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newtthetranswriter · 7 months ago

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He Would Want You To Be Happy

(Art by me, it is also being posted to day over on my main blog)

Summary: Nacht was never a fan of his birthday for obvious reasons. Asta wants to celebrate it and after Yami foils Y/n’s plan to keep it a secret, Y/n needs to comfort and talk some sense into the Shadow mage.

Word count: 4314

Paring: Nacht Faust x Gn! Reader

Warnings: Talk about Morgen's death and Nacht’s self deprecation, talk of smoking and cigarettes, possibly ooc Nacht, possibly grammar or spelling mistakes

A/n: just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Nacht, the moody mage who would love MCR if he ever listened to it. Any way If you couldn’t tell this is just something i wrote for Nacht from Black Clovers Birthday. It’s a little angsty and a little fluffy, but I hope y’all enjoy. Anyways, have a great day and Remember to hydrate or diedrate. (we wouldn’t want y’all ending up like Morgen now would we.)

I’ve known for a long time that Nacht hates his birthday, and like every year before now I was planning to ignore it like I agreed when I first heard his reason for not liking it. Sadly it seemed that not all of the Bulls were aware of Nacht’s past and well Asta being Asta, started pestering me about when the Vice Captain’s birthday was. I had tried to just focus on going on missions and ignoring the young man, but damn is he persistent. His pestering lasted from the moment I left mine and Nacht’s room in the morning to when I went back to bed, of course he wouldn’t pester me when the Shadow mage was around but it was near non-stop.

All of this led to now. It’s two days before Nacht’s birthday, and all I wanted was for Asta to get hung up on something else. I was sitting in the dining hall just enjoying my breakfast with the rest of the squad, minus Nacht as he was off doing who knows what, when Asta rushed into the room. Trying to hide my groan, I tried to focus on my food.

“Oh, Y/n you’re still here. Now, please tell me?” He said vaguely, knowing I already knew what he was asking of me. His vague question caught the interest of everyone else in the room. The whole squad quickly turned to look at me, curious to what the magicless boy wanted.

I sighed before responding as quickly and with as little information as possible. “Asta, I’ve told you a thousand times already, it’s not happening.” Ignoring the looks of my squadmates I continued eating.

I felt as Asta moved closer to where I sat, clearly trying to catch my gaze and attempting to persuade me with puppy dog eyes. “Come on, Y/n. You’re the only person here who would know, please?” Like clockwork, Asta was back to begging. “Ooooo what if I promise to do all your chores for a month?” And now he’s one to poorly thought out bribery.

Apparently Asta’s poor offer finally piqued Yami’s interest. “Hey kid, you already do all the chores around here. And what are you asking them? From the sounds of it they’ve told you no quite a few times.” Yami spoke, pulling Asta’s attention away from me.

Like an alarm went off in his empty head, Asta quickly spoke. “I just realized you probably know the answer to my question too.” He quickly moved to be standing next to where Yami sat. The Captain raised his eyebrow as if prompting the boy to go on. “Well I was wondering when is Vice Captain Nacht’s birthday? I’ve been asking Y/n because their his partner and I figured they’d know it but they refuse to tell me anything about it. And just now I remembered that you have known the Vice Captain for a long time.” Asta rambled on.

Yami let out a laugh before responding. “Nacht’s birthday is April 30th, but why do you want to know?” The Captain answered without even acknowledging my signals to shut up.

“That’s in two days!! Anyway I wanted to know so we could do something to celebrate his first birthday back in the Clover Kingdom and with the Squad.” Asta explained.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea Asta. There’s a reason -” I tried to explain before Yami cut me off.

“That’s a great idea. Go for it kid.” The Captain encouraged with a laugh as Charmy, Vanessa and Gordon started offering ideas on what the party should be about.

While the majority of the squad was excited to have a party, whether they cared about the reason or not, I quickly left the table. Hoping to find a way for Nacht to not have to deal with the rambunctious squad on a day he normally likes to be left alone on. Before I could get very far Yami stopped me. “Come on Y/n, you know Nacht needs to loosen up a bit, and a birthday party is perfect.”

“You know that’s not what will happen, you also know why I wouldn’t tell Asta in the first place. Now if you’ll excuse me I have things I have to do.” I said in a rather aggressive whisper. It’s true that Nacht could stand to lighten up, but something just feels wrong about all this. Especially Yami encouraging it, he knows what Morgen’s death did to Nacht. Trying not to focus too much on what I was going to do two days from now, I started to get ready for the rest of the day.

Luckily by the time Nacht returned to the base that night everyone had stopped talking about the surprise party they were planning. Unfortunately, Nacht is a very perspective person and quickly picked up on the fact that something was off. Being the only person he truly trusted, he quickly approached me. “What happened while I was out?” He asked voice never changing from his normal level tone.

I took a moment to finalize my thoughts on what was being planned by our insane squadmates. “Nothing much, just Luck stole some of Magna’s food again and the resulting ‘fight’ has left everyone tired.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Luck did steal Magna’s food again and the fight lasted most of the afternoon leaving everyone annoyed with the duo. Even though Nacht was well aware of the chaos the two caused, it was clear from the way he squinted his eyes at me that he didn’t fully believe what I was saying.

“Okay, let’s head to bed. If everyone is finally this quiet we may actually be able to sleep a decent amount tonight.” I let out a sigh of relief accepting the hand he offered, glad that he wasn’t going to press further on the subject.

Time skip to April 30th

I had accepted that no matter what I did, Nacht would have to deal with what the rest of the squad had planned. If he gets upset about it then so be it, I tried to prevent it and even warned Yami that it was a bad Idea and he knew it. I just hope Nacht believes that I did in fact try to stop it. Okay and maybe there is a part of me that hopes he is okay with it and actually has a good time.

Anyway the morning was the same as always, except for Yami making Nacht stay at the base because he had a so-called ‘emergency captain’s meeting’ to attend and wanted Nacht to make sure no one blew up the base. With the fact that Nacht was forced to stay back at the base, breakfast was quieter than it normally is. Most of the squad tried to hide their plans for the evening and the others had already left the base to get what supplies they had been trusted to get.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same, everyone quietly trying to bring in food or decorations for the planned party without disturbing the Vice Captain. Which was admittedly harder said than done as Nacht decided he was going to sit in the living room of the base reading and occasionally chatting with Gimodelo. You might also be wondering what I was doing during this time, and well the answer is simple. I’ve been trying to make sure neither Nacht or his Devil actually figure out what's happening before everything is ready, while also trying to act normal.

Turns out I’m not the best actor, as just after Vanessa walked through with yet another crate of booze, Nacht decided to speak up. “I know what you’re doing and I’m not participating in any of it.” I just looked at him shocked. “Don’t try and hide it. I sent Plumede to check on things here the other day while I was out and they informed me that the others plan on throwing a party.” He explained, voice never changing from its normal tone.

I took a moment to think of how to respond, finally deciding to stick with my original plan for when he found out. “I tried to tell them it was a bad idea, but you know how Yami is. He likes to mess with you and I bet him encouraging Asta and the rest to go through with a big party is just another one of his plans to get under your skin.” I started to explain, expecting a sigh or comment about how much he dislikes Yami, but when I looked back at him, he was frozen. His face mostly still showed no emotion but his eyes were slightly wide, like he just remembered something important. “Nacht? Are you okay? I am truly sorry I know how difficult today can be for you. I really did try to keep Asta from finding out but again Yami likes to cause trouble and he wouldn’t listen to me.”

It was silent for a few moments before Nacht stood up and turned towards the door. However before he could reach it, Asta busted through the door. “Oh, Vice Captain, I was just coming to get you. I also wanted to say Happy birthday.” Asta spoke, not receiving any response from the quiet mage, who just kept walking to the door. “Uh Y/n, is everything okay with the Vice captain?” Asta asked as he watched Nacht leave, not even bothering to acknowledge his squadmates trying to get his attention.

“No Asta, nothings okay. This is why I didn’t want to tell you his birthday.” I said quickly before going after Nacht. “Nacht wait a second please. Talk to me.” I called after the tall man, unfortunately it seemed he was unreachable at the moment. As I finally made it out of the hideout about to reach out for him, Nacht used his magic to slip into the shadows and disappear. Dropping my extended arm, I stayed in my spot for a moment just staring at the shadow my boyfriend had used as an escape route.

My thoughts were interrupted by the rest of the squad coming to find out where Nacht had run off too. “Is everything alright? The Vice captain looked upset.” It was Finral who spoke first. His question was followed by a chorus of ‘is he okay?’s and ‘what happened?’s .

I sighed before deciding it was probably best to just explain what I know. “First, I don’t know if everything is alright, I’ve never seen Nacht like that. Second, what happened was Asta pushing to find out Nacht’s birthday after being told to drop it multiple times.” My voice was a bit harsher than intended but I was worried that Nacht wasn’t going to come back.

When I turned to the group I could tell everyone was confused, well almost everyone. Noelle on the other hand decided to voice her thoughts on the matter. “So, what you’re saying is that Nacht stormed off because Asta found out about his birthday? That’s just dumb, what’s the big deal? People who care about him want to celebrate him so he should be happy.” While her statement was harsh it was reasonable.

“It’s not the fact that people want to celebrate his birthday. It’s the fact that it’s his birthday.” I started to explain. “He’s never liked his birthday, when he was younger it was because he would constantly be compared to his younger twin. But around two years before I met him, his brother died and now his birthday just serves as a reminder of what he lost. When we met and I asked about his birthday, he made it clear that he doesn’t celebrate it or want to acknowledge it in any way. I agreed and that’s why I didn't want to tell Asta, I didn’t want him to make a big show and upset Nacht. But fucking Yami had to open his dumb mouth and try and cause trouble.” I rambled out, trying to explain why Nacht was upset.

I watched as most of the squad nodded in understanding, with a few mumbles of ‘sorry’s. Once again Noelle decided to speak up more than the rest. “Okay he lost his brother, but wouldn’t his brother want him to be happy with friends instead of alone brooding somewhere?” Again valid point.

Sighing, I responded to the royal. “While I agree with you on that, Nacht has never been the kind to think like that. He’s pessimistic, and it’s hard to get through to him on things like this. Anyway, you all enjoy the food and stuff you prepared. I'm going to wait for Nacht to get back.” WIth that I headed inside, leaving the rest of the Bulls outside with the barbeques they had set up in front of the base.

At around 8pm, the doors to the base opened. Hearing the creak I sat up straight hoping it was Nacht, but unfortunately I was greeted by the distinct mana of Yami. I groaned before going back to waiting in silence. Sadly Yami had other plans. “You know you should go talk to him.”He said, voice gruff as always but with a hint of concern for his old friend.

“Why do you care? You’re the one who told everyone his birthday and said he just needs to loosen up.” I said, giving him a glare before looking back to where my hands rested in my lap. “Besides, where would I even look for him?” I said quietly.

I heard Yami huff as he sat next to me on the couch. “I’d bet he’s probably in the same place I found him on the first birthday after Morgen’s death.” I turned slightly, raising a brow at him. “I’m trying to say he went to sit and wallow at Morgen’s grave. It’s where I found him multiple times before he met you.” Yami explained. “Also, the idiots told me what you said about me wanting to cause trouble for Nacht, and while it’s not entirely a lie, I just wanted Nacht to realize he can finally be happy.” With that Yami stood up leaving me to think on what he said.

Deciding that both Yami and Noelle had a point. Nacht does need to realize that it’s okay to be happy and enjoy his birthday with the people who care about him. After thinking about what I was going to say, I left to go get my boyfriend and hopefully talk some sense into him.

I had visited Morgen’s grave before so I knew exactly where to go, and after my conversation with Yami it was no surprise to see the cloaked figure sitting near the headstone. What was a surprise though was the distinct smell of cigarettes wafting from the shadow mage. Before I could say anything I heard the sound of Gimodelo talking, and decided to listen for a moment.

“Mister Nacht, why are you out here alone? Y/n is probably worried after you left without a word.” The small imp said to his friend. While Gimodelo doesn't like most people other than Nacht himself, he’s always been kind to me so it was no surprise he was worried about my feelings on the situation. “Also when did you start smoking again? Y/n won’t like that.”

“Be quite Gimodelo, Y/n won’t mind because Y/n won’t know. Now buzz off.” With the command to buzz off the imp disappeared. I should have been upset by the wording but all I could focus on was how broken his voice sounded.

Deciding Nacht had enough time to brood alone, I moved to stand next to his sitting form. “You know, if you really are smoking again you’re going to start smelling like Yami and neither of us want that.” I said hoping to lighten his mood even if only a little bit.

Instead of responding Nacht just kept staring at the headstone in front of him. “Nacht, It’s okay to be sad and miss Morgen. But you can’t just storm off because your friends want to celebrate your birthday.” I started. “I’m sorry they found out about it, but after talking with everyone I realized something and you need to realize it too. Morgen would want you to be happy and have fun, not spend your birthday alone and upset.” As I spoke I lowered myself to the ground, quickly grabbing the pack of cigarettes from the ground beside him and stuffing it in my pocket so he couldn’t light another.

I had expected him to say something along the lines of being fine with ignoring his birthday, but what he actually said surprised me. “I forgot it was my birthday.” Hearing that I looked at him confused. “I spent so long in the Spade Kingdom focused on stopping the Dark Triad that I never noticed my birthday had passed. When I figured out everyone was setting up for a party, I thought it was one of Yami’s usual plans to make me bond with the group, but then you mentioned it being for my birthday and it all rushed back.” It was no secret that Nacht spent years trying to help the neighboring country but I had no idea he was focused enough to forget his least favorite day of the year.

“I trust that you tried to keep Asta from finding out and that it was Yami’s doing, so don’t think I’m upset with you. I’m more upset with myself. It’s my fault Morgen had so many birthdays ripped from him. It should have been me, I should be the one buried under this stone, not him.” Nacht had voiced how much he blames himself for Morgen’s death many times before, and each time it was the same. “Morgen would be so much better at this and he would have been better for you.” Okay, blaming himself and wishing he was dead is nothing new, but suggesting Morgen to be a better choice for me is completely different from past conversations on the topic.

Before Nacht could continue, I decided I had enough. “Nacht Faust, I have heard all of this from you before, and each time I’ve told you the same thing. It’s not your fault your family led you down a questionable path, and it’s not your fault Morgen stepped in to stop you. Suggesting Morgen would have handled your death better than you are handling his a decade later is bullshit. I may not have met Morgen but if he was as caring and kind as you and Yami have told me, he would probably be doing exactly what you’re doing right now. And as for saying he would be better for me, that’s a lie. I fell in love with you. I love how you’re blunt and don’t let others' emotions affect you, I love how even though you act like you hate the Black Bulls, you still stick with us. I love how you put your own life on pause to prevent Psychopaths in another country from destroying the world. I love you for you, so stop putting yourself down over something that happened in the past and think about all the good you have done since then.” I rambled on, hoping to get my point across.

“Like I said before, you have people here now who care about you and want to take the day to celebrate you. You should be happy and having fun. Again I may not have known him but Morgen loved you enough not to tell the rest of the Magic Knights at the time about your devils and instead risked his life to save yours. Morgen would have wanted you to enjoy each day and I bet he would have been overjoyed to hear you found people who love and accept you.” I finished leaning my head on his shoulder. The whole time I spoke to him, his eyes were set on the gravestone in front of him, but it was clear from the way his shoulders relaxed and the sigh he let out that he listened and understood.

We sat like that for a while, just sitting in silence thinking. It was Nacht who broke the silence first. “Thank you. I know I can be difficult to deal with. And I’m sorry for just walking out and not talking to you. Also you’re right, Morgen would have been overjoyed that I found you, and the Bulls even if I hate to admit it.” It was strange hearing him admit that he found some where he belonged, but I couldn’t hold back the smile.

“Okay so now that you’re done wallowing, how about we head back to the hideout and hope that Charmy and Asta haven’t eaten all the food.” I said, raising my head looking at him. He turned and gave a gentle smile with a nod. “Good let’s go. Also be ready to come back here with me tomorrow.” I informed him as we stood up, earning a confused look from the shadow mage. “Every year on May 1st I bring Morgen flowers for his birthday.” I explained watching as Nacht’s face went from confusion to shock to thankfulness.

“Thank you.” Was all he said before taking my hand, and activating his magic to transport us back to base.

When we arrived it was clear the rest of the Bulls were still enjoying the food and free time Yami had given them for the evening. Our arrival didn’t go unnoticed, because as soon as we emerged from the shadows Asta basically bounced over to us. “Vice Captain Nacht, I’m sorry I upset you and didn’t listen to Y/n when they told me no.” Asta apologized quickly.

Before Asta could start rambling too much, Nacht silenced him by simply raising his hand at the boy. “It’s okay Asta. I just need to come to terms with a few things and Y/n helped me with that. Now if there’s any left I would like to eat and possibly chat with you all.” Nacht explained to the boy, but directed the last sentence to the rest of the Squad who were watching the conversation.

It was clear everyone was stunned by Nacht saying he would like to actually join them. Unsurprisingly Vanessa was the first of the group to speak up. “Of course Vice Captain, how about you start off with a nice drink?” She said slinging her hand over her shoulder waving a beer in Nacht’s face. Seeing Vanessa offer Nacht a drink everyone else started to approach him. Offering food, asking to talk with him, or in Luck’s case asking to fight him.

As the night progressed it was nice to watch as Nacht relaxed and actually spent time with the Black Bulls. It was clear that he had finally accepted that this was his family and that they would always have each other's backs.

“You know I don’t think I’ve seen him smile this much since before I joined the Magic Knights.”It was Yami who walked up beside me.

I smiled as I reached into my pocket handing him the pack of cigarettes I had taken from Nacht earlier in the night. “Before you ask, no I didn’t buy them for you, our dear self deprecating friend over there had them when I found him. I figured it’s probably best to give them to you so he doesn’t fall all the way back into that habit, and I know you won’t let the money go to waste.” Yami was about to respond when Nacht joined us, wrapping his arm around my waist pulling me to his side. “Nuh uh, I was nice earlier because you were upset but now that you’re functioning like a person again Imma make this clear. One no hugs, cuddles or kisses until you have bathed at least twice to remove the smell of the five cigarettes you smoked from your person. Two If I ever catch you with one again I’ll make sure cigarettes are the thing that kills you, as I’ll stuff the whole pack, wrapper and all down your throat.” I said pushing the mage away, and going to join Vanessa in trying to get Zora and Grey to stop hiding in corners.

As I walked away from the Captains I could hear Yami cackling as he slapped Nacht in the back. “You messed up buying these, didn’t you buddy?” The Captain of the Black Bulls laugh could be heard for miles as he watched Nacht’s face go from shock at my comment to murderous intent at Yami’s.

Turning to the boy’s one last time, triggering yet another laughing fit from the dark magic user, I made one final comment. “You also owe Gimodelo an apology for telling him to buzz off.” With that I turned to start dragging a cowering Grey from under one of the tables set up outside.

By the time everyone called it a night, it was nearly 2am. As me and Nacht got ready to settle in for the night, I couldn’t help but smile, earning a quizzical glance from the mage sitting in front of me. “I’m just glad to see you relax and get along with everyone.” I said, placing a kiss to the top of his head as I helped brush his freshly washed hair. He just gave a quick nod before relaxing into my touch, having long since expressed how he enjoyed when I brushed his hair saying it helped him relax. After finishing with Nacht’s hair, we both moved to lay down. Sharing brief good nights, we both quickly fell asleep, at peace with our minds and looking forward to facing the future with our large chosen family.

#x reader #black clover x reader #nacht faust x reader #nacht x reader #nacht x gn! reader #Black clover x gn! reader #newt writes #anime fanfic #anime x reader #x gn reader

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bullet-prooflove · 11 months ago

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Meet The Writer! - Also a Year in Review

I don't usually do this but I thought I would throw up a meet the author post so you could get to know me a little more!

I think sometimes it's hard to remember that's actual people behind the usernames we see on our screens so I thought I'd pop up and say Hi.

So a few things about me:

I'm 36 heading towards 37.

I have a Master's in Creative Writing and run a very small, local social media company, which is more side hustle then income but I love my clients.

In April I came off my antidepressants for the first time in over a decade and it was like I could see the world in technicolour, music sounded richer to me and it completely changed my life.

I've struggled with mental health issues the majority of my life, the latest being August of this year when I had a breakdown which has led to a complete re-evalutation of my life. It made me very ill and I am still in recovery as we speak.

In August/Sept I started putting out my work for publication and have been published three times this year.

In Nov I quit my job working with teens in the care system due to a toxic workplace situation that caused my breakdown. This was truly terrifying as I am not entitled to any benefits because frankly the UK benefits system is a joke.

Doing this has given me the space to look at what I want to do moving forward. I signed up to a few places as a creative writing tutor and had my first client on 30th Dec. I honestly loved the experiance and have decided it's something all the time. So if you're looking for help with that pain in the ass manuscript hit me up!

I'm also developing a portfolio as a makeup artist and gel nail tech, things I wanted to explore when I was working full time but never had the chance to.

When I look back I can't believe how much has changed for me in the past year and I never envisioned that I'd be where I am now. There have been times when I've thought I wouldn't make it through the year but I did and I'm still here, still growing. I guess I hope that if there's anyone else out there, who has struggled or is struggling this resonates with you.

You're not alone, I've been there and so many other people have too. We are more than just names behind a keyboard and I thought it was just important to remember that.

Anyway I've rambled long enough!

Happy New Year to everyone who is trying to make it in this messy world.

#meet the writer #writer life

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cmdonovann · 8 months ago

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it's time.

welcome to…

QUANTUM BREAK APPRECIATION MONTH 2024

okay, fuck it, i went too hard last year trying to post every damn day in april. this year, i am taking a break and inviting you all to join me in making too many insane posts for quantum break month.

yes, that means i will be giving out prizes to those brave soldiers who join me in posting about a nearly-dead eight-year-old fandom for an entire month. i cannot promise that they are GOOD prizes, but i WILL reward you for joining me in quantum break hell.

HERE IS MY CALENDAR:

you will notice i am starting on the second week of the month. this is because i have been renovating an office and am exhausted. i will not be taking questions at this time.

anyway, the 5th of april is the 8th anniversary of quantum break's release! if you post about quantum break on this day and send me a link to the post, i will draw you a tiny doodle on a post-it note of one of the quantum break characters.

the week of april 7th - april 13th i have designated as ships week. this week, post about your favorite quantum break ships! for every shippy post you make (and send me a link to), i will put your name into a hat one time and then pick a random person (on the 30th) to recieve a ship certificate from robinboob, a parody website that sells "certficates" saying you "own" a certain ship. (to clarify, this is parodying nfts, but the money actually funds fandom-centric web development projects.)

(i already own certificates for jackpaul and paulcest. see below. but i'm sure you can come up with some fun new ships that i can buy for you ;3)

the week of april 14th - april 20th is blorbo week. who is your quantum break fave? which of these characters do you want to squeeze like a stress toy? post about your fave this week, and for each post you send me, i will put your name into a hat once and randomly pick someone (on the 30th) to receive free art, done by me, of your blorbo.

(i have already drawn so many quantum break fanarts, and yet, there are still characters i have only drawn once or twice. if your fave is underappreciated, this is the week for you.)

the week of april 21st - april 27th is plot week. gimme your meta, your theories, ramble about the plot points you love to hate or hate to love. for every plotty post you make and send to me, i'll enter your name in my little hat of names once and then pick a random person (on the 30th) to win either a copy of the secret history of time travel or quantum break: zero state, your choice.

that's about it! general diclaimers: you can tag your posts with "quantum break appreciation month 2024" obviously (that's what i'll be doing) but the only way to guarantee i see them and count them is to send me a link. my askbox will be open all month for this reason. you're also free to join the quantum break discord server i run and send your posts there, if that's easier! i won't announce winners for anything until the 30th. if i can't get in contact with you to tell you you've won (ie via tumblr message, askbox, discord, etc) i will pick someone else.

also, full disclosure, yes, i am giving out prizes specifically because i am too tired to make a ton of posts myself. but that doesn't mean i won't try! (i'm not going to enter MYSELF into the hat for a prize though, that would be silly.)

anyway. happy quantum break month! go wild my friends!!

#quantum break appreciation month 2024 #quantum break

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taylor-on-your-dash · 6 days ago

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Sparks Fly is officially 18 years old: history of a song that was almost lost & how fans saved it from being left in the vault

The night of Halloween 2006, a 16-year-old girl named Taylor Swift had just released her first album. To promote her music, she'd go wherever venues would call her to perform. On October 31st, it was Portland, Oregon's turn, where Taylor opened for Jake Owen in a bar called Duke's. Owen, a country singer who also debuted in 2006, was 25 at the time.

We can safely assume that Taylor was happy to meet Jake, as she wrote this on MySpace right after:

"Happy Halloween :-) Current mood: happy Happy Halloween! I’m sitting at the airport in Portland, Oregon.. About to get on a red-eye flight (Oh yes, I just said red-eye. Meaning, all night. This should be interesting…) to Toronto, Canada for another weekend of Rascal Flatts shows. Tonight was awesome. It was a show in Portland at a bar called Duke’s, I opened up for Jake Owen. And a little back-story, I’ve had his album on repeat for the past couple of months.. It’s an amazing album and I literally cannot stop listening to it. I’ve got every line memorized, and if you see me on a plane.. Chances are, I’m listening to some song off that album, at a volume level that’s probably going to cause long-term hearing damage someday. ANYWAY. I got to walk in on his sound check and meet him. Turns out he’s extremely cool, and had bought my album on iTunes. :-) And since I had to leave after one song of his set, he played my favorite song “8 Second Ride” first. Which is another reason why he’s awesome. And just to let everyone know, YES, I did dress up for Halloween. Yes, I stood onstage in an angel costume with huge wings (that really conflicted with my guitar playing). And I convinced my two guitar players Todd and Kevin to put on those little headbands with the devil ears attached. Haha. Oh yeah, it was great. It’s so awesome playing to a crowd and seeing some people who know the words to EVERY SONG! I love that the album is out, and I love that y'all are listening to it. You guys are so awesome, and I really appreciate all of your comments. I love you all so much. Thanks for everything."

The day Speak Now was announced, a known fan at the time revealed said that the song was written on November 2, 2006, so a couple of day after the Portland show.

The most incredible news is that "Sparks Fly" is going to be put on the album. That song is so incredible. Taylor wrote it on November 2, 2006, performed it live in Oroville on May 30, 2007, and now it is finally being released on October 25, 2010. Definitely a dream come true for Taylor fans worldwide! (X)

So on November 2, 2006 Taylor finished the first of the three known versions of a song called Sparks Fly. The first handwritten draft was showcased in a museum:

On April 6, 2007, Taylor premiered the song in her native Reading, Pennsylvania, and then sang it again on May 30th in Sacramento, CA. This version was recorded by the same fan that revelead the writing date and uploaded online, gaining traction among the fanbase.

youtube

This live features a very prominent banjo and different lyrics:

“You stand there in front of me” -> “you stood there in front of me”

“Get me with those brown eyes, baby” -> “get me with those green eyes, baby”

“Take your open hand and take me out” -> “reach out open-handed and lead me out”

“Dim the paper lanterns” -> “don’t need more paper lanterns”

“This night is the 31st” -> “my heart is beating fast”

“So let’s make it count now, baby” -> “I could wait patiently”

“I’ll run my fingers” -> “I run my fingers”

“And make no borderlines” -> “gonna strike this match tonight”

“Forgive me when I can’t take in everything you are” -> “and lead me up the staircase”

“You kissed me like you meant it, I swear I saw sparks” -> “I’d love to hate it, but you make it like a firework show”

There was also an additional section: We stood at the gate (and you kiss me) / With the moon on your face / And you’ll kiss me

In December 2007, People Magazine releases a special photoshoot for Taylor's 18th birthday, which features photos of her bedroom, including the infamous Mirror Tracklist, a very early tracklist for her then-unnamed sophomore album. The tracklist inlcudes Sparks Fly as the 6th track.

As we know, Sparks Fly ended up being dropped from Fearless and shelved. We actually don't know whether the song was recorded or not, although some sources say that it was, but ended up being excluded in favour of The Way I Loved You.

Throughout the Fearless era, the fans didn't forget about the live version of Sparks Fly. On June 13th, after Taylor premiered the song Mine, Taylor hosted a 13-hour meet & greet, where one of the most asked questions was what happened to Sparks Fly:

“'Sparks Fly' is a song I wrote a few years ago and played in concert. You guys have learned it and I think like it, which makes me really happy. When we did the 13-hour Meet and Greet at the CMA Fest, there was a comment I got over and over again. You guys were saying, 'So what about 'Sparks Fly?' Is it going to be on the next record? [...] I played that song at maybe one or two shows, and you guys just jumped on it and really made it something that I had to put on the album because you really showed interest in it.”

That week Taylor finished Speak Now, completing the last song (The Story Of Us) on the 16th, but taking into consideration what the fans had asked her, she went back to Sparks Fly, changing the lyrics one last time, especially the second verse:

First verse: You say my name for the first time, baby, and I fall in love in an empty bar -> You’re the kind of reckless that should send me runnin’, but I kinda know that I won’t get far.

Second verse: So reach out open-handed and lead me out to that floor / I don’t need more paper lanterns / Take me down, baby / Bring on the movie score / ‘Cause my heart is beating fast and you are beautiful / And I could wait patiently, but I really wish you would... -> My mind forgets to remind me you’re a bad idea / You touch me once and it’s really somethin’ / You find I’m even better than you imagined I would be / I’m on my guard for the rest of the world / But with you, I know it’s no good / And I could wait patiently, but I really wish you would…

Bridge: Just keep your beautiful eyes on me / Gonna strike this match tonight / And lead me up the staircase / Won't you whisper soft and slow / I’d love to hate it, but you make it like a firework show -> Just keep on keepin’ your eyes on me, it’s just wrong enough to make it feel right / And lead me up the staircase / Won't you whisper soft and slow / I'm captivated by you, baby I’m captivated by you baby, like a fireworks show.

I think that the line "I'm on my guard from the rest of the world" from Sparks Fly being written after "And you figure out why I'm guarded" from Mine is very telling of what Taylor was going through in her personal life.

Once the album was out, the secret code hidden in the song lyrics spelled: “Portland, OR”. The secret message seemed to confirm the theories that had followed the song all summer.

In July 2023, Jake Owen commented on being the ispiration behind the song: “It’s a great song and the speculation has always been funny to me. I’m sure Taylor probably laughs at it all too, but I’m happy to even have my name in the discussion around it. She’s an amazing girl and an amazing artist. It’s been incredible to see how she’s grown as a musician and what a global phenomenon she’s become.”

To me, Sparks Fly is a signature song of hers. Classic Swift story telling, sprinkled with teenage dreams in an euphoric rock production. It's really cool to see how fans played a fundamental role to save this song from oblivion. Can you imagine our reaction if we had got this song in the Fearless Vault or the Speak Now Vault?

#taylor swift #sparks fly #writing of fearless timeline #writing of speak now timeline #swiftie fandom history #haven't proofread/reread‚ hope this makes sense lol

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seangelfish · 8 months ago

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˗ˏˋ SIL'S 300 FOLLOWERS EVENT! ˎ��˗

Hey, Sil here! Thank you so so much for 300 followers! 💜 I never thought I'd gain this many followers in such a short amount of time I've been on Tumblr, so I am truly grateful! (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )♡

Anyway...

Welcome to the 300 followers event~! ⋆˙⟡♡

This is an event I created to thank all my lovely followers for supporting me and this little hobby of mine 💕 I thank everyone for the likes, comments and reblogs too! I love reading what people think about my work as it always makes me happy~ 💖💜💖💜

So what does this event entail?

Well, this event is inspired by one of my favourite writers @hebimoonlightwrites who drew fanart relating to the requests for her 100 followers event! I wanted to incorporate my main hobby (art) with my side hobby too~

I don't really post my art on this blog since I write smut on here, but I thought it would be fun to try it out! ⋆⭒˚｡⋆

RULES! Please read everything before requesting.

✦ From the time this is posted, I'm going to open requests for Ensemble Stars and Paradox Live! The deadline to request is March 30th so I can start writing! Finally, each request I have chosen will be uploaded day by day starting from April 20th.

✦ Please continue to read my requests rules. I won't consider requests that violate any rules. Following this, NSFW requests are fine as long as you follow these rules.

✦ You must use the hashtag #Sil300Special when submitting your request otherwise it will not be counted towards the draw.

✦ I'm going to take 10 requests for each fandom (20 in total) in which 8 are given a special gift (4 gifts each)! Therefore, I'm going to pick and choose between the requests I get. Anons are welcome, but I'd love to interact and write for those that reveal themselves!

✦ Please be patient, but also have fun! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Again, thank you so much! I hope to continue writing for this blog and interact with everyone more. Additionally, I hope to see a lot of you participate! Please know that my inbox is always open and I love to chat~

See you soon! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

#sil announcements #important #sil300special #300 followers event #thank you for 300 followers! <3 #ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader #paradox live x reader #paralive x reader #requests are open

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sharkscribbled · 2 months ago

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Chapter One: The QuikPump Deal

(i promise ill format this better later lmao i just don’t know how to make it pretty rn)

content: pet whump, dehumanization, guard dog whump, mention of gun violence

—

Daphne never really noticed it before, but she got a lot of mail. Like, an unneeded amount of mail. Which made sorting through four days of it particularly tedious.

She didn’t regret going to a cabin with Florence, of course. It was long overdue; despite dating for three years they’d never actually been on a vacation together. Of course, they had days off from their jobs that lined up—Florence worked from home as a transcriptionist for television shows, so she was always at the house anyway. But Daphne was a pediatric nurse at a local hospital, so there were rarely breaks in her own schedule.

The news was mostly uninteresting as usual, but she still always felt the need to skim through it. At the bottom, there were a bunch of little ads for jobs and whatnot. Something in particular caught her eye. It looked hastily put together, like it was a last minute thought.

Home needed for guard dog. Former pet at King Mateo’s palace. Male, 28. Euthanasia date: April 30th.

A phone number was attached. Her brow furrowed. The ad was short and uncomfortably vague. And clearly, they weren’t talking about an actual dog.

King Mateo’s palace was also about 40 miles away. It was weird for there to be an ad all the way in the town of Dewbury. Furthermore, the neighboring state had no monarchy anymore, so to call it a “palace” was… a bit of a stretch. The closest thing to it was the fact that some of the family had a hand in politics.

She glanced at the calendar on the fridge. The day marked “get home” was April 29th.

Daphne felt something in her chest draw tight. Thoughts began to rush through her head. How would they kill that guard dog? A bullet to the heart, or between the eyes? Would he die scared, or resigned, or happy that he’s being good? Would anyone miss him?

She bit the inside of her cheek and glanced around the house, imagining the rooms she couldn’t see. It was a medium-sized little bungalow, with lots of personalised clutter. Florence often saw rugs on sale at their local discount store and bought them without thinking, layering them in the living room one on top of another. They went heavy on the browns as far as painting went, and there wasn’t a surface in the house without plants. There was a guest bedroom that was used by Florence as an office and by both of them as a storage room.

It’d be a bit tight sometimes, but it was better than being dead, wasn’t it?

She blinked the thought away. “Hey, Florence?” She said, turning her head towards the living room where Florence was idly scrolling her phone. “Can you come look at this?”

Florence nodded, tossing her phone on the couch as she rose to her feet. “Wha’?” She said, waltzing over to the table.

“This ad. Can you look at it?” She asked, handing the paper to her. She didn’t know what she was trying to get from this—maybe she hoped that Florence would have the same disturbed reaction that she did.

Florence put the paper close to her face and squinted as she read. She pulled it away and sat it back down on the table.

“That’s tomorrow, isn’t it?” She asked, glancing at the calendar same as Daphne had. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.” Daphne picked up the paper just for something to do with her hands, her voice slow. “I mean, you’ve seen those videos where people like, reform pets.” The word pets left a bad taste on her tongue.

Florence tapped her fingers against the table thoughtfully. “Yea. We could fix up that guest bedroom real nice. Y’know… indefinitely.”

“Indefinitely.” She echoed. “Yeah.”

And so Daphne ended up dialing. A disinterested masculine voice told her to call about an hour in advance, but to be at a QuikPump somewhere in the middle before 5 tomorrow because that’s all the time the poor mutt has left. She briskly agreed and put the phone down.

She and Florence didn’t talk much more that night. There wasn’t much to say.

—

The next day, at around 4:25, Daphne pulled out of the driveway. Florence was in the back where he would also be, not wanting to create some kind of weird power dynamic right off the bat. Florence always thought of things like that.

It only took 30 minutes to get there. The gas station had only a couple of people, but they all seemed to be engaging in equally sketchy deals. It was strange to Florence how what they were about to do was arguably worse than whatever the other people outside the QuikPump were doing, but that this was completely legal.

Another car pulled up beside them. Florence opened her door, pushing her thumbs into her belt loops and standing by the dilapidated gas pump.

A man got out of the car, with wispy brown hair and sunken eyes. He opened the backseat and grabbed something roughly.

No, someone. There, dragged out by the shirt, was the guard dog. He had a white shirt and plain black shorts, barefoot against the pavement. There was a thick blindfold around his eyes and a muzzle strapped over his mouth.

Her first thought, to her own shame, was that he didn’t look like a person.

“Bit small for a guard dog.” She commented, trying to keep up the nonchalant buyer act. Truthfully, he seemed average-sized at about 5’7. Hopefully he wasn’t insecure about his height or anything.

“That’s not what it does.” The man shook his head, grinning cockily. “It’s a werewolf. Has some rare gene of it, too. It can transform whenever it wants and keep its mind.”

She narrowed her eyes, hiding the spike of fear in her chest. A werewolf? And no one had mentioned that before?

“So why were you gonna euthanize h- it?” She asked. “If it’s so special, I mean.”

“Incompetent little mutt got shot.” The man shook his head. “Bullet’s still in its shoulder. Right arm don’t work quite right. Docs said it was some nerve ending that got fucked up. If you want it to recover, it’s gonna be out of commission for a while.”

Florence looked at the man’s right arm. It hung limp at his sides. The bullet wound must’ve been under his t-shirt.

“Okay.” She hid her uncertainty with a calm nod, putting her hand on the man’s shoulder and opening the car door wider, sitting him down carefully. The other man got into his car and it seemed to be over. She got in on the other side of the backseat, awkwardly buckling him and then herself in.

“Hey buddy.” She said softly as Daphne started to pull out, immediately feeling a weird pit in her stomach from talking to an adult like this. “Hey, let me get this muzzle off, okay? Just lean your head forward a little…”

He did as she asked, so at least he could hear. She was able to unclip it easily, taking it gently off his face and setting it aside.

It left deep red marks. She looked at them carefully, then it dawned on her. Silver. She had to steady herself before she took the blindfold off.

He had carefully blank green eyes. Green eyes were pretty rare and it made her wonder what the odds were of two people—him and Daphne—in the same car having them. His hair was so dark brown it could almost be black, a bit long and wispy around his neck and ears. Scars ran over every spot on his body that she could see. She didn’t want to think about it.

“Hey.” She said again. “Can you talk? You have permission to.”

From what she had heard, he would probably want permission for a lot of things. She hoped to wean him off this.

“Yea.” He said softly, his voice rough. “I can speak.”

Florence tried to grin reassuringly. “Great, that’s good. Okay.” She paused. “Do you have a name?”

He looked at her with that same sort of mindless obedience. “No.” He said. “If you want me to have one, it’d be an honor to be named.”

Yikes, she thought, but instead she said “How about Arlo?”

#whump #pet whump #whump writing #whumpblr #guard dog whump #guard dog #whump blog #writeblr #writing #oc #oc writing

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