#and then the music changes eventually of course but Starlight would be GREAT for getting the action started

[icedteaandoldlace]

Personally, I envisioned The Flash's series finale involving a scene with Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco all teaming up in the field again, with Iris on comms in the Cortex, Kamilla and Joe helping somehow from the S.T.A.R. Labs van, close to where the O.G.s are doing their thing, the JV Squad being Somewhere Else, idc where, just not in this scene, Mark being long gone past the point of anyone mentioning or thinking about him, and Starlight by Muse playing in the background.

[dumdumsun]

And Dusk

A/N: Prayers for poor Olga 🙏🏾

Warnings: blood, violence, straight up murder

Word Count: 4096

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Chapter 13: Öga för Öga

Clicking steps echoed the hall Sir Reginald Hargreeves currently walked down, leaving a very discontent Five behind. Once the man disappeared down the hall, the boy left the lounge, growling and rubbing the back of his neck. Mind racing, he hopped on the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. Just as the doors were about to close, (Y/N) slipped between them, Pennycrumb under her arm, and grasped onto Five’s arm. Eyes wide, the boy watched her in shock. “(Y/N)? I thought you left already. What are you doing?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” She whispered. “Five, I’m sorry… about lying to you. I-I was gonna tell you all about living with Dad a-and being adopted by him again, but then I didn’t and it was selfish and stupid-”

“(Y/N)-”

“But what I’m sorry about the most was for not speaking up about us. It wasn’t fair to you,” She shook her head. “I just… I’ve been doubtful about us lately. It’s like, everyone’s saying we shouldn’t be together… And after hearing it for so long…”

Five placed his hands on her shoulders firmly. “No,” He breathed. “I’ve waited too long for this, dammit. Listen to me, (Y/N). Don’t let what others say determine your opinions. What we have is fine. I know it seems fucked up, I know it seems wrong. But does any of this ever feel wrong to you?”

Glancing up at him, she shook her head. “No…”

“Exactly. This… Our entire upbringing was so dysfunctional and confusing. Nothing ever felt like true family. We were strangers in our own childhood home. We’re just now behaving like an actual family unit and it’s still confusing. So, no one has the right to tell us how to love. Especially not Reginald Hargreeves. The man who caused this.”

The two rested their foreheads against each other as the elevator doors opened, but they didn’t bother leaving just yet. As the doors closed again, (Y/N) sniffled. “So, you’ve never thought this wasn’t going to last?”

“I’ve never, ever doubted us. I know… compared to you, I know next to nothing about love. But this? This is real. And I promise you, Starlight, once the timeline is restored… I’m making this official. If you’ll have me.”

Snapping her head up, (Y/N) let her tears fall. “Are you… You’re serious?” She grinned. When Five nodded, she quickly elevated herself on her toes and pecked his lips repeatedly. “Yes. Finally.” She whispered. Five grinned and tightened his hold on her, blinking them both out of the building and outside.

“Well, then, why don’t we speed up the process? Here’s what's going to happen,” He started and pulled away, gently wiping her tears away. “I’m about to meet up with The Handler. She offered me a deal to kill the entire board of directors of the Commission in exchange for a briefcase to get us all home to 2019. No more World War III, no more apocalypse.”

(Y/N) glanced down at her pup, who peered up at her, tongue hanging from his mouth. “How can you trust her?”

“I don’t know if I even should. But I’ll have to. She’s our only… our only option.”

From the way he sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, she could tell he was already regretting his decision. Gently caressing his cheek, she offered him a small smile. “You don’t want to kill, do you?” She whispered, receiving the shake of a head as an answer. “I-I don’t even know what to say to that… Just… Just know that I won’t think any differently of you. You’ll still be my Five. And I’ll be right there beside you if you need me.”

“My god, I don’t deserve you…” He sighed. Quietly chuckling, (Y/N) set her pet down and pulled Five into a hug. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I appreciate you, I really do. I’m gonna get us out of here, but I don’t want you helping me on this. The Handler already knows about you. I can’t have her using you or anything like that against me. So… just wait for me.”

“Wait? Five, I can’t just let you do something like this alone.”

“I know I’ve asked you too many times at this point, but this will be the last. I promise I’ll get you as soon as I come back.” The boy tried a smile as he pulled away. When she gently bit her lip, he sighed. “(Y/N), you can’t come. I’m sorry, but you’ll be by my side after this is over. I promise, okay?”

She shifted her eyes away from him. “You don’t have to keep promising. I trust you.” She whispered. Five exhaled and gently picked up Mr Pennycrumb, placing him in her arms before pecking his love on the lips. With a small smile, he turned around to leave. Just as he blinked away, (Y/N) very gently pinched the back of his blaser, allowing herself and her pet to be teleported with him.

(Y/N) considered herself very lucky for the fact that Five hadn’t noticed her presence. Or maybe she had her stealth to thank. She would quickly duck behind walls, corners, tables and so on whenever she felt that Five was becoming suspicious of her. After all, she knew him like the back of her hand; she could tell when he was subtly glancing over his shoulder or out of the corner of his eye. She waited outside the door of the room the boy had entered, keeping her hand over her pet’s mouth to silence him as she attempted to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation between Five and who she assumed was The Handler.

She had to admit, it did set her blood boiling at the thought of him being alone in that room with another woman, but she knew he would never be disloyal to her. Not after his confession and proposal. So, she shook off her jealousy and hid once again when he exited the room, briefcase in hand.

She gave herself a great pat on the back when she successfully managed to blink with him for the second time. And the third. And when he used the briefcase to teleport. By this point, she was light-headed and nursing her whimpering pup as she followed Five from a distance. She had no idea where or when they were, but judging by the cars people drove and the hairstyles they wore, she wasn’t in the sixties anymore. Most likely the late seventies or early eighties, she assumed.

Setting Mr Pennycrumb on the ground, (Y/N) grabbed hold of his leash and kept a close eye on her love as she blended in as a teenage girl, in outdated clothing, walking her puppy towards an inn. After watching Five enter, she walked onto the porch and sat herself in one of the rocking chairs. She tapped her fingers and toes to the rhythm of the upbeat polka music sounding from the inside. To pass the time, she reviewed tricks with Mr Pennycrumb, clapping and excitedly petting him in praise whenever he’d succeed. What the puppy expected, though, was a treat. It was then that she realized neither of them had eaten in quite some time.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, baby…” She whispered to the pup, who only whined and pawed at her ankles. Huffing, she jumped to her feet and led the two of them inside. Everyone seemed to be dressed for polka dancing, considering their attire and the music playing from a nearby room. With a polka party, there had to be food. Turning to her left, she was met with a nest of blonde curls. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

“Well, hi there,” The woman looked up with a jolly smile. “I just told the young man before you, we don’t put out the cookies until three.”

“That’s amazing,” (Y/N) smiled. “I was actually wondering where the… polka dancing takes place.”

The woman assessed the young girl with a raised brow. “Very… interesting choice of clothing. And I’m afraid we can’t allow the dog.”

“Ah- Yes, my mom’s actually in there with my clothes. I just need to find her and change. And this is her… service dog.”

“He looks a little young to be a service dog, sweetie.”

“That’s what I told the doctor,” (Y/N) chuckled, smiling down at her pup. “But he does his job very well for the cute little thing he is. However, he cannot do his job if he isn’t at my mom’s side, so…”

Sighing, the woman gestured to her left. “All the way down that hall, dear. Just keep an eye on the dog, will ya?”

“Of course. Thank you.” She nodded before leading her and Pennycrumb in the direction of the room jumping with cheery music and the clicking of dancing feet. She found herself a table in the corner of the room after meandering her way past attendees. Just as she sat herself down, she was greeted by smiling faces, allowing them to gush over and pet her puppy. This eventually resulted in them wanting to feed him their scraps of food, much to her delight.

(Y/N) helped herself to the buffet as she watched the door carefully, wanting to keep an eye on Five’s whereabouts. What she didn’t expect after eating the majority of her plate was to be pulled onto the dance floor. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she genuinely had a blast learning to polka dance, as embarrassing as it was to her. She caught on rather quickly and allowed herself three dances before she politely excused herself, collected her dog, and crept out of the room. Just as she entered the hall again, she saw the blonde attendant from earlier storming away from a broken vending machine and into a room for a meeting labeled ‘Midwest Soybean Society’.

That doesn’t even sound like a real thing, she thought. That must be where the board is meeting.

Deciding to wait out Five’s ‘work’, she strolled over to the vending machine, wincing at the broken glass that once contained the delicious snacks inside. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a certain candy bar, the Fudge Nutter, was leaning just out of its slot. It was just hanging by a thread. That’s when (Y/N) realized, Five hadn’t eaten in a while either. This must’ve been his doing. Using her foot, she kicked the glass out of the way and stuck her hand in, plucking the candy out of its place and pocketing it. Just when she did so, she heard Mr Pennycrumb’s barks aimed in front of them. (Y/N) blinked at the sight before her.

A man- could she even call him that? - with a fish tank holding a goldfish for a head came running in her direction in a panicked hurry, huffing and puffing through what looked to be an intercom of some sort. Tightening her hold on the leash, she swirled her way in front of the fish-man any time he’d change his direction. “Out of my way!” He hissed, but (Y/N) continued to block his path until Five blinked right in front of her. From where she stood behind him, she saw that he was drenched in blood and could only imagine what he looked like from the front. The boy clutched a paddle in his hands, his movements fidgeting. The fish-man gasped in shock at the boy. “Surely, we can come to some form of agreement that benefits both parties,” His British accent quivered. “Quid pro quo? What do you say?”

“Why not?” Five shrugged. “Here’s your quid.” The boy swung the paddle into the man’s side, eliciting a shriek from him. “Here’s your pro.” Then to his leg, sending him to his knees. “And here’s your quo.”

“No! No! Please, don’t!” He whimpered as Five aimed the paddle to his glass tank containing the goldfish. “No!” He cried as the boy smashed the paddle through the tank, glass shattering and water pouring all around. The body fell to the ground with a thud as well as the goldfish. Five loomed over the fish just as Mr Pennycrumb happily barked and skittered to the boy. Blinking, he turned to the dog in confusion.

“Mr Pennycrumb?” He whispered. From his peripheral, he spotted (Y/N) joining his side. “(Y/N), what are you doing here?! How did you even-”

“I’m surprised I made it this far,” She hummed and crouched down, a bag of water in her hand she had fetched the moment Five had blinked into the hallway. “No, baby, you just ate. You fatty.” She chuckled and gently pushed her very hyper golden retriever away, preventing him from gobbling down the fish.

Five watched as she delicately picked AJ up with her index finger and thumb, plopping him into the bag of water before holding it closed. “What’s the poor bastard’s name?” She asked and stood to her feet. Five let out a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling.

“AJ Carmichael…”

“Well, then… It’s nice to meet you, AJ.” She whispered to the bag. The teens quickly looked up when two giggling women exited the polka association room. They stopped in their tracks, observed the scene, and headed straight back inside without a word spoken. (Y/N) sighed and handed the bag over to her love before picking up her pup’s leash. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She perked up and fished the candy out of her pocket, tucking it into Five’s instead.

“For your hard work.”

“Thank you, my love.”

Not a word was spoken between the two after Five took them back to 1963 via the briefcase. “Why couldn’t we just use this to get back home?”

“Because of that,” He pointed to the case that sat on the gravel before them. It shook and sputtered and crackled, an electric blue light emanating and swallowing it whole until it was gone. “She’d never hand me a ticket out of here until she got what she wanted.”

“Yeah, I guess I should’ve thought of that…” (Y/N) whispered and turned away.

They stood in the middle of an alleyway, awaiting The Handler’s arrival as (Y/N) took her handkerchief out of her breast pocket and began ridding Five’s face of the blood splatter the best she could. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers no matter how hard she tried to capture them. She could practically see the gears turning in his head, with the way his brows scrunched and his bloodied fingers rubbed against each other. Once she finished what she could of his face, she gently took his hands in hers and cleaned those as well. Their eyes finally met, both pairs filled with concern for the other, just before the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.

The Handler, in all her glory, walked towards the two, briefcase in hand. Five wouldn’t even face her, even went as far as to keep his back towards her even after she stopped to stand in front of (Y/N). “We meet again, dear.”

“I had a feeling…”

“Do you bring the mutt everywhere you go?”

(Y/N) shrugged at her pet, who was busy scratching himself behind his ear. The Handler hummed and turned to Five. “Well?”

Without a word, the boy stretched his arm that held the bag behind him. The Handler gasped and set the briefcase down, moving her veil out of the way and taking the bag into her hands. She cackled, cooed and sighed at poor AJ before settling her sights on Five, who was now turned to face her. “You know, you’re really starting to fill out those tight little shorts of yours. Isn’t he, (Y/N)?”

Said girl only watched her love, who looked anywhere but at her. She realized he was ashamed, he was regretful. The Handler frowned at him, hand on her hip. “What’s wrong with him? He’s never this quiet after a job like this. I thought you’d be buzzing after this morning’s slaughter, Five.”

“All this killing,” Five sighed. “I’m done with it.”

The Handler raised her brows and moved forward, going to caress his cheek as she usually did, but (Y/N) stepped to his side, hand firmly on his arm. Chuckling, she turned back to Five. “Am I supposed to take that seriously?”

“What I did today, I did for my family. I did it to save the world.”

“Please. Spare me your little assassin with the heart of gold routine, will you?” She tapped his nose before picking up the briefcase and stretching it towards them. “Here. Per our agreement, this will get you, your siblings, and dear (Y/N) back to 2019.”

To spare him the humiliation of taking the briefcase, (Y/N) did it herself, glaring at the woman.

“You have ninety minutes.”

(Y/N)’s stomach dropped as Five snapped his head up. The Handler turned to walk away as he quickly followed her. “You said nothing about a time limit!”

Glancing at her watch, she smiled. “Actually, you have eighty-nine minutes and thirty seconds. Better hurry.”

“You fucking-”

“This is impossible, okay?!” Five interrupted (Y/N)’s insult in a panic. “My siblings are scattered across the city!”

“Nothing’s impossible. You proved that this morning when you killed the board.”

“I need more time.” Five rushed, glancing at his love for a moment, the girl clutching the briefcase in one hand, Pennycrumb’s leash in the other.

“Any more time, and people will start asking questions,” The Handler’s neutral tone contradicted Five’s rushed, panicked voice. “The sooner you get home and out of this time period, the better off we’ll both be, so ticktock, ticktock.”

Growling, Five charged up to (Y/N), the girl watching as the she-devil happily waved at them before Five blinked them out of the alleyway. The blood-scrawled message on Elliott’s floor was hard not to notice when they appeared in his home. (Y/N) widened her eyes at the message written in Swedish:

ÖGA FÖR ÖGA

Five snatched the briefcase from her hold and sighed before he hurried up the steps. (Y/N) followed close behind, the voices of Diego and Luther becoming more apparent the closer they got. Reaching the top of the stairs, they noticed a chair with a sheet-covered figure laying in it. (Y/N) dropped the leash and approached the chair, slowly uncovering the figure and gasping at the sight of a bloodied Elliott. His face was frozen in agony, the light within his dark eyes vanished. She and Five let out a simultaneous ‘damn’ before she covered him back up. “The three psychopaths…”

She looked up as Five wandered the lounge room, searching for a safe place to store the briefcase. As he did so, (Y/N) entered the kitchen, watching her brothers share a single brain cell.

“My name? Is, uh, Luther Hargreeves, and-”

Diego snatched the phone out of Luther’s hand and put it up to his own ear. “You killed one of ours, Olga,” The misinterpretation had (Y/N) rolling her eyes to the back of her head. “Now we’re coming after you. You will be dead by nightfall.”

“Hey!” Five called as he entered the kitchen, beginning to take off his blaser. “It’s Öga För Öga, idiots. Swedish for ‘an eye for an eye’.”

(Y/N) moved behind him and assisted in removing his blaser, glancing up at her brothers. “The Swedes killed Elliott. Not poor Olga.” As she pulled off Five’s vest for him, Diego slowly turned back towards the wall.

“Wrong number. Have a lovely day.” He smiled before hanging up the phone. (Y/N) scoffed and held the boy’s clothes out of his reach when he tried to take them.

“Shower.” She demanded, Five clenching his fists.

“(Y/N), we don’t have time-”

“We’ll have plenty of time. You shower while I wash the blood out.” She explained and began unbuttoning his dress shirt. Five gently swatted her hands away.

“I can undress myself!”

“Then hurry and give me your disgusting clothes!”

“Fine!”

Five scoffed and moved around his brothers, ignoring whatever they had been calling out to him. (Y/N) shook her head and set her love’s clothes into Elliott’s kitchen sink. Diego and Luther leaned against the counter on either side of her as she began washing the blood from the vest.

“You gonna explain what the hell happened?” Diego whispered.

“Why’s he covered in blood?” Luther leaned closer.

“I tried to clean it, I really did.” (Y/N) shrugged.

The brothers gave each other a look before moving their attention back to their sister. Luther cleared his throat. “How’d he, uh… get the blood on him?”

She didn’t give him an explanation, though, and picked up the pile of clothes Five had just dumped outside of the bathroom door before returning to the sink. When the two saw she wasn’t going to speak on Five’s behalf, they both sighed and left her to her work.

Despite his irritation, the boy couldn’t help the swelling of his heart when he cracked the bathroom door open to find his slightly damp, but clean clothes neatly folded on the floor. Grabbing the clothes, he quickly tugged the uniform back on, save for the tie and blaser. Swinging the door open, he was met with a smirking (Y/N). He rolled his eyes as she approached him, taking his tie and putting it on for him. “Doesn’t that make you feel a bit better?”

“No,” He mumbled, but caught the amusement in her eyes. “Maybe a little… but it doesn’t matter because we’re losing time.”

“Well, sorry for not wanting you to smell like you just killed twelve people.” She whispered and pecked his lips, exiting the bathroom after his tie was fastened. Glancing in the mirror, Five adjusted his clothes as Luther did the same just outside the bathroom.

“So, I found a way home.”

“What? How?”

“All the details are irrelevant, but… I made a deal to get back to our timeline.”

(Y/N) watched from the lounge room as the boys spoke, gently petting her dog. Diego joined in the conversation as he pulled a jacket on. “What about doomsday?”

“Won’t happen.”

“And the 2019 apocalypse?”

“Everything will be back to normal,” Five sighed and exited the bathroom, blaser in hand. “Now no more questions. We gotta go. We have to find the others, right? Luther, you get Allison. Diego, Klaus. I’ll get Vanya. Now, we meet back in the arrival alley in seventy-seven minutes.” He pulled on the blaser and picked up four watches, handing one to each person in the room. “I’ve synchronized these watches.”

(Y/N) stood to her feet once the watch was given to her. “Five, what should I do?” She raised her brows. Five shook his head and busied himself with fastening the watch on her wrist.

“Starlight, I want you to gather your things, say your goodbyes to Mr Pennycrumb, and meet back in the alleyway as soon as possible-”

“Wait, what? We’re leaving Penny?” She widened her eyes. Five exhaled through his nose and wordlessly nodded. “Five, why? N-Nothing will happen, he’s just a dog.”

His eyes flicked up to her when her voice broke, his hands coming up to hold her jaw. “He may be just a dog, Starlight, but he isn’t insignificant. Every little yawn he takes, every bark he makes… it all matters, okay? We can’t risk it. I know Mr Pennycrumb was a comfort for you and I’m so sorry… but we can’t take him.”

(Y/N) shakily inhaled, desperately trying to blink back the tears in her eyes, but Five saw them long before she even noticed. Glancing down, he saw the puppy chewing at the toe of his shoe. With the utmost care, Five picked the puppy up and placed him into her arms before leaning down to look into his eyes. “Thanks, buddy… for taking care of her,” He reached forward, Pennycrumb instantly nuzzling his nose into his hand. “You did what I couldn’t. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Goodbye, Mr Pennycrumb.”

“I’m glad you two met.” (Y/N) whispered. Five smiled and sweetly kissed her before stepping back. Clearing her throat, she held her puppy close and walked down the stairs. She only allowed herself to cry when she stepped outside, the door shutting behind her.

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Taglist: @unfortu-nate-ly @sapphicsyn @m00n-sh @starcurrent @alexander-hamilhoe @youcandalekmyballs @wonderlandfandomkingdom @yrdadjstcallsmekatya @sm0kingcrack @a-t-h-r-e-e-n-a @moatsnow @bubblegumflamingos @starstormssymphony @meowiemari @magicalgothpandamaker @keayastitties @hehehehannahthings @harrystylescherrie @rhain3 @himikaphoo @xxeiraxx @camerondiaz48104 @isawachickeninatree @theyaremorethanjustfictional @that-can-of-fizz @luckyzipperscissorsbat @cuupiid

[acircusfullofdemons]

ARCADIA: HIDDEN IN CODE [HUMAN AU]

This is a Human!AU I've made because most of not all my paras are some sort of supernatural creature — don't be fooled, even if they "look" human, they still have some magical ability. So for this AU, they're just like humans irl.

Also, after some thinking, I’ve decided that they’re all going to be around college-age (I think Anthony & Jordan are a tad younger – juniors or seniors idk) seeing as how I myself am soon entering college...hooray...

ANTHONY MORNINGSTAR

His family is very, very rich. You'd think this would be great, but most only like him for his money, so he doesn't have a lot of "real" friends.

He meets Jordan first & then by extension Elliott.

Honestly? His parents probably force him to become a business major in order to take over the ‘family business’. Anthony hates it but doesn’t really know what else he wants to do yet. I think eventually he just drops out & moves in with Jordan for a bit tbh.

Y'know he probably came out as trans to his family after he got a name change / started T...not sure how well they'd take it, though.

CALYPSO RAYMOND

He's a Theater Kid. Everyone at the circus is in his theater class. He’s majoring in Musical Theater!

Him & Reverie (who's called Cecilia in this au) ACTUALLY spend time together. Ikr, spending time with your twin sister? What a concept. He used to live with her & their parents before moving in with Rowan & Jane.

He has a Youtube Channel where he sings covers & original songs. He also makes waayyy to many tiktoks.

Does gymnastics w/Cecilia on the side.

ELLIOTT HART

She works part-time at StarLight Museum, which is also owned by her mother, Ruth.

Her & Jordan actually grow up together….the chaos Ruth & Gregory had to go through, everyone pray for them.

Her appearance changes a bit: she has blonde hair & blueish-gray eyes instead of brown hair & green eyes. Though….there's always the possibility of her dying it brown one day…

Is renting an apartment with Toby, they’re roommates (omg they were roommates…)

JANE BELLEROSE

You know what? She's still a teen mom & has Jace. Her parents end up kicking her out so she goes to live with Rowan instead (their childhood friends + Seth [aka rowans dad] was ok with it before they moved out).

Going to college to do something in childcare, possibly be a social worker.

Oh there's definitely gonna be beef between her & Sam (= Jace's dad). I don't think it'll last for long tho bc (1) I don't really wanna think about Sam, (2) Jane is fine being a single mother, (3) Sam doesn't really care all that much about having a son tbh. Sure, he may have tried to get custody, but only bc of the money child support would give him.

She does kickboxing & martial arts! It's her favorite pastime & helps her blow off steam.

JORDAN HART

Probably one of the few times Cyber goes by their legal name (= Jordan).

Still has a prosthetic arm, probably got it in an unfortunate car accident.

STEM Major...you already KNOW they’re going into robotics. Or a mechanic...something that let's them work with machines, that's for sure.

Other than that they probably just spend way too much time on the internet ngl.

ROWAN DELLACROY

His dads the chief of police...which isn't all that fun when you live in a small town & everyone avoids you bc they think you're gonna rat them out.

He babysits Blair, Kelly is his foster / adoptive sister (he also watches Jace for Jane sometimes).

Him & Jane are childhood friends, which is how they know each other. One day he just randomly met Calypso — I'm honestly not sure how — and he's never known peace since.

Working on a Masters Degree in Public Health to become an epidemiologist (someone who studies diseases….sir pls help us with covid).

TOBY REYNOLDS

Of course he’s getting a history major. I think he wants to be a history teacher??

Also works are StarLight Museum...but in a totally different section then Elliott goddamn it.

In terms of family, he has a dad & 2 older brothers.

He builds robots with Jordan in his spare time! He's also part of an online photography group.

[invisibleraven]

Ride Or Die Till The End

Day Six: Lost

Definite allusions to Reggie suffering abuse and the Pattersons not being great parents in this chapter

I'll be with you through it all <-AO3 link

Luke scowled as he ripped down yet another missing person poster with his face on it. He wasn't missing, he wasn't lost, he had run away. If his parents had really cared, they could have looked for him at any of the numerous gigs Sunset Curve had booked since he left home. Hell they knew the Wilson's, all they had to do was ask them where he was, since they knew he was squatting in their garage.

Then again, maybe Emily did think of him as lost, lost to his obsession, as she would call it, with music. She had said a few times she felt she had lost her son to chords and harmonies, it came before everything else, and she just wanted him back. He had tried, really he had, but what use was algebra when his band was gonna become legends as soon as they played that life changing gig at the Orpheum. Why should he waste his time discussing Salinger and Shelley when his head was swimming with lyrics?

Bobby had understood, his parents weren't big fans of his plan to ditch college to play on a rock band, but they still offered up their garage. He told Luke he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted, and let him know if there was anything he needed. They exchanged fist bumps, and then went back to working out the notes for their latest song. Neither boy was big on emotion, but they were always there for each other when it counted.

Alex worried, but that was a near constant state for him. He worried about Luke getting the right food, and often snuck him leftovers from home that he could warm up at the studio. His parents were awful, frosting him out after he told them he was gay, but he was still living at home, and had no plans to leave until after they graduated. Alex kept everyone in line, functioning as the band mom half the time, and always offered support, even if he didn't agree with Luke living in a garage or dropping out of school.

"At least get your GED man, some labels may not want to sign us if they find out you're a runaway dropout. I'll help you study." Alex offered. Luke relented, as he had made a good point. He didn't want something as small as a high school education to get in the way of them making it big. Between the four of them he could manage to scrape by with a passing grade.

Reggie… well Reggie understood better than anyone. Reggie’s parents were probably the worst, and Luke was convinced if he ever went to jail it would be for murdering the Peters’. There had been too many clues of them hurting Reggie for Luke to ignore. The way he flinched at every raised voice, jumped at every bang, crash and broken item. The many layers Reggie wore, and his refusal to change in front of them, as if he was hiding a myriad of bruises all over his skin. Luke just wanted to grab his best friend by the shoulders some days and shake him, tell him to get out of that house, move into the garage with him, or find someplace they could escape their parents together. He had suggested it offhandedly once, but Reggie shrugged it off, claiming he was fine, and he didn’t want to leave home just yet.

“Maybe when we’re eighteen. Or not forced into slumming it in the studio. Our gigs don’t pay enough for a place yet.”

“Not after we play the Orpheum man! It’ll happen some day, I’m telling you!” Luke said, always confident in the band, that they would make it big, that he would be able to connect with everyone through their music.

Reggie beamed at him, nodding. “Of course, then we can land a manager and eventually take the world by storm!” They exchanged a high five, and decided an impromptu jam session was called for, even with just the two of them. It ended up with them writing a good chunk of a new song that Luke was debating calling Lost In Your Starlight.

But then, the Orpheum became less of a dream and more of a reality, as their years of trying finally paid off in landing a showcase at the famous theatre. Luke wanted to rush home and tell his mom, rub it in her face that as lost as she thought he was, he had finally found himself, and now he’d have the chance to share that self, that gift that she rejected, with the world. But… when he crept home, sneaking to look in their window, he saw his parents there, sitting as they always were, looking no different than when he had left all those months ago. They weren’t still distraught, or worried. Hell, they weren’t even out looking for him, or making frantic phone calls to the cops asking for leads. Didn’t they care that he was still out there?

He had hoped to come home once they made it, show them that his dreams weren’t a waste, that he could actually make it as a musician. But he wondered if they’d even accept it then, always claiming that fame was fickle and fleeting. That he should have something to fall back on for when he fails. Not if, when. He never had their support, and he finally gets it, by running away, he didn’t just lose his home, he’d well and truly lost his parents. He looks at the flyer he had planned to leave announcing the band’s showcase, but instead shoves it into his pocket. They would never understand, never accept him or his dreams. He didn’t need them, he didn’t need to 'grow up'. He’d be Peter Pan, living in his own Never Never Land forever if it meant he got to do what he loved.

That didn’t stop him from writing his mother a song, lamenting everything unsaid between them, breaking down into tears when he first played it with the guys. The three of them hugged him tight, wiped away his tears, and promised that the song stayed between them.

“How about we do Now or Never at the showcase instead?” Reggie suggested.

Luke sniffled and nodded, snuggling further into his embrace even after Alex and Bobby had let go. He and Reggie, there was always something more between them, some spark that Luke had never wanted to define. But it was there, simmering under the surface, and maybe once they made it big, he would be open to exploring that. Given how many times he had caught Reggie staring at him with heart eyes or glancing quickly away from his lips when they shared a mic, Luke figured Reggie would be okay with them being more… someday.

The night of their showcase found Alex and Reggie on either side of Luke on a ratty couch in an alleyway. Bobby had stayed behind to flirt with the cute waitress, but she seemed way more interested in talking about their music than giving Bobby her number when they had left. They were smiling, finally ready to wow the world with their sound, and become legends.

Luke held his street dog up in a toast “Eat up boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”

[lariadnedawnburn]

Twilight Released

The wings felt odd, new. She shook out her large head, for she had a long neck now. Lifting a clawed foot she looked at the coloring. The man before her, Hatal but not Hatal said something about her being rare and thinking they all died, but she wasn’t hearing anything now. “My constellation, my starlight..” That sounded like her mate. Extending her neck she pressed her head into his touch, “Love….”

The transition had been painful, the breaking of the seal that held it all in. It felt like death. There in the mana pool where Senegos lie, she was drowned and born anew, born to who she was meant to be. Who she was clutched to be, rather. She closed her eyes, feeling memories flood back but not understanding them. Flashes in time here and there through her mind’s eye. She didn’t recognize herself, was that whelpling her? How?

Hatal took her to their home after she had shifted herself to her normal, well what she thought was her normal. Starlit eyes looked at their bed, and frowned as he told her he had to depart. How could he leave her after such a trial? She was pained, but she was also so exhausted, her throat burned from the inky black of dark magic, her eyes felt as if they were still bleeding. She closed her eyes and sighed. Falling into their bed she curled into the blankets and pillow that smelled like him, if she couldn’t have him she would have his scent. His scent! How different it was now, she buried herself into the pillow and sighed. This was the scent she was used to. Not the one he was giving out now.

Dismissing the thought she gave into sleep, sleep and fevered dreams. Her skin was slick with sweat as she tossed and turned. Memories flew back to her in flashback dreams. The form in the bed would sprout twilight scales that would glint in the light and give off the impression of stars. Crying out in her sleep, “Katari no!” Into the empty room, only it wasn’t him she saw. It was Rayes, dark eyes and a cruel expression. The young whelp, wait was that her? It was. The young whelp, barely a day out of egg flapped her wings, a heavy chain attached to a collar around her neck. The too large eyes for the little head searched the man frantically as he gave a cultist a pouch full of gold. 

And then blinding, searing pain. She felt her body break, her bones crack and extend, the whelp was being unnaturally aged. Per the man’s request and as he watched with cruel delight the whelp’s horns grew, wings grew. She was fused with more and more void as she grew, becoming a monstrosity of dragon a void as one. The eyes danced as the dragon screamed. 

“What form would you like her to take?” The cultist asked. The man ran a hand under his chin before tilting his head, “An elf of course, much like myself when I wish to be. But make her beautiful.” No, this wasn’t right, didn’t dragons get to choose who they wanted to be? Didn’t they get to choose their forms? She may only be days old, but now none of this seemed right. 

The form cracked and popped until a naked woman stood before the man, her skin a pale color, hair dark in color graced her shoulders. The cultist took a gun of ink and tattooed the woman’s face. A brand from the specific maker. Stars were tattooed above and around her eye. The eyes they couldn’t get right though. Those stayed looking as if they were portals of the void. The man sighed, “It will have to do until we figure something out…”

And then came another, greater pain. 

The memory shifted as Lariadne was then knocked out. She woke up, days later, arcane bonds around her wrists and her neck. She had no memory of her name, who she was, anything. She looked at her pale hands, turning them over and over again. She released a sigh and looked around the empty room. Until a man came in, the man, a handsome Sin’dorei with dark hair and dark eyes. He smiled cruelly at her, “We’re not done forming you just yet, young one…”

And then blackness again. She awoke in a cell, training began. But this time she had a name, and memories of being a noble girl to a big family in Silvermoon. The man had killed her family. She belonged to him now, did his bidding. This man was cambion. Unable to contain his form for long, Lari was charged with getting his prey for him. Her eyes were always hidden from her prey though, and the man never fed from her. He only let her out to acquire new people for him, and then it was back to the cell. 

This went on for some time, until the world changed. The man came to her with a smile, and made her sleep again. Awakening she had new memories of joining with the void like the rest of her ‘people’. The Ren’dorei they were called. She looked at the lilac skin, the now blue hair. She closed her eyes and sighed, in her free time she would play with the void, use it to escape bonds. Eventually she escaped him.

She shot awake in bed, her eyes going wide, “Love?!” But no one was there, for once the house was quiet. Except for a small owl kitten that slept by her side. She smiled softly at the animal and pet it as the tears fell. She knew now, nothing she remembered of herself was true. She was never a Sin’dorei, Quel’dorei, or Ren’dorei. She was twilight, and very young at that. Artificially aged and bound to be the perfect servant. She was never supposed to know.

She touched her face, the top of her head where she felt horns in the wavy curls. “Oh….So that is who I am…” She bit her lip, and moved the owl kitten from her lap. It squawked a protest as she laid it in the empty spot next to her. Standing she stepped out onto the balcony. Her hand brushed the table, where she had shared so many meals with the man she loved.  

She looked up at the sky, now filled with starlight. How fitting. And now, she would experience who she was, true freedom. She jumped down from the balcony into the open grass and looked to make sure no one watched. With a roar that sounded very draconic she let her head crane back as her body shifted. A large dragon with horns and scales like twilight burst forth from the form. She flapped her wings, and dug her claws into the soil finding purchase their, feeling out the strength of them. Relaxing her talons she flapped her great wings again and took off into the night. 

A dragon free, a silhouette against the moon in the sky to the city below. A roar rang out again, almost musical in sound. Twilight was released.

@thecrimsonhand​

[zoryany]

Fic Title Meme

Tagged by: @mokulule ​ and @spell-cleaver ​ !! (a while back but I’m slow at responding - thank you, tho, dearies !! <3 )

Look at the most recent 20 12 fanwork titles on your AO3 account (bc that’s all I have on there lol) and answer the questions below.

If we really wanted, I could dip into my ff.net days but. it would really take quite the demand for me to do that. I’d prefer not to think about most of those lmfao. 

For Better of Worse

Of Loyalty and Royalty

Legacies of the Chosen One

Temples and Truths

Ash and Ember

Penumbra

The Boy With Starlight In His Veins

Back Against the Wall

Earthbound

To Train the Chosen

A Solitary Mourning

Perchance to Dream

1. How many are you happy with?

I like most of them. I’ve always had such trouble with titles, so like how I feel about them changes pretty regularly, but in general, I’m happy with most of my titles. it isn’t often that I come up with a title that I consider to be brilliant, and if I do come up with one, it’s before I start writing the fic, and then I end up having to change it bc it just doesn’t fit anymore. the same goes for chapter titles, tbh.

2. How many are… not great?

I think I’m the most unhappy with To Train the Chosen but that one was initially written on a tumblr roleplay blog with no intention to give it a title. I’m also not the happiest with Temples and Truths. it just seemed to be a title that suited the story I (eventually) want to tell, and I couldn’t come up with anything more clever.

3. How many did you scramble for at the last minute?

Well... hmm. I mean, in one way or another, all of them. definitely A Solitary Mourning and To Train the Chosen. pretty sure I scrambled somewhat for Temples and Truths. and definitely For Better or Worse, I just wanted to get (part of) that one up for the fic exchange it belongs to, and that title just so happened to Work.

4. How many did you know before you started writing/creating, or near the beginning?

Ash and Ember I knew going into it, since the fledgling ideas for it were plotted out before with the help of a former writing partner of mine. Back Against the Wall was... I think early on, or at least partway through. I fiddled with a couple ideas before settling on that idea in the end, but I think the title came once I figured out where I was going with it. technically you could count Penumbra, since it’s a oneshot collection, but I do generally have a vague idea of what I’ll title the oneshot itself before or as I start writing it. the end result might not necessarily be the original idea, but I at least have a starting point.

5. How many are quotes from songs or poems?

two are song titles lol. Ash and Ember and Back Against the Wall. largely bc those songs are ones that just sort of... fit the fics themselves, and I find it easier for me to focus my writing when I have musical inspiration. the chapters in Ash and Ember are also song quotes. I blame @ladyvader23​ tho, since she likes to have songs in the notes that go along with each chapter. BATW was a gift fic for her to begin with, so of course I had to, and that method has helped me keep focused for A&E so I can’t feel too bad about it.

6. How many are other quotes?

Hamlet is a play, not a poem, so I guess Perchance to Dream counts here lol. 

7. Which best reflects the plot of the story/content of the fanwork?

probably Back Against the Wall and A Solitary Mourning, since in the former, Luke is pretty literally stuck between Vader and the wall, and he’s literally just mourning his father on his own in the latter. Temples and Truths is pretty literal as well, though I still have to write the “truths” part of it. Perchance to Dream is also pretty literal since it’s, well, about dreamsharing (as is the Penumbra oneshot called Dreams lol.)

8. Which best reflects the theme of the story?

I do like Penumbra for my oneshot collection, bc it does have that light/dark dichotomy that Luke and Vader possess. Ash and Ember, especially given the song I stole it from, reflects a lot of what is going to go down in the story to come, if not directly than for sure in an overall “character journey” sort of way. and Legacies of the Chosen One works in that it’s focused on Luke and Ahsoka, who are both part of Anakin’s legacy in some form, and even if it isn’t technically a “theme,” per se, their relationship with him and increasingly one another is the whole point of the fic. Of Loyalty and Royalty also fits really well, given the sort of tug between the royal duty Luke has and his loyalty towards both his family and Han.

9. Which best reflects the character voice of the story/POV of the story?

prooooobably The Boy With Starlight In His Veins, just bc, well, it’s all about Luke, and that’s sort of how I like to refer to him. in an entirely poetic and metaphorical manner, of course. you could also make arguments for A Solitary Mourning and Back Against the Wall, though.

10. Which is your favourite title?

hmmmmmm.... I think I’m generally most proud of Penumbra, Back Against the Wall, and Of Loyalty and Royalty. they just sorta fit the best, and even tho BATW is stolen from a song title, I still like it and how it suits the oneshot itself.

Tagging: anyone !! everyone !! please do this!! tag me so I can see! if you haven’t done this yet, consider yourself - yes, you - tagged!

[aboutthemponies]

The End is Neigh

I first started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in the middle of the season 4 to season 5 hiatus. At the time, there was no announced fifth season; the end of season 4 was simply the end of the show as far as I knew. I remember feeling so content after watching that final battle between Twilight and Tirek that as I fell asleep that night, I thought “That was so good! It cannot possibly get better than this. I’m so happy I could die in my sleep tonight.” Woah, that’s a grim thought. I wasn’t even 18 years old and I was already content enough with my short life to be fine with dying right then? What strange drugs I must have been on!

Needless to say, my life continued on, and I’m so glad I did. Only after watching the entire show would I attend BronyCon, create my own MLP club at college, join the amazing DC Bronies for the semester I was away, and discover all the amazing art, music, animation, parodies, PMVs, and so much more that this fandom has made in its nine years of existence! In that time, there’s also been disappointments: never again has a season’s finale topped my experience of seasons 4’s (or season 2’s), and neither did the MLP movie. This isn’t to say that I do not enjoy episodes from the newer seasons (there’s several that I enjoy from every single season), but rather the magic, the obsession, has long since faded.

Indeed, when I first watched the show, I fell under a magic spell that would cause me to think about ponies non-stop, would make me go crazy anytime I saw a piece of pony merchandise while out and about, would make me rewatch seasons 1 through 4 four times within the course of a single year, would make me identify as a brony first before any other identity. It was a complete and total obsession that I can only compare to falling in love, and oh boy, I fell so hard! I can go on and on with clichés about how the show filled me with endless joy and changed my life forever, but I don’t need to because if you understand that I “loved” MLP:FiM, all my strange behavior will make sense.

When I first fell in love with FiM, I couldn’t watch other shows because I felt I had to reserve my entire heart for this one show. Eventually, I moved past that thinking when my obsession lessened, and I found my heart was big enough to also love other shows like the Powerpuff Girls, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, and Gravity Falls. Finally, the lunacy declined enough to reach normal levels, and I still watch the show, but through jaded eyes which only see the past. This of course, is the lifecycle of love; it starts out as all-consuming, but with enough time, the intensity goes away and the relationship changes.

So when I think about the final season of FiM and what that means to me, I first have to recognize that my experience of the show, from discovering it, obsessing over it, plunging into the fandom, and finally taking a step back away from it all, is largely over even before season 9. The obsession phase started in July 2014 for me, and I remained completely obsessed up until I started college in August 2015. There on out, I entered my fanatic stage: still very dedicated and engaged with the show, but not obsessed like I once was. That lasted at least until the end of season 6, and arguably through January 2017 since I was still regularly writing this blog regularly up until that “Leaving the Fandom” post in February. Then on out, I’ve been in this “casual fan” stage; I’m still following the show, going to meetups, and having the time of my life at conventions, but the effort to participate in the fandom by writing blogs, making music, producing videos, is pretty much gone. The great love I once felt is now my nostalgia.

In that time, the show has also changed significantly (which I analyze in this video). I think we all agree that the show needed to change in order to survive this long, but I also find some of the changes essentially removed core aspects of the early show. In any case, it is what it is and the changes are here for good (I personally like the addition of the friendship school but could live without the map and reformed Starlight Glimmer).

And season, we’ll have season 9, almost 10 more hours of new pony! The question is, what expectations do we have of it, if any?

For me, we’re so far away from the original stories which began in season 1 and ended in season 3/4/5 (depends on which story and who you ask) that the show could honestly do whatever it wants as long as it completes a story. 26 episodes that are entirely serial? Why not? Follow only the student 6 in some kind of new adventure? Sure, I’d be down. Let the megaspells hit and unleash the armageddon? The show’s still for kids, so turning it into Fallout: Equestria’s probably not going to happen.

More broadly, what I really want is for the final season to invoke some of the same emotions that I felt during earlier seasons: the awe of when Rainbow Dash performed the sonic rainboom in season 1, the joy of Pinkie Pie singing the smile song, the tears of happiness when Twilight got her wings in “Magical Mystery Cure” and the CMC their cutie marks in “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”, and the feeling of togetherness when the mane 6 collapsed in exhaustion after making all the apple cider in “Super Easy Cider Squeezy 6000.” There’s so many emotions in those earlier seasons that I don’t think it’s possible for the writers to produce them all in one season, but even if they only succeed in one episode, that episode will be something to treasure.

But even if that doesn’t happen, and all my fondest show moments remain in those earlier seasons, it’s still been such a lovely ride. My love for the show might be a thing of the past, but it’s better to have been in love and then out of love than to never experience that love at all. Over the years, so many fans from so many places have loved My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and I’m glad I got to take part in it. Once a brony, always a brony.

Have a great season 9 everypony!

[zukadiary]

Company/BADDY ~ Moon Troupe 2018

Welp I'm in Japan again, for a bizarre trip considering none of my so-called faves are doing anything I'd normally clamor to see live... There are multiple reasons for that, but a big one is I let the idea of this show seduce me completely. I pegged it my most highly anticipated Grand Theater of the year pretty much as soon as the blurbs came out, anticipated it even more after I read and loved the novel, and pretty much lost my mind as soon as the first BADDY tweets surfaced back in February. So I braved Golden Week crowds in Hibiya to squeeze two viewings out of the last week of the run, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

COMPANY

I summarized Company and its characters a bit before so I won't do it again; they stuck to the premise well enough.

I'd call Company cute and very pleasant; I thought everyone did a wonderful job and any qualms I have are with Ishida-sensei. My love of the book definitely enhanced my appreciation of the show because I went in already attached to the characters, but it also set me up for disappointment in a few places where Ishida fell flat. It's a bit of a long book though, and overall I think he cut exactly what needed to be cut to fit it into one act.

What I LOVE about the play as a whole is the modernness of it; Takarazuka almost never does shows set in present-day Japan, and its shows set in present-day elsewhere often come awkwardly tinged with an uncool dad vibe (LET'S TAKE A SELFIE FOR FACENOTE a la Vampire Succession, for example). Company felt totally natural and it was really refreshing. That said, something bugged me about the line delivery in pretty much the entire show; it was kind of stiff and hammy. I'm inclined to believe it was the direction, but I do wonder if it was just Patented Takarazuka Acting™ and it happened to stand in greater contrast against a modern play (and I also wonder if that's why they shy away from such stories).

Tamakichi was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Her character Aoyagi's backstory was changed by absolute necessity; the book opens with his wife leaving him, but in the opening song of the show he tells us she's died from cancer two years back. Book Aoyagi is a nobody at work and pretty much a total loser in general at the beginning, and goes on a real journey of self love and improvement. I am a little sad we didn't get this angle because I think Tamakichi could have done an absolutely heartbreaking job portraying that particular transformation, but I also completely understand that including all that simply wasn't possible. Instead we have Cool Good-Looking Senpai Aoyagi, reliable leader from start to finish, whose journey is injecting some joy back into his life and beginning to heal from his wife's death. Tamakichi is so good at the wholesome everyday hero I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. My biggest takeaway from her performance, other than that she slays in a basic clean-cut suit, is that she has blossomed and is such a top star. NO SHADE to Tamakichi up till now; she's done nothing but impress me since assuming office. But while what stood out to me in Grand Hotel and All for One was the balance of the troupe and how perfectly they allowed their other wonderful players support her, SHE stood out to me in Company all on her own; her presence and confidence were incredible. They kept Chapi the exact right amount of time.

This could be Chapi's most typical top musumeyaku role since Tamakichi took over, but it's still unique in that she's the pursuer in their romance and I love that. Minami, while less confident in her ballet/work life than Stage Aoyagi seems to be in his work life, is slightly more confident in their personal interactions—always trying to joke, lighten the mood for him, drop hints—and it's a lovely dynamic. Her portrayal was probably the most faithful to the book. Chapi is bright and cheery and the smoothest actress, and every bit of real ballet we get to see her do is a blessing.

I had the greatest attachment to Haruka (MiyaRuri) and Yui (Umi-chan) going in. My absolute favorite aspect of the book was the slow burn surrounding everything Haruka: his relationship with Yui especially, but also with Aoyagi and the others. Of course I totally understand there is no room for slow burn in one act. Aside from that, Miya was exactly the Haruka I imagined and that was a joy to watch (her costume and countenance in the Dark Gay Swan Lake scene in particular is a VISION). Yui is another refreshing atypical musumeyaku character and Umi did a great job. It's a pretty good show for musumeyaku roles in general; Sara (Wakaba) and Noa (Touka Yurino) are also pretty big parts. I loved Kumichou in particular, she had some amazing one-liners.

My biggest disappointment was in Ishida's handling of Nayuta (Reiko). Reiko did just fine, but I felt that Ishida sucked all the life out of the character. Book Nayuta is a hot-headed asshole who underneath all the strutting and crude commentary cares a lot about his performing. A lot of that comes from him being a trainee idol and trying to prove that he has a place among his equally hot-headed senpai whereas Stage Nayuta is the star of the group, but it's NOT AT ALL HARD TO IMAGINE that a star idol might be kind of a hot-headed asshole. Stage Nayuta was just kind of pretty and there, and as a result the drama surrounding him joining Dark Gay Swan Lake in the Prince role felt flat to me. This is one change I really think could have been made in the given timeframe. (Trivia bit: in the understandably zuka-fied Final Drama where Nayuta injures Sara on stage with a lift gone wrong, Nayuta locks himself in the bathroom at intermission and won't stop crying from guilt. In the book, he feels his finger slip between her ribs during the lift, and dwelling on the sensation makes him so ill he can't stop throwing up).

Toshi is a VERY cool idol group leader; Ari is, as I predicted, herself; and Ruu, Shimon, and Mayupon are a pretty funny group (boss and salarymen), with Mayupon in particular also absolutely WEARING the normal suit look. Everyone else was pretty light on the stage time.

BADDY

BADDY is a triumph. If you still have the opportunity to watch it sans spoilers, I recommend it, I'm jealous, and I would love to know what that's like. However I can also say that I read almost everything about it before seeing it and I felt no less impact from its brilliance.

It's completely ridiculous, but the balance it strikes in its ridiculousness is absolutely sublime. Simplicity combined with absurdist randomness; both using and upending traditional Takarazuka elements JUST enough; it strikes the perfect note.

There's so much to unpack.

For one thing, it's SO META. We open in Takarazuka City on the Peaceful Planet that has seen no disturbance in 103 years, and down comes the Baddies' spaceship with a thunk. Following the thunk, Tamakichi declares "Looks like you've been waiting quite a while for this," RIGHT BEFORE going into the standard opening announcement—"written and directed by Ueda Kumiko," etc—and I am sure that's her sticking in her own jab about Takarazuka waiting 103 years before letting one of their female directors do a revue. Really, I wouldn't be surprised if the ENTIRE THING was a reference to this; I mean we're in TAKARAZUKA CITY where COOL BADDIES infiltrate a BORING LAME SOCIETY THAT HASN'T CHANGED IN 103 YEARS and then they BLOW EVERYTHING UP and EVERYONE GOES TO HEAVEN. That's bold, UeKumi.

There are smaller amusing references too... Reiko commenting that Amashi Juri's character looks new (she just switched to musumeyaku), Tamakichi kidnapping Reiko and giving her to Miya saying "here you're in charge of improving this person's general everything" which I'm pretty sure is Miya and Reiko's IRL relationship.

(Amashi Juri is so cute I can't stand it, help).

Another thing, it flows so beautifully for a revue with a plot (not a theme, a plot... the only other example of which I can recall at the moment is Nova Bossa Nova, which does not flow like this). Despite the scenes connecting perfectly into one cohesive story, they are still individual scenes that feel like standard revue scenes, with variety and costume changes and great music and really fun choreography.

Chapi is given the queenly treatment she deserves; she's as much the star of the revue as anyone else. The rockette with her in the center might be my personal highlight, and it's the perfect example of what I mean by both using and upending Takarazuka traditions. We've got typical rockette-style costumes, synchronized kicking, the works—but we've traded the high-pitched KYAA for YELLING ABOUT HOW ANGRY THEY ARE in unison with some really badass choreo. It's the perfect balance of respect and rebellion; it works because the rockette is such a standard part of our fan lexicon, and the small differences make us open our eyes wide. Crushed velvet kuroenbi. Ray Bans during the parade...

The duet dance also—passionate and angry and LITERALLY fiery, as Tama and Chapi dance and eventually descend through the floor with one long hard kiss surrounded the entire time by swirling flames. I mention that in case the flame effect (like the starlight during Maa's Chopin in HOT EYES) does not show up on the DVD, which would be tragic.

As beautifully and wholesomely as Tamakichi carried herself in Company she pulled out all the stops and slayed in BADDY. Dynamic (and dangerous) radiantly glowing top star. Miya is downright erotic.

Mayupon is just an alien, in the background, through costume changes, the entire time.

There was a fun amount of gender fluidity presented in sort of a nonchalant? way?? Like not the gratuitous otokoyaku-in-drag situation we usually get; paired with the free-flowing top 4 love quadrangle, it felt, dare I say, progressive.

I had an extra fun experience at my first viewing... TSUKI MATSURI! Tsukigumi has a tradition where one day per run (though I imagine not every single run) they all wear afro wigs in one scene and adlib it to hell and back. Since it was my first time and this did not seem at all out of place against the backdrop of BADDY I didn't even realize until after, but what lucky timing.

I can't wait for UeKumi's next show, and I went into QR and came out only with Tsukigumi bromides, I don’t know myself. 

[her-monster]

Lesser Evils

****A short story written in 9 parts— An ancient evil wakes from eternal slumber (that she put herself into out of boredom) to a post-apocalyptic world. Without a world to rule, she is bemused and bored enough to help a little mute human boy looking for his father. ****

*Mature elements, including gore and violence*

PART ONE— Lady Void

I never thought I'd wake again, so coming to consciousness to the utter silence that met my ears and the rest of my senses was almost like not waking at all. I sat up slowly, staring around at the four males— drakán if I wasn't mistaken— watching me with wide, pleased gleams in their dark eyes.

"My lady," one murmured in the tongue I last remembered. I flinched at the gravel in his voice that broke that musical silence, and immediately lashed out, ending his life with a swipe of my claws. The others went down even quicker, the filthy creatures, until only one remained.

"My lady!" he cried, his voice even more worse than the first. I hissed at him, leaping up from the body of the last male I had slaughtered to finish him. "We awoke you, our goddess, to aid us in our time of need! The vampír have overtaken the earth; they have killed off most of the humans— there is barely anything left to feed on! They have bred until there are too many to sustain— we feed on their scraps only! We woke you to right this injustice! We freed you from your prison!"

I cocked my head, feeling my knotted hair twisting around my shoulders at the movement.

"Goddess?" I growled, keeping my voice low. Fuck, that silence had been perfect and serene. I wanted that back. "I am no goddess. I am death. I am chaos. I am the end. I am the void. I am savior to no thing."

"My lady, pl—!" the male began, but I was finished with that damn noise he was making. So I ended his life and licked the blood and chunks of the four dead drakán from my fingers as I stared around me.

I was in a large stone chamber— a cave maybe? The walls were rough stone that glittered in what I assumed was starlight— I could not feel the moon's light through the stone.

The silence and peace was so complete in that cave, no sight, sound or sense of any living beings, it took me many parcels of time to leave the rotting corpses of the misguided drakán behind and venture out into the desert that surrounded my gravesite.

The place I had interred myself centuries-- millennia? — before, when my immortal life began to grow... tedious.

And those imbeciles had woken me, probably hearing some misbegotten stories of my favoring the drakán.

All creatures believed what they wanted to believe. The truth was never that simple.

PART TWO — The Taking

My daddy was out on the edges of the forest chopping wood when the first warning went out — one of the border alarms. The three women and the old man we were hiding out with in that tiny cabin quickly moved into their oft-rehearsed roles. While I ran for my daddy. He was already on his way back in, his wrist alarm beeping so quietly I could barely hear it over the pounding of my heart in my ears and my throat.

I grabbed his arm to yank him towards the cabin, hand signing rapidly, no sound escaping my mouth except the near-soundless puffs of air.

Hurry, Daddy! I signed when he barely budged at my touch.

"It's too late, Jayk," Daddy said, his eyes watching the forest. "They know we're here. We can't hide. Run. Run, now!"

Obedience was ingrained so deeply in me, since from birth my survival has depended on obeying my father with no hesitation or question, that my feet were carrying me into the forest before I even had a chance to process his words fully. And it was from behind the heavy shrubbery that I watched, my hands covering my mouth even though screams in the back of my throat couldn't escape even if I tried to let them, as a dozen vampires entered the little clearing where our cabin was that we had lived in for only a few months.

I tried to close my eyes as the vampires tore the old man apart, attacking each other to get the bigger pieces of him as his blood flew through the air in morbid arcs. The women's screams were high-pitched and my ears rang with a whooshing sound I knew was trying to make me pass out.

I stared in horror, my eyes refusing to shut, as my daddy ran towards the cabin and disappeared inside, a shotgun cocked at his shoulder. He shouted, the gun blasted twice, and then I didn't hear anything more from him.

It felt like hours before the women's screams faded, whimpered out, and then they were silent. The old man was only a few bones and blood-wetted grass when the vampires pulled away from their huddle around his body, the few from inside the cabin exited, and they began to move into the forest. Luckily, in the same direction they had come — the opposite direction from where I lay watching them.

The last three vampires to exit the cabin had me thanking God that He had taken my voice when I was a child, for surely the gasp of air that escaped me would have been deafening if I had a voice box to back it up. For dragging behind the vampires, hog tied with their hands and legs behind their backs, were Adalaid... and my father. Both with heaving chests.

Alive.

PART THREE — Lady Vengeance

I travelled leisurely for many turnings of the moon, exploring the much-changed world I had woken in, before I came to any kind of mortal encampment, and of course it was a nest of vampír I came across first. Filthy parasites that they are. I've always hated them. Blood is mine to drink, especially human blood. Humans have the shortest lifespans of any sentient creatures, so their blood is the sweetest, the purest, the least tainted by time. And the vampír had the audacity to take from me the delicate wine of human blood, to try to feed on what was mine by right.

And now, according to the idiots who had woken me, the vampír had dared to destroy the balance of the earth. The balance that not even I had dared to try to tame. And I had seen the evidence of it as I moved across the desolate earth — what I could see had once been great cities, burned to ashes or simply left to rot, nature reclaiming what the humans had been forced to leave behind. Giant metal, stone and glass pillars — which I knew must have been created by the humans (they always were ingenious children), metal contraptions with wheels like horseless chariots, and roads paved in tar. These were left to rot in the scorching sun and rain that would eventually reclaim them completely.

And the vampír were to blame for decimating the population of perfectly good food. For this, I swore they would pay.

The nest had somewhere around 200 members, so it took me a couple of hours to work my way through their ranks. And their disgusting blood covered me ear to claw tips by the time I was done, their screeches and hisses of death, pain and confusion, shock, making me even more furious at them.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I growled at them as they continued to yell to each other, trying to rally to protect their young, and their females. But I left none alive.

Whatever humans were remaining in this world were mine. And I must try to restore the balance, or there may be nothing left to entertain me, Mother Gaia killing off all sentient creatures in anger at the imbalance. So I must kill as many vampír as they had killed of the humans.

It would take me years to track all of the little idiots down.

The shock at their own weakness was almost amusing enough to make the slaughter entertaining rather than tedious. Obviously I had been gone too long, if they truly believed they were on the top of the food chain. How long could I have been asleep that they forgot the innate fear of the predator that had stalked them since before the beginning of time?

I burned the nest to the earth when I stalked away, licking the copious, repugnant blood from my claws and fingers, growling in the back of my throat when I felt it begin to dry, stiffen and harden against my skin.

I would need to find a lake or river soon, because there was nothing worse in this entropic world than smelling of vampír. Except maybe smelling of vampír, drakán, and my own bodily odors accumulated over many days. I was revolting.

[adorkablephil]

Fic: Imaginary Friends (Chapter 5)

Title: Imaginary Friends Summary: Nothing’s AU ... except that Dan and Phil have been appearing in each other’s dreams since childhood without realizing it because they’re soulmates. Everything on the outside looks like the reality we’re used to irl. Rating: Teen Word Count: 1950 (this chapter) Tags: Soulmates, AU, But Kind of Not AU, Except That There’s Magic, Certainly Not a Typical Soulmates AU, Dreams, Getting Together, Friends to Lovers Fic also available on AO3 here

[Masterlist of all Imaginary Friends chapters on Tumblr]

Chapter 5: Friends

It hadn’t made any sense for one of them to sleep in the uncomfortable bunks, regardless of any rock-paper-scissors game they’d played on camera for the documentary. They might not advertise it to the outside world, but they were perfectly comfortable with platonically sharing a fairly spacious bed on the tour bus. They were close friends—the closest—and not homophobic, so why should either of them twist themselves into a 6’2” pretzel every night? It just wouldn’t have made any sense.

So they shared the bed. Platonically.

And it wasn’t weird.

Mostly.

Except for the dreams.

Because every night now, Phil had shadow dreams that had taken on an entirely new dimension. Phil had been a small boy when he first invented his shadow friend, and so their relationship had been that of any two small children having fun together.

But Phil was a man now. And the daily frustrations of going to bed every night beside someone he was hopelessly in love with, someone beautiful and golden and dimpled, someone who smiled at him with a special soft smile he never shared with other people, someone who thought he was funny and brilliant, someone with whom he spent every evening performing a show they had created together, about a world they had created together … it all apparently left him with longings that his subconscious could not handle except by finding another outlet.

And so the shadow had become his lover. Every night, they eventually found each other. Even if Phil was dreaming about something else, the shadow would break through and the dream would change until they were in each other’s arms and Phil felt a sense of completeness and fulfillment that he’d never felt with any of his lovers in the real world.

That made sense, though, because the shadow was a lover he had created for himself, and so of course he would create his own ideal match, someone who knew every aspect of him and every secret wish, and loved him beyond description anyway. Someone who balanced him and complemented him and knew without asking what would please him best. Someone magical and fascinating and just … perfect. Someone with whom he could literally become one in the dream world they shared.

Because who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want a lover who could simply feel your internal thoughts and longings, and act on them to give you pleasure like you’d never experienced before? Who wouldn’t want that?

Phil woke every morning to a heartbreakingly wonderful split-second of feeling lazily sated and blissful, feeling well-loved and well-fucked, until he turned to look at the beautiful man beside him and remembered that this wasn’t his lover whose head rested on the pillow beside his. His lover didn’t actually even exist, and Phil was just a pathetic man creating a dream outlet for his unrequited emotions for someone who didn’t even notice him in that way.

And so Phil started every morning with a guilty conscience, gazing across the bed at the sleeping face of the man who had no idea of the very non-innocent ideas that occupied Phil’s brain so much of the time.

He was beyond pathetic—he was pitiful. And more than a little miserable every day, despite the bliss of his nights.

They were sitting in a diner in some town in the middle of America somewhere. The tour was such a whirlwind that Phil never really knew where he was anymore and just went where he was told to go and did what he was told to do until it was time to go on stage and perform the show again.

This place didn’t seem to have much on the menu except burgers and fries, and a bunch of different kinds of pie, but it was close to their hotel and so the four of them had walked over to have a quiet meal together. An honest-to-goodness jukebox in the corner was playing actual vinyl records as if they were in some kind of Elvis Presley movie, but Phil didn’t recognize any of the songs. Old stuff, he guessed, from back when they were still making records like that.

His mind started to wander as Dan chatted companionably with Martyn and Cornelia. Last night’s dream had started with music, too … because the shadow himself had entered the dream as a song, something slow and plaintive and lovely … and he hadn’t taken physical form until Phil had already begun swaying to the music. They were in the same lake-side glade where the shadow had first transformed from stars into a man made of starlight, and as he transitioned from song to man he had shone just as brightly, bright as a star but without hurting Phil’s eyes to look at him, in fact making him want to look forever at nothing else…

“How about you, Phil?”

Phil’s head jerked up. He’d completely lost track of the conversation. And his meal. He looked down at the plate of fries he’d been picking at and his half-eaten burger. He looked back at Cornelia, who had asked him the question. “Um … what?”

Cornelia chuckled. “Lost in a fog as usual. We were talking about imaginary friends. I had one when I was little, but I’m guessing you didn’t hear anything I said about her. I was asking if you had any imaginary friends when you were a kid.”

Martyn wiped his mouth and added, “Yeah, I don’t remember you talking about any, but did you?”

Phil glanced from face to face, panicking as he thought of last night’s erotic dream events. He really didn’t want to talk about this. He made a non-committal noise, shrugged, and punted the question to Dan. “How about you? Any imaginary friends?”

Dan chewed and swallowed, looking pensive. “Sort of. I guess so. One. Except I never really thought of him as imaginary. More like another real, actual boy, but I would just slip into his dreams sometimes at night and we would do stuff together.” His expression grew shuttered and he looked down at his plate and pushed it away. “I’ve had enough. How about you guys? Shall we head back?”

Martyn looked around for their waitress, musing, “I want pie. They have a dozen different kinds, I think.”

Cornelia enthused, “Oooh! Pie! Me, too!”

But Phil was distracted by what Dan had said. He couldn’t believe Martyn and Cornelia hadn’t followed up with any additional questions. Hesitantly, Phil asked, “So … you had an imaginary friend in your dreams? When you were a kid?”

Dan shrugged awkwardly. “It’s hard to explain. It was like they were his dreams, but I was able to visit. I always thought of him as some other boy living somewhere else in the world, but I didn’t know where. We never talked about our real lives. We were too busy going on adventures.”

Cornelia looked intrigued now, forgetting momentarily about her quest for pie. “What kind of adventures?”

Dan smiled, his dimples showing. “Oh, terribly derivative stuff. Tolkien and Narnia and Final Fantasy and all that sort of thing. Sometimes we were climbing mountains and fighting giant spiders or crawling through tunnels or looking for buried treasure. Sometimes we fought dragons. Sometimes we were dragons. It was pretty fun, actually. I always looked forward to those dreams. They were my favorites.” His gaze seemed distant now, as if he was lost in fond memories.

Phil just stared at him. He’d never heard of someone else having the same kind of dreams! “What did your friend look like?” he asked, suddenly intensely curious.

Dan frowned slightly, then tilted his head a bit in contemplation. “He always looked different. Well, almost always, anyway. But I always knew it was him.” Dan glanced at Phil. “You know, that way you tend to just know things in dreams, without there being any good reason for you to know them.”

Phil nodded, extremely familiar with that feeling.

Dan continued, musing, “Sometimes he looked like an animal, or a regular boy but covered in leaves or feathers or something. Sometimes he looked just like me, like looking in the mirror but having another person there talking back to you. Sometimes he even looked like a tree or something, but I could still recognize him, still understand him.”

Phil was leaning forward without even realizing it. “I had a dream friend like that when I was a kid, too,” he admitted at last, still feeling shocked that anyone else had experienced something similar to what he had always assumed was something weirdly unique to him.

“Yeah?” Dan asked, perking up. “What were they like?”

Phil shrugged. “Like what you said. They looked different in different dreams, but I always knew it was them. And we had all kinds of adventures and stuff. It was really fun.” They grinned at each other.

“And now you’re having adventures in real life!” Cornelia interjected, making Phil jump a little. He’d sort of forgotten that he and Dan weren’t alone in this conversation, it had seemed so unexpectedly confidential, sharing something he’d never shared with anyone before. But … maybe lots of people had these kinds of dreams. Maybe he just hadn’t heard about it. Maybe it really wasn’t so special after all.

But it had always felt special.

Last night had certainly felt special.

“Right!” Dan said, and at first Phil was so lost in thoughts of last night’s dream that didn’t know what Dan was responding too. “We’re on our great tour adventure across America.” He met Phil’s eyes and smiled. “Everything in the past year or so has seemed like an adventure, to be honest, with the book and everything. It hardly even seems real.”

But it was, Phil reminded himself. This was real. Just because other people had imaginary friend dreams too didn’t make it any more real. They were still just dreams.

Dan was real. The tour was real.

The shadow was just in his head.

“When did your imaginary friend dreams stop?” Martyn asked Dan. “How old were you?” He glanced back and forth between Phil and Dan, casually curious.

Dan’s face closed off, and Phil wondered why. At the same time, he hoped none of them were going to press him to answer that question, because he didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to announce, “Oh, I still see him every night. In fact, I had the best sex of my life last night with my imaginary friend!” He could just picture their appalled reactions. The embarrassment. The pity.

Luckily, the waitress arrived at that moment, and Martyn and Cornelia blithely turned their attention to a discussion of what flavors of pie were available and which were most highly recommended.

Phil met Dan’s eyes briefly, but they both looked away. A moment ago, the conversation had seemed so intimate … and now something uneasy lurked beneath. Probably just Phil’s guilty conscience.

“No pie for me, thank you,” he replied when the waitress got his attention. His three companions all turned to him in surprise. Okay, maybe it was unusual for him to turn down dessert. But some sort of knot had developed in his stomach. He smiled weakly, and noticed that Dan looked a little concerned. He tried to make his smile look a little more convincing, but Dan didn’t look fooled.

At least Dan couldn’t see through him the way the shadow could. He could keep secrets from Dan. In fact, he had to.

Phil looked out the window, but it was so dark in the parking lot outside that he saw only his own reflection … and his face looked sad.

Author’s End Note: Thank you again to my patrons: @jorzuela, @itsjustmestef, and she who shall not be named! If you, too, enjoy my writing and would like to support me, leave a tip in my Tip Jar or learn about how to become a patron. Or, you know, just like, comment, and/or reblog! Any way you can let me know that you’re liking what I’m writing would be very much appreciated! I live for feedback.

[Continue to Chapter 6]

[meenasmoon]

Ash: "hey Johnny, wanna know what's worse than being a third wheel?" Johnny: "Sure, Ash, what's worse?" Ash: "being third wheel to tWO MORONS WHO WONT ADMIT THEIR A COUPLE!" (Not really a prompt... Idk)

I know that this technically wasn’t a prompt but I couldn’t stop laughing as I imagined this scene so I couldn’t resist making a little oneshot for you guys. Enjoy! 

Oh, and keep those asks coming. I will be fulfilling as many as I can every weekend.

Frustration

“You’re coming to dinner with us after rehearsal right Ash?” Meena asked eagerly as she watched her friend pack up her guitar and various pieces of sheet music that were covered in Ash’s scribblings.

“Sure Meena. Who is us?” Ash asked as she led the elephant out of her practice room, shutting off the lights as they walked out.

“Well um…Me and Johnny.” she smiled nervously and Ash sighed inwardly. Despite her frustration she maintained the friendly smile on her face, she wouldn’t dare upset Meena. Her best friend was just too sensitive to other’s disappointment and the last thing Ash ever wanted to do was make Meena sad. Now that she thought about it that was probably the reason Johnny sent Meena to ask her rather than coming himself.

“Sounds like a good time. Where are we headed?” Ash assumed that they would be headed to their usual haunt, a diner a couple blocks away that served the best milkshakes in town. Johnny was a sucker for a good peanut butter and chocolate milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry. The gorilla regressed back to his childhood as soon as the milkshake appeared in front of him. It was actually pretty funny to see it happen.

��Probably the Starlight Diner.” Meena shrugged and her eyes glazed over for a second as her thoughts obviously turned towards Johnny. “Johnny really wants one of those milkshakes so it’s gonna be perfect. At least if that’s okay with you?” she gave Ash a pleading look and Ash smiled back up at her.

“C’mon Meena you know I love their wildberry salad.” she elbowed her friend playfully and Meena’s smile grew.

“Great!” Meena clapped eagerly and rushed ahead of Ash to find Johnny. After she was out of earshot Ash groaned and slumped a little bit, having her own mini fit there in the hall.

She froze when she heard a light chuckle behind her and she spun around to find Rosita watching her with an amused look on her face. “Young lady what in the world was that?” she laughed, pursing her lips in an attempt to appear stern.

“I’m being dragged on another unofficial date with Meena and Johnny.” Ash groaned and slumped against the wall.

“Unofficial date?” Rosita asked, frowning in confusion. Ash glanced around to make sure that neither Meena nor Johnny were within earshot.

“Yeah. Those two idiots are so head over heels for each other that they’re too oblivious to even notice. SO whenever they wanna spend time together they drag me along as a buffer. I’m just gonna spend the whole night watching them make goo goo eyes at each other.” She gave another dramatic sigh and banged her head against the wall in frustration.

Rosita immediately went into “mom advice mode” and offered up her purse full of goodies to Ash who eagerly sorted through it until she found her favorite pack of gum. She pulled out two pieces, unwrapping one and popping it in her mouth while she put the other stick in her pocket for later.

“Well it sounds to me like you just need to tell them how you feel or else nothing is going to change.” Rosita patted her head and then began heading for the exit, an extra bounce in her step.

“Sure. Like it’s gonna be that easy.” Ash said sarcastically and then picked up her guitar case once more and headed out to the main stage where Johnny and Meena were talking quietly. She took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and strolled over to where her friends were waiting. She shoved her guitar case into Johnny’s arms and shoved her hands into her pockets.

Johnny accepted the guitar case without protest and slung it over his shoulder. it was custom for him to carry Ash’s guitar case and be the driver to the diner since he rarely had the money to pay for a full meal. Neither of the girls really minded considering his unique home situation.

“Let’s get a move on I’m fricking starving.” she said loudly as she led the way down the hall and towards the lobby. Johnny and Meena exchanged amused smiles as they followed her to the car. Ash was waiting by the truck when they caught up to her, looking around with a bored look on her face and a growing gum bubble coming from her mouth.

Johnny hurried to unlock the truck and held the door open for Ash as she slid into the middle seat. He held out a hand for Meena and helped her into the truck even though she obviously didn’t need his help. He closed the door once both of the girls were settled and then ran over to the driver’s side, first depositing Ash’s guitar case behind the front seat. He hopped in excitedly and started up the truck. The rolled down the windows and Johnny cranked up the radio. Soon they were all singing to an old Baboon 5 song: Harder to Breathe.

Ash’s smile grew a bit more genuine as she bobbed her head to the strong guitar parts of the song. Soon enough she joined her friends in belting out the chorus. They pulled up to a stoplight just before the diner, music still pumping and their voices drawing attention from other drivers and passersby. Ash took a moment to glance at Meena to see how she was handling all of the newfound attention but Meena wasn’t even looking at their spectators, her eyes were glued to Johnny as they harmonized through the chorus. Ash smiled and nodded to herself.

Yeah these two are made for each other. She thought, But that doesn’t make third-wheeling any less torturous.

Conveniently the song ended just as they pulled up to the diner and they all jumped out of the truck still beaming from their impromptu car performance. Johnny hurried ahead of the girls so that he could hold open the door like the gentleman that he was. Ash winked at him before strutting up to the hostess and asking for their usual table next to the window. 

The young antelope smiled and handed her three menus. Ash put them under her arm and led the way to their table. She sat on one side of the spacious booth while Meena and Johnny slid into the other. Ash had to physically stop herself from rolling her eyes at them and instead hid slightly behind her menu. After about a minute a curvy, older water buffalo wearing glasses and a stained apron bustled over to the table with her pad of paper.

“Well hey kiddos. What can I get for ya’ll this time?” she smiled warmly at them and held her pen over her pad, ready at any moment to scribble down their orders. Ash ordered the Wildberry Salad, her usual; Meena ordered an Eggplant Lasagna; and Johnny eagerly ordered the Roots and Shoots Casserole with a Peanut Butter and Chocolate milkshake. Ash playfully rolled her eyes at his obvious excitement over the shake while Meena let out a giggle and struck up a conversation about their latest show. It was still in the planning stages and therefore they were all still trying to pick out what song to sing for it. 

When Meena asked her what she would be singing Ash just smirked and said she would surprise them with a new song from the album she was currently working on. They grilled her for a few minutes trying to get more details but Ash stubbornly clammed up and refused to say anything else about it. Eventually Johnny turned the attention back to Meena’s choice and they began discussing possible song options. Ash tuned them out as she fiddled with her phone, vigorously playing level 300 of Candy Crush. When she was unsuccessful in beating the level for the 10th time she threw down her phone in frustration and tuned back into the conversation. 

“-’m not sure if tha’ song is good enuff fer yer voice Meena. Ya need a song jus’ as beautiful as ya-yer voice.” Ash watched the obvious verbal stumble with amusement. Both of her friends were blushing slightly, Johnny a little more so than Meena for a change.

“You really think so Johnny?” Meena asked shyly, looking up at him through her eyelashes. Suddenly their eyes were glued to each other’s and they slowly started leaning closer to each other.

“O’ course I do Meena.” Johnny said quietly, obviously mesmerized. The moment was immediately shattered by the arrival of their food. The waitress was skillfully balancing their plates on a tray on her shoulder and she speedily handed them out in a way that only an experienced waitress can.

“Thanks Sherry.” Ash nodded to their usual waitress and dug into her food, trying her best to ignore the longing looks that her friends were sending each other when the other wasn’t looking.

About twenty minutes later they were finished with their dinner and Sherry brought over the bill and Johnny’s towering milkshake. As always Sherry dropped off a couple of spoons with a smile before hurrying off to take care of the rest of her customers.

Johnny eagerly dug into his milkshake, looking at the sweet confection like a child looks at a new toy on Christmas. Meena was watching him devour the treat, a soft smile on her face, the same smile that she always got when she was mooning over Johnny. After a few minutes, Johnny noticed Meena watching him and turned bright red in embarrassment. He swallowed the large bite that was in his mouth and offered up a spoonful to Meena.

“Didja want sum Meena?” he asked bashfully and Meena nodded shyly. She opened her mouth to thank him and leaned in to get the spoon from him when the gorilla did something that neither girl was expecting. He leaned forward as well and skillfully fed Meena the bite. Meena and Ash stared at him in shock, Meena’s eyes as wide as they could go while Ash’s jaw was on the floor it had dropped so quickly. Meena recovered first and swallowed the bite, withdrawing the spoon from her mouth.

“Thanks.” she whispered.

“Yer welcome.” Johnny whispered back, both of them leaning in once more.

It was in that moment that Ash decided that she had had enough of this nonsense. Rosita’s advice had been bouncing around in her head since they sat down and she was bout to take it and deliver it to her friends in hr own special way. She banged her fist on the table to get their attention, her face screwed up in a mix of an annoyed look and a mischievous smirk. Both Meena and Johnny jumped at the sudden reminder of Ash’s presence. Before either of her friends could say anything Ash spoke up in a voice that was just loud enough for the people around them to hear.

“Hey Johnny wanna know what’s worse than being a third wheel?” she asked and Johnny froze under her scrutiny, doing a very good impression of a deer caught in the headlights.

“Uh…. no Ash, what’s worse?” he asked, confusion coloring his tone. He exchanged a concerned look with Meena who just shrugged slightly. Ash calmly stood up on the booth and leaned over the table so she was closer to them. Somehow in that moment, despite being about a third of their size, she was beyond intimidating.

“Being third wheel to TWO MORONS WHO WON’T ADMIT THEY’RE A COUPLE!” she suddenly roared. Both of her friends turned cherry red and the entire restaurant turned to watch the scene that was unfolding. Satisfied that she had made her point, Ash took out her wallet, threw down enough money for the bill and hopped down and out of the booth.

“So enjoy your first date. On me. And stop torturing me with this whole unofficial third wheel thing.” With that she turned around and walked out of the restaurant, high-fiving Sherry and the hostess as she left.

And just like that the animals of the diner went about their normal business and Meena and Johnny were left staring nervously at each other. They sat in silence for a little while before Johnny finally broke the silence.

“So…do ya want anovver bite?” he asked with that crooked smile that always made Meena’s heart pound in her chest. She just let out a little giggle and let him feed her another bite. 

One thought resounded through everyone’s heads, even Ash who had long since began her walk to the subway.

Finally.

[shiningforvixx]

170212  - Monte Cristo Musical Last Day [in Seoul] (Leo)

Wow. I…don’t even know. I guess I need to start at the beginning. No, probably even before that. Today was just a super crazy day ㅇㅅㅇ (This will undoubtedly be a very long post, and definitely not 100% VIXX-related.)

So one of my hobbies is embroidery (this has a point, I promise), and one of my favorite (if not favorite) fanartists is MireyKim. Long story short, I got permission from her to embroider a drawing of hers and to thank her for her permission and for all her lovely pictures I decided to embroider a pouch for her. I went early(ish) to the theater because she was handing out prints of Taekbert drawings. I luckily got there in time and was observant enough to get one. Then I waited for the crowd around her to clear and her friends to settle down(?) before giving her the pouch and a note I had written. It took her a moment, but she figured out I was the embroidery person. Plus she noticed my bag (of her other drawing), and was super sweet and thankful and stuff. I, being apparently a giant awkward human being, basically ran off pretty quickly;;

I was fairly nervous (why??) about giving the pouch to her. (It was funny because she thought the embroidery person was Korean, muahahahaha.) Also, I was feeling…uneasy(?) because of issues with the closing night fanmeet. It seemed like Leo had changed his Instagram post about smiling because people had left things to keep their places and such, but it turned out that he woke up in the morning and was embarrassed, so he took that part out. I was worried for nothing.

The play itself was amazing. I don’t know how they got better every time, but they did. The best part (and where I nearly died) was during Monte Cristo’s party when the different characters were being introduced to the count. Taekbert was introducing his father Mondego who then thanked the count for saving his hamster-like son, as he usually does. However, this time he told Taekbert to show how he can dance really well. After a cheer from the audience, Leo did a little bit of Chained Upㅠㅠ Then he said his dad danced well too, so Mondego did like a half a second of Chained Up!!! Shin Sung Rok is an acting god for not cracking up. I was halfway to the floor. (I also read on Twitter that the composer Frank Wildhorn was sitting behind him with the lyricist Jack Murphy, and they laughed at that part, hehe) Boy, closing night antics thoughㅜㅜ Makes me miss the theater.

Ah, that was in the second act, though, which means it was after intermission, a very strange experience for me. No, intermission itself isn’t strange of course, but I happened to decide to leave the auditorium to stretch my legs. Who do I see in the lobby, but a gathering of white dudes. Two of whom I recognized. Yes. Frank Wildhorn and Ivan Menchell. I always said I would recognize them, but I wasn’t sure until today. Definitely recognize them. Granted, it was a setting that seeing them made sense in, but still. So, me being apparently way more socially awkward than I remembered being, I worried for about a minute and scooted closer and closer to them, finally breaking into their conversation. (The orchestration guy(?) for Monte Cristo was there too I think, but I don’t really know him…sorry;;) Basically I told Frank that the music was great and both of them that I love Mata Hari and am looking forward to Excalibur, Ivan said Mata Hari will be pretty different this time, but better. I’ll take his word. If it’s going to be better…I don’t know what I’ll do when it ends this timeㅠㅠ I also said they should drop a full soundtrack this time, haha. He also remembered where I was from when I tweeted him later ㅇㅅㅇ I was so nervous talking to them though. I didn’t think I would be? Like seriously what is my problem? But it was so…신기해. I don’t have an English equivalent. Unexpected is what is was. And strange. And amazing.

Let’s see…curtain call was also a blast. Leo couldn’t help smiling at the ridiculously loud cheer. Actually all the cheers for everyone were super loud, even throughout the play. Also when Shin Sung Rok introduced him (mentioning him being hamster-like), he just seemed to love him best of all the Alberts. I admit this could be my bias. But it really did seem like everyone loves him…. I didn’t realize how much I had come to like all the actors though (especially the Lee Sanghyeon Mondego…not the one that performed today, haha.) They also called up Jack and Frank… Frank literally…I’m not entirely sure what he did, but it was something like cradle(what are verbs?) Leo’s face as he went by. Did he hug him too or something? I can’t recall exactly, but you could definitely feel the affection. (Plus, Leo was dying of happy embarrassment.) (One more thing, when Shin Sung Rok called the other two Counts on stage, the first was Um Ki Joon, who stood on his tiptoes. Then Kai came out and didn’t want to stand next to him. Shin Sung Rok playfully said that people always are like that around him because of his heightㅠㅠ I know how you feelㅠㅠ Also, Sung Rok almost cried at first. He’s really a precious baby!)

Okay, back to Leo! After the play and curtain call, all the Starlights went to the area Leo told us to meet at for the mini fanmeeting. we ended up all sitting down, and it went surprisingly well. Much better than Mata Hari I’d say. I could even hear him sometimes on account of him having a baby megaphone. He was so smiley and precious. I don’t necessarily remember that much of what he said because that is what fancams are for, but he was so smiley. When he asked if he did well in his role and we all screamed “yes!” he actually sort of shrank back, haha (in a good way, you understand). He also was saying “someone” worked hard (because that’s how Korean works), and we said he worked hard. He said he was talking about himself. OTL That kid. This was also when he told the story about changing the caption on Instagram. He kept shushing people, and it was the cutest thing ever. He was in such a good moodㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ And the manager. He always looks so grumpy, but I know he’s a sweetie. Leo was saying the theater staff didn’t want them to have a fan meeting there, but he and the manager eventually convinced themㅠㅠㅠㅠ Leo also said that there would be things happening this year that would be really surprising! I’m excited for whatever that may be! (Mata Hari? LR? Both? We’ll find out one day~) That’s all I can think of at the moment.

I hope Leo can smile like that foreverㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Edit: I just remembered that when Taekbert came out to thank the Count for rescuing him from the kidnappers he waved his arm like he was brandishing a sword and made swishing noises then pointed his hand like a gun and made a bang noise! It was super cute, and I don’t think he had done it beforeㅜㅜ

[derpynews]

MLP Season Six in Review

(http://mlp.derpynews.com/mlp-season-six-in-review/)

MLP Season 6 In A Nutshell – Complete by dm29

I knew I forgot something! Actually, I didn’t because I had tons of other things going on between the end of “To Where and Back Again” and now. Anyway, admittedly this season was not as stellar as Seasons Four and Five. It was not as mindblowing as Season Four or emotionally pulling as Season Five. It was still an enjoyable season nonetheless. As usual, we go from 24th to 1st. Of course with time, opinions tend to change about certain episodes and indeed, I’ve adjusted the grades of some episodes in Season Six. You’ll find out which ones along the way. So let’s get to it!

24. Newbie Dash:  Just too much stuff in this episode was cringeworthy from Dash’s impressions of the rest of the Mane Six to the mixed messages the nicknames the Wonderbolts give each other and their treatment of Dash might send. Both Dash and the Wonderbolts could have been better in this episode.

23. Where the Apple Lies:  This episode also had plenty of cringeworthy moments. The lies got more and more numerous where it reminded me of an 80s PSA by the The Church of Latter-Day Saints. It was nice to see AJ and Big Mac as younger, but I felt the former was too easily forgiven in this one.

22. Applejack’s ‘Day’ Off:  The biggest problem I had with this episode is that other are pointing out to farmer Applejack more efficient methods of farming after AJ gets through pointing out how inefficient things were at the spa. I would let this ironic echo slide, but it also was close to a lesson in “Applebuck Season” about telling AJ to take a step back in either relaxing to having another set of eyes examine the work.

21. The Cart Before the Ponies: There were two good lessons about adult over-competitiveness and kids having speak up when the adult are going astray—especially when its a contest for kids. There was a painfully plot convenient collision and this wasn’t the most spectacular episode in the season.

20. 28 Pranks Later:  This episode was similar to a MLP Tales episode where one pony’s pranks got out of control and the others have to reign her in via a practical joke. Rainbow’s planned prank with the cookies was low. Hopefully unlike the Tales episode, Rainbow will learn his lesson.

19. On Your Marks:  This was not the best way to follow up “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”. The episode tended to lose focus at times with the central conflict which was Apple Bloom struggling with what to do next with a touch of mood whiplash.

18. Viva Las Pegasus:  It was nice to see Las Pegasus for the first time (though it looked like Chuck E. Cheese at times). Mileage varied most with how you viewed the Flim Flams in this one.

17. The Crystalling:  Again, they do different things in the season premiere such as an A-plot and a B-plot, but Sunburst’s story was a bit too similar to Moondancer’s in “Amending Fences” and the rest of the Mane Six were too much on the sidelines in this episode.

16. No Second Prances:  The interaction between Starlight, Twilight, and Trixie is actually well played. No pony is totally in the right or the wrong. However, Twilight is forgetting TWO lessons of the past (one from “Griffon the Brush Off” and one from “The Crystalling” in giving Starlight space to learn).

15. PPOV (Pony Point of View):  This does give a unique touch to the varying points of view plot. However, the reason as to why the boat capsized simply came too much out of nowhere.

14. Every Little Thing She Does:  This was another “magic can’t solve all your problems” episode—this time with Starlight. It still works in a way, but not executed as well as other times where a lesson is being re-learned.

13. Spice Up Your Life:  Rarity and Pinkie Pie have a good dynamic between them, but the former’s advice here was in direct conflict with beliefs from earlier episodes such as “Canterlot Boutique” about standing out vs. conforming.

12. Flutter Brutter:  This episode had one of the stronger morals of the season and had Fluttershy being more assertive. However, Zephyr does get on your nerves quite a bit here.

11. To Where and Back Again:  Again, something completely different compared to previous finales. It was great seeing the interaction between Starlight, Trixie, and Discord and one can wonder where things go with the show from here given the events. However, some plot holes exist with the changelings in the castles.

10. The Gift of the Maud Pie:  More comedic gold with Rarity, Pinkie, and Maud. The only problem here is that the lesson is predictable more so than usual once you get to the party cannon trade.

9. Buckball Season:  Sports are not covered enough in the show. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Snails all have game; but AJ and Dash do not due to their super-competitiveness messing with Pinkie’s and Fluttershy’s confidence.

8. Dungeons and Discords:  A very imaginative episode with a RPG-type game made very real thanks to Discord. It was fun to see Discord interact with Spike and Big Mac here and I loved the end scene.

7. Top Bolt:  We got to see both Twilight and Rainbow in mentoring roles and how they compare and contrast. It applies well to the friendship problem between two ponies with an interesting back story. Oh, Make-A-Wish pony!

6. Stranger Than Fan Fiction:  A thinly-veiled lesson towards the fandom if there ever was one. Patton Oswalt was tremendous as Quibble Pants and who didn’t squee over the convention atmosphere portrayed in this one?

5. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks:  This was a better CMC episode post-cutie marks and we got a tremendous new character in Gabby the Griffon. It also gave the CMC an interesting new challenge.

4. Gauntlet of Fire:  Another great new character in Ember, but Spike is the real star of this one throughout the episode. It was the best Spike episode of the series until…..

3. The Saddle Row Review:  Before we get to that, this episode was simply funny from start to finish. A unique concept with this one and Twilight’s sweep mix is really catchy after the fifth time or when you’re curling.

2. The Times They Are a Changeling:  Here is the best Spike episode in the series. The introduction of Thorax and Spike’s eventual acceptance of him are well-played here in the face of doubt from everyone else. You had the feeling it would play a pivotal role in the finale, but that would come more from Starlight when we got there.

1. A Hearth’s Warming Tale:  Hooves down the best holiday episode of the series. A musical episode that you can replay every holiday season or outside of it. Again, you have to see this episode to see how wonderful it was.

So that’s the story of Season Six for me. Here are a few quickie lists as well:

Top Songs:

1. A Changeling Can Change

2. The Seeds of the Past

3. Find the Purpose in Your Life

4. Luna’s Future

5. Say Goodbye to the Holiday

Top New Characters:

1. Thorax

2. Gabby

3. Ember

4. Saffron Masala

5. Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger

That’s all for now. More later.

StatManDan