#a perfect glimpse into all things Michael

[ingravinoveritas]

I think that my favorite thing about Michael's appearance on the death podcast (and the bonus episode) is that everything that came up in discussion was about life. The things--moments, people, places--that make up the sum total of life, of who we are, and that make Michael who he is. I love that it was about him reflecting on his own life so far--his struggles, his regrets, and his pleasures.

Most of all, I love that it was Michael talking so freely about things that he maybe hasn't had the space or ability to talk about before now. That much like David at the BAFTAs, Michael was finally letting go of something here, something he'd imposed on himself for so long. I love the lightness that he seems to have about him, and that a podcast with the theme of death (of all things) seems to have given him such an opportunity to focus on the joyfulness of life...

[callie-the-creator]

Brahms, micheal, vincent, and thomas hewitt reactng to our clit pircing

mild nsfw. warnings: suggestive content, ‘certain’ piercings, reader is a fmab, brief mention of masturbation (m), fingering, etc.

author’s note: ask and you shall receive! 💓

brahms heelshire

• you didn’t tell brahms right away when you had gotten your clit pierced. you knew that it would intrigue him, but figured it’d be in your best interest to let it heal first.

— it should also be stated that you have quite the habit of walking around the heelshire mansion with only a t-shirt and panties. so, when you were tired and decided to stretch, your shirt lifted, giving brahms the perfect opportunity to let his eyes wander down. the way the fabric landed in one area was…unnatural. brahms, at the time, figured that he must be imagining things. boy, was he wrong.

• later that week, when brahms was watching you from the little holes through the walls, he caught you changing. he always liked to see you like this—so calm and nonchalant as you slipped off your underwear. how erotic it was to make brahms’ hand subconsciously slip under his waistband, but when you turned around, he stopped. that’s when he saw your piercing.

• brahms nearly hit himself against the wall when he leaned forward to get a closer look.

• you looked so wonderful…a small smile crept onto his features from under his mask as he resumed pleasuring himself from behind the wall, but brahms was confused. why haven’t you told him? there must’ve been some reason. he did feel a bit heartbroken that you didn’t share this news with him, but to make it all better, he’ll have to pretend to be shocked once you tell him about your new piercing.

michael myers

• i think it’s safe to say that you were a bit scared to show michael your piercing. he’s always been unpredictable, hard to read.

— with that being said, when you told me that you were going to get your clit pierced, he was less than impressed. after your appointment, michael even went so far as to ignore you for the first few days. however, he eventually got used to it with time.

vincent sinclair

• when you got home after your appointment, vincent was working on another one of his wax statues. so, when you went down there and saw him at his workstation gathering some supplies, you leaned against him. he doesn’t care if you press all your weight against him, he can hold both of you up (and he loves whenever you do that).

— seeing that you were back home, one of vincent’s arms snaked around your waist and he used it to pull you closer to him, caressing your side when he did. he missed you.

• “guess what i did?”

— this caused vincent to stop what he was doing and look down at you, you didn’t get new clothes, your hair looked the same…so what was it? he had no clue. he simply tilted his head to show you that he was interested.

• that’s when you took him by the hand and pulled him off to the side, away from the prying eyes of his wax statue, to give him a sneak peek of your piercing.

• vincent had to do a double-take when he first saw it, but he was so gentle when he caressed your inner thigh, not wanting to risk hurting your healing clit. you’re so beautiful…

thomas hewitt

• you didn’t know how you forgot to tell thomas about your new piercing.

• but just as when thomas was about to go down on you, you remembered about it all and went to stop him, but it was too late…he saw the glimpse of the light reflecting off your clit piercing. he blinked rapidly at the sight. was he dreaming? silently, thomas looked between you, your piercing, and back to you.

— don’t get thomas wrong, he immediately became a fan of it, but it was just…hard to take in all at once. he almost immediately grazed his fingers over the piercing—careful not to hurt you in any way in doing so.

• “do you…like it?”

— how could you ask that? of course he did! his veiny, chubby cock pulsed causing his voice to ring out in delight. thomas slowly nodded, his slick sweat falling down his lowbrow and down his reddened face, keeping his focus on the piercing as he slowly inched his index and middle finger inside of you…

[sflow-er]

Assorted Heartstopper season 3 thoughts (spoilers!)

Charlie's mental health issues were handled really, really well and Joe Locke acted his heart out. Perhaps the recovery could've been shown in a little more detail, but the ep4 structure was a great solution for a show of this length. I also liked how they portrayed the impact on his loved ones (especially the toll on Nick and Tori).

As much as I missed Nick's mum throughout the season, making his aunt a psychiatrist and letting her advise him about Charlie was an excellent choice! It actually felt more realistic than if it had been Sarah.

So pleased to see more Tori this season, and the rewrite of her and Michael's first meeting was cute! I do wish they had broken away from the comics timeline though, because the fast-forward to him casually hanging at their house felt very abrupt. I would've preferred a closer portrayal of her depression and them gradually getting closer this season, with their actual relationship saved for later.

Hence, I am actually glad they saved the ace reveal for S4. We saw too little of Tori and Michael's relationship or her confusion around it to relate to her aceness yet. If she had randomly come out to Charlie on the Ferris wheel, it would have just felt like lip service and a nod to the fans who knew her story from Solitaire (which is not canon in the show). I get why people feel like she was straightwashed, but there is zero chance of Alice Oseman of all people eradicating ace rep, and I genuinely feel that this was the better choice.

That being said, Michael was perfect and the casting was spot on!

As for the aspec rep we already got, Isaac's arc this season was amazingly well done! Even if his experience doesn't resonate with me on a personal level, it was relatable as hell in the show. It's also a great reminder that we are watching an ongoing show. S2 was Isaac figuring out his own identity, S3 was him living it and communicating it to others - and based on the camerawork in the scene where people wondered about Tori and Michael, S4 may be Isaac helping someone else figure out their own identity.

Another memorable thing for me was Elle's radio interview - the sheer absurdity of a trans teen being asked to respond to bad faith talking points from some adult TERF. The host both-sidesing it and unwittingly exposing her to vitriol if the interview had aired. Holy shit how appalled I was on her behalf - and how sadly realistic it felt... I hope the parents and random adults who watch this highly popular show take note.

Is it horribly middle-aged of me to say the teachers are still my favourite couple? I loved the glimpses we got of them together and the flashback to little Youssef made me tear up. More of them in the final season please and thank you!

My main criticism is that the season felt too heavily packed. There are so many characters now, and Alice and the writers want to give them all at least some kind of arc in each season. The result is that many of those arcs feel a bit rushed, and even as someone who usually fixates on side characters, I'm struggling to invest in all of them at once. Especially while the main characters and the more prominent side characters are going through very heavy stuff. So yeah, I would have preferred a tighter focus and more narrative breathing space.

All in all though, I really enjoyed this season and am looking forward to the next (presumably last) one!

[queenlakiefer]

I guess you’ll never know

Sam was finally pulled free from the vampire’s clutches after the light of the sun burned his undead hand. David screamed in agony as his flesh sizzled. He quickly regained his composure as he saw the younger Emerson and the Frog brothers fleeing and yelled.

“I guess you don’t want to know what happened to your sister!”

This stopped the Frog brothers in their tracks, causing Sam to stop as well. The brothers turned around in disbelief at the mention of their missing sister. Edgar was the first of the brothers to speak.

“We know what happened, you blood suckers killed her and we won’t rest until every last one of you has a stake through the heart!”

Alan nodded in agreement, staring at David with more disgust than he usually would have stared at a vampire…he was offended that this…THING…this MONSTER dared mention his sister. This monster didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her let alone mention her.

David wanted nothing more than to tear them limb from limb for killing Marko but they were still safely in the sun’s rays. However he knew their weakness, he had an ace up his sleeve like he always does and the perfect bait to tempt them to their deaths.

“Never found a body did they? For all you know she could still be out there somewhere”

David was beginning to enjoy himself despite the events that unfolded not long ago. He enjoys toying with his food. David’s sadistic smile grew bigger and his gold and red vampiric eyes gleamed. He nodded behind him in the direction of the dark abyss of the sunken hotel.

“Could even be somewhere in this very cave”

The Frog brothers glanced around the small cavern as if hoping for a glimpse of their missing sister but quickly turned their eyes back to David. Alan was slightly weakening and Edgar spoke out as if sensing his brother’s hesitation.

“He’s lying! It’s just a death breath trick!” Edgar yelled, trying to convince his brother but also trying to convince himself.

This blood sucker wants to kill them, he’ll say anything to lure them into his trap. There is no way she is still alive, she would never abandon her family. If she was alive…no matter what, she would’ve found a way to escape and come home. She would never have put their parents or little brothers through this pain.

It was like a game of chicken, who was going to crack. Believing David wasn’t an option, he would rip them to shreds in a heart beat. Sam was taking all of this in and could only imagine how they must be feeling and how tempted they must be wanting to know what happened to their sister…if it was Michael then he’d feel the same way but perhaps this was for another time. They must go, they are wasting precious time.

“Let’s go.” Said Sam and Edgar nodded reluctantly.

Edgar wanted to know, god knows he did but he can’t believe the words of this vampire. There was no proof she was still alive and what matters now was to avenge her death. Take every last one of these blood suckers down…we owe her that. Edgar and Sam started to make their way out but realised that Alan was rooted to the spot so now it was their turn to drag him out, they grabbed Alan by his arms and pulled him towards the mouth of the cave.

“Don’t believe a word of it Alan, remember what he is.” Said Edgar before continuing.

“It’s classic vampire mind games. You know she would never abandon us, her family. She’s gone and we must slay every damn blood sucker in her memory.”

Alan came more to his senses as they were leaving, realising that Edgar and Sam were right and muttered.

“She’s gone”

David was still grinning and watched as they left. Before he disappeared into the shadows of the cave he chuckled darkly and spoke to the retreating vampire slayers.

“I guess you’ll never know”

[blackynsupremacy]

THERE’S SOMETHING

ABOUT YOU.

CHAPTER 4

pairing: smallville!clark kent x black!fem!oc

fandom: smallville (2001-2011)

guest starring: aaliyah haughton as lyric james

also starring:

michael rosenbaum as lex luthor

emmanuelle vaugier as dr. helen bryce

rick gonzales as omar reyes

bianca lawson as trina davis

summary: ever since lana lang has moved in with the sullivan’s, clark kent’s nightly telescopic views of the galaxy and daily glimpse of the sunrise tend to get lonelier. that is until a moving truck, a wandering amicable feline, and her frustrated owner, lyric james, makes her debut in his life as her family are the new owners of the old potter house next door. things between the new neighbors start to shift as clark is tasked as her personal tour guide at her new school. one little slip is all it takes for her to learn he’s more than meets the eye in this small town.

taglist: @sabrinasopposite @camiesully @zombigrlll @ellethespaceunicorn @rosiestalez @afrogirl3005 @afrowrites @elitesanjisimp @jkr820 @simply-the-best23 @gxuxhdjdu @tryingtograspctrl @xoxoglittergossip @hnch33rios @paisholotus

contains: lots of words, friends to neighbors, use of gifs for visuals, tooth rotting fluff, long flashback, really heavy angst, heartbreak, emotional cheating, mention of death, depression, anger, lyric and clark getting closer, mild swearing, cute moments, slow burn, main audience is black readers but everyone is welcome. lyric’s thoughts. clark’s thoughts. chloe’s thoughts.

PLEASE READ: CHAPTER 3

the golden afternoon sunlight shown down on lyric nd clark’s faces as they waited for chloe to arrive. they were outside of the barn and clark wanted to kill time by shooting some hoops while lyric sat on the side to observe. as she saw him jog and dribble the basketball to shoot it perfectly into the net, she realized that clark had a very athletic build. she could see it in his arms, legs, and best of all, his torso and chest. lyric broke her stare and chided herself for such thoughts, but one had to be a fool to not think clark as tall, dark, and handsome by any means. he also had the proficient athletic skills, and almost perfect academic standing, but he never mentioned anything about being on one of smallville high’s several athletic programs. no football, no basketball, not anything. it just seemed like a waste of talent when she saw the ball flawlessly glide through the net once again.

“you sure know how to hoop, clark!” lyric complimented with a slow nod of approval. even though clark was a little exasperated, his smile couldn’t resist the girl’s praises.

“gee, thanks, lyric! i can’t take all of the credit. i learned mostly from pete’s older brothers and they told me it’s all about technique.”

“you never fail to be modest. that’s got me thinkin’— do you play any sports at school? you never mentioned it, but it’s impossible because you got the skill, you got the grades, and you sure as hell have the looks for it!” she enthusiastically hyped, gesturing her hand towards his six foot frame. for some reason, clark’s face got heated. his cheeks flutter with a hue of red. he wasn’t so used to friends of the opposite sex speak so fondly of his appearance. calm down, dude, it’s just a compliment. take it with a grain of salt. he clears his throat and shyly wipes the sweat off his brow with his forearm.

“well, i do want to play football. i’ve tried it once earlier, but things didn’t quite work out with the coach. he had some—anger issues among other shady things that my parents weren’t exactly comfortable with. hopefully, i can give it another shot down the road while we’re still in high school. maybe if i’m good enough, i could make the quarterback spot.”

clark said as he bounced the ball and stepped towards where lyric was standing. he could remember it like it was yesterday. he joined the smallville high crows football team after so many attempts to convince his parents to at least let him try out. they only forbade it due to the risk of clark’s powers being exposed, but he’d figured he’d have a handle on them by now, and it was an activity that made him feel like a normal teen. it was all fun and games until the head coach was caught helping his players cheat on tests, so they could play. when the principal got word of it and set out the proper consequences for the coach, things got heated…literally. clark spared lyric the details because she was already so curious about the wall of weird and the last thing she needed was for her to feel like she wasn’t safe in this supposed quiet small town.

“oh. well, that’s too bad, but when you do, i’ll be rooting for you from the stands! you’d have a pretty good shot at it. i’m more of a basketball fan, but i guess i can make the exception.” they both fill the air with light laughter and their conversation comes to a halt at the sound of a tooting horn. a vibrant, red volkswagen beetle swiftly pulls up in front of the barn. the driver’s side window rolls down to reveal a smiling chloe behind the wheel and pete seated comfortably in the passenger.

“hey, you guys! are you geared up for the most exhilarating studying session of your entire lives?” chloe wittingly questions as pete chuckles and shakes his head before chiming in,

“you can always count on chloe to call a regular old studying session ‘exhilarating’. ”

“hey! in my defense, wherever there’s coffee, i might as well do what i do with caffeine in my veins.”

clark and lyric give each other a knowing glance, a glint of humor within their eyes before they make their way closer to the car. clark leans against the driver side with his arm propped up against the top. his piercing blue eyes meets chloe’s gaze with a charm that she knew too well and loved too much.

“exhilarating, huh? it sounds to me like you’re putting that vocabulary list from english to good use, chloe.” clark commented with a lopsided smirk.

“well, if i’m ever going to make it big at the daily planet as a journalist, i’d better possess some type of flawless vocabulary, clark.” the blonde retorts and leans her head over to the side to spot lyric and greet her.

“hey, lyric! you can hop in and sit in the front with me, so we can have some girl talk on the way to town.”

lyric received the offer with a grin, but shook her head to politely decline. she saw that pete was there first and didn’t want to be rude by putting him out of his seat.

“i appreciate it, chloe, but i don’t wanna take pete—“

“oh, nonsense. he’ll be fine! he can just sit in the back with clark. it’s my car after all.” chloe urges by cutting her green eyes to the boy beside her, signaling him to move to the back. pete doesn’t protest. he gathers his bag and meets with clark in the right backseat as lyric meets with chloe in the passenger seat. the teens all buckle up their seatbelts and chloe pulls off onto the dusty path out of the neighborhood to journey to downtown smallville. during the ride, chloe’s natural inquisitiveness takes over when asking general questions about the new girl next door in her passenger seat. the boys casually sit in the back quietly to observe the conversation.

“so, lyric, where you do hail from?”

“new york. brooklyn, to be exact.”

“ah, another fellow city girl. i’m from metropolis which isn’t too far from smallville, but new york to smallville is quite a stretch. is there a specific reason why?” lyric purses her lips at the question and swallows to easily get past without dwelling too much on the reason.

“my family just wanted a new scene. someplace…quiet and peaceful.” her soft voice drifts as she gazes at the lengthy path of cornfields at the side of the road.

“that’s valid. um, so what do you like to do?”

“nothing too extreme. i like to listen to vinyls, chill with my cat, and i take some pictures here and there.”

“aw, a cat! what’s their name? if my dad didn’t have such a fatal allergy, i’d love to have a furry friend.” chloe enthusiastically coos passing the sign that indicated that they were entering downtown smallville.

“her name is noir. she’s a black cat that looks like she could do no wrong, but it’s a whole ‘nother story. don’t get me wrong, i love her with all my heart, but she’s so damn sneaky sometimes that she’s almost sent me into a nervous breakdown. i’ll say if it weren’t for her, i wouldn’t have met clark though, so i guess there’s a light at the end of that tunnel.” chloe presses further to her details of the day.

pete tuned in as well to hear lyric recount that hectic morning. chloe picked up on lyric’s tone. chloe liked to her the girl beside her talk. her voice was smooth, soft, and gentle like rain to the ear. she can hear the frustration of when lyric discovered that noir was missing in a new area shift to that of ease and resolution when she discovered a well fed and content noir in the arms of the noble farm boy next door. pete turned from lyric’s direction to momentarily glance at clark as she spoke. he witnessed the sky blue pupils of his best friend attentively focus on lyric as if he were hearing this story for the first time. there was a certain positive emotion that rested on his face, he even chimed in his own perspective and a little inside joke causing the duo to dissolve into laughter. pete saw that was usually new. when clark talked to girls, he’d be a bit guarded, but friendly enough, but from what he saw between clark and lyric just now, clark looked to be so at ease, so at liberty.

once the volume of the chatter diminished to a peaceful silence, lyric’s deep, brunette pupils wandered at the sights of the many local owned establishments this quaint city had to offer. there was quite a few people out enjoying the serene, golden afternoon as they strolled with their pets and families on the sidewalk. clark, pete, and chloe were kind enough to point out some key areas that were worth exploring for when lyric was ready to take that new step. they passed an array of shops, boutiques, restaurants, and community centers, but lyric had one burning question.

“these all seem really cool, ya’ll, but does smallville have a music store? i got a whole collection to keep up with at home.” lyric inquires with expectant glance towards the trio. pete immediately knew the answer as he and his family had lived in smallville for ages.

“i know one that’s not too far from here. i think it’s called main street melody. i believe from the talon it’s just down two blocks and it’s a cool place. i’ve been there a couple times for some mixtapes. we should go check it out after we study if you’re up for it.” pete stated scooting his body forward from the backseat to the middle, positioning himself with his elbows on the console between the girls.

“yeah! i’d like to see what they got. i really appreciate that, pete. you’re a real one.” lyric’s eyes locked with his and she flashed a congenial dimpled smile of gratitude to which pete took it with a tingling sensation in his stomach and a bashful grin of his own, his chestnut toned face heated slightly.

“i-it’s, uh, it’s no problem, lyric. i’m glad to be of some help.” he lets out a stammering chuckle and scoots to the backseat. a dazed, delighted look was etched on his face. he didn’t even notice that clark examined him with an arched brow and tilted head. guess i’m not the only one. clark thought to himself. chloe was listening to the conversation unfold, she chuckled after witnessing pete’s reaction to lyric’s natural beauty and charm. for a city girl, she had that small town girl-next-door charisma down to a tee.

“ask her out, why don’t you!” chloe snickered and slowed the car down to precisely parallel park in front of a building. like smallville high, it possessed the color palette of red, gold, and black. it resembled one of those classic movie theaters from the seventies and there was a large, neon sign that displayed the word, TALON, vertically letter-by-letter in gold lettering. lyric found it to be aesthetically pleasing in an old-fashioned sort of way.

“chloe!” the guys whine in sync at chloe’s forwardness, not wanting to be put out there in front of lyric. clark knew that chloe was directly talking to pete, but he still felt like he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. lyric chortled, shaking her head and playfully rolling her eyes at chloe as the girls unbuckled their seatbelts.

“come on, chlo’, don’t bug him like that! it probably didn’t mean anything. leave them alone!” she joked and leaned down to grab her belongings and passed over chloe’s bag for her to receive.

chloe shrugged her shoulders, pursing her pink glossed lips.

“i admire your modesty, lyric, but i’ve been around them long enough to know when a guy is completely smitten. you should ask clark when it comes to lana lang.”

clark’s eyes cut to chloe in annoyance with a deadpanned expression. despite chloe trying to humor lyric, there was a hint of envy underneath her lighthearted tone.

“girl, i already know! i mean, lana seems nice and she’s gorgeous, but you are too! who wouldn’t want to be looked at like that? it’s an exciting feeling—it’s an experience to appreciate while you still got it…don’t trip on pete and clark so much. they’re good guys.” she compliments with a glance towards the backseat and proceeds to gather her belongings, exit the car, and wait for the others to follow suit. clark walked passed lyric, chloe, and pete to hold the door open for all of them to enter to the crowded hangout. once she stepped in, lyric was amazed with the turnout of this place. she noticed that the main population were teens and young adults, but there were good bit of older patrons as well. the interior was setup like any lounge of a modern coffee shop with individual tables that were scattered throughout the room. the decor was set to look like the royal palaces and chambers of ancient egypt, the walls and pillars were engraved with hieroglyphics. there were lights that were strung along giving the room such a faint ambient glow. the warmness of the luxurious golds and yellows mingled with the cool, sophisticated regalia of the blues and violets. the talon was so immense that it had a stairway and so much more that lyric wanted to gawk at before chloe grabbed her wrist to leave the boys behind to grab a table and lead her to the counter. it was there where she saw lana lang preparing a drink order by maneuvering the large, chrome coffee machine. when the girls made it to the counter, chloe’s bubbly voice caused lana to stop what she’s doing and welcome them with an award winning smile.

“hey, you guys! lyric, i’m so glad you’ve came. welcome to the talon. so, what do you think of the place so far?” lana questioned with her hands to gesture at the lounge.

“thank you, lana! i love the setup, the theme, and it’s huge! no wonder why it’s so jumpin’ here. it looks like one of those old movie theaters from the outside.” lyric compliments which lana graciously accepted before she gives lyric the run down on how the talon was in fact a movie theater where her late parents met. she’d quit cheerleading causing her to fight tooth and nail against her aunt’s expectations of her high school career and to keep the place open by converting it to a coffee shop and movie theater after partnering with lex luthor. ever since then, the talon has been thriving more than ever.

“if it weren’t for lex, this place would’ve been a distant memory.” chloe stated, her eyes perusing the scene laid out in front of them. lana solemnly nodded in agreement.

lex luthor. where did lyric hear that name before? right, at dinner with the kents. it was the rich guy that clark saved and they’ve good been friends since then. i don’t remember much about what he’d look like, but he’ll most likely stand out from the rest of the citizens of smallville for sure. lyric sympathetically nods, lending lana her congratulations and condolences while still feeling curious.

“i’m so sorry for your loss, lana. they would be so happy that you did this to keep their memory alive. i respect you for that!”

“thank you, lyric, would i be more worthy of your respect when you get your first free coffee?”

the girls briefly giggle and lyric decided to play it safe by requesting a regular cappuccino. chloe ordered the usual for her and the guys before they both walk to find clark and pete at a corner table, with their books and papers all set out for the academic cramming to begin. one empty seat was to clark’s left and the other, to pete’s right. as the girls approached them, lyric lightened the mood at the sight of the boys’ serious, focused attention on the assignments.

“did we keep ya’ll waiting that long that you’ve already started the assignment that’s due next week?” lyric joked, sharing a chuckle with chloe when clark and pete’s head’s simultaneously peer up at the sound of her voice. chloe gestured to the empty seats,

“we’ve already ordered the study fuel, by the way. mind if we sit?”

“no, not at all. here, lyric. you can take this one.” clark offers after putting his book down on the table. he stands up to pull out the empty chair next to him for her to sit. lyric felt that familiar fluttering within her stomach as she came closer to the table to sit down next to clark. girl, calm down. he’s just being a gentleman, it’s not like he’s never pulled a chair out for you before. once she was scooted in and comfortable, she thank him with a smile of gratitude and rummaged through her backpack to find the unfinished assignments she had to complete. chloe took the seat next to pete and she couldn’t help, but feel a bit—slighted. don’t get her wrong, as much as she loved clark (more than) platonically, she was unfortunately living with the reality that he would never reciprocate those feelings for the sake of their friendship and his own feelings for lana. although, she’d never seen him move so quick to have a girl next to him besides…lana. especially not a girl he’d just met a couple days ago. chloe pondered if it was just the effect of that house. god, what’s in the water there? clark nip? her train of thought halted at the sound of an annoyed ground.

“mmcht! don’t tell me that i— ugh, where’s it at!” lyric hissed as she frantically searched through her bag with a confused, yet frustrated expression.

“what’s the matter, lyric?” clark asked with inquiring, blue eyes.

“i think i left the monte cristo book at home. it’s only my first assignment and the last i need is to be behind even more. ugh!” she huffs and assertively zips the bag closed after gathering everything else.

“here, we can use mine. i haven’t quite finished reading yet, so we’re gonna have to split it.”

“that’s really cool of you, clark, but are you sure—“

“lyric, i insist. that’s what good neighbors neighbors are for, right?” he questioned with his amicable gaze locked with hers, flashing that cheeky, pearly white smile that she knew so well, but for so little. her face heated with a nervous grin and chuckle. to keep herself composed and promptly get the assignment done, she didn’t choose to argue.

“if you’re gonna put it that way, clark, i might as well. hell, it’s not like i got a choice. thank you—again.” she concedes and opens her notebook before scooting a little closer to clark to steal a decent glance of the text.

“it’s always my pleasure, lyric.” he softly responds with a lingering grin before filling her in on the chapter they’re supposed to report on.

as they silently read and briefly gave each other’s analysis of a phrase, clark’s attentive gaze focused on her as she spoke, but his nostrils naturally inhaled the scent of the sweet fresh, natural scent of cocoa butter mixed with hints of vanilla and coconut. it was such a pleasant aroma that complimented the smell of brewing coffee. clark was so caught up, that he didn’t even notice lex luthor waltz in the door with his fiancée, dr. helen bryce, traveling closely by his side with their fingers intertwined. the luthor’s eyes darted from table to table to find his good friend with his usual circle. to his avail, he found them at their table in the corner. there was also another person he hadn’t seen before and she was sitting awfully close to clark while chatting and taking notes. lex found it odd to see clark in such a position with a girl besides lana. with burning curiosity, he lets helen know that he’s going to speak to clark momentarily while she can use his card to get them some coffee and pastries. helen agreed, as she wanted to minimize any interaction with the farm boy knowing what she knows, but she’ll civilly swing by after she handles business at the counter, so they go their separate ways.

“long time, no see, clark.” lex says as he strides to the table of the four preoccupied teens that shift their attention to him. clark receives lex with an amicable smile and immediately greets him back,

“hey, lex! it’s good to see you out of the shadows of the mansion. how’re things going with you and dr. bryce?”

lex casually grins while stuffing his hands in the pockets of his tailored pants.

“not too bad. we both had a bit of a catastrophe of a work day, so we decided to unwind with some coffee and sweets. i hope i’m not interrupting important, you seem to be preoccupied—with your studies.”

“oh, no, not at all. let me guess, you and mr. luthor had another falling out?”

lex confirms with a silent, tight lipped nod. his inquisitive eyes shift to lyric who returned her own curious stare.

“i guess i left my manners with my father back at the mansion. it’s nice to meet you, my name is lex luthor, ceo of luthorcorp , and you must be…?” he pauses, leading her to answer,

“i’m not trippin’ over it. i’m lyric. lyric james. my family and i just moved here from new york on saturday. i’m also clark’s new next-door neighbor and i’ve heard so much about you, mr. luthor.” she cordially regards, knowing this man was definitely not in high school. he holds his hand out for her to grasp and shake briefly before pulling their hands away.

“all bad, i suppose and please, call me lex. my father, lionel, should be referred as such.”

“no, sir, mr—lex. not from the way clark talks a good deal about you. i won’t front, i’ve heard some bad, but i can’t be the one to judge too quick because i don’t know you like you don’t know me. you must be lucky to have a friend like clark to save your life.”

“when you say it out, lyric, i couldn’t agree more with you. i’m always grateful for him and the kent’s. perhaps one day, you’ll see what i mean.”

lex received her statement with a warm smile upon his face. whoever this james girl was in clark’s circle, didn’t know him from a can of paint and still gave him a fighting chance without the use of a bribe, blackmail, nor smalltown gossip. he could see why the farm boy had a bit of a entranced look on his face towards her when he walked in. there was definitely something about her that was more than more than outer beauty. lex all of people would know.

as lyric and lex finished their conversation, she didn’t notice a blushing clark that hastily averted his gaze from her to his book, but she did see a beautiful young woman saunter from across the room and stop to stand closely beside lex. she possessed long brown hair, round brown eyes with long lashes, and full pink lips. by the way she stood so close to lex, lyric could obviously tell they were romantically involved.

“lex, they didn’t have the maple scones today, so i just got us some danishes and our usual drink order.” the woman said, handing him the pastry and a cup of coffee which he gratefully received by kissing her on the cheek. she pulls her blushing face from his lips and amicably greets the group before her,

“hello! i hope you all are doing well. chloe, pete—clark, and i’m sorry, i don’t believe i’ve seen you before. my name is dr. helen bryce i work at the local hospital here in smallville. who might you be?” she inquired with her amber gaze pointed to lyric. lex helped to save the girl’s breath by giving helen the introduction.

“thank you, helen. this is lyric james, she’s the kent’s new next door neighbor. her family had just moved to smallville from new york a few days ago.”

helen squinted and registered the familiar surname before the lightbulb of realization came on,

“ah, right! when i heard “james”, i had a hunch it was you. i know your mother, crystal, she’s one of the newest nurses on my team. even though she just started, i can tell she’s a very dedicated woman to the profession. she’s mentioned that she had a daughter attend smallville high and here she is. it’s so nice to finally meet you, lyric.”

“likewise! thank you, dr. bryce for the kind words about my mom. it was great to meet you both!”

lex and helen bid the group a farewell and took their exit of the establishment. lyric beamed at the praise about her mother. it made her feel a twinge of guilt when she felt an ounce of resentment towards her parents for working so many hours of their demanding careers, but it warmed her heart at the knowledge that they made a difference, no matter where they went. hopefully, she’ll be able to live up to that expectation. two hours of studying pass by and the sun was beginning to set. chloe, clark, pete, and lyric are ready to throw in the towel and start packing up to go home. lyric wanted to check out the main street melody store, but one, she was already exhausted and two, she had a ride that she wouldn’t dare to keep waiting. she’d see it again another day.

one by one, chloe drops off her friends and wishes them a goodnight. once they made their stop in front of kent farm, chloe doesn’t leave without lyric spotting her a ten for gas. clark spectated as the girls playfully argue for two minutes because chloe kept refusing and lyric kept insisting. given her order was free, she didn’t have to spend anything and she wanted to return the favor. chloe finally conceded, took the money with gratitude, and pulled off, leaving lyric and clark alone again in front of his house. the quiet silence was filled with the sound of chirping crickets and the steady footsteps of lyric and clark as he walked her home. as they approached the james house, the driveway was bare and most of the lights were off. it appeared that her parents were still at work. clark didn’t feel right with her staying all alone in the house. outside of the light snack and coffee, he wasn’t certain if she had dinner. not to mention, the welfare of her black cat that he’s grown attached to. they stood on the large, round porch at the front door. lyric searched her bag to retrieve the entrusted house key. when she reached to turn the lock, the touch of a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop and turn around.

“what’s up, clark?”

“lyric, i think it would be safer for you and noir if you guys stayed at my house until your folks get home. at the end of the day, it’s your decision, but if you come over, you can try to call your parents and let them know. if not, just reach out if you need anything.”

lyric pondered on the farm boy’s offer with pursed lips. she was so used to this back home and it was quiet around here, so what could possibly go wrong? or so she thought, what if one those people infected by meteor rocks happened to stumble on what seemed to be an empty house with an unsuspecting teenager and her vulnerable feline sleeping peacefully? with a careful review of clark’s perspective and a deep sigh, her mind was made up.

“if it’s cool with mr. and mrs. kent, i’ll leave my parents a message, scoop noir, and we’ll be there. i didn’t want to intrude because i’ve done this before. i—“ she was cut off when a rumbling sound erupted from her abdomen. the two were dead silent for two seconds before clark broke it,

“i guess you wouldn’t mind intruding for dinner and you do know that you’re always welcome, right? judging by the sound of your stomach, it looks like you wanted to come over anyway.” he teased with a lopsided smirk.

“not too much on me, clark.” she playfully chided with her finger pointed in his direction. their laughter fills the air as she unlocks the door and she invites him to follow her inside. it didn’t take long to hear that familiar mewling sound and the soft jingling of a collar. noir cuddled herself against her owner’s ankle to receive loving pets upon her furry head, chin, and spine. when the cat spotted clark, she stood on her hind legs, tiny paws pressing against his jeans. clark took his cue to scoop her in his arms and gently hold her while lyric stood and watched in awe. she won’t lie, she loved how trusting noir was with clark. it made the butterflies in her arise when he saw this gentle giant of a farm boy cradle noir like that was his child. to keep herself down from cloud nine, she had another idea.

“hey, you want to listen to some records after dinner? that’s only if you want, we can just come back here and chill. it’s no pressure, if you’re tired i’d un—“

“lyric.”

“yeah, clark?”

“were you ever going to give me the chance to say ‘yes’?”

he grins, softly bouncing noir in his arms. she releases a faux gasp and playfully whacks him in the forearm, causing him to dissolve in laughter.

“i—clark kent! don’t mess with me right now, i know i talk a lot, but it’s been a long day. there’s nothing wrong with valuing other people’s time.” his gaze softened as he watched her take a piece of hair from that fell in her face to behind her ear.

“okay, okay. i’m sorry for teasing and thank you, i respect you for that. i’d love to come over to hear some records. it’s about time i’d expand my musical horizons. just like how you explored a literal horizon with your camera.”

“you’ve got a way with words, clark. now i can definitely see you being a journalist now. it’s a deal. you give me early morning sunrises and i’ll give you late night jam sessions, ya dig?”

he gives a nod of approval and lends lyric the chance to use her landline to call both her parent’s work extensions. crystal didn’t pick up, so she left a message. fortunately, joseph answered and gave his approval, but sternly teased lyric for her and clark to listen to records with her door open, whether he or crystal were home or not. the james girl concludes the conversation before her and clark proceed to take the familiar path to kent farm where she and noir were warmly received by jonathan and martha. they spent the next hour and a half indulging in the hot meal that was meticulously prepared and they were going around the table to share how their days went. even noir was content in the tuna and milk that was prepared for her by martha. when all were fed and the kitchen was tidy, the teens return back to the james house where lyric leads clark upstairs to her bedroom.

“welcome to my crib!” she exaggerates with wide arms as they enter and he chuckles at her quip. even with the new posters, furniture, and arrangements, clark knew that this was lana’s old room. he’d only really caught a glimpse of it through his telescope or within his odd dreams concerning his powers, but actually stepping foot inside felt so surreal. his blue eyes peruse to various spaces like to her bed, vanity, closet, and the overall setting that made the room reflect lyric of who she was. this was now her home, her room, and her space, so clark had to make peace with the fact that the past was in the past. it’s time to live in the now.

she led him to take a seat on her plush, lavender rug. while playing with noir in his lap, she walks a few feet away and squats to the record player to routinely adjust it to the proper settings. they endure a comfortable silence as lyric places the vinyl from stevie wonder’s 1971 album “where i’m coming from” on the turntable after scavenging through her growing collection.

her fingers gingerly lift the head-shell to delicately place the needle on the vinyl. as it starts to spin, the soft, soulful notes of “never dream you’d leave in summer” began to fill the room, lyric found herself lost in the music, her ebony gaze shifted to the window where the sky had transformed from a warm gold to the deep, dark shade of her cat’s coat. the melancholy melody solemnly filled her senses as the memories of him start to flood back like restless waves in the ocean. the song crooned, and lyric felt that painful lump form in her throat and the heaviness weigh in her chest. the memories all flash back within her brain —images of laughter, love, warmth, and the sharp sting of loss and betrayal that she thought was left in brooklyn still seemed to follow her no matter what she did , where she went, or who she talked to, lyric can’t forget about him. she glanced at clark who immediately met her gaze. his defined features softened by the dim amber light of her lamp. as his eyes were starting to paint the image of concern, she pondered on how long she could keep her inner turmoil a secret any longer. besides her parents, he was the only one who picked up on her sadness during the sunrise.

she realized that as the music played on, it was like a bittersweet reminder of everything she had faced back in her hometown. her bedroom suddenly felt charged with an energy that gave her the courage to speak, to finally share the real reason that why the james family would move all the way to smallville, kansas. after taking a drawn out breath, she turned her whole body to him, her lips slightly agape before she breaks the silence,

“clark, do you remember this morning when i was acting a little funny when it came to taking those pictures?— i tried so hard to play it off like it didn’t bother me of why i stopped, but if i’m going to live in the present, i need to let the past of my chest. if we’re going to be friends, the least we can do is be honest with each other, right?”

clark slowly nods and he could hear her heart racing. he sensed there was an urgency, she was scared, but of what? of who? he had hoped to the stars that it wasn’t of him. did he slip up and then perhaps she saw him use one of his powers? neither the matter, his concern was growing and he placed his hands on top of hers.

“lyric, you can tell me anything. i’m so glad that you could trust me enough to do that. just know that i’m here for you. i’m listening.” with a nod of his head, the look in his encourages her to take the time she needed.

she took one last deep, deep breath. she closed eyes her briefly to gather the millions of thoughts she had into one story.

“back in new york…i had a best friend. he became my first love then he became my worst enemy, and he’s long gone, but clark, i can’t let him go… his name was omar.”

BROOKLYN, NY 2000-2001

omar reyes was lyric james’ childhood best friend back in new york and her first love. he was a sweet boy that lived a decent childhood until his parents divorced and his dad had full custody of him after his mother moved away. to keep himself busy, omar decided to play basketball all throughout elementary and middle school. he’d study more often to make his parents proud and boy, were his grades were top tier. in the midst of that studying, he grew fond of science and anatomy, but his mind was already made up that he wanted to be a professional NBA player or a coach like his father after college. lyric could remember when he was just practicing shooting hoops on the street after the older kids excluded him for being too short to play and even though she didn’t have a deep knowledge of the sport, she learned to love it as she supported him. lyric pushed omar to show those bullies he that was capable of exceeding anyone’s expectations. the bond between him and lyric was unbreakable. omar was the one that gifted lyric with the hoops that she oddly still adorns to this day, they had their first kiss on her thirteenth h birthday, and when they turned fourteen, omar confessed his feelings and officially asked lyric to be his girlfriend to which she immediately accepted and the bliss of young love took its course in their lives.

he was a great first boyfriend for lyric. loyal, kind, affectionate, attentive, and humorous. her parents enjoyed his company, but things took a turn when they entered high school and not for the better.

omar seemed kind of…off.

he seemed to appear to be thinner and more fatigued than usual, but he just dismissed it as stress from school, sports, and life in general. while practicing in the gym, he had a hard fall that resulted in so many bruises on his body that he had to quit basketball indefinitely, so the school wouldn’t be held liable. it all came to a head at the beginning of freshman year when he was tutoring lyric at her place while crystal happened to be home preparing dinner. everything was fine until omar stood up to go to use the restroom and then he harshly collapsed to the floor after taking one step, rendering him unconscious. crystal urgently called the paramedics and his father to get him to the er. after the doctor ran some tests, omar was diagnosed with stage two leukemia and had to start treatment right away. lyric didn’t hesitate to stay by his side and visit the hospital as much as she could for the strength her boyfriend, herself, and their relationship. lyric hoped and believed that the treatment he was receiving would be the light at the end of the tunnel and everything would return to normal, right? wrong.

it all changed so drastically as the condition worsened from stage two to stage four. omar had to be sent to duke hospital for treatment. duke hospital was in durham, north carolina—which was almost five-hundred miles away. omar and lyric decided to make a long distance relationship work by writing letters and talking on the phone when they were both available. lyric and omar consistently corresponded with each other those first few weeks. well—mostly lyric, but she understood because he needed to focus on getting well and the best she could do was stick by him like a loyal girlfriend, right? she added in something special to each letter, a developed photo that she snapped with her camera. each photo possessed the inspiration that captured the essence of their home and memories.

days turn to weeks, and weeks into months with no update from neither omar nor his parents. lyric grew weary, a bitter vile feeling within the pit of her stomach. something wasn’t right. one day, she came home after school and she was baffled to see both of her parents were home, sitting in the living room. they tell her to sit down in order to relay the message from the reyes family: omar lost his battle and he was gone. lyric was so in shock that her parents voices faded out, so she couldn’t even register the details of a funeral, a wake, or a cremation. seven days of mourning passed and the event of the funeral arrived. clad in all black with dark loc shades, lyric was cold and numb, but at the urging of omar’s family, she was permitted to say heartfelt remarks about the deceased. how could she explain a lifelong bond within two to three minutes? she looked at some familiar and unfamiliar faces in the crowd as she recounted her times with boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend. by the time she was done, the tears silently rolled down her cheeks and her mother consoled her through the entirety of the service. everyone in attendance came back to reyes’ home to eat, give their condolences, and chat about the mundane. lyric was seated on the sofa and just stared at the minimal portion of food on her plate. she’d rarely had an appetite during the time of her bereavement. her state of disassociation was paused when an unfamiliar, high pitched female voice breaks her out from her solitude.

“so i guess you must be lyric, huh?” the james girl gazed at the other teenaged girl in front of her. she was a few inches shorter. although heartache painted her face, she had striking features that consisted of tawny brown skin, deep almond shaped eyes, high cheek bones, and full lips.

“is this seat taken?” the girl asked to which lyric shook her head side to side, giving her the cue to sit. the girls sit in an awkward silence for about two minutes and the latter began to speak,

“i already know your name, so it’s only fair that you know mine— i’m trina davis. um, my mom and i came up from north carolina to say our final goodbyes. she was actually the lead nurse that helped with omar’s cancer treatment at duke.”

“it’s nice to meet you, trina. how long are you in town for?” lyric inquired.

“likewise! we’ll be flying back the day after tomorrow—lyric, may i ask you a question?”

lyric deliberately nods and placed the untouched plate from her lap onto the coffee table. she turned her body to trina, awaiting the question.

“i don’t want to pry, but i’m gonna try to make this make sense as much as possible. so—i’ve heard in your speech that you were omar’s girlfriend, how long have you guys been together?”

“well we made it official this past july. he got diagnosed in september, went to duke in october, and now it’s february, so a good six months, if my math is on point.” she dryly chuckled.

“why?” lyric quizzed and her eyes caught onto trina’s dumbfounded expression. lyric noticed the gulp that ran down the girl’s neck as her jaw clenched.

“you know how i said that my mom was the lead nurse for him, right?”

lyric nodded again to lend the girl a listening ear. trina began to explain how her mother had inspired her to work in the field of caring for cancer patients, so she decided to do volunteer work by reading to the patients and keeping them company, you know to get that experience. that was when she met omar in mid october. she would read titles such as to kill a mockingbird or the count of monte cristo. omar expressed that he was looking forward to reading those books in his honors english class, but life happened. with her mother’s permission, the teens would sit in the hospital garden and chat beyond the analysis of the characters in the texts they’ve read. on a weekly basis, they’d converse about their pet peeves, hobbies, interests, music tastes, favorite movies, and anything under the sun really.

at the start of november, trina sat at omar’s bedside and he was dozing off. that was her cue to leave silently and she ran into a nurse who had an envelope with omar’s name on it in his hand. trina told the nurse that omar was sleeping and that she will place it on his bedside. the nurse gives the envelope to trina and took his leave as she examined the enclosed message. her natural nosiness wanted to know of the hand that inked her new friend’s name in blue with such skilled calligraphy. trina stopped herself from her the temptation to open it and sat it down beside him. the next week in the garden, she questioned omar about the letter. he then dismissed the value of the letter and that it was his from his “home girl lyric” from his hometown. to ease trina’s worries, he reassured her that would read it later that day.

omar received lyric’s letters frequently, but with the sickness that took toll on his body had hindered his correspondence. it wasn’t like omar didn’t cherish her letters and photographs that he received at first, but with each passing day his heart for their relationship grew more distant as he started to grow more tired of his condition and tired of his life. omar couldn’t sit in denial that he fought the good fight for long enough. at that point, he was ready to raise and wave the white flag in surrender, but he didn’t want to tell lyric anything. he didn’t want to cause her anymore heartbreak than he already had, so he just stopped responding all together. he had hoped that one day lyric would find it in her heart forgive him, whether he lived or not. trina unknowingly accepted the answer and reassures him that his friend would understand. she joked that if she was his girlfriend then there would be some suspicions, but if they’d agreed to make that work, then lyric would be a saint.

by thanksgiving, trina and omar grew closer in their emotional connection. even though trina enjoyed the day with her own family, she found it in her heart to urge her mother to drop by duke to at least deliver omar a light plate of her grandmother’s home style cooking, with his appetite willing. jovial at her mother’s approval, she was already up the elevator and knocked softly on omar’s door before she sauntered her way in with her offering. the teens faces beamed as they saw each other after a short time apart. trina placed the aluminum foil covered plate to reveal the basics such as turkey, dressing, mac n’ cheese, and potato salad. omar looked at it like it was first —or last meal. he told her he’d eat it tomorrow when his appetite allowed him and she put it to the side. the two made small talk before she attempted to leave the room only to feel a hand meekly grab onto hers.

“omar is everything ok—“ her sentence was cut short as her face collided with his chest and both of his arms encircled around her. trina was stunned at this.

“just stay with me…. i’m scared.”

he pleads for her presence and her heart grew heavy in sorrow as omar’s tears rain on her scalp, so stayed for a little bit longer. omar knew that he wouldn’t have much time left and he needed her to be by his side until then, so it didn’t take long for them to get emotionally involved through the holiday seasons until his untimely demise.

lyric sat there as her emotions internally wreaked havoc in her mind. she swallowed before she stuttered her words out.

“y-you’re telling me t-that you and omar were—

“yes.” trina somberly interrupted. “we were together until he died. he only called you his good friend, so i thought it was okay. i’m so sorry, lyric. i swear i didn’t know because he’d rarely talk about you after that.” trina’s voice started to crack and got higher in pitch as the tears rapidly streamed down her cheeks. she gazed down at the ground with such guilt and disappointment.

“god, i wish that my nosiness made me see the truth in that letter, but i respected him that much, so i didn’t. lyric, i’m—“

“it’s fine.” lyric cut her off.

“no—no, lyric, it’s not fine. we knew of his condition and he knew it was getting worse, but it doesn’t give him the right to fool us like that. especially not to you, i only knew him in his last moments and you, his whole life! if i were you i’d be—

“don’t tell me how i should feel, trina. i said it’s fine.” lyric sternly affirmed, her face stoic as her finger brushed a piece of hair from falling in front of her eye. she deeply sighed as her eyes looked up at the white ceiling, sliding her tongue across the front of her top teeth before resuming,

“you didn’t know, so i’m not mad at you, trina. i just wish i knew why he would do that and i know that i will never get my answer. not from you and definitely not from omar, so in that case, it’s fine.” lyric wraps her arm around trina’s shoulder to wish her the best when she travels back to north carolina and departed from her seat on the couch before fishing her parents out of the sea of visitors and informing them that she was ready to leave due to nausea. not exactly a lie, but a good excuse for the james family to leave quickly to their home.

to say that lyric was an emotional wreck was an understatement. for those next few weeks, her tears poured out until they ran dry and irritated her skin. she secluded herself within the four walls of her room, all day and all night unless she had to relieve herself. she didn’t care anymore. reassuring words didn’t fix this. sleeping for several hours didn’t fix this. toni braxton’s “unbreak my heart” on repeat certainly didn’t fix it. she closed herself off at school and floated by to at least pass the ninth grade, she didn’t want to celebrate her fifteenth birthday back in april, and the only ones she invited into her life were noir and the tunes on her record player. her parents were worried that it was just more than omar’s death that caused their daughter to spiral into such a state and they made that decision to get her counseling when summer break began. in the first and second sessions, the therapist wanted to get to know lyric personally on her own with her parents waiting outside the door. by the third session, joseph and crystal were present in the room. lyric didn’t want to speak nor cooperate. she was surprised that she got out of the sanctuary of her bed and went in the car without putting up a fight. no matter how many questions they’ve asked or exercises they were trying to perform, she’d stay frozen like a guarded statue until she reached her boiling point when asked,

“tell me this, lyric—if omar were sitting in this room what would you say to him now?”

her brows furrowed and a scowl was painted on her face. every muscle tensed as the word vomit was about to explode all over the office.

“everything around here reminds me of you. i want to let you go because you hurt me. you hurt me and i don’t want to think about you, but i need answers! how the hell could you break my heart without me noticing until you were gone?!”

lyric rose to her feet and began to pace around, her dark eyes shifted to a corner where she could see a vision of him so vunerable as he laid in the hospital bed, with trina at his side. “i swear, omar, if you weren’t dead already, i’d kill your ass—why the hell would you agree to a long distance relationship when you knew it wouldn’t work? if it wasn’t gonna work, why didn’t you hit me up or write me back? all i did was send you letters to tell you how much i loved and missed you, omar, but you just gave up—and you didn’t want to tell me, but you had the strength for somebody else. a girl you knew for a couple of months! wow. why? why, huh? WHY!?”

lyric confessed her plight to the therapist and her chest heaved as she collapsed with her head buried in her hands. her body was quivering as the hot tears flooded like water down her face. joseph and crystal quickly come to her aid. they had never seen their daughter be so enraged and emotionally inflicted. later that night, crystal and joseph had a private conversation, made some phone calls, and decided it was best to get lyric away from new york indefinitely.

SMALLVILLE, KANSAS 2002

“so, that’s why we really moved here. that’s how they ended up here in kansas. we had to get away and find a new scene, so that i couldn’t appear the girl that went mad with grief, but clark i still have those moments where i feel so empty. i felt like i was left to hang alone.”

by the time she concluded her story, the intensity of stevie’s voice increases, lyric tears up a bit and her lips start to quiver. she takes a deep breath and averts her gaze up to the cieling to bottle up what she couldn’t contain any longer. before she knew it, a pool of tears started to flow down the smooth, brown skin of her solemn face. clark clutched onto her hand to lightly squeeze it of reassurance.

“you’re not alone, lyric. i know what it’s like to lose someone and they’re the only ones who have the answers that you need. you feel that you miss them because…they’re the key to the truth and there’s nothing wrong about wanting to know the truth, no matter how life altering it could be. we just have to—oh!”

clark is interrupted when her arms are clutching to his torso and her face buried was near his middle.

“thank you—so much. all you’ve done has helped me since i came here. i can’t be grateful enough for you, clark.” her muffled, soft voice vibrated against his skin.

clark responded with one action that night: being there for her. he immediately wrapped his arms around her and let her sob her sorrows out until she dozed off to sleep with her head in his lap. noir sat by their side and observed the two as her tail softly swished across the floor. thankfully, lyric was a heavy sleeper. clark gingerly adjusted his body off the floor, so that he could carry her bridal style to gently lay her on the bed. he managed to tuck her in within the lavender duvet as he heard a car pull into the driveway and the sound of her parents call out to her. clark jogs downstairs to formally greet mr. and mrs. james. clark explains what went on that evening and that lyric was safely tucked in and asleep. at first her parents were so worried that lyric would endure another breakdown when omar situation was brought up, but they felt relief wash over them as they knew that clark was there every step of the way and that she was safe. they appraised him with their gratitude and offer for him to visit often. his family had made their family welcome and it was in due time to return the favor, especially for all of what the young kent has done for their daughter. clark bid the james family a goodnight and walked off of the porch before giving a final glance to lyric’s bedroom window. it was completely dark and his eyes of blue met with the yellow-green of noir’s. the feline was perched on the window sill.

“take good care of her for me, girl.” he said to the distant cat in a hushed tone before utilizing his super speed to get him home in a timely manner.

[luckykittysshowerthoughts]

Michael and his role in Lucifer’s corruption

Alright, resident Michael fan checking in. As someone who hyperfixates on him, I read into every little mention of him, and I’ve found some passing moments that have some pretty interesting implications if you look into them. 

What if I told you Michael was the reason Lucifer fell?

No, I don’t mean in the sense of literally casting him down. That’s not a new revelation. I mean in the sense that it was Michael’s decisions that would inadvertently cause Lucifer to stray from their Father in the first place.

We get a few glimpses of what Lucifer was like as an angel in the game, and in the Devilgram “The Glory Days”, he’s depicted being just as faithful and stuck-up as any other angel. Father good, demons bad, so on and so forth. He pulled no punches insulting demons and the Devildom at any opportunity.

The way I see it, there were two distinct things that chipped away at that mentality.

Number one: Meeting Diavolo.

In Season 3, while MC was in the past, angel Lucifer reveals that the little meeting between himself and Diavolo in “The Glory Days” was actually never supposed to happen- it was supposed to be Michael, not Lucifer. Michael had shirked the responsibility and stuck it to Lucifer instead. Because of that, Lucifer ended up meeting one of the most influential people in his entire life, and also a major factor in his decision to start questioning Father. We see this clearly in a line from “The Glory Days”-

“To recognize and accept one another, and work for the betterment of all...if that were possible, why hasn’t Father made it his goal as well?”

In Season 3, Simeon goes on to mention this meeting again, asking past Lucifer (paraphrased):

“You’ve already met with Diavolo, haven’t you? The doubt is already growing in your heart...”

Meeting with Diavolo had a huge impact on Lucifer’s worldview, in a way that doesn’t exactly favor the Celestial Realm. And it happened because Michael didn’t want to do his job that day.

Number two: His little siblings.

Lucifer’s fiercely protective of his little siblings... and he has to be, because he has a penchant for taking the most unruly of angels under his wing. Beelzebub, who apparently couldn’t control his own strength as an angel and would thus often destroy things. Asmodeus, who ran off to party in the human world. Belphegor, who slept through meetings. Lilith, who obsessed over humans.

But where did this habit of collecting misfits begin, I wonder?

I think it began with Mammon. He’s the closest to Lucifer, after all. I think Mammon taught Lucifer that one didn’t need to be perfect or fit the Celestial Realm’s standards to be worthwhile, and Lucifer would go on to use what he learned to bring others under his wing the same way he did Mammon.

And, how did Lucifer meet Mammon?

Again: Michael.

Michael practically thrust Mammon onto Lucifer. In Season 3, it’s explained that Michael was at his wit’s end trying to get Mammon’s behavior under control, and eventually gave up and transferred him to Lucifer in hopes Lucifer could get him under control. As he’d hoped, Lucifer did. But Lucifer also gained something else from that experience. A fierce love and protectiveness that would lead him to fight for Lilith all those years later.

I wonder how often Michael thinks about that day he made Lucifer go to that meeting, or the day he gave him Mammon. With the blessing of hindsight to tell him what it would snowball into years down the line. I wonder if it haunted him when he faced the decision of sending Lucifer down.

[poppetsisters]

Now that my rage over the Doomcasting has simmered down, I just wanna gush over the Fantastic Four comi con stuff.

I'm not joking, when I heard that Michael Giacchino was doing the score, I SCREAMED. Not only is he famous for scoring The Incredibles, but he also did Speed Racer from 2008 which, if you haven't heard that score, it is one of the best scores for any film I've seen.

The period accurate footage is such a treat. I figured Matt Shakman's work on Wandavision was going to be indicative of what the Fantastic Four was gonna look like and yet it looks even better. I was nervous that Shakman's lack of feature film experience was gonna be a detriment, but his decades of work on TV gives him amazing instincts for character dynamics, which is one of the most important assets when making a Fantastic Four movie.

A lot of what we saw is pre-vis and may not actually be in the movie, but the retro-future vibe of the movie is perfect. The fact that MCU Fantastic Four is taking place in its own separate pocket away from all the bullshit really helps me feel excited for this movie. For once, the disconnectedness is something I'm EXCITED about, go figure.

Again, because it's pre-vis, not a whole lot of glimpses at The Thing's rocky form, in fact none of the powers were shown off for understandable reasons. I have no worries that The Thing is going to look good. As bad as Fant4stic was, The Thing looked pretty good in that film. Korg also never looked outright bad to me either, and they're probably gonna put more effort into how he looks anyway. Sue's powers are probably gonna be represented well seeing as invisibility is a really easy power to do VFX for. Fire graphics have come a long way as well, and that concept art makes me thing they may take a very stylised approach to his flame effects. Reed however is the one I'm really worried about. The only time stretch powers looked good was The Incredibles 1 and 2, but those were both stylised 3D animated filma. Live action has a much higher bar to clear with a heavy risk of uncanny valley Pedro Pascal. If you can make that man look bad, then you know you fucked up.

The Fantasticar is nice. We had the Dodge in Rise of Silver Surfer and the Bathtub in Deadpool and Wolverine, and though I like the Silver Surfer one (despite the shameless product placement) I get that they wanted a car that looked like a mid-century man's idea of what a flying car looks like. The only think is that I wish it could split apart into four sections, it doesn't look like it can do that. Oh well.

The spacesuits look good, the colours are exactly what I imagined they'd be on the concept art, but I'm waiting for the proper super suits to be shown off. Hopefully they have less interlocking parts and resemble the slightly thick and comfy spandex we saw in the concept art.

It looks like Pedro is keeping the moustache, which normally I'm not a fan of Reed with facial hair, but I also think it gives Reed a sorta Howard Hughes look that helps him blend in with the aesthetics of the world. The grey around the temples is good though, and it seems like he's also doing a transatlantic accent which frankly is very surprising.

I thought that Ebon wasn't doing an accent until I rewatched him during an interview. He appears to be toning down his natural tendency to draw out his A's and E's. It was only two lines of dialogue so I don't know, but what is very apparent is that he's not going for the outrageous brooklyn accent The Thing is legendary for in the comics, but something a little more subtle and believable.

Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn are both different flavors of British, and though Joseph only says one word, it's pretty clear both are foregoing their natural accents. That said, Vanessa's choice of, what I can only guess is a slight mid-western accent, is very interesting. I was not expecting that choice.

They added a subtitle to the movie. Fantastic 4: First Steps. I think they didn't need to add a subtitle, but since they did. I'll just give it a cursory analysis. I think you can derive FOUR meanings from the title: First Steps calls to mind humanity's first steps on the Moon, fitting for a space age tale. First Steps also feels like a good title for their first adventure. First Steps works metatextually as their first steps into the MCU (which isn't technically true with those two cameos in MoM and D&W), but the most important theory I have for First Steps is in relation to a baby's first steps. I think that Franklin is going to be in this movie as a major plot point. Serving what purpose, I'm not sure.

To finish things off, we only get a look at Galactus through a window, so not much I can comment on in terms of appearance, but I'm very happy that it's an actual dude and not shadows within a cosmic cloud. He looks very imposing and I hope we get more perspective shots like that to sell how big this guy is.

[naffeclipse]

I have a few questions about Orca!Eclipse, some of which I know are probably spoiler questions, so it might just be me tangenting for the most part.

First of all, is Eclipse aware that the photographer will freeze to death without their clothing? He seems so intent on removing it that I don’t think he is??

He knows that their clothes aren’t fur or blubber, but does he have absolutely no idea why the photographer is walking around in this stuff? He sees them, and is just hopelessly lost on the strange behaviors and half-assed camouflage of humans. Like why are they doing that? Just grow fur like everyone else.

He says that he knows what happens to humans in the water, but maybe all he knows is that they die. Not the reason why (cold af)? I’m so curious about what he knows about the world and how it works scientifically when compared to the average human.

Also, I cannot for the Life of me figure out if he’s a genuine guy in over his head and lacking social awareness/impulse control, or if he’s just an ass. The photographer says he looks genuine and seems to care what they think about him, but a minute later he’ll be grabbing onto them and making murder comments. Is he just that lonely without thoughtful conversation that he’s desperate? Or is he just playing with his food?? I can’t figure him out.

Like he keeps saying that the photographer is perfect, but perfect for what, dude? Perfect for What??

It’s so fun playing with characters from different species and worlds and sort of forcing them to cohabitate lol. And the fic is so good!!! I love Mike’s weird ass intervention, and Vanessa’s mild concern at everything the photographer does. Eclipse is an awful awful bastard fish, and I love that for him. The poor photographer is in for a ride, though. You’re fics are always a delight to read, and you’re a wonderful author!

These are all excellent questions! Since there's only one chapter out of the fic so far, answering here wouldn't be very fun. These questions will be explored as they're directly related to the plot and worldbuilding, so, don't worry! I will get answers to you soon!

Also, thank you! I really love the culture clash between Eclipse and Y/N and then poor Michael and Vanessa are just catching glimpses of it from a distance lol

One thing I will say is that Eclipse is a bit of a conundrum—he wants to have his cake and eat it, too.

Take that as you will :)

[desmorotu]

morgan’s playlist 🌑 (a glimpse)

i’m just going to flat-out say that i am totally aware that he has only three videos and that it’s kinda silly to suddenly just know his vibe BUT i did get a vibe and now i need to share it because he is everything that i want in a character and more 💔 his recent audio was so cute. playlist stuff is below :)

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

☆ nocturne in c-sharp minor - frédéric chopin (classical music is a way to quiet the noise. prefers piano, but most lyric-less music will work if it’s in a minor key and has a moving melody. as his outside world is messy and frantic, he uses the precision and accuracy of an artist’s fingers to simulate that solace in his mind. enjoys listening to it while writing or reading, both hobbies that he’s recently picked up on.)

☆ piano concerto no. 21 in c major, k. 467: II. andante - mozart (i imagine him wearing a black turtleneck, having dark hair and rounder glasses, and some grey plaid pajama pants with a warm cup of tea; caffeine free, of course. when he says Seeing is like music, this song is what comes to mind for him. it can truly be a gift, just as he’s said, but it can quickly tip-toe the line into tragedy if you’re not careful. it’s all about balance.)

☆ the heart - david celeste (strangely, i imagine that morgan looks similar to seokjin from bts…those are just the visuals i get when i hear this song? longer, slimmer face shape, full lips, broad shoulders, soft cheek bones and jawline, etc. etc. it’s not exactly him, there are some differences in his eyes and nose that i can’t place yet, but no matter what i try to change or picture differently, seokjin is my point of reference for what morgan looks like. this song just brought out his appearance for me and i have no clue why. i don’t even keep up with kpop anymore and haven’t for a while now. if you totally disagree with me then i am so sorry 😭)

☆ prelude in e minor, op. 28, no. 4 - frédéric chopin (plays mostly classical because it’s what he prefers. he partakes in playing the piano on occasion and understands music theory, which is why he uses music to refer to his Sight. it makes sense to him. he knows it; he’s comfortable in it. he believes that music is the closest thing that the unempowered will ever have to magic, and he believes that to be a beautiful tragedy.)

☆ catwoman - michael giacchino (he’s the type if person to pay acute attention to the soundtrack of a movie over the movie itself, though he’s not much of a movie person to begin with. he was interested in batman as a child and decided to go see its 2022 release—and he absolutely fell in love with the soundtrack. it pulled the right kinds of emotion from him at the right times, and it added a perfect effect to each scene. it’s one of the few movies that he actually watches back.)

☆ clair de lune - claude debussy (a simple, sweet, popular classic. he likes to pay attention to the rippling pattern of the right hand and allows it to envelope him in a comforting “brain hug.” it was one of the first pieces he heard when he was younger and it inspired him to delve deeper into music as a whole. his mother played piano, and he sits and recalls the amount of times that it’s lulled him to sleep in his younger years.)

refer to morgan’s playlist cover at the bottom :) i associate him with the color purple so i’m just rolling with it

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

this one was so relaxing omg. i feel like morgan is a super calming presence as a whole—i mean, he relaxed me really effectively in his recent audio. he’s a sweet, awkward music nerd (imo) that also happens to see the future. i’m so excited to see how his character is developed further in his story :).

as for his appearance being seokjin and associating him with the color purple, i have absolutely no clue. call it a vibe check. it just felt correct 😭 i will def be doing more of these when the inspo arises :p

can i be the unofficial official morgan guy? thanks

k bye 💟

[violetjedisylveon]

I have fanfics downloaded that I can send to anyone suffering Ao3 withdrawals

It's mostly FnaF security breach stuff, but I got a few Lego Monkie Kid ones

Fanfic selections and instructions below the cut!

I won't be like him by Pinkpony4

Life wasn’t fair and it never had been, especially for Michael. Nothing seemed to ever go right and that lesson was still being hammered down fifty years later. Even so, he’d make life fair for the little baby he had in his arms, even if it killed him.

A Michael afton adopts Gregory fanfic, that is also and fanfic.net but I think the author has deleted it by now to rewrite it since that's why I downloaded it

Nothing Else Compares by Dinjoyer

5 times someone comforted Michael + one time Michael comforted someone

Scooped and Glam Mike fic

Your Dad Is Here by prongsau

Being stuck after hours is scary, especially for a 9 year old who keeps getting chased by a murderous bunny. He ends up getting hurt but an angel comes and saves him. Or; Gregory gets injured from Vanny, thankfully Michael is there to protect him alongside the daycare attendants.

Dadmike hurt and comfort type fic

And What would you say, If I could give you a Reason to go on? By PigeonOnAChair

Michaels story was supposed to end with all of the others, burning to the ground and putting an end to the Afton name for good. Turns out, that might not be in the cards for him. Given a glimpse into the future by a strange, red tinged specter, Michael is given a reason to make it out of that fire; He has a son. And the very same forces that tore Michael apart have set their sights on someone new. -- ( A Dadmike AU in which Mike is given a reason to survive the FNAF 6 fire; to find his son and take down his fathers remaining influence before another Afton falls at his hand.) (TLDR: A Mike in security breach AU, but with a whole lot more before hand !)

Another Dadmike fic/au

Never Enough

Freddy leaves Gregory for one second. One second is all Vanny needs.

Hurt/comfort fic

hush little baby, don't you cry by orphan_account

sometimes, old memories don't stay buried for long Aka angst for my fluffy Human AU. Gregory gets kiddynapped and Freddy, Bonnie, and the band have to face an old companion to save him.

Human animatronics and Fronnie

Dust To Dust by soops

“…The results of this hostility are difficult to see because these children quickly learn how to hide under a compliant smile. When these children grow up they suffer depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, and substance-abuse problems. For the first time in their lives, many boundary-injured individuals realize they have a problem…” His head snaps up when he hears a knock on the door. Hesitantly, he stops the tape and puts his pen aside…

Michael adopts Gregory, but it's mostly him dealing with the effect of his father's crimes

Unhappiest Day by EmeraldArt

Early in the morning of his 30th birthday, Cassidy Afton learns two things. His father, William Afton, has escaped jail. And his nephew, Gregory, has gone missing.

Part of an everybody lives/nobody does au(except Susie's dog)

Jeremy's Journey to Save Christmas! (and also survive)

When Jeremy ends up trapped inside the pizzeria with his coworker on Christmas morning, he does what he can to continue his and his sister's Christmas tradition . . . but why does this attract an unexpected guest? (this work is part 5 of a storyline of connected one-shots that are not in chronological order. It can be read as a standalone fic as well).

It's got jeremike

Hippo-Critter by EmeraldArt

Right before the amalgam known Ennard leaves Michael Afton, he gets one final chance to talk to his sister. Elizabeth is terrified that her brother will hate her.

hurt/comfort, mostly hurt

(Im)Perfect by EmeraldArt

Elizabeth is perfect, unbroken, quiet, elegant. She’s everything her father could desire. She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t react, doesn’t growl, doesn’t cry. (Until she finds herself screaming until she isn’t sure she has any screams left.)

Elizabeth angst

Michael Afton's Step by Step Guide to Killing Your Abusive Dad and Getting a Boyfriend in the Same Night by gummysharksupremacy

After his six year old brother miraculously survives the bite that almost took his life, Michael waits for his father to come back from his drinking binge to give him the lecture of a lifetime. What he gets instead is a murder confession, threats of physical violence against himself and his siblings, and promises to take more innocent lives. Michael knows what he has to do. He also knows that he can't do it alone.

This one is dark

the opening day by auacademia

There were four, then three, then two, then none. All of the kids left the room, and she felt herself disconnecting. That has happened a few times over the day, a system meant to save her power if there was no one to entertain. And then there were two. A boy, older, and a girl, younger. It made sense. The children usually played in groups of two or three. Still, she felt like this was supposed to play out differently. She powered back on, and continued her performance. Or, when Michael realizes there’s no stopping his sister from seeing her favorite animatronic, he decides to take her there by himself. William almost has a heart attack.

A Change in Fate: A Five Nights at Freddy's alternate universe by TheInsaneFoxWriter

I have parts 1-9

This is the summary for A Change in Fate, the first and a multiple chapter fic

When Gregory is discovered by prying eyes, in an attempt to escape, he hides in Funtime Freddy - the most friendly-looking of the animatronics around him. Gregory never would have expected this hiding place to turn against him. Trapped within this homicidal children's attraction, he must choose his fate, now in the hands of Freddy and his own survival skills. If he can escape, what else awaits him in this new, darkened environment? Basically, this is a combination of Security Breach and Sister Location, with a hint of Count the Ways. It's way more on the Sister Location side of things, but the comparison of a child being in Glamrock Freddy and Funtime Freddy was too good to pass up. It gave me a random idea, and thus, this fic was created.

Sins of the Father; Grief of the Sons by BeneathAScorpionSky

Evan Afton doesn't succumb to what should have been a fatal injury to his skull, instead miraculously improving and going on to grow up, lose touch with his family, and live what could be called a normal life if you turned it on its side and squinted really hard. Evan's content with being distanced from his relatives and their sordid histories, or at least he's managed to convince himself that he's better off without the father and brother who both up and left him without a word. But he's dragged back into the family business when he meets Gregory, a young homeless boy. Evan realizes he is going to have to take drastic measures to keep his young friend safe from the looming threat of the Pizzaplex killer. He'll have to face old fears and attempt to mend festering wounds if he hopes to get Gregory and himself out safely on the other side of this nightmare.

Aka, Crying Child adopts Gregory!

I am his dad, just like the sky is blue and the grass is green by AngstRat

One day Freddy stumbles across a small scared boy, neither of them know that moment will change both of their lives for the better.

The boy and his animatronic dad by AngstRat

Gregory is cold and he knows it's just about to get worse, so he sneaks into the Pizzaplex for warmth and maybe some food. Who could've guessed he'll find a dad on the way.

Sun and Moon adopt Gregory this time

love lost and found again by mikeyskies

When a rotting transgender corpse and a half brain-dead man love each other very much... Basically Jeremy and Michael assumed they wouldn't have to worry about protection after Michael got scooped. They were wrong.

Lego Monkie Kid fics

Warm Hearts, Cold Hands by Drifting_Andromeda

But no, it wasn’t scary in a way that had Spindrax worrying about an injury or a yelling session. She was more nervous of the act of letting Mei down, scared to see disappointment dance in the dragon’s eyes, scared to see that look aimed towards her. She didn’t want to disappoint her, was this how all friendships were? Mei was giving her a headache. ~ After everything Mei has done, from pushing to be her friend, to taking a genuine interest in her work and hobbies, Spindrax isn’t sure what to make of her. At first anyway, now things are starting to get a little complicated.

Spindrax x Mei

Would You Like An Egg In These Trying Times? by TeaTime_At_4

in which stone monkeys can reproduce asexually and create stone eggs when certain conditions are met, and these conditions are unknowingly met while Wukong is imprisoned under five phases mountain. Now without those conditions Wukong remains pregnant with a stone egg throughout his journey west as the egg continues to develop at a leisurely pace. so leisurely in fact that he is still pregnant at the time of the canon events of the show, how does this change things? come find out.

Performing Monkey by othersin

Performing Monkey Au. The Jade Emperor and his court is fascinated with the new life and magic that began to fill the mortal world – even creating a menagerie of the fascinating life so he can enjoy in the comfort of his heavenly plain. The rarest and most prized in his collection was the monkey demon born from stone – granted the name of Sun Wukong. While Guanyin believes that the demon would be happier in the mortal plain, the emperor is reluctant to give up his rare pet however. To calm the goddesses concerns on the others happiness, he instructs his patrols to search for a suitable companion for the monkey demon – his patrols rescue a struggling dark-furred macaque demon. Problem solved! Though Wukong and the newly kidnapped wild demon would disagree…

The Sun's Spouse by Leviathan_Wizard

“What…is this?” “The solution.” “And how is another one of his kind going to help us?!” “Because this will prove beneficial for Sun Wukong.” “Oh?” “The Six-Eared Macaque can…entice Sun Wukong to a more palatable degree.” Or To appease the rampaging Sun Wukong, the heavenly court decides to give the great sage a present…in the form of a husband. Macaque is not amused

And that's it!

See something you like? DM me the name of the fic you want and I will tell you further instructions there.

Spammers will be blocked

If you send a request past 1 am, it won't be filled until probably after 5 tomorrow, I have college and need sleep

Please give kudos to the fics once Ao3 is back up!

I also have fics of my own, some Star wars, Lego Monkie Kid, FnaF, The Owl House, and Pokémon, I don't have them downloaded so they'd have to be sent chapter by chapter, they're all in google docs it's mostly gay stuff, hurt/comfort and queer people having children chucked at them

[nanomooselet]

Episode Seven: Wolfwood

It's a lovely evening in No Man's Land, and you are a horrible cultist.

The more I think about the idea that Legato wasn't ordered to do this, the more sense it makes to me. Let's do a count of assets this craziness puts into peril. We have the Punisher, highly chemically compatible and on an assignment already, who really doesn't need to be under more stress. We have the Doublefang, who's even better than the Punisher since he heals without the drugs, and through him Wolfwood learns that the Eye of Michael can't be trusted to keep its word.

We have the Plant aboard the steamer, as Zazie points out, and I'm not sure Legato is as concerned about it as he claims to be. We have the steamer itself, a relic of the spacefaring age with plenty of still-functional technology on board even if the humans can't do much with it. (And isn't that interesting? They seem to have just stuck a steam engine in there and closed off the rest. Cool worldbuilding details.) It travels to and from July - I suspect it carries at least some cargo and personnel for the cult. Speaking of, we have Hopeland Orphanage and its stock of potential subjects, which we know for a fact the Eye has its stamp on.

Finally we have Vash, who's one of the cult's figures of worship. He's the only living thing that Legato's "beautiful angel" truly cares about. Even if Legato's plan is a success, is achieving Wolfwood's perfect loyalty worth losing any one of the rest, let alone Vash? I really have to wonder how Legato planned to explain any of this.

Of course, he does explain, doesn't he? You must give up on your little brother and face reality. I must take everything you love from you so that you can fulfil your noble purpose as a weapon. What we're seeing is Legato's first demonstration of his character to come, building sadistic traps to force painful choices upon his target, but also a glimpse of what awaits Vash at the end of his journey. Where could Legato have learned his definition of love? And let's not forget that he refers to his feelings as love in the first place.

He's such a drama queen. Can't wait to see him ruining everything next season.

So much in this two-parter is amazing, but I think a somewhat underrated moment is Vash preventing Wolfwood from killing Livio with that insane trick shot. My boy frees Wolfwood from a horrific mental trap because no one should have to choose between the things that they love, the things that keep them alive. Best of boys. Precious darling. He wants so, so badly for there to be a way out for him.

I'm hesitant to discuss Livio that much, because we, uh, really don't learn that much about him? We see the sad little boy in Nick's memories - which I have reason to suspect are not entirely the objective truth - and we have the stumbling puppet who boards the steamer. He isn't in a position to make his thoughts known, except once, and, well… it’s a decisive demonstration. But one that precludes any further participation. I have read the manga, yes, and I know what he's like there, but my feeling is that's more what he'll become than what he is now. There seems to be one fairly significant change, however: Razlo, and Livio's attitude toward him.

Razlo's there. I'm sure he's there. But is he always there in the same way? Is Livio so out of it because he's under the mask's control, or is it Razlo the mask keeps supressed? And when it becomes damaged, why does what Livio see in the mirror so horrify him? Does Livio even know who else is in his mind?

(We get our first glimpse of Chapel, too.)

(Somehow I feel like I'm not going to be a fan of this guy.)

They didn't save Livio, but he got to make a choice. Even if it was a choice they wish he hadn't made.

Speaking of choices!

Meryl and Roberto continue to be the show's main source of comedy - the dub work for the Bad Lads Gang is so funny. Poor Meryl's teary little face when they bring up the Worms. Them being all excited about getting on the cover of an outlaw magazine, whatever that is. Roberto just being all welp, this might as well happen when he learns the faltering steamer has a space age cannon stuck to the top and that still works.

Not enough booze in the world.

And then Meryl makes a choice. Roberto's right, on some level - they're not soldiers. They're not fighters. By any sane standard this is not their fucking job. But there is no one else who can do it. Regardless of ability, there's simply no one else who's been given the choice between standing there, taking the risk, or fleeing with the knowledge you could have done something and didn't. So Meryl makes her stand... and I realised that Roberto does too, because he faces the same choice. They all do! There's something they all want to protect more than anything else. Such different people with such vastly different skills and life experiences all have something in common, and they work together to realise their purpose. It's the second time in the series this has happened and disaster's been averted with their efforts. I just!

Of course then things get even crazier and we move into what might be among my favourite action sequences in the entire series? It's admittedly hard to narrow it down. This has been extensively dissected elsewhere, but it really might have the most beautiful cinematography (especially in the Plant room - ethereal, and then the hard cut comparison to the steel and scorching flesh of Wolfwood's efforts and I'm reduced to helpless arm-waving). But I think there's one detail I want to emphasise?

Cool watery blue and burning fiery orange-red, yes. Gorgeous contrast. But both also have just a dash of the opposing colours. The two aren't so far apart, each holding part of the other - fundamentally connected, in spite of all the ways they're different.

[sisterdivinium]

(One thing I find peculiar and unfortunate in current fandom business is the seeming lack of pointed discussion, so here is a humble attempt to spark a conversation and I more than welcome commentary.)

I came across someone in the notes to a post somewhere talking of how Jillian had been better styled in season two than in season one and I agreed, already seeking the justification for it in my mind. My observations are as follows:

S1 Jillian is Arq-Tech's mastermind and public face. Even though we first meet her in Morocco, in her explorer, Indiana Jones-like garb, it's the image of her running her company that sticks with us, her statements to the press, her corporate persona opening metaphorical fire upon the Church. A "powerful woman" as mainstream media constructs for us everyday, in subtle but visible makeup so as to diminish the effects of age on her face, in heels so as to peek at the rest of humanity from above, with controlled gestures meant for the inherent theatricality that comes with introducing life-changing technology to society. It is a role she plays—well, but a role nonetheless.

The scene she shares with father Vincent is worthy of mention, for while he sits without taking up much space, his body restrained to the side of a couch, his legs crossed in what is deemed a more "feminine" posture, Jillian takes up the traditional "masculine" attitude: she commands the room, her body expanding upon her seat, in the broad pose where an ankle rests upon a knee, complete with a generous glass of alcohol in hand and talon on foot. Yet this is also for show­—it's a little too calculated, a dance that was so perfected in exhaustive practice that it lost its dynamic.

Our glimpses into the more authentic Jillian come in the scenes with Michael—not only because (coded in white and blue as the Virgin Mary of immaculate conception) she plays the part of mother, but because, in her intimacy, far from journalists and employees and the public's prying eyes, she can be more herself within the areas where she conducts her studies. Starting from when Ava asks Jillian to "science her", we never see the doctor in uncomfortable shoes again, as she retreats from entrepreneurial life and into the lab.

This is clearer in season two, for, as Kristian says, she is on sabbatical, thus isolated from general view; S2 Jillian has nobody around her, nobody to impress. Locked away in her Spanish villa, consumed by her son's disappearance, she need not wear a mask. There are no more tellingly feminine accessories, no staged stunts; her clothes and footwear are even more practical, her movements less grand but more human, more expressive (here, of course, we owe it to Thekla Reuten's underrated range). Even as the OCS invites itself into her house, making it a makeshift HQ, she doesn't fall back on the act we saw in the first season.

Jillian's stepping back from the head of her company is not just in name and contract, but in body, too; she leaves the CEO role in her office and comes home to her science and her cause, to her limited inner circle of which only Michael was privy to and into which the OCS nuns end up finding their way.

Colours also indicate a shift—we begin the series seeing her associated with light hues such as white, beige and baby blues, but when season two comes in, Jillian's striking all-white attire is nowhere to be found. The Holy Mother parallel is in shambles after Michael has gone through the ark's portal, the intangibility of this "saintly", aseptic rich genius broken down, her person brought back to Earth after flights of fancy trying to open a gate to Heaven.

We see her in a darker palette, in greys with dashes of white, yes, but never again in full white. It is not just the authorisation to be herself rather than her company's face while in her private world, but also the reflection of her inner darkness and her loss upon her very appearance.

What a more definite loss could mean, now that her son is gone for good, remains a mystery.

For instance, unlike the nun who served as her superior, our Suzanne rejects the characteristic blues of the Order of the Cruciform Sword to don a heavy all-black outfit, more reminiscent of Orthodox priests than it is Roman Catholic nuns; her resurrection through Ava does not lighten her habit, if it does lighten her burden, so we can only assume, going forward, should there be any relation between how each character expresses their inner workings through clothing, that Jillian Salvius would keep the mixture of white and grey that season two brought along... Or go darker still.

[miiilowo]

Not a very simple ask so feel free to not respond but

Since the mimic thing is so incredibly dumb and the alternative is also dumb. And the entire "WOAG afton is back!!!" thing is dumb.

What do you think would've been a better direction for the story? Like as a way to continue from pizzeria sim? Bonus points if you figure out a satisfying plot thread that still involves the pizzaplex.

I personally think it would've been interesting if the game went more in the direction of exploring more varied horror settings, all within the world of FNAF and using the underpinning of agony and remnant as a way to introduce new creepy crawlies. Possibly going along with the "cult of Afton" thing. A buncha internet peeps get fascinated by the mysterious deaths surrounding Fazbear's and it's founders, so they do some searching around in Afton's stuff, y'know casual B&E. They find some scattered notes on remnant (and agony maybe?) in his old house, which was abandoned a while ago and is in significant disrepair. Proceed with delusions of grandeur and hopes of immortality, and boom! You have a death murder cult!

So the spirit of Charlie is roused from its peace and begins softly manipulating random strangers into stumbling upon the machinations of the Macheivellian Murder Immortality Cult and putting a stop to their nonsense.

First thing that comes to mind is a building that someone was tortured in and subsequently had their body cut up and strewn across the building, and their remnant placed in the rebar, that kinda shit :3

While I do really like those ideas, I think i would try to keep it a bit more contained and maybe expand into some of the stuff you've brought up as time goes on

I would forego any lore relevance that help wanted/fnaf vr has, first off, and i mean completely forego it. it might drop some hints for upcoming games, but making it an in-universe meta thing has always rubbed me the wrong way. non-canon in every sense. just a collection of games, like we thought it was going to be ! ! ! ! !

I've never liked glitchtrap, and I have also always believed that Vanny should be a copycat killer, who has absolutely no direct affiliation with afton, because he is dead. forever. and ever. never to return. him "always coming back" should be more of a 'he always comes back to haunt you' situation or a 'his actions will affect people for the rest of time' thing rather than a literal resurrection

Instead of it being a network of people, I kinda just want Vanny to be a true crime freak who got a little too invested in Afton and his business and it eventually spiraled into her doing what you something akin to what you described. I have a whole AU for this, though no content has been created beyond designs. If agony & remnant work with all living things and not just people, I think maybe she killed some small animals before, saw a glimpse of how possession worked as an experiment, and immediately bought into (and spun more) conspiracy theories surrounding freddy's and the animatronics. I don't want her to be some dark, sad, motivated villain like Afton sort of became, but instead just literally being fucked up for the sake of it. Murdering kids for fun, because she wants to be like her idol. I think this arguably makes her more frightening than William, because at least he had motivations for a bit, right? He had a reason to be doing what he was doing. She doesn't.

Of course, that would be where the pizzaplex comes in. Assuming Henrys whole fazbear-entrepreneur-package wasnt ONLY dished out to Michael, that would be why it exists. Probably built by someone who already had way too much money, but I digress. Vanessa gets a job at the Pizzaplex. It's the perfect opportunity, afterall, and she probably needs the cash anyway.

The Glamrocks would be a threat because theyre trying to return Gregory to Vanessa, as per their night mode where they try to locate any lost patrons (or ones hiding out after dark) and bring them to whoevers working the night shift. I would definitely make them less sentient than they are, with any lines being more like glamrock chica's specifically (since they actually feel like something an animatronic thats programmed to round up kids after hours and get them back home WOULD SAY)

I think in order for this to work out with security breach still sort of being security breach, we'd have to rewrite the introduction to the game. There's a few big issues here, but the main one is figuring out why he's in the pizzaplex after dark. Since William is not involved anymore, having glamrock freddy faint on stage doesn't make sense, so we would have to get rid of that--At least, not in the way he does, for the reasons he does.

One thing I would've enjoyed about security breach were the content not cut, is that the player wouldn't have a reason to believe Gregory about Vanessa. Not fully. He never explains why we shouldn't trust her, and its very likely that there was supposed to be a bit where she "turns into" vanny, which would reveal her as a threat to the player; Beforehand, it just seemed like she was trying to genuinely help us out of the pizzaplex. It makes her go from someone we can possibly trust (even if gregory doesnt) to an explicit threat. I think trying to achieve that in some way again would be cool.

We could still keep the thread that Gregory is homeless, and he just snuck in during the day and stayed after hours to try and seek shelter-And what kid wouldn't want to stay at a fucking amusement park overnight? Naturally, he would want out once the animatronics start being aggressive with him, but I think we can take another route with this too:

Start out with Vanessa being nice! She's clearly the only guard at the pizzaplex (for some reason? despite it being so massive). She offers to help, to not only get Gregory out of the pizzaplex because he shouldnt be there, but because she finds out he's homeless and he needs a place to stay. Lure the player into a false sense of security. She brings him to a back office where she says he can stay while she gets things sorted, then comes back to kill him wearing her funny little rabbit suit. Before she does, maybe she cuts the power, so none of the security cameras capture what happened. (maybe in the vanny hideout that already exists in security breach?) Once she tries, though (or maybe once he smells the decay of other dead children in the room) Gregory manages to escape through a vent, and from there it would be a game of cat and mouse as she chases him around the pizzaplex. in the dark.

Having glamrock freddy be this all-protective saint wouldnt really mesh well with this, but I do think him being on our side could be incorporated. No stomach hatch mechanic, first off, and if it ever is included, it needs to be nervewracking and evoke the same sort of feeling as the minireena springlock night in sister location. As for why glamfred doesnt just try to gank him like the other animatronics do, we could say he never entered the proper night mode like the other glamrocks did because of his mishap earlier sort of resetting his shit. I still dont want him, or any of them, to be sentient, so at most any intelligent responses could be chalked up to AI. That way, we could have some offputting, not-quite-human, inconvenient interactions with him that (at most) are a response to something gregory does or says. We could keep an element of humor that FNAF has always had that way, too.

As for why glamfred would be trying to PROTECT Gregory, we could go back to what fnaf 2 was doing with its facial recognition system: they help protect kids. if a child tells him that hes in danger, he will try to help that child. all that being said, i would want to bring the shattered freddy story beat back where the other glamrocks rip him the fuck apart and turn him into a threat like halfway through the game. Instead of him being literally destroyed (since again. vanny would have commanded them to do that and it doesnt make sense if shes the killer and theres no afton) it could be that vanny got him working in his proper night mode and so now hes in the "find child and return it to the proper authorities" mindset like everyone else is. make the player feel hopeless. and so on

im going um. way off the rails here. and im gonna continue. but i dont think the animatronics should be possessed yet for the sake of motivations and trying to keep them as lifeless as possible. I mentioned it earlier, but I think it would be good if she hasnt stuffed the kids into the glamrocks yet because she hasn't killed enough, and is keeping their bodies in her little hideout--Gregory would be the final piece of her puzzle before she can enact her plan how she wants to.

Alongside the pizzaplex being In The Fucking Dark Now, I always thought having Vanny be visible around corners and on railings due to her eyes and then vanishing once you see her would be neat. Always being watched, sorta like a g-man situation. The type of killer who likes to toy with her prey, which would eventually lead to Gregory actually escaping, her becoming a suspect, and then managing to get away at the last second and continue her antics in true afton copycat fashion.

i have more to say but im going to stop myself and summarize:

canonicity of help wanted would be done for

vanny/vanessa is obsessed with william afton and the murders

decides to emulate his crimes

pizzaplex exists due to the entrepreneur thing henry set up in FFPS

she gets a job there

gregory is there because hes seeking shelter as a homeless kid

she lures him into a false sense of security but he realizes whats going on before it happens and escapes

glamrocks have a night mode which makes them try to locate kids and return them to the nightguard so they dont camp out overnight (because lets be real, more than one person has tried to do this for their youtube channel)

glamrock freddy is kind of useless and gets turned against the player either about halfway or a third of the way thru the game

becomes a game of trying to wait it out til 6 am evading various threats

i do want to fully rewrite security breach one day for my copycat killer au (CCKAU), but heres something to chew on for now

[blackstarchanx3new]

Creations AU, But I obnoxiously over explain it PT 4

Pages 91-120

NO I WON'T SLEEP TONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT

OH OH

I WANT SOME MOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE-

Lmfao Michael I know you love your dad but does he abuse you or not? He does.

He flip flops on that it seems...

Ennard is obviously upset Michael would rather hang out with a FIIIIILLLTHY HUUUUUUUMAN.

People REALLY did not get Ennard's character on webtoon so let me go into another rant if you will:

People saw this scene, of emotional manipulation and putting someone down and went

"Ooooooo Ennard's JEEEEAALLOUUUUSSSS!~"

Bro.

What are you five? Like actually? The lack of emotional maturity and awareness about just how fucked their dynamic is genuinely ASTONISHED me.

This isn't cute or silly. Ennard is being abusive and he KNOWS he is.

Ennard DOUBLES DOWN on the verbal abuse claiming literally no one other than him will understand Michael.

This isn't from a place of understanding either. This comes from a "I want to trap you with me" place.

This isn't a "Even if nobody else does, I will always have your back."

This is "Nobody other than me likes your stupid ass don't leave me or you'll have no one"

Ya know. Abuse.

Also no I'm not addressing the obvious.

I had to sit through SO MANY PEOPLE not noticing the obvious...Yall gotta sit through me being cheeky about the obvious thing going on here. :)

Alright fine.

I'll mention it fuck.

Michael has beautiful very normal eyes- UwU

Coming from THAT scene, we jump into one where Bonnie and Michael are hanging out. Because we've established they are friends too.

Haha Bonnie why are you blushing?

BONNIE.

BONNIE WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING.

They're a little zesty that's all-

Is it one sided? Are they fucking boyfriends? Who knows...

Look the straight people have comics where the entire cast is straight.

Every single one of my comics the entire casts are queer that's just how it is-

Gayness aside: Michael seems comfortable around Bonnie:

We can deduce this from MANY THINGS:

He shared his interest of plushies, something he immediately hid from Mike out of shame, WITH BONNIE.

He runs up to hug Bonnie, William had to force a hug out of Michael so maybe Michael doesn't hug everyone?

He's shared his past with Bonnie

He ONLY met with Mike because of Bonnie's nudging so he trusts Bonnie's judgment.

Micheal jests here but it's obvious this shit comes from a place of genuine concern considering how Ennard is lmfao.

Bonnie continues to be an absolute chad because if you haven't noticed he IS my favorite character in the FNAF 1 arc. He is a devine entity with no flaws.

No we're not talking about his smoking, he is perfect. He's being enabled leave him be- Also he's a robot who gets no ill affects from it lmao

Also yes the screens are showing LOZ and animal crossing stuff hah. I liked LOZ even back when I made these pages. We had no idea what that'd evolve into....

Bonnie also references the other Freddy from Circus Rentals again, who we saw a glimpse of earlier.

Also him and Freddy ARE good friends. Okay.

From this interaction we can gauge a lot about why Bonnie and Michael are close:

Bonnie isn't controlling or possessive, he cares about Michael's interests and helps him indulge in them.

He's the opposite of Ennard.

Bonnie, is a pretty good friend.

Michael's wording here is very interesting.

Bonnie's the absolute best friend. He can tell when the vibes are off. He's upfront about shit. He knows Mike HAS some kind of alter motive and doesn't really hide that from Michael. But also acknowledges Mike's kinda just fucked up right now and probably needs some support.

Also people were confused as fuck why the claw machine/Bonnie is sparking

He's skipping using tokens or smth on the machine by messing with it's power. I thought that was obvious as hell but what do I know.

Because Bonnie's a bad boy.

It is also amusing Ennard is Michael's designated daddy therapist and Bonnie is Michael's Ennard therapist. Though who's to say if Bonnie doesn't know about William's shit considering there's a LOT we don't know about Michael and Bonnie's relationship at the moment.

If you're FNAF savvy you'll recognize a lot of characters in the claw hah.

anyways Bonnie again tells SOME stuff about other people without telling their stories for them. What Bonnie left out of Michael's story will be very apparent as we go on.

Something cool I just like about Bonnie: Bro just wants both of them to be happy. He considers both of them his friends and thinks them being friends could help each other out.

Bonnie's just a bro. True to his word he's nice to just about everyone. Even someone he started off on rocky footing with.

Despite Mike's weird behavior Michael is determined to actually be a real friend to him.

So Mike's rambling but the shit on the walls is 100xs more interesting than anything he has to say rn.

Specifically the FNAF rap lyrics being on the wall. X'D

Also a bunch of Freddy doodles are seemingly mocking him.

My favorite just might be "MEOW! YOU'RE A LITTLE MEOW MEOW!"

Anyways what Mike is talking about:

William with blood on his hands is humorous because his own faults led to his kids dying.

The Bonnie panel is pretty self explanatory.

Bonnie's possessed by someone, presumably the "Jeremy" he specifically asked about earlier on.

Something to note: he asked if Bonnie knew anything about Jeremy's death. As if Jeremy's death isn't CONFORMED.

This leads to the conclusion: Jeremy's body was never found.

So Mike's mission here is becoming more clear: Find out who's putting people in robots and why, find Jeremy.

This is smth Webtoon struggled to comprehend: This series does NOT spell stuff out for you. You gotta build an understanding by paying attention. You can figure a LOT out just by reading what the characters say closely.

Hehehe...That might not be true...You are the guy who carries around a giant kitchen knife at all times aren't ya? ;)

Or maybe he just means innocent people...

This isn't the first time Mike's been an unreliable narrator/protagonist and he only continues to be as the series goes on. Something people also STRUGGLE to comprehend:

Protagonists aren't always "Good people"

Mike is a morally grey person. As are MOST of my protagonists.

Mike bribes Bonnie with his vices and manipulates people. But he's not exactly a BAD person per say. He isn't TRYING to hurt Bonnie or Michael. He doesn't have ill will towards most people.

Something HAS made itself very clear though: Mike has nothing to lose.

Mike is acting the way he does because he presumably: Has nothing and no one.

And he's in a very dark place mentally. The man has seemingly no support system when it comes to keeping him from NOT trying to off himself at a place he has AWFUL history with. So there's that.

Even further: Freddy's is established to be DANGEROUS. Mike acting the way he does makes a lot of sense considering he is basically a lamb being thrown into a lion's den of "you can't trust anyone". The way he acts keeping people at arms distance and not being too genuine with anyone makes a lot of sense considering ya know: The owner is most likely murdering people for his sick robot fantasies and he for sure could be next.

Having said all that he does bring up a good point: What WOULD be the goal of putting people in robots be?

If you've been paying close attention you probably already know the answer to this or are coming to your own conclusions. I will avoid saying for now tho. ;)

Considering Mike's words...It's WAAAY more than just this "Jeremy" person who's gone missing though.

The "You" he's talking about here is clearly Jeremy.

PARANOIA PARANOIA PARANOIA EVERYBODY'S COMING TO GET MEEEEEE-

WELCOME TO THE MIND FUCK-

Alright enough joking. Shit's going down for the second time and we know the one behind it. Mr. Funny yellow bear in the cyan jacket aka "Fredbear"?

Shit never seems to go right with him around.

The goofy doodles continue to mock Mike as he comes to this realization, the drawings becoming more sinister and oozing blood.

This is a reference to one of the scenes in the Silver eyes book/graphic novel by the way because I love referencing FNAF shit in my doofy FNAF comic.

Ya see this shit is what I meant by "I like horror in my comics"

The writings continue to mock him because they're awful.

The lyrics from the FNAF fan song "Run run" are amusing to me. XD

"Lmao you tripped" and "watch your step" - GF

are also funny.

These show that despite this being a tense scene for MIKE, the one behind this is laughing their ass off at his terror.

Also a poster of the Golden Bear trips him. Because reality is a joke.

Weirdly this bear is not wearing the same get up as the one we saw stalking Mike earlier in the comic...

Weird.

Guys gals and pals.

This is buildup. :D

The fucking boarders of the comic are oozing, SOMETHING IS COMING. Mike's so scared he just sits there and cowers for a moment, he's terrified to turn around.

I woulda shat my pants so ya know. Kudos to Mike for not doing that.

The giant bloody head is just disturbing but there's some oddities with this that we'll get into later~

I really wanted this horrific mouth to show how fresh and sticky that blood be.

Like ew.

Mike's trauma really just on full display here.

The repeating "Remember to smile" will be familiar to those who have heard the FNAF 2 phone calls (I think it's from FNAF 2 it's hard to remember. X'D)

"Remember to smile, you are the new face of Freddy Fazbear's pizza"

Easter eggs: The poster of Freddy tearing his own head off is the poster you can see while trying to spawn Golden Freddy in FNAF 1.

This bear walking is warping he floor to look like Fredbear's family dinner.

Also uh, he's a headless figure...

But is the floating head...HIS HEAD?

Also the poster mocking Mike while he cries is so hilarious to me I'm sorry I'm mean to my characters.

Mike was apparently coping with his trauma well before coming here, assumably so much so he decided he COULD come here.

Seems Mike had to mentally prepare himself to come back to this place after seeing the bite, but also Jeremy's disappearance here.

Huh, normal hallway.

Must be all good now! :D

You know you're screwed when a poster is laughing at you.

The giant head is just lurking...

Mike just resigns to asking for this nightmare to stop.

This situation is like, straight terrifying though:

You're trapped, can't leave just walking aimlessly down a looping hallway with the symbol of one of your worst memories just behind you at all times. It's not outright attacking you, just lingering making sure you're aware of it's presence.

It's like an actual nightmare.

Yeah singing a little song will help buddy.

Oh hey, Cyan jacket Yellow bear is there amongst all the others...Funny.

Oh he's pissed now.

Nothing is working. Coping mechanisms ain't working here.

Ngl the "WHAT" panel makes me laugh.

It's so absurd.

Mike is still under the impression this thing is haunting him because of his in-action.

Hehe wait-

Those teeth aren't like the one from befoooooooore...

Mike's so fed up with this.

Also the titular "It's me" line from FNAF 1 and, everywhere in the series. I had to include it.

Mike's just exhausted.

Bro is beyond exhausted at this point.

Also notice how he mentions "The dark"

you afraid of the dark Mike?

Bro's having mood swings like crazy. Not that I'd blame him I'd be pissed off if this ghost was just taunting me like this too.

Seriously tho- Mike you cracked that door with that punch is your hand okay????

Also we can note something about Mike: he's apparently right handed, or at least leans on using his right hand.

Yes that's relevant. X'D

Oh hey, Cyan jacket bear is back.

How long has Mike been putting up with seeing this bear ghost?

Huh. So even Mike notices the difference...

Mike I wouldn't touch that thing-

Mike. You stopped going to therapy!?

Apparently in the past he couldn't feel this bear. So he HAS seen it before in an alerted mental state.

And oh no it's got him-

Big ol bear hug! :D

OH. LORE.

Stuff we know but conformed for sure.

Bear is listening.

Oh. HELLO THERE. HE CAN LAUGH.

Mike's confession is real funny apparently.

Considering ALL the notes/drawings on the wall, this character is kind of a sadistic ass so this reaction makes sense.

So: They share a birthday how cute.

Oh.

That terrible day was on Mike's birthday lmfao. Ouch.

Mr. Cody bear does this to people A LOT. Often enough he knows how they usually REACT anyway.

Also there's a typo ignore that i'm not gonna fix it lmao

Aaaand the "Mike is a freak" gag comes back once again. XD

Meaning he's been watching Bonnie and Mike talk to each other...

Stalker.

He's been stalking Mike in general since he entered the damn building.

Creepy.

Oh my. Oh dear.

Lore.

Why does everyone pat Mike's pretty head????

So Cody wasn't tormenting Mike because of a vendetta: He's just an ass.

He also doesn't want an apology showing he's got SOME emotional maturity to know it wasn't Mike's fault. This kind of maturity shows off even though he might have DIED as a child, he is not STILL a child. This is in stark contrast to a character like Ennard who keeps a childish mentality towards others.

Josh Afton was the one wearing the "Foxy mask" and inadvertently killed his own brother.

WOOPS. IT WAS JUST A PRANK BRO.

Seems Cody isn't over that...Getting pissed Mike even brings up his brother. Possibly angry Mike even KNOWS that much about him?

Cody just leaves.

Mike is terrified to be left alone, he'd rather hug the bear who's been tormenting him than be alone.

They take a peek back into the room and it's darkness is OMINOUS.

Cody's eyes also flash red when he's angry or annoyed, hold onto that detail.

And with that, THE IMAGE LIMIT FOR ONE POST HAS BEEN HIT.

Hope ya enjoyed the show so far we'll pick up again when I finish my blabbing.

[seishireos]

the boy(s) with the rose tattoo

michael kaiser x alexis ness. mature. 585 words. tags: tattoos, sexual tension, teasing, thighs ao3 link

“Since when did you have a tattoo?”

“Ness,” Kaiser calls out and the other instantly turns towards him. He pats the space right next to him twice. “Come here.”

Ness promptly obliges, as expected of him, dropping whatever he was doing to come sit with Kaiser. “Yes? What—” Once he’s seated, all of a sudden a hand plants itself on the inner side of his knee, and he freezes at the touch.

“I just want to confirm something,” Kaiser explains, and Ness doesn’t know how to focus on what Kaiser’s saying — it’s registers as a blur in his ears and he could only answer with another ‘yes’, it’s probably the appropriate response anyway, and really the only one Kaiser ever needs from him.

And just when Ness thinks he’s composed himself, Kaiser starts to move his hand. It travels upward, inching closer and closer to—

It stops. Kaiser’s hand stops right at the point where the fabric of Ness’ shorts ends and the bare skin of his thigh starts. “I thought I caught a glimpse of it the other day.” Kaiser’s thumb toys with the hem of the shorts teasingly for seconds too long until finally the rest of his fingers crawl beneath it, burning into the flesh of Ness’ inner thighs where they inch up once more, hiking up the fabric with it to reveal what exactly he was curious about. “Since when did you have a tattoo?”

A tattoo just like Kaiser’s — exactly like Kaiser’s. Thorned vines wrap around Ness’ thigh and lead to his hip in a similar fashion to how they do Kaiser’s arm and neck; a perfect match, only cut short mid-thigh that he was able to hide it.

It's a beautiful tattoo, even if Kaiser can only see the vines of it, and of course it is, Ness got a tattoo after him, for him, to keep on his body forever. Flattered, Kaiser can’t help but trace over the path of the inked lines, and Ness can’t help but be hypnotised by the way Kaiser’s fingers are drawing on his own skin. Shit, Kaiser is driving him crazy. It’s slow, it’s torturous, it’s hot: everywhere the fingers touch and deep in his stomach. Kaiser continues to go up, up, ah, too close.

“I’ve had it for a while now,” after what feels like minutes comes Ness’ panicked and breathy answer, which Kaiser knows really means ‘right after you got your tattoo.’ Kaiser knows a lot of things, and he likes hearing them out loud.

“And I assume this is a purple rose?” Kaiser’s traveling thumb suddenly slips beneath Ness’ underwear, if he dared to go upward he'd be touching right where the rose should be, but it slips out just as quickly that Ness could swear he hallucinated it.

“Y-yes,” Ness manages to stammer out another response.

Fuck, it’s embarrassing how worked up he is. Every muscle in his body is tense, it’s taking everything in him not to quiver at the touch, not to buck his hips to get Kaiser’s hand on his—

“It’s a shame you’re hiding such a beautiful tattoo.” Kaiser gives the thigh a squeeze before removing his hand and smiles a small, smug smile when he hears the other’s breath hitch in his throat. He could continue and urge Ness to voice out why exactly he got a near identical tattoo, but he decides to spare him for now. He only looks Ness in the eye and smiles mock-innocently, a dangerous implication in his words. “I wish I could see it.”

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Established Relationship (3) Masterlist

part one, part two

a new hope (ao3) - no_clue_who luke/ashton G, 1k

Summary: The lightest pitter-patter of rain on the window was the only background noise to Ashton’s cooking. The house was still dark and Luke, nor Petunia, had made an appearance outside of their bedroom. The gray skies and perpetual rain had been a welcoming break to the onslaught of heat over the past few weeks, Ashton enjoyed the quiet and calm of it all.

Ashton grabbed the popcorn and his lunch, sinking further down on the couch and pressing play on the remote.

or how not to watch a movie

five years strong (ao3) - asymmetric michael/calum M, 2k

Summary: Any decent friendship anniversary should have several mentions of romantic handjobs.

hold you closer than I ever did before (ao3) - jeffreyskinner luke/ashton T, 32k

Summary: “What’s the date,” Ashton asks, cracking an eye open at the doctor. He wants to know how many months he’s lost, he doesn’t want any bullshit spiel doctors tend to give.

She looks back at Luke and gives him a nod, like hearing it from Luke will make it better, more real somehow. Luke comes around the side of his bed and reaches out for Ashton's hand, as if trying to ground him, his blue eyes looking so fucking sad. “It’s September 30th, 2025.”

or; Ashton falls at a gig, loses four years of memory, and forgets he and Luke are together.

it can wait until tomorrow (ao3) - babushcat (MerrytheCookie) michael/ashton T, 1k

Summary: Michael has been baking a lot, lately.

Ashton commends the effort, and he’s glad for Michael’s newfound interests, determined to support him in whatever project he dives into—he’s had to be the taste-tester for many a failure, but he thinks he makes for a fair judge.

The thing is, Michael is not a good baker.

No Shame (ao3) - LunaT2345 calum/ashton E, 2k

Summary: After a long day, Ashton asks Calum if they could try something slightly different and Calum is surprisingly good with it.

Or

Ashton has an oral fixation.

Off-Screen (ao3) - allsassnoclass (brightblackholes) luke/ashton G, 3k

Summary: Now that classes are being taught from home due to the pandemic, students are getting a glimpse into Professor Irwin’s home life, especially when his mysterious husband keeps interrupting class.

really not fine at all (ao3) - @sup3rbloom​ (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) michael/ashton, luke/calum T, 12k

Summary: Michael is a new nurse trainee at the hospital that his husband is already working at. His husband, who is already an established and well respected doctor. Everybody in the doctor field knows who he is. Michael knew this. He didn’t expect things to get so complicated when he sees just how popular Ashton is.

‘Still the same songs with the same old beats’ by Forbiddenmichael michael/calum G, 3k

Summary: Weird to use the analogy that music so rowdy and thumping and bass-y, would be compared to the slight whisper of a friend directly hushed into your ear. But if silence could be deafening, then music loud enough to leave your ears ringing, could quieten the churning and pulsating rhythm of the word around you.

or Michael has a dog practically leap into his lap, and in any other circumstance he would have shoved it off, but under these circumstances, he couldn’t be happier. The dog’s owner seams to agree.

there’s glitter on the floor after the party - @sup3rbloom (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) michael/ashton, luke/calum T, 1k

Summary: The aftermath of Michael and Ashton’s first new year’s eve party as a married couple.

The Scent Of Love (ao3) - orphan_account michael/luke, calum/ashton M, 2k

Summary: It’s January 6th and it’s Michael and Luke’s one year anniversary. Liz, Ashton and Calum are with Michael at the mall searching for the perfect anniversary gift for Michael’s Lukey. Michael stumbles upon Luke’s favorite candle shop and finds that sometimes scent can bring you back to the very start and maybe even give you a glimpse of the better days that are just around the corner.

the situation is like a mountain that’s been weighing on my conscience - @sup3rbloom (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 2k

Summary: Luke is closeted and nobody outside of the band, and close family, knows that he has a secret husband. During promo for Youngblood, Luke suffers a panic attack when the interviewer asks a personal question. Cue, Ashton to the rescue and comfort.

We Got A Good Thing (ao3) - dafeedil michael/calum G, 4k

Summary: And just like that, Calum gets it.

God, of course. Why else would their daughter have come all the way down to their room at a quarter past ten, looking like she’s been trying to work up the courage to do so for hours?

“Holy shit.” Calum grins, practically vibrating with excitement. “Fuck, Mike, she’s going on a date.”

Or, Bella has her first date. It’s a bigger deal for Michael than even Michael was anticipating for it to be.

Wolves (ao3) - no_clue_who luke/ashton N/R, 1k

Summary: Ashton knew that he should talk to Luke before doing something like this but he just couldn’t leave after seeing her. She was just the cutest dog ever, and she was so small.

So here Ashton was, getting a new leash and collar for the dog he had just adopted. A dog who didn’t have a name yet, but was happy as a hell to be with him. The dog Luke had no clue about, he was going to be in so much trouble when he got home. He was going to be in the doghouse for sure.

or how not to adopt a dog.

you’ll find me on my tallest tiptoes (ao3) - nothingliketherain (39_killer_queen) calum/ashton T, 2k

Summary: Still frowning, at Calum’s neck because that’s what’s in front of him at the moment, Ashton mumbles, “You’re taller than me.”

It startles a laugh from Calum, a hint of amusement flickering across his face. “I’ve always been taller than you.” “Barely,” Ashton huffs, gesturing at the space between his toes and the Docs, “It’s the shoes.” “Actually, it’s your lack of shoes,” Calum tells him with a hint of a smile, and Ashton sticks his tongue out at him.

You Matter to Me (ao3) - no_clue_who luke/ashton N/R, 3k

Summary: “God you two act like an old married couple.”

“It’s because we are?”

Or how not to come out to your friends.

you’re my whole house (ao3) - bellawritess luke/calum T, 1k

Summary: Calum turns around, loose tie hanging over his unbuttoned shirt. “So there’s some random lady out there who thinks you have kids,” he says, bemused. “That’s great.”

“I like to sow as many seeds of disharmony as I can,” Luke says seriously. “Spread as many conflicting rumours about my life as possible.”

“I should start doing that at the office,” Calum muses. “They know I’m married, but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned having dogs. Or children, for that matter.”