#guess who's rewatching nightmare time

[confoodles]

If I had a nickel for every time Mariah played a character that was incredibly attached to their phone to the point of putting themselves/others in harm's way because of it, I'd have 3 nickels which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened 3 times.

[paranormaltheatrekid]

if Drowzytown is the black then is Snoozletown the white?

[terriblelizbians]

love when life/school gets a little too busy or stressful and i have to go back and pick a random hyperfixation media from several years ago to consume my mind again to calm down

[scoupsakakitty]

so, I recently began rewatching NANA TOUR and woozi was bias wrecking me the whole time. 🫣

I really love your 14th member of seventeen writings, can I request for woozi and female member of seventeen moments in nana tour (they can be publicly dating or in secret)?

THANK YOU SM ♡

Public but Private | idol!Woozi x 14thMember | fluff

The clock read 3:27 AM when a loud knock rattled your hotel room door. Groggy and barely conscious, you blinked at the ceiling, your brain struggling to process what was happening. Beside you, Woozi stirred, his arm loosely draped over your waist.

Another knock. Louder this time.

"Y/N! Open up!"

You groaned, burying your face into the pillow. "Make it stop..."

Woozi sighed, shifting slightly but making no attempt to get up. "Ignore it. Maybe they’ll go away."

No such luck. The door burst open, revealing a camera crew and a very excited Seungkwan, who immediately froze at the sight before him. His mouth opened, then closed, before his eyes widened in realization.

"OH."

The cameraman was already filming. You barely had time to process before Seungkwan broke into a fit of laughter.

"THEY CAUGHT YOU!" he practically screamed, clutching his stomach. "You guys have been dating publicly for months, and this is the first time we actually get to see it?"

Woozi groaned, rolling onto his back and covering his face with his arm. "This is a nightmare."

"This is comedy," Seungkwan corrected, wiping away fake tears. "Now get up! We’re getting kidnapped by Na PD!"

You blinked, finally catching up to reality. "Wait, what?"

"Nana Tour, baby!" Seungkwan threw his arms in the air. "Pack your stuff, you have five minutes!"

With that, he and the crew disappeared, leaving you and Woozi in stunned silence.

After a beat, Woozi sighed. "I hate this already."

You flopped back onto the bed. "Same. But at least we’re suffering together."

"We’re going to Italy!" Hoshi shouted dramatically as soon as they reached the airport.

"You don’t know that!" Jeonghan countered. "We could be going anywhere!"

"I just have a feeling."

You stifled a yawn as you clutched your coffee, trying to stay upright. Woozi, ever the quiet observer, nudged your arm. "You’re going to fall asleep standing up."

"That’s the dream."

He smirked, but before he could respond, the staff handed out boarding passes, and chaos ensued as everyone tried to figure out their destination.

"PARIS?!" Seungkwan shrieked. "Oh, we are about to live our Emily in Paris moment!"

You gasped. "Boo Seungkwan, the Parisian influencer arc is starting!"

Woozi shook his head in amusement as you and Seungkwan dramatically linked arms, pretending to strut through the airport as if you were in a fashion show. Despite the exhaustion, he found himself smiling at how easily you could make things entertaining.

Hours later, the group finally landed in Paris, excitement filling the air. The members were split into teams for the day’s adventure, and luck (or fate) paired you with Woozi.

"This feels suspiciously like a setup," you mused as the two of you wandered through the streets of Montmartre, cameras following at a distance.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. They want us to act like a couple on camera."

Woozi sighed. "We are a couple."

"Yeah, but we’ve never really shown it," you pointed out. "I think they’re hoping for something more... affectionate."

He smirked. "So what? You want to put on a show?"

You raised an eyebrow. "Only if you’re up for it."

After a beat, he reached out, intertwining his fingers with yours, his grip warm and steady. "Guess we might as well give them what they want."

Your heart did a little flip—not because it was the first time he held your hand, but because it was the first time he did it in front of the cameras.

And when the footage aired, the internet would lose its mind.

[xoxolaw]

aaaa first time sending an ask but a random thought came to me after rewatching whc..

maybe something like reader ends up in the hospital and that's where she meets suho in a coma so she ends up visiting him everyday to talk to him even though they've never met thinking he couldn't hear her, but it turns out that he could hear her the whole time he was in a coma hehahwhwh

love the way you write!!! all your works are so well-written ><

+ 𝗪���𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚

in which she starts talking to a coma patient just to feel less lonely - and doesn't realise he heard every word

+ 𝗔𝗛𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗛𝗢 𝗫 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥

fluff

The first time she stepped into Room 201, it wasn’t on purpose.

She was supposed to be getting her discharge papers. A sprained wrist and a mild concussion — not bad, considering the crash. But the halls were quiet, and the vending machine had eaten her last coin. She wandered down the wrong corridor looking for a nurse and paused at the open door.

There he was.

Still. Silent. A boy maybe her age, maybe older. Maybe younger. Skin pale beneath tangled hair. Tubes trailed from his arms like spiderwebs, and machines blinked softly around him.

She wasn’t sure why she stepped in.

Maybe it was the way his room felt too quiet. Or maybe it was the nameplate on the wall: Ahn Suho.

Someone who had a name shouldn’t be so alone.

“Hey,” she said quietly, voice unsure. “Um. I’m not supposed to be here.”

He didn’t move, of course. But that was the thing about talking to someone who couldn’t answer — it didn’t matter.

“So,” she said, pulling the chair closer. “I guess I’ll sit here until I get my discharge, if that’s cool.”

She looked at the heart monitor. Steady.

“You don’t mind, right?”

✮⋆˙

Visit #2

“Okay, hear me out,” she whispered, tugging her hoodie over her hospital bracelet. “Today’s theory: hospital food is a government plot.”

She set a wrapped chocolate bar beside his untouched apple juice. “I stole this from the nurse’s station. You’re welcome.”

She leaned back in the chair and glanced over. “I should probably introduce myself. I’m Y/N. I was in a crash. Umm. That's it.”

Silence.

Except for the hum of machines.

“I used to think comas were like… complete darkness. Like being unplugged,” she continued. “But then someone told me that maybe people can hear things. Even when they can’t respond.”

She looked at him. “I’m gonna pretend you can. Just in case.”

✮⋆˙

Visit #5

She came in mid-rant, sneakers squeaking against the floor.

“I bombed my stats midterm,” she huffed, throwing herself into the chair. “I studied for weeks. Literal weeks. And for what? A 53. A tragedy.”

She turned her head and eyed him.

“Honestly? You’re probably lucky. No classes. No midterms. No group projects from hell. Just… naps. That’s the dream.”

She tilted her head. “...Too dark?”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “You’d tell me if I was annoying, right?”

Stillness.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

✮⋆˙

Visit #9

“Do you believe in soulmates?” she asked one day, legs folded under her in the chair.

He didn’t answer. Couldn’t. But she stared at him anyway.

“Like, not in a romantic way, even. Just… someone whose energy feels like home.”

She leaned her head back against the chair, eyes closing.

“My grandma used to say the people meant for you find you. Even if it’s by accident.”

A pause.

“I don’t know why I keep coming back here. But I think it’s helping.”

✮⋆˙

Visit #14

She brought a juice box and a book of crossword puzzles. Not for him — for her. But she left both unopened.

Instead, she spoke softer that day. Slower.

“I had a nightmare last night. The kind that makes you wake up choking on your own breath.”

Her fingers twisted in her sleeve.

“I keep thinking about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t swerved at the last second. I keep seeing the headlights. I keep hearing the metal twist.”

She exhaled.

“I know you’re the one in a coma, but sometimes I feel like I haven’t really woken up either.”

She looked at him then, eyes wet but steady.

“You know what’s weird? I feel safer here. Sitting with you. I don’t even know you.”

She smiled, a little broken.

“But I talk to you like I do.”

✮⋆˙

Visit #17

She came in late this time — hoodie damp from rain, socks mismatched.

“I brought gummy bears,” she announced, holding up the bag like it was treasure. “But I already ate most of them. So now I’m just here to confess my crimes.”

She plopped into the chair and leaned forward, unwrapping the plastic around his IV line just a little so it wouldn’t tug against his skin.

“I think if we were friends, you’d be the kind who judges my snack habits silently,” she mused. “Like, you’d sit there with your stupid perfect posture and side-eye me every time I pulled out something processed.”

She smiled faintly. “But I bet you’d still take one. Even if you pretended you didn’t want to.”

She was quiet for a long while after that.

Then—

“I don’t know why I keep talking like you’ll wake up.”

A breath.

“I think I just… hope you do.”

✮⋆˙

Visit #20

She pushed the door open with one elbow, a juice pouch hanging from her teeth and a hoodie several sizes too big draped over her shoulders. It was the third time that week she’d come by unannounced. The nurses stopped asking questions.

“You wouldn’t believe the kind of day I had,” she said around the straw, dropping her bag onto the chair. “There was this guy on the train, right? Full-on tried to hit on me while I was literally in the middle of chewing a protein bar.”

She took the straw out of her mouth and pointed it at him like an accusation.

“Who flirts with someone mid-bite?”

Silence answered her. Of course.

“I told him I was seeing someone,” she continued, shrugging off the hoodie. “And he asked if it was serious. And I didn’t know what to say.”

She froze for a second, then laughed softly.

“I mean. How do you explain… this?”

Her eyes flicked over to him. Peaceful. Still. Like always.

“‘Yeah, I’m in a one-sided talking situation with a boy in a coma.’ That wouldn’t go over well.”

She sat down and leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

“I didn’t say anything. Just told him I wasn’t interested.”

There was something heavy in the way she said it. Like she meant more than she let on.

She stared at him.

“You know what’s funny?” she murmured. “I don’t even know where you go to school. I don’t know your favorite color. Or what kind of music you like. I don’t know if you snore, or if you’re the kind of person who organizes their apps by color.”

Her voice cracked just a little.

“But I keep coming back.”

She looked down at her hands. Fidgeted.

“Is it weird that I feel like I know you better than people I’ve known for years?”

She glanced back up. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“Is it crazy that I… miss you? Even though you’re right here?”

The heart monitor beeped steady. Soothing.

She reached out and touched his hand, just barely.

“You don’t know me. But if you ever wake up… I’d really like to change that.”

And for a moment — just a moment — she imagined him smiling back.

✮⋆˙

Visit #23

She was quieter this time. Sleepy.

She curled her knees into the chair and whispered like it was a secret.

“I used to talk to the moon when I was little. Thought maybe someone out there was listening.”

She reached out and gently brushed his bangs back from his forehead.

“I talk to you like that now.”

She hesitated.

“Is that selfish?”

No answer, but her gaze lingered.

“If I were you, I’d be annoyed by now. Some girl spilling her whole life in your room every day. No warning.”

But her voice cracked a little.

“Still… it makes the world feel less heavy. Talking to you. Like… there’s a version of me that only exists in this room.”

Her thumb brushed the back of his hand.

“I like you."

✮⋆˙

Visit #27

She was crying before she even sat down.

“I failed a class,” she whispered, words trembling. “I worked so hard and I still failed. And my mom said it’s because I get distracted. That I’m wasting time.”

She sniffled, voice breaking.

“I think she meant you.”

Silence wrapped around her.

“I wanted to scream at her. But I didn’t. I just walked out and came here.”

She curled her fingers around his.

“Tell me I’m not wasting time.”

And for a second — just for a second — she thought his hand squeezed back.

She gasped and looked up.

But nothing had changed.

✮⋆˙

Visit #33

She showed up late. She almost didn’t come.

But she walked in, shut the door softly, and slid her fingers between his.

“I think I’m falling for you,” she whispered. “And that’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever said out loud.”

She looked at him like he could hear her heart beating.

“But if there’s even a 1% chance that you remember any of this — I just want you to know.”

She pressed a kiss to his knuckles. Just once.

Then stood.

And left.

✮⋆˙

She didn't plan to come today. Finals were around the corner. Her mom was breathing down her neck. And honestly? She was tired.

Tired of hoping. Tired of talking to someone who’d never talk back. Tired of Room 201 and its terrible fluoresce nt lights and the smell of antiseptic and the sound of a steady heart monitor that somehow felt louder when everything else was silent.

But she came anyway.

Because habits are hard to break. And so are hearts.

She stepped into the room like she always did.

Only this time.

It was empty.

She stopped cold in the doorway.

Room 201 was still Room 201 — white walls, faded curtain, the too-bright glare of sterile ceiling lights. But the bed was stripped clean. The machines were gone.

And he wasn’t there.

The chair she always sat in was tucked neatly under the window. Like she’d never been there at all.

“No,” she whispered, heart stuttering. “No, no, no—”

She backed into the hallway, scanning for someone—anyone. Her throat was tight, like every breath scraped against the inside of her ribs.

Where was he?

She grabbed the nearest nurse she could find.

“Where is he?” she asked, not bothering to mask the panic in her voice. “Room 201. Suho. Ahn Suho. He—he was here yesterday.”

The nurse blinked, caught off guard.

“Oh—uh—” She glanced at her tablet. “Ahn Suho was moved this morning. He regained consciousness late last night.”

Y/N froze.

“What?”

“He’s stable,” the nurse added quickly. “They moved him to Recovery Ward B. Down the south wing, third door to the right.”

Y/N stood there like she hadn’t heard anything after ‘he regained consciousness.’

Because her brain had simply stopped there.

He was awake.

He was awake.

She turned and ran.

✮⋆˙

She found the room by sheer instinct.

The door was cracked open, and sunlight poured through the windows, warm and golden in a way Room 201 never was.

She stepped inside.

And there he was.

A little thinner. Propped up against pillows. Eyes half-lidded but open. Really open.

Ahn Suho.

He looked… human. Fragile, even.

But real. Alive.

She didn’t know what she expected — some cinematic moment where he saw her and smiled like he’d been waiting. But he didn’t. He just looked up slowly, tiredly, like his whole body was still relearning how to exist.

Their eyes met.

Her breath caught.

And for a second — just a second — she forgot how to speak.

Then:

“You’re awake,” she said softly.

He blinked. Then nodded. Barely.

She stepped forward. One hesitant step. Then another.

“You probably don’t—remember me,” she said. “I just… I used to visit.”

His lips parted. It took effort. But he spoke.

“…Y/N.”

She stopped.

“You remember?”

He gave the faintest, smallest smile.

“Gummy bears,” he rasped.

She laughed. Sharp and sudden, wet with tears she didn’t know she was holding back.

“You idiot,” she whispered. “You remember the gummy bears.”

“You… talk a lot,” he said, like it was a compliment. “I didn’t want to miss anything.”

She let out a broken sound. Somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

She stepped closer until she was at his side. Until their hands were inches apart.

“I thought you forgot. I thought—”

She shook her head, smile shaking.

“I never forgot,” he said. “Not a single thing.”

Their hands brushed.

His fingers curled weakly around hers.

“You stayed,” he murmured.

She nodded, eyes shining.

“And now,” she whispered, “so will you.”

✮⋆˙

She sat by his side that evening, telling him about everything he missed. The vending machine conspiracy. The guy on the train. Her failed stats midterm. Her nightmares. Her heart.

And this time—he listened.

Really listened.

He smiled.

He asked questions, slow and soft, voice still gravel.

And when she leaned in to press her forehead to his?

This time, he tilted his to meet hers halfway.

And everything — every visit, every word, every aching silence — had led here.

+ 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 + 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

Hope you enjoyed this <3

+ 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

@l5byrinth @m3sty @inom17 @dna-black-and-blue @mizxuqii @d4ily-s-nsh1ne @mwsrphm @maxinehufflepuffprincess @intoanothermind @cayrelyra @coolasiangal123 @mariii-0001 @susuheartsyou @ineed-myspace @ruhaniii @ohtobelovedbyanartist @choihyunwookie @itzcandy

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Epic Buddie Fic Rec | February 17th-23rd 2025

I got braces put in last week - for the second time in my life mind you! - so it's been a pretty miserable week for me 🙃 so I started a 9-1-1 rewatch to cheer me up 😄 (and because I'm in 9-1-1 withdrawal, only 10 days to go!!!!)

I also want to rec a 9-1-1 rewatch podcast I've been listening to, Tales From the 118! They don't have a tumblr so I'll just link to their first episode. I've really been enjoying it!

Complete

love bite by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Werewolf Eddie, Established Buddie | 1,8K | Mature):

“It’s okay, Eddie.” Buck soothes, “This is okay. You’re allowed to give into these instincts. There’s nothing wrong with it. You can bite me all over if you want.”

just hold on until the sun comes up tomorrow by thelikesofus/ @thelikesofus (Post-S4E14: Survivors | 2K | Teen):

“Buck,” Eddie says Buck’s name like a promise, like a prayer. “You're having nightmares and I'm not sleeping. If we're both going to be awake all night we might as well be awake together.” OR Why should either of them have to face the darkness alone when they have each other?

Love Language by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S8A, Getting Together | 4K | Teen):

When Eddie reluctantly reveals he can speak Swedish, Buck ends up learning a lot more about him than he bargained for.

i wanna feel you from the inside by shortndiaz (Vampire Buck, PWP, S3 | 4K | Explicit):

Starts with ‘wanna go for the title?’ and ends in some blood and sex

Eddie 2.0 by bellabrady (Eddie Moves to Texas | 5K | Not Rated):

Or: After Eddie moves to Texas, Buck adopts a stray cat and names it Eddie.

🔥 The Great Valentine's Day Debacle of 2025 by giselleslash/ @gigi-gigi (Valentine's Day, Getting Together | 5K | General):

Eddie books a couples Valentine’s Day weekend for him and Buck. Except they’re not together. Eddie is an idiot.

tell me that you'll never let me go by farfromthstars/ @farfromthstars (Eddie Goes To Texas, Getting Together | 5K | Teen):

From the apartment, he calls Buck, who picks up after two rings. “Hey, did you make it okay?” Eddie leans back against the pillows on his bed and closes his eyes, wishing he was at home on his couch with Buck next to him. Or that Buck was here with him, at least. “Yeah, just got back from my parents’, actually.” “How’d it go?” Buck asks. His voice is warm, even through the phone. “Did Chris talk to you?” “A little bit,” Eddie says, and allows himself a smile. “Buck, he– he hugged me and told me he missed me. Of course, then he remembered that he was mad at me, but for a minute–” “That’s– that’s awesome, Eddie,” Buck says. “Hey, uh, I gotta run, but keep me posted, okay?” “Sure,” Eddie says, confused at being cut off so quickly. “What are you d–” But Buck has hung up already. ~ Eddie goes to Texas. Buck is being weird. It only takes them both five days to crack.

this life that we make by farfromthstars/ @doeeyeseddie (Post-S8E8: Wannabes | 5K | Teen):

Eddie stares at his bottle of beer and grits his teeth. He has to go, he knows it’s the right thing. He’s going to go. Why does he want Buck to ask him to stay so badly? “Why did you never ask me to stay?” Buck makes a sound, a mix of a hiss and a hiccup, and when Eddie turns to look at him, he suddenly looks as if he’s in pain. “Eddie, I–,” Buck rubs his hands on his thighs. “Did you want me to?” “I want you to be honest with me,” Eddie says. “And I guess I hope you’re not actually this…unbothered by my leaving.”

🔥TRUST! by pairofraggedclaws (PWP, Quarantine | 8K | Explicit):

“I get used to it, I guess. Kind of. After a while,” Eddie says. Then, very quietly, “I’m just, uh, sensitive.” “Oh,” Buck says. Eddie's just sensitive. Eddie, his best friend, who he has now seen when he comes. Who comes in under a minute if he isn’t getting some on the regs. This is – this is – interesting. * Love and premature ejaculation.

Good Job! by pretty_boy_buckley (Post-S8A, Getting Together | 8K | Mature):

Buck begins giving Eddie little star stickers to encourage him, Eddie really loves them

I don't wanna miss you like this by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Eddie Moves To Texas, Love Letters | 9K | Teen):

Once he was home—or, as Chris puts it, back in his stupid, shitty apartment, he sat down, poured himself a drink—then another, once he downed the first—took out his laptop, and started to type. It was surprisingly easy, once the alcohol hit his bloodstream, to write it out. To put himself in the mindset of someone who loved Buck and couldn’t keep it inside anymore. Eddie Diaz was living in El Paso—miles away from his best friend who needed him, struggling to cross the invisible distance his son was keeping from him. There was no quick fix for either—but he was working on it. And in the meantime, he could do something to help Buck feel better from afar.

I lose my feet in my father's shoes by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S8A, Chris Coming Home | 12K | Teen):

Just as Eddie is planning to move to El Paso, Chris gets into a fight at school, and Helena and Ramon decide they've had enough, sending Chris home.

The Pieces of You (I Carry With Me) by Kwills91/ @kwills91 (Post-S8E8: Wannabes, Getting Together | 12K | Teen):

Eddie makes Buck a baby box and chickens out of giving it to him, leaving it in his closet for years and trying his hardest to forget about it, and what it might mean. Until Buck is helping Eddie pack for his move to El Paso and happens to find it.

disappearing into the distance by bucksclipboard/ @endofthedaymp3 (Eddie Comes Back From Texas, Getting Together | 16K | Teen):

Eddie wasn’t sure why he and Maddie weren’t close. It was strange, considering her little brother was the most important person in his life. Still, when the door opened, tight hugs were exchanged and cheerful welcome homes rang in his ears. “Does Bobby know? I gotta call Bobby!”, Chimney yelled. “Could you wait a minute?”, Eddie interjected. His eyes darted between them for a moment and landed on Chim, deciding he was his best bet. “Maybe first explain to me why I went to see Buck and his loft was empty. Am I missing something? Did he move?” or: eddie comes back from texas – only to find that buck has left los angeles

WIP

🔥 Gentle On My Mind by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergent, Shannon Lives, Buck/Eddie/Shannon | 16/? | 96K | Explicit):

In which Shannon lives, tells a lie, and sends hers, Eddie's, and Buck's lives down a very different path

🔥 Doe & a Drop of Golden Sun by ohstars/ @oh-stars (Canon Divergent, Dad Buck | 13? | 58K | Teen):

Buck doesn't mean to keep secrets from everyone, but he also can't talk about the pain he experiences on a day to day basis. With his nine-year-old living across the country and his custody limited to one monthly visit, Buck doesn't know how to share this part of himself. How does he tell his team of six years that he's had a kid this whole time? How does he tell his sister? How does he tell his Edd-- best friend? It's fine. The universe isn't going to give him a choice in the matter when the worst thing imaginable becomes his reality.

Podfic

🔥 [Podfic] Paralytic Narcolepsy Guy Hates Buckley & Diaz by oRóis��n (oKathleen) // fic by eightpackdiaz (Outsider POV, Canon, Getting Together | 30-45min | Teen):

Paralytic Narcolepsy Guy is forced to listen to Buckley and Diaz talk to and about each other in his unconscious presence over the years. He insists he fucking hates them. But then he also accidentally helps them get engaged.

[nobodysdaydreams]

Hatchetverse Theory: The Parallels Between Paul (TGWDLM) and Grace (NPMD):

More thoughts and parallel screenshots under the keep reading, part of my #hatchetverse theory posts. Sorry these are all awful screen shots, I'm bad at gifs, but I hope I made my point.

The screenshots are pretty self-explanatory, but the parallels between Paul and Grace, especially with what happens to their characters at the end of their respective musicals, has been living in my head rent free, and I want to talk about it.

I've seen a lot of posts that speculate that the reason Grace went crazy at the end of NPMD is because she's just that blood thirsty and willing to kill, and while her character (at least of what I've seen of her in NPMD and what I've seen of nightmare time) is certainly intense, I wouldn't quite go so far to say she's always been that willing to hurt others, even for what she believes.

In fact, after rewatching NPMD, I realized something. When the kids first go to the Waylon Place, the others are the ones suggesting ways they can violently hurt Max. Pete even calls Grace's plan "goofy" and Richie is the one who suggests beating Max up. Grace is the one who tells them that all she wants to do is teach him a lesson and scare him and rejects their more violent ideas.

But after Max dies? That's when Grace's intensity starts taking a darker turn, and it's not as noticeable as it might be in the other kids because "Grace has always been kinda weird and intense" and the show has been playing that up for laughs since the beginning. But when you look at what happens to Grace in terms of her character's choices, she's the one who suddenly pulls a "bury the bully" plan out of nowhere when she was against even beating him up just a few hours ago. She's the one who suggests lying to the cops and trying to cover up what happened. She's the one who has a prophetic nightmare after the incident at the Waylon Place. That's also the moment when she symbolically loses her WWJD bracelet (though others have already pointed that out).

And if the LIB could infect Paul with spores just because he happened to be in close proximity to the meteor, then they could probably do something similar to any of the kids in the Waylon Place (and you cannot convince me that they were not the ones who collapsed the floorboards in the Waylon Place and killed Max).

But why would they target Grace you ask? Why not one of the other kids? That's a good question. I have a few theories.

The first has to do with what I mentioned before about hatchetverse's history of Webby's powers seeming to favor kids, and the LIB powers struggling to work on kids. We don't know how old most of the kids in NPMD are exactly, but the musical makes a point to tell us several times that Grace is "only 18" (Shaprio says she's a legal adult and will be tried as an adult in court). The musical also makes a point to have this be the Homecoming Dance (not Prom), which is in the fall, so most of the senior students wouldn't have turned 18 yet. We can also make an educated guess that Stephanie has turned 18 and Pete hasn't because she sings "wake me up when you turn 18" during their song. You could combat this by asking why the LIB never address Grace during the summoning and targeted Steph instead, which is a fair point. But interestingly, if you watch Grace, Steph, and Pete during the Summoning, Grace is silent most of the song, but looks completely horrified (especially when they tell her that they want what she cherishes most), despite the fact that from our perspective, the LIB aren't talking to her. She also seems to know exactly what the LIB want from her, because the next scene she's in is when she shows up to save Steph and Pete. During the Summoning, Pete, on the other hand, seems to mostly be involved in the conversation the LIB are having with Stephanie, although Grace also seems to understand what the LIB want from Stephanie. It's possible that this was intentional on the LIB's part, since they can see every timeline (in the "Abstinence Camp" episode of Nightmare Time, Grace gets between Steph, Pete, and Lumberaxe, risking her own life so that Lumberaxe doesn't hurt them. Grace might be willing to lose her own life for what she believes, but she might not be willing to lose her friends' lives. If the LIB know this, they'd likely want to make sure Grace understands that Steph or Pete will die unless she's the one who pays the price).

They have a personal reason for wanting her. In TGWDLM, Pokey hates Paul because...well, Paul doesn't like musicals but bigger picture, Paul resists Pokey's hive mind. Why would the LIB hate Grace? Possibly because she hates evil, the devil, and sin to an extreme degree. It could be a point of pride for the LIB: "we got the guy who didn't like musicals to join our musical and brainwash the world, and we got the girl who didn't like sin to devour souls for us." I've also seen a theory that Paul has some sort of resistance to the LIB because he doesn't like musicals and in a way sort of serves as a "prophet" in TGWDLM by warning others that musicals are bad. Grace arguably serves a similar role to Max in NPMD. She suggests Max becomes a better person "before he ends up in hell", which is ironic because then Max goes on to beat up Pete, which turns the nerds against him, setting off the chain of events that eventually lead him to actually being sent to hell (the black) by Grace. I've also seen some other theories suggesting that the LIB getting Paul in TGWDLM was really about getting Emma (since she was the one who starred in a musical before), and following that logic, it's possible that the LIB killing Max at the Waylon Place was really about getting Grace, because she'd still actually be alive. The LIB might have known this would work if they knew Max and Grace liked each other, and as seen in nightmare time, Grace is willing to risk her own life for her friends, and this might be consistent across several timelines.

Speaking of sacrifice, I know I covered this with the gifs, but the fact that Paul's last act was giving up his life, and Grace's was giving up what was essentially her morality and who she was so they could save their friends, only to have themselves turned into the very monsters they tried to destroy? Absolute tragedy.

But what's also interesting to me is how this happens. The way Grace and Paul both seem to lose control of themselves. With Paul it happens in one song and is more noticeable, but with Grace, it's a lot slower, and the more bad and morally questionable stuff she does, the funnier it is, and her character has been intense and over the top from the beginning, so you almost don't notice the difference in her actions until you rewatch the show. But her and Paul asking "Who am I?" has a similar creepy vibe, the screenshots I found for those moments (pictured below) even ended up looking very similar, though with Paul, you can see more of the fight happening during the song, whereas with Grace, it's more drawn out over the course of the show with these little moments of clarity where she has a complete breakdown.

Then of course there's the whole: What do you want thing?

Why do the LIB want what Grace cherishes most? Why do they want Paul to want anything at all?

And why do they phrase it in the creepiest way possible, asking for "a peek at Paul's soul" and telling him to "give up his choice" and telling Grace that they'll get "whatever they want" and that she'll "be forever in their debt?"

Well, probably because that does seem to be what happens. The most obvious screenshot parallels are probably their final numbers in their shows, which I think speak for themselves. The only unknown is what exactly is happening with the LIB and their whole "what do you want" thing. By taking what someone wants, do they replace that "want" in the person with wanting to serve them? How does that work?

At this point, I'm not sure, and I'm too tired to continue the rant, but I'd be happy to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.

I hope you enjoy Starkid fandom. Thank you for listening to my rants!

[madkiska]

watching the entirety of jrwi: riptide again. here's some important things from the first few episodes that I feel we forgot (<110 mentions too though)

Jay

Had night terrors similar to those of Kubakinta's curse in episode 5, and they eventually start returning even after Loffinlot's curse is lifted ○ All of them were about her family and/or the navy ○ I simply think people leave her out of the nightmare stuff and she deserves it. Hurt her more, please (he said, lovingly)

was actually very upset at having to use her medal to get a Loffinlot rebellion to shut up ○ This could be because she didn't want them to guess she was a spy, but I choose to believe it's because she felt guilty

"If you're gonna be sailing with someone, you should have a good relationship with them. [nervous chuckle]." She says, while asking him for information about the Black Rose Pirates (ep. 10)

Said "thank god they didn't find me" after a nightmare about the navy attacking. Even when she was supposedly a spy, who one day would have to return to the navy ○ Very unclear if she was scared of her dad, or if it's because she was a secret spy so the navy would've just killed her

Rewatching, she was suspiciously into the plundering and gold and stuff. Like that was real sus. It doesn't fit her current character much

The only one among them who's gambled before

Chip

The entire thing literally starts off with Bizly holding a lit match

Called Gillion "Gill" and Jay "Sureshot" from an early stage

Was SO much more of a bastard. Lied to Gill constantly, didn't care about anything but the money, etc.

Had aggressive hand tremors alongside Jay's night terrors ○ Gill cures it with lay on hands

When he gets drunk married, they talk extensively about how he'd be released when he's dead. Welp.

They did actually break up and it was fine and they were still friends. They parted on good terms

Is really fucking good at chess ○ Beat Earl twice and Jay once. Jay had a point of exhaustion after a nightmare but Earl had no excuse ○ Lost to Gillion though, but only cause of prophetic screwup ○ This kid is smarter than he lets on, y'all

Was the first one to have a backstory dump while Jay is asking him about the Black Rose Pirates, yet still we know jack shit about his life before them other than "orphan"

Gill

Charlie has referred to Gillion with 'they' many times. I can pull receipts.

When describing Gill, Charlie said: "He's more.. elven, if you had to make a comparison. 'Cause I don't wanna be a fish guy". Oh, honey.

Smote a bald person by using his hair as a whip (ep. 4)

Was given anxiety and self-doubt alongside jay's night terrors and chip's tremors ○ "What do you want?" "I want the feeling of satisfaction I've been chasing my whole life." ○ This was episode FIVE.

First mention of the prophecy and how Gillion wasn't their ideal student is ep. 7, after he divine smites + prophetic screwups and deals like 60 damage to some beetles ○ Chip spends the next 30 seconds in gay awe

He refers to the crescent moon Niklaus tattoo as "my zodiac" (probably a bit) ○ It's not a lil basic white girl moon this thing is the entire size of his forearm

Gill had never heard about the Black Sea - it's unclear if the Undersea just don't know, or if that's just how sheltered he was (ep. 10)

Biz: "What would Gillion do. If he just had no goal - was just sitting there." "Gillion always has a goal." "Would his goal ever be to just.. Sit there?" "Absolutely not." ○ Later, Chip expresses that he doesn't know what Gillion likes. What he would want out of winning a bet. Gillion doesn't have an answer

Other

Apple, in a couple of early battles, acted like Gill's familiar (see: ep. 7)

They also pecked at his Niklaus tramp stamp and looked all confused at the idea of eating seeds

The specific crescent of the moon in the Niklaus tattoo is known as a symbol of "corruption" (ep. 9) and its antonym is the sun, for "life", similar to the yin and yang ○ Interesting to consider after what the tree said in 110 <_<

Pretzel has a masters degree in couple's therapy (ep. 10)

The Albatross/Millennium Chipper was described as the colour of rosewood or mahogany

Captain Lizzie's first introduction was a wanted poster, and Chip wanted to turn her in for the prize, then decided to try learn from her instead

Chip/Bizly called Old Man Earl "Erol" for a loooong time ○ Maybe it's an accent thing but I have an uncle called Erol and so this stands out to me

[aylacavebear]

Soulmates? Yeah, right, pft. - Ch. 10

When you turn sixteen, and your soulmate's name doesn’t appear anywhere on your body that you can find, you figure you had to be the only person on the planet who didn’t have one. Most of the town shuns you, so you stick close to family. Your Aunt Ellen raised you after your parents died in a car crash when you were two, but what happens when the Winchesters return to town and buried secrets begin to come to light?

Pairing: Mechanic Dean Winchester x OC Reader/You

Word Count: 2490

Warnings: Fluff, Dean being a sweetheart, Dealing with emotional stuff.

A/N: This is my non-Supernatural fic I'm attempting. Please let me know what you think, as I always love hearing from my readers.

----------------------------------------- Chapter 10

Over the next two weeks, not much really happened. There were times when the cameras alerted you to movement, but you never saw anything on them. That was frustrating, even after rewatching them a dozen or more times. Not even an animal was in the frames, anywhere. Dean had even watched them, and if he had seen anything or thought of anything, he’d kept it to himself.

You also hadn’t heard anything from anyone about what was going on in the outside world. It felt like being in a sort of limbo, playing the waiting game. Dean had started sleeping next to you in your bed as the nightmares began coming more often. It was only when he held you that they stayed away. They always involved the same people and the bunker being found.

The mark on your collarbone burned often, and when it was really bad, Dean always put cream on it. There was a gentleness in his touch that always seemed to calm you. The new feelings around him were odd but welcoming, and you wished his name would show up on your collarbone already, if he really was your soulmate.

You had also pushed many of your thoughts and questions to the back of your mind. There were far too many, and you had no way of getting the answers you needed. None of the pieces made enough sense to you to act on anything, so you kept things to only friendship with Dean. Hoping had only brought you pain in the past. You chose to enjoy just having a best friend and that you weren’t alone in the bunker, as that would have driven you stir-crazy.

There were times Dean would disappear to a different room than you and be gone for far longer than needed just to use the bathroom. You hadn’t said anything but made a mental note of how often it was, and it was becoming more frequent. When he’d return to whatever room you two were in at the time, he’d always have a small smile, but there was something in his eyes that told you he was hiding something.

You weren’t entirely sure what day it even was when you woke up that morning and crawled out of bed. Dean was already awake and in the kitchen. You found him there cooking yet another odd concoction with what non-perishables were available in the pantry. Yawning, you made your way to the coffee pot and poured a cup.

“Morning, Sweetheart,” he smiled, looking over at you briefly.

“Morning,” you yawned out, taking a seat at the kitchen table, still not awake.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“I guess,” you mumbled, sipping the warm coffee and enjoying the flavor. Dean always made the best-tasting coffee, and you couldn’t figure out how he managed to do that every damn time.

Dean plated up an interesting breakfast. You couldn’t even really tell what it was as you stared at the plate he had set in front of you. It smelled good, at least.

“I swear, it won’t kill you if you eat it. I had to get creative,” he chuckled, seeing the skepticism on your face. 

You gave him a wary glance before taking a bite of the odd-looking concoction on the plate in front of you but were pleasantly surprised with its taste. You weren’t sure if you could compare it to anything you’d eaten before, but at the same time, it tasted familiar. Dean smirked as he watched you realize what he had made tasted far better than how it looked.

“Honestly, it’s not bad,” you finally told him after a couple of bites.

“Glad you like it,” he managed through his laughter.

“I’m looking forward to tasting how you cook normal food,” you teased him with a small smile.

“This is normal food,” he chuckled, taking another bite.

You just rolled your eyes, playfully though, finding him adorable. The two of you ate mostly in silence, only talking about what you’d fill the day with. You’d watched all the movies in the place and had played almost all the simple word games either of you could come up with. As you washed the dishes, you mentioned wanting to look around again. 

Dean groaned from the table, “We’ve been over this place like a dozen times already.”

“I know. I just want to look,” you replied, more focused on your thoughts and the dishes than the conversation.

He made another annoyed grumble that you couldn’t quite make out before he headed out to the living room. A few moments later, you heard the sound of one of the westerns beginning to play. You weren’t all that into those particular movies and wondered if perhaps your father may have been. 

There were times, like today, when the bunker felt almost confining. You missed the sun and watching it set. To see the colors change as it dipped beyond the horizon. Then there were the stars at night and even the moon. They felt like distant memories as you walked into the monitor room. The box of files still sat there on the table. You’d looked through it multiple times but didn’t understand the legal jargon in half of it. With a heavy sigh, you sat down and pulled the papers out again, flipping through them in hopes that something would stand out. You’d put the letters from your parents there as well. As you reread the last one, you frowned, wishing you knew what was going on in the outside world. 

One of the camera recordings began flashing, drawing your attention to it. You changed seats and sat in front of the monitor, closely watching the camera. Still, it was like nothing was there.

I wonder if this place is haunted.

The thought almost made you chuckle. You knew that wasn’t the case, or the cameras would have alerted you far before this set of incidents. They typically didn’t flash during the day, and today, you saw something. It didn’t seem like much to you as you tilted your head and watched the tiny rock barely come into view on the far side of the screen. Hell, you would have missed it if it had happened at night.

“Dean!” you hollered, staring at the monitor.

He showed up behind you far faster than you thought he would, “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, almost sounding out of breath for a moment.

“A rock set this one off,” you told him, still fairly dumbfounded at the oddness of it.

“A rock?” he asked, but he didn’t sound confused, he sounded concerned.

You pulled up the recording and showed it to him on the screen, where it had barely come into view on the far side of what the camera could pick up. “See. There,” you told him, pointing to the rock again on another replay.

“Sweetheart, move,” he told you, and his tone began to worry you, but you got up so he could sit down.

“It’s just a rock,” you said, crossing your arms.

Dean didn’t say anything in return. He began pulling up old videos, and you sighed. Instead of standing there and watching him, you cleaned up the papers on the table and put them neatly back in their box. You glanced at Dean one more time before heading out to the living room, now fairly bored, again. 

You and Dean had moved the furniture around a few different times, just trying to make the place feel different, but it was beginning to feel stifling. The things you missed played through your mind again as you tried to remember what the sun felt like on your skin or the breeze of a cool fall day blowing through your hair.

The two of you had gone over every inch of the place and hadn’t found any more secret rooms, but for some reason, you felt like you were still missing something. You weren’t even sure where to look at this point. Knowing you had to distract yourself from your thoughts, you sighed and began looking over the bookshelf again. 

In movies, they always use bookshelves to hide secret rooms. Is that too obvious? Would my parents do that sort of thing? 

Again, you slid your fingers over the shelves and along the books. Nothing stood out or felt different. It just felt like a regular wooden shelf painted white to match the off-white walls. It was the one piece of furniture that neither you nor Dean could move though. You even checked along the sides of it where it met the wall.

The surface was smooth under your fingers as you slowly trailed them down the side of the bookcase. There was literally nothing there, just shelf and wall. Frustrated, you grabbed a chair from the kitchen and set it in front of the bookshelf. Last time, Dean had been the one to check the top of it and along the wall. You were barely tall enough once on the chair to see the top of the bookshelf. It was a little dusty, so you tried to wipe it away with your hand. Even after you got most of the dust off of it, you still didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. It just looked like a shelf to you. With a sigh, you ran your index finger along the back where it attached to the wall. You may not have felt anything, but you heard something click, and the shelf popped half an inch away from the wall.

You nearly fell off the chair, startled due to standing on your tiptoes. Holding your chest as your heart began to calm down, you slipped off the chair, moving out of the way. Dean still hadn’t come out of the monitor room, so you slipped your fingers inside the small opening and pulled the shelf away from the wall. It was another staircase that led down.

Makes sense. The house above is two stories, why wouldn’t this one have another floor?

The air that drifted from the staircase felt cooler than the floor you were on, and it piqued your curiosity. You glanced toward the hallway before slipping inside, then down the steps. It wasn’t as narrow as the other staircase, but it was dark. I should have looked for a light switch.

Making it to the bottom, you moved your hand along the wall and smiled when you found the light switch there. A light above the stairs came on, causing you to look at it. Then you cursed under your breath for looking at the bright bulb. There was an open doorway to the right of the stairs, so again, felt along the inside of it for a light switch. You really didn’t feel like fumbling around in the dark.

As your fingers flicked it upward, your jaw nearly dropped. The room was huge. In the center was a pool table, and along the walls were more bookcases, only these held games and books of all sorts. 

Wish I’d found this a month ago.

You chuckled to yourself as you looked around, even peeking into the other room that was there. When you did, your jaw hit the floor. It was a walk-in freezer almost the size of the pantry on the other floor. You licked your lips when you saw all sorts of different meats packed neatly away on the shelves. Dean’s gonna love this.

As you were reading over some of the book titles, you barely heard your name being called from upstairs, which pulled your gaze to the open doorway. Knowing you shouldn’t make him worry, you headed back upstairs, making it past the bookshelf just as he came into the living room.

He looked at you, fairly confused, “What’d you find?”

“You’re gonna love it,” you told him excitedly, completely forgetting the rock thing on the monitor from earlier.

You grabbed Dean’s hand and led him downstairs. He looked just as surprised as you were, but when he saw the walk-in freezer, he smiled from ear to ear.

“Oh, we’re having steak tonight,” he stated after licking his lips. Dean picked out a couple of steaks and then went back into what you had deemed the game room. “Might have to test out that pool table later,” he added as he glanced over at it.

“Do you even know how to play pool?” you asked him mildly curiously.

“Sweetheart, yes, I know how to play pool,” he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

The enjoyment was short-lived as a small red light lit up near the doorway, and the two of you looked at each other before running back upstairs. You’d even forgotten to turn off the lights down there. Dean still had the steaks in hand as you reached the monitor room, but again, there was nothing noticeable on the screen. 

He sighed and set the steaks on the table, then stood behind you, “They’re trying to figure out where the cameras are and how far they can see,” he explained in a worried tone.

You looked up at him, still a bit confused, “What do you mean?”

“Your birthday is less than a month away. Sam’s at least got your case in the system, and the first court date is next week, but that’s just to hear it out. Vaught’s men are trying to find you before your birthday and before things get too far in the courts,” Dean explained as he leaned against the table, crossing his arms.

Looking back at the monitor you saw it flash red again. The rocks they were using were almost impossible to spot. “But, they can’t find us here, can they?” you asked quietly, hoping you didn’t sound as worried as you felt.

“So far, I don’t think they can. Jodi even called in some outside help to keep an eye on the house, but these guys are good. At least your parents hid the cameras well. We won’t have to worry unless these people find them and take them out,” Dean replied, keeping an even tone.

It was something you couldn’t understand with him, how he seemed to keep what he was feeling out of his words. He also seemed to keep his expression just as plain. There were little things he did, but they were so subtle they were easy to miss.

“Why does it feel like there's something you’re not telling me?” you asked carefully.

He sighed, still watching the monitor, “Sam found a loophole in the paperwork. If he can’t get a judge to take on your case and have the paperwork in a judge's hands before your birthday, Cole has the legal right to marry you, and no one can stop it. He could even make the case last for years in the system, and you’d have to stay married to him.”

No… ----------------------------------------- Chapter 11

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If I missed tagging, please let me know. I had a lot of requests for tags for this one. If you'd like to be tagged, drop me a comment.

[radioisntdead]

Hello, can we have a hc Overlord!Parental Figure reader for Velvette? I just think it would be silly to have us scolding Velvette at the Overlord Meeting. Also I wish to be tall, between Carmilla and Rosie's height-🙃

Good evening my dear! I do hope you enjoy these! Also I felt that wish to be tall.

Parental figure overlord! reader x Daughter figure! Velvette headcanons

She made sure you wouldn't be at the overlord meeting where she sung respectless because if you were there and she pulled that stunt with the angel's head and the music number with Carmine, she would've been smacked.

I'm thinking you were one of the first overlords she met after she died, she got lucky that you immediately viewed her as a child figure because otherwise she would NOT be where she was today.

She'd be dead or worse.

I imagine back in the early days you just showed up with her to Rosie's like "This is my disrespectful child! Velvette! Say hi to Miss Rosie!" "no."

You taught her practically everything you know about being an overlord.

You let her slide with her behavior most of the time, mostly with regular sinners or hellborn, but with overlords? You shut that shit DOWN, especially if you consider some of them, Like Carmilla Carmine or Zestial, friends of yours.

Like Velvette chill the fuck out those are your godparents.

Forbid that you WERE at the meeting with the musical number she's getting YOINKED off the table, you're tall, she's short it's not a tough fight.

At regular overlord meetings whenever she starts getting too feral, you just give her the mom look™ or the dad look™

Or whatever the middle version of that is, the grunkle stan look??™

And she chills out.

Or if that doesn't work a "Velvette." In a certain tone does the trick.

You see Vox and [Vomiting noises] Valentino as her little friends, you don't take them seriously despite having a couple of business deals with Vox.

Y'all have little Parent child days that involve going out to eat, spa, movies or something etc etc with matching outfits obviously.

You know how some kids have a separate social media account from their parents? Well she can't exactly do that so she just sets it up to where you can only see SOME of her posts.

Speaking of her social medias guess who gets mother's Day/father's day posts dedicated to them?

You!

You know that one thing that's like "THIS HOUSE IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE" with the dude getting on the refrigerator that's Velvette with you sometimes.

You may or may not live in the vee tower no one knows you just kinda, appear.

Sometimes if your scolding Velvette and Vox or [more vomiting noises]Valentino walk in, they get roped into it.

Thankfully the only one that actually gets beaten is Valentino

Sometimes when you visit Carmilla you drag Velvette with you to have a playdate with Carmilla's daughters while you and Carmilla have like, tea or a business meetings.

Whenever she's sick, you come in CLUTCH bringing in soups, meds, tucking her in and making sure she rests.

For your birthdays she makes your present [which is usually some type of clothing] personally, like she's the one sewing.

It needs to be perfect for her parent, and the fools working under her would NOT make it perfectly.

She WOULD not tell you that she's the one that makes it herself.

You definitely bring her something whenever you visit her, like she's a spoiled brat for a reason, veruca salt but better, more ironic and less annoying.

Good evenin' folks! I hope y'all enjoyed! I rewatched Velvette clips while writing and lowkey forgot how iconic she is, anywho as always thank you for tunin' on in!

[st4rzzl0verr]

yo! love ur shit <3 could you do a mh jam one shot?

AGHHHH THANK YOU AND YESSSS

i hope you like this i don't know if its the best thing ever created but love my traumatized gay boys

Jay’s body ached more with each hour he kept himself awake, rewatching tapes over and over and over. He knew this was idiotic, but there had to be something he missed. It seemed like there always was. His lips pursed as he locked himself in a hunch over at the less than decently built hotel desk, a low sigh rumbling out of him. But he still paused again and rewinded.

Pause, groan, rewind. Rinse, shutter, repeat.

Tim had walked out of the room abruptly about ten minutes ago. The only reason Jay didn’t find this odd enough to go follow him is the fact that he assumed Tim was going out for a smoke. His assumption would prove to be correct, smoke billowing from Tim’s mouth as he sighed out the drag he had taken. He was leaning against the wall right outside their room with a blank expression directed towards the concrete below, a harsh coughing fit suddenly ripping through him. But he cleared his throat and still put the cigarette back up to his lips.

In, hold, out. Rinse, shutter, repeat.

Jay shut the laptop, pushing it to the farside of the desk and scooting out his chair with his legs. He stood and made his way to the door, a slight breeze hitting his face along with the smell of smoke as he yanked it open. He stepped out and turned to his right. Jay’s eyes met Tim’s perplexed face, but he just stood there, waiting for him to say something.

“Where’s the fire?” Tim monotoned, his stare finally breaking away from Jay and settling on the concrete again.

“What?” He searched the side of Tim’s face.

“Nothing. It’s late, you should probably get some sleep.”

“Well, I’m trying to figure out some of the footage. It's really distorted though.” Jay explained.

“Yeah, I heard it playing over and over.” Tim snarked slightly, causing Jay to wince at the idea of Tim having to hear that garbled audio a million times over.

“Right, uh, sorry about that.” The air was as tense and awkward as it always seemed to be between the two.

“So are you gonna go get some sleep or am I gonna have to tuck you in?” Tim looked back at Jay, a slight twinkle in his eye. He lifted up the cigarette and took another drag.

“Hah, yeah I can go try I guess.” Jay turned around, and then turned back. “What about you?”

“Hm?” Tim pulled the cigarette away from his mouth.

“Are you gonna come back in… or…?”

“Oh, yeah, I probably should.” Tim flicked the cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out.

Jay nodded and walked back into the hotel, thinking over the conversation and silently cursing at himself for being so off-putting again. He flopped onto his bed and rolled onto his side, not caring about getting out of his jeans or pulling up the covers. Maybe that was mistake number one when it came to how his nightly routines always went. Terrible comfort, terrible nightmares, and barely any sleep. It didn’t even surprise him when he woke up from another horrifying dream. The only thing that did surprise him is the fact that he awoke with a scream. His head whipped over to Tim who had shot up from his slumber at the noise.

“What? What happened!?” Tim was breathing heavily, staring at Jay like a deer in headlights.

“Nothing! Nothing happened,” Jay started. “Just a nightmare… Sorry.”

“Oh…” Tim seemed to almost immediately relax, blinking a couple of times and rubbing his eyes. “Was it really that bad that you had to scream?”

“It's not like I woke up and decided to scream, the scream woke me up.” Jay scoffed, moving to sit at the edge of the bed with his hands in his head.

“Right.” Tim sighed. “Are you gonna be able to get back to sleep?”

“Probably not. Why?”

“Well, me neither.” Tim raised his eyebrows in that sort of sardonic way he always did. “You need anything?”

“Uh… Well yeah but I wouldn't ask you for that.”

“What is it?”

“Like… comfort? I guess. But we're not really close enough for that. So don't worry about it.” Jay shifted back onto the bed and halfway curled into himself, facing away from Tim now.

Tim pushed the covers from himself and stepped over to Jay’s bed, trying as hard as he could to not disturb Jay as he laid down behind him, his hand going to run through the side of the others hair. He didn't really know what brought him to do this but he knew it mattered to him that Jay didn't have to go through… Well, everything he went through.

“Hm?” Jay almost flinched away, but he decided to stay still, attempting to not break whatever spell Tim was under to be doing such a thing.

“I don’t know about you but, I think this whole thing has brought us a bit closer. And… I care about you.” Tim shifted slightly closer until his chest was flush with Jay’s back.

Jay leaned into him, the motion was barely noticeable but Tim still caught it.

“And I especially care about you getting good sleep. Things like nightmares are a pain in the ass. I would know.

Jay snorted softly, his eyes beginning to flutter shut. Tim’s hand was still nimbly running through his hair, the light sensation of his fingertips calming his unruly nerves.

“Thank you.” Jay murmured.

“Don't mention it.” Tim hummed, his arm moving down and resting around Jay’s waist, embracing him as they both nodded off into much needed sleep.

[hyog-blog]

Fangs of Fortune (ep. 5 + ep. 6) [rewatch]

Rewatching is hard :D I got so sucked into the show (again!) that I didn't even bother stopping to process it (again!).

But this scene/sequence/episode in particular is so precious - not only do we get to meet Li Lun again, but he establishes himself as ZYZ's rival and the enemy of their whole little team for the nearest future.

We also see him get hurt by Zhao Yuanzhou's words and, what's even more fascinating, we see ZYZ and Zhuo Yichen work together in such unison against him, effortlessly and quite naturally like they've done it their whole lives.

Zhao Yuanzhou doesn't even think twice about protecting Zhuo Yichen, having already noticed Li Lun's presence at the end of ep.5 (and he may not have the Truth Eye, he may not be tuned into Li Lun with his heart like before, but he spots Zhuo Yichen's sword glow and he does realize it must be him before anyone else can, and that still speaks volumes about how much that man meant to him, at least, before).

This episode has that extra layer of depth because Zhuo Yichen gets to dream for the first time in a long while, and what a dream it is! That whole Inception-esque sequence of going deeper into his psyche and his very soul using water as a portal (so cool!) until he reaches not even his own dreams, but a variation of Wen Xiao's memory (so meta!) where he witnesses her being killed by Zhu Yan and he can't save her (probably one of his biggest fears, to not be able to save the person he cherishes the most, again, just like it happened with his brother).

But that last dream must have a deeper metaphorical meaning because when he realizes that Zhu Yan isn't the ultimate evil that he has to fight outside of himself, but merely a representation of his own helplessness and fear and that malicious energy that was his own and not something created by Zhu Yan, then he gets his moment of epiphany and, maybe, as I imagine it, that is also a major shift in his understanding of life and fate and what role Zhao Yuanzhou played in all of it, which later helps him forgive ZYZ when he finds out that it wasn't actually him personally who killed his brother and father, which makes all the difference.

Like, it's such an important moment for him to be able to dream and to find himself again, and truly meet with his darkest fears inside of that dream, that I can only applaud the showrunners for putting this extra layer of depth into the development of Zhuo Yichen's character.

And, of course, there's the notion of Zhao Yuanzhou sacrificing himself just to help Zhuo YIchen see, to show him the truth, whatever it was, like he was already tuned in so much into Zhuo Yichen and what was happening to him that he could at least guess even without using the mind-link about what horrors would torment this young man in his dreams. And knowing very well that he's pretty much on top of the list of his possible nightmares.

And making the other see is such an important theme in this show. Because some people just see the truth naturally (like Zhuo Yichen) while others stay blind while even having the Truth Eye (like Li Lun).

That it is Zhao Yuanzhou who lets Zhuo Yichen pierce his heart and uses his blood to wake up the sword and, subsequently, wake up ZYC and bring him back to life from the death-dream, already speaks volumes about the bond they are already sharing and what it would turn into later. Wen Xiao wouldn't have been able to bring Zhuo Yichen back from that dream, and no one else could. It's such a shared fate/destiny moment, especially knowing that it was Li Lun who created this whole situation to begin with and gave Zhuo Yichen his dreams back. So many layers, oh my god.

[jadelotusflower]

Rewatch: Return to Oz (1985)

I've been on a bit of an Oz kick recently, revisiting the original Baum books and of course anticipating Wicked coming out later this year (which I'm managing expectations for to avoid disappointment).

Return to Oz was a staple (and nightmare fuel) for many a millennial childhood, at the tail end of the "dark fantasy" era popularised by The Neverending Story and The Dark Crystal, the antithesis of the Technicolour, musical world of MGM's The Wizard of Oz - a dystopian future that reflects the fracturing of Dorothy's mind and her inability to reconcile the trauma of her previous Kansas-Oz journey.

Return lives in a sort of mirror world to the 1939 film, taking elements such as the ruby slippers (for which Disney had to pay MGM a hefty fee), but returning to the original illustrations for the character designs, and drawing inspiration from Baum's novels but not explicitly adapting them. It also returns Dorothy to a child rather than Garland's quasi-teenager, which is important as I feel Baum (an advocate of women's suffrage) had a keen interest in the empowerment of girls as the heroes of their own stories.

To evoke that other turn of the century fantasy classic, Dorothy is to early modern American folklore as Alice is to English, and if The Wizard of Oz is Wonderland, Return to Oz is Through the Looking Glass. In fact Return relies heavily on the mirror motif, not only literally, in the mirror that entraps Ozma, but Ozma herself as a mirror to Dorothy. Return also takes the Kansas/Oz dichotomy from the film in reflecting people Dorothy knows in Kansas to characters of Oz (a concept not found in the books), but while in Wizard it’s Dorothy’s trio of friends that are personified in the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion, in Return it is her trio of antagonists from Kansas who appear in Oz - the Dr Worley/The Nome King, Nurse Wilson/Mombi, and the Orderly/Wheeler.

Her Oz friends in Return are instead pulled from inanimate objects - Ozma gives her a pumpkin that personifies in Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok resembles the "Electrical Therapy" machine with the face, and the gump...well, I guess they forgot about that one.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Fairuza Balk was just 11 but has a compelling screen presence - her Dorothy is troubled and serious, befitting the overall darker tone of the film. While she would go on to embody "witchy" energy in later roles, here there's a world-weariness yet innate strength to her Dorothy.

Aunt Em helpfully tells us it's been six months since the tornado and Dorothy can't sleep. Her body may be back in Kansas, but her mind remains in Oz.

The film doesn't really pick a lane between the "it was all a dream" of the 1939 film and the "Oz is an actual place" of the books, leaving it for the viewer to decide. We are told the old house was "lost" but that can suit either interpretation, same with the OZ key being either delivered by shooting star or the key to the old house (as Em posits). Dorothy's inability to sleep is either unresolved trauma from the tornado, or longing to return to her friends in Oz and/or sensing that there is trouble in Oz.

I'm much more sympathetic to Em as an adult - she has a husband unable or unwilling to finish building the new house, Dorothy won't stop rabbiting on about nonsense rather than helping with chores, and she has to borrow money from her sister to pay for medical treatment to try and cure Dorothy's insomnia.

Justice for Aunt Em! Played with grace by three-time Oscar nominee Piper Laurie (for The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God respectively).

Poor Toto doesn't get to come on this adventure, but hey, he's still around, guess Mrs Gulch didn't make good on her threat to have him destroyed (or she died in the tornado, which is probably likely given the Witch's fate).

Just a guy patronizing a child that the machine intended to surge electricity through her brain is perfectly safe because it has a face.

But there is a face in the machine - Ozma, stuck in the glass.

Nicol Williamson is our villain, with a fantastic voice. Mostly known for theatre and Shakespeare, you may remember him as Merlin from that other dark fantasy classic Excalibur, or as Little John from Robin and Marian.

Jean Marsh is our witch, complete with black gown and pointed sleeves - to continue our fantasy bingo she was Queen Bavmorda in Willow (which I've actually never seen) and Rose in the original Upstairs Downstairs (which I've never seen either). She'll always be creepy Mombi to me.

We see Ozma in the glass again before she appears in Dorothy's room, ethereal barefoot child gifting her a carved pumpkin because "it's Halloween soon". Okay, whatever you have to do to get there.

On that note, the screenplay was written by Gill Dennis (who would go on to co-write Walk the Line) and Walter Murch, who also directed. Murch was film school friends with George Lucas, and they wrote THX-1138 together - Lucas has a "special thanks" credit on this film. Murch worked steadily in sound design and editing (nominated for 10 Oscars with 4 wins), but after Return was a box office failure he never directed another film, which is a real shame.

Dorothy "combs" the pumpkins hair, which I find very charming.

The growing tension of Dorothy's isolation, being strapped to the gurney, the squeaking wheels, the far-off screaming: this is a horror film for children.

My sister and I used to re-create Ozma and Dorothy's escape on our grandmother's porch all the time.

Because we’re in a mirror, the streaming river of Kansas becomes the deadly desert of Oz - water, of course, also being a mirror and common pathway/doorway between worlds.

Billina the hen also appears, because Dorothy needs an animal companion, who can now talk because she is in Oz. The question is whether Toto could also talk, as all animals can in Oz, and simply chose not to (iirc in the books he didn't because he could "make himself understood" without words or something). The chicken puppetry is really quite good, I'll always prefer puppets/animatronics over cgi.

The voice of Billina is provided by Denise Bryer, who was the "junk lady" in Labyrinth (have we got that bingo yet?).

Another reflection - the packed lunch that was taken from Dorothy at the sanitarium in Kansas is returned to her in the form of a lunch pail tree in Oz, which leans towards the reading that Oz is a projection of Dorothy's mind as a way to cope and resolve/repair the traumas of her Kansas life.

Dorothy comes across her old house that is seemingly not in Munchkinland, the broken remains of the yellow brick road nearby. How much time has passed in Oz? Since everyone was turned to stone it could be hundreds of years and we're in a Narnia situation - at least long enough for a forest to grow where there once was a munchkin town square.

Glinda is conspicuous by her absence - probably because the plot couldn't happen if she was around.

Also absent are any stone munchkins which has very dark implications - the Emerald City still has ruins and stone inhabitants, but Munchkinland has been completely obliterated.

lol, Dorothy runs to the Emerald City in literally minutes, a journey that previously took half a film.

Sleep well, kids!

If we go with the interpretation that Oz is a manifestation of Dorothy's mind (maladaptive daydreaming?), it is interesting how she projects people and objects from her real life into her fantasy life - obviously her threats in the sanitarium become the villains, but the Electric Shock machine becomes Tik-Tok, her erstwhile protector. In this, she transforms a threat into an ally, and yet much is made that he isn't, and cannot be, "alive."

Many of the elements of this film - Billina, the Wheelers, Tik-Tok, the Nome King, and the princess with a hundred heads - came from Ozma of Oz, while Ozma herself, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the witch Mombi (combined in this film with Princess Langwidere) originate in the earlier The Marvellous Land of Oz, with a different backstory.

Oh to be a wicked witch, playing a mandolin, in a gilded, mirrored palace.

I enjoy this costume! Reflective of the high structured sleeves of nurse but sharp to emphasise the danger Mombi poses, and with the same mechanical accents/coloiur scheme as the Wheelers

Those cabinets full of heads are still so creepy. The way they watch Dorothy - are they alive and aware the whole time? Horrifying.

Jack Pumpkinhead was voiced by a young Brian Henson (who also acted as puppeteer).

I always used to fast-forward the scene where Dorothy steals the key and gets chased by headless Mombi as a kid, it was just too tense.

I mean maybe this isn't scary to kids today, but it sure freaked the fuck out of me. Especially with all of those heads screaming in their cabinets.

But how exactly was zombie Mombi snoring without a head?

Interesting that the cabinet with Mombi's original head is the only one without transparent glass, but instead has a mirror. Her original head is also kept in cabinet 31, which was Dorothy's room in the sanitarium. As a kid I was always dead set that Oz was real and Dorothy really went there, but now I'm leaning more towards Oz as a manifestation, or at least a world directly influenced and constantly adapting based on Dorothy's experiences. Was she unable to sleep in Kansas because she knew Oz was in trouble, or was Oz in trouble because of her mental discord?

"If his brain's run down, how can he talk?" "It happens to people all the time Jack!" is a nice callback to "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking don't they?"

In which we strain the metaphor.

But all these mirrors also serve a story purpose as well as a metaphorical one - the mirror world is where Mombi has trapped Ozma, so she can look on every surface and see her victory. The mirror is also a connection with the real world, and how Ozma can reach Dorothy and draw her back to Oz. Mirrors are reflections, but they are also doorways, as we see in this very scene as Ozma directs Dorothy to the right passage to get back up to the tower.

We also get another Dorothy/Ozma parallel, in which she becomes a surrogate mother to Jack in place of Ozma, his creator.

There's almost some social commentary in the Nome King's grievances: "All the previous stones in the world are made here in my underground dominions...so imagine how I feel when someone from the world above digs down and steals my treasures? All those emeralds in the Emerald City really belong to me. I was just taking back what was mine to begin with." But of course he didn't just take back the emeralds, he turned the populace to stone or into inanimate objects so that does undercut his point a bit.

Her descent visually recalls (deliberate or not) Alice's fall down the rabbit hole in Wonderland. The VFX are pretty rough though.

Dorothy points out that he has so much, implying perhaps he could share, and the Nome King retorts "that's not the point." It is the point in later books, where under Ozma's leadership the Emerald City is essentially a utopian communal living society.

She also points out that the Scarecrow didn't take the emeralds rather they were there when he was made king, but the film is uninterested in exploring the culpability around generational wealth and repatriation of cultural property.

But it's interesting how much the Oz story revolves around powerful objects and theft and/or appropriation of them. Glinda steals the Witch of the East's ruby slippers and gives them to Dorothy, who then steals the Witch of the West's broom to give to the Wizard, Mombi steals Ozma, someone stole the emeralds from the Nome King, who steals them back, Mombi steals heads, Dorothy steals the Powder of Life, etc etc

At this point the Nome King is merely a face in the stone, but when he comforts Dorothy he starts to takes a more humanoid rock form, with a hand to reach out to her.

Is his sympathy genuine or feigned? I'm going with the latter, since he manipulates her into playing the "guessing game" to try and get the Scarecrow back.

Worst production of Starlight Express ever.

When I was a kid I always wanted to try the limestone pie and hot silver drink, but now it looks super gross.

The Gump chose…poorly.

The Nome King making points again - Dorothy and co didn't ask what would happen if they got it wrong, even Tik-Tok only brings it up after the Gump has already gone in. But they press on in order of most expendable, Jack (with Billina hiding in his head) and then Tik-Tok.

As each get turned into ornaments, we see the Nome King become more and more humanised in his rock form - a nice subtle indication that his motives aren't purely spite and he gains power from turning living (or living-adjacent) things into inanimate objects, the opposite (mirror) of Dorothy's power in turning inanimate objects into living things in the journey from Kansas to Oz. If Dorothy had chosen wrong too, he says he would have become completely human - would he have been able to access the path to the human world? Was his goal to eliminate Oz, the fantasy world, in favour of the human world, much like Worley was obsessed with harnessing electricity and the "modern" world?

It's revealed that Chekhov's ruby slippers that Dorothy earlier told Dr Worley had fallen off on her way back to Kansas the first time were found by the Nome King, and their power enabled him to conquer the Emerald City.

It's unclear whether the rubies were first mined from the Nome King's caverns, but Dorothy really can't complain given the shoes were magicked off the feet of a dead woman and onto her own.

I'm actually surprised that they kept the ruby slippers in given the license fee they had to pay, since nothing really turns on their inclusion, other than the Nome King's offer to send her home with them, allowing Dorothy the choice between her own safety and the lives of her friends, of course the parallel to Worley offering the ECT to wipe her mind of Oz. I do like the callback, but it didn't need to be the ruby slippers rather than some other power the Nome King had.

Hee, the Nome King's little stone feet kicking out of his stone robe with the ruby slippers is so camp.

It is interesting through to think about the chain of events - Dorothy, eager to get back home, lets go of the ruby slippers, they fall into the Nome King's hands, he uses them to conquer Oz and install Mombi, who has imprisoned Ozma in the mirror (at some point long in the past). The fracturing of Oz influences Dorothy's mental state which drives her to Worley, where Ozma is able to contact her through the mirror world and bring her back to Oz, depose the Nome King/Mombi, and restore Ozma to her throne. It's quite neat writing.

There's an interesting green/red dichotomy - red seems to represent the witch's power, the ruby slippers that originally belonged to the Witch of the East, Mombi's ruby key, fire/red smoke being used by the Witch of the West, and even pink was the colour associated with Glinda in the 1939 film, while green represents Oz in the ornaments they turn into, the Emerald City, the Gump is green, etc. Both rubies and emeralds are present in the Nome King's costuming, perhaps indicating that the raw items did come from his dominions.

When Dorothy chooses correctly, the Nome King reverts to his claymation rock form, and the room turns red. I don't think it's explicitly green=good and red=bad (the Witch of the West had green screen after all), but both are associated with power.

I always used to fast forward this sequence as well. The Nomes coming out of the walls? *shudder*

The Nome King, felled by a classic egg poisoning.

Dorothy liberates the ruby slippers from another dead body, lol.

At the celebration in Oz, the costuming does lean heavily into either red or green - so maybe that was just standard complementary colour palette and I'm reading too much into things.

We get a nice long pan over the mirrored ceiling of the parade, just to really hit the point home.

Oh hey, the Wheelers are here too! All is forgiven I guess? Except Mombi, she gets to be paraded about in her cage by the woman whose heads she stole. Hey, at least she's able to smirk about her villainy.

Dorothy turns down queenship of Oz but wishes she "could be in both places at the same time" - the ruby slippers grant her wish and Ozma is released from the mirror.

Ozma's backstory: "Her father was king of Oz before the Wizard came. Ozma grew up as Mombi's slave, but when the Nome King promised Mombi thirty beautiful heads if she kept Ozma a secret, she enchanted her into the mirror." The first part is the much the same in the book, although there we get some interesting gender-bending stuff where Mombi transforms her into a boy name Tip and she doesn't discover her true nature until much later.

Dorothy gives Ozma the ruby slippers, combining the power of green and red (I'm just going with it now), therefore healing the kingdom of Oz from the discord first created when the Wizard arrived (in the book he was the one who gave baby Ozma to Mombi), and drawing Ozma's real world counterpart Dorothy to fix it by deposing the Wicked Witches and then the Nome King. But with Ozma returned, there is no need for Dorothy to remain in Oz, the two sides of herself are split and no longer warring inside her.

Billina however remains, to be Ozma's animal counterpart to Dorothy's Toto.

As a kid I coveted this gown, and I still kind of dig the headdress. Well, the OZ circlet anyway.

I also acted out the pulling Ozma from the mirror scene many times.

Although kind of a bitch move on Ozma's part to send Dorothy back before she could give her proper goodbyes. It's like, off you pop, thanks for freeing me but this is my kingdom now.

Dorothy wakes up beside the river (with a close up of a reflective pool of water/Dorothy's eye), and again, this could either be her actually returned by Ozma, or her simply waking from her delirium.

But the real world counterparts have met the same fate as their Oz reflections - Worley died in the fire and Wilson is carried off in a police cart.

Henry, after the shock of almost losing Dorothy, is motivated to finish building the house, and Dorothy is able to look back fondly at Oz through her reflection, but has learned to keep it a secret and not let it consume her life.

Her trauma is resolved, Oz is at peace; Dorothy and Ozma can live contentedly in parallel, with a connection between both worlds.

This is also a nice callback to the books, where Ozma would check in on Dorothy once a day through her magic mirror to see if she needed her assistance.

Maybe it's just my nostalgia goggles, but this film really holds up for me! Yes the effects are a little dated and it's on the darker side for kid's fare, but overall the story and acting is strong, there's meaty subtext around the importance - but necessary limits - of fantasy as escapism, it unequivocally centers girls/women as the heart of the story with their own agency and harnessing their own power. It's well worth the rewatch.

What do you think? Am I blinded by nostalgia? Reading way too much into a kids movie? Am I just rambling into the void here?

[kiruusflowers]

imagine tingyuns girlfriend (reader), getting tricked by phantylia to “bare her young” and regrets it so much. she also grieves tingyuns death and her world basically fell apart when fugue comes in with little to no memory of her.

cw: grieving reader, death mentions (obv), angst, might be ooc, implied pregnant reader / aborted the kid, implied ptsd, reader recalls when her and phantylia did the dirty and hates it

a/n: sorry if it’s bad, this is my first work here🥲

wlw, men dni

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺

→ when tingyuns death was announced, reader couldn’t get out of bed, she refused to. she kept all the windows closed and hugged the pillows tightly under the blanket, scared of letting tingyuns scent fade away.

→ readers house would be a MESS. i guess you can imagine that yourself:’).

→ yukong would occasionally try to check on reader, knocking on their door only to get an empty response or reader asking her to “leave her alone”.

but yukong just wants to help her:( she heard about the phantylia incident

→ reader would rewatch videos and voice messages she has of tingyun, never wanting to forget her voice.

→ but.. she could never forget phantylia. how phantylia tricked her into getting pregnant with her babies instead of tingyun, she hated it. she was quick to get an abortion after finding out the news. it felt like she betrayed tingyun a hundred times over.

→ every night, reader would have nightmares. of tingyun, of phantylia.. the old pregnancy. everything haunted her.

→ when tingyun came back as fugue, yukong immediately called reader but it went into voicemail and reader left a message saying “no.”

yukong completely forgot that reader was so used to her calling her for lunch or dinner together or other activities to try and get reader back on her foot:(

→ don’t worry though, yukong did leave a voice mail about fugue and replied to reader, asking her to listen to the voice mail to know what she wanted to tell her.

→ reader did listen to the voice mail, she has nothing else to do anyways.

…

→ reader was so glad that she took a shower today, she pulled on the most decent outfit she could find as quick as possible and ran out with her phone in hand.

→ the voice mail was repeating in her head as she ran, people stared at her like she was crazy but she didn’t care.

→ when reader arrived at the sky faring commission, she barged in and the guards almost stopped her because they thought she was an intruder for a second.

→ reader was breathing heavily, looking up at fugue, her heart pounding heavily and her body shook slightly as she slowly walked up to her

→ unfortunately, yukong didn’t brief her on the memory loss or tell fugue that reader was her girlfriend.

so when reader was face to face with fugue..

“who are you?”

..

that hurt. it hurt so much that reader took a step back and her heart squeezed.

even worse, when she looked at fugue’s eyes she keeps remembering the phantylia incident.. but she HAS to remember.. this isn’t phantylia. she’s safe now.

reader lets out a shaky breath as she looked at tingyun— no.. fugue with a sad, scared expression in her eyes, tears even.

“do you.. remember me..?”

reader notices fugues eyes looking at her, the confusion in her eyes. she really did forget her.

“no.. i don’t”

it’s over. everything they’ve ever done together is forgotten, she doesn’t even remember her, she doesn’t even..

…

does she still love her..?

reader felt like throwing up, this was all phantylia’s fault.. or was it ruan mei? no.. ruan mei helped bring ting— no, fugue back.

no, it’s her fault. it’s readers fault. maybe if she had stuck with tingyun, she would be here. maybe if she was there, it could’ve been reader—

“hello?”

reader was snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at fugue with teary eyes

“i’m sorry.. could you tell me who you are to me.?”

oh aeons.. that really caused readers heart to crack even more.

she didn’t even realise it but the nameless were nearby talking to yukong but still listening on you guys’ conversation, they’re obviously worried about you two.

it hurts. it hurts to lose a lover, even more when they come back but don’t even remember you.

yukong notices readers eyes looking around after looking into fugues eyes for a bit and her hands fidgeting, she understood that it meant that you were having flashbacks of phantylia.

“i need to fetch lingsha really quick” yukong excused herself as she made her way to the alchemy commission

after some thinking, reader sighed and prepared herself.. maybe this was best..

“oh, don’t worry. i..- i’m no one important..” she trailed off before continuing “i’m just a friend.. but we weren’t close anyways so.. um.. don’t worry about.. it..”

reader felt her heart breaking with every word she spoke.

maybe it was better that fugue doesn’t remember her. maybe, just maybe, she’ll be happier without her..

as reader bid her farewells, preparing to leave.. she took one last glance at fugue’s eyes, praying that she’ll say something.. but she didn’t

reader sighed and left the building, making her way back to her house, tears beginning to fall down and ignoring yukongs texts about lingsha’s therapy treatments

meanwhile..

fugue watched as you left, she didn’t even catch your name.. but that wasn’t what she wanted to know.

“hey (stelle/caelus)? why did my heart beat faster when i saw her..?” fugue looked at them as they looked at her awkwardly, fumbling on their words

when fugue looked at march, she looked away sheepishly. looked at dan heng, he shrugged.

but fugue felt like she already got her answer, she may not remember her but her heart certainly does.

“is she the y/n you guys told me about..?”

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hope you guys liked it! sorry if my english is bad, it’s not my first lang:( for the content i hope y’all liked it💔💔💔

[fountainpenguin]

Rewatching A New Wish - "Stanky Danky" & "Peace of Pizza"

SDLKFJSDKLFJS, I missed that the news channel refers to Dale as "Billionaire non-philanthropist."

I missed that Hazel actually did wish "people would stop being trash monsters," but Cosmo and Wanda only heard "I wish trash monster"... In my memories, she had a nightmare about a monster that they wished to life. This is funnier because I can't really blame Cosmo and Wanda for granting that.

I like when Danky opens his lid one eyeball at a time. Also ?? his elbow pads?? He's a living dumpster and he wears elbow pads... He's safe...

Also, I've watched Dale's presentation a bunch of times because I think it's silly when he hops backwards, or kneels to talk to someone (This is what I was watching again today when I decided to take more notes).

He has some REALLY fun body language, including finger guns. I like his big-armed gestures. He really puts on a show and I think that's hilarious since he doesn't love being in front of people. But I don't know what I expected considering that he likes to dance when he's by himself.

I like that his logo here is a combination of the D for his name and two stripes like a dollar sign... which is interesting, because the logo people have on their phones is a D-squared for his alliterative name.

We do know he's advertising Dimmazon "in partnership with Dimmadome Global," so they're probably separate logos.

And I enjoy his baby talk and finger guns when he's talking to Danky later. I think I already commented this in my first-watch liveblog, but I like how Dale lures Danky in with a dog toy?? It's a squeaky bone. I have a hard time imagining this man going to the pet store, but ??

I missed the fact that he brought TWO single-use helicopters to the park... something is very wrong with him...

As much as I joke about Dale's extreme amounts of trauma, I hope he talks to Vicky like this-

- when they finally cross paths again so we can see where that gets him.

On the one hand, I think it would be hilarious if he had a complete mental breakdown because he's extremely messed up. On the other... Now that he's an adult, can he TALK to her like that??

Assuming he didn't panic when he saw her again, I feel like this is the natural direction for his character: smug and rubbing his success in her face.

I have to assume she'd wreck him since she yelled in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" about her dislike for him (That he was lazy, but went on to be rich and successful and never gave her a cut). She's unhesitatingly mean to Crocker because she doesn't have to keep up appearances around him...

But it would be funny. Against all odds, Dale is not an easily frightened man. He works hard, plunges into the unknowns with his wild risk-taking, and he's the smuggest boy... but he also has meltdowns on the floor when he loses money. I like that.

- Huh. I wonder if Timmy would've grown up to be a lot like Dale if he didn't have Cosmo and Wanda. I mean, Vicky pushed him around too. - I was gonna make a joke about how I think Dale should be as obsessive over Timmy as he is Hazel, but... It IS Dale who got himself out of his torment, not Timmy, so I guess not.

??? Tina's running every position at the news studio.

SKLDFJSLDFJSD, wait, Dale has a lemon slice, but he specifically has PINK lemonade, which he probably did not have to make considering Vicky never sold any in "Nectar of Odds"....... oh my gosh.

?? That might be another drink, but even if it is, I'm pretty sure that's a lemon?

Dale drinking lemonade despite banning Dev from drinking lemonade is the biggest "Rules for thee, but not for me" plot twist of all time... Oh I HATE HIM /affectionate.

oh my gosh, wait...

It's a LIME.

??? Somehow that is exponentially funnier. Tell us how you really feel.

His drink is very possibly a Paloma cocktail, made from grapefruit, lime juice, and tequila (No lemonade required, can be pink, and isn't weird to drink with ice cubes).

I like how both Dale and Dev like to slam dunk trash... even in different episodes... They are Related and live in the Same House...

I don't think I've said it yet, but I appreciate how the Dimmadome tower seems to reach impossibly high into the sky for no reason, considering Dale's statue seems to be the only thing inside it and the statue isn't that tall. It's a brilliant parallel of Doug's hat.

I particularly think it's funny when you see it on maps or in the distance of some scenes. It's just... there.

Geez. Say what you will about Dale, but he's a very hard worker who pulls things together INCREDIBLY fast. I mean... logically, I know him being a super hard worker who gets sucked into projects is his whole thing and that's why he's not there for Dev, but... ?? Holy one-man PR and marketing team running around this episode, Catman.

Lastly... apparently Dale likes to take over Dev's lounge when he's looking at profit charts, because that's where he's sitting when he has a meltdown about his stock dropping 5 million dollars... I mean, I guess it's both of their lounge, but you get me. And here's his thinking expression because it's funny:

Every time I watch a Dale episode, he gives me huge "Fandom's special boy" energy and I don't look forward to leaving my spoiler-free zone and possibly finding out that is Not True... skldfj. Look at him. He clicks his finger guns and slam dunks and he's getting by on fragments of his soul. We get him for free.

Notes from "Peace of Pizza" I thought of when I went to fetch Dev's trash scene

This vampire at Versaille:

Strat and Oppy change expressions during flashbacks, but Closer's the same... I don't know what I expected.

So ?? I keep going back to this scene because... I swear that's the April Fool, Flappy Bob, and the Sandman... Maybe not Flappy, but the only other clowns I can think of are his parents and Bobo, and none of them fit this either and Flappy already had a cameo in "1500 Minutes of Fame," so they're very aware of him. I'm gonna check.

That's such an interesting choice of characters to use as models?? I don't have anything to say about it.

Hazel specifically wished for Dev to have "extra milk he could share" for kindness day. He ends up with two (Cosmo and Wanda), but he didn't even have one milk carton on his tray because he's lactose intolerant, so... he didn't pick one up to begin with.

And we KNOW that, because he's on the way to the trash can when people stop him to talk. Also, during the close-up you can see he didn't eat his broccoli or carrots and I think that's funny.

?? So, in my 'fic worldbuilding, people generally go along with wishes if they're affected by them unless something REALLY tips them off that something's completely wrong. I like the implication that Dev instantly went on guard because he was confused as to how he suddenly had milk.

Oppy only pretends to be sad when Dev turns to look at him... He is the Optimism Captain to his core...

Strat is once again putting his hand on Oppy's shoulder... they are brothers... he loves him...

why were they even allowed to run around the school and bother children... why was no one supervising the billionaire's kid and questioning the intentions of these mysterious adults hovering around him...

Stackable:

It is their natural state of being... Also, from a budget standpoint, identical triplets whose distinguishing feature is their eyes & who are based on peas so they're simple to design was a brilliant Season 1 move. I hope we see them again someday, though I'm completely fine with them being very rare appearances.

?? Hazel has Class 104 after Guzman's class ("Multiverse of Jenkins") and Dev has it after lunch, is that what I'm getting here?

That is a different design than the other Room 104... oh :'D I guess they only have the one sign model.

Y'know........ that WOULD be weird if Flappy was at that treaty in the flashback. That doesn't seem likely... but it stresses me out that the Pe-Az have a magical briefcase that can hold large items without harming them...

... because Flappy's briefcase ALSO does that. He keeps his clown stuff, dioramas, and employees in there. It's the world's worst conspiracy... The intergalactic diplomats, friends of the Pixies who are all about paperwork and neutrality and raised Flappy... I'm connecting the dots...

omg, do you think the Pe-Az are the reason Fairies and Anti-Fairies decide who gets the godkids with an annual bake-off? They do like their treats. That WOULD be fun to work with in my war & truce 'fics. Oppy: Everyone loves cake and brownies! Strat: Brother, the Fairy King literally just lost his castle and son. Isn't celebrating with treats a bit insensitive? Oppy: Listen, I have one job in this team and I'm going to do it. Their ancestors, anyway.

I don't think I said this in my first watch, but I really like Closer. He's fantastic. Shows up, selectively mute because he's saving his voice for when he needs to throw tantrums and asking the same question repeatedly to bug people, super thoughtful and well-prepared, considered the best at what he does, gets meme'd on by a 9-year-old iPad kid and loses everything. Flawless character.

He's one of my favorites in all New Wish. They all are; I love their dorky shorts and brotherhood.

I really like how Closer insists he'll be done with negotiations in "30 minutes or less" because his whole thing is pizza. But Dev broke this man in like, 20 seconds:

BROKEN HEART!!!

Also, Strat... <3 He's such a ping-pong ball of a person.

For some reason, it's funny to me their language is themed around arrows. That's brilliantly clever for a negotiating species; it kind of reminds me of how the Yugopotamian language is in swirls patterned after their exposed brains.

Also, Some Three Guys having the ability to simply "turn pizza off" for the entire world is such an insane plot set-up and I think they played it perfectly.

Oppy kicking up his leg & Closer's expressions:

Extremely funny to me that when I heard "pea pod aliens," I went on immediate defensive expecting "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibes, but they're just cute little guys who like treats and bribery. why do they dress Like That... The suits and ties, the teeny shorts, the white socks pulled high above black shoes... did they get picked on in school?

??? They're just one-offs, but they have so much character and they all have unique body language and speech patterns... love that for them. I want to write something for them. I have no clue what, but I think they deserve to be children negotiating on the playground or looking after one another.

Strat and Oppy I think I can get their vibe as children - the planner and the enthusiastic one - but little kid Closer would be interesting.

What's a good thing to negotiate over when you're a kid... Were they kiddos who made graphs and presentations while arguing over which TV channel to watch or who would bathe first, y'think?

I think "baby Pe-Az in the bathtub" is exactly the type of content people follow me for.

Wanda's face here cracks me up...

... and shout-out for Dev getting instantly weirded out with stranger danger when Cosmo pats him.

I love how when the O-pairs pick the Pe-Az up by their heads and put them down again, Closer's dizzy and he sways back and forth even though his brothers are fine... lmao. I guess people don't usually mess with him?

Also, when Dev switches from playing around to serious talk, all three Pe-Az instantly put their folded hands on the table. They are ready for a Meeting...

That is all.

[burial-at--sea]

what are some of your favorite spn episodes 🎈 excluding the ones you also think are "objectively" good. just going off by vibes and general enjoyment (from @8x23 but you already know this)

welcome to an indecisive person's hell. i had to bite and claw my way into limiting this to 3-4 episodes per season + im only doing it up to s11 for reasons.

⌈season 1⌋

1x11 scarecrow - first on-screen break-up, first meg appearance, sam choosing dean again, absolute excellence.

1x12 faith - dean whump, protective sam, the sequence with don't fear the reaper and the plot twist was awesome.

1x14 nightmare - ah yes.. abuse in spn 🚬 .. the psychic sam plot literally never fails.

⌈season 2⌋

2x09 croatoan - it's like a zombie apocalypse!! i freaking love those! high stakes and all.

2x14 born under a bad sign - meg!sam, protective / loyal dean, etc,, every moment is so intense.

2x20 what is and what should never be - cliche but,, c'mon. also insane to air this as a pre-season finale.

2x21+22 all hell breaks loose - these come together alright?! finale of all time! the amount of times i've rewatched these is concerning.

⌈season 3⌋

3x08 a very supernatural christmas - samulet backstory lives forever in my heart. the yearning in the last scene was insane.

3x11 mystery spot - a comedy gold, a heartbreaking love story, a trauma sandwich, a hell hole, the gift that keeps on giving.

3x13 ghostfacers - i love the rec-cams and found footage style and its hilarious.

⌈season 4⌋ this is where it gets fuckey

4x09 i know what you did last summer - a "flashback" ep that's actually well-done + samruby..

4x14 sex and violence - besides the wincest, the plot twist goes hard.

4x16 on the head of a pin - torture gives me the ick but my fetish for dean whump and demonblood sam outweighs it.

4x18 the monster at the end of this book - i literally can't explain how insane it was watching this for the first time.

4x21 when the levee breaks + 4x22 lucifer rising - Do Not Separate!! another finale of ALL TIME. good tv, excellent tv, tv that makes you scream into your fist.

⌈season 5⌋

5x02 good god, yall - did you guess? yes it's the zombie apocalypse vibe. (and guess what?! the whole season is like that and i suffered picking these!!)

5x08 changing channels - if you say you get bored of this episode you are lying + dean had his fist in sam's ass.

5x19 hammer of the gods - sooo underrated. back when luci was interesting + gab's death made me cry like a bitch lol.

⌈season 6⌋

6x02 two and a half men - shapeshifter baby episode? no. kid fic.

6x15 the french mistake - 15/10 concept and literally insane if you think about what they were implying w/ this episode for more than 10 seconds which i am not going to do

6x20 the man who would be king - "big plans for that fish" btw. and nobody knows this but i actually love castiel.

⌈season 7⌋

7x02 hello cruel world - "i'm different, right?"

7x03 the girl next door - actually a great episode + i wish we got amy's son going after dean years later.

7x13 the slice girls - this was insane and good actually. i still can't believe they did that fr.

⌈season 8⌋

8x04 bitten - found footage and werewolves?? this episode was made for me. (+"what's the matter?" is one of my all-time fav songs)

8x11 larp and the real girl - finally we can breathe after all the wincest break-up ache.

8x21 the great escapist - the season's plotlines were all on fire.

⌈season 9⌋

9x01 i think i'm gonna like it here - sick ass way to start a season and i love it.

9x09 holy terror - "ezekiel is dead." 💀

9x19 alex. annie. alexis. ann. - i really like alex and the case was very fucked up and intense.

⌈season 10⌋

10x05 fan fiction - the case was low-key dumb but this was a hilarious nod at the fandom.

10x14 the executioner's song - cain is fucking awesome.

10x22 the prisoner - omg i actually loved the stynes they were so fucked up + it's an action-packed episode so [stamp of approval]

⌈season 11⌋

11x04 baby - perhaps cliche but it's best rated for a reason alright?!

11x12 don't you forget about me - CLAIRALEX NATION RISE!!

11x17 red meat - real fucking cinema

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thank you for asking!!! this took a bazillion years and for that i am sorry 😭 ily jack!!