#it leads to this thing where there's music you really cannot get anywhere BUT on physical media

[trickstump]

also sorry re: last rb because i have a lot of thoughts on the subject i HATE hate HATE physical media becoming "collectables" instead of something we're intended to USE. the idea of vinyl variants as a collect-em-all pokemon situation, the idea that even if you have just a cd you should keep it pristine in the plastic because someday it might be worth money makes me wanna fucking bite through someone's arm.

[finalvortex]

Completely overanalysing Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings Episode 1

The opening is a deliberate parallel to the scene leading into Maria's death (images taken here from Shadow '05, although this scene is also in SA2). If you're paying attention you can immediately tell it's a fakeout, though: there's no alarm blaring, the lighting is blue rather than red, and Maria is pulling Shadow along instead of the other way around.

It's the aurora borealis. You can only see them from certain latitudes down there, but up here, we can see the whole...

Maria's a nerd.

Shadow is immediately prepared to catch Maria when she collapses.

The low gravity here only keeps your condition in remission. You should know better than to exert yourself.

This is new information I think? I don't think this makes scientific sense but I guess it provides a justification for why Maria is up here aboard the ARK beyond 'that's where the research is being done'. Only, the ARK was a space colony, there were other civilians aboard it as well, like the future GUN commander.

I can't wait for the day when we can finally return. I was created here. I don't know if there's a place for me on Earth.

I just wanted to highlight this exchange as significant to Shadow's overall character arc across his history, being one where he has carved out a place for himself on earth.

Love the way Maria comforts shadow here.

You and grandfather are doing your best. I'm just as happy to spend time with you here, while you both research-

I think this is just awkward wording, but surely Shadow isn't doing any researching?

My boyyyy

Hull breach in the experimental weapons wing! Multiple subjects are free of containment!

Multiple subjects? Given the events of Lost Impact, things are just escaping from here all the time, huh.

Here's the entries on this incident from Gerald's journal in Sonic Battle:

The higher ups are threatening to shut down this research facility. I had no choice but to hand them the Gizoid to buy more time for my research. I tried to be careful and commanded it to never absorb any dangerous technologies. However, I have heard that other researchers have been making the Gizoid absorb weapons. Apparently, the way to cause the Gizoid to form a new "Link" is to show it power that surpasses that of its former master. While this poses immense danger, I cannot risk losing Maria.

My worst fears have come true. The Gizoid has absorbed enough weaponry and technology that it has started to go out of control. The resulting rampage resulted in the destruction of most of the "Ark." ... I have deciphered the rest of the stone tablet. It says, "When the Gizoid had learned all that it could, it became a god of wrath, and all was destroyed." The researchers somehow managed to subdue the Gizoid and sealed it away.

That robot was heading towards Grandfather's lab! Shadow, you have to save him!

Why was Emerl - uh, well, I guess Project Gizoid at this point - headed directly for Gerald? If he was overloaded with power, like at the end of Sonic Battle, he should just be destroying things indiscriminately, right? So... was this a deliberate ploy by GUN to get rid of Gerald?

Maria grabbing Shadow's hand breaks the illusion briefly and triggers a trauma-induced flashback (forward?) to the GUN soldier shooting her. Compare with the actual scene from Shadow '05:

Again, why is Emerl specifically targeting Gerald here?

Not much to say about the fight scene aside from the fact that it's really well animated, and it happens with no background music to emphasize the weight of the blows being thrown. It's also really cool how Emerl copies Shadow's spin attack - you don't need to know how the Gizoid functions for that to be a cool visual, but it's a nice nod if you do.

Ok this is really confusing me. Is there any mention of GUN having a space fleet anywhere? Where did these things come from? They don't even share the same aesthetic as other GUN vehicles, they look more like the Egg Fleet.

Nice look at Shadow's Air Shoes from below the glass floor.

Next Shadow lands into Gerald's cell on Prison Island, which raises the question: why is this in Shadow's memories? Is this just his memory of the recording from SA2? Or was Shadow not put on ice until after Gerald's execution? We know it wasn't immediately after the ARK was destroyed, since he was around long enough for Gerald to alter his memories.

There is a bit of static distortion here, with an analog effect that implies it might just be the video.

On the other hand, we actually get these very brief flashes of Gerald's execution here, which we don't see in SA2 itself.

The professor gets farther and farther away from Shadow. He can no longer reach him.

Shadow then falls into a red sky, with bits of debris floating all around him, reflecting the final battle against Devil Doom in Shadow '05.

Interestingly, this scene is mixing imagery from both Gerald and Maria's deaths. The image of the GUN soldiers is the firing line that killed Gerald, and the sound of the lightning turns into automatic gunfire, as opposed to the single pistol shot that killed Maria.

Finally, Shadow falls into the giant face and outstretched hands of Black Doom.

Waking up from his nightmare in a panic, Shadow uses that damn fourth chaos emerald* to Chaos Spear this unfortunate tree.

*Okay, the fourth chaos emerald was the white one.

The moon looks so good.

Shadow stands in a field surrounded by lilies, a flower which can be used to symbolise purity as well as death, and is a flower commonly used at funerals. In particular, they are often placed on the graves of children.

That was no mere nightmare. And it all began in view of the ARK. Could he have survived? No, that can't be. I need answers.

Shadow seems to think the sight of the ARK is what triggered this nightmare. I think the only 'he' that makes sense here is Black Doom, since Gerald and Emerl are both pretty definitively dead.

Based on the trailer, I think from here Shadow is going to collect Team Dark to raid an Eggman base so they can obtain a rocket to get up to the ARK.

The song that plays over the credits is a remix of Throw it All Away. I have no idea why it shows footage of the biolizard fight, beyond "this is the Sonic Adventure 2 focused episode".

[steddieas-shegoes]

just make the tik tok

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'behind the scenes'

rated t | 880 words | no cw | tags: famous corroded coffin, modern au, frankie is anti-tik tok

📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱

Joining Tik Tok was a mistake.

"I cannot believe you thought having a band Tik Tok would be a good idea," Frankie said to Jeff as they watched Eddie and Gareth doing some stupid dance. "Look at them. They're stupid. You made them more stupid."

"I just thought it was a good way for people to see behind the scenes of the tour. Everyone agreed!" Jeff shook his head as he saw Gareth lose his balance and grab onto Eddie's shoulder to stabilize himself.

"The last one got 300,000 likes. We gained followers who never listened to our stuff before. They may be stupid, but my plan isn't."

Frankie sighed, but didn't argue further. Jeff was right. He just hoped he never had to do any ridiculous dances or trends to keep people interested in their music.

****

"You guys have gained thousands of followers on all platforms since you started being active on Tik Tok. It may be wise for all of you to be on camera," one of the producers of their album suggested.

"Not happening." Frankie shook his head. "They get what they want from those two idiots."

"Hey!" Gareth and Eddie yelled in unison.

Jeff waved them off. "If Frankie doesn't wanna do them, he doesn't have to. We agreed that this was a voluntary thing."

"Yes, we did. But we're seeing growth and there's been a trend of comments asking where he is in some of the videos."

"I'm in some videos," Frankie crossed his arms. "That stage tour one. I was setting up my bass."

"But people wanna see you. They wanna get to know you, feel connected. That's the beauty of this era. We can make fans feel like they're truly a part of the band, which leads them to sharing and buying." One of the managers of the PR team said. "It's good for your brand if you're just as involved as they are."

"I didn't know we needed to have a brand beyond metal band." Frankie rolled his eyes and stood up from the couch he was sitting on. "I'm gonna head to the studio and work on music. Which is our job."

No one tried to stop him.

****

"There's a woman who keeps asking where you are." Eddie shakes his phone in front of Frankie's face. "She thinks you're leaving the band and is begging you to stay."

"Tell her I'm not leaving the band." Frankie sat down at the table on the tour bus with his bottle of beer and the shrimp leftover from catering at their show. "Though the urge is strong when Gareth keeps drinking my beers."

"She's hot," Eddie continued, seemingly ignoring Frankie's words. "You should make a video so she knows you're not going anywhere."

Frankie rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing a fuckin' Tik Tok."

Eddie held the phone out to him, showing him the woman's profile.

She was hot.

And apparently only ever really concerned with where Frankie was. She'd even sent a DM asking if he was okay.

"Fine. How do I make one?" Frankie asked with a sigh.

"Seriously? We beg you for two months to make one and it's a hard no, but one hot girl wants you to be in one and you're ready to become a social media influencer?" Eddie teased.

"As if you didn't make an entire series of videos rating new pop songs because Steve asked you to."

Frankie grabbed Eddie's phone, ignoring his flailing to try to grab it back.

The app was already open, and he found it surprisingly easy to start recording a video.

"Hey everyone. I'm not leaving the band. I just hate social media shit. I'm fine. I'm not mad at anyone. Except Gareth who owes me 83 beers from stealing mine over the last six years. Yes, I've counted." Frankie sees a timer counting down and decides to give an awkward wave with his other hand before stopping the video. "That should be fine, right?"

He didn't wait for Eddie's response before saving and posting it.

"Uh. Usually they look at them before we post." Eddie explained as he took his phone back.

"They can take it down later if they want."

'That's...not really how this shit works, dude."

Frankie shrugged and continued eating his shrimp for a few minutes until Jeff came to sit next to him, calm as ever.

"You made a video." He yawned, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah."

"It's got 54,000 likes already."

"Can't help that I'm charming."

"It hasn't been that many beers!" Gareth yells from his bunk, half-asleep.

"Your girl messaged," Eddie handed Frankie the phone with a smirk.

Glad you're not going anywhere 💗

"You better get her number, dude." Jeff nudged his arm. "She wants you so bad."

****

Nearly a year later, and more Tik Toks than he ever hoped to be a part of, Frankie smiled down at the VIP section for their sold out show at Madison Square Garden.

Sasha stood there smiling back at him, singing along to all their songs.

After the show, he'd probably be pulled into a stupid video with Eddie or Gareth, but he didn't really complain anymore. Not when those stupid videos were responsible for bringing him his future wife.

[mymanyfandomramblings]

Glee-cap: Episode 4x15--Girls (and Boys) On Film

The continuation of my first-time watch of Glee episodic recaps, featuring my live reactions.

Okay, Emma looks so cute in a suit with her hair done up and red lipstick. Old Hollywood styles always look stunning on her

Will meanwhile...I don't like his hair slicked back like that

"You're All The World To Me" seriously suits Jayma's voice so well. I didn't used to really like Emma's voice, but her songs in the last two episodes have been wonderful

"THE HOUSE IS UPSIDE DOWN" I don't know why I find that as funny as I do

Sugar's outfit is truly brilliant. Sugar is truly brilliant.

Sam and his impressions, my beloveds

Sue's rants. I have never felt so seen as I have with Sue, specifically and only because her sentences go on for so long and have innumerable themes, subjects and lists, broken up only with commas and semicolons

"Shout" is super fun, and I never would have guessed that Brittany's voice would sound so good with soul music. My one concern is in the 'little bit softer now' part it just sounds like they've...turned the volume down, not like Blaine's actually singing quieter. That aside, it's so fun.

Sugar lying on the table is hilarious

This is how I find out that Downton Abbey was around in 2013. Also Adam does a very good Hugh Bonneville impersonation. Sam, take notes.

I can't tell whether Kurt's tone is sarcastic when he's talking about 'She's Having A Baby', but it is funny

Also Santana. I am liking her more this season, and I guess her saying offensive things is slightly nicer when she's not doing it in a mean-spirited way (or you know, a comparatively less mean-spirited way)

Kurt's introduction of Moulin Rouge. Comedy gold

I don't always like Kurt and Blaine's harmonies, but they work here

That looks like a great hug. That was an amazing hug.

Santana loves stirring up drama, and sometimes it makes her fun, and sometimes it makes her really frustrating

Although I do enjoy her calling out Brody for being a creep. I don't like him either.

Also Santana rooting through pockets and draws--HILARIOUS. She's doing it with such intensity too.

"You guys pretend to be all accepting and stuff, but when your friend shows up, moves into your home and goes through all your stuff, you're offended?" Okay, I can forgive all of her other offences briefly, Santana is too funny in this episode for me to hold them against her

Adam's accent just makes everything he says amazing

Finn and Artie committing to the bit with the wigs

Emma's parents are so equal part funny and horrible

Adams 'yea' is adorable

I LOVE that the boys have incorporated Artie's wheelchair into their choreo. Allyship fr.

Also, I know Sam was behind 'Old Time Rock n Roll' (a song I rly like btw)

I'm not convinced the girls can top that. It was legitimately an awesome mashup

Marley looks stunning

Girl, why would you ever believe Kitty when she says she won't tell. She's an awful friend.

I feel like all the glee bullies (except Quinn) do this thing where they feel personally compelled to zone in on particular physical features when talking about and to people

Marley, I pray you do not listen to Kitty. She is an awful friend, I repeat. Also her advice has never gotten you anywhere ever

Yes, Unique lead!

Oh my, Marley's voice suits this song to utter perfection *chef's kiss*

Old Hollywood glamour will always suit everyone

Also their mashup is straight-up out of Moulin Rouge, so I'm not sure they should be counted

Adam truly shines in this episode

I cannot not smile when Finn does. The eyebrow-raise, crooked-smile, shrug combo is just so sweet

I can't believe Will got his students involved in the public serenade, but then, this is Will

Emma's nightdress is so pretty

Okay now I know why the students were involved--so we can get this awkward moment when he thanks them and makes them leave

One nice thing about this show is that they do recycle outfits--Emma's coat in this scene is from S2 Sectionals

And they're still avoiding the whole Finn-and-Emma thing. I guess they think drama is better if you let it stew.

"I'm not. I mean, I am. Just not now." Santana, I will not say this often but, I love you

Santana genuinely being very comforting. I am liking S4 Santana

Jake Puckerman and Marley Rose--ilysm.

Oh no, girl. You are not imagining Ryder instead of Jake. Unlike, the Finn/Emma thing which needs to be addressed, I would really rather the Ryder-kissing-Marley thing be dismissed as a moment of weakness from Ryder and they go back to normal, where Jarley are sweet and Ryder is a good friend.

Marley, you need to get him into a good headspace for this kind of thing, not just drop it on him when he's just finished with a Big Romantic Gesture

(one the flipside I am so glad she told him before Kitty did. Kitty's evil successfully averted!)

And the winner is...everyone. (it's obviously the boys, even though the girls looked and sounded spectacular, the boys were original and more creative)

Sugar!!! Love her!!!

Finn finally confesses and like Marley, chooses a poor moment. I do, however, like that he got it all out there, rather than just going with the select information.

Cory Monteith truly was The Actor for subtle facial expressions. He really did put 100% acting effort into Finn

Britt taking off her shoe--love it

[la-pheacienne]

What are your thoughts on Eponine? (I haven’t read the novel, I have only watched the Liam Neeson movie (which didn’t have Eponine) and a recording of the musical).

Thank you for the ask I love getting Les Mis asks 💖

So keep in mind that I have read this book 13 years ago so I don't remember a lot of details. I remember the core idea of her character though and she was one of the most badass characters in the book, I loved her.

So Hugo initially had another named planned for her but changed it after Baudelaire dedicated a poem to him (Les petites vieilles from Les Fleurs du mal) that goes like this:

These dislocated wrecks were women once,

Were Eponine or Lais! hunchbacked freaks,

Though broken let us love them! they are souls.

And that is a very good introduction to her character.

Her first trait that needs to be mentioned is hunger. Eponine was a hungry, very hungry young teen, starved, to be more exact, she had a horrendous appearance, some teeth missing, she was extremely dirty, her clothes had huge wholes, she walked barefoot I think. Hunger was so absolute and omnipotent in Eponine, as in a lot of characters from the book, that it seemed to completely erase any hint of personality, or agency, or personhood really. She seemed to not even be a human being at all, she was just a starved girl who resembled a starved animal more than a person. And that's the thing with hunger, it's so catastrophic and definite that it completely annihilates a person. You can't have free will, you can't have spiritual autonomy, you're just that, hungry. Hunger in Les Mis is the ultimate and most substantial form of violence, and Eponine embodies that.

"The grace of her youth was struggling against the hideous old age brought on by debauchery and poverty".

What hunger also does is it gives birth to the lowest, most debased, most inhuman form of monster. That's Eponine's parents, les Thenardiers, and I honestly cannot recall a single literary character that is more appalling than them. They were appalling people before they became so poor, but poverty turned them into actual vultures. So in this "cocktail Molotov" of moral depravity plus extreme poverty and hunger, what chance does Eponine have of becoming something more than a vulture herself? A vulture, or a living, lifeless, soulless corpse, like her sister.

Yet that's not Eponine's arc. Eponine starts as a bully to Cosette while she was a kid, then becomes this hungry street smart kid, then an accomplice in a gang of criminals (burglars, thieves etc) then she goes to prison for a short time. She is in love with Marius, and so she's torn between her jealousy and the desire to make him happy, that is why she helps Marius find Cosette's house and leads him there, then she observes them every night they meet in the garden. She even prevents her gang from entering Cosette's house, because she knows that Marius would be destroyed if anything happened to Cosette. That's the part of the book where she stops them :

"Please yourself, you won't get in. I can't be the daughter of a dog seeing as I am the daughter of a wolf! There are six of you. What's that to me? You're men. Well, I'm a woman. You don't frighten me, that's for sure. I'm telling you, you won't get inside this house because I don't want you to. If you come any nearer I'll bark. I told you, I'm the 'cab'. I couldn't care less about you. Now be on your way, I've had enough of you! Go anywhere you like, but don't come here, I won't let you! You use your knives, I'll use my feet, it's all the same to me. So come on, then!"

And then, after this very selfless act, she actively manages to separate Cosette and Marius. She scares Valjean so he decides to move, and takes Cosette's letter for Marius with no intention of giving it to him, then leads Marius to the barricades so that they can die together there. And then, she dies for him after giving him Cosette's letter :

“She let her head fall back upon Marius' knees and her eyelids closed. He thought that poor soul had gone. Eponine lay motionless; but just when Marius supposed her for ever asleep, she slowly opened her eyes in which the gloomy deepness of death appeared, and said to him with an accent the sweetness on which already seemed to come from another world:

"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you."

She essayed to smile again and expired.”

So Eponine was a morally ambiguous person but an exceptional character, moving from debauchery, spite and depravity to bravery and love. She doesn't believe in the Cause, but she loves Marius and she dies for him in the barricades, thus her death is as honorable as any other person that gave their lifes in the barriades. I think Eponine's function in the narrative is to show that it is in fact, possible, for an exceptional character to be born out of total material, moral and spiritual decay. It is possible for a human being to preserve the quality of a person, even an exceptional person, and rise above theIr horrendous circomstances. She's a tragic character but the underlying message is ultimately optimistic, in a way.

Of course she was not presented accurately in the musical, she was sexualised in a way that the supposed "conflict" between her and Cosette looks like the conflict of a the popular high school girl vs the high school underdog which is SO not the case in the book.

[putschki1969]

Hello Puts!

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas ❄️

How are you doing? How were your holidays?

I have a question/thought about Hikaru?

I'm so worried about what she's going to do next. Will she continue to sing? On the one hand, the fact that the contract was not renewed is logical - it is obvious that the agency could not offer her anything new. But what's next?

Hello there!

Thank you! All the best to you as well!

I have honestly felt quite drained in the past few weeks.T_T After getting back from Japan I went straight back to work. I haven’t really had time to rest properly. This has frustrated me to no end because I still want to write a bunch of reports about my Japan trip but damn it, I just can’t bring myself to do it *sighs* Anyways, enough complaining, I will get to that stuff eventually! Now let’s see what we can do about your question.

It’s a really good question and I have been wondering the same thing. Hikaru’s current situation is quite literally a mess but in her New Year’s post she was pretty straight-forward about wanting to continue to make music in some shape or form. I expect her to make some guest appearance this year and maybe we’ll even see the one or the other collaboration (possibly with Keiko). She doesn’t seem to have the means to organise proper one-man-lives at the moment so she has to rely on small gigs with other artists. Let’s hope she can move past that soon. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy she has some work at least but performing three songs in a tiny live house in front of a hundred people won’t get her far in terms of reaching a wider audience (or even her loyal fanbase). I know it’s not necessarily her goal anymore to become popular but I would want her events to be a bit more accessible.

I am glad she has her theater commitment right now because that seems to keep her busy and happy. I briefly mentioned it in my report of the Ambient Border -DAWN- event but it’s obvious that she feels very comfortable with the C.C.C theater group members. It’s a good thing to see her this carefree and passionate about something. The fact that Hikaru gets to sing not only one but two songs (Ambient Border & Under the Rain) for the upcoming play gives me hope that there will be some sort of CD release accompanying the show. Also, please let there be a broadcast like last time! I am so curious about her performance!

With all her involvement in theater work, I wonder if this is maybe her slow transition into musicals? I mean, it would be the next logical step for her. It’s what Hikaru started out doing as a kid and teenager. It’s obviously something she enjoys and from what we have seen so far, she can quite masterfully tackle the acting part. These days there are quite a lot of Japanese artists who are doing musicals once in a while. Her vocal range might not be suitable for all roles but then again, if singers with the most generic anisong voices (e.g .May’n or Nana Mizuki) can do musicals, so can Hikaru!! Unfortunately, the Spice guy and his theater gang don’t strike me as particularly influential in the entertainment industry so they probably cannot help Hikaru get a foot in the door of the musical world.

As far as Hikaru’s YouTube videos are concerned, I have no idea where she is heading with her channel. I am enjoying her stuff a lot but it doesn’t really seem to lead anywhere. There is no way she is gonna attract a wider audience with her current content, especially since there are a ton of other Japanese YouTubers out there who are doing the exact same thing. That specific influencer/content creator market is already very saturated. In my opinion, she should really post more music-related videos because music is what she is known for so she has a big advantage in that field...

Everyone, feel free to chime in...

UPDATE:

Funnily enough,Hikaru posted this tweet today (January 15). Sometimes I feel like she reads my blog XD

I've received several messages about work inquiries and while I would like to talk about them with you I am currently not able to. It hurts me to say that this disingenuous state will continue and I am honestly so sorry about it. I'm working hard to reach a place where I can openly talk with everyone and explain the situation. Please rest assured that I will tell you everything as soon as I am able to.

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Aftercare - a Malevolent Fanfic

Arthur wakes up.

Nothing goes quite as expected.

Though... it's obvious Hastur (again) has a plan. He REALLY needs to stop doing that.

(Takes place in the Surrogate series, after Consecrated)

AO3

---------

The whole palace is abuzz.

Did you hear—

Shouted… Jaws?

I heard it was Bon. Like, French.

French? Why would he shout in French?

The kitchens are muttering.

A double mark? You heard that wrong.

No, my duchess was there. She saw it. Two marks.

Two? Can you get close enough to see?

Ha! Like I have a death-wish.

The training grounds are talking about it, too, and that’s where Faroe picks up a few inappropriate things.

#

She doesn’t wanna be up this early, delaying breakfast and time with her daddy. Dawn is not her favorite time. Her pouts, however, leave no impression, and daddy says she must.

You will be queen of all someday, he tells her, which sounds like a nice thing, if vague. You must know how to do more than you do now. Magic, arms, debate, intrigue… you will master them all.

She sort of understood what all of that meant?

It had sounded a lot more exciting than being up super early, wearing weird, new clothes made of leather and linen, and holding a bow that wasn’t a harp, but sort of felt like one, except it shot sticks instead of making music.

She much preferred the harp.

It’s so hard to pull back!

It’s so hard to keep the arrow from just… twisting out to the right and away from the string!

It’s so hard to aim!

Faroe is not used to anything being difficult for her to do, and her frustration in the first fifteen minutes leads to a truly rare event: she has a tiny meltdown.

Hastur studied human development and knows children do that, so his instructions were clear: when she tantrums, let her have her cry, and pay her no attention at all. Do not reward the bad behavior. Do not give her what she wants. Let her get it out of her system, then simply resume as though nothing at all occurred.

Well, it works. Zero reaction is not the response Faroe was looking for, and she ends up with hitching breaths, curled against Nibbles’ side in the grass, still calming down while the grownups talk some feet away.

“I still don’t understand,” one of them (the spear-guy, who seems to have no purpose here as she cannot yet lift a spear) says. “Why would he mark the guy he hates?”

“Right?” says her archery instructor (whom, Faroe admits, she likes). “Nobody seems to get it. The ceremony was full of mixed signals.”

Spear-guy sighs and runs his hand through his brown hair. “This place just keeps getting weirder. I dunno. Maybe we should take that offer. Go to Teloth, after all.”

The archer makes such a face that Faroe almost flips out of her misery to giggle, but she doesn’t, and so the archer keeps talking. “Why the hell would you want to go to that place?”

“Safer. I don’t like this, Dis.”

The archer, Dis, shrugs expansively. “We’re not safe anywhere. At least here, it’s interesting; there’s beauty. Banger music. Good food. Friends. Allies.”

Spear-guy counts off on his fingers. “Weird intrigue. An unreliable god who fucks off for ten years at a go. Some kind of… fucked-up bondage situation, or something, with a human? I don’t know. It feels unstable.”

“Go if you want. I like her. I want to see her grow.” Dis indicates Faroe with a nod of her head.

“Yeah, that’s a whole other kettle of worms.”

“Stick around, Thoth. Just a little longer. It’ll all work out.”

Spear-guy Thoth rolls his eyes. “That’s why they gave you the kid to teach. Optimism doesn’t work past the age of ten.”

She laughs, punches his shoulder, and goes to check on Faroe.

Her hitching has mostly stopped now. She peers up from the circle of Nibbles’ legs, a limpid-eyed innocent cradled by horror.

“Are you ready to continue the lesson, Your Highness?” says Dis.

“Okay,” Faroe says, who doesn’t want to, but does want to make her daddy proud (and is just a little embarrassed at the tantrum she threw).

She doesn’t see uncle Arthur anywhere, not today. Daddy says he’s resting.

She doesn’t see him tomorrow, either.

Funny how people keep talking about him, though.

#

Two days later, Arthur wakes up and takes a moment to see if he’s still himself.

He’d been half sure he’d wake up some kind of drone, mind broken, erased, or… slavishly devoted to Hastur, now, or… something. Something awful.

None of that seemed to have happened.

He feels like himself? Then again, would he know?

“I want Hastur to go to hell,” he says, which he’s pretty sure he couldn’t do if he’d been lobotomized, and exhales in relief.

Only if I get to watch, says John, and paws along his face. It’s a slightly clumsy motion. Welcome back.

“Hey.” Arthur catches John’s wrist and pulls his hand away. His heart pounds, but it seems to still be his own. “I… I’m all right? We did it?”

You are. We did. What do you remember? John sounds the opposite of the way he had before it happened. Happy. Tension-free.

Arthur exhales. “I don’t even know where to start. You were there, though, somehow.”

I sure as fuck was.

John sounds like the cat that got the cream.

Wincing, Arthur sits up. He’s in bed; judging by the scents, he’s been bathed. Someone actually tucked him in. Weird. He feels sore through his chest, physically aching around his heart, but that makes sense. “Are you all right?”

More than. I’m still a little loopy, actually.

“Loopy?”

Magic-drunk. You missed me drunk, Arthur. It’s a shame. I doubt it’ll happen again any time soon.

Arthur is surprised into a small, brief laugh. “You got drunk?”

It was glorious, Arthur. If I knew how to do it on command, I would.

“So that’s what happens when somebody occupied gets marked, I guess.” He’s speaking lightly, but he feels…

He never wants to feel like that again. It was too much. Just… too much. Arthur scratches his scalp vigorously, trying to wake up. “What happened after… after he did it?”

After we did it. He washed the blood off you and put you to bed.

Arthur swallows. “So you… you did do it, too, somehow.”

Yes. You remember?

“Bits and pieces. Not a lot.” Too much. “I don’t… really want to feel that way again.”

John sounds sad. Right. Of course.

“I was afraid it would… do something to me.”

It did. John is less blithe about this. He… we both… have sway over you, if we wish. And we know how you feel, now, if we want to.

So he had even less privacy than he’d had before. Arthur sighs. “Terrific. Can I know what you’re thinking?”

No. This is very much a one-way spell.

Arthur sighs again. “Well, I hope he knows I hate him, then.” He slides out of bed.

The bottom of his feet hurt. He’s discovered that how much they hurt tends to tie directly to how long he was horizontal. “So you really both marked me.”

Yes.

Goodness, that was aggressive. “I thought you said there couldn’t be more than one mark.”

There can’t. Neither of us can explain it. I think, maybe, it’s because we’re… both the King in Yellow.

John says that hesitantly. Afraid, perhaps, of Arthur’s response.

It’s not news. Arthur has neither censure nor reassurance to give right now; whatever else this did, it didn’t seem to have… repaired whatever’s wrong with him. “Does it make a difference?”

John sputters. Yes! To me! To us!

“All right.” The only thing he cares about is that it is over. Arthur heads to the bathroom. “Tell me what you were like when you were drunk.”

And John brightens right up. I think I was funny!

#

Left again. You keep drifting right today.

Seventy-three steps. Seventy-seven now, because he has to correct again. “Sorry.”

“Uncle Arthur!” And it isn’t the tiny flap of unshod feet this time, but a surprisingly heavy clop of tiny boots.

She’s coming from your right—brace yourself.

Faroe leaps into him full-bore, and Arthur barely manages to stay on his feet.

He doesn’t care.

He kneels and holds her, and knows he shouldn’t, but holds her, and it’s been days, and he laughs because she jumps a little in his arms and bonks his chin with her head.

“I’m learning arrows!” she proclaims.

She’s wearing… that’s clever, John says, grumpily. A simple sheath-dress, but over it is light leather armor—paneled, so it moves with her. She wears an arm-sheath, as well, very scraped… she’s been learning archery.

“Good for you,” says Arthur.

“What’s a catamite?” says Faroe, and Arthur forgets how to breathe.

#

After Arthur stops choking (and John stops yelling, which required an apology), Faroe is distracted enough that she’s forgotten her question.

Which is good, because Arthur’s head is spinning.

Breakfast is entirely Faroe talking about her new lessons. She’s gotten over her upset of the first day, mostly because she’s able to hit the target; now that she’s having success, it’s all a delight.

“You’re doing so well, my daughter,” says Hastur at him, but the volley misses because Arthur’s head still spins.

Catamite? Catamite? Had somebody—

Had he been—

In front of everybody—

No. No, this had nothing to do with him. It couldn’t have. John would have told him.

“And the spear guy said Teloth might be safe and he wanted to go, and then Captain Dis came back and taught me how to stand better, and—”

Hastur has… tensed slightly, says John, very quietly.

Arthur suspects “spear guy” won’t be teaching Faroe again.

Faroe has eaten all her spiced egg and half an orange. More than she usually does; she must have had quite a morning.

“It is time for your next lesson,” says Hastur.

“Already?”

She is looking at him with huge eyes; I think she’s figured out how to weaponize her cuteness, Arthur.

“Well, we knew that was coming,” Arthur murmurs back.

“But I wanna play with Nibbles,” she says, too used to their muttering to mind it.

“You can do that after your lessons,” Hastur says.

One of his tentacles brushes her face. It is… a gentle, affectionate touch, and she leans into it.

“You make me very proud,” Hastur says.

And somehow, Arthur knows that one wasn’t aimed at him.

Weird. He’s not sure how he knows. Maybe it was the tenderness in Hastur’s voice, or—

“Okay,” she says, because she really is a well-behaved girl, and hops down from her chair.

She’s so small, says John. She’s practically disappeared up to her eyes on the other side of the table. Ah—she’s smiling at you.

“Uncle Arthur?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Will you come play with me later today?”

Everyone goes really damn still.

“I…” What’s safe? “I…” What won’t get him in trouble, or keep him away from her, or—

“I see no reason why not,” says Hastur, absolutely blowing Arthur’s mind.

Arthur turns toward him in shock.

“Yay!” says Faroe, and darts off at full speed, boots clacking quickly along the marble floor.

Arthur stares. Well. He faces. John is the one who stares.

All right, John says. What’s your fucking angle here?

“No angle, Piece. I merely… mean to be more attentive to my court composer’s needs. That is all.”

“Right.” Neither of them believe that.

“Did you sleep well?” says Hastur in warm and syrupy tones that cannot mean anything good.

Was he still being spoken to? “Me?” says Arthur.

“Yes, you. I ask because you feel… unwell.”

Arthur frowns. “I feel fine.” He turns back to his little bowl of garlicky, herbed yogurt and poached egg, and pokes at it with his spoon.

Hastur rumbles. It’s not quite a growl, but it isn’t good.

What are you up to? John snarls.

Hastur ignores that. “I do not appreciate lies, Arthur.”

Arthur stiffens. “I’m fine. I said I was fine.”

“You are not ‘fine.’”

Arthur sighs and rubs his forehead. What was this? What was he doing now? “Sure. Not fine. Whatever you say. I need to get to work on the jubilee.” He stands.

“Sit. Down.”

Arthur grips the back of his chair and does not move.

John inhales. Arthur, you would defy him? He sounds like Christmas came early.

“I see,” says Hastur. “This is your… normal, is what you’re poorly communicating. This is how you feel every day.”

“Yes.” Arthur does not want to sit back down, but he doesn’t dare walk away, either.

“I see. Well: you are correct—you do owe a jubilee.”

“I owe three.”

Hastur’s rumble is so pleased. “You kept track.”

“Of course I kept track. It’s my fucking job. Can I go?”

Oh, Arthur, says John as though Arthur were doing something amazing. (Which is damned confusing, because he’s fairly sure he’s not.)

“Piece.”

What?

And Hastur switches into R’Lyehian. “Mgleth? fahf ah ahf' ymg' gotha?”

Mgleth!

So this was going to be that kind of conversation. Arthur sighs, gives in, and sits back down to poke at his Turkish eggs.

Hastur repeats and continues. [“Truth? This is who you want? This… weak, pitiful creature? I know you feel his mortality. We aren’t even discussing the flaws of his personality now.”]

John growls. [You damn well know the answer is yes.]

[“Have you considered,”] Hastur says without warning, [“that you still get to keep him if you come home to me?”]

John isn’t prepared for that. He chokes. [What?]

“You okay?” Arthur murmurs.

Fine. Shut up.

Arthur rolls his eyes, but does.

[“This whole time, John, you’ve been offered a choice—him or me. I understand. It’s a terrible position. I see now you will never give him up. I didn’t truly grasp your passion for him until… well. The other night.”]

Hastur makes it sound absolutely illicit.

[What’s your damn point?] John snarls.

[“That things have changed, John. You can have both.”]

John makes a choked sound, worse this time.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Arthur murmurs around another bite of egg.

[That’s not… that’s not true,] says John, stumbling over the consonants.

[“Isn’t it? He is here, cared for, through no choice of my own—and that would not change if you came home. Come back, John. End this. And we will still keep him. He stays as he is. Perhaps even… better cared for, as you and I would be working together for his well-being, for once.”]

Silence.

[“It’s not as though you can handle his needs as you are, and I don’t really want to—but together…”]

Arthur. Get up. We’re leaving.

“Must’ve been a hell of a secret loud conversation,” Arthur mutters, standing.

“Think about it, Piece. That’s all I’m saying,” says Hastur.

John wants to do it. Oh, gods, he wants to do it. He’s panicking because he wants to do it. Move. Go. Now.

“All right, shit. Moving.” Arthur heads toward the door as best he can.

Left! Damn it. More left.

“C' ahor h' goka mgn'ghftephai,” Hastur says after them, calm, content, condescending.

John hisses.

“What the hell did he say now?”

We could give him sight.

Nothing. He’s being an ass. He’s pissy he has to share you.

Arthur scoffs. “Has to? You’d think he’d be grateful he doesn’t have to… I don’t know. Bother with me all by himself, or whatever this is.”

We could give him sight.

It’s more complicated than that.

“What else did he say? He said a lot, John.”

John is quiet a moment too long. I don’t want to talk about it.

Arthur frowns. So it really was that kind of conversation. He doesn’t have the emotional energy to push. “Fine.”

Left. You keep drifting today.

“Sorry,” Arthur murmurs.

Oh… to be whole.

And to have Arthur.

John wouldn’t do it, of course. Of course. He’d never. But damn Hastur for saying it.

Damn Hastur for planting the idea.

Damn Hastur for offering something that John wants to believe could… work.

Maybe.

You could have both.

No, I couldn’t, he tells himself, and No, I couldn’t, he reminds himself, and No, I couldn’t, he writes on his heart and repeats in his soul and chants to himself as Arthur works through the next part of the jubilee, playing parts on the piano which are magically transcribed to paper for the instrumentalists he never sees.

You could have both.

No, I couldn’t, John tells himself, because he can never be whole, and fights very hard not to cry.

[highdefinitions]

I was just wondering if you are going to continue the "and so it goes" series? I absolutely loved the first two chapters!

PSA: anyone that reads and so it goes should probably read this to just get the feel of what i've been feeling!!! sorry if it's long but i've wanted to talk about some things and just haven't really known how to go about it.

to actually answer your question, i will be posting chapter four on monday. i'll continue to post what i have on mondays until i don't have anything pre-written to post.

okay so i'm not angry at you per se but the more i see this question the more slightly annoyed i get. i'm not going at you, anon, but i am going to use your ask to talk about some things.

so far with and so it goes, i have chapters one through three posted. after that, i have up to chapter twelve completed and maybe a third of chapter 13 written. at this point, right now, i don't know if i will finish it. i feel too far removed in a way (i started this fic before i had ever even created a tumblr and was just going to write it for the hell of it). this fic has been up in the air for probably a little more than a year now and got shoved to the side by other projects (sparrowverse, the dead don't die, other writing i've posted) and now that i've tried to go back to it, it's hard. i write differently, the story is a little lost on me, i don't like it as much. it's difficult as a writer to just write when i don't particularly feel 100% involved in the project or entirely like it anymore. i posted it because i thought people would like it, but it seems that a large number of you do not. which might be another factor playing into this that makes me feel even less motivated.

as for the question of when are you going to update again, i've seen it many times. and i just don't know why. since i've announced and so it goes, i've been updating it weekly. i've posted a new chapter every monday since i've started actually posting it, and i cannot seem to understand the fact that people are already asking me when the next one is coming. pre-written or not, one chapter a week is pretty damn good to me. overloading and posting everything at once is silly to me and asking for even more questions like this while i try and cram to write the next chapter. you guys do have to remember that i have a life. i work two jobs, go to college full time, i have animals that need multiple hours of attention each week, as well as all the commuting i do to jobs and work and just general life activities. it's sometimes stressful and i don't like to create that added pressure on myself with writing. i do this to relax. and quite frankly, i do not owe anyone but myself anything pertaining to my writing.

with this being said, i appreciate everyone's excitement surrounding one of my fics. i love that you love what i'm writing, but i am an anxious person. i overthink and i put pressure on myself to be something i cannot physically be. i can't crank out writing like some people can, i'm too critical of myself. if i don't think it's good, it's not going anywhere. i am my own biggest critic and there's been times where i have deleted entire chapters just to rewrite them. i don't have that ability to sometimes just say, it is what it is when it comes to writing.

and it might sound like i'm saying i don't enjoy gvf anymore. of course, i do. i love their music and the boys and i'm so excited for their new album. it's just writing that doesn't particularly excite me anymore. and i might very well circle back to writing them again in the future. it happens. i go through cycles with what i enjoy writing and who i enjoy writing about. even right now i have other projects that i'm working on that i'm happy to write.

this might even lead to more questions, so if you actually read this, and do have other questions for me, don't hesitate to ask me. i want you guys to understand and make sure you don't feel like i'm abandoning ship. please ask if there's something you want to know

[philipr05]

day one - finding guidance

hi, anyone who finds my blog.. a friend recommended tumblr to me, and the idea of having a blog sounds really nice! i'll try to post every night around this time with daily thoughts and stuff.

today was a hard day. not because i had a lot to do, but because it's just hard to think about where my life is going, and what my future holds. my grades are a mess, school isn't going so great, and it all feels like it's crashing down all at once..

it's hard to find balance in a world that moves a thousand times quicker than you can. it's hard to live up to expectations that are placed on you by the society we live in. it's hard to keep your head up high.

in this kind of world, scripture can provide a lot of guidance

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

when thinking about how i could possibly find guidance from anywhere in such a crazy world, this verse is something i can think of- easy to remember, and one of the first verses i learned as a young child. everytime i turn to God's word, i feel comforted. but yet i feel guilty or sad. why?..

i feel as though my relationship with the Lord is one sided. i don't always live in a way according to the way God wants me to live, and i feel i am not deserving of the love and compassion he has to offer. it's hard to lead a life that is in accordance with God. it's even harder when i've have tried to find the Lord so many times- but just can't feel the connection between Him and i. faith becomes thin, and it's easy to go astray.

the thing about any relationship is the idea of putting in as much work as the other entity. God loves and cares for me, so in return, i have to find ways in my own life to praise and acknowledge him. a goal i have for myself is to find time in my life where i can build my relationship with Him. praying and talking with him, meditating on His Word, attending church more often and making it a priority- those are things that i wish i can do more. and by doing those things i hope i can finally find that click in my relationship with the Lord, and be comforted in his guidance.

spiritual life is hard to maintain, but the promise that God provides is worth more than anything.

~

lately, i've been getting more and more into the world of classical music. i find that classical music conveys richer emotions in ways that lyrical music just cannot. bach cello suite no. 6 in D major has been up on my charts recently.. rachmaninov piano concerto no.3 and brahms symphony no. 2 are also recent favs. i want to make music a bigger part of my life. i don't want to go far as majoring in it in college, but recently i've come to realize it's something i never want to give up. i play in a youth orchestra now, and i hope i can continue to play in an orchestra when i go to college in a year and a half. playing the viola, i've found, has helped me become a more *characteristic* human being, it allows me to be more expressive and free with my emotions. i never want to let that go.

~

i recently went to go eat korean bbq with some of my friends. its always a super cool vibe- grilling the meat with kpop playing in the background. it rlly doesn't get much better than that.

other than that this long weekend has been all eat, sleep, and practice. concert in one week, and tons of tests and hw coming up.

in conclusion, i really need to find that balance and guidance in my life. i need to put in more work in order to be a better person, to build my spiritual life, and to become happier.

there's a long week ahead but i'm going to approach it head on with some grit. summer is right around the corner..

with sincerity 💌, philip, 2/21/23, 02:24:00

[hot-cocoa-addict]

nanowrimo 2022

hi i just wanted to announce that i wrote a lot of words. i cannot remember if i even mentioned that consequences started as a nano project and was supposed to be just 50k words (that did not happen lmao). more details under the cut as i’m writing this at 12:30 am after an 8k day and so i’m just gonna word vomit about this

okay, so, for starters this is my third nano year ever and in a row. i have actually won both years previously, but always with a very desperate last push to get over the line and usually just barely before midnight. there was a rush to update with 10 minutes left on the clock here in the PNW, but not to hit 50k.

i hit 50k all the way back on the 18th of november, and in the 12 days after that i nearly doubled my word count and my goal. i hit my three highest single day word counts this year, that being: 6,130 words on the 1st; 7,306 on the 28th; and 8,087 words yesterday on the 30th. i went into this year’s nano with three goals in mind. One, and most importantly: get the fucking consequences rewrite started because i did NOT handwrite around 17k words over the month of october for my damn story outline only to not go anywhere. Two: hit 50k this year and continue my winning streak. Three, if possible: get every badge on a project for the first time by writing at least 1667 words every day. i did all three

this was not easy. i was really lucky to a) have the musical i’m in be pushed back from opening in the first week of december to opening the the second weekend of january. if this had not happened i would have been writing through tech week and as a lead in the show i’m in i simply would have not had the time. b) had very light workloads in all of my classes and my creative writing class being dedicated solely to working on nanowrimo. no my teacher does not know i wrote fanfiction and no she does not get to know. c) had a ton of support from the two local regions whose borders i technically straddle. it’s a whole thing i’m not getting into because i am not telling a bunch of internet strangers where i live, sorry guys :( this was a really long post ik but i just needed to vomit it out somewhere because i feel like this is an accomplishment worth sharing? also i’m really sorry to announce that chapter 3 ain’t going up until i finish chapter 4 and although i promise i’m really close to finishing chapter 4 i’m not letting myself touch it for the next few days. actually that brings me to another point i’m sorry this is all stream of consciousness and i cannot be effed to edit it right now but! most surprising thing of overachieving this hard?? i actually really want to write right now and am likely going to have to actively force myself to take a break for at least the next day or so. i’m not proud of everything i wrote this month but i wrote a lot that i am proud of and everything that’s on my doc feels good to me right now. For anyone else who did NaNoWriMo this year and actually read to the end of the post, I have one last heartfelt message to y’all. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from or what you do, no matter what goal you started out the month with and no matter whether it changed or not. No matter if you wrote 1k, 10k, 25k, 50k or even beyond that, you did it. You got through November. You got through NaNoWriMo. You wrote words that no one else could have, You created something else no one could have. Whatever you wrote is uniquely yours, and you took a first step that so many people never took just by writing your story down. Whether you finished your story or, like me, still have a long ways to go from where you are now, you did something beautiful and so very impressive. And if there is no one else in your life who appreciates your accomplishments, then know that I do. The first draft might suck, but that’s okay! Twice now I’ve completely thrown away my previous year’s draft; only now that I am on a third year with a third draft do I feel this that my story is actually close to about as good as it’ll get. It may take you many more drafts than me to find the version of your story you like best, but know that there will always be people out there looking forward to reading what you write. for anyone else who read this far i love you <3 (platonically) and i want you to know that even if you don’t write, if you create anything so much of what i said can apply to you too (the broad points, not the specific stuff about writing). creation of any kind is beautiful and incredible. and for any non-creative types who see this, don’t worry! you’re wonderful and have your own place in this world of ours. i really wish i had more to say to y’all who don’t do nano but im very sleepy and, again, am coming off of an 8k day already so my brain is kinda empty rn ngl. i’m gonna get this tagged and go to bed now as i’m finishing this post at about 1:00 am my time and may or may not have school in the morning if it snows again

[monstermaster13]

Oats and Corey in…

Trick Or Treat: A Microbial Halloween Adventure.

Halloween is that one time of year when all the weirdos of the world get to do what they do best without judgment and it is a time for tricks, treats, horror movies and costumes. And it was certainly Mel and Nathan’s favorite holiday and this story’s halloween was no different, except that it was. It was Sunday October 31st, 2021 and our favorite duo was getting up to all sorts of fun. ‘Are you ready for some spoooooky fun, Oatsie?’ Corey asked as he came out dressed as a little vampire. ‘I sure am.’ ‘Can I see your costume?’

“In a minute…”

“Oooh boy, I can’t wait.”

Oats put on the finishing touches to his outfit, he was dressed as a nurse-princess combination with fairy-like wings, he flew out and greeted Corey who was of course dressed as a vampire. Mel came out dressed as Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil: Village, a look that was certainly popular this year. Corey was excited about this halloween because it was his very first halloween adventure with his best friend and his first halloween in New Zealand with his new friends, of course he knew a lot about how his friends celebrated.

Nathan was also ready for the halloween adventure, he decided to go as Dan Aykroyd because Aykroyd had been his spirit guide throughout the year and he could relate to him. Oats of course chose to be a magical nurse combined with a princess because of how some of the other equines that Mel had adopted viewed him as a mother figure, and naturally Corey was a vampire because not only was it a fitting thing since vampires can turn into bats and bats are where covid originated from but also as a fitting nod to the actor he was named after…Corey Feldman, who was Edgar Frog in the Lost Boys and also was in Bordello of Blood.

“So what are we going to do for this adventure?”

“We cannot go anywhere because of Corey's mutation problem.”

“Who says we cannot go anywhere?”

“True, we’ve got the magic bed box.”

Corey pulled out some magic from the magic bedbox the microbes had in the Nile Road house, and pulled out some magic from inside the box, and within a matter of seconds the room filled up with supernatural magic, a magical path leading down the hall materialized as the duo followed the path, along the way they saw lots of puzzles to solve and went through a little tunnel which lead to what appeared to be a graveyard.

That’s where they were greeted by some of Oats’s friends from Equestria who were all in anthro form and dressed in a variety of costumes for Nightmare Night. Princess Luna was also there, Oats whinnied as he excitedly galloped up to her. ‘Hello Princess Luna, you are my favorite princess.’ Luna gave Oats a big hug as she explained that she and the mane 6 were there to teach them all about Nightmare Night, which was their version of Halloween.

Oats and Corey took part in a special Nightmare Night musical number and learned about traditions the ponies of Equestria had around this time of year. Oats even got to meet Pinkie Pie, his favorite pony and give her a special treat he baked for her.

Twilight Sparkle told them a story about vampire ponies known as vamponies that were like bat-ponies only they could speak and also had adorkable traits and also were known for being really polite and well-mannered. The group explored the graveyard and found some treasure.

As they did so, Oats and Corey took on the form of MLP styled anthro pony versions of themselves with a cutie mark representing their best traits. Our equine friend was normally afraid of the dark but with his special magic light he was able to cope.

They came across a tomb with sleeping vamponies and Oats laid out some fruit snacks for them, the vamponies saw the fruit snacks and ate them happily and they then came across a werepony princess named Whinnea and also came across some friendly zomponies and ghost ponies. After the ponies and the duo had left the graveyard, they met up with Mel and headed over to a special area.

Upon reaching the special area, they heard ‘This is Halloween’ playing as Mel walked over to a house made to look like a haunted mansion, she knocked on the door and Tim Burton answered, Tim explained that he lived in the house with Helena Bonham Carter and Lisa Marie Smith and several of his characters.

He welcomed them into the house and they had a halloweentown festival where they had their own spooky fun party similar to the Halloweentown citizens and they even took on an assortment of Burtonesque forms with Mel becoming a voodoo queen who was half living voodoo doll. Corey becoming a half bat-like creature and Oats becoming a ghostly pony bride, they kept their personalities and luckily weren’t evil.

They celebrated and had a good time as Tim showed them a special fortune telling game hosted by Lisa Marie Smith. Corey and Oats sat down and had their fortunes told by her and her sassy talking crystal ball which had the voice of Tim Burton’s late friend Glenn Shadix, and then they learned all about how monsters can be friendly and that sometimes even though someone may look frightening they are actually quite nice.

Matthias aka That Werebelushi In The Shades was also with the group and he was carrying his treat bags and also some weapons needed for monster hunting. The group and Tim headed outside to go over to the spooktacular scarezone he had set up, resembling a mix of a Spirit Halloween display and a Halloween Horror Nights maze, he guided the group around as he told them a story about a dark presence. ‘I bet that this entity that is this scarezone is using dark powers to cause mischief.’

“Exactly…we have to stick together.”

Mel sensed something very strange was happening as a shadowy entity seemed to be following her and the group, but the shadowy entity wasn’t the only strange thing…she noticed that her fur was starting to pale a little bit, making her look like she had a pale complexion as her fingernails lengthened to a point they looked even longer than usual. Her breasts enlarged quite a bit as her arms and legs lengthened, as she slowly shot up in height until she was around 8 or 9 ft tall.

She gasped as she examined herself, but she wasn’t horrified..she thought this was oddly kind of fascinating as her hips flared out…’Oooh boy, wish my boyfriend could see this.’ She chuckled to herself as her hair lengthened a little bit, darkening and taking on the tone and color of being jet black in some parts as red eye-makeup materialized around her eyes, her eyes turning from brown to a golden yellow color while her features altered, slowly warping her into a koala version of Lady Dimitrescu herself. ‘Oh my…i’m sexy, I might even possibly tower over my boyfriend now.’

The koala-girl with vampiric traits laughed and as she did, her canine teeth lengthened to resemble fangs as her voice altered, altering a little bit to sound like Maggie Robertson who voiced the actual Lady Dimitrescu in the game. Fortunately she was still the same old Mel personality-wise and didn’t turn, although she did have to admit it was kind of funny to have this usually seductive character have the personality of an adorkable koala-girl.

“Mel…is that you? You’ve grown a lot taller.”

“It is…don’t worry, i’m still here.”

“How does being Lady Dimitrescu feel?”

‘Well it’s going to take a lot of getting used to being this tall but I admit I do look gorgeous like this.’ She responded as she batted her eyes. ‘Hopefully you don’t have a lust for blood, do you?’ ‘Of course not’. ‘Good, because I hope that you won’t bite us and turn us.’ Corey nodded but then he felt a supernatural sensation in him as he developed vampiric traits and turned into a vampire version of himself that was a cross between Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and David from the Lost Boys, he chuckled as he showed off his new fangs.

“Woah…Corey, you’re a vampire too.”

“Yeah.”

Oats looked at himself as he noticed himself gaining magical powers as he noticed that the fairy wings on his costume had become real fairy wings as he became a female version of himself who was a magical nurse/princess combination, his physique was a bit more feminine but he still he was a male equine, it’s just he had taken a more feminine form and identity.

Nathan felt a little bit odd as his stomach gurgled, that’s when he felt his stomach growing and broadening as brown hairs grow on it, followed by on his chest which also broadened and grew, and also on his arms, his arms enlarged as did his hands. His height slowly went up from 5’7 to 6’1 as his back broadened.

He examined his body as he suddenly found himself being attracted to his own transformation as his rear plumped up, his legs lengthened a bit as his feet enlarged, two of the toes on both feet sticking together at the knuckle to give them a webbed appearance. He recognized the feet he now had, he saw they were akin to Dan Aykroyd’s feet as his shoulders broadened next.

“Nathan..you’re becoming Dan Aykroyd.”

“Hey I am, well i’ve always dreamed of this…”

Nathan didn’t seem to mind this as his hair darkened a bit and his neckline altered, his brow and forehead altered in the process as his eyebrows thickened, he looked at himself and squeed when he saw himself…his eyes widened with one turning from brown to green, and the other remaining brown. His nose broadening as a cleft materialized in the middle and his lips became quite kissable, his features slowly becoming Aykroydian until he very much resembled the real Dan Aykroyd. He looked exactly like Dan which made him laugh, and as he did..his voice contorted, altering to sound like Dan’s voice, without even needing to listen, he knew he had Dan Aykroyd’s voice as well as his appearance.

He looked at himself for a bit and then noticed how much he was like the real Dan Aykroyd, but he was still himself, he just developed a few of Dan’s mannerisms and personality traits including the techno-babble talk which Dan was known for in movies like Ghostbusters.

Despite being Dan Aykroyd’s double appearance and voice-wise, he was still Nathan though and he just had those traits but he wasn’t a complete Dan clone in memory and mind. ’Woah..I didn’t know Dan Aykroyd was in this special.’ ‘Guys, it’s me.’ ‘Nathan? How did you do that? That’s spooky. You look and sound so much like him it’s supernatural.’

“I know, isn’t this awesome?”

“Yeah, we’re all the things we dressed as.”

Nathan/Dan chuckled to himself as he looked around. It seems the group really enjoyed their new forms. ‘Looks like all of us have been turned into the thing we have dressed as, and we like it…’ ‘Well except for me.’ He looked over at Matthias/That Werebelushi In The Shades,who had transformed into a mix of himself and James Corden, he looked and sounded like Corden but still with a bit of that Werebelushi gruffness thrown in.

“What happened to you, Matthias?”

‘I was dressed as James Corden, I dared the actual James Corden to dress as me and he now has got some of my powers. Meanwhile, i’m still me but i’m also him. And that’s just great.’ He explained, rolling one of his eyes. ‘And please note that I am being sarcastic when I say that’s great.’

“So James has some of your powers? He didn’t morph into you?”

‘Well not exactly, he just became a mixture of himself and me. So he basically has my powers and some of my attributes. I told him that he’s going to have to be careful.’ ‘Don’t worry i’m sure he will.’ ‘He better be careful.’ Matthias responded. ‘So you don’t like being him?’ ‘James Corden is always stealing roles from me. They always pick him over me when it comes to certain roles. We’re not enemies or anything, he just seems to always get the parts I try out for.’

“I’m sorry you had to end up like that.”

‘I know, but it’s not so bad. It just will be hard for me to be gruff or menacing or intimidating like this. I’m supposed to be a badass, look at me. Or rather listen to me.’ ‘Yeah, but you still have your powers, right? Like your retractable quills and such.’ ‘Yes, I do.’ ‘Then you should still be able to be you.’

“You’re right I am still me after all.”

Matthias chuckled to himself, and then he heard his laugh…’You know, some people are right about James’s laugh, he DOES sound like a hyena sometimes.’ He lightened up a little as he adjusted himself and combed his hair and adjusted his tie.

Just then several creatures jumped out at the group, Mel sliced several of them up with her claws as Corey used his new vampire powers to hypnotize a few people to have them aid in the fight, Oats fought some of them off with his magic.

Nathan discovered he had gained a rather unique set of Aykroydian attributes and also discovered he had some new powers which he put to use when fighting off some of the monsters while Matthias shot his projectile quills in the direction of another group of monsters. A monster battle took place in the scarezone.

After all the monsters had been defeated, Tim showed them to the exit of the scarezone and the group went through it and through a tunnel which lead back to Tim’s house, they arrived in Tim’s living room which had all sorts of colorful Halloweentown creatures helping out and they even saw some halloween webkinz pets that were all dressed up.

For the next couple of hours they celebrated over at Tim’s house, but after that Mel gestured to the group and to the duo. They followed her and listened to what she said. She said it was time for them to come home. ‘Can we visit Tim again?’ ‘Oh you bet we can.’

“Yaaay. This has been the best halloween ever.”

“How was your first halloween adventure here, Corey?”

‘I loved it.’ ‘And how about you, Oats?’ ‘Oh mommy, I loved it so much. It was such a lot of fun.’ The group headed back through the tunnel and ended up back home, well specifically back at their home in 28 Rosemary Avenue, as opposed to the Nile Road house since it was the weekend and they spent the weekends there.

Back at their Rosemary Avenue house they all celebrated and listened to halloween music and had fun all afternoon, all evening and all not, Corey and Oats and Mel did eventually return to normal but kept some of their traits from their transformed states and Nathan did discover that becoming Dan Aykroyd had given him were-aykroyd powers, which he began to study intensively.

Matthias/Werebelushi in Shades went back to his apartment, however he did go and do his Werebelushi Rants show halloween on Youtube, however he did have to explain why he had become James Corden’s double, which of course he did and luckily for him it wear off. That night, at the house they had a nice meal and watched Muppets Haunted Mansion together. They took part in a halloween event on Magic Kingdoms and even on Webkinz.

After all that fun, and playing around, at around 9 to around 10 thirty pm they all got ready for bed and then afterwards they got into bed and snuggled up after Mel brushed her teeth, having sweet dreams of their adorable halloween adventure, Corey was glad to have such a magical first halloween and he knew he was going to have a fun time with his equine bestie. And Oats knew that Corey was going to have a lot of fun today as the two snuggled up and hugged eachother.

“I just know we’re going to have many more adventures.”

“We certainly are.”

And thus with that the duo drifted off to sleep and wished each-other goodnight, and as they slept their magic bed transformed into a doom buggy as they went on another journey, a journey to the Haunted Mansion where they met Master Gracey, Madam Leota, Ezra, Emma, and Ramsley along with the Muppets and the Great Mcguffin. Their halloween adventure continued in their dream as they had all sorts of fun in the Haunted Mansion.

As for the next day..the next day it was the first of November, and they greeted everyone at Nile Road with stories of their halloween adventure, and Corey was particularly ecstatic to share his story with everyone.

It just goes to show you that sometimes the very first adventure you go on is the most magical of all,especially if you ask Corey and Oats about it, they know all about magical adventures. So happy 2021 halloween to all our you little misfits and microbes out there.

[mothicalspoken]

School dances are... something else. 

There’s a lot of glorified stereotypes about them, that’s for sure. Tales of being twirled around by your crush under the lights, seeing teenagers do very very dumb teenager things, and strangely, no adult supervision. A wonderful tale of chances taken, in a perfect world where the music aligns with your taste and the lights don’t make it hard to see. 

Unfortunately, in real life, school dances are just an unescapable trap. Even the lady at the check-in insists that you cannot go outside, because they don’t want anyone going missing. 

It’s stupid. Marcy doesn’t even know why she’s here.

She floats around the front hall, away from the lights as possible without stepping into other rooms of the community center that students are apparently not supposed to go in. The floor shakes under her feet, and there’s so much noise- even out here, on the edge of the storm, it overwhelms everything else. She’s been standing here blankly for who knows how long, rooted to the spot. It’s so loud. Going anywhere near the rest of the student population would be impossible. 

What was she here for again? She wouldn’t go to this without a reason. It’s not like she’s popular. Or that she particularly enjoys dances. Why would she even-

“Marcy?” 

The voice barely registers. It's just another part of the sea of noise. She blinks, slowly. 

There’s a hand waving in front of her face. 

“Marbles? Mar-Mar? Hey, you okay?” 

It’s Anne, she realizes. Anne is here, with her hair illuminated by harsh lights that make Marcy close one of her eyes. That’s good. This is who she came for. Right. 

It takes her about 5-10 seconds longer to process Anne’s words. It feels like her brain is clogged up with cottonballs. In that time, before she can even answer, a blur moves past her and up to the front desk. 

There’s words exchanged, not that she manages to catch all of them. But she knows it’s Sasha whose speaking, and soon enough, Anne’s got a hand on her shoulder and Sasha has her by the wrist, and they’re leading her into a little empty dark room off to the side. She follows them without question.

The door shuts behind them, and the noise fades. Things seem clearer now. She blinks again, and rubs at her eyes.

“You good, Marce?” Sasha asks her, once the three of them are inside. Anne keeps a hand on her shoulder. It’s grounding. Everything is less fuzzy. “You seemed really out of it.”

“Yeah-” She says, finally, her words coming out raspier than expected. “I’m good. It was just... loud. Sorry about that. I didn’t see you guys come in.” 

“Don’t apologize- me and Sash were the ones who made you come anyways,” Anne insists, rubbing small circles into her back. “We should have known it’d be overwhelming.”

“How did you...”

“You always get this look on your face,” Sasha answers, tugging chairs out for the three of them to sit on. “Also, it’s not like you to stand still, if you know what I mean.” 

“Ha... yeah...” Marcy laughs nervously, taking a seat. The three of them are arranged in a triangle of sorts, so they can all face each other. Light from the dance alternates on the floor through the window in the door, muffled sound still escaping through. But it’s not so bad now. There’s no one else here but them. She can breathe. “Always gotta be doing something.”

Marcy tugs on the strings of her sweatshirt, and looks down at the ground- at Anne’s scuffed sneakers, and Sasha’s shiny Marcy Janes, and then her own. There’s something pathetic and intimate about all of this- she can’t handle school dances, but she dreams of being the one to take them to one anyways. The big one. Somewhere off in the future, far far away. She holds onto it with a vice grip, and pushes it away at the same time. 

Isn’t it ironic?

“...You guys can go back to the dance, if you want. I can stay here,” she says, after a beat of silence. “I don’t mind.” 

“What, and leave you here? C’mon, we’d rather be with you,” Anne assures, leaning over to tap her knee with a playful grin. 

“Besides, everyone knows that school dances are overrated anyways,” Sasha says, earning her a glare of offense from Anne. It had been Anne’s idea- she’s always loved the school dance scenarios in all her romance novels and magazines, after all. However, her look goes away as Sasha finishes. “It’s not about the event, it’s who you spend it with. School dances are no fun if you’re all by yourself. So, we’re staying. You can’t get rid of us that easily.” 

Marcy smiles sheepily, and reaches out to take both their hands, almost on instinct. At least this is one of the actions she doesn’t have to think about. It’s been their way of communicating since they were little, and it’s never changed since. 

“Thanks guys... I love you.” 

“Love you too, Marbles,” Anne replies. Sasha nods enthusiastically in agreement, and gives her a genuine smile.

Both her and Sasha scoot closer, with Sasha laying her head on Marcy’s shoulder, and they talk about unrelated things for the rest of the night. 

[littlemissnoname13]

The life he always wanted (D.M.)

Summary: Draco’s life after the battle of Hogwarts

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x female!reader

A/n: I wrote a multi-chapter a few months ago that never made it on here. This one shot has been pulled out of it and posted as a one shot just like “You and your green apples.” Which was supposed to be a part of that same multi chapter too.

Warnings: angst, Multiple mentions of avada and death so please read at your own discretion. Also please feel free to message me if I need to add any more disclaimers.

Word count: 2100+

The only thing illuminating the dark room was the flickering light from the television. 

Draco thought the muggles had really outdone themselves with that one as he had spent one too many nights in front of the television with a bottle of fire whisky.

Some nights he’d be too wasted to realise he’d been watching static for hours. 

Faint, fuzzy music could be heard all around the room even though the volume was set to a minimum and Draco took this opportunity to waltz you across the living room of your cozy one bedroom home. 

The house wasn’t too big but it was just the way you’d always wanted it to be—big glass windows, hardwood floors and a small spiral staircase leading to the roof. 

“The life we’ve always wanted.” You sighed and placed your head on his chest. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Draco.” 

One of his hands was placed securely on the small of your back while the other held your hand as you moved together with the music. Your soft, flowy hair bounced as he twirled you in his arms. 

“Oh really?” He smirked and watched you nod your head in response with a sad look in your eyes. 

“Yes really.” 

“Well I’m here now Darling so there’s no need to worry about all that.” He whispered, placing a kiss on the top of your head. “I’m not going anywhere. You know that don’t you?”

“I know Draco.” You whispered and he pulled you closer to him. “I know.”

Draco couldn’t begin to imagine what his life would be life without you in it. 

Shuddering at the dark clouds forming at the top of his blond head, he closed his eyes and inhaled sharply to make the clouds drift away. 

“Don’t you have to be somewhere tomorrow?” You asked tilting your head upwards to look at him. Draco noticed that your eyes brows crinkled a little as you said this—the look of worry somewhat prominent. 

“Oh yes.” He sighed, rolling his eyes at you. “I really wish you didn’t remind me.” 

“But you haven’t met our friends in so long.” 

“Your friends. ”He corrected you curtly. “And it’s only been a few months.” 

Well, it had been more than just a few months but It wasn’t his fault that he’d rather spend all his time with you. 

Draco noticed that you giggled when he said that as if you knew before taking his hand and guiding him towards the bedroom. 

He decided to not utter a single word of protest as he quietly followed you into the bedroom. 

“Come lie with me, Dray.” You whispered as he watched you slip under the covers. You looked so peaceful, so content and the whole moment seemed so fickle like it would fade away if he moved too quickly or blinked too hard. 

He hastily removed his shirt slipping under the covers next to you—his head on your chest as you lazily played with his hair. 

This was everything he’d ever wanted. 

“I love you y/n.” 

“I love you too.” 

~~~~~~~

“Glad you came, Malfoy.” Ginny smiled the best smile she could smile, opening the door to let him in the house.

“Well hello to you too Weaslette.” 

“Come on inside. We were all waiting for you.” Ginny said she led the way towards the living room filled with familiar voices and faces. 

“Potter. Weasel. Granger.” Draco muttered as he gave all three a semi polite nod of acknowledgement. 

“I uh—like your hair.” Harry commented looking at Draco’s unkempt blond hair now growing towards his shoulders. 

Upon hearing Harry, Draco ran his fingers through his hair and fought an urge to say something snarky. 

“So, may I ask why I’ve been summoned here?” Draco finally said as he sat down on an armchair opposite to Harry. 

“We just wanted to see you. You have been gone for a…bit...” Harry replied, clearing his throat. And we thought you might want this.” 

Draco raised his eyebrows suspiciously as Harry stretched out his hand to hand him a sealed envelope. 

“Cup of tea?” Ginny asked. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

As soon as he reached home, he tore his clothes off and jumped into the shower. 

He let the warm water wash away the ache he felt all over his body. There was no tell tale sign indicating the pain was physical or emotional. 

Nonetheless, the warmth of the water helped. 

To some extent. 

After what felt like hours in the shower, he finally stepped outside and wrapped a towel around his torso. 

The bathroom had fogged up and the fog had travelled all the way into the bedroom. 

In an attempt to get the fog to disappear, Draco cracked the surprisingly large bedroom window open and let the crisp night air flow into the room. 

“Someone’s back home early.” He heard you  mock in a sweet singsong voice making the tiniest of smiles appear at his lips as he turned around to face you. 

You were wearing a flowy satin dress and were perched on the top of his desk—dangling your legs. 

He paused to admire and remember every detail about the sight in front of him. 

The way the gust of wind coming from the window blew your hair towards your face. The way that flimsy satin fabric hugged your body. The way the flickering table lamp casted shadows on your features. 

Everything.

“I just couldn’t stay away from you.” He shrugged and watched you chuckle and get down from his desk. 

He patiently waited as you took long strides towards him before finally wrapping your arms around his neck—stretching on the tip of your toes and bringing your face close to his. 

“Open the envelope Draco.” You whispered softly into his ears. 

A flash of lightning lit up the entire room with a blinding white light as the sky roared. 

Draco nodded as he slowly reached for the crumpled envelope he’d left inside his coat pocket.

Taking a long breath, he looked up at you and you gave him an apologetic yet reassuring smile while he ripped the envelope open.

The opened seal of the envelope brought along with it, a familiar scent of cedarwood and vanilla. It was the smell he could smell on his clothes after spending the day with you. 

A small photograph fell out of the envelope.

It was a Polaroid you’d unintentionally taken one summer. Both of you had questionable expressions on your faces because you were both trying to get the Camera to work. 

You were chewing your lip in confusion and his nose was scrunched up; you both were not ready for the photo at all. 

His hands shook violently as sporadic rain drops started to pour down from the window leaving tiny splatters on the worn out photograph.

“Why?” He spat in anger. “Why did you have to throw yourself between me and that killing curse?” 

You smiled an apologetic smile at him once again; you did that a lot. 

“You’ll get drenched Draco—close the window.” You said,  dodging his question completely while you reached towards his hand again.

“Stop dodging my question.” 

“It hadn’t rained for a while.” You said making him heave a sigh and look up at the night sky.

One rain drop and become two and two had become three.

Draco took a wobbly step towards you and fruitlessly wiped the drops of rain that were falling on your cheeks. 

“And now it’s raining.” He pointed out with his voice shaky. 

“Excellent observation, my love.” 

The way you said it, the nonchalance in your voice made him furious. You were gone but he had to wake up every single day in a world where you no longer existed. 

In a stupor of grief, he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you towards him. “Don’t you see?— even the sky is grieving the loss of what could have been! The life we could have lived!” 

“I like to think it’s the universe washing away the hurt and pain.” You whispered, staring deeply into his steely eyes. “You’ll see. It’s going to be a beautiful morning tomorrow. I can feel it.” 

“Why y/n? Why didn't you let me die instead?—you are gone and what am I left with? A worn out photograph of you?!” 

“Draco—”

“Every damned day, I feel further and further away from you.” He began sobbing. “The smell of your perfume is fading from my sweater, I cannot picture the way you used to laugh anymore—for the love of Merlin! I don’t even remember what life was like when you were with me y/n. It all seems so far away..so distant.”

“You have to let me go, Draco.” You whispered as you pressed your forehead to his. 

He physically felt the pain of his breaking heart all over his body. The sharp pain brought back all the trauma he had suppressed over the last few months. 

“No…No. No. No—Please don’t leave again.” He pleaded as angry tears started to roll down his cheeks. “Please. I—I don’t think I can handle it.” 

“You’ll see me again. I swear.” You said softly as he began to laugh an ominous kind of laugh, knowing deep down that you weren’t even there in front of him to begin with.

Everything was all in his head. 

Twenty seven months.

He’d been talking to the voice in his head for twenty seven whole months while the world moved on without him. 

“When? When will I see you again? In another life? Merlin!” Draco said in between his hysterical laughter. 

“Maybe.” The figment of his imagination whispered caressing the side of his face till he calmed down. “Maybe in another life I won’t find myself having to jump in between you and the killing curse.” 

Draco gave you a disapproving glare before he leaned down to find your rain soaked lips. 

With his index finger and thumb holding your chin up, Draco kissed you gently while his own tears and the acidic grey rain continued trickle down his face. 

It took him every ounce of strength he had left but he nodded like he was saying his final goodbye and took a step back— releasing you from his embrace and releasing him from his grief. 

You slowly turned on your heel and walked towards the door. 

“I’ll be waiting for you Draco.” 

He closed his eyes because he wasn’t ready to see you leave. 

So after what felt like centuries, Draco slowly opened his eyes. 

He was all alone. 

~~~~🍂🍁🍂~~~~

Autumn. 

It could be seen in the rustling trees and the gust of wind that made the amber colored leaves that were once bright green fall down onto a winding pathway beneath trees. 

A young woman strided along the winding path. Clicking her heels. Head tilted upwards, taking in the pinkish purple sky in all of its glory. 

A few books were tucked underneath her arm and a cloth bag loosely hung on her left shoulder. 

She was so occupied by the pleasant weather and whatever thoughts were circling her head, that she didn’t even realise that she had collided with somebody.

“Sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

She apologised profusely before she knelt down on the ground to collect the books she’d dropped. 

The stranger hummed in response and helped her gather the contents that had fallen out of her book bag. 

An oddly familiar smell tickled her senses. It was the smell of cologne and fresh mint. 

The smell of the cologne was so foreign to her. It was like nothing she’d ever smelled before and yet, she found herself feeling awfully comforted by it.

The smell sent her into a state of déjà vu. 

She looked up through her lashes and saw a boy with steely grey eyes making an eerie sense of familiarity washed all over her body. 

“I’m sorry, have we met before?” 

The boy blinked a few times before cracking a small smile. “I think we’re in the same Art history class. Judging by where you’re headed.” 

“Right.” She nodded as they slowly walked down the path together. “Don’t mind me. It’s just.. it’s just that you seem oddly familiar to me.” 

He shoved his hands into his pocket as they quietly walked next to each other. The silence wasn’t an awkward one. 

Not for him at least. 

It felt almost as if they’d always been walking together for years��in another timeline, in another life.

It all felt habitual. 

“Tell you what? He finally said looking down at the girl he’d just met. “How about we get coffee after class and discuss this further. You seem oddly familiar to me too.” 

“I’d like that.”

Her eyes pierced a million daggers into his heart.

“I’d like that a lot.” 

-------------------------------------

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Love you all,

Vi

[gncrevan]

on internet leftism, public shaming, and how to grow as a person

at the moment of writing this, social media is hotly debating a tweet and the track record of a leftist streamer called badbunny. i'm not tuned into any of that enough to comment on who she is or if her platform is harmful. but i do wanna take this opportunity to talk about something that has been weighing on my mind for a while now.

this text was forming as i read lindsay ellis' statement leaving youtube, as natalie wynn went through her fifth or so twitter "cancellation", as sia talked about her relapse and suicidality following the backlash to music, and as pretty much every day a niche microcelebrity or normal person with the bad fortune to go viral got eaten alive on social media for their bad takes ranging anywhere from questionable media opinions to genuine antisemitism. i want to be clear that i think all of these people said and did things that deserve various amounts of criticism. this text is not to defend anyone. it's a look at group dynamics within leftist praxis.

preamble: because nothing is ever fully original, i wanna give a quick shoutout to the podcast you're wrong about, specifically the episodes "public shaming" and "cancel culture", for kickstarting a good chunk of my thought process here.

i don't use the term "cancel culture" to describe the phenomenon i'm discussing because i find it exceedingly vapid and unhelpful. the right and the left use it to mean entirely different things, none of which are well described as "cancelling".

i think the progressive/leftist online sphere is creating a more and more toxic environment by expecting perfection from people. having a big platform is a responsibility and it can be very harmful to even have so much as a bad take. but to paraphrase this video by alex peter: we don't hold people accountable, accountability has to come from within. the only thing we do is punish people. and as an abolitionist i don't think we as leftists should believe in punishment, but in rehabilitation.

yes, public shaming and deplatforming serve an important function to a) reinforce the ethics of our in-group and b) take away power from those who abuse it to harm others (since as we know the justice system does not come for the rich and powerful). but in most cases on the internet, that is not what we're doing. we're not serving a social safety measure, we're getting off on being in the in-group and doling out punishment. hell, maybe we're even getting our 15 minutes of fame out of it by commenting on a trending topic. or maybe we feel compelled if not outright forced by in-group/out-group dynamics to clarify our position on this topic, on every topic, always. but how does any of that serve the betterment of them as a person, or our society as a whole?

i want you to think of all the things you have said in your life that would cause backlash if you were in the public eye. more than that, i want you to think about the people who don't like you, who think really badly of you, and imagine that they were leading the public discourse about you (credit to rayne fisher-quann for this imagery). none of us would look good, even if we've grown and changed and made amends. i don't wanna live in a world where that is our normal. i believe that as leftists we need to move towards a restorative approach, fueled by empathy.

i believe and have personally witnessed that humans fundamentally have the ability to change and become better. but nobody can grow in an environment that puts them under constant attack. if you're busy defending yourself, you just purely psychologically cannot critically examine your behaviour and beliefs because you're in survival mode, sometimes literally. that's why we constantly see creators (and artists, celebrities, twitter's bad person of the day) doubling down on and defending their bad takes and talking about their mental health instead of apologizing. it's not fucking helpful.

there's a time and a place for public shaming, and there's a time and a place to stop and let the person actually process what happened. and you don't have to personally forgive them if they change their ways, or like them afterwards — there's plenty of creators i don't like purely because they said too much dumb shit or have politics i can't agree with or just give off bad vibes and i'm a hater. but that's a completely different issue. criticism is always valuable, but if i want our community and society to progress in any meaningful way, i need to ask myself if calling someone out serves a purpose or is just contributing to a pile-on, if i'm approaching them with goodwill and empathy or just dunking on them. if i want them to learn and change for the better, then i need to afford them the space necessary to grow. we can't build a community on punishment and fear of repercussion. our foundation must be one where we recognize each other's humanity and engage in good faith as peers.

[issaxcharlie]

You are mine

Pairing: Alive! Luke Patterson x Fem Reader

Summary: Luke and Y/N have many problems and commitments in their lives and instead of solving them they decide to blame the other. Eventually, the fights end their relationship. Luke travels with Sunset Curve during the summer and when he returns he has a pretty clear idea in his head. He wants his girl back.

But it's not as easy as it sounds when the competition had 3 months to score points with the cheerleader in his absence.

 Three months. Luke has gone three months without seeing Y/N. They have been inseparable since they met when they were 12 years old, never spending more than days without seeing each other. But the moment they broke up Luke knew he had to get out of the freaking town because if he couldn't distance himself he was going to end up the very next day at his ex-girlfriend's house begging her to accept him back. And the truth is that both needed to breathe and rethink what each one is looking for in their future.

Because although he’s head over heels in love with her, the truth is that both were in a moment of their lives in which they couldn’t and specially wanted to adapt to what the other needed. They had a lot of different responsabilities and things to do, it was just hard sometimes to add more to the list.

Which meant that she missed several of his concerts, that he was late for her birthday party, that there was no time for dates, that they didn’t feel supported. Many arguments trying to fix things that never came to anything because neither of them really wanted to commit. None willing to give in.

And then the painful but friendly breakup in early summer happened.

Bobby has a truck and the boys decided that doing a roadtrip during the summer performing wherever they could to earn enough to keep traveling was a brilliant idea to distract him and make the band known, and he agreed without looking back.

Things turned out much better than any of the four expected and they even had the luxury of traveling one more week, so they have a week of homework to catch up on. Will his relationship have ended on good enough terms to ask Y/N? Homework is not that big of a deal for him but it usually takes him a little longer to miss more than 15 assignments.

As soon as Luke opens the front door, his eyes fall straight on her. She is on her back trying to hang up some posters, but he would recognize that body wherever, from whatever angle.

His eyes immediately scan her wrist, which doesn't have any of the couple matching black-and-white bracelets they both used to wear all the time.

The first of many reminders Luke would get that day about his breakup with the cheerleader.

Y/N stands on her tiptoes trying to reach the height required for the poster, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't reach it. She’s just going to give up and ask for help when she feels some strong and determined hands lift her without any sign of trouble or doubt.

She doensn’t need to turn her head or listen to his voice, the strong grip on each side of her hips and his intoxicating perfume are more than enough to confirm who is lifting her in the air.

Luke is not playing fair. Y/N hears his husky and seductive voice as his lips lightly brush her ear. “I know you love my hands on you, but do you plan to put up the poster at some point?”

The cheerleader is shocked for a few seconds, until murmurs around them remind her that they are not alone. She puts the poster as fast as she can and instructs her ex-boyfriend to take her down.

Reluctantly she turns around and for the first time in quite a few weeks her eyes meet her favorite ones, which at least for the moment, are deep green.

"You can't do that, Lucas. We broke up."

He smirks. She only calls him like that when she's trying really hard to scold him even though it's not what she actually wants. She tries to look more determined and tough, but he can see through it all.

He decides to rest one of his arms on the wall, leaning just enough so that their foreheads are almost touching, and then smiles at her. One of those smiles that she used to classify as the most tender and beautiful sight in the world and that used to receive a light sweet kiss in return.

But this time, instead of a kiss, her gaze tells him that he is crossing the limit and that it’s better to stop. Neither has to say anything, she doesn't need to throw his arm out of the way or yell at him to move.

The two of them know each other better than anyone, and when Luke sees that expression, her wrinkled nose, her eyes lit with annoyance, her crooked mouth, he knows it's time to retreat.

“I’m sorry ba-” His gaze automatically saddens as he remembers that he can no longer call her that. He can see that her eyes also look a little sadder and duller after imagining what the guitarist was going to say. “I’m sorry Y/N. I just missed you.”

“Luke, look at this man. I've been here for 10 minutes and already 14 girls gave me their numbers to pass them to you! I guess word got around that you're single again.”

Alex and Reggie go blank when they are close enough to see their beautiful friend, since Luke was covering her from their sight. The guitarist turns to tap Reggie on the shoulder, and Alex decides to hug her to ease the tension in the air. Her hands are shaking, and Alex is not sure if from sadness or jealousy, but he decides not to say anything and keep hugging her, trying to make her feel supported.

“We missed you so much, we are not Sunset Curve without you.” Alex confesses loud enough for the other two members present to listen and nod their heads.

“I missed you too, boys. My summer was too peaceful and quiet without my favorite band.” The drummer lets go of her and Reggie replaces him by hugging her tightly, moving his arms behind her back silently asking Luke what to do with all the papers in his hands. The annoyed guitarist takes them and throws them away without thinking twice. Reg whispers "rude" and his friend rolls his eyes at him.

Reggie lets go and the four of them stare each other for a few seconds, none knowing what to say or do.

"Hello, sorry but I came to escort this beauty to her next class."

The fifth voice belongs to Cameron Green, who has just appeared in front of them and offers the girl his arm to intertwine with hers.

The perfect captain of the football team. Luke has known for years that the guy has some feelings for his girl, but he never had to worry because he knows her, she would never do anything that would put his trust at risk. But now, things are different.

She takes a step forward to accept the gesture and turns to see the boys one last time.

"I guess I'll see you on music class." She offers an apologetic smile, Alex smiles back to let her know it’s okay.

"But what about lunch break?" Reggie asks, after all, the five have been sitting together for years, they didn’t even separate when Y/N entered the cheer squad.

"I promised to sit down with Cam, sorry guys. But see you later!"

Y/N turns to look at Luke for a few seconds, as if waiting for him to stop her. But never happened.

So both her and Cameron walk until the band can’t see them in the sea of students. Reggie and Alex turn to see their friend, who has his hands wrapped in fists and looks totally crimson, his face irradiates frustration as he clenches his teeth.

“I prOmiseD tO SiT DoWN WitH CaM, fucking hell I’m out of here.”

“You are not going anywhere, man! It’s time for an intervention.” Reggie takes his friends by the arm and leads them to the janitor's closet where he pushes them and closes the door.

“The janitor's closet, really?” Alex asks and Reggie smiles proudly. “..Okay.”

"This is stupid, can we get out of here now?" They both return their attention to Luke, his face radiating despair.

"No. You can't keep prolonging this anymore. What did you think? That no one was going to try to date the most popular girl in school? Are you really so self-centered as to believe that no one would dare just because you are the ex boyfriend? Local rockstar or not, she’s a gem."

“Of course not, I just went into denial, I guess. All I know is that I miss her. I missed her every day this endless summer. I know the experience was amazing, but every night while I was singing the only thing I could think about is how much I wanted to see her beautiful dorky face in the small audience. The way she blushes when I'm singing straight to her direction and I send her a wink. The passion with which she sings each of the songs that she has been listening to over and over for years. How proud she looks of us as we give that final bow.

And it’s stupid, you know? Because somehow, I forced myself to think that having a girlfriend was depriving me of the opportunity to live experiences like that, to live my dream the fullest.

And what I ended up discovering when I did them is that my dream is simply never going to be fulfilled without her. As Alex said, she is as much part of Sunset Curve as any of us. And that now she has other interests or priorities doesn’t diminish how much she loves us and how much we love her, our dreams don't have to collide. And I'm a real idiot who took 3 months to realize it while I'm sure that fake dude was doing his fight to win her over.”

“FINALLY!” They both scream while hugging their brother. “Dude, I’m pretty sure she’s still in love with you, just act fast. You both have to stop being so stubborn and learn to give in for each other's sake from time to time. You cannot ask the other what you do not give.” Alex advises.

“I’ll win my girl back.” Luke smiles, hoping that if he says it with enough conviction it will come true.

The boys decide to go back to classes, by the time they are about to reach the lockers for gym, the other guys are already there and a lively conversation is heard.

“Man, it's not like I've been in love with her for years. I don't even know her. But stealing Luke Patterson’s girlfriend who is casually the most popular girl in school, is simply the step that makes you a legend in this small town. Not to mention that perfect body, what I would do to her if I had the chance."

No one has noticed the Sunset Curve members are present, and the second they hear him Reggie and Alex cover Luke's mouth and drag him out of there.

“I’m going to kill him! And before you say it, I don't care if it's the stupid football captain! If his monkeys hit me I have the satisfaction that I already gave him a black eye and I took out 3 teeth from him. No one is going to play or talk about her like that!"

To say that he is angry is an understatement. He is shaking with fury, moving in the small hall from one side to the other trying to calm the urge to slam his fist against the wall, because if he is going to slam it somewhere it will be in that idiot's face.

“You have to control yourself and be smart for once! he is the golden boy of the school, no matter how popular you are, your reputation as a bad boy is not going to win against his. Maybe not even with Y/N, she might think you're just fired up to see them together."

As much as it hurts to admit it, Alex is right. That clown has convinced everyone in the school with the idea that he doesn’t break a plate. While the guitarist is famous for skipping classes and playing clubs until dawn.

“And what am I supposed to do? I hope you don't suggest that I just sit around doing nothing."

Reggie takes two steps back in case Alex's suggestion is in fact Luke to do nothing. After all, he has to protect that adorable face.

“I’m not telling you to do nothing, I’m asking you to pay attention to what’s really important. Don't focus on him, focus on her."

He’s not going to say it aloud, but Alex is right, again. She should always be his main focus.

After his friends manage to convince him to take the peaceful route, Luke spends the rest of the day searching for the right words to say, but it’s difficult to find inspiration when every time he turns the love of his life is next to a jerk who is only trying to deceive her.

Not to mention lunch break, every time that idiot tried to touch her or get too close, the guitarist felt his blood boil. The only thing that kept him sane is that she politely pushed him away each and every time.

Reggie managed to convince her to come to the studio with them after her cheer training, just like they used to do last school year. The boys waited for her each time and then she accompanied them to their band rehearsals. Or at least they did before both she and Luke started arguing for not wanting to put in that extra effort.

Alex and Reggie watched as the relationship began to decline and the fights began to escalate. And when the breakup became official, they knew they had to keep the exes away from each other. The ex couple had never been apart and it was important for them to make their friends realized how much they want and love each other's presence in their lives. How lucky they are to have such a supportive partner at their side.

They never said anything to Luke but they could see how sad and depressed the guitarist looked without her. As if that spark in him was missing.

All day they were observing their girly who looked just as miserable, that special aura full of dull energy.

Alex had a theory that he explained to Reggie. When a relationship finishes going through that time where it feels new and recent, when you get used to the other as a couple, sometimes it is easy to take things for granted and not want to continue trying or giving the extra.

Sometimes you get lost in that lapse, and finding a balance is not easy. But when you love someone as much as they love each other, well, it’s easy to guess they’ll find the way.

So while Alex distracted Luke, Reggie ran to convince his girl friend to join them, which wasn't easy considering she already had plans with the football player. At that moment the bassist was grateful Luke was not around to hear that.

Once they are together, things will settle down. They have both suffered enough to know that without a doubt everything they have to do for the other is worth it. It’s time for them to stop being stubborn because Reg and Alex are not going to bear being in the middle for long. Those two can be insufferable sometimes.

So, that's how Sunset Curve ended in the stands. Watching her friend as the squad lifted her to the top of the pyramid.

Luke can't help but see her with loving eyes. He feels so proud of her, and that’s when he realizes he can’t remember the last time he actually told her, and that hurts him. She should hear those words every day, and if he is lucky enough for her to accept him back, that will be one of the first things that will change.

He's so focused on watching her, that he doesn't realize the football team is starting a fight just yards away until Reggie hits him on the shoulder.

Cameron pushes one of his teammates straight into the pyramid, which begins to disarm before the guitarist's eyes.

Some of her team manage the impact not be too strong, but she still stays motionless on the ground for a few seconds because of the shock.

Cameron Green kneels in front of her, Luke tries desperately to pass but two big guys get behind their captain to block him.

“Get the fuck out of my way!” The desperation in his voice indicates that he will do whatever it takes to get to her.

“Leave her alone already, Patterson!”

Reggie and Alex catch up with him and mentally prepare for what lies ahead, when they hear Y/N's weak voice.

"No! Luke, please. I need Luke."

The guitarist takes advantage of everyone's momentary shock after hearing her voice and manages to get to her side.

“I- I- I’m here, baby. I’m here, don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Luke lightly caresses her cheek while examining her body, it seems that it was more the scare than anything else.

“I know.” She smiles at the contact of Luke’s hand in her skin.

“Yeah?” He asks almost in a whisper, he is hypnotized watching her. Trying with all his might not to kiss her.

“Yes, you are here. As long as we are together everything will be fine.”

“Is this your subtle way to tie me up again?” Luke teases while helping her sit up. The whole crowd watches them around the field. Cameron looking angry just a few yards away.

She laughs. A wholesome laugh, full of happiness. “Oh honey, we all know you never stopped being mine."

If there is something that turns him on, is his Y/N’s confidence. (And see her in nothing but his t-shirts but that’s not the point.)

“Right back atcha, baby.” He brushes his lips against hers while making that seducting face that she can hardly ever resist, but this time she surprises him by taking him from behind the neck and crashing her lips on his.

The people around them begin to applaud the show, and without interrupting the passionate kiss Luke puts his arms around her back and legs to lift her up and carry her away.

Reggie and Alex do a fist bump and then one looks for Y/N's things and the other for Luke's and follows them from behind.

"They endured a whole school day, wow."

"If we hadn't stolen Luke from her over summer they would have been 2 hours apart and it would have been the most embarrassing separation of all time."

"The two of them were going through a lot and they didn't know how to cope at the time, but now that they are both better, I’m very happy they’re back together, they are soulmates."

“They sure are, Reg. Did you see Cameron's face when Luke stuck his tongue down Y/N's throat? PRICELESS.”

Thank you for reading✨

Taglist: @writerinlearning, @ghostofmgg, @strangerthanfanfiction713, @thebloodthirstyvampress, @kinda-really-lost, @kcd15, @magnet-girl, @aliandthephantoms, @stxrkspidey, @pinkrockstar19, @s0uz4s, @shycupcakealissa, @cookiebuba, @fangirlangioma, @sageellsworth05, @twist3dtinkerbell, @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve, @caitsymichelle13, @ifilwtmfc, @luckylouiebug, @bibliophilewednesday, @totomoshi, @siennanoelle01, @lunashadow6955, @bookfrog247, @morganayennefertyrell, @kiss-themoongoodbye, @rachelle3musicals

[angel-anoetic]

first, i absolutely love you wringing. second i'm a huge music nerd and my taste in music is shitty pop punk right. this leads to me to, can i request yandere (if you write yandere) Dream (or whoever you think would fit here) with inspiration from the song Mrs. Infamous (My Sweetness) by Palaye Royale. if you're not cool with this for any reason don't take it, but this has been plaguing my mind and since i love your writing i think i'd be really cool to see how you would write this. if you decide to take this request (and even if you don't just reading my ramblings is more than enough) thank you!!!!

Okay so tbh, i've never read or written anything remotely yandere, but i do know what it is. while this may not be the most yandere compared to fics, i really tried!! i also enjoy pop-punk and this song was super nice to listen to. thank you and i hope you enjoy <3

Don't forget to like to save and reblog to share!

yandere! c!Dream x gn!Reader - Mrs.Infamous

genre: yandere!, unrequited /rom, angst, song inspiration

warnings: yandere, stalking, slight violence

masterlist <3

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He hadn't slept in almost three weeks. The constant thought of you was the only thing that ran through his mind. The way your hair fell so naturally, how your laugh would basically echo throughout the server, the way you could handle anything that came your way.

Most of all he thought about those nights. The ones when the two of you had been so close he could feel your warmth. You had once stared into his eyes with so much fire and had held him close.

"My sweetness! Where are you going to be tonight?" He passed an apple between his hands, leaning against your door.

"I happen to have some very important business to do with Puffy and Niki. But after that, I should be free, why?" You packed everything into your inventory.

He shrugged, giving a crooked smile, "I thought maybe we could hang out, I could take you around the server...show you the secrets I've found."

You had grinned at the proposition. Dream and you always found a way to get into trouble, Sam usually had to tell you two off.

"I would love to."

That night after causing a few explosions near the BadLands and stealing some materials from a few places around the server you both made your way back to Dreams house. Well, 'house' was an overstatement. It was more of a hole in the side of the mountain with a door than anything but at least it was a place for him to stay.

The cigarette you two passed back and forth went out, and you two found yourself swaying back and forth to the music, enjoying the nightlight. Jokes and topics floated in the air until you packed up your stuff to leave.

Now? Things had changed so much compared to the beginning of the server. Dream had always been some pretty boy that had enjoyed your attention. You loved him as a friend, he could never be anything more as much as you knew he wanted.

In his mind, though you had led him on. Pulled him around like some puppy that couldn't guide itself. It had started slowly. You couldn't hang out one day, and the destruction got worse and worse each time.

"Hey, Niki! I was wondering if you've heard from Y/N. They're not answering my calls and I'm a little worried."

"Oh yeah um they had something to do today, so they're just out and about haha." She lied. He knew because he showed up at your house and found you scuffling about, making dinner, and enjoying a show.

He had gone home that night wondering what he did wrong to make you ignore him.

It wasn't long after that things had started escalating. Him showing up more and more and then seemingly disappearing. Or so you had thought.

It was supposed to be an easy-going day, you and Fundy planned to go looking for some new places to explore and then walk around the server. Until he had shown up. You saw him out of the corner of your eyes, the mask giving away his location.

"Dream?" He had tried to stay hidden but came out once you approached the tree he was behind.

"Dream? What are you doing here?"

"You were ignoring me. I thought maybe you were mad."

"What? No, I've just been busy lately."

"Doing what, hanging out with him?" The look he gave Fundy turned your stomach upside down. It was filled with rage, jealousy.

"Dream I think you need to leave."

"What?" He whispered.

"Leave. Please."

And so he did. For that day.

These last few days the feelings in his head had been taking over, pushing him to do something, anything to get you back and keep you.

"Y/N! Please just let me explain myself! Please!" You stopped dead in your tracks and turned to face him.

"What Dream? What could possibly so important that you need to tell me right now?"

"Why have you been ignoring me? You won't answer your calls and you never answer the door. Niki and Puffy have started asking me to leave you alone...I just need to know what I did wrong."

"You cannot be serious right now. You want to know what you did wrong? How about terrorizing Fundy so badly he won't get anywhere near me? Or calling me more than a hundred times a day? Leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you and I don't need anything from you ever again! So god help me if I ever see you again I will leave and never come back!"

Your words left him cold. Every inch of him just lost.

You began walking away but you didn't make it far before the handle of the ax was brought down on your head. You fell to the ground, unconscious.

He stared down at you, admiring the way the moonlight hit you. The deja vu of that night in his home hit hard. Oh, how different things had been. And how much had changed?

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For future reference, I don't think I'll be writing yandere until I get more experience with it hehe