#god the drums sound so good. I just...I die.

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

The drum sound is unnecessarily delicious on The Crossing and part of why I've only listened to The Crossing and Big Country's EP Wonderland is because I'm afraid I won't find the same idiosyncratic musical delights on Big Country's next albums. @astoppedclock would you say this is true, or am I totally wrong and I should stop being a coward and continue on with Steeltown?

[hauntingblue]

LUFFY!!!!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN CONVERTED!!!! LUFFY BELIEVER FULL TIME!!!!! LET US WORSHIP THE SUN!!!!

[oh-no-its-bird]

Normal 'Izuna survives' au but he gets isekaid into canon founders era and doesn't notice for a week (everyone is convinced he's a ghost)

He literally lives in the same house as Madara but Madara acts like this is normal bc hes been hallucinating so this is clearly just another hallucination

He only realizes smthn is wrong with Tobirama sees him and immediatley goes "what the FUCK" and suddenly everyone is going "oh god you can see him too????"

Izuna is on a quest to convince people he's not a hallucination (it's a losing battle)

Realistically tho, in that era, wouldn't it be more believable that Izuna is a ghost / somehow came back to life than fucking dimension travel?

Cearly the ghost of Izuna just doesn't realize hes died (common enough in ghost lore)

Tobirama is the only one who believes Izuna bc he has the brain cells to think ab dimension travel / time and space jutsu

POV Madara starts to convince Izuna he's actually a ghost. Maybe... he did die? And he just doesn't remember?? Oh god is he a ghost??? Is he dead????

Tobirama is standing by watching this shit happen with a look of disgust on his face (I'm sorry Tobi the stupidity is genetic)

Madara really said gaslight gatekeep girlboss, starting with yourself first

@beatriceportinari :

hashirama is trying to be compassionate and get him to move on and izuna just. stays there (bc he's not a ghost)

hsrm so desolate abt it

tbrm he won't move on 😦 what if he's stuck forever 😦

SORRY IM JUST PICTURING LIKE HASHIRAMA AND MADARA DOING A FULL EXORCISM LIKE OUTFITS AND SAGE BURNING AND HITTING THE DRUMS AND ALL AS IZUNA STANDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM LIKE 🧍‍♂️

Tobirama is standing nearby watching this shit happen fully aware Izuna isn't dead but no one will listen to him so !!! Might as well watch the show

@fashionredalert :

Izuna standing there like

Tweak it slightly to turn it into a happy ending where they get to keep him bc he eventually has to go back home: there was no dimension travel, for some reason he survived or was revived (zetsu interference gone wrong?? Or right ig, for Izuna)

IT LOOKS LIKE HES WAITING PATIENTLY FOR IT TO WORK PLS

@mengfm :

He fr came back to life/survived but everyone's convinced he's a ghost and are trying to lay him back to rest

The idea of people trying to re bury him is so funny. Left and right he’s trying to avoid having funeral rights just said to him

@beatriceportinari :

PLS YESS

montage where they make him lay down in a coffin and he's just laying there fidgeting like "this feels weird is it working yet"

noooo asdfghjh he's letting them do it'

maybe i should be dead yeah' izuna!!!

@mengfm :

"No I saw you die"

"Ok convincing argument I guess" -Izuna, apparently

@fashionredalert :

I know there’s that trope about the Uchiha burning the bodies with funeral rites could you image…Bro having to run away from Madara trying to burn him alive to lay him to rest again

@mengfm :

IZUNA GET ON THE FUNERAL PYRE

ITS TIME TO BURN!!!

@fashionredalert :

Izuna running through the village with rope ties around his hands as he runs

ZUNA STOP SCREAMING AND LET THE FIRE DO ITS JOB

"IZUNA COME BACK!!"

THEY TRY TO DO IT BUT IZUNA GETS TWITCHY AS THE FLAMES DRAW CLOSER THEN JUMPS OFF THE PIRE

"NO I CHANGED MY MIND"

"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD"

Madara is chasing Izuna through the streets with a lit torch as Izuna screams about wanting to try a different way and Madara screams about how it'll work if he just STAYS STILL

@instant-bull :

(Hashirama looks out his window and asks Tobirama if he just saw Izuna running through the streets and Tobirama tells him to stop making shit up to get out of work)

@mengfm :

JSDNJNFSDJNSDFKSNDJF HASHIRAMA THIS WON'T SAVE YOU FROM THE PAPERWORK

That’s just a lack of sleep hallucination back to work!!!

@instant-bull :

Madara trying to burn his brother alive isn’t real!

"You'll get used to them" Tobirama waved his hand, the years of insomnia experience making him sound particularly knowledgable

@mengfm

Hashirama’s already moukoton scrambled brain is going to feel even more insane. This is not helping his sanity

@instant-bull

Hashirama starts to believe he sees into some alternate timeline or the past or whatever that shit was

HASHIRAMA ON HIS OWN INSANITY KICK BELIEVING HE CAN SEE INTO ALTERNATE TIMELINES

The ending is literally just Tobirama hitting everyone over the head with a rolled up newspaper and yelling that they're all stupid, going "HES alive. YOURE not hallucinating. and YOU can not see into other dimensions!"

Only sane person in Konoha

(Then in the epilogue he goes home and has his own regular hallucinations of his dead brothers)

Parts of todays AU are brought to u with the help of @instant-bull @mengfm @fashionredalert and @beatriceportinari, everyone say thank you to them

[earth2steve]

would love some eddie fluff! currentlydaydreaming about being his passenger princess

warnings: fluff! suggestive content. fem reader. 650 words

a/n: please talk to me/send requests anytime i am a chronic yapper!! thank u for reading <33

“you can get ink poisoning from this stuff, y’know. it like, seeps into your bloodstream. i could be dying.”

your arm, hanging out the passenger window of eddie’s van, is branded from wrist to elbow in sharpie doodles of spiders and dead flowers.

sparing you a glance from where his gaze is settled on the road ahead, eddie rolls his eyes so hard they might fall out of his head. “yeah, and sitting too close to the tv makes you blind. relax, sweetheart.” 

he’s got one hand on the wheel and the other on your thigh, kneading and prodding at your skin with ringed fingers. sometimes he'll drum along to a song on the radio or on loop in his head - today he just squeezes.

“i’m serious, you douchebag.”

“so am i. there’s no way thats gonna give you ink poisoning in one go. plus, you’re not allowed to die before me.”

you already have a retort bubbling beneath the surface, something about having poison control on speed dial, but sometimes its nicer just to let him talk. especially when he's so nice to look at. you can tell today was a hair wash day - it's dried all fluffy in the spring air and the sunlight turns it caramel.

“and i," he pauses, and with the kind of dramatic affectation that seems to come as natural to him as breathing, lifts one hand from the wheel; "am quickly building a habit of cheating death."

your heart swells in your chest. “lucky me."

he smiles at you, blinding, and you have to look away again in an instant. it’s so devastatingly handsome that you feel a little bit sick. 

“aww, honey - you're only saying that cause you just had my tongue down your throat.” 

he punctuates his words with another squeeze of your thigh. he’s right. your mouth still tastes of the dr pepper in his cupholder.

“stop talking shit if you wanna put it anywhere near me again.”

eddie pretends to lose control of the wheel then, voice pitching up two octaves as his steering hand slaps harshly at his chest. “near you? near you? you’re seriously understating my perversions here, sweetheart.”

the van barely wobbles, but your heart nearly falls out of your ass just the same.

"eddie!"

he drops the act a few seconds too late for your liking, smiling gentle and putting his hand back on the wheel. you roll your eyes and hide a smile into your lap.

“idiot. are we going out or staying in tonight?”

he thinks about it for not longer than a few seconds, sighing low and even. “whatever you like, angel. got a microwave lasagna with your pretty name all over it, if that'll sway your decision."

a little hum of satisfaction bubbles up from your chest and fills the air between you. eddie smiles at the sound like he’s just won an oscar. you want him to look at you like that forever.

“sure. just -uh, you’re sure you don’t mind being cooped up again? i know you haven't seen the guys in a while-”

eddie’s hand on your thigh squeezes tight around your flesh. the skull on his index finger brushes a lovely spot where the seam of your jeans usually indents.

“never. 's a crucial part of my mystique. 'where’s munson fucked off to?' nobody knows.”

he does a ridiculous little hand gesture as he speaks. it makes you want to pull over and kiss him silly. 

instead you settle for lifting his hand on your leg and biting the top of his hand affectionately. 

eddie sighs all dreamy like a disney princess, eyes flicking from the road momentarily to watch your teeth sink into his skin. 

“god you’re weird. i’m obsessed with you.”

your whole body lights up from within.

"good. take me home, and then we can circle back to those perversions."

"yes m'aam."

[misstycloud]

Not-so-serious ask but more offff how would stalker! Yan react to seeing reader singing very vulgar/sexual songs? They do the dance moves and say every.single.word. Absolutely no shame in them.

(Songs like: “slut me out”- NLE choppa) thank you for your time!💖

Oh, god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god!

The stalker covered their mouth with their hand to stop them from gasping out loud. They couldn’t have you hear them.

If you did, you’d notice them sitting in that tree you never liked right outside your window. It destroyed the view, you thought. Not that there was much to see anyway.

They had planned out their evening perfectly, go to your house, climb the tree as they’ve done so many times and snap a couple photos. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just a normal night for them, really. What they hadn’t expected was to see you through your living room window, singing a not-so censored song.

Inside your home, you repeated the lyrics of the song perfectly. You knew it like the back of your hand. “Ayy, rip off my shirt if you love me.” while singing, your body seems to have a mind of its own, throwing your arms out and stepping to the beat.

With shaky hands, your stalker lifted the camera up and pressed the button, a click emenating from it. The way you swayed your hips, and the way you told them to rip your shirt off. Oh, they could just die at the spot!

“(Y/n)~” they groaned your name and placed their palm over their heart; feeling how it vigoursly slammed against his ribs.

“Spit in my face when you fuck me.”

“I could never do that to you, my dear!” the stalker cried, “you’re too good for me, but if you want you can spit on me.” they said even though you had no way of hearing them.

“Play with my gooch, while you suck me~”

“Yes, I’d love to!”

“Eat the dick like you was ugly”

“Ah, I’m so terribly ugly compared to you!” a shamefully red blush dusted they’d cheeks because of your vulgar words, though there were not directed at them.

“Why you being so weird to me?”

The watcher froze up in the tree, together with all the green leaves as company. “I-I’m sorry, it’s just that…I like you so, so much…!”

You continued the song, unknowing of the dark shadow looming right outside your window, who had perfect sight of you and every single thing you did. You kept going, but they themselves appeared to be stuck on that line.

“I can’t help it! I like-no- love you! I love you. So, so, so, so much, you have no idea!”

It was the truth, they really couldn’t love anything or anyone as much as you. You were their entire world. Nothing mattered compared to you. You were their sun, the thing that brought colour and light to their otherwise bleak world.

That’s why they acted in a way most would consider…odd.

The things they acted upon wasn’t exactly what the majority of couples did. Normal couples don’t jot down their partner’s whole schedule. Normal couples don’t follow each other around constantly, without any concern for the hour. Normal couples don’t collect every single piece that had touched their partner’s body in any sort of way.

And normal couples definitely don’t print out photos of the other to cover their entire wall.

But it was all in the sake of love! Nothing harmful about that, surely it is all alright. Who could deny a young citizen with their entire life ahead of them a chance of loving something else other than their phone.

The stalker’s heart continued to thump loudly in their chest, making their ears drum at the feeling. They had taken all the pictures they needed for tonight and settled to listen. You had now gotten to the end of the song.

“Slut me out!”

Thump

“Slut me out!”

Thump

“Slut!-“

They leaned forward to get a better view of you since you’d began moving back in your home, making it somewhat harder to see you clearly.

“Slut!-“

They didn’t hear the crack sounding under them.

“Slut!-“

It was too late, disaster was inevitable.

“Me!-“

After another cracking noise, they glanced down to discover the branch breaking under their weight.

“-out!”

‘Crack!’

You jumped at the sound and quickly ran to turn off the music. You approached the windows and looked outside, but there was not a single would out there.

Only a tree with a broken branch.

[laundrybiscuits]

“Eddie,” Robin says, eyes wide in a way that means trouble. “Edward Munson, I sincerely hope your last will and testament is in order, because you are going to completely and totally die when I tell you who just got hired at Scoops Ahoy.”

Eddie groans. “Don’t tell me Tammy Thompson is giving up on her Nashville dreams.”

“No, I hate you, shut up forever, you’ll never guess.” Robin pauses, then in a dramatic whisper she’s definitely picked up from Eddie himself, says: “Steve Harrington.”

“Jesus. No shit?”

“Yeah, I have to train him. Oh my god it’s the worst. He’s so bad at, like, everything.”

She shoves at his shoulder until he moves out of the doorway of the trailer, and flings herself backwards onto his couch. “Like! Okay! I showed up to my shift thinking it would be a completely normal day in which I would be bored out of my skull distributing frozen dairy products to the flotsam and jetsam of Hawkins, and Ned’s like, hey Robin, you’re showing the new guy the ropes today. And then that freaking jackass has the freaking nerve to say—” Her voice drops a full register. “Uhh, nice to meet you, I’m Steve. Nice to meet you! God!”

Eddie cringes sympathetically, sucking air between his teeth. There’s a special kind of indignity to being so completely and utterly below the radar of Hawkins High royalty, even former bearers of the crown. It’s not as if Hawkins is a big town; Eddie’s pretty sure he could pick every single person in the graduating classes of ‘84 and ‘85 out of a crowd. He’ll probably be able to do it for ‘86 too, though he’s trying not to think about it too hard. So he’ll be a senior again (again) this fall, whatever. It’s fine. It’s whatever.

Once in a while, he wastes some time really, really wishing he’d gotten to know Robin earlier in the year. Maybe even last year. For undying friendship reasons, yeah, but also because with her in his corner, he might’ve actually passed enough of his classes to fucking graduate on his second fucking try.

But he’d only actually met her, like actually met her for real instead of passing her in the hall sometimes, when he’d let himself get suckered into rejoining band. It wasn’t like he could’ve brought his guitar in, but he let it slip to Miss Genovese that he could read music and keep time, and they needed someone to wallop the bass drum, and he figured a little experience fucking around with percussion might be the one thing he could salvage from the year. He’d just…been so goddamn tired of feeling stuck, spinning his wheels. Music was something he could actually handle; something he could actually get better at. Something he could master. He's man enough to admit he needed a win.

The actual songs were all stuffy Holst and Sousa numbers, but they’d had some fun technical bits he spent his evenings hammering out for a couple weeks. And then right around the point when he’d gotten good enough to get bored and think about quitting like last time, it had somehow wound up that shooting the shit with the gangly weirdo in the trumpet section was one of the best parts of his day. Unfortunately, by the time they’d gotten close enough for her to start bullying him about homework and shit, it had been way too late to save his chance at walking that ‘85 stage with assholes like Steve fucking Harrington.

Not that Harrington would’ve even noticed, apparently.

“Anyway, the one singular saving grace about the entire situation is that he looks even dumber in the sailor costume than I do, so at least that will make me feel better about my life until he gets fired for burning down the ice cream freezer or something like that. Eddie, I cannot stress this enough: he is so bad at this job.”

Eddie very tactfully does not bring up the litany of screw-ups that Robin’s admitted to over the last couple weeks since she started at Scoops; he just says, “Buckley, it sounds to me like you might be in need of some quality relaxation time this fine evening. I can offer you a nice cold beer, some herbal refreshment…or a fiendishly weird new song to learn with an intro riff that'll make you cry.”

Robin, inveterate nerd of his heart, sits up immediately and chirps, “New song, please!” just like he knew she would. She’s going to run off and elope with his acoustic one of these days, and he’s not even mad about it.

“Coming right up, m’lady,” says Eddie. “I promise this entire Harrington situation will be over before you know it, and neither of us will ever have to think about him again.”

(ETA: First chapter of this fic has been edited/expanded and posted on AO3)

[that-one-enby-ranger]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROGER TAYLOR

It is Roger Meddows Taylor's birthday today so of course I have to make it all of yours problems and yap about it.

We've gotta start off with how talented this man is. He is the KING of drummers in my eyes and will always be. Watched a full concert today to celebrate, and I was just focusing on how fast he could move, and he wasnt always looking at the drums. And his little solo in the Montreal concert and I was staring at him and oh my gosh he can move fast. He looked tired afterwards. And his voice is amazing in its own unique way. I love it. I love listening to live songs and looking out for his baking vocals. I died everytime. My favourite song to hear live is Crazy Little Thing Called Love just because of Roger's rEaDy FreDdIe 🤠. I die every single time I hear and go insane you don't even know. His backing vocals are just *mwah* CHEF'S kiss 🤌.

And his high pitched screaming in In the Lap of the Gods is amazing. Theres a video of Roger Taylor blessing your ears for an hour and a half and it's just him screaming in that song and it really does bless your ears.

Plus he's got solo albums. And unless I'm horribly wrong, he has the most solo albums out of the entire band. I don't have a favourite album but a couple of my fav songs are The Key, Man on Fire and Strange Frontier.

He's written lots of hits and great songs including Radio Gaga, A Kind of Magic, One Vision, These are the Days of Our Lives, The Invisible Man and of course, I'm in Love With My Car.

Then there's the underrated songs that I love like Drowse, Action This Day, Ride the Wild Wind and others that I forgot and I cant be bothered to look up.

He also studied dentistry in uni. I don't know if he would have actually ended up being a dentist if he hadn't joined. But just think if he did.

THIS MAN RIGHT HERE COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR DENTIST SHOVING HIS HANDS IN YOUR MOUTH.

I just watched a video while writing this called the genius of Roger Taylor and they talked about how good he is on drums and used drum talk that even though I play drums, I haven't been playing long enough to understand, so they go into more depth on how talented he is on the drums. Its called The Genius Of Roger Taylor by Drumeo.

And you've gotta talk about his heart warming lyrics.

"With my hand on my grease gun,

Ooooo it's like a disease son."

Magical.

And what makes that even better is that sometimes during concert he would mix the lyrics around, whether on accident or purpose, I don't know, but he would say "with YOUR hand on MY grease gun." Life changing.

But seriously you wanna know some good lyrics listen to the whole of These Are The Days of Our Lives. And then try not to cry.

Moving on from talent, we gotta talk about some more amazing things about him.

He's a funny little boy. Watch some clips of him and you'll see what I mean. I don't care if you don't agree with me, I know he's a funny little boy.

"He threw my best fucking pair of maracas. Great sounding maracas, took me HOURS to steal them, and he just..." I can't write the next part without it seeming like it's a roleplay because it's a motion he makes of throwing stuff away in the air.

Anyways, it was his idea to dress up in drag for the I Want to Break Free video and that was one of his best ideas ever. Rogerina looked amazing.

What a goddess. And when I Want to Break Free got canceled in America, he would help stand up for the video and wouldnt feel ashamed that they did it and said they had a great time and it was fun.

And somewhat similarly, but more importantly, after Freddie died, and the press were being homophobic perverts and saying stuff like Freddie had it coming, or he lived a promiscuous life style, Roger (and Brian) would go on TV and stand up for Freddie and would be like "thats not true at all, you fucking pricks." That's not what they actually said. And he would then go on about how the press were massive dicks to Freddie while trying to get into his private life especially towards the end.

Hes adorable. Sweetie. My love.

"I'd like to make it.. naked 😏, and raw."

"1 and 3/7ths sugars please." "No one and 3/7ths 😠"

"I've just written this new one, WHICH IM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT"

"ITS PERFECT"

Just some quotes there.

Also, APPARENTLY, my sources are shit, I've only heard this once, has not been backed up, but I'm including it anyways, but apparently when Roger wasn't allowed to have Stone lions out the front of his house, he thought outside the box and put up hundreds of glow and the dark gnomes.

He also apparently had to legally fight his neighbour to keep his giant statue of Freddie Mercury he had in his backyard because the neighbour APPARENTLY thought that it was "rUiNinG tHe laNdScApe"

He kissed Brian when he was drunk.

He was called sex on legs.

Grew a beard because people kept mistaking him as a girl.

His eyes.

"There was lots of sex and drugs. Actually there wasn't that much sex and ... Well there wasn't much drugs"

There's also some lovely sad stories with him. Mainly the 300 yards and I don't feel like crying again so I'm not gonna write it out.

I'm gonna stop this here because my finger feels weird from having a plaster on it for three days and I wanna focus on more Roger videos that I've been watching in the background for about an hour now. I'm just gonna say he is shemxy.

And then you've got this:

Love him. Appreciate him. I'm gonna marry him one day, mark my words.

There is a lot more on him. This is all I've got. For now.

[showtoonzfan]

SPOILERS for Across the Spiderverse, ganna rant about Gwen’s character and the unnecessary hate she gets. 💀

After finally seeing Spiderverse, yeah…I don’t trust Gwen haters. Like holy shit, I have seen SO many people get on her ass. And I get it. She lied to Miles, she let him down, she screwed up. I think what just ticks me off is that people today just love making everything so fucking black and white. This film isn’t one note, it’s complex. You feel for BOTH sides, not just Miles. I never thought some people would need to have it spelled out but….Miles wasn’t the only character going through something. Gwen does too, and this film explores that, like it legit makes me wonder if people just…turned their brains off whenever the film focused on her, which was legit most of the first half.

Not only was she still carrying the weight of her friend’s death while also feeling guilt of leaving him, but her own father is a cop who is out to get spider woman, believing that she is a criminal who let Peter die. It isn’t easy on Gwen, the opening scene of her trying to get lost in playing the drums and shutting down her band mates shows that she wants to avoid her feelings. Miles was the ONLY friend she had, she didn’t make any other close friends other than Peter. She felt alone, she felt trapped, and once her identity was revealed to her father, the moment he tries to arrest her is her breaking point, it’s why she joined Miguel and the others. She had nowhere to go, she felt like she couldn’t go back and was utterly alone until the spider crew accepted her.

When it comes to Gwen and some of the other characters, some of y’all need to see their perspective. They all lost someone they loved, someone they cared about, and Miguel comes to them and tells them that their trauma happened for a reason. It made them stronger, it made them move forward and created who they are today. They all felt alone at one point, only to realize that they weren’t. They also know that you can’t save everyone, and wether Miguel’s point of view is morally corrupt or not, everyone felt they were doing what was right.

In Gwen’s case, she WANTED to see Miles, and she DID see Miles. She wanted to hang out with him so badly but couldn’t, and you eventually see her guilt for not telling Miles the full story, how he wasn’t supposed to be here, how his dad is going to die and he can’t do anything about it. She felt like she had no choice, Jessica was strict on her (for good reason) and Gwen knew she had a job to do, she like everyone else wanted to save the multiverse and protect everyone, even if it meant breaking Miles, and his dad’s death. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m excusing Gwen, but I find it so funny that people beg for complex and flawed characters, and then when we actually get them, they’re targeted for making mistakes. Cause yeah, god forbid a teenage girl feels alone, doesn’t know what to do, and makes a mistake.

And what’s even more insulting is that Gwen actually REALIZED her mistake. She knows she fucked up, she KNOWS she hurt Miles and let him down, her line of “we’re supposed to be the good guys”- is important because that’s her realizing just how far Miguel took it to a bad level. We all see how utterly broken she is when Miles tells her he should have never come, and broke her web off. In the end, she switches sides and decides to GO AFTER Miles. That’s her making a choice, realizing she was wrong and doing the right thing. Gwen is still a good person guys. She cares for Miles, she’s not a snake or malicious. She’s a troubled teen who wants to be a hero, but was split between two sides, along with the weight on her back regarding her father and her friend. This movie begs the question of saving one person or making sacrifices to safe others. You understand BOTH sides even if Miguel went about it the wrong way.

Speaking of Miguel, the last thing I want to talk about is the obvious sexism going on, cause I feel like that mostly stems from why so many people hate Gwen, cause MAN do people lose brain cells when they’re horny. Like…let me get this straight, y’all get on Gwen, a teenage girl btw….call her a bitch, a snake who doesn’t deserve Miles and a horrible person, but praise a grown man who ridiculed, chased down, clawed, and body slammed a 15 year old kid, calling him a mistake over and over again all because he wanted to save his father???? Yeah okay, if you’re someone who doesn’t like Gwen, fine…but if you hate on her and praise Miguel, a dude who needs therapy and beefed with a 15 year old……then you’re just sexist…I don’t know what to tell you. Same goes for Jessica Drew. Like so many people are quick to say Miguel is complex and that they get where he’s coming from, but when it’s Gwen or Jessica?? They’re just bitches apparently. 🫤

So yeah, regardless of if you like her character or not, Gwen deserves better fr. I for one can’t wait for the next film and to see her mend her relationship with Miles, because they do genuinely have a good relationship, they just need to fix it. That’s all I wanted to say…oh, and one more thing, the way the animators on the movie got treated was NOT okay and the film better be delayed. No way in hell is it coming out next year. Do better Sony/Phil Lord ect, treat your animators right. Kay bye.

[mm-markus]

How ugly you've become.

CW: mentions of prosthetic body part, threat of violence, mentions of the global cost of living crisis (very brief)

It had been a quiet day at the shop, with customers few and far between. Civilian watched as evening crept upon the city, and the streetlamp in front of the tech store lit up. Light rumbling could be heard from the sky, accompanied by the heavy drumming, almost rhythmically, on the poorly insulated windows. 

The shop was supposed to be open all day around with moderate traffic, but at night it decreased drastically to one, or occasionally two, poor fools who had spilled stale coffee on the keyboard of their computer, or used the wrong browser to buy a few grams of weed. The night shift was usually a blessing. Nobody really liked the city streets anymore. Especially not at night.

Civilian had spent most of the earlier hours of their shift behind the counter, but by midnight they had gotten restless. By quarter to one, they had given up entirely, deciding on rearranging a shelf in the back instead. Nobody came to the store by this hour. Besides, if some idiot got desperate enough they’d hear them banging on the front door anyway. 

Civilian stepped out from behind the benchtop, heading for the door, to officially lock up for the night after a long evening of doing, and selling, absolutely nothing. Civilian yanked on the handle a couple of times for good measure after all four locks had been turned. Afterall, one could never be safe enough in this goddamn city. With the price of rent and the cost of living these days, people would sooner die of billionaires hoarding their fortune than villains and petty criminals even so much as glancing in their general direction.

They turned from the door, stumbling, as the mechanic parts of their leg whirled where it attached at their knee. The electric shocks running up their thigh nearly sent them sprawling on the floor.

“Fucking great,” they bit out through gritted teeth, their muscles cramping and seizing with every movement. 

The distance between the door and the desk back in the workshop only seemed to grow with every horrid inch, the mechanic prestetic protesting with every step and at the slightest of weight placed on to it.

“C’mon, we’re almost there,” Civilian grunted as they passed the counter. “You got this. You got this, you fuckin’ piece of shit junk!”

As soon as they hit the power button the tense muscles in his leg unlocked, shaking with the aftershocks of electricity. Civilian let out a sigh of relief, slumping in the, quite unfortunate looking and worn, wheely chair. They closed their eyes, letting the cramping of his leg pass. No shelf organising tonight, they thought. 

“I’ll  fix this stupid scrap of a leg when it stops twitching,” they sighed, heaving with the effort to relax their body. “I just need a moment.”

Their eyelids grew heavy as the unruly twitching of their left thigh calmed down. Sleeping on the job was never appreciated, but they figured that a little nap couldn’t possibly hurt if they’d already locked up for the night.

………..

Civilian startled awake at the sound of a chiming bell. They looked over at the cheap yellow digital clock blinking on their desk. 00:43 AM. Civilian rubbed their face, sighing. They hadn’t been out for long, half an hour at best. Thank god they locked up the shop…

The memory of the noise that had awoken them from their slumber smacked their brain out of its sleep-addled state. They’d locked the doors, hadn’t they? 

With the click of the button, their prosthetic leg whirled, less than soundlessly, back to life. Fixing whatever that caused the earlier tantrum could wait. If Civilian had locked the front door, then how the fuck did it chime?

Grabbing a turnscrew, Civilian stood slowly from the squeaking wheely chair. They inched towards the open doorway between the workshop and the counter. 

“S-Sorry pal, we’re closed for tonight,” they cursed themselves internally for the stutter. “You can come back tomorrow and I’ll fix whatever you need fixed, on the house,” Civilian said as they made their way through the narrow doorway into the front of the shop. And— Empty. 

“That won’t be necessary,” the chill of the distorted voice matched the cold steel pressing into the back of Civilian’s skull. As if on command, they raised their hands. “Drop the screwdriver, and I won’t break your arm.”

[just-a-creep-babe]

Grand Opening

(Jeff the Killer x Red) (OC)

Commissioned by @falling-electricxangel -- tysm, I hope you enjoy! And happy birthday to that special someone!! 😉💝💌✨

Masterlist: x

Requests are closed but commissions are open!

Rain patters down the mansion’s large double-arched windows

It’s dark and gloomy outside, as it has been for the past couple of days now, with no signs of it slowing down or stopping anytime soon

For the first few days, the rain had been pleasant; it was calm and peaceful, and the constant drumming of water against the roof made for some nice ambient sounds

But it was starting to get old, and at this point, you’re craving some kind of action

In an attempt to distract yourself, you hum softly as you wander through the vacant halls

Surely, you think, there must be some kind of mischief you can stir up~

Without necessarily meaning to, your aimless wandering brings you right down to your boyfriend's room

Door open just a crack, you push it all the way open to reveal Jeff hunched over his monitor, too engrossed in some first-person shooter to notice you

You roll your eyes with a smile

Leaning against the doorframe, you wonder how long it’ll take him to realize he’s being watched

You idly count the seconds ticking by, watching as he unloads a cartridge into another player, and you have to hold back a laugh at the obscenities he hisses in his concentration

He manages to kill a few enemies, but then another player sneaks up on him and unleashes an onslaught of bullets when he least expects it

The screen turns red and he panics, button-mashing like his life depends on it

But even despite his frantic efforts, it doesn’t take long for his health to drop to zero, and he’s quickly met with the dreaded Game Over screen

"Fuck! Fucking shit! I'm gonna cut your fucking guts open and piss in them, you little twerp!"

He throws his controller down and spins around in his chair, only to finally realize he's not as alone as he once thought

You can't help it any longer; you burst out laughing

"Oh my god—you're such a nerd!"

You laugh so hard that tears form in your eyes, and you have to double over and clutch your stomach to stop it from cramping

"Tch," Jeff clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Laugh all you want, that guy was hacking"

His comment only makes you laugh even harder

By the time you’ve gathered yourself, you realize Jeff has his arms folded over his chest and he doesn't look nearly as amused as you are

"I'm glad you're so entertained watching me die," he huffs sarcastically

"Aw, c'mon,” you coo playfully as you approach him, "don't be upset. You'll get 'em next time"

It’s a half-sarcastic, half-genuine comment that leaves him just vulnerable enough to let you sit on his lap

When you run your fingers through his hair, he grunts, and he seems to relax into your touch

"You're lucky I like you," he mutters, "And you're lucky I'm such a good boyfriend, to top it all off, too"

"Aw yeah?" you tease, nails scratching at his scalp, "I'm that lucky?"

"Mmh, that's right,” an unexpected smirk finds its way to the scars in his cheeks as he hums, “You're damn fuckin' lucky, because I'm the best thing you'll ever be able to lay your hands on. Ever"

You snort

"Oh yeah, you think so? You think you're that good?"

He hums again

"Yep. You wanna know how I know I'm that good?"

You arch your brow

Even though it somehow feels like he’s about to trick you into something, you still take the bait and ask

"How?"

"Because I know just what you like and just what you need"

It's your turn to huff sarcastically this time

"That so?"

"Yeah, that's right, sweets. I know you're just about bored out of your mind right now, and I know you need to get out of the mansion after being cooped up for so long. Isn't that right?"

Your ears perk up, suddenly liking where this might be headed

"And," Jeff continues, "being the best boyfriend I am—the best boyfriend ever, might I add—I've decided; I'm taking you to the aquarium today"

"What?! Really!?"

With a smug, self-satisfied grin, Jeff hums

"Mhm, that's right. There's a new one opening in a few weeks not too far from here, and I've blocked out my whole schedule to take you there today. Aren't I just the greatest?~"

"Wait—what? Today? Didn’t you just say it’s only opening in a few weeks?”

Jeff snorts, rolling his eyes

"What? You're telling me you're too chicken shit to break in a little early for our own personal, private grand opening?"

He flashes a dangerous sharp-toothed smile, one you've come to grow so fond of over time, and you find yourself returning a mischievous grin in response

“Oh, I’m so in"

The trees provide decent cover from the rain as you trek through it, and once in the city, you huddle with Jeff beneath an oversized umbrella to avoid getting drenched

There aren't many people milling about in this kind of weather, but the umbrella also helps conceal your identities—just in case someone might recognize you

It isn't long before you end up standing in front of a large vacant building on the outskirts of the downtown neighborhood

The building clearly isn't new, but it's been renovated and expanded to fit its new role, and it gives the whole place a very quaint, rustic kind of charm

You hum appreciatively as the two of you make your way up the front stairs

You act natural, just like you belong, when you check the front door

And when it's, inevitably, locked, you discreetly creep around to the back of the building

The emergency door is also locked, but neither of you lose hope as you spot a window hatch with an old-fashioned locking mechanism

Jeff presses his shoulder against it, testing the lock, and when he realizes he could break through it without shattering the glass, he pushes against it

"Wait—" you stop him before he can force it open, "what if it's alarmed?"

Jeff pauses for a moment to consider his options

But then he shrugs, pushes against it, and rams his shoulder into it

The lock jostles, wood creaking uncomfortably, and with another hard push, the mechanism gives way and the window pops open with a thunk!

Both you and Jeff look at each other

A tense beat of silence passes as you strain your hearing for any kind of alarm system

But when you hear nothing except rain pitter-pattering onto wood and concrete, Jeff gives another shrug

"Oh well, we'll just make a run for it if we hear anyone coming"

With that being said, he climbs through the opening, then reaches back to extend a hand

"How romantic," you tease

As soon as you're in the building, excitement starts bubbling in your veins

"What do you think we should see first? Think they've gotten all the fish in yet?"

"They fucken' better. C'mon—" without letting go of your hand, he starts leading you deeper into the building, "I wanna see if they've got piranhas"

The space you came in through seems to be some kind of employee access

There's a door to the left, a breakroom to the right, and then a long corridor up ahead

Jeff leads you through the corridor without hesitation

And even though it's dark inside the building, you can still see relatively easily, especially with the emergency lights scattered around the place

You walk by some open storage rooms, and with a quick glance inside, you spot various tank-cleaning equipment and different decorations like rocks and plants

The hallway turns, and as you follow along its path, that's when the smell hits you

You gag, pressing the sleeve of your oversized hoody to block your mouth and nose

"The fuck is that?" you cough

Living in the mansion with the kinds of people that cohabit the place, you've grown quite accustomed to foul odors—but this, this is different

Even through your clothes, the smell seems to seep through, and no matter how you try to breathe, it's like you just can't avoid it

Jeff sniffs the air and grimaces

He spots a room off to the side that's sealed off with a thicker, heavier-looking door, and he nudges his head toward it

You both approach it and, surely enough, the smell grows even worse

Jeff, however, doesn't even hesitate to turn the handle and push the door wide open

As soon as he does, the cause of the smell becomes obvious

Dozens of freezers line the interior of the room, each and every one of them filled with dead fish and visceral mush behind their frost-covered windows

There's a large sink off to the corner, which is still stained red with fish guts, and even despite the various cleaning products littering the room, it still reeks

"Oh my god, that's fucking horrible. Close the door, I don't think there are any piranhas in there"

Jeff snickers at your reaction

"Of all the things you've seen and smelled in your life—fish guts are where you draw the line?"

"There’s enough nasty shit at the mansion as is—I'd rather not have to deal with this sorta thing outside of it too!" you retort with a hiss

It almost looks like he’s about to tease you further, but with a chuckle, he shuts the door close with a firm click

You exhale in relief

“Christ, that was horrible”

Eager to put some distance between the stench and yourself, you continue through the corridor until it leads to a set of wide double doors

Jeff pushes it open, and it gives way to the main room of the establishment

And it’s absolutely massive

A reception area with a wide counter stands at the front of the room to greet guests

Posters and decorations are half strung up around the place, the other half still littering the floor and waiting to be put up

Even the ceilings are high, with banners and plastic fish hanging down to give the impression of being submerged underwater

But what immediately catches your attention is the entrance to the exhibit itself

Neither of you say anything, but you’re thinking the same thing—last person to make it there loses

You both dash through the room as fast as you can

The distance isn't all that far, and you both took off around the same time, so there’s no clear winner

But you still rub it in his face that you were faster—because of course you do—and he still argues that he was faster—because of course he does

Your bickering is only cut short when you notice what kind of room you're in

"Woah"

It's only about one-third of the size of the main room, but it's infinitely more impressive

Because instead of walls at the back, there are dozens of massive floor-to-ceiling tanks, each and every one of them filled with countless different species of fish

The tanks have faint lights in them, which almost seem to make them glow, and the way the water refracts the light casts waves against the walls themselves

Combined with the sounds of the rain still pattering against the building, the whole thing makes you feel like you're in one of those dreams you used to have as a kid

It’s almost surreal

You walk to the center of the room and spin around to see every tank at once

And it feels like you're floating, like you're underwater but you're still breathing

Seeing the exhibit without a crowd only makes it all the dreamier

And since they're not constantly getting stimulated by a swarm of guests, the fish seem perfectly at ease

They swim freely near the glass, with none of them hiding or shying away from you

It's one of the coolest things you've seen in a long, long time

You're so absorbed in taking it all in that you don't even notice Jeff isn't paying the exhibit too much mind

Because the only thing he's looking at is you

You rush up to one of the tanks to get a better look at some of the species

A school of colorful fish swims aimlessly among some dark green aquatic plant

The light from within the tank bounces off their scales, and they almost seem to glitter like gemstones in the dark blue water

When you turn your head, you find a long, almost serpent-like fish weaving through the water in the next tank over, and you don't even hesitate to race up toward it next

You don't know if you're merely imagining it, but as you watch it, its eyes almost seem to follow your movement, like it's equally intrigued by you as you are by it

"Hey look," Jeff's voice suddenly snaps your attention back to the room, "this one kind of looks like you"

You turn to see what he's talking about

He's standing next to a tank on the opposite side of the room, and as you get closer, he points next to him

A flat-looking reddish orange-colored fish swims around near some rocks

It somehow has an angry-looking expression, and the way its mouth bobs open and closes almost makes it look like it's complaining about something

You snort

"Funny"

You turn around to look through the tanks again, this time, in search of a fish that resembles your boyfriend

Bingo

"Look Jeff," you call out to him as you walk up to a different spot, "found ya"

You point to what just might, respectfully, be the dumbest-looking fish you've ever seen

Its eyes are wide and empty, like it doesn't have a single thought in its tiny little fish head, and it seems to bob around with absolutely no awareness of its own existence whatsoever

The more you stare at it, the funnier it looks

And when Jeff walks up next to you, you burst out laughing at his expression

The fish also seems to take notice of Jeff, and for a second, the two almost look like they're both confused by one another

"A fish-brain looking at a fish-brain!"

You burst out laughing again

"Ya think you're so funny, don't'cha!?"

Done getting ridiculed, Jeff grabs you, picks you up, and tosses you over his shoulder like a sac of potatoes

"Hey! Put me down!"

You laugh even harder as he smacks your ass, then starts walking off to god-knows-where

"Help! I'm getting kidnapped by a fish-brain!!"

Another smack! has you dissolving into another fit of laughter

"I'm bout to turn you into a chum and eat you if you don't behave!"

"...Promise?"

Smack!

You giggle as he carries you through the room

And you let yourself get carried into another corridor before he eventually sets you back down

The layout of this new room is strikingly different from the last

It's long, but it isn't very wide, and instead of the exhibit wall being separated by a bunch of small tanks, there's a single large tank at the back with a bunch of chairs facing toward it

It doesn't take long for you to notice it; you're standing in front of a tank of predators

"Holy shit"

You step up closer and press your hands up to the glass

Sharks

They're big

Scratch that—they're massive

Long, sleek bodies that move effortlessly through the water, they're pure displays of strength and grace

They're beyond impressive

It's almost like staring at dinosaurs; impossibly old and powerful and utterly deadly

Deeper into the tank, two smaller sharks, which you assume to be younger, playfully nip back and forth at one another

And even though they're considerably smaller than the others, it's still impressive to see their rows upon rows of sharp teeth jut out whenever they open their jaws wide

You lean in closer, the tip of your nose nearly touching the glass to get a better view

There are so many of them

And the tank is, thankfully, huge; it's big enough to comfortably fit about half a dozen sharks, from the looks of it

You're scanning the water in an attempt to find every specimen in the exhibit, when one of the bigger sharks takes an interest in you

It comes up close to the glass, fully facing you, and you swear you can see countless years of wisdom in its eyes as your sights meet

You're so engrossed in the contact that you fully jump when a pair of hands wrap around your waist

The warmth of Jeff's body presses against your backside, his head coming to rest on your shoulder

"I think," he hums, "if we were any kind of fish, we'd both be sharks. Fast, strong, and fearless. Top of the fuckin' food chain—perfect killing machines"

A shiver dances along your spine

You don't know how long, exactly, the two of you stay there, appreciating the beauty of the ancient apex predators before you

If it were up to you, maybe you'd stay there forever

But when you hear a noise echo from somewhere further within the building, both you and Jeff freeze, and you know your time at the aquarium is just about over

"Shit" you hiss, and then you motion in the direction opposite from where the sound came from, "Come—this way"

You expect him to follow along, but instead, he stops you in your tracks by grabbing hold of your arm and turning you to face him once more

"Why run?" he asks gruffly, and as if to prove a point, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his knife

You purse your lips

"Jeff..." you hesitate, your eyes flickering nervously behind him, "there's going to be a grand opening soon, right?"

"So?"

"So I don't want this place to shut down because of a murder; I don't want it to get a bad rep, and I don't want it to lose funding because people are too scared or superstitious to visit"

He seems to contemplate your words, and when he realizes how much this means to you, he gives in with a huff

It's all the response you need as you take his hand and start guiding him through the exhibit

You wish you could stay and enjoy everything the aquarium has to offer, but you know it's only a matter of time before whoever came by realizes you broke in—and you're still inside the building

Rushing through one corridor brings you to the next, which brings you to another room that leads to another hallway

You can almost swear you're starting to hear the echoing of footsteps behind you

You eventually push through a set of double doors, and without meaning to, you audibly gasp at where you've ended up

The gift shop!

Jeff groans

"Red—no! We don't have time!"

He grabs your hand and pulls you away, much to your dismay

"Just—just one quick peek. I'll make it fast, I promise!"

"If you don't want these guys behind us to end up as fish bait, we gotta go—now!"

You're about to protest again when you hear the footsteps getting closer, the sound now accompanied by two voices talking in a panic

“Fine, fuck it,” you mutter

You rush to the exit door, ignoring the various toys, candies, plushies, and trinkets trying to tempt you from every angle

And you successfully make it to the door, where you push it open and escape scott-free

Or, at least, you would, if the damn door didn't jam as soon as you pressed against it

"Fuckin' shit—ain't no feckin' way!"

You jostle the handle this way and that, trying to force it to give, but it's like something's jammed in the mechanism

Somewhere far off behind you, you hear an unfamiliar voice mention something about cops

"Red—the fuck is taking so long!?"

You can hear the impatience and annoyance in his voice, but you can also hear that faint twinge of stress permeating through as well

"It's—it's fucking jammed or something—give me a second!"

"We don't have a second!"

You hear him move behind you as he hisses the words—and you assume he’s going to lock the other door to the gift shop

And right as he's coming back, something seems to snap! off the lock, and the door finally gives way

You stumble out without a moment's hesitation, and Jeff quickly follows after

Your pursuers don't follow once you're outside the vicinity, but it isn't long after that you hear the cops racing by in the direction you were previously escaping from

Both you and Jeff share a look, and then you both laugh with a familiar rush of endorphins that comes from narrowly avoiding the police

By the time you make it back to the mansion, having left the umbrella behind in a panic, you're both drenched

But you're still high from your trip, so you don't even care

If anything, it just makes it all the more memorable

"God," you start as soon as you're through the mansion doors, "I'm gonna need a nice hot shower after all of that"

You twist the edges of your hoody, and watch as a bunch of water trickles out of it, which makes you chuckle

"Agreed," Jeff hums, and when you look over, you can't help but laugh at the state he's in

He looks like a wet kitten; a miserable, angry, wet little kitten

He clicks his tongue

"Ya like laughin' at me, don't'cha?"

You yelp as he grabs you and hugs you, and then he's spinning you around in his arms and he doesn't let you down until you're screaming for mercy between fits of laughter

It's only when he sets you back down onto your feet that you realize there's something strange and lumpy tucked away in his hoody

"The hell do you have in your shirt?"

He grins, like he thought you'd never ask

And then he pulls out a small plushie from underneath his clothes

"Oh my god, no way!"

It's the cutest thing you've ever seen; a small blue shark with a big, pointy-toothed smile on its dorky little face

"Managed to snag it last minute while you were fiddling with the door," he explains

And as soon as he hands it over to you, you hug it to your chest and give it a big squeeze

Even damp, it's still one of the softest things you've ever laid your hands on

"You like it?" he asks

"Of course I like it, I love it!" you exclaim, "How'd you manage to hide it from me the whole time we were getting back"

He shrugs, then holds his arms out for another hug

"Because I'm just the damn best boyfriend ever, aren't I?~"

[sometimesraven]

how Empire of Death failed to mimic the scale of Infinity War, and what I would do differently

I'm just ranting here bc I had the thoughts and realised they were gonna go on too long for the tags of a reblog.

So I've already mentioned that the sand of death should have been the cliffhanger. The Sutekh reveal was cool and metal af, but imagine if it had gone on juuust a little longer and the credit theme rolls in just as Kate turns to dust. Imagine how much harder that would hit!

We would sit with that final image for a whole week, letting the shock and excitement build, even if we know they'd never kill both Kate and Rose and this would all be reset, the shock of the scene would still be impactful because we have time for it to truly sink in and hit us fully.

But I think the real reason Infinity War's ending hit harder than this is because we had real stakes. Thanos had been an imposing presence through the whole movie, killing or overpowering beloved and powerful characters we'd grown to see as untouchable.

Those stakes started at the literal beginning of the episode. Loki, a beloved character, is killed. The Hulk, who had literally JUST gone toe to toe with a god, is thrown aside like a toy.

The stakes remained through the story, when Gamorrah is killed, then continue all the way to the end when Vision is sacrificed only for that sacrifice to mean nothing.

Then the snap happens, some of the most beloved characters die in a slow, carefully crafted series of scenes with phenomenal acting.

And then the movie ends. We're left to sit with that for however long it takes for the finale, and even if we know most of the characters will be back it hurts because that emotion and tension and buildup comes to that horrible conclusion and leaves us to sit with it.

I'm not saying Sutekh should have killed anyone to raise the stakes. I'm saying that there was absolutely zero build-up to him within TLoRS itself, and therefore we as viewers don't truly know the stakes. The "He Who Waits" stuff was good to show us "hey, all these other gods are peanuts compared to this one", but that's about all we got.

And it's frustrating because not only has Doctor Who done this kind of high-stakes villain reveal and cliffhanger before in a much more effective way, but also IT WAS RUSSEL WHO DID IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

I firmly believe the finale should have been in three parts, not two.

I don't know if this is strictly Russel's fault or if Disney's restrictions were partly to blame, but let's look at how the Series 3 (2007) finale did what the Season 1 (2024) finale tried and failed to do.

Part One

Utopia plays out much like The Legend of Ruby Sunday does: they're exploring something self-contained but eventually related to the plot (end of the universe vs ruby's mother), they meet an enigmatic stranger who will later turn out to be the villain/part of the villain (Yana vs Triad), and the episode ends with the cliffhanger of them realising there's actually a Big Bad from the past that nobody was expecting (The Master vs Sutekh).

I think in the case of a 3 part episode I would have TLoRS end with Sutekh being revealed in a way that doesn't have him at his full power yet. I'm not sure exactly how I'd execute that but it would have the same impact w. Harbinger and Susan, only without Sutekh's full manifestation at the end; maybe he appears on the screens or in that smoky form around the TARDIS. Hell, maybe he would fully manifest but just be unable to dust the universe yet. I'd maybe even have him kill Kate and Unit there but not the world, to establish how powerful this guy is. I'd maybe have Ruby be with Mel instead of the Doctor, so that she's away from this initial death wave.

Part Two

The Sound of Drums then spends time establishing who the Master is for new viewers, and the kind of relationship he has with the Doctor. The stakes slowly build, any potential help is removed, and the Doctor's final plan is foiled, leaving him captured and powerless as the Master initiates the apocalypse.

Perhaps if instead of being with Susan, the Doctor tries to take back control of the TARDIS and ends up trapped with Sutekh controlling her?

Maybe they figure out how since Wild Blue Yonder, the TARDIS has specifically been taking them to places that would empower Sutekh with more death and chaos, rather than just where the Doctor needs to be -- the Maestro, Finetime, even Boom... all that death and chaos empowering Sutekh to finally take his god-form due to the invocation of superstition making his myth reality.

Maybe at this point it would show that the deaths in Unit were just the beginning -- that through those deaths Sutekh was able to reach back to the entire family line of each member he killed: Donna + family, even Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart had been killed before his time. This would establish in the Doctor some guilt that actually makes sense -- he didn't have to turn to Unit for help with Susan and Ruby's mother, but he did, and he didn't notice something was wrong with the TARDIS even though he'd been aware of her odd behaviour of late. He unwittingly brought Sutekh to UNIT and caused their deaths, sending that final ripple of chaos and death that allows Sutekh to take his final form. And now that he's gained enough power, he can coerce the TARDIS in giving her memory to him; of everywhere she's ever landed, past present and future.

The Doctor is forced to watch from the posessed TARDIS as first the Earth, then the Universe, is slowly destroyed, believing everything to be dead, including Ruby and Mel.

Part Three

In Last of the Time Lords, we focus on the Doctor's companions gathering hope and saving the world while the Doctor is helpless.

Unbeknownst to the Doctor, Ruby and Mel have made it back to UNIT. Maybe one of them remember how vivid the TARDIS seemed in the memory room and, in a last-ditch attempt to escape, try to enter it -- discovering the Memory TARDIS within.

This is why I have Ruby and Mel still reach the Memory TARDIS. Much like the companions do on their own in the Tales of the TARDIS clips I've seen, they realise this is a TARDIS made of memories and wonder if they can use that somehow. Ruby realises, as it begins to snow and the screens inside the ship turn on, that her strange memory power is keeping the TARDIS functional, and it shows them through the screens how to fly it.

Mel suggests this all seems to connect back to Ruby somehow, and the memory TARDIS responds positively. They start to go back through Ruby's memories in summary, trying to figure out what they're missing, and realise as her memories flick through on the screen -- one of them is unfamiliar. The Roger Ap Gwilliam realisation happens as normal, they go to find the medical record of Ruby's mum, Mel is fighting posession and decides to take HERSELF out of the room to "keep watch", knowing she won't be able to fight off Sutekh for long. Just as Ruby is about to find the name, she glances back at a noise behind her -- only to see Mel approaching her.

She just barely manages to grab the still-processing screen and escape, but now she's all alone and the screen has nothing to connect to. She never got her mother's name, but the records are still on there waiting to be processed. She realises Sutekh needs the records that are here, and that if Mel reaches her and gets the memory screen from her, she might get her mother's name and give it to him. She realises her only choice is to destroy the only records of her mother she has and accept she may never find her birth mother.

We have a tender moment of her with her face buried in her knees, crying amid the dust, she's all alone and she doesn't understand anything and she was so close but everything is ruined, it's like she's cursed -- she remembers her friends questioning her bad luck, wonders if maybe it was her all along and never the goblins. She wonders if the Doctor is alive, mourns that she can't turn to him, curses him for never finding out who her mum was sooner so they could avoid all of this, begs him to come back so he can tell her what to do because she has no idea who she is without someone to guide her.

Then remembers Carla. Maybe a flashback to something Carla said to her when she was younger; some motivational line about how she's not alone, she never has been; she's got a family even if it's not the one she expected. It doesn't matter where she comes from. It doesn't matter who her birth parents are. She has a real family to save, and that includes The Doctor. She pushes to her feet, still holding the screen, and returns to the memory TARDIS alone.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is being taunted by Sutekh. His only home; his safe place has been turned into a trap of torment and even as he tries desperately to gain some kind of control over her, Sutekh recites the losses and deaths the Doctor has caused. While he shows on the TARDIS screens all the places the sands of death have touched so far, he brings up Gallifrey, and the Flux, how Sutekh prides himself on being a god of Death but honestly he could never dream up something as destructive as the Doctor.

Just as the Doctor is about to give up, he sees Ruby, defiantly approaching Sutekh in the remains of UNIT's headquarters. His eyes gleam as he looks up to the bright red glow of his posessed ship's console, relief painted all over his face.

"I'm nothing like you," he says, even as he watches Ruby intensely; as worried as he is excited, "You exist to bring death and destruction and decay to this universe, but that's not me. Death and loss have followed me a long, long way but if there's one thing I have that you don't, it's hope."

Outside, Ruby is shouting and brandishing the memory screen. "Oi! You great big god of nothing! Is this what you want?"

She smashes it. Tough, she says. Sutekh roars and tears stream down her face. She's visibly terrified, but she stands tall.

"I was so confused," she tells him, "I kept thinking: why me? What's this got to do with me? But I think-.. I-I think I know why you're so interested in my mum. I think I know why I'm still alive."

She delivers a speech about what she's seen and learned from the Doctor: what survives of us is love. She realises that Sutekh is so interested in her mum because the one thing she feels deep in her gut is that her birth mother loves her, and the one thing he can't understand is love surviving despite grief. Ruby loves her mother despite never knowing her, Ruby loves her adopted family, Ruby loves the Doctor, and love is survival and love is life.

It starts to snow as she remembers everything she possibly can; every little gesture from people she loved and lost, every story she made up about her mum, every time Carla has been there for her, every time her friends have ditched parties to come stay with her overnight because she's staying in a hotel somewhere and she's scared to be alone. Sutekh roars and is clearly weakening but it's not quite enough, and the Doctor finally manages to break free of the TARDIS as Sutekh's hold on her weakens. He reaches for Ruby, cradles her in his arms as she runs to him, kisses her on the head and tells her how brave she is and how proud he is, then pulls her to the TARDIS console.

The ship immediately takes off, trying to shake off Sutekh while Sutekh tries to shake Ruby and the Doctor out of her. They're careening through the vortex, TARDIS doors stuck wide open, and the Doctor quickly slips a Mavity glove onto Ruby's hand, yanks off a panel of the TARDIS, and presses her hand to the psychic membrane underneath. He tells her to hold on for dear life and remember everything. The TARDIS amplifies her memories, feeds that love and life straight into Sutekh, and the Doctor gives one last speech about how humanity survives over and over despite their mortality, how human love is life, how Ruby is life. As Sutekh begins to break apart, we see people start to return from the dust.

As the story comes to a close, the Doctor apologises to Ruby. He suggests that maybe they could go forward and find that DNA result again, but Ruby declines. She says it's not fair to use something that was taken from her mum against her will as a tool to find her. She accepts that she might never find out who her birth mum is, but that's okay -- because she's realised her real family have been with her all along. The abandonment will never leave her, but after losing the whole world the only thing she wants right now is to see Carla again.

They part ways with Ruby cautioning the Doctor that maybe he should go find Susan some day. She must be feeling pretty abandoned too. And the episode ends basically the same way, only with Ruby making peace not knowing who her mum is -- meaning the mystery is left open for now in a more satisfying way.

I dunno. This got away from me a lil. I just think there's so many places this story could have been taken and it missed the mark in so many ways.

[hinamie]

u should drop some songs that remind u of itafushi

GLADLY

haze, real cool, adonis - fv

haze: this fucking song feels like falling in love with your best friend to me. it feels like falling in love with your best friend who you’ve known forever and knowing that hoping for anything else is futile not out of a lack of reciprocity but because th world and circumstances are unforgiving. former vandal and lost youth go fucking hand in hand and it matches th doomed There's No Time To Love You Like I Want To nature of itfs SO well 

real cool: different flavour of falling in doomed love with your best friend. while haze was resigned and small town lonely real cool is saying fuck it let’s make the most of the time we have let’s go on adventures let’s love to spite our fates let’s repress the inevitable for as long as we can and it will sneak up on us in quiet moments but for now we’ll ride the high together

adonis: the odd one out in my itfs fv trio but the lyrics say it all. it’s just this is a boy that I Want and who wants me and this is us making out. he has a lip scar. plain and simple

honey - troye sivan

it's poppy and probably a niche pick so i can see if others do not share my vision but let me tell u the amount of times i have looped this song bc it is so megu pining over yuujicore to me is embarrassing. makes me think abt him agonizing over whether or not/how/when/where to confess and i EAT. also honey=yuuji is an easy association sue me.

radiohead - nightly

something about the 3 count something about the dark blue/black satin sheets on the album cover it makes me picture each of them sitting alone in their separate dorms Pining and i feel sick about it! the line ‘you’re lovely in ways that i just can’t explain’ echoes in my heart and i think of Longing i think of downcast eyes not quite able to look up i think of generally wanting More than this but not knowing how to ask for it

jesus christ 2005 god bless america - the 1975

similar to radiohead the melody feels like pure unadulterated Pining also the lyrics “I’m in love with a boy I know / But that's a feeling I can never show” make me want to tear my face off they make me think so much of the situation where each party is like “i’m fine with how things are i can be satisfied with just this” and it kills me dead i die

gold - crywolf

ohhhhmygod listen okay pls. pls. this whole song sounds like falling it sounds like time slowing down while memories fade in and out in a haze. it sounds like reunion it sounds like wind through grass in the winter when the drums hit and the tempo picks up it sounds like sun breaking over a crumbling cityscape it sounds like running to each other. but all that aside bro . bro the fucking. thfucking lyrics i cannot it makes me so genuinely upset. “Closer than my own heart / You beat in its place / Alone we lay / I’m so afraid of you / And the way that you want me” mr crywolf shut the fuck up right now.  “You were right / I was wrong / You shake my shoulders trying to wake me up / Good god, I've been so cold to you” MISTER CRYWOLF SHUT THE FUCK UPPPPPPPPPPPP

[clay-tries-his-best]

! atsv spoilers !

when i sat down in my theatre seat to see atsv im telling you i was being the most autistic fuck you've ever witnessed. you could practically see the sparkles in my eye, dude.

the spot. my godddd he's so silly. the marketing ploy to make him seem like the side villain from the trailers was so fucking smart. I really thought that Miguel was going to be the main villain considering him fighting miles in pracgjcalky every trailer ever and being in the post-credits scene of itsv. and miles dealing with having to be everywhere at once was very realistic and gave me the classic "oh my god this poor boy this is painful to watch". oh and gwen's beginning scene of the drums just gave me the feeling that the movie was going to be fantastic. like, betrayal, amazing visuals, more gwen?? already a wonderful start. also the fact that the spot's whole reason to turn into a major villain is that nobody, not even the person who caused his disfigurement, would take him seriously- like- HUH???? perfect. wonderful. bro just wanted miles to pay attention to him for a little while.

Pavitr and Hobie were also really great additions to the spider team. Despite the fact that Hobie's accent was so thick and deep that I couldn't understand what he was saying a good third of the time, he still managed to work his way into my top 5 characters of the movie. THAT is good character building. At first I thought he was going to be the stereotypical love rival, considering his first mention was miles getting jealous of him and gwen being friends. I was worried that was how the story was actually going to go when he upstaged miles by breaking done the collider force field, but hes actually a really chill and cool guy. pretty sure he even roots for gwen and miles, so that's pretty funny. Pavitr was also super funny with a great character design. " Chai means tea, you're just saying tea tea! " was probably one of my favorite lines / jokes from the whole movie. His world was also very pretty and SUPER detailed. Props to every artist for Mumbatten.

Miguel and Peter B.'s dynamic was really fun to watch as well. This cryptic emo ass mastermind vampire who has watched people die and destroyed a universe next to this middle aged man in a pink fuzzy bathrobe who's oogling over his daughter. also, the line where Miguel said " I've had the right amount of you today " to peter b instead of " I've had enough of you " like the normal saying goes was kinda queer. just saying. but yeah, great villain, and I do want to see him in the final battle against spot, but I eventually don't want him to be the one to beat spot, y'know? If it was to be anyone, it's obviously going to be miles. Whether it's just miles or miles and gwen or miles and the gang gwen assembled at the end of atsv (WHICH HAD SPIDERNOIR YESSS SPIDERNOIR FANS LETS GOOOOOOO I HAD THE STUPIDEST SMILE ON MY FACE WHEN I SAW HIM IM TELLKNG YOU), in the end it's still gotta be miles.

the collider scene with the spot was really cool. spot may be silly, but he's not dumb enough to be " saved " by his archnemesis who only cared about him when he was about to become a transdimensional eldritch horror. boss move. his final form was really pleasing to look at because you can just see the detail that went into it. Looking at some screenshots, I noticed there were a lot of eyes and I'm pretty sure I saw a version of spiderman (original world 1610 peter, possibly?) staring at miles / the audience. despite him not showing up for another hour, hour and a half, I wasn't mad. If a movie can avoid showing the main villain for that long and still have them integrated properly, just, wow. blown away. oh and this part made me even more interested because his beginning ost, spot 1, I think? his random beats and tunes sounded more silly and disorganized and clumsy, like him trying to take the atm. near the end, he got spot 2, which was more shrill and frightening. I'm not musically trained, and I could still tell that it was scarier, and to me, they sounded very similar. To not have too far of a difference between the two and stroke two entirely different chords is just. ugh. wow.

don't even get me started on prowler miles... RAHHH THE CHARACTER AND WORLD DESIGN FOR UNIVERSE 42!!!! it was so beautiful and scary and breathtaking because there is. no. spiderman. when miles's mom didn't know what he was talking about and gwen wasn't really outside, it hit me like a brick in the head. and alternate aaron??? hello??? he made me physically uncomfortable because of how terrifying his face was. i couldnt even tell if he was wearing makeup or he was just that dramatjcally shaded. the turn miles does to see that it was his dad painted on the wall instead of aaron.... GRAHHHHHH

as an aspiring artist, I can say nothing but wow. that movie, the fact that it was 2 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES???? HELLO??? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THAT MUSTVE TOOK??? unbelievable. and you know that sony felt bad for making us wait on a cliffhanger, so they probably were around 3/4 done with atsv and started working on beyond, so we didn't have to wait as long as we would've if they finished atsv and then started beyond. I'm so glad that those 5 years in the Sony team paid off, because that. was. amazing. my depression is vaporized. im going feral, going wild, going insane. i will not think of anything else until beyond is out. can't wait to see my bbg spot have his villain moment in March 2024!!! <333

[artisticmenace]

NEW NORMAL ALBUM REVIEW

Suburbia remix-

I can tell what he changed but its still such a classic. plus the things he added. MWAAAH. CHEFS FUCKING KISS.

2econd 2ight 2eer remix-

shes still awesome. i can kinda tell the difference but still awesome. its like he sanded it down.

Laplaces angel remix-

holy shit the name LMAO. still shredding the fuck out of the trumpet. sanded down like a nice antique table god damn. i like whats been done with the backup vocals. the effects are giving it more of a mystique and i really like it.

I/Me/Myself remix-

holy shiit. the demo was awesome soooo. this sounds better than the og. william woodiam you know your stuff and im so so thankful. these have sounded polished so far. like when they wax the floors at school. still the same just with a new gleam to them. he even kept the whispers at the end HELL YEAH

...well better than the alternative remix-

this is so so good. i like the vocals already. ooh the claps heck yeaah. the flow is better. ive been noticing the drums in some of these and holy toledo yes yes yes. also the ending. STUCK.

outliars and hypocrites remix-

AGAIN WITH RHE TITLE. "i lied about the apple thing" LMAOOO. GOT FUNKY EITH THE GUITARS FUUUCK!!!! THESE BACKGROUND SOUNDS ARE SCRATCHING MY BRAIN AND THE BACKUP VOCALS HELLLLLL YEEEAAAHHHH!!!!! she still has the bounce and punctuation. and THE DRUUUMS AGAIN YEESSSS. im a sucker for harmonies if you couldnt tell.

blackboxwarrior remix-

i almost didnt recognize her its been so long since ive listened to it. OH SHES GOLDEN. hes just tossed in cinnamon sugar where it needed it ok. the music is just MWAAAH. and the vocals are beautiful as always. this makes me want to write something strange and enchanting, good god. MY THERAPIST!!!!! dancing rn. wheres bonejangles from the corpse bride i need him here. shredding on that fucking trumpet.

marsha thankk you for the dialectics remix-

title, sir. loving the keyboard smash ok. shes flowing like wine from the taps in italy. DRUUUMMMSSS. VOCALSSSSSS. EVERYTHING. shes still her but shes got a dash if something she was MIIIIISSING before. WOAH GUITAR. WOAH BACKUPS HELL YEAH. PIANO MAN, LOVING YOU! these vocals....

Love Me, Normally-

i think he said he didnt bother changing this one bc shes already perfect. not his words but this one stayed the same. i have to agree. the vocals are still chilling. the piano still beautiful. and i can still sing/say every word.

Memento Mori remix-

HOLY SHIT. again the drums, the instrumentals. god damn. shes swinging just a bit more than she used to and god she needed it. BACKUPS AGAIN GOD LOVE EM. SING US A SONG WILL BECAUSE GOD DAMMIT YOURE THE PIANO MAN! background sounds scratching my vrain again i live for it. HELL YEAH! ONE DAY IM GONNA DIE!!! he kept the insane cheering 💙

overall-

he fucking DID IT!!!! he gave this album a polish. some cinnamon sugar. some tumeric. garlic. and shes still herself. its the normal album with what she was missing the first time. I LOOVE.

[iwanthermidnightz]

*excerpts below — but I highly recommend reading the full article in link above*

Hit Me Hard and Soft dunks us headfirst back into that universe, from the deepest wallows of depression to the exhaustion that comes with the world speculating about her every move. There are no arachnids where they shouldn’t be, but getting in touch with her darker side has Eilish finally feeling like herself again. “I feel like this album is me,” she says. “It’s not a character. It feels like the When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? version of me. It feels like my youth and who I was as a kid.”

Although 2019 felt like a whirlwind of madness at the time, she has found herself missing it. “It was the best time of my life,” she says. “This whole process has felt like I’m coming back to the girl that I was. I’ve been grieving her. I’ve been looking for her in everything, and it’s almost like she got drowned by the world and the media. I don’t remember when she went away.”

The title Hit Me Hard and Soft derives from a conversation she had with Finneas, when she mistakenly thought the name of a synth in Logic Pro was called Hit Me Hard and Soft. “I thought it was such a perfect encapsulation of what this album does,” she explains. “It’s an impossible request: You can’t be hit hard and soft. You can’t do anything hard and soft at the same time. I’m a pretty extremist person, and I really like when things are really intense physically, but I also love when things are very tender and sweet. I want two things at once. So I thought that was a really good way to describe me, and I love that it’s not possible.”

Eilish and Finneas call Hit Me Hard and Soft “an album-ass album.” It’s not a concept record, but it is a self-consciously cohesive set of songs, inspired by auteurist works from the past 15 years or so, like Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die, Tyler, the Creator’s Goblin, Marina and the Diamonds’ Electra Heart, and Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory.

“Lunch,” a complete 180 in both sound and subject content. It’s a sexy, bass-heavy banger where Eilish is crushing on a girl so hard she likens sex with her to devouring a meal. Finneas remembers playing this moment for Interscope and witnessing the team shift in their seats. “What’s funny about starting the album with [the opener] is that it is a total false promise,” he says. “If you’re remembering ‘What Was I Made For?’ and then you hear [it], you go, ‘Oh, OK. I understand this world.’ Then the drums come in [on “Lunch”], and it really is the kill-the-main-character-type beat. It’s like Drew Barrymore being in the first five minutes of Scream and then they kill her. You’re like, ‘They can’t kill Drew. Oh, my God, they killed Drew!’”

Eilish and I spend a lot of time talking about the new era she is about to kick off, and how she’ll promote Hit Me Hard and Soft while prioritizing her mental health, privacy, and well-being. With all of that in mind, I wonder if she’s ready for journalists to pepper her with questions about the album’s subject matter, particularly the sexual nature of “Lunch.” “That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real,” Eilish says. “I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand — until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina. I was never planning on talking about my sexuality ever, in a million years. It’s really frustrating to me that it came up.”

Eilish is referring to her interview with Variety last fall, in which she mentioned she was attracted to women. The quote — “I’m attracted to them for real” — became a national headline. The following month, Eilish attended Variety’s Hitmakers event in L.A. While on the red carpet, she was asked if she intentionally came out in the story. “No, I didn’t,” she told them. “But I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’” Eilish then posted about it on Instagram, with a caption that read, “Thanks Variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11 a.m. instead of talking about anything else that matters. I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares.”

Looking back, Eilish admits she overreacted with the Instagram post. “Who fucking cares?” she says. “The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it. Nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other, and I think that there’s a lot of wanting labels all over the place. Dude, I’ve known people that don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their forties, fifties, sixties. It takes a while to find yourself, and I think it’s really unfair, the way that the internet bullies you into talking about who you are and what you are.”

As for that red-carpet quote that made all the headlines, Eilish says she tried to think of a response that would be entertaining for her fans and the internet. “I went into Billie Eilish interview mode, [like], ‘Oh, I don’t care. Yeah, I’ll say whatever. Wasn’t it obvious?’” she says. “And then afterwards I was like, ‘Wait. It wasn’t obvious to me.’”

Thinking about it now, she draws a bigger lesson from that moment. “I know everybody’s been thinking this about me for years and years, but I’m only figuring out myself now,” she says. “And honestly, what I said was funny, because I really was just saying what they’ve all been saying.” She adds that she liked the journalist she was talking to and didn’t want to be rude. But she still felt exploited. “Bro, I have asthma out here,” she says. “I fucking can’t take a breath.”

If Eilish had the opportunity to do it over again on the red carpet, she says, she wouldn’t have answered the question. But she acknowledges it could have been worse. “I’m lucky enough to be in a time when I’m able to say something like that and things go OK for me,” she says. “And that’s not how a lot of people’s experience is.”

Eilish has officially decided to make some changes to the way she presents herself to the world. “This album, to me, feels like a way to restart, in terms of my sharing,” she says. So let’s take a second to reintroduce Billie Eilish, the home-schooled bohemian who captured our attention as a teenager. She’s 22 now, yet she’s more self-aware than people twice her age. She would like some space to grow, to figure out exactly who she is — no label required. She is not the poster child for anything. And she is not, she’d like to note, a TED Talk speaker. So where does that leave us? Eilish sums things up with four simple words that point to her desire for normalcy and acceptance.

“I’m just a girl.”

[oldiesstationlover11607]

OMG i just had an idea-

what about tyler x reader where reader is interviewing the boys in honor of their new album !!! the tensionnn, like just imagine EVERYONE notices that theyre totally heart eyes for each other but them and maybe josh pokes some fun at them AH

also!! im the same gal who rec'ed the idea for Cover; you did so good on it!! super excited to read more of your stuff!! :)))

Radio Interview - Tyler Joseph x Reader

Relationship: Tyler Joseph × Reader

Warnings: None - super fluffy

Word Count: 791 - thought this would be perfect for a short blurb type piece so whipped this up in he back of my class lol

A/N: Thanks for enjoying cover! If you're going to be a regular requester I'd love to assign an emoji so I can tell my anons apart. Next time you request just let me know which emoji you'd like to use :)

“Welcome to 47.6 Alt Music Daily! Today, we have Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun from twenty one pilots in the studio to talk about their newest album Vessel! Thanks for coming in, guys,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I glanced down to double-check their mics were on. The studio had been buzzing with energy all day, and I'd spent the morning getting ready, listening to their new album on repeat. The excitement of meeting them was something I was barely able to contain.

“Thanks for having us,” Tyler responded, his voice smooth and perfectly on the mic. Most guests struggled with positioning, but not him—his eyes flicked over to mine, and there was something there. A curiosity I couldn't quite place. His sleeves rode up slightly, revealing fresh tattoos snaking up his arms. I'd been thinking of getting my own for months, and the sight stirred a new wave of nerves I hadn’t expected. I made a mental note to ask him about it later. 

I shifted my attention back to my notes. “So, for anyone who doesn’t already know, twenty one pilots is a local Columbus duo who cover a range of genres, including rap, pop, rock, and alternative music.” Tyler nodded as I spoke, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my heart race.

“Sounds about right,” Josh chimed in, breaking the tension with a laugh.

“Okay, so how long have you guys been making music?” I asked, flipping to the next question, though the sudden warmth in my cheeks made it hard to focus.

Tyler looked like he was trying to hold back a smile. “I started when I was 16. Played piano, wrote my first song, and then released a solo album unofficially.”

“Well, I’ve been playing drums since I was about 12,” Josh added. “I’d hang around music stores until closing, playing their kits until I got kicked out.”

“Don’t ask him how many times he’s been kicked out,” Tyler interjected, shooting Josh a teasing look. “He can list every store and the exact date.”

Josh gasped dramatically. “And I’m proud of it!” His grin was infectious, but my eyes were drawn back to Tyler, who was shaking his head with amusement.

I laughed softly, glancing at my notes again. “Okay, so... where does the name ‘twenty one pilots’ come from?” I asked, trying to keep things professional, though my mind kept wandering back to the way Tyler was watching me.

Tyler’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s one of my favorite stories. It’s from a play called All My Sons by Arthur Miller.”

“Oh my god, I remember studying that in high school!” I blurted, my excitement bubbling over. Tyler straightened up in his seat, his gaze locking with mine as I continued, “It’s about a father who ran a company that made parts for World War II planes, and he had to decide whether to send out faulty parts.”

“Right! He chooses to send them out, and twenty one pilots die because of it. His son, who was also a pilot, dies in the war, and though it's never confirmed, his daughter blames the father for her brother's death. The guilt leads him to take his own life,” Tyler finished, his voice soft but intense.

It was like no one else was in the room—just the two of us, connecting over this shared memory.

“So, how does it relate to the music?” I asked, resting my chin on my hand, hanging on his every word.

Tyler leaned forward slightly, his eyes locked on mine. “It’s about those moral crossroads we all face. Choosing between what's easy now but could be disastrous later, or making the tough call that’ll pay off in the long run. It’s something we ask ourselves all the time—what’s our purpose? Why are we making music? Right now, it’s simple: we just want to make people think.”

Josh, who had been silently observing, leaned into his mic with a mischievous smirk. “Or, you know, maybe it’s also to impress someone,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Tyler’s face flushed red as he shot Josh a glare. “That’s not—”

My cheeks burned as Tyler quickly looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh... so, about that next question?” he stammered, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

I couldn’t help but laugh, the tension breaking just enough for me to finally breathe. “Yeah, we’ll move on... for now,” I added, glancing playfully at Josh.

The rest of the interview flowed smoothly, but that undercurrent of something unspoken remained, hanging between Tyler and me. And as the session wrapped up, I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t the only one feeling it.

//

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