#former middle school emo

[lunarw0rks]

simon is so colors by halsey

[dust-jacket-analysis]

We all know that Drew and Daisy are generally regarded as polar opposites. In almost everyway personality wise. They are so different in that regard, that it's hard to see past.

Daisy is outwardly sweet, and caring. She'd never bully anyone, and until you get to know her it seems like she couldn't hurt a fly. She's extroverted, and soft around the edges. She's well known for just generally being kind.

Drew is the complete opposite. He's cruel, constantly saying thing he knows will cut deep to others. He's quiet, always having a stoic expression on his face. Or his signature death glare when he's mad. He's known for being a bully, and putting others down constantly.

Their differences are even visually represented in their color palette. Daisy with bright, pastel colors. The white in her hair, and the blues of her outfit. White in the innocent looking ruffles in her clothes as as well, and her bright blue or gray eyes. Where as Drew has a much darker color scheme. Dark purple/magenta hair. A black hoodie, dark pants and dark shoes. Brown eyes.

Daisy looks the innocent, angelic child. Where Drew gives Angsty, post emo phase, teenager.

The ultimate good in the series versus the ultimate bad. Darkness versus light, good versus evil. Characters who are seemingly the anti-thesis of each other.

Still despite this, they actually do have quite a few parallels to each other.

For one, they're both fiercely protective and loyal to those they care about.

We see this in Drew during the Jomies flashback sequence. They're all standing in the hall and one of Jakes former bullies walks up and starts to try and lay into him. He outwardly declares Jake a loser. Makes it known he wasn't exactly well liked.

And instead of abandoning him, Drew sticks up for him. This kid who we can assume he's only known at most a couple of weeks. Yet Drew had already grown fond of Jake, attached. So despite learning that Jake was considered a loser in Middle school, he stands up for him. Despite probably knowing Jake is someone he would've picked on, he turns on Jakes bullies.

Daisy actually gets a similar-ish scene in her own flashback sequence.

In that sequence we see her walking up to a lonely and sad Jake, sitting on the steps of the school by himself. She returns his notebook she found trashed, declaring his bullies to be the truly lame ones, and calling him cool. Despite just meeting him, despite hardly knowing him.

We also see her fight to help him. Going to Sean, learning about what occurred with the Music Club. We see her fired up, almost angry. She tells Jake he has to fight for what he wants.

In these instances, both characters are proving their loyalty to Jake, and their protectiveness over him. As well as their willingness to help him in situations were he cannot seemingly help himself.

They also parallel each other in terms of homelife.

I've heard from people that Rosy has confirmed that Drew does not have the best homelife. But just in case this is un true, I always put this disclaimer in here, that it's only what I've heard. So take it with a grain of salt. Regardless it serves me well here, so in case it is true I'm adding it. Even if its not that boy reeks of daddy issues, so I don't feel bad making assumptions or inferences.

Daisy, in show, also has a turbulent homelife. Talking about how she feels overwhelmed and pressured by her moms to overachieve and be perfect in everything.

They're both also insecure. Really, really insecure. I think where it differs is how they're insecure, and how they cover that insecurity.

Daisy is insecure about being imperfect. She feels like she might never be enough, as we've just established. This, obviously as a result of her bad home life. And to mask this insecurity, she takes on more activates. Does more to prove to the world she is perfect, and enough. Even if it burns her out. Even if she can't ever truly prove it to herself. She also puts on a mask of confidence. We rarely see her break down, just when she's with Sean. but every other time we see her, she seems perfectly self assured. Even though we know that's not the case. Lastly, she tosses herself into fixing other peoples problems. We see her do this with Jake, despite her own struggles we know her to be going through.

Drew is different. Drew is insecure about his relationships with other people, also as a result of his home life. He is scared he'll be abandoned by people, and is worried that if he loses control of those he cares about they'll really leave. To mask this, he projects his issues onto other people, bullying them. We see this when he calls Hailey a control freak, even though we all know he's the true control freak. And we really see him start to lash out as the series progresses, as the possibility of Jake leaving him grows larger and larger in his mind. And we see it in the 'Drake up' fight. When he feels Jake slipping once and for all, he snaps. And it's not pretty. And his defense mechanism in the end of it all, is to call his closest friend a freak, and walk away.

Despite they're different coping, masking methods, they both have insecurities sprouting from their home life.

There's honestly probably more, but I can't really remember them right now. If I do, I'll probably make a separate post.

I do believe though, that by paralleling Daisy to someone like Drew, it benefits her character. And vice versa.

By paralleling a character to someone who is seemingly opposite to them, you can get really interesting interpersonal dynamics. As well as an exploration into, in Daisy's case, darker parts of your character. It also gives her depth as a result.

Really these two just plague my mind. I really would like to see some interactions between them. I think they'd make a great duo, with so much story telling potential. So many routes to take this dynamic.

[ghostradiodylan]

Who among the Quarry counselors has had an emo phase?

This got lost somehow and I couldn't find it until I got on the desktop site and it was like HEY THERE'S AN ASK IN YOUR INBOX, I'm so sorry Torch! But thank you for the ask!

Obviously Ryan. Look at him. He's still in it. He's wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a short-sleeved band shirt over it! He's got the eyeliner and everything! 😆 If they had kept this concept art design with the black converse high tops with the contrasting red laces, we wouldn't even need to have this conversation because it would be so obvious!

That right there is an emo boy. I actually have no idea what emo kids 10ish years younger than me were listening to, but based on my own experiences I'd put Ryan musically in the spot where emo, screamo, and post-hardcore intersect, so he probably liked stuff like Scary Kids Scaring Kids, The Used, Thursday, AFI, and some of the moodier Brand New albums (before they got canceled).

Miles says emo is not a phase and he is and will forever be emo (same), and while Dylan is not exactly or entirely Miles, I think he would agree. Not sure he would have adopted the outward style though, I think he was super nerdy when he was younger and wouldn't have wanted to draw attention to himself. But based on the handful of songs we get that Dylan is supposed to have chosen for the party, he probably listened to the more melodic and poppy (but still angst-riddled) side of emo, like Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, Bright Eyes, early Weezer, and Saves The Day (before they got canceled).

And, look, Abi's the other obvious choice, right? She's got that Hot Topic aesthetic. But wouldn't it be funny if the other former emo kid was actually Emma? I HC her as into pop and top 40 rock and broadway tunes now, but Imagine middle or early high school Emma listening to early Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance and having split cherry red and black hair in kind of a scene shag cut and heavily lined eyes. I can kinda see it. she probably liked 30 Seconds to Mars too (before, say it with me now, they got soft-canceled--why are men in this scene and music industry as a whole so terrible??)

Finally, Jacob might be having his first ever emo phase right now. Remember when "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me)" by Simple Plan became a meme? I feel like that's just Jacob during the game and post-canon. He's a sad boy. He could have a small emo phase, as a treat. It might be good for him.

Hang in there, big guy. 🖤🖤🖤

[mellowyellow236]

Dress Design!

Even though no one has asked, these are all of the processes that I went through before landing on the final design of the dress Yuri uses in the Manhwa AU. Designing ball gowns has been my hobby since I was in middle school (maybe earlier) so I really wanted to talk about it. Credits for the AU to @twstfanblog

This one was the first I did and my second favorite. You’ll notice that I stole the sleeves and used them for the final dress, I just couldn’t figure out how to do it a second time. I ended up deciding against this dress because the purple and blue looked too childish for the more mature personality she has as an adult in this AU, while Yuu was wearing red as far as I could tell and so I wanted to use a different color. The black I liked in theory, but I didn’t like how the pattern turned out and it looked far worse without it.

This was the second one I made, which got rejected mostly because I didn’t like the way the collar turned out and also because it looked too much like Briar Rose’s (Aurora’s) dress in pink and blue, and the black one looked like it was just one shade and I didn't like that. I also think that the blue one had a good concept with the tulle feeling over an underskirt, but in practice, it didn’t look very good in practice. At the very least, though, it helped me narrow down what color would look best in the final version. 

This was the second to last one that I did, which I rejected because it looked too much like emo snow white. I was trying to base it off of Victorian wedding dresses, but I guess my favorite old Disney movie snuck its way in there. There’s not much to say about this dress; It had many of the same themes as the first, but was just a hint more historically accurate. I did, however, like the pearls and I kept them in my final design, especially as I tend to pair the character with a lot of pearl motifs whenever I'm thinking of her.

And finally, my last dress design, and the one I went with! I chose this one because it was everything that I needed; Fancy enough for nobility but simple enough for a former Countess, pearls, a medium to dark shade that makes the character look mature, and those sleeves which I loved so much in the original design. I still made other versions of the dress because I was still hoping for black to somehow work and I liked how red looked, but in the end, they never stood a chance against the blue one to begin with.

That's it :) As always, leave a comment or ask if you have any questions or anything to add!

[thedeliverygod]

since I found Felix's specific pants from the Walkin on Water dance practice (holiday ver) the other day I decided to try and find the rest of boys' clothes and I was mostly successful as most of them also have clothes from Tripp NYC. So I decided to create a compilation post of all the links since I loved all their clothes in this vid as a former goth/emo kid in middle & high school. Plus I love that they're somewhat affordable [at least more so than the designer brands that members are ambassador's for] and most are specifically styled to be unisex!

I will say straight up I was unable to find IN's or anything similar :/

I'll go in age order & all prices are in USD from the time of posting.

Bang Chan's striped sweater [similar; not exact] from Hot Topic ($42)

Bang Chan's pants from Tripp NYC ($145)

Lee Know's sweater [exact but only available in gray instead of black] from LEMANDIK ($50)

Changbin's pants [I couldn't find an exact match but similar pants] from Tripp NYC ($138)

Hyunjin's kilt from Tripp NYC ($110)

Han's pants from Tripp NYC ($112)

Felix's striped shirt from Tripp NYC ($48.50)

Felix's pants from tripp NYC ($125.50)

[I believe Seungmin is wearing the same striped shirt as Felix under his black shirt]

Seungmin's pants from Tripp NYC ($130)

IN ????

[mywifeleftme]

364: Various Artists // Israfel

Israfel Various Artists 1997, Ape

A 1997 vinyl benefit compilation of mostly Middle American grindcore / powerviolence / emo acts, assembled in an edition of about 1000 by Bloomington-based DIY label Ape Records (active 1995 to 2002), in handmade sleeve with a recent release catalogue, a substantial zine, and a few priceless gag inserts (incl. YOUR HARDCORE SELL OUT DECODER RING). I’m not an aficionado of any of the genres Israfel covers by any means, but you’d have to be a real head to know most of these: in terms of notoriety, the Locust (who contribute a 47 second blast of lo-fi outrage) are basically Led Zeppelin compared to the rest of the acts, most of whom topped out with a couple of EPs and compilation appearances.

Of course, hearing music that would otherwise be basically lost to time is the appeal of taking a flyer on a comp like this. One of my favourite tracks is “Untitled” by Roanoke, VA’s the Weak Link Breaks, supposedly the first thing the band ever wrote (and, judging from their discography, nearly the last too). It begins with a very, very quiet spacy-Fugazi-style amble (the vocal harmonies couldn’t be more Ian and Guy) that explodes into a brief screamo-style D-beat section, and then some big heaving riffs that make me want to exaggeratedly lift and stomp my feet like a giant trying to keep his balance. I also dig Murfreesboro, TN’s Serotonin, an emo / post-hardcore act with a steely '80s shred band guitar tone who play like they want people in the pit to twirl around ecstatically instead of slam dancing. A lot of the other nasty yowling cat speedballs on Israfel don’t really catch my ear, but that’s okay—I’m weirdly proud of them 27 years after the fact for being themselves and getting out whatever they needed to get out through this violence.

The package’s tone is all over the place. The zine opens with a haunting description of the compilation’s beneficiaries, the family of a pair of little girls with spinal muscular atrophy (a common birth defect) whose condition worsened until they perished, leaving their parents distraught and financially ruined—and the 21-year-old compiler racked with guilt that he didn’t somehow do more to help. From there, it whips through his heterodox thoughts about the hardcore scene (despicably self-absorbed; unresponsive to requests from label operators); the state of emo (too abstract); the best way to bring about change (working within the capitalist system); rape (it’s bad; consent is black and white; can we stop litigating this in the scene?); calling the cops (fine to do); disrespecting the American flag (played out; tacky); and drinking/drug use (“when did self-destruction become rebellion?”). After he finishes up, each band (that got their artwork in on time anyway) gets a page to talk about themselves. This section is full of old school punk zine/leaflet treasures, with designs that mimic motel newspaper ads, postcards, messy handwritten perzines, and Xeroxed 7” grindcore sleeves.

It's funny reading his scornful words about pseudo-rebellious drunkards stumbling toward “the day when punk rock is shelved for an 8 hour workday, Budweiser, and television” and then finding his LinkedIn, where he describes himself as “driving omnichannel excellence” and as “whimsical (after coffee).” You wouldn’t believe it from the splenetic angst of the Israfel zine, but the guy seems like he turned out happy and normal, with a few kids and a successful career. I wonder how the 21-year-old would see the 48-year-old, if he’d call him a sell-out or feel relieved that things worked out; if the 48-year-old would pity his former self, or feel ashamed about losing his edge. More one-time zinesters and hardcore kids end up looking square from a distance than you’d think (I certainly do if you catch me during the workday), because you usually stop hearing about them when they drop out of the scene. For most, the quiet part of life is the larger portion by far. It’s your choice whether to embrace that, mourn it, or seek your own alternative. But if Israfel reminds us of nothing else, it’s the importance of having a good scream at least once in your life.

364/365

[taminoarticles]

— Tamino for Style Magazine Italia, June 2023 (x) (x)

Tamino returns to play in Italy: “The warmer the countries are, the warmer the audience"

The singer will perform at the Rocca Malatestiana in Cesena on July 4th and at the Spazio 211 in Turin on July 5th. "In Italy I always like to play," he says. But "in reality it scares me to meet too many people.” A true hero of introverts.

By Pier Andrea Canei June 15, 2023

The soundcheck is over, Alcatraz sold out, a thousand Milanese waiting to see the star of the evening: the Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino. He relaxes behind the scenes, drinks green (tea) and wears black (Armani): like a 26-year-old prince of darkness. He has gentle manners, and a voice that vibrates on a broad spectrum. From the dark depths (the school is the one that goes from Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel to Jeff Buckley and the alt-rock genre called “shoegaze”: emo tones, monochord guitars) to an angelic falsetto.

Soon, Tamino will go out there on stage and, without doing ballets or stepping on flowers, almost motionless except for when he holds his oud (a lute of the Arab tradition), he will attract attention. He is hieratic, with the charisma of a crusader of introverts, quiet people, and young romantic heroes; what allowed him to create a following that goes from [sic], (Colin Redwood [sic], former bassist of Radiohead, left Thom Yorke's group to follow him through studios and tours) up to the Arab world, from which it takes up sounds and instruments.

Tamino: Style's interview

Amir, the title of your first album and your middle name, means "prince" in Arabic. Were you raised as a little prince?

Well, I don't think so. Princes lead a very controlled life, lots of rules, discipline. I had a free childhood.

For the idea of calling you Tamino, like the young prince in Mozart's Magic Flute, we should thank your mother, Eva (de Pauw, anthropologist, hobby musician, passionate about cultures). What was it like growing up in Belgium?

Inspiring in many ways: lots of good art, music, art movements. From the Surrealism of René Magritte, to the music of Tom Barman's dEUS, a band that has opened many doors to the alternative scene. Then there are the negative sides in the social culture: in Belgium we tend not to value the potential of others... We are made like this, we like to see ourselves laying low, leveling ourselves up.

You realized this as soon as you finished compulsory school and left to study music in Holland.

It was an enlightening and difficult experience. From cool Antwerp designers to Amsterdam street style. Two hours by train and you land in another world. I wanted to shake off the provincial part of Belgium.

Habibi: I needed love

And your first hit song was born right in Amsterdam, in 2017: Habibi ... an Arabic and universal word of love.

You can say it to your loved one, to good friends, but also to a waiter: “Come here habibi, bring me a coffee”... Well, during the first days in Amsterdam I was depressed, very lonely, it was difficult to find human ties. I was looking for warmth, love: that piece came from there.

Of that vagueness that generates universality...

I think back to a title from the Talking Heads: Stop making sense. When you write lyrics for a song, you don't have to chase a precise meaning. Better ask yourself if your words convey the right feelings.

Typically Tamino: the yearning, the nostalgia. Songs like Indigo night: nocturnal, brooding, even melancholy. You recognise yourself in it?

I certainly tend to ruminate on things a lot. Too much...

An app to free yourself from the ego

And how do you free yourself from it?

Meditation helps. I also use a specific app, Waking Up: Beyond Meditation. Ten minutes a day is enough. It helps me to free myself from the ego, to feel myself a witness of thought, of consciousness. Simply necessary. More than diet or physical training.

Sahar, the title of the second and most recent album, means "at the crack of dawn."

For me it is already part of the past: the last words I sing are “before I step into darker days”...

That is: “Prima d'inoltrarmi in giorni più oscuri.”

I mean: before facing new torments, new struggles. What helps you grow is discomfort. That's the challenge. Never be afraid to step into the unknown.

Out of the comfort zone...

I like spending some time in New York. I stay out of my own comfort zone, it's not comfortable for me. And doing so inspires me.

Lone sailor

In the video for Sunflower, a duet with the singer Angèle, you have the air of a romantic hero. Do you want to act?

In that video I enjoyed interpreting, even without lines, this figure of the lonely sailor. This was an idea from the director. I've only done a little theater and at most a few sailing trips with friends.

Would you be a testimonial for a perfume?

Well, yes, under the right conditions... For example, a prestigious operation like the Bleu de Chanel campaign with Gaspard Ulliel, with that spot directed by Martin Scorsese.

A spot that stylises the clichés of a rock star life: glamorous places, flashes, meetings with crazy people...

In reality it scares me to meet too many people. I'm a very lonely guy. Even though I’m finding it easier and easier for me to make connections lately, I steer clear of glam dinners or events.

Then you spends the whole summer on the road

I have fun at festivals. My favourite is Into the Great Wide Open, on the island of Vlieland, Holland: 10,000 people, zero cars, music, love and kindness.

Your summer also includes two Italian stages.

I always like to play in Italy. The warmer the countries, the warmer the audience.

I live in Türkiye

Who knows in the Middle East, or in Africa.

We do the biggest lives in Turkey: crazy crowds. And Egypt is like coming home: you feel that for the people it is more than just a concert.

Your surname is famous in Egypt. Your grandfather Muharram Fouad was a musical star, your father started out as a performer.

It's like an Egyptian dynasty of music. A fun fact about me being a huge Lord of the Rings fan is that I've always felt like Aragorn, the legitimate heir to the Elven throne, who travels incognito. Nobody ever knows who he is. I felt like this growing up in Belgium. It was never talked about, nor was there much money, and that side of the family has only emerged now that I'm better known.

Who among the main names would you bring next to you at the festival of your dreams?

I don't even know if I would put myself among the top names... I'd like Anouar Brahem, Tunisian, master of the oud. And then something electronic, maybe the Aphex Twins. And I dream of working with Massive Attack.

Many festivals. But never a festive song?

I should write one first. But generally gloomy, tenebrous things come out to me.

Let's say you sing one happy song and save the world; which one do you choose?

I don't know if a happy song could save the world. Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side?

The height of happiness.A matter of feeling: a song can be sad in itself, but make you feel good. A glimmer of hope, an air of comfort. It can wrap you in emotions. Maybe you're sad, and that's okay: because you feel alive. A song full of life: well, for me it will always be a good song.

[runthepockets]

Most of my experiences with emo subculture (as young kid in the late 2000s - now) was seeing a bunch of white people with admittedly cool hair and nice shoes who were sad about society and me as a black dude being like "hey, me too! Lets hang out!" and then immediately getting treated like scum of the Earth cus those little cocksuckers were not only just sad about not being able to be ignorant little kids with no responsibility forever rather than, like, being mad about poverty or world hunger or anything, but also because my presence as a black dude shook them from their lame delusions that they had it worse than anyone else in the room at any given time. Even the few black emo kids I knew (I was best friends with an emo black girl in middle school, we watched anime together and I read her chibi yaoi comics cus I like seeing black girls happy and successful even when I don't fully understand / relate) were always seen as lower on the caste, just completely expendable, cus they were easy and acceptable targets in a crew full of what was otherwise cookie cutter carbon copies of white fragility.

So yeah when I say I hate emo subculture it's not cus I'm a wet blanket who hates gender expression or vulnerability or whatever, I understand that that aspect was important and formative for a lot of people, I just know for a fact it's all encompassing of white American Protestant circlejerk that I'm always on the receiving end of it. And I single them out over most other white people because these environments foster this kind of attitude. It's a very insular, consumerist, cliquey subculture that prioritizes perpetual victimhood over self advocation, and white people eat that shit up. Emo subculture is, by nature, nothing but a huge circlejerk over who has it harder and then getting scared of outsiders on sight, cus, ykno, white people and perpetual victimhood.

Also, most of the music just plain fucking sucks. There are a couple of emo bands I cape for, but the genre as a whole is not good enough to be caping this hard for and probably never will be. I don't understand the hype, it's all fully grown men just complaining about their ex girlfriends, getting gassed up over their Metal and Hardcore and Punk counterparts via being less "barbaric" cus the former group is made up of suburban college kids who whine instead of being pissed off? They made Pete Wentz straight his fucking afro to be more accessible to white teenagers, dude. Like what the fuck. Is this classist, racist culture that's integral to these outfits only ok because the racism and bigotry is more "passive" than other music subcultures? Cus the people enforcing it went to college and have nice families in nice white picket fence neighborhoods? Cus that's whack as shit.

[osamusbigtits]

when I go to a fall out boy concert and my former emo rpf middle school self comes creeping out

[librarycards]

✨💖Positivity chain! List 5 to 10 things that make you smile and explain why! Send to others who also make you smile✨💖

here are some things that made me smile during my mini tour weekish:

getting to sample a ton of delicious vegan food

hanging out with my friend, former creative writing prof, and Actual trans elder (he is over 60)

meeting @growtiredofpublicvulnerability in person

finding an amazing poet & music artist via an open mic i was featured at!

spending time with my two closest ppl in the whole fucking world, one of whom i haven't seen irl in years (@estuarry)

visiting more bookstores in a week's time than i ever have before, and enjoying their amazing selections

getting praised & asked amazing and insightful questions by people i love and respect as well as perfect strangers.

what a special weekish it's been. ahhhhh!!! emo pic and description below the cut

below pic is of me (middle, in the strawberry shortcake shirt), my best friend of 11+ years who survived catholic high school w me (left) (!!), and my qpp/bestie/lov/cripMad kin of almost 10 years <3333

[sweetbottletops]

A music leaning review of the series that Agu did a shout out to recently. Read here

Or check out horrible MTL behind the cut.

Manga “The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All” Review: A Modern and Nostalgic Story

The first volume was released on April 19, 2023, and the second volume was released on February 27, 2024. A manga by Sumiko Arai, ``The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All'' This work instantly became a hot topic when it was published on the author's X (Twitter), and when the book was released, it received the most notable manga awards and rankings in the Japanese manga world. This manga, which features real artists and songs, was reviewed by writer Shino Kokawa. It has also been announced that carefully selected songs from the playlist will be released on CD as a comic soundtrack on May 29, 2024, and on color vinyl on July 31. The official manga playlist is available here.

The Finest Youth Story

I was recommended by several acquaintances, saying, ``I think you'll definitely like it, so you should check it out,'' and I started reading it, and I was hooked, ``The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All.'' The manga, which went viral on author Sumiko Arai's social media and became a huge hit with over 400,000 copies sold after it was published as a book, has a number of great points, especially if you like Western rock music like the author. For those who spent their adolescence together, this work is truly emotional as it depicts their experiences and feelings one after another! That's one word. It's an exquisite coming-of-age story where you can project your past self and shake off the emo meter, and you can also reminisce about how you wish you had spent your high school days like this.

Aya, a high school girl, can't help but be curious about the "old guy" who works at a CD shop. However, when the true identity of the "brother" is actually Mitsuki, a classmate from high school, the story of the two's "love" begins to unfold. Aya, who is more of a gal, and Mitsuki, who is more of a down-to-earth character, have one thing in common: they love Western music, especially alternative rock. In this work, music plays a role in the relationship between the two, from Nirvana, where they met, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert they were planning to go to for the first time, to Radiohead, which Mitsuki sings to express her feelings to Aya. The main point is that it is used as an important tool to connect and deeply understand each other.

Aya and Mitsuki are modern-day high school students, but they seem to be particularly fond of 90s alternative music, and in the movie they mention Beck, Blur, Foo Fighters, Deftones, Guns N' Roses, etc. in their conversations and albums's jacket, which frequently appears on smartphone screens. The reason why they dig these artists may be due to the influence of Mitsuki's uncle (former band member), who works as a manager at a CD shop. From there to post-2000s artists like The Strokes, The Shins, Willow, and Turnstile, to more classic rock bands like Aerosmith and Black Sabbath, these girls freely traverse eras and find their favorites in the manner typical of the streaming generation. The two of them decided to share it.

Western Music Rock Listeners Who are a Minority in School and Society

By the way, the reason why overseas alternative rock has such a strong connection with Aya and Mitsuki is because there are very few friends around who can talk about Nirvana and Willow, and Western rock listeners have always been a minority in schools and society. There is no difference. I'm probably the same generation as Mitsuki's uncle, who was baptized as an alternative in the 1990s in my teens, and I've had exactly the same experiences as both of them.

Since I attended an all-girls school for middle school and high school, none of my classmates listened to US alternative or UK indie music, and after school, my daily routine was wandering around record shops in Shibuya by myself. As Aya monologues at the beginning of the film, saying, ``Music can only be listened to alone,'' I didn't feel particularly lonely, and like Aya, I was able to get along normally with friends from ``different genres'' at school. there was. Still, I had a lot of fun following bands that came to Japan with friends I met from outside of school at concerts, talking endlessly about albums over the phone, and going to events together, and we just liked the same music. There is no doubt that it was an irreplaceable experience for me to be able to understand others (and myself again), and to want to understand them even more.

Metaphor for Growth and Salvation

However, if you ask me, ``So, is ``The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All'' a coming-of-age story that only appeals to music and alternative fans? That's not the case at all. The music that connects Aya and Mitsuki is just a metaphor for growth and salvation for all teenagers who are in the midst of the vicissitudes of adolescence. This work repeatedly depicts things like ``not being able to match the rhythm of those around you'' and ``not being able to make friends if you're from a different genre,'' but the musical terms ``rhythm'' and ``genre'' are used here. However, it is a problem that everyone experiences at least once during their teenage years.

As I wrote earlier, "The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All'' is a story that allows you to project your past self and immerse yourself in a nostalgic mood as a 90's alternative real timer. At the same time, I feel that this work is an extremely modern story that could not have been born in our time. For example, Aya and Mitsuki's feelings of "interest" and "love" toward each other are portrayed in a very neutral manner. The two clumsy characters pass each other many times, but gender is hardly a consideration among the things they have to overcome. There is no doubt that they love each other and are important to each other, but the type of love is not specified, and the interpretation is left to the reader. In the first place, these women themselves probably do not define their feelings strictly.

What's also nice about this work is that both ``CD = physical'' and ``streaming'' are effectively used for music as a tool to mediate between two people. In the 1990s, when I was listening to alternative music in real time, physical music was the only option available. The main way I communicate with my friends is by lending and borrowing CDs and making original tapes to give them to them (although that was a lot of fun), and like Aya and Mitsuki, I immediately share songs that catch my attention with them. I feel so jealous of the immediacy of being able to exchange the songs I want to hear at any time with my smartphone. However, without the object of a CD, they would not have been able to meet or connect directly, and the reason why such old school communication is being put to good use is because ``The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All.'' This is why it is a modern and nostalgic story.

Exclusivity That Does Not Confine Itself Inside

And finally, one thing I especially like about the modernity of this work is that the relationship between the two, which deepens through alternative rock, becomes an exclusive one that is confined to just the two of them. The point is that it is not. Rock is a genre that sometimes strikes at naive sensibilities and excite the outlaw feelings of adolescence. Sometimes we want to indulge in the classic rebellion of ``Adults don't understand'' or create a structure of self versus society. You could even say that Nirvana and Radiohead in the '90s were music for outlaws who had no choice but to go through adolescence in the dark.

However, Aya and Mitsuki in the 2020s is not bound by that old-fashioned rock mentality. The music that flows between the two, who are searching for the ideal sense of distance in interpersonal relationships, actually helps them connect with others, expands their circle of friends, and creates a lively beat for those who don't "match the rhythm." It's refreshing to see it help people accept society.

The story has now changed from Aya and Mitsuki listening to their favorite music side by side, to Mitsuki discovering that she wants to make music, and Aya watching over and supporting her. There is a big difference between ``creating'' music and ``listening'' to it. The new relationship between the two is likely to continue to have its ups and downs, as there is a line in the movie that says, ``Even though we're supposed to be listening to the same song, it feels far away.'' Even so, I would like to watch over Aya and Mitsuki, who will be drawn together as fate would have it, along with the playlist of this story.

Written by 粉川しの

[izzy-b-hands]

hiiiiii holden ily. 🍓 🥑🦴🧩

Ella, thank u!!!

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

Already answered, but! I provide another Early Fanfic Fact abt myself: my friends and I in middle school and into early high school had a shared notebook (s) for MCR fanfiction. Just those cheap crappy thin ones from like, Wal-Mart, but we could have a bunch on hand as we filled each one up lol. We passed those around, everyone either adding onto in progress fics (with original author's permission), or just adding nice comments or little drawings (we were a bunch of goth/emo kids in the aughts, so. Not so skilled anime style portraits of various band members/anime characters, that one weird S that I think everyone learned how to do.)

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

Tbh, probably all of you guys, yourself very much included Ella lol. Depending on exactly how badly I've fucked up, we might need a variety of skills, variety of access to a variety of things. Some people coordinating hiding the body, others helping me figure out a disguise, some working on plane, train, etc tickets and finding places for me to hide. In return, I'll only mildly jeopardize my hiding places by sending u guys cool stuff that I think you'll like from wherever I am at the time jfadlskjadjal. This is the one situation where I'm aware actually having a lot of ppl involved would be a bad idea, but it's funnier for the bit to imagine this like some Ocean's/Kingsman level of silly shit after I accidentally kill someone (at least one person is dedicated to just keeping me from panicking abt that tbh lmao.)

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

There's a lot of them!

Only Lovers Left Alive (movie), Last Night at the Lobster (book), The Man Who Fell to Earth (book and the movie), are the first ones that come to mind (the second one partially bc I'm due for a reread of it, and since moving have no idea where my copy is.) There's a much larger full list tho of course, that includes music too which immediately adds several miles to said list lol.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Honestly? if it's touted as the 'most perfect' or 'only correct characterisation' or other similar 'this fic is the Only Fic Ever don't read anything else from this fandom' vibes.

I've found that fics like that aren't necessarily bad, some are lovely! But they don't tend to live up to all the hype every time, and I feel. Weird. Abt having that high of expectations vs being able to go in more neutral, or like, a fic that I've had one or two ppl recommend to me.

I always worry talking abt this, bc really, less popular vs more popular fics aren't a 'one is better than the other' situation, at least not to me. I've read some amazing, very popular fics, and I've read some that had barely twenty kudos that still live rent free in my head just as much as the former. It just kinda depends, but, that said, I still have a harder time going into the 'BNF' (hate that term) fics than others.

I have other things that'll make me back out of a fic, but this is one that's come up the most in the last couple of years in particular for me when fic-reading/searching for fic to read lol.

[sobredunia]

TELL ME ABOUT THE SUN AND MOON LESBIANS UZOMI AND LARE i must know the deep lore.

UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENE UNLOCKED

OKAY SO. These two are characters who have already gone through a lot. In fact, their main arcs ended WAY before Kenikari started, and what we see is the aftermath of that transformation

Uzomi was a former emo kid, socially sheltered from the world due to her parents' "unusual parenting"

(*cough* *cough* severe child neglect *cough* *cough*)

Not only that, but she was neglected at school as well. Absolutely nobody paid attention to her, not even her teachers. The one gifted kid in class who literally could not forget anything didn't even know her last name

Normally, this would create a child desperate for attention, right? No! Because Uzomi had one singular good thing in her life: her brother

He was much less neglected than her by their parents, although their attention stopped coming once Uzomi was born and they started leaving on business trips. He didn't get as ignored in class, but he had severe social anxiety that made it impossible for him to communicate with the other kids, so he eventually faded into the background of that as well

But at home they both devote their undivided attention to eachother

They had little signs and systems all around the house to communicate in ways only perceivable to shrimp, and when the two worked together it was like a perfect machine in motion. They were all they needed

So, while Uzomi did pull a stunt or two to get attention, it either didn't work at all or it made her brother dissapointed in her, and since she didn't want to make him sad she just stopped trying to stand out altogether. Her clothes consisted almost exclusively of blacks and whites, she developed a resting bitch face, she handled interactions coldly, and didn't talk to anyone to the point people thought she was straight up mute

And then someone approached her, genuinely trying to make friends

At first, she shut them off, obviously, but they kept on trying and trying and they ended up doing a group project together and they actually became friends!! :D Uzomi started to actually speak to people, she smiled more, she shared her interests in mechanics that she had only told her brother about, and she actually started to get mildly along with others

Unfortunately, that person wasn't in her life anymore, but she didn't stop being friendly. Once she started upper secondary school (a thing in japan, it goes from grades 10 to 14) she kept on being niceys with others and actually made friends by initiating the friendship herself!!

Now, Lare

Lare is also at the end of what is essentially a healing arc (too bad her mental health is gonna plunge in the killing game lmao)

Her parents were average, but school was hard. Everyone had a very strict sense of what was right, so to speak. If you stepped ever so slightly away from that, you were ostracised and bullied. She was very shy as a child, feeling the peer pressure from others to "fit in" for as long as she could remember. Albeit her cowardice was mocked, it wasn't that bad, mostly some jabs here and there. There was this one other student, however, whose life was made a living hell

Lare saw this every day, and one day worked up the courage to ask why they were so mean to this one person

"Because she's a freak" Was all they answered

And Lare knew that wasn't fair nor true, but didn't say anything

One day, Lare sneaked out at night to go to school. She was in the middle of something when she got caught by none other than the bullied student. She was scared, would she tell everybody about what she was doing? Would she drag her down to the mud so she wouldn't be alone? Would she try to get revenge in some way for witnessing the horrible things they did to her and not speaking up about it?

But she didn't

She just shrugged and moved on, completely ignoring Lare. Then, she noticed she was using the bathroom mirrors to clean up her messy hair, but had some problems, so the student offered to use her hairbrush and then she brushed Lare's hair and that was the moment she became very much gay. After a bit the two packed their things and parted ways without saying goodbye

The day after, Lare noticed that the student had gone off to a quiet corner of the school to have lunch so she wouldn't be bothered, so she decided to go sit by her side and have lunch with her. They started talking and they became friends

Of course, people saw how she was hanging out with the outcast, and started to ostracise Lare too. The student told her many times that it was best they stay separated while they weren't alone so she wouldn't start to get bullied either, but Lare refused to make her be more alone than she already was

She did get bullied a decent much, it never got to phisical stuff unlike the other student, but she knew they hated her and wanted her dead. Then, because of life stuff, Lare needed to change schools, and leave her friend behind. It was hard, but her friend promised that she'd convince her parents to change schools as well one day and they'd be friends again

That day has yet to come, but in that new school the people weren't as mean, and Lare became much more social and quickly befriended all the shy people because she knew what it was like to feel all alone, and then the social people. She became a natural at entering groups and flowing through conversation, and she didn't notice, but pretty much the entire school had labeled her as THE Popular Girl

So.

We have a girl who has been forgotten and dismissed for 90% of her life

And a girl who wants to make everyone feel welcome and appreciated because she's seen how hard it can be to have no one by your side

In conclusion: this is yuri

[mydoctor]

9 people you'd like to get to know better

Tagged by @catalogercas thanks!

3 Ships: roy/jamie, dean/cas, jim/spock

aka the current, the been here awhile, and the forever

First Ship Ever: so i was late into online fandom spaces due to a few things so my first like Ship Ship where i was aware of what ship even meant was nine/rose. But back in the day like my middle/high school CSI days i shipped greg/sara real bad(sorry grissom). Listen my affinity for a sad wet pathetic fictional man goes back Years greg sanders was The Blueprint

Last Song: Family of Six by Petey. I’m going to see Petey in two weeks and im so excited his stuff slaps if you’re a former emo kid like me ✌️

Last Movie: i watched pee wees big adventure last weekend with a friend and I hadn’t seen it since I was a literal child and wow that movie does not get less weird

Currently Reading: im in a fanfic hole so the last book I read was months ago but it was We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Berry and it absolutely slaps. Please read if you want to hear about teen girls in the 80s getting into the witchcraft to win field hockey

Currently Watching: I just finished the fall of the house of usher last night and unfortch it was slightly too yucky for me so I couldnt pay attention too much and missed a lot. It was good background for working on furbs though. Its probably good im just a big baby with fictional gore/horror

Adding Currently Playing: replaying Beautiful Katamari while I wait for baldurs gate 3 to come out for Xbox. Nothing like celebrating getting the newest gen console by playing a game on it from 2007 ✌️

Currently Consuming: just had a sandwich and salad from the mcalisters that just opened right near me 👍 i was hungry when i got it then when i got home everything seemed yucky but i ate it anyway(it was good) please clap

Currently Craving: attention

tagging @pixiestickers @lookforanewangle @captainshakespear @bishakespeares @cassiefisherdrake but no pressure!

[skyhawk-nation]

setsuna headcanons because i want to

she is a pansexual princess. in fact, she thinks everyone in class b is quite cute.

she has adhd, anxiety. and has panic attacks sometimes.

she likes dressing in alt fashion. why? because i feel like she would.

of course, her besties are the ones she worked with at the sports fest, which are reiko, itsuka, and komori, but she is also best friends with kamakiri and rin as well, having a small crush on the former.

she is also the pun master.

she really likes anime that actually don't feature dinosaurs, and her favorites as of now include evangelion, one punch man, and fairy tail.

on top of that, her favorite western shows that don't have reptiles are spongebob, euphoria, family guy, and zoey 101.

as one of the smartest in not just class b, but the whole school, she is fluent in japanese, english, and even some german as well. learning more languages.

her favorite music genres are alternative pop, dream pop, alternative hip-hop, and hyperpop, and she also has some emo bands on her playlist as well.

speaking of which, she has a soundcloud, where she uploads tracks there sometimes. she can play guitar, and she's pretty damn good at singing as well, but she's not excessively amazing, of course.

she has 4 other siblings, 3 girls and 1 boy, with the oldest being 30, and having a twin sister.

she studied abroad for a year and a half when she was in middle school, because she got expelled in japan for the rest of that school year for punching a student who was bullying her but came back in the second half of her second year, where she drastically changed her ways, because she went into rehab beforehand.

when she was in middle school, setsuna was far from the girl we know her as today. let me put it to you this way: when she got mad, boy did she get mad.

she was recommended to ua not because she got good grades, despite being a prick, but because not one, but two pros recommended her, and they went by the names of ryukyu and majestic. the former just happened to be setsu's favorite hero, so that made her change and become the fun-loving, spunky girl we know her as today.

she's the best actress out of all the girls and almost out of the whole class.

she's also tied with kendo as the best grades from a female student.

her mom formed a band with her husband when they were in middle school.

she has a twin sister, who goes to shiketsu

setsuna met togaru in middle school as well.

and that's all i have for now.

art by kogorooz on twitter

[tss-grimmverse]

Chapter 1: Blackthorn

enter through the alleyway past the invisible door and all the way down the escher staircase in the underworld it’s not the same as before

Six months later

Stetson was small for a university. “Intimate”, the brochure called it. Roman always assumed that Virgil, had it been up to him, would have preferred a sprawling campus where his dark, brooding, emo self could get comfortably lost in a sea of students. But Logan lived in DeLand, and Logan had been Virgil’s only option for staying hidden from his former faery master, Deceit.

So, after Deceit was dead and Virgil decided to finish his art degree after all, he’d come back to the one place he already knew. He was familiar with Stetson’s campus, on good terms with his teachers, and friendly with the local solitaries.

Roman understood that. He didn’t have to like it.

He cut the engine on his motorcycle and yanked off his helmet, flicking back sweat-damp hair. The campus seemed unusually empty; most students had probably gone home for spring break already. His bike was one of only five vehicles left in the University Hall parking lot.

Roman hung the helmet from the handlebars, stretched his arms, worked out the stiffness from his legs. Maybe biking all the way from Pennsylvania wasn't such a great idea. He told himself he'd ridden the bike so he could come and go on his own terms...but truthfully, he could have taken a bus just as easily. He’d brought the bike to show off, to possibly persuade Virgil to take a ride with him while he was here…

But he was getting ahead of himself, as usual.

Roman eyed Virgil’s dormitory in the deepening twilight, scrubbing a hand through his hair again.

Maybe I should find a motel room first. He fished his phone out and slung his backpack over his back. Just so he doesn't feel like he has to offer his space. Just so it's not awkward. 

He could use a walk after all that travel, anyway.

By the time he crossed the dark campus, he'd successfully booked a room. His finger then hovered over Virgil's number. A warning would be polite, especially when it came to Mr. Doesn't Like Surprises. Roman had initially come unannounced so Virgil couldn't talk him out of it, but Roman also didn't want to ruin the progress they'd made since Logan's and Patton's engagement party.

He scuffed his foot as he walked, thoughts swirling like gnats in the streetlights.

He wanted to believe earning that art degree was the only reason Virgil left Philly and returned to a state he admittedly hated, to the one middle-of-nowhere town where a certain former crush happened to live. Sure, Virgil transferring schools in his junior year would have been a needless headache. He’d elected to live in the dorms instead of moving back into Logan’s and Patton’s apartment. He called Roman nearly every week, keeping him updated, claiming he’d been too busy to see anyone except classmates and coworkers.

At the very least, Roman knew Virgil believed his own words. And if I'm not over Virgil, after all this time, he thought bitterly. What right do I have to complain if he’s not completely over Logan?

“Changeling,” a voice murmured in wet-sounding Faery.

Roman realized his wandering had carried him to the fountain at the center of Stetson’s campus, lit up against the growing darkness. A long-limbed naiad lounged on the edge, watching him. She wore black clothes and fishnets like an ordinary human, but Roman’s changeling eyes picked out her waterfall of dripping white hair, bluish skin, and solid black Fae eyes.

Virgil had never mentioned any solitaries around the Stetson fountain. Roman casually brought his backpack around, unzipped it, and curled a hand around his sword hilt.

“What do you want?” he asked.

The naiad arched back, letting her hair spill into the water, where it undulated in the current like pale snakes. “You won’t use that.” She gestured languidly at the bag.

Roman gripped the sword harder. “Maybe I would. You don’t know.”

“Your steel has spilled our blood, but in moons long past. I can smell the difference. You brandish it now for bluster.” She sat up and grinned, showing a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. “You do not frighten me.”

Fucking enigmatic solitaries. He hated the way they saw straight through any human lie, no matter how carefully constructed. What did it say about him, that she could tell he hadn’t had the stomach to hunt their kind for months? Roman reshouldered his bag and walked on, determined to ignore her.

“Beware pixie territory,” the naiad added as he passed.

Roman stopped but did not turn. “What?”

“Summer in the air. Death in the water.” She grinned again as he turned, eyes narrowed. “Watch your words.”

“What in the Arcadian hell are you talking about?” Roman snapped, fighting a chill.

 But the naiad slid into the fountain with an eerie lack of splash and lay underwater, ignoring him, and Roman knew he’d get no more from her. He scoffed and trudged toward the edge of campus.

Virgil maintained that the solitaries on Stetson’s campus generally liked humans—which, in faery terms, meant the pranksters were mostly harmless and the rest kept to themselves. Plus, solitaries didn’t normally pop out of the metaphorical woodwork and talk to Smile hunters, even lapsed ones.

“Summer in the air. Death in the water. Watch your words.”

She’d meant to warn him.

Pixie territory. The hair on his neck lifted. Could she mean Painter’s Pond?

He bit his lip. This sounded like a hunt.

He considered going back to Virgil’s dorm first…but Virgil wasn’t Smile, and Virgil didn’t know he was here yet. Roman didn’t want their first reunion in months marred by faery drama. No, he would investigate the park and take care of the problem liked the damned hunter he was supposed to be.

Roman walked the few blocks to Painter’s Pond, slowing as he approached, his heart heavy with memories. Logan used to bring Virgil and Roman out here with Nic, and after Patton entered the picture, it became the four of them. He remembered chasing the dog and the pixies, Virgil laughing from the sidelines—when they weren't at each other’s throats. He could almost hear Virgil's low, gravelly voice saying "idiot," could picture him shaking his head with that maddening half-smile. 

It occurred to him that Virgil might not necessarily be in his dorm; he could be at work, out prowling around downtown, or—Roman's heart skipped at the thought—right here on these familiar paths somewhere. Virgil's relationship with this park might be complicated, but surely he still visited his pixie friends from time to time.

Roman took a step onto the grass; his skin instantly prickled. The air felt…wrong, like the trembly hesitance he got before touching a staticky doorknob.

Oh, hell. That naiad did know something.

Roman had been a Smile hunter long enough to never ignore his gut. Faery magic was both insidious and nebulous; it wanted you to dismiss it as nothing, as imagination, as too much stress or not enough sleep. Arguably the most important lesson in faery hunting was learning to ignore that "reasonable" voice in your head.

The park looked empty, streetlamps spilling orange light in pools along the paths. But at the end of the park's low wall, one dark streetlight made a cradle of blackness, bordered by clusters of tiny, bone-white shrooms. A Court circle. Ambient streetlight glimmered off the white, white mushroom caps, especially when he looked out of the corner of his eye.

Roman stalked to the near end of the wall and ducked behind, letting his backpack slide off his shoulders. He opened the main flap and eased out his sword and scabbard, making as little noise as possible. He didn't draw it, yet—he didn't know what he was facing—but he did tie the scabbard to his belt loops.

He then drew in a careful breath and focused inward.

Roman’s old master, who only permitted his changelings to call him Sir, used to hang beaded curtains around his cave lair: intricate patterns picked out in thousands of minuscule beads, strings of fist-sized glass balls that bruised when one crashed into them at a run. Their clacking featured prominently in Roman’s nightmares; some of his earliest memories involved running and putting curtain after curtain between himself and his master’s cruel experiments. That Unseelie had fancied himself a scientist…if careful butchery and elaborate torture could be considered science. And Roman happened to develop the one power guaranteed to drive such a master to unhinged fury: luck.

Roman learned to slip through those beaded strings like a ghost, disturbing them as little as possible so they wouldn’t clack and betray his passage. He often wondered if that stealthy sidestep he’d cultivated led to him gaining the ability to touch something as ephemeral as possibility. Drawing on his power felt like running through Sir’s lair, each bead in each curtain representing an outcome. Every decision, every movement, even his thoughts parted the strands in different ways. The trick to manipulating luck, he discovered, was to find the beads you wanted while not disturbing the rest.

Know where you’re going.

Sidestep.

I need to know what is going on, he chanted silently.

Keep the rest quiet.

I need to see and to not be noticed by unfriendly eyes.

Pass through.

I need to know. 

The back of his neck tingled, hairs rising as the familiar warm sensation of possibility slid glassily over his skin.

“What are you doing here?” a voice chimed in his ear.

Roman startled and found himself face-to-face with a soot-skinned, flame-haired pixie, whose tiny eyes were round o’s of surprise. She landed primly on the hand he instinctively raised.

“Tourmaline?” he hissed. That was fast.

“I am not displeased to see you, Roman Princey,” she said. “But it has been some time.”

Roman hid a cringe. He knew she only called him Princey because Virgil did, but now that particular nickname reminded him a little too much of Johnny Prince.

“I got a weird warning from a weird naiad and came to investigate.” he said, gesturing at the mushrooms. “What’s with the Court ring? I thought DeLand was still unclaimed.”

Tourmaline’s face grew pinched. She had always been more polite and serious than Virgil’s favorites, Wren and Wrassey. Roman suspected that was why Logan preferred her company.

“I believe this is the work of a single Court Fae working alone, though I have not seen them. The ring grew several days ago, and of more concern, many of my clan have since gone missing.” Her chiming voice dropped to a soft echo of itself. “I cannot penetrate the mushroom barrier myself, but I suspect that is where my sisters are.”

Well, that didn’t sound good at all.

“Can I help?” Roman asked.

She cast him an appraising look, her gaze lingering on his sheathed sword. “Your appearance is auspiciously well-timed.”

“You know me,” he said with a wink.

“It so happens that my purpose in coming to the wall tonight was to seek the help of…ah.”

Her wings carried her over Roman’s head, and she buzzed hard enough for them to glow like a beacon. Roman followed the line of her gaze.

Oh, luck.

Logan Ursae, his straight-backed posture unmistakable even in the low light, crossed the grassy park and made a beeline for Tourmaline’s glowing body. Oddly, neither Patton nor Nicodemus were with him. The half-faery slowed as he noticed Roman crouched in the shadows.

“S’up, Nerdy Wolverine?” Roman shot him a jaunty salute.

Logan opened his mouth, shut it again, and sighed.

“In the interest of saving time, I will not ask the obvious question,” he said in his low, resonant voice. “Clearly your luck has carried you along as it usually does.”

“Nice to see you, too.” Roman rolled his eyes.

Just as well I hadn’t called Virgil yet.

Logan knelt, adjusting his glasses and peering over the wall. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked on his teeth.

“It’s still here?” he said to Tourmaline.

“You don’t sound surprised to see a Court ring in your stargazing park,” Roman commented.

“I have been monitoring it for several days now.” Logan scowled. “Normally, I would leave such things alone, as I try to stay clear of Court matters. But, if I have interpreted your message correctly”—he glanced at the hovering pixie— “Wren and Wrassey are now among your missing kin?”

Tourmaline nodded.

Roman’s heart sank; she’d meant “sisters” literally. “Does Virgil know? Those are his friends. Has he been here to see the ring?”

“I do not know.” Logan’s voice gave nothing away. “I have not seen him since he arrived in DeLand.”

Good, Roman’s mind supplied nastily, prompting a pang of guilt. “What are we gonna do?”

“I meant to attempt a crossing tonight,” Logan said. “Tourmaline, am I correct in assuming solitary Fae are still barred?

The pixie settled onto Logan’s shoulder and nodded.

“And any human would just walk from one side to the other like it wasn’t even there,” Roman added.

“You know how Court-laid rings work.” Logan shot Roman a contemplative look.

“May I remind you that I’m a Smile hunter, Pain in the Nexus Instrument?” Roman snarked, grinning when Logan pulled a confused face. “Earthside Courts love their little magical pockets where they can lure in unsuspecting humans, or do their dirty work unobserved.”

“Or merely live their lives, safe from humans and Arcadian kin alike,” Logan added with a frown.

Roman waved that off. “Whatever the reason, it never occurs to them that a barrier like this”—he gestured at the mushroom ring—“designed to be inaccessible to Fae and invisible to humans, might still be vulnerable to us. Most of the time, Smile changelings can slip right in.” He stood and drew his sword in one swift motion. “Which is what I’m gonna do right now.”

Blackthorn: boundaries