: just give her the info and let her do it herself

Joe: but I knew you weren’t

Ronnie: told you youd have liked me at 9

Joe: 😏 yeah yeah

Ronnie: shed have bailed before scrolling that far back even with the pure messy sketchy shit kept off for the sake of dorothys cv

Joe: idk,she bangs on about her own glory days as ‘precaution’ enough

Joe: probably dead proud

Ronnie: raincheck on dinner i gotta go slit my throat after hearing that like

Joe: yeah, it’s real fun

Joe: far as starters go though, you’re welcome

Ronnie: cos you owe me go ed & drag my corpse there dress it up like horse girl and send her that info so i dont make her proud yeah

Joe: gotcha

Joe: the fibres sending Soph down are an unfortunate side-affect or added bonus, depending how you feel

Ronnie: dressing like a dyke art teacher is shady to my mourners hed have loved having me on the team

Joe: sure she wants to be buried in her jodhpurs, like

Joe: not gay but kink-adjacent, he’ll be alright

Ronnie: inside the horse youll have to hollow it out for her

Joe: poor horse not ready to be made into glue but there we go

Ronnie: but when youre ready to follow me to the grave only need a plastic bag

Joe: follow you anywhere, or whatever sounds good in a song

Ronnie: not had a little brother like that before

Ronnie: never know the mime is behind you or not

Joe: he shy or you cut his tongue out altogether

Ronnie: saving that for you cos i know how you feel about 🍒 & theres fuck all else left

Ronnie: hed never get attention whore out or mommy issues w & m forget it

Joe: I can feel the slutshame

Joe: there hasn’t been hundreds, come on

Joe: you were being weird, I needed to get you talking, it worked

Ronnie: how many then

Joe: I guess 6 total, not counting anyone before like 15 because that isn’t real, maybe 7 but we might be pushing the term girlfriend there

Ronnie: 💘 how many songs

Joe: not destined for the bin? Fuck all

Joe: cliche points off the charts though

Ronnie: i know youve seen the busking vids hes still got posted up that im in i cant say shit

Joe: you’re good

Joe: even when you have to go Top40 for the tips

Joe: class thing about the cello, looks more pitiful ‘cos the case is massive, people try to fill it, like

Ronnie: soz im not killing myself fast enough for you

Ronnie: miss me with your schoolboy cliches 🖕

Joe: don’t worry, the songs were ‘insert name here’ jobs if they were anything

Joe: don’t wanna sound like I’m singing about a 75 year old bloke, do I

Ronnie: if itd been changed you wouldnt have found me shit at stalking as you are songwriting like

Joe: you’ve already got your own song anyway, don’t be greedy

Ronnie: ill keep you some 🐴 if youre not

Ronnie: 1st thing i tried if you do wanna follow after us

Joe: trip down memory lane we can both handle

Joe: ‘course

Ronnie: dont have any exes itll have to do

Joe: prefer the ket

Ronnie: write a song about it

Joe: [blatantly will in a pisstake way]

Ronnie: k gonna be dead easy to carve with the spoon can do it rattling

Joe: your faith in my abilities is appreciated

Ronnie: youre not fucking here youll have to

Joe: just got out the station hold on

Ronnie: fuck telling me to hold on you hurry up

Joe: if you shut up I can run

Ronnie: can you

Joe: fuck off i’m not that unfit 😂

Ronnie: nah dead fit far as homos and horse girls reckon

Joe: lucky me

Ronnie: youve had 7 bitches no cunts gonna feel sorry for you

Joe: all various shades of boring though

Ronnie: no shit

Joe: so you’re saying you ain’t gutted for me? 💔

Ronnie: your virginity sob story is like me in that crowd of cunts you couldnt find your way through

Joe: Christ, don’t remind me, first and last time I ever went near a virgin

Ronnie: theyre all older than you itd be pathetic well as boring

Joe: exactly

Joe: too much hassle having to worry about them, destroys any point of doing it

Ronnie: gotta put their kids in the cupboard as is

Joe: fortune in gaffa tape, like

Ronnie: still not 💔 mckenna going on about how flush you are since i met you

Joe: amazing how far you can stretch the loans when you steal Soph’s food and do fuck all that ain’t necessary

Joe: not like I actually dated any sugar mommies

Joe: should’ve, clearly but carefree 18-25s are easiest actually

Ronnie: gears necessary now youre gonna have to start stealing more than her pasta shapes

Joe: you’re my manager now, are you 😏

Joe: there’s shit I can do, music gigs, it’s fine

Ronnie: fine for your baby habit

Ronnie: it wont last

Joe: alright doom and gloom

Joe: not gonna learn how to cover my teeth yet

Ronnie: fuck off & fuck you

Joe: i’m here so come say it to my face

Ronnie: youre not better than me cos you can nod through a cello practice

Joe: where’d I say I was

Ronnie: when you said how fucking functional you are

Joe: I didn’t, I said I could get cash, that’s all

Ronnie: so can i its not the fucking point

Joe: and I didn’t say you couldn’t so what’s yours

Ronnie: youre not a fucking kid at the pool if youre gonna pussy out cos the waters too cold fucking do it

Joe: I’m in and you know that

Joe: so let me in

Ronnie: bullshit are you

Ronnie: youre proud of yourself for treading water

Joe: you’ve got the plug, I’ve got the cash, what is the problem with that

Joe: it’s an equalizer, if anything

Ronnie: we ll never be equal

Ronnie: you can cover your arm run off to class & pick up another boring girl whenever the fuck you like

Joe: what do you want me to do, seriously

Joe: say it

Ronnie: stop talking

Ronnie: fucks sake

Joe: [Show up hun]

Ronnie: [I love the idea that they have to wait around for ages for this dealer in awkward silence haha]

Joe: [the casual tension]

Ronnie: [god knows what she’s gonna use to ease the tension with a lil bit o self harm because god knows where they even are, I worry about you and all the infections you would get gal]

Joe: [the casual one-upmanship until you’re interrupted]

Ronnie: [we know she’s not paying him in cash and we know why she’s not please don’t get into another fight Joseph]

Joe: [got to let that one go as she was specifically like you’re not better than me, probably fuck off whilst that happens ‘cos not gonna stick about]

Ronnie: [take your heroin and calm down huns]

Joe: [hope you take enough to pass out ‘cos you’re not gonna be in any sort of mood now either of ya lol]

Ronnie: [we’ll do you both that favour]

[princecupcakee]

Park Bench | Reddie

Read on AO3

Rating: E

Pairing: Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Word Count: 3,320

Chapter: 3/8

Past Chapters: Chapter 1 (AO3), Chapter 2 (AO3)

Next Chapters: Chapter 4 (AO3)

Summary: Recently divorced and ‘incapable of love’, Eddie Kaspbrak moves to Los Angeles for work and a small, small hope of a fresh start. Broken up and never dated again, Richie Tozier tries to get back into love with help from his love of music. Quickly meeting eyes and one concert later, they think that maybe love isn’t that bad. So they try it one more time.

Chapter 3: Richie Tozier At The Movies, Eddie Kaspbrak With His Thoughts & Richie Tozier With His Guitar

Tags/Warnings: Angst / Unhappy Ending / theres only one sex scene but this is explicit anyway / Bisexual Richie Tozier / Gay Eddie Kaspbrak / Post-Divorce / Implied/Referenced Cheating / Inspired By Remembering Sunday (All Time Low) / Inspired by The Book Ninja by Ali Berg / Implied/Referenced Child Abuse / Implied/Referenced Abuse / Implied/Referenced Manipulation

Tag-list: @richietoaster​ , @s-s-georgie​ , @mikeuris​ , @gazebobullshit​ , @that-weird-girls-blog​ , @tozierking​ , @thoughtfullyyoungduck​ , @s-onora​ , @bellarosewrites​ , @lermanslogan​ , @ambitiousskychild​ , @ghostnebula​ , @vanillaredvelvet​ ,

(Ask if you wanna be on the tag-list!!)

Chapter 3

Richie Tozier At The Movies

After bringing Eddie home that morning he set out for his next vinyl-date (the name was a work in progress) before going to his sister’s house. He tried to have his head in it, he did, but all throughout the car ride, he couldn’t think straight. He wondered how Eddie was, what he was doing on his day off. He couldn't think of anything even when he had already gotten there. He needed to focus, he wanted to, but he couldn’t stop his head from floating into the clouds.

So when he walked into the movie theatre, he knew he should’ve just stayed home. Alex looked amazing and Richie knew that, but that didn’t really help. They’d picked a new action movie that was heard to have a song from the record in its soundtrack. By that time, he had dropped over 30 records on the local subway, have gotten multiple emails from music lovers like himself, and gone on quite a few dates already. A few memorable ones were Will, a man from Hawkins getting over a lost love, had talked a little too much about said lost love. The two decided to stay as friends. After that was a date with Theo, a New Yorker in search of a painting and person. Similar to Will, in search of his lost love, they’ve decided to stay friends as well. Now, Alex, a writer from New York City who moved to LA two years ago in search of new love, had messaged him after he dropped, ‘Appetite For Destruction.’

“Hi! Richie, yeah?” Alex smiled at him, holding a bowl of popcorn and two drinks. Richie nodded as politely as he could as he thought, ‘why doesn’t Eddie have the same accent?’ “Cool,” Alex hummed, “lets go?” “Sure.”

Richie was glad they went to the movies. It was dark and loud, and your excuse to not pay attention to your date is staring intensely at the screen to look like your focused on it. So, for ninety long minutes, he plotted about the easiest ways to get out of this date. ‘I have a dentist’s appointment’ sounded a bit too rude and overdone to him, ‘I have to take care of my niece and nephew’ was true, but sounded pretty useless. From the 90 minutes, he was able to think up nothing. 

“That was a nice movie,” Alex began, smiling at Richie. “Yeah, it really was,” Richie smiled, “but, uh, see, I gotta run." “sure,” Alex waved, slightly annoyed. Richie turned around didn’t look back.

Richie sat in the backseat of his car, staring at its ceiling. He started this to find love, to move on from what happened with Connor, and breathe. But now its seems like a waste of time to him. He can’t even focus on a date without just leaving to sit around in his car. And for what reason? He didn’t even know. He’s getting all of the chances that he didn't get but he’s just throwing them away. He’s just leaving and wasting. Maybe he just doesn’t get that chance. Maybe he just shouldn’t.

He checks his phone for the time and squishes to the front of the car. He didn’t need the stereo, he needs something going for him, no matter how deafening. Drumming a steady beat on to the steering wheel, “Robert’s got a quick hand.” Finishing the first verse, he turns his keys and drives out of the space. “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,” he swayed his head side to side slightly driving over to Annie’s house.

Eddie Kaspbrak With His Thoughts

Eddie laid down on his bed checking the large, fancy clock hanging above his head, 2:30 PM. After the magnificent sunrise he witnessed with one, handsome, charming, funny, surprisingly smart Richie Tozier, he went home. Richie winked and said ‘wait’ after he brought Eddie back, and of course, that sent the shorter of the two in a bit of a craze.

He’d never felt this. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. It was strong and wouldn’t let him breathe and made his heart explode. When he laughed, when he sang, when he smiled, Eddie couldn’t keep his mind off Richie. It wasn’t like this with Myra. How could it have been? She was there, to keep him alive, not let him live. ~ “Eddie-bear, have you taken your pills yet? You know, you’re mother called me last week, reminding me that you have a seafood allergy, why did you never tell me about that? I’m your wife, Eddie. I’m supposed to know these things about you! What if you ate something that made you sick? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, Eddie! Do you want that? Do you want me to be in pain?” ~ But with Richie everything seemed, brighter. He never said anything Myra did, he never forced Eddie to do something he never wanted to do, he never put words into Eddie’s mouth. ‘It’s clearly too early though, I mean four days? Can you fall in love in four days?’ Eddie dropped his urge to Google that, not wanting to get up (or be disappointed if no, you couldn’t fall in love in four days.) He was never strong. Physically, emotionally, he had always lost. He was never brave. He was the one that sat on the sidelines, afraid to see what’ll happen. Afraid to listen to what he wants. Was that because of his mother, or Myra, or him? He never really wanted to find out.

Sonia was controlling, she watched Eddie’s every move, didn’t let him do anything. Sonia introduced the two, and Eddie thought he had to fall in love. When Eddie married Myra, he thought that maybe he would be slightly freer. He was very visibly wrong. She wasn’t any different from his mother. After 15 years of being married, he realized hoe abusive his mother was, how he didn’t want that marriage anymore, and how more appealing men are to women. He told Myra the night he filed their divorce, all she did was leave the room. She left the room to call his mother. ~ “Don’t you just love her, Eddie? She’s smart, she’s kind, she’s responsible, and she knows how to take care of you! You were such a mischievous child back then, when you played with that stuttering friend of yours, he was such a bad influence on you. Isn’t he… queer? I can’t even say the word. Disgusting. You shouldn’t have been friends with him, Eddie. Are you still friends with him? You must get him out of your life immediately, Eddie! I don’t want my Eddie-bear being like him.” ~ But what if he was in love? What if he was in love with a man? A man he’d only known for four days? Eddie sighed, fighting back tears. He didn’t need this. He shouldn’t be doing this.

He walked out of his room, feeling as if he can’t breathe there. But this is Los Angeles. This isn’t home. He walked down the long hallways heading down the stairs back to the library. Why had he come here? He didn’t know either or, he did, just didn’t want to say it. Eddie took a vinyl from the bottom of the shelf, ‘Never Trust A Happy Song’ in a small font above ‘Grouplove.’ He didn’t know any songs on it, but he figured anything would be better than being trapped in silence with his own memories.

He tried to mimic Richie’s moves from before, failing quite a few times. He winced at the loud sound of what seemed to be the end of a song. ‘Take me to your best friend's house, roll around this roundabout, oh yeah,’ played in the- Eddie really needed to Google what that thing was, ‘can you fall in love in four days?’ Rang in his head once again, forcing him to put his phone down and take a seat in the large chair before him.

He wondered what Richie was doing, why’d he had asked him to ‘wait’ and then leave. He wondered if maybe Richie had fallen in love before. If maybe Richie felt how he did. He wasn’t supposed to, that was sure, but he wanted to. He wanted to know the feeling of loving and being loved, maybe he had, maybe Myra was the feeling of loving and being loved. Or maybe it was Richie. Eddie wouldn’t know. He had hoped it would be Richie though. That made him smile, nothing like what he had gone through with Myra.

But it was also his fault. It may have done him good but it was still wrong. He may have needed it but that still wasn’t acceptable. He did do it. He wasn’t being responsible, he wasn’t being right. He did owe Myra something for what he did. He could’ve done it simpler, and not ruin his marriage in the most unnecessary way there was. He had to go to that bar, that night. ‘Somethings are too good to pass’ he tried to make a good excuse, but he knew it wouldn’t have worked. He was right.

But he didn’t owe Myra his life or his heart, he owed her an apology, a divorce, and something that would have been better for both of them. And what was better for both of them was leaving. It wasn’t exactly leaving New York, it was just leaving, no longer in each other’s lives and forget. Forgetting has always been much easier than actually facing your problems. Forgetting left things there, not having to see them anymore and not thinking. Forgetting meant, even for a little while, nothing can be any worse.

‘Don’t take me tongue tied, don’t wave no goodbye,’ He’d never heard this song before, but something about it made him feel like he did. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, something about it would make him feel like he knew himself, too.

Richie Tozier With His Guitar

He rang the doorbell, running to the side of the porch to not be seen. He crouched below the window and as if on cue, a little girl pushed the curtains away and looked out the window. “I know thats, you Richie!” A little girl said, opening her front door. “Aw, how’d you know that Maddie?” He said, ruffling her hair. “Mommy said you were coming,” she said putting her hands on her hips. “Just you and Walter today?” “Yup!” “Alright, go get your brother, I’ll be in the living room. Your mom’s gonna be calling any second now,” he said as he watched Maddison walk up the stairs and call her brother.

Richie walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, moving the guitar from his back to the floor. Just as he predicted, his sister rang the phone, “I’m already here Annie. They’re getting their guitars, we’re playing stuff today.” “Thanks, Rich. I owe you,” she sighed gratefully over the phone. “No problem. I missed these goblins anyway.” “Okay, thank you so much, I have to go. Mom’s gonna be there soon. Oh and tell Walter to help Maddie with her painting, she gets really unhappy when he doesn’t and-“ “I know this already, go.” “Thank you, Richie.” “Your my sister, its my job,” Richie laughed and put the phone down.

“We’re here!” Maddison smiled, brother in tow. “Hi uncle Richie,” Walter said softly, sitting by Richie’s feet with knees against his chest.

He was two years older than Maddison, the same age gap him and Annica had. Maddie was five while Walter was seven. The two were fairly opposite, Walter preferring to keep to himself while Maddie was outgoing and social. Outside of her sister, he raised them. Annie was a good mother, but being a single one, she didn’t have it any easy either. Her husband died less than three years ago from an accident. Thats why he came over more and took care of her kids more. It didn’t help that the whole problem with Connor rose in the time of this and him having a responsibility to not fuck up kids left him out of it for a while. Until he was just angry, he never took it out on anyone, that he made sure of, but he was just angry at love. Maddie and Walter were a help though, it made him forget. Forgetting is much easier than confronting, its like painting over graffiti like it was never there.

“What are we playing today?” Maddie asked, leaning her head to the side exaggeratedly. “What’s a song you guys want?” Richie asked looking back and forth between the two. Walter stood up, walking to the small shelf that sat by the TV. He walked back with a cassette tape in hand. A paper was stuck on to the tape, and in small letters and font, ‘Tongue Tied - Grouplove’ written on it. Richie smiled kindly at him, “How do you know this song?” He simply shrugged and urged him to take the tape. “Lets play it then,” Richie nodded while picking up his guitar. Walter held breath to say something, Richie having to give him permission before he did. “I already know the beginning. C-could you teach me the middle?” “Which part?” “After the second chorus.” “Sure. Anyone wanna sing?” “Can I sing with you? Like, you're gonna sing and I’m gonna sing too, both of us sing!” Maddie said excitedly with big hand gestures (Richie wondered if part of that was his doing. He assumed that it probably was.) Richie nodded, “one two three four,” G. “Don’t take me tongue tied,” G. Then, C. “let’s stay up all night,” He sang with Maddie. “I'll get real high.” Richie sang as Maddie shook her head. Despite Richie’s smile, a dark room, broken glass, smoke, tears, screaming, flood his head. ‘Fuck! Can’t I do anything right?’ He cried that night. “Slumber party, pillow fight,” The two sung in harmony again, “My eyes and your eyes, Like Peter Pan up in the sky,” Maddie sang bringing her hand up above her head to mimic Peter Pan flying. Walter and Richie laughed. “My best friend's house tonight,” Richie sang. ‘Stan? You there? Look, I-I need a place to stay. I’ll tell you about it when I’m there. Yeah… yeah, Th-thanks.’ “Let's bump the beats till beddy-bye,” Richie smiled, despite fighting back tears. ‘Connor. Connor. Connor.’ He thought. “Don’t take me tongue tied,” Richie sang. ‘Eddie. Eddie. Eddie.’ He thought, the tears behind his eyes, drying away, “Don't wave no goodbye.”

By the time they had sung three songs, Maggie and Wentworth were already at the door. He said his goodbyes and walked back to his car. Hearing the first song back again in his head, his breathing sped. He threw his head back and whispered to himself, “Breathe, Richie. breathe.” He thought about how uncomfortable and disgusted Connor looked when he got down on one knee. He remembered how Connor screamed at him, how Connor mocked him for thinking that he actually loved Richie the way Richie did for him. ‘Please.’ ~ “What? What the fuck?” Richie thought he was just surprised. “Dude, gross. I wouldn’t marry a man. That’s fucking gross. Look, man. I have a girlfriend, we aren’t fucking together. Thats so fucking weird.” “but I- I thought-“ “Thought what? That we were together? Fucking gross. Get out.” ~ Richie turned on his stereo. Anything is better than this. He didn’t need to cry, he didn’t need to listen to whatever the fuck was going on in his head. He doesn’t need to stay, he can leave.’ Please, don't let me down,’ the radio played loudly. Richie thought it was weird, songs like these weren’t on the radio, but he sang along anyway. “Please, don't let me down, You better come around,” he softly sang against the loud radio. He never liked his voice much. He used it for comedy, for words he didn’t want to say. He didn’t know how to describe it, but he felt as if he just shouldn’t sing, he sounded better doing impressions anyway. Although some people like it, like Walter and Maddie, he wondered if Eddie liked it too. “You save yourself, I'll save myself each time around,” he sang louder, trying to catch what his voice sounded like. ~ “Stan? You there? Look, I-I need a place to stay. I’ll tell you about it when I’m there.” “You can always stay here Richie. Don’t worry,” Stan sounded like he already knew. Richie guessed everybody saw it coming. “Yeah… yeah, Th-thanks.’ Richie tried not to break into tears. ~ He was going to go drive to Eddie. He was horrified, but he was gonna go to Eddie. As much as he would hate to admit it, he needed him. Needing Eddie to love him, thats debatable but needing for Eddie to be around him, he knew he really did need it. He hoped maybe Eddie needed him too. “You save yourself, I'll save you too next time around,” he sang. When Eddie smiled up at him he didn’t know if he could breathe. It was never like this with Connor. With Connor he always wondered who the woman that left their apartment was, with Connor, he always got shouted at and argued with. With Eddie, he smiled, his heart raced, his stomach churned and it was never like it was with Connor. “I'm not around, I haven't been here for a while,” he sang, the electric feeling coursing through his veins.

“You know I'll never be back now,” He shouldn’t break his own heart. Connor’s gone. He’s not coming back, and Richie’s thankful for that. With Connor gone, maybe someone else will stay. Maybe Eddie will. Richie smiled at the thought of it.

He ignored the nagging feeling of possibly not being loved back— again.

[stuffedfoxwiththewifipassword]

Please Don’t Leave Me (Sammy and John)

Warnings: Major character death, mentioned smut

John didn’t know what he expected when Sammy came along on the Summer Camp Mission. He stood by the Wave-rider door, the counselor outfit he had been forced to wear extremely uncomfortable against his skin.

“John!” Sammy laughed, hopping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe we’re going to a summer camp!!”

John laughed, wounding his arms around Sammy’s legs and holding her against his back. “Bug infested ranches filled with horny teenagers.” He hummed, “Don’t see the appeal, luv.”

Sam ruffled his hair, tugging at the blond locks before kissing his head. “Oh cmon, a whole summer to get away? Nothing but you, the woods, and a bunch of potential friends??” She rested her cheek against his hair. “It was my favorite part about being a kid..”

John sighed, rocking around with the angel latched to his back. “Though, the poor counselors had to endure those ‘get away summers in the woods’ with these..” He pulled uncomfortably on his collar, “Uniforms.”

Sammy kissed the back of his head, “Don’t be a knob, Johnny.” Sam noticed the tie, “And for god sake loose the tie, hon!”

“You may take my coat,” John groaned, “But you’ll never take my tie!”

John stood at the entrance of the camp, Sammy standing next to him. John took a cigarette out of his shirt pocket, popping it into his mouth. “John, no!” Sammy snagged the cig from his lips, tucking it into his pocket. “This is a summer camp, not the backyard of a high-school!”

John groaned, “You’re gonna be the death of me, Angel...” He leaned over and snuck a cheeky kiss. “One time, for the kids.”

Sammy hugged his arm, “Attaboy, John!” She kissed his cheek, “My brave boy, going into war without his precious cigarettes!”

“Oh shut up, luv, or I’ll make you...” He swooped in, and right before the snogging could continue, the rest of the crew strolled up.

“A-are these uniforms necessary?” Ava asked, looking uncomfortable in the blue polo shirt and light tan shorts.

Sammy glanced at Ava, and whistled “Girl, you look badass!!”

“Cmon, Gideon made these for us!” Ray smiled, “The official Camp Ogawa Counselor uniforms!”

“What are you guys doing just standing around?!” Sam jumped, taking every last bit of strength in her not to grab onto John. John noticed, and easily slipped his hand into hers.

Sara, who was just catching up, smiled, “Hi, we’re the new camp counselors! Sorry to show up unannounced..”

The old lady sneered, “Well, Freckles, I’m Paula Cooper. I’m the director here.” She glanced at John and Sammy’s joined hands, rolling her eyes, “Welcome to Camp Ogawa, where intermingling between counselors is strictly forbidden.” Sam glanced at John, and the two slowly took a step away from each other. Paula sighed, “Chad Stephens’ll show ya around. CHAD!”

A boy ran over. He looked a little older than Sammy (Her being 140 and looking 24), with brown hair and a perfectly chiseled face. His shirt was snug around his chest and arms, and Sammy couldn’t help a glance. “What’s up?”

The camp director must’ve felt the same. “Chad, you marbled cut of prime beef... Give the new counselors a tour!”

“Cool.” He turned to the group, locking eyes with Sam. With a grin, Chad winked, “Lets bounce over this way!” He started to lead Ava, Ray, Sara, and Sammy down the path. John rolled his eyes, following a second later. Sam could hear him talking to Ava, but couldn’t make out much of their conversation.

Chad on the other hand, stopped abruptly, making the angel bump into him. John practically almost jumped out of his sneakers to strangle the lad. “Oh, sorry.” Chad grinned, “As everyone can see, Camp Ogawa is a miserable place. Paula runs it like a POW camp...” His smile widened, if that was possible. “NOT!” That sent Chad and Ray into giggles.

“Oh god...” Sara muttered, “A 90′s ‘not’ joke...”

Ray sighed, “It’s like comic comfort food...”

Chad noticed something, and grinned widely, “Couldn’t help but admire your lanyard!” He said to Ray. “Make it yourself?”

“Oh..Yeah, thank you!” Ray said, “Along with 21 other merit badged I also went on to get certification in nuclear science and dentistry.”

“Oh snap!” Chad laughed, “Got some competition for coolest counselor this year!” He turned to Sam, “What about you? Got any special skills?”

John cut in, “Sammy’s very creative.” He motioned to her leather bracelet, which had gems sewn into it for protection, “She made that herself!”

“Oh,” Chad smiled, “Artistic...Fantastic, the girls in your cabin’ll love you.” He clapped, “Anyways, lets get you all assigned to your cabins! It’ll be a heck of a summer.”

As the others marched on, John stayed back with Sammy. The angel crossed her arms, “What the hell was that, John?”

“Lad’s clearly flirtin’ with ya.” John deadpanned, putting his hands in his pockets, “Was only being polite and not telling him to piss off.”

“That was not nice, John.” Sammy rolled her eyes, “Cmon, lets go before the others get suspicious.”

She didn’t hold his hand on the way.

The girl’s cabins were a surprisingly fun place to be. Sam had gotten assigned to the same cabin as Sara and Ava. “Whats up, Franklin cabin?!” Sara went around, giving the girls high-fives. The girls cheered, laughing happily. “I am Sara, this is Ava, and the short haired one is Sammy!” Sammy waved cheerfully next to a stone frozen Ava. “We are your camp counselors! Now, I was thinking...We need a secret handshake.”

The whole cabin murmured with agreement. “Something cool, that only we know!” Ava pulled Sara aside, and Sammy was dragged into the fun.

One girl pulled her aside, “Hi, I’m Sophie!” She smiled, “You’re counselor Sam?”

“Please,” Sammy said, engaging in making a handshake while chatting, “Call me Sammy.”

“Sammy,” Sophie smiled, “I like that!”

“Thanks...” Sam sighed, “I was named after my uncle Samuel. He changed his name, sadly, so my mother wanted to keep the name in the family. Where’d you get your name from?”

Sophie sighed, “My grandma..”

“Ok, listen up ladies!” Ava called out, “Change of plan. Today we’re going to celebrate your first day of camp by using safety and discipline.”

“Who hurt you?” Sammy muttered.

Ava just growled at her. “Now, when I blow this whistle, I want you to run to your assigned bunks.” She blew the whistle, the entire cabin racing to their beds in fear.

Sammy just stood there in shock, willing her wings not to jump out. “Again...Who hurt you as a child?!”

When the night rolled around, Sam couldn’t help but go see John. She missed the blond bloke, and was desperate for his hugs. John must’ve felt the same, because half way between their cabins the two bumped into each other.

“John.” Sam sighed.

“Sammy...” The warlock smiled, “H...How are you, luv?”

sam shrugged, “Ava’s running our cabin like a military bunk.” She leaned against him, smiling widely as his arms circled her waist.

“Hmm...” John hummed, kissing her forehead. “Ray’s running our cabin like a bloody Cub Scout leader.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Sammy brought him in, kissing the warlock softly. Softly slowly melted into roughly, hands gripping at each others uniforms. They pulled away, “John, we’re in the middle of a camp ground surrounded by kids...” Her hand caressed his cheek, pants leaving both their lips.

“Oh, they’ll bloody learn it all in about a year,” John grinned wolfishly, “Let’s just give ‘em a head-start if the little bastards catch us.”

“Ok.” The angel pulled John back in, and in a few moments the two dropped to the ground by the camp-fire area.

Sam sat on a bench with John, the two holding hands and smiling like idiots as children raced all around them. “Oh if only they knew what they were running on...” John joked.

“Ooohhh, now I wanna tell them...” Sammy grinned, “You evil little bastard...” John spotted Ray, and with a gentle kiss on Sam’s cheek the warlock walked over to see his cabin mate. Sara stomped up to Sam, looking pissed.

“Where were you last night?” She demanded.

“Uh...With John...” Sammy blinked, “Why?”

Sara dragged her up, and watched up with the boys and Ava. “One of the girls in our cabin is missing.”

“What? Who?” Sammy strode next to John, their fingers intertwining.

Sadly, the angel was ignored as the group approached John’s salt circle he had made around the came. “Obviously theres something wrong with John’s booby trap.” Ray suggested, seeing the slight dent in the circle.

John scoffed, “You off your trolly, mate?!” He snapped, “My spell was designed to keep the monsters from gettin’ in, not kids from gettin’ out!”

“Maybe they snuck out?” Sara suggested.

“Why would they have snuck out?” Ava asked, dumbfounded by the possibility.

“To make out, duh!” Sara filled, “Like Sam snuck out last night to make out with Constantine.”

“We may have done a bit more than a good ol’ fashioned snog, luv.” John grinned, Sara’s face scrunching in disgust. “Lets go notify the camp director, yeah?”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE’RE NOT SENDING A SEARCH PARTY AFTER THEM?!” Sammy practically screamed at the camp director.

Paula didn’t back down, “They’re perfectly fine. This happens every year!”

John stood back from the scene, knowing full well not to mess with a pissed off angel. Especially his angel. But he couldn’t help a grin at Sam’s response. “Oh, so you loose kids every year? What do you tell their parents?!”

“They always come back,” The director waved it off, “Sooner or later they’ll get hungry and come crawling back for food.” She glared at Sam, “Now go out there and do some counseling!”

Sam groaned, turning on her heel and storming past the Legends with a furious look in her eyes. “Sam,” John called, catching up with her, “Where ya goin’ luv?”

Sammy turned on him, snapping, “To find those kids!”

“No!” he gently grabbed her wrist, “It’s to dangerous, Sam. Your wing isn’t healed fully and you can’t fly if you need--”

She pulled her hand from his grasp, and sneered, “I don’t need you to tell me what to do, Mr. Constantine.” She could see the hurt in his eyes, but she didn’t stop, “So back off...If you won’t help me find those kids, I don’t need you.” And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed away.

Leaving a very heartbroken John in her wake.

John started to worry when the sun started to rise the next day and Sammy hadn’t returned. He and Ray walked in the woods, holding up one of John’s many magical totems to find the missing kids.

And Sam.

John wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he wouldn’t know what to do if he lost Sammy. Dez had been a hard hit to his heart, but Sammy had patched it up, making it twice as strong. He loved her, more than anything. “How are we gong to find the kids with this dangly thingy?” Ray asked, snapping John from his trance.

“You know, this ritual usually works best when someone isn’t yammerin’ in my ear hole...” John snarled in warning.

“If you wanna find the kids, gotta do it the old fashioned--”

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT SOME BLOODY KIDS!!!” John roared, getting into Ray’s personal space and pushing him. “I CARE ABOUT SAM...I need silence...” He backed up, “I need to find her...Please,” He bit his lip, “Let me find her.”

“Why do you care so much about finding S?” Ray shrugged, looking down at his compass, “She’s an angel, she can handle herself.”

John grabbed his stupid compass, chucking it into the woods. “Now you listen here, Raymond...” He growled, “I know Sam can handle herself. Oooh believe me I know. But I...Care for her. Deeply...So stop your dilly-dallying and lets find the angel, yeah?”

The two marched into the woods, and came across something...Disturbing. Goopy skin. John leaned down, gently touching the goop before wiping the goop on the ground. “Left behind by the creature.”

“Who sheds its skin after eating the kids?” Ray tilted his head, “What kind of monster are we looking for?”

“The answer to that,” John took out a book from his coat, “Is in this book.” He handed it off to Ray, who flipped through the pages whilst John inspected the skin.

A second later, there’s a ding as Ray puts everyone on the coms on the channel, “Guys, we might’ve ID’ed our monster. It’s a Shtriga.”

Shtriga. No. No no no... John grabbed the book, “A-a Shrtiga feeds off the life-force of children..They eat angel life-forces like golden liquid to.”

“Angels?!” He heard Sara yelp over the coms, “That means...”

John began to panic, “We need to find Sammy. Now.” The warlock raced off, leaving Ray to catch up on his own.

John searched the woods well into the night. “Shritga’s lair can’t be to far...” He said to Ray absently.

“John.” The scientist stopped him, holding up a pretty blue feather in the light of his flash-light. “Isn’t this...”

“Sam’s feather.” John sighed, “She must’ve tried to fly away from the Shtriga...Bloody brilliantly stupid angel...” He cut his finger, letting the blood drip onto the feather. He recited a spell, taking the feather and lighting it with his lighter. As expected, the blue fluff combusted, a spark flying around. “Ah, Will-o the Wisp. Little bugger to lead us to my luv.”

“Your luv?” Ray questioned, raising an eyebrow with a grin. “I knew you two were a thing!!”

“Shut your mouth.” John snapped, rushing after the wisp as it darted away.

An old witches hut. Of course. John slowly creaked open the door, peering in wearily. “Sam?”

“No more feathers...You’d thing she’d struggle all the way here. Leave a trail for us.” Ray said, walking over to the cloth covered crates. Grabbing the edge of one, both men were frightened when a little girl gasped. “A-are we to late?!” Ray panicked, grabbing all the cloths to reveal the lost kids.

“No.” John sighed, “Their all tip-top...”

“C-c-counselor John...” One of the boys whimpered, “T-theres one more.”

John kneeled to be face to face with the lad, and let out a shaky breath. “Ok, do you know where the monster put the other one?”

“In the back...She was really pale...” The boy whimpered.

John let out a sigh he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Thank you so much, lad!” He raced around the back, “Sam?!” He jogged forward, looking around when he tripped on something. He looked down, and quickly started to dig into the rubble.

A wing. Bright colors blending against each-other. “Sam!” He yelled, tossing trash and planks aside. “Sammy!!” Panting, he pulled the rest of her out of the pile, her wings limp as John held her close to his chest.

Her face was ghostly pale, and John franticly searched for her pulse. “Cmon...Cmon Sammy...Come back to me, Sam! Come back to Johnny...” He kissed her forehead. Sammy didn’t respond. “Sam...PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!”

He screamed, holding her head to his chest as he begged and begged. “I can’t loose you to...”

“John...” Sam croaked, her eyes barely opened. Her wings shifted, gently tracing his back as sobs racked his body. “Johnny, I got you...”

John sniffled, “You’re gonna make it.” He brushed one of her hair’s behind her ear, “Just gotta hold on a little longer for Johnny...” Another kiss was pressed against her temple, “Little longer, My Angel...”

Her head lulled to the side, and in the dark John couldn’t make out the change in her wing’s colors. “Jo..n....I....Lov....You...”

John rested his forehead against hers, “I love you to, Sam...” He noticed how she fell limp against him, her eyes dull to the world. “Sam.”

“SAM?!”

[storiesundercandlelight]

Loving Loki - Six

I stirred into consciousness, I could feel a chill on my bare shoulders from where the comforter had fallen off, but the warmth around my waist and behind me was comforting. David was awake, his hand drawing patterns delicately along my side and across my ribs. I didn’t move for a moment, I wanted to just lie there are appreciate the fact that David was there with me. 

I turned slowly, finally contempt with the amount of time I’d left myself to enjoy the moment and faced David. His hair fell on the pillow and some in different directions. I stifled a giggle, he looked so messy, the only other time I had seen David without his hair neatly slicked back was when he got worked up over the case and ran his hands through it in irritation. 

His hands still traced along my body and I looked down for a moment, my eyes skimming over the small tattoos that were dotted across his fingers. 

A sudden ring made me jump slightly as David sighed and turned quickly to answer his phone.

“Yeah?” His voice was harsh and croaky with sleep. I stayed still as David sighed again, running his hand through his hands and then down over his eyes before siting up suddenly. The comforter pooled around his waist and pulled further off of me with his movements. “Yeah I’ll be right there”

David hung up and turned to me, a tired look falling over his features as he ran a hand up my arm before giving me an apologising look. “I need to head in, they found a girl this morning”

“I’m so sorry” I sat up, pulling the comforter with me to cover myself. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, are you? I’m sorry I know we were meant to have a day off today” 

“It’s okay, my friend Kates due tomorrow so I should probably get set up for when she turns up”

“Oh did you tell me about a friend coming over?”

“Yeah” David looked at me confused for a moment, his eyebrows coming closer as he tried to remember. “it’s okay if you forgot, you should go if they need you”

“Yeah, yeah right” David got up, I stayed in the bed as he pulled on his clothes quickly, grabbing his top and pulling it over his head before sitting down on the end of the bed to put on his shoes. I moved behind him wrapping my arms around his shoulders and placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“I’ll miss you” I whispered in his ear. “Will you be back later?”

“If you’ll have me” David turned to his head to me when he’d finished with his shoes and pushed his lips against mine. “I don’t know how late I’ll be”

“Thats okay, I’ll wait as long as I can” I smiled reassuringly.

“Like that?” I watched Davids eyes travel down over my body, the thin comforter barely covering me.

“Are you suggesting you want me to wait like this all day for you Detective?”

“Well the ideas very appealing” A small smirk played across his lips before his phone buzzing quickly ripped it away again. “I need to go”

“Okay” One last kiss and David was out the door, I listened as he grabbed his jacket, keys and the close the door behind him, his car soon pulling away from the house and then nothing. It felt so quiet without him here now. Stop it, you’ve been fine all this time. I sighed and got up, I just needed a shower, thats all.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

I pulled up to the edge of the woods, near the outskirts of town. Police cars littering the edge of the road, blue lights flashing despite the early morning, tape being pulled across any possible entry ways to the site. 

I saw Chris stood by the car talking to two of the forensic team. Fuck I couldn’t remember their names. The sky was grey, too grey for my liking. The last thing I fucking need is rain right now. I made me way over to Chris, pulling my jacket collar higher to protect my neck from the cold.

“Loki” Chris nodded to me, I didn’t stop, he knew the drill and followed me to where the forensics were knelt down between two trees, the ground was wet, moved underneath my shoes. “She’s young, 20-24, we’ll know more when we get the ID on her, we couldn’t see too many signs of struggle, mainly some bruising on the arms and neck but she wasn’t strangled. Theres a weird tinge to her lips, we’re having that tested, could be poison”

“Any ideas on how she got here?”

“Nope, grounds wet, it rained last night but not enough to get rid of tired tracks if there had been any, theres no footprints either, she might have bene brought here early yesterday before the rain, they’re taking her down as soon as you get a look”

We stopped by the second round of tape, and there she was. Dark hair falling around a lifeless face, her eyes were closed thank god, I couldn’t stand to see them open. There was bruising everywhere Chris said. She was dressed in a black cami, dirtied by the mud and a pair of skimpy underwear, her legs and arms were covered in mud, the rain had left water tracks running down through the dirt. 

I leant down to get a closer look. There was a darkness under her eyes but I couldn’t tell if it was because of lack of sleep or something else. There was blood around her ribs from a gash along the side, not deep enough for a stab, more like a slash across the skin. 

“You think she tried to run? Killer caught her with the knife?” Chris knelt down beside me using his pen to move a piece of the girls hair to get a better look at her neck.

“No, why would he just cut her? If she went to run he would have stabbed her clean up, unless he was buying more time, threatening her by cutting her, but there’s only the one cut so that goes against the norm too, if he wanted to give her a rough time there would be more…”

“Maybe she behaved after that”

“Maybe, you get an ID yet?”

“No still waiting”

“She a hooker?” I leant forward getting a better look at the wrist that was hidden partially by her hip, a small lotus tattoo covered the space below her hand. 

“Umm…I’m not sure, we’ll know when we get the ID, you got an idea?”

“Her clothes, the lack of struggle. Unless she was drugged she probably took off her clothes willingly, the bruising on her arms was probably done during moving her, assuming she didn’t just walk here herself, though without shoes it seems unlikely”

I stood up and turned to Chris. “Get them to move her, I want the ID Chris, I want tests done including drug and checked if she slept with anyone before hand”

“Sure thing”

I turned and looked around the forest, the trees were creating a darkness that was unsettling for the time of the day. “They find anything else?”

“Nope. She’s the only thing out of place here”  

“Alright” I walked back to the car as they lifted her to transport her for testing. I fucking hated this, this small town caused so much shit. I pulled the door closed and sat there for a moment. I felt my eyes squint a few times. Fuck  I thought that stopped. It happened a lot during the last case, the blow to the head didn’t help much either but over the last couple of weeks it hadn’t happened. 

I sighed and put the car in gear before pulling out and heading to the station. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

That shower was just what I needed. I let my hair air dry as I walked around cleaning up the house, with Kate due tomorrow I wanted the place to be clean now that it had been decorated. I picked up my Patterson books off the floor by the couch, putting them on the bookshelf. I cleaned the mugs me and David had left on the coffee table, wiped down all the kitchen.

I wondered how David was doing. I sighed as I placed the mugs in the cupboard, I knew his work would crop up again I just didn’t think it would be so soon again. I finally felt perfect with David and the buzz of his phone had officially become my pet peeve.

I rolled my eyes as I heard my phone vibrate against the kitchen counter, typical. I huffed out a laugh and walked over to my phone. It was Kate.

Change of plans girly! I’m heading up today!xxx

Oh great, I sighed again and wrote a quick reply back letting her know that was okay. Not that I had much choice and quickly made my way to the bedroom, pulling out some nice blankets and a few pillows. I hated that Kate had to sleep on the couch, she said she didn’t mind but I still felt awful. Knowing us we’d end up crashed out on my bed anyway after a few drinks.

Oh wait. David. Would he be there tonight? I stood still for a moment debating on wether I should call him to not to let him know. I booked a few days off of work for Kate’s visit but David didn’t have time off. I didn’t want to keep him up with out antics but I felt awful at the thought of not seeing him. I pulled out my phone again.

Hey, Kate’s turning up early, she’ll be here later today. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I know you’ll have work tomorrow x

 I sighed and put my phone away in my jeans pocket and placed the blankets and pillows on the couch. Well, I guess I better get myself ready to party. 

[comicteaparty]

November 25th-December 1st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 25th , 2019 to December 1st , 2019.  The chat focused on Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition by Sergio Ragno.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition by Sergio Ragno~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/list?title_no=260255)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 1st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite strip in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Of the strips with a connected story, which one did you like the best and why? Overall, do you prefer the interconnected story strips or the one-off strips more? What is your reasoning?

AntiBunny

Favorite strip so far is this one here https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/the-legality-of-keeping-it-real/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=41 mostly because it is quite different from the rest. Since Action Hat is largely a running gag comic that's been doing "wins by doing absolutely nothing" since before Luigi made it cool, this page is a refreshing shake up of the usual gag, being entirely dialogue driven.

To answer the second question, I prefer the one offs. There's a little bit of connection between strips, in that any given of episode of the Simpsons is connected by common characters, and that every event that doesn't contradict the status quo is canon, but mostly it's meant to be taken one strip at a time. Read, get your laugh, and go about your day. Action Hat is best read that way in my opinion. Not unlike a newspaper comic in that regard. Not to be binged, but to be taken in small, regular doses.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Which jokes connected with you the most from the comic, whether in terms of relatability or hilarity? Also, which jokes caught you the most off-guard in terms of making you laugh?

mariah (rainy day dreams)

So I didn't make it all the way through the archive but to sort of answer questions 1, 3, and 4, I thought the strip that had Detective Detective-Partner's gun was super funny. The premise of the already a farsical type of comedy, but I feel like adding a second inanimate object character just pushed it to a new level of funny for me. Especially since the gun just goes off without provocation in the last panel. I'm not sure if that's enough to call the gun my favorite character, but that joke was definitely a highlight moment while I was reading though.

SergeXIII

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my comic this week.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What piece of advice from Action Hat do you actually think is also a good lesson for how we should carry ourselves in life? How in general do you think the comedy of the comic shows how it can be used to say things about life?

RebelVampire

1) My fave strip is definitely this one: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/cool-guys-dont-look-at-explosions-action-hat/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=21 This was exactly where I wanted the idea to go, but it was still funny when it happened. Won't get into specifics since I don't want to spoil it for others at this juncture, but suffice it to say, I'm impressed the payoff was everything I dreamed of. 2) I liked the The Power of Love series the best. I am in love with the concept that theres a Guns and Bourbon store, and everyone acts like its the most common thing in the entire world. And I like the story about Detective Partner and Ex Wife met because it's a love story that fits too well in this world. There were just a lot of great continuing gags through. In terms of the second part of this question, I don't really have a preference. I actually like that the comic does a bit of both, since that gives wider appeal. Doesn't matter what you like, there's something for all.

3) My favorite character is Action Hat. Because Action Hat is the wisest of all characters despite not saying a single thing. And that's just badass. 4) The jokes that have connected with me the most are the ones regarding common cop tropes. Like the fact Detective Partner is a macho dude who doesn't open up to people, or that there's massive property destruction, etc. As a fan of cop dramas and cop action stories, I equally enjoy when people make fun of it cause they can be over the top and ridiculous. As for jokes that caught me off guard, it was definitely the one about the shopkeeper being Velma. Cause the entire time I saw the resemblance but thought, nah, that's impossible. But then someone said it. XD

RebelVampire

5) My favorite illustration is definitely from the same strip I answered for number 1. I love the explosions and the angles chosen. Especially the last panel where Detective Partner's face is slammed against the camera. It really gives some good depth to the image that really captures the badass atmosphere it wanted. 6) I think the advice in this strip is actually good https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/enter-the-hat-9/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=9. Which to me the advice is that people do often lash out because of their own insecurities and fears. And while there is, of course, a line we need to draw at toxicity, sometimes we need to be patient and gentle with others to make them understand how their actions hurt us. In general, though, I feel this comic is a good reflection of how comedy is often a callback to human condition. And that in a lot of ways, it helps us deal with uncool things in life by making us laugh and remind us that sometimes, we need to take a step back from life and consider things from other angles (or even just take a break).

SergeXIII

I really appreciate all of these questions, RebelVampire, but I especially appreciate question number 6. The gag of the cop and inanimate object duo has been done before, but I always thought that what makes Action Hat stand out is that it serves as kind of a conscious for Partner (and Lynda, who is new to this version of the comic), so it is really valuable for me to get feedback on this so as to gauge the effectiveness of this.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Given Action Hat is not a speaking character, how do you think this works in terms of the comic’s comedy? In other words, what aspects of the visuals and other characters’ dialogues help pull the comedy off?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What is your favorite aspect of Detective Partner’s and Action Hat’s relationship? What has been your favorite moment between them so far? What about these aspects when it comes to Action Hat and Lynda?

RebelVampire

7) I enjoy seeing Detective Partner and Action Hat interact the most. I really love how the two play off of one another. Especially cause Action Hat is, you know, a hat. And I really like that despite basically just sitting there doing nothing, Action Hat is still given a personality because of how everyone else interacts with him. And I like how Detective Partner makes Action Hat super wise. 8) I think the silence works cause of two main reasons. First, what I hinted at to above. Even if Action Hat doesn't speak, there's still a lot of personality there because of the words other characters add in. And that itself is kind of funny cause it's just a ridiculous idea to have an inanimate object be in the police. So in essence you wind up these ridiculous situations that are brought on by other characters cause of what they assume an inanimate object said.

RebelVampire

9) A detail I really appreciate in the comic is actually the throwbacks to police drama tropes. Like the gruff partner, the dirty business dude trying to bribe people, the belligerent chief always complaining about the wanton destruction. It takes a lot of knowledge to really capture the cop drama spirit, and I love seeing it present while also torn apart in the most entertaining ways possible. 10) My favorite aspect of their relationship is probably their honesty. Like I love how Detective Partner basically immediately apologized to Action Hat for lashing out and became best friends. And I like how much Detective Partner idolizes Action Hat too, cause it is both funny while also revealing of Detective Partner's own wisdom. My favorite moment between them is still probably the one from my fave strip, but I've mentioned that to death. As for Lynda, I like the patience in their relationship. Not a whole lot of people have patience for anything, and I just like this is kind of a key point to their relationship. It's got that good slow burn kind of feel. For fave moment, I like when Lynda is touched Action Hat "waited" for her. And it had nothing to do with the fact it's a hat and has no legs to move.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What sort of tropes of cops and cop dramas have you seen in the comic so far? In what ways do you think the comic successfully subverted them and/or changed how you thought about them?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. In general, what other police-drama related shenanigans are you hoping to see Action Hat tackle? How do you think those scenarios will play out?

RebelVampire

11) I think this comic's strength is just how the comedy works. There's lots of creative ways it uses both the fact Action Hat doesn't talk and is an inanimate object to its advantage. There's also just a good balance in how it treats everything since the comic somehow acknowledges the ridiculousness while at the same time taking it seriously. So in the end, it's just got a great tone for having fun with the subject matter. 12) I've talked about this one quite a bit already. But got the disgruntled chief who forces partners together, gruff partner who just like guns, massive property damage, sleezy rich dude, etc. The comic does a great job of reminding you that all this action stuff is actually silly if you were to frame it in the context of reality. Like there's only so much property damage the police will take before firing someone, etc.

13) I am looking forward to seeing other cop action drama tropes. Like serial killers etc. Theres so many more cop stuff to be explored that I'm really hoping to see. 14) In line with the above, I would like to see Action Hat and Detective Partner deal with internal investigations. Cause theres always that one scenario where the cops get framed and get in super trouble and then they have to solve their own case. I'm just waiting for the moment where Detective Partner is like "Action Hat how could you!?" THere's a silent pause, and then Detective Partner gasps and is like "YOU WERE FRAMED I'm sorry I doubted you."

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition this week! Please also give a special thank you to Sergio Ragno for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/list?title_no=260255

Sergio’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SergeXIII

Sergio’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/sergexiii

Sergio’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/sergexiii