#dark side of youtube

[nerdstorming]

When two of my random interests meet:

[hermetichermethermes]

If you, like I just have, decide to watch a few videos on understanding Accelerationism with a particular focus on NRX and CCRU because the whole fucking concept is just prosaic and nonsensical and absolutely reactionary beyond definition then the ADs you see afterwards will be VERY WEIRD.

Weird AI ads? Check

Transhumanism garden variety ads? Check

Vaguely horseshoe theoried transphobic pro trans humanism ads? Check

Book recommendations from Nick Land and Mencius Moldbug themselves? You betcha

Fucking weird sex bot ad? Oh yeah. That just happened

I need to watch some hard lib content or something to sand down the rough edges of the algorithm or something (MeidasTouch here I come) so YouTube don't start to think I'm in need of being groomed into becoming the next Unabomber or something.

[honourablejester]

Apropos of absolutely nothing, can I talk about the Let Me Be Good To You scene from The Great Mouse Detective (1986)?

For the uninitiated, this movie is a Sherlock Holmes adaptation. Ish. In the skirting boards of the Baker Street, while human Holmes and Watson do their thing in Victorian London, a mouse detective named Basil and his recently recruited medical companion Dr Dawson investigate a mystery in Victorian mouse London. Vincent Price stars as Professor Ratigan, the evil Moriarty equivalent, and it’s a hell of a fun time.

And. In the middle of this fun mousey romp through Victorian London, we get the above scene. Basil and Dawson are undercover at a seedy dockside bar trying to find a peg-legged villain, and in the midst of an almost-bar-brawl, the piano player hastily starts a down-turned tune to draw attention, and Ms Kitty enters the stage.

And. Okay. I’m going to put aside for one second that this is happening in an animated kids movie. Put that to one side. I just want to look at the song.

Because this song is so fun, and so kind, and so empathetic, and so fucking cynical. It’s so targeted, and so tailored, and so clearly designed for purpose.

Because she doesn’t just offer sex, although that is pretty clearly and cheekily implied (“I’ll take off all my blues”, from a woman in an entirely blue outfit) later on. She offers sympathy. Empathy. Comfort. Understanding. She starts out ‘dearest friends, dear gentlemen’ to a bar teetering on the verge of full on violence and mayhem. And she’s listened to. Because she follows up with implicit understanding. “Life down here’s been hard for you, life has made you strong”. You tough guys, you’re feeling all alone. You rough guys, the best of you sailors and bums, all are my chums. She’s talking to them, to their understanding of themselves, and she’s promising that she understands them too, that she’s not put off by them, that she will comfort them. “You won’t be misunderstood, let me be good to you!”. It’s not a, if you’re good I’ll let you in, it’s a, I know who you are and I’ll be there regardless.

She is selling such a tailored fantasy. Talking directly to her audience, to their inner understanding of themselves. In the middle of an incredibly seedy dockside bar that’s two seconds away from exploding into violence, she comes on stage and offers not just sex, but sympathy, understanding and comfort. Softer things. Gentler things. And, the thing is, she’s bang on. She’s read them completely right. They listen to her. The violence tones down. Men take their hats off for her. When it revs up again, when it turns violent again two seconds after she’s done, she’s still perfectly safe and perfectly triumphant up there. She sold such a perfect fantasy. She was bang on.

And it’s so, so, so fucking cynical, because she was sent on stage, in the context of a bar that is drugging people even as she sings to sell them to a criminal overlord, to do exactly that. She was so clearly sent on to control the crowd, to bring the mood back from immediate violence, to tone it down, and then to rev it back up in a happier direction. Ms Kitty is offering the perfect fantasy, talking to the gentleman in need of comfort in her customers, while the bar staff are moping up unfortunate ends behind her. And the second she’s finished, the violence comes flooding right back in. Her song is the perfect fantasy. And this is the seedy reality.

And I just. I want to bring it back. This is happening in the middle of an animated kids movie. This perfect window onto sex work, entertainment, night life, crowd control, violence, machismo, the softer fantasies that even the roughest people might have, and the way those fantasies are then promptly used to lull and control them. This is a children’s movie.

It’s not just that there’s a stripper mouse in a kid���s movie. It’s that her song was also a fantastic and vicious look at how shelter and desire and empathy can be cynically used to control people in the context of sex and entertainment, and how in context of the darker sides of life, the gentlest, kindest song can be the coldest and most cynical of gambits.

Like. They didn’t have to go that hard, you know?

Anyway. Carry on.

[beatrice1979a]

Monsters

The Dark Side

Sentimonsters - Monsters - Monsters (alt ver) - Savior

original:

The Dark Side (alternate reality) by Muse

I hail from the dark side For all my life, I've been besieged You'd be scared living with my despair And if you could feel the things, I am able to feel

Break me out Set me free

Save me from the Dark Side

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Jeremy and the minorities he loves to represent and apparently was born to

This post by @freedelusionshere cracked open a pattern that was right there in front of me for a while now and I hadn't really been paying attention to:

Jeremy Allen White's career choices

I won't go over every single role he ever played but overall his taste is quite distinctive and particular, he's into the marginalized, the anti-heroes, and the minorities.

He's not afraid of having to dive deep into his dark side to play addicts, disabled, depressed, suicidal, and traumatized human beings who struggle with mental health issues and don't always win their battles or are elegant about it.

His most famous roles are Lip Gallagher and Carmy Berzatto

Both addicts, the product of a traumatic upbringing with abusive parents and absent parental figures, with older siblings who played roles in his characters' lives that they shouldn't have due to the dysfunctional family dynamic they lived in.

He also played Kerry Von Erich, who lost his battle with addiction and a part of his leg as well and whose whole family was part of the problem, no matter how much they loved him. Kerry Von Erich was a fatal victim of his toxic environment and upbringing.

More about Carmy and Kerry's parallels here:

In Cornflower (short-film) Jeremy played the big half-brother of this little girl whose mother killed herself and he was in charge of "protecting" his baby sister from the news and sending her away

He's the Boss, the chef, the champ, the protector in his own fucked up way, but not really because he plays the shadow aspects of all those characters, otherwise, he's just not interested.

Jeremy once said (for GQ magazine) that if he played the romantic lead in a rom-com it would also have to be very sad.

And now, when he steps into The Boss' shoes leather jacket he doesn't play the idol, the icon, but one of his darkest moments.

Deliver me from nowhere

The movie tells The Boss' story during a time of his life that he described himself as dark and challenging, filled with isolation and loneliness.

I read Warren Zanes' novel a few months ago when I found out that JAW had been cast as the lead and LOVED IT. He also wrote Tom Petty's bio, which I haven't read yet (but definitely will because I love Petty) and served as VP of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, back when I still gave a fuck about it.

Zanes' Deliver Me from Nowhere captures that feeling completely. No wonder JAW felt compelled to play that part.

Nebraska, Springsteen's album (1982) was his 6th studio album and followed the widely successful and critically acclaimed album: The River and it was off-beat compared to its predecessors because it contained darker and more solemn lyrics but most importantly because The Boss lived up to his nickname and fought his Record label at the time (Columbia Records) refusing to tour to promote it. As a result the album only reached number 3 in both USA and the UK.

Bruce was going through a lot and having a hard time coping with fame and struggling to balance his personal life with his career, re-defining what the concept of "success" meant for him.

The book goes over that struggle and inner turmoil, it says it got to the point where the album was recorded by a Springsteen who literally couldn't get outta bed to do it. It was recorded in his bedroom.

The author says:

"Nebraska is the recording that matters the most in Bruce Springsteen's career. But not because of the hits it contains or it's renowned or because of its generation of young people played it on repeat while they searched for themselves in bedroom mirrors. It needs a different measure. Springsteen made the record when he was the object of tremendous expectations. (...) They were waiting for Born in the USA and that's not what they got, the truth was that Springsteen was a little lost."

Again, no wonder JAW got cast for this role.

I wish nothing but the best for him and I expect nothing but the best from his performance. I'm sure that it must be terrifying for him having to sing for the first time but the way I see it only 2 outcomes can come outta that: either he rocks or he's dubbed by The Boss himself who rocks even harder, so I'm cool.

This is the beast JAW has to tame (And make it relatable, moving, and hopefully award-winning):

The album's reverb-laden vocals and mood combined with dark lyrical content have been described by music critic William Ruhlmann as "one of the most challenging albums ever released by a major star on a major record label"

Source: Wikipedia.

I'm positive he can do it and I'll be there, watching and crying as he does.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[crimescrimson]

Ada Wong & Leon S. Kennedy: The History [ Resident Evil 4 (2023) ]

[maria-ruta]

A couple of my friends worked really hard on this project, please check it out!

Fantastic animation and designs!✨

fair warning though - the main theme is sad

[creeky-cricket]

Bad psychoanalysis of the new sander asides video

first, THE OUTFITS FOR EVERYONE WERE SO CUTE second, THE LITTLE THINGS THAT SHOW THE CHARACTER DYNAMICS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS--?!?!! virgil summoning only after patton got excited (the adrenalin) - in the beginning, he wouldn't do this, only showing up to create chaos. but now it just shows that he wants to protect the others!! roman and virgil being the only ones that are upset that the dark sides are gonna be there - showing how they have the most experience / resentment against them pls this doesn't even really contribute to my point but the way roman treats remus when he pops up is just funny to me the fact virgil knew who joanne fabric really was - might be a small detail but again, shows he's got more experience with the dark sides janus taking jabs at virgil and his gift for logan - clearly janus is having a hard time adjusting to being a light side still, plus virgil being protective of not only himself, but also something he knew logan would actually like. the subtle hints remus gives logan when he becomes frustrated - shows the kind of 'i can make him worse' mentality he's got on our poor boy (also count hint that within the next few sander sides videos we could get a logan breakdown) how virgil gets angry when janus makes fun of roman - this could just be because of the hatred he has against janus, but could also show that, despite the squabbling, he does care for roman. virgil finding romans slap funny - supports the same points as before THE ENTIRE INTERACTION BETWEEN VIRGIL AND LOGAN AT THE END- I DONT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS ONE CAN SHOW BUT I LOVE IT ANYWAYS. there's more, but last but not least: also, at the end. nico asking thomas what the message was and him not being able to answer - this shows how thomas clearly isn't sure about nico, he wants to feel good about being with him but just. cant seem to grapple with it. also supported by a previous video with pattons hesitant answer to 'what is his opinion on nico'. @thatsthat24 :3

[animatedjen]

"You're a Jedi. I know what you're capable of— and what you're not."

[uniquecellest]

I've been watching Sanders Sides again and recently looked at Thomas' merch for thw first time in years and I noticed that Virgil (and Remus - though aside from the Sides sticker pack I don't think I've ever seen Remus merch) doesn't have anything new. Like there's new long sleeve shirts and out of the 5 Sides I've seen with merch Virgil doesn't have one - also I'm taking note that Janus is the only one with matching pants - and with new 3.0 shirts, again Virgil is left out.

What if Janus is getting stronger messing more and more with Thomas and making it seem like Virgil is unreasonable as seen in the SvS and Can Lying Be Good? videos. Virgil has had enough and doesn't show up for a video or so. Character Thomas can take note but the others cover or assure Thomas (bc they got lied to) that Virgil is unwell. The light sides keep taking note especially with Character Thomas getting more paranoid recently causing the light sides to worry. It isn't until Thomas is close to or is in full blown paranoia that Logan, Patton, and Roman - with Thomas - attempt to look for Virgil. However Remus and Janus appear acting like everything is fine, nothing is wrong at all until Remus let's it slip that they let something - rather someone - out. In Virgil's part of the mind it's much darker than we see in Accepting Anxiety. Snakes, Spiders, and Remus' creepy critters (i like to think beetles) come out from a room and they see a body. Logan, Patton, Thomas, and Roman assume it's Virgil. The person laughs manically claiming that Virgils name is not one he has heard in a while. The body turns and it's Virgil but it's not. There's no black or purple, no eyeshadow. In fact the person looks very relaxed - either looking like a business person or someone on vacation. We know from Can Lying Be Good that the sides - in particular Logan, Patton and Roman - cannot inform Thomas of the Dark Sides unless Thomas wants to know. I'm thinking Remus and Janus can though, however even those two are even scared of this person and the person very calmly introduces himself as Thomas' Paranoia aka Virgil "all grown up"

[regallibellbright]

Oh, also:

GOLDEN SUN DUOLOGY DROPPING TOGETHER IN A WEEK!

So I will once again drop The Most Inexplicable Ad Possible In Terms Of Actually Having Anything To Do With The Game’s Contents, But Which Is So Weirdly Awesome The Sequel Proceeded To Directly Reference It.

No one can offer any explanations here. I’m ASSUMING the Crystallux Summon in Dark Dawn wasn’t planned a decade in advance and therefore the causality here is what I laid out? Which would, you know, be sensible. But like it’s such a DEEPLY SPECIFIC and striking design for a minute-and-a-half long ad that has nothing to do with any of this. Also probably super expensive, this was like 2002. Look at those effects. This was for a GBA RPG from the developers who made Mario Sports Games.

There’s not even an opera house in this game and while there IS a dragon, it has nothing whatsoever to do with *gestures* any of that.

It is generally a very awesome game with impressive music though, you got me there.

So anyway, play Golden Sun. It’s good enough to distract you from an epic orchestral battle with their own hall as the wall cherubs come to life and the orchestra launches flaming bows at them while continuing to play until the chandelier turns into a dragon, is tamed by the conductor, and turns into glass shards that turn into a rose? It feels like that?… Like I said. Inexplicable.

[pinkfloyd-musicartnaturelove]

First ever performance of Dark Side of the Moon | January 20, 1972 | Brighton Dome.

(Recording note: up through Money, there was a malfunction. The band goes into Atom Heart Mother, with a lot more confidence. The evolution of a band).

I love listening to live recordings and hearing the progressions and reconstructions of ideas.

[dragonjanusisthebestjanus]

The Two Princes, Part 1

Pairing: Janus x Logan x Remus (Intruloceit)

Twin princes Roman and Remus meet The Dragonlord

Trigger warnings: Fire, depictions of violence, Remus being Remus.

Read it on ao3 here!

Taglist: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest @sleepy-nova-tea

“Bet your horse can’t trot as fast as mine!”

Roman chuckled as his brother took off. 

“When will he learn, Desponia? You’re much faster than your brother,” Roman snapped at the horse's regions. “And so am I!” 

He took off after his brother with a hyah! Desponia trotted as fast as she could, easily following Remus and Airon’s tracks. He soon caught up with his brother, who smirked at him.

“Bet your horse can’t jump as high as mine!” 

“What? The only thing to jump around here is- Remus!”  

Remus smiled and took off for the ravine.

“By the gods. He’s going to kill himself one day.” Roman muttered. 

He cantered after his brother, trying to conserve Desponia’s energy. They were on a three day hunting trip after all. By the time he made it to the ravine, Remus was already on the other side. 

“Come on Ro-bro! I’ve got something to show you!”

Roman chuckled. “Ready, Desponia?”

The horse whinnied in response. Roman backtracked a few steps, and with a bounding leap he and Desponia cleared the ravine. 

“Ha! Remus, you should really know by now, anything you can do, I can do better!” 

“Even hunting a dragon?” 

“Of course! Of course! One would have to leave The Dragonlands, though. And that hasn’t happened in over a thousand years!” 

Remus smirked and dismounted his horse, Airon. Roman followed suit, and followed Remus a few steps into the forest. 

“Explain that, then.” 

Roman couldn’t believe what Remus was pointing to. It was indeed a large footprint, with three toes and three claws protruding from it. Could it be? Could a dragon be in Roman and Remus’s kingdom? 

“It can’t be.”

Remus smiled and shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” 

Roman nodded in agreement. The two princes returned to their horses, gathered their weapons, and slowly followed the tracks. The pair moved in sync, as they had so many times before. The Princes were experienced hunters, having trained since they were young. 

Their Aunt Patty demanded it be so. 

Roman and Remus’s parents were killed when they were very young. A group of assassins snuck into the castle on the eve of their fifth birthday. Their parents had thrown them a grand ball. Remus was sneaking around the castle, trying to avoid a punishment from their governess. Roman had been dancing with his mother in the ballroom. 

His mother must’ve heard the pistol cock. He remembered her messing up the dance, putting herself in front of the assassin. The coward shot her in the back, causing her to fall on to Roman. 

“Messalina!” Their father attempted to run to her aid, when another shot rang out, killing him as well. 

Roman had clung to his mother as the ballroom erupted into chaos. He kept his eyes closed as people ran into him as they tried to escape. 

“Mother? Mother, please wake up,” he begged. He knew she would know what to do. “Mother?” 

Remus was wandering the halls, laughing as ‘Nanny Red’ chased him. 

“Remus Capet! Your parents are waiting for you! You come put on your formal wear this instant!” 

“No! I won’t and you can’t make me!”

Remus wishes he had. Then maybe he could’ve said goodbye. 

He rapidly turned a corner and ran into a mage wearing a dark robe.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going Mister!” 

The Mage chuckled. “Prince Remus, I presume?” 

“What’s it to ya?” 

The Mage started an incantation, and threw a blue glow in Remus's direction. Remus jumped out of the way, laughing.

“Ha ha ha! Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me!” The Prince avoided every spell the mage threw at him, before finally running off and hiding in a cupboard. 

That’s where ‘Nanny Red’ found him hours later, after the entire staff had searched the castle high and low for him. And with the assassins in the wind, they had all feared the worst. 

“What? What could I possibly have done this time?” Remus asked.

‘Nanny Red’ dragged him into his room, where he was met with a crying Roman.

“Ro-bro?” 

“Re-Re!” 

Roman had enveloped him in the tightest hug. They were locked in their room until the next night, when their Aunt Patty came to be their guardian and regent until they came of age. 

A day that was quickly approaching. 

“The tracks end a few feet away,” Remus whispered. 

Roman nodded in response. He started to walk towards the end of the trail until he heard a CRACK! 

The Princes stopped. 

CRACK! 

Roman pointed to their right, and Remus nodded. They slowly headed towards the noise, readying their weapons, when a loud roar echoed throughout the forest.

“WHO DARES ATTACK A DRAGON'S MATE!?!?” 

Roman had enough foresight to grab his shield before the fire began. He and Remus hid behind it until the fire stopped.

“Well, guess we found the dragon!” Remus cackled. 

“Janus! You should not have come this far from the cave!” 

A mage with broken glasses, disheveled hair, and torn clothes appeared from the bushes. 

A large, golden dragon landed next to him and nuzzled into his arms.

“I’m sorry my love, but I heard them following you and worried you might’ve been in danger.” 

The mage chuckled. “Who, these two? Please! I could take them in my sleep.” 

Roman made a noise of offense. “Excuse me? I am the crown Prince, Roman Capetian of Reston. I have training in all forms of combat. There is no way a scrawny mage like you could ever defeat me.”  

The mage scoffs. “Scrawny? Please. A few months in this wilderness may have affected my body, but my mind is still brilliantly inact, your highness.” The mage whispered an incantation, which sent Remus flying into the air. He landed back next to Roman, laughing and clapping his hands.

“Again! Again!” 

The mage rolled his eyes. “Come, Janus, you should not be this far from the cave.” 

“Not so fast,” Roman pointed his sword at the mage. “Who are you, and why have you brought a dragon into my kingdom?” 

The dragon growled and stepped between the mage and the sword. 

“Janus,”

“Drop the sword, highness.” The dragon spat. 

“Not until you leave.” 

The dragon growled, and Roman drew back his sword.

“Janus!”

The dragon and the prince lunged for each other. The mage quickly cast a spell, causing the two to freeze.

“Whoah, how’d you do that ?” Remus asks.

“M-magic! Now, could you please, please get your brother away from Janus? I can’t hold this spell forever!” 

Remus nodded and pulled the sword from his brother's hands. He took hold of Roman’s chest, and nodded to the mage. He released the spell, causing Roman to thrash in Remus’s arms, and the dragon flew into the trees. 

“Remus! Unhand me this instant!” 

“Sorry Ro-bro, no can do! I wanna find out more about these two hot tamales.” Remus winked at the mage as the dragon flew back to them.

“Logan, what was that for?” He growled. 

The Mage, Logan, scoffed and crossed his arms. “I’d prefer it if we didn’t cause an all out war between Reston and the Dragonlands. Especially in the state we’re in.” 

The dragon huffed and sat down next to Logan. “I suppose.” 

Roman continued to struggle in Remus’s arms. “See? They’re giving up! Let me go!” 

Remus rolled his eyes. “Roman, stop it. They’re clearly not here to cause us harm. Will you please stop?” 

“Never! A true warrior never gives up!” 

Remus gave a slow whistle, and soon their horses came galloping through the woods. The dragon snarled at them, but they remained unphased.

“Logan, would you be so kind as to get into the left saddlebag? There should be some rope in there we can-“

“Remus! How dare you! This is high treason! I’ll have you arrested!” 

Remus rolled his eyes again. “Oh please. You and I both know I commit way more treasonous things than this daily, and you have yet to have me arrested.” 

Logan graciously got the rope and tied an intricate knot around Roman’s wrists. Remus had the horses kneel and sat Roman atop of Desponia. 

“Allow me to introduce us more properly. I am Remus Capet, Prince of Reston. This asshole is Crowned Prince Roman the Idiot. And you two,” Remus took Logan’s hand and kissed it. “Are two of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen.” He offered his hand to Janus, but the dragon either didn’t know what it meant, or had no intention of giving him his hand. Or… claw? Remus wasn’t sure what the proper terminology was. 

The mage and the dragon shared a look. A long look. Finally the mage turned back to Remus. 

“Greetings, your highness. I am Logan Crofter, student at the Le Fey School of Magic. And this is Janus, The Dragonlord.” 

Remus’s eyes widened. “The Dragonlord? As in, ruler of all dragons?” 

The Dragon nods.

“No offense, but what the hell are you doing here? I mean, we’re very happy to have you, but, what the hell are you doing here?”

The dragon looked away from them. Logan sighed. 

“We were attacked. Other dragons got… jealous of Janus and I’s relationship. We were driven out and Janus… Janus was wounded.” 

The dragon growled. 

“Well I’m sorry Janus! But it’s true! You’re injured and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it because we lost The Fire Ruby!”

Janus growled even louder, then took flight. Logan sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. 

“You ok Lolo?” Remus sat down next to the mage. 

“Please, please don’t call me that.”

Remus nodded. “You alright, Logan?” 

“Janus has been… difficult since his injury. Dragons are proud creatures. He doesn’t want to admit he needs help. I admit it… can be rather difficult. It took me almost failing a class to understand that…”

Remus chuckled. “Well, what if you’re the one who asks for help?” 

“Wh-what?” 

“Well, if Janus is as attached to you as I think he is, if you were to say, come back to the palace with me, wouldn’t he follow you?”

“Perhaps, but,”

“Well then,” Remus stood and offered Logan his hand. “I would like to officially invite you and the dragonlord to the palace. So we can help you, of course.” 

“I…I accept.” 

“Wonderful.” Remus winked as Logan accepted his hand. He helped the mage to his feet and led him over to the kneeling horses. 

“No! Remus! I refuse to have them in my castle! Remus, are you even listening to me? Remus. Remus!” 

…

Janus had begrudgingly come back to the palace with them. He refused Remus’s generous offer to allow Logan to ride with him, and instead insisted on flying the whole way there. 

“Janus, this is ridiculous! You’re wasting an unnecessary amount of energy! Energy you could be preserving to help yourself heal.” 

“You know that that’s impossible.” The Dragonlord growled. 

“Since you refuse to let me try, I refuse to believe it.” 

They made it back to the palace two days later. 

“Your highnesses! Is everything alright? You weren’t expected back for- holy heracles! Is that a dragon?” 

Several guards raised their weapons towards Janus, causing him to become startled. He hurried to stretch out his body, allowing himself to look bigger than he was. 

“Ah! Janus!”

In his haste, Janus threw Logan off of his back. Remus leapt off of his horse, somersaulted, and managed to catch Logan in his arms. 

“Oh, um, thank you, Remus.” Logan said. “You ah, you can put me down now.” 

“Ugh, if I have to.” 

“Let me GO!” 

The guards managed to get some nets around Janus’s muzzle, and one began stabbing at his injured leg. 

“No! Don’t hurt him! Please!” Logan tried grabbing at one of the guards, who easily shook him off. 

“Enough! Guards, stop this!” Remus demanded. 

The guards immediately stopped. Logan pushed past them and started pulling the nets off of Janus. 

“Your highness,”

“As long as they’re here, no harm is to come to the mage OR the dragon! They are my official guests. Understood?”

“Yes, your highness.” 

“Good. Do me a favor, deposit his royal asshole-iness to his chambers will you?” Remus handed the horse's reins to a guard, then ushered Logan and Janus past them all. 

“Remus! They cannot stay here! Remus, Remus!!” 

…

Remus opened the doors to an old barn. 

“Nobody uses this place anymore. Not since…”

Not since his parents died. 

“Anyways, you can stay here. Unless you’d prefer a small cramped room in the castle?”

Logan and Janus looked around. 

“No. This will be just fine. Thank you, Remus.” 

…

Remus didn’t hate to admit: Logan cleaned up very nicely. The Mage had been in and out of the castle over the past few days, haggling various things off of servants. Soap, hot water, food, and books just to name a few.

“You know, I can assign a servant to you. Might save you the trouble of having to haggle with everyone.”

The Mage looked up from a book he had been reading. “Oh, um, that would be nice, I suppose. Thank you, Remus.”

Remus’s heart fluttered every time Logan said his name.

Well, his heart and his dick. 

It didn’t bother Remus that The Dragonlord already had a claim on Logan. If anything, that made him even more alluring. I mean, the literal ruler of dragons being your lover and protectorate? Where could Remus sign up for that?

“You know, I think that’s the third time this week I’ve seen you read that book.” Remus says. 

Logan tucked his hair behind his ears and blushed. 

“Yes, well, it’s, it’s the only one I’ve managed to get. I suppose I should return it-”

“Nonsense! If you like it, it’s yours! In fact, follow me! There’s something I should show you!” 

Remus grabbed Logan’s hand and raced through the castle. 

“Remus! How many times have I told you- no running in the castle!” 

“Sorry Aunt Patty!” Remus hollered back. 

“You-you have an Aunt Patty too?” Logan asked. 

“Of course! I think everyone has an Aunt Patty, don’t they?”

Logan didn’t know how to respond. Remus continued running, cutting corners quickly and throwing open doors. Finally, he reached a large set of double doors, where he stopped. 

“Oof. Well, ok, Logan. We’re here.” Remus turned the knob on one of the doors, and let Logan inside. 

“Oh. My. Gods.”

After Remus caught his breath, he followed Logan into the castle library. 

“I-I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen so many books in all of my life!” Logan looked around the room with wonder. 

“Do you like it?” Remus asked.

“It’s…it’s wonderful!” Logan replied. 

“Then it’s yours.” 

“Wh-what?” 

“It’s yours. Nobody ever comes in here. There’s honestly probably more cobwebs than books,”

Logan interrupted him with a kiss. 

“I-I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. I just…no one has ever done something this nice for me. Well, except for Janus, I suppose. But, I mean, he hasn’t done anything like this!”

Remus grinned from ear to ear. “Logan,”

“I…I should go.”

“Logan,”

But the mage turned away, and left his book behind. 

…

That night, Remus woke up with claws against his throat. He opened his eyes, to see bright green ones glaring back at him. 

“How dare you.” 

Remus made a small choking sound, despite Janus’s light grip. He supposed he could scream for the guards, or even grab his morningstar he stashed under the bed. But honestly? Remus wanted to see where this was going. 

“How dare you corrupt my darling Logan? With your… flirtatious jokes and -and your books?” Janus hissed. 

“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to cause you-”

“Well you did! I mean, inviting him here? Giving him that library? Are you trying to steal him away from me?” 

“What? No!”

Remus sat up, causing Janus to let go of his throat. He took in the dragon’s halfling form. He maintained his golden wings and tail, as well as some golden scales across his face. His nails were actually claws, and his bright green eyes were reminiscent of his dragon form. 

He was gorgeous. 

“Then… Are you using him to get to me? Lord some sort of power over me? I’ll have you know it won’t work. I’ll burn this entire castle to the ground before you can harm a single hair on his head!” 

“No! Where the hell are you getting all of these ideas?”

Janus slid back a bit, giving Remus more space to sit up.

“I… I don’t understand. What is your game then, Prince?”

Remus laughed. “Game? There’s no game! I just think Logan’s hot as hell! I wanna blow his back out! And you,” Remus leaned forward and closed the space between them. “You could blow out mine.” 

The dragon blushed. The dragon blushed! It was so cute! Remus couldn’t help but run his fingers over the now pink-tinted scales on Janus’s face. The dragon once again met his eyes, then quickly darted out of Remus’s bed and out the window. Remus huffed and laid back down. 

“Damn it.” 

…

Remus knocked on the barn doors the next morning. 

“Hey can we, can we talk?”

Janus was still in his halfling form. He and Logan were sitting on a large pile of hay, bodies entangled as Logan read a book. 

A new book. From the library. 

“Yes of course, Remus. Come in.” Janus said. 

“I just uh, I just want to apologize for yesterday. I’m sorry if I overstepped. With the library and the uh…” 

He didn’t know what to call what transpired between him and Janus. 

“Anyways, I uh, I wanted to know if there’s some way I can make it up to you? Not in a weird way, I mean. I uh, I should just leave you two alone. I’m sorry. I’ll go,”

Janus shot out of the hay, toppling over Logan. He grabbed Remus’s hand and whispered “don’t”. 

“A little warning next time?” Logan stood up and brushed the hay off of him. 

“I’m sorry darling. I just didn’t want him to walk away.” Janus took Remus’s face in his hands. “While your methods were… questionable, your intentions were… romantic?”

Logan scoffed. “The same could be said of you, Janus.” 

“Yes yes, I suppose. The point is, Logan and I have discussed it. You’re a very powerful ally to have, Remus.” Janus pulled Remus in for a kiss. “And we want you to be with us.” 

Remus didn’t know what to say. 

“Remus? Are you alright?”

Remus pulled Logan into a kiss. 

“I’m wonderful.” 

…

Remus spent the next several days with his new lovers. For once, Roman was happy with them, as they somehow managed to keep Remus away from his usual hijinks. 

“Come on come on come on come on! You have to see the vault! There’s some jewelry down there I cannot wait to-”

“Please, Remus, spare me the details.” Roman sighed. “Besides, this is NOT a pleasure visit, in any sense of the word. It’s our annual budget discussion with Aunt Patty. To section out how we’re going to spend all this gold to better the kingdom? You do realize this, right Remus?” 

Remus didn’t seem to be listening. He was now entranced by Janus’s fully human green eyes. His wings had been too wide to fit down the stars. He held Remus’s hand as they descended down the stairs, pretending his right leg didn’t ache with every step. 

Eventually, they reached the bottom of the long, winding staircase. Roman entered the code to the vault, and they all stepped inside. 

“Oh, oh my.” Janus literally licked his lips at the sight of all the gold. 

“Don’t worry, we don’t keep much of it. We re-distribute it as equally as we can back to every town in the kingdom, so they can spend it on what they need.” Remus said. “We find that the more improvements we make for our people, the more we get in return!”

Janus seemed to be unable to contain himself. “Remus,”

“ I don’t know what you’re thinking, but go for it Jannie!

Janus shifted into a smaller version of his dragon form, then literally dove into the large pile of gold. 

“Ah yes. I suppose this is quite like your horde back home.” Logan says.

The dragon nods and dives back into the gold. 

“Oh! Lolo! There’s a beautiful sapphire necklace around here somewhere. It’s going to look so good on you while you-”

“La la la la! No details Remus!” Roman called. 

“Remus, what, what’s this?”

Logan held up a red gem. Janus stopped and stared at it.

“That? I think it’s a ruby from Frogtown. Hey! Frogtown borders the dragonlands doesn’t it? You can totally have it if you want it, Lolo.” 

Logan nodded and turned to Janus. “Is it-”

Janus nods. “It’s lost its power, but it’s a-”

“Fire Ruby.” The two say in unison. 

“Huh? What’s that?” Remus asks.

“I thought, I thought you had the last one?” 

Janus shook his head. “Apparently not. Give it here.”

Logan tossed Janus the ruby. Janus dove back into the pile of gold, and re-emerged a moment later. He had attached the fire ruby to a golden chain, and was handing it to Remus. 

“This is a Fire Ruby. It is the only thing powerful enough to heal a dragon. I reactivated it with my fire breath, and melted this chain to it.” 

Logan helped Remus fasten the necklace around his neck. 

“I want you to have it, Remus. To keep it safe. Can… Can you do this for me?”

Remus wiped away a few tears and held the necklace in his hands. 

“Yeah, yeah I can do that, Jannie.”

[wowacoolusername]

The Dark Side of Roblox: RUST_010

[pen-papers]

Accidentally clicking QUIT instead on CONTINUE after finally reaching the top of Death Mountain in OOT

Remembering that there's the secret path back to Goron city through the Lost Woods

[pas-de-duex]

I Grow Maddened

A sneak peek at a fic I’m working on on my ao3, inspired by this lovely challenge by @sometimes-love-is-enough. I rolled a 3 on my d20 for the prompt: Each sentence is ten words or less.

Read it on ao3 here!

July 12

Dr. Sanders gave me this book to write in.

I think it’s stupid.

July 14

Roman was supposed to come see me today.

He didn’t.

July 15

Janus came and saw me. I like seeing him.

We played uno. It was fun.

I wish he could come more often.

July 19

Roman was supposed to come see me today.

He didn’t.

July 20

The nurses gave me a blue pill today. I told them my pills were supposed to be green. They said Dr. Sanders said to take the blue pill. I don’t want the blue pill. I don’t like the blue pill.

The blue pill lets them in.

July 21

I hate the blue pill. I hate the blue pill. I hate the blue pill. I hate the blue pill-

July 25

They had to put me in the dark place. I haven’t been there in a long time.

Roman was supposed to come see me today.

He didn’t.

July 26

They admitted someone new today. I don’t know his name. I saw him come in. He was wearing a lot of purple. His hair is even purple. I hope they let me out today. I want to ask him why his hair is purple. Was he born that way? Or is it his art?

I miss doing art. I haven’t been allowed to paint in three months. Ever since I drew the monsters and freaked out Patton.

He hasn’t been around me since.

I don’t understand why people don’t like me.

I just want to be myself.

July 27

Janus came and saw me. I like seeing him.

He got very upset with the nurses. He didn’t like that they gave me the blue pill. He said I was supposed to have the green pill. Never the blue pill. Only the green pill.

He said maybe I can leave here soon. I can go and stay with him and Logan. They have a room for me and everything. I asked if I would be allowed to paint. He said of course. Was I not allowed to paint here? I shook my head.

That made him even angrier.

I don’t like it when Janus is angry. Even if he’s not angry at me. I cried a lot. He said he was very sorry.

He’s going to talk to Logan.

July 29

They tried to give me the blue pill again. I refused to take it. Dr. Sanders had to come and talk me into it.

‘It will make you feel better, Remus.’

I told him about the monsters. How they came back last time. The blue pill didn’t help. Only the green pill helped.

‘How about this, Remus? Take the blue pill. Then, I’ll sign off on you returning to art class.’

I… I could go back to art class?

It wasn’t a tough choice. I nodded. I took the cup with the blue pill. I drank the water. I lifted my tongue so he knew I took it.

‘Good job, Remus. You can return to art class tomorrow.’

‘But Roman’s coming tomorrow.’

Dr. Sanders left without saying anything else.