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da-birb-writes-sometimes · 2 years ago

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One of Us is Guilty; Prologue

Eight people, nine rooms, seven weapons. One person is guilty, and until they are found, no one is safe; from the perpetrator of the crime, or of being accused.

Characters; Vil Schoenheit, Divus Crewel, Rook Hunt, Azul Ashengroto, Silver, Jade Leech, Cater Diamond

Content; Gender-neutral reader, unreliable narrators

Content Warning; Death (not described), murder (not described)

Word Count; 1.3 K (includes guide on how to participate at the end)

Find this content triggering but still want to participate? Go to this Google Form! <- form is now closed, thank you to the people who voted!

As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist

You were making your way down the main flight of stairs, ready to go crawl into your bed after the long day.

“Attention! Attention!” Crowley’s voice echoed over the PA system, still annoyingly chipper despite the late hour. What was he even still doing here? “Due to the weather, all remaining staff and students are under orders to stay inside the building until morning!” And the PA system cut out.

You groaned, “Seriously? It can’t be that bad–” A loud crack of thunder sounded directly above the building, causing the chandelier to shake. “Okay then,” you huffed, plopping down on the stairs, “I get the message.”

Of course, you would get stuck here for the night, guess that’s what happens when you stay back to study and work on assignments.

But you weren’t the only person stuck in the desolate halls of Night Raven College; seven others were in the same boat as you.

…

Vil was in the lecture theatre, reviewing his notes for the upcoming performance that the Film Research Club would be putting on next week. He too heard Crowley’s announcement and pushed his hair back, massaging his temple. He would not be getting a good night’s rest tonight.

“Tch, no use lamenting over it,” he sighed to himself. Carefully, he put the notes and suggestions away in their designated folder, and he made his way to the main hall. If anyone was still here with him, they might be there; at least he would have some company for the night, and not be alone in the empty hallways.

…

Professor Crewel was grading papers in the teacher’s lounge, and getting a migraine from it as well. “Have those pups learned nothing from me,” he grumbled.

He would much rather be at home in his finest pyjamas, scratching the chins of his dogs, but no, he was stuck here, and would be stuck until the storm passed or Headmaster Crowley got back on the PA system saying it was safe to leave. But knowing his employer, the man had transported himself home, leaving everyone stuck at the college oblivious.

I ought to wring his neck if he did.

…

Rook was in the library, perusing through various books, just looking for something to pass the time. He knew earlier that day that a storm was brewing, he could tell by the clouds and the faint smell wafting on the breeze. He also knew that Vil would be staying late, and he wasn’t going to leave Roi de Poison alone.

After going down a few aisles, Rook finally found a book to his liking. “Hmm, this is new. Ah, how interesting!” Tucking the book under his arm, Rook made his way to the lecture theatre, as that was where he had last seen Vil.

Perhaps un meurtre mystère would make for a good plot for a future performance?

…

Silver had fallen asleep in the cafeteria, apparently he had slept for most of the day. He had only woken up because of Crowley’s voice echoing loudly in the large, empty room.

Did they not notice? Silver rubbed his eyes and yawned. If he was here, there was a possibility of others also finding themselves stuck in the school for the night. The least he could do was make sure others were staying calm, and staying safe. Even outside of his duties he was ever still the protector, and far too kind.

“Hopefully no one got hurt…” he murmured to himself. There was something off, a dark presence of sorts, and it wasn’t just the dark clouds hurling down rain, hail, and lightning outside.

Something doesn’t feel right…

…

Azul was in the alchemy lab, perfecting the most complicated potion that was in his textbook; he had a reputation to upkeep after all, and didn’t want anyone usurping his rank at the top of the class.

There, I just need to add some belladonna and— the suddenness of Crowley’s overly loud voice coming over the PA system caused Azul to add too much, and the potion evaporated. Azul gritted his teeth, but took a step back. Perhaps a walk would help calm him down… he was going to have to replace all of those ingredients tomorrow…

“So close,” he hissed, and he started making his way down the hall, still muttering to himself.

…

Jade was washing the dirt from his hands, having just come back from checking on his fungi in the botanical gardens. He already knew before Crowley made his little announcement that he would be spending the night, which didn’t bother him all that much. Perhaps he could see what was in the kitchen, since he did have that new dish which looked and sounded to be divine.

But that could wait, Azul was most likely still working on that potion of his, and knowing the house warden, he had fumbled with the ingredients at the sudden noise and probably sulking… and Jade could use some amusement at the moment, and a sulking and slightly peeved Azul would do the trick.

…

Cater was in the kitchen, retrieving something for Trey since they were all out in the Heartslabyul kitchen. Of course it was something sweet, but Cater would rather be here than see the outcome of the freshmans’ antics. Sorry freshies, you’re on your own!

But now he was stuck here for the night, and having nothing better to do, and boredom starting to creep in, Cater brought out his phone and started recording.

“It’s Cay-kun here!~” He gave a peace sign to the camera and stuck out his tongue. “Let’s see who we can find!” And he started chatting to the camera and walking towards the main hall.

…

Eventually, everyone had made their way to the main hall; you, Silver, Vil, Professor Crewel, Rook, Azul, Jade, and Cater. But there was no sign of Headmaster Crowley.

“Have any of you pups seen the Headmaster,” Divus asked, turning up a brow, and looked at his students with suspicion.

Everyone shook their head no. Divus sighed, and turned around the corner, in the direction of the Headmaster’s office, but he stopped in his tracks.

Curious, you looked to where Professor Crewel was staring; lying in the middle of the floor was Crowley, and he wasn’t breathing.

Dire Crowley was dead, murdered. And everyone was a suspect, including you.

About this Event

That's right folks, a classic murder mystery in the style of the board game Clue and some inspiration from the book And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

At the beginning and end of each part, I will be including a link to a Google Form where people can vote for who they think is the murderer, what room the murder took place in, and the weapon that was used. There's also an optional question where you can explain your answer, just do know that everything was randomly chosen by a spinner.

The form will be active for at least 72 hours; it may go on for longer if I'm busy. A new form will be added with each part, just with the suspect, room, & weapon that was voted in the last part being removed if they were incorrect... and may take some inspo from the book I mentioned.~

In future parts there will be dark content, as this is a murder mystery; all of the content warnings will be included at the beginning, and also tagged (ie. cw death). Because of this, I will not be tagging people in future parts just as a precaution.

Now, let the investigation begin!

Link to Google Form

Suspects:

- Silver; the kindhearted knight with a mysterious past, is it just for show? (Plum) - Vil Schoenheit; the actor who is always pigeonholed into the role of a villain (Scarlet) - Divus Crewel; the alchemy teacher with a penchant for fashion, Crowley's co-worker (Peacock) - Rook Hunt; the enigmatic hunter who always has a hunch of what's happening (Mustard) - Azul Ashengrotto; the owner of The Mostro Lounge, a businessman with dubious morals (Green) - Reader; the 'house-keeper', a role that was imposed on them by the late Headmage (White) - Jade Leech; a student enamored by fungi and seems to have a foreboding presence about him (Orchid) - Cater Diamond; the preppy beau of Heartslabyul, but his smile seems forced (Peach)

Rooms:

- Main hall - Teachers' lounge - Cafeteria - Kitchens - Lecture theatre - Botanical garden - Alchemy lab - Library - Crowley's office

Weapons:

- Revolver - Rope - Dagger - Wrench - Candlestick - Lead pipe - Magic

...

Tags; @afunkyfreshblog, @aqua-beam, @azulashengrottospiano, @eynnwwyjth, @hisui-dreamer, @hydra-sea, @identity-theft-101, @inkybloom-luv, @ithseem, @krenenbaker, @leonistic, @lucid-stories, @officialdaydreamer00, @ryker-writes, @savanaclaw1996, @silvers-numberonefan, @twistwonderlanddevotee, @xxoomiii

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miharaikko · 5 months ago

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My 2024 writing round up

Thank you for the tags to @firenati0n @0npurpose @sophie1973 @clockwrkpendrxgon @kj-bee

I started writing fic this year in May and managed to put out 21 pieces, 19 oneshots and 2 multi-chapters. I would have never imagined myself as a fic writer, considering I barely knew the concept a year ago, but here we are—brain rot so active and ideas overflowing 🤷‍♀️

I’m so thankful to all the people willing to give my little stories a chance. Thank you for all the kudos, comments and overall yelling on twitter and discord.

And thank you to my Red Umbrella gang. Since meeting y'all in June my life has significantly improved 💕 Can’t wait to see what 2025 brings us! ✨

My AO3: miharaikko My fandom: Red, White & Royal Blue Number of fics posted: 21 Number of Words posted: 91,717

Breakdown under the cut.

MAY

Pearly Gates (M, 5K) Alex sees Henry across the dance floor and is mesmerized by his ivory skin and the pearl top he is wearing.

JUNE

Love will abide (take things in stride) (E, 15K) Henry should be getting married tomorrow. Instead, he's at a pub, considering if he should go back to the hotel of a man he just met.

JULY

waging my wars behind my face and above my throat (M, 3K) Henry is having a bad day and Alex helps him through it (part I)

AUGUST

I was already on my way (GA, 1.1K) Henry is having a bad day and Alex helps him through it (part II)

SEPTEMBER

touch my phone (as if it’s your face) (GA, 5.3K) Alex texts the wrong number. It turns out to be the right one in the end.

just you and I (GA, 1K) Slices of life, inspired by Tom Odell's Grow Old with Me

OCTOBER

In the heart of Wales (Yng nghalon Cymru) (GA, 2.8K) Alex and Henry get lost in the heart of Wales

only thing on my grocery list (is your lips) (GA, 2.2K) Henry keeps visiting his local market and trying out new recipes, all for the sake of a cute vendor

more than a game to play (the truth is on my tongue) (E, 2.5K) Being friends with benefits shouldn't matter. But when Henry gets jealous, it starts to matter.

I was cold as a stone (but I found what I'm lookin' for) (GA, 2.6K) Henry retreats to a cabin in the woods for some peace and quiet, but he also finds something else there.

all eyes on you, my magician (all eyes on us) (GA, 3.8K) - collab with tothemoon_andsaturn Henry is a magician, but he is falling under the spell of Alex.

three words, infinite possibilities (GA, 1.8K) Alex figures out that his feelings for Henry are more than he thought.

a beagle's guide to finding love (GA, 5.7K) When David feels like henry could use a new friend, he takes the matter into his own paws.

pink silk ribbon kinky thingy (E, 7.2K) Alex finds a spool of silk ribbon which makes him feels things. Henry helps him process those feelings.

NOVEMBER

saturday night love (GA, 1.3K) A-list actor Henry decides to come out during an SNL sketch. Alex is the SNL regular who gets to kiss him during it.

DECEMBER

Spotify Wrapped - a Series of Unserious Drabbles (M, 2.7K) writings based on my 2024 Spotify Wrapped

a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight (M, 2.8K) - collab with tothemoon_andsaturn Henry takes Alex to visit Wales. The lack of snow doesn't stop Alex from transforming the day into a winter Wonderland.

but if you’re leaving, I gotta know why (M, 4K) Alex overhears a conversation between Henry and Bea and realizes there's a lot more things that he feels for his roommate.

...for so long (M, 6.2K)â Henry is tasked with baking gingerbread and he gets a helping hand from a friend

both your hands (in the holes of my sweater) (M, 6.4K) Henry and Alex lend each other certain clothes items over the years

s'mores (let me taste you some more) (E, 8.8K) Stuck in a cabin due to a storm, Alex and Henry only have marshmallows, crackers and chocolate as supplies. They make the best of it, while also tending to some old wounds.

WIPs & UPCOMING FICS

I've been yapping about these 3 since the moment they each came to mind, but with the collections I took part in, and other smaller ideas that never let my mind, I haven't been able to finish them. But my goal for 2025 is to bring these 3 babies to the world:

Red Wine and Royal Bleu Cheese - vaguely established plot, where Alex visits a winery where he meets Henry

Clay your love on me - Alex is a TikTok potter and Henry is a fan of his live videos

no title yet, but this will be my multi-chaptered Magnum Opus once I manage to write it, based on the following prompt: Friends with benefits (they share a house to split the rent) with detriments (they used to date but broke up for self-sabotaging reasons) with perks (sometimes they spend the night together. it’s fine) with troubles (one of them is moving away. it feels worse than the breakup)

And I also have an upcoming fic for the Wrap It Up exchange.

#firstprince #rwrb #rwrb fic #rwrb fanfic #red white and royal blue #year in review #fic roundup #ao3 wrapped #ao3 writer #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz

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likeadevils · 1 month ago

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Red Timeline (Pt. 2)

This is a very long post that puts all the songs on Red in order of Taylor making them, with as many specific dates as possible. I’ve also included other songs she wrote while writing Red and quotes from Taylor and her collaborators talking about her process.

Because she wrote so much for Red, I’ve had to split this timeline into two parts. This one covers the songs she wrote in 2012:

Treacherous, I Knew You Were Trouble, 22, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, The Last Time, Holy Ground, The Lucky One, Everything Has Changed, Come Back... Be Here, Girl At Home, Nothing New, Babe, Message In A Bottle, Forever Winter, Run, The Very First Night (2010-2011 songs here)

If you don't want to read the whole post, check out this playlist of the album in order or this playlist of her entire discography.

KEY:

Song Dates:

🟢: There is some type of official source for the date

🟡: There isn’t an official source, but everything points to that date

🟠: I’m pretty sure that this is when it was written, but I wouldn’t be shocked if I was wrong. Or the period of time is just too large to be a definite date

🔴: Unknown, year comes from copyright

Other:

✍️: Record of Taylor (possibly) writing a song

🎤: Record of Taylor (possibly) recording a song

📌: Misc. Album activity

📌 January 2012: Moved to LA to work with new producers

Taylor: "With Red, [Scott Borchetta] came to me in January and said, 'I think the album's finished.' This time, I said, 'No, it's not – I need to keep writing.'" Taylor: "I turned in 20 songs and I had this immediate sinking feeling, this can't be done, this can't be it. I think the reason I said that was because I made the record exactly the same way I made the last three. I knew I hadn't jumped out of my comfort zone, which at the time was writing alone and working with Nathan [Chapman]."

🟠 January 2012: Girl At Home

Girl at Home is a little blip in the timeline– it's the only song that was produced by Nathan Chapman in 2012. There's lots of ways you could speculate about that– perhaps she was trying to see how producing a pop song with Nathan would turn out, perhaps it's evidence for the persistent rumors that Girl at Home is a demo. Either way, I'm inclined to put it as early in the timeline as possible. Nathan Chapman posted some behind the scenes photos of the Red and Speak Now sessions on instagram. The one below was likely taken while she was recording Girl at Home– it shows Taylor in Nathan's home studio with bangs and straight hair, and the only song recorded in his home studio after she had cut her hair is Girl At Home. (She is also bundled up, adding credence to Girl At Home being recorded in winter. But then again, Taylor is fond of being bundled up, so I wouldn't read into it too much).

🟡 January 2012: I Knew You Were Trouble (First Draft)

Taylor: "I wrote this melody for this chorus on the piano." Taylor: "I remember bringing in this slow, sad thing that I had written, called 'I Knew You Were Trouble.' I had originally called it 'Trouble'" Taylor: "'I Knew You Were Trouble' was an idea that I got almost six months before I was scheduled to write with Max Martin, and I emailed him and said 'I just got this idea, I can't wait to bring it to you. I know that we're not writing for a few months, but I just, I need you to know, I thought of this thing, I can't wait for you to hear it.'"

Taylor first wrote with Max Martin in late April, meaning Trouble was possibly conceived as early as October 2011. However, it seems like she didn't know she would write with Max Martin until December 2011 at the earliest, so I'm inclined to place this in January 2012, six months before they finish writing Trouble in June.

🟢 February 2012: Holy Ground

Lover Diaries

📌 February 13, 2012: MTV interview:

"So far, I've been writing so much in the last year and the label keeps telling me, 'All right, we're finished; all right, we're satisfied; OK, this is done now.' And then I just keep writing and I keep turning it in in different versions [...] I'm going to work on it until I literally have zero time left to work on it, because I'm having so much fun working on this album [...] I'm getting to work with people that I've always wanted to work with, from all different places in music. I'm trying to be as much of a sponge as possible. You have to evolve and try new things and change and that's what I've loved to do with this album."

📌 February 15, 2012: Extra Tv Interview:

"I'm really excited about the next record. I'm so excited about it. I've been writing it since before the last record came out, so there's been so much that has been amazing to write about, and you know right now I'm just having to pick from like the 30* songs that I have, that I love, and pick the best ones." [...] This has got to be the best form of revenge, just write hit songs about it. "Yeah, it’s not bad. But there’s the pressure of, like, it has to be good, and if it’s not, then your ex is kinda just like, "Ha-ha, it’s not good." So there’s the pressure of, you have to make a great record. And for me, I’m just obsessed with it when I’m making an album because I just want it to be better than all the ones I've made before, and I kind of compete with myself. I just drive myself insane with it." *Grain of salt: The amount of songs Taylor says she wrote for Red at different points doesn't add up, so give or take 5 songs.

🟢 February 29, 2012: Nothing New

In the below journal, Taylor mentions writing Nothing New on the plane ride from Sydeny to Perth. She arrives at the Sydney Airport on February 29, and was in Perth on March 1.

✍️ March 2, 2012: Lover Diary entry:

"I've been thinking a lot about getting older and relevancy and how all my heroes have ended up alone. I wrote a song on the plane ride from Sydney to Perth on the appalachain dulcimer I bought the day of my flight. I bought it because Joni played on most of her blue record. I taught myself to play 'A Case of You.' Anyway, I wrote a song on it called "Nothin New" and it's about being scared of aging and things changing and losing what you have. It says "I'm getting older and less sure of what you like about me anyway." And in the chorus it says "How can a person know everything at 18, and nothing at 22? And will you still want me … when I'm nothing new." It's a really vulnerable song, but I think it's important to say."

🟢 Early March, 2012: The Lucky One

Taylor: "'The Lucky One' is a song that I wrote while I was in Australia. And it kind of talks about some of my fears, through telling the story of other people that I was inspired by. But, more than their stories being told... I'm pretty much singing about what I'm scared of."

Taylor was in Australia from March 1-14, 2012.

📌 April 1, 2012: 99.5 WYCD interview: "I've been in the studio in the last week."

Just based on when the songs were written, she was probably recording Holy Ground and The Lucky One with Jeff Bhasker.

📌 April 1, 2012: Philippine Daily Inquirer interview: When you meet someone that you're attracted to, do you go, "Here's a song"? "That can happen. I get inspired by the smallest or the biggest things. You meet someone and you wonder if you'll ever see them again. I could write so many songs about that. I have written so many songs about that. Wait till you hear my next record, it's all about that."

📌 April 2, 2012: Train: "Last night @/taylorswift13 told me DRIVE BY is her favorite song right now. Took this long to get my speech back. Big deal 4 us! Thank u, T!"

Babe was written with Pat Monahan, the lead singer of Train. To me, this implies that they hadn't yet worked together– Train seems genuinely surprised that Taylor likes their music. –

📌 April 5, 2012: Rolling Stone interview: "I have the entire summer just to finish up the record," says Swift, "so that will be awesome." Expect some new tricks: "There are a few songs that are completely from another person's perspective," adds the singer. "I really like the feeling of making little departures musically."

📌 April 12, 2012: Twitter: "Recording the next album. So happy"

This appears to have been taken in Dan Wilson's house, her producer for Treacherous and Come Back Be Here

🟡 April 12, 2012: Treacherous

Dan Wilson: "With Taylor, we had been kind of circling around, very much aware of each other's work for a while. We figured out these two days to work together and she came to my studio super excited and said, "I had an idea in the car." And she sang me the first three or four lines of it and said, "I want to call it 'Treacherous' and maybe the chorus can go like this." And we were writing the song in 10 minutes and she was just so full of excitement."

🟡 April 13, 2012: Come Back… Be Here

Dan Wilson*: "We squeezed in two days, before a trip I was taking, and we did a song each day, totally countryside. But it was extremely inspiring. She gets such backhand appreciation from the press, but it's a bunch of bullshit. She's so spontaneous, and she was really on fire for the sessions we did together." *I can not find the original source for this quote. It started popping up on multiple sites around August 2013.

🟡 April 23, 2012: Message in a Bottle

Taylor: [Before writing WANEGBT] "I was in the studio with [Max Martin and Shellback] and we were writing a completely different song, about like, liking someone who doesn't know you like them or something."

🎤 April 23, 2012: Twitter: "Sitting in my kitchen. Listening to music. Don't want to go to bed. Was in the studio tonight. Writing tomorrow. Should go to bed. Ok I will"

🟡 April 24, 2012: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Max Martin: "Me and Johan [Shellback] had our first date with her at Conway Studios. I was a little nervous, you know, the good kind of nervous. Maroon 5 was recording in the studio next door. This guy shows up, a friend of theirs. We literally haven't started the session yet. The guy says, "I heard that Taylor Swift's here. I gotta say hello". I was like, "Really?" and the guy says, "I totally know her, it's fine, we're friends". He walks in and it turns out that he didn't know her. And I started sweating cause I was vouching for that guy. He started talking about some ex-boyfriend of hers. It was really messy. He leaves and I apologize, but she was super cool, no problem at all. Then I asked what that was all about and she told me the story about this guy that she was dating. I can't remember exactly what she said, but she said, "One thing's for sure, we are never ever getting back together", and I said, "That's pretty harsh". She said, "No no, we are never ever ever getting back together". And we're laughing about it, saying, "That sounds like a song title". Then we started on something else. The next day, she said, "I thought about what you said", and she played us this idea that became 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'. I was so mad at that guy who ruined our session, but it turned into love, cause it never would've happened if he hadn't walked in." Taylor: "It's a definitive portrait of how I felt when I finally stopped caring what my ex thought of me. He made me feel like I wasn't as good or as relevant as these hipster bands he listened to…So I made a song that I knew would absolutely drive him crazy when he heard it on the radio. Not only would it hopefully be played a lot, so that he'd have to hear it, but it's the opposite of the kind of music that he was trying to make me feel inferior to."

🟢 May 15, 2012: Run

Taylor (May 15, 2012): "Eating cheeseburgers, scribbling on guitars, writing songs with @/edsheeran :)" Ed Sheeran (May 15, 2012): "In and out burger, defacing guitars and writing music with @/taylorswift13 ;)" Taylor: "We had both reached out to each other's camps at the same time. I showed up at his hotel in Arizona and we just wrote songs all day." Ed: "So the very first time we met… So I played Nashville, and her mum, Andrea, came down to watch me at the Ryman [...] and we sorta met after that in a hotel room in… I want to say like Seattle* or something? It wasn’t like Los Angeles, New York, L.A., Nashville, it wasn’t like that, I think it was Seattle?" So Taylor Swift’s mom Andrea introduced you? "Well, originally it was Frank, who was her radio guy, so that was the original meeting. And then we were in a hotel room, had some, I think we had burgers? Had some burgers, had a guitar, and we wrote this Run song, and I think like, part of another song?" *It was definitely in Arizona. Ed had just played in Phoenix, and there is no In-n-Out in Seattle.

🟢 May 17, 2012: Forever Winter

Mark Foster: "We actually wrote a song that day [we were photographed]. It's a really cool song, you know? We kind of just went into it casually, like let's just jam and just have fun, and something really cool came out of it. So yeah, we'll see what happens with it. She's been writing a lot for her next record. But yeah, it was a lot of fun working with her, she's super talented."

Taylor and Mark Foster, her co-writer, were photographed having lunch together on May 17.

🟢 May 27, 2012: Everything Has Changed

Taylor: "The first idea that hit me was this part of the song [...] there's a part on this song that goes 'I just want to know you better, know you better', and I got that idea while I was riding in the car with my friend Claire [Winters, probably], and she's talking about, like, 'Oh my God and then my sister says to me, this this this–' and she's like, 'What are you singing?' and I'm like [muffled] 'I just want to know you better–' and then the next day, I had demoed up the song with Ed, and she's like 'That's what you were singing in the car!'" Ed Sheeran: "When I landed in Los Angeles to record [Run], it was like the day before, she just said 'come round my house, we'll jam,' or whatever, and we jammed and wrote 'Everything Has Changed'. So those two songs were written probably in the space of two weeks." Ed Sheeran: "She has a little Taylor guitar, she got it out and she's like, 'I had this idea for this song,' ... and she pretty much had the verse, bridge and chorus done, but we argued about that one chord: "I just want to know you, better know you" – she didn't like that, and I kind of forced it upon her. It was quite a funny situation. [We were] surrounded by Grammys; she has like seven or eight, and like, Billboard Awards and Songwriting Guild, and I'm like, 'this chord,' and she's like [pointing to her awards]."

It's possible Taylor was flubbing the timeline a little bit, and actually came up with EHC while hanging out with Claire Winters on the 23rd, but it's also possible her and Claire hung out without posting it to Instagram.

🎤 May 28, 2012: Taylor and Ed were photographed entering a recording studio.

📌 May 31, 2012: Scott Borchetta: "Was with miss Swift yesterday... Omg... She is writing like crazy... I know it's hard to wait but I promise it will be worth it..."

🟢 June 1, 2012: 22

Taylor: Taylor says she wrote that particular "big" chorus [...] on a plane, on her way to a co-writing session with hit making writers and producers Max Martin and Shellback. "I walked in and I was so excited about it, and I played it for them and they were like, 'All right. Let's do this!' They loved it, too," Taylor recalls. "It was really, kind of, an exciting moment for me...[that] they loved it enough to not really change much about it and just to build out from there, and to write the rest of the song."

🟢 June 2, 2012: I Knew You Were Trouble

Taylor: "I brought it to Max Martin and Shellback, and I said, "At the end of the chorus I just want this to go crazy. I want it to be really chaotic; I want the bass line to do this, like [makes loud GUH GUH GUH sound] [...] I don't really know what to call it, but I just kind of sing it how I want it to sound. And they're like, "Oh, sort of like a dubstep thing." And I'm like, "I guess, I don't know? Whatever that is, whatever that ridiculous sound that I made with my mouth when I was trying to figure out what to say." You end up doing a lot of that when you're recording and writing, being like "It kinda sounds like this! [Does a laser-y SCHOOM sound]." I wanted the song to sound as chaotic as the emotion felt. I wanted it to be loud and out of control." Taylor: "I was like, 'I don't know if we could have some kind of intense bass drop or something, like dubstep is really awesome…' And they were just like, 'Yes, absolutely!' And then Shellback was like, 'In the verse, let's do this really frantic drum beat.' And it just was something I would never have thought of; to make the beat of the verse really up-tempo, and then make the intensity drop off the chorus, and then have it build back up, and then have a production explosion at the end of the chorus. It was so thrilling! I couldn't believe the song started where it started and then their added ideas with production. They ended up seeping into my brain and I started thinking the way that I would hope they would think. I would write a verse and Max would be like, 'This is this many syllables, can you shorten it and make it more succinct, but convey the same message?' And I would just go off into a corner and I felt like I had this amazing assignment. So the challenge of it was so thrilling for me."

🎤 June 5, 2012: Twitter: "It's been a wonderful week in the studio. I'm so excited about so much."

🟡 Early June: The Last Time

Gary Lightbody: "Her and Ed were recording the song they did on the record together in Santa Monica, about two blocks away from where I am standing right now. Ed invited me, with Taylor's permission, to come into the studio and say, "Hi." I'd never met Taylor. She said she was a fan. Apparently, the night before, she and Ed had been playing and singing "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" together. It was lovely to hear that she knew our music, you know. I can't remember if I was bold enough to ask if she wanted to work with me. But it might well have been me. Or if it was her who said, "Do you want to write a song together?" I can't remember. We wrote "The Last Time" together and that was great. The three of us collaborated on it really well." Gary Lightbody: "It was so fast. She works really fast. She's extraordinary. We actually did that song, wrote it and recorded it in a day. And that was the version of it on the record, which is very rare. Normally you write and record something with somebody and then down the line they'll record it, if you're lucky. With her, the whole thing was done in nine hours. I hope we can do it again sometime!" Jacknife Lee: "Taylor came to Topanga. Body guards, big black car. We wrote a song in a couple of hours and sang it sitting on the sofa. She had a handheld microphone. Then we had pasta for dinner and hung around with my kids. She left and I finished the song off. Owen Pallett [Arcade Fire/Final Fantasy] did some strings very quickly. [...] It was out of my field of expertise and interest, but I was intrigued and my girls were thrilled. Taylor was nice and very professional. She knew what she wanted and there was no fucking about."

This was definitely written after May 29, when Taylor and Ed recorded Everything Has Changed, and before June 10, when Gary tweeted: "Last day in LA 2dy. Have had a great time writing, relaxing & clowning." Taylor and Gary's schedules don't line up until June 3 at the earliest.

📌 June 10, 2012: Lover Diary entry:

"I've been in the studio non stop. This week I was in with Max Martin and Johan Shellback, the guys I wrote 'Getting Back Together' with. The first day, I had to do this corporate performance for an arena full of managers [...] When I finished there, I got on the plane and this idea came to me "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22." I wrote the entire chorus on the plane ride to LA. When I landed, I went straight to the studio and played it for Max and Johan. They loved it. I was so excited. I wrote 22 about how much fun I've been having this summer and this year in general. It's so carefree and sounds like a summer anthem. I was floating on a cloud after we wrote it. The next day I brought them a chorus called 'Trouble' that's about how I should've known what I was getting into. We came back to 'Trouble' and it turned out to be absolutely amazing. It's so edgy and unexpected. It's almost dub step. My friends love that one the most. I love writing so much. It's the only thing that makes total sense to me. If I missed a day in the studio, I'd be so mad at myself. God I've been having such a beautiful life lately. I can't believe it. It's like there's magic in the air."

🔴Spring 2012: Unknown song

Ryan Adams: Adams [...] got a call from Swift while she was writing songs for her 2012 album Red, asking if they could work on a song together. "She basically already had this thing done [...] I just sat down and went, 'What about this?' And 'What about this?' We worked on a bridge, and we finished it. I guess I was the guy who could call people that would come in around 11 or 12 to jam."

🟠 Summer 2012: Babe

Pat Monahan: When he told Taylor that he wanted to collaborate with her on a song for Train's next album, she asked him to write a song with her for her album, Red. The track didn't make the album, but Pat says eventually, when Taylor puts out a deluxe re-released version of Red, "the song, I think, will be on there [...] It's a song called 'Babe,'" continues Pat. "So it's her song; I was just lucky enough to be a part of it with her, and I'm gonna ask the same of her in the future."

Pat could mean two albums when he says "He wanted to collaborate with her on a song for Train's next album"; California 37, released April 13, 2012, or Bulletproof Picasso, released September 12, 2014. Either one is a bit of a stretch. California 37 would've probably been wrapped sometime in early 2012– February, at latest. Taylor was still working in Nashville in Jan, but she was in LA in February, meaning it is possible for them to have worked together then. BUT we also have that Train tweet in April ("Last night @/taylorswift13 told me DRIVE BY is her favorite song right now. Took this long to get my speech back. Big deal 4 us! Thank u, T!") where they seem surprised that she likes Drive By, which was released in January– before they would've worked together. On the flip side, it would be weird to not only start writing for Bulletproof Picasso when they had just released an album a couple months before, but to be reaching out to collaborate. So just pick whatever feels less weird for you.

🟠 Summer 2012: The Very First Night

Espionage, the production team behind this, is based in New York, and are Train's longtime collaborators, meaning Taylor likely started working with them on Pat Monahan's recommendation.

📌 July 9, 2012: Finalized the album

Facebook: "Oh hey! I'm writing you from Nashville, where I just sat in a big room with a lot of people and made a lot of decisions about a lot of things happening very soon. And as vague as that sentence was, I think you know what it means. Stuff is about to happen. And I love you more than ever. Taylor"

📌 August 13, 2012: Album announcement

Taylor: "I ended up having to pick from between 30-35* songs that I had written that I really wanted to make the album. It was really hard to get it down to 16." *Grain of salt: The amount of songs Taylor says she wrote for Red at different points doesn't add up, so give or take 5 songs. In February, Taylor said she had written roughly 30 songs for the album. Taylor made 14 songs between that quote and this one.

That's all for this timeline! Red Part 1 is here, and you can check out the other albums in my pinned post!

#txt*#taylor swift #timeline*#alright finally out

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bloodinwine · 4 months ago

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Hi June!! 💕 For the fanfic/author ask game: 19 & 20 (for UY), if it’s okay to ask for two 👉👈

hello friend! of course it's okay! <3 the lovely @vividiana also asked me about 19 & 20 so I will put these two asks together <3 <3 <3

9. How did you get into writing fanfiction? I wrote my first fanfic when I was 13 lol! I didn't stay with it for very long though. I always loved writing, but only got into fanfic again in October 2023. I couldn't move past BG3 after beating the game. Well, I really just couldn't get over Astarion. So many questions and what ifs literally haunted me and kept me up at night. One night I randomly sought out any kind of Astarion content on my phone and came across @bludazey fic Hellish Rebuke. I got sucked into the story and that was that. (Thank you Blu forever for the inspiration!) I started writing My Midnight Sun and the rest came after. 15. Does anyone you know in real life know you write fanfiction? Oh. Well. Literally my whole family knows LOL. And yes, they are well aware of the content and are actually very supportive. I just would die if people at my work knew. 19. How do you get over writer's block? I'm sure this has already been said a lot, but I am of the opinion that writer's block is not real. You can certainly feel stuck and unsure of how to move ahead which extremely sucks. But I kind of had to learn the tough way that the only way out is through sometimes. Most of the time. Discipline and consistent effort will take you so much further than relying/waiting on bursts of motivation. Now, when I do feel stuck or unsure of how to proceed, I try to just work on something different and come back to it a bit later. Brainstorming ideas with a friend or talking it out with someone I trust has also been super helpful for me. <3 20. Share your favorite kiss scene from Until You.

Ahhh! These two idiots are doing a lot more smooching these days. But I think my favorite scene so far has to be from Chapter 16 after Astarion's "wins" Effy little Eyepatch. It makes me gooey inside lol.

Thank you both so much for the asks! <3 <3 <3

#writer game #asks game #astarion #until you #astarion x tav #fanfic #fanfiction

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cloudroots · 5 months ago

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Bare with me, this is first time I’ve done one of these so it might get a little rambly /lh

I’d say I’ve improved my art over this year haha, I’ve at least say I’ve got more ambitious with my art

I’m not sure when it started, but I got the idea to upload at least one post each month. It was a way to motivate myself to actually post things and not just keep all my art to myself like I've done in the past.

This year did start a little rough for me. I uninstalled my art app and unknowingly deleted all of my art with over the years. I was able to recover some of it from screenshots and screen recordings, but still, it was a rough way to start the year.

January and February I uploaded the rest of my Gaza ponies. Where I actually had to do the strawberry twice, since I accidentally deleted all my progress on her :/

I was also working on other projects behind the scenes as well, which I hope to share with y’all at some point in the future :)

And another peek behind the curtain, I actually had the art of Center Stage’s bio finished in October 2023, but time got away from me and I take a bit to write up bios in general 😅

Then I couldn’t wait any longer and finally started one of my next gen character’s stories. Scarlet Heart’s story to be exact. Wild that he appears in a third of the months here lol

I hope y’all be prepared to see even more of him next year! :]

My infection Au is then introduced in May. I’m so glad that so many like it! I was able to explore to explore a little bit into horror and ramble about it, which I both enjoy 😊

Looking back I'm still not sure how I was able to upload so much in June haha

A DTA, two complex refs, with a incredibly complex cutiemark for one of them, and a pride piece. Still in disbelief that I was able to do that /lh

Then in July, I updated Midnight’s look. Still adore their colors.

August I did an art dump of the ShiningDence family’s early days together. I especially like the lighting and tenderness I did with late night Shining and Scarlet.

September’s art with done pretty quick for the first scene I’ve done in a while. What took the longest was the story that it came with. I haven’t written anything like it in the longest time, but I’m so happy that I was able to write in time for September’s post. Though it was a little rough the first couple of writing sessions, my adhd was killing me lol

Then even more horror in October! Hooray!! I loved sharing my messed up goobers, those silly murderous monsters :]

Most of my time in November was working on other things and coping with the usa election results, so I didn’t have much in mind for what to share for this month. I’m glad I decided on what I did. They’re so cute and it came out so well for what it is /pos

Then at the end of the year, a holiday piece that I put a lot of time and energy into and it was completely worth it. This piece is the most time I’ve spent on one artwork by far. But LOOK AT IT, it’s so cozy and nice and I like how the dolls section came out in particular :]

This year this account turned a decade old. Double digits. 10 years old. It’s a huge milestone, and I’m so grateful of all the people I’ve met over the years. Especially those I’ve met in recent years, glad y’all are here :]

Happy New Year!!! 🎉🎉🎉

I plan to spend more of next year to be next in the face of adversity 🫡

Wish me luck in fighting the urge to redo the art I’ve uploaded in 2020/2021, especially the PokeyPie one. I could do it so much better now :/ but there’s still so much other stuff I want to share, so wish me luck!!

Art from these posts:

January - Fruit pony series 2/4: Strawberry pony

February - Fruit pony series 4/4: Olive pony

March - Center Stage \\ Cloudverse

April - Cloudverse // Overjoyed to meet you

May - Mlp Infection AU: Rainbow Bite, Masterpost part 1

June - Ponysonas Revamped: Sweetpea

July - Ponysonas Revamped: Midnight Nightowl

August - Cloudverse // Babyboy baby

September - Cloudverse // Kindred Kindergarteners

October - Mlp Infection AU: Rainbow Bite, Masterpost part 2

November - May I offer you some teenage sapphics in these trying times?

December - Happy Hearth's Warming! 2024

Template by latortilla

#happy new years #new years eve #mlp #my art #my little pony #mlp fim #new year's eve #happy 2025 #I'll miss 2024 #2025 is a scary number #summaryofart2024 #artwork summary

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britishchick09 · 2 months ago

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A Secret Date: A Wadlow Sibling Fic

it's the first senpai fic of the year... and the first in another special way! this idea came from @robert-273-fan last year. i wrote the first 7 paragraphs and a few sentences back then, but most of this was written from march 26th to today, the 31st. enjoy! ;D

senpai and marilyn are stressed about their futures... but maybe a little evening together can help!

Robert Wadlow opened up his newspaper on a quiet Thursday morning. In the Society section, he read about an exciting basketball game between the high schools of Collinsville and Wood River. It brought him back to his own basketball days.

Hard to believe it’s been two years since I last played in the Alton High gym, Robert thought. And a year since Shurtleff! Time is going by way too fast…

He rose from his chair and went to the kitchen. His parents were out shopping while the siblings were at school. He had the house all to himself. While fixing a plate of blueberries, he caught sight of the calendar. It was March 1938.

There’s only a month left until Dad and I go on tour. Robert realized.

He had traveled plenty of times before. Eight years ago, he went to movie theaters across the country to promote Weatherbird shoes. He had visited shoe conventions and shoe stores as part of his contract for Peter’s Shoes, and even brought his neighborhood lemonade stand to state fairs. Last year, he went to New York and Boston for the Ringling Brothers Circus!

But those engagements had taken a few days to a couple months. This would be much longer. Robert and Harold were set to travel until June. There would be a mere four week break before the tour would resume, ending in October. Then they’d finally be able to rest for the holidays.

After this, I only have a short window of time in Alton. Robert thought sadly. I wish we could stay longer. Just a tour in the summer and that’s it for the year! But this will make a lot of money for us… and it would be nice to see more of the country… He sighed while turning away from the calendar. I’ll miss Alton so much, though.

As he returned to the living room with his snack, the door burst open. He almost dropped the blueberry in his hand.

“Helen!” he exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Helen replied. “I just need to get started on my Comp homework. My strings meeting ran too long.”

She went to her room.

I wonder if she’s having to analyze a Shakespeare poem, Robert wondered, remembering his own days in Freshman Composition. I hope she’s prepared to compare thee to a summer’s day!

He chuckled while sitting down to eat and read. Just as he flipped over the newspaper…

“Shoot!” Helen’s voice echoed from downstairs.

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” Robert asked, hearing his sister’s footsteps thud down the steps.

“I forgot my textbook at school.” Helen said, appearing at the end of the staircase.

Robert rose from his chair. “I’ll fetch it with you. It’ll be nice to see Shurtleff again.”

Helen smiled. “Thanks. The walk won’t be as lonely.”

Robert smiled back.

“Let’s get going before I forget something else!”

...

The walk to Shurtleff College from Sanford Avenue was longer than going from Brown Street. It took ten extra minutes! Helen didn’t mind, but Robert was tired by the time they arrived at the familiar brick building.

“I think I’ll stay out here,” Robert said. “I’m winded.”

“Alright,” Helen replied. “I still think Duke Ellington is better.”

And with that, she went inside the school. Robert sat under a tree to rest his aching legs. The late winter grass crunched underneath him, but he was thankful for getting some rest no matter how hard his seat was. A breeze swept by, causing him to think, I can’t wait for the leaves to return. They look so lovely when-

A sigh caused him to look away from the bare trees across the street. Someone familiar was walking down the path leading to the Shurtleff.

“Marilyn?” Robert asked.

His old friend stopped, smiling at the sight of him. She said, “Oh, hello, Robert. What are you doing here? I thought you left college ages ago.”

“Yes, I did. I’m just accompanying Helen. She left her textbook behind. Are you alright?”

Marilyn bit her lip, her eyebrows arched in worry. She gave a heavy sigh while trudging over to Robert and sitting beside him.

“I have a lot going on. My biology test is tomorrow and I’ve been studying like crazy, but I also have to prepare for a tennis match next week…” Marilyn ran her hands through her brown hair. “It’s all so nerve wracking.”

“I’m nervous, too. Dad and I are setting out on a tour next month.”

“A tour?”

“Yeah, for Peter’s Shoes. I’ll be visiting shoe stores across the country. Going out west to Missouri, Texas, places like that.”

“Wow! That’ll be exciting.”

“Yeah…” Robert sighed. “But I’ll be a long way from home. And for a long time, too. Once we get back in June, I’ll only be in Alton for a month. Then it’s back out on the road.”

“Well, at least your big things aren’t for a while.”

Robert shrugged. “That’s true. But time goes by awfully fast in your twenties. I’ll be in the middle of Texas before I know it.”

Marilyn drew her knees up. “We just need to get away from it all.”

The two sat in silence for a while. The only sound was the tweeting of birds. Two yellow and gray warblers flew away from the church across the street. They went from the sloped roof to the wonderland of branches in the trees, snuggling up together.

“A walk in the woods would be nice.” he said.

“It sure would be. To hear the birds in the trees…” Marilyn closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I love being surrounded by nature.”

An idea sparkled in Robert’s mind.

“So do I,” he agreed. “I’d like some time to relax. Leave our problems behind for a bit.”

“Perhaps we could meet up on Saturday.” Marilyn suggested, looking at Robert.

Robert was about to agree when he remembered, “Helen’s holding a Sunday School meeting on Monday evening. She’ll want the house clear of mischievous siblings! It’s very important that everything goes perfectly. I was just going to…” He paused, too shy to mention his embroidery. “Well, I think Monday would be a nice time to meet up.”

Marilyn smiled, her shoulders easing. “That would be perfect.”

She rose from the grass upon hearing Helen’s voice echo down the path.

“Rob-bert!” she called. “Oh, hello, Marilyn!”

“Hello, Helen. Robert told me you left a book behind.”

Robert caught the brief smirk that his sister’s smile sported.

“I did,” Helen held up the textbook. “And I won’t leave it again! It’s staying in my book bag from now on,” She lowered it while saying, “Well, we’d better get going.”

Robert rose, setting his hand on Helen’s shoulder. “See you soon, Marilyn.”

“See you around, Robert.” Marilyn said, giving him the briefest wink.

...

A few days later, Robert was in the back seat of the Wadlows’ Plymouth. Harold Jr. and Betty sat with him while Eugene drove.

“Watch out!” Betty exclaimed.

Eugene slammed on the breaks. He poked his head out of the window to call to a car, “Sorry! Didn’t notice the red light.”

“I miss the streetcars,” Robert said. “They looked both ways!”

“And missed a turn.” Betty chimed in.

Eugene rolled his eyes. “I’m only doing this because Betty wouldn’t stop yapping about Snyder’s.” “You try squishing yourself in a sweater every day!” Betty said, kicking the driver’s seat.

As the car drove on, Harold Jr, inquired, “What’s a streetcar, Big Brother?”

“It took people around downtown Alton,” Robert explained. “Think of a bus on an electric train track.”

“Awww!! Now I miss the streetcars!”

Robert wrapped a comforting arm around his train-loving baby brother. “I’m sure there are streetcars in other places.”

“Then I wanna go! Maybe when you go to the tour next month.”

Robert’s heart sank at the thought of having to be away from Harold Jr. for so long. At least he was able to go to New York! He couldn’t worry about it for long, though. Eugene was getting close to Langdon Street, where Marilyn lived. It still had the brick road of old Alton. He looked at the scrap paper she had given him.

“It’s 825 Langdon Street,” he read. “The big white house.”

“Which one?” Eugene asked, looking over at the two big white houses on the right side of the road.

“It’s on the left side, silly!” Betty said. “825.”

Eugene rolled his eyes, but he quickly parked in front of the Stanton house. Robert squeezed the buried paper in his hand as he got out of the car.

“Have fun!” Harold Jr. and Betty said.

Robert smiled at them. “I will.”

He shook his head with a playful look as Betty made a kissy face. The happy moment was fleeting, though. Robert’s heart panged as the car drove down the street.

Sooner than later, that’ll be Dad and me going off on our tour, he thought. But that’s a whole month away! Focus on the here and now.

Keeping happier times in his mind, Robert slowly went up the steps leading to the house. To him, it was almost like walking up a hill! He (and his legs) were relieved when he reached the front door. After giving three strong knocks, he admired the wide porch around him.

Junior and Betty would love to play here, he thought. Helen could practice her viola without annoying Eugene in the house! And Gene… Well, I’m not sure what he’d do-

“Oh, hello, Robert!” a kind woman said.

Robert snapped his head to the doorway. Taking a couple steps back, he saw a woman with dark hair. A floral wallpaper was behind her.

Mother would love that. It’s just like one of her dresses! Robert thought before giving a polite smile and saying, “Hello, Mrs. Stanton. Is Marilyn ready?”

“I believe she is,” Mrs. Stanton glanced over her shoulder. “Marilyn! Your boy is here to see you!”

Robert’s face flushed.

“Who?” Marilyn asked while rushing down the stairs. “Oh, Robert!”

She looks like a princess coming down that red carpet! Robert thought.

“Hi, Marilyn,” he said. “Ready to go?”

Marilyn nodded. “We’ll be back in an hour or two, Mother.”

“Have a great time, you two,” Mrs. Stanton hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. “Oh, do you want me to drive you there? Downtown isn’t the easiest place to walk around.” “No, we’ll be fine.”

Robert ducked out of the house, standing on the porch as Marilyn reassured her mom. When he heard the door close, he told her, “You have an amazing porch. My siblings and I would really like it.”

“Thanks. It’s a great place to study,” Marilyn swept some of her brown hair aside. “Sorry about my mom. She’s not the best at driving.”

Robert nodded, remembering that Mrs. Stanton had gotten into not one, but two car accidents three years ago! Marilyn’s rejection was one of safety, not embarrassment. (Mostly!)

Marilyn chuckled as she said, “I kept telling her this wasn’t a date.”

“It’s perfectly alright to have guy friends. And girl friends for me,” Robert’s ears turned pink. “A friend who’s a girl, I mean. Not that kind of girlfriend.”

“I get it. Even though my mom doesn’t! My dad’s waiting for the day when I bring a nice young man home who can help him out at the pharmacy.”

“Well…” Robert offered his hand. “Can a nice young man help you get some dinner?”

Marilyn smiled as her own hand disappeared into his. “He certainly can!”

...

As they walked down East Fourth Street, Robert squeezed Marilyn’s shoulder. This part of downtown Alton was on a steep incline. It would be dangerous if he fell!

But he was hardly thinking of what could be, instead remembering what was. They reminisced about their days on the Tatler staff in high school and the times they had met up post-graduation.

“The football game at Terre Haute sure was exciting.” Robert said.

“Certainly. Remember when your siblings hired a mariachi band for a date?” Marilyn laughed. “That was the last thing I expected!”

“They tried to marry us, remember?”

“Oh yeah!”

Marilyn and Robert laughed together. They were now on Market Street. Near the end of the block was a small white building with swirled accents.

“Green Lantern!” Marilyn exclaimed. “They have the best chili.”

“I love their milkshakes,” Robert stepped ahead of her to open the door. “After you.”

Marilyn smiled at him. The small restaurant had a few people inside, but Robert didn’t care much. Everyone kept their focus on their food. Not even the waitress made a comment about Robert’s height!

I’ll definitely get stares out west. Robert thought with a sigh.

He cheered up upon taking the first sip of a chocolate milkshake. It was just the right thickness and had a subtle sweetness that Robert enjoyed. He ordered meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a roll while Marilyn got a BLT sandwich and a side of chili.

“Funny how you ordered a plate lunch,” she remarked. “It’s close to dinnertime!”

Robert chuckled. “I guess it’s noon all the time here!”

As they waited for their food, his eyes went from the scenery to Marilyn. She was looking out the window as a car drove by.

“You look more relaxed today.” he noticed.

Marilyn’s head jerked to him. “Oh, thanks. It must be because of my test.”

“Did you ace it?”

“Well… I blanked on a few questions. I made sure to study for longer than usual. I even had my mother quiz me!”

“We can’t all be winners. But that’s still a great score,” Robert smiled. “Just as great as you.”

Marilyn giggled as his face turned pink.

...

Twenty minutes later in the neighborhood of Bellview Avenue, Marilyn took a bite out of her second sandwich. She stopped walking to watch Robert snap a photo of a bird perched on top of a street sign.

“It must look so tiny from your point of view.” she remarked.

Robert chuckled. “It makes for an interesting photo.”

“Do you know someone here?”

Robert shook his head. “You’ll see.”

Marilyn gave him a curious look before continuing down the brick street. They soon reached the end. Just beyond where Belleview Avenue curved into Summit Street were a series of steps. Robert leaned against the brick wall beside them.

“Are your feet tired?” Marilyn asked.

“I’m not sure,” Robert replied. “But I know that my legs are. We’ll go up in a minute or two.”

“But if you’re tired-”

“No. I want to do this.”

Even though his legs were telling him to rest, Robert made himself trudge up the stairs. Marilyn was right by his side, making sure he didn’t fall. It was quite a challenge. There were fifty-three steps!

Now this is like a hill! Robert thought, huffing and puffing.

He was more than thankful for the patch of land beyond that last step. He slowly sank down to the ground.

“This is it.” he told Marilyn, who sat beside him.

Marilyn’s eyes widened. “Woah!”

Just beyond some fluffy bushes was the Mississippi River. A row of trees in St. Louis stood in the distance, looking small against the Mighty Miss and the big, light gray sky.

“You can see everything from here!” Marilyn exclaimed in awe. “We’re sitting on top of the bluff,” Robert said. “The Piasa Bird is carved into limestone just like this. It’s down the street.”

“Wow…” Marilyn gazed out at the river. “Do you think Indians sat in this very spot all those years ago?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t? They especially thought the view was excellent. I’m sure they remembered the same thing I will,” Robert smiled at Marilyn. “If you’re feeling stressed at your game or during some other test, just think of the river. It keeps flowing… just like we all should.”

Marilyn smiled back. Her shy beam made Robert’s heart a little lighter.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” She set her hand on top of Robert’s. “Thank you for taking me here, Robert. Even after all that walking. You’re a river yourself!”

“The longest river in the world!”

The two chuckled. Once their laughter faded, they focused on Old Blue, watching it glide and sparkle in the waning winter sunlight. Robert drew in a deep breath. The earthy smell of the grass comforted him. He heavily let out the calming breath before raising his camera to take a photo of the river. As the shutter snapped, Marilyn looked over at him.

“You’ll miss Alton a lot, won’t you?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t miss their home?” Robert fiddled with the strap of his camera. “Right before I took that picture, I decided that when I’m somewhere in Missouri or Texas getting ready to see everyone at the shoe stores, I’ll think of this very moment. It’ll make me awfully homesick, but it’ll help me relax.”

“I’ll do the same at my game,” Marilyn paused for a moment to look at the camera. “I know how to help you with your travel anxiety,” She smiled as Robert’s eyes met her. “And there’s more to it than just the river…”

...

A month (and nearly a week!) later, Robert was settling nicely into his hotel in St. Louis.

“What’s this?” Harold asked as he came out of the bathroom.

Robert looked over his shoulder at his pajama-clad dad. “I figured I’d take a bit of home with me.”

Below the window, a dozen photographs were strung together. The string- which was taped to the wall- showcased all the things Robert loved about Alton: his family, friends (including Marilyn at her tennis game!) and the town itself.

“Well! Isn’t this clever?” Harold smiled at his son. “I’m sure it’ll do wonders for our homesickness.”

“It sure will.” Robert agreed, turning towards the grayscale river that would keep him going.

#robert wadlow #robert wadlow trash #senpai fic #fan fic #an exciting and sweet story! :)

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seungs · 1 year ago

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every month of 2023 🥳 / i was tagged by @euijin. thank you for always tagging me in these carly.. i do enjoy look back on sets 😀 tagging: @foxinys @hyunsung @yangjeongin (hi mary) @huiracha as always u dont have to but id like to see... sorry if you're getting tagged again btw 🤍

january / popular. i rmr this clip being unavoidable for like a month...... 🚶‍♀️ anyway surprise to no one. vs favorite. ok but this has to be one of my favorite sets 4 ever. the day seungmin showed up with bleached bangs was beautiful.... i do rly love how much fun they had with it....😔

februrary / popular. omg moment of silence for mahagrid these clips were really fun. also this guy continuing to haunt my most popular sets. vs favorite. omg im doing 2 for 1 (1,2) cause i can't pick and really had fun giffing con and i think they came out rly cool 😁👍

march / popular. i do not know why. omg actually i do. it's the hair isnt it. vs favorite. wooho 😿😿😿😿😿😿 omg. they rly were cute together. this really was my favorite but i'm including miroh cause i really liked how it came out 😺

april / popular. you will never guess who this is! okay but i wholeheartedly agree i love when he is like a mop 🤍. vs favorite. 2min(:

may / popular. i can't believe this was late may.. look where we are now. who would have thought. but hyuji is very cute. vs favorite. omg this one is an easy jisung fav. he looked great. no idea why i went w these dimensions for the gifs but jisung im a fan 👍

june / popular. yeAHHHHH fucking finally and also Deserved. i loved sclass cause finally it was a mv i had fun giffing again and also seungmin looked great. and i love this set. fun mv. vs favorite. omg this one cause i rmr having fun with it 😿 also liked how it turned out. just silly guys boxing and dancing. but shout out to koms seungmin because i had to include him naturally..... 🥲

july / popular vs favorite. nothing happened on this blog in july apparently. but still i agree. come back seungracha.....

august / popular. solid....he looked good. i rmr this being a bother to color tho. vs favorite. popular 🤝 japan cb 🤝 favorite. i rmr this also being a bitch to color but now i really like how it came out 😸

september / popular. been a second. but 100% real.... might actually be one of my favs of the year overall too (sets and things that happened). vs favorite. wait i might have peaked in sept cause this is one of the best sets i ever made in my life im p sure 😭😭😭🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️(to never be able to recreate ever again)

october / popular. heh(: 2min. vs favorite. omg bitch ass set to make.... was so close to being deleted for good but she deserved to escape the trash i think. at least i can say an attempt was made 😶‍🌫️

november / popular. right. im with the people on this one 👈 vs favorite. 😕🙁☹️😣 man. circumstances and insanity of deciding to do this aside. im happy with how it came out and i cant believe i stuck with making these sets his entire mc career 🧍‍♀️

december / popular. at least for now. i agree though. vs favorite. actually this one might as well be my favorite of the month too.

oh. i forgot. bonus round cause i decided but this is one of his best styling ever.

#yeaaaah. there we go.#every month

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kairithemang0 · 10 months ago

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Tomorrow it's been a year. A year since he was here. So, lets talk about all the things he did <3 gonna get a little tmi but I need this off my chest because I'm finally realizing the gravity of the situation and maybe I'm just overdramatic but honestly, I'm so over it at this point I want to wrap it all up in a nice little bow and never think about it again

One year to when he kissed me, when he turned on the food network incase we "made too much noise". he was 17, I was 14. Just found out about this now but a year before he asked my cousin to have sex with him because "they were basically both adults" (both 16 at the time). He was into my friend, he actively talked about how much he loved her when i was having a panic attack, after he kissed me he said she was just so damn cute (they met in person for the first time that day). He told me I was a bad friend because I said that him practically begging an aroace person to date him wasn't a good idea and then getting pissed when they broke up with him, refusing to talk to me after i tried to comfort him, saying a loved and cared about him. he ghosted me for 3 days after, he didn't come online that entire time and when he came back he begged me not to be mad at him, said he loved me with all his heart and wanted to be with me and be there for me. He asked me to break up with my partner, a partner I cared about, a partner I adored. I did so. We're still friends, she's found a lovely person. I'm so happy for her. Me and my friend would make jokes about how we're in a love triangle with him and how her and I should get together as a fuck you. He said what we had was straight, that no matter what gender I idenitified as he'd never be gay. He used my deadname under his breath, he made me look at him. I hate eye contact but he held my face and forced me to look at him. He pushed me away when he turned 18. He said he was "too worried about falling for me". That was in December. Back to last july after he left he said he wanted a relationship, he wanted something with me. He wanted this to be real. He said he'd only date me if I never left him, if I promised to have kids with him. Looking back that's way more disgusting than i thought it was back then. I shot the idea down, I said it sounded like some fucked up contract. Thinking about it now makes me want to vomit in my mouth, I don't know if he emotionally manipulated me or if I was doing it to myself for letting it happen? He had this crush since he broke up with his girlfriend of 2 years, October 2022. My cousin has since apologized for making him believe he had a chance, which I'm appreciative of. He ended up having a crush on her as well, we both agree he's just fucking pathetic. The worst part about it is the emptiness that followed. He never tried in conversations, they were all flat. He said our friendship only worked when he was there in New Jersey, when he was with me. When he was allowed to be there and touch me. We met in person 4 months after I first met him in June of 2022, I was 13 and he was 16. Everything was great. And then only a year later a feel empty talking to him as he's forcing me to look at him. There was a time where if he wasn't talking to me I felt physically ill, I was so deep in this hole of needing him, meanwhile it never felt like he needed me as much as he said he did. I just wanted someone I considered my best friend, I sometimes wonder if he was waiting until I was legal. He said he'd never hurt me, that he wouldn't do something I didn't want to do. Frankly I don't think he should've listened to a desperate lonely 14 year old who he ghosted for 3 days and then became so emotionally dependent on. I don't think he was intentionally manipulating me, I was more of doing it to myself, but looking back I just feel manipulated, yknow?

Sorry, you guys don't need to hear this. I don't need to share it. I'm happy I've blocked him, I'm happy I don't need to think about him. I hope this post will help me forget about it all, or at least turn it into something I can reflect on as "wow, I can't believe I let that happen". I may reblog this with more things as my memory shows. Maybe I'm being overdramatic, I just needed this off my chest

#vent #sorry this is tmi #i just needed this off my chest #still have the goku postit he put on my ceiling #maybe i should rip it up for symbolism or something #it looks nothing like goku #this is the “he” i keep asking if i should text btw

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iamprchung · 1 year ago

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Complimentary Mints 3: All the King's Mints

Part of The X-Files Legacy Fan Fiction Repost, the final part of the original that set the entire Complimentary Mints series in motion.

October 8, 1997

Re-release: June 25, 2023

Skinner/Scully Angst and Humor

Complimentary Mints Part III: All the King's Mints

by PR Chung

Wichita Airport.

Thanksgiving Day Morning.

Ticketing agents found themselves caught in a whirlwind of chaos and frenzy. The relentless havoc wreaked by unpredictable weather caused flights to be both filled to capacity and abruptly canceled, leaving airline patrons on the verge of tears and utter frustration. Amidst the pandemonium, the PA system blared with urgent pages and cancellation announcements, drowning out the desperate pleas of passengers trying to secure any available seats on flights heading eastward. Yet, their efforts proved futile. Every airport from the Mississippi River and the region extending southward from the Oklahoma-Texas border was in the midst of a brutal winter ice storm.

"Canceled?" Skinner said and ground his teeth, glaring at the ticketing agent.

The willowy man cowered. "I'm very sorry, sir, but everyone's flight has been canceled. The weather has been very unpredictable."

Skinner moved ever so slightly toward the man. A move that appeared threatening enough to prompt Scully to squeeze herself between her superior and the counter.

"But I talked to an agent this morning, and she said the flights were running again," Scully told the agent. "I checked twice to make sure..."

"I'm really very sorry but there is nothing we can do when it comes to the weather, Miss."

Scully fidgeted and let out a long breath saturated with exasperation that came out as nearly a whimper. “I can’t believe this—"

"Is there anything?" Skinner asked the ticketing agent, placing a hand on Scully's shoulder. "Anything headed southward?"

"To DFW maybe, or Austin?" Scully added. Her voice suddenly filled with new energy that made Skinner feel victorious in his move.

He shook his head. "They are still iced over really bad."

The two federal agents stood silent, their minds tussling over what to do next.

The ticketing agent sighed heavily. "All I can do is have you wait, and we will get you on the first flight available."

Mulder approached, his steps faltering as he briefly saw the proximity between Scully and Skinner. They stood at the counter, so close that only a fraction of an inch separated her back from his chest, his hand casually resting on her shoulder. Mulder let out a slow breath, his thoughts churning.

Are we now moving into the realm of public displays of affection? He wondered and squeezed the rental car agreement gripped in his hand. He shook his head. No, this was the product exhaustion, and a hangover, dehydration— He took a breath, gathered his composure, and walked the rest of the way to greet them.

"I got us a car," he announced drawing Skinner and Scully’s attention from the ticketing agent.

"A car?" Scully questioned.

He nodded, and Skinner huffed, his eyes scanning the airport before they fell on Mulder. "What are you suggesting, we drive to D.C.?"

Mulder looked at them with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Why not? We're not getting anywhere now. I figure we'll be getting there at the same time we would if we waited around in a hotel another day or two until we could fly there. It shouldn't take any longer than maybe twenty-six hours."

"If the roads are decent to travel," Skinner interjected.

"We can drive in shifts," Scully promoted Mulder's plan and Skinner knew then he was outnumbered on this plan of action, as was the case most of the time with Mulder and Scully.

He wasn't thrilled by the idea of spending twenty-six hours plus in a car, but... He glanced at the flight status monitors, reading the repetitive "canceled" all the way down the monitors. He picked his bag up and squared his shoulders. "Let's go then."

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

"What is that noise?" Mulder exclaimed, breaking a silence that had lasted nearly a half hour. "It's that dit-dit-dit-dit-dit noise."

"There is no noise." Skinner evenly said for the second time since he'd taken the wheel.

"There IS a noise... dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-DIT." Mulder insisted from the back seat.

"The only thing I hear is you."

Mulder moped in his seat for a long time before he sat forward, bending over with his head nearly between his knees.

Scully caught sight of the abrupt move and looked fully back at him. "Mulder, are you getting sick?"

"Shhhhh!" he hushed her, listening intently to the noise that had been plaguing him since they'd left Fort Smith. They had all been leery of the roundabout southern route chosen by the rental agency, but the weather had been better than they expected, and everything seemed to be going just fine until the noise started. "Listen to it..." he said quietly.

Scully gave him the benefit of the doubt and listened until her neck started to hurt and forced her back into a normal sitting position in the front seat. She stole a glance at the man behind the wheel. Skinner was gripping the wheel with a vengeance; fingers, shoulders, jaw- all clenched tightly. She could tell he was about to vent at any moment although he was doing a pretty good job of keeping his appearance controlled aside from the tension in his extremities.

He must have felt her gaze, turning to look at her. Scully quickly turned her eyes away to look out her window at the bleak wintry countryside racing past. She'd tried very hard to keep her mind on very pure thoughts for the past few hours, but it was becoming harder to do. The image of shave cream running into that undoubtedly soft chest hair--

Stop it! She mentally shook herself, blinking hard against the overwhelming sensation rushing through her, and reached for the air vents. It was way too hot in this car and although she didn't believe the temperature had anything to do with the heater, she adjusted the vents away from herself.

"Too hot?" Skinner asked and she nearly jumped.

"Uh, just a bit," she answered noticing him reach for the temperature controls. "But I'm fine now. Don't adjust it just for me."

He looked at her for a second, trying hard not to think of the embarrassments over the past twenty-four hours.

"There!" Mulder called triumphantly sitting up in the back seat. "There, you had to hear it that time."

Skinner's fingers clenched tighter on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "Mulder, there is no noise."

"There is a noise."

"Mulder, really, I don't hear it either." Scully announced with the clearest tone of irritation in her voice.

Mulder sat back in his seat, petulant. He stared at the shock of red hair seated in front of him. She was siding with him now, he dejectedly thought. What else was she going to start siding with him about?

"There. Is. A. Noise." He insisted again, arms crossed. "Dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-dit-"

His impression of the noise was cut short by the high-pitched scream of a siren.

Skinner's eyes flicked from side view to rear view mirror as bright red and blue lights filled the interior of the rental car.

Scully turned to look out the back window, joined by Mulder.

"It's the state fuzz," Mulder quipped, deadpanned.

"Great," Skinner grumbled, "now what?"

"How fast were you going, sir?" Scully wondered. Skinner only hissed as he eased the car off the highway and onto the shoulder.

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

Seventy-eight miles an hour.

"Well, I don't know 'bout Washington D.C.," the Arkansas State Trooper stated. "But here we got deer and deer can kill."

Skinner's nostrils were flaring, the wraith of his hot breath billowed into the chilly air outside his open window.

"I thought guns killed," Mulder cracked inappropriately from the back seat. Skinner flashed him a hard glare before a pink copy of a violation slip was shoved in the window.

Scully reached across Skinner, taking it. "We'll be more careful next time, officer."

The trooper dipped his head in acknowledgment. "You folks have a safe trip-" Skinner had the window up before the trooper could finish.

"Should I drive now?" Scully asked, watching the trooper walking back to his car.

Skinner was silent, his answer the start of the car.

Scully saw Mulder shaking his head, his expression a dense semblance of disgust.

"We'll change once we're in Memphis." Skinner finally answered her, pulling out onto the highway.

Mulder sat up right in the seat, eyes wide with surprise. "Memphis?"

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

Slightly shaken, the three of them stood together in the parking lot of the King's Kitchen diner, staring fixedly at a sight none of them had seen or ever wanted to see again. Like some memorial of victory over harrowing circumstances, gray and at least a foot thick with black chunks of road grime throughout, ice encrusted the entire front of the rental car grill.

Mulder looked dazed and Scully felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't imagine what Skinner must have felt like, having been behind the wheel the entire time of the storm. She watched him remove an unsteady hand from his coat pocket to take off his glasses and rub his eyes with his wrist. His eyes must have ached from the strain of trying to see through the relentless ice that had threatened to obscure his view completely during the entire ordeal.

Eighteen miles outside Memphis ice had begun pelting the car windshield unyieldingly and continued all the way to the Mississippi River. The morgue-like silence that had fallen over the three agents as they pushed through the ice storm was finally broken with a group release of held breath when they reached the Memphis city limits.

Like a dreamer awakened, Mulder lifted his chin glancing from the nightmarish sheath covering the car grill toward the diner. Neon bolstered King's Kitchen and the fact that it was open 24 hours a day, while comic style script scrolled around the top of the one-story building announcing the unique variety of foods offered.

"Home of the hunka'peanut butter, bacon and banana loaf sandwich..." Mulder read quietly drawing Scully and Skinner's attention back to the building.

"Nothing like home cooking." The Assistant Director's uncharacteristically humorous comment took Mulder and Scully off guard. Before either could form a response, he replaced his glasses, turning his eyes upward as a light sprinkle of sleet began falling. "Let's get out of this for a while. I've had about all the weather I can take for a day."

"Me too," Scully agreed taking the lead toward the diner. Mulder lingered behind a moment, watching his partner going inside followed closely by Skinner. There was a definite change in their demeanor, he could see it in the way they responded to one another's movements and tones. They were...

* "... You're always there to lend a hand in everything I do... that's the wonder, the wonder of you..." *

Mulder's ears perked at the sound of music that drifted out the door of the diner into the cold. Forget it, I'm being paranoid...

What's new? His suspicions were put on immediate hold as he headed for the siren call of the King.

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

One of the first things to strike Skinner's attention was a framed photograph of President Richard Nixon deputizing Elvis Presley. He cocked a brow at the irony of it catching sight of a waitress approaching.

"Evening folks," she greeted Scully and Skinner, cheerfully plucking two, then three menus from behind the counter when she saw Mulder join them. "Looks like y'wall could use a rest. Did that storm rattle you a bit?"

"A bit," Scully said with a small smile. "How did you...?"

"We've had a lot of folks coming in from it, looking just as frazzled as y'wall," the woman explained flashing a big smile, a chunk of green gum just visible between her cinched teeth. "We'll take good care of you, com'on and follow me."

She led the "frazzled" trio to a booth near the back of the diner. "I'm Judy," she introduced herself as they got seated. "And I'll bring y'wall some water while you take a look at the menu... I guess you won't be wanting ice in it will you?"

In unison the three of them paused before sitting, taken by the comment. Judy let out a bawdy laugh. "I'm so sorry, now that wasn't nice of me after all you must have been through. Just trying to break the ice you know- oops! I did it again. I'll just leave you three be for a few minutes."

Judy left the table, her laugh drifting with her as she went, and Skinner took his seat suppressing the comment teetering on the tip of his tongue. He refused to voice his belief that it was her laugh that could shatter the ice encasing the front of the rental car. His calm facade, maintained even through the mightiest of ice storms he had seen was still well intact... an unreadable expression that was all but shattered within a few brief seconds of contact.

* "It's now or never, come hold me tight, kiss me my darling, be mine tonight..." *

As if on cue, prompted by unseen conspirators trying to break his dwindling threads of self-control, the song had begun at the instant Scully's leg brushed his as she slid into the booth seat opposite him. Their gazes locked, their eyes communicating the shared surge of excitement that had gripped them.

Her head dipped after a long moment, averting her eyes. "Excuse me," her voice was low, her eyes glinting with guilt as she glanced at Mulder who was oblivious to all but the gaudy decor of the establishment.

He had barely touched the seat before he got up and left the table, his eyes trained on pictures filling the walls. Opening her menu Scully cursed him leaving her in the booth alone with Skinner, then cursed her fidgeting hands that found and began to rearrange the flatware at her place setting. She kept her eyes down but wasn't reading much of the menu. She was concentrating on not looking up at Skinner. Despite his momentary loss of grace when she had brushed his leg, when his eyes had glinted with passionate intentions, she knew his face was now, once again, the ever-present unreadable mask of self-composure while she was a tattered wreck of desire. She only glanced at his hands resting on the table, fingers laced together calmly over his open menu. Cool as a cucumber... and probably just as-

She fumbled the knife, dropping it to the table with a startling noise that made both her and Skinner jump.

"I was just about to ask if you wanted some coffee, honey," Judy was suddenly back at the table, smiling broadly as she placed three glasses of water on the table, sans the ice. "But it seems like your last nerve might not take to well to it this evening."

"Uh, no, I wouldn't mind some coffee, actually."

"I'll have a cup also," Skinner told the woman.

Judy threw a glance over her shoulder at Mulder. "You want anything to drink, hon?"

He turned from his study of the memorabilia on the wall, he seemed perplexed for an instant before he returned to the booth. "Grape NE-hi."

"All righty, two coffees and a... Grape Ne-hi... You know what you'd like to eat yet?"

Skinner glanced at Scully in anticipation of her response. God knew he hadn't decided on anything in the time his eyes had skimmed the menu, his mind had been everywhere but on the menu items.

"I'll have," she paused for an instant, then oddly enough realized she was craving, "I'll have the chicken nugget platter, please." Scully answered refusing to make eye contact with Skinner. "Mulder?"

He had flipped open his menu and was skimming it quickly, holding one finger up to indicate his need of a moment more.

Damn, Scully thought, now she could only look at Skinner. It would be obvious if she didn't. Obvious she was deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"Sir?" she said resolutely, looking directly into his eyes.

The firmness of her chin, the strength in her voice and the intensity of her eyes boring into him was overwhelming. He was losing it, his imagination counterproductive projects such as manufacturing wholly unique images from those already blazoned in his memory. Carefully placed caresses in forbidden places followed with keens of pleasure and raw sensations of pure-

* "... Wise men say only fools rush in... but I can't help falling- " *

Skinner cleared his throat turning his eyes to the menu once more. "The, uh," he scanned the menu quickly, then, "I'd like the love me tender loin pot roast stew with creamed corn and black-eyed peas."

Judy turned to Mulder, "You need some more time?"

He screwed his face up, his brow furrowed and his mouth moving intently on some notion. "I see you have the hunk'a peanut butter and banana here, and there's the peanut butter, jelly and bacon," he began, pensively, "but can I get a hunk'a peanut butter and banana with the bacon and the jelly on the side?"

Skinner and Scully looked at him, appalled and dismayed by the sound of his request. It was apparent he had given the menu more attention than either one of them had, neither recalled seeing such a concoction. Then again, perhaps their subconscious had purposely passed by it.

"You can have the hunk'a anyway you want it, just like the King." Judy told him, grinning as she jotted down his request. She looked up, sweeping them with a broad gaze, "is that it for you?"

Leaning back, one arm stretched out over the back of his booth seat, Skinner gave her a wave and Scully nodded. Mulder on the other hand lifted his hand to catch her attention, "is the pound cake served in slices or in one loaf?" Scully looked at Skinner, her eyes wide. Skinner only rolled his eyes, his mouth curling ever so slightly into a smirk.

"Either, hon, just depends on how much you can eat," Judy told him.

"Mulder, we have a long drive ahead of us," Scully reminded him. "You might want to take it easy on the food you put away."

He shifted a mischievous sidelong glance from the menu to her. "You're right, Scully..." he turned back to their waitress, finishing with, "just a thick slice, not the whole loaf."

The sleet had stopped falling by the time they had finished their meals and Judy brought the check. But Mulder wasn't looking so well already.

"Are you alright?" Scully asked him, catching the waitress' attention.

He nodded weakly, looking drowsy. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"He's just full, hon," Judy assured her, dropping a handful of complimentary mints on top of the check. "Y'wall have a safe trip." Skinner gave Mulder an appraising glance as he scooped up the check, mints and all and went to pay as Scully coaxed Mulder from the booth. He wasn't too confident in Judy's diagnosis of the agent's condition. Actually, he was certain they were going to be making quite a few stops after Mulder's meal from hell...

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

The groaning from the back seat had at last subsided. Aware of the sudden silence, Scully glanced into the rearview mirror, squinting against headlights trailing behind their car, trying to see into the back seat. She and Skinner exchanged weary glances before he turned in the passenger seat to look back.

Lying across the back seat, among a littering of plastic bags and a half-empty bottle of pink stuff Mulder rocked peacefully to the rhythm of the road, asleep.

"Is he?" she asked.

Skinner released a long sigh repositioning himself in the seat. "Yes, he's asleep... thank God."

Scully gave him a quick disapproving look. "He felt horrible..."

"He ate like a horse," Skinner countered her defense of the non-stop groaning and moaning that had permeated the interior of the car between numerous stops at roadside service stations and diners for the use of the facilities.

"It was the atmosphere of the place," she responded, stifling a yawn Skinner looked at her. "Atmosphere? He ate an entire loaf of bread hollowed out and stuffed with peanut butter, bacon, bananas, and jelly. Plus, a three-inch-thick piece of pound cake."

She didn't say anything for a moment, only blinked against the sleep tugging at her eyelids. Then giving him a sly sidelong glance, a smirk on her mouth she reminded him, "you didn't seem to have any trouble putting away that pound cake, sir."

Looking out the window into the darkness he shifted in the seat, feeling his belt slightly cutting into him. "I'll be paying for it for a while, too."

Scully thought about the reference to weight gain from the desert. She didn't think the man had much to worry about considering the shape he was in- superb. Her mind flashed back to his trim waist and firm stomach... What had gone through his mind as they stood there in the hotel room staring at one another? She had been a complete blank, her mind reeling in silent astonishment. The sight of the man had shot such jolts of electricity through her she had been afraid to move or speak for fear of what could have happened. She only knew she had to get out of there before she did something she would undoubtedly regret, only to have lingered longer to tell him about the flight.

She had wanted that instance to have happened. She knew how much she wanted him to cross the room, touch his hands to her as he had in the airport. It had only been the slightest of touches, like so many other times that he had guided her from the foyer of his office or into an elevator. But this once it had been different, filled with excitement and ineffable promise.

She had stood at the bathroom door, her heart pounding, and the blood raging in her ears, fearing he would open the door when she spoke- and if he did... she knew she had hoped for him to take her in his arms and taste her mouth with his-

"Scully," Skinner snapped at her suddenly, his hands grabbing the wheel. The car lurched to the right as headlights shot past with the blaring sound of a horn in tow.

She took the wheel more firmly, shaking herself awake. "I'm sorry, sir," she apologized, jittery.

"Sorry, my ass, pull over, Scully, I'm driving."

She looked over the seat to see the sudden movement of the car had woken Mulder. He was still asleep.

Turning back, she dodged Skinner's potent glare. "I'm fine, sir," she told him.

"You're not fine, you were half asleep."

Scully gripped the steering wheel, sitting forward as though to protect her God given right to operate a vehicle. "I am fine," she insisted.

"Pull over, now," he ordered. "I'm driving." She looked at him, his mouth a grim slash.

"Now, Scully," he repeated.

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

It had been nearly two a.m. when Skinner pulled up at Mulder's apartment. He managed to wake the young man and get him out of the car quietly enough so not to have waken Scully. Her denial of needing sleep had fallen flat when she dozed off almost immediately after he had gotten behind the wheel.

He would have been a liar to say he had been in any better shape sleep-wise, but stopping again was out of the question. If he had to stay in another motel or hotel room, he was going to pull his- He wasn't going to enjoy it very much, he amended the thought, feeling slightly punchy as he pulled away from the curb leaving Mulder to wobble up the walk to his apartment.

Now, only a few miles from Scully's apartment, Skinner found himself watching her out of the corner of his eye. He tried to concentrate on the road, but his eyes kept turning back to her the entire drive. The scrupulous expression customarily etched across her face had softened, leaving her to be very disarming. The car was quiet, and he was aware of her breathing, even and deep. Then there was the scent of her hair and clothes, perhaps the slightest measure of perfume.

Leaning back into the seat he took one hand from the steering wheel, resting it lightly on the seat between himself and her. Her hand was mere inches away, and he had to fight the impulse to take it- to caress her wrist and feel the gentle thump of her pulse beneath the silky skin. Oh, stop it, will you! He told himself. Pay attention to the road, it's only a little way to her apartment, get her there in one piece.

In his position of authority at the Bureau, he was a man forced to make detrimental decisions each and every day with no room for second guessing one's ability to do so. Yet the only thing he was, in the smallest of ways, confidant of was the fact that what he was about to do was against all better judgment.

He moved his hand pitifully close to Scully's, his heart racing foolishly. His fingertips just barely brushed her skin when the car was jolted so badly his teeth rattled and Scully jerked awake, sucking in a great, startled breath.

Skinner gripped the wheel with both hands, shocked and searching for what he had run over or into for that matter. Checking the review mirror, he saw the flickering orange of road barricades set up along a strip of curb behind them, announcing an uneven section of road undoubtedly. One he had been completely oblivious to.

"What did we hit?" Scully questioned, rubbing at the side of her head. Had she hit it? He wondered, panic struck, and guilt ridden. "Did you hit your head?"

"No," she answered, looking at him incredulously. His eyes were wide, a light film of perspiration across his forehead. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he lied. "I'm fine."

She sat up in the seat, looking around at the familiar streets and landmarks. "Mmm, almost home." she sighed rocking her head back and forth to get the kinks out of her neck.

"Almost home," he said so quietly that his voice nearly didn't register with her.

Little was said the rest of the way to her apartment. Small talk, her questions about Mulder's condition when he left the car, but little more. Reaching her building Skinner pulled up and parked in front, and Scully started to open the door when he shut off the motor.

"I'll walk you up," he said and got out so quickly she never had the opportunity to protest, yet protest was last on her mind, foremost being surprised.

In a serenely odd silence, they walked to the front of the building, their footfalls crunching in the light dusting of fresh snow, the wraith of their breath mingling in the crisp air. He opened the entrance door for her, following her in with her bag, watching her confidant stride and the alluring bounce of her hair.

Unlocking the door, Scully turned back before opening it. Looking at him closely, she feared her own judgment, her self-control. In the last seventy-two hours she had become so attracted to a man she had never... How could she have never considered him? She asked herself and then, "thank you for doing so much of the driving. Will you be all right going..."

Before she could finish verbalizing her concerns, he nodded. They both stood there in the hallway for a moment, then, finally, he nodded to her once again. "Good night, Scully."

"Wait," she said, sounding, to her surprise, a little anxious. He turned back, eyes narrowed. "Would you like to come in for coffee?"

He hesitated for only an instant, then pocketed his hands, squaring his shoulders as he glanced toward the exit. "No, thank you. I'll be fine." The hall was silent.

Neither knew what to say, and then, "good night, sir."

Scully opened her door, and he nodded, walking away.

"Sir," she called back, and he turned on his heel.

"Yes, Scully?" His voice was husky, impassioned.

She shuddered, scared suddenly of consequence.

"Drive careful." she finally said and walked inside, shutting the door.

Behind the closed door of her apartment, she listened to his footfalls reaching the exit and their pause. Was he standing there, she wondered with condemned hope, changing his mind to leave, and come back for the coffee- for her. No, they couldn't pursue this... Put it out of your mind... But will he come back? Is he going to?

Walter Skinner walked out into a wintry night, down the steps and paused on the walk. His thoughts desperately returned to the notion of going back to her. What then? He questioned, what then indeed. Feeling a frustrating tug somewhere deep inside as he reached into his pant pocket for the car keys, resuming his walk to the car.

With the keys he withdrew from his pocket one of the complimentary mints the waitress had left with their check. He looked at it for a moment in the blue glow of the streetlight, his eyes returning to the apartment building once again.

Unwrapping the confection he turned to the car, a resonant humming that grew into a low song escaping his lips as he went...* "Well, bless my soul, what's wrong with me, I'm itching like a man in a fuzzy tree... My friends all say I'm acting wild as bug. I'm in- " * The few lyrics were broken with the mint popping into his mouth as he shut the car door and drove far away from Agent Dana Scully.

------------------------------------- X -------------------------------------

Feedback is always welcome, mostly the gushing complimentary type of course.

Contact me at [email protected]

This series has been continued with Conversation Mints in three parts.

#mulder #scully #skinner #skinner scully fanfic #the x files #the xfiles #xfiles fanfic #Legacy XFiles Fanfiction

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saelterlude · 1 year ago

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Around October, I noticed my AO3 wordcount for this year has reached near 40k. So I thought, "Hey Sael, surely you can reach 50.000 words by the end of the year right?" Nevermind the fact that my thesis deadline is also in December.

But hey, I goddamn did. 51.236 words. Here's a list of the fics I wrote in 2023. Chronologically, when last updated, because that's cool. + short summary/my core idea for each fic.

Happy New Year!

February

Home Address, 35 Portland Row (Lockwood & Co.)

So did George just one day knocked on Lockwood's door with Skull under his arm being all, "Hey, I commited theft." Pre-canon exposition.

April

Buried Apple (Undertale AU)

Dream watched his twin die, got turned to stone, and wakes up to someone parading in his twin's corpse. How did he grieved?

May

The Hidden Basement (Lockwood & Co. and The Sandman)

Jessamy's regrets of failing to save Dream resulted in a haunted mansion. Who else would come take care of the haunting but Lockwood & Co.

June

Killer's Soul Journey (Undertale AU, yea this fandom really inspired me)

Killer got 4 stages, he also got the gang and Color. So what if each stages react differently to each group.

That Feeling and That Tone. (Undertale AU)

Just a reset in the life of Killer and Chara.

Tales from The Library (Undertale AU)

Same universe as "The Hidden Basement". What's life like for Lockwood & Co. with a type three bird ghost, Jessamy?

July

Colorful Conversations (Undertale AU)

It's in the name. Three conversations that help Color be... Color.

Divergence (Undertale AU)

We explore how time works in the multiverse, sorta.

Versa(tear)lity (Undertale AU)

There are many ways to utilize Killer's tears, here are some of them. Crack. This is just a pure crackfic.

The Circlet (Undertale AU)

There's a gap in Dream's circlet. It widens as Dream grows and his skull gets bigger. There's none in Nightmare's circlet.

August

Feelings Imminent (Undertale AU)

Killer have trouble feeling, which means he doesn't know when he's hungry, tired, or hurt. Horror tries to help.

September

Boiled Care (Undertale AU)

Cross and Horror talk about authority figures over breakfast.

October

I Know That You Can Track It Back To Me (Link Click)

Cheng Xiaoshi wants to know from whom did Lu Guang learns all the ins and outs of their powers. Well he does have time traveling powers, so learning about the past should be easy.

Like Once You Did For Me (Link Click)

Lu Guang's POV of "I Know That You Can Track It Back To Me". On a sad and lonely night, Lu Guang comes across a strange man.

So What's With The Sudden Costume Change? (Link Click)

For a fashionable show, Lu Guang's season two outfit is just a cat pajama. Oh wait, there's also the cool theater outfits. But that came out of nowhere so why? Crack, Actor AU.

A White Dream (Link Click)

A death node cannot be change, that's what Lu Guang said, but that can't be right. Cheng Xiaoshi is sure, he changed a death node once before.

November

A Gray Coat (Link Click)

Emma's parents waited all night for her, not knowing she's lying dead under a bridge. How does a parent grief over their child?

December

Shattered Reflections (Link Click)

Cheng Xiaoshi-Lu Guang's powers swapped with Li Tianchen-Li Tianxi's powers. How would that work? How would the story progress?

(I swear I will finish the last chapter soon. I promise. I just gotta graduate first.)

How to Lose A Bet and Still Win (Link Click)

The biggest betting pool in Guidu University is "when will Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang become official". Some students try to win the bet by manipulating the not-couple and sabotaging other betters. Outsider POV.

#my fics #ao3 recap 2023 #the sandman #lockwood and co #undertale au #link click #my fic

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turoce · 1 year ago

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Seana’s 2020 art highlights (a thread)

(Note: this is a reupload of a thread i did on twitter a few years back. so these are really old.)

January: i didn’t draw anything complete that month.... closest thing i could find to finished is this art i made of my OC, Angelord. man. remember when i drew my OCs? [2023 note: it's..... funny you say that. you would try to start up an original comic for the entirety of next year.... not that it ever came to fruition.]

February: i finished Link’s Awakening that month. i drew Marin bc i thought she was cute. i wish i could get motivated to draw fanart of recent video games i finished more... this is probably the last proper traditional art i made this year... after this, it’s mostly digital.

March: look. i’m attempting anatomy... and i failed lol. i remember being like “how do you draw woman” after drawing this... i mean. i still wanna know how to draw woman, so i guess i haven’t changed lol. [2023 note: I STILL DONT KNOW HOW TO DRAW WOMEN]

April: wait NVM here’s another traditional piece i made this year. he was an adoptable i made... but nobody was interested in them so he’s with me for now. i’ll try and redesign them, either to sell them or to keep him. [2023 note: i never sold this guy.... i was lazy and nobody values points these days. probs for the best because scamming children with virtual coins is probably not a good idea lmao. at the same time, i wish there was an easy way to buy and sell designs+commissions without having to get a credit card or paypal or something.]

May: another month where i didn’t draw anything. buuut i did some plush sketches to reference so das dat. [2023 note: you'll probably be able to name most charas here, but who's the guy i drew the most? that's Matteo, he's a little pink vampire and i made him through Gatcha Life.]

June: ah. the month where i started digital art. this was fanart for my friend’s OC. i didn’t know a lot of features of digital art so it looks like shit LOL not the first digital art i made ever, but it might as well be. [2023 note: i actually received my tablet around 2018, but i never had time to draw on it because i had 1 hour of screentime every day. this restriction was finally lifted in 2020 (because online classes) and i finally had time to venture out into the world of digital art...]

July: i made a lot of stuff this month, but to shorten the list... i finished the plush of my OC, Matteo. i wanna make another plushie... maybe with Suitcase.

this was also the month i joined the OSC... oh hell. it’s been 6 months?? [2023 note: 2 YEARS BITCH. ITS GONNA BE YOUR 3RD ANNIVERSARY if i didn't get so tired and started to hate the community so much.]

August: ...ergh. lets get over with this month quickly... Object OCs this. Object OCs that.

occasional Algebians.

i do not like the art here... it really shows that i’ve improved. ok let’s get outta here. [2023 note: i fucking despise the person who asked me why "they were old" to my humanizations of the Dangos. this is why i refuse to join another public server ever again and might have contributed to the delay of my human drawing skills.]

September: lots of Taco II. i seriously liked her a lot. still do, but the love is a bit more spread out between characters.

oh. and i watched ONE that month. cool.

October: i finally found a style that i could weld. hooyah.

don’t ask why i drew my friend as a cat maid... i thought it was funny ok.

September: the month of gift art. nothing else to say, but i like the thin lines. yes, ‘thin’. ...god i need to think of better things to say. [i would then realize i said the wrong month, and unlike tumblr, i cannot edit tweets once published, so my only option was to delete the whole thing and start over. or just say this:] did i just say September... oh for fucks- no i am not fixing this i’m already tired of this just imagine i said November ok

December: best art of this year so far (doh) nothing to say. just... happy that i improved. can’t wait to improve even more.

[hey look! i was in the 2020 JnJ christmas video! thats me! me!!]

aaand, that’s all for this year! man, i thought i was done with improvement. i can’t believe i proved myself wrong. usually other people do that for me lol. lets see if i can disprove myself again in 2021.

#dalune recap 2020 #dalune recap

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blackroom93 · 2 years ago

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My Depeche Mode Experience, part 3 - I'm here now, I'm found

….it's been a while since I last wrote about live performances, so bear with me, I'll try my best.

The last time I saw Depeche Mode live was so long ago that…it kind of feels like it happened in a different lifetime. I wasn't even in my mid twenties back then. Spotify wasn't available in Romania (yet). Cluj seemed mostly an unknown thing to me. I was into bands that I'm kind of not into anymore. I wasn't wearing glasses. I was more positive towards their previous album, Spirit.

So what has happened since then?

"Are you talking strictly about your relationship with Mode and their music? Or in general?"

The first part.

I soured on Spirit, but I still think it has enough bright spots to not see it as my least favourite album from them.

I got a Spotify account in 2018…and, while I can't for the life of me remember my 2018 Wrapped, I do remember them making every Wrapped from 2019 onwards.

I went to see Spirits in the Forest in cinema in the autumn of 2019.

I was happy for them when they got into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in that odd year known as 2020. (I'm still not the biggest fan of that institution, but it's nice to hear that the band is appreciated)

I continued to listen to them a lot.

I made a really dumb joke involving Enjoy the Silence and a public transport strike in Bucharest in early 2022. A joke which prompted my dad to say "Oh, you're missing them, aren't you?".

I woke up one morning in late May 2022 to find out that Fletch had died. I was shocked…and over time, I started making peace with the idea that I might not see them live anymore.

But then…

The Universe decided to throw some positive stuff at me. In October 2022, Dave and Martin announced that they were working on a new album, titled Memento Mori, and that they were going on tour next year.

That tour was going to include Bucharest too.

I bought a ticket (tho not too in the front, those were a bit expensive), I watched the days go by, I enjoyed Memento Mori, I got home earlier at the beginning of June 2023 to watch a livestream of their set at Primavera in Barcelona….

And then I found myself on the hot afternoon of July 26th waiting to see the band live.

The opening group, Haelos, were pretty chill. I initially thought I couldn't hear their frontwoman loud enough, but I got over that pretty quickly…cause it wasn't like I couldn't hear her at all, I just wasn't hearing her loud enough at times.

"How were Mode live?"

Amazing as always.

My Cosmos Is Mine worked well as an atmosphere builder.

I'm still not thrilled with Wagging Tongue as a single choice, but it sounded good live, so who am I to complain about the song?

Walking In My Shoes had a singalong moment - one of the many during the night - and that was nice.

It was neat to hear people around me singing the words to It's No Good. (I still don't get the donkey visuals tho)

I loved hearing Sister of Night - one of my favourite deep cuts from Ultra - but a part of me will never forget the sight of Dave's butt facing the crowd.

I know I said that hearing the album version of In Your Room back in 2017 was the gods' gift towards the audience…but you know what? I liked the single mix too. I would never complain about hearing this amazing tune in concert….no matter the version.

Everything Counts was still great live.

It was nice to hear you live again after 10 years, Precious.

Speak to Me, one of my favourite songs from Memento Mori, got me in my feelings…and in my fears, given that the rain started…and came with two of the things I like the least…lightning and thunder.

Home was as magical as always….Soul With Me was amazing, too, in spite of the technical difficulties in the beginning.

Ghosts Again is already a classic and it felt like one live.

I'm still surprised I haven't got bored of I Feel You. I don't know what it is about this song and resisting overplay.

A Pain That I'm Used To started with technical difficulties - can't blame the band tho - but it still managed to be fun? I guess I like the Jacques Lu Cont remix almost as much as the original…

World In My Eyes …was great, but bittersweet. I miss Fletch. I hope that he enjoyed the dedication…wherever he is now.

I didn't mind hearing Wrong again.

Stripped was wonderful as always.

Teenage me would be pleased to know DM played John the Revelator live.

Enjoy the Silence was a great choice for the last song before the encore…cause the people went nuts.

Waiting for the Night felt intimate and full of tranquility. Also nice screen projections, though I can't for the life of me tell you why I like them so much.

I guess I have matured a bit…given that hearing Just Can't Get Enough live again didn't send me into hysterics (like it almost did a decade ago). It just put a smile on my face. And made me dance a bit.

You know what? It really doesn't matter whether they end their gigs with Never Let Me Down Again or Personal Jesus. They were both legendary and putting them next to each other was brilliant.

Conclusion?

Man, it feels amusing to say that it rained at a Mode gig again…but I'm not going to complain too much: they were great, the audience was great, I love their music and I feel grateful to have seen them live multiple times.

#depeche mode #memento mori tour #2023 #bucharest #concert review

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 2 years ago

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So Far...

We're at the halfway point now.

The first half of 2023, box office-wise for the all-animated pictures, has been kind of more of the same... In that, Disney's animated feature releases - or one, in this case - are still struggling to get big crowds that are needed to cover the gargantuan budgets pumped into these things... Universal - for the most part - is still bringing home bacon. THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE landed among the highest grossing animated movies, period. Massive opening here in the states, incredible legs for a frontloaded picture, and especially for one that got a more mixed critical reception.

About the MARIO reviews... This makes me chuckle a bit. Very online people like to use the not-amazing critical reception of recent Disney-released animated movies to knock them and also use them to explain their not great box office ("well, if they had a made *good* movies), buuuut they either say the critics are "wrong" and "hate fun" for giving MARIO so-so marks or they just ignore them entirely. Tribalism stinks. MARIO does its job, yes, but it's also based on probably one of the most recognizable IPs in the whole damn world. Take that away, I wonder what kind of money that movie would've made...

But it wasn't entirely great for Universal this year, for they bungled the release of RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN. I understand that a lot of the Illumination and DreamWorks movies on Uni's slate all got domino'd, pushing the individual movies back a couple of paces... But June 30th was the wrong time to release this, and waiting till 3 1/2 months before release date to officially announce the movie to the world was also a big mistake (rumor-mills were leaking stuff about "MEET THE GILLMANS" instead of DreamWorks doing any talking... And we're but a little over a year out from the original movie opening theatrically after KUNG FU PANDA 4 in 2024.) if you ask me.

RUBY GILLMAN would've been a perfectly serviceable mid-July release, but Christopher Nolan has way too much power as a director, mandating that Universal not release *any* movie near his precious OPPENHEIMER. What a diva. I would've settled for early September. A good amount of weeks away from MUTANT MAYHEM, and having all of September, October, and early November to itself... I still wonder why Universal thinks releasing TROLLS BAND TOGETHER three days before Disney Animation's WISH is a great idea. October's wide open, it's like right there! In fact, BAND TOGETHER comes out in October in various international territories. Why not the same in the Yoo, Ess of Ay?

So, yeah... Universal had a high high with MARIO, and a low low with RUBY GILLMAN. That picture might make little more than SPIRIT UNTAMED. Maybe MIGRATION will be a SING-esque leggy Christmas hit for Illumination, and I'm sure TROLLS BAND TOGETHER will do pretty good.

Only one Disney animated release came about this year so far, Pixar's ELEMENTAL, which opened terribly (worst opening for a Pixar film, an opening on par with what TOY STORY collected in 1995 dollars)... But it's legging it up something fierce, it's sure to get the coveted 4x multiplier. Combine that with the "A" CinemaScore grade, and it's pretty clear that audiences quite dig the picture, despite what some weirdos are insisting. That Pixar has "lost its touch" or whatever, even though people have been saying that since the early 2010s. Disney's not going to send it straight to Disney+ just yet, they're gonna try to keep this thing spinning in theaters from the looks of it, hoping those classic Pixar legs keep it afloat while everything else comes and goes. It weathered INDIANA JONES and RUBY GILLMAN just fine, I'm sure it'll still hang on when BARBIE lands. Traditionally, Pixar gives their summer animated movies a Labor Day weekend bump, so I expect ELEMENTAL to be around till at least the end of September.

Disney botched this one, marketing-wise. The trailers were basically "Here's the premise, here's some gags, please clap." No hint of its actually solid and nuanced immigrant story, surprisingly light on the romance, too. Apparently that's cooties for the boy audience that they "should" be marketing to. Meanwhile, they're hyping up WISH as this story that's "a century in the making" and they seem to be pushing it as this definitive origin story of all Disney animated classics... Like, is it really that hard to tell audiences "hey, look at how cool our painterly fantasy musical is"? I guess it's a step up from how they just showed us STRANGE WORLD with no enthusiasm, and called it a day.

Sony is perhaps the real star here. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is their first fully theatrically-released animated movie since... THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2, all the way back in fall 2019... MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, VIVO, WISH DRAGON... All went straight to streaming. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 4 had a limited run in select theaters, but was largely a streaming-only release... So yeah, SPIDER-VERSE Deux marks their return to theaters after a four-year hiatus, and as expected, the sequel to the sleeper hit superhero movie is doing fantastically. Landed among the biggest openers for an animated movie, and legs-wise it's doing quite fine, passing $350m here. Looks to be the 2nd highest-earning animated movie of the post-outbreak era domestically, toppling MINIONS 2. Worldwide it did quite well for itself, too, as it inches towards $700m and is Sony Animation's highest-earning movie. Wowee! It's their only release this year.

The Top 10 highest-earning animated movies of the post-outbreak era, domestically, are largely Universal and Disney releases. One Sony release - again, SPIDER-VERSE Dos - and one Warner Bros. release, DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. So for all of Disney's financial woes, they're still up in the top slots with Universal. ENCANTO, LIGHTYEAR, and ELEMENTAL all landed above $90m domestically, so they're kinda doing something right, the idea of the movies being free on Disney+ be damned. They're now trying to un-train the audience of what Chapek/Kareem Daniels' Disney - and just the market in general - conditioned them into thinking, which is easier said than done.

So while box office has been back for the most part, we're in an era where the market itself and the amount of money being spent on these movies (near $300m for INDIANA JONES 5... Just... Why?) is creating a system that is just sooooo not conducive to the individual movies. The game should be rewritten, but you know how capitalism and Hollywood go... The collapse of a ton of different movies this summer just won't make the money people see sense, apparently...

Nestled in-between these biggies was Crunchyroll's release of SUZUME, which pulled in $10m, not the best for this kind of anime feature release, but still solid enough. A new DEMON SLAYER feature that was composed of a few episodes of the new season did its job, and a few other anime feature releases. Then you had THE AMAZING MAURICE and RALLY ROAD RACERS, released by Viva Kids (what is this company again?), the former only pulling in about $4m-ish here and the latter... I don't even know. At my theater, there was one seat - in the front row - purchased for every screening throughout the week. Can you say... Money laundering? One of these movies was a British picture, an adaptation of Terry Pratchett that went straight to streaming there... And the other was a Vanguard movie, who somehow keep making movies despite most of them not making back their budgets. That's SHREK producer John H. Williams' venture, they did VALIANT, HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER, SPACE CHIMPS, a pair of movies that almost went to theaters in the U.S. (GNOME ALONE and CHARMED) but ended up quietly debuting on streaming long after completion, and... I've lost track, GET SQUIRRELY I believe was another one?

What remains?

The highly-anticipated MUTANT MAYHEM, which could very well be a SPIDER-VERSE-esque box office sleeper for the ever-lasting world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, bows next month. I'd imagine, because the picture was animated at Mikros, that it didn't cost too much to make. Paramount Animation has been in need of a real box office hit for a looooong while, something that isn't a SpongeBob movie, and this one might just be it.

I expect PAW PATROL 2 - also from Paramount - to play like the first one, something for the kiddies and the preschool crowd, and it makes enough to cover whatever it cost to make it.

TROLLS WORLD TOUR should open fine enough and leg it fine enough, despite WISH opening right next to it. Well, five days later, but still... It should move up a few weeks, I think. Above $80m domestically seems about right to me, $200m+ worldwide. It probably cost less than $100m to make.

WISH likely cost over $150m to make, typical of a Disney Animation film. If the marketing really gets audiences to want to shell out plenty of bucks to see it, then I expect it to perform similarly to other Thanksgiving-release Disney animated movies of the 2010s. TANGLED and MOANA being my references, because FROZEN was its own beast. Solid opening over the holiday frame, fantastic legs, and next to no competition for the rest of the season. No STAR WARS or Marvel movie opening at Christmastime, no AVATAR sequel, the only real competition being... I dunno, that Timothee Chalamet WONKA movie that Warner has coming out? I think it'll do fine. I can see it opening with around $40m for the three-day, Thanksgiving boosts it, then it goes past $150-180m domestically. Maybe even higher, if this musical - which seems engineered in every way to hit the beats of what audiences associate with a "Disney movie" - really resonates with audiences. Heck, Disney could put in the next trailer "In Theaters Only. On Disney+ in fall 2024!" Tell 'em, yeah, you're gonna have to wait to see it for free!

May they all do well...

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seehowyourgardengrows · 22 days ago

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Carson and I just saw Dawes play at The Majestic in Madison last week and I completely had forgotten about a little music roundup I had started working on. we had made a huge push to get out to live music as much as we could last year. we did great at this goal so let me share!

january 2024:

i took a little get away to spend time with my pal Ruth in Minneapolis and to swing to First Ave (one of my all time fav venues) to see Lucius. forever in love with this band. another music moment for me is anytime I'm in the Minneapolis airport and I see the Prince store I cry.

March 2024:

Carson and I road tripped down to Tennesee to meet up with Anda and Mike to see Lucius and Dawes as a super group at the Caverns. That was wild and so much fun. They covered "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the four of them singing together with just an acoustic was just as powerful.

John Mcauley (of Deer Tick) at Cactus Club is in my top shows ever. I usually say Deer Tick is my favorite band, I find having a favorite anything too stressful, but they have been such a standard for me since my 20's and I haven't found anything as trusted. John solo with just an electric guitar still packed a punch and sounded so full.

april 2024:

one friday afternoon I was killing time thrifting before picking up Carson from work. i was waiting to get in the dressing room and these two women with British accents were walking around, arms full of clothes. one of them looked so familiar. then I remembered, Instagram always tries to get me to this woman's account, as they think I like her haircut (I do). turns out she is in a band, The Last Dinner Party and I had heard their single and thought it was fun.

I say hi and welcome them to the states, we start talking and the next thing I know is they put Carson and I on the guest list and our chill night at home has now been upgraded to having to wear pants. good thing Carson is a trooper.

damn was it a blast, they are so fun and put on a great show. worth it! it helped they played at Turner Hall, which is Carson's fav spot to see shows.

Bendigo Fletcher at High Noon was next and so important to me. I found their song "No Smoke" the year before and played it over and over. i became so inspired with their song writing and lyrics as I learned more. getting to see them in one of our fav spots was also special.

may 2024:

you know we're gonna find our way to see Shakey Graves, another favorite musician of both me and Carson. you could give him a stone and a string and he'd make it cool and alive. missed seeing him live, it had been too long!

june 2024:

i have to laugh because seeing the Gin Blossoms at Summerfest is a highlight of my year and Carson probably forgets we did it.

july 2024:

this month was special for many reasons, but mostly because we played a lot of our own music with lots of people we loved and with our friends Owen and Abby getting married, we got to hear that friend group play again after so many years. Homegrown Fest with the Cobras was a blast, a Milwaukee musician, Ben Mulwana and his band played before us and I became an instant fan.

august 2024:

Carson found his new favorite band, the Linda Linda's, opening for his all time favorite band, Green Day. My Smashing Pumpkins played in between so we were very happy this night. I'd never been to a show like this before or with so many people, maybe Lollapalooza? regardless, it was overwhelming at times but super fun.

september 2024:

deer tick came back to Milwaukee and brought with them our new favorite, SugaDaisy. i wish i could have seen my own face as they performed, it was an incredible set. i wasn't sure where to look and what i was hearing, it was like Ween, the Kinks, Spoon, the Dead... just Youtube them and you'll see what I mean. it's a good idea to see openers.

october 2024:

John Craigie! oh we were so excited. Tre Brut opened and we've loved his stuff for a while too. so fun. we made shirts that said John Gravy and folks got a good kick out of that.

november 2024:

houndmouth! wow they were fun. "mckenzie" is one of my favorite songs, I've played the hell out of that. we got to see SugaDaisy open for Bendigo and they both were incredible for round two. how lucky are we?

okay that's it!

some other thoughts though:

the dead tongues were coming through Milwaukee and Madison, but unfortunately their home town of Asheville went through the horrors of the hurricanes, leaving them no choice but to cancel. I can't wait to get the chance to see him, his last double album was a work of art.

MJ Lenderman had my favorite lyric of 2024: "you once was a baby, and now a jerk."

him and Waxahatchee had my fav jam "Right Back to It".

my favorite song of my own that I finished last year was "Punk Ass Kids".

thanks for tuning in, 2025 is already on pace with 24.

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sherlollyandspoilers · 2 years ago

Text

We’re worth it, Chapter 18, October 3rd

Chapters 1 through 17 of We’re worth it can be found here

Here be Dragons is the original fic that this fic is a companion piece for - HBD timeline: right before chapter 16

“Alright you two,” Molly stood in June’s waiting room, hand rubbing her very pregnant belly, lecturing the Holmes brothers, “there is no point in going in there and not just being open and honest. All that will do is frustrate all three of you, make June’s job ten times harder, and waste her time.” Sherlock opened his mouth, but she held up her hand. “I’m not actually talking to you.” She turned her gaze on Mycroft. “If you are not willing to go in there and talk through the stuff between the two of you, just go home now. Sherlock and I have plenty of other things to discuss.”

Mycroft sighed and folded his hands in his lap. “If that had been my intentions, I wouldn’t have even bothered to show up.”

“Good!” She smiled. “Have fun. Sherlock, I’ll see you at home.”

June swallowed hard. She stood staring at her office door, not moving. During her career there had been very few things that had taken her by complete surprise but the phone call she had gotten from a secure government line not even ten minutes after Sherlock and Molly’s first session ended had definitely surprised her. And within 10 minutes of having taken that call, she was in an unidentifiable government vehicle on her way to a secure meeting. This was the first and only time she had met Mycroft Holmes and after 40 minutes of listening to him talk at her, her clearance level had been raised and she left the meeting with a severe warning that the loss of her career would not be the worst thing that would happen to her if she ended up sharing what Sherlock and Molly disclosed in session.

Now she was going to sit in a therapy session with this man for the next fifty minutes and ask him questions about how he felt…her life was weird.

“I know that this session was mostly Molly’s idea, but my assumption is that you two both have things on your mind,” she prompted after they both went silent when the small talk ended.

Sherlock frowned and cleared his throat, “Sometimes it’s hard knowing your brother is in love with your fiancé.”

“And sometimes it’s hard being in love with your brother’s fiancé.”

“I didn’t think you two had officially gotten re-engaged?” June asked with a furrowed brow, confused.

“Formalities,” the two responded simultaneously.

June nodded and suppressed a giggle. “Mycroft I am very interested in hearing what you have to say but knowing how Sherlock typically responds in sessions when he has not been able to express what is going on in his brain, I think I would like to let him expound on his comment first.” Mycroft inclined his head towards her slightly but didn’t say anything. “Sherlock?”

He scrunched his face in concentration, taking his time to gather his thoughts. “Molly shared with me once that she believed had I never come home that she would have eventually moved on with Mycroft.” June watched Mycroft for any reaction to this statement, but he looked as if he was listening to information he had heard a hundred times over. “I was hurt, jealous, and angry but I had been surprised by how much I had needed to hear her explanation.” He leaned forward and propped his elbows up on his knees, as he often did when talking out difficult topics. “As I listened, her relationship with my brother became clearer to me and I started to understand what he meant to her.” He paused a moment, one side of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “I understood it…not necessarily liking it.” Sitting back, he sighed, “A few days later he and I actually came to an agreement with one another because Molly wanted both of us in her life.”

June nodded and let them sit in silence for a moment, giving them both time, if needed, to process what Sherlock had just said. “Can you tell me about that conversation?” she finally asked.

“After several jabs at each other, in the end we both agreed to move on as it was what was best for Molly…” Sherlock paused for a moment, his eyes unfocused on the present, replaying the past in his mind. “I had been annoyed when Mycroft told me he hadn’t set out to fall in love with Molly but when he told me she had become his best friend, I understood it better.”

“In what way?”

“When I finally let Molly in, it didn’t take long for her to become my best friend, the person I wanted to be around all the time, to tell everything to…it also reminded me of how hard I had worked to keep Molly at a distance when I first met her but even then she had easily worked her way into my mind.” He looked at Mycroft for the first time since he started talking. “How could you have not fallen in love with her?”

Mycroft seemed to think about this but didn’t say anything.

“Mycroft?” June prompted. He looked at her, eyebrow raised, she realized not in question but in concentration.

“The hardest part of being in love with Molly Hooper has always been and will always be that she is in love with Sherlock. Unquestionably and whole heartedly.”

Sherlock frowned at Mycroft’s statement, sitting forward again. He opened and closed his mouth, doing his best to fight off the instant anger Mycroft’s words had caused. He grasped his hands tightly together and breathed.

“What about Mycroft’s words have upset you?” June asked quietly, giving him time to gather himself.

“The way you phrased that statement,” he said, body tense, “made it sound like it was something you knew from the very beginning.”

“Yes?” Mycroft questioned.

“Then why in the hell did you kiss her that night?!” Sherlock sat up, back straight, ridged. “If you knew she loved me and has always loved me and will always love me, why?!”

Mycroft shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but June let Sherlock’s question hang in the air.

“I…” he stopped and cleared his throat. “Did Molly ever tell you what I asked her after I kissed her?”

“You asked her something?” Sherlock asked in surprise, realizing that Molly and he never talked about exactly what had taken place between the two of them that night.

He nodded and cleared his throat again. “I asked her what would have happened if you hadn’t come back…I knew what trajectory our lives were on prior to you coming home and I wanted to hear Molly acknowledge it.”

“What made you want to hear that?” June questioned.

“She’s my best friend and I was tired of keeping an unspoken thing between us…I knew it wasn’t going to change who she was engaged to, but I needed to hear it.” June nodded her understanding. “She wouldn’t have loved me the way she loves you.” He looked at his little brother. “I wasn’t holding any delusional beliefs that it would have been the same.”

“Is that really the kind of life you would have wanted for both of you?”

Mycroft’s brow furrowed and his frown deepened at June’s words. “What do you mean?” he asked, turning back to her.

“You said that Molly wouldn’t have loved you the way she loved Sherlock had you two gotten together…would you have wanted to live with knowing that she loved someone else more? And for Molly, would you have wanted her to be in a relationship where her whole heart wasn’t in it?”

Mycroft considered for a moment. “Any kind of love from Molly is more than I deserve. But for Molly? No, I don’t think I would want that kind of life for her, ever.”

Sherlock seemed to relax at Mycroft’s words.

He turned back to his brother. “To answer your question, why did I kiss her that night – because I was being selfish. I was struggling with balancing the emotions of being proud of you as your brother for making the right decisions with the emotions of grieving the loss of the future that I was never going to have with Molly.”

Sherlock stared at him for a moment longer before simply nodding and looking back at June who was still recovering from the incredibly self-aware statement that had just come out of Mycroft’s mouth.

“Uhh, Sherlock,” she said getting her footing again, “I want to back up a moment.” He nodded at her. “When I asked you to expand on your first statement, sometimes it’s hard knowing your brother is in love with your fiancé, you shared a conversation you had previously had with Molly and why it had been difficult for you then…but I would like for you to share how this continues to be difficult for you.”

Sherlock shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable with the emotions he was experiencing, so he was leaning forward again.

She gave him a reassuring smile, “I know that you are used to only sharing your emotions with Molly or your therapists, and that in front of others, you typically shove them down or avoid them, but I think in this instance, it would be helpful for you both.” He nodded and took another moment to regulate.

“At first I believed that I was jealous that Molly had thought about moving on with Mycroft but after working in therapy, I realized that what makes knowing he loves her hard are my own self-deprecating thoughts.” June frowned and he cleared his throat. “Fine, deprecating might be putting it mildly…these thoughts tend towards self-hatred.”

June noticed that as Sherlock talked, Mycroft seemed to be struggling with what he was hearing.

“These thoughts reinforce my insecurities, which in the past few years have hyper-focused on not being good enough for Molly and constantly letting her down.” He sighed and sat back. “As those thoughts mix in my mind with the knowledge that there is someone else who is better for her, knowing he loves her becomes an extremely difficult truth to live with.”

“I can see how that would make knowing he loves her difficult for you.” Sherlock nodded at her words. “Now, and Mycroft,” she quickly interrupted herself, “please do not take this for anything more than what my words are…Sherlock, there is no one else better for Molly.” He furrowed his brow. “She has made it very clear that she loves you completely and that she wants to be with you. She has chosen you, which is why no one else is better for that role.”

Sherlock looked down at his hands smiled, “Molly has said the same thing.”

“She is a very intelligent woman.”

“She is,” both brothers agreed with her. She smiled at the two.

“Now, Mycroft,” he pulled his eyes off the floor and looked at her, “I noticed that when Sherlock was talking, you seemed uncomfortable.”

He nodded in agreement and looked at Sherlock for a moment before looking back at June. “Despite our differences and disagreements, I have always cared for my brother.” Sherlock tilted his head as he listened. “Assuming that he struggled with accepting himself is very different than hearing that he struggles with not hating himself.” Mycroft shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I must admit that I feel my behaviors in the past have contributed significantly to this.”

June nodded as she let Mycroft’s words hang in the air for a moment.

“Sherlock, can you share with Mycroft what you have learned about where your self-hatred most likely stems from?” she asked.

Sherlock nodded and rattled off the words he had heard so many times, “You and my recovery therapist believe that my never-ending negative thought patterns and self-hatred were caused by my unresolved trauma which was reinforced by my destructive and self-sabotaging behaviors.”

June nodded at him before turning back to Mycroft. “It is usual for family members to struggle when they find out that a loved one is dealing with internal hatred and intrusive thoughts, but Sherlock’s trauma is not as simple as you having kept Eurus a secret. As I understand it, Sherlock suppressed his memories long before you lied to your parents about Eurus’ death, correct?” Mycroft nodded. “While I will not lie to you and tell you that your actions had no effect on how your brother sees himself, I will point out that his trauma started before then.”

June could tell Mycroft was processing what she had just said, so she let the silence settle over them.

After a few minutes, she cleared her throat, “Sherlock has shared that you two have spoken about all of the secrets that were kept surrounding Eurus…is there anything else regarding that situation either of you still feel needs to be discussed?”

Sherlock shook his head, but Mycroft turned towards him. “I am sincerely sorry for how I handled the situation with our sister.” He opened his mouth as if to say more, but faltered and closed it. Clearing his throat after a moment, he continued, “I hope that as we move forward, we continue to work together to do what is best for her and for our family as a whole…I am also sorry for my actions and my words when you first returned. I was selfish and angry, doing and saying things that I wish I could take back.”

Sherlock sat for a moment before speaking, “And I am s –” June cleared her throat and he glanced at her; she had an eyebrow raised in expectation. “Thank you, I appreciate hearing that.” She gave him a reassuring nod. “I think us continuing to work together is what is best for Eurus.” Mycroft gave him a curt nod. “I feel I should apologize for some of my behaviors when I first got home as well…I am sorry I acted childish then.” Mycroft rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I never properly thanked you for being there for Molly when I couldn’t be. You helped her shoulder the emotional toll of not being able to tell the truth about me and I know how much that meant to her…I also I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for her and Mina over the last year while I was lost in my own head.”

#kate writes #isb #sherlolly

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