#if a genie appeared to me right now one of my wishes would be for the ~last starks~ to be replaced by their better versions: robb rickon ned

[newchangestf]

Paired Wishes

When I came home with that lamp I bought from the charity shop we were both pretty surprised to find a Genie living inside.

The burly man explained that as we were both party to cleaning his lamp our wishes would be shared. One for each and one shared.

Taking a moment to discuss our shared wish we both turned to him.

"We wish to be wealthy enough to never have to worry about money ever again." We declared.

After accepting our wish the genie explained what to do for our personal wishes . He told us to close our eyes and say our wish silently in our heads.

Figuring that made sense we done so.

Suddenly our bodies began to heat up. My hair changed from its short dark brown state into a wavy, blond, youthful mop. My eyes flickering from their muddy brown into a vibrant piercing blue.

Meanwhile my body fat fizzled away, except of course my ass which ballooned with muscle and fat in all the right places. Lean muscle began to fill the rest of my body as I became a specimen both men and women would swoon for.

It seems that as my ass filled in my brain drained. I didn't ask for this but I guess it came with being blond. I was nothing more than a twinky blond himbo that focussed on little else other than cock.

You on the other went a totally different direction. Your body exploded with beefy muscle. Muscle that gave your body a rugged mountainous appearance. The landscape of your new abs and pecs were quickly turfed with thick black hair.

Not long after, the forest of hair stretched across your new face completing a magnificent beard.

To match your new dark hair your skin soon shifted from a pasty white into a light tan finalising the new Arab complexion.

Although my brains melted away yours grew. Now in possession of twice the knowledge than before you'd be doing the thinking for both of us. Which as it turns out was the Genie's plan.

To fulfill our shared wish of wealth you, now Hadi, had inherited your family's oil and gas company. The family business brought in millions every day from its various ventures.

Although you were Hadi to everyone else, to me you were Babi. My new rich Arab daddy.

It turns out the Genie played a bit with our wishes. You had wished to become a muscle Arab daddy with a thick cock. While I had wished to become a hot bubble butted twink with a hot daddy to look after me.

Seeing the compatibility of our wishes I guess the Genie took some liberties. You may not have wished to have been gay but you don't really seem to care now. In reality, as you bounced me up and down your thick shaft as I pleaded for your cum, we were both very satisfied with the results.

----

This was inspired by my new Babi @musclejedi7

[wandixx]

Ok it closes out on me when I tried typing it the first time-

Anyway, I'm a sucker for shock value ones, just so funny to me, so how about M'gann being nervous about introducing bf danny and it happens at an inconvenient time! Could go ghost royalty, ancient of space or anything, hell ghost as dragons would be pretty funny, up to you though!

I'm not sure if I did a good job at this, but I didn't want you to wait too long and real life is keepimg me busier than expected, so for now, it's here. I may continue it one day (I also have different version of fill for this prompt, because neither idea felt right, so if you'd like to see I too, just let me know whatever way is most convenient to you)

This wasn't supposed to happen like that. M'gann didn't have a super detailed plan on how it was supposed to happen, but even her vague (thought and rethought every night) ideas were anything but this. It was supposed to be a calm, low-stakes situation. Maybe even make it look like an accidental meeting, Team in civies hanging out around Happy Harbour, bumping into Danny and then she'd just introduced him, perhaps adding ‘btw, he is my boyfriend’ almost like an afterthought. This seemed like the best possible scenario.

This was also, as expected with the way hero life is, the exact opposite of what actually happened.

Of course, it didn’t start with anything heralding the absolute disaster this day had to become. Kinda accidentally the Team stumbled upon something between a cave and a basement, and in it a group of people, who decided to perform a summoning of a genie so they could… wish for stuff. They didn’t even look like cultists or villains of any sort, just a group of random adults from seemingly very different backgrounds. M’gann had a really hard time understanding what actually brought them together other than their wishes.

Which was actually pretty useful when it came to fighting them, because nobody really cared about their fellow summoner, just trying to save their own butt. She kinda wished more of their opponents were so incompetent.

Though, she spoke too soon because in the excitement of the fight, somehow all of them didn’t realize that one or two of the summoners… actually managed to finish a summoning. It was honestly a little bit embarrassing.

But, it was too late to dwell on all that, as right above the summoning circle appeared a circle in a worryingly familiar shade of green.

Of course, this one time she didn’t have any equipment from Danny, had to be when the Team encountered a ghost.

Ghost in question was a beautiful woman, with long hair covering one of her eyes, in a blue outfit that was related to one of Earth cultures, but M’gann didn’t know which, and a bunch of bracelets on her wrists. Martian could make a hazard guess on who it was, based on the stories Danny told her.

“We don’t have time for explanations, I think I know who this is, if I’m right for the love of everything that’s dear to you, don’t say the word ‘wish’ out loud” she demanded over the Mindlink.

Before she finished, Artemis took silver tape from somewhere and slapped a piece of it over Wally’s mouth. M’gann understood the sentiment but still… it was a little bit too nuclear option.

Desiree (if it was her) didn’t attack anyone, looking a bit confused, giving Team a moment of reprieve to plan and for Kid Flash to make sure none of the summoners could make whatever wish they wanted either. Also with the use of silver tape. Djinn’s were always tricky.

M'gann used this moment of everyone getting their bearings to curse herself for not bringing any ghost weapons this time. Any other mission, Team or not, she had something on her but today? Today she had nothing.

Excluding the summoning engraved into clips holding her cape but it was kinda last resort. It wouldn't annihilate everything in one mile radius or something but she didn't want to drag Danny there if he was during a test, other ghost fight or something. She knew better than anyone that he didn’t need more distractions.

Conner crashed into a wall right next to her. Artemis seemed to lose her cool when none of her arrows seemed to reach the ghost while Robin was trying to make some counter plans with Kaldur. They couldn't do a thing to Desiree and it was a matter of seconds before she stopped entertaining them and went to the city. It… would end badly, most likely. Danny would prefer to get involved before it got that far. Yeah…

She really wished she didn’t have to call.

“I have an idea, cover for me for a minute or two”

“Bold of you to assume we can stop her from anything”

“I believe in you Wally. Just distract her”

“My water attacks seem to be effective weapon against her”

“That’s aster! What do you plan to do, M'gann?”

“Summon another ghost”

She expertly ignored yelling that followed, taking the golden clip off of her cape. She held fabric in place with absentminded use of telekinesis, while she focused on an engraved pattern. Danny's summoning circle wasn't actually too complicated or intricate but she needed to do it just right. And frankly, she just liked looking at it. Physical proof that her boyfriend would be there if she needed it. Drawn representation of who he is, the deepest and truest parts of his soul written in the language that only Universe itself could fully understand.

And it was beautiful. Absolutely incredible. Much better than Desiree's circle, thank you very much.

M’gann dropped to her knees and grabbed leftover chalk from previous summoning and crouched to quickly draw Danny's seal. She had a lot of practice from all the times she doodled it on a whim just to get something of him with her when she missed him the most. She rarely actually summoned him, again, it was difficult to align their schedules, but she was very familiar with the first step.

And it was really easy from there.

She placed the clip in the middle of the circle, shapeshifted one of her nails to get a bit of blood on the chalk and leaned back.

After a careful, deep breath, she started an incantation, putting as much power in her voice as she could.

“I call upon you guard of Amity Park, I call upon you dearest child of the Ice, I call upon you one favored by the Time, I call upon you vanquisher of the Fear, I call upon you subduer of the King, I call upon you defender and the guide, I call upon Phantom, both worlds beloved child”

Circle erupted in green light, putting a momentary pause to the fight. M’gann was still blinking spots away when a figure flung itself out of the summoning circle, right at the Desiree.

“What the fuck?!”

Only after the first punch was thrown did Danny turn back to her, with his usual, somehow both gallant and bashful smile, that without fault made her knees get a little weaker. She smiled back.

“Hello Starlight” he greeted, sounding almost casual.

“Starlight?”

“Hi Angel. Nice of you to drop by” she answered in the same manner. Wally tried to yell from behind the duck tape.

“Angel?! M'gann, who is he? Who is she?!”

“I will always come if you call” he said without any doubt, suddenly as serious as if he was sharing information that could break or make the world.

It certainly worked like that to her world. She actually melted a little on the inside.

“I know”

“Actually, that's kinda cute. I still have no idea who this is, but you go girl”

“I feel like it's not the right time Artemis”

“Not to interrupt… whatever this is, but the other ghost is escaping” Robin cut in “Also, if you want to make out afterwards, please find the room, Batman and Catwoman are traumatizing enough“

Few people snorted, while Danny blushed green. He darted back at Desiree, clearly to escape the embarrassment. M’gann stood up, totally at ease now, that he was there to take care of it.

“Will you need a hand? I don't have any tech but we have a trick or two up our sleeves!” she asked, projecting her voice so it carried through the cavernous basement without yelling.

“I'm good for now but thanks for asking!”

“M’gann, can you give us anything substantial? Who is this? How do you know him?”

“One question at the time and let's wait until he finishes, okay?“

She cut off Mindlink before anyone agreed or protested.

“Miss Martian!”

“Soup time!”

With a blast of light, Desiree got sucked in and Danny landed in front of them with a proud grin.

“My job here is done”

“It truly is. You're getting faster too”

“And thanks to who is that?”

“You”

Danny sent her both an incredulous and playful glare.

“Of course. I miraculously found a ways to not be a mess and don't crash through every wall on my way and–”

“Well, no but–”

“Let me remind you, you're not alone… also who are you dude? And where did the other lady go?” Wally asked, right after ripping the duct tape off his mouth.

“Oh, well, I'm Phantom, I usually work in Amity Park?” he said a bit unsure, as if calling him a protector was under any question. That just wouldn't do.

“He's a hero from Amity Park”

“Thanks love. It's nice to finally meet you all. M talked a lot about you!”

“Can't say same about you, sorry”

“That's fine. I know M was agonizing over how to introduce me in the best way possible. I'm really happy it's finally over,” he paused for a moment, with his brows furrowed “Did I do good? This first impression thing?”

“You're… far less imposing that I personally expected after hearing Miss Martian summoning you, but–”

“M’gann how could you hide this from us?” Conner blurted out quietly, and oh, he sounded so utterly crushed. Everyone fell silent, the playful atmosphere gone as if it had evaporated.

“I never intentionally hid it. It wasn't significant enough to mention at the start and when it became important I felt like I couldn't just drop it at you during lunch or something. I always planned to tell you, there was just never the right time nor right words. I never wanted to hide it.”

“Even just me?”

“Especially you”

“You still should've…”

“Yeah, I should. I'm sorry”

“How long ago have you met?”

“Half a year ago,” Danny said before she managed to answer “It's all kinda my fault actually. I was really set on not getting mixed up with more hero business than I had to back then. I didn't want you or Justice League finding out about me. And when I agreed, it was already really late. I'm sure she'd told you all from the get go if I let her, I'm sorry”

“Why wouldn't you want us to know about you?”

“It's… Probably not the conversation we should have right here, over gagged wannabe cultists.”

“Valid. Let's call the cops and get going. You two have much to explain”

“And you're sitting eight feet apart until you do!”

Danny leaned in to kiss her, quick and playful, before he jumped back at the demanded distance.

“Well, this still went better than at your side”

“Absolutely”

*******

Also, here is some lil arts for a longish wait, sorry again, I hope this story is yours to your expectations

[msallurea]

So wow ok it just hit me! It's come to my attention that ppl have misinterpreted the law entirely so I'll say this once and one time only so no one gets confused:

The law of assumption is not some magical fairy houdini genie bullshit. The same way God is not some genie in the sky granting u all your wishes willingly, the law is not some magical fairytale wishing well. The law of assumption is a LAW meaning nothing or no one can change it. Sure you can change the wording, think that's its something different but the law of assumption remains the same regardless.

With that being said, let's go back to the very beginning:

"The law of assumption is that whatever you assume to be true, will become true"

So..if u assume the law will not work it "won't" if you assume that it is true then it will also "work" either way the law of assumption is still doing exactly what it's suppose to do which is reflecting your assumption into reality. That is why everything of your world is all about mindset shy do you think some of the most successful people in the world the first thing they always say is its all about your mindset.

Everything u see in the world today would have and could have not existed if it was not first imagined. Thus the imaginal act was persisted upon with the belief that somehow, someway it would come true. Everything inbetween what is happening now and what will happen soon with your fulfilled desires is only divided by the bridge of events aka, the motion that's put into works to fulfill your inaginal act aka the "how" and the "when".

In manifestation you don't worry about the how or the when because both are already taken care of. The world will shift itself causing a sequence of events to occur like a domino effect that will be the connecting cause to your desired outcome. The when you should not worry about either because if you know in your heart it is done and u will get it that when doesn't even matter because what may seem to take years would feel like only 5 seconds to someone who'd trust that desire/dream.

Now many of you may think it was the coincidental sequence if events that's the cause of your desires being fulfilled but in fact it is not. It was all FIRST caused by imagination. None of those bridge of events or "coincidences" could have happened if u did not first imagine in the beginning what the end would be like.

With all this being said I will say this one time and one time only in honor for the 99 and 2000s, the law of assumption is NOT magic and it is NOT some wishing well, it is a LAW that is always in effect t regardless if u believe in it or not or regardless if u believe its working or not. If u do not believe me that is fine, however i only ask that you test my belief for yourself. Reflect on everything that goes on in your life right now and observe the assumptions that arise when u think about it, now u tell me before u even knew about that thing did u have the assumption surrounding the topic before or after it's occurrence. For example let's take your appearance for instance, if I ask you right now are u pretty or ugly I can guarantee you'd know immediately what your answer is. But when did u start having that assumption? What in your mind made u think u were ugly or pretty. How did u even know what ugly or pretty was to know if u are either of those things. No one just wakes up randomly and just believes that they're ugly UNLESS at some point in time there was a time frame gap in your reality where u took out the time to assume whether or not u were ugly or pretty.

All I ask is that you just try it, that's all just try it and you will see that everything u have assumed up to this point is a reflection that is being shown in your outside world.

[alphasunpup]

Feedist Kinktober Day 24- Ritual

"Welp, here goes nothing," you thought as finished the demonic ritual. Finally all your dreams were going to come true!

The demon appears in the summoning circles, purple flames dancing around and hiding his face. But upon looking at you, all the flames go out.

It's dark and dead silent. The only thing you can make out are his dark purple eyes. Snake like slits staring into yours, until you hear a loud exasperated groan.

"Gods, I hate when that happens!" The lights come back on when he claps your hands and so do your candle flames. And all of a sudden the scary demon is now a chub muscle man in a long flowing purple morning coat. Hisblack curls fall and fram his face. Somehow it's angular and sharp at the same time of having a soft jawline. He's beautiful.

"Your not Mammon..."

He raises an eyebrow and looks around. "Lemme guess kid, you tried summoning one of my brothers to help you out of student loan debt or something?"

You nod shyly. He sighs and shakes his head. "Wouldn't be the first. Sorry, little human, but we're not genies. We can't grant wishes. And believe me, if we had the power, we'd take out student loan debts. Tell you what, kid? How about I become your patron and just help you get what you want? Sound good?"

You nod not sure what else you could do in your position. You go to shake his hand but he doesn't let you explaining that this would make your agreement a contract and he doesn't want you to feel like you're in more debt than you already are.

Strange things happen after the demon takes his leave. You notice you're alot more confident in yourself and your looks, even though you're putting on weight you kinda like it. Nothing goes to your boob's, which you're really happy about. All your weight settled in your arms and thighs and sometimes to your belly. You have a kinda sleeper build.

You notice you care more about your appearance and you're starting to get into skincare, especially about how to take care of your new found rolls. You get hit up by an older woman on tinder. She takes you out and decides you're going to be her sugar baby and she's going to pay for everything you've ever wanted.

It's only been about six months since you last talked to your demon patron. So you do the ritual again and he appears, though he's far more muscular than you last remember.

You ask him why some random woman wants to be your sugar mama and why you're so interested in sex and beauty.

He chuckles. His claw tucked right under your chin. "Well if you didn't want sex and beauty to be how you got things don't let the Prince of Lust be your patron."

[deancaspinefest]

It seems a lot of the fic that you're reblogging has been deleted from Ao3 :( It always guts me when that happens but it's been surprisingly more common in SPN that in any of my previous fandoms. anyway, it would be nice to not reblog the ones with deleted fics, i feel, if that's okay with you?

Hi anon,

Thanks for your message :)

It's definitely a shame when people decide to delete their fic or art, particularly when their work is connected to that of another fan artist or author. For that reason, we encourage any author or artist who has decided that they no longer wish to participate in fandom to make use of the "orphan work" function on Ao3 so that others can continue to enjoy their work after they've gone.

Right now, we've been made aware of five Pinefest fics which have been deleted. Those fics are Wayward Pines and Buttercream Dahlias (2017) and The Rigged Mandela Effect (2018) by microespressos, Ships in the Night (2018) by thetwistedwillow, and Genie in a Bottle (2018) and Where the Lightning Splits the Sea (2019) by thepopeisdope. All five masterposts have been updated to mention that the fics appear to have been taken down.

That said, art for the first four fics is still available to view via the links on the masterposts, and some art also appears as part of the masterpost of the fifth fic. As a fic and art challenge, we see value in sharing those masterposts regardless of fic availability.

If you're wondering why we didn't re-check every single link before queuing the reblogs -- it's purely because there are at least four links in each of the 253 masterposts. This would have meant opening over a thousand links, most of which don't actually require attention, during an already time-consuming process.

If you have encountered any other masterposts that link to works that have since been deleted, feel free to let us know via ask and we'll make sure to update the relevant masterpost :)

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DCCU: Character Essay - Mr. Mxyzptlk

So...did you see the last episode of MAWS?

I just wrote an essay discussing this series, and without making you read that (although here it is if you wanna), let's just say I love almost everything about it, but the villains have me...nervous. Which, yeah, not exactly a unique take on the series, critically speaking. It is, in fact, the most common refrain about the series amongst Superman fans.

Now, since then, to be fair, we've gotten some very promising characters make their debut, or becoming more prominent. Task Force X - which includes Amanda Waller, the General (who's gotta be Sam Lane, but may also take some inspiration from Wade Eiling; time'll tell on that one, though), and a very cool super-armored version of Deathstroke - are our main antagonists, and I'm excited to see what comes out of them. Their former associates, power couple Brain and Monseiur Mallah (who are also gay in the comics, if you didn't know) are a more sympathetic turn on the characters, but quite satisfying in this form.

But no, there's only one real reason I'm making this post. And that is of course, the villain featured in the most recent episode, as of me writing this post. He's already up above, so let's just get into it.

Fun fact about me: I love a lot of Superman villains, but of all of them, my absolute favorite is Mr. Mxyzptlk. He's a mischief-making, chaos-loving, harmless and harmful menace from the 5th dimension, who obeys no laws of the dimensions below. The origin of legends, past and present, of genies, leprechauns, fey, and imps that tease men with ill-fated wishes. An all-powerful being disguised as a man dressed in a funny little hat.

Mr. Mxyzptlk is the Robin Goodfellow of Superman's world. He appears to amuse himself, no matter the cost to the Man of Steel's day. Usually, you can send him back via making him say his own name backwards, but that's just one of the rules to Mxy's games. And make no mistake, that's what they are: games. Mr. Mxyzptlk has played on the side of angels and devils, and he really only cares about his own amusement. And his relationship with Superman, varied as it can be, helps to fuel his morality.

I could bring up the character's live-action appearances (which are notable in their own right), but those are mostly afraid to really go for it. The closest to the original character would be Michael J. Pollard's version in Superboy, a mostly forgotten series from the late'80s, and a version that actually wears the comic book outfit. There's also the Supergirl version, which was notable, and played by Peter Gadiot and Thomas Lemmon; and there's the version played by Howie Mandel (yes, really) in Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman in the '90s, which is a more evil but passable version of the character. Oh, and the Smallville version? Yeah, absolutely doesn't count. If you want a true adaptation for Mxy, you gotta go animated.

The most iconic adaptation of this character was portrayed by the late, great Gilbert Gottfried in Superman: The Animated Series. Now, I say the most iconic, but that's probably a bit biased on my part. In my opinion, this is the most fun and accurate version we've seen of the character, taking from his original design for inspiration. An annoying imp that appears every three months, his debut episode in the series, Mxyzpixillated, is one of my favorite episodes of the series, and goes balls-to-the-wall wacky, as you should with Mxyzptlk.

The character had only a few more appearances in the series after his first, but Gottfried's performance was so memorable, he was brought back for multiple incarnations, including the video game DC Universe Online, and the more recent animated series Justice League Action, which would be one of Gottfried's last performances, and therefore his last appearance as the character. He'll be sorely missed for a number of reasons, but the voice he gave to the imp is never going to leave me.

Which brings me to the version of the character we see in MAWS. And yeah, this is obviously a VERY different version of the character, appearance-wise. Outside of the orange and purple color scheme and one other exception, this version has no design similarities with any version of Mxyzptlk, and is obviously very anime-inspired, as is the entire series. I mean, for Chrissakes, the title of the episode is a reference to Ouran High School Host Club. They knew what they were doing.

We meet Mxyzptlk in the middle of a heist, and he already shows his power and prowess by tricking Clark immediately. Amongst a bunch of fantastic DCU references, and a lot of multiverse talk, we eventually stumble upon his actual goal: the reclamation of an ancient artifact stolen from him by the League of Lois Lanes. And that artifact is...his hat. THE hat. And lemme tell ya, I was overjoyed to see that stupid little bowler.

Once he gets it, we get a glimpse of true Mxyzptlk power, as he goes full chaos lord on us. He's eventually defeated through trickery with portals, and NOT through the backwards name gambit. And even then, he's not actually defeated, and returns in the end to annoy his new target: Lois Lane. Yeah. He's haunting LOIS, not Clark. And honestly, I'm...very intrigued.

This Mxyzptlk is, honestly, a faithful version of the character, straight-up. Sure, there are elements missing, and the outfit is completely different, but he also sort of looks like you'd expect an imp or genie to look. Like Alan Moore said in Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel?, why should an extradimensional imp look like a little man in a suit and funny little bowler? I think this works, honestly.

I'm also excited to see him in the future of the series, and see what they do with the character as a result. Mxyzptlk is, as I said earlier, one of my favorites, whether he helps or hurts the Man of Tomorrow. And if I had one complaint, it's that I want him to go wackier. Like, CRAZY. Watch his appearances in Superman: The Animated Series if you haven't, and you'll see what I mean. The potential is quite literally unlimited when it comes to the fifth dimension imp.

But if that's the case...what would I do with Mxyzptlk in my DCCU?

Mr. Mxyzptlk in My DCCU

I would do...not much more than Easter eggs at first. Look, I love Mxyzptlk, but having him as a character in a film or film series is extremely tricky. But instead, Mxyzptlk is both a seen and unseen force in my DCCU, hovering around Superman's world without actually interfering in it directly. Not exactly his bag, I know, but it's a good way to get him to work in a film series. Essentially, I'm turning him into a background character in the first and second films, to be noticed by only the most observant. Disguised as other characters, maybe making odd gestures every now and then as if to manipulate things around him. The ultimate Easter egg character, basically. Until, possibly the very end of the second, or even the third film in the franchise.

Fast forward to the second film's post-credit scene.

A poker game is being played, but we're table level. All we see are the hands and the cards, which get increasingly stranger as the game goes on. Three voices are speaking, and we get the immediate idea that these people are watching our heroes. Eventually, a fourth voice juts in, and we also find out that a fifth one of them has been invited, but chose not to attend. Finally, we pan up, and we see...some dude.

This guy, whoever they are, should've been a face we've seen in the first and second films, usually hanging around the Daily Planet, but also around Metropolis. In fact, they should be visible in every conflict or battle seen in the films thus far. As we look at the others, we should see similar figures that've appeared in Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash films that've come put by this point. All extras, and all watching our heroes. In fact, it'd be great if the Flash-focused person hasn't appeared yet, because the Flash's film releases after this one.

Finally, as we pan back around to the Superman-focused character, who is smoking a cigar, the conversation turns to what's coming. Mxyzptlk is aware of what's coming for Superman, but the rest refer to "the first Crisis". Mxyzptlk sort of brushes it off, even as they're saying things that hint at the first big even film to come in the DCCU. And these should be vague yet intriguing clues to this event. But Mxyzptlk insists that his guy'll be prepared, and that he has a lot of money riding on that outcome. With that, the mysterious figure looks directly at the camera.

Yeah, realizing that we're peering in on the game, he probably berates the nerds in the audience for knowing who he is without it being said (possibly by turning into a more comic-accurate version of himself) , then confirms that he'll be back in the next one, but not as the big threat. Maybe he'll be there to help, maybe not; depends on his mood that day. After a few more snarky remarks, he gives us a look and tells us to buzz off. We may even get a glimpse at the other imps in the room, those being Bat-Mite, Wondermite, and Mopee. And with that, he snaps his fingers, and the film ends officially.

Yeah, I basically pulled an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to bring in Mxyzptlk. And, since that scene is one of the best of the film, I don't think that's a problem! In the next film, we know what Mxyzptlk's identity looks like, and he may even give us a wave from the background in his first appearance in the next film. He won't interfere directly, but in the last post-credits scene of this trilogy, he'll finally get caught by Superman. Over time, Superman's had some experience with magic users, probably via Wonder Woman. And magic, in my universe, has a distinctive smell of some kind.

Knowing that Mxyzptlk's been watching him throughout the films, Clark finally confronts him on it, and asks what he wants. And Mxyzptlk actually replies and shows himself, explaining that the battles to come are pretty intense. He won't help or harm, but he just wanted to give a heads-up, mostly because it's fun. With that and a bit more conversation, Mxyzptlk leaves having given this ominous warning.

Does he return? Maybe during a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie, maybe in the Darkseid-based Justice League film to come, who knows? This version of the character is basically a Watcher, maybe throwing in some fun chaos here and there. It's sort of hard to add Mxyzptlk into a film series, because he's not a plotter. He's an all-powerful one-off character who, were he to be introduced as a genuine threat to the films, could just kill Superman immediately. It wouldn't make sense. So, make him neutrally bent, and keep him as a fun Easter egg character.

That take may be disappointing to some, but...like, c'mon, guys, he's a pretty big gun. Having him as the ultimate threat of a film also wouldn't make it very fun, because we don't want to see him get killed, but he also can't really win. It'd just be unsatisfying. I like the idea of making him this greater, scarier presence, while also making all of the imps these all-powerful observant beings that watch over our plane with fascination and/or reverence. And maybe, just maybe, we can squeeze some mischief in there somewhere.

Any other ideas on how you would introduce Mr. Mxyzptlk to a cinematic universe (if you should at all)? Reblog! Comment! I'm extremely curious, frankly. This was one of, like, three ideas I had, but the one I thought worked best.

And if you liked this, check out my other Superman essays here!

[theizzifromosaka]

Monster Never Cry

Been a while, huh? I’m back for another Monster Girl review, I feel this time more than any other I need to introduce what I’m reviewing

Monster Never Cry is a Gacha game whose premise is you are the recently defeated Demon Lord, tasked with rebuilding her army and retaliating against the warriors who got you. There’s also a weird meta aspect to it where the whole thing is an MMO, but it’s a mobile game. Who’s playing this for the story? Nah, like most mobile game players, I’m here for the PNGs. Like actually, I would never have given this game a shot if not for the whole monster thing. We got a lot of monsters to cover this time, I’m reviewing every fem presenting monster available in this game, so I’ll be going through each entry quickly.

Coronis

So she’s like an archer crow lady? Not really a monster is she? That artwork doesn’t really do her favors, but the alt skin looks pretty nice.

Lilith

Not exactly an original idea but it’s executed pretty well here. Rich fancy vampire princess, what else can I say?

Sadora

This design is great, among my favorite in the whole game. It’s a shame it’s stuck on a mid tier monster, in terms of gameplay. Creepy animated dolls are what got me to try out Bloodborne, we don’t see enough of them and this one is among the best I’ve seen.

Undine

I think she’s a water elemental or a minor deity or something. It conveys that idea well enough, and the harp angle is interesting but it’s just not really for me.

This does give me the opportunity to address what I’ve referred to in the past as the “paint her blue” problem. Monsters in this game have a small chance to be shiny like in Pokémon, and in many cases the shiny has a more human skin tone. I previously expressed distaste for this trope but this game’s monsters make me reconsider my opinion.

Sylph

This game has a few plant girls and they all have the same problem, they’re all pretty much just girls with plant bits on them. This one’s pretty good though, and I like the Mario reference in her shiny, intentional or not.

Oul

I think this one’s supposed to be a Djinn? Her title implies she’s some sort of mage and in game she acts like a merchant, so I’m not sure. The design is pretty busy, and I think the shiny should have been the default. Something about Genie girls with purple hair just feels right, couldn’t tell you why.

Unrelated, I’m real excited for Risky Revolution. It’s crazy that it’s actually getting made now.

Arachne

Basic spider girl, and it’s not really trying to be anything else. It’s pretty good for what it is, though I wish they’d committed to giving her extra eyes instead of those weird red patches.

Gurnius

For a mid tier monster her design is very busy. You see a design like this and immediately think it’s gonna be a rare strong monster, that’s not just me right?

Daisy

The one exception to the weak plant girl designs in this game, and it’s on a low tier monster. Cactus cowgirl is way too good an idea to waste on a low tier in my opinion.

Siren

I think she’s a forest nymph? It’s a fun design, if a bit basic. Butterfly-winged forest fairy ladies are kinda a dime a dozen so I don’t have strong opinions.

Why is her name Siren though?

Rabby

“Boxing Champion”.

It’s a good rabbit girl design, though I’m obligated to point out: That’s not a monster, it’s just anthro.

Pania

“Forest Priest” is about as helpful as “Boxing Champion”, though it at least gives us a habitat. My headcanon is she’s a Duende. It’s a passable design, cute little girl stands out in this game.

Sarcophagurl

Another Frankenstein girl has appeared in this series, and honestly? I like this one a lot. The eyeball theme is a bit incongruous.

...“Mech Maiden”? In what way?

Vespa

I think she’s supposed to be a succubus, which is kinda funny as she’s one of the least malegaze-y designs in this game. The alt skin amends this, and considering Succubi are sex demons honestly I think it’s fine. Pretty good design, all things considered.

Zenobia

Dragon Girl with a sleek design. The outfit here is an absolute disaster but if she was wearing full armor or even a t-shirt and khakis she would be completely fine, pretty good even.

The human skintone on the shiny makes me uncomfortable, probably because it accents just how awful that outfit is.

Octasia

I’m not sure what she’s supposed to be. I guess she’s like Ursula from Disney’s The Little Mermaid? So she’s a Mermaid? Mixing vertebrate and invertebrate features is always a risk in my opinion and I don’t think it works here.

Medusa

Like straight up? This game’s also got “Dracula” so I guess so. Another otherwise good design ruined (in my opinion) by a weird outfit. I do really like how this game does animals though, with those Rareware-style googly eyes. It really helps this game’s designs stand out where they show up.

Palaeophis

Another Mermaid, assuming Octasia is, in fact, a mermaid. This one’s name shoulda been Siren. Mostly naked is par for the course for Mermaids so I can’t really fault this design for that, but I will once again complain about it being busy. Weird for a design with almost no clothes.

Kukulkan

That Mesoamerican deity is eating a girl. That’s brutal.

Jokes aside I would like this design drastically more if the girl aspect was removed and it was just the winged serpent part.

Nafisa

This design scratches the same part of my brain as Aigis from Persona. Not really sure what’s up with that floating head but I can’t help but like this one. Creepy doll girls, I’m telling you.

Mischa

Pretty good design for a Beegirl, but once again, that’s not a monster, that’s just anthro. Hold on, why is the Succubus named Vespa and not the literal Vespid?

Venus

It would’ve made more sense if Sylph, the man-eating plant girl, was named Venus, as most man-eating plants are styled after Venus Flytraps. It still works for a thorn girl, but the same issue Sylph had is present here. She’s got thorns and flowers coming out of her but she is essentially just a girl.

Kurarith

Anthro Jellyfish girl. Mixing Vertebrate and Invertebrate features like Octasia. Just like with Kukulkan she’s kinda just a girl attached to a monster, and like Zenobia she’s got a stupid outfit. Really a showcase of every design decision I don’t like this game has made, but interpreted instead as a jellyfish themed outfit it’s actually not bad.

Tarani

This character has not been added to the game yet and I cannot begin to guess what kind of monster she’s even supposed to be. Maybe a Satyr? Angelic Beast? Dragon Girl? This one’s just bad, sorry. I hope they reconsider the direction they’re taking these designs in.

The Demon Lord

Arachne was just A Spider Girl, The Demon Lord is THE Spider Girl. Kinda an interesting choice to make the leader of the Monster Forces a spider. It’s an alright enough design, reminiscent of Kumoko from So I’m A Spider, So What?, specifically in how a girl pops out of the spider’s head eventually. Didn’t like it there and I’m not huge on it here either, though the girl pops out pretty early here and replaces the spider’s head.

I’m overall kinda surprised at the quality of the designs here, even when the designs are weak there’s usually at least a good idea in there. Is it worth putting up with a Gacha game for? Probably not, though I think I’m gonna stick around at least just to see what new characters they add.

Previous review:

[kadaverk1nks]

Eyo! Curiousity killed the cat- 4. Genie granted you three NSFW wishes. What are you wishing for?

Oo 3 wishes okay

1. Shape shifting, as a trans system with mostly nonhuman alters, many of my headmates and myself wish we could appear as ourselves physically, with the right equipment. This would fix all of that in one fell swoop (and i wouldn't have to spend money on surgeries hehe)

2. SERIAL KILLER SEX DUNGEON NOW. im a weird pervert who fucks other weird perverts, I need a set up stocked with everything i could ever want to use on myself or others

3. Unlimited weed forever. And maybe shrooms too. I have a chronic pain condition, weed helps make sex more enjoyable for me and having an intox kink only adds to it

Thank you for your ask doll 💜

Ask game here (hopefully i linked that right lol)

[incorrectcoldflashblog]

For the Fanfic Writer Emoji ask, ⛔️ and ✅

Hi, friend! Thank you so much for asking <3

-> Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

Yes, I’ve mentioned before that the very first fic I started writing for Coldflash was a Genie AU, which was a fusion of canon and AU where Barry is The Flash and Len is a 5000-year-old genie. I wanted to subvert the master/genie trope because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if your masters are kind or cruel, they’re still trying to master you. So I was going to have Barry choose to free Len without making any wishes—and then of course everything would’ve gone to shit with Len being hit with an ancient curse and just being. the most ungrateful, bitchy house guest you’ve ever met XD I did have quite a bit of it written down as well as a general outline, but then I realized how gigantic this project was actually getting and kinda talked myself out of actually trying to post it. It was a very low slow burn spanning several years and I just didn’t think many people would be interested, and I also didn’t think I’d be able to stick with it to the end. Which was probably the right call considering how long it’s taking me to finish the Vegas fic, which is like 1/10th of the length ;-;

-> What’s something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don’t mean to?

Hmm, good question. I’ve written one of them or both getting plastered or drugged a total of four times now so maybe that, haha.

I think one theme that comes back often in my fics is Barry being wantonly tender and having no idea of the havoc he’s wrecking on Len’s heart. That’s definitely intentional, though XD Like, Barry does something impossibly soft and tender because he’s just such an affectionate soul and Len's whole brain starts spinning inside his head like a top, and he’s drawn to it but has no idea what to do with it. That’s the stuff, right there. Not even big gestures, just, Barry kisses Len’s palm or strokes his cheek, and Len’s like, there was wild tenderness, it’s unspeakable.

Also I can never let them be together on the first try, they have to fight a little about it first, as a treat. It’s both intentional and unintentional, as I sometimes feel like it makes my writing repetitive and yet I’m absolutely incapable of not doing it. There’s always gotta be a fight scene or a temporary break-up. I see myself doing it and I’m like, don’t do it this time, switch it up a little, but the problem is that I like writing them fighting or breaking up, haha, it’s my favorite except for writing them kissing, and in any case it’s so satisfying to bring them back together ;)

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[rosyrosethorns]

that part in the genie lamp arc where madi (with the help of her bf pied piper and newly-acquired friend captain hook) successfully obtains the black lamp and brings it to jack horner, but the moment he rubs the lamp jafar pops out and all hell nearly breaks loose in the pie factory before madi gives a proposition

୨ ——- ♡ ——- ୧

“Finally…” With a wide grin on his face, Big Jack Horner took the black genie lamp from Madi; marveling at its appearance as he continued. “After the destruction of the Wishing Star, I didn’t think there would be any other way to achieve my wish... But now I have a relic from the faraway land of Agrabah to give me the magic I always wanted, with one simple command!”

Jack rubbed the lamp, beaming as he was ready to relay his wish… But when nothing happened right away, his smile immediately faded. “Helloooo?” He began to rub once again… when red smoke began to emit from the lamp, spiraling around the trophy room.

Despite being just as concerned and afraid as Jack and Madi, the Pied Piper protectively stepped in front of the girl as the trio heard a disembodied laugh from the spiraling smoke… The genie they had anticipated soon emerged, but he was nothing like they expected. He was large, yes, but he had a sinister look to him; especially with those glowing yellow eyes.

“Finally!!” the genie boomed. “Released from that accursed lamp!… Oh?” Realization set in as he surveyed his surroundings, looking down upon the three wide-eyed spectators. “This is not Agrabah…”

The Piper raised his flute to his mouth with quivering hands, the shrill tune he played briefly explaining to the genie that the lamp was brought here from far away… However, no sooner had he played these notes when Jack Horner assertively spoke up:

“Hey, genie!! Grant my wish!!… I want to be the master of all the magic in the world!!”

Both Madi and the Piper looked at Jack in bewilderment… Did he not see anything suspicious here? Even the red genie stared at this proud man for a moment before a mocking chuckle escaped his mouth.

“Now I understand~… You were bold enough to assume you could easily release me from the lamp and have three wishes granted on a whim,” the genie sneered as he leaned in close to Jack’s face. “Unfortunately for you, wishes are a minor formality to me~ If you instead, however, wish for me to not bring this building crumbling to the ground then you will return me to Agrabah where I have unfinished business.”

… Jack’s face turned red with anger as he listened to the genie’s words. Madi could only put her hands over her mouth as she and Piper anxiously watched the two interact.

“You’re a genie,” the large man spat. “You grant wishes. Now you grant mine or I’ll put hot oil in your damn lamp!”

The threat earned a scowl from the red genie as he pulled away in response. “You will be covered in rubble before you have a chance, you accursed brat!”

The moment he raised his hands, panic set in for Madi as she felt compelled to act. The brooch on her collar glowed as she ran past Piper, despite his concern, and stepped between her spoiled friend and the threatening genie before transforming in front of them… White feathers scattered across the room like a flurry of snowflakes as the ballerina glared up at the genie, who had paused with a raised brow.

“You harm even one hair on his head and I’ll make you regret it!!” the girl shouted.

Again, the genie was not convinced… but this time he was more amused than offended by the threat as a soft chuckle escaped his throat. “Ah~ I see I am not the only one with powers bestowed upon me,” he coyly remarked. “If we are revealing other forms, I suppose it would be wiser to… clear up space in here~”

With a whirl of red smoke, the genie transformed as well. The trio were stunned to see him assume a human form, dressed in red and black Arabian robes with a turban on his head and a golden cobra staff in hand. Flicking his cape, a smirk crept onto his face as he glared down at Madi.

“But, my dear,” he purred, “is a feather-clad princess any match for the genie Jafar?~”

Despite a twinge of nervous feeling showing itself on her face, the ballerina stood her ground. “I don’t want anyone I care about getting hurt,” she stated, “and my friend was obviously unable to convince you to grant his wish, so I have a proposition.”

Jafar raised a brow, visibly amused by the girl’s boldness as he twiddled his fingers on his staff. “Hmm… Go on.”

Madi took a deep breath through her nose, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly from how nervous she was, but she refused to back down…

“We’ve got an entire floor of workers out there… Let’s put on a show. They’ll determine who grabs the most attention. No forcing anyone’s attention with magic… And no hurting anyone. You win, I free you from the lamp and you can go back to Agrabah; but if I win, you have to grant Jack’s wish—break a rule and that counts as a loss.”

Jack Horner watched her with a stunned expression, and the Pied Piper gripped his flute anxiously. The genie smirked in response to her proposal as he stroked his beard in contemplation before giving an answer:

“Aren’t you a fiery one?~ Perhaps I can entertain you and your big boisterous friend for some time, though don’t be too disappointed when I outshine you on a whim~”

[time-travelling-chaos]

oohhh the writers ask had so many good questions i couldn't really choose: 3,4,10,12,16,30,40 (you can skip some if it's too much :3)

Thank you for the ask!

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

I don't really have any writing ritual? The only thing close to a ritual that I have, is I almost exclusively write in the evening/night. And while it's not cursed by itself, it comes from the curse that makes me able to function only when it's dark outside. I, however, do have the well-known writer curse of having ideas only when I'm not able to write, and to not have motivations or good ideas when I am.

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Right now, probably seeing the words angel or demon outside of a Good Omen context.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Yep, it happens quite regularly that some part of a book, of a story will stick with me for a long time. Like it's some details that I will notice more often, some sentences that will appear from nowhere inside my mind, stuff like that. And yes, my own writing haunts me from time to time, but it only does so before it's actually written and I have a pile of some ~40 stories speaking to me from time to time in the back of my mind. It ends when I'm done writing it usually, as I don't really like remembering my own writing once it's done, at least for some time. After a few months/years I feel good reading it again usually, because I don't have the same attachement, but it rarely haunts me in that case.

The only counter example that I have there, is a story that I wrote during my first year of uni. It was the evening, I was sitting on the table (it was large enough to do so) and doing chemistry homework, and feeling good, because it was the evening and I loved chemistry especially the type of exercises that I was doing (it was quite easy and fun - well at least for me who liked chemistry), and I wanted to write (I don't remember if I actually had a story idea or not) so I took a sheet of paper and started writing (it was the time when I still wrote almost exclusively by hand). It was a story about the universe, and its birth and death, and to this date, it is still one of my favorite story that I ever wrote, partly because how much I enjoyed writing it. And I lost it. I tried to look at all the places where it could have been, and it was not there, and it was a story that I had been careful with, so I wouldn't misplace it accidently. I will probably keep looking for it, from time to time, as I still have hope that at some point it will reappear, but at this point, it is probably at the same place that the book that vanished behind the bookselved. So, yeah, that one still haunts me often.

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

Usually, I would refuse to play along with genies, because of a weird trick, but if for some reasons I was sure that there woudln't be any tricks and that it would come as I picture it in my mind I would wish for.

1- For all the next elections (that means every election that happen everywhere in the world) to be won by a left party (yes, even if no left party currently exists) and for them to be able to actually follow through with there program (wonder why it's my first though hey...)

2- To have time to rest and get time to get to know myself and to recover from burnout without having to worry about anything (safety, money, job, having to move flat...) for as much time as needed to be ok.

And I wouldn't use the third one, not yet, I would keep it for if (of more likely when) something happens that puts me/my friends/people I care for in danger or in a bad position.

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

I don't know? I don't really remember using anything especially weird, appart from the normal receipts, leaves, sunglasses or stuff like that.

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

They play barely no role. I don't remember ever writing in my dreams, nor consciously using stuff from my dreams for stories that I wrotes or was planning to write (occasionally for personnal daydreams though). And I do believe that I got ideas during my dreams a few times, but completely forgot about it when I woke up.

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

I'm not the right person to ask, I've never really understood poetry, it rarely speaks to me and I've found it boring to read most of the time. So, I've never writen any (to the exception of when I was around 11-12 and found out about haiku and wrote a bunch of them). But, sometimes, once in a while, one will particularly speak to me, and that's what happen with The hollow men by T.S. Eliot (a pretty well-known one, I know), because the last sentence was said in an episode of Doctor Who (the Lazarus Experiment if my memory is not too bad) and it stuck with me. I'm particularly fond of the last part, so here it is, and it's really one of the rare poems to actually move me:

 Between the idea     And the reality     Between the motion     And the act     Falls the Shadow                                     For Thine is the Kingdom         Between the conception     And the creation     Between the emotion     And the response     Falls the Shadow                                     Life is very long         Between the desire     And the spasm     Between the potency     And the existence     Between the essence     And the descent     Falls the Shadow                                     For Thine is the Kingdom         For Thine is     Life is     For Thine is the         This is the way the world ends     This is the way the world ends     This is the way the world ends     Not with a bang but a whimper.

[cryptic-paw]

The Mirror

The events in this poem,

I can say for sure,

Happened right after

The experiment’s failure.

Regina now had nothing left.

She wanted the kingdom to herself, by all means.

But for now, she decided

To act as a quiet and good-natured queen.

For now, we will shift focus

To Regina’s husband, King Leopold,

Whose purity, generosity, and kindness

Never grows old.

King Leopold was taking a walk

Along a sandy beach ramp

When he saw that the tide had washed in

A golden and oddly shaped lamp.

He picked it up,

And like a curious kit,

He rubbed the shiny lamp

With his hand a bit.

Purple smoke encircled the lamp.

It was anything but teeny.

Before the king appeared

A well-dressed genie.

He said, “I am the genie of Agrabah.

I will grant you three wishes.

It can be anything, from granting you gold

To cleaning your dishes.”

The king replied,

“I have everything that I require.

I have a good life. The kingdom is healthy.

There is nothing I desire.”

“Then maybe you

Can do something for me.

A genie’s job is tiring.

Can you wish me free?”

“With the power

Vested within me,

I so wish for you, Genie,

To be free!”

Smoke encircled the gold bracelets

On the Genie’s wrists.

Now he could do all of the things

That were on his to-do list.

“Your Majesty, I thank you

For setting me free.

Though, I still am not the happiest

That I could be.”

“I wish with all my heart,

As my second wish,

To bestow upon you

My third and final wish.”

The lamp was now back

In the Genie’s possession.

He could use the wish

For any little want or obsession.

“Genie, for your generosity,

I grant you a place at my palace.

You will be safe

From any forces of malice.”

Genie accepted the invitation to the castle.

The king had become his friend

And he would stay by his side

To any length’s end.

Time passed at the castle,

So much that Snow was now a young adult.

In my opinion, though,

She was still a wretched little dolt.

Regina survived through every tedious day.

Being good was really boring.

She never really fit in and was slightly shamed

By everyone, even the king.

One day, there was a feast.

Regina entered the dining hall in a beautiful white dress.

The food upon the long tables

Appeared to be a scrumptious mess.

Genie happened

To be at this feast.

He had only expected everyone

To be eating like beasts.

This was the first time

That Genie actually noticed the queen.

He took a shine to her,

If you know what I mean.

It was the high point of the feast

And people were busy meeting happily.

This is the moment

That Regina chose to leave discreetly.

Genie saw

Regina leave.

He decided to go after her

For it would make him unhappy if she were to grieve.

He found her in a courtyard

Next to an apple tree.

Regina jumped in surprise

As Genie spoke, “Pardon me.

I saw you leave.”

Genie did not kid.

Regina said, “No one in there ever notices my absence.”

Genie said, “I did.”

Regina looked up and stared into Genie’s eyes

With awe on her face.

She smiled. In her life,

Genie had found a place.

“I grew this tree,” said Regina,

“In my childhood garden.”

She became serious for a moment

And her heart hardened.

“This tree and I have two things in common,”

Her words were like a mournful song.

“Neither of us can leave the castle

And neither of us really belongs.

I don’t feel for the king.

I don’t intend to be mean,

But I know that he will never love me

Like he did his first queen.

I feel trapped.”

Genie could understand.

“Of all people, I know what it’s like to be trapped.”

He held out something in his hand.

It contained a handheld mirror.

“Here is my gift to you

So that you can see yourself

The way that I see you.”

Regina accepted the mirror and held it

So she could see her reflection.

“How do you see me?”

She was trying to make a connection.

“I see you as

The most beautiful creature in all the land.”

Genie was obviously infatuated

And Regina had things in motion for schemes she had planned.

The next day,

The king called Genie to Regina’s chamber while she was out.

“Genie, there is someone of a matter

That I need you to scout.

I have called only you here

Because I trust you.

Now here is the thing

That I’ll have you do.

Read this entry in my wife’s diary

And you shall see

What has me so

Terribly worried.”

Genie was given the diary

And through it he read

An entry that half-filled

Him with dread.

It read, “Last night

By my apple tree,

A man I had never seen before

Walked up to me.

We spoke for but a moment,

Yet, his words held me dear

And he gave me

A small mirror.

Though it was but a simple mirror,

It stirred up feelings in me that had long been forgotten.

He had treated me much better than the king,

Who makes me feel nothing but rotten.”

The king said, “I never would have thought

That the queen would betray me like this.

Genie, I need you to find the man who gave my wife this mirror

And bring him to me. You cannot afford a miss.”

Genie replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

But what was he to do?

It would only be a matter of time

Before King Leopold saw him through.

Until the culprit was found,

The king locked Regina in her room.

Genie knew that he would need help to free Regina

And he would need it very soon.

Genie went to Regina’s courtyard

Where he met Henry, Regina’s dad.

He hoped that Henry would have a way

To help Regina out a tad.

Henry was holding a box and said,

“What’s inside will work for sure.

The content of this box

Is the only thing that can free her.”

Genie took the box

And Henry handed him the key.

Genie knew it was his duty to deliver the box to Regina.

It was the only way to set her free.

“Genie, King Leopold trusts you.

You can gain access to Regina with ease.

You must do this to free my daughter!

Do this task for both her and me, please!”

That night, Genie went

To Regina’s room.

He ever so hoped what was in the box

Would free Regina from her impending doom.

Regina was sitting

In front of her mirror.

She turned to face Genie.

“Oh! You’re here!

Why are you here at this hour?

You could be caught by the king!”

“For you,” said Genie,

“I would risk anything.

Your father instructed me to give you this box.

He told me its contents would free you.”

“Ah, yes,” said Regina,

“I think it will do.”

Genie set the box on the table

And Regina turned the key.

The objects inside the box

Were a sight to see.

Regina slowly opened the lid

And as if following a piper,

Two scaly, green heads poked out with a hiss.

Genie gasped, “The Agrabahn Viper!

It’s from my home country, Agrabah,

And is the deadliest of all snakes.

It can kill with a single bite,

Leaving chaos in its wake.”

Genie realized in an instant, “Death is your freedom?!”

Tears were streaming down Regina’s face.

“It is my only escape

From this wretched place.”

“If you are to die,

Then I will die, too.

My life is nothing

Without you.”

Regina slowly slid her finger

Towards the deadly snakes.

It was inches above the vipers’ heads when Genie grabbed it.

“Stop! I can’t let you make this mistake.”

“But I cannot

Possibly stay.

Genie, there is

No other way!”

“Oh, but there is

Another way that we could try.

What if the king

Was to die?”

Regina smiled. “That might just work,

But you have to be sure.

You can’t let this plan

Become a failure.”

“My queen,

Soon, you shall be free,

And then we can

Live happily.”

Genie went to King Leopold’s chamber.

He was sleeping soundly in his bed.

In a few moments,

He would be dead.

Genie went to the foot of the bed

And set the box down.

He moved swiftly,

Making little sound.

He opened the box

And the vipers looked at him.

They recognized his Agrabahn blood and awaited orders,

No matter how grim.

Genie pointed at the king.

The vipers understood.

Genie believed that what he was doing

Was for the greater good.

The vipers slithered under the blankets.

Their figures moved up the bed.

You could see murder in their eyes

When they got to King Leopold’s head.

The king awoke and stared at Genie.

There was pure innocence in his eyes.

It made Genie feel guilty

For the king’s surprise.

The vipers hissed and striked

At King Leopold’s neck.

Genie knew now

There was no turning back.

The king’s face was turning purple.

The venom was taking effect.

The look that was now on the king’s face,

Genie would never forget.

“I am the man who gave your wife that mirror.”

The king’s expression was the worst he’d ever seen.

“Just as you freed me,

Now I must free your queen.”

The king was gasping for air

And choked out his last words with much anguish.

“I never should have

Made a wish.”

King Leopold was silent.

The dark deed was done.

Genie fled the dead king’s chamber.

Regina had won.

Back in Regina’s room,

Genie came rushing in with quite a fuss.

“I have succeeded in killing the king

For the both of us.

Now,

Both of us are free,

And neither of us

Has a reason to flee.”

“You’re wrong.

You have to go

For a dire reason

You’ve forgotten so.”

Genie knew that something

Was troubling his queen

And he asked,

“Whatever do you mean?”

“The guards will find the vipers in his bed

And they’ll know that it was you.

You have to escape

While I see this situation through.

I’ve arranged for a boat to be your transportation.

It will take you far away,

But the castle is a place

Where you cannot stay!”

“I don’t understand.

We could leave and be together!

What happened to being

Together forever?”

Genie realized, “It wasn’t a coincidence that you chose the Agrabahn Viper.

You knew it was from my homeland.

You wanted the king’s murder to be traced back to me.

This was all planned.”

“I never loved you,” Regina stated boldly.

“What?” Genie said.

Regina repeated it a bit louder, “I never loved you!”

Genie wished that he could be dead.

“You should be grateful that I’m granting you the option

Of safe travel.

Otherwise, you would be buried

Underneath the gravel.”

“No. There is another way.”

Genie took the lamp in his hand.

“I am certain that I must use this wish.

I completely understand.

I wish to never

Leave your side.”

Purple smoke encircled him

And he was gone like the tide.

Regina looked left, right, and turned around,

But Genie wasn’t there.

Then, she heard something

Crying out in despair.

She looked down at the mirror in her hand.

It was in the perfect place,

But instead of her reflection,

Regina saw the Genie’s screaming face.

Regina grinned and thought,

“This adds perfectly to my plan.

I’ll use this to my advantage

In any way I can.”

[ramalbumclub]

20 Years of Almost Killed Me

Let me quickly run through the biography.

Craig Finn, future leader of The Hold Steady, was THAT kid in school - neither the first to be picked for the sports team, nor the last. A bespectacled adolescent navigating the school corridors, aware that there’s an “in-crowd” and he’s on the outs. 

He's the kid in-between - like most of us. Like me.

So what's the plan? How does he get from there to here?

Does he settle or does he aspire?

He does neither, he retreats into a world of books and music and becomes an expert in HIS field. He learns how to play guitar, becomes a fan of local Minneapolis bands like The Replacements and Husker Du, and, even though he's still a kid, he goes to see them at the "all ages hardcore matinee shows" in town.

Just a quick aside here but "hardcore matinee shows" sound like the most fun in the world - something to really build a day around. I'd basically vote for any political party that introduced them into the U.K.

But back to the story....

In his early '20s, Finn forms a band called Lifter Puller who are simultaneously pretty good but also not quite right. What works, spectacularly, is Finn's lyrics about drugs and the shady characters that surround them but "the not quite right" bit is the music - a sort of '80s inspired synth overdose that, at its worst, sounds like the soundtrack to a Brian De Palma movie and, at its best, sounds like the soundtrack to a Brian De Palma movie.

After a few albums, a modicum of success, Lifter Puller split up and Finn becomes a financial broker for American Express before moving to New York to get a job at a digital webcasting company. At this stage in Finn's life it would appear that his brief flirtation with a career in music had ended and he was now on a course for a series of jobs in tech and finance. In fact, he doesn't do anything related to music for two whole years. He's just the guy at work, the one who used to be in a band called Lifter Puller.

And then it happens.

Craig Finn is watching Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, the film of The Band's final concert, and he turns to his friend Tad Kubler, and says "Dude, why aren't there any bands like this anymore?"

Finn's observation is correct - there are no bands like that and I'm not sure there ever will be. But that's obvious, that's the bit we can all see. Even I've watched The Last Waltz and said to my mate Dan (I don't have a mate called Tad, I wish I did) - "Dude, why aren't there any bands like this anymore?"

No, what I love about this moment is what they did next. Finn and Kubler, there and then, decide to form a band like that. They took the completely mad decision in 2003, when everyone was still floored by that Neutral Milk Hotel album and everything it spawned, of creating a band with just guitar, bass, and drums.

They called themselves The Hold Steady and there wasn't a singing saw, a zanzithophone, or a wandering genie organ in sight.

What started out as an excuse for a bunch of guys in their '30s to hang out, drink, and play the occasional show, then becomes something of a going concern. Finn's lyrics, framed by Kubler's big riffs, created an unlikely breath of fresh air, a sense of celebration. Before long they're signed to Frenchkiss, the best name for a record label ever, and they release their first album - Almost Killed Me.

The album, in fact their career, opens with A Positive Jam, a song which tells the history of 20th Century America in 171 words. In the background, a lazy guitar struggles to wake up as the events are passed like road signs. It's their first song, on their first album, and after 90 seconds there's been a stock market crash, a World War, and 3 Kennedys are dead. The lyrical economy is remarkable, the way he deals with each decade precisely and definitively in one sentence. 

This is how he nails the '50s -

"We got shiftless in the '50s, holding hands and going steady, twisting into dark parts of the large Midwestern cities"

No need for the white picket fence trope, no need for Ike or Truman to co-star. Post war America perfectly reduced to "Holding hands and going steady". And then The Twist tells you the ‘60s are coming.  I got it straight away.

And this is how he nails the '70s -

"We woke up on bloody carpets, got tangled up in gas lines and I guess that's where it started"

He rhymed "carpets" with "started" and reduced the long term economic and political effects of the 1973 Oil Crisis to a line. What's not to like? I can still vividly remember my first listen now - the time, the place, and an album cover of blacked out faces. It was immediate. I was in.

And I didn't even know then what I know now, that he was providing context - that he was explicitly saying "We have shared history." Because at the end of the song, he brings us up to date, the guitar does wake up and the band kicks in. It's then that he tells us that he was bored so he started a band, it's then that he tells us that he wants to start it off with a positive jam.

The first time I heard Almost Killed Me I rewound the opening song again and again. I guess the "positive jam" that the song was trailing was The Swish, the second song on the album. But I couldn't get to it, I couldn't get past how good the opener was. I listened to it five times on the spin – by the time I was finished 15 Kennedys had died.

But then I did I get past it. I got to The Swish and my head fell off. Honestly, I stood there laughing, air riffing and dancing, in thrall to my new favourite band after just two songs. The bridge from A Positive Jam to The Swish is one of THE moments in music for me. It simultaneously comes out of nowhere yet evokes a memory. I made it through the rest of the album, breathless and giddy.

I'd never heard anything like it, despite having heard things like it.

Does that make sense? That bit really needs to make sense.

You know when The Sopranos came out and you thought "Jesus, not another story about Italian American Gangsters. Surely not THAT again." But then you watched it and saw that the characters were immersed in that culture as much as the viewer. They existed within their own context and couldn't move without referencing it.

And that was the difference. It was derivative but it was spun, from an angle so it wasn't head on.

That's The Hold Steady. That's Almost Killed Me.

It would be easy to say it's my favourite album of the 21st Century if only it didn't have to compete with what they did next - Separation Sunday, Boys and Girls in America and, finally, the hangover, Stay Positive. Finn had done it, with his friends they'd made one of the greatest runs of albums ever - an aggregate score of at least 36 out of 40.

At least.

Yes, there were comparisons to things you'd heard before, a familiarity, but for me it was almost entirely different. People screamed Springsteen, people screamed The E Street Band but I never really knew why. These weren't stories about open roads, about making love to the interstate. These were stories about the claustrophobia of community, about the kids in between - confined by drugs and religion. And you know what? Springsteen never swished through the city centre to do a couple of favours for some guys who looked like Tusken Raiders did he? No he didn't, he was probably driving somewhere.

The Hold Steady wore their influences on their sleeve but they spun them. They humoured them. They said "Tramps like us and we like Tramps" and told stories about people who looked like people -  people who looked like Rocco Siffredi, Elisabeth Shue, Izzy Stradlin, Alice Cooper, Mickey Mantle, and, of course, Tusken Raiders. They were doing that thing again - they were saying "We know you know. Because we have shared history"

But this analysis, my attempt at explanation, is nothing compared to the visceral triumph and joy of a Hold Steady show - the pleasure of watching this band that had been plucked from their own lives and were creating anew. I used to spend hours looking at the bass player, I'd never seen anyone work so hard whilst standing still - a man who started the night dry and ended it dripping in sweat and smiles.

And then there was Finn - the inbetweener, the most generous of front men. He was always so warm and inclusive to his audience, so glad that they're there with him. Yet he never forgets the band. Never. And for someone so wordy it's remarkable the gaps he leaves for them - the gaps for them to play and for him to admire. Often he’d be clapping, dancing, and having so much fun in admiration, that I’d worry he’d forget to join in again – that he’d forget that the moment after the gaps were his.

But he never did.

Fast forward to 2014 - to the Holiday Inn, in Brighton, a few hours after a Hold Steady show.

I'd probably had my back to him for about 10 minutes, having a night cap at the hotel bar and thinking about what had come before. But then I turned around and there he was - Craig Finn, sitting alone, a hero rather than a star. I decided to say hello and he gestured for me to sit down. We talked about The Last Waltz. I asked him if it was true, whether that's really how it started, and he said it was. We talked about the rest of the film, all those conversations, you know where they go - Joni Mitchell and all her chords; Van Morrison and that ridiculous high kick. And somewhere in the drink and The Last Waltz I lost the memory of the night, other than to say he was good company and he paid his way.

And if I met him now?

If I met him now, I'd probably get lost down another rabbit hole - about how we're the same age and how I wasn't picked first for the sports team either. I'd ask him how he feels now, at 44, about the start he gave himself at 33 - whether that still surprises him, whether it ever did. Whether he knows, REALLY knows, that for about four years The Hold Steady were the best band in the world. But more than that I'd tell him about how HE influenced, how HE inspired, about how Ruth and I always used to say this album club was about spinning familiar stories, about telling them from an angle rather than head on - just like The Hold Steady.

Because that's what we used to say. When we wanted to avoid nostalgia and reheating the past , we used to say it should be "JUST LIKE THE HOLD STEADY".

And before I lost another evening, and its fluid memory, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank him for that.

Martin Fitzgerald (2014)

[crypticpawpoems]

The Mirror

The events in this poem, I can say for sure, Happened right after The experiment’s failure.

Regina now had nothing left. She wanted the kingdom to herself, by all means. But for now, she decided To act as a quiet and good-natured queen.

For now, we will shift focus To Regina’s husband, King Leopold, Whose purity, generosity, and kindness Never grows old.

King Leopold was taking a walk Along a sandy beach ramp When he saw that the tide had washed in A golden and oddly shaped lamp.

He picked it up, And like a curious kit, He rubbed the shiny lamp With his hand a bit.

Purple smoke encircled the lamp. It was anything but teeny. Before the king appeared A well-dressed genie.

He said, “I am the genie of Agrabah. I will grant you three wishes. It can be anything, from granting you gold To cleaning your dishes.”

The king replied, “I have everything that I require. I have a good life. The kingdom is healthy. There is nothing I desire.”

“Then maybe you Can do something for me. A genie’s job is tiring. Can you wish me free?”

“With the power Vested within me, I so wish for you, Genie, To be free!”

Smoke encircled the gold bracelets On the Genie’s wrists. Now he could do all of the things That were on his to-do list.

“Your Majesty, I thank you For setting me free. Though, I still am not the happiest That I could be.”

“I wish with all my heart, As my second wish, To bestow upon you My third and final wish.”

The lamp was now back In the Genie’s possession. He could use the wish For any little want or obsession.

“Genie, for your generosity, I grant you a place at my palace. You will be safe From any forces of malice.”

Genie accepted the invitation to the castle. The king had become his friend And he would stay by his side To any length’s end.

Time passed at the castle, So much that Snow was now a young adult. In my opinion, though, She was still a wretched little dolt.

Regina survived through every tedious day. Being good was really boring. She never really fit in and was slightly shamed By everyone, even the king.

One day, there was a feast. Regina entered the dining hall in a beautiful white dress. The food upon the long tables Appeared to be a scrumptious mess.

Genie happened To be at this feast. He had only expected everyone To be eating like beasts.

This was the first time That Genie actually noticed the queen. He took a shine to her, If you know what I mean.

It was the high point of the feast And people were busy meeting happily. This is the moment That Regina chose to leave discreetly.

Genie saw Regina leave. He decided to go after her For it would make him unhappy if she were to grieve.

He found her in a courtyard Next to an apple tree. Regina jumped in surprise As Genie spoke, “Pardon me.

I saw you leave.” Genie did not kid. Regina said, “No one in there ever notices my absence.” Genie said, “I did.”

Regina looked up and stared into Genie’s eyes With awe on her face. She smiled. In her life, Genie had found a place.

“I grew this tree,” said Regina, “In my childhood garden.” She became serious for a moment And her heart hardened.

“This tree and I have two things in common,” Her words were like a mournful song. “Neither of us can leave the castle And neither of us really belongs.

I don’t feel for the king. I don’t intend to be mean, But I know that he will never love me Like he did his first queen.

I feel trapped.” Genie could understand. “Of all people, I know what it’s like to be trapped.” He held out something in his hand.

It contained a handheld mirror. “Here is my gift to you So that you can see yourself The way that I see you.”

Regina accepted the mirror and held it So she could see her reflection. “How do you see me?” She was trying to make a connection.

“I see you as The most beautiful creature in all the land.” Genie was obviously infatuated And Regina had things in motion for schemes she had planned.

The next day, The king called Genie to Regina’s chamber while she was out. “Genie, there is someone of a matter That I need you to scout.

I have called only you here Because I trust you. Now here is the thing That I’ll have you do.

Read this entry in my wife’s diary And you shall see What has me so Terribly worried.”

Genie was given the diary And through it he read An entry that half-filled Him with dread.

It read, “Last night By my apple tree, A man I had never seen before Walked up to me.

We spoke for but a moment, Yet, his words held me dear And he gave me A small mirror.

Though it was but a simple mirror, It stirred up feelings in me that had long been forgotten. He had treated me much better than the king, Who makes me feel nothing but rotten.”

The king said, “I never would have thought That the queen would betray me like this. Genie, I need you to find the man who gave my wife this mirror And bring him to me. You cannot afford a miss.”

Genie replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.” But what was he to do? It would only be a matter of time Before King Leopold saw him through.

Until the culprit was found, The king locked Regina in her room. Genie knew that he would need help to free Regina And he would need it very soon.

Genie went to Regina’s courtyard Where he met Henry, Regina’s dad. He hoped that Henry would have a way To help Regina out a tad.

Henry was holding a box and said, “What’s inside will work for sure. The content of this box Is the only thing that can free her.”

Genie took the box And Henry handed him the key. Genie knew it was his duty to deliver the box to Regina. It was the only way to set her free.

“Genie, King Leopold trusts you. You can gain access to Regina with ease. You must do this to free my daughter! Do this task for both her and me, please!”

That night, Genie went To Regina’s room. He ever so hoped what was in the box Would free Regina from her impending doom.

Regina was sitting In front of her mirror. She turned to face Genie. “Oh! You’re here!

Why are you here at this hour? You could be caught by the king!” “For you,” said Genie, “I would risk anything.

Your father instructed me to give you this box. He told me its contents would free you.” “Ah, yes,” said Regina, “I think it will do.”

Genie set the box on the table And Regina turned the key. The objects inside the box Were a sight to see.

Regina slowly opened the lid And as if following a piper, Two scaly, green heads poked out with a hiss. Genie gasped, “The Agrabahn Viper!

It’s from my home country, Agrabah, And is the deadliest of all snakes. It can kill with a single bite, Leaving chaos in its wake.”

Genie realized in an instant, “Death is your freedom?!” Tears were streaming down Regina’s face. “It is my only escape From this wretched place.”

“If you are to die, Then I will die, too. My life is nothing Without you.”

Regina slowly slid her finger Towards the deadly snakes. It was inches above the vipers’ heads when Genie grabbed it. “Stop! I can’t let you make this mistake.”

“But I cannot Possibly stay. Genie, there is No other way!”

“Oh, but there is Another way that we could try. What if the king Was to die?”

Regina smiled. “That might just work, But you have to be sure. You can’t let this plan Become a failure.”

“My queen, Soon, you shall be free, And then we can Live happily.”

Genie went to King Leopold’s chamber. He was sleeping soundly in his bed. In a few moments, He would be dead.

Genie went to the foot of the bed And set the box down. He moved swiftly, Making little sound.

He opened the box And the vipers looked at him. They recognized his Agrabahn blood and awaited orders, No matter how grim.

Genie pointed at the king. The vipers understood. Genie believed that what he was doing Was for the greater good.

The vipers slithered under the blankets. Their figures moved up the bed. You could see murder in their eyes When they got to King Leopold’s head.

The king awoke and stared at Genie. There was pure innocence in his eyes. It made Genie feel guilty For the king’s surprise.

The vipers hissed and striked At King Leopold’s neck. Genie knew now There was no turning back.

The king’s face was turning purple. The venom was taking effect. The look that was now on the king’s face, Genie would never forget.

“I am the man who gave your wife that mirror.” The king’s expression was the worst he’d ever seen. “Just as you freed me, Now I must free your queen.”

The king was gasping for air And choked out his last words with much anguish. “I never should have Made a wish.”

King Leopold was silent. The dark deed was done. Genie fled the dead king’s chamber. Regina had won.

Back in Regina’s room, Genie came rushing in with quite a fuss. “I have succeeded in killing the king For the both of us.

Now, Both of us are free, And neither of us Has a reason to flee.”

“You’re wrong. You have to go For a dire reason You’ve forgotten so.”

Genie knew that something Was troubling his queen And he asked, “Whatever do you mean?”

“The guards will find the vipers in his bed And they’ll know that it was you. You have to escape While I see this situation through.

I’ve arranged for a boat to be your transportation. It will take you far away, But the castle is a place Where you cannot stay!”

“I don’t understand. We could leave and be together! What happened to being Together forever?”

Genie realized, “It wasn’t a coincidence that you chose the Agrabahn Viper. You knew it was from my homeland. You wanted the king’s murder to be traced back to me. This was all planned.”

“I never loved you,” Regina stated boldly. “What?” Genie said. Regina repeated it a bit louder, “I never loved you!” Genie wished that he could be dead.

“You should be grateful that I’m granting you the option Of safe travel. Otherwise, you would be buried Underneath the gravel.”

“No. There is another way.” Genie took the lamp in his hand. “I am certain that I must use this wish. I completely understand.

I wish to never Leave your side.” Purple smoke encircled him And he was gone like the tide.

Regina looked left, right, and turned around, But Genie wasn’t there. Then, she heard something Crying out in despair.

She looked down at the mirror in her hand. It was in the perfect place, But instead of her reflection, Regina saw the Genie’s screaming face.

Regina grinned and thought, “This adds perfectly to my plan. I’ll use this to my advantage In any way I can.”

[r1999-transcript]

A Nightmare At Green Lake 14 - Top of the Lighthouse

The humid Green Lake is shrouded in mist.

Horropedia: That’s right. This is where all the stories are leading to.

Going through the notebook in his hand, he nods with certainty.

Horropedia: Huh! Jack the Drowner, the monster crying under the water, and the bride sinking into a glistening “mirror” … Here must be the centre of all that happened. This is where the ghost stories we encountered at the campsite were created, and now they have led us here. What we need to do next is to find the clues hidden here and let the clues build our story!

Blonney: …

Horropedia: Hm? What’s wrong, Blonney?

Blonney: When we arrived here, was there …

Blonney hesitantly raises her arm and points to the middle of the misty lake.

Blonney: Wa- … was there a lighthouse?

Horropedia: Huh? Hmm. I think it just showed up out of nowhere, like a ghostly figure appearing behind you. A lighthouse in the lake … A lighthouse …

Tooth Fairy: Is “the lighthouse in the lake” also a classic element in horror stories?

Horropedia: Eh, well, not quite. But it can be a good place for horror stories. In the middle of a huge, gloomy lake, a lighthouse stands there like the fang in a monster’s mouth. You can’t find any place better than this to hide a horrifying secret!

After observing the river bank for a while, Horropedia walks over and pulls a rope on the ground. The boat on the other end of the rope is then pulled to his side.

Horropedia: And there’s even a boat here! You should know that a campsite horror movie couldn’t exist without a little boat!

Blonney: Huh! You’re just not afraid of being killed, are you?

The young girl shakes slightly, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.

Blonney: What if it turns over? What if there’s a lake monster? We might be putting ourselves in its mouth, like serving it a plate of dessert.

Horropedia: To be fair, it makes no difference whether we are on the shore or in the boat. We’re just cakes in different plates to it—if it does exist. If I were the lake monster, between the cake running away from me and the cake which willingly comes to me, I would give the latter one a better ending.

Blonney looks at the lighthouse and then turns toward her confident companion. At last, she relaxes and shrugs.

Blonney: Huh, alright. If I have to be eaten like a cake, I prefer to be the cake that has more control over its death.

Tooth Fairy: Get into the boat, then. Let’s head to the lighthouse.

…

Lighthouse

Horropedia: Huh, a normal lighthouse. Not even a bloody handprint is found here. Well, I’ll be damned!

Feeing disappointed, Horropedia stands straight and gives up being a “sneaky” adventurer.

Tooth Fairy: The reality is not as sensational as the stories. Just like the “permanent-teeth loss” can’t rival the “latest and most frightening curse” for excitement.

Blonney: This is not just an ordinary place to me. I’ve never seen this before! I used to come here every day, reading novels by the lake. But I’ve never seen a lighthouse here. It just shows up like a ghost, followed by a series of mysterious, horrific events!

Blonney shivers in fear and stays close to Anne.

Sonetto: Timekeeper, please come and take a look at this.

Blonney: Aah, my! This is …

Horropedia: The “man behind the scene” is much simpler than I thought. Maybe he really is a child? Like those evil kids in the movies. Despite their evil nature, they can only perform the evil deeds through simple means. Are we really going to open it?

His arms folded, Horropedia walks half a circle around the box.

Vertin: We’ll have to open it, according to the note.

Horropedia: I am saying, this is obviously a curse. A lighthouse, a strange lake, a fishing net, and a wooden box. Rub it three times, blow and unveil it … What comes out of it is definitely not a genie offering us three wishes.

Vertin: We have dealt with more curses in the past two hours than many people do in their entire life. If it is a curse, then it is a curse prepared for us.

That makes sense. The man ponders for a few seconds, raises his eyebrows in approval, and opens the box.

[flower-assato]

[Sound Horizon] 🌊 Lost - The Sorcerer Sarabande

Lost Masterpost ✧||✧ Albums ✧||✧ Website

⬅️ prev  ✧  next ➡️

Lyrics

"The third memory…"

Once upon a time, There was a sorcerer who lost his lover. He sought a forbidden magic To resurrect his lover from the dead. Knowing that misfortune befalls Those who invade its domain, Why do people seek the genie With power beyond human comprehension…?

Blowing gusts of wind kicked up a sandstorm, Obstructing the young traveler's path. With a camel as his only traveling companion, He rode across the sand dunes towards the city…

"Don't you want the magic lamp?" A suspicious, bearded man spoke in a hushed tone. Striking a bargain in a dimly lit alleyway, The traveler agreed to the man's terms, taking his offer…

It was said that a genie would appear To those who rubbed the lamp, granting three wishes. The bearded man would reveal its location In exchange for one wish. The lamp was said to be sealed In a cave to the southwest. The man claimed to have a bad leg, So the traveler descended into a hole in his place…

Beneath the desert, there was an expansive labyrinth. Its cool, damp air sent a shiver down his spine. Within the lowest depths of the cave Was an alluring altar; A golden lamp and a frayed carpet on full display.

The moment the traveler touched the lamp, The cave began to collapse. "Hurry boy, give me the lamp!" The bearded man shouted…

"Is There Anything You Have Forgotten…?"

Within the darkness, he listens to a nostalgic voice. In a warm light, he listens to a lovely voice.

"You shouldn't have come here yet, dear. You still have things left to do. Don't you, my dear?"

Within the darkness, a nostalgic voice speaks. In a warm light, a lovely voice speaks.

"Instead of wishing for that which is Lost, Look at what is right in front of you."

He awakened to billowing sand Piling at the top of a dune, Held by a beautiful girl with black hair, Smiling through her tears.

"An ancient rondo of sin and punishment Imprisoned me in the lamp. For freeing a fool like me, I'll grant anything you desire, my Master. Now, make your wish…"

Once all three wishes were granted, The girl would once again tremble in her loneliness Beneath the cold, damp sand for thousands of years…

And so, he made his wish…

Blowing gusts of wind kicked up a sandstorm, Obstructing the young traveler's path. With two camels as his traveling companions, And a girl with long black hair…

★ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⟡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ★

T/N

[coming soon]

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