#except for a 'huh i know i've seen that poster'

[kani-miso]

self indulgent essomnia

i feel left out being the only one thinking of insomnia as es instead of mikoto. i know it does fit for mikoto, but hear me out.

ramble under the cut

there's actually a lot of reasons on why i think about es insomnia !!

i made this before the new official lyrics came oh my god i needed to update it.

the whole motif of everyone around them being balloon headed people remind me of the es covers album. they're both covered and still have the distinct features of the person (balloon heads still having stuff like glasses and hats, and es covers having each characters character color).

mr creepypasta watching over sunao really radiates panopticon vibes. i've always seen mr creepypasta similiar to jackalope since they're basically the all seeing eye. the way that mr creepypasta takes care of sunao reminds me of how jackalope (more exactly, milgram as a whole) takes care of es, especially if you connect it with the ca theory (we'll get to that later). the difference is that mr creepypasta is actually caring (i think?) and milgram is harsh, the system is just messed up. you can also count the novel jackalopes, they really don't care about their wardens well being (novel jacka (almost) cutting of one of their wardens breath, mv jackalope being absent and verbally abusive).

"what day of the week is today?" "surviving days are too painful" every month, every week, each day, their schedule is packed with work. because they have been working mindlessly they would forget what day it is (also i'm pretty sure you can't really track time in milgram). everyday would be painful for them since there's really nothing to do except work, interrogations are also tiring.

"my smirk is more recognizeable" *bang* each interrogation, their "apatheticness" becomes more visible because the prisoners become more unbearable (ex: fuuta t2 vd ). since they've gotten enough of it, they lash out to the prisoners (ex: fuuta and es' argument).

"even when transmitted in words, they wont intersect" even when es explains the verdicts through words, the prisoners (guilty) wont understand.

"even chant for disagreements, huh, whether those are justice or evil" this line fits perfectly with the guilty 4 (and maybe some innos). the guilties are chanting their disagreement towards their verdict, but es wouldn't listen even if they're right (justice/justifiable reasons) or wrong (evil/malicious reasons).

"as long as we can only be judged subjectively" basically judging the prisoners according to personal biases. they rely on those biased opinions because the viewers technically have more authority than es. the original milgram experiment proves that people(es) will listen to commands even if they're Immoral as long as those commands are sent/told by those above them(us).

"this is the place where i can be myself" this line plays while the mv shows sunao with mr creepypasta behind him. i like incorproting this as milgram being the place where they can be "themself" (even though jackalope is still watching).

"don't mix yourself up" there's many mini sunao's everywhere. it reminds me of how the voices in es' head probably makes them confused on which thought is actually theirs. also, that part of the mv, all of those posters (?) of mini sunao's are like self promoting the song by putting 'insomnia' in every poster. it reminds me of how milgram self promotes in the prisoners mvs (ex: the perfume bottle in weakness, fuuta's phone in bio, yuno's socks having the word 'umbilical' on it, etc).

"don't lose sight of your heart" not sure if this makes sense but es' heart is just feelings of their duty being warden.

"i want to know you, and cross the borderline where neither good nor evil exists" literally the es line ever. they want to know the prisoners and their sins without personal biases (since morality differs from person to person). it really fits with one of the lines in undercover (Is it really ok to be done with deciding with just your EGO?).

"here's the night we can't return anymore, but let me go beyond that with you" isn't the kidnapping of the prisoners and es the night where they can't return no more? the prisoners are trying to make es is tag along with the prisoners to go "beyond" it (ex: some of the prisoners saying how they're both on the same boat (something like that)) milgram is the place where you can't exactly return (in the novels, there's only one person who succesfully left milgram (torch/touchi) but only because he rebelled against the rules).

"one day, we will see each other in the proper world" *mr creepypasta leaving sunao* idk it really just feels like how jackalope is absent and not caring for es 90% of the time.

↑new lyrics: "i hope we can meet in the world i envisioned" this line fits more with es and the prisoners instead of es woth milgram.

"everything will stay vacant if this continues" i actually didn't want to add this but hey. what if the "this" is milgram. everything will stay empty if es chooses to continue along milgram. i hope you understood. also the scene fits as well. the scene is mini sunao looking at balloon headed people with one eye. it's similiar to how es' whole life is broadcasted worldwide til other people can see their immature and childish acts/behaviors.

↑ new lyrics: "at this rate, i'll keep being empty in this unfufilling city".

"i intentionally threw away my longing" "it makes me sigh" "in front of my blurred future" i don't really want to talk about the lyrics, i want to talk about the mv but wtv. they threw away their personal desires (autonomy and their free will) making their future inconsistent (blurred future). ok the mv. the mv scene shows sunao being led by mr creepypasta, since nobody can see mr creepypasta, sunao looks like he's holding onto nothing. it's similiar to how es talks to jackalope. since only es can hear jackalope, they look like they're talking to themselves. (pointed out by muu)

"honestly, i'm evil with a rotten soul. i wish for misfortunes to happen." es knows what they're doing "is sort of" wrong at some point iirc ("I get that this is painful for you, but I'm telling you my own thoughts.") and ("Yet I've been dealing with it this whole time! I've been desperately thinking about all of the prisoners, including you! So I don't think I was ever wrong. No matter what hell I make this place to be, I will not run away! I won't make someone else deal with it!") <not really but they do emphasize that they could make milgram a living hell. they also technically wish for "misfortunes" to happen via guilty verdicts although they're not the one that chooses ("Shut your mouth…! I am the one casting the judgements here!").

"i even don't know about myself" "but i know my fate, riddled with misfortune, is at a dead end" *sunao sleepwalking (?) while holding mr creepypasta's hand* *sunao getting recorded live and people laughing at him* this fits so well i'm going insane. since es has weird habits (ex : mumbling to themselves alot, talking to nothing/themselves) that the prisoners can't understand, some of them just laughs at them and tell them they're weird (ex: muu). (the text on the phone filming: "♪ im rambling", 'ha?", "filming/recording something?", "dangerous wwwww", "seriously, stop filming and run away", "this guy's dangerous", "report")

"those pierced words that strike my heart" "they still haunt my memory" it fits one of the vds but i forgot which one (…This is bad for my heart. Stop it. Besides, that’s what I’d like to know as well…)

i didn't put this in bc of the image limit (on mobile rn) but i want to talk about the chorus lyrics too.

"from the depths of hell, i've been climbing up my whole life. but perhaps i can look at this ruined future and lay a flower of hope upon it's grave, even now i'm still praying. we're still connected, i saw this day in my dreams" guys this line is just so es coded idk how to word it. "i've been climbing up for my whole life" feels similiar to how es bears to keep on going with 10 troublesome prisoners ("Yet I've been dealing with it this whole time! I've been desperately thinking about all of the prisoners, including you!") and ("I am watching over ten troublesome prisoners, after all. Even if I don’t want to, I’m being relied on.").

the scene is just like what i said before, their childish actions/behaviors are broadcasted to the world (in this scene it's on a big screen). also es fighting their own instincitual/childish desires is so real, they force themselves to put that wardenly facade and repress their childishness. (also the 'pray' on top is interesting). not talking about the lyrics since it really isn't important for now.

ok this is where we talk about the ca theory. the reason es trusts milgram so much is maybe because milgram supposedly "saved" them from their abusive household. how would you know they have an abusive household? you can see by how they react to physical touch and other stuff ("Don’t touch me like we’re friends.") and ("Hah? Stop staring at me so openly. It’s disgusting."). you can assume that they went through csa too. the fear of being touched and looked at does not come out of nowhere, it comes from previous traumatic events that made them uncomfortable with it. also, more stuff to add up to the csa theory ("It's a personal dislike of mine. People who acts based on their sexual urges like that, that is"). if we do use the ca theory, this whole scene fits so well. mr creepypasta literally saved sunao from his abuser.

for the last two scenes, no matter how hurt es is, they would still be focusing on milgram instead of themselves.

there's probably more things i want to talk about but i can't talk about it properly. anyways omg the new lyrics are so cool i love the way they gave effects on it.

i'm relatively new to eve lore so i probably made mistakes about these two characters (mr creepypasta and sunao) so im really just basing it off of the insomnia mv only. (i love mr creepypasta (for now)!!! (fun fact: i thought on one of the scenes, the hand was pouring boiling water on sunao was mr creepypasta and then i disliked them, i just realized after a few days that it's not them (and now i love them)) (i also really like sunao,,, the mipy ever (i dont know much about tobi but they're cool))

[marshallpupfan]

All Good Things...

We've known about PAW Patrol's upcoming new animation style for a while, and although we only had a taste of it before, more and more leaks have given us an even bigger look at it. From what I've seen, most fans seem to like it so far, and to tell you the truth, I do, too! With one exception, I think all the pups look great, and I'll even go as far to say I like these more than the theatrical designs... and especially what Rubble & Crew gave us. Like most fans, I'm eager to see more!

Still, I can't help but feel a little sad. I know I say this often, but, Marshall's my #1 favorite character, and he's been at the top of my list for over five years now. I'm crazy about him, which is why I started these accounts, why I began the whole "Daily Marshall Pics" thing, why I purchased a crazy amount of his merchandise, among other things. It's all driven by just how much I love this pup. And while there are many reasons why I say this, one in-particular is why I'm making this post; his character design.

Marshall's appearance in the above pic is one I came to love over the years. It's also involved in practically everything I do here. My avatar and banner is this Marshall. 99% of my daily pics are this Marshall. Nearly my entire merchandise collection is this Marshall. My Ready Race Rescue poster is this Marshall. That $400+ costume I purchased is this Marshall. Basically, I'm saying that, to me, this IS Marshall. Despite his altered look in Rubble & Crew and the theatrical films, this is what always comes to mind whenever I think of the pup.

...and it's about to go away, huh?

Whether it's later this year or the next, one of the things I love about this Dalmatian will no longer be the same. That simplistic yet wonderful design will soon be replaced, and we'll no longer see it in anything official, such as new episodes, commercials, toy packaging, etc. Outside of repeats, it'll just be... no more.

Okay, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. Sure, the pups are getting a visual makeover, but they'll still be the same characters, right? And, unless the new season 11 director changes things, no doubt Marshall will still be the same clumsy yet lovable pup that became my favorite way back when. I mean, he looked different in Rubble & Crew, but the other aspects and qualities I love about him were still there! And in the theatrical films... er, never mind that. My point is, I suppose we're technically not losing anything here; just a visual style many of us became so accustom to when we first started watching PAW Patrol, whether it was all the way back in 2013 or later. No doubt some fans might even consider it a bit special to them.

But hey, change doesn't have to be a bad thing! As I mentioned earlier, I do like what we've seen of the new style so far, and personally, I'm feeling quite optimistic about it! Sure, it might take some time getting used to it, but given how often we have to adjust to the pups getting new voice actors, I'm starting to get used to change with this franchise. Besides, as much as I still enjoy the old style and wouldn't mind it sticking around, I'm not going to shun the new or stand in its way. And you know, when I look at the two designs of Marshall side-by-side, I still see a lot of the old in the new, so maybe we should look at this as an upgrade instead of a replacement? Perhaps it's not as much of a goodbye as I thought?

I'm going to hope this new style works out for everyone in the end. However, I'll still miss the old. It stuck with the franchise and its fans for over ten years, so with great respect, I take my hat off for it.

...Of course, the old style will live on through its older fans, and I'm certainly not going to let it go. You'll still see it through my dailies and various edits, of course!

[airenyah]

Your essay on Joong's underrated acting skills deepened my Joong appreciation so much, that I watched Mafia the Series, I'm watching Ploy's Yearbook (even though there is a serious lack of Joong so far), and I'm planning on watching The Warp Effect too. I haven't watched het shows in over ten years, so this is a big deal! 😂 I really liked him with Dunk in their shows, but MTS gave me another facet of him, because he's so timid in it, unlike in SIMM and HA, where he's (seemingly) very cool and in control. So thank you for making me a full time Joong (and Dunk) girl 💜

i saw this message first thing in the morning when i woke up yesterday and it instantly put me in a good mood!!! <3

YESSSSSS I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT

mafia the series might actually be my absolute fave thai het-show, it's just SO funny!!!! and the entire cast is so great, like, not just joong but the entire cast plays off each other SO well. and don't even get me started on gina virahya and her portrayal of anna kondra!!!!

you know, when i went into mafia the series i saw the poster and was like "ughh i really am gonna have to sit through this standard (overly) dramatic mafia show just for joong, huh. the things i do for my boy..." and then. AND THEN. you can imagine my surprise. i was crying tears of laughter throughout the show and i was actually laughing so hard that my mom made a comment about how she could hear my laugh in my room

beam is my loser boy and joong portrays him in such an adorably awkward way, i love it <333

and yes there IS a serious lack of joong in ploy's yearbook so far :((((

it was quite funny tho bc in the one scene where joong does show up i immediately recognized him by the back of his head, like!! i saw this:

and instantly went "OH there's my boy!!!!!" 😂😂😂

and i can't wait to see him with film bc film did extremely well with gun in not me and i feel like film and joong will also work together really well

you know, i'm always happy to turn people into full time joong (and dunk) girls!!!!!!

i've adored them ever since simm which i watched live from ep2 onwards. fun fact, actually: when i started simm i actually had no idea who they were (even though technically i'd seen dunk in bad buddy already, except i wasn't paying attention to the random high school bandmates and so i didn't actually recognize dunk and only realized later on ahahah)

aaaanyway, i had no idea who they were, right? and so in 2022 my mom and i spent two nights in prague during easter and in the evening we were in our hotel room and we were kinda looking for something to watch. and i was like "hey look, gmmtv has a new bl out and it looks kinda cute and fluffy judging by the thumbnails?? and like something that doesn't require too much brain power?? plus, there's also only two eps out so far, so we'll be caught up right away" and so we watched the first two episodes and then the two of us ended up watching every new ep together every week hahaha

i actually didn't really talk about it on tumblr back then and when you go back on my blog you'll see that there are hardly any simm post. but really, with every new simm episode that aired i liked joongdunk more and more. and especially once the characters started dating i was actually so in awe about just how comfortable joong and dunk were with each other and how they absolutely weren't afraid to touch? like, their physical affection was just so casual, like it was the most natural thing in the world to them in an "i'm-not-even-thinking-about-it-bc-it's-so-normal" kind of way and that was just soooo refreshing to watch?? i was (and still am) truly amazed

and when just a couple of months later, at the end of 2022 gmmtv announced joongdunk were gonna get another show together i got SO excited!! and also when it was revealed that simm was included in our skyy 2!!!!

and then hidden agenda started airing and then i was tagged in that tag game and then i went to watch joong's entire filmography and then i ended up falling into a joongdunk rabbit hole and here we are...

anyway, i have multiple agendas and one of them is turning people into joong fans and dunk fans and joongdunk fans sllksdfd

and my other agenda is getting people to watch mafia the series, bc it's truly a gem of a show!!!!

(speaking of agendas: the only thing that's missing in your message is you telling me that you approve of my fight for a sexy joongdunk vampire bl, like... that would have made the message and the influence of my joong/dunk/joongdunk blogging complete 😂😂😂)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

ELEMENTAL Projections

So apparently ELEMENTAL is on track to flop-a-doo this coming June, huh?

Recent projections made by Box Office Pro have it opening at $28m minimum, $38m maximum. They note that the picture has the chance to have those usual Pixar summer legs and break the 2020s Disney theatrical animation bad streak at the box office, and make it to around $155m domestic, which would be a fantastic total for a post-outbreak original animated movie. COCO, back in early 2018, finished up with around $209m domestically. $200m is usually an easy threshold for Pixar. Only one picture in the 21st century that wasn't a sequel missed it, that was THE GOOD DINOSAUR, which still made over $120m domestically. ONWARD I do not count, because that was cut off one week in by the pandemic.

Box Office Pro has a history of lowballing animated movies on their opening weekends, though. They also had THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE pegged for a roughly $65-90m opening, when the thing cruised well past $140m+ for the three-day alone... I knew it would top $100m easily, and I'm no box office pro... I've only made predictions for fun for about a decade, many of which concerning animated movies, haha.

They also weirdly note that the picture, being a romantic comedy, will have a hard time appealing to young boys... Okay, are young boys the ones with the money buying tickets? You know, Walt Disney had once said in an interview with the BBC in 1959:

"Well, no, you have to appeal to the adult, or... Well, the adults have money, the children don't have any money."

Interestingly, Walt had kind of cracked it when it came to making movies by that point in time. As he saw it, anyways. He had theorized that appealing to "mom" was the way to go, the target to hit. Because mom takes dad and the kids, the whole family, to check out the movie... And mom tells her friends... So on, so forth... Maybe it's not young boys that Disney should be appealing to. Remember when they tried very hard to appeal to that demographic in the late 2000s? Making major changes in animation because of that? Nearly jettisoning fairy tale stories for good and messing with movie titles for fear of boys finding them to be too girly? (I still dislike "TANGLED" as a title, to be completely honest.) I guess the romances of classic Disney animated movies were a hard sell, huh? Because boys under the age of 13 might not like them?

I'm not trying to knock the good people at BOP, by the way. I frequently enjoy their podcast and analyses, but sometimes I think they can be a little off with animated movie, and because there's a lot of internet dogpiling on this one Pixar picture that no one except the film crew has even *seen* yet... I just wanted to weigh in.

As BOP noted, and many others have noted as well, ELEMENTAL has a big uphill battle to face in the form of the Disney+ problem. We all know what that is... A lot of people, especially those who are tight on money and have to narrow their moviegoing choices every calendar year, might've been conditioned to just wait for these family movies to come to Disney+. No need to spend $100 at the multiplex on tickets, snacks, and of course take a gamble on whether the experience in a theater will be good or not... It's right there, at home, in a few months, and we got all the snacks without having to spend a mortgage on!

I've stated on here many times before that I work at a movie theater, and a major chain movie theater at that. A Cinemark. Been there for almost 8 years, and I feel I get the first-hand idea of what audiences want to see as opposed to very-online "experts" on twitter and elsewhere.

And it seems like people are digging ELEMENTAL. "Ah cool, a water and fire people movie! Looks cute!" Most of my co-workers think it looks like it's worth watching. I've seen some customers walk up to the posters and say "Is this INSIDE OUT 2?" "Hah, looks like Sharkboy and Lava Girl."

A lot of people online are writing ELEMENTAL off as generic-looking, but that might be... In a weird sense, its secret weapon.

Familiarity sometimes works for movies, and sometimes it doesn't. LIGHTYEAR, I'd argue, had trouble having some kind of longevity at the box office because of how much it deviated from what people associate with TOY STORY and the titular character. Of course, if you're me, and you knew full well what that movie was going to be (read: an actual sci-fi space adventure where Buzz is actually a space ranger, not a toy), that wasn't much of an issue. Some just genuinely didn't like the execution of it. It rung more INTERSTELLAR and '70s sci-fi movies than anything, Buzz was a little more serious here, he wasn't his toy counterpart at all nor was he the fun cartoon hero in the 2000s TV series BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND. I get that. I myself quite enjoyed the movie, but I can totally see it how it just wouldn't gel with most audiences.

TURNING RED, I feel, would've done okay at best at the box office, not because of its perceived quality (I loved the movie), but because of - again - most audiences being very careful with their money. I keep thinking it would've made around BAD GUYS/ENCANTO numbers, $90m domestic and around $200m worldwide. Not enough to cover the usual Pixar budget... Which is typically a gargantuan $150m+... I feel they, and Walt Disney Animation Studios for that matter, shouldn't spend so damn much on their movies... It puts an unnecessary strain on them, gives them a sometimes impossible task to achieve. It soooo ain't 2003 anymore, when any CG animated movie you dropped in front of an audience was 99.99% guaranteed to make a blockbuster amount of money...

ELEMENTAL also shares June with... ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, TRANSFORMERS LIVE-ACTION MOVIE #7, THE FLASH, RUBY GILLMAN *comma* TEENAGE KRAKEN, and INDIANA JONES 5... Wowee... And a good chunk of those movies weren't supposed to open in June 2023 in the first place, they all just ended up landing there. Pixar usually locks mid-June for a movie years in advance, and the movie could be anything, be it ELEMENTAL or TOY STORY 5. It just so happened to be ELEMENTAL... Maybe they should've moved it, just to be safe...

So, opening weekend could make or break it... But the legs will be the most important thing... And we don't know what those will be like... We have to know first and foremost, come opening day... Did audiences like it?

LIGHTYEAR got a not-so-hot A- CinemaScore, and had abysmal legs thereafter... STRANGE WORLD from WDAS was the rare family friendly animated movie release to score less than an A...

It's hard to gauge off of two animated sci-fi action movies, which have a history of... Not making blockbuster totals meant to cover ludicrously high budgets... Just ask TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, and TREASURE PLANET. WALL-E was a sci-fi romance movie with cute robots, and that did very well. Also had that Pixar goodwill that was very strong back then. The name's not a guarantee anymore.

How do I think ELEMENTAL will do?

Animated movies that aren't sequels are usually kind of hard to track, and they seem like they'll do okay-ish at first... Until the week of release, the tracking shoots up... And word-of-mouth kicks in after opening day...

So, $28m for ELEMENTAL could very well be looking like $40m minimum within a week of its release... Opening at Cannes this coming week, if the picture is acclaimed, will look nice too. I don't see why it can't open below $40m, the only thing that could hurt it is just SPIDER-VERSE and LITTLE MERMAID being out, and families having to make tough choices. Adults w/o families will be the ones to get, if they're not as choosy. The romantic comedy angle might just make it a date movie.

Not the first time that happened... That's what Disney took total advantage of during the Disney Renaissance in the early '90s, pushing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and ALADDIN as date movies for young adults... Oh, and it paid off nicely... A lot of people tend to overlook this, but... It's *adults* who make animated movies huge, too. Not just "kids dragging their parents" to the cinema. If that were the case, every kids' movie would be a FROZEN or MINIONS-sized blockbuster. No! Those movies make so much because a lot of adults like them, too, and there's stuff in them that appeals to adults. A novel concept, I know!

A movie like THE BAD GUYS didn't need to worry about that, being a much lower budget endeavor, ditto DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. Even Illumination's movies don't have to worry about that, either... But Disney Animation and Pixar? They gotta hook everybody if they want to make back the $150m+ they spend on each and every movie. LIGHTYEAR seemed to turn families away and had a hard time getting adults, STRANGE WORLD seemed to appeal to no one. ENCANTO dealt with Delta and Omicron, RAYA was still a bit too early to be a theatrical release. SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, all straight to Disney+ releases.

It's like each new Disney animated movie release is some kind of test... ELEMENTAL is next line, and WISH will follow... And do I think ELEMENTAL can get that adult appeal?

I think so. ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE already has it built in (projections are saying $85m minimum for the opening weekend, which sounds about right, could go even higher), but does anything else coming out in June other than INDIANA JONES have it? I think audiences are largely burnt out on the Autobots, THE FLASH comes on like some big NO WAY HOME-esque event for DC but I sense a real "who cares?" aura around it, plus superhero fatigue seems to have kicked in... That's about it? RUBY GILLMAN seems muted and quiet, it probably doesn't need to make a blockbuster gross... It's very possible ELEMENTAL is the most appealing June release to... Normal people.

Online, it looks like some crap generic Pixar movie... But normal people? Who aren't there for TRANSFORMERS 7 and a DC movie that happens to have Michael Keaton Batman in it? They might be digging it. For what it's worth, when I caught the trailer in theaters before GUARDIANS VOL. 3, I heard some of the adults in the crowd laugh at the funny bits.

It's kind of a wild card, but I have kind of a good feeling about this one. Maybe... Or, come late summer, I'll be eating crow on here. I'm sure Disney Co and Pixar don't want it to fail. Especially since the smarter of the two Bob CEOs came back, the very Bob who wants to focus much more on theatrical releases than sending massive-budget movies quickly to Disney+.

So, rough prediction. Around $40-45m on opening weekend, very solid legs, over 3.5x multiplier, $140m minimum domestically and double that overseas, $400m+ worldwide finish. We shall see...

[primatechnosynthpop]

If You Push Them Too Hard, They're Going To Break

Part 3

[Part 1] [Part 2]

After their encounter with Dave, Jemaine kind of thought (hoped, at least) that would be the end of it. Dave was the smartest guy they knew, and he told them pretty clearly that being a magical girl was dangerous, so...

But in less than a week Bret went out on another witch hunt. And that quicky became part of his regular routine from there. Jemaine made his disapproval clear, giving him the cold shoulder whenever he came back from a witch hunt, but there really wasn't much he could do. His idea of kicking Bret out of the band soured when he remembered he didn't have his bandmate's voice on tape anymore, and he wasn't in the mood to go through the hassle of auditioning new members. As for the plan to steal Bret's soul gem and smash it, well... after seeing what happened with the lighter, anything that involved damaging the gem didn't seem like such a bright idea anymore.

And with Bret running around in a poofy dress playing hero, who did that leave to take care of chores? Jemaine grumbled to himself as he bent over the produce display, searching for deals he could afford. He didn't mind grocery shopping with someone else tagging along to banter with, but doing it alone was a sisyphean task. He'd just settled on some half-price apples when he glanced up to see a familiar face standing beside him.

"Oh! Jemaine. It's... funny seeing you here."

"Hi, Doug," Jemaine returned the greeting cautiously, already looking past him to scan the aisles for Mel. When he didn't see her anywhere he wondered if she was creeping up behind him, but a glance over his shoulder revealed no sign of her. His tightened muscles relaxed, but a deeper sense of unease set in. "Is Mel not with you?"

To his surprise, Doug's face crumpled into something genuinely miserable. "Oh... I guess you didn't know, huh?" he murmured. "Mel, uh, went missing a while ago."

Jemaine blinked. His brain froze up upon hearing that. It just didn't compute. Except it made sense, didn't it, when he thought about it-- how long had it been since he and Bret had seen her? At least this explained why she wasn't at their last couple gigs.

"I've been asking around, putting up posters," Doug went on. "But to be honest, it's a little hard to stay optimistic. I have an idea of what might have happened to her, and... well, it's not something I can really tell anyone without sounding totally crazy." He stared down at his shoes, hands twisting together at the waist, and let out a sad little huff of laughter. "I always figured I'd lose her eventually, but not like this."

Jemaine wasn't sure how to respond to that. He settled on raising his eyebrows, mouth pinching into sort of a grimace, and making an "mm?" sound that he hoped came off as sympathetic. He did feel bad for Doug, genuinely. And he felt bad for himself (and Bret, but he was angry with Bret right now, so mostly himself) for not having a single fan anymore. He couldn't say he'd miss having Mel stalk them and make inappropriate comments, but the prospect of never seeing her alive again was daunting, almost sickening to wrap his head around. It didn't feel right.

His eyes strayed down to Doug's hands, and the wedding band he was twisting forlornly around on his finger. It reminded him of Bret fidgeting with his soul gem ring. Then, not in a sudden flash of light so much as a gradual sunrise, he thought back to the last time he saw Mel and that ridiculous outfit she was wearing. An outfit with a gem on it... and that hammer, a weapon not unlike Bret's bow and Murray's pirate sword.

"Was Mel a magical girl?"

Doug's head snapped back up, eyebrows raised. "Yes, she was! How did you know?"

"Well, ah... Bret's become one," Jemaine explained somewhat stiltedly. He felt ridiculous having to say it out loud. "Calls himself a magical man, but it's the same thing."

Doug gave him a look like Jemaine had just said that Bret had a terminal illness. "...I see."

"You think a witch got Mel?"

"Something like that. Or something even worse."

"Right, well..."

Jemaine shifted, uncomfortable. He stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced over his shoulder, searching for a way out of this social interaction. Luckily, it seemed that Doug was willing to let him go a lot quicker than his wife would have been.

"Well, I guess I'd better get to the checkout before the line gets any longer. Nice seeing you, Jemaine, and, uh, tell Bret good luck with his magical girl duties."

*

"I talked to Doug today," Jemaine said a few hours later while they sat around the kitchen table after dinner. Bret was busy tearing yellow sticky notes off a pad, crumpling them up, and throwing them to Kyubey. Kyubey wasn't really a cat, so it didn't seem interested in the crumpled paper, but Bret kept throwing it anyway. "Apparently Mel was a magical girl and now she's gone missing."

"Aw, what?" Bret asked, looking up from the sticky note pad with a frown. "Really?"

"That's interesting, isn't it? That she became a magical girl and then died?"

"What, she died too?"

"Probably. She's definitely missing. Sort of like what Dave said about that girl..."

Bret saw where Jemaine was going with this, mainly because it was the same place all their conversations had gone for the past two weeks. He shook his head. "I can't stop, Jemaine. Being a magical man is what I am now."

"It doesn't have to be."

"Actually, it does." Bret pointed at Kyubey, who gazed innocently back with a slight tilt of its head. "I asked Kyubey about it and he said you can't go back on a contract. Isn't that right, Kyubey?"

<That's correct,> the alien confirmed. <The only way to reverse the process of becoming a magical girl would be for someone else to make a contract and wish for it to be so.>

"What, so for Bret to stop being a magical girl I'd have to become one? I'm not doing that," Jemaine said. "It would be completely redundant."

"That's a shame about Mel, though, if it's true," Bret remarked. He tore another sheet of paper off the pad but forgot to crumple it up, so it just fluttered back down onto the table when he threw it.

Jemaine mumbled his agreement. He grabbed what was left of the sticky note pad and chucked it at Kyubey, who deftly hopped out of the way.

*

"Alright, magical girl meeting! Bret?"

"Present."

Murray nodded and marked that down on his attendance sheet. He didn't think it was good conduct to have their magical girl meetings in the same office as their band meetings, so they were gathered outside on the front steps of the office building. "And Murray, present... and honorary member Jemaine?"

"Why am I an honorary member?" Jemaine griped, and then added, "Present."

"I think it's because you're not a magical person," Bret told him.

"That's exactly right, Bret. Jemaine, you're lucky I let you attend these meetings at all! We could be discussing top-secret magical girl information here-- things an ordinary human couldn't even comprehend."

Jemaine crossed his arms with a wounded pout. "I can comprehend just fine."

Ignoring him, Murray carried on to item one: grief seeds. "How many grief seeds has everyone got on them?"

"I've got two," Bret said. "They're not on me now, though. I left them at home."

"Well, it's good that you have some, but they won't do you any good sitting around at home," Murray chided him. "Suppose a witch attacks you when you're out and about and you use up all your magic trying to fight it. You'd want a grief seed then, wouldn't you?"

"How many grief seeds have you got, Murray?" Jemaine asked in a tone that suggested he suspected the answer was zero.

"Well, none at the moment," Murray admitted-- a bit of an understatement. His soul gem had been getting progressively darker for days now. That brought him to item two. "Item two: use of Bret's grief seeds. Now, my soul gem has some big black spots on it that could use a good purification--"

"Sorry, man, you can't use my grief seeds," Bret cut him off. "I'd like to keep them for myself."

"Aw, but-- what if I paid you guys for it, eh?" he offered, flashing a grin at Bret and then Jemaine for good measure. Neither looked convinced, and the building twinge of anxiety in his chest tightened. "Please let me use your grief seed," he tried again. "Please? Please let me use it. Pleeease."

Bret's conviction wavered slightly in the face of his manager's clear desperation. He still wasn't willing to give up one of his hard-earned prizes, but... "How about we go on a witch hunt together, and I'll let you keep the one we get from that?"

Murray practically caved with relief. "Yes, that will do," he said, wiping at his eyes with the back of his sleeve. Was he really crying over this? Yes, call him soft, but he was. It just felt nice to know that his boys were looking out for him the way he always tried to look after them. It made him feel like there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

*

While Jemaine was moping about at home and saddled with chores, Bret had fought a lot of pretty freaky witches. His enhanced agility came in handy for dodging flying fruit and whirling blades in a labyrinth that started off looking like a bank but segwayed into a giant blender when he took a wrong turn. His infinite arrows made quick work of a crown-wearing witch and its exotic bird and monkey familiars in a psychedelic party labyrinth. While fighting a witch made of nothing but a bunch of spindly legs and hair that tried to grab him like tentacles in an office-themed labyrinth, he discovered that he had the power to levitate things, himself included, if he concentrated. When he asked Kyubey why he'd gotten that power, it explained:

<The magical abilities you gain are tied to the wish you make. In your case, your wish involved outer space, so your ability allows you to create an zero-gravity environment not unlike what's found in outer space.>

"Aw, that's awesome, man," Bret had replied, grinning, with an incredulous shake of his head. "I've gotta show Jemaine, he's gonna love this."

Jemaine had in fact not loved it, and had yelled at Bret to stop making the fridge float. But still, it was pretty cool.

Throughout it all, there was this one witch Bret kept sensing but never fought. Something about its energy just gave him the creeps. He'd asked Kyubey about it, but his little alien buddy could be annoyingly evasive sometimes. Plus he got the sense this witch was following him, and that activated his contrarian side: he was supposed to track down witches, not the other way around, so he refused to engage with a witch that tried tracking him instead.

That was until today. Bret glanced reluctantly at his manager as they stood in a labyrinth entryway that looked like the hall of a golden palace with a red carpet rolled out. "Does it have to be this witch, Murray?"

"Well, it's the closest one I sensed, and you remember how urgent this is... so in short, yes, it has to be this one," Murray said in the same tone he used to enforce band management decisions that Bret and Jemaine weren't keen on. "Besides, I've been monitoring a few of the witches in this city, and this one's been causing all sorts of trouble. A body count in double figures already!"

Bret shuddered at that. He was going to ask why Murray hadn't tried fighting it yet if that was the case, but the senior magical girl was already charging on ahead, transformed and with his weapon drawn. Bret followed suit.

The hallway was shorter than it looked, and soon the floor dropped abruptly off as they came to a cavernous stretch of pale pink sky tinged with an iridescent rainbow hue. Wispy clouds hung here and there. If he squinted across the gaping cavern, Bret could make out other platforms that looked like they were made of yarn, clay, paper... basically any art or craft supply, really. When he looked way up he could just make out a distant ceiling. It was curved like that of a cathedral, and painted like one too with an elaborate mural that he couldn't make out the details of. Startlingly familiar music filled the air. Bret could have sworn he heard snatches of his and Jemaine's voices, but distorted like a broken-down tape that had been played too many times. The whole place smelled sweet, like cookies, but too sweet. And Bret had a much stronger sweet tooth than his roommate, so if Jemaine were here the smell would probably make him gag.

"Something weird about this place," Bret mused. "It feels like... I dunno, like meeting back up with a person I haven't seen in a while. And they've changed in all sorts of ways, but deep down they're still the same."

Murray gave him a questioning look, but if he was going to say something, he didn't get the chance before a pair of cookie-shaped familiars came flying at them. That explained the sweet smell. And the music, apparently-- the familiars' mouths, which looked like real human mouths plastered on top of icing, opened and closed in crooning song. Bret picked one out of the sky with his bow while Murray sliced the other in half.

As soon as the first two went down a whole swarm came flying in to take their place. Soon it was an all-out battle. When the familiars got close enough they stopped singing and started trying to bite, which was almost preferable to hearing those uncanny mockeries of his and Jemaine's voices, but not when they successfully managed to bite him. A few times Murray got too caught up in the scuffle and nearly fell off the edge into the chasm, and Bret had to save him with a burst of anti-gravity magic. It seemed for a while like it would be an endless onslaught, but little by little they whittled the sweet-scented army down.

Meanwhile, a block away from the labyrinth entrance, Jemaine paced up and down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. The sun was going down and it was chilly out, enough for his breaths to appear as bursts of white in front of him, but he kept his temperature up with his constant restless motion. Kyubey sat a few feet away on top of Murray's parked car, saying nothing but idly watching. Despite not having emotions of its own, it could recognize them in others. It could tell that despite all his bluster, Jemaine's ongoing annoyance with Bret stemmed from a deep attachment to him. Kyubey could work with that.

<Jemaine, do you believe that Bret McClegnie is capable in battle?>

The inquiry gave Jemaine pause, if only because it was so unexpected. He stopped, with his back turned to Kyubey so he wouldn't have to look at its beady red eyes, and gave an apprehensive shake of his head. "Not particularly. I once had to help him get his hand out of a jar."

<And yet you seem to trust in his safe return.>

"Well, he's come home every time, so..."

<That is true. But you have noticed that he often comes home injured, have you not?>

Jemaine was getting quite unsettled now. He shifted, turning around just slightly so he could stare Kyubey down. He saw what it was getting at, and he didn't like it.

<Of course, Bret is accompanied by Murray Hewitt,> Kyubey went on calmly. <However, you have made your opinion on Murray's capabilities quite clear. In a dangerous situation, do you think Murray would be able to protect Bret from suffering serious harm?>

Jemaine was silent for a moment. He stared down at his shoes. "...Bret'll be fine," he said after a while, not quite sounding like he believed it. "Anyway, you're his friend, aren't you?" There was a note of bitter jealousy to his voice there-- honestly, Kyubey would never understand human emotions. "If he's in trouble, you'll help him."

Kyubey said nothing to that. It was clear that the seed of doubt had been planted. From now on it was a waiting game.

Back inside the labyrinth, Bret lowered his bow and watched as Murray triumphantly skewered the final two familiars on his sword and they crumbled into dust. He'd realized as he fought that the cookie familiars had two designs repeated ad nauseam, and though the icing was drippy and the photorealistic mouths threw him a bit, he was pretty sure they were caricatures of him and Jemaine. No wonder they sang like them too.

That got him thinking, and soon he put it all together. Everything about this place, the theming around him and Jemaine, it was like all the unwanted gifts Mel had presented them with and all the fantasies she'd described about them rolled into one. A queasy feeling settled in Bret's gut. Mel... That's right, Jemaine had told him she'd gone missing. Was this where she'd ended up?

It was then that the witch rose into view. It looked like a woman in an elaborate old-fashioned gown riding a tandem bicycle, pedalling endlessly but not getting anywhere. Instead of a person in the backseat there was a giant metal ball attached to a chain which led to a ring on one of the witch's fingers. The witch's head was made of translucent pink and white clouds dotted with twinkling stars. The biggest and brightest of those stars were around where eyes would go on a face. More clouds trailed off its body in wisps here and there. On its chest was a fleshy heart-- as in, the shape of a cartoon heart, but made of tissue like the real organ. It pulsed rhythmically, occasionally skipping a beat. The witch's garbled voice, though indecipherable as any other's, held a crooning cadence. Like it was singing him a love song.

"...Mel?"

"Mel? What do you mean Mel? Is she here?" Murray turned around, looking back the way they'd come in, and then across the open stretch of iridescent sky with an incredulous squint.

"No, she's... well, maybe she is here." Bret didn't know exactly where he was going until the words began tumbling out of his mouth. "Jemaine said Doug said she was missing. I thought maybe he made it up to scare me--"

"I don't think Doug would lie about his own wife going missing."

"No, I mean Jemaine. But now I think he was telling the truth. I think..." Bret paused, gulping. His heart had sped up without him noticing. The witch was still drawing near, its movements excruciatingly slow and non-aggressive compared to previous witches he'd battled. "I think this is her. I think Mel turned into this witch, and that's why she went missing."

Outside the labyrinth, Jemaine was also thinking about what Doug had told him. He couldn't have imagined the discovery Bret had just come to, but he knew one thing: bad things could happen to magical girls.

He resumed his pacing, more frantic now as darker thoughts swam through his mind. What would he and Bret do if Murray got killed? It could cause a bit of a hassle, for one thing. They'd have to find a new manager. Maybe they could get one who was better at their job. That might not be so bad.

What would he do if Bret...?

A harsh skidding noise sounded from the pavement as he came to an abrult halt and whirled around to face Kyubey. It hadn't moved from the top of Murray's car, no doubt staying nice and toasty while Jemaine shivered. He wanted to shove it under the wheels. Not that that would do much good since the car wasn't on.

"Kyubey," he ground out through his teeth. "I'm going to make a contract with you."

Kyubey immediately perked up, ear tendrils standing at attention. <Are you certain? Once a contract is made, it cannot be undone.>

"Yes, you've told me." And anyway, he knew by now that life tended to go that way. He'd learned as much bartering with Dave, trying to buy back a toothbrush he'd sold him in a fit of desperation only to be told it was now quadruple what he got for it. "But I've decided."

<Very well. What is your wish?>

Within the labyrinth, the stars in the witch's cloud-head glowed brighter as it came face-to-face with Bret, who took a few nervous steps back. It extended its free hand toward him with an eager hiss. But the other hand, the one with the ball and chain, held it back. It jerked, lashing against the weight, all the while its legs still pedalled uselessly.

It was a pitiful sight, like seeing a wounded animal. Bret's heart squeezed with more sympathy than he'd ever had for Mel when she was alive. Daunting as it was, he knew he had to take this witch down like any other.

"Honestly, Bret, you're being completely ridiculous," Murray told him. "Kyubey would have told us if witches used to be magical girls. Why would Kyubey, our trusted... mascot, lie to us?"

Bret barely even heard his manager's dismissive words. With shaking hands, he notched an arrow and shot a hole clean through the witch's outstretched hand. It recoiled with an earsplitting shriek. The clouds that made up its head turned red and lit up with a crackle of lightning.

It drew its arm back-- the one attached to the ball and chain-- and swung it at him with a roar. Bret jumped into the air, easily dodging the chain. He didn't see the ball's trajectory.

And obviously neither did Murray. Or if he did, he didn't dodge it in time.

WH-CRACK!

The ball flew off the chain and slammed into Murray's chest. Bret distinctly heard something shatter and he winced. Was that a couple broken ribs, maybe? He didn't stop to check-- couldn't spare more than a fleeting glance over his shoulder at his manager ragdolling to the ground-- because he had a witch to fight. He was sure Murray would be back on his feet and helping him out in a second. Magical girls could take a few hits.

Bret came down on the handlebars of the witch's bicycle, close enough for the lightning to make all his hairs stand on end, and released an arrow into its exposed squishy heart. The ensuing shriek was even more earsplitting-- Bret flinched and clamped his hands over his ears-- and accompanied by lightning bolts shooting off wildly. But the bolts fizzled out harmlessly before they could touch him, and he knew he'd hit the target because a few of the stars speckled throughout the cloudy part of the witch blinked out. If he could land just one or two more shots like that...

Oops, hold that thought. A new metal ball swelled into existence at the base of the dangling chain and the witch whipped it through the air. Bret was forced to abandon his post on the handlebars and fly up above the witch's head. Using so much magic put a dull ache in his core, not unlike the way his arms felt after a long shift of sign holding. It would be harder to line up a clear shot from this angle, too. But at least the witch couldn't get to him.

While he was up there he took the opportunity to look down and see how Murray had recovered. He would've recovered, right? He'd taken at least one worse hit than that before, definitely.

Apparently not. Murray was lying on his back, no longer in his magical girl attire. There were little shards of something scattered around him, glinting a dull orange in the shimmering light. And those weren't the only things surrounding him. The cookie familiars were back and circling Murray like vultures. Bret swallowed hard.

"Murray, you've got to get up," he called. Then, remembering magical girls could use telepathy, he tried again that way. <Come on, get up and get out of the way before those familiars...>

He trailed off as the swarm of cookie familiars descended on Murray. A wave of cold horror washed over him. It was like watching a lion in a nature documentary bringing down an antelope, except that Bret liked lions too so he never knew who to root for, and an antelope wasn't his band manager and just below friend on the relationship graph. Murray didn't move, didn't even cry out, when the familiars opened their photorealistic hungry mouths and... and...

Oh, flip. Oh, fuck! Bret clamped a hand over his mouth, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He tore his gaze away as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough, and he could still hear it even from several metres away. Even when he squeezed his eyes shut and clamped his hands over his ears he could hear the sounds of them tearing flesh, crunching bone, slurping up blood and organs.

He was so overwhelmed in that moment that he didn't realize his magic was wavering, that he was sinking lower in the sky, back in range of the witch's attacks. He didn't hear the ball and chain swinging toward him until it was a foot away from his head.

Seconds before Bret would have been knocked out of the sky and possibly met the same fate as his manager, a silvery-green blur leapt toward him and caught him in a pair of not particularly muscular but nonetheless sturdy arms. Bret sucked in a shaky breath. His eyes swam with tears, blurring his vision too much to make out the face of his rescuer, but there was something about that flashy outfit... he could have sworn he'd dreamed about something like this.

"David Bowie?" he whispered.

"No," came the reply, gruff and terse but layered with affection. "It's Jemaine."

Jemaine landed on the opposite side of the chasm, where the construction paper ground crumpled under his boots. Boots? Yes, Bret realized upon wiping the tears from his eyes as his friend set him down, Jemaine was wearing sparkly silver platform boots. And that wasn't all.

Jemaine wore a tight-fitting silver sleeveless shirt with a ludicrously low neckline and a dark red zigzag pattern going across it. He had a dark green sequined dress that took on more of a blue tint when the light bounced off it a certain way, but then looked almost brown from a different angle. A high-collared cape with embroidered flower decals sat around his shoulders. Finally, embedded in a dark red flower tucked behind one ear was a cool-toned green gem.

"Jemaine!" Bret gasped in delight, the trauma of less than a minute ago instantly forgotten. "You're a magical girl!"

"Don't you mean magical man?" Jemaine asked, lips parting in a sly smile that showed off the gap in his teeth. "I am technically a man, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh, right. Yeah, you're... ah, it doesn't matter," Bret said with a shake of his head, breaking into a fond smile. "It's just good to see you, man."

Then a pair of wooden nunchucks appeared in Jemaine's hand, and Bret had to stifle a groan. Was that really his weapon? Whenever they watched a movie with nunchucks in it, Jemaine would make a comment about how cool they were and how he'd like a pair if he could ever afford them. Bret had never seen the appeal. There was a reason the pilots in Top Gun didn't use nunchucks.

But then, these ones were magic. Jemaine spun the weapon around a few times to wind it up and then flung it with a grunt of effort, and it flew like a boomerang (he would never want to use an actual boomerang lest he be mistaken for an Australian, but he secretly envied their iconic cultural weapon) into the witch's arm, where the chain wrapped around the limb and immobilized it so it couldn't attack anymore.

"I'm going to finish off the witch," Jemaine announced. "You've got enough grief seeds already, so this one will be mine."

With that, he leapt off the paper cliff, summoning a new pair of nunchucks into his hands-- metal ones this time. He twirled them above his head and they glowed with cool green light. Bullets of magic energy burst out of either end, buffeting the witch and any familiars that got in the way. When he got close enough he pulled the two sticks apart and the chain between them lengthened into a sort of metal whip. He swung it forward, lodged one stick in the spokes of the witch's back tires, and swung the remaining distance clutching the other stick.

Alright, so Jemaine really had no idea at all how nunchucks were supposed to work. He just thought they looked cool. He'd consulted with Dave about this and everything, and Dave had confirmed with a sage nod that nunchucks could be pretty cool if you used them right. And if this wasn't using them right, well... it wasn't, but it was how he wanted to use them, and so his magic allowed it.

<Its weakness is its heart, Jemaine,> he heard Bret's voice say in his head. Jemaine shuddered-- that was just as uncanny when it was his friend as when it was that creepy alien. <Sort of like humans, if you think about it... if you crush our hearts... um, nevermind.>

Jemaine nodded, even though Bret probably couldn't see him do so from his angle. He climbed up onto the empty back seat, whipped the witch across the back as hard as he could, then planted a solid kick to its chest when it spun around to grab him. He ground his heel against its heart even while grimacing at the squishy noises it made. This was completely unlike anything he'd done before. He hoped he wouldn't have to do anything like it again. But in the back of his mind he knew he wouldn't be so lucky-- he'd made a contract and now this would be his life.

The witch was on its last legs now. Most of the stars in its head had burnt out, and the last two flickered weakly. It tried to snatch him with its free hand, but that hand was shredded with a quick twirl of his weapon. One more solid hit to the heart-shaped heart and it was done.

As the witch screeched out its dying cries and began to break apart, bicycle and all, Jemaine realized he no longer had a foothold. Panic spiked through him for a moment and he almost considered asking Bret to use that freaky anti-gravity magic on him, but he didn't have to worry about it. By the time the witch's body caved in on itself and a grief seed fell from the sky into Jemaine's hands, his feet were touching safely down on slightly damp concrete.

Jemaine sighed, letting all the tension drain out of him as he detransformed. Those sorts of high-stakes stressful environments weren't for him. He glanced over at Bret, who had also detransformed. He didn't look hurt, at least no more than usual after a witch hunt, but he did look shaken in a way that he didn't usually. Jemaine would almost ask if he needed to purify his soul gem, except that he'd beat the witch so this grief seed was his-- although, wait, wasn't this one supposed to be for Murray? Yes, right, that was the arrangement. But he didn't see Murray when he looked around, so maybe he could get away with pocketing it for himself?

"Bret, have you seen Murray?"

Bret stiffened at the question. How was he supposed to answer that? "Yeah, I saw him. I saw him get eaten." He didn't know how Jemaine would respond to that. He'd probably just say I told you so.

But before Bret could figure out how to break the bad news, Jemaine stepped out of the alleyway and remarked in a casual if not slightly accusatory tone, "Ah, there he is. Where'd you go off to, Murray? You were supposed to be helping Bret out, and if I hadn't gotten there in time who knows what might have happened to him."

Those words definitely weren't addressed to a picked-over carcass. Heartbeat picking up, Bret ran past Jemaine and burst out of the alley. Sure enough, Murray stood on the sidewalk perfectly intact. He looked a little disoriented, glancing around with a confused frown, but he was okay. Relief flooded through Bret's system, overtaking his already below-average stores of rational thought and impulse control, and he tackled his manager in an embrace.

That snapped Murray out of his confusion but gave him a whole new thing to be confused about. He'd made it very clear to Bret and Jemaine that they'd have to do a little more work before they landed in the category of his friends again, and they hadn't seemed particularly eager to do that work in the first place. Acquaintances didn't usually run up and hug each other, unless he was missing out on even more in life than he'd thought. He stumbled back, blinking, as Bret held him in a vice grip.

"What, no hug for me?" Jemaine complained. Then, cheeks heating when he realized how jealous he sounded: "Not that I'd want one... might be kinda gay... but still, I think I deserve it more than Murray."

Bret drew back, wiping away a new wave of encroaching tears with the back of his sleeve. He didn't understand. He was sure he saw Murray die in that labyrinth. Unless maybe...

"Jemaine?" he asked. "What did you wish for?"

"The thing you would've if you were thinking-- none of that 'ooh, I want to meet a celebrity so I'll ask to breathe in outer space',' Jemaine said in a mocking tone that sounded less like Bret and more like the lady voice he sometimes used in their songs. In his normal voice he continued, "I wished for Murray to get us more actual paid gigs that people would come and see."

<A well-chosen request indeed,> Kyubey chimed in as it trotted out of the shadows to join the scene. Jemaine stiffened at its presence, but it padded right past him and hopped up onto Murray's shoulders. <Because Jemaine's wish involved the presence of Murray Hewitt, it was necessary for him to be restored.>

Jemaine didn't know what Kyubey meant by restored, but when Bret turned to him with a wide-eyed look that could only be described as awe, it didn't matter. The warmth that flooded through him at the sight of his friend's expression combined with the thrilling prospect of actual gigs in their future was enough to convince him he'd made the right decision. Being a magical girl couldn't be so bad.

[Part 4]

[tiressian]

"Paradisin'/Living my best life thrivin'" 

- Rina Sawayama

…

1.  

Sixteen-year-old Gojo on some level knows to expect Shoko to take to sex with the same clinical fascination she deploys in the Infirmary; he just underestimates the extent of that fascination when they're finally naked in front of each other. He wants to go back to making out but she's already bent slightly forward, both hands on her hips and squinting.

"Oh wow, so that's it, huh?" she remarks, with zero intonation whatsoever. "Cute and not monstrous. Slight curve, like a banana."

The hell? “Uh thanks?" Gojo says, shifting his weight uncomfortably, face red as he fights the urge to cover himself. 

Two things. One: Shoko is so lucky he's had a crush on her since the first time he laid all six eyes on her.  Two: She also happens to be the only girl in his cohort around for miles. 

(So it’s not lost on him that he’s lucky too in that respect; that she digs him as much as he does her.)

"Hey...you're not even hard. Why's that? Your penis shy or something?” She pauses and straightens, and the clinical detachment is replaced by accusation. "You think I'm ugly, don't you?"

What the fuck? "What?" Gojo says, flushing even more red.

Shoko points accusingly, her tits bouncing a little as she does, and Gojo's eyes track the movement. Shoko sees, because all women see, Gojo knows this, everyone in the world with eyes knows this, but it doesn’t stop him.

He has a feeling he’s on his merry way to getting dick-punched.

"You do!" Shoko goes. She jabs a finger at him, tits bouncing, again, Gojo looks because come on, they're literally right there, Shoko sees, again, and Gojo internally rakes a hand down his face. “You do only want me for my body! You're not even looking at my face!”

Because you're naked and you got nice tits! "I do not think you're ugly!" Gojo says hotly. Talk about a rock and a not-so-hard place. Isn't wanting your girlfriend's body part of the package anyway? He opens his mouth to say so, but what comes out is, "Would I even fucking be here if you were?"

At that, Shoko's expression turns as cold as the Arctic. She crosses her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed. "You know, that's a gooood question Gojo."

Gojo knows answering that question is gonna get him booted from the room and never hearing the end of it from Suguru, because Shoko and Suguru are chummy like that. The best defence is an all-out offence.  

"Oh my g- for f- it's coz you're staring like it's some kinda alien specimen!"

"Of course I'm staring like it's an alien specimen! I've never seen a real one up close! You take me for some kinda hussy or something?”

"Well I've never seen a real vagina before tonight either but you don't see me runnin’ around doing a fuckin' nature documentary about it!" Gojo snaps. 

Silence descends upon Shoko's room for the next few moments, the two of them blushing as they glare at every conceivable object in the room except at each other. Gojo's eyes land on a band poster that wasn't tacked to the wall beside Shoko’s window the last time he'd visited and he forgets he’s supposed to be annoyed.

"You got the poster already?” he says. “Thought we were gonna go get it together."

“Nah you were busy with Goodwill. I went with Mei. She's got a girlfriend, by the way."

“She does? Do we like her?"

“Eh, she’s alright. Kind of a bitch, but in a cool way."

"Poster looks good."

"Thanks."

A second later Shoko snorts and Gojo does too before they both laugh. Shoko touches his arm, turning him back to her. She smiles at him and goddamn him but he melts at the sight of it. Suguru says he’s probably a sucker for brown eyes and Suguru’s probably right and no way in hell is Gojo admitting that aloud. 

"Hey,” she says. “Sorry for being dumb."

Gojo waves it off. “Nah. Sorry for yelling at you. Please stop analysing my penis.”

“Fine. Are we good?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna touch my boobs?" Shoko whispers.

Gojo nods vigorously. Shoko grins as she steps forward, bringing his hands up to cover both of them. He inhales sharply as he squeezes, marvelling at the feel and Shoko smirks as she feels something rise against her belly.

"Well, hellooo sorcerer," Shoko murmurs, and without any further preamble she tugs him down so she can kiss him.

Shoko doesn’t come the first time they have sex. Gojo does after three and a half thrusts, which Shoko finds ironically anti-climatic, but knows better than to voice aloud.

…

2. 

The second time Shoko has sex with Gojo, she has the innate sense that this is how concrete felt when the jackhammer was first invented. Gojo is aware of nothing else save the need to chase his own pleasure because surprise, surprise, the Six Eyes is really just a guy. She spends the whole time staring at her ceiling, listening to his pants and their insides squelching. She doesn't hesitate to state the analogy aloud when he finishes, because she read that it's good to communicate your needs to your partner.

Gojo blushes furiously as he disposes of the condom and retrieves a fresh one from the box at her urging, eager to redeem himself.

…

3.

The third time, Shoko gets on top. She doesn’t understand how the porn stars do it because it hurts her knees and she gets a horrible cramp in one of her calves. Gojo laughs as he helps her dismount and remarks that she's a lot more unfit than he thought, and for that, she punches him in the dick. 

They do not continue for medical reasons. Suguru knocks and asks if Gojo needs an ice pack or if Shoko needs a Real Man to show Gojo how it’s done, and Shoko has to restrain Gojo from stalking out of her room stark naked to kill Suguru with his bare hands.

…

4. 

The fourth time, Gojo lasts a bit longer, and it's almost nice. She still doesn't get off, but she does find his refractory period fascinating. She spends the whole time working out the math while he groans and humps into her. 

“Do you think it’s a side effect of your Cursed Technique?” she asks, watching him tie off the condom. “Wow, that’s a lot of spunk my dude.”

“Excuse you, it’s a normal amount and— are you serious?" Gojo says instead, dismayed because she’s staring at his penis, again, and they’ve talked about this.

Shoko pats his cheek.

"It's for science," she tells him. "This could be handy info for you, you know."

"I don't doubt that," Gojo says, cheeks reddening. "But you’re staring again.”

“It’s for science!”

“Oh god.”

…

5.

The fifth time, Shoko just resignedly reaches between them to rub her clit while Gojo’s thrusting and he slows down, eventually pulling out of her to watch. He slides his hands up her thighs smiling uncertainly at her. 

"That feels good to you?" he asks.

"Mm-hmm," Shoko says with her eyes closed, moaning as she gets herself wetter. Gojo observes her for a beat before he taps her on the thigh. 

“Hey,” he says. “Lemme try." He slides lower along her body without waiting for an answer. 

"Be my guest," Shoko shrugs, disguising her nervousness behind her clinical veneer again. "You just have to put your fi–ohh..." she goes, gasping when Gojo presses his mouth to her swollen clit instead. 

He lets Shoko’s moans and pleasured gasps guide his lips and tongue, all enthusiasm and little finesse, tasting and sucking until her grip is a vice in his hair, and she’s coming with her back arching up off the bed. The taste isn't anything to write home about, but the sounds she makes uncovers and ignites a greed in Gojo that wants to see how much he can pull out of her before she unravels.  

He smirks up at her from between her legs as she comes down, mouth glistening with her slick, watching her pant, all flushed scarlet and sweating. 

“Fuuuck,” Shoko drawls, boneless and dazed. 

Gojo chuckles as he moves back up along Shoko's body. His erection digs into her stomach as he kisses her.

"How was that? Good?" he murmurs against her mouth.

"Super good," Shoko declares with a happy sigh, curling her leg over his hip as she hugs him. He feels her press a kiss into his chest, and the question he hears is soft, somewhat hesitant.  "Can you…do it again?"

Gojo raises himself back on his forearms and looks at her cynically. "For ‘science’? You gonna go note this down in your little docu-diary after?"

“For me,” Shoko corrects, smiling shyly up at him and still blushing, and Gojo’s traitorous heart skips a beat. 

"Yeah?”

Shoko nods, making a noise of affirmation. “Please?” she adds. 

Gojo opens his mouth to tease her, but she looks up at him from under her lashes, and it has the net effect of making half the blood in his brain turn into mush while the other half rushes south, and what comes out instead is an intelligent, 

“Y-Yeah, o-okay. No worries. Gotcha covered.”

Paradisin' - https://archiveofourown.org/works/46964089

First satoshoko fic of 2023 and of course it's crack lol

Please enjoy a crack satoshoko headcanon that I had. Rated M for sexual situations. It held me hostage from working on other fic so I had to get it out so I could get back on the horse lol

[doomh3ad]

A voice modulator - 300 date night! (Billy Loomis - Ghostface)

Prologue

Someone's fucking with you. Ghostface, huh? They must think they're real funny.

Well, you're going to show them what's what. You're going to go to this stupid address - it's so close to your house you can walk there right now - and give them a piece of your mind.

You have a stroke of genius as you're about to leave - you'll bring the voice modulator and give them a scare! That'll show them.

It's an oddly romantic place, an expensive restaurant. You've dressed well for the occasion, but you're not entirely sure what to say as you stand outside the double doors. Table for two, me and the murderous fictional character I've had a crush on for, like, ever?

You're ready to leave, screw it, it isn't worth sacrificing your pride, when the doors open and a smiling man ushers you in.

"You're here for the date? Very cute, if I may say so. Right this way - the gentleman is already here."

Your mind is exploding with questions, but it falls silent when you see him. There's absolutely no way. You've been drugged or something, there was a hallucinogen in that popcorn you were eating earlier.

Billy Loomis gives you a beaming smile as you're seated. He notices your shock, it's written on your face as clear as day, and calmly orders a bottle of wine.

It seems like you're going to need it.

It can't be possible, and yet...he looks exactly like he did in the movie, formal wear replacing his casual clothes. The candles light his face and emphasise that poster boy grin, and you decide what you're going to do.

Fuck it. Enjoy the night. This is what you wanted, right?

Plush velvet seats and romantic candlelight dinners, expensive drinks and a gorgeous man that looks delighted to see you...is this heaven?

"I'm Billy," he snaps you out of your musings, seeming almost nervous. "I'm glad you're here. I was starting to get worried."

His laugh, as relieved as it is musical, eases your paranoia. Then he sees the voice modulator you brought, and it's even louder.

"Like it? I know you've seen me use it. I could show you, sometime," he offers with a flirtatious wink.

You think you'll take him up on that offer sometime.

You spend the night talking, he opens the conversation with a line that makes you smile - "So, what's your favourite scary movie?" and after some wine, fine dining and witty banter, you find you're enjoying yourself a lot more than you intended to. It's like a fairytale, like magic, like you're in another world and everything else seems unimportant.

It's the best night of your life. You wake up feeling cold.

You're in your pajamas, lying in bed, like every other morning. The sun breaks through your curtains and illuminates your room. It's empty, except for you. As it always is.

No trace of the impossible date the night before. Your heart twists, but you take comfort in it at least being a nice dream.

That is, until a familiar face, minus his formal wear, peeks round your door and asks you whether you'd prefer tea, coffee or orange juice this morning.

You answer Billy with a smile.

[666writingcafe]

The Brothers Are in The Loop...Kind Of

Author's Note: "Lucifer" = "Satan (Lucifer)"; "Satan" = "Lucifer (Satan)".

"So, you're telling me that Satan here is actually Lucifer on the inside, and Lucifer is Satan on the inside?" Asmo asks incredulously.

"I didn't think it was that complicated, but yes," I respond.

"For real?" Beel chimes in. Lucifer nods his head.

"No way!" Mammon exclaims.

"Eh," Levi nonchalantly adds. "The whole switching bodies story is standard anime fare. I've seen it a million times before."

"This ain't an anime, Levi! This is for real!"

"Ugh, I can't believe this is happening," Satan states. "How am I going to explain this to Diavolo?" Great. He's impersonating Lucifer now. I should have known he would take advantage of the body swap like that. The brothers laugh, which allows for Satan to continue doing his Lucifer impression.

"MAAAAAMOOOOOON?" The Avatar of Greed laughs even harder.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Lucifer responds sarcastically.

"Maybe save the impressions for later," I say to the brothers in response. "There are more important things to deal with right now."

"Yeah," Beel agrees. "So Lucifer, are you two going to go back to normal eventually?" A valid question, except he addressed it to Satan, not Lucifer. Regardless, Satan answers,

"According to the literature on this subject, the effect is supposed to last for several days." Great. I have to have two additional demons in my head for who knows how long, plus I have to continue hiding the heterochromia I've developed as a result of all this.

"Aww, lucky," Levi whines. "That means you get to skip school and hang out in your room playing online games all you want until it's over. I'm so jealous!"

"First of all, that's something you would do, Levi," I tell him. "We can't exactly do that in our case. Both Lucifer and Satan are important figures in RAD's social hierarchy, so they have to go to school despite everything that's happening right now."

"Are you insane?" Satan asks.

"MC's got a point," Lucifer responds. "If we stay home, people--especially Diavolo--will probably start asking questions."

"Yeah, and if you try to play it off like you're sick or something, then he'll worry even more," Asmo adds. "He'll show up here at the house and insist on taking care of you."

I mean, we could just tell him, I think to myself.

NO! Satan and Belphie shout in my head. Don't ruin the fun!

Not for the same reason, but I do agree with them, Lucifer responds. I don't want him knowing I've allowed a mistake like this to happen.

So, in the end this is all about saving face, huh? Satan asks, irritated at his brother.

"Until we return to normal, Satan, you are to stay with me whenever possible," Lucifer orders. "Understood?"

You've gotta be kidding me! Satan shouts. Oh no, I don't think so! Hard pass!

Then do it for me, I tell him. After all, you're the one that performed the spell on my eyes. That's gonna wear off eventually.

I don't like this any more than you do, but it seems we've got no choice, Lucifer states. I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't take advantage of the fact that you look like me to cause trouble.

Fuck off, Belphie snaps.

"Fine," Satan grumbles. "So, whose room are we staying in?"

"If you give me something to eat, I'll let you use my room," Beel offers.

"No thanks. If we sleep in your room, you'll end up sleepwalking over to me and taking a bite out of me in the middle of the night."

"Just so we're clear, I'm not letting you use my room," Levi nearly growls. "I've got too many priceless figurines and super-rare posters in there."

"We know," I tell him. "That's why I was going to suggest that they stay in my room."

"No way!" Mammon exclaims. "I won't allow them to sleep with you!"

"There are too many things wrong with that statement that I don't have time to get into, so I'll just say this: Mammon, with all due respect, shut the fuck up."

[totiredtowrite]

"Ｔｈｅ Ｇｒａｖｅ Ｄｉｇｇｅｒ"

Warnings - Talks of death, blood

Note: plot didn't agree with me ig, if it sucks deal with it 🙄

FEM READERS DO NOT INTERACT (SHE/HER, SHE/THEY)

/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

There were only two people in this town who nobody seemed to see. Whether it be by their own choice or public displeasure, they hardly showed their faces. Town hall meetings, events, the occasional festival, never. Unsurprisingly, the two men who never showed up both worked with the dead.

The executioner, and the undertaker.

Matsukawa Issei, the undertaker, wasn't commonly known by his name. Or even his title, for that matter. Somewhere along the line he'd earned the nickname of 'The Grave Digger.'

He knew why, of course. Everyone knew why. The only time the bulk of the townsfolk saw him was when he was out digging graves at the edge of town. For those who lived near to the graveyard, it was a rather common sight.

Just as dusk fell they would see him out in the field, rusted copper spade in hand as he shoveled up dirt. Typically there was a body wrapped in linen laying somewhere near him, and on the nights where they weren't the people knew he would be back the next night with one.

At first, he'd struggled quite a bit.

Digging human sized holed in the ground, six feet deep, wasn't easy work by any means. Especially not for one man. At nineteen was when he'd started his work. If he wasn't well built before, he certainly was now. If it was possible, he was sure that his shovel would have dents in it from where he clutches it. It was his own little cycle. He obtained the body, he prepped it, (if the family could afford a funeral), he dug, he buried.

Only the reverend and the grifter who hung around these parts really had any continued conversation with him. Even still, he and the reverend had limited conversation. Their talks were short, concise, formal. And, even more so, that was only when a family could pay for a funeral and wanted it in the church.

Naturally that left little to no opportunity for relationships.

Though, it wasn't like people didn't want him. Unlike the executioner, people vied for his attention. The few times he goes into town, he can feel eyes on him. Women and men alike. The grave digger has earned the tag of 'tall, dark, and handsome.'

He sighed heavily, dropping his spade by the door of his home. He never liked burying children. He had two today, twins. It always made him feel remorseful. Like they could have done so much. All he really wanted to to was stare at the ceiling in the company of his phonograph.

It didn't help his mood that the grave robber situation was spiraling. Some sicko was taking bones from graves, keeping them. Maybe he was selling them. Issei opened the door, turning his back to the main room to close it. He let his head fall against the oak. He relished in the silence, though something didn't feel right.

He narrowed his eyes to the door, slowly taking his hand of the handle and turning around when–

"It's honestly about time. What was that six hours? You usually take less."

He stopped, eyes wide in your direction.

The shock prevented him from really saying or doing anything, so you took that as an invitation to continue. "Anyways, nice place! This is the first time I've actually seen the inside," you laughed a bit. From where you were sat, Matsukawa could make out a few things.

A shovel sat by your side, one similar to his. Similar, except it was very clearly made of silver. You were seated on a desk against the far wall, directly across from where he stood. Your legs, one crossed over the other, were clad in dirtied work pants. His expression turned defensive at the realization that there were little splatters of blood near your boot.

"Though you did have to bury kids today huh?" You continued. "I get it. S'not fun digging them up either." You sighed dramatically.

Your remark killed any words I'm previously in his throat. The grave robber.

His face quickly morphed into something threatening, something that most people would run far away from. "You're the–"

"Yep!" You didn't let him finish, pulling up a wanted poster from god knows where. There was no face on it, just a black silhouette with a white question mark in the head. "This is what you meant right? You're absolutely correct."

He moved to advance. "What the hell are you doing in my home," he snarled.

You held up a hand. "Woah there, tiger. You know these things can seriously hurt someone, right?" You tilted your head to the shovel at your side. Matsukawa stopped in his tracks, though his deadly glare didn't falter.

"Look," you sighed, "Can we please get off on the right foot? I'm (l/n) (y/n), the man who's been digging up bodies. Well, parts of bodies. It honestly depends on the price," you giggled. "I know exactly who you are, but why don't you tell me anyways?"

No words left his throat. Well, none that were very nice anyways.

"Right," you rolled your eyes at the obscenities that left his mouth in the place of his name. "But I'm not here to fight." You slid off of the table in a rather smooth manner, sweeping up the shovel at the same time. "In fact, I'm here to help!"

Matsukawa's lips pursed in thought. He should turn you right in to the sheriff. Yet, some part of him wanted to hear what you had to say. After all, if he didn't like it, you've simply engineered your own arrest. He didn't say another word, harshly grabbing your shoulders and steering you towards the small dining table. "Sit." he said gruffly, not giving you a chance to respond before he practically threw you into the chair.

Taking the seat across from you, his eyes locked on you expectantly. You took that as a sign to speak. "Ha, anyways, the other day I found this," you set a femur on the table. Matsukawa cringed slightly. Not because he was nervous by it, but because where did you even have that? "This belongs to a man that's easily six feet tall."

Matsukawa nodded. "And?"

"And," you scoffed, "I found it in the grave of a woman. A woman who was no more than five feet." Matsukawa decided to ignore how weird this conversation was getting. "Unless you're just really bad at your job, these bones aren't matching up. Not to mention the woman I dug up the other day," you let out a breathy laugh. "Can you believe it? Her jaw was far too large."

He shuddered, declaring to himself that he had a psychopath sat at his table.

"Anyways, handsome," you have him a predatory grin, "Wanna entertain me for a bit? Just how do you think those bones are being misplaced? It's messing with my business, you know. Making me less credible."

"Business? What business?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Y'know, grave robbing? You think I just keep the bones I take? The bodies?" You laughed. "Gross, no. I sell them. Shady medical students who wanna get ahead, witches, people who do extremely innocent things with dead bodies." Matsukawa cringed again.

"I should turn you in," he said. He stood up to lean over the table, slamming his hands down right in front of you, eyes angled down his nose.

You, unfazed by this, shrugged. "If you turned me in, you'd get the money, but you'd never know what's going on with the bones switching place."

He let out a muted frustrated noise. "Come on," you tilted your head to let the candlelight illuminate your eyes, "What's the worst that could happen?"

~

Do not repost, translate, or copy my work on to other platforms.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom, season 3, episodes 7-13 thoughts! cannot believe im finishing this series so fast. ...cannot believe it ended like that...uh. one of the weirdest finales to a show I think I've seen, it really stood out against the rest of the series, and not in a good way, in my opinion. I paused to yell in caps lock...several times, I think, out of anger... BUT. ANYWAY, HERE WE GO.

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-the fentons putting the kids to Work in the lab, with NO SAFETY GEAR. AT ALL. THEY JUST GOT BACK FROM SCHOOL AND ARE TIRED!!! and when jack asked how danny his day was and danny tried to say it was bad jack cut him off :( for the 400th time, i am stealing these kids.

-maddie and jack IMMEDIATELY SELLING THEIR LAB AND WORK FOR A LOT OF MONEY. and danny cant get into the portal anymore, oh no!!! he could always just steal vlads I Guess.

-THEY ARE VLADS NEW NEIGHBOR. OH MY GOD. this is a sitcom format. a butler came with the new mansion. i would absolutely try a kiwi fudge milkshake, why is the butler disgusted.

-the..guys in white bought the lab to shoot a missile. into the ghost zone thru the portal. bro i hate these guys

-jazz straight up setting her new bedroom up in the library. i am very very jealous

-"RATED E, FOR ENTRAILS"

-I like how the 14 year olds very quickly realize if the giw destroy the ghost zone itll destroy OUR ZONE because its just. like. the other side of the quarter so to speak. and the giw, a fully funded government agency, didnt consider that...(or worse, are willing to risk that anyway...)

-a...graphic novel version of the constitution? what in the world have you been READING SAM

-'cool, I always wanted to be called a meddling kid!' scooby doo reference...

-can they keep the butler. I love him.

-ecto latte....I also want to try that. is ectoplasm edible...

-YESS I KNEW DANNY WOULD USE VLAD'S PORTAL. vindicated.

-DANNY WHY DIDNT YOU JUST ASK JOHNNY NICELY. STEALING HIS BIKE IS SO SO RUDE.

-youngblood is also into astronaut stuff, thats really cute. and him being like 'phantom, dude!! :D' ALL EXCITED. THATS ADORABLE.

-the slapstick comedy of the giw slipping and falling and running into shit in the lab. is funny, but also, because this lab has NOOO safety codes in practice. god its a wonder dannys the only one to have died here...

-JOHNNY, SKULKER AND YOUNGBLOOD HELPING DANNY!!! I keep saying it but the other ghosts helping him. is my fav thing in the world. and, it's a really good thing the missile in the real world was harmless...otherwise the fentons wouldn't have had a home/lab to come back to...

-WULF WANTED POSTER!!! we havent seen wulfy in so long :( very funny the box ghost is offended by how much these ghosts are wanted for. first off, what do ghosts even DO WITH MONEY. does the ghost zone have its own currency??? what are ghosts BUYING

-the box ghost is So Funny, im so glad hes still got his bubble wrap. u are VERY wanted in THIS house box ghost. you are SO scary king. dont give up on ur dreams

-this needs to be a meme format. I made a transparent version, very very messily, for future use.

-this is a Fellow and a Friend

-box ghost accidentally bringing lunch for everyone, and giving people at the mall free shoes. SHOES ARE SO EXPENSIVE, ID BE SO GRATEFUL. helpful king. i feel SO bad for him lmao, he's putting in SO much effort. he wants the evil aesthetic So bad but hes Just Too Silly. I understand your plight, box ghost....

-oh my god. pandoras BOX. 'THOSE OF US IN THE BOX TRADE' HOW MANY ARE IN THIS BOX TRADE. I WANT IN. pandora is a multi-armed ghost goddess and i love her.

-SKULKER WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FROM THE EVIL UNICORN?? YOURE A HUNTER!! JUST SHOOT IT!!!!!!! JUST HUNT IT!!!

-box ghost...where did you get the cowboy hat. I respect it, i just want to know

-JAZZ COMING IN WITH THE BAZOOKA TO FIGHT THE 10 HEADED DRAGON!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! and the rest of the fentons I Guess

-ignoring the sam/danny moments. I simple do not see them.

-...why doesnt danny just fly over the maze. or do the whole 'real world people act as ghosts in the ghost zone' and turn back!!! I know its just to show off the ghost greek monster designs. but STILL.

-danny being like. um. hi pandora. i found your box. >< polite...PANDORA IS SO GIANT. GIANT GHOST WOMAN. SHES GOING TO BEAT BOX GHOSTS ASS. another ghost thats nice to danny to add to the list :) and HER FORCING BOX GHOST TO APOLOGIZE. and having sandwiches with danny after making box ghost clean up. I LOVE HER.

-DANNYS 'BEWARE' AT THE END JAKHDJFKN

-okay, when dash pulled out danny's seat and was calling him buddy, for half a second I was like 'this is a prank, hes gonna pull it back' BUT THEN FRIGHT KNIGHT MY BELOVED IS BACK. AND EVERYONE STARTS CHANTING FOR DANNY TO BEAT HIS ASS WITH GHOST POWERS AND DANNY DOES WAY TOO EASILY, and im like, yup, this is a dream LMAO

-danny is getting an A+ in science :) my smart son

-DANNY WAKING UP FROM THE DREAM RIGHT BEFORE KISSING SAM AND BEING LIKE 'that was a dream...no, a NIGHTMARE!' same. not to be a hater but, shouldve been val. maybe I am a hater

-...danny running and checking the 'tapes'...why is his whole house constantly being recorded. hes been in ghost form/fights plenty of times in his house. does he have to run and wipe the tapes after?? every single time?? god

-letting this image speak for itself

-this is SO cursed

-NOCTURN'S DESIGN FUCKS SO HARD. the Venice mask vibes. also his space pattern not moving while the rest of his animation does is big chowder vibes. but this guy is basically the sandman but Evil, huh. I love dream plots. also, nocturn's design feels very similar to clockwork, like, red eyes and a scar over the same eye, but also just the purple, and the Cosmic Vibes. I want to see them fight. anyway nocturn's va was also avatar roku AND alfred in several batman cartoons.

-the 'sleepwalkers' designs were super cute in shape (kinda remind me of oogie boogie! pillow-cased shaped, which is appropriate for the 'king of dreams's minions) until I looked closer at their eyes. why do they look sewn shut!! (they open their eyes a few times, so they aren't, but they look like it...)

-I like how this show has been pretty consistent (with a few exceptions) about a Ghost Being Huge (or getting larger) = Very Powerful

-2 months of summer camping??? wtf, do camping things usually take that long?? I've never been to a camping...thing like that. but isnt that basically their entire summer??

-'the entirety of nature is your bathroom!' and thats why I do no camping despite loving nature LMAO.

-sam, at least TRY TO BE NICE TO THE OTHER GIRLS YOU'RE GOING TO BE SHARING A CABIN WITH. also, the amount of times people in this show have their SHOES ON THE BED!!! IM DISGUSTED

-swamp creature Is A Ghost. Big Foot is a Ghost. starting to think in this universe, every single cryptid or legend is a Ghost Actually

-paulina crying not only because star is missing, but because SHE FORGOT HER SUNBLOCK AND SHE BURNS SO EASILY!!!! okay girlfriends

-ghost cops are the real monsters at the camp. i.......I mean. fair. no one missed you walker

-WULF!!!!!!!!!!! WULF IS BACK!!!!!!!! MY FRIEND WULF :D MI AMAS VIN!!!!! kaj danny lernis Esperanto :)

-'relax kid, we arent here to do any harm' *immediately shoots danny* yeah. ghost cops. and also danny bringing walker 'wulf' and walker IMMEDIATELY SUCKING DANNY IN A THERMOS. FUCK OFF

-haha walker Bald. and haha walker Frozen Now

-the fenton thermos can...reverse its polarity to close portals? okay

-LIBERA MIA AMIKO. :")

-ohhh they end the ep with them star gazing, thats pretty cute...

-dani is back! ...with a new voice actress? wiki says AnnaSophia was in 3 diff movies in 2007 when this aired, so she was probably too busy... (including, bridge to terabithia aka the movie that ripped my heart out that I mentioned in the first ep Dani was in...kinda wanna rewatch it now)

-shes still scared of vlad, who's still being creepy and spying on her. 'shes hardly going to come home to daddy!' I WONDER WHY. also does vlad's cat look more evil than last time? love the concept of him going shopping for cats and being like 'give me your most EVILEST looking cat, please, so I can pet it in my spinny chair dramatically!' ...oh god white cat hair on his black suit. I have a black cat and her hair is still way too noticeable..

-vlad has a big 'valerie' button in his office. can he be pressing that button every episode, thanks

-'theres a GIRL called dani phantom?' yeah valerie. no relation, obviously, even with her looking EXACTLY like danny. so sad valerie just wants to help her dad and her get out of the place theyre in now and vlad using her. ill MAUL HIM

-dani having to STEAL FOOD. :( and valerie immediately being like oh poor kid :(( and trying to help her!!! and then dani immediately helping valerie!! this episode is starting SO well

-...and then valerie catching her. DAMN IT. and being surprised dani knew danny?? HELLO VALERIE I KNOW YOURE SMARTER THAN THIS. I AM SO SORRY THEY WROTE YOU THIS WAY. I STILL LOVE AND BELIEVE IN U !!!

-valerie lying her ASS off for a chance at gettin danny. ok <3 also 'they couldnt catch a ghost if it was living under their own roof' JSDHKJHNK

-danny. why dont you just tell valerie!! this would be so much easier if he was direct. there is NO way valerie would hurt danny (fenton) she'd be HORRIFIED. esp since she got on board helping dani!!

*is held* :)

-look at valerie and danny. flying together. about to go beat vlads ass together <333

-DANI SCREAMING AS VLAD IS MELTING HER. WHAT THE FUCCCK

-...fucking vlad convincing valerie hes a good dude with his stupid duplication. FUCK. DANNY JUST TELL H E R

-jesus christ how many times has danny had to watch loved ones die. even if she didnt stay perma-dead. glad they fixed her...

-valerie and dani pranking danny when he came out, oh :( cute...them havin fun and laughing together...babies

-BUT THEYRE JUST LETTING DANI LEAVE, AGAIN??? SHE WAS PREVIOUSLY STEALING FOOD. CHRIST GIVE HER A PLACE TO LIVE. OR A FAMILY. actually, I think it'd be really cute if, since danny isnt ready to out himself, dani went and lived with valerie?? dunno if her dad would have the money but,, it'd be a cute concept. big sis valerie...

-'tomorrow, it's game on!' 'and ill be ready to play!' THE FLIRTING....DANNY/VALERIE REAL

-oh my god,, valerie found out about vlad in the end. But he doesn’t know she knows!!! the DRAMA!!! HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING.

-this episode was. SO Much and probably one of my favorites out of s3. (I mean, there has been a gross lack of valerie this whole season, so thats not a hard choice to make...)

-FINALE EPISODE TIME.

-the title screen looks different! so no title card...

-vlad has his own fucked up satellite that looks like him?? okay. why does the animation look so different?? are they mixing cg in?? for what. anyway, vlad and the gang in SPACE. danny is 100% living his astronaut dreams rn

-'defeating frostbite' YOU BETTER NOT HAVE. YOU STOLE HIS COOL MAP. FUCK YOU VLAD

-wait oh my god. vlad is the final series boss, isn't he. I half expected a fake out, for another boss to show up midway, and for him to finally have to have a real truce with danny for this ep. ITS THE FINALE. VLAD FEELS SO UNDERWHELMING.

-And it's like-- his character isn't bad, i just feel like..he has more potential! they WANT him to seem like some smart super evil genius, but the way he's written makes that SO hard to believe...but the solid backstory and design is THERE and its FRUSTRATING.

-...DANNY CALLING VLAD OUT SAYING HE NEEDS THERAPY LMAOO THATS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING.

-my grandpa technus is in the finale too :) 'well look on the bright side, at least im not downloading them illegally!' he says while stealing dvds. feels like hes calling me out. im watching this series on a bootleg website lmao. anyway, him turning the tech into a transformer. love that

-mASters BLASters sTOp diSAsterS shut the fuck up. you will never be valerie or danny. bite chomp kill. violence

-like this if u crie everytiem

-my god the 3d/cgi mixed in looks SO BAD IT DIDNT AGE WELL AT ALL

-the white stripe in dannys hair kinda rules tho. did he just KILL HIS GHOST HALF??? 'revert his human half back to normal' UM. you ever unkill yourself. why are his friends/jazz so mad about it, he'll be in a lot less danger!! christ. they can still hunt ghosts!! as humans!! if they want to!! hes 14 if he wanted to be normal. let him. vlads stupid little team has things COVERED apparently. why are they acting like this. jazz would never act like this. is this fake whats going ON

-oh my god jack was in a college band. vlad was also in the band. what did instruments they play. i didnt need that headline to tell me they sucked, but i want to KNOW MORE REGARDLESS

-valerie was here for 0.3 seconds.

-sam calling danny selfish. the audacity. no one is stopping YOU from hunting ghosts, girl. valerie does it!!

-I'm halfway through the episode and incredibly underwhelmed so far.

-why would they send jack and 3 teens to space to destroy the asteroid. why not professional astronauts. not even the 3 teens that have already been to space this episode...

-jack getting beat up by teenagers. ON TV. IN SPACE. I GUESS. I GUESS EVERYONE AGREED TO SEND JACK BECAUSE..VLAD SAID SO? we know it was to embarrass jack, but why would everyone agree. why didnt any other space program Do More or whatever, they sent like, 3 rockets/missiles tops?? no way

-danny attempting to punch vlad in the face. i WISH HE WOULDVE LANDED THAT HIT.

-vlad outed himself on live tv, on purpose? and BLASTED AT THE TEENAGERS HE HIRED. LMAO. HES HOLDING THE WORLD HOSTAGE, MAKING THEM PAY HIM BILLIONS TO STOP THE STUPID ASTROID. THATS YOUR GRAND PLAN??? REALLY. REALLY. im like. lmfao

-jack just now, on the last episode GETTING TOLD HE MADE VLAD A GHOST. THIS SHOULDVE HAPPENED WAY SOONER. jack's reaction was one of the only times in this entire show hes seemed human. 'an old friend? no. you? yes.' GET HIS ASSSS ACTUALLY. HE STRAIGHT UP LEFT VLAD IN SPACE. GOD DAMN. that is a Murder! I mean, I guess vlad could fly back to earth, but...I mean, he'll have to, right? no food in space. (that we KNOW of...)

-'thE WHolE EArtH, INTangiBLe?!' oh my god.

-...the white strand of hair somehow still had ghost dna, I guess, and getting blasted turned him back into phantom. I GUESS. I GUESS.

-the fentons being the first to clap for danny despite not knowing hes phantom...that was sweet. and very sudden character development, not at all gradual over the course of time or episodes like it probably should have been...

-sam and danny kissing. IT SHOULDVE BEEN VALERIE, BUT OKAY, I GUESS. also, its a little underwhelming, considering theyve kissed already...

-ALL of the ghosts being ready to beat danny's ass? really. no they wouldn't, they've worked together before, and some of those ghosts are friendly!! cringe. why is the last ep written like this. I mean they came thru at the last minute but. was really cringing for a minute there, why did they write it like that

-valerie is there for another 0.3 seconds! ....she should've been more involved. dani is also there! for also like 0.3 seconds. almost fast enough to miss. (btw, I think shes still homeless at this point, are, we going to...do ANYTHING ABOUT THAT IN THE LAST 5 MINS OF THE SHOW)

-the cgi smoke or whatever it is. this whole post is me saying the cgi is bad, but IT IS.

-'danny or should we say. DAAANNNNY.' this is like the 3rd or 4th time hes been outed damn, but to the whole world, again. and valerie saw, and is just. an extra in the bg clapping. bro im so mad.

-TUCKER IS THE NEW MAYOR? WHAT THE FUCK?? HES 14.

-i think. this is still linked to the dream ep a few times ago. hes still dreaming. this is a plot a 14 year old would write. this feels like a bad fanfic. so much got rushed, and not tied up. vlad wasnt really even the villain this episode, a fucking. non-being asteroid was.

-they kiss again. ok. sure. whatever at this point.

-VLAD IS NOW A FREE-ROAMING SPACE NOMAD. I GUESS. THATS. SURE. WHATEVER. THE END, I GUESS. cannot believe I'm saying this, but: they did vlad dirty.

-IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE HIM A VILLAIN, MAKE HIM A VILLAIN!!! DON'T MAKE IT A METEOR!!! STOP BEING WISHY WASHY WHO WANTS TO SEE DANNY VS ASTEROID!!! I didnt even WANT vlad to be the final villain because his character is SO back and forth (esp this season.) but he has done some FUCKED UP SHIT AND I WANTED THE WRITERS TO DOUBLE DOWN, PERSONALLY, IF THEY HAD TO MAKE HIM THE FINAL BOSS. the cabin ep where he basically held danny and maddie hostage? FUCKED. THE DANI THING? FUCKED. FUCKING COMMIT AND MAKE HIM ACTUALLY SCARY OR HAVE HIM FUCK OFF AND AGREE TO A TRUCE!! WHAT IS THIS DYING IN SPACE NONSENSE. (and, he will (fully) die out there, right? still half human, still needs food and water. I imagine he'll like, slowly half-die but this time his human side is dying. will he come back 100% ghost? we dONT KNOW. WE DONT GET TO SEE, ITS PLAYED LIKE SOME FUNNY THING AT THE END, THEN THATS IT!!! WHAT!!!)

-I don't know how to articulate how FRUSTRATING THAT IS. having him basically out himself and ''hold the world hostage'' does not track at all in my brain. like. he's always been scary because he is HUMAN, TOO. like, if he was 100% ghost, he'd be LESS scary, but vlad MASTERS has more power and influence than vlad PLASMIUS because of his position as mayor, his money, too, and his (supposed, s3 made me doubt it) intelligence/manipulation skills, and his being in good graces with jack made it HARD FOR DANNY. him outing himself for,, money and to 'control the world' i guess?? MONEY WAS NEVER HIS LIKE, MAIN GOAL. yeah obv he likes money and is materialistic and values his Rich Life, but hes got billions, the end goal? 1. getting maddie (and or danny as his son, but to me he always treated that as secondary) 2. ruining jack. this feels like they wanted to say 'oh he just wants POWER' which is. HMM?? OKAY?? obv he /does/ want power (usually over certain ppl, tho), but seeing him try to get it like this FELT WEIRD SOMEHOW. weird like the ep where he tried and failed to take over various historical civilizations, because like,, how is that realistically going to do anything for him?? just, being in that time forever and never seeing maddie aka Goal #1 again?? HELLO??? this was like that, but worse

-this was such a weird ending to an entire show. why did season 3 only have 13 episodes?? why did it feel so weirdly paced?? WHY WAS THE ENDING LIKE THAT. I think. I am going to pretend I did not see that. fucked up, dudes. I'm like...hm. I shouldn't have watched that because now I'm mad. valerie sweetie im SO sorry you shouldve been more present. it felt like..if they knew this season was going to be short, and the last season, they should've spent more time wrapping up EVERYONE'S plot lines for the entire season. imagine how cool it wouldve been if every single ep of season 3 was working towards something, a big, nice wrap up at the end, with nothing feeling TOO rushed because they'd been heading towards the End for the whole season....

I will probably end up writing a follow up full series thoughts post. In a couple of days so I can sit with my thoughts. BUT. overall, I really liked the show! (ignoring the finale and some of the moments that aged pretty poorly...) it was charming and a fun concept and very fun to watch in general :) and I am pretending the finale didnt happen <3 and I’m gonna dive RIGHT into the dp tags and mix fanart and posts in my queue, very excited to run and look at that 🏃🏻 (and, of course, make more fanart myself hehe >:3)

[coolkat122]

Spider-Keith (Voltron AU Reader Insert) Part 1

"Would you stop staring?" Keith asked sounding annoyed at my lack of a response and staring in shock after showing me that he had mother-trucking Ceiling crawling abilities! Probably not as cool sounding as it looks (plus I'm sure he can climb other things too!)

"What else am I supposed to do? You are sticking to the ceiling! That's not normal" He frowned as he climbed back down to stand in front of me glaring down at me.

"Because of you and I want you to fix it" I blinked from confusion...

"What do you mean because of me? What did I do?" I don't recall doing anything that would make my best friend gain the ability to climb shit you wouldn't normally be able to climb.

"Do you not remember the spider you bought over to my place?".... My brows frowned.

"You mean Kevin?"  I've brought over a LOT of spiders to his house just so I could show off the little cuties I was able to get my hands on but Kevin was my most recent so I figured that's who he meant.

"Who else!" He raised his voice, "Somehow he got out and into my bed and bit me, and next thing I know I'm like this" As he gestured his arms to his body I looked over to my left wall that was covered in random fandom poster of various shows I watch before shifting them back to his angry form.

"Uhh, I don't think that's possible... in comics sure  but I don't think a spider's bite can give someone the ability to climb things in reality" That's just not how things work if it were I would have cat powers from all the times my cat scratched or nip me but I don't.

"Then how do you explain this?" He waited to hear what I would say but I don't know what I could? It had to have been something else like maybe he ate something maybe the government is testing something and they used it on...him... for... okay maybe not that one.

That one was nice sounding before I thought it out more and now it just sounds stupid but not as stupid as a spider granting power bite.

"I don't know" I shrugged," but I doubt it's from a spider bite..." Right?

"Where did you get Kevin?"

"From my house, I found him crawling around on the wall and I caught him" I also noticed that he had strange color patterns and didn't look like any spider I've seen before so I tried looking him up but found nothing.

So I kinda thought that maybe I might have discovered a new species went over to Keith's house to show it off and then I lost him somehow...

"Your house? Are you sure?" I nodded before rolling my eyes.

"Yes I'm sure" How would I forget that? His frown deepen as he started pacing so I decided to re-ask my first question when he first showed up.

"So where are your glasses?" He raised his brow , sighing.

"(Y/n) seriously not important"  

"Yeah it is, you're blind as fuck without them and you don't like contacts so how did you ride your bike here and not die?" He shrugged still not as hung up about as me.

"I don't care, maybe it's another side effect from the bite but that's not what's important, what's important is how do I go back to normal?" Why is he asking me? How in the hell would I know? I'm not some science chick that knows how to take away spider crawling better eye-sight sciences.

"Okay hold on a sec" I went reaching under my bed where my comic/manga storage cases were and fished out a few to see what I could use.

Just how was this going to help? fudge if I know but if he wants to believe a spider bite did this then we need comic and manga knowledge to help us out here since it's basically the same logic behind it all right?

"What are you doing?" Keith not looking amused at all at my sudden comic reading but I literally can't think of any other way to help without consulting an adult which he is 100% against for some reason cause he doesn't want them to 'freak out'.

"I'm trying to find a clue any clue that could help me help you but honestly all these are telling me is that your uncle needs to die and you need to suit up....problem is your uncle is already six feet under so I got nothing" Bad joke I know it's a real bad joke to be making right now especially since my friend is probably not in the mood but I didn't know what else to say.....

"...... you aren't taking this seriously" Keith did his signature scowl he always does when I'm not taking something serious enough or something along the lines.

"I'm sorry... I just" I sighed as I sat the comic down (thanks a lot comic for offering nothing useful!), "I just don't know how to help you and I'm still finding it reaaaaaally hard to believe that Kevin's bite could do something like this but I know you wouldn't lie about this so either I'm wrong and Kevin is some kind of special power granting spider species or it really was something else" 

"But what? What could have done this?" I tried to think about anything that could have possibly do this but all I keep going back to is the government theory.

"....I'm sorry" I snapped my head up confused as to why Keith was apologizing all of a sudden? What does he have to be sorry for?

"I came here acting kind of like a douche and dropped all of this on you and..... I don't know expected you to have answers for some reason when honestly I just wanted to talk to someone about this... and now it's stressing you out" He sighed as he slumped against my wall sliding down it till he was sitting on my floor (which apparently not sure if he noticed but there was a sock under him...one of mines I tossed off when it got too hot when I was sleeping). 

"Keith it's fine, besides isn't that kind of our thing? You put up with my lame attempts at humor or more like my lame attempts with anything really and I put up with your titude" Case and point another lame attempt at trying anything from yours truly. 

I'm honestly glad he's my friend, my best friend to be exact (and kind of my only friend) so if he needs my help with this then I want to do it so goddamn much I just need to think how can I be of help?

"Well what should we do to fix this? If we can't tell the adults just how do you want to go about this then?" Keith still sitting on my floor sighed as he shrugged.

"I don't know... we literally  have nothing to go on except for me thinking that the cause is the bite since I was fine before I got bite and now I'm not and you don't know where the spider came from, you only know that you found it crawling around your house.... that's not a lot.. that's hardly anything" I could tell that he was getting upset over our lack of knowledge on this situation and I get that.

I would be too and I kinda am already. "Okay we gotta Sherlock Holmes this and just go with what we do know and what we know is.....the spider was in my house...maybe that's something? Wait no we know that the spider is at your house at least it was when it bite you so let's go look for it there" With nothing better planned Keith agreed so we hopped on our bikes and rode our butts over to his place.

His parents were at work so we had nothing to worry about there as we got to searching.... but there was a tiny problem his house was kinda trashed in a sense since I was last here to be more specific his room was, it was like a hurricane came through which is just weird...

"Well how did you think I found out about this" He gestured his left hand to his right referring to how sticky (that's what I'm calling) it gets so he can climb things.

"I didn't think you trashed your room upon discovering it" Aw he even broke the stupid picture frame I made him when we were like five (going on six for him)....

"Can we start looking" I nodded still slightly broken hearted about the frame as we got to searching  high and low for the little bugger and as luck would have it we actually found it sadly though it was dead.

"Is that a good or bad thing?... I mean it's kinda sad for me cause I like spiders so seeing his dead little body is not the best but it was possibly the reason you are like this and anything that messes with my friends are scum but at the same time I'm not sure if we needed it alive?" And I'm rambling Keith please be a friend and shut me up...pls?

"I....don't know probably good..might make easier to study" I hummed as I nodded my head before asking the question that was running through my head when he said 'study'.

"Uh-huh sooooo then you know how exactly we need to study it and what to look out for?" Keith shook his head as he placed it's dead body carefully into my spider cage that I originally had it in.

"No, I thought you might since you were, you know the spider expert" I now shook my head as I did a kind of a huff ish type thing while crossing my arms.

"I'm an expert compared to you but I'm not like some spider wizard, I only know what I looked up which is just some trivia here and there along with whatever peaked my interest about them" I like spiders I do but not enough to be like well a spider expert on them (yeah that was the best I could think of).

"Great" 

"We could take it to someone who probably does know what to do?" Keith shook his head at my suggestion in disagreement.

"That would mean I'd have to tell them in order for them to know what to look for anyway" Damn it!

"Okay well then let's hold onto until we figure it out cause I have no other ideas" Maybe paying attention in science class would have came in handy.... 

"Sounds good" With the Kevin's body in our possession we then tried to figure what to do next? I tried to think of what I could do or what Keith could do to help with his situation.

"Oh Keith wait a sec" He stopped what he was doing as I went back to his room to grab his glasses and handed it to him, he looked at them confusingly.

"I don't need them anymore, my eyesight is fine now" 

"I just think maybe it would be weird if all of a sudden you don't need these when just yesterday you were blinder than Stevie Wonders" 

"With my new eyesight these will make me blinder than Stevie wonders so no" He pushed them back but I still kept insisting upon it.

It's going to raise questions and yes he could lie about having contacts but what if they want proof or something? It might be a bit troublesome to go through idk maybe no one will care?

"Will find some way around it like maybe get you some fake but realistic looking ones? I don't know"  He sighed in defeat placing them on his face like I wanted but he looked really uncomfortable which just made me feel weird about it so I took them off.

"Yeah nevermind, it will be a dead giveaway with the faces you keep making might as well not wear them and go with the contacts story or something" 

"There's no way my Mom's going to believe that though"  Uh shoot...... she is a tough one to fool.

"Okay then let's get some clear lens"  We went to a store I was checking out and tried to find ones that would pass for his old ones I found some that looked like his but a different color....

"We could paint them?" I nodded my head.

"That works" I was the one to buy them because and you probably won't believe this but one of our classmates was working here part time why is that a problem? He might be suspicious as to why Keith was buying fake glasses so I did it instead should be no questions why I was doing it.... right?

"Hey I know you!" The tall male exclaimed cheerfully as he recognized me and I just awkwardly nodded my head not really sure if I should say anything but I did anyway.

"Yep" Was yep the right thing to say or did I make this weird? Nah it's fine....

Awkward silence great, greaaaaaat, but what would be super great is if he would just ring me up already but it looks like the machine is having problems which is... just... super. 

"Hey Hunk are you on break yet?" GREAT ANOTHER CLASSMATE! I happily cheered in my head for this gracious reunion outside of class with not one but two classmates! And one of them is the self-proclaim rival of what exactly I don't know.... I mean one time Keith tried out for the swim team back in like middle school almost got on the team but decided it wasn't for him so Lance got put on instead. 

So you would think their rivalry would stop there but nope for some reason that neither I nor Keith understand Lance just keeps pushing for something that's not there to begin with.

I mean is it really a rivalry if the other person has zero interest?  

"What's Keith's girlfriend doing here?" G-girlfriend!? He thinks Keith and I are ewwww god no! 

"Whoa hold it! I'm not Keith's girlfriend!" Lance taken back a little before replying back.

"Uh okay...it's just that you guys are always together and you were even there to cheer him on in tryouts back in middle school so I just kinda assumed" 

"You and Hunk hang out all the time and you two aren't dating....unless you are..?" They quickly jumped in replying back that they weren't.

"What no we're not!" I raised my hands as I backed off though I really wasn't up on it in the fast place I just didn't want to assume like a certain someone (we all know who I'm talking about).

"Okay...." I turned back to Hunk, "is the register working now?" 

"Huh? Who right yeah I got it working" I paid for the glasses and left as fast as I could as not to get dragged into a conversation. 

Keith and I went back to his place and got to fixing up those glasses and voila a perfect look-alike, damn I'm good and now no one will know the wiser. 

"Are we good now?" 

"Wha, Keith yes you act like this was a pain?" 

"It kinda was though" I personally feel attacked right now and unappreciated. 

"Well you didn't have to go through the trouble of human contact and fixing these things up like your old ones so you don't know true pain" I was in that store longer than I would have liked. 

....."Are your wrist okay?" I asked after seeing him rub them for like the sixth time today and it's kinda worrying cause he has this pained look but he fights it so I won't notice unfortunately for him I did.

"Yeah their fine, don't worry" Don't worry? Why do people say that? Like do they honestly think that the person they say it to will be like "oh sure if you say so, I mean you don't look fine but you said don't worry so it be cool" like what the heck! No!

If that person cares about you a stupid don't worry isn't going to make them magically stop worrying ESPECIALLY IF YOU SHOW NOTHING BUT THINGS FOR THEM TO WORRY ABOUT! Case and point; you constantly rubbing your wrist like your in pain and that's where it's originating from.

I bite my lip as I could feel myself just fuming and working up all the stuff I want to say but I just don't know how but as my crap ass luck would have it my MOM CALLED! And you are required by child law to answer any and all calls from your Mother less you face her wrath when you get home.

I sighed as I bought the phone to my ear and answered the stupid call. "Yes Mom?" Dang it she wants me home looks like I have to lecture Keith later.

"I gotta go..." He nodded seeming totally fine that I was going home and I'm not sure if this should have but it kind of bothered me (stupid right?), why should it bother me? I mean like this isn't the first time I went home cause ya know I live there obviously I would have to go back eventually.

But I...actually I really don't know what I wanted him to do so how can I expect him to do it? Doesn't matter, I grabbed my bag and Kevin's home and left. 

While Keith did whatever, when I got home Mom had dinner ready and told me to go wash up, like the good dau wait no like the great daughter that I am I went to do just as I was told before eating the dinner my Mother so lovingly slaved over a hot stove to make.

But right after I was finished I went searching up everything I could about spiders some more and tried even harder to find Kevin but to no such luck....

I was getting pretty desperate so I went on a very trustworthy nerd blog I followed because why the heck not nerds are smart and I was hoping to perhaps absorb some of that nerdy-smarty intelliagence (And I totally didn't follow it because the dude's profile pic is like the cutest looking spider I've EVER SEEN!) and after that weird ass sentence I just made I'm sure you can see that I really need it.

(ThatWeirdGirlInTheBackground122): Hey sorry to bother you but um how well would you say you know spiders? Like on a scale of 1-10? 10 obviously being the highest and the most anyone can know about Spiders?

(TheManWithABlogAboutSpiders): Uh....a 9...maybe? I feel like there's always something to learn so I am going with a 9...

(ThatWeirdGirlInTheBackground122):.....yeah that's good

(ThatWeirdGirlInTheBackground122): So listen I have a question and it would be greaaaaat if you can answer it oh and thanks for actually replying back on your pm really awesome of you to do so *Thumbs up emoji*

(TheManWithABlogAboutSpiders): No problem, so what's your question?

____________________

Don't Forget to Heart, Comment and Follow if you haven't already. I would love to hear your thoughts on all of my stories.

99% sure Keith was so out of character

And I regret not showing more Lance and Hunk and having better moments with them but I WILL TRY TO FIX THAT IN PART 2! 

Shameless self-promotion:

Like/Love or simply enjoy my one-shots? Then check out these beauties:

Super Psycho Love (request closed for now )

GenderBender One Shots

Girls Like Girls (Yuri OneShots)

Wicked Or Misunderstood? (Descendants Short Stories Series)

Fandom Rangers (One Shots Reader Insert)

Pinocchio's 2.0 (Reader Insert )

Sora x Yandere Reader

Sora x Yandere Reader Prequel

Sephiroth x Reader Insert One Shot(s)

Prompto One-Shot

Road Trip (FFKH)

The Bond Between Siblings (FFKH One Shots)

[redditnosleep]

My Student Submitted The Most Disturbing "Living History" Project I've Ever Seen

by gretelcat

One of my least favorite parts about being a middle school history teacher is the bullshit “Living History” assignments we give at the end of every school year. Kids are supposed to sit with their grandparents and video tape, voice record, or transcribe their oldest memories for posterity (and for an easy way to bring up their GPA).

I have been doing this for seventeen years, and when I collected the projects this time around, I assumed they would be as dull, if not duller than usual. This had not been a particularly bright class.

So I went home, poured myself a glass of wine, and prepared for a long night of “I only owned two pairs of pants when I was your age” and “My brother got beat with a newspaper for hitting a baseball into a neighbor’s yard.” And of course, these projects were peppered with innocent, old-person comments that were so horribly sexist and racist you just had to laugh.

Now, I had a girl in my class whom I will call Olivia. She was pudgy, quiet, and proved herself a consistent B student. I expected her project to be as unremarkable as her, and perhaps that’s why I was so profoundly disturbed by what I witnessed that night.

Olivia had submitted two discs for some reason, so I began with the one marked “interview.” My screen hiccupped twice before a grainy image of a living room came into view. The place was a hoarder’s hell. Olivia was curled up in an armchair clutching a notebook and looking like a scared animal. Across from her sat a man with a somber countenance, smoking a cigarette and staring at her expectantly.

“Go ahead,” a woman’s voice whispered from behind the camera. Olivia’s owlish eyes flashed towards the screen, then back to the man.

“I am here with my Great Uncle Stephen,” she began almost inaudibly. “He is going to tell us about his oldest memories from being in the army.”

Great Uncle Stephen looked like he’d rather be in a goddamn trench at the moment, but he waited patiently for the questions to begin.

Not surprisingly, Olivia read verbatim from the suggested questions sheet I had handed out to the students. He answered her curtly. Once or twice I heard her mother whisper “speak up, Olivia” from behind the camera. Typical, boring shit.

So I was intrigued when Olivia set down the notebook and asked, “Did you like being in the army?”

That was totally off-script. Great Uncle Stephen emitted a chain smoker’s wheeze. “Nope. Glad to get out of my town though.”

“Where did you go?”

“Balkans.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. I doubted she knew what the Balkans were, and my suspicion was confirmed when she asked, “Was Baukiss very different from here?”

“Yes.”

Mom cleared her throat from behind the camera, perhaps encouraging Great Uncle Stephen to be a little more forthcoming.

But Olivia seemed genuinely interested. “Uncle Stephen,” she asked, “what is your very worst memory from the army?”

The old man crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and then slowly lifted himself out of his chair. “I’ll be back,” he mumbled. The camera cut off.

When the screen flashed back on, everything was the same except Great Uncle Stephen had several pieces of paper in plastic sleeves laid atop all the crap sitting on his coffee table. One, he held in his hand.

“I was a kid when I enlisted,” he said, looking at Olivia. “Your brother’s age,” he told her. Olivia nodded. “I never saw combat. Both of my deployments were to cities in Eastern Europe that had been destroyed by civil wars. Everything was a mess. I felt like a janitor for fuck’s sa-”

“Ahem!” Mom coughed.

Great Uncle Stephen sighed and looked at his paper. “My unit was assigned to a school that had been obliterated by all the violence. Broken windows, caved in rooms – and for some reason, the part that got to me the most was that the school had been like this for years before we got there. No one had lifted a finger to fix it. I saw kids walk by it on their way to go beg for money or whatever shit they did-”

The camera dipped towards the floor as I heard Mom whisper harshly at Great Uncle Stephen. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but it wasn’t hard to imagine.

“Do you want to hear this goddamn story or not?” I heard him bark in response. “Then you better let me tell it how I want.”

“Mom,” Olivia chimed. “Please stop interrupting.”

“Are you presenting this in front of the class?”

“No, Mom, we’re just handing it in to the teacher.”

“I’m sure he’s heard the word shit before,” Great Uncle Stephen contributed helpfully. I wasn’t a “he” as a matter of fact, but other than that the statement was accurate.

The camera was lifted and after a couple of blurry focus adjustments, the shot was the same as before.

“Ahh I’m talking too much anyway,” he grumbled. He lifted the piece of paper in his hand close to his face. “In the basement, I found this letter. I didn’t know what it said but I had a buddy of mine translate it. So I’m gonna read it now. And then I’ll tell you what I saw in that basement.”

A chill ran down my spine. Mom zoomed in to Great Uncle Stephen and his letter. His palsied hands trembled as he held up the paper. This is what he read:

Dear Sir,

I never loved my country. So many of these skirmishes are born from patriotism, a power struggle for the shards of a once-great empire, but I do not care what name my home has on a map. This fighting is senseless and I stay as far away from it as I can.

It was not these attacks and disorganized violence that took the lives of my wife and child. It was illness. Mercifully, it happened quickly for the baby. Nadja suffered for longer. I watched in horror knowing I could do nothing for them. My only solace is that I was there for them every step of the way. I stopped going to work one day, and no one came after me. I doubt they noticed I was gone. Since the school was simply across a field, visible from my window, it would have been easy to go for a few hours each day and come home quickly to care for them. But what was the point? All I did was clean floors. I was as useless to the world as I was to my family.

I tried to take Nadja to the hospital, but the journey was too long and taxing. I brought her home and she died that night.

After Nadja and the baby were gone… well, I don’t remember much. I didn’t leave my hovel, barely ate and slept, thought many times of taking my own life. Tempting though it was, I felt paralyzed by my own helplessness.

The one thing that kept me sane was my radio. I never turned it off once. Even though I didn’t listen to the words being said – in fact, the channel I got the clearest was in English (I think) which I don’t speak a lick of. But the voices, the music, and the true knowledge that life existed beyond this violent city sustained me.

I have no idea how long passed before I saw the light of day again. I was dizzy from hunger, so finding food was my priority. My radio came with me, of course. Since I first holed myself up, it has gone everywhere with me. It talks to me as I sleep and as I wake. I don’t know what it’s saying, but I know I would die without it.

Once I had some water and food, it occurred to me that the only thing left to do was go back to work. So I did. The following morning, I simply returned to the school where I was a janitor and got back to work.

Nobody made a big deal out of it. Like I said, Nadja had been sick for a long time, and those who worked at the school knew it. I appreciate that no one had pestered me to come back to work during the hardest days of my life. The teachers never said much to me, but we smiled at each other in the halls and that mutual respect was perhaps the reason I decided to come back at all.

The place had gone to the dogs without me, so I simply grabbed my broom and rags from my closet and set to cleaning. Everyone is grateful to have me back, I know. And the best part is that nobody minds my radio. I bring it with me everywhere and keep the volume low enough not to disrupt the students. No one has ever complained. In fact, I suspect they like it.

The schoolhouse is not very big, but does require a lot of maintenance. The floors are always sticky and stained, so I spend most of my time mopping. Kids make messes – I guess that’s why I’m still in business. Sometimes I have to move things around to make sure I get every spot on the floor beautiful and clean, but I take pride in that.

And the repairs! The school always needs tune-ups here and there, and I am happy to help. Some days I’m reconstructing a desk that broke as I whistle along with the radio, other times I handle more serious, structural issues. Days when I have work like this, I feel truly instrumental, like a cog in a larger machine. How could this school survive without me? It took me a long time, but I once again feel that I have purpose.

There is a larder behind the school that is full of preserved food. In lieu of payment, I am allowed to take as much food as I need. That arrangement is fine – what would I do with money anyway? I used to bring the food back to my home, just one field away from the school, but when I started sleeping in the basement no one seemed to notice. This school is special to me and I cannot leave it unguarded.

When I am besieged with memories of my wife and baby, I turn up the volume on the radio to drown out such thoughts. It works for me every time.

Except this morning.

Because this morning, I woke up to dead silence.

I frantically examined the radio to see what had happened. I honestly cannot tell you how many days in a row I have been using it. Did it simply live out its life and die naturally? I have spent the entire day trying to fix it. Most of this time, I have been crying. I am losing my mind without it.

I have given myself until sundown. If I cannot fix it by then, I am going to take my life. I am writing this because the sunlight is starting to die and I know what my fate shall be.

I have thought about taking one last walk through the halls of my school, saying goodbye to the students and teachers. I know I will be missed. But I cannot bring myself to leave this room. I cannot go anywhere knowing that my radio is dead in here.

There are no more tears in me. It feels now like I can’t catch my breath. I vomited what little food I had in my stomach and I am growing dizzy again, like I did after Nadja died. I am not long for this world.

But before I take my life, I have closed the door to this room and stuck a chair beneath the handle. It is the only room in the basement and has a small casement that lets in just enough light for me to see what I am doing. If anyone is kind enough to come looking for me, they should not be met with this gruesome sight. Perhaps they will see the door is blocked, smell my rotting body, and simply forget I ever existed.

But I have placed both my radio and this note outside the door. Kind sir, if you are reading this, I have one humble request: please fix it. Save my radio. It did not deserve to die in its sleep and I am ashamed that I cannot revive it.

Now I am ready to join Nadja and little Ludmilla in heaven. I hope this school can find another janitor who loves and cares for it the way I do.

The hour is now. Do not forget my radio.

Stanislav

When Mom zoomed back out, Olivia had tears in her eyes. “Thank you for sharing, Uncle Stephen,” Mom said, her voice choked. “I think we have enough.”

“Wait!” Olivia chirped. “He said there’s more. What did you find?”

Before Great Uncle Stephen could open his mouth, the image disappeared. My jaw dropped. Was that it? What did Great Uncle Stephen see?

I promptly remembered that there was a second disc. This one was unmarked, but I hoped it contained the rest of the interview.

There was no video, only audio. The voice that started up was Olivia’s.

“Hi Miss Gerrity. I’m sorry about my mom, but she refused to record the rest of what my uncle was saying. But I asked him to continue and secretly recorded the story as a voice memo on my phone. I remember you said earlier this year that history is written by the people who win wars.” She sucked in a breath and commenced crying. “But everyone’s history is important, even if they are sad, pathetic people and even if they never won a single thing in their life. I haven’t slept through the night since I finished this project, but you have to hear what my uncle has to say.”

There were tears in my eyes, too. The sincerity of her words was beautiful. I was also flattered that she had remembered some trite phrase I threw around because it was what my history teachers said to me.

Before I got too sappy over it, the audio began again.

“Fine,” came Mom’s frustrated voice. “If you want to hear the rest of the story, fine, but this is not appropriate for a school project.”

“Let me finish,” Great Uncle Stephen snapped. “If it’s too much for you, help yourself to a snack in the kitchen. But Olivia wants to know what happened.”

I heard her mother mumble something and walk away. Olivia and her uncle were alone. I imagined her looking at him expectantly.

“So did you find the radio? Or did it get ruined when the school got blown up?”

He rasped and I heard the distinct click of a lighter. “That letter,” he began slowly, “had a date on it.”

“What date?” she inquired hungrily.

“It was dated two weeks before we started rebuilding the school.”

“Didn’t you say the school had been destroyed like two years ago?”

“Yes,” replied Great Uncle Stephen. “It had been.”

There was silence as I felt goosebumps on my arms. The images that came to my mind were almost too overwhelming to express, but Great Uncle Stephen put them into words effortlessly. Clearly he had spent his whole life thinking about it.

“This man, this Stanislav, went to a vandalized, falling apart schoolhouse and cleaned up blood and rubble like it was spilled drinks and dust. He smiled at dead bodies in the hallway and believed they were smiling back at him because they liked his radio. He moved around corpses so he could sweep the ground under them. The roof was half collapsed, so when it rained, he must’ve gotten soaking wet but was so oblivious that he didn’t even feel a thing.” I could hear Olivia crying steadily. “I found the larder he was talking about. It was all pickled, preserved food that probably tasted like shit. Most of the stuff was moldy.”

“Did – did you see the dead body?”

“Yes. Hanging from the ceiling, but still amazingly… lifelike. He wasn’t rotting away. This hadn’t happened years ago.”

“Did he look peaceful?” she asked, a chord of desperation in her voice.

“Couldn’t tell you. The smell was rank, and his face was blue and his eyes were bulging. Like this.” I imagined him demonstrating.

“And the radio?” Olivia wept.

I heard Great Uncle Stephen take a long drag of his cigarette. “It was there, alright. And it was still on.”

[bowieemeddow]

TRINITY. (Queen Fanfiction)

Part 2 // PJ’s.

Summary: Margaret McCullugh comes to the realisation that her life is a total mess. After an argument she realises she’s had enough; she grabs her bags and runs away.

If you missed part 1 click here

Sunday // May 1970

I've been driving for hours now.

I don't know the time.

I don't even know where the fuck I am?!

I don't know where I'm going but I like that, I can go anywhere, anything can happen that can lead me into any direction, any place in the world.

While thinking this in my head I think god got the wrong idea about "anything happening" and deciding that a deer should show up out of no where leading me to crash into a fucking tree.

___

A shooting pain ran up my neck as I saw stars all over the place as I opened my eyes. I tried to move my leg but I groaned in pain, I must've broke it or something.

Glass was stuck in my hair and had left cuts down my arm and in my cheek, I didn't want to touch it incase it went too deep but my arm was covered in little drops of blood.

I clicked my seatbelt off and got out the car limping my way to the back of the car.

The back of the car was a little flame slowly but surely getting bigger, I smelled gas from the from of the car.

"SHIT!" I shouted as I quickly got my suitcase out the car and dragged it away from the car. Groaning every time I put weight on my foot.

I wasn't able to get far enough away from the car when it exploded.

The blow making me fall onto the ground, I luckily fell onto my back with my suitcase covering my face so no flying bits of glass could hit my face or upper body.

Thank god I'm in the middle of nowhere or else I'd be in deep trouble.

I just stayed there for several minutes, on the cold ground; I didn't know if I had energy to get myself up. But one good thing out of it; the rain put the car fire out.

I took it slowly, I firstly moved my suitcase from my face and onto the ground next to me. I then sat up and looked at my mum's cat burning away.

Just as I thought things couldn't get worse; it starts to rain, and I mean rain like I've never seen before.

I crawled over to where a newspaper was sitting; sure it was soaking wet but maybe it would give me a hint of where the fuck I am. I bent down to pick up the news paper which was in the middle of this random isolated street.

It was a London Newspaper. I'm in London.

Fuck fuck I'm in London. I'm in the middle of nowhere, in London, in the pouring rain.

Eventually, I decided enough was enough and that I had to get some shelter before I died of pneumonia or some shit.

It took another good hour and half of walking, before I found shelter.

A small bar in the city of Kensington called PJ's.

By the time I made it near the entrance of the bar I was close to complete exhaustion, I was sore from all the cuts and the rain water wasn't helping, my foot was in complete agony. I couldn't walk another step without collapsing.

_____________

Roger P.O.V

"Freddie that was amazing!" Mary cheered as she made her way over to Freddie.

"Well thank you darling." Freddie smiled gathering her up in a tight hug and kissing her.

"Well done love." heard Veronica say quietly to John as she sat down at the opened back of the van next to him.

"I still feel like we're missing something though?" Freddie added; nothing was ever good enough for Fred.

"I think I'm missing something too." I mumbled as I watched a hot girl walk by.

"Hey?" She stopped and looked at me with blushed cheeks, I winked at her before she walked away giggling to herself.

"Get your head out the gutter eh?" Brian suggested nudging my shoulder with his.

I wasn't listening to their conversation after that but instead lit a cigarette while watching a lady appear from the darkness completely soaking form the rain. She  limped along towards the building before throwing her suitcase down almost falling in top of it.

She was mostly in shadow so I couldn't see her properly; but from her cut legs I could tell she was in need of some help.

"What the bloody hell are you looking at now darling?" Freddie asked.

"The girl." Mary said as she looked in the direction I was.

"is it just me or does she look injured?"

"Oh shit she does?" Freddie gasped.

I put down my beer and walked over to her.

Margaret P.O.V

"I will not cry. I refuse to cry. Don't be such a weakling Margaret." I kept saying in my head to myself so maybe my watery eyes would calm down before I caused even more of a scene than what I've already done.

At least I looked calm keeping a straight face looking ahead. Maybe if I was by myself then I'd have a breakdown but we are near people so I keep quiet.

My head was splitting and my neck felt locked, glass started falling from my hair as I scratched my head.

"Hello?" I heard a voice say. I looked up to see 4 boys and 2 girls looking down at me.

I probably looked a mess. My mascara has likely ran down my cheeks due to a mix of rain and tears. I look like I went for a swim due to how bad the rain was; it's stopped now luckily enough.

"Honey what happened?" One of the girls said as she kneeled down next to me.

She was quite tall yet petite looking with a soft smile and a soft reassuring voice.

I clung onto her wrist just to make sure she was  real; that this was all real and I wasn't dreaming back a couple miles in my mothers car.

Realising that this was all real was enough for me to burst out in a mix of anger, frustration and fear.

"M-my car crashed into a tree. A-a deer c-came out of nowhere. I don't know where i am. I don't know anyone in Kensington."i could barely speak due to my shakiness from the shock of crashing into a tree and the fact that it's fucking freezing and I'm soaking wet.

"Hey, hey calm down love." Another boy said; another soft and reassuring voice.

He kneeled down beside me and put his hand on my knee; something Greg would do under the dining table.

"No don't do that!" I snapped at him trying to pull my skirt down as low as I could.

"Darling I know what it's like arriving to a scary place without knowing anyone. But you can trust us because we won't hurt you we want to help you and take you somewhere safe." Another man said as he came down and sat in front of me with a respectable distance between me and him. None of our limbs were touching. This boy looked different from the rest, had weird looking teeth and a weird fashion sense; like flamboyant.

I like it.

I was too caught up in admiring the boys jewellery that I never noticed that one of the boys must've ran to his van to grab a fur coat.

"Can I put this around you?” The boy asked, this boy had brown hair but lighter than any of the rest of them, he had some sort of attitude to him like he was stuck up his own arse.

"I'm Freddie Darling. This is Mary, my love. And these 3 boys are John, Brian and Roger. This is Veronica who's Johns girlfriend. Now that we're not strangers how about we go into the bar into the heat and try to warm you up huh?"

____________

We've been in the bar for about an hour now. No one here but us; the bartender wasn't even there surely it should be closed by now.

"Roger I don't need crutches. It's just a little bump I'll be fine if I keep walking on it." I argued  as I hopped back to the booth everyone was currently sitting at.

Except John, Mary and Veronica; they were away finding crutches for me; Mary said she saw a pair in storage at the back of the Pub.

"You May have broke your foot Margaret. We might need to take a trip to the hospital-"

"No! No hospitals I don't do hospitals." I snapped cutting off Brian's suggestions.

"Right okay. I'm just gonna drop the subject because I have a slight feeling that you will take a swing for me if I mutter the word hospital again." Brian's sitting back down with his hands raised slightly in defeat.

"I think that's a good idea Brian." I said back as I finally gave up and crawled back down on the floor to sit.

What the fuck am I doing? I've fucked everything up like usual; jumping into situations before looking at the whole picture.

I have to get my mums toasted car to Fisk before anyone finds it and contacts her. That's the first thing to do.

"Right I've got them." John said as he came back into the main hall holding a pair of crutches. Veronica and Mary following closely behind following closely behind.

"Can you help me up?" I asked Mary and Veronica took each hand and pulled me up.

"I do not need crutches John I am completely fine." I smiled with my head held high, both my feet on the ground.

"Margaret take the bloody crutches for god sake!" Roger complained as he snatched the crutches from John and held them out to me.

"Make me." I sassed back.

"For fuck sake you'll make your foot worse. Then we'll have no choice but to take you to the hospital."

"Please stop acting like my carer. I only met you an hour ago." I snapped as started to attempt to walk on my foot.

It hurt like an absolute bitch but I'm too arrogant to admit it; to admit he's right.

"Right now we are since we found you so I suggest you quit with this arrogance and just listen to me. Marg- MARGARET STOP FUCKING WALKING ON YOUR FOOT AND TAKE THE FUCKING CRUTCHES." Roger shouted over at me as I slowly but surely made my way around the hall. I ignored him and continued walking.

"Then since I'm so arrogant I guess I'll just leave then huh."

"Darling you go outside we'll carry you back in and tie you to a chair." Freddie Warner as he saw me limping towards the long corridor that lead to the main door.

"Ha, I like the sound of that!" I laughed, the long stretch of corridor made my voice echo around the empty bar.

The walls of the corridor was completely covered with thousands of band posters that date all the way back to 1955.

I stop and admire the biggest poster out of the lot.

"SMILE."

"Smile?" I breathe to myself; why does that ring a bell?

My thoughts left my head the minute I felt myself get lifted up and thrown over someone's shoulder.

I got the fright of my life until i caught a whiff of tobacco and cheap perfume; it's Roger.

"Roger! Put me down I swear to god I'll start kicking and screaming!" I warned as I found myself back in the main hall again.

"He won't let you down until you promise to listen to us. You are using they crutches even if I have to sew your bloody hands onto them dear." Freddie warned. He came over to me  with a big grin on his face, he was amused by all this.

"But I have to find somewhere to stay-"

"You're staying with us dear."

"But I have to get rid of the car before someone finds it. I'll get skinned alive if my parents find out where I am." I complained.

"We'll get rid of it in the morning. I know I guy who can do it cheap." Roger said. I felt my anger levels raise from a concerning 70% to 100% as I felt Rogers head move slightly; his breath ticking the back of my thigh.

That's when I realised what I was wearing; I skirt, a short skirt.

"I swear to GOD ROGER IF YOUR LOOKING UP MY SKIRT IM GONNA FUCKING KICK YOUR ARSE." I shouted kicking him hard in the chest frantically.

"Hm you're a feisty one." Roger chuckled to mask his groans of paints I continued to kick.

Roger let me down from his shoulder and stood back up with a smirk on his face.

"It's taking all my strength not to rip Your balls sack off." I said surprisingly calmly.

"What's stopping your sweetheart-"

"Right enough you two! Please Margaret just take them please." Veronica pleaded as she passed both the crutches over. To which I rolled my eyes and placed them under neath my armpit.

I made my way over to my suitcase that was currently lying on the stage on top of a raggedy old discoloured towel. Luckily my suitcase ( or more my mums stolen suitcase) is waterproof so everything inside should be completely dry; although it's probably not nice and folded the way I done it when I was packing since a little over an hour ago I was lying on top of it taking a mental breakdown.

I opened it up and grabbed my camera from its case and put its strap around neck before slowly but surely making my way back to the entrance.

"Where are you going?" John asked as he caught up to me almost instantly; damn him and his long legs.

"I wanna look at the posters near the entrance. I'm not gonna run away I swear!" I snapped at him; this was all too claustrophobic I couldn't move an inch without people asking if I was okay or asking where I was going.

"I was just going to ask if you if you wanted to take my bed tonight, you need your sleep since you've been through a lot today and you're gone going to get it on the couch. I'm gonna stay at Veronica's." He said sweetly, it made my eyes water slightly; a lovely boy just gave up his bed to make sure i get a good nights sleep and I just nearly snapped his head off.

I stayed silent deciding I've done enough bitching and simply nodded my head.

"Come with me." I pleaded to him grabbing onto his arm before he had the chance to walk away from me.

He stayed silent too and nodded.

Stayed behind me making sure I didn't fall as I made my way back to the long stretch of corridor. I wasn't great on these things.

"So are you a photographer?" Johns asked as he watched me looking around intently for a good cluster of posters to take a picture of.

"Not professionally no."

"Are you a murderer that's going to kill my friends tonight as they sleep?" He asked surprisingly calmly.

"Because if you are. Take Rog first cause he can be a right bastard sometime." I burst out laughing at his comment; sometime I've not done for quite a while to be honest.

Just simply laugh without the worry of being sarcastic, without it being fake. Just a genuine, carefree laugh; it felt good.

"See I got you to smile." He said pointing at me.

"Right right you got me there. I'm not a Killer John. Just a runaway."

"What exactly are you running away from Margaret?"

"You'll find out soon."