#also the line in italics at the start is a lyric from howl by florence + the machine

[foolofatook001]

Faerie Fort Week Day Two -- Blood

Tear My Way In

Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers— it starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters…

When Ren swears his loyalty to the Shadow Lady, the only thing that binds them is his word and a few netherwort sprouts, gladly passed over to solidify their alliance. He is eager for allies, knowing a man who goes through a game like this alone is a man who will not win, and the Shadow Lady and her court made up of the members the Castle on the Hill seem like a reasonable choice. 

The next week, he walks through the gate of the Fairy Fort and sees the Shadow Lady standing there, the white of her underskirts spattered in red and her hands matching them, and the realization that she could have killed him at any time that day— she had come to the tower to see his progress, he had taken her up to the parapet, he had stood by her side and proudly explained each planned feature, basking in the warmth of her approval and her smile— hits him hard. 

She must see it on his face, because she looks at him, a touch of hurt in her expression, and says to the clearing at large, as Cleo and BigB hover at a safe distance, "I wouldn't have gone after any of you, you know. There's no need to look so frightened."

All three of them hurry to reassure her that they hadn't had a doubt, really, it was just a surprise— and she lets it go after a little while, washing away the mistrust as easily as she rinses her hands in the river. Ren, standing guard and keeping an eye out for mobs (or disgruntled Scott and Pearls), watches the pink-tinged water run away from her and hopes he is never faced with such a choice. He remembers what being red was like, last time. If the Boogeyman's Curse is anything like that… Well, he'll say he's impressed by the Shadow Lady's self-restraint, if that's the case. 

He wakes in the morning about a week later and immediately feels something off. There's a need to tear, bite, rend. To taste blood. 

The curse has descended on him. 

He does his best to ignore it; go about his business as usual. It's not terribly effective, however, and the only thing that soothes the bloodlust is digging the pit trap in the bottom of the tower. But the silence of the tower aggravates his already-on-edge nerves, and something— whether a search for distraction or the siren call of hot blood— pulls him out of his hole and into the forest. 

The Shadow Lady is in her circle, building something. He keeps his tone light, unconcerned, as he inquires after any news he's missed while working on the tower. She straightens, and her eyes seem as though they can see through the smiling mask he's holding tight to his face. "Are you the Boogeyman?" she asks.

Every muscle tenses. He's been found out this early? When the Shadow Lady was cursed, she kept it from everyone. Surely she expects the same from him. "No," he lies.

"I don't believe you," she says plainly, and he just barely holds back his flinch. "But I trust you," she continues, and Ren is glad for his sunglasses, because he's staring at her now. 

When he breaks, it's to her compassion, and really, he should have expected it. She knows better than any in their alliance what the curse is like; of course she would understand. She's even trying to help him in what way she can— without breaking the rules, of course. 

When he finally lures Skizz into the trap, he dedicates the kill to his Shadow Queen, and the thread of their oath— once in word only— becomes an unbreakable one, sealed in blood. 

(also on ao3)

(prompt post)

[strangerdarkerbetter]

What’re your favorite songs?

Ok! This is gonna be a bit long, lol. I tend to get really into a song or few for anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks during which time I will play the song or songs obsessively (I don’t know if this is already a thing, but I call it samesonging)

So, my current songs are:

Waving Through a Window from the musical Dear Evan Hanson

Hunger - Florence and the Machine

Sky Full of Song - Florence and the Machine

First Burn - a reworking of Burn from Hamilton featuring six women who have played Eliza

Found Tonight - Lin Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt (it’s a mix of Story of Tonight from Hamilton and You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hanson)

I have a few tattoos that incorporate song lyrics. The songs and lyrics are as follows:

Ever After - Marianas Trench

“I could be your perfect disaster, I could be your ever after” 

Porcelain - Marianas Trench*

“When your heart releases, you won’t fall to pieces”

“It’s alright to take time to find where you’ve been”

Shake It Out - Florence and the Machine

“It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off”

“It’s always darkest before the dawn”

Let It Go - Frozen

“I’ll rise like the break of dawn”

“Let the storm rage on”

“It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through”

“Let it go”

Fighting for Nothing - Meg and Dia

(I changed up the lyrics a little for my tattoo. I start from where my tattoo starts which is about halfway through the song. The lines that have been striked through were not included in the tattoo. The final line in italics is my own addition which is a variation of lines from the song)

I’ve got my mouth: Its a weapon. Its a bombshell.Its a cannon. I’ve got my words.I won’t give them mercy. Mercy.But these things take time love.These things take backbone.And they’ll tell you what you want to hearCause they think its better. Better.But you better know how to point out the liars.You’ve got to weigh your wars make sureYou’re not fighting for nothing. Nothing.Are you fighting for nothing?I’ve got my words. I hope they hurt you.I hope they scar you. I hope they heal you.I hope they cut you open,Make you see you’ve been warringFor all the wrong reasons.Make you see that some things are worth bruising for.Make you see that your name is your honor code.Make you see that your hands you’re accounted for.Pick and choose where your sweat and your blood will go.Make you see your life’s not to be lived alone.Make sure you’re not fighting for nothing 

And, because I have way too many songs that I love to be able to leave it at this, the following are a selection of songs I’ve obsessed over at some point in time, all of which I still listen to in between bursts of samesonging. I’ve grouped the songs by artist and listed alphabetically by artist for convenience below the cut. 

(songs with asterisks next to them have trigger warnings listed at the end)

Anastacia featuring Ben Moody

Everything Burns

Bat for Lashes

Horse and I

Breaking Benjamin

Dance With The Devil

Cascada

Everytime We Touch

Dia Frampton

The Broken Ones

Homeless

Isabella

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog (musical)

Brand New Day

My Eyes

Evanescence

Going Under

Good Enough

Lacrymosa

Sweet Sacrifice

Whisper

Fall Out Boy

Dance, Dance

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me

The Phoenix

Sugar, We’re Going Down

Flight Facilities

Crave You 

Florence and the Machine

(basically her whole discography, but I’ll list my favorites)

All This and Heaven Too

Delilah

Never Let Me Go

Ship To Wreck

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

White Rabbit

Hamilton (musical)

Burn

Guns and Ships

Non-Stop

Satisfied

I Hate Kate

Embrace the Curse

Imogen Heap

Hide and Seek

Joseph 

Cloudline

Kerli

Tea Party

Korn

Coming Undone

Lily Allen

Fuck You

Lindsey Stirling

Roundtable Rival

Shatter Me (feat. Lzzy Hale)

Marianas Trench

(again, basically everything lol)

All To Myself

Astoria**

Beside You

Cross My Heart

Desperate Measures

Ever After

Fallout

Good To You

Masterpiece Theatre I, II, and III (three different songs)

No Place Like Home

Who Do You Love?

Mayday Parade

Black Cat

Jamie All Over

When I Get Home, You’re So Dead?

Meg and Dia

Black Wedding

Hug Me

Monster****

Nineteen Stars

Roses

Misterwives

Hurricane

Not Your Way

Oh Love

Out of Tune Piano

Reflections

Revolution

Riptide

My Chemical Romance

The Sharpest Lives

Teenagers

Welcome to the Black Parade

Next To Normal (musical)

I’ve Been

Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling***

Panic! at the Disco

The Ballad of Mona Lisa

Build God, Then We’ll Talk

Nearly Witches [Ever Since We Met...]

There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought Of It Yet

Paramore

All We Know

crushcrushcrush

Emergency

Ignorance

The Proclaimers

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

PVRIS

Ghosts

Holy

Let Them In

Regina Spektor

Better

Samson

Relient K

Be My Escape

In Love With the 80s (Pink Tux to the Prom)

Sarah Bareilles

Eden

Fairytale

I Choose You

Let The Rain

Shiny Toy Guns

Frozen Oceans

Le Disko

Sia

Alive

Chandelier

Elastic Heart

Freeze You Out

Steven Universe (TV show)

Here Comes a Thought

It’s Over Isn’t It

Love Like You

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth

Stronger Than You

Tonight Alive

Bathwater

Reason To Sing

What Are You So Scared Of?

Train

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

The Used

The Bird and The Worm

Earthquake

I Caught Fire

Pretty Handsome Awkward

Take It Away

VersaEmerge

Lost Tree

Whisperer

A Very Potter Musical (fan musical)

Goin’ Back to Hogwarts 

Granger Danger

Not Alone

A Very Potter Sequel (fan musical)

The Coolest Girl

Harry Freakin’ Potter

Victorious (TV show)

Take a Hint

Walk the Moon

Shut Up and Dance

We The Kinds

Check Yes Juliet

Wicked (musical)

No Good Deed

Within Temptation

The Howling

What Have You Done Now?

Zedd

Clarity (feat Foxes)

Find You (ft Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant)

Hourglass (ft LIZ)

10 Years

Through the Iris

3OH!3 feat Neon Hitch

Follow Me Down 

*Trigger warning: song is based on the singer’s experience with his own eating disorder

**Trigger warning: song deals, in part, with his time spent in a psychiatric hospital, includes a reference to a hospital. Also references: suicide, self harm, rough sex, alcohol use. Allusion to substance use. 

***Trigger Warning: song is between therapist and patient, deals with PTSD, amnesia, psychosis, death of a child

****Trigger Warning: song is about child abuse