#but the image in my head had a glitch effect

[blushouyo]

There's pain sensation in VR, and even a sense of reality and urgency. The only difference is that it isn't actually happening.

[honey-flustered]

Cruel Little Vixen 6

Rockstar!Perv!Eddie Munson x Journalist!Reader

Summary: It seems like whenever you and Eddie are happily content in your relationship, everyone else is miserable. What happens when your job and his fame is on the line once the secret’s out?

NO READ MORE LINE BREAK ADDED DUE TO GLITCH

A/N: I want to thank you guys again for the immense amount of support! I swear I never expected this series to blow up the way it did but I am so fucking grateful. No words can describe it ❤️❤️ This chapter’s a little angsty, little fluffy. It was supposed to be a really long chapter but I’ve decided to split it into the next chapter but it’ll still be about two chapters left. I’m sorry I took soooo long it’s been one hell of a week but I do hope you all enjoy!! SMUT NEXT CHAPTER GONNA GO BRAZY

>>>>Series Masterlist Part 6 of 8

Word Count: 8.5k+

Warnings: angsty, fluffy fluff 😊❤️, soft!eddie, boyfriend!eddie, needy!eddie, yandere!eddie makes a small appearance, fighting/little violence, little crying, reader paints eddie’s nails, small dirty talk from the metalhead, kissing, handholding, secret relationship, reader has an enemy, marijuana ingestion, Stevie Nicks appearance, special gift from reader to Eddie 💕

“Hold still. You’re gonna mess it up.” You giggle.

Eddie’s sat between your legs, slumped with his head on your chest. The way he insisted you to paint his nails because “it’ll be like painting your own nails”. Although, you knew the real reason was an excuse to rest his head on the pillowy mounds.

You didn’t mind, though. You found him so adorable, staring up at you with those big round eyes and a goofy smile on his face. He’s much more manageable when he’s in this state of bliss.

“You’re taking so long,” He groans.

“I’m almost done, ya big baby.” You say, kissing his forehead. He smiles, rubbing your thigh with his free hand.

You blow on the last finger you’ve painted, him studying the way your full lips pursed. The cool air sending shivers down his spine. Part of him wishes you hadn’t felt it but the other part of him wants you to know the effect you had on him.

He’s never been so vulnerable with any woman he’s dated. It was always surface level, figuring it was just easier that way. He believes it stems from his days back in high school when not many girls cared to look in his direction. He was “The Freak” after all and associating with him was social suicide. He’d like to imagine that if things had gone differently back then with your interaction with him, you’d accept him fully as he was. Nerd and all.

“All done!” You snap him from his thoughts. He looks down at his fingernails painted a deep, dark shade of blue.

“Looks great, little vixen. Should we try them out?” He peels away from your body now facing you. Pulling you by your legs so their spread apart. He climbs in between them, hands traveling up both thighs.

“I think they’d look great riiight…” Eddie presses two fingers against your clothed core, applying pressure. “Here.”

“No, Eddie,” You sigh. “As much as, I’d love to christen this hotel room. Your manager and your stylist will be stopping by soon. If they see me in your clothes, they’ll know for sure we’re sleeping together.”

“What does it matter? It’s like you want this to be a secret or something.”

“Well…yeah.” You twiddle with your fingers, nervously.

“Really? Huh. This is bringing up some unresolved high school trauma.” Eddie says, looking into space.

“I thought this was what we both wanted? To protect our careers?”

“I don’t remember having this talk.”

“Then, let’s have it now. We have to keep us a secret. If my boss finds out, he might pull the exposé and that’ll be the end of my career. As for you, rockstar, you’re supposed to be living that bachelor lifestyle. Having a girlfriend is only going to ruin that image. Your manager wouldn’t like that.”

“Fuck him.”

“Eds…if not for me, then do it for yourself. You’re living out your wildest dreams. You used to play in shady garages and ghost town venues wishing you could prove yourself. Now you’re touring the world, performing side by side with the greats of our time. This is your moment.”

“Okay.” He says in a dry tone.

“You mad at me?” You pout, rubbing your head on his shoulder like a cat and staring up at him,

His expressionless face instantly attempts to fight off a smile, clearly amused. “You look so cute in my sweater how can I be mad. But ya know what’d make me feel really good?”

You clamped your thighs together, adjusting yourself in the oversized sweater so you looked halfway decent. “Your manager’ll show up any moment now.”

“I just want a kiss.”

“I have to leave while I still have time.”

“You’re really gonna leave me hangin’?” He smiles innocently but the sinister aura around him says otherwise.

Yet, you lean in to kiss him anyway, falling into his trap of temptation. Could such sinful lips ever carry innocence? No, they were made to cause destruction. Bring you to your end. You were losing track of reality. Kissing him disregards space and time.

“Get it together, y/n! He wants this. Pull away! You know what this lead to.” Says the angel on your shoulder.

But the louder, ‘much more fun to listen to’ demon on your shoulder says, “FUCK THAT! KISS THE BOY! KISS HIM HARDDD!”

And you did so while climbing him like a tree. He moans his approval, nails digging into your plushy thighs. You circle your hips down, feeling him growing beneath.

Then, you hear the unmistakable sound of Eddie’s obnoxiously loud manager…In front of Eddie’s door!!

Curse that hedonistic bitch in me.

You roll off him, eyes searching for a place to hide just as you hear a knock.

“This is your fault.” You whisper.

“My fault?!” He whisper-yells.

“Tell me where to hide.”

“The closet?”

“They’ll go through your wardrobe.”

“Underneath the bed?”

You exhaled deeply, lowering to the ground. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is college all over again.”

“You’ve gotta tell me that story sometime.” He says, intrigued.

The sounds of banging grows louder. Eddie strides for the door, looking back to make sure that you’re hidden as you roll underneath the bed.

You hear the door locks click open and Mr. Neds immediately begins ranting at Eddie. “What took you so long, kid? We’re on crunch time. The boys are nearly dressed and you haven’t even changed out of your loungewear. And that hair! It’s all over the place!Where’s the hairstylist I sent up here?”

So that was all the knocking earlier this morning while you were resting in Eddie’s arms. Neither of you wanting to get up from exhaustion of your sexual marathon and because it meant breaking the cycle of warmth you both provided one another.

“My hair’s fine. My fans dig it this way.” Eddie defends.

“There’s an art to messy hair, Francis. Your hair’s not rockstar messy, it’s just messy. I’m calling another hairstylist. Maeve, pick out something that screams ‘sex symbol’.” Mr. Neds orders, walking out the room.

“Hello, Mr Francis,” The stylist greets, excitedly. “I’ll be your stylist for this tour. When I’m done, you’ll look as good as Mick Jagger. Although…you already are quite good looking.”

You roll your eyes at this. Here we go.

“I’m a huge fan by the way. Possibly the biggest fan.”She giggles, a hint a seduction paints her words.

“I like when pretty girls like you listen to my music.” You can just hear the smugness in his voice. He’s clearly aware that you’re listening in all of this, possibly thinking he could make you jealous. Ha! Not gonna happen.

She giggles some more. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Course I do, doll.”

Doll?! That bastard!

“I’ll go pick out your clothes and maybe…you could get out of those clothes. I can help you if you’d like.”She lays it on thick.

You’re sure that Eddie’s going to push this further to get a rise out of you. You can already feel your blood begin to boil, your heart aching. Instead, you’re stunned to hear him drop the act.

“Actually, Maeve...I’ll pass. Hope you can respect that.”

“Oh, a-are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” She grumbles in defeat. “I’ll get started with the outfit choices then.”

You smile to yourself, impressed. You hadn’t realize just how devoted Eddie was to this relationship. He meant it when he said you were his and he couldn’t possibly think of hurting you in such a way and messing things up.

The door swings open again and Mr. Neds walks in along with bandmate, Mel Tomas. Mel does a spin around flashing his look for Eddie to see. “I’m not sure how she’ll top this look for you. Pretty sure I’m hot enough to be the new favorite of the band.” He flexes his arms.

Eddie gestures discreetly with his eyes, calling the attention of the bass guitarist. Mel confused at first, scratches his head only for his eyes to immediately widen when he spots you beneath. You wave and smile awkwardly.

“Anyone want towels?” Mel blurts.

“What?” Mr. Neds questions. “The hell would we need towels for?”

“You’re looking a little sweaty, big guy. No worries. I’ll get the towel cart from the hall and bring it in here.” Mel projects his voice, hinting his plan while causing Maeve and Mr. Neds to stare in utter bewilderment.

Mel returns with the cart. Eddie doing all he can to stifle his laughter, watching him roll it in for you. For you to climb into the bottom shelf. A towel is draped over the sides to keep you from being spotted. He throws a towel for everyone in the room to keep any suspicions. “Going into the hallway now.” He calls out.

It’s a good thing he didn’t go into acting.

Once you’re a far distance enough, you crawl out and brought yourself to your feet. Mel shakes his head at you. “Et tú, y/n?”

“I know what it looks like…but it’s really not what you think it is.”

“I think it looks like you two are a thing.”

“Okay, so it is what you think. Please don’t tell anyone.” You clasp your hands together, pleading.

“Your secret’s safe with me. I’m just surprised Eddie managed to win you over.”

“Ughh, you say it like I’m some trophy.” You roll your eyes.

“Didn’t mean any offense. It’s just you’re so much badass than he’ll ever be.” He laughs, nudging your shoulder.

You flip your hair dramatically, smirking. “This is why you’re the smart one.”

—————

Mantra•esque. It was this generation’s Woodstock. 4 days of the hottest artists performing and Corroded Coffin’s making its large scale debut. People took this festival very seriously. Both when it came to the musical performances and the way you dress. You don’t go dressed in a casual t-shirt with your favorite band plastered on it. No. This was meant to be treated as if going to a rave. Brightly colored, scantily clad outfits that leave little to the imagination; Glitter makeup and wild hair; Eccentric shoes and body bedazzle, it was the time to dress like the hottest alien in town. A second halloween, if you will. Only even sluttier.

You’ve heard nothing or seen anything like it but it’s eye opening to say the least. With the help of your best friend over the phone, you’d managed to pick out a butterfly-themed rave look of a pink body suit accompanied with wings, fishnet tights, combat boots, body glitter and makeup.

Eddie didn’t let you out of his sight the moment you’d made it to the festival pit. He wouldn’t risk any guy trying to sweet talk you and him not being able to do anything about it.

He takes your hand and you know you should pull your hand away since there are all these witnesses. Yet, you romanticized the idea of him shamelessly holding your hand to show you off as his.

“When do you and the boys go up?”

“We go right Hell’s Fury. They’re a new band, too. They’re not so bad. The lead guitarist could use some lessons though.”

“Can’t you give a compliment without backhanding it.” You laugh.

“It’s not a backhanded compliment. It’s criticism and feedback. You of all people should understand, little miss journalist.”

“Well, that may be true but—” You let out an audibly gasp when you reach around the backstage, spotting a the very famous Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. “T-t-that’s Ste—Do you know who that is?!”

“Of course I—”

“Stevie Nicks!” You interrupt, shrieking.

“That was right in my ear,” Eddie says, wagging a finger in his ear. “Wanna go over to meet her?”

“N-no way. I couldn’t. They say you should never meet your heroes. What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Not possible. You get a chance to be this close to her. Ya gotta go for it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just gonna walk up and say ‘hi’.” You stood frozen, paralyzed by fear.

“You’re not moving.” Eddie whispers.

“I will!” You say, defiantly as you continue to still in position.

He sighs. “I’ve got this, little one.”

He walks forward. You follow quickly behind him, hiding yourself like a scared kitten as you peeked over his shoulder.

Stevie Nicks spots your approach, amused when you shy away from her gaze. Eddie breaks the ice, chatting her up and introducing himself before making the final introduction for you.

“This is Y/n, she’s…my g—good friend.” He saves his near slip of the tongue. “Come on, Don’t be shy.”

He steps out of the way, revealing you to the singer. Your knees knock from your evident trembling. “M-m-my name is Y/n. B-but you already know that because h-h-he just introduced me. I’m a huge fan and I-I just wanted to say hi. So…hi!”

You say the last part a bit too loudly, causing her to jolt back but her smile never falters. Eddie smiles as well, entertained by the idea that you do actually fangirl.

It was clear to Stevie that there was something more between you. It was Stevie freaking Nicks. She sensed these things and the tension radiating between you two was as heated as the sun. “Isn’t it interesting how two people from very different worlds find each other?”

“Huh?” You both say simultaneously.

She giggles. “It was lovely meeting you, Y/n. Here,” She turns her attention to Eddie, removing the shawl around her shoulders and handing it to him. “A gift from me…to you…to her. Let her know you’ve got her and there’s no need to fight the feeling. I’ve gotta go in 5 but this was nice. Lookin’ forward to seeing you play, Francis. Good luck.”

She walks off, joining her group and leaving you soaring in your mind. You twirled around to face Eddie, jumping up and down in excitement. “You heard what she said. That’s for me.”

“She also said to stop fighting the feeling, yet you do. All the time. I’m starting to believe the old man at the diner was speaking specifically about you.“

“So I shouldn’t fight the rage I’m feeling towards you right now?” You hissed.

“What if…I give you your gift after the show?”

“Or…” You quickly retrieve the shawl, wrapping it around his neck and tugging him closer to you. “I could have it now and you’ll be rewarded for introducing me to my idol.”

You tug at the ends of the apparel a final time, forcing his lips to collide against yours. He smiles into the kiss and it makes you do the same. Once you pulled away, you snake the shawl from around him and brought it to your shoulders.

“What can I say? I had to stand up for my girl,” You blush at his words only to immediately sneer as the next sentence leave his lips. “You were such a goddamn scaredy cat.”

“It’s Fleetwood Mac.” You say, matter-of-factly.

“I mean, Stevie Nick’s great and all…but she’s no Metallica or Ozzy.”

“Oh, Quit the ‘cool dude’ act. I saw you blushing when she said she’d be watching you on stage. Also, I may have done some digging in your hidden cassettes collection. I know for sure you were internally screaming in her presence. Nothing to be ashamed of, though. Just means you’ve got great taste.”

He scrunches up his nose in adorably feigned anger. “You’re too nosy for your own good.”

“It’s only ever for my own good.”

——————

“You go on in 15, boys,” Mr. Neds announces, bum-rushing through the dressing trailer. “Pull yourselves together. Junie, ya getting this?”

“Ya know it, boss.” The photographer says, flashing the boys for another photo and blinding them.

“Hey! What happened to the photographer my boss specifically chose to accompany me?” You inquire the manager, crossing your arms.

“Oh, that guy? He didn’t make the cut. I’m looking for state of the art photos iconic enough to be plastered in every teen girl’s bedroom. Junie, here, knows what the girls want.” Mr. Neds says, pridefully. He pats his photographer on the shoulder, leaving the trailer to talk about their plans for a calendar edition.

“That’s disturbing,” You muttered before noticing the state of anxiety the boys were currently in. Each boy having their own fears.

Mel’s worries involved his outfit not being flashy enough. Judas’s worries involved his many exes being in the crowd seeking his head. Jessie’s worries involve his irrational fear of him popping a boner on stage while performing his drum solo.

Then there was Eddie, who was a mix of all their anxieties and more. What if he missed a beat, or he sings off key, or his hand cramps up during his guitar solo? He was THEE Francis the Freak. The lead man. The one who inspired the band itself. There was no room to fuck up or it meant the end for all of Corroded Coffin.

“You boys don’t look so good.” You say, concerned.

“I’ve gotta change my clothes.” Mel says, rushing over to the clothing rack.

“I’ve gotta find a helmet.” Judas says, also rummaging through wardrobe.

“I’ve gotta get duct tape.” Jessie searches through a nearby drawer.

Confused, you shook your head focusing on your boyfriend. “Eddie…you okay?”

“I don’t know about this, Y/n. Maybe we’ll just call this a night.”

“You can’t! You’ve performed in front of a crowd before. I’ve seen you up there. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re amazing.”

“You’ve seen me in decently-sized venues. But this…the whole world’s watching,” He lets out a dry laugh. “This was Corroded Coffin’s dream. The real Corroded Coffin. My buddies Gareth, Sid and Jeff were the ones meant to be by my side rocking the fuck out, headbanging, and saying ‘fuck all’ to whoever. But now it’s just me with these random dudes and I’m supposed to pretend like it’s always been this way.”

You hug around his waist, pressing your cheek against his chest. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. But your friends are probably watching somewhere back in Hawkins, waiting to see you live out your moment. They wouldn’t want you to miss this opportunity because of them. Would they?”

He shakes his head ‘no’.

“Exactly. Again, if this isn’t what you want then you don’t have to go out there. But if it is, then you show them who you are. You’re not just Francis. You’re Eddie Munson of Hawkins, Indiana. The Freak with insane guitar skills and crazy vocals. The mop-headed metalhead that shredded ‘Master of Puppets’ in a room full of boring Hollywood executives. You aren’t you because you’re famous. You’re who you are because that’s just who you are. No other explanation. And even if things get overwhelming and you decide you’ve had enough of this, you’ll always have me cheering you on in the sidelines because I believe in you. I always did.” You look up at him, feeling him let out a breath of relief.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” You gave him a small smile.

“That makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“Knew it would,” You say, brushing your shoulder in a celebratory manner. “You go and get those boys together. You’ve got a crowd to amaze.”

He nods, a newfound confidence taking over. Striding over to his silly bandmates, he cups his hands over his mouth to project his voice. “Hey, fuckwads,” The boys quickly halt their actions, turning their attention to the leas singer. He continues. “We’ve got 10 minutes before it’s showtime and you’re all acting as if you were caught with your hands on your dicks.”

Eddie pauses, glaring at Jessie who quickly pulls his hands out of his jeans.

“This isn’t new to us. We’ve been here before. It’s bigger and scarier. No doubt. But we’re better than this. We’re better than that fucking Hell’s Fury band and they went out there despite having the world’s shittiest guitarist. No more backing out. No more excuses. Today’s the day to prove ourselves. Now are we gonna rock the fuck out or not?!”

“I was born ready, ya cunt.” Judas chortles.

“Watch your female-targeted language. There’s a lady in here, you fuckin idiot.” Jessie disapproves.

“Sorry. ‘I was born ready, ya vagina.’ Satisfied?”

“I’m ready, too.” Mel chimes in.

“Then, let’s do this shit,” Eddie says, encouragingly. “We’ve got 5 minutes until spotlight. We’re movin out.”

With that, the boys hooted and hollered before rushing out of the trailer. Eddie nearly running behind them when he notices you staying back.

“You coming?”

“I won’t be standing side stage. I’ll lay my blanket front row with all the other sleazy journalists,” You quip. “That way you won’t have to constantly look on the side of you to make sure I’m there.”

“But I’ll be able to see you, right?”

“Of course…ooh!” You were just reminded of something. Rummaging through your small butterfly-winged backpack, you pulled out a little gift. “I was gonna wait til after the performance but I think you might need it. Just for a little boost.”

He looks down at it and smiles. It was the famous green mushroom sweater that he’d complimented you for years ago.

“You’ve given me enough gifts so that’s my gift to you.”

“Thanks, little vixen,” His famous smile returns, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “This’ll be perfect. See you after the show?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be waiting for you.”

——————

You quickly went to take your place in the front, noticing the band’s manager walking briskly up and down near the stage. The photographer beside him, flashing away with his camera at the empty stage.

“Have a seat, you two,” You say, patting the clear space on your blanket. “All this pacing back and forth and flashing is giving me headache. You’re going to ruin the experience for everyone.”

“I can’t help it! My ass is on the line with these boys.” Mr. Neds voices.

“Have a little faith. Now sit down or I’ll make the crowd revolt against you.” You threatened.

“Ughh, fine.” Mr. Neds plops down.

“The camera boy, too.” You ordered.

“But…”

“Sit!”

He quickly, sits down. “It’s Junie by the way. Not camera boy.”

“Don’t care.” You shrug.

The stage lights wave around at the crowd before shutting off. The stage going dark. Everyone waits in anticipation. Silence. The sound of a guitar rift pierces the air and the clashing of cymbals ring out then you hear one that familiar guttural screamo voice as the song “Follow the Leader” begins to play.

“Take me to your leader. I will fuck him up then eat her. I’m fuckin bottom feeder. A fiending twisted creature…”

The lights flash up, revealing the band. The crowd goes berserk, screaming and immediately rising to their feet to dance.

Mr. Neds’s big smile quickly falls flat. “What the fuck is he wearing?”

Eddie had removed the ripped up tank top shirt that the stylist had given him. Instead he’s shirtless, donning your mushroom sweater.

“Whoooo!” You cheered on, jumping and clapping as the song picked up. Even Junie had eaten up the look, taking pictures of the band in every angle he could think of.

Once Mel takes over with vocals, Eddie shoots you a quick wink and you nearly fangirled yourself. Maybe someday, you’ll let him know that you were secretly a new fan of his. Once his ego deflates, of course.

Assuming that’s something that could possibly happen.

You felt your stomach grumble when you spot Junie scarfing down a brownie.

“Where’d you get that?” You ask.

“Some really nice girls over there said it’ll be just what I need. I wasn’t even aware I was hungry.”

“Let me get a bite. I’m starved.”

He hands it over to you. You bite into it and it tasted slightly off. Aside from that, it was the right texture. Soft and sweet.

“This is so good.” You moaned.

“I know right.” Junie through bites.

“Wanna bite, Mr.Neds?” You offered.

“No, my blood sugars already so high, my stress levels are through the roof, my diet’s gone to shit…”

“Boy, you need a vacation. More for me and Junie boy.” You say, popping another piece into your mouth.

———

After two encores, the band finished their first day on stage. 3 more days to go and so far it looks to be a success. Once all performances ended, it was time for the after party. A large bonfire set up.

By this point, a familiar feeling took over you. The same feeling you felt when you smoked that joint with Eddie back home. Then, you realized…you were high as fuck. Higher than a motherfucking kite. This is exactly what your mother warned you about all those years. Taking goodies from a stranger is bad. Very bad.

You and Junie were laughing away at just about anything. “I don’t know if you noticed this, Junie, but we just ate pot brownies.”

“I’ve never been high.” He laughs.

“Neither have I up until about couple weeks ago.” You huffed another fit of laughter.

“You’re both idiots,” Mr. Neds mutters. “You’ve got jobs to do. Search for those boys and take some pictures and write something inspirational. Time is money.”

“Take a chill pill.” You say, rolling your eyes. Standing to your feet, you began your search for Eddie through the crowd. The thing about these hippie festivals is that every long-haired man reminded you of him.

“Eddie?!” You say turning over a random guy. Not him. Then another. And another until you bumped into a hard chest. You quickly turned to apologize. “S-sorry. I’m looking for my boyfriend—hey! I know you! You’re that prick photographer from Billy’s bar. You set me up with that photo. I hope you know.”

“Why is it that I always happen to meet you when you’re under the influence?”

“I’m not drunk, okay. I’m just a little high. Excuse me for thinking people give away brownies for the kindness of it all. What are you doing here, anyway?“

“I travel where the story goes. I also follow celebrities in search for my next project. And I’ll have you know, I didn’t take that picture of you and Francis.”

“You expect me to believe you? You can wait til hell freezes over and I wouldn’t believe you. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Just as you were about to walk away, he stops you in his tracks as he says, “Why? Looking to meet up with your boyfriend…Francis?”

“What are you talking about?”

“So where’s that boyfriend you’ve been looking for? If not Francis, then who’s the lucky man?” He says, dropping the innocent act.

“I have no idea what you’re trying to insinuate but Francis and I…are strictly professional.”

“Then, show me your boyfriend.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Because you have something to hide.”

“Because it’s none of your fucking business!”

“I’m her boyfriend,” You hear behind you. It was Junie the photographer, unceremoniously yet heroically stumbling over to you. “So back off buddy.”

“And you’re expecting me to believe this loser’s with you?” Cole laughs.

“Let’s go, Junie.” You grab his hand only for Cole to break the contact.

“Let’s be honest here, Y/n,” Cole invades your space. “Creative to Creative. We both know the truth.”

“Leave us alone.” You growl, trying to leave but Cole continues to block your path. A crowd soon beginning to form.

“Let us go!” Junie attempts to swing at Cole, who catches his fist in midair, punching him so hard it knocks him backward. The back of Junie’s head rears back, slamming against your mouth as you catch him before he could hit the ground. Your lips split and bleed but you ignore the sting, tending to the poor guy.

“Junie!” You call out, worried, before shooting daggers at Cole. “You asshole!”

“Hey, man. That’s not cool.” Says a voice from the crowd.

“None of this concerns you! Any of you. This is business! The whore’s not gonna get away with it.”

“Say that again.” A familiar voice says, the crowd parts a path for a very heated Eddie.

Cole smiles, wickedly. “Finally! This is what the fuck I’ve been waiting for. A goddamn hell of a story.”

Eddie sees you on your knees, cradling the wounded photographer. He sees red when he spots your busted lip, stomping forward towards his target.

“Eddie! Wait!” You forgotten to use his stage name around the crowd, more concerned with stopping him from doing anything that would get him in serious trouble. He looks back at you, still pissed as ever. You warm up your expression. “Don’t do it. Let’s just get out of here.”

He clenches and unclenches his fists. Cole convinced that he wouldn’t dare listen to you as a hotheaded rockstar. But Eddie does, glaring at the sorry excuse of a man one last time before helping you up as well as Junie.

“I’m sorry,” He says, regretfully. “I should’ve looked for you. It was just so many people that I couldn’t get to you.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now.” You smiled. Patting Junie on the shoulder, Eddie led the way to leave. The crowd cheers and it causes the testosterone in the instigating enemy to rise.

“Have fun with another one of your whores, Francis.” Cole calls out.

Eddie stops in his tracks and you knew all hell will break loose. “No, Eddie. Don’t!”

He turns on his heels, rushing over to the heckling fool. Cole believes he’ll get a one up on Eddie, swinging his fist to connect with his face. Eddie reverses this action using Cole’s own hand to punch him square in the face.

The crowd cheers and laughs as a disoriented Cole falls back into the dirt.

Walking back over to you, Eddie rolls his shoulders to release any tension. “You’re my witness. He punched himself.”

———-

The night started out celebratory. The group popping champagne in Eddie’s hotel room. It was supposed to be a night out in town to end the night right but the boys had another 3 days to perform so they would soon be heading to bed.

“You were incredible, Junie. Super brave. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” You say, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, that was pretty badass.” Eddie compliments.

“Aww, it’s no big. Always wanted to get in a fight with a guy that looked like my high school bully.” Junie comments.

“So that’s why I got my ass kicked at my party. You two were an item the entire time,” Jessie says. “You gonna kick every guy’s ass that even remotely stands near her?”

“Oh, hell yeah. 100%.” Eddie affirms.

“What did I tell you?” You say, tugging on his ear. “I can handle myself.”

“Ow, ow, ow. My ears are still freshly pierced.” Eddie hisses.

The group laughs and the festivities continue up until there’s a hard knock on the door that halts it altogether. Eddie answers the door and the look on his manager’s face indicated that this was no joyous news.

“Awww, what is it now? You’re harshing our mellow, man.” Eddie groans.

“Yeah, what’s got your knickers in a twist?” Judas questions.

“The executive editor of Hey Hello Magazine is thinking of pressing charges.” Mr. Neds says, solemnly.

“Why would the editor…oh my god?” It just hit you that Cole was not only a photographer but a writer of that magazine.

“What is going on with you, Eddie? I used to beg you to take on the bad boy persona in interview now all of a sudden your exactly that,” Mr. Neds sighs. “You’ve fought your bandmate and now you’re getting into fights with influential writers? What is it? What’s making you act out of control?”

Eddie glanced over his shoulder, back at you. You shake your head, fearing he’s give it up.

He looks back at his manager. “It’s nothing…. The dickhead started it first. I didn’t punch him. He punched himself and he’s too embarrassed to admit it.”

“No more of these shenanigans, Eddie. You’re actions have consequences. To lessen your erratic behavior, I’ve come up with a solution you won’t like but it’s for your own good. I’ll be assigning you all bodyguards.”

“Nooo.” “What the fuck?” “Are kidding me?” The boys protest all at once.

“Yes. Because even if you didn’t start the fight, people will look for a fight just to ruin your careers because of jealousy and greed. People are searching for big payouts and assault from a famous star is their big break. But luckily for you, the editor has agreed to drop all charges on one condition.”

“What?” Eddie asks.

“He wants a meeting…with your journalist.”

“Hell no.” He growls.

“It’s not your choice. It’s the lady’s. So..whadya say say, Y/n?” Mr. Neds turns his attention to you.

“I’ll do it.” You say with no hesitation.

“Great! I’ll make the arrangements.”

Eddie glares at you. “Would you all excuse me? I’m going to escort my journalist to her room. She’s not thinking straight with all the pot she’s ingested.”

He takes your hand, leading you out his door and towards yours. “What the hell? Why’d you agree to it? It’s only what he wants.”

“Because it’ll get him to shut up. He’s riding the high of this story he thinks he’ll get from me and you.. His issues are with me and only I can end it.”

“If I knew the journalism world was this bad, I would’ve never signed up for this expose and put you through this.”

“But then we’d never be the way we are now. I don’t regret that. Do you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, let me do this for you.” You cup his face, fingers laced in his curls.

He nods.

“You looked good in my sweater, by the way.” You smiled, playfully.

He smirks. “Wanna taken it off?”

“I want to. So bad and so much. But I’m sooo high.”

“That’s one of the best time to fuck.”

“Everyone’s right across the hall and I don’t think I’m sober enough to be quiet. Buuut… you can put me to bed in the non-sexual way.” You smiled, turning around and pulling off your tiny bag and the shawl for him to access your zipper.

He lowers it, slowly bringing down your bodysuit to kiss your shoulder. It all felt so sensual. The bodysuit pools around your feet. Your bare breasts make contact with the cool air, sensitive buds hardening. You were only in your black thong and fishnets.

He runs his large hands over the front of your thighs, pressing his erection against your ass. Hooking his index fingers in the sides of your tights, he brings them down your legs as well.

When you felt him try to do the same with your panties, you pull away. “You’re being naughty.”

“Why are you being such a tease?” He groans. “I thought you were mine.”

“I am yours.”

“Then, show me.”

You chuckled, crawling onto your bed on all fours. You exaggerated the arch in your back, ass in the air as you swayed side to side. Then, you roll into the shawl wrapping it around you and shielding your breasts from his eager eyes.

“I’m not gonna fuck you, Eddie.”

“Hope you know that this will be the most energetic I’ll be for these few days. If you don’t take advantage now…you’ll regret it.” He singsongs the last part.

“Goodnight.” You singsong back, curling up to your pillow.

He couldn’t help but laugh, staring down at your exhausted figure. Pulling the blanket over you, He kisses your forehead. “No more taking brownies from strangers.”

“Yes, daddy.” You mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

He tries to remove the shawl around you but you grip it tighter in your slumber. With one last smile, he shuts off the lights and leaves you to dream peacefully.

——————-

The next day would be hell for you and Eddie. You didn’t even get the chance to see him much. His entire day was spent rehearsing for day two of tonight’s festival. Meanwhile, you’d gotten a call from Murray who was very disappointed in you for being behind on your work, so you spent your day writing with little motivation.

You’re mind had gone elsewhere. To more pressing depressing matters. Cole. Your new arch nemesis. Your rivalry. Your enemy. All the names in the book that would describe his fate in your eyes. He needed to go down and hard. But how?

Tonight, you’ll be missing Corroded Coffin’s second appearance because you were meeting up with him to discuss whatever his evil plans were for you.

All you could do is see off the boys in the afternoon as they gathered onto the giant tour bus toward destination.

“You really don’t have to do this? I can just get a lawyer. He wouldn’t stand a chance.” Eddie says.

“I need to do this or he’ll just keep coming after me. You’ll be okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” He nods. “I’ll see you late tonight?”

“What about your new friends?” You whispered, gesturing to the two giant bodyguards a few feet behind him.

“I have my ways.” He smirks, mischievously.

“Whatever you plan on doing…don’t.” You teased, pulling his hat over his face.

He lifts the brim over his eyes with a finger. “This is why I don’t wear these darn things. I’ll be noting this to Maeve,” He jokes, then spreads out his arms for a hug. You go in for a handshake instead, reminding him that you were both in public.He reluctantly shakes it.

With a final goodbye from the boys, everyone boarded the bus and were off on the road.

Now that they were off doing their work, you’ll be doing yours. It was time to dive into the mind of the sleaziest journalist. If this was a dog eat dog world then you’ll gladly join the game. You were going to get some dirt on Cole and make him pay.

——————

You sat across the devil in a tea shop. He smiles a dangerous smile, believing he’s won.

“First, I wanna start off by saying that I apologize to you, Y/n. I didn’t mean to call you a whore.”

“Fuck you. I don’t care for your apologies.”

“You’re very well entitled to not forgive me. I just needed to get that off my chest. How’s your lip, by the way? It doesn’t look bad from what I see.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit, Cole. I’m not here for small talk. What the fuck do you want from me? Why are you trying to sabotage my exposé?”

“Because you’ve talked down on my Magazine enough. You and your company! Then you write this article and now you’re all I see. Everywhere. ‘30 Days With A Rockstar’. I’ve had enough! But soon… the world will know the truth. ‘Francis The Freak dating his journalist?’. Your exposé will be seen as bias. And my story on you will crush yours.”

“So you started a fight and threatened to press charges…because you want to make a better story?”

“I was never going to press any actual charges. I just knew it was the only way you’d agree to meet me again. Because you care about him. Because you’re a couple.”

“We’re not!”

“I have eyes all around, Y/n. I really didn’t take that photo of you and Francis at the bar. But I did write the article. I’ll admit it. As you already know, I’m the exec and lead editor of Hey Hello and I don’t take to kindly of the slander my company’s faced at the hands of your company. So, I’ll give you three options. Either work with me and give me the rights to your story or you could tell me the full story about you and Francis or I can really press charges and everyone loses.”

“How about a fourth option? You leave me and Francis alone…and I won’t put out an article about you getting sexual favors from your female employees so they can secure their jobs. Abuse of power story? You’ll never work in this business again.”

His eyes widened. “I’ve never done such a thing.”

“Tell that to the several employees that have come forward to personally speak with me. I have eyes and ears, too, ya know.”

“You bitch!” He snarled.

“Awww, I thought we were friends.” You teased, pouting.

“You just wait. I will find the truth. And when I do, you’ll be just another slut that fell for a trashy rockstar.”

You slap him, causing him to yelp. “Go ahead and press charges on me, too. Fuck you and your shitty magazine.”

You shot up from your seat, walking out. Not once looking back. Little did he know, you’d already released the article on him. That morning, you’d found your motivation to write after all.

———

It was 3 am and the Band had yet returned. Even if you wanted to see Eddie, you knew his guards would be right outside his door, keeping you seeing him at these hours.

Right now you’re lying in bed, moping as you began to question your relationship. Maybe you’d both jumped into it too soon. Everything is moving so fast and now you had a huge target on your back which, in turn, would effect Eddie.

Little taps hit against your window, you rise your head up in confusion. You sauntered over to the window, lifting it up and glancing down. Eddie waves at you from below.

“Eddie!”

“Shhhh!” He holds out his hands, signifying you to lower your voice.

“How’d you get out here? I thought you’d be guarded up in your hotel room.”

“I snuck out. Climbed out my window and took the stairs on the side of the building. Told you I’d come see you so here I am. Now you climb out.”

“No! It’s dangerous,” You stared in horror at the rickety metal stairs. “These look all rusty and unstable.”

“But I’ve got somewhere to show you.” He says, throwing up his arms in frustration.

“Fine, but I’m going out and down on the elevator like a normal person.”

“All that work when you could just come down this way?”

“It’s not work. It’s safe.” You throw on a coat over your nightgown and then some boots, before heading out the door. The bodyguards outside Eddie’s door spot you.

“Just leaving for some fresh air.” You explained, nervously. They turned their attention away from you, speaking amongst themselves.

You rushed down to the lobby and made it out to see Eddie, turning to smile as he held out his hand. You take it and he immediately leads the way.

“You’re a bad influence.” You laugh.

“So, I’ve been told.”

It was not a far distance from the hotel where you headed off to. You found yourself at an intimate park setting that had a showing of ‘Rocky Picture Horror Show’ playing on a big projector screen. Couples sitting on their respective blankets as they watched the film.

“I love this movie.” You whispered.

“Yeah? So do I.”

He lays out the blanket for you both to sit, finding a nice spot in a corner by the bushes.

“How’d you know they’d be playing a showing so late this night?”

“Dirk told me.”

“You mean the lead guitarist from Hell’s Fury. You’re on first name bases now? Are you going to braid each other’s hairs, too?”

“Please stop talking,” He says, trying not to laugh. “He’s actually not a bad guy. Hell of a stoner, though.”

“Glad your meeting more people in your circle.”

He nods. “I guess.”

“Thank you for bringing me out here. I needed this. Especially, after my meet up with that loser.”

“How was it?”

“This guy’s been on my tail the entire time since I’ve started this article. He’s been jealous of my success. The misogynistic pig. He said either I tell him about us or join him.”

“Join him? Like Darth Vader?”

“You nerd,” You giggled. “Yeah, just like Darth Vader.”

“So what happened after that?”

“I blackmailed him. Told him I’d out his scandal about his power imbalance and perverted behavior towards his female colleagues. I’m already in the works of outing him, though. No woman should ever work with that creep.”

“Ooo, you can get dirty.”

You shrug, playing off cool. “I can be a real bitch.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Fuck you!” You shove him, saying it loud enough for a couple people to shush you.

“Sorry.” You and Eddie whisper in unison.

——

It’s now 5 am. You’re on your way back to the hotel, laughing and quoting lines from the movie. Eddie insisted you both take the metal stairs this time which you reluctantly take. Him following close behind in case you faint from looking down. When you made it to your window, you climbed in first.

“We’re a little like Romeo and Juliet. Don’t ya think?It’s kinda romantic.”

He kisses you softly after you say this, making your steady heartbeat pound furiously in your chest. He breaks the kiss, licking his lips.

“Does Romeo get to climb into Juliet’s window and rock her world?”

“I thought you wouldn’t have energy for that?”

“I’ve got enough.” He attempts to climb in but you put your hand over his face, stopping him.

“No. You need sleep, big boy. Your day begins at 7.”

“You’re really missing out on some blessings, little vixen. I’m in the mood to eat pussy.”

You shuddered. So. Very. Tempting. That mouth as infuriating as it can be when he spoke, it was just as talented at many other things including knowing it’s way around the female anatomy. “I’ll pass.” You squeaked.

“Sure bout that? I’m looking to make those legs shake. Fuck you with my fingers and tongue,” He does have a nice, thick…long tongue. “Drink you til your stupid and can barely speak.”

You clamp your thighs together. “Ughh, no!”

Mustering up the shred of restraint you had left, you shut the window and locked it, leaving him standing there dazed.

His face drops in a dull look as he sticks up his two middle fingers at you. You do the same, causing you both to burst with laughter. With a final dramatic bow, he says his goodbye and makes his exit down the stairs.

You flung yourself onto the mattress. You couldn’t believed you turned him down. He’s literally your fucking boyfriend! Take advantage! Where was the shoulder demon bitch when ya needed her?!

God, that pretty mouth. I’m such a stupid bitch.

Then, your mind recalled Chrissy’s ‘gift’ to you. With a sigh, you retrieve the item from the drawer. It wasn’t him. But it would be enough.

———

It wasn’t enough! The remaining few days of the show caused your private nights with Eddie to grow shorter and shorter. The moments when you didn’t have to sneak around were spent being as far apart from one another as possible to deter any suspicions from his manager. Eddie had gotten extremely fatigue from the long days of rehearsal and having to perform on stage hours after. You worried that the boys would soon burn out.

When he’d snuck into your bedroom after the last night of Manta•esque, he’d all but crashed face first into your mattress. He only had enough energy for you both to the night for some writing ideas. He excitedly yet tiredly spoke of receiving praise letters from some of his favorite artists who’ve seen the event televised.

“It’s insane,” He yawns. “People actually like our music. They want to hear more from us. We’re already in talks of getting signed to an official label and having a new album.”

“That’s incredible!” You say, placing his head in your lap and playing in his hair.

“Right.” He yawns, once again.

“Shouldn’t you be heading to bed?”

“Wanna stay here.” He grumbles against your thigh.

“It’s not a good idea.”

“So what? I miss you. And who knows if I’ll ever get this much time with you again?“

“Why do you mean?”

He’s quiet.

“Eds?” You called for his attention.

“I’ll be touring again,” He admits. “It’ll be around the time the exposé’s done.”

“Okay? We’ll still get to see each other.”

“No,” He sits up. “At least not for a while. My manager’s got us a tour around Asia then back to Europe for France. I’ll only be staying in Hawkins for about a week and a half then I’m back on the road again.”

Tears began to well up in your eyes. “I knew we shouldn’t have done this.”

You stand to your feet, heading for the door when he grasps your wrist. “Where are you going?”

“I just need to go somewhere to think.”

He caresses your face. “Y/n, I want to be with you.”

“We’ll hardly ever see each other.”

“Then, I won’t do the tour.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Or you can come with me! I don’t fucking know! I just don’t want this to end. I can’t go back to life without you.”

“Neither can I. I wouldn’t feel like myself without you.”

“So does this mean you’ll leave with me? We won’t have to hide our relationship.”

“I can’t just drop everything and travel the world with you, Eddie. I have my dreams, too. I can’t go with you.”

“Don’t say that.” He begs, narrowing the gap between your lips.

“I can’t…” You say, weaker this time, eyes fluttering closed as he closes the gap between your lips. He kisses away your tears.

You’re lost in his kiss, wrapping your arms around him when a throat clears forcing you both to jolt apart. There stood Mr. Neds with the extra key card you’d given Eddie.

You were so fucked.

————-

“I come to your bedroom and your missing. Window’s open. I knew you snuck out at that point. I’ve always had this gut feeling that there was something going on between you and this fully confirms it,” Mr. Neds turns his attention to you. “I warned you the first day that this would happen. I told you that this would be serious shit and yet, unsurprisingly, you sleep with him.”

“Back off. It’s not her fault.” Eddie defends.

“Both of you are to blame! All this time these unfortunate events that keep happening and it was all because you two are secretly dating. A poorly kept secret at that. You both are all over each other. I’ve been in denial but this proves my concerns.”

“Please don’t tell my boss. He’ll pull the article and this will all be over.”

“I won’t tell him anything. I want this exposé out as badly as you. People are loving it so far. But no more secrets. At least not between us. If this is what you both want, I won’t stop you. But it could only ever be in private. This stays here. No one else will know.” Mr. Neds states.

Only he couldn’t be more wrong. This secret will soon go beyond these walls because in about the next 2 days at approximately 12:30 pm on a Tuesday, the whole world will read about the scandalous romance between a rockstar and his journalist.

Taglist: @that-idiot125 @strangerthingsstories5255

@haylaansmi @tlclick73 @chcolateeyelver

@apolixyan @micheledawn1975 @maystecc @gay-weirdo262772 @itswormtrain @httpmedxsa

@3m0xbunn1 @bebe0701

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@moonisu @mopeymopeymouse @lluviamg06

@shinydixon @cherrysoda444 @lovelyvivii @therese01 @keiracottreau @mirrorsstuff @eddiemunson95 @e-munson666

@munson-fixation @paradoxicalconundrum @lulukings92 @sherrylyn628 @szalipcombo @elamity @munsonswhore86 @kellsck @die-irre-blog @creoleguurl @edsforehead @munsonswhore86

[warakami-vaporwave]

Hi! I noticed on your BSOD America post you tagged openai and dalle3. Do you use AI?

I have had a few recent questions about AI so I'll just answer them all in this ask.

Yea, I use AI to generate the background photos for the BSOD series. Right now it's the only series I use AI in. If I use AI in a series it's always tagged as such. I also always end up modifying the image with my text, glitch effects and sometimes I heavily modify the image (combining images, repainting areas, etc).

I use the BSOD series as a way to make myself keep up to date with the current tech as best I can, since otherwise I have no real use for AI in my work. The rise of AI makes me extremely uncomfortable as a creative but like all new tech, I feel that it's important to understand what it can do, what it can't do and where it's headed in the future.

From my experience, if any artist wants to future proof themselves as much as possible against AI, this is my advice;

Make sure your style of art can work in traditional mediums, and can be done in person (for example; I'm focusing on doing more pencil illustrations on paper lately)

Come up with as unique a personal style as you can

Use AI enough to be familiar with it

[themoonweaversden]

Messeges that were found so far: SOOS (spoilers)

This is just to collect all the codes that you can type in in thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and their effects only (please click images for better quality)

Masterpost with all messeges / codes

Transcript:

"Sup Dude! Soos here, or as I call myself now "Mr Mystery," but I also call myself Soos too because that's still my name dude! Okay, so first, the GOSS, Tad Strange. Is Totally. Crushing on Woodpecker Guy. I ship it dude. I ship it HARD.

Anyway Mabel wanted me to write about the triangle guy? Dawg, homie is BAD. NEWS. Never trust a bro who can climb inside of your brain. And his book is sus and, to be quite frank, mid. I looked inside and just saw glitches and the words "HE'S UNCORRUPTABLE." What's that supposed to mean? At least holding the book made me look kinda smart, so 1/5 stars I guess.

Anyway Mabel told me to keep it brief, which is no problem for me, I love brievity! I can't get enough of it! Being succinct is like, super easy for me for some reason, I guess it's like a gift? Don't get me started on pithiness, let alone- oh dang I'm like, running out of paper?! LOL! That's what tape is for bro!

SOLVED!

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, my life as chief proprietor/tour guide/scam-magineer (Mr Pine's phrase) of the Mystery Shack! Running this place is an actual dream come true. To stop from pinching myself I asked Old Man McGucket to invent a Pinch-Bot but then it got loose and went on a pinching spree and had to be put down, heh heh. Wild times!

What's the shack like without the Pines? Well, it's got a lot more laser tag. And Questiony is back and MORE QUESTIONABLE THAN EVER! (Turns out all he needed was PANTS!) Every day I get to regale the children with yarns of enchantment and lore, and Melody set up this dope train that goes through the redwoods carrying baby goats. We're doing like... so good. Knock on on wood, but we're always saying "jinx" after talking and like, "anticipating each others emotional needs." Might be some little Sooslets on the way! WINK!

Mr Pines is gonna be away at sea for a while but he promised to not send me any postcards, which meant a lot to me. Dude is a real one! Anyway, I gotta go get some lotion for my cheeks. Abuelita and Melody have been pinching me at the same time a lot and it's starting to become a problem.

Look what I gotta deal with over here! Seesh! Stay cool, and if you're ever in Oregon stop by the Mystery Shack to see the local world record holder for the world's happiest dude. ME! Ha-ha!

-Soos "Mr Mystery" Ramirez

PS: Don't tell Ford that I got pudding on his cursed book!! Unless he likes pussing, then tell him to lick here ⟶

PPS: Did you know that you can turn any spoon into a spork with a few simple adjustments? I'll show you how any time dude!

PPS: If you see Bill, cover your head in tin foil and bring some ninja stars. And a bat, in case he ever accquires human flesh. Or in case you see a PINATA"

[picturejasper20]

Breakdown/analysis of the old Danny-Vlad body swap nickelodeon comic ¨Bring Back My Body to Me!¨

For those who don't know, Danny Phantom had some comics that got published in the early 2000's in the Nickelodeon magazine. One of them being a comic that involves Danny and Vlad switching bodies written by two writers of the show, Marty Isenberg and Sib Ventress + another writer.

You can find the full comic pages here in the DP Wikia: https://dannyphantom.fandom.com/wiki/Nickelodeon_Magazine

I'm writing this post to make some commentary of the comic since it haven't seen any post talking about it. It has some things i found funny and others interesting. The screencaps were taken from the DP Wikia.

Let's start:

Okay, so the first page introduces us to what Danny and Vlad are planning to do in the story. Danny is going to a dance and trying to ask Paulina while Vlad is stealing from the Fright Knight. For some reason Danny is still trying to get Paulina to pay him attention. I wonder when this comic was intended to take place since Danny's crush for Paulina was something from very early in the series and over time he got over it. Also why is Vlad in human form in the Ghost World? He later transforms but there isn't any reason for him to be as Masters in here.

Okay, but here is a thing that is inaccurate: Danny doesn't beat Vlad because he is more powerful than him, that rarely happens. Danny usually beats Vlad by either tricking him (Maternal Instincts) or with someone else helping him (Kindred Spirits). I think the only time he does this is in ¨Phantom Planet¨ by freezing Vlad, and that itself is for a minute.

Why Plasmius does have dark pupils in this comic. It's super cursed. It would have been less of a problem if they were something like white instead of black.

This is an interesting concept to me because i don't recall the series exploring the concept of what happens if a human-ghost hybrid uses powers or amulets that are intended for full ghosts use only. I feel like it is an idea i haven't seen much done in fanfics neither. It opens to the idea of the difference between full ghosts and halfas and how they react to the Ghost World.

I really like this narrator commentary about how ghosts are constanly showing up in Amity Park thanks to the Ghost Fenton Portal being open. The narration is funny in this comic.

I find it funny Danny using the mocking nickname ¨Plas¨ to refer to Plasmius in this panel. And Danny is so small. His head is the size Plasmius' hand. He is baby ghost size in comparison to others.

Okay, so when the two touch the spirit stealer at the same time their... spirits? get switched. This was a secondary effect that Vlad was warned about by the Fright Knight earlier. What i don't understand is what gets switched in here. Their consciousness/inner selfs? Their minds? It is interesting that these are represented in their ghosts forms and not in their human forms too.

From what i can guess is that the spirit stealer may have mixed their ghost halfs in some way since in the next panels their are both seen wearing each half of the amulet. Since it is intended to be a ¨glitch¨ that is how i think it works.

(Insert spiderman pointing meme here)

I kinda like this callback to ¨Splitting Images¨ episode. It is a nice detail that wasn't necessary for what it is a standalone comic but is still cool.

One thing i appreciate in this comic is how you can easily tell who is inside the body by the way they speak and their body language. You can see that Vlad is in Danny's body because of the detailed use of vocabulary that is so specific about Vlad. Or the way he refers to Dash after he pulls a prank on him. I also appreciate Sam pointing out why Vlad!Danny is wearing half of the amulet. It is weird that Vlad didn't pick up that he was wearing it until now. However, i think it does make sense in the context considering that he changed bodies with a 14 year old.

Okay, i don't know why there is suddenly a timer for this and how the Fright Knight knows about this, unless something like this happened before. I suppose is one of those ¨ghost amulet plot convinience logic¨ things. By the way, i do like Fright Knight's role in this comic. He is pretty cool in here.

It's weird that Vlad doesn't consider what Danny is telling him here. You would think that he would get suspicious after he saw how he only had half of the amulet and switched bodies with Danny but he doesn't question it too much. It does make sense to an extent though. Vlad probably believes that it just some trick to make him give his half of the amulet. He would be skeptical of what Danny is telling him.

They only had to put the pieces back together? That easy? Huh, well, okay then.

Go Fright Knight, kick his ass.

While Dash getting scared is fun, i'm not a fan how Danny usually gets in trouble or bad ending in some episodes just because. I kinda could make a a bit of exception in this one since Dash got thrown into baskball ring for something that it wasn't that serious. Still, it something that bothers me.

In all i do enjoy this comic. While it has plot holes from what you can expect from this plot, it has some funny interactions and interesting concepts like amulets having a different effect in halfas. Part of me wonders how interactions with other characters would play out in this scenario, like Vlad!Danny interacting with Jack or Danny!Vlad with Skulker. had the comic been longer.

[whimsical-westbrook]

Okay yep yeah mhm okay I have woken up twice now to this being real. I'm going to make an intro post to get used to writing with a stylus and without thumbs.

Hello, my name is Lily Westbrook. Hopefully. I don't know how this works. I definitely still go by she/her.

I used to live in Eterna City. I wanted to meet my first ever pokemon buddy, so I went into Eterna Forest last night. Something happened, and I think someone had my phone while I was out?

If I take a photo maybe y'all will believe me, but I'm a Buizel now. Hold on, maybe I ca

[An image is attached.]

[Image ID: A poorly angled selfie of a Buizel, wearing a flower accessory. The Eterna Forest's Old Chateau can be seen in the background.]

n add a photo oh gods why did it put it in the middle like that I'm not fixing that

I still don't know why all my writing is orange. Is it because I'm a pokemon now? Is my phone playing pranks on me is that a thing that can happen

UPDATE: Turns out I'm a girl buizel and this was the best worst thing to ever happen to me. I still don't know if anyone in Eterna City will be able to figure out what happened to me, or if they'll even believe me, but I just. I'm so happy, guys.

Double UPDATE: I kinda feel like how I feel about life is going to keep drifting away from the tone of my original intro post but like. It feels weird to make a new one so I'mma just... leave it like that I think. For now. Important note: I'm no longer in Eterna, but headed to live in Goldenrod.

Triple UPDATE: I was able to figure out why my text was getting orange'd, and also was told that it was messing with some people's ability to read things I wrote, so I was able to apply that fix to the text. Though uhhh. I'm still leaving that mess in there. It's funny to me.

//OOC under the cut

//Hello! This is Astra (she/they) from my main (NSFW) @astralikacastle. This is a character I've had in my head for a long time, though my kinda fucked up brain doesn't quite know where to take it after the prologue.

//But basically, forever in my head I've had 'what if someone got turned into a pokemon and they had to deal with that and how it made them feel about gender' and now it's here. =3

//I do prommy to try to keep this blog as SFW as possible, though where the line between Mildly Suggestive and NSFW lies isn't always the same for everyone (especially with how Tumblr's been treatin' trans folk lately) so I'm not making guarantees, just promises to try.

//I should like. Keep track of Lily's 'inventory' huh

Lily's old human clothes

Buizel-sized Ballgown

Comm-Everstone Choker (See Below) (Worn)

Phone (obviously)

Book about Legendaries for Studying

Flexi-grip phone tripod

Poffins and berries

Trans flag bandana (Worn)

Hoopa-Ring-Alike Bracelets (Worn)

Thigh-highs (didn't decide on a pattern for these oops) (Worn)

Lily-flower pin (Worn)

Pink Ribbon (Worn under above pin)

Sunglasses! B3

Sylvie (Sylveon Plush)

Toki (Togekiss Plush)

Blahåj (Blahåj)

6" Buizel Plush!

JigglypuffPikachu Hybrid Plush!?

Large pink bag (where plush friends live) w/ Waterproofing

Waterproof Backpack (Where non-plush non-worn items live)

Wheely-Cart (Where everything rides on) w/ Floaty

Weighted Blanket

Keychains (Mew, Meloetta, Hoopa, Victini, Celebi, Darkrai, lotus)

Box o' Buizelnip (Lovingly referred to as Bui-Weed)

Always kept in Lily's room at Gen's home:

Figurine of Lily and Gen

Buizel-sized Piano

//And her moveset!

Protect

Agility

Water Gun

Surf

Baton Pass

Rain Dance

Aqua Jet

Aqua Ring [Glitch?]

Thief

Minimize [Glitch!]

ABILITY: Rattled

//What is the Comm-Everstone?

The Comm-Everstone is an Everstone, small enough to act as the 'gem' of a choker, and enchanted by Laplace to duplicate the effects of a sci-fi Translator. The stone translates Lily's buizel-chitter Poke-Speech and emits an ethereal voice that repeats her words in Human Speech. Whichever voice the listener best understands is brought to the forefront of their perception, preventing any 'cross-talk' from obscuring her words. Notably, it is still quite obvious to the listener that these words are being translated, and not simply Imparting Understanding. (Though, it being magic may be a little unsettling, still.)

[prismarine-dungeon]

okay hi

so recently I've been in a bit of an art block, mostly with designing. this lead to me deciding I wanted to design concepts based on skins I know nothing about, and what better than lifesteal? i think I've watched at most One video from someone from that, so it meant I'd have no bias or fanon ideas

I had asked @aroaceacacia for some skins on anon, so here's a leowook and ashswagg

explanations and thoughts below the cut, since this'll be a bit rambly

okay so leowook

I decided to start with sketching the symbol on the face over and over in a notebook until I got something I could work with, and that landed me with the eye. It's slightly tilted on the face, as to match the symbol better. I went with a nice yellow to make it stand out, but I didn't plan that initially. I didn't intend it at first, but the eyebrow and mouth also help to make a shape with the pupil of the eye reminiscent of the symbol :D

In that early sketching phase, I also kept making him fluffy. I'm not really sure why, but it kept reoccurring, so I ran with it. I ended up giving him more animal-like legs and paw feet to keep the appearance. Though subtle, there's a gradient and freckles on the legs, as well as freckles on the face and a gradiant on the bang. I ended up messing with the colors on those a lot, since originally he looked too yellow. He was going to get a tail as well, tbh, but I felt like he didn't really need that, he worked better as a completely ambiguous fluffy guy.

On clothing, he and ashswagg are kinda, unintentionally, influenced by the different series I've been into lately- dishonored, assassins creed, and thief, but most notably the former. For leowook, I looked up suits on pinterest until I found this interesting one with a similar top piece, though it had a longer tailcoat with pockets on the sides. I was going to keep those, but I wasn't happy with how it was coming out, so I kept the parts I liked. I also made the pants into shorts, so I could show off the legs more. The suit in the image also had an ascot, so I decided to get a little silly with it and turn his tie into one. I know it likely doesn't make sense, but I don't care. Last things of note are the fact that I turned the buttons gold as to match the skin and added some onto the pants. There's also the belt with the pouch, but it was kinda an afterthought, so if I were to ever come back and reevaluate these concepts, this is something I'd completely redo

After I finished him, I was having fun and doodled him a little. Nothing too clean or anything, just things for fun

ashwagg

ashswagg ashswagg ashswagg. this guy gave me so many troubles. I'm not happy with how he turned out, but i think i shouldnt do anymore work on him.

initially, I wanted to go with something more galaxy/space inspired. I'm not sure what it is, but the silver and gold in there made me think of stars. however, I couldn't settle on a way to execute it. I wanted to make him space, but I also wanted to make his clothes space, but I also wanted him to just be a fuckign guy, but like make him very obviously not human in such a subtle way. I wanted to give him long hair, but also long hair just felt wrong somehow. eventually i just ended up getting to a point where I just put something on the canvas and I'd work with it.

with his hair and face, I wanted to obscure any face he could have. all I wanted visible was his mouth, partially because I kept playing with the idea in my head that he doesn't have a face under there, only a void or glitch or just an uncomprehensible darkness over where eyes should be. I tried to make the hair resemble his face, but I had trouble balancing that effect with the desire to cover his face how I wanted. one of my favorite concepts I played with was greasy emo punk kid who's bangs are so long they obscure his line of site, but I feel like it got a but lost.

if I were to reattempt him, I'd give him that greasy hair, but instead of the long bangs, a mask that covers most of his face or something. play with a weird balance of teenage menace and cool minecraft oc design.

with the outfit, I veered away from suits to coats and jackets. I just knew I wanted to go with something long (which, as you can see, didn't stay). I had saved a few different references, but the ones of note were this cool sleeveless coat thing and, essentially, the little hood he has on. attempt after attempt lead me to nix the first image and just use the hood for ideas. another concept I played with was a shoulder cape, like the ones ezio auditore wears in most of his games, but I wasn't feeling it.

with the colors, I wanted to make his skin a shade of purple, because I thought it'd be something fun to play with. his hair ended up, by process of elimination, this almost black color with a brighter purple on the tips. the rest of the outfit ended up being a similar palette, with barely thought out pattern concepts thrown on to try to grasp onto the color balance present on the skin. I think it could have worked if I had managed to get a glitch effect to work, especially if the glitch effect was a more purple-toned one, but as is it kinda just falls flat.

a fun detail, his kneepads were intended to be made out of a material like crying obsidian. I just thought it'd be neat. also, the hood on the cape I ended up giving the beak shape we see on assassins from ac, because it's silly to me and I thought itd fit. I was also planning on doing after doodles, but I ended up deciding against that by the time I finished

overall ashswagg ended up being an underbaked concept with too many things thrown in. hes the vanilla extract design of these two, if you will. in typing this, I did consider the idea of 'okay but what if I made him a kinda fucked up wizard thing with greasy emo hair' and that's an interesting avenue.

this was a lot of fun to do, despite some unhappiness here and there. that's the nature of concept designs and stuff, not every one is gonna be a winner. just means that you can eventually work out what you don't like later on.

and honestly, this experiment has given me a good perspective for future endeavors like this with my mcyt ocs. it's interesting to think about how a fandom would interpret them, and this'll give me a neat perspective on that. maybe I'll do similar studies and post those some day

[poussiffanche]

{Open the images in a new tab for better quality}

Heyo guys! Here are my designs (day & night) of Sun and Moon!

I had this AU in my head: the pizzeria's birthday is the day of its inauguration and so great re-opening. Refurbished, everything is fine again; there are no more disappearances, the pizzeria is very successful, there are no more glitch/virus, etc. Bye bye villains (and the human characters (Vanessa, Gregory, etc) are somewhere too but not in the pizzeria. I haven't really study the subject. 😅))

In the renovations, Sun and Moon are part of it! The daycare attendants each have their "body", their personality. When they first saw each other, it was a touching moment; they fell into each other's arms, Sun was crying, shouted and jumped of joy. Even though Moon is more reserved by nature, he had such a big smile that it said a lot about his state of mind, not to mention his moist eyes. They were always together, we never saw one without the other.

I wanted to stay as "canon" as possible while bringing my version of them.

So: ► For their pants, slippers and Moon's hat, I used sunrise/sunset colors, respectively Sun and Moon. I like to imagine that when they meet new people (kids, parents/adults) they introduce themselves as: 《I'm Moon's sunrise; Sun!》 《I'm Sun's sunset; Moon.》

► Sun and Moon have more "lively" features: colored eyes and pupils (like other animatronics), they can open their mouths and have more facial expressions. With those modifications, they look more friendly at first sight, especially Moon (my mum who doesn't know the characters was curious to know what I was drawing and when I showed her his original version she found him scary. 😭)

► Their eyes have complementary colors: Sun has blue-green eyes and Moon's orange-red.

► Their bells have "crescent moon" colors as well as their frills + shape and all of those accessories have a particularity at night~:

• They glow! Yes, they are fluorescent. Even if Sun and Moon would be separated, they would be together day and night to take care of children so, it's important that they have points in common. Thanks to this, children who wake up at night for any reason could find them without having to call them (and potentially disturb other children), serve as a nightlight, even as a little glow for kids who are afraid of the dark.

► Sun and Moon have white and black pupils respectively. I like this "Yin and Yang" effect but there's more:

• Moon, being a night patrolbot, the fact that he has black pupils he would be used to the dark and could watch surroundings without having to light up his eyes (and potentially being spotted if there is an intruder). He can always do it if necessary. Althought Moon's frills and bells are fluorescent, they are dim compared to if he were lighting up with his eyes so there is no risk an intruder spots him. Anyway, Moon is difficult to flush out; he is very good at hiding and tracking his prey down.

• Sun, as for him, has his white because he remains a daytime animatronic despite everything; he can see in the dark but not as well as Moon without lighting! He can see what surrounds him more brightly and it is impossible to dazzle him.

► With the virus/glitch mostly gone, Moon still has "aftereffects": he lights up red from time to time without wanting to and scared some of the children (especially the new ones, the old ones are aware of what happened and are very supporting) when they woke up during/after naptime, even before. Unable to completely remove this functionality, it has been modified so that it is used during an alert/danger.

• Sun, not being particularly confronted with danger, staying in the daycare at night, he wanted this feature also to on one hand support his counterpart but on the other hand because he dealt with violent/abusive parents/adults so this feature is quite a deterrent. In general, when Sun and Moon come to light up red, it calms things down (especially coming from Sun).

{There you go, I guess I've done the trick. I take this opportunity to warn you that I will draw my comic again so the next drawings I may do of Sun and Moon will mainly be sketches. I will finalize them when I'll have time. 😁}

[crackedlemonade]

Interdimensional Part 1

This year was a relatively productive year in the realm of art compared to previous years. I attribute that shift to ultimately hitting burnout and taking a step back a few months into hopping into the world of twitter where things are not funged and tokens are non fungible. When I joined that space I didn't have a plan and things quickly became overwhelming personally and I realized I had to do some additional personal work. I feel like the past several years have been realizing that I need to unburden myself and also unlearn a lot of things I was taught. This is where this next collection of art pieces comes into play.

I'll start with the one piece that took me the longest and then will cover the others. I started with this piece years ago, not sure exactly when but in my mind I would say about 5 years ago. For years I have painted pictures with the subject screaming and I always found it interesting the individual takeaways others get when looking at pieces like that. Ultimately the subject has always been screaming because of the frustration of being misunderstood. Oftentimes I felt that people never understood the things I said and it's a genuinely frustrating feeling just wanting to be heard and people seemingly just wait for their turn to talk instead of actively listening and having constructive discourse.

I created a few sketches in college where an angel would be losing their wings inspired by the song by Rob Dougan Furious angels. I ultimately did not turned those sketches into paintings. It wasn't until I learned about Labeling theory, if a person is labeled as a deviant by society they are more likely to engage in deviant behavior, that looked at myself and realized what effect that had on me. It even put into perspective a lot of my doubts were things that were told to me when I was younger that I internalized. I had my own foot on the brakes wondering why I wasn't moving.

Art was a ways of me making peace and for a long time I was in an environment that did not support that. My artistic interests have never been limited to one medium, I had music classes in elementary and middle school and I was taught by a band when I was 16 in keyboard and bass. I've had an interest in video production and I have had an interest in creating drawing and paintings. For a long time I was always told I was doing too much and I had to pick only one thing. It messed with me because it was hard to pick one thing. Getting into NFTs and encountering other artists I realized I didn't have to pick one and I could find ways to combine them which ultimately is something that I have been trying to figure out for years.

This painting represents that to me. It represents both what you hear and what you internalized and ultimately project as other people's thoughts. This is why two heads are blowing smoke and the other two aren't. However, that doesn't matter to the subject, it's all the same from their perspective.

I also didn't just want this next piece to be a still image, my first collection of NFTs are paintings that I love but in navigating the Twitter verse I wanted to do things with my pieces that become an experience. This is why I learned to glitch using audacity, I felt that glitching is something that could represent the flaws of perception. Our memories aren't perfect, sometimes we combine events, people and ideas. The negative talk you might have heard as a child becomes negative self talk. The people who in your mind are holding you back is just your foot on the gas pedal and the brake at the same time.

For music I purchased Royalty Free Loop packs through Magix Music maker. What caused this painting to get put into production hell for so long was the composition. The smoke was a this year idea and before that I didn't know what else visually to use that would connect everything. This piece will be coming soon to Opensea.

[silver-strings-of-fate]

New Year’s Day. Despite the special date, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary. People crowded the Shibuya Scramble like usual. Students enjoying their winter break, office workers heading to lunch, a few tourists who came for the festivities of last night, all filling the square like ants.

Practically a captive audience.

Suddenly, the mindless drone of advertisements on the tv screens circling the city center disappeared. To the eyes of the average person, what replaced it was just a mess of colorful static with a voice too warped to make out speaking unintelligibly over top of it. Some kind of weird marketing campaign? Probably nothing to worry about.

But to those among the audience with personas, or with a particularly close connection to a certain thief, the image was as clear as day. A single, glowing yellow eye, wreathed by a familiar black and white mask, stared down at Tokyo.

“Ah, it’s working!” The distorted voice muttered before its owner stepped back, putting his full body in frame. The white coat’s tails fluttered behind him as he made a grand flourish. To those who could see it, the figure was immediately identifiable. Amamiya Ren. Or rather, his shadow.

“♪Good~ morning~♪, everyone! I’m so happy to see you! I hope you’re doing well, but if not, then don’t worry! That’s exactly why I’m here! This world is corrupt, rotten down to its very core. True happiness is impossible when reality itself holds us down. So many rules, so many limits. That is why I must destroy it!

Surely you’ve noticed already. Things are already beginning to change. A little glitch, something not quite right, here and there. And that’s because my work has already begun to take effect! Soon enough, the restrictive order that holds us down will be no more. Based on my current progress, salvation will arrive for all on February 4th! After that, there will be no going back..”

The shadow held his arms out wide, a mad grin on his face.

“Rejoice! For I am going to tear apart the chains of reality, molecule by molecule! And then, we will all be free!”

And with that, the message was over. The screens returned to their intended showings. People continued to go about their day, completely unaware of the destruction that had just been promised to them.

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 60

(we’re about halfway through my pre-done chapters!)

Nyota crouched next to Esther to better see the words on the small screen. Really, hunkered down might have suited better to the moment. She always felt her own bulk so sharply beside humans, and even more against small, frail Esther. Her hand was so large—focus, she told herself, and tried not to think of Esther’s tiny fragile-seeming hands.

“She’s quite observant,” Esther was saying proudly. She indicated the footnotes on her screen. “I was too absorbed in the runes to check the carved faces. How fascinating! What in the world does she mean by ‘too perfect’ on these?”

Nyota waited several moments for Esther to answer her own question, then realized it was not rhetorical. She leaned in to study the screen better. It took her a good while more to realize the answer. “They are too flawless,” she said slowly. “They don’t look like people, just… ideas. The perfect idea of an avian, floran, glitch…”

Esther frowned and nodded, listening but not yet sure. “Go on?”

Nyota pointed at the apex carving. “This apex… it has quite a few traits we consider highly attractive. The shape of the brow and cheekbones, the full curve of their nose... But I have never seen them together on the same person. Except… in propaganda. It is similar to old propaganda, from when my parents were young.” She took a breath and mastered herself. “It looks like Big Ape.”

Esther looked up at her sharply. “You don’t mean—”

Nyota shook her head, dispelling the idea. “I do not think it is him. But… it is a composite image, you see? The images they used for him were an apex ideal. The carvers had the same intention.”

Understanding dawned, for a moment. “But the Novakid image,” Esther asked, “she said that one was different? How?”

Nyota touched the screen and flicked the image aside to look at the next one. Her finger traced down the carved novakid’s chin, over the faintly-traced tiny marks left by ancient tools. “The sculptor left their scars,” she said softly.

That drew only confusion. “I didn’t know Novakid could scar,” Esther said, thoughtful. “But then again, we know so little about them.”

“They can,” Nyota reassured her. It felt odd to push the nostalgia aside to force her words into order; she did not like the oddness. “One of Lumen’s shoulders is paler than the other, from a thicker shell that formed where he recovered from a serious wound, decades ago.” Her hand traced the statue’s ‘scars’ again without thinking. The artist had removed only thin shaves of stone, but it still showed uneven edges like a wound that healed wrong. “I think the sculptor carved this from life, not imagination. It looks like Marcy thought the same.”

Esther nodded slowly. “Did they simply not have a large number of Novakid around to compare?” she mused. “Or perhaps this one was a close friend?”

“That, we can’t know without more information,” Nyota told her. A smile tickled out of her thoughts. “They must have had quite a knack to get this one to sit still long enough. Even Lumen rarely stays in one place for long.”

Esther chuckled. “Oh yes. It was a delight having your Sonny here before, but goodness was it tiring just watching her! I don’t know how Arjun manages.”

Nyota tried her best to put on her most solemn face. “Many months of practice.”

The effect was slightly spoiled when a chuckle squeezed out to join Esther’s laugh.

Esther’s mood sobered into a sigh after a few moments. “All of this is lovely speculation,” she said, “and it will surely help us understand the ancient builders more, but we still do not know how to open the gate to look around inside.”

Nyota started to answer, and felt herself drift. She did not see Esther’s startled stare. She saw Hadley beside her, the cloaked figure, an extended hand.

“There are still doors you have yet to open. Doors like that will need keys.”

“Are you quite alright?” Esther’s eyes looked huge behind her glasses as Nyota looked down again, wide and worried. “I thought you wandered right off there. Have you been getting enough sleep?”

Nyota sighed and shook her head. “Perhaps not,” she admitted. “I should go rest, and check on Hadley. She was injured in helping me reach the gate. I’ll come back later.”

“Take care,” Esther told her, and patted her hand. Nyota was again struck by just how small her fingers were.

Sentimental, she sighed to herself as she went down the stairs. She would never have—well, no. That was false. She had been fascinated by the tiny humans on that USCM vessel so many years ago… and by Marcy, not so long after. Her first sights of a world beyond the Miniknog. But she really was tired if her mind was wandering so far.

“Sleep,” she murmured, trying to convince herself. “Answers can wait.” The teleporter at the edge of the Ark hummed to life as her ship received her signal. It sent a tell-tale tingle shivering through her fur, and brought a slow smile. “Besides, Hadley would never forgive me for asking without her.”

 She felt something was wrong the moment she set foot on the ship.

[rynmaru]

Hypocrisy

“Castor!!”

Glitch’s voice carried clearly down the long hallway leading out of the mech bay as Castor stormed away from the hanger.

“Castor, I’m okay.”

P.O.L.L.V.X.’s voice was subdued, but soothing in his ear, but for once they had no effect on Castor.

Never faltering in his purpose, Castor’s usually ordered mind was devoid of all logic and cool indifference, replaced with a rage so blinding he was certain the blood roaring in his ears was boiling.

Muscle memory guided him more than his vision as he could barely see through the red haze tinting everything.

He could hear footsteps rushing behind him and quickened his pace. The Lance wouldn’t catch up to him in time, no one had been prepared for him to leave so abruptly and he had been the first one back. He had time. Not much. But it would be enough.

Taking the steps two at a time, Castor’s foot caught on one and he stumbled, catching himself just in time to avoid landing face first, feeling the sting of concrete on his palms.

“Castor…Babe, you need to calm down. You’re going to get into trouble.” P.O.L.L.V.X. warned. “You know Ender won’t listen to anything you have to say!”

Their portable crypt zoomed from an adjoining hallway and projected their image alongside him, their long strides easily matching Castor’s. They looked a bit more drawn and pale than usual, more disheveled. Castor glanced at them, taking this all in, and his jaw tightened as he looked ahead again.

“Talk to me.”

Castor snorted, and shook his head, waving P.O.L.L.V.X. off. Their expression darkened and they fell a step or two behind him as a double door came into view around the next corner. Castor slammed his palm against the bioscanner set into the wall and the door slid open with a hydraulic hiss.

The control room inside was state of the art L.E.I.D.A. technology, with screens covering the front of the room showing the aftermath of a battlefield on one of the nearby moons, the location Castor had just returned from.

A tall man was silhouetted against the screens, hands behind his back as he gazed up at the statistics and data collected from the battle. He didn’t turn to face Castor, though from the slight shifting of his posture he had clearly heard the door open.

“I thought you’d want to see me, Dr. Creed.” The title was spoken with an almost patronizing tone. “Let me guess, you want to know what I did to cascade your NHP. And to tell me I had no right. Perhaps throw in an outraged “how dare you” for good measure?”

Ender turned, completely calm in the face of Castor’s rage, looking down at him as Castor stopped a few paces away. His gaze flicked briefly to P.O.L.L.V.X. as they hovered in the background beside the door, then away, discounting them.

Castor couldn’t speak, his words sticking in his throat and leaving him mute, unable to do much more than shake.

“Nothing to say? Now that is a first.” Ender looked back to the screen. “If you have something to say then say it. Use your words, Castor. Otherwise get out of my control room and report for your debrief.”

“Testing experimental technology on Pollvx is off limits!” Castor signed, gathering himself enough to communicate. “You interfered with my work!”

“Oh please,” Ender scoffed. “You and I both know that NHP is more of an therapy dog than it is a project. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either it’s your best friend in the whole wide world or it’s your research project. You can’t switch what it is when convenient.”

Castor’s fingers were sharp and quick in their signs, “They aren’t an “it”!

“It’s a machine,” Ender said flatly, not entertaining Castor’s attempt at an argument. “If you want to debate NHP ethics you’ll have to find a different forum and a willing opponent. Now report to your debrief or I’ll write you up for insubordination.”

“You can’t,” Castor’s scornful expression conveyed his tone perfectly.

Ender just raised an eyebrow.

“You might be L.E.I.D.A.‘a golden child most of the time, Dr. Creed. But when you are a Lancer you answer to me, and I can and will treat you like the soldier you are if the need arises. Do I make myself clear?”

Castor glared at him.

“Castor, let’s go-o-o-o-“ P.O.L.L.V.X. approached, but the moment they got further than five paces from the door their image glitched and sparks flew from their crypt as the light in it died and it fell to the floor with a crash.

“Lux!” This was enough to break Castor’s silence as he turned to rush to the damaged crypt.

“Ah, yes. Forgot to mention. Your pet’s been causing a bit of a stir since you gave it a longer leash. So I’ve installed some new security measures to keep it out of my business. I’m sure you understand why I can’t allow it to waltz in here whenever it likes.”

Cradling the dented crypt, Castor tried unsuccessfully to fit a panel back in place with shaking fingers. The sparks flickered in the depths of the machine, the usual whir and hum of life silenced. He touched the cracked lens, trembling, then gently set the crypt down and stood.

Ender had turned away. The immature display of misguided affection was a waste of his time and wouldn’t be entertained.

Footsteps approached. Faltering, then steady. A sprint. He turned in time to be slammed into by Castor as the shorter man drove his shoulder into Ender. The impact combined with him being off balance mid turn was enough to knock him back. One step.

Looking down, impassive, Ender seized Castor’s shoulder and shoved him back, sending the skinny teenager stumbling. Catching him by the front of his flight suit, Ender held Castor at arms length, lifting him slightly so only his toes were on the floor.

“You’re wasting both of our time, Castor. If you have a point to make then make it.”

Castor squirmed in his grip, unable to break free. One hand closed around Ender’s wrist, as his burning glare met the unwavering ice in the other’s.

His free hand lifted in a flash, gripping the pistol he had been issued upon becoming a Lancer.

The barrel of the gun was inches from Ender’s face as Castor pulled the trigger.

Blood, bone, and brain matter coated the terminal behind Ender and spattered across Castor’s face and shoulders. The hand gripping his clothes went slack and Castor staggered back as Ender’s body fell in a crumpled heap, an ever widening pool of blood spreading across the metal floor.

Castor stared down at the body, chest heaving, gun still pointed down at him, as if expecting him to stand.

“Castor, what the fuck?!”

He flinched and turned slowly towards the door, staring at Glitch who looked in horror between him and Ender’s body.

“What did you do?! Oh my god, what the fuck did you do?!”

Castor looked down at the gun in his hand, slowly opening his fingers and letting it clatter to the ground as he stumbled over to P.O.L.L.V.X.’s crypt in a daze, kneeling to pick it up. His hands left smears of blood on the surface.

He could hear Regent and Fenrir reacting to the scene as they arrived, but their voices were muffled and distant as he stood, cradling P.O.L.L.V.X. to his chest protectively.

“I don’t remember authorizing any of you to be in the control room.”

The crackle of the intercom jolted Castor back to the present, ice running along his spine as he looked up in time to see Ender’s face flash up on the screen, clearly seated safe and sound in his office as he studied the scene before him.

“All of you, report for your debrief and we can discuss areas of improvement to work on for your next mission. After today’s display I’m pushing your Lance’s official start date back another month, so be ready to take notes. I need to see marked improvement in the next few weeks if I’m going to deem you mission ready, and enough time has been wasted already.”

Ignoring the groans of the rest of the Lance, Ender turned his gaze to Castor who stared back, stone-faced.

“I hope you’ve gotten that out of your system, Castor. Now, if you’re done throwing a fit, get out. We both have work to do.”

[sida-wang]

Project 2: A moment in time

Project Title：CHASNG

Format：360 video on Youtube

Artist Statement：

Standing in the future, yet rooted in bygone days.

What we avoid is what we pursue.

Chasing moments, losing them.

Embracing new feelings, forgetting old ones.

Remember, memento mori.

CHASING is inspired by a conversation I had with my grandfather, "growing up is a series of departures." In this project, I place the audience on a constantly forward-moving trajectory. Along the path pursued by a glowing red ball, they encounter various twisted and distorted paths, endless corridors, dazzling traps of beauty, and the fading presence of loved ones. Ultimately, audiences discover that what they fear being caught by is also what they are relentlessly chasing—time. My intention is to convey that while we tirelessly pursue various deadlines, we must not overlook the present moments in life. Therefore, I believe a 360-degree video is an excellent format to express this dual-contrast theme because viewers can face the absurdity of life head-on while also sensing the urgent pursuit behind them.

During the animation process, I found the most challenging part to be particle disintegration in the final scene. I needed to create the disintegration effect for each image/event. The speed and direction of particle disintegration had to match the camera's speed to ensure that each event was not obscured or overlapped. Considering that all details are magnified in VR, precision was crucial, and this required a lot of time for frame-by-frame adjustments. Another difficulty was the transitions between different scenes. The scenes involved in this project included 360-degree videos shot on-site, 3D scanned models, point cloud modeled animations, models painted in Open Brush, and 2D plane images, all while also considering the path of the glowing ball. To avoid abrupt transitions, I chose to quickly insert glimpses of subsequent scenes in the 360-degree field recorded video part, providing viewers with a "foreshadowing" of what would happen next, accompanied by glitch effects in Premiere Pro to create an electronic malfunction transition effect. To make the glowing ball appear to flow smoothly between scenes, I used very brief transitions to blur the subtle differences between preceding and succeeding frames.

[rafor]

Chapter 50 - Erebus - The Glitch

I asked, “So you kill dragons?” She shook her head. “No.” I pressed on, “But we were both attacked, and you tried to take my life.” She said, “It’s not what it looks like.” I narrowed my eyes. “But you told them that they had a successful hunt after you saw them coming with two dragons.” She explained, “We don’t kill dragons. We’ve just mistaken you for a shadow dragon.” I was still doubtful, and I said, “But you also attacked a wind dragon. I witnessed and heard you doing that,” she said. “We thought she was your ally. We didn’t know that she was the Queen.” I said, “Fine, then how come you are so skilled at fighting dragons?” She said, “You’re getting on my nerves, you know?” I said, “Oh yeah? I suppose I deserve some answers from those who just broke my spine multiple times, bit me, poisoned me, and attempted to murder me in every way possible.” She finally relented and said, “Fine, maybe we do kill dragons sometimes. But we do it in the most humane way possible. Your queen was going to be slain later, while still unconscious, and you wouldn’t have felt anything. Your case was an anomaly.” I said, “Thank you for the clarification. I have to admit that your techniques are very effective.” She replied with pride, “Thanks; I take pride in that.” The others chimed in, “Oh, please be quiet. We did all the work. I even got stabbed,” and he glanced at his legs and the multiple wounds I inflicted on him, so I said, “Fine, let me heal those too.” He said, “Thank you,” even before I did so. He then asked, “By the way, who are you?” I said, “I’m the husband of the Queen. My name is Nox. Please don’t inquire further. I’m not in the mood to answer questions.” He didn’t say anything, but his sister did: “So, what are the perks of being the husband of the Queen?” I said, “It’s not really about perks but more about responsibilities. You have to live and work in the palace, then create a political image of yourself, and every now and then, find a solution to problems like newcomers and cataclysms. It’s a lot. I could go on and on.” She said, “For someone who’s not in the mood for questions, you’re answering anyway.” I said, “Fine, I’ll keep quiet then until we reach our destination.” She said, “Oh, what a shame.”.

We walked in silence until we neared the village, where she halted us at a prudent distance. “Wait here,” she said. “I’ll inform the Guardian and return shortly if all is well.” I wondered who this “Guardian” was. I had never encountered or heard of such a title other than in the domain of Aura. But we obeyed her command and waited patiently. From afar, I glimpsed another shadow dragon conversing with her, and he seemed vaguely familiar. Then I realized I knew him. It was Erebus, whom I had not seen in ages. I was relieved that he was still alive, but he did not recognize me and initially gave me a cold glance. When she came back and beckoned us to follow, I saw him more clearly. He looked weary but determined. He went straight to the queen and examined her condition. Then they lifted her gently and carried her into a tent. I followed them closely, unwilling to let her out of my sight. They laid her down on a hammock that was covered with sheets and blankets. The hammock bore some symbols, one of which matched the queen’s mark. Perhaps that was how they identified her, or maybe they had some prior acquaintance with her. I could only speculate. Erebus turned around and noticed me standing there, watching them intently. He snapped, “What are you staring at?” I said calmly, “I’m just concerned for my queen, dear Guardian.” He frowned. “How do you... why did you call me Guardian?” I did not answer. I did not want him to figure it out, even if the earth dragon just called him that. He continued, “And what is a shadow dragon doing here?” I retorted, “Aren’t you one too?” He said, “Well, yes, but it’s different.” I said, “Fine, whatever you say. But I don’t appreciate your hostile reception.” The elder sister intervened and said, “Oh, I forgot to mention, if our venom had affected you, you would have been dragged here and interrogated.” I said, “Wait, what?” Erebus cut in, “If the venom had affected you? Are you immune to the venom?” I explained, “Not entirely. It just suppresses my element, but it doesn’t kill me.” He said, “That’s impossible without an antidote.” The elder sister said to him, “He’s telling the truth. He also survived me. And you know how I deal with shadow dragons.” He asked, “What did you do to him?” She said, “Why don’t you let him tell you?".

He looked at me with curiosity and asked, “What happened?” I misunderstood his question and started to recount our journey. “We were traveling for more than ten hours and had to land, then while Freya was guarding me, they..." He cut me off and clarified, “Not about that. I mean with her.” I realized he was referring to the bite mark on my neck and the bruises on my spine, somehow still visible even after healing. I corrected myself, “Oh, sorry, well, she bit me. I guess I got poisoned, and then they tried to crush my neck and also break my spine. For more than ten minutes, she held me in her death grip. My heart stopped beating, but I didn’t lose consciousness and survived.” He raised his eyebrows in disbelief and said, “Wow, this sounds so impossible.” The elder sister said, “He isn’t lying, I swear. He is immortal.” He shook his head and said, “Nobody is immortal. What are you?” I gave him a vague answer: “Well, maybe I’m someone you know of but can’t recognize because he didn’t have this form, dear Erebus.” His eyes widened as he recognized the name I called him. He asked me, “What was your name?” I said, “Nox.” He pressed on, “Your real name.” I said, “I think you can get it.” He guessed, “Immortal living being that used to have another form... are you Raphael?” I smiled and chuckled and said, “Congratulations, you got it. It’s really me.” He approached me in amazement and said, “I thought you would’ve never remembered me. You should be dead.” I said, “It looks like I survived multiple times.” He then noticed something else about me and said, “Anyway, you look exactly like someone I can’t really recall. Open a moment your wings.” I did as he told me. He inspected them and said, “There aren’t many dragons with such a pattern. Do you know who you look like?” I said, “Yeah, I know. His name starts with Z and ends with an O.” He said, “Exactly, Zeno. How do you know about him?” I said, “I was going to ask you the same question.” He explained, “Every Guardian knows about him. It’s said that he was the founder of the Guardians. You’re just like a reincarnation of him.” I said, “Erebus, I’m still a human behind this, you know?” He said, “I know, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m glad you’re still alive. How have you been doing all these years?” I explained, “I had a beautiful life with my queen. She fell in love with me, and then I did too. It’s a long story, and I’m a bit tired. I need to rest if possible. I could tell you everything later. Please.” He said, “Oh, of course, but you’ve really got to tell me everything about it in detail later.” I said, “I will, but you get too.” He hesitated and said, “I’m not sure if I can tell you about it, but we’ll see.” Disappointed, I said, "Oh, why not?” He said, “It’s complicated.” I said, “Nevermind, now where can I rest, please?” He showed me the way to another hammock not far from Freya’s and then said, “You’re lucky to be alive. Remember, I wasn’t joking when I said that you aren’t immortal.” I yawned and said, “It’s been twenty years, and even after multiple deaths, I’d think otherwise now.” I was trying to ignore him, but he said again, “I’m serious. You aren’t immortal. Nobody is.” I didn’t reply, but I nodded. I was too tired and didn’t want to keep on with the discussion. I had to rest and get over the experience.

[redtailarts101]

Since I know barely any people follow this account or know of it I can use it to send an image to my friends that I want hidden but can't even send through links normally because of link previews

Placeholder image to show up in the preview

Okay warning from this point onward there will be some gore shown. I'll leave the actual images below the cut here.

Devil's Train - Andromeda Callistor

[Image ID: A drawing of 3 characters and a train with an overall red tint. The central character is a humanoid looking alien. Her brown hair is in a half-up half-down style, one side with a pigtail and one in a loose bun that appears to be coming undone. The implication is meant to be that she had her hair in buns, and the pigtail was a bun that fully came undone. She has pointy ears, light skin, and lime green eyes, with the same-colored dots beneath them. She looks startled. Her outfit is a black tubetop shirt with the top of it being fishnet. She is also wearing a violet jacket. in the background is a man with gray hair, the same colored skin and eyes as the central character, wearing a backwards shirt that's ripped. His left arm has the top half missing, bone exposed, and his right arm has scratches. His ribcage and spine are exposed, as are his lungs, and his small intestine is visible. He's wearing brown pants. There's also a close up of another character in the background. Only her head and fingertips are visible. She has light skin and auburn hair in a half-up half-down bun, and her eyes are shrouded by shadow. She has green nail polish and a sinister smile on her face. In the foreground is a black old train, lit by red, with yellow windows and the number 666. There's also red text outlined in white that says "Devil's train" in all capitals. The background is a dark red with a lighter shade in the middle. The whole piece has a glitch effect on it, strongest on the central character. End ID.]

Yes I did come up with an unnecessary backstory for the character because I really liked the song why do you ask?

This information is irrelevant for anyone NOT involved in (C.C.C.) L.A.R.P. 2024 but basically the backstory I've come up with is regarding how she'd met Kiera. She was always an experimenter, though her experiments weren't ever within the confines of a science class. Some were dangerous and others unethical. One of her more dangerous (to herself) experiments was a chemical mixing. She was trying to create a psychadelic for herself and others. She didn't have any willing test subjects, so she took the concoction herself. She begin to see and hear things, alright, but it wasn't any of the crazy or "cool" things she anticipated. She saw disturbing things, namely, the ghost of her grandfather who had gone missing years ago. She ran away from home in sheer terror and still saw and heard things. Kiera found her in her delirious state, learned of how she had gotten herself like this, and scolded her, but also told her she needed a safe way to conduct her experiments. She brings up the upcoming space expedition to the planet Earth, and that the goal is to find and study any life on it. Kiera tells Andromeda that she plans to join the expedition, and encourages Andromeda to pursue biology, promising that it she gets accepted into the program, she'll use her connections to land Andie a spot in the program as a scientist and "researcher" (the research being direct experimentation on the life that they find.) Andromeda's captivated. She agrees, excited at the prospect of being able to conduct her experiments on any subject she wants, without repercussions, and without needing to resort to using herself as a guinea pig.

Will this backstory become canon? Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't have much bearing on the story of the present and is mostly just self indulgent so I can have something to imagine to the song.

[amirahunit04]

EVALUATION

Counter Cultures:

In this project I had to create a brand based using one of the four disciplines such as digital, print, moving image and fashion and lifestyle. For my project I chose print. I created a venn diagrams with three things that inspires me or the things that I’m fascinated with and things that have an impact on me. Culture is the shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that characterise a group or society. Culture values refer to the core beliefs and principles that guide a culture's attitudes, behaviors, and practices. So, I created a magazine based on the things that change my perspective on life such as controversy. Controversy can have a significant impact on someone's point of view on life, as it can challenge their existing beliefs and perspectives, and encourage them to re-evaluate their values and attitudes. Which is what I intended to do with my magazine. I decided to name my magazine Doomscroll. Doom scrolling is when you digital scroll on your phone and keep seeing bad news reports and articles. The layouts of the magazine was very important to me because the layout of a text can have a significant impact on the reader's point of view and understanding of the content. The layout can be used to emphasis certain elements of the text, such as headings, subheadings, images, and important points. This can guide the reader's attention and shape their understanding of the content. That’s why I included a good amount of information to go with the images. For the logo I wanted it to convey the hip-hop but simple aesthetic. I did this because using stylised or unique fonts that reflect the hip hop culture can add a strong visual impact to a logo. A logo with a hip hop aesthetic should incorporate elements that are bold, colorful, and reflect the energy and attitude of the hip hop culture. The logo should be easily recognisable, memorable, and convey the essence of hip hop in a visually impactful way. Depending on the subject of the magazine I will change the ‘scroll’ font style in doomscroll.The research that I did was mostly based around Kanye West and the controversy surrounding him. I looked at mostly articles and newspapers that document every controversial moment in Kanyes life and how his mental health was mostly effected by what the tabloids say. When I was printing off my cover to test it on G F Smiths sample papers the printer started to glitch. So, I edited the print settings and printed the cover again.

Overall, I liked the outcome of my magazine. However, the paper for the magazine didn’t come early which meant I had to print it off late. Also I think my time management for this project was really bad. To prevent fall back on work in the future I will create a day plan for every week documenting what I’m supposed to be doing that day.