#how many em dashes can i use: the experiment

[stories-by-rie]

129 i'm not lost, i'm growing roots

prequel to this piece but also works as a standalone. warning for character death and sort of body horror, little over 1k words

~~~~

The first time Rabea had entered The Forest, she hadn’t survived out of wisdom or luck or spite. No, it hadn’t been due to herself at all. If someone asked her now, Rabea tended to smile the sad smile of nostalgia and reply “I survived out of mercy”. People then tended to nod as if they knew what Rabea was talking about.

Mercy was a concept many people heard of but weren’t familiar with.

Rabea was familiar now.

She was what she used to call an experienced adventurer, which was why she knew that The Forest was off-limits. Only younglings and desperate people entered. People who were too hungry for fame and glory, or people who hungered for the insanely high prize Irma the Immortal had set for whoever retrieved The Book behind The Wall at the heart of The Forest.

Short: idiots to which Rabea did not belong.

And why would she even attempt to venture inside? There were plenty of giant hiccuping frogs and deers of devastation to hunt in perfectly regular forests!

And then—

“I'll attempt it”, Margo said while they both walked down the market. Rabea choked on a bite of Kartoffelpuffer.

They had seen one of Irma the Immortal’s posters and laughed about it wholeheartedly. So why…?

“Why?” Rabea asked.

"Why not?" Margo laughed and then elbowed her in the side. "Don't worry, I'm just joking."

But when she thought that Rabea wasn't looking, she folded—folded—the poster and put it in her coat's pocket.

It is something Rabea notices and later remembers, but in that moment does not pay the attention to that it needed. Something that she spends a lot of time dwelling on on her deathbed. Poison in her cup, but that's another story.

What happened is this: They spent a warm summer night in each other's embrace and said goodbye the next day as they usually did. Rabea had been hired to find the tear of the moon and Margo had mentioned another job as well. They'd find each other after, they always did.

So Rabea fought the guardian of the tear and then outsmarted a wild boar and finally brought the tear to a collector of rarities who paid her in statues of The Big Fourteen made of lead, which meant that she needed two extra weeks carrying those to the vault. And then another three weeks in which she had to fill out the papers and argue with the vault's master whether she had 'rightfully acquired' the treasure. Rabea didn't know who in their right mind would have stolen the tons of lead but that did not convince the master.

So perhaps she simply had been late and missed Margo. There was no reason to worry yet.

She went out and brought down what turned out to be the owner of the lead mine—which, certainly there was a thing going on there—returned early and waited, and waited.

That was when she remembered the folded poster.

Maybe it would have been right to call her impulsive, but not once had Rabea regretted her hasty departure. She stepped into The Forest with a cheap map the lady in the bookstore had gifted her with a head shake. The greenery surrounded her. Clean air surrounded her, bugs in the air and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought it to be just any regular forest.

Until she encountered the slug pit, the spiky spider webs and earworms.

Rabea stumbled into a clearing, beaten and exhausted, bruised all over. Though just as stubborn as before. She would not, could not leave without Margo.

“Ouch, that was my leg”, she heard a voice behind her. When she turned around, she saw a big shape in the ground, looking vaguely humanoid.

The thing slowly sat up and Rabea grew certain that it had at least been human at some point. But now there were forget-me-nots sprouting from the socket of what used to be an eye, slime running down the back where it had lain on the ground and started to slowly become one with the ground. The skin was covered or replaced by moss and rough bark—

Rabea had thought it to be a tree’s root when she had walked past it initially. Mostly also because of the mushrooms growing from what she now knew were the joints.

“Excuse me, I didn’t see you there.”

The thing opened the mouth and revealed sharp teeth, not white but yellow and brown. “It’s alright, it happens a lot. It’ll grow back”, it said and put some fallen leaves over the hole Rabea had created in its leg. When it looked up, it seemed as if its eyes widened, some new flower buds popped open in one of them. “Oh”, it said, “it’s you.”

“Me?” Rabea asked. 

“Yes! What are you doing here?”

“I am looking for my friend. I think she got lost around here, I want to help her find the way back home.”

“Oh, I love you too, but I am not lost, I am just growing roots.”

And the thing about mercy is that it never comes alone. Mercy is granted for people who face an unacceptable fate. Mercy is granted out of the hunger for power and only very rarely out of compassion. Most certainly, mercy is prefaced by begging. And begging is born out of fear.

As ivy started to wrap around Rabea’s ankles, she started to fear like never before.

“No, no, no, no!” With every step she took, another vine shot out and tried to hold onto her. She tried to free herself with her sword, with the magic potion she had bought recently. Dispair flooded her veins, an utter helplessness. It was too much, too many, she was alone, oh so alone, and oh by the greatest treasures, she just wanted to be safe, to be embraced, to. Get. Away. Get. Help.

“Margo! Please, oh no, please help me!” she yelled and the thing responded, grabbed some of the vines and helped free her.

“Run!” Margo yelled back and it looked at Rabea then, no tears running but an ant crawling out of the empty eye socket. 

“I’ll return!” Rabea promised and then she ran. Because she had been granted this mercy and everything in her begged her to take the chance. Because not taking it would have been the greatest scorn.

While it might have felt like betrayal to leave at that moment, Rabea did keep her promise. She came back and never without forget-me-nots. To the place where Margo had grown roots.

[ladyofthe-lake]

"Sick Day" — a Suptober ficlet

Day 21: Cozy Treat

Summary:

Human!Cas forces Dean to take a sick day in the bunker.

Now that Castiel knows how it feels to be human, he insists on caring for Dean with far more attention than is necessary when Dean catches the flu.

He’s certain it came from the haunted preschool he and Sam had investigated a few days back in Nebraska. (All the kids safe. All the adults… mostly safe.) He’d come home grumbling about how those places are little petri dishes for germs, and voila, now he’s on day three of a full-raging flu.

If Cas had his angel mojo back, he’d zap the germs right out of Dean’s body, and that’d be damn nice right about now. But as it is, Cas has been using the Internet to find all the home remedies for illness, and he’s overly concerned about Dean’s wellbeing to the point where it’s just kind of annoying.

Cas forces Dean to stay back when Sam heads out to investigate something a few towns over; he wants to protest because dammit, Sam is the one with the fucking angel healing him inside his body! He’s the one who almost died! But a coughing fit and Castiel’s gentle hand pushing him back down onto his bed ended the argument.

It does feel damn good to be in one place, especially when he’s sick. Last time anyone made him chicken soup and let him lay in bed all day watching TV, he was four, off from school for the day, just a few weeks before everything went to shit.

It’s kind of nice, the way Cas has been putzing around him, heating up soup from a can, making him tea, remembering the times and dosages of the over-the-counter medicine he’d brought home for him. (And Dean had told him that it was not likely, in the course of one illness, that he’d blow through seven boxes of DayQuil, but it was good that Cas stocked them up.)

Now, Cas peers around the bedroom doorway and Dean hits the mute button, looking up from his fortress of tissues. “Dean,” he says carefully, taking a step into the room.

“Hmm?”

“There is a… slight issue.”

Dean jumps up out of bed, giving himself a moment of vertigo, but in his experience, slight issue means serious endangerment to both life and limb. “What happened?”

“Well, in the cookbook that I found…”

Dean curses. “Dammit, those Men of Letters cookbooks are crazy, Cas,” he says. Many of them just indicated, rather than specific amounts of ingredients, to add sprinkles or dashes or season to your heart’s content . Dean knows – he’s read through most of them in his pursuit to break in this new kitchen of theirs, to make the bunker a home.

“I understand that now,” Cas says, hedging as he follows Dean down the hallway, though Dean lurches a bit to the side as his stuffed head continues to fight off dizziness. And despite his clogged nose, he can still smell–

“Did you burn something, Cas?” he demands, turning the corner into the kitchen to see the charred remains of what seem to have been cookies, sitting in a pan on top of the stove.

“Only a bit,” Cas says, and Dean barks a genuine laugh.

“Only a bit?” He taps his finger to one of the cookies. “This is a hockey puck. How long did you cook ‘em?”

“Well, the recipe said ‘high temperatures’ until ‘cooked well’ so… I just turned the oven on as high as it goes.”

Dean balks. “Okay, that’s the issue then.” He picks up the cookie and hits it against the counter. It sounds like a hammer.

“Is there any way to salvage them?” Cas asks, looking guilty and a bit desperate. And Dean knows that Cas likely knows the answer – no, there’s no coming back from this. But he also knows that Cas is probably more upset with his lack of mojo at the moment than anything else. Used to be, he could just make cookies with a flick of the wrist. Now he’s fighting vague old recipes and a 60 year old oven.

“Not really,” Dean says, trying to be gentle, to let him down easy. “Why’d you wanna make cookies anyway, you can get ‘em from the store, you know.”

“Well, I found a list on the Internet for how to take care of someone who's sick. Number one said that you might be comforted by a cozy treat,” Cas admits. “And cookies were on the top of the list. It said that they were the easiest to make.”

Dean doesn’t hide his smile. Maybe it’s the meds, maybe he’s just tired, maybe he’s… happy. Genuinely happy. “It’s okay, Cas. You don’t have to do anything. I’m just glad you’re here takin’ care of me – ‘cozy treat’ or no.”

Cas smiles a bit, and then Dean says, “Well, what’s the next item on the list? After the cozy treats?”

Cas pulls out his phone again to peer at it, and Dean sees a blush spread across his cheeks. “Ah. We can skip this one, it says uh, cuddling can be helpful.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “Well. Always worth a try, yeah?”

And yep, he’s definitely hopped up on these meds, but he doesn’t really mind.

[wavernot4love]

wanted 2 make a post about some positive things that happened at iDKHOW Buffalo last night, because there certainly was good in there, for everyone involved, and i want to highlight/talk about that stuff!

i make these posts a lot for shows, mostly for myself so i don't forget, but others seem 2 enjoy them too, and i don't think last night's show should be any exception.

- first of all, OPENING BAND in the crowd!!! something i have never heard of dallon doing for that one before, and all things considered, i fully see why he chose to do it here as it fit the clear vibe of just wanting to be close with and sort of revel in the connection with the crowd - and the ability of that to make everything better.

there were no flamboyant theatrics like with visitation, just all of us singing together (it was also just anthony playing onstage), and homie stayed out with us for a long time - most of the song. i was also right up there which was nice.

(i'm just gonna put a keep reading thingy here you can click so this doesn't clog tags/folks' dash due to being long)

was just super sentimental. dallon even brought the "gives me.... and ____ a purpose" thing back, mentioning/gesturing towards anthony, & also the thing where when we're all doing the last "band" he like, leans back and yells it with his hands around his mouth. just kinda got me & made me smile since he didn't do either of those things on saturday, and i always do them out of habit when singing the song because of past shows.

definitely the best moment of the night & the embodiment of everything i love about idkhow. he truly made the best out of everything.

i didn't film all of it, & also my camera angles are bad since i didn't want to shove my phone in dallon (or anyone's) face. this is the only video i really feel comfortable posting from last night since it just felt like everything was alright in that moment, 100%. not that i took many in the first place for that reason, but you get the idea.

- dallon strutting around with a pride flag from someone for half a song!! let me tell you, bro was showing that thing OFF. sadly i just had my film camera in hand in the moment so i just grabbed maybe five shots on that aka i don't have em yet, but i'll have em eventually, and it sure did happen, and it was great. did see a few posts in idkhow's tagged on instagram if ya wanna peep.

- back to what i said in regards to opening band about making a rough situation more positive, dallon brought up this exact point (even moreso than usual, including just on saturday in rochester) earlier in the show while talking about a letter - he went really in depth about turning negative stuff into something beautiful. and was talking about how when he wrote the song, he could only hear what we were doing now (you know the parts, in the chorus) in his head, and now he gets to actually experience it, and so he never stops playing this song even 20 years after he wrote it. i love dallon's love for a letter, man, and hope he never does stop.

- downside has truly become one of my favorite live songs. holy moly dude it had even the otherwise seemingly casual fans going wild, possibly even more than rochester actually. that is a song to freakin JUMP to if there ever was one!!!

- did mention this in my post from last night, but a while after the show (there were only maybe a dozen of us around at this point), on his way out to the bus, dallon kind of smiled & waved at us/said thank you, first to the larger group closer to the venue and then to the few of us a bit further down, too.

can't really word it right, but just the fact that despite seeming quite down, still, bro took care to make sure we all felt appreciated/not ignored was sweet. i think maybe he could tell we were concerned, i don't know, dude, all i do know is there's a lot of kindness in that dude's eyes.

had honestly never really interacted with dallon all these years prior to these shows (besides theatrical visitation crowd stuff), so i hadn't fully realized until these past few days - really given me a different perspective i hadn't fully caught onto before amidst the dramatic aspects of idkhow/dallon & their shows, i guess.

point is, dallon's a kind dude. be good to him. just wanted to say that.

- and finally, last night was my eighth (!) idkhow show, & what's crazy is i have never traveled more than an hour & a half for one all this time. i can't say that goes for any other band, and that fact doesn't go lost on me. western ny loves and shows up for idkhow, & idkhow loves and shows up for western ny always. <3

i just have so much love for all this, dude. i miss the shows already.

this project & dallon's music & the live shows have all been in my life for so long. both of these shows have been special in some way or another, last night being a reminder of how powerful everything idkhow has going is to the point of being able to make something good out of, well, whatever might be going on.

truly hope to catch another show back around here sometime soon. please get out 2 a gig if you can - chances are, like me and everyone i've encountered, really, at their shows, you'll never want to stop going, either, if you do. :p

[katrinafaire]

In 30+ years of writing, you do improve; here's some things I've learned.

When I first started actively writing stories -- we're talking single digits here, under the age of ten, as some of you may relate -- my initial goal was spelling things right and having a (mostly) cohesive, if simple, storyline.

Then, in some order I'm not sure of, were things like description, consistent character voices, character development, character driven plots, subplots, worldbuilding -- the list goes on, I'm sure we've all worked on some if not all of these things. (The beauty of writeblr, we're all here together despite different levels of experience.)

I feel like I've always written, but I didn't really sit down to write novella and eventually novel sized works until my late teens-early twenties. I had a lot going for me, because I'd been writing consistently over the years prior. But I had some... quirks. Here's a non-exhaustive list you may find of use:

I struggled with maintaining a clear POV -- who's perspective we were in, how to coherently jump between characters, how to balance that to the best benefit of the narrative... yeah, that was an issue. And I still have a bit of trouble with that now and then, though I'm worlds better.

Also, I hugely overused epithets, those descriptive terms instead of pronouns or names. (The tall man, the blonde woman, the sullen teenager -- you get the idea.) You see, I didn't understand how they worked. I used them mostly because I had a lot of big casts and was not fond of he said-he said-he said with three different he's and I felt like I was over using names.

As I began to hone my craft, it became clearer that these had their place -- but only where they were relevant, not as a replacement. For example, if the POV character doesn't know the name of another character, they will use epithets because that's all they have. Or you can use it to emphasize something:

"There's no way we can deliver the message in time!" Aaron said. The fastest man in the world just smiled; his time had come. "Watch me."

Presumably you already know the speedster's name, but even if you don't, the epithet delivers important information to the narrative; that is the perfect (though not only) time to use one.

There was a huge movement when I was just starting more serious writing and you have likely still seen these posts circulating: said is dead. And I took it as gospel. Now, first let me say I am still a huge fan of dialogue tags. Big fan of things like "whispered" and "sneered" -- things you can't easily convey simply with punctuation.

However.

Using them every line, or every other line, or every third line -- in short, frequently -- isn't good. And it's not because these things are inherently bad. The reason, as far as I'm concerned, is twofold. One, when you deviate from "said" then your audience immediately is drawn to this new dialogue tag, taking it as Important Information. Which is good! We want that when we put those in. But if you have too many in too short of time the brain just quits processing them as important, or worse, it keeps taking them out of the story.

Point two is directly related in that in that overuse of dialogue tags not only clogs up your dialogue, it also makes the dialogue tags less valuable. Imagine this if you will, that every dialogue tag is a colored font and "said" is just black. If you constantly use dialogue tags, do any of them stand out? Even if someone screamed in bright red, does it matter if you just had something in bright orange a line ago? Not really.

But if all you have is black on black on black and suddenly there's a bright red streak on the paper, it jars you! It makes you pay attention! And that's what you really want when you use dialogue tags, isn't it? So that's why I've tried to cut down on mine, and have beta readers specifically work with me on it.

There's also several punctuation and formatting things I've struggled with. Overusing italics, misplacing en dashes — and em dashes (look I even copy pasted the right ones instead of typing two en dashes --) — as well as a severe abuse of... ellipsis. I'm working on them to this day. I'm a dramatic wordsmith. Sometimes it helps for me to write it however I want the first time and then make a new draft, stripping the formatting and seeing with fresh eyes where it's needed.

There's other things, too (I have never done enough description, I'm working on it now) but this post is getting long and I've shared some main points that I feel others can benefit from my mistakes. Feel free to reblog with your own mistakes you've learned from or are working on!

[danpuff-ao3]

Fiction Works 2/2: Storytelling, not Teaching or Preaching

See also: Fiction Works 1: Different Strokes for Different Folks

In part 1 I talked about exploring real experiences and potential in fiction. Here in part 2 we are going to remember that, while fiction can be a useful tool for exploration, it is not, in fact, real.

Writing gay Harry Potter fanfic does not make me a gay man (I am actually an asexual lady), nor does it make me a wizard (though c'mon, I wish!) By that same token, writing underage does not make me a pedophile.

Thomas Harris is not guilty of cannibalism, even though he wrote about a cannibal named Hannibal. Vladimir Nabokov is not a pedophile because he wrote Lolita. Bram Stoker is not a vampire because he wrote Dracula. We aren't arresting authors by the truckload for the spilling of fictional blood.

What we need to remember is this:

Fiction (noun) 1.literature in the form of prose that describes imaginary events and people. 2. something that is invented or untrue.

To sum it up: fiction is not reality.

I'm a Storyteller. Not a Teacher, or a Preacher. You shouldn't trust my use of em-dashes, let alone take an infidelity story as a how-to guide.

Stories can be a tool for so many things. Maybe it's catharsis. Maybe it's distraction. Maybe it's curiosity, philosophy, entertainment, exploration. Fiction is a safe avenue to learn, and think, and feel.

Creators are inspired by the world around them, and their own experiences. They're inspired by rainbows, and sunsets, and wildflowers. They're inspired by wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. They're inspired by mythology, religion, folklore, and history. All that is beautiful and ugly and wonderful and terrible in the world.

Creators are shaped by their own lives. And, as stated in Part 1, we are all different. We come from different places, and are raised different ways, and we turn into different people. We have our own histories, our own stories, our own thoughts and opinions and preferences and feelings.

Throw it all in a blender, and maybe the tulip becomes a rose. Maybe the wildfire becomes an earthquake. Maybe the sunset is an inferno, and the night sky is the abyss. Maybe the those old ruins are the path to Heaven.

The reality of the materials used and the methods used aren't always evident in the final work. Our stories come from somewhere, sure, but it's never as cut and dry as people think.

Can stories hurt you? Sure. The way anything can hurt you. The world isn't a safe space, after all.

It's valid if a story hurts you. If you're triggered by it, or upset by it, or don't like it. Not all negative reactions are triggers, but they don't have to be. You're allowed your own feelings. But the existence of a work that upsets you is not a crime against you. A story that depicts evil deeds is not, itself, evil.

In real life, I have a zero tolerance policy for cheating. I have very strong feelings about it.

Do you know what I love to read and write? You guessed it! Cheating! It goes hand in hand with my other great love: toxic/dysfunctional relationships!

In real life, I'd never have a relationship with a person who cheated ever, even in the past. I'd not stay with someone who cheated on me. I have a very stable, happy, boring relationship. I have a good life now, because I built it from the wreckage of a chaotic upbringing.

My father cheated on my mother and left her for his mistress. He dragged his children through the middle of his dysfunctional relationship, which lasted a decade. We suffered the consequences of his choices. It's a pretty long and fucked up story, and I won't get that personal here, but the point is:

I never, ever want to experience any of that in my real world again. However, exploring those events in a fictional scenario is safe for me. There's an odd comfort in the familiarity of it. Seeing that one awful thing through different lenses, and playing out so many ways, helps me process what I went through. It soothes me now as it soothed me then, right in the thick of it, being able to explore it all in a way that was safe and that I could control. I could get off the ride at any point. I could close the word document, or close the tab. I could close the book, or turn off the TV.

My Real Father in the Real World hurt Real People with his Real Actions. That was my Real Life, and it Really Sucked.

Fictional People in a Fictional World who hurt Fictional People with their Fictional Actions...that is a story.

Real People in the Real World who hurt Real People and blame Fictional Stories...those Real People are to blame for Real Harm.

The Real Person who blames a movie for the Real Crime they committed...that Real Person is to blame. 100%.

And the Real Person who attacks Real People in defense of Fictional People...Real People who hurt Real People and use Fictional Stories as an excuse...those Real People are the villains.

[ladytauria]

<333 4, 8, 14, 18, 22, 35, 46, 58, 74 for the ask game pls!!

thank you mayaaaa <333

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Everywhere! Fics and books I've read, random song lyrics (whether the rest of the song fits or not), random posts on tumblr, images, posts on twitter, prompt lists, prompt blogs, etc. etc.

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Vastly depends on the story. I've had fics where I've had the beginning and ending figured out, but the middle is a mystery. I've also had fics where the middle was a breeze but the beginning and ending were both like pulling teeth!

I will say I tend to enjoy middles more on shorter fics (uhh, less than 15k) and beginnings & endings more on longform stuff!

14. how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

I try to put myself in the character's shoes as much as possible! Figure out what emotion(s) they're feeling and then draw on my own experiences with it, lol. Especially if I can feel it a bit myself <3

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

Yes.

Sometimes the fic title is the thing that inspired the idea, like when I'm inspired by a lyric. Sometimes it just comes to me in the planning process.

Sometimes a fic title comes to me during the writing process. I'll write a line that just seems to capture the core of what I'm going for, and use that or something like it for the title!

A lot of times I end up titling the fic after, though. I'll scroll through the song lyrics I have saved for potential titles, just in case one fits. I'll look up songs that may have the theme or a similar vibe to what I'm gong for. I'll read through the fic looking for a line. I'll summarize it, try to capture the vibe. It can take a bit!! But I get there eventually. After a lot of whining :P

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Speaking specifically for fanfic!

Probs won't ever write first person again. It's not something I vibe with in fic, it's hit or miss for me in published fiction too, and it's just... Not a style I like?

Omniscient POV. When I try it it feels too much like head hopping to me, so xD

Can't see myself writing cheating or hard non-con. Dubcon, yeah; gentle nc especially if its nc-to-c, but not anything harder. I will do comfort after, though!! Hmm... Detailed torture scenes or anything gory bc that squicks me out a little lol ^^;

I can think of a few others but I think that's good for now xD

35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

Good question.

Honestly, I haven't written them in fic a lot? But when I do, I generally try to keep in mind their motivations and like... reasons for doing what they do.

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

Hmm... Character or emotion driven!

58. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc)

Hmm, I mean, all of them at various points! I guess I'll give brainstorming the top slot because I just have... so many ideas. Therefore I must enjoy coming up with them 😂😂😂

Although nothing compares to writing when it's flowing!!

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

Does it feature two characters taking care of each other? A lot of focus on trust and vulnerability and willingly offering up the softer parts of yourself? Is there an overuse of "x says"? Can you tell fic was fighting not to be overrun with em-dashes? It's probably a Tauria fic :P

[ get to know your fic writer! ]

[sunlessys]

Sunless/Sol 🌕 he/him, ey/em

🌑 Plural system of 15+ with median tendencies that make counting hard

Collectively we are mostly men, with exceptions.

NO HOSTS NO GODS NO MASTERS

Frequent Fronters: 🫀 Angel, 🔥 Bren, 👁️ Loid, 🌿 S, 🩷 Nobody Flinch

Other Fronters: 🌌 Asch, 💜 Tal, ⚔️ Nicky, 🐦‍⬛ Mo, 🌹 Orpheus

This blog is a catch-all for anything we as a system want to put on it! This includes fandom stuff, personal posts, writings & ramblings, things we tag each other in, things we relate to, & system positivity!

Angel has its own blog @angelsaspect!

Follows from @streetsandsodiumlights, which started as Asch’s blog but which we use as a general catch-all!

More info below the cut!

About us:

Queer, aroace, polyam, 26

Autistic, ADHD, psychotic

Out as a plural system offline

Functionally multiple

Fairly private about any details we share with people who aren’t already trusted friends. These things include names, introject sources, trauma, mental illnesses, exact number of system members, etc. We may choose to never share some things, even when directly asked.

Unfamiliar with 99% of the terms people use to describe their systems online >.>” as a result the words we use for ourselves might seem vague or strange to you. These words are still important to us, and we won’t be changing them to be more specific.

We prefer not to use system roles or label people too heavily, though sometimes individuals choose to identify with a role for their own reasons. We’re trying to abolish “host” as a role at all in our system because of the power imbalance it causes, so we don’t refer to anyone as a “host” publicly!

Interacting with others:

Open to DMs, conversations, and friendships! Plurality is a fascinating topic to discuss with likeminded people. We are also disability advocates and passionate enjoyers of so many forms of art. Maybe we have interests in common! We would love to find out 💖

Friends can have our Simply Plural if they want! We do a good job of keeping fronts updated there and nowhere else.

We might not follow back! It’s not personal, we just curate our dash carefully <3 syscourse in particular, and any topic that suggests syscourse, is something we’re very sensitive and careful about. If we see too much and can’t filter it out, that’s not gonna work for us.

We are 26 years old and prefer not to interact with people under 17! You can follow if you like, but we won’t follow back or have any conversations.

byf: we are a traumagenic system, but we are extremely endo-friendly. we block any syscourse we see on our dash and will not hesitate to block friends or mutuals who put it there too frequently to avoid. this is a hard boundary.

we do not interact with “endos dni” content because we don’t want to see even the vague shape of syscourse in the water. the most we will say on the subject is: the world is a vast and beautiful place and science barely understands the mind. what gives me the authority to say something different from myself can’t exist? who am I to decide that someone else’s lived experiences are or aren’t real? how could I live with myself if I walked up to strangers on the internet and told them they were doing irreparable damage by merely saying “I exist, and I want to exist, and here is what that means to me”? I won’t do that and I won’t get along with people who do. thank you in advance for respecting this.

[spxnglr]

DASH GAME: MUN EDITION

name: Pops.

pronouns: She/her.

preference of communication: Tumblr IM or Dis, I use both frequently.

most active muse: On Tumblr it's definitely Egon, those of you who have followed me around for years know that I really can't keep more than one blog active at a time. On Dis? I can't choose one. I have a LOT of characters, including Egon, but the majority are Doctor Who-affiliated.

experience / how many years: LMAO I'm not digging up this subject again after #roadmananon - but it's been close to a decade.

platforms you use: Tumblr and Discord.

best experience: I can't choose a specific one, honestly. My time here has given me too many amazing experiences to talk about concisely.

rp pet peeves: Petty drama. Again, I've voiced this recently.

fluff,   angst,   or smut: Give it all to me pls.

plots or memes: Can't lie, I'm much more responsive to memes.

long or short replies: Any length! Whatever butters the parsnips.

best time to write: At an absurdly unholy hour, I'm a real night owl.

are you like your muses: My OH thinks I'm as smart and sarcastic as Egon, but I can't hold a candle to the icon that he is, lbr.

tagged by: Stolen from many people on the dash.

tagging: All y'all. Tag me in 'em so I can see 'em.

[quickdeaths]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. ( REPOST DO NOT REBLOG ! )

✿ NAME: Bryn

✿ PRONOUNS: she/her

✿ PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord! My # is available to mutuals always! Besides that, tumblr IM is fine but certainly not my long-term preference.

✿ NAME OF MUSE(S): So many @_@ go check em out quickdeaths.tumblr.com/muses

✿ EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): So, I started out doing RP as a little baby child in 2006, initially moved over to tumblr in 2011, and then made the blog that ultimately bound me to this curséd site forever in 2015, and have been here ever since.

✿ PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: Oh dear so many. Well, I started out on good old giant in the playground freeform RP. I stopped into Gaia for like a cup of coffee around a similar time. Somewhat adjacent to that, or slightly after, I did some stuff on LiveJournal, and then eventually migrated to tumblr in 2011. Since then, I have occasionally done stuff on Discord, and Google Docs. I might be forgetting one or two, but this should be adequate proof that I have been doing this too long haha.

✿ BEST EXPERIENCE: Too many! Meeting my bestie for life @dilffactory Ben and meeting my girlfriend have to both be at the top. Super long-running stuff with @dcviated and my friend Chey (who has mostly RP-retired) are also both up there too.

✿ RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: I try not to have too many of these! That said, I am sensitive to people ONLY wanting my canon characters, and also people who seem to want to collect partners (ship or otherwise) for status rather than actually write with them. I'm a person, not a pokemon!

✿ FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: Ehehe... well... it's probably angst. I like fluffy stuff too, so a good mix (but perhaps slightly more on the angsty side given the choice) is best, especially if there's a plot through-line that flows through the whole thing. Smut is very much a sometimes food for me. I'm not super confident in writing it, and the one time I was more willing to write it openly I had a very Yikes experience. I'm never saying No to the idea in abstract, but there are a lot of things to go over before it gets to that point.

✿ PLOTS OR MEMES: Plots!!! I don't particularly like IC memes as a way to thread in the first place, although I understand that's how a lot of people here do things, so I put up with it. Plots, meanwhile, make my brain turn into an overworked easy bake oven with steam coming off it and everything, plot with me and I will be your best friend.

✿ LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: It depends what one means by "long." Aside from dash commentary stuff and little meme things, I think almost everything I've written is minimum 2-3 paragraphs, and usually double that. I default to like 5ish, although I can absolutely do much more if I feel like my partner also likes that kind of thing and won't find it boring to read, overwhelming, or navel-gazey.

✿ BEST TIME TO WRITE: Evening, usually, just because there's not much else on my plate and everyone else is sleeping haha. I can write whenever though.

✿ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): I have a lot so it's hard to say! I think whenever you make an OC, you're giving them SOMETHING of yours, and when adapting a canon, there's at least something you resonate with, whether it's something you see in yourself or not. Very tentatively, I might say I'm most like Rio and Kiyomi, but even then I'd say it's less like "we're similar people" and more like "there are a handful of things we have in common," if that makes sense.

Tagged by: Stolen from @moonsmultimusings

Tagging: normally I am big on tagging people so that people feel included but I gotta go play fire emblem so.

If you love fire emblem, consider yourself tagged. If you hate the firéd emblem? you're tagged. if you are indiffferent? t a g g e d. If you have never heard of Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening (who doesn't know Lucina?), you KNOW you are tagged.

[cagedchoices]

GET TO KNOW THE AUTHOR.

name:  mel 

pronouns:  they/them/theirs

preference of communication:  mainly tumblr IMs these days, but i have discord and wire and occasionally i will drop my info on tumblr, give it out privately if asked, or add if someone else is looking to add. it can take me a while to work up the courage to message someone in the first place and i'm really... not good at the usual social cues of "hey how are you/good how are you?/what have you been up to?" but i'm usually game to chat about other stuff

most active muse:  Caleb. i've had a lot of other muses but he's been the one i've been most consistently able to write in the slightly over 3 years since i first started writing him.

experience/how many years:  i had a couple false starts trying to set up rp blogs for Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Wirt from Over the Garden Wall back in 2014 and 2015? but i just never really managed to get off the ground and start writing in-character for them because i was super heavily intimidated by the rpc and too nervous to approach anyone. finally in january 2017 i stumbled across a parody of Portal 2 on youtube called the Unauthorized Musical and discovered that there were already a handful of muns on tumblr who had picked up characters specifically based on that production and regularly hosted rabbit streams where they'd watch the video again together and welcomed anyone who wanted to join to do so. i noticed nobody was really writing any antagonistic characters against them so i wound up setting up a blog for GLaDOS and following everybody i met during the stream and that was essentially how i became hooked on tumblr rp. i've been kicking around on and off for about 7 years now.

best experience: there's so many to choose from, but i think i'd have to say my best experience was when i started writing Caleb. i was just fresh off watching Westworld season 3, i was actually feeling more compelled at the time to try and write either Dolores, Maeve, Clementine or Teddy but i felt like i wouldn't do any of 'em justice. i ended up making a sideblog to my old multimuse after deciding i would try writing Caleb, and that's where i almost immediately connected with melody/aworldofyou/copiesofme and was enthusiastically introduced to a bunch of other muns residing in the tiny but mighty westworld rpc. 🥰

rp pet peeves: one is pretty much the same as Sandra said; making a new main blog in the spur of the moment. exhausting all energy on curating a distinct aesthetic for icons/banners/promos/custom themes/etc, and then completely losing interest in a week or 2 without ever getting to write that character. and then more often than not the process gets repeated down the line until that person either becomes overwhelmed from having too many blogs to manage or too many memes to answer or too many starters to write.

i also don't particularly love memes that promote making rp into a popularity contest or seeking an almost constant stream of validation from other people. things like "send a _ and i'll rate your blog on a scale of 1 to 10/using a scale template" i try to stay far away from. arguably every notification you get on tumblr is an instant dopamine hit just like all social media is but. idk there was just something about those blog rating/character rating memes that made them feel more addictive to send and receive than like, taking the time to give someone your honest opinion on how you feel about them as a person or on their writing and characters and such.

another similar thing is reblog chains to the effect of 'reblog this if you actually like following me/seeing me on the dash.' i really don't like these. there's a level of self-deprecation and guilt-tripping involved and when people already feel awfully low and vulnerable to negative self image this just makes it worse. especially when people post with side commentary like 'oh nobody will reblog this from me lol.' and i don't think they're always necessarily aware that this is manipulative behavior, but...it is. even just the way the source post is typically phrased, it preys on insecurity and it makes me sad when i do see mutuals reblogging posts written like this because then i'm like. just sitting there thinking "i'm not a spambot so...if i didn't like following you or seeing you on my dash i would not be following you??"

other forms of reblog chains like 'reblog to give the person you're reblogging from a hug' or 'reblog this and say something nice about the person you reblogged from' are far better in my opinion because they don't inherently contain that same level of insecurity. they put the focus on lifting up and supporting the person you're reblogging from instead of centering on yourself.

plots or memes: i like both but i am very much a memes person because i feel like i'm not very good at plotting.

long or short replies: i don't really have a preference! but lately my thing generally seems to be letting the length creep up so my replies just get longer and longer over time. i never expect anyone to match me, but like. the one thing that would crush my soul is me posting like. 5-7 paragraphs and getting back a one sentence or one word response 😭

are you like your muses: i have a few things in common with caleb, one of them being that we're both neurodivergent and just trying to exist in a society where it is typically seen as undesirable to be classed as such. i stumbled across a venn diagram a while back comparing and contrasting common traits associated with ptsd and autism and it has given me a lot to take into consideration in the way that i portray caleb

tagged by: @k4ndall

tagging: @gunslingcr @paddyfuck @weirdwonderful @killjoysanonymous @prettydead & you (not labeled)

[emmetrain]

I saw the superpowers talk on the dash and wanted to talk about all the minor abilities Emmet has but a) is not aware so cannot use, b) his human mind would not allow him to use, c) so minor that he would not be able to do anything substantial. Some of these snuck into threads before like artistic descriptions that are actually tied to his powers:

Photographic Memory: Mainly thanks to intense training and devotion, and tying to his relation to time/ time manipultion itself. "Photographic Memory, technically called eidetic memory, is the ability to recall images, sounds or objects in memory with near perfect accuracy and in abundant volume. The ability to "capture" an image after a short exposure, such that the eideticer has the subjective experience of actually still seeing it even after it has been removed. Someone with an eidetic memory can look at something, remember it later, and, when remembering it, notice details they completely missed the first time." Emmet's use of this ability is like buying many books but never reading them, or memorizing without understanding the substance. It works mostly against him since he counts on "remembering"...

Glowing Eyes/Night Vision: Thanks to PLA and Warden Ingo jumpscares, I am going to assume Emmet has the same silver glowing eyes, and a slight night vision that does not necessarily throws off the others, but aids him in his work as a Subway Boss who braves the tunnels.

Electricity Absorption: With no electrical scarring or side-effects of getting zapped by his beloved Electric type, Emmet is bound to notice he has the power to absorb electricity and utilize it in some way, right? Ha ha. No. He might be using Eelektross as personal battery when he is low on energy, but he will never assume he is invincible. A power that is used only passively by Emmet, or just for the mundane things like using electric attacks on himself to finish the paperwork he dreads. He can still get hurt, as he has no idea how to utilize this power, but more often than not, as long he pays no mind, electricity will just be absorbed safely. He is a conductor after all /shot. (Also, the electrostatic charge means people around him are more prone to get shocked when they touch him. RIP.)

Time Manipulation: Again, a power his mind will never fathom, and only used it the most mundane way possible. Emmet is able to alter time perception for himself passively, allowing him to have better concentration on tasks as time flows verrrry slowly, or when he panics, everything going too fast including his own time perception, making him unable to react meaningfully. The ways he can have inner monologues on and on while only a few seconds passes in real-life? Yup. He can stop/slow down time. Will he ever realize or utilize? Nope. His human mind would never truly comprehend this ability.

Darkness/Shadow Manipulation: "Users can create, shape and manipulate darkness and shadows. Darkness is mostly used to cloud everything into total darkness, but can also be channeled to a variety of effects, as an absence of light(...)". The line often used to describe Em's emotional state, "a shadow fell over his face"? Literal. Emmet can passively dim the room of its light, or cast shadow around himself when he is sneaking around. He is not aware of this, and would never notice or utilize this ability actively. But it is a part of how he did not get killed when he broke into places he shouldn't be able to, or how he truly blends in with the crowd despite wearing full-white clothing.

I love giving powers that goes over the head of the characters. Em is no exception. Characters more powerful and observant than Emmet might be able to tell:

that shadow should not fall like that,

how the light is kind of wacky with Emmet around,

how that Joltik's attack should have affected Emmet,

how normal people do not charge themselves with electricity instead of coffee, that caffeine and electricity are not interchangeable despite Emmet's claims.

when did he even had time to come up with that overly convoluted plan for a prank, or had like three crisis in span of few seconds.

[auspex]

maple leaf and sunflower for mark aaaand evergreen and seedling for pory!

ITS THE WEEKEND SO ITS TIME FOR ME TO BE (SO NOT) NORMAL ABOUT MY OCS!!! omg did yall miss me on the dash <3 <3 <3

lets

fucking

go

🍁 [MAPLE LEAF] What is your OC's favourite season? Why and what do they do during it?

Okay look like his Vibes are definitely Fall like late Fall, things dying being cold melancholy etc. but his actual FAVORITE season is Spring <3 he lives in Michigan so it stays cold as fuck for a long time and he likes to see things like. grow and come alive. also as a professor the Spring semester is usually easier than the Fall so he likes that he usually teaches less classes so he can spend more time with individual students and his research. He *used* to like the days getting longer too... yea i picked this season to be his fav because of the Tragedy of it all and What Of It?

But really though he is a softie inside and this shows it <3 lol but i think its partially cause all other seasons have something about them that bothers him - summer is too hot so he cant wear sweaters that he likes also rushed classes, Fall is just a Lot for the academic year and also days getting shorter, and winter in Detroit is well. Real cold and miserable.

Also especially after being turned winter would have really bad associations for him lol

🌻 [SUNFLOWER] Where would your OC get lost in the moment/beauty of the place?

well if he ever went to Rome he would spend a lot of time Looking. Like he is really glad airport security isnt that tight cause he thinks one day he could afford to go to Rome now! Its the year 2000 in the US, Ooo he has Plany of Time. Mark might never get to rome UGH so sad.

But other than gay shit like getting lost in his lovers eyes (i crossed it out but its true) Mark isn't so much the type for this sort of thing... hmm... oh he'd definitely do the angsty vampire thing of staring down at city lights from a high place. Looking at all the people walking around... he'd think about how things were x years ago... be like wow people built all this... all the things other kindred don't care about <3 love u mark

-

🌲 [EVERGREEN] What does your OC's dream treehouse look like? What tree is it built upon?

Oh this is a cute question. I imagine a birch tree that looks like, way too skinny to handle the treehouse but somehow it does? Most of the treehouse isn't roofed but it is excellently shaded by leaves. A bird nest is within viewing distance. It would have flowerpots and wind chimes oh yes, so many windchimes. Lots of random pretty things hanging from branches in grabbing distance. A secret spot for snacks. A swing... yellow rugs on top of the wood... it'd be so fucking cute omg.

Also enchanted as all hell LOL

🌱 [SEEDLING] What new passions/hates is your OC discovering?

The Cabal Hates Vampires! All bad experiences. Alakazam was captured by em so because he has a personal hatred, so does the cabal lol. They don't see them as human at all and its truly no mercy askdlfjlsdfk.

She hates it when mages don't consider it their responsibility to help humanity. i mean like. they can do so much, they should help as much as they can.

As for new passions, well her obsession is understanding people's 'natural' luck before its influenced by herself and other supernaturals - what determines it, how far back is it determined, etc.

She is also super curious about what other supernatural entities exist cause theyve already met - in order:

changelings a demon vampires tzmizse monster/ghoul creations (i Forgor the name of these) a werewolf

and of course other mages. so tbh not sure what she's missing but im sure our st will come up with something because she is SO CURIOUS

[salveticn-a]

NAME :   nael   (●'◡'●) PRONOUNS :    he / they PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION :   either dms or discord   :0c NAME OF MUSE(S) :   themis , elidibus EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG   ( MONTHS / YEARS ? )   :   writing themis / elidibus , i'd say roughly two years now ?   otherwise , experience in general would be , uh ... 14 years ? Platforms you’ve used :   i started on fb   ( when it had the original look , before it changed to whatever the hell it is now )   , then moved to tumblr . i've also been using discord to rp but only between mutuals . PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS :   definitely when people tell me how i should write my own character and / or question the way i write 'em ; people befriending me just to get art from me   ( it has happened before )   ; people posting unnecessary drama on the dash   ( and with   ' unnecessary '   i mean that drama that can be resolved privately )   ; people with highly formatted / edited themes , docs , carrds : sure , they are very pretty to look at but for me they are eye - straining and it's hard for me to focus on them when the font keeps changing style / color and increasing in size in just a sentence . there are others i'm not gonna list or this post would be longer than a scroll ... FLUFF , ANGST , OR SMUT :   leaning more towards fluff -- slice of life scenarios -- rather than angst . sure , some of it is fine but i prefer the kind of soft angst that involves words spoken from the heart , characters confessing their fears / anxieties , etc . that kind of stuff ...   ( i love writing a character's feelings ) PLOTS OR MEMES :   both would be fine , but plotting can either go one way or no way at all . i've plotted way too many times and i managed to write only very few of those ideas / plots . i feel like memes are easier for both parties , a nice way to break the ice if anything . LONG OR SHORT REPLIES :   i'm ok with anything , even one - liners as long as i'm given something to work with . BEST TIME TO WRITE :   honestly i have no idea ... i write when i feel like to , when i find the time   /shrug ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) ? :   yes and no . themis is his own character , has his own beliefs and feelings , and his own traits   ( even if some of these traits belong to me )   .

tagged by :   @reapcrbunny​   ( thank you ! ) tagging :   whoever wants to do it !!

[florafounda]

knowing your partner well can potentially make writing together a lot easier. ( repost do not reblog ! )

✿ name:  rook ✿ PRONOUNS:    he/they ✿ preference of communication:  discord is honestly easiest, please ask for it. ims are good but they can be lost sometimes bc tunglr's bs ✿ name of muse(s):  Birth name is Sophie Poole, but known as Kit.

✿ EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?):    i've been on tumblr for over 10 years now so....jesus uh....awhile. Quite awhile. I'm thinking I started in middle school so like...16+ years now.

✿ PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED:   i've been on tunglr for 10 years now as i said - and wow holy shit that's....wild. Because it feels like yesterday I was on my other websites -- I also used dreamwidth, some livejournal forums, gaiaonline and my start was with neopets forums.

✿ best experience: i've had so many wonderful experiences roleplaying. it's a great chance to meet and greet with other people. i've found so many good friends who put up with my shit so often. but shout out to meeting @badassxbirdy 10 years ago when I first started roleplaying Mel and the extremely hilarious way Tyler and she met. Demons. Nakedness. Awkward all around. The works. But how that meeting became a friendship that I wouldn't trade the world for is so important to me. I'd love to go back to England and see Emmy again soon and hope the world will let me.

✿ RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS:    starting with the basic, i'd say most people would agree that hate and drama is a big dealbreaker and I'm one of them. But some of my other pet peeves are people who come into your ask/ims and guilt trip you. And I'm pretty uncomfortable with large amounts of nsf.w, specifically imagery. If your blog is like 3 pages of nsf.w on any given day, blacklist is probably breaking down on my dash and cant block it all. And I'm super easily squicked out by sexual imagery. But that's about it.

✿ fluff, angst or smut:  smut is never an option on this blog. and while I've tried dabbling into it again with my older muses, my fluctuating nature of squickiness about smut can be limiting so it's very very very rare. Of the other two, I used to be well known for writing ONLY angst, but over time I've got much better at writing fluff. But i'm a sucker at exploring trauma, trauma reaction and the emotional outcomes, so more than likely my longer threads are angstier than fluffy.

✿ plots or memes: i want to say both, because plots can be so thereapeautic to see them through. But for me memes are ALWAYS easier to work with. I'm nervous about plotting and can almost NEVER think of anything on the spot when someone says "hey let's plot" and it ruins the vibe. However, if I ever have a thought about our characters or vice versa, I am hELLA ready to slam into DMs.

✿ long or short replies: preference for long replies because I'm a big sucker for novella level emotions. on the other hand, I know I struggle to write a lot. And I'm sure my partner's run into the same thing as well, so sometimes short things are a good way to continue building character dynamics without as much effort or plotting.

✿ best time to write:    when i'm not absolutely dying from exhaustion or mental health issues. I have such a chaotic activity, I'm aware. And I wish it wasn't like that but sometimes my brain just says 'nope' and that's been a lot lately too.

Honestly though, I find that I write a LOT better when I'm at work because when I'm NOT on a call, there's really not much else to do once base chores are done. But at the same time it's at the whim of the EMS gods if I have the chance to sit down and write at all or if I get interrupted in the middle of my flow. Doesn't really matter what time of day though.

✿ are you like your muse(s):   if I'm being honest - most of my muses have SOME bits and pieces of me mixed in. They say write what you know and all that. And as my comfort muse, I'll admit that Kit is a LOT more like me than the rest. While I'm by no means an escaped science experiment that's been brainwashed, a lot of Kit's interaction with the world and in particular her autistic traits, are very heavily based on my own or how I perceived the world in some cases. In other ways we are very different - I am not a nature encyclopedia for one. And also cannot punch to save my life.

tagged: @byanyan & @femtaile tagging: anyone else who hasn't done it, please please please

[theflixdiary]

Singin' in the Rain (1952) directed by Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen

age rating : U genre : musical, comedy, romance duration : 1h 43m country : USA language: English screenplay: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

major cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen

plot summary: set in Hollywood during the transition from silent films to "talkies," the story follows Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), a famous silent film star, who must navigate the challenges of new technology while dealing with his on-screen partner, the shrill Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), and falling in love with aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds).

it’s a true classic that continues to hold a special place in my heart. I first discovered this gem while watching it on TV during high school, and let me tell you, it completely changed my perspective on musicals. although the film was released long before my parents were born, its charm and energy captivated me instantly, sparking my love for the genre, alongside Phantom of the Opera. seriously, it’s like a love letter to the art of film-making, wrapped up in toe-tapping tunes! when I decided to re-watch the film after many years, I was pleasantly surprised that it still evoked the same feelings I had back then. the songs, the tap dances, and the incredible choreography swept me away like a leaf in a whirlwind! I mean, who can resist the infectious energy of “Good Morning” or the iconic titular number? it’s like they sprinkled magic dust over every scene! while jazz isn't my favourite genre, I couldn’t help but enjoy the vibrant rhythms. the music had me tapping my feet and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen were stunning on screen; I loved both of their performances! I still find Hagen's high-pitched voice a bit annoying—it's like nails on a chalkboard sometimes—but it definitely added to her character’s hilarity. and Reynolds? she looked like an absolute porcelain doll—it's hard to believe she was that beautiful! I was just left sitting there thinking, “how is she even real?” Gene Kelly, as suave as ever, reminded me of why I adored his character, Don Lockwood. he’s the perfect blend of charm and talent, and his dancing is just out of this world! and let’s not forget Donald O'Connor’s silly antics—he added a wonderful dynamic to the friendship. I’d be lucky if I had a friend like him in my life! his solo number “Make 'Em Laugh” was a show-stopper! both of them truly nailed the acting, singing, and dancing, creating a magical experience that left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Singin' in the Rain is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys musicals or simply wants to experience a feel-good film. it’s like a burst of sunshine on a cloudy day, filled with laughter, romance, and a dash of nostalgia. whether you're a die-hard musical fan or just dipping your toes into the genre, this film is sure to leave you with a smile and maybe even a little tap in your step! it’s a cinematic treasure that everyone should experience at least once.

poster & stills credit: IMDb edited using canva

[valgregory]

Chapter 15

Aria: Everyone... can you please gather here?

Aria: So here's the plan...

Aria: Since Gio can summon a few demons at the same time...

Aria: Vine, Aym. I need you two to come with me to show that we're not outnumbered.

Aria: As far as he knows, I only have Marc with me.

Aria: Marc, you know what to do, right?

Marc: Yes. You gave a clear explanation yesterday, Milady.

Aria: Now... as for you two...

Aria: I have a different task for you.

*glance*

---

Val: Don't move!!

*dun dun*

Dantalion: Where do you think you're going?

Val: This guy... he just jumped from the 3rd floor, but he wasn't hurt at all? I didn't know wizards could be so powerful!!

Val: Please, just give up!!

Gio: Tch, why are there so many of 'em...

Halphas: Master, you should go...

Halphas: And leave these two to me...

Gio: Okay, I'm counting on you!

*dash*

Val: Hey, what's that?? Is she going to attack us with that?

Val: What do we do?!

Dantalion: Fight back, of course...

Val: What?! But she's a girl!!

Dantalion: So?

Halphas: Don't be careless... are you underestimating me?

*whoosh*

*CRACK!*

*splatter*

Halphas: You're next...

Dantalion: That hurts...

*twitch*

Halphas: !!

Halphas: Huh?

Dantalion: Why did you target me first...? Not to mention hitting me with that kind of weapon...

Dantalion: It hurts, you know...

Dantalion: Do I look so weak, that I'd die after one hit? Aren't you the one who's underestimating your opponent?

Val: What...?

Dantalion: Let me tell you one thing...

*zrrrrt*

Dantalion: You were too quick to judge the situation... which tells me that you have no experience in battle.

*whoosh*

Val: What?!

Halphas: ?!

Dantalion: Demons like you... are 100 years too early to kill me...

Val: This purple mist... Gremory?

Val: Dantalion! What's going on here?!

Dantalion: I'll have to ask you to not interfere. Just sit back and watch, young lord...

Dantalion: I'll teach you how to fight, little girl...

*tap*

*clang*

Dantalion: First, your weapon... it doesn't suit you.

*clang*

*raise*

Halphas: Mind your own business!

Dantalion: You won't even listen to my advice. How rude...

*whack*

*whooosh*

*zrrrt*

*grab*

Halphas: ?!

Dantalion: Second, don't rely on your weapon too much.

*snatch*

*whoosh*

Dantalion: Those who rely on their weapons too much, will be powerless the moment they lose it...

*boom*

Dantalion: You're finished...

*zraaat*

Val: Why does he keep attacking a defenseless girl...?

Val: Are demons... really this cruel...?

Val: She can't even fight back...

Val: Am I supposed to be... this kind of creature?

---

Vine: Wow. Dantalion's furious, huh? He even created his purple mist, when he didn't need to...

Vine: That hit must have hurt like hell.

Aym: That idiot... we can't see what's going down there, because of that mist.

Aria: You guys... I'll leave the people here to you.

Aria: Marc must be busy chasing Gio right now... so I'm going with Caim to help him.

Vine: Huh? Then what about that pink girl?

Aria: Hmm, I don't care. I don't know her, after all...

Aria: You guys can kill her if you want. See you later~

Vine: Geez, that heartless woman... (but she's pretty...)

Aym: Hey, Vine... should we stop Dantalion now?

Aym: I have a bad feeling...

[To be continued...]

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