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tacoma-narrows · 2 months ago

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Tac's OC Ref Masterposts 2: Primary OCs

See my other ref posts here: Sonas, Secondaries, Tertiaries

I wanted to have a series of posts where people can find all of my characters in one place! Since I have too many to fit them all into one post, I decided to split them up based on how much I use them/how developed they are, the same way they're split up on my Toyhouse.

I wanted to have their refs here so people can find them relatively easily and not have to go digging through their Toyhouse galleries to find them lol. If anyone ever wants to draw them, you are very much encouraged to do so!! Same goes for asks about my characters! Those are always welcome as well!!

These will have some general information about each of my characters, but if you want to see more about them in depth, each character's Toyhouse page will also be linked! If/when I update any particular characters' ref in the future, that will be updated here as well ^^

Will also include each character's theme song because I like showing those off too :3

See my primary OCs here below the cut!

PRIMARY OCS

These guys are also the ones I generally use the most often and have a fair amount of development, but aren't as much a direct reflection of me as my sonas are. That being said, a lot of them do still hold different facets of my personality here and there!

They're split into two categories: Upper Tier Primaries, and Lower Tier Primaries. This is mainly to differentiate between how much I use some of these characters, as I will admit that there are definitely some I use much more than others lol. Basically the Lower Tier ones are the characters that I don't use as much, but feel too connected to, or have enough development to not be demoted completely to secondary OCs lol

Between the two tiers, everyone listed here is listen in alphabetical order ^^

Upper Tier Primaries

Astro [Toyhouse Link]

Space cat who lives in space and does Space Things

Can visit the earth and interact with any of my other OCs

Can fly through space, leaves a streak/trail as he flies (like this)

Friends with Tarmac, as they both can hang out in space :3

Theme Song: Alligator Sky by Owl City

Eejanaika [Toyhouse Link]

SkyWing/RainWing hybrid

Name pronounced Edge-a-NYE-ka

Goes by Eej as a nickname

Has issues with anxiety and self-confidence

Demisexual, girlfriend of ThunderSnow

Has a short right horn, RainWing frill spines with no membrane, a double-pointed nose spike and is missing every other spine along her back as a result of being a hybrid

Name and design based on the old color scheme for the Eejanaika roller coaster at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan

Theme Song: Trip the Light by Garry Schyman and Alicia Lemke

Kickflip [Toyhouse Link]

Cool skateboarder guy

Competitive rivals with Seabreeze

Friends with Rye

Boyfriend of Floatie (owned by @/macaronichewtoyz)

Fun fact: his hat is based on a hat that I (used to :[ ) own!

Theme song: Hollywood by Flickerstick

Luau [Toyhouse Link]

Major comfort OC

Very chill, laid back attitude

Good friends with PB and Shep

Occasionally guest vocalist for Let's Get Back! and often runs the lights/effects for their shows

Always has a flower in her hair, but can be any flower!

Girlfriend of Seabreeze

Theme Song: Otter Pop by Shawn Wasabi and Hollis

Moxie [Toyhouse Link]

Celestdog - Siberian Husky

Another major comfort OC

Loves to have fun, can play a little rough sometimes but always means well

A bit bigger and more stocky than Isaac

Sister to Isaac and the rest of the Celestdog family

Theme Song: Fly By The Wayside by Skye Sweetnam

Pumpernickel [Toyhouse Link]

Twin brother to Rye

Drummer and backup vocalist for Let's Get Back!

Easygoing and relaxed

Enjoys being outside at night

Theme Song: Sleepwalker by Owl City and Derek Fuhrmann

Rhazz [Toyhouse Link]

Huge comfort OC

Design and personality based around the Roaring Twenties

Super energetic and affectionate

Lesbian, girlfriends with Agouti

Stage performance partners with Foxtrot

Has a necklace, two hoop earrings on her left ear, a ring on her left horn and a feathered headdress (all are not optional when drawing her! I have a separate ref for them here)

Theme Song: The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Rye [Toyhouse Link]

Twin to Pumpernickel

A bit more rambunctious than his twin

Likes to strut around thinking he's cool stuff when he's really just kind of a dork

Keyboardist, backup guitarist and backup vocalist for Let's Get Back!

Theme Song: Deer in the Headlights by Owl CIty

Seabreeze [Toyhouse Link]

Lively surfer girl

Girlfriends with Luau

Good friends with Starburst as well, as both are pretty adventurous

Always has her lucky seashell necklace

Theme Song: Learn How to Surf by Owl City

Soda [Toyhouse Link]

Pooltoy Fox

Best friends with Tarmac

Also good friends with Luau and Seabreeze, sharing their love of water/the beach

Has a giant tail that can be bopped around

Can scale up and down in size for more people to float on/with him

Theme Song: Clap Your Hands by Owl CIty

Tarmac [Toyhouse Link]

Aeromorph dog

Mix between the Concorde and the Space Shuttle

Can fly both supersonically and in space

Best friends with Soda

Also good friends with Astro

Tallest/biggest of my anthro OCs (I haven't decided exactly how big, but like he's a big guy lol)

Theme Song: Defying Gravity by Matt Copley and Noise Machine

Wilkołak [Toyhouse Link]

Big scary (or at least he tries to be scary) transgender wolf guy

Name can be pronounced either Veel-koak or Will-ko-Lack (His name means Werewolf in Polish)

Second tallest of my anthro OCs after Tarmac (about 6'5 or so)

Has hydrokinetic powers and his blue markings glow when he uses them

Used to be a WoF Fantribe OC named Galeforce before I redesigned him lol

Theme Song: Armed To The Teeth by Abandoned Pools

Lower Tier Primaries

Agouti [Toyhouse Link]

RainWing

Relatively quiet and shy until you get to know her

Lesbian, girlfriends with Rhazz

Can feel the emotions of others very strongly (for better or worse)

Theme Song: Sunburn by Owl City

Doppler [Toyhouse Link]

SeaWing/RainWing hybrid (75% Sea/25% Rain)

Weather forecaster with his wings and scales that show weather radar

Makes up a weather watching/storm chasing team with Sundial and ThunderSnow

Boyfriend of Sundial

Radar can show any kind of weather (rain/thunderstorms, hurricanes, snow storms, tornadoes, etc.)

Theme Song: Safe and Sound by Capital Cities

Firecracker [Toyhouse Link]

Jack Russell Terrier

Small but full of energy!

Loves 4th of July themed snacks and baked goods (his personal fav are Star Spangled Ding Dongs haha)

Friends with Starburst over their shared energetic lifestyle and red white and blue color solidarity :]

Theme Song: All My Friends by Owl City

Isaac [Toyhouse Link]

Celestdog - Australian Shepherd

Nonbinary Asexual

Quiet and reserved, generally prefers to do their own thing

Very smart, loves trivia facts

Sibling to Moxie and the rest of the Celestdog family

Theme Song: Into the Ocean by Blue October

Kwaro [Toyhouse Link]

SilkWing

Gay, boyfriends with Rutabaga (owned by @/macaronichewtoyz)

Likes to sing, but is self-conscious about singing in front of others

Generally softspoken

Kinda velvety soft rather than full scales

Theme Song: Butterfly Wings by Owl City

Pebble [Toyhouse Link]

Small and fluffy with long, silky fur

Husky/Samoyed mix

Hates getting his fur dirty

Smallest of my feral dog OCs

Theme Song: Count On Me by The Meadows

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cricketnationrise · 9 months ago

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Congratulations on 500 followers, babe! It's awesome that you're doing another ficlet fest. Here's my prompt:

Time: 1:30 a.m.

Location: Hollywood

Character: Alicia Zimmermann

Song lyrics: "Another name goes up in lights; you wonder if you'll make it out alive" from "The Lucky One" by Taylor Swift

Rating: T

HI BABE <3 I love this prompt, and I hope you like where it led me! There's never enough Alicia content, so I was really excited for the excuse to write some. 💜🦗

read the rest of the ficlets here!

🏒🏒🏒🏒

1:30am, hollywood

Alone in the back of a taxi, finally hidden from the view of the cameras, Alicia lets her head fall back against the headrest with a heavy sigh.

It’s been a long time since award shows were fun, since after parties were anything other than an obligation pushed onto her shoulders by her agent. Tonight had been especially harrowing: enough meaningless small talk to make her want to tear her hair out, not enough food, and toast after drunken, incomprehensible toast. It was hard to believe that Alicia had ever liked the crush of people; that she had, at one point, craved this part of being an actress. More and more, her perfect idea of a late night features a warm body next to hers, a cup of chamomile, and a delightfully trashy romance novel—not backhanded compliments and uncomfortable shoes.

Above all, Alicia is tired.

Tired of the run around, tired of the hustle, tired of spineless directors and co-stars that didn’t bother to learn their lines. Tired of constantly getting her picture taken, tired of being hounded by the press, tired of being critiqued on everything from her outfit to her choice of project. Tired of the endless travel, tired of remote filming locations, tired of never being in the same time zone as her apartment for more than a week at a time. There just has to be a way for her to have more control over her career. Surely she’s paid her dues by now.

At least her taxi driver isn’t trying to make conversation, or ask for an autograph—either option was liable to send Alicia over the edge tonight. She frowns as they pass a billboard for a new movie, starring some girl she’s never heard of. Blown up to larger than life, it’s impossible to miss the excitement in the starlet’s eyes, the yearning for more. Alicia feels tears gathering in the corner of her eye and looks away hurriedly—when was the last time she had felt like that?

She still loves acting, is the thing. Still loves throwing herself into a character, really connecting with their desires and fears, breathing life into someone who would otherwise just be words on a page. Still loves becoming someone new. But everything else that comes along with being an actress makes her want to scream.

Finally at her hotel, Alicia pays the driver and makes it up to her room in a haze of exhaustion and general torpor. She changes into pajamas and brushes her teeth on autopilot. It's only as she’s reaching over to turn the bedside light off when she notices the red blinking light of the answering machine.

It’s probably her assistant. Maybe her agent. Both of them have been in constant contact on this press tour, keeping her in the loop on travel changes and adding more “quick appearances” to her schedule that end up being several hours and completely draining. But if she doesn’t check it, she’ll miss something important. With a defeated groan she checks the machine, tension leaching out of her when a man’s voice comes from the speakers instead of any of her all-female team’s strident tones.

Hi, euh, hello, Alicia? This is Bob Zimmermann, we met last week at that terrible premiere?

Alicia actually finds herself grinning as Bob’s Quebecois accent and stumbling words spill out into her hotel room, his genuinely hesitant and careful words wrapping around her like a blanket. She didn’t know him from Adam at the premiere party, but a shared eye-roll during the director’s meandering thank you speech prompted her to wander over once it was done. The warmth in his brown eyes was reason enough to keep talking to him after introducing herself.

The message rambles a bit about how awful the movie was (he’s not wrong, it positively reeked of studio interference) and a bit about how his hockey team did this week before he clears his throat. The change in tone has her listening with bated breath.

I know timing is going to be an issue for both of us, but I really enjoyed talking to you last week, and I’d love to take you to dinner and get to know you sometime— Sometime soon, eh?

He leaves the number of his hotel for the next two days and his pager number before saying goodbye. Still grinning, Alicia scribbles down both numbers and turns off the machine. She turns the light out and settles into bed with his voice echoing in her head and thinks.

A single, unlooked-for message, the possibility of a date with an interesting man, and Alicia feels lighter. And more determined than ever to make some career changes — she wants to love her job again, just as much as Bob loves hockey. And she’s been around long enough, has enough clout, that she really thinks she can change her job to suit her desires.

Resolved to sit down with her agent as soon as she’s in the same city again, she closes her eyes, replaying Bob's message in her mind as she drifts into sleep.

Bonne nuit, Alicia.

#cricket writes #the-lincyclopedia #ficlet fest 500 #check please #omgcp #pov alicia #bonus bad bob content #bc i love their love

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defodisturbed · 8 months ago

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Mastermind - Recoms x Singer!Recom!reader

(A/N: heyy... hey.. im back :3. im sorry for leaving for SO LONG im dealing with a lot of personal stuff right now but im really trying to write more. i want to get faster at typing and i also needa feed my children. also most of this fic will be exposition and the events leading up to the climax like im not even joking its so long. hope yall enjoy this one. mwah) (and yes I based the songs on Taylor Swift and if you're gonna be in the replies being hateful, gtfo my page (kindly))

What if I told you I'm a mastermind?

And now you're mine.

I had always hid my true past from my teammates. Practically everyone. I only really had a journal, and even that was locked away under my rug under my bed. Nobody knew it was there, and nobody could access it without waking me up or making some kind of noise. It was a sacred book to me. I could talk to... something with it. I could express my feelings of wanting to go back to the way things were, but never wanting to leave Pandora. Never wanting to leave my friends. And never wanting to leave my lovers.

I'm a recombinant for the RDA. When I died in my human body, they had my DNA and were already growing my new body to be revived. I have my memories of my past life, and it was awesome. Until... my mom found out she was drafted for the mission on Pandora. I, being the best kid ever, took her place. My fans were scared for me, and tried to convince me not to. They'd heard it all, how dangerous Pandora was. Especially for a singer with no military experience or knowledge. But I accepted my fate. For my mother. For my family. I had siblings back home, and with me going on tour all the time, I wouldn't be able to take care of them if my mother was gone. So I accepted the fact that I was most likely, if not definitely, going to die on this mission.

And I did. My family recieved the news, but also learned about Project Phoenix. They were relieved to know that their kid was going to be revived, just maybe not the same.

-----

"Hey, ma. How're you?" Prager asked as I sat down at the table. It was lunch at the cafeteria. They pretty much just fed us protein-filled slop most of the time. Rarely, they would throw a cookie in there if it was a holiday on Earth.

"Oh, it's going alright, baby. Thanks. Hey, can I ask you a question?" I replied. Prager nodded and leaned in. "Do you think you could ask the Colonel if we could go out in the forest today and just... explore? He doesn't know this, but I actually have some science friends and they showed me some fruits and animals that we can harvest and safely eat. I tried some and Pandora food is good. Like, really good. I wanna surprise the team, and you know Colonel can't say no to you."

Prager agreed and once the Colonel sat at our table, he immediately started.

"Colonel, I was wondering if we could go out into the forest today and just have some fun. Explore, fuck around in some river or something?" Quaritch looked at Prager and gave that ONE sigh. (A/N: its giving "go get my purse") "Fine. But we ain't bringing a baby viperwolf home because Ja wants one." He glared at Ja. He was always the one to see a stray dog and say "please please pleaaaaase mom can we adopt it??" as a kid.

I silently thanked Prager for doing my bidding as always.

-----

We were out in the forest, going over the rules we've memorized by heart now. Once the Colonel finished up, I immediately took off. I was so excited to get some nice food that I didn't realize the cliff drop below me. I was suddenly falling, the wind rushing past my body and feeling almost painful as it hit my face and went away so fast, over and over again.

I dived head first into a lake. The drop wasn't that bad, I realized. Alicia was first on the scene, peeking over the dropoff with a worried look on her face as she hoped to God I wasn't dead. I waved my hand up at her and called out.

"Get down here, this is so fun!! Don't be afraid to get a running start either!" my voice echoed. "Are you okay??" she shouted back. "I'm amazing!!"

Alicia ran over to the others and told them to watch her. She embraced her inner child as she ran as fast as she could and leaped off the cliff. She felt the wind rush past her face as I had, and splashed in the water with me. The rest of my team ran over and looked. We were... fine? Lopez was next. He gladly jumped and plooshed in with us. Then Prager, Zhang, Walker, Warren, Mansk, Lyle, Fike, and finally... Quaritch. He took a chance and jumped.

We were playing and splashing each other with water as we finally relaxed for once. Of course, we had fear of predators. But we didn't care as much anymore. We were playing like kids and it felt so good.

After we dried off and got back to the forest, I took off again. This time, more careful. I found an abandoned basket in pretty good condition and took it with me to collect fruits and veggies. I collected some yovo fruit, some other stuff I didn't know the name of but still knew was safe, and finally it was time to get some meat. I was looking to make some nice Pandora burritos for everyone. I found a nice bow and some arrows, perhaps forgotten by a young hunter excited to show their family their haul.

While I was gathering food, one of my favorite songs got stuck in my head while I was thinking about my life back on Earth. I started humming... then singing the lyrics... then full belting the long notes. I didn't realize Lyle was near, close enough to hear but far enough to stay hidden. He'd never heard my songs because he was in the military before I even debuted. I'm sure he was confused who I was singing.

I got some hexapede meat, some meat from hard fruits, and I also took down a lone viperwolf. I put the stuff in the basket to bring home.

"What the Hell is all of this? What've you been doing this entire time? Why do you have a bow? Did you encounter a native?" Colonel asked. I said I found it and saw no booby traps so I took it. I explained that my friends at the lab wanted some samples so I got some for them. Obviously it was a lie, but I couldn't spoil the surprise.

He allowed me to take my findings and harvest home. I thanked him and was so excited to make him and our team a good meal for once.

-----

I got out my cutting board and my cooking knife and started chopping. I cooked some of that chicken-y stuff and some of that fruit. I thanked Mansk in my head for teaching me these things.

I radio'd everyone to come to my room. I said I had a surprise for them. "I swear to God, if we get there and you're on the bed naked again I will... actually not be mad." Lyle said back.

"This isn't that kind of surprise, Lyle. Just get over here!"

Once they all were in the room, I retrieved a tray with foil over it. The smell wafted into the room as I uncovered the gift. They were all so surprised and hypnotized by the burritos.

"For you guys! You deserve it. Take one, I insist!" I squealed. They all grabbed one and a paper towel and with the first bite, they relaxed their tense muscles and rolled their eyes back. They hadn't had a good meal like this in a good, long while.

"Hey, Y/N, what song were you singing in the forest? You were really loud... must've been one of your favorites or something. Is it on Spotify?" Lyle asked as he finished his first bite. My eyes widened. "You... heard that?"

"Yeah, I heard a little bit too. It was something about a new romantic or something like that." Zdinarsk added. "Yeah you were singing about something related to rings or something too." Mansk said. "I don't know, I could be wrong, but last time I checked, you weren't married." Lopez said.

"Um... can we forget all of that happened? Sorry, I was just getting carried away and I sang some of my own songs and-" I was soon cut off by the Colonel saying, "Wait- your songs?"

I soon shoved them out of my room, begging them to let it go and to not talk about it again. I closed the door behind me as I slid down the metal wall to the floor. I took some big, deep breaths and checked under my bed to check if my journal and hard drives were still there, even though I'd been with them the entire time. Phew! They're still there. I thought.

-----

The next day, at dinner in the cafeteria, I brought my bag with me and sat down with everybody acting like nothing was wrong. Conversation sparked when someone asked, "So what's everyone planning on doing tomorrow? Ardmore gave us the day off." I said I was planning on bingeing my favorite show wrapped in my blankets with my favorite foods. They all agreed and said they would be training, sleeping, exploring, hooking up, or something fun/relaxing.

I suddenly got a call from my friend on the phone. I knew it was something important, because my phone was blowing up with texts while she was waiting for me to answer. I hurriedly ran off to my room for privacy, forgetting my bag full of personal stuff. Including my hard drives. Zdog decided it couldn't hurt to see what I carry around all day, so she started digging. She found my sunglasses, hairbrush/comb, an unopened soda can, some loose candy, and... hard drives?

"Hey does anyone know why Y/N has hard drives in her bag?" Z asked. Nobody knew, so she decided to take them and pass them out for them to watch later. It for sure wasn't porn, Ardmore would've never let it through. It's gotta be some home videos or something.

-----

Zdog and the others piled onto the bed in her room and uploaded the drives onto her computer. They were numbered. They watched the first one and it was a black screen with the sound of a crowd cheering. It was around an hour long. They watched as a... stage appeared. A big one. It was a stadium full of people. A concert? Then appeared the person performing. It was... you. Some already made the connections, while others took a little bit. You were performing for around 70,000 people along with cameras so everyone could watch it live. they watched all of the hard drives all throughout the night, only falling asleep when they went through all of them.

-----

You were in your room, hanging up the call. turns out it was just some cute guy flirted with her at a restaurant. Only then did you realize that you left your bag in the cafeteria. You immediately went back for it, checking everything was there because people just love to snoop. You realized all of your hard drives were missing. You soon were banging on the Colonel's door, asking if he'd seen anybody take them or had anything in their hands. He wasn't there. You knocked on everyone's door and nobody answered. You went back to your room, wailing into your pillow. Those drives were the last thing you had of Earth. Of your entire life before the military. Soon enough, you cried yourself to sleep. In the morning, you slept in. It was your day off, after all. You heard a knock on the door. You recognized it as Z. You opened the door and there she was. She came in without an invite and immediately sat on your bed.

"Y/N. I am... just so sorry. When you left your bag in the cafeteria, I looked through it when I should've respected your privacy. I found hard drives and took all of them to my room and the rest of the team and I watched all of them. In order. All the way through. I am so sorry for disrespecting your right to privacy and watching the videos that were obviously private." She closes her eyes softly, looking down toward the floor with her hands twiddling in her lap. Too embarrassed and disappointed with herself to even look at me.

"Z, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so secretive. Especially with the ones who love me most. The truth is, I was a very rich and famous singer on Earth. You probably know that by now. So does everyone else. But I'm trying to work through it and not be embarrassed to share my past."

"It's not your fault. I love you. We love you. You never have to hide anything from us, but if you don't want it to be shared, that's okay too. So... can we listen to some of your songs?" Z laughed. I said yes an radio'd everyone to come to my room. I had a surprise.

MWAH I love yall!!!! hope you guys enjoyed i've had this au stuck in my head since like last year :) 💋💋

@dyingofcookies ITS HERE BESTIE

#zdinarsk #avatar zdog #recom zdog #z dog #z dog x y/n #recom lyle wainfleet #recom squad #recom quaritch #recom mansk #recom oc #james cameron avatar #original character #avatar x reader

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lemoncrushh · 5 months ago

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Wild Horses - Nine

Summary: Amber Crosby didn’t end up with the life she’d expected, but that didn’t keep her from following her dream. A young, up and coming country recording artist, she and her band set out to do just that. Trying to leave her past behind, it wasn’t until meeting Harry Styles that she realized just how her life could take a turn and alter her future forever.

A/N: Please note all portions in italics are meant to be flashbacks :).

STORY PAGE

Chapter Nine Word Count: 5.2k+

“Don’t let me start wishin’ I was with him now…” - Julie Roberts; Break Down Here

“Amber. Guys. This is Malcolm Goodwin,” Jeff gestured to the tall man next to him who immediately offered his hand.

“Please, call me Mally,” he smiled. “Or just Mal is fine, too.”

“Hi…” Amber began before clearing her throat. “How do you do?”

“Very well, thanks,” he replied with a wink as they shook hands before moving on to shake Brendan and Johnny’s. Feeling awkward as it was, Amber blushed as she wiped her damp hand on the hip of her jeans, hoping Malcolm hadn’t noticed.

“Mally here is both a session drummer and a touring drummer. He’s played with everyone from Gavin DeGraw to Sheryl Crow to Kenny Loggins to...who else?” Jeff laughed.

“Uh...Maddie and Tae. Darius Rucker. Alicia Keys. Keith Urban...” Mally added.

“Wow,” Amber mouthed, astonished.

“Oh yeah, man, I think I saw you with Urban a few years ago. Were you playing with him in...2013? 2014?” asked Johnny.

Mally gave a wide grin as he puffed his chest with pride. “That was me.”

“Aw man. Guys,” Johnny turned to his bandmates. “This dude’s phenomenal.”

Mally and Jeff both chuckled as they eyed each other.

“Well, I’m a bit modest,” the drummer commented. “But I appreciate the compliment.”

“Well…” Amber muttered, “I’m...impressed to say the least.”

“As you should be,” confirmed Jeffrey as he gave Mally a pat on the back. “But most importantly, he’s so generously agreed to save our asses, to put it bluntly.”

Amber bit her lip as she tucked her fingers inside her pockets.

“I’ve heard all your songs,” Mally further explained. “I don’t think it’s going to be any problem getting up to speed for tonight.”

“Tonight,” Amber echoed, her voice coming from her lips quiet while the one inside her head was screaming.

Since leaving Pittsburgh early that morning, her mind had been in a whirlwind. She’d known there was a show that night in Cleveland, and she’d very much been aware that she was one band member short. But only just now had the truth really started to shine its light.

“Guys, Mal is here to help you out for now. It’s temporary to start with, okay? You can...try him out for size so to speak. If things don’t work out...no hard feelings. We’ll just find someone else. Alright?”

“Dude, I’m in,” Brendan lifted his hand which Mally instantly gave a high five.

“Same here,” echoed Johnny, joining in on the bro slaps.

The room fell silent as the men all stared at Amber. Suddenly she was back in fifth grade in the school spelling bee, all eyes upon her as she willed her brain to come up with the correct order of letters.

“Amber,” Jeffrey looked at her with raised brows, arms out and palms up. “This is your band. It’s your call.”

Biting her lip again, her head slowly began to move until she gave an enthusiastic nod. “Yes. Okay. Let’s give it a shot.”

The sound of clapping hands and whistles erupted from the front row. Harry caught the tiny grin on Amber’s face as she held the microphone, having just done a complete run-through with her band and new sit-in drummer.

“Well done, Jeffrey,” Harry elbowed his manager.

Jeff merely nodded as he continued to clap. When Amber replaced her microphone in its stand, she turned to face the drums, her back to her small but enthusiastic audience.

“I’m so happy for her,” remarked Sarah who sat to Harry’s left. “Mally’s a legend. He’ll definitely add something to the band. I mean...I think it’s safe to say, they already sound better?”

Harry nodded in agreement, a slight smirk twitching his lips. He knew what Sarah meant. She was a legendary drummer herself, as far as he was concerned. But he reckoned she wasn’t only referring to Mally’s abilities.

Harry watched the band disperse from the stage, Amber choosing to take the stairs down.

“That was wonderful!” exclaimed Clare, rising to meet her with a hug.

“Thanks,” Amber grinned shyly. “It was pretty great, wasn’t it?”

The rest of Harry’s band along with Jeffrey circled around her, giving their support and praise, adding more as Brendan and Johnny came to join them. When Mally made the group complete, everyone resumed their cheers.

“Ah, thanks guys,” he smiled modestly, his hand on his chest.

“Welcome to the tour,” Harry greeted, slipping between Amber and Clare with an extended hand. “It’s gonna sound amazing tonight.”

“Thanks, Harry,” said Mally with a firm handshake. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Who’s up for some grub?” proposed Brendan. “I’m starving!”

The group laughed as several made plans to grab a bite, the others taking off for a nap or whatever other things the afternoon had in store. When Harry noticed Amber had stayed behind, he couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful, though he was unsure exactly why. Turning to grab his hoodie from the chair, he heard her sweet, silvery voice speak one single word.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself,” he smiled. “You’re not going?”

“To eat? Nah. Sleep sounds better.”

Harry chuckled. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Amber shrugged. “Maybe a couple hours.”

Slipping his hoodie over his head, Harry gestured toward the exit. Amber followed alongside him.

“I need to give you your other one back,” he heard her say as he pushed open the door.

“My other what?” he asked.

“Your hoodie,” she pointed to his chest which displayed his motto.

“Oh. No,” Harry grinned. “That one’s yours.”

“Oh,” Amber mouthed as she slid past him into the sunshine. “If I’d known that, I would have slept in it. Hmm...think I might just do that.”

Spotting the awaiting car, Harry gently placed his hand on the small of her back until she slipped into the back seat. Then sliding in beside her, he nodded at the driver.

“Thanks for last night,” he heard her voice break the silence a few minutes into the drive.

“Don’t mention it, love.”

Harry listened to the sound of her breathing as he reached his hand across the seat to take hers. Giving it a squeeze, he leant his head back against the headrest. Shutting his eyes, his lips curled as he felt her squeeze back.

After the incident with Carter, and he’d reassured her he was gone, Harry had stayed in Amber’s room for another hour or two. Wiping her tears, he knew she was in for a long ride, though he’d hoped last night was the worst of it.

He’d nearly fallen asleep on her bed as he’d held her, waiting for her jagged breaths to even out. When they had, and he'd watched her drift into a deep slumber, he’d felt a certain calmness, much like he felt now beside her in the car.

He hated that he’d left her alone before she’d awakened, and part of him wanted to tell her as much, but it wasn’t because he’d wanted to leave. He’d had things of his own to settle before packing up for the road, and soon enough, it was time for her to leave as well.

Entering the back way through the hotel as they had quickly grown accustomed, Harry rode the lift up with Amber to her floor. Though Jeffrey hadn’t mentioned it since they’d arrived, Harry still felt the need to look out for her. Watching her pull out her key, he giggled when she let out a big, long yawn.

“Told ya I’m exhausted,” she blinked with heavy eyelids.

“Go to bed, sleepyhead,” he commanded, unlocking the door for her.

“Which one’s your room?” she asked when she entered. “I mean, in case I need you.”

Harry pointed to the ceiling with a frown.

“Oh,” Amber rolled her eyes. “Of course. Mr. Penthouse.”

“Heyyy.”

Amber feigned a pout, playfully poking him in the side. Leaning against the door, Harry licked his lips as Amber headed straight for the bed. It took all his power and restraint to not take another step further into the room, the need to comfort her aching through his core.

“I’m inviting you now, so you don’t get mad later and say I didn’t.”

“Inviting me to what?” Amber asked, pulling down the bedding.

“Dinner.”

Looking up with wide eyes, Amber dropped the extra pillows on the floor. “Oh. Yay! With you and Jeff?”

“No…” Harry looked down at his hands and tugged at his rings. “Just me.”

“Ohh,” Amber murmured softly as she walked around the bed and stepped closer to him. “Double yay. What time?”

“Whenever you wake up from your nap. You’ll be hungry, yeah?”

Amber nodded emphatically. “Definitely.”

“Good,” Harry grinned. “Just call or text when you’re ready.”

“What if I sleep forever?”

His lips spread wider as he felt a tiny flutter in his chest. Where the hell did that come from?

“I don’t mind waiting,” he admitted.

And somehow, he knew in that moment, that it was the absolute truth. In more ways than one.

Amber sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes red from crying for the last hour. The gentle touch of Carter’s hand on her back soothed her as she took in deep breaths. She felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, while she also worried that perhaps she shouldn’t have revealed everything to her drummer.

“It’s gonna be okay,” she heard Carter murmur.

Turning her head, she looked at his sincere face before he leaned in and kissed her lips softly. Maybe she hadn’t made a mistake in telling him.

“And I want you to know, Ambs,” he continued, “that I’ll never tell another living soul what you just told me. As long as I live.”

“Promise?” she asked with jagged breaths.

Carter lifted his hand to brush away a fallen strand of hair from her face. Looking her in the eye, he nodded.

“I promise, babe. It’s not my secret to tell, anyway.”

“And…” Amber swallowed, “you don’t judge me?”

“God, no, Ambs,” Carter scowled. “I’m actually glad you told me. It...makes me feel closer to you, if that makes sense.”

With a deep sigh, Amber lifted her arms to wrap them around Carter, pressing her face into his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his t-shirt.

“I’m here for you, Amber,” he declared. “Even if...if it has to be just you and me. No one else needs to know, because I’ll take care of you.”

Amber awoke to several text notifications. With a smile on her lips, she rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed, hoping at least one was from Harry, even though he’d told her to text him. Much to her dismay, however, the first notification was a long text from Carter.

Amber, I know you don’t wanna talk to me, she read, immediately closing the text.

“You’re right, I don’t,” she said aloud.

The second text was from her mother.

Just checking in. Call or text me when you get a chance.

Giving Pauline a quick reply, she told her she was headed out to dinner, and that she would call her as soon as she was free. At the end, she added that all was well. Though it was a white lie, she didn’t want her mother to worry.

The final text was fortunately from Harry. Her smile returned as she read his words.

I’ve decided to have dinner delivered to my room. Come on up when you’re ready.

Hastily typing on her phone, Amber texted him back to let him know she just woke up and would be there in a few.

I’ve just ordered. Take your time :).

With her tummy already doing somersaults at the idea of having dinner alone with Harry in his penthouse suite, Amber tossed the sheets aside and pulled off the Treat People With Kindness hoodie she’d slept in, opting for a quick shower. While she would have normally waited until after having eaten, the last thing she wanted was to show up at his door stinking to high heaven. Not that she particularly had B.O...but still.

Dressing in her most comfortable jeans with a tee and her favorite oatmeal colored cardigan, Amber spritzed herself lightly with perfume and stepped into a pair of flats. Pressing the button at the elevators, she heard a voice call her name.

“Hey, Amber, how’s it goin’?”

Twirling around, she smiled when she saw Mally, Sarah and Mitch coming towards her.

“Hey, guys. Just going to grab some dinner.”

“Oh, us too,” said Mally. “Do you wanna join us?”

“Um…” Amber hesitated. “Sorry, I actually have plans. Maybe next time?”

“Of course.”

Stepping onto the open elevator, Amber saw Mally hold the door before she frowned, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Oh Mal, I think she’s going up,” Sarah commented, saving the day.

“Oh!” Mally looked up at the light above the doors. “Dang, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Amber gave a wavering smile. “See you before the show, okay?”

“You got it, babe,” Mally winked.

As the doors shut, Amber swallowed hard. She’d already decided she liked Mally. He seemed like a nice and decent guy, and he was one hell of a musician. But the last thing she needed was another drummer who called her babe.

Her thoughts momentarily - and undesirably - floated to Carter, and had it not been for the delicious aroma wafting through the open doors, she might not have noticed the elevator had stopped. Stepping out into the small foyer, she saw a man in a black vest pushing an empty cart her way. He gave her a short nod before backing into the elevator, the doors closing quietly.

“Oh, hey, you’re here. Come in, love.”

Her gaze shifting back to the open doors, Amber caught sight of a very cozy-looking Harry, clad in black sweats and a gray hoodie, his curls damp from his own apparent shower. Crossing the threshold, she took in the view of the nearby table, decked out with two place settings, candles aglow in the center. Amber wasn’t sure which of the two visions pleased her more.

“Have a seat,” she heard him say.

Blinking, she looked at Harry, then back at the table, finally choosing the chair on the right. She stared at the plate in front of her, a chicken breast covered in mushroom sauce, cheesy potatoes and asparagus that all looked and smelled delicious.

“Now, I wasn’t quite sure,” Harry announced, “but I got a bottle of wine if you wanted a glass. You certainly don’t have to partake, though.”

It was only then that Amber noticed the chill, ambient music, coming from where she wasn’t sure. It only added to the atmosphere with the early evening overcast light streaming through the sheer curtains, and Harry’s intoxicating scent as he stood next to her.

“God, Harry,” she muttered, her eyes still on her plate.

“Hmm?”

Raising her head, she saw him lift his eyebrows in question, the bottle in his hand as he uncorked it.

“I...wasn’t expecting all this.”

“What? It’s just dinner, love,” he smirked and poured a tiny bit of the red liquid into a glass. “You have to eat, right?”

“Well, it’s not my usual kind of dinner, so...thank you.”

Leaving the glass next to her plate, Harry poured himself another, much more full glass and took the seat across from her.

“How was your nap?” he inquired.

“Amazing,” she sighed. “And much needed. I think if my stomach hadn’t been growling, I might’ve kept sleeping.”

Harry smiled, lifting his wine glass. “Well, I would have missed your company, but I’d have understood. Cheers?”

Amber shifted her gaze between her wine and water glasses, finally opting for the wine. Sharing the small cocktail with Harry before the show the previous night hadn’t affected her in any negative way, so she figured this one wouldn’t either. Besides, she appreciated that while he’d only poured her a small amount, he’d also given her the option.

“Cheers,” she echoed with a grin, tapping her glass against Harry’s.

Taking a slow sip, she set it down to grab her fork and knife, ready to dive into the delicious looking chicken.

“So, how do you like Mally so far?” Harry asked.

“Oh. He’s great. Such a great drummer. And he seems very nice. I think it might work out, but I guess we’ll see tonight,” she said with wide, excited eyes.

“He is a nice guy,” Harry agreed. “Met him a couple years ago at a party. He and his wife.”

“Oh, he’s married? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. She’s lovely as well. Tamara I think is her name. Though she goes by Tam.”

“Mal and Tam,” Amber mused. “That’s cute.”

“And they have the cutest kids,” Harry added with a chuckle. “I’m sure he’ll start pulling out the pictures soon.”

After a few minutes of silence except for the sounds of chewing and swallowing, Amber decided to ask a question.

“What kind of party was it?”

“Sorry?”

“Where you met Mally. Was it a music thing?”

“Um...no,” Harry shook his head and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “It was...a Hollywood party.”

“Oh,” Amber nodded, thinking about his answer. “Oh. You were with Iris then.”

“Yeah.”

Amber stared across the table as Harry dug into his own dish. She would have made another rabbit joke, but curiosity and compassion overrode her desire for humor.

“You know, Harry...you told me you’re a great listener. I am too.”

She watched his chest rise and fall before he laid down his fork and took a sip of wine.

“I’m sorry, Amber. It’s just...not really something I care to talk about right now.”

“I see.”

A slight smirk twitched his lips as he replaced his glass. “Perhaps I’ll tell you all about it one day. Right about the time you’re ready to divulge your past with Carter.”

Trying not to let his words sting, she understood his need for privacy.

“Fair enough,” she agreed.

“How about we discuss something pleasant? I remember you mentioning your family. Your baby sister. What about your mum?”

Amber shrugged, jabbing her fork into her chicken. “My mom lives in Georgia. With Laci. Her name is Pauline. She actually texted me while I was sleeping. I told her I’d call later. I’ve been slacking off a little in that department.”

“Ah, keeping in touch with your mum is important,” Harry remarked.

“Yeah I know,” Amber agreed. “Are you very close with yours?”

A wide smile spread across his face, his dimples on full display. “You really haven’t dug up that much on me, have you?”

“Why, was I supposed to?”

A loud chuckle bounced around the room, and Amber felt herself blush. “No. I just reckoned you’d heard about my fabulous mum. And my sister.”

“Oh wait, I think I have,” confessed Amber. “What’s her name again?”

“Gemma. And my mum’s Anne Twist.”

“That’s right! That does sound familiar. I’m sorry, Harry. Other than your music, and a little bit about One Direction, I haven’t really been keeping up. I guess I...just don’t like the idea of snooping into celebrities’ personal lives.”

“That’s fine. And commendable actually,” Harry said.

“Plus...I guess I’ve just been so busy with the band that I haven’t been paying much attention to anything else.” With a pause, she remembered something that made her giggle. “I did see the One Direction movie, though. With my cousin, Faith.”

“Ah, then you have seen my mum,” Harry commented. “She’s in it.”

“Oh! Of course! The gorgeous brunette lady!” exclaimed Amber with wide eyes.

“That’s her.”

Amber sat back in her chair, her eyes taking in Harry’s face. “No wonder…” she muttered.

The dimples made a momentary reappearance as Harry lifted his fork to his mouth, his eyes dancing.

“Well, I love my mom,” Amber circled back around, “and I miss her. But I don’t miss Perry.”

“Perry?”

“That’s the podunk town I’m from.”

“Oh,” Harry chuckled, no doubt at her descriptive word. “What about your dad?”

Amber frowned, dropping her shoulders. Taking a moment to linger, not sure how to answer the loaded question, she sipped on her red wine, letting it coat her throat. Then setting down the glass, she fingered the cloth napkin in her lap.

“My dad and I...don’t have the best relationship. He and my mom split when I was a little girl. I would see him on weekends until I got to high school. Then it turned into once in a while, and finally not at all.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said sincerely though his expression was stoic. “I understand.”

Resuming his chewing, Harry didn’t ask any more questions, much to Amber’s relief. While she definitely was not in the mood to discuss her history with Carter, she was also not ready to go down the father route either. Like Harry had said...maybe one day. But today was not that day.

After dinner, Harry invited Amber to join him on the sofa where he grabbed his guitar and quietly began to strum, the lo-fi music now extinguished. Almost like clockwork, the man from earlier returned to collect the dirty dishes, placing them on the cart before leaving once again. Amber watched him from the corner of her eye, though she didn’t question it aloud. Things like that she knew she could get used to, though she would never take for granted, and knowing Harry for the short time she had, she figured he didn’t either.

When Harry began to play chords to a song she knew well, she sat up with delight, a smile beaming on her face.

“You know my songs!” she exclaimed with joy.

“Just the one,” Harry grinned shyly. “And a wee bit of another one. That song you sing acoustically until the band kicks in.”

“Oh my gosh,” Amber placed her hand on her chest. “I’d love to hear you play it.”

“Actually, I was rather hoping you would.”

Sucking in her lips, Amber tried not to blush as Harry handed her his guitar. Tossing the strap over her head, she rested the six string on her knee before taking the pick from him. Then plucking the strings, she gently began to sing her own song - one that was near and dear to her heart. When she reached the part where the band would usually kick in, Harry began to sing harmonies, lightly tapping his hands on his thighs. Amber couldn’t help the elation she felt rising in her chest as she watched him, the sound they made together echoing through the suite. As the song began to build, the emotion did too, and she felt a tiny tear trickle down her cheek. When she finished the final chord, her voice ringing out long after the vibrato was complete, she exhaled slowly, holding the guitar neck with one hand as she wiped the tear with the other.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Harry affirmed, his voice warm and syrupy.

“Whew,” Amber sounded. “Thanks. I haven’t sung it that way in...a long time.”

“I reckon that’s how it should be sung. I mean...if I’m allowed to say.”

“Really?”

Harry shrugged. “I just felt that a little more - the emotion coming from you. I like the other way too, with the band. But I think you may want to consider performing it acoustically sometime. Just you and the guitar.”

Amber bit her lip. She had considered that, in fact, when she’d first written it. “It was...Carter’s idea to do it that way, with the band. He said it sounded too sleepy and desperate the other way.”

Harry hummed, and even without the eye roll that Amber knew he was holding back, his opinion was clear. Removing the strap, Amber handed him his guitar and pick, pushing her hair from her face.

“I guess I should probably go,” she announced. “It’s about time to get to the venue.”

“Thank you for joining me, Amber,” said Harry as he rested his guitar against the arm of the couch. “It was a lovely dinner.”

“God, no, thank you! For inviting me, and for the delicious meal and...everything.” Amber rose from the sofa before Harry could protest, reaching the double doors that the waiter (or whomever he was) had shut behind him.

“Well, you’re very welcome,” she heard him say behind her before he came to rest his palm against the closed door. “Amber.”

“Hmm?” she asked, lifting her head to meet his green eyes. As usual, she found herself wanting to swim in them, and she knew she could have if he hadn’t spoken again.

“Are you doing okay?” With the tenderness of a dove, he placed his hand on her arm, where her bruise still lay hiding beneath her cardigan.

“Of course.”

“I mean, I know it’s only been a day. Not even twenty-four hours yet. But I just wanna make sure you’re-”

“I’ll be fine, Harry,” Amber interrupted in haste. Then looking down at her hands she picked at her nearly gone nail polish. “You’ve helped a lot, really. Everything you’ve done for me has helped me in...more ways that I can express.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“I have to be honest with myself though,” Amber added. “And with you. I know I’m not completely okay yet. It’s gonna take a while. But I’ll be fine. As long as you’re here.”

Without really meaning to, Amber lifted her other hand to cover Harry’s that had remained on her arm. Giving it a squeeze, she let it go and turned the doorknob, her eyes still lost in his.

“I’ll see you backstage,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “See ya in a bit.”

Turning for the elevator, Amber pressed the button, whispering one last goodbye before stepping inside. Feelings and emotions surrounded her as her stomach seemed to float while the elevator descended. Taking a deep breath, she returned to her room. Having left her phone there, she decided to check for any new messages. But all that had been added were more from a name she no longer wished to see printed on the screen.

“God, why can’t you leave me alone?” she groaned.

Sitting down on the bed, she was prepared to block his number, but once again, curiosity got the better of her, and she began to read.

Amber, I know you don’t wanna talk to me. But I hope you’ll at least read this. Because I have a lot to say.

I want you to remember how we used to be. How you used to come crying to me, or knocking on my door in the middle of the night because you were scared or lonely. You needed me, Amber. And you still need me. And I think you know that. No matter what you say, we belong together.

I know more about you than anybody. I get you. You said so yourself. How can you just throw that away? How can you kick me out of the band when we built it together? I don’t understand, Amber.

And then when I came to talk to you last night, you had Styles in your room, and you wouldn’t even talk to me! You seem to be all over him now. How do you think that makes me feel? That’s why I got angry. God Amber, I gave you everything! I didn’t wanna hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I thought it was just you and me. I thought you wanted that.

Please talk to me, babe. Please let me back in. I miss you. I miss us. Please. I know you miss me too.

Wiping the tears from her eyes that she’d just realized had fallen, Amber read the last text that he’d sent just recently, most likely when she was in Harry’s room.

Fine. I see now. Thanks for making me look like a fucking fool, Amber. I can’t believe I ever cared, because you obviously never cared about me. Have a good life.

Clearing her throat, Amber tossed her phone onto her bed and let herself weep. Big, angry tears came falling down her cheeks, landing in her lap and on her favorite sweater. She cried for several minutes, letting all of her emotions free, like an exorcism.

The hardest part of all, she admitted to herself, was that Carter was right. He was right about a lot of things. They had built the band together. She had come to his room crying when she needed someone. He did know more about her than anyone. And she had needed him.

But not anymore. He was no longer in the band. She no longer ran to his room in the middle of the night. So what if he knew her secrets? He didn’t own her. And she most definitely didn’t need him.

Not anymore.

Rising from the bed, she went to the bathroom and grabbed several tissues to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. Then grabbing her phone from the bed, she tossed it into her handbag on the way out the door.

Right after blocking Carter’s number.

The energy felt different. Amber couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but somehow the buzz from the crowd seemed electric. She could sense it throughout the entire arena, like the feeling that people were actually there for her, and excited to see her perform.

The first song went off perfectly, the audience cheering louder than she’d remembered from previous shows. When she turned and saw Mally counting off the second song, she beamed with delight, thrilled to play her newest single with her new drummer.

It was after the third song that she finally felt the tension release from her body. Not the nerves from playing in front of a large crowd, nor the nerves from playing with a new drummer. But the tension from the last twenty-four hours - or rather, the last couple years.

Pausing to introduce the next song, Amber had an idea. Stepping closer to the drum kit, she waved over Brendan and Johnny.

“Hey guys. I know this is last minute. But remember when I used to sing this song acoustically?”

“Yeah, you wanna try it now?” asked Johnny incredulously.

“Do you mind? I mean, can you back me up if it goes wrong? Step in if I flub it all to shit?”

“Shit yeah, Ambs!” exclaimed Brendan.

Looking up at Mally, Amber saw him give her an assuring wink. “Got your back, babe.”

Sucking in her lips, Amber turned back toward the mic, gingerly strumming the opening chords.

“So this is one of my favorite songs,” she announced. “On the record, it’s got the full band, but...tonight I’d like to sing it the way it was written.”

The crowd cheered as she took a deep breath.

“This is for someone special,” she added.

When her set was over, Amber felt elated, energized, exhilarated, exhausted....and any other word she could think of that started with E. Stepping into the wings, she caught sight of the shadow before his arms wrapped her into a warm hug.

“I’ve never been more proud,” he murmured against her hair.

“That was for you,” she declared against his chest.

Pulling back, Harry lifted her chin to look at him. His eyes dancing, even in the dim lights, he brought his other hand up to cup her cheek, his calloused fingers giving her goosebumps.

“No, my love,” he shook his head. “That was all for you.”

taglist: @freedomfireflies, @daphnesutton

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MASTERLIST | KO-FI | FEEDBACK

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skaruresonic · 2 months ago

Note

Flynn actually did give scourge an excuse for his actions. Scourge wasn't hugged enough by his dad. Yes you read that correctly. Scourge grew up to be evil because his father was too busy achieving literal world peace to hug his spoiled ass

If that wasn't enough, Flynn tried to paint anti Jules as a jerk ass for it.

In the flashback , anti Jules is depicted with the biggest shit-eating grin imaginable waving to a bunch of random while child! scourge is a puny sadboi that looked unloved in the corner, holding daddy's cape.

Oddly enough , scourge was the only mobian given a sadboi backstory

Wish I was making this up.

>>suddenly realizes Scourge and Chris Thorndyke have pretty much the same flavor of backstory. lol. lmao, even

Yeah, the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. If everyone on Moebius is the moral opposite of their Light Mobius counterparts, wouldn't that imply Sonic's dad doesn't want peace?

And yet, Jules is a good guy who fights for freedom. So is the implication supposed to be that Scourge's dad was actually a tyrant of some kind... despite... having achieved world peace?

(Normally I wouldn't call Sonic's world "Mobius," but it seemed pertinent to distinguish between the two worlds established in Archie. Sorry, Random xP)

---

Scourge grew up to be evil because his father was too busy achieving literal world peace to hug his spoiled ass

Growing up to become evil would imply there was a point at which Scourge wasn't evil, which undermines Moebius' whole schtick about the people there just being innately rotten.

At the same time, it's kind of lowkey hilarious to think he pulled a Chris Thorndyke. It's me or the world, dad! (shanks him with a rusty screwdriver)

Plus, half the time Moebius denizens are motivated by boredom; they're all opportunists who do things just for kicks, not because they're traumatized. In one issue, Evil Sonic off-handedly mentions to Alicia that they tossed her dad into the Zone of Silence just because.

---

Oddly enough , scourge was the only mobian given a sadboi backstory

Buns as well.

Frankly, I find Buns to be more compelling and more sympathetic. When she started developing NIDS in the base of her spine, Scourge kicked her to the curb, and she was taken in by Kintobor and placed inside an Omega suit equipped only with non-fatal weapons.

In a world where everyone's out to get you? You could do a lot with that idea.

But who gives a shit about someone Scourge victimized? Nah, let's pay attention to the cowardly, blustering, self-pitying snot who left her for dead instead. Truly he is worthier of our angsty fanfic.

Scourge is speshul, dontcha know :v Even though he's also a pathetic nobody we're not supposed to pay any attention to, despite receiving a miniseries of his own and hogging up the page time in every scene he's in :v

---

If that wasn't enough, Flynn tried to paint anti Jules as a jerk ass for it.

Comic really wanted to have its cake and eat it too. It wanted to milk the tragedy of Jules being the only one on the planet who didn't get deroboticized by the Bem because his war injuries would kill him, even though King Max was able to get de-crystallized just fine. And hell, not soon after returning home from space, Sonic watched his father die right in front of his eyes.

But sure, Jan, we're supposed to pity Scourge when his lack of a dad figure is his own goddamn fault.

#asks

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deeptrashwitch · 6 months ago

Text

Fury and warnings

*Kanoa (@islandtarochips OC) and Alicia are called to a reunion with some CIA agents and two other Marines. Both are confused because they weren't informed about the topic of the reunion*

Alicia: I don't like this, something feels off *mutters*

Kanoa: Yeah, mostly because we were told less than half an hour ago *frowning looking at the conference room* if something odd happens...?

Alicia: If they try to betray us, we'll be enough to get out of here one way or another

Kanoa: We are in the same page, then

*Once they walked inside, the reunion started and it was mostly a "suggestion" for them. Everything was silent when the explanation ended, but the two Captains were livid looking at the agents.*

Kanoa: What did you say? *whispers as he sighed deeply* give up our teams? Give other people the control?

Alicia: The answer is no *dead serious*

Agent 1: You still Marines, you recieve orders and-

Kanoa: *stamps his hand on the table* And you seem to forget that you aren't one of us, you have no use giving us orders

Alicia: Also, your superiors were the ones that gave my team partial autonomy from the US armed forces, just taking us as allies oficially talking *with her eyes frozen with anger* and if I'm right, the Warrior Task Force had a similar agreement regarding the Pacific Region

Kanoa: We still tied to the Marine Corps, but we only answer to General Kalani *straightens up* and speaking of, did the General give her permission for this order? Because if she did, I'd rather to talk directly with her

Alicia: I wonder the same about Station Chief Wright, if so, she owes me an explanation *raising an eyebrow, waiting*

*They both take account of the little reactions of the agents and the Marines, which seemed to have an slight shiver in response. In silence they shared a discret look, then memorized the names of each one of them.*

Alicia: You should be careful *says tilting her head with lifeless eyes* forgering superiors orders is a matter that will always be taken to court, not to mention to the high spheres of your agency. What do you think will happen when they learn about your intentions with two of the most efficient teams in the country?

Kanoa: *with his eyes filled of murderous rage* Also, you should know by now that we hate broken agreements and will always take retaliation...hmm, who do you think they'll favor the most?

Marine: A-are you threathing us? That's- *interrupts themselves with nervousness*

Alicia: Go on *hisses as she leaned, now with her face composing a rageous expression that gave them goosebumps* talk about illegal right here and right now after all this, give me a fucking excuse

Kanoa: *putting a hand over Alicia's shoulder as his eyes darkened* This reunion is over, good afternoon. Agents, gentelmen, see you soon...hopefully

*Alicia forced herself to calm down with a sigh, then both left the room without another word. While they walked, anyone in their path just got out of their way, scared of them. They didn't say anything and their expressions were blank, but the environment around them was so heavy that everyone knew it...they were this near to do something really serious.*

Kanoa: Some people really don't know when to shut the fuck up *murmurs as he takes out his phone and sends a message* Alana will be enchanted to hear about this crap

Alicia: Tell her I say hi *pinching her nose bridge with frustration* I'm sure Wraith won't tolerate this shit...and I won't hear the damned end of this

*They get into Alicia's car and they drive for some minutes in silence*

Kanoa: Wanna go for a burger?

Alicia: ...Yeah, to lighten the mood *nods*

#ocs #call of duty #oc #cod oc #cod mw2 #call of duty modern warfare #team charlie #cod mwii #friends oc #friends ocs #random things

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lexosaurus · 1 year ago

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Everything Was White: Part 21

[see all chapters]

read on: [ao3] [ffn] (please read tags)

Summary: After being accidentally revealed to the public and taken away by the government, Danny deals with the aftermath of his time with the GIW.

****

It had only been a few days since his core access had returned to him, but he still wasn’t used to the buzzing under his skin, cool and constant, pure comfort against the blistering pain of his nerve damage.

Looking back, he wasn’t sure how he had managed to make it this far without his core. His parents, his sister, his friends didn’t understand—they couldn’t, they were just human. But Vlad understood. Vlad was like him. Even if he was a complete asshole in every other way.

Danny flicked off the TV and stretched. Grabbing his walker, he made his way over to the kitchen where Jazz was sitting at the table, her attention devoted entirely to the book in her hand.

“Hey,” he said, dropping into one of the chairs.

“Hi, Danny,” she said absentmindedly.

He peeked at the cover. The History of Boston, it read with fancy, gold letters. Danny rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even…moved there yet. And be—besides, isn’t Harvard in Cambridge?”

“Cambridge is right next to Boston, and they’re both on the same transit system. They may as well be the same city,” Jazz recited as if she’d said it a thousand times before. “And anyway, it’s always good to learn about a place before you move there.”

“Yeah, but it’s ways away.”

“I start school next month, Danny.”

Danny blinked, whipping out his phone. Sure enough, the end of the year was fast approaching.

Shit, Christmas is coming up…

He hadn’t even begun to think about the holidays. Then it hit him…Aunt Alicia hadn’t come over for Thanksgiving, had she?

Why hadn’t she come this year? He tried to remember, tried to think back if anyone had mentioned anything, but he drew a blank.

It wasn’t…because of him, was it?

“I need to be prepared,” Jazz rambled, oblivious to any internal crisis Danny was having at the moment. “I’ve heard that the train system is unreliable, so I want to have a good understanding of the city in case of emergency. I don’t ever want to get stuck in an area that may be unsafe for me. And learning the historical context of different neighborhoods is key to understanding the city as a whole.”

“No one’s going to be asking you for tours.”

“As I said, preparation is key.” Jazz placed her bookmark—a plastic green ghost—in between the pages and set the book down on the table. She eyed him for a moment. “I talked to Mom and Dad about the whole chip thing, and, well…”

He was so thankful for having two years of Phantom to hone his acting skills. “They’re still—still building the new one.”

“Yeah,” she confirmed, grimacing. “But they assured me it was just temporary. They really do want this to work, you know. They want you to have your independence back too.”

“I know, I know,” Danny said flatly because he really didn’t know. They wouldn’t be jumping through all these hoops if they wanted him to gain his independence.

But ultimately, that didn’t matter because he had Phantom back. He had his core back. He had full access to his flight, intangibility, invisibility, everything.

He was free. Even if nobody else could know about it except Vlad.

“Sorry,” Jazz said.

“Thanks for trying.”

Jazz seemed surprised by something if the way she was studying him was any indication, and he wondered if maybe she was expecting a bit bigger reaction. Maybe she was waiting for the meltdown of emotions, for the yelling, crying, cursing.

And perhaps he would have done that before. Back when he was just an unstable, half-finished person. Back when he couldn’t tell Monday from Tuesday, when he was relying on drugs to get him through his day.

It was different now. Gone was his emotional instability, now he was turning a new leaf. He was going to be stronger in every way. He was going to be a better son, a better student—one who didn’t end up crying in Mr. Lancer’s office every week.

He had his core, so everything was going to be alright.

“I’ll be up in my room,” he said, pulling himself back up. “Gonna—gonna play video games for a bit.”

Jazz picked her book back up from the table. “Okay, have fun.”

He made his way up to his room and collapsed on his bed. The stairs almost seemed insulting now that he could fly, but he knew he needed to keep up appearances. He was just thankful he didn’t need to go through the humiliation of completely relying on a stairlift anymore, (even as the words of his therapist reminded him that stairlifts aren’t embarrassing, Danny, they’re an accessibility tool, plenty of people of all ages need them for all sorts of reasons, Danny, it doesn’t make you a failure).

But that was fine. If there was anything he had perfected over the years, it was the art of hiding.

Once he had recovered his breath enough to feel like moving again, he felt for the wash of cold under his skin. It was still there, same as it had been for the past few days, calling to him to switch, switch, switch.

So he did.

There was little fanfare this time. No battle cry, no profound moment where he threw his arms at the heavens and jumped into the air. He was just a human, and then a flash of rings passed before his eyes and he was a ghost.

And then he was gone, invisible, jetting through the window with such force that nearly gave him whiplash.

God, he hadn’t moved this fast in…he didn’t even know how long.

He swooped through the air, his muscles stretching as he weaved loop-de-loops around invisible barriers. More than likely, he was flying a far cry compared to when he had been in his prime. But that was okay. He would get there again.

For now, this was wonderful. Exhilarating. Everything. This was happiness, a concept that seemed so foreign to him, he’d all but forgotten what it felt like. But then it sparked in his chest, expanding out to the tips of his fingers, and he couldn’t help but face the sun and laugh.

The world had tried to knock him down. First the portal, then the ghosts, then the government, then his parents. But he was still here.

“Take that,” he shouted at the sky. “Take fucking that!”

He had never been a religious person. His parents were scientists, and he was fairly sure his sister prayed to her favorite authors before she went to bed every night. But just in case there was some asshole looking down, he wanted them to see him now. Flying here, invisibly flipping them the bird. Even after everything, Danny was still here.

“You can’t get rid of me,” he added for good measure.

Deciding his time of yelling at the clouds like some kind of crazy person was more than over, he flew into the city, passing by buildings, cars, trucks. He soared over apartments and dove into the ground, whizzing through foundations and pipes.

Some people reacted to his presence, glancing over their shoulders as a chill hit their skin. By now, most of Amity Park likely could recognize the telltale ecto-chill of a ghost core.

But he was invisible, and he had no intention of changing that. So eventually, the people shrugged and carried on, likely assuming that whatever ghost was passing by was too weak to be of much harm.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but eventually, his core pouted, and he felt his strength puttering out under his skin. His weaves weren’t quite as fluid, and staying in the air seemed like more effort than it was worth.

Strange. He didn’t remember tiring so easily before.

But then he thought back to when he first acquired his ghost powers, and…yeah, maybe he did fatigue quickly back then.

It was okay. Like the rest of his life, he would just rebuild from scratch again.

He had help this time. Real help. One that felt…

Like bliss.

He opened his eyes. He was sunbathing on the roof of some building. Had he napped? Maybe he was more spent than he thought he was. Well, that wouldn’t be unheard of. He had passed out after his first ghost fight too.

God, that felt like another lifetime ago.

Two years as Phantom. Dozens of fights under his belt. A reputation across his sect of the Ghost Zone. And yet, he felt as new as he did back then after his first real fight against the Lunch Lady.

He would need to train. Work hard. Push himself. Do everything he could to get back to how he was before. He couldn’t let the public see just how badly the government had hurt him.

Right. He had a plan, then.

****

“Where’s Jason?” Star asked, writing what appeared to be an attempt at his name on the whiteboard.

Ms. Perez, the learning center teacher, sighed and checked her watch. “He’s got another five minutes before I phone the main office.”

In a singsong voice, Star said, “He’s gonna be in trouble!”

“Why don’t you sit down and start your math homework?” Ms. Perez asked.

“I can do it later.”

“Girl, no, you can’t,” Ashley said from her table across the room. She squinted at the board, twirling her coily hair in her fingers. “That’s not even how you spell his name.”

Star took a step back from her mirage of bubble letters and guffawed. “Oh my god, I wrote the J as a d! Haha, his name looks like ‘dason’ now!”

“You’re dyslexic,” Ashley said.

“Ashley, stop,” Ms. Perez ordered.

But Star was cackling too hard to be insulted.

Danny simply dropped his head onto his paper, having given up after writing his name in the top corner. He was supposed to start a new academic goal this week. And he was still committed to that, truly, but right now if he had to do one more fucking math problem, he was going to scream.

“DASON!”

“Danny, come on. Head up,” Ms. Perez said. “Mr. Lancer’s coming in twenty minutes and I want you to have that worksheet done before then.”

Danny did like Ms. Perez, but most of the time, he just felt bad for her. The learning center was chaotic on the best of days, even with the small class sizes and few students. Usually, there was a para teacher there as well, a man whose name Danny’s brain couldn’t commit to memory. But on days when the aide was called to a different class or he was absent such as today, even Danny had to admit he hardly got work done.

Not for lack of effort either. It was just so hard to stay focused when his brain took one look around the room and decided to go on vacation.

“Danny.”

“I’m tired,” he responded.

“What’s up, did you not sleep well last night?” Ms. Perez asked.

Danny shrugged. In fact, he had slept wonderfully. Just as he’d been sleeping for the past week. The problem wasn’t his sleeping patterns, it was when he woke up. His body still wasn’t used to all the ecto-energy he’d been recently expending on his little escapades all over town. He was sore and sluggish in a way he hadn’t felt in years. The hydrocodone he’d recently started taking in the morning dealt with his soreness, but it too had its own set of drawbacks. Though it helped his body not burn in pain at all hours of the day, it also made him want to crawl back into bed. Which, when surrounded by teachers who knew all about his little habit of falling asleep at his desk pre-reveal, was obviously not ideal.

“Let’s try to do five more problems, and then you can take a break,” said Ms. Perez.

Reluctantly, Danny pulled his head up from his desk to see that Star had begun to write ‘dason’ in various fonts all over the whiteboard.

Ms. Perez made her way over to Danny’s table and sank into a chair next to him. Her dark brown hair bobbed at her shoulders, tickling the floral designs of her shirt. “Alright, come on, let’s tackle a few of these math problems.”

Danny crossed his arms. “I don’t get it.”

“Yes, you do, we did these yesterday.”

“I forgot how to do it.” That wasn’t even a lie. If Danny had trouble in school last year, everything was just so much harder now.

Thank you, blunt force trauma to the skull.

“Then let’s go over them again.”

Danny groaned but did his best to pay attention anyway. He tried to ignore how Ashley was almost definitely doodling in the margins of her notebook instead of doing her readings, Star was still writing ‘dason’ all over the whiteboards, and Jason was…

Well, he was probably still roaming the halls somewhere.

True to her word, Ms. Perez only made Danny do five tortuous problems before she let him take a break so she could call the main office to report her missing student. And Danny wasted no time sinking his head back down onto the table and closing his eyes.

“Jason Cleaver, please report to room 101. Jason Cleaver, to room 101.”

Just another day in the learning center.

“Star, sit down. You need to start your math homework too. Mr. Bryan told me you didn’t turn in yesterday’s assignment.”

“Mr. Bryan didn’t collect the assignment in class.”

“Yes, he did, Star, and he told me yours was blank.”

“I forgot to do it.”

“I understand, so why don’t we take the time to do it now?”

Danny closed his eyes, letting fatigue wash over him. He stretched his fingers out along the table, and his body relaxed.

Just a few more minutes…

The door crashed open, and Danny snapped up, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. For a moment, his eyes flickered over to the white walls, and his throat tightened as imagery of the white halls of the compound flashed at him. He dug his fingernails into his palms, forcing the images away to be met with the stocky form of his missing classmate at the doorway.

“Dason!” Star exclaimed, jumping out of her chair once again. “You’re here!”

The boy—Jason—hardly glanced at the whiteboard before he stalked inside, flipped a chair against the floor, and stomped back out of the room.

“Take a chill pill, Dason,” Ashley called after him.

Ms. Perez simply sighed and picked up the phone once more.

Danny put his head back down on the table.

“Danny, head up. Break’s over.”

Curse these small classrooms.

He knew he wasn’t subtle about his displeasure at being called out again as he pulled his head from the table and forced his pencil back into his hand.

“Hey, Danny?” Star asked, blinking owlishly at him. “Why don’t you walk at school? I see you do it outside of school.”

Because school had long hallways and he was still too weak, too self-conscious.

“I have walked at school before,” Danny retorted instead. “You just haven’t seen it.”

“Really?” Star asked.

“Star, focus on your own work,” Ms. Perez said.

“She’s just trying to get out of doing her homework.”

“Ashley, you too.”

“Where’s Dason?” Star asked.

“Mr. Lancer is handling it.”

The door opened again, and Kwan stepped into the room.

“Back already? How did the quiz go?” Ms. Perez asked.

Kwan shrugged. “It was fine.”

Kwan dropped his bag next to Star and sat down. He briefly made eye contact with Danny, who immediately dropped his gaze back down to his paper.

He wasn’t ready to acknowledge Kwan’s existence yet.

“Hey, why is ‘dason’ written all over the board?” Kwan asked.

Star launched into another fit of giggles.

“Star did it,” was Ashley’s only explanation.

“Danny, Star, how’s that math homework going?” Ms. Perez asked.

Danny stared at the swirling mess on his paper. His brain just really did not want to do math today. “Fantastic.”

“Do five problems and then you can take another break until Mr. Lancer gets here.”

Danny lazily saluted the learning center teacher and tried his best to focus on the squiggly numbers and symbols before him.

Find f(x)...that’s all I need to do…

But who was he kidding? This was all pointless. His dream of working for NASA was as good as dead because his stupid brain didn’t hold information like it used to.

Not that he was ever particularly good at school. He wasn’t like Jazz. It felt like his brain was a colander and school was a pot of water. It didn’t matter how hard he tried, none of the information stayed in.

It didn’t take that long—or it took far too long—before footsteps were at the door and Mr. Lancer was carting Jason-Dason alongside him.

“Dason! Welcome back!” Star waved at him.

“...because you have to stay in class,” Mr. Lancer was saying quietly. “I’m not going to repeat this again, Mr. Cleaver.”

“Whatever.” Jason-Dason grabbed a chair on the other side of Danny’s table, dropped his backpack on the floor, and immediately put his head down into his arms. Ms. Perez didn’t even try to get him to pull out his notebook.

Turning around, Mr. Lancer’s expression morphed into something far brighter. “Alright, Mr. Fenton?”

Danny rolled his eyes and gave him a weak thumbs-up. “Can’t wait to learn about books.”

“I’m sure.” Mr. Lancer dropped into the chair beside Danny and glanced at the pitifully attempted math assignment. “Would you like me to go over anything else first?”

Danny was quick to stuff his assignment into his folder. Out of sight, out of mind. “No—no thanks.”

“Alright, let’s go over the reading from last night. Did you do it?”

Danny shrugged. “I tried.”

He honestly had. But as soon as he looked at the pages, it was like his brain turned into a zombie.

Mr. Lancer, presumably, got the not-so-hidden meaning. “That’s alright, let’s go through the passages, then.”

Danny opened his backpack and began shuffling around for his assigned book when a distantly familiar chill wormed up his throat. He dropped the book back in his bag and sat erect in his chair.

Wild eyes met Mr. Lancer’s, and then he opened his mouth, a puff of frost expelling from his lips.

Mr. Lancer’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mr. Fenton, are you—”

The ghost alarms went off, filling the classroom with green lights. Jack Fenton’s voice blared through the speakers, suffocating the air with, “WARNING: GHOST ALERT. GHOST ALERT.”

The small class was on their feet at once—even Danny, who wasted no time in letting the adrenaline course through his body. He wouldn’t be able to do much, but maybe some scary eyes would be enough to ward off the potential ghost from his territory.

“Damn!” Ms. Perez cursed. “Students, we need to evacuate to the ghost shield in the gym!”

Next to Ms. Perez, the bottom of the wall distorted with a green glow. Danny grabbed the table and braced himself to defend his classmates against—

“Arf! Arf!”

A figure shot through the walls and bounced, wagging its tail. Its purple tongue hung loosely outside of its mouth, and green-tinted ecto-saliva dripped onto the floor.

It took a second to spin around in a circle before it spotted Danny.

“Arf! Arf!” it exclaimed, bouncing through the chairs and quite literally jumping up Danny’s legs.

“Cujo?” Danny said, finally getting enough of a grip to speak.

“You know that dog?” Star asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t understand…” Danny pulled his brows in as he sat back down in his wheelchair, letting Cujo climb onto his lap and start lapping at his face.

It made no sense. His parents said that the emergency ghost alarms—the ones that ordered the complete evacuation of the building—only went off for ghosts that were level four or above. In his small form, Cujo was hardly a level three.

So either the ghost alarms were faulty, or Cujo wasn’t the only ghost here.

“Babypop!” a new voice sang out over the prerecorded wails of Jack Fenton.

A blue blur of a ghost rushed down from the ceiling and halted right in front of him. Her teal hair was pulled up behind her, accentuating the bluish tint of her pale skin. She wore her usual ghostly getup of a black top on black bottoms, and her purple and blue electric guitar was slung across her back.

Ah, that would explain the emergency alarms.

Ember McLain slugged his arm, grinning widely. “You’re back!”

Danny was more than a little aware of the audience watching the interaction. And, from some insecure ghostly part of himself, he was also more than aware that this was his first ghostly encounter where he was—well—forced to be human.

Not that the humans would understand the ecto-psychology at play here, and he would rather die than explain it to anyone, but Ember certainly would understand.

Which sucked.

“Hey—hey, Ember,” he said, trying to play it cool.

“Hey, what the fuck is up with this fire alarm thing?”

“Mr. Fenton?” Lancer asked from beside him.

“Holy shit, is that Ember McLain?” Kwan stared dumbfounded. “I listen to your album all the time!”

Star’s jaw dropped. “Ember’s a ghost?”

“WARNING: GHOST ALERT. EVACUATE. GHOST ALERT.”

Jack’s voice was starting to get more than a little piercing.

“Hey!” Danny called to Lancer. “Can we turn the ghost alarm off?”

“Mr. Fenton, you know we have to wait for your parents—”

“She’s an ally, she’s not going to attack! And this is my—er, uh. Well, my ghost-dog friend. He’s harmless.” So long as he doesn’t feel threatened, at least.

“I’m sorry, but you know that I can’t do that.”

“I promise there’s no need to evacuate.”

“You guys were going to evacuate on my account?” Ember repositioned her guitar on her back. “Well, I’m flattered that you think so highly of me. But no, if I wanted to start something, I wouldn’t have brought the dog.”

As if to prove the point, Cujo leaped off Danny’s lap and began bouncing over to everyone else in the room, lapping their shins and sniffing their shoes.

“Arf! Arf!”

Lancer sighed and walked into the hallway. A moment later, the ghost alarm was off.

Danny let out a breath of relief and turned his attention back to the two ghosts in front of him.

“Jeez, Danny, you better have a real good explanation for this.” Ashley folded her arms.

“No, it’s—” Danny sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ghosts weren’t good at deciphering boundaries on the best of days. To them, the whole of Amity Park was Phantom’s territory. So if they wanted to see Phantom, they just entered his territory.

And that included places they shouldn’t go, like the school.

“Well, alarm or no, Ms. Ember and, erm, her dog are trespassing, and I will have to ask her to leave,” Lancer said, reappearing at the doorway.

“Okay, can I just talk to her in the hall for like two minutes first?” Danny asked.

“No, Mr. Fenton. Absolutely not.”

“But she’s—“

“I’m more than aware of your little scuffles before,” Lancer said, crossing his arms. “Besides, your parents will be arriving shortly. Ms. Ember, if you would?”

Ember huffed, scooping up Cujo. “Whatever. Babypop, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Danny said awkwardly, glancing around at his classmates. “I’ll find you in—in the spot.”

Ember nodded and left, disappearing through the ceiling.

There was a beat of silence before Kwan broke it. “I can’t believe you know Ember!”

****

The moon was bright later that night. Nearly full, Danny realized, and its light along with some wispy clouds blocked much of the glittering night sky from view.

He thought back to the Reddit post where the Amity Park astronomy club had told Sam and Tucker to pass him an open invitation. His friends had presumably forgotten about that comment, but Danny thought maybe he should check out the club anyway. Maybe it would be good for him to get back into his hobbies.

He hovered on top of the Nasty Burger building. He remembered the first time he and Ember had somewhat mended their differences. It had been here too, atop this building, when Ember had come to Earth for just a few hours to listen to a band’s new album.

Damn, it was so long ago. So much had changed.

Danny looked over where a burn mark had scorched the cement. He smiled to himself. Much had changed, sure, but some things were still the same.

A breath of cold air hit his lungs, and he turned around to see Ember holding a chip bag with one hand and Cujo with the other.

Cujo didn’t hesitate to wiggle out of Ember’s hold and bound over to him, tongue flopping. Danny sank onto the roof, holding his arms out. The little dog leaped into them and excitedly licked his neck.

“Hey, buddy,” Danny said, tilting his chin up to avoid the wrath of Cujo’s tongue on his face. “I missed you too!”

Ember snorted, touching down on the roof. She opened the potato chips, and the smell of salt and oil immediately permeated the air.

“Did you even pay for this?” Danny asked.

“What are you, a cop?” Ember munched on a chip. “I swear, this is like the one thing the Zone can never get right.”

Danny raised his brow, giving her an are-you-kidding-me look.

She rolled her eyes and held out the bag, rattling it. “Come on, I know you want some.”

“Whatever.” Danny rolled his eyes but nonetheless grabbed a handful. “You still need to pay for this, though.”

“Never change, babypop.”

Danny chomped on the (stolen) chips, basking in the two a.m. salty taste. And for a moment, the two of them just sat there unbothered, eating chips and throwing pebbles across the roof for Cujo to pounce on.

And when Cujo eventually tired, he snuggled between them, facing Danny. His paws pressed into Danny’s ghostly tail, and his nose nuzzled into where his thigh would be.

It hurt more than Ember would ever know that he couldn’t feel the dog against his legs. But she didn’t need to know the extent of his injuries, at least not right now.

“So, you’re back,” Ember started, failing to hide the curiosity in her tone.

He tried to give her a carefree smile as he responded with, “Yeah. Finally, right?” But he was sure he looked as uncomfortable as he felt, and he knew that the way his core faltered and tensed would not be lost on Ember.

“I mean…okay, I’m just going to say it. The hell happened?” asked Ember. “What did they do to you? When you didn’t come back right away, I figured they fucked with your core somehow. And I was right. Your core doesn’t feel right anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Sure he was weaker, but he didn’t feel any different. Not like…before. When the scalpel had first pierced him. Not like that. Disgusting, violated.

Ember squinted at him, and Danny tried to quell the anxiety that he was surely projecting onto her.

Stupid ghosts and their stupid emotion-sensing abilities.

But then she snapped out of her scrutiny, rolling her eyes, saying, “Jeez, chill. I don’t mean like you’re a whole different ghost now, I’m just saying that your core feels weaker.” She punched his arm lightly. “Been a minute, huh? What took you so long to get back in the air?”

“Oh.” Danny flushed, embarrassed. Because of course, she didn’t mean it like that. He was just being anxious and insecure again. “You know, I—I wanted to…lull you guys into a false sense of security. Make you think I was—wasn’t protecting Amity anymore. Just some classic ghostly manipulation.”

“Yeah, sure. Totally believe that.”

“I know.” The grin fell off Danny’s face, fickle as it was.

Well, there was no use trying to sugarcoat the truth. Not with the ghosts in danger of this happening to them too.

“Courts decided I was human enough to exist. Cause, you know—” Danny held up his hand and shook out his wrist. “—I got a—a pulse and stuff. When I’m human, I mean. A heart—heartbeat too.”

He waited for the implication to process, and when Ember’s eyes sparked with recognition and her face immediately dropped to a scowl, he shrugged and let his hand fall back to his side.

“Oh, wonderful,” said Ember. “So you’re safe, but there’s nothing stopping the rest of us from getting messed up like that?”

Well, ouch.

“Sorry.”

Ember snorted. “Well, if you wanted ghosts to stay out of the human realm, you’ll probably convince most of them.”

“Haven’t they…everyone’s been avoiding Amity anyway, right?” Danny asked.

“Well, duh, idiot. You getting captured was kind of a big fucking deal in our little sect of the Infinite Realms. You should have heard the rumors.”

He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to hear them. Because he wasn’t sure how much he could lie to the other ghosts, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell them just how many of their rumors were true.

He looked up at the sky, noting the sprinkle of stars that had won their fight against the city’s light pollution and the full moon. “I heard Skulker tried to bust me out.”

“Yeah.” Ember’s tone was off, and when Danny looked over, some speckles of green had appeared on her cheeks.

…huh?

“The idiot’s ego can be too much sometimes,” she said, a hint of a smile curling on her lips.

Danny didn’t know what that look meant, but he was also a hundred percent sure that he did not want to know, thank you very much. “Well, tell him I said—uh, said, you know, thanks. For trying. It meant a lot.”

“I’ll pass it along.” Ember shifted, and suddenly her face was serious again. “What did they want from you?”

“The Guys in White?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…” Danny gently rubbed behind Cujo’s ear, trying to crush the sudden anxiety that was threatening to spike him. “Power. They wanted power.”

“Like, from you?”

“Yeah. My core. Ectoplasm.” Danny took a shuttering breath. Despite the relaxation help he had pumping through his veins, just the mere mention of the topic had him suppressing the onslaught of memories that were trying to breach the metaphorical thermos he’d crammed them into. “The government liked my—my ectoplasm because it’s more dense than the blob ghosts they—they had. They…would hook me to these…these…these machines, and they’d take the ecto—ectoplasm from me. Just every day. And eventually—I don’t know. I don’t really remember how it escalated.” He touched his prickling chest, trying to cool the misfiring nerves above his core.

“Like…” Ember tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “They cut you up?”

Danny squirmed. This was quickly getting into personal territory, and the ghosts and he didn’t exactly have the same relationship that he had with his therapist.

“Sort of,” he responded as evenly as he could.

She didn’t hold back. “They wanted your core.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he said a little too bitterly.

There was a pause between them, and tension crackled in the air as Danny raised his aura to mask the shame that was crawling up his throat.

“Well, did they get it?” asked Ember.

Like hell was he going to react in front of a ghost.

“Why does it matter if they did? Since when do you care?”

“Of course I care.” Ember crossed her arms, frowning. “If the enemy got your core, who knows what they’ll do to the rest of us.”

Oh. Right.

Of course.

How could he be so stupid to hold even a flicker of hope that anyone actually cared about him? Least of all Ember, a ghost that he’d fought on more than one occasion.

But instead of snapping, he shrugged, defeated. Maybe disappointed. Who knew? Not him.

“Then don’t get caught,” he said simply.

Ember was already probably pitying him enough. He didn’t need to add ‘crybaby’ to the list of reasons why he wasn’t a good protector of Amity anymore.

The silence stretched on between them. Because duh, “don’t get caught” was a stupid, obvious thing to say. And it wasn’t exactly like Danny had been trying to get caught either.

He had never exactly been close with any of the ghosts, but this social divide between them? Yeah, that was new. Before, he at least had his strong core to go off of. Ghosts liked strength; they could respect him for defending Amity so well. But now…

Cujo yawned beside him, shifting around so his back was curled into Danny’s tail and his paws were outstretched to graze Ember’s thigh.

“So…they did get it, then,” said Ember. “Your core.”

“That’s—that’s not—” Danny stumbled, his brain once again more than acutely aware of the social dynamics at play. He grunted, frustrated, before pushing through. “That’s not why my—my core is…” He took a deep breath. “I know I’m out of practice, but I—I really am fine. My core’s not…you know, suffering permanent damages or anything. I’ll be—I’ll be back to normal with a little bit of training. It just…I couldn’t access my powers for a bit. That’s all.”

And he really hoped that was clear, because fuck no he didn’t want ‘Phantom is a weakling’ to spread across the Ghost Zone.

He felt a light tap on his arm again, and he looked over to see Ember’s glowing fist hovering just above his skin. “Well, you’re back now. Fuck those guys.”

“Right,” he said. “But seriously, you have to tell the ghosts what…I mean, it’s dangerous to be here right now. The Guys in—the government doesn’t—”

“Chill. I know I’m in danger by being here. Jeez, let a girl live a little.”

The only reason why the Guys in White went “easy” on him was because he had a human half at all. The full ghosts? The government didn’t have a reason to cater to their afterlives. If Ember was caught…well, she was disposable enough for the Guys in White to not give a crap about taking her whole core.

But Danny couldn’t say this without sounding like an asshole. “Just tell them. Please.”

“Sure, whatever, babypop.” Ember popped another chip in her mouth. “But don’t expect the others to listen, you know. They’ll probably just think I’m keeping you all to myself or something.”

“I’m not a toy, Ember.”

“But you’ve got the portal.”

“It’s not my portal.”

“But it’s in your territory.”

Yeah, by the unwritten ghost rules, that did actually make it “his” portal. “Even more reason for—for the others to leave me alone.”

Ember shrugged and poked Cujo. “Hey, lazy. If you sleep right now, you won’t be tired later and then you’re going to want to play when I’m tired.”

Cujo blinked up at her with sleep still in his eyes. Then he stuck out his tongue and lapped her fingers.

“Ugh, gross!” Ember shook out her hand. “The chips aren’t for you.”

Now with the taste of chips on his tongue, Cujo perked up and sniffed toward the bag.

“No! Not for you!” Ember scolded him, swiping the chips from the ground before he could make his attempted pounce. “You’ll throw up if you eat these. Hang on…I’ve got…”

Danny smiled absentmindedly, scratching Cujo’s back. Seeing these two interact…yeah, Danny was glad that he’d managed to convince Ember to take in Cujo last year after one of Cujo’s escapades into the Human World landed him too close to being captured by Jack and his Fenton Ghost Catcher. It was clear that Cujo needed an owner, and Ember needed some company other than Skulker.

Ember pulled out a glowing plastic baggie from her pocket. “Carrots! Here you go.”

“Carrots?”

“You never heard of that? Carrots are really good for dogs,” Ember said. She shook the bag, now addressing Cujo. “You want these? You want the carrots?”

Judging by his drooling mouth and the small whine that escaped his lips, Cujo did, in fact, very much want the carrots.

“Hang on, wait…” Danny guffawed, putting a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. “Wait, wait, wait. Ember, did—did you cut up the carrots?”

“Of course I did!” She said, pelting him with a tiny chunk of carrot.

It rolled off of his head, and he clutched his stomach, rolling into the air in a fit of giggles.

“It makes it easier for him to chew!”

“Oh my god,” he wheezed. Never in a thousand years would he have guessed Ember of all ghosts would be catering to a puppy.

Ember tossed a carrot piece in the air, watching as Cujo leaped up and caught it in his mouth. “You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.”

“Sure.”

“Whatever.” She turned to Cujo again. “Is babypop jealous of me? What do you think, little guy?”

Danny grabbed the carrot chunk from the ground and threw it back at Ember. Ever the ghost, she turned intangible, letting it sail through her.

Cujo, however, prevented it from hitting the ground again.

“Good boy!” Ember praised him.

Danny rose, stretching. “Anyway, I gotta get home before—before anyone realizes I—I’ve been gone. Uh…thanks for coming.”

“Yeah, nice to see you, dude. I’ll relay your message to the others. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks.”

“And babypop?” she said, her brows knitting together as she studied him once more. Her eyes lingered on his chest.

“Yeah?”

She was silent for a moment longer. Then the spell broke, and her easygoing smile was back on her lips. “Heal up quickly, alright? Skulker’s ego’s too high right now. Someone needs to take him down a notch, if you catch my drift.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Danny gave her a two-fingered salute and flew off into the night, glancing back only once to see their receding forms. Like with most of his rogue gallery, Danny didn’t think any relationship between them would ever become a true friendship. An allyship? Certainly, but there was still too much history combined with a cavern of differences between Danny and the rest of the ghosts to get much closer than a few minutes of awkward conversation. All of them, Ember included, were ghosts—full ghosts. And Danny? Well…he wasn’t.

Even if the media still tried to pin that label on him. When they weren’t calling him a mutant freak, that was.

A few minutes later, he was invisibly crossing through his window. Muscle memory was kind to him, and the motions of closing his curtains and checking his surroundings before popping back into visibility and transforming back into his human form were hardly more than an unremarkable thought in his mind. The government could take away much, but not everything, it seemed.

He settled into bed, his eyes lingering on his nightstand drawer. Maybe he could…

But no.

He was turning a new leaf.

He was the model halfa now. Someone who did well in school, who didn’t fall asleep in class, who was a good son, nice to his family, and wasn’t a failure in every way. He was better, he was going to be better.

He could be even better if he just opened the drawer…peeked at the inside…what’s one more pill, Danny? What are you afraid of?

No, he was better now.

He was better now.

****

Huge thank you to @imekitty for being an amazing beta for this chapter and honestly the voice of reason here. Ended up taking her direction a LOT during the writing process and I'm really glad I did!

****

previous / next

#danny phantom #everything was white #my writing

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ed-recoverry · 2 years ago

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Glass Children Info & Masterpost

Only recently being recognized as a huge trauma itself, I’ve seen nothing on Tumblr being posted about glass children. And as a glass child myself, which is a part of the reason I’ve struggled severely with mental illness, especially in my early teen years, it can be very upsetting. However, it’s still incredibly popular to view what we experience as invalid and that we should ��appreciate we aren’t like them” (which is incredibly insulting to both parties and I hate hearing it). Idk if this will get any notes, but I wish someone told me what I went through is valid and a real thing and I hope maybe this will show one person the same:

Glass Child: siblings of a person with a disability. The word glass means people tend to see right through them and focus only on the person with the disability. 'Glass' is also used because the children appear strong, but in reality are not. These children have needs that are not being met.

The term was popularized and recognized in Alicia Maples’s “Recognizing Glass Children” TedTalk posted in December, 2010 in which she talks about her experience growing up with a severely Autistic brother.

It is important to acknowledge that the disabled sibling plays no role in the conditions and problems a glass child endures as they did not choose to have a disability. The conditions and problems are a product of bad parental management and being a victim of circumstances. As a child, not understanding this bigger pictures may sometimes cause a glass child to see their sibling as the problem, but it is important to stress the sibling has no part in it.

Examples of challenges glass children experience during childhood:

Severe emotional and or physical neglect from guardians

Severe pressure to be the “perfect” kid

Feeling as if you must help others before yourself

Strong anger of not having a “normal” family, but feeling shame for feeling anger.

Putting in extra effort to appear okay even when they aren’t

Taking on the tasks (both physical and or mental) that are reserved for parents

Feelings of hopelessness

Hyper-vigilance and anxiety

Feeling of being taken for granted

These experiences during childhood follow you into teenage years and adulthood.

Symptoms a glass child can show later in life:

Trauma-related mental illnesses (ex: anxiety, depression, PTSD, personality disorders, eating disorders, etc.)

Self-sabotaging or self-injurious behavior(s)

Low self esteem

Putting other’s needs before one’s own, even at their own expense

Lack of self identity or never developing their own personality

Hyper-vigilance to an inappropriate degree

Extreme sensitivity

Struggles with trust and or vocalizing feelings and needs

Difficulty in adjusting to new, unexpected situations

Avoidance of any form of conflict to the point where it has negative impacts on day to day life

Learn More:

Glass Child Syndrome And Symptoms

Glass children: The overlooked siblings of the people we treat.

What is a glass child?

How We Can All Help Glass Children

Growing Up a Glass Child

Glass Child Syndrome And Symptoms

Glass children: The lived experiences of siblings of people with a disability or chronic illness

Glass Children

At least from my experience, one of the biggest problems that follows me till this day is being extremely sensitive as to when I feel my feelings or presence is being invalidated. This is not completely my imagination however as the term “glass child” as of now has no place in the DSM-5, any dictionaries, and not even a Wikipedia page despite the years and years of studies and proof showing that the existence and damage of being a glass child is very real and a problem. I myself didn’t know about this term until a few months ago. And that was from TikTok of all places. I hope this makes at least one more person aware that we exist, we are valid, and we are not “the lucky one.” Both the disabled sibling and the glass child(s) deserve the recognition for enduring the hardships life threw at them. We both deserve it.

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etherealising · 7 months ago

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Hi Vee!!! I hope you’re doing well and congratulations on 1K woot woot <3! I was wondering what some of your favorite songs are right now and what are some of the songs that remind you of aiekoy currently? For me it’s definitely Pigment by HER, unthinkable by Alicia Keys, and Do4Love by Snoh Allegra both sonically and lyrically are what I usually listen to when reading aiekoy!

bestie bestie bestie…i hope you’re sat and ready for this presentation you’re about to receive. also the pfp is so cute i love that for you!! 🥰

firstly i am doing well thank you for inquiring, i hope the same could be said for you my love! also 1k wowie! most are bots and pages that don’t interact but we’ll take our wins where we can get them! please babe prepare yourself for this behemoth of a post! 💕

some of my fav songs atm are…

nothing matters - the last dinner party

this song makes me feel like i’m a witch in salem and my neighbor wants me hanged because he thinks i seduced his wife with witchcraft but we’re actually just two ladies in love

history of man - maisie peters

i’m a whore for greek mythology references and girly pop got me

rapstar - polo g

word for word bar for bar i could sing this song drunk

megan’s piano - meg thee stallion

dare say this is my hype song (could also sing this song faded out of my mind)

slow burn - infinity song

gives me 90s vibes and i love anything they put out (it inspired aiekoy chapter 12 heavily)

walk like this - flo

listen flo has been doing it right since cardboard box i don’t play about these girlies!!!!

the way things go - beabadoobee

i actually have a carmy one-shot based on lyrics from this song 🥲

songs that remind me of aiekoy:

only you - yazoo

i mean this one feels kind of obvious to me, it literally inspired this whole fic and without it aiekoy would have never seen the light of day.

cybah - syd/lucky daye

listen okay, this song just speaks to my sole and i promise you everytime i hear these lyrics i can see baby and carmy in my minds eye just going through so many different scenes its absolutely crazy. this song is just so intimate to me and it reminds me of the soft intimacy barby shares.

loved by you - kirby

this song is so carmy coded it inspired an upcoming interlude and anytime i hear it all i can think about is barby (mostly carmy) and all the scenes i have planned to write about in interlude 3. this song gives me very much carmy’s internal dialogue throughout this series and that’s basically what the interlude is as well. this song also really inspired me to keep writing this series when i was ready to just give up on it and idk it just holds a special place in my heart (also shoutout to s1e4 of the bear for introducing me to this song 😭)

ros - mac miller

i feel like this is so out of left field but it just fits! also very carmy coded imo just hearing this song immediately makes me think of barby and lyrically i just feel like it fits them almost perfectly (also heavily gives carmy’s internal monologue).

honorable mentions:

achy bones - ash the ghost

dark red - steve lacy

i like the way you love me - brenton wood

back in town - florence + the machine

bestie brattyb’s immaculate music taste:

pigment

literally gagged me, i was not ready for that! i love the mixture of singing and spoken word it was so beautiful and i feel like it balances the love and toxicity that can sometimes be present in relationships and it screams barby. you really put me on with this one bestie it was such a good choice!!!

unthinkable

a classic really miss keys rarely misses. listening to this song i could literally see scenes between carmy and baby playing out in my head which is always inspires me to write. like oh my goodness how have i not considered this song before this is literally barby’s relationship in a nutshell!

do4love

bestie you really have superior music taste. this gives me like the ‘missing’ years between carmy and baby. especially baby trying to move on and create a life outside of her love for carmy and her little Chicago gang.

i genuinely love you so much for all the constant support you have given me and this funny little series i decided to write, also thank you so much for participating in my 1k celebration your ask forced me to go through the aiekoy playlist and remember why i love writing this series so must and it has really inspired me to keep writing for aiekoy!!

please enjoy the long awaited playlist i’ve been meaning to share (apologies in advance there’s some random songs that def don’t belong and i’m too lazy to delete) 🫶🏽🤍

#etherealising’s 1k celebration ੈ𑁍༘⋆#bestie brattyb doesn’t know what she got herself into #i could write a paper on the music for aiekoy #you are literally my favorite person for this ask #music is the way to my heart i love you for this #I hope you are well lovie 🫶🏽#vee answers °•. ✿ .•°

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contagiousrhythminmybrain · 2 years ago

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A probably incomplete list of the quotes from the last 30 pages of The Winners that took me out:

“He always thought he was the bad guy in all stories, the real heroes always do, that’s why stories about boys like him never end with them growing old.”

“Maya wishes should could stop shaking, she wishes she could hold the girl tighter, that she would hug away all the shock and despair and all the terrible darkness that will never leave either of them now.”

“But beneath Benji’s name is printed what everyone is feeling: This hurts too much to touch with words.”

“‘In a hundred years you’ll see him again, and tell him about all the things you’ve done. All about your fantastic life. All your adventures. He’ll look forward to that.’”

“There plays a boy who’ll never grow old. You’re everything you wanted to be. You’re safe and happy, wild and free.”

“The beer in Heaven is expensive and the whining is the same as always, hardly anything changes, but one day Teemu brings his newborn son here and introduces him.”

“Alicia gets up from the bench in the locker room and leads her team out and storms the ice, and Zackell watches her and for a single moment forgets that it isn’t him.”

“But his opponent never shows up. Never again. Leo will never know why, but for years, long after he has stopped playing this game, he will log on from time to time just to look for that particular username.”

“He elbows his way past her security guard and almost gets knocked to the floor, and he calls out: ‘I knew him! I knew Benji! I loved him too!’”

“He plays as if the ice is a time machine. It never is.”

“A young couple renovate it, plank by plank, until almost everything is new. Their twins play in the yard.”

“She can miss him without screaming every time. Hug without crying all the time. Laugh without always feelings guilty. Life goes on. It doesn’t give us any other choice.”

“They carry on running the Bearskin pub, even if everyone just calls it ‘Benji’s’ these days.”

“Throughout her long career, in every ice rink and in every national game, she will do the same thing every time she gets scared or nervous: look up at the roof, reach out her hand, feel that he is there. Because Benjamin Ovich isn’t in a grave. Benjamin Ovich is at the game with his best friend.”

“Her hundred years will be our very best, most loved, most told story. And that says a hell of a lot, because we’re a hockey town. We have nothing but stories.”

#the winners #fredrik backman #beartown #i was emotionally SPENT

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chidoroki · 1 year ago

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182 Days of TPN - Day 55

Chapter 55: “B06-32, Part 5”

We see in the previous chapter’s extra page that it was Ray’s idea to tie Yuugo up and I can only imagine he’s had many fantasies of doing the same to Isabella to keep her confined from interfering with any kind of escape plan Ray came up with. How else would he be so successful at keeping Yuugo down if he didn’t already know the exact method to go about it? Just a silly headcanon of mine, of course.

Emma’s internal clock doesn’t care if y’all just enduring a long, exhausting couple days out in the wild, you’re still gonna wake up at six in the morning. I love Yvette’s little note and how excited Chris is though. We see him wake everyone up on different occasions in both medias too so it’s cute he shares that early bird energy with Emma. Manga always tries to hide Ray’s sleeping face, but at least we get a little peak in s2ep4.

Dominic and Rossi literally shaking with excitement over the chance to actually have a decent bath is so precious. It’s simple moments like this that make me love these kids so much.

Why does Nat always have some of the best comments? And how massive is this tub? No way in hell would I share a bath with that many people.

No worries Rossi, I was crying at this point during the anime too.. just for completely different reasons..

Look at how pleased they are when they overhear how their family’s so happy and proud they all escaped and worked so hard to get here. Ray especially. Surely he knows by now that escaping with everyone and not just the other oldest kids was well worth it.

The change of clothes and how the kids finally getting some freedom in choosing what they wanna wear! I’ll still never understand the reason why the second season decided to keep them all in the GF uniforms for all of ep3 and a majority of ep4. The way they had Emma out hunting in a skirt wasn’t practical in the slightest nor did it fit her character at all. Tag explains the frustration better than I ever could.

Chef Ray back at it again with yet another incredible meal for everyone.

Rossi really does have some of the best faces, but someone needs to save this lad from being squished. Anime didn’t quite nail his expression but at least it had the other kids like Chris, Alicia and Mark react to Don’s outburst too.

I gotta stop picking on Nat's low enthusiasm because odds are I’d probably react the same way to a lot of things in this world. Also love the small detail of the additional bandage on Emma’s face from where Yuugo’s bullet grazed her cheek.

I know Chris and Jemima are often seen as Ray’s closest younger siblings, but I wanna add Mark to that list. That boy certainly loves our chef’s cooking. And I’m so happy we get to see Emma with her sleeves rolled up like they were in some of the really early chapters. How she wears the necklace is super cute too.

At least the anime allowed us to hear what our favorite piano man sounds like.

They give themselves a brief moment to think about their dearest friend and then it’s right back to business. I love them. And Ray saying that they “can still see Phil and the other kids” is like a gentle reminder to them both that Norman is no longer with them. Or so they were led to believe.

Favorite panel/moment:

It may just be a daydream but it’s a damn adorable one and it makes me wanna cry!

#the promised neverland #tpn manga #182daysoftpn #chidoroki used chatter

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rodolfoparras · 3 months ago

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I'm glad to hear that, Sir Alec. That does seem to be the case, perhaps we are all just getting accustomed to the vacation time and putting off writing for a moment. It's not so bad in some cases since it would help with potential burnout for some.

I look forward to many more of your fics and drabbles, Sir Alec. Personally I have yet to try my hand at any heavy or taboo subjects but mayhaps when the time's right (and after some research) I'll divulge into them.

There's no need to set your expectations high, my writings don't hold a candle to anything;; Either way, i do hope you find them entertaining, Sir Alec.

On a different note, I can finally bestow to you my last notes for 'the silent patient' now that I've finished reading it: (if you still wish to read them that is)

[Part 3] So much went though Alicia's mind from the start until the untimely death of Gabriel, according to her entries. Some even highlighted other matters that had yet to come to light. Although there are some parts that have yet to connect and make sense, I think the ending will be an eye opener for sure.

[Part 4] There's something so intriguing in seeing how Christian is desperately grasping at straws to keep things hidden under wraps. Theo seems to have much on his plate with Kathy aside form his 'need' to fix Alicia, still it's saddening.

Alas, more and more unfolds, Alicia truly did suffer much in her early years. it's no wonder she's had such a twisted perception with certain matters, no thanks to her father.

I think Theo's being somewhat careless with how much he shared with Alicia, with how she is practically in charge of how their sessions go it isn't a very good choice to divulge too much.In some instances, i think Theo and Alicia are more alike, as if they were cut from the same cloth. They both have subtle manipulative tendencies from the looks of it.

[Part 5] Can't say it was out of the picture but in retrospect it was likely. Quite the riveting end that was.In conclusion this book was really a page tuner, many things keep you on the edge of your seat until the last few chapters where everything start to fall into place. Now it is quite obvious who the man was.

Thank you kindly for having recommended me such a wonderful read, Sir Alec. I really enjoyed it 💐

-Гора (I do apologize for the lengthy rambling, I kept the notes short so it wouldn't be too much at once.)

Oh man I responded to this ask and then the app crashed 😭 but you’re completely right! This slow period also means writers get to recharge their batteries and that’s a good thing!

Sugar bee I really wish I could give you the biggest kith and hug for always being so appreciative and supportive of my work thank you love!! And you should def try your hands on a taboo subjects if that’s what you wish to do! Doing research is the best thing and of course reading other ppls fics is a very helpful thing! I rmr I once wrote a Drabble on subspace like properly and in depth had to google like how does subspace feel what is it like and even stumbled across some fics with it and to this day subspace is sm fun to write!

Also sugar bee don’t say that! I’m sure your writing is absolutely wonderful and I look forward to reading it!

Also!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book!!! Isn’t it insane from the narration to the characters in the story! Like at some point you’re bound to put the pieces together but you’d never guess what you were head into when starting the book! It’s also easily digestible as well meaning the author doesn’t waste too much time writing unnecessary descriptions but thank you sm for giving it a shot and I’m happy you enjoyed it love!

#alec answers #🏔️ anon

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asherlockstudy · 2 years ago

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It has always been one story

The last days I have been making some analyses based on Rhett and Link’s latest video “We Dug a Medium-sized Hole”. My realisation of what I have been explaining there led me to a new surge of excitement when watching their content. I have talked before about how much I like Hazel but to be precise I never watched the TikTok videos, I had only listened to the two versions of the song, which is certainly the best song they have written and performed so far in their career in my opinion. So a few days ago, my YouTube feed actually suggested the Hazel videos to me and, as I have been in this new RandL surge, I thought “why not”. I thought it will be fun and creepy, and it was, but once again I wasn’t ready for the hammer of realisation that fell right on my forehead. You see, being freshly out of my We Dug a Hole analyses, I noticed a load of similarities between the two. But even more importantly, I noticed numerous similarities between Hazel and the Lost Causes of Bleak Creek. In fact, what I mean by “numerous similarities” is that they are all essentially the same story, and the only thing that changes are the settings, the side characters and other secondary elements. So if this is the case, Rhett and Link have been telling one story again and again for quite some time and, in their words, have been somewhat disappointed at the reaction they did (not) receive from the viewers (Hazel), their difficulty to promote their story in other media (Bleak Creek) and now their decision to not have expectations so that they won’t get disappointed again (Digging a hole). But let’s say a few words for each of these major projects.

We Dug a Medium-sized Hole

Let’s start from the last one, which is also the smallest and most superficial project. It is a humorous video with a prepared song and a predetermined concept which is supposedly unscripted. I analysed it in excruciating detail a few days ago so I will just give you links to my posts “They Dug A Hole” and “The ‘We Dug A Hole’ Discussion”, which I would recommend because they will help make this post much clearer as well. Anyway, to summarise, here’s what goes down: Rhett and Link agree to dig a medium sized hole without examining this agreement and intent thoroughly and carefully enough to see if they are on the same page fully. They slowly get the hang of this, Link becomes very invested and loses control entirely. Rhett panics and tries to help Link get back to his senses and establish control between them again. Yet, if you remember this part from the “They Dug A Hole” post,

well, it had intrigued me then but it actually proved to be unexpectedly significant for real! Despite Rhett being the one who tries to establish control in the hole-digging process, soon he is the one to fall back into it the hardest. True enough, the second time it’s Rhett we see running the excavator. There are no other characters in the video, except for the mole who supports them but is accidentally killed. Rhett and Link have revealed this is the first of a series of similar videos (and songs, perhaps).

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek

If you haven’t read their novel yet, well this is simply the best thing they have made so far and I definitely recommend it. I have always found it curious how little tumblr fans speak of TLCOBC, especially since it is RAGING with innuendo and symbolism that is not even subtle. I will give the story in very broad terms, however there are going to be some strong spoilers here because I don’t have another way to prove my point. Be warned. Of course here we have a different setting and the main characters are preteens. The setting is a dark twist of Rhett and Link’s actual childhood. Their small town with its extremely puritan, conservative community. The book has many characters but once again there is only one more character that can be considered as “main”, Alicia Boykins, their female best friend with whom they are secretly both in love. Well scratch that off, there is also Janine who is important, she is clearly Stevie’s character. But anyway. Rhett and Link have implied in a Mythicon that Alicia is a symbolic character who represents “their ideal selves”, “who they wanted to be”. So in short Rex, Leif and Alicia is a trio of best friends who live in this small Christian town hiding a dark secret. Leif falls in love with Alicia first and more profoundly, Rex a little later. Alicia is kidnapped and sent unfairly to a notorious reformatory school. Rex and Leif agree to save her but the whole plan goes wrong and Leif falls in a trap, in a very dark, deep and hopeless place, where Alicia also is, where you lose memory and the sense of self. (Won’t spoil more.) Rex returns to his town in utter panic and frustration and creates a master plan to rescue Leif. After a lot of allegories and adventures, Rex dives in the dark deep place and saves Leif (in a very romantic way btw). Alicia is rescued too. They confront the evil guys who control the reformatory school. They resume their peaceful life in their town. The book ends in a cliffhanger where Alicia sees something while bicycling that is a major sign that the cult / curse / that thing that was going on there is not defeated. So here we have as common themes: Link losing control because of how invested he was (in Alicia), Rhett panicking and trying to save him and correct the situation, and another main character who is a mysterious symbolism. It’s a little hard to be certain of what Alicia exactly symbolises, just like it is the case with the mole. What we don’t see in TLCOBC is Rex being the one to fall in deep the second time, but I bet this is the intended plot for the second book.

Hazel Macon

I watched this video a few days ago for the first time. Hazel is a fantastic project Rhett and Link came up with but the platform they chose to execute it on originally (TikTok) literally executed its chances for success. I will explain this in more detail. Rhett and Link promoted Hazel to the unaware GMM viewers by saying they were pulling an all-nighter to compose a song with their fans through TikTok. So they overestimated how many would go to TikTok for that. However, for those fans who signed up for this, they had already prepared a short movie separated in short bits, being uploaded gradually, telling a very creepy story. Here’s the plot: Rhett and Link start their all-nighter in the Creative House by uploading videos on TikTok. In order to get some ideas for their new song, they randomly choose the album Yearning by Hazel Macon. Link is confused because he does not remember this album, although Rhett argues confidently it’s Link’s and he acquired it in GMM (true). They play it and it is a haunting song of a girl wandering lost in a forest (as also evident on the album cover), waiting for someone to play her song, so she can be set free. They both hear whispering in the song and they figure it is backmasking (messages recorded backwards) so Rhett plays the record backwards to decode the message, to Link’s discomfort. Rhett says the message is there for a reason and he mockingly parallels it to satanic subliminal messages. He hears “I just want out. Just open the door. It’s been so, so long. I feel so lost. “ (Needless to say, this is in the official song obviously too.) Meanwhile, dead birds (crows) fall on their doors and windows every time they try to get out of the house. As they listen to the secret messages of the song, the girl vanishes from the album cover and they hear her singing from the back of the house. Scared to death, they see her emerge from the middle room (👀) . They try to hide in the kitchen where Link attempts to say something final and heavy with meaning to Rhett in case they die, but Hazel appears behind him and touches him causing him to fall into shock. She vanishes. Rhett stops playing the record but Link is now in a dead-inside state, the video suggesting Hazel is now inside him. Rhett roams the house but there is no way out as birds fall on every door. In a moment that Link escapes Rhett’s notice, Hazel reappears, turns Link into Harlan Macon, a reserved southern dude coming straight from the 1900s, and leads him to the middle room. Rhett follows in panic but there is nothing there when he opens the door. The Yearning album cover has changed and now it’s both Hazel and Link on the cover and on the record singing. Rhett in despair realises that he will have to play the record again, open the portal, find Link and save him (again, like in TLCOBC, see the trope?). As Rhett walks towards the door listening to Link’s voice from somewhere deep, he says “I don’t know if he can come out. I don’t think I want to go in there but I think I am gonna have to go in there”. This time when he opens the door to the middle room, it is an opening to a forest during a very dense night. It has a claustrophobic feel. Long story short, Hazel attacks him and turns him to Hardy Macon. However, when Hardy meets Harlan (Link), Harlan is “way too deep”, in Rhett’s words, he doesn’t recognise Rhett and he has assumed a different personality. Hardy!Rhett orders Harlan!Link to follow him, he bumps Hazel with a fallen branch, finds the door of the middle room and saves them both. Rhett immediately stops the record and Link returns to his normal self but has no memory of any of this. The album now has only Hazel on it again. Rhett tries frantically to get rid of the “Yearning” album but the “Yearning” album proves to be indestructible. It does not break, it does not melt and when he tosses it in the yard, it comes back.

Then there is a hilarious joke which Link now films; that Rhett is locked in the toilet for way too long, and Link thinks Rhett has shitted himself (however I bet the implied joke is that he was trying to wank it out, as a last resort solution to deal with Yearning). Link then explains to the fans how he still doesn’t remember the Yearning album and hypothesises that Rhett must have brought it earlier to him and ruined their entire evening. Link concludes that if he plays the record backwards again, he will decipher the message and be done with it. Rhett screams from the toilet but it’s too late. Hazel reappears and turns him to Hardy again. When Hazel and Hardy appear to Link again, the camera drops from his hands. The album which had turned to have Hazel and Rhett on the cover and record once Link started playing it again, now morphs into having Rhett and Link together, implying that they now both are lost in those woods with no way out. An unknown hand turns the record to play the normal version, by the Macon Brothers.

Notes and conclusions:

* It is important to note that all of these projects have an either neutral or bad ending. The most neutral one is the digging a hole one, where they have succeeded in making a medium hole but there is also the unintended massive hole behind them, which they choose to ignore. TLCOBC has a fake happy or ominous ending, as the threatening sign appears just when everything seems to be working out well. Hazel is dark and ends in melancholic despair - Rhett and Link remain trapped in that ominous forest hiding in the middle room of their house. These are not happy stories even though all feature Rhett and Link’s light humour (the fork in Hazel came to mind, this joke gets me every time).

* Alicia and Hazel clearly stand for the same or a very similar symbolism. They likely are the personification of yearning, of confronting the truth openly, of being free, as Rhett said Alicia was an allegory for who they truly wanted to be. In two of the projects, they are trapped female entities, whose steps Link follows.

* All of the projects were meant to be part of a series. The book ended in a cliffhanger. Rhett and Link had revealed in their EB for Hazel that they had more scenarios prepared to execute in the same way. Alas, this podcast was filmed before Hazel aired and apparently they were very disheartened by Hazel’s failure. Imagine all that I described, it didn’t take more than 76,000 views in TikTok and most video bits only made like 11,000 views, which must have been a stab in the heart. Ironically, they later uploaded the whole thing on YouTube, and it now has half a million. I mean it’s still not as much as expected for this type of production, but it’s better than the 70,000. In any case the moment was lost then. Now they return with the hole digging which they announced it is the first in a series of similar videos coming. They emphasised how they were determined to ignore the views this time, and even though they did not mention Hazel, I believe the concept is connected directly to the concept of the Hazel video series, postponed for two years after their disappointment. The videos tell the same story, accompanied by a song, but in totally opposite styles.

* Settings, secondary elements and characters vary - the main plot remains the same always in at least 2/3 of the projects at any moment. For whatever reason each time, Rhett and Link decide to do something that unexpectedly makes them vulnerable to a truth they either had not realised or hid well within themselves. Link is seduced or trapped by this truth and falls deeper and deeper, there is always this trope of him falling in deep, either because he wants to or because he has no choice. Link reaches a desperate, helpless state and Rhett realises that he will have to help him out of the situation. Rhett is always very scared and very panicked but in every version he is determined to bring back Link or bring him back to his senses or save him. Rhett struggles and he gets into this dark zone or loses himself in this seductive trap momentarily in order to get Link back. However, he succeeds. They are both back to normal, figuring things out properly. The success is short-lived as Rhett eventually realises he is in fact trapped in way too deep as well, that he is trying to fight something he cannot defeat. The moment he realises this, Link relapses again soon too. This of course is given in a very cheerful, carefree way in the digging video while the plot in the book doesn’t reach the moment of Rhett’s defeat yet.

* The traps in all projects share some common characteristics: the bright sun doesn’t make it clear at first but a hole in the desert is still a hole in the desert. The bigger and deeper it is, the harder it gets to escape it and beneath it there is just darkness and dirt. The forest in Hazel is accessed through a portal to the Creative House’s middle room, it is dark, dense, quiet and claustrophobic. The trap in the Lost Causes is the most mystical, underwater and deep and with other dangers looming as well. Another common element in the last two is the memory loss and losing the sense of self or consciousness.

* Does religion have anything to do with all this? Yes, lots. Is religion the only thing that has to do with all this? No…

* On a lighter note, the Hazel song slaps! It is so good that it is haunting even when played backwards!

* On a heavier note, I was already convinced Rhett and Link are hiding a message in all these projects. I am still not sure however, whether they want this message to be decoded by people or they just make it in order to vent, to get the sensation they escape for a bit the walls of the room, the house, the trap. Hazel is perhaps the boldest of the projects (although the innuendos in TLCOBC are the most glaring) as a main plot because Rhett himself in the video brings awareness into the fact that their song has a hidden, forbidden message that subtextually yearns to be heard.

PS. Just to lighten the mood

#Rhett and link #rhink #randl #R&L #the lost causes of bleak creek #TLCoBC #Hazel #we dug a medium sized hole #opinion #mythical #I managed to make it in one and a half day #I guess it helps I was sick and it was hella windy outside today #long post #tw long post #tw long text #long text

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