#nightcore gone for good

[nightcorenano]

Nightcore - Gone For Good (Lyrics)

[angelicdevil]

I think one of the biggest betrayals (exaggeration) of my youth was this one YT channel that just made nightcore versions of songs they liked set to a picture of whatever fandom they thought fit, then one day they suddenly deleted it all off their channel and made cringe compilations of Undertale fan content mainly made by children

[nyonyia]

if i listen to nightcore this morning i will throw up

[gravityglitch-blog]

The Amazing Digital Circus, as seen by a Murder Drones fan

("Candy Carrier Chaos" inspired me to write this. Fair warning, it's a long one. Potential spoilers ahead)

I stumbled into the indie animation scene on YouTube by accident. It was like finding hidden treasure. I have no hate for the big-name studios, but everything I'd been seeing up until then seemed...homogenized...over-processed, somehow? It's hard to describe. Like eating fast food when you want a home cooked meal.

Now here were stories that were all wonderfully different, in subject matter and style. I started with "Lackadaisy", which was so beautiful, it left me stunned.

(The only reason you don't see more Lackadaisy fanart from me is because it's difficult drawing cats. I'm practicing, though.)

A few more clicks brought me to "Murder Drones", and it was love at first sight.

I connected to Uzi's character within her first minutes on-screen. Despite the dark tone of the story, I still hold out hope for a good ending.

Then I started seeing teasers for a new series, "The Amazing Digital Circus".

The art style and bright colors weren't my usual speed, but I decided to check it out anyway.

Personal confession, "Digital Circus" scares me more than "Murder Drones". While "Murder Drones" wears its horror inspirations on its sleeve, to me, it's more the "cool" kind of horror that I would scribble on my notebooks between classes.

Vampires, monsters, battling the forces of darkness while jamming to nightcore, you get the idea.

I have legitimately had nightmares that look like the "Digital Circus". Strange worlds of twisted colors and shapes, people I don't know, doors and staircases that lead nowhere.

All that said, I did enjoy the pilot, I found the setup and the characters interesting, and wanted to see more.

Side note, I know the studio sometimes seems to favor "Digital Circus", and it causes some resentment between the fandoms.

For myself, I see our fandoms as siblings. Let us watch our faves (hopefully) triumph over the horrors together.

This brings me to "Candy Carrier Chaos".

It happened to debut on one of my bad days, when I was feeling down, to put it mildly.

Like I didn't matter. Like no one would notice or remember me if I were gone.

And so that opening scene of Pomni's nightmare hit me like a punch in the gut.

I won't go into the episode's plot too much, as I'm sure others here have already done that and better than I ever could. The whole reason I'm writing this is because of that ending.

The members of the Circus take the time and care to remember the friend they lost in the pilot, apparently the latest of many.

They all feel the pain of loss, of being trapped in this strange world. But they still have each other. For now, at least.

The look on Pomni's face when she realizes she's not alone. When her vision replays, it has changed.

Now, there are helping hands to take hold of her. To pull her back up out of the darkness.

I honestly became a little teary-eyed at that scene. It got me thinking, "maybe the bad days are liars. Maybe I would be missed, after all."

The power of storytelling through animation. With all my heart, I hope this medium continues to grow and flourish. To any aspiring animators and artists out there, this random Tumblr person asks, please don't give up the dream. There are people out there that need to hear your stories.

In the meantime, Pomni remains where she is...and so do I. Thank you so much if you've read this whole thing. I really appreciate it.

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Obsolete, Night 1: Thanks For The Memories

''And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on. But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning. Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart. Let me go and I will run, I will not be silent. All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain. All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over. There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones to the place we belong, and his love will conquer all. Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding, fall into your sunlight…''

 – Shattered by Trading Yesterday (Nightcore)

xXxXxXx

She woke up, panting and feeling as if she was being chased by someone. She looked around her room and quickly got up, having a strange feeling in her stomach. It was almost second in her nature to feel paranoid about certain things, especially after what had happened in the past months. She walked into the hallway and noticed that the door next to her room was open. She sighed and quickly ran downstairs and into the hallway that led to the front door.

The front door was wide open, with a brunette teenage girl dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and pants standing on the porch and looking at the small woods that were close to the house. The woman walked over to her. The teenager's dark brown eyes were open and glassy, and she had a blank look on her face, staring into the distance. It seemed as if she couldn't see the the woman who was standing right in front of her. The woman glanced at the teenager's right hand, which was slightly clutched, as if gripping the handle of some invisible tool.

The woman then gently took the teenager's arm, keeping a firm grip on it, and slowly led the teenager back into the house and up to her room. The moment the teenager entered her room, she relaxed and walked over to her bed, lying down. The woman pulled the blanked over her daughter and tucked her in, feeling rather tired, but glad that she didn't find her roaming around the yard.

She then closed the door and went downstairs in order to lock the front door, still wondering how her daughter managed to unlock it while sleepwalking, although she figured that people did even crazier things when in that state. As she walked back upstairs, she briefly stopped in front of the first room next to the stairs, the guest room, being a little hesitant about checking it.

The nightmare's over, isn't it? She then shook her head and walked back to her room. You'd think that things would return to normal, but it seems that this isn't the case.

xXx

Samantha Blackburn, a 17-year-old teenager, felt like a truck had ran her over as she walked to school. She was completely exhausted, having been unable to sleep well the last night. Not to mention, her mother, Emma Blackburn, had told her that she was sleepwalking again. This still wasn't a good enough excuse for her to skip school, though.

It's not as if I wanted to skip school, Sam thought bitterly. I'll just fall asleep during class.

She rubbed the back of her head and yawned, shaking her head in order to keep herself awake. Frankly, she wasn't looking forward to drag herself from class to class and try to pretend that she was conscious and interested enough so her teachers wouldn't ask questions. Aside from the tiredness, she wasn't particularly bothered by the nightmares that plagued her, with those nightmares often involving her being hunted down by a shadow-like figure who wanted either to torture her or murder her, as she experienced much worse in real life. Nevertheless, she wouldn't have minded to be able to sleep without dreaming of anything, whether pleasant or nightmarish.

''This whole thing is just a pain in the-''

Before Sam could finish the sentence, her vision went dark as someone put their hands over her eyes.

''What are you up to?''

Sam managed to pry the hands off her eyes, turning around and giving a tall, dark-haired teenager an irritated look.

''Matt, I'm not in the mood for your antics.''

The teenager, Matthew Dearth, just smiled mischievously. Sam sighed and walked away, while Matt followed her with a rather cheerful look on his expression.

''Let me guess, you didn't sleep well tonight,'' he said. Sam yawned again.

''Yeah, I was sleepwalking, again,'' she replied. ''Mum got me when I was still on the porch. I guess it's a good thing I didn't walk into the woods behind our house.''

''Have you thought of visiting a doctor?'' Matt asked her.

''No, I had figured that I'd be able to handle it on my own,'' Sam told him as they walked up to the school building. She yawned again, scratching her head. ''It's not that bad.''

''I wouldn't be so sure about it,'' Matt replied. ''But, I guess you've been through much worse.''

''You have no idea,'' Sam told him. Matt gave her a knowing smile.

''Try me,'' he said, placing his hands in his pockets. ''Remember what I told you when we first met?''

''You were a complete creep,'' Sam replied, crossing her arms and rising an eyebrow. Matt scratched his cheek with his forefinger, smiling nervously.

''Well, I haven't met someone interesting like you,'' he said. ''Besides, I have a tendency to be quite straightforward when things get intriguing.''

''It was still creepy,'' Sam replied flatly.

''I'm sorry,'' Matt said sheepishly. The two then walked into the school building, with Sam suddenly stumbling as another girl pushed her, walking past her.

''Hey!'' she called out angrily. The girl who pushed her briefly turned around, glaring at her like she was a piece of trash and then walked away.

''Are you okay?'' Matt asked her, with Sam nodding. He then glanced at the girl, who vanished from his vision. ''Tessa seems to still hate you.''

''Well, I warned her,'' Sam replied. ''Misery loves company and I had told myself I wouldn't be hanging out with toxic people anymore.''

''I can only agree,'' Matt replied. ''I hope I'm not the kind of toxic person you'd want to avoid.''

''No, you're just a creep,'' Sam replied, her frown then fading as her lips curved into a smile and she and Matt chuckled.

It was rather unexpected and Sam considered it a chance meeting, but she was quite happy that she became friends with Matt. He was a new student at her school and when Sam first saw him sitting in the classroom, he was surrounded by her former friends-turned-bullies, but refused to talk to them, looking rather annoyed whenever they asked him a question. Clearly, he wasn't a social butterfly.

Things, however, took a different turn during lunch. Sam had found an empty table at the canteen, figuring that she'd better get used to being alone this year. She didn't mind it, as she heavily disliked the people who used to be her friends and knew that it would be better for her to just be on her own. However, her quiet lunch was interrupted soon by Matt, who had approached her while carrying his plate and backpack. Sam blinked, staring at him completely puzzled.

''Um, hi?''

''Something tragic had happened in your life,'' Matt told her bluntly, with Sam rising an eyebrow. ''Did someone die? A friend of yours, or maybe a family member?''

''Huh?'' Sam's mind was still processing what Matt had told her, only to freak out a moment later. ''I-I have no idea what you're talking about.''

''Really?'' Matt asked. ''You appear to have a lot of agony and awful memories attached to yourself. Maybe there were multiple tragedies in your life.''

''What kind of question is that?'' Sam replied dryly. Matt put his plate and backpack down, sitting down across Sam.

''I just had a feeling,'' he said. ''You won't mind if I join you, right?''

''Well, I guess it's fine,'' she said, albeit still feeling weirded out. ''Also, what exactly are you talking about?''

''I was just searching for someone interesting to talk to,'' Matt replied. ''My name is Matthew Dearth, but you can call me Matt, if you want.''

''I'm Samantha Blackburn, and I'd prefer if you just called me Samantha rather than shorten my name,'' Sam said, narrowing her eyes. ''You still didn't answer my question.''

''What makes you say that?'' Matt asked her.

''You approach me claiming how I experienced a tragedy in my life and then you say that you were just searching for someone interesting to talk to,'' Sam replied. ''Either you're messing with me or you have some weird ideas.''

''Let's just say that I have something of a knack for finding people who had some kind of misfortune happen in their life. The more devastating the event was, the stronger my sense gets,'' Matt explained.

''Then, I'll have to disappoint you,'' Sam replied in a nonchalant tone. ''The only so-called tragedy I had experienced was my parents getting divorced, but even that couldn't be described as a 'tragedy', since my parents get along well. Or do you also count being bullied by your former friends or disrespected by your co-workers as a tragedy?''

''No, not really,'' Matt replied, giving her a questioning look. ''Maybe I shouldn't have been so forward with my assumptions.''

''You're right about that,'' Sam told him.

''But, I was so convinced that you had something attached to yourself…'' Matt muttered. Sam snorted.

''If it helps your case, I'm an urban explorer and I tend visit places that are abandoned or supposedly haunted,'' she explained. ''Maybe that's why you thought I had experienced something tragic? Perhaps a spirit had attached itself to me?''

''It is possible, but I still have my doubts…'' Matt admitted, sighing. He then got up. ''I'm sorry for bothering you.''

''You know, you don't have to leave,'' Sam said, giving him an inviting smile. ''I already made peace with the fact that I'll be spending this year alone and then suddenly, there's someone who actually wants to talk to me. Even if you had strange assumptions about me, that doesn't mean that I want you to leave.''

''Thanks,'' Matt said, looking relieved, and sat back. ''I guess I should be less straightforward next time.''

''Actually, I don't mind it, as long as you are being honest with me,'' Sam said. ''Not to mention, I am into weird stuff, especially when its of the supernatural kind.''

''Oh, really?'' Matt's eyes widened with interest and he gave Sam a curious look. They spent the rest of the lunch in a deep conversation about their interests, almost missing their next class.

I told him that I'm fine with what he is telling me as long as he's being honest with me, Sam thought as she remembered their conversation. But, I'm a complete hypocrite, since I never told him the truth about myself and kept pretending everything was fine. She sighed. I thought I was done with that masquerade.

''Anyways, Sam, do you have any plans after school?'' Matt suddenly asked, startling Sam.

''Well, I have to go to work this afternoon,'' she said. ''If you want, you can come along, that is, if you can handle screaming children and annoying parents.''

''As long as they don't mistake me for your co-worker…'' Matt trailed off, winking at her. Sam snorted.

''Honestly, I meet all kinds of people there,'' she said. ''Thank God I'm just a technician who mostly works in the back room. Yesterday, a woman who had that Karen haircut and sunglasses had demanded the manager because their server was supposedly rude to them. However, instead of getting a discount, Anthelm told her how she would get sued, because her kid damaged one of the arcade machines.''

''Seriously?'' Matt stared at her in surprise.

''Actually, he just jammed the machine; it was a quick fix,'' Sam explained. ''The entitled mother, however, quickly ran out once she heard there might be a lawsuit and left the kid behind. His father had to pick him up and he did not look happy.''

''Poor guy,'' Matt said, still amused.

''Yeah,'' Sam said, shaking her head. ''I'm more baffled that she forgot her kid, especially since he was wailing like crazy, so it's not like he wasn't noticeable. Besides, we have a notice posted on the website and put on the entrance about that kind of stuff.'' Sam cleared her throat. '''Fazbear Entertainment is not liable for any missing or hurt children. The child's physical and emotional well-being is the parents' responsibility'.''

''I guess that they don't want to repeat the fiasco that happened at Ricky's Wonder Shack,'' Matt added.

''Well, it's not like they haven't been involved into a fiasco of their own,'' Sam muttered irritably.

''Ah, that…'' Matt smirked. ''Speaking of which, I might drop by today. Hell, maybe we could check Ricky's out while we're at it, since it's abandoned. I doubt there's going to be anyone at the building.''

''We could take a peek through the windows,'' Sam said, shrugging. She had figured that it would be better not to reveal that she actually still had the keys to the restaurant, having copied them several months ago. ''I wonder if anyone bought the building.''

''I don't think so,'' Matt replied. ''It doesn't appear that anyone wants to tear it down either.''

''Nobody tore down Freddy's, and we both know what had happened there,'' Sam said in a grim tone. ''They too just shut down the place and left it abandoned.''

''Yeah, but unlike Ricky's, they had managed to make a comeback and going by what I heard, they will be soon finished with their other project,'' Matt added. ''It's kind of surprising.''

''I don't know whether that's good or bad news,'' Sam muttered. ''Knowing Fazbear Entertainment, as well as the kind of history Freddy's has, one should be afraid of what might happen next.''

''Yet, you insist on working there,'' Matt replied, grinning mischievously.

''Well, I'm still the only one qualified enough to work with the animatronics,'' Sam said, shrugging.

''Oh, really?'' Matt asked in a teasing tone. Sam nodded.

''Trust me, once I told Anthelm I would have to change my work schedule due to school, she told me she had thought of finding someone who would work the position full-time,'' Sam said nonchalantly. ''However, no one wants the job, for some reason.''

''I can only image why,'' Matt said. ''Those animatronics are kind of scary.''

''Actually, they're not that bad,'' Sam said. ''That is, as long as you aren't a creep or a threat to the children that are there.''

''Did they attempt to stuff someone in a suit?'' Matt asked curiously.

''Well, I found Puppet looming over some guy who was trying to calm down his kid who was crying about not getting what she wanted,'' Sam said in a nonchalant tone. ''Trust me, these animatronics know what's going on there and they will go after you if they think you're a threat.''

''I guess I'm lucky they didn't go after me,'' Matt said jokingly.

''You have no idea…'' Sam sighed.

xXx

The rest of the school day was rather unmemorable and Sam was just happy that classes were over. After saying goodbye to Matt, she walked down the street to her house, feeling drained. If someone asked her, the summer holidays were too short and had ended too soon. However, she had already figured that this was solely because of the events that happened during those few weeks. Every day, something exciting occurred and she was essentially taking things for granted. Despite her complaining, she now wished that things turned out differently.

This is nothing I can do about now, though. She sighed. Mum was right – this should've happened much sooner. After all, I was just putting myself into danger. Being able to actually return to a normal life should be considered a blessing after that mess.

She felt rather irritable as she thought about the past summer, shaking her head and trying to forget about everything. What happened, happened. I should just consider it a fever dream and be thankful that I woke up from it. Seriously, what the hell was I even thinking?

She had figured that her life would return to normal, as if nothing had happened, but it was clear that that wouldn't be the case. What she saw and what she learned left a strong impact on her and she knew that it was up to her to deal with her new, so-called ''legacy''.

Working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was just one part of it and even though her mother suggested that she could simply quit if she felt overwhelmed, Sam refused, having grown fond of her job, even if the animatronics would at times act weird around her. She had even worked on expanding her knowledge in robotics, aware that she still had to polish her skills as a technician, but she sincerely doubted that the Showtime Animatronics, the new generation she had met during her time there, were acting that way because of a malfunction.

Another reason why it was difficult for her to return to any semblance of a normal life was her connection with the supernatural, thanks to a freak accident that left her near death. She managed to recover, but soon found out that she could see spirits of the deceased and even interact with them. Curiously, she hadn't seen any spirit for quite a while now and wasn't sure whether it was a good or a bad sign. She had actually thought that she might get a visit from those who knew her, but it soon dawned on her that it was better for everyone to stay in the afterlife.

That's the way it should be. Dead people should stay dead.

Sam took a deep breath as she finally reached her house. She got up on the porch and opened her backpack, searching for the key. She briefly glanced at the woods beside her house, as if expecting someone to suddenly walk out, but there wasn't anyone.

Right, I haven't seen them in months.

She then unlocked the front door, opening it and locking it once she was inside the house. It was dead silent inside and Sam knew that her mother was still at work. She had been talking about taking another business trip, meaning Sam would be alone for a couple of days. Sam was actually fine with it, having been already used to being all by herself.

''You could call Matt over, if you want,'' Emma had suggested.

Sam cracked a smile as she remembered that. Emma was actually overjoyed when Sam had introduced Matt to her. She had been telling Sam for a while that she needed to find a friend her age, a friend who was actually alive and not a murderer. While Matt met the former two requirements, Sam would joke that she wasn't sure about the third one. Even though Emma wasn't amused, Matt found her remark funny, noting how he was glad to have found a new friend so short after moving to Hurricane.

You're not the only one.

Sam sighed as she walked up the stairs and into the hallway. She stopped at the first door, the one that led to the guest room and frowned, glaring at the door as if it personally offended her. She then walked over to the room next to it, her bedroom.

I don't have to deal with this anymore.

She threw her backpack on the floor and lied down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was tired, but she simply couldn't fall asleep. Her head hurt and thoughts swirled in her mind, making her feel as if she was flipping through TV channels. She couldn't focus on anything and even trying to make up her mind felt like a chore. She knew that, even though she wasn't physically hurt, she still didn't mentally recover from what happened. She was once again faking that smile, acting as if everything was fine and there was nothing to be worried about.

The sole reason for that was because she didn't want to upset her mother, feeling that she already put Emma through enough unnecessary trouble. Not to mention, she felt that she also didn't have the right to complain about anything. She brought it upon herself, hoping for something that would never come true. She was being punished, simply because she trusted someone everyone claimed to be pure evil. She rolled over to her side.

I'm an idiot… I should've seen this coming…

She narrowed her eyes, glancing at the box she had left on her bookshelf. It was a VR headset and she thought that she could play a game, just to forget reality for a second. However, the only game she had for that was a video game called Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted. She did play it a few times, but quickly grew annoyed by it, as it constantly reminded her of things she wanted to forget, of things she didn't care anymore.

It's just a waste of time, she thought in frustration. A moment later, she felt bad for thinking like that. After all, the console and the game were a gift from her father, which she was really happy about, especially since she got the game before the official release; and even bought the official game just to see whether there were any differences between the two. Her father had told her that a co-worker of his gave him her copy of the game after he talked about Sam one too many times, wishing her luck in beating it and finding out about its secrets.

Sam, on the other hand, had figured that there weren't really any secrets in the game. Sure, she had found a few items during her playthrough, the most important being the glitchy Tapes, but she didn't bother picking them up and listening to them. After all, she was already told in the introduction part of the game what it's purpose was.

''Welcome to the Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience. Fazbear Entertainment is excited to join the digital age and what better way to do that than with an edge-of-your-seat virtual reality experience!''

''We know that Fazbear Entertainment has developed something of a bad reputation over the last few decades, and while it's true that some stories associated with our name were loosely based on actual events, the majority of them were total fabrications from the mind of a complete lunatic (lawsuits pending), but we aren't above laughing at ourselves, ha ha ha. That's why we have recreated many of these completely fictitious scenarios (lies) that you've been fed over the last several years into a hilarious VR games, in the hopes that we can finally move past these childish ghost stories and develop a new relationship with you, as well as your kids! (Don't forget the merch, perfect for birthdays.) So sit back and enjoy a few scares.''

''We do, however, ask that you agree to a simple waiver before you play. It's mostly just a legal mumbo-jumbo, and isn't at all based on user experiences thus far or injuries associated with testing. Just touch the button to agree and then we can jump right into some harmless fun that can't harm you at all in any harmful way. Thank you for playing the Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience.''

''You acknowledge that Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for accidental digital consciousness transfer, real world manifestations of digital characters, nightmares, night terrors, night sweat-''

They're just trying to salvage their reputation and make some money off the game, nothing else, Sam thought bitterly. What else should've I expected from Fazbear Entertainment? She closed her eyes. Not to mention, the fact that they also have other projects planned out. At least I've found out what happened to the Machinations Factory. She then lied down on her back, placing her hands behind her head. Frankly, I can't tell who is worse, Fazbear Entertainment or Wolfrun Corporation. Hell, neither of them cared about the people and incidents that happened on their property until it was too late. But, unlike Fazbear Entertainment, it seems that Wolfrun Corporation had finally quit being part of this industry. They made the same mistakes as the former, but unlike them, it seems they knew when to give up. She sighed. Of course, who would've predicted that one of their employees would be so bloodthirsty?

She closed her eyes again, feeling herself slowly drifting away into the darkness.

What a nightmare… But, it's over, isn't it?

xXx

''It's so quiet,'' Emma muttered under her breath as she entered the house, wondering whether Sam had returned home. According to the time, she would soon have to go to work. ''Sam?''

There was no response, causing Emma to walk upstairs and knock on the door to Sam's room.

''Sam?'' She opened the door, noticing Sam lying on her bed, seemingly asleep. Then, Sam opened her eyes, giving her mother an irritated look. ''Sweetheart, are you okay? Don't you have to go to work today?''

''Yeah, I do,'' Sam replied, getting up and grabbing her uniform, which consisted of black pants and dark purple polo T-shirts with a logo sewn on the left side of the chest. The logo was a black Freddy head inside a circle, with the name of the location, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, being written inside the circle. Her name tag was clipped on the belt. ''I'll be downstairs soon.''

''Okay,'' Emma replied, closing the door. She then leaned against it, taking a deep breath.

Ever since the accident from a few months ago, Sam's attitude had changed. She became withdrawn again, as well as irritable, refusing to talk about anything what happened during that summer. She noted that she didn't care anymore about it and that she couldn't live in the past, else something bad might happen. Emma had to wonder how she wasn't reminded of what happened since she was still working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, refusing to quit her job.

''It doesn't matter,'' Sam had told her. ''This has nothing to do with that idiot.''

''Sweetie, I know that this is hard for you…'' Emma wanted to comfort her, but Sam quickly cut her off.

''You know, you should be happy that he's gone,'' she said. ''That's what you wanted all along, right?''

''Of course, but…''

''Then, this discussion is over.''

I wouldn't be so sure about it, Emma thought, shaking her head. She glanced at the door that led to the guest room, walking over to it. Her hand was on the door knob, but she was reluctant to open it, even though she already knew that the room was completely empty. It doesn't matter whether he's gone or not, he still managed to influence Sam significantly.

Emma hated to admit it, but she was at loss when it came to how she was supposed to handle this situation. It seemed at first as if Sam went back to her withdrawn self, but she would still go out and talk to people. She even made a new friend at school and she even looked happy when talking about Matt. Yet, Emma couldn't shake off the feeling that she was hiding something. Despite her smiling, Emma was aware that Sam was deeply hurt and that wound that had been inflicted on her wouldn't heal so easily.

Ignoring the issue isn't a solution either. Emma feared that Sam's emotions would eventually reach their boiling point and spill over. Could a person really be able to hide their feelings for so long before they finally had enough? She was afraid for her daughter's mental health, but at the same time, she felt helpless. She didn't feel that there was anything she could to help her deal with this issue and instead remained quiet, respecting Sam's wishes and demands. In the end, it's all his fault.

Emma opened the door to the guest room and, just as she expected, found it completely empty and devoid of any sign that anyone had ever stayed there. I wish it were just all a bad dream, but I can't deny that it was all very real.

She stared at the room in silence as she thought about the past months. It still baffled her that Sam went from defending her former friend to refusing to even acknowledge his existence or even call him by his name. Emma had told her that, if there was anything Sam wanted to talk about, she could tell her, but Sam noted that there wasn't anything worth a discussion and that she wanted to move on with her life.

However, it was painfully clear that, under all that, no matter how much she acted as if it didn't affect her, Sam was completely heartbroken, her heart shattered beyond repair.

In the end, what you feared the most has happened, Afton. You hurt Sam, despite promising that you would keep her safe. Even if you didn't physically harm her, you did emotionally scar her. It seems like you just can't interact with people without making someone your next victim.

Truth to be told, Emma secretly wanted to celebrate the fact that Afton had finally left, but after what Sam had told her about what had happened, she knew that she couldn't. Seeing her daughter being so hurt made her angry and frustrated, but she knew that nothing could be done. This was how things were supposed to be and there was never a guarantee that this story would have a happy ending. This was the best they got.

''You know that he's gone.'' Emma suddenly turned around and saw Sam glaring at her, her arms folded on her chest. ''He's not coming back, ever.''

''Sam-'' Emma wanted to speak up, but Sam cut her off.

''I don't want him to return,'' she said in an icy tone. ''For all I care, he just should stay in Hell, where he belongs.''

She then turned around, walking downstairs. Emma just stared at her, speechless. If it were several months ago, she would've been happy to hear this kind of opinion coming from Sam. However, she knew that this didn't reflect her daughter's true feelings. Emma wanted to agree with her, but she knew that she would be lying to herself if she claimed that Sam had finally realized that Afton was a bad influence for her, that he was someone she never should've met – someone she should hate regardless of what happened.

Emma sincerely hated seeing her like this, so bitter, frustrated and depressed and she wished that she could help her. However, it was obvious that Sam didn't care anymore nor that she wanted help. Even though she didn't want to get herself trapped in the past, she couldn't move on from her memories and emotions associated with them.

The one person who cared about you the most is the one who hates you more than anyone else.

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[evilmagician430]

🎶?

for VT/taleblr in general i think a lot of lemon demon's discography fits it well, especially the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. and the next dimension. both of these songs are kind of homestuck-y too now that i think about it

sibling rivalry by pup is a really good acachalla family song, as well as kids by the same artist.

similarly i think touch tone telephone and ancient aliens are good P.I.E. songs.

i actually have full playlists for some characters- some on my youtube page, and some are kind of just in my head. if i had to narrow down the songs for each character it would be like this

toast - evacuate the dancefloor by cascada, i am not a robot by marina and the diamonds, kaleidoskull by lemon demon, ravers in the UK, take it off by ke$ha, are you satisfied by marina and the diamonds, so its like half sad amv music and half music i think he would actually listen to. people forget hes not just some prim and proper brit, hes also a hard drinking party boy.

ghost- problems by mother mother, bloodeater by mom/girls rituals/cats millionaire/devi mccallion, flight of the crows by jhariah, oh oh oh sexy vampire by disko warp, jerma meatgrinder remix??(if this also includes jimmy casket songs) haunted by laura les, and uh fuck it bad blood by creature feature. and ofc secret by the pierces.

maddiefriend - crazy town by marz mitzi, doktorspiele, best friend by toy-box, prescription by msi, bill watterson by lemon demon, weird science by oingo boingo, serial contraption of malice by ghostie-p, and magical doctor by maretu.

sally - the end by lil uzi vert and babymetal, gimme chocolate by babymetal, mommy's little monsters by creature feature, dead bodies everywhere by korn, IT GIRL by aliyah's interlude, ready to die by andrew w.k., chu chu lovely muni muni mura mura, little girls by oingo boingo, barbie girl, when i grow up by the pussycat dolls, etc.

sue - woof woof by arthur, i cant handle change by roar, 1989 by msi, entomologists (original version) by ghost/ghostie-p/marz mitzi (i forget how they went by at the time of releasing that song), good news by the garden, my alcoholic friends by the dresden dolls, bloody mary-kate and ashley by pup, and ummm no specific song but i think she would listen to korn

billy - fin fin come and see him, butterfly by smile.dk, girl you need a shot of b12, september dark planet by arthur, walking by steampianist, still feel by half alive, gangnam style nightcore by psy, lego racers ost main menu and also the building mode music, boyfriend by big time rush, tbh i just get a lot of eurodance and boyband vibes from him. there are SOME songs that make me think of him in like an amv way but not many

sadly i must admit gertrude and papa i dont imagine amvs of them often. to any songs. except maybe aim for the head by creature feature, i feel like thats a gertrude song. same w spooker chris and any other characters i didnt mention. i simply do not think of them that much while im listening to music. sad!

spencer (main course - i have an entire playlist for him but i'll try to trim it down in this post) - karkat's theme from the homestuck ost, black hole by steampianist, eighth wonder by lemon demon, cabinet man by lemon demon, evil me by arthur, september by the living tombstone i think? the brony song. welcome to kitty city by cyriak, cat hacks by lemon demon, the machine by lemon demon, the blind prophet from the homestuck ost, the 'you are an idiot!' song from that one computer virus, the first watamote ending song, want you gone from portal 2, waiting for the world to end by mother mother, buried alive by creature feature, stupid stupid world by talking kitty cat, weekly shonen bye-bye by pinocchio-p, alphys from the undertale ost, ode to crayola by lemon demon, just monika from the ddlc ost, not safe from the off ost, christmas kids by roar, here we are from the undertale ost, awoken by h8 seed ft woodentoaster, hole-dwelling by kikuo, amygdala's ragdoll by ghost, faget by korn, evolution by korn, and oxidation and dream monsters by ghostie-p. boom. thats basically the meat of my spencer playlist.

i just remembered i also have a cywren caster playlist but im gonna limit myself to gmod roleplay characters cause im tired of typing and i dont think anyone cares anyways. if u do though check my youtube channel O.K. much love bye

[shuro]

tagged by @tw3wh to post 10 songs i've had on repeat lately!

1: Record Red by shr (it's a mix of the regular version with vocals and the off vocal version)

2: The Last Queen by KurousaP (but it's the gahata meiji cover)

3: Ultimate Pokemon Battle Medley (Every Song is Here Remix)

4: Nai Nai by ReoNa

5: It's Another Maze There by Kikuo (except SPECIFICALLY the miyashita yuu cover bc its so good)

6: Fantasia of Swords and Magic by McGuffin (the off vocal ver used to be on youtube but its GONE AND I CANT FIND IT ANYMORE)

7: this SiIvagunner remix of the Game Corner theme from G/S/C and Daft Punk's Get Lucky

8: The Legendary Zelda Medly by FreddeGredde

9: 月見で一杯 by Nem

6: Dragostea Din Tei Nightcore (DO NOT ASK)

i tag whoever wants to do this! (<- too lazy to come up with people)

[jackalopegirlteeth]

Good news everyone! I have finally got my clear of the 4th extreme trial to come to Endwalker as of patch 6.2!

Boy was that a bitch to achieve.

That said. Having done it in just 4 days is a significant improvement compared to the last 2 extremes I've cleared which took almost double that.

Thoughts on the fight under the cut, beware spoilers

Phase one was tricky initially. But once you get onto the hang of it it's fairly easy to resolve. Very little in the way of co-ordination is required. Its simply know your spot/stack group. Simply watch for your visual tells to know if she's doing a donut aoe or a line followed by either another donut or a wall cleave

The tank swap is easy, the raidwides are fairly well spaced out. All in all not the worst

By the end of yesterday I was already feeling like I was on autopilot through that phase. It just became muscle memory after a few pulls

Phase 2 is where things start to get hectic. Once she's gone into "hair" mode the fight transitions from more methodical mechanic progression to something a hell of a lot more frantic. There is very little downtime here and small mistakes add up quickly. I feel so bad for any black mages playing this part. Rip your leylines

The flare and stack near the end took the longest to nail for me. Those hit like freight trains. Even as a tank they will one-shot you without any mitigation. And the ground pounds before and after are just as nails. Eventually the party I cleared most with just said "fuck it, tank lb3 on the last ground pound" and it made things so much smoother (I finally got to LB ;w;)

Phase 3 is where things calm down a bit. It's mostly a repeat of phase 1 with her going back to "sword" mode. The only addition is what the community calls "playstation" which only boils down to match coloured icon with one of the waymarks and that's about it

Phase 4 was hell incarnate. It took all the worst parts of phase 2 and doubled down on it. There is no stopping here at all for the entire phase. It's the nightcore remix of phase 2. The stack/flare and following groundpound is the true gating mechanic of this fight. If you can survive those back to back then 9/10 you got this fight in the back

Phase 5 is a repeat of 3. Except only half as long. It really is the victory lap. Once you're here with a full party it's over basically. I'd seen this on many failed runs with just half the party left. But honestly it feels like victory now

That said, the first time I cleared the fight the party actually managed to skip phase 5 entirely. Which was awesome

All in all. Barbariccia extreme is a pretty good fight. Definitely a step up in difficulty but not insurmountable. I mean I clear it after all x3

Though with 3 clears under my belt and poopy rng it looks like I'll be getting the weapon with totems -w-

[frenzyartist-voe]

More Rumble headcanons because I think you all understand my motivations by now

(also pls don't be afraid to DM me questions about hcs or even just random thoughts if u enjoy the cassettes pls I don't bite, the only thing I do bite is the bars of my enclosure I'm Told)

Rumble headcanons on earth things!

Clothes! While at the decepticon party (human party thrown for "decepticon day" ) rumble noticed the various attire people wore to the party, and started taking notes on some of the things the humans he's had to beat up have worn in various settings.

Some clothes make him wonder why you'd even do that to yourself. Like..is that not itchy? While other clothes have made them heavily consider trying to get some in their size to try out. He won't wear form fitting clothes when he first tries it out (he's worried about sensory issues with the organic fabric hugging his plating. But as he tests the feel of different fabrics out he'll get more comfortable trying more form fitting clothes. (My headcanon for basic G1 rumble in regards to this is that he'd definitely put the clothes on wrong and get himself stuck)

Music! Honestly he's welcome to trying every genre once or twice! Just be prepared that if ur a diehard for smthin it better be a banger because if he disagrees with you in a "hell no" way then ur tusslin (love whatever music u like but if yo swearing on ya mama that it's good be prepared to hurt yo mama if u trippin) he likes slow but also fast paced songs! Definitely takes some of the beats and tracks from human songs and remixes them with Cybertronian music sometimes. I feel like he's more of a reverb daycore person then a nightcore one tbh

Dances! He's got a catalog of dances he knows (he may hang out with jazz to much to that objective degree but ssh) but he also studies human dances. I can't see him doing tiktok trend kinds though, but if you're in his circle and you wanna teach him he'll give you a klik or two to try and catch his interest.

Overall thoughts? Humans are interesting. Shorter lifespans which kinda sucks in their opinion, but he don't really sway either towards good or bad in regards to the entirety of humanity. He has no reservations on beating a human or two to a pulp if they get in the fraggin way. (He finds the fact their heads break very similarly to fauna they eat very ironic yet also hilarious) yet I won't say he can't also make friends or have dynamics with humans too. Frenemies, friends, unlabeled n fantastically strange in only a way rumble can, etc!

Food! I feel like he tried soda first due to how often it's advertised and how common it is to see it just about everywhere. Also the idea of bubbles...(would be the type to stare in horror when someone drinks something that's gone flat) however scrubbing the sticky syrup out of their internals was less then pleasant...still can't resist sometimes though even if he grumbles about the mess later.

Ps. He's not immune to getting things stuck in his helm for random reasons even though he only heard the thing twice!

[dbeatappreciator]

“Week 1.1”

July 29th: Brain Tourniquet - Brain Tourniquet II

Cymbrgrimbd. The first album that you hear from a genre that you will come to love is always a very special one, even if you’ve been skipping showers for longer than I’ve been alive I'm sure you remember where you were when you found out what “the D-Beat” is. Discovering Iron Lung records was a big step in me finding the albums that would shape my music listening for years to come. Long after I had learned to watch the bands they put out closely, Brain Tourniquet’s first EP was put on my radar after seeing a pre order for an album with some of the more disturbing imagery I had seen from a punk album at that point, child murder, song titles like Machine Gun and Corpses, and the band being called BRAIN TOURNIQUET, the powerviolence cult had me immediately hooked. When the record came out I was immediately drawn in by the sheer brutality and rawness of it, grinding riffs, tight drums, and a succinct approach to “music” that keeps it interesting throughout.

Brain Tourniquet has a powerful way of locking in instrumentally that really elevates the music for me, a lot of the power drawn from the sound of this record is that when the guitar and bass play they sound like 1 Instrument making 1 full chord, and the Drums serve to intensify the attack and tie the each and every riff into one complete mosh pit killer, it’s hard to call out a specific moment as it’s kind of everywhere, but the tracks Hope and Pain, Gone, and the closer Corpses are all wonderful examples of this. Furthermore, the tracks on this album are constantly speeding past you in a way that sounds like if someone decided to make a Nightcore version of Grindcore on tracks like Sanctuary, and there are quite a few slow/fast blast beat fests that make it impossible for me to sit still while listening. Lastly, I’m going to talk about the final song on this album, which also happens to be the longest song, Corpses, this song is nearly 6x longer than the bulk of the EP up until this point, and Corpses is quite the departure in a good way. This song is full of slow, brutal metal riffage, and clean, and dreary vocals, as the whole thing is spoken word about, well, corpses, even if powerviolence isn't really your thing I’d recommend this song and this album to everybody. I created an account on a blog website to share these, so I think I might start posting after I make a few more of these, but also, idrk why I’d want to. (i never used that site, hi tumblr!)

[rougeandeyeline]

i think it’s good to be a little dramatic. react the way 10 year old me would react. for example the person i’m not officially dating is in another state and won’t answer texts. i think it’s a good time to play avril lavigne when you’re gone nightcore yk? get real elementary school with it

[ithisatanytime]

bladee & ecco2k - 5 star crest (nightcore)

 my moms evil dog died today and its fucking me up, i say she was evil but she was just aggressive and weird, i literally couldnt even look at her without her growling, barking, and snapping viciously and in fact i still have the scar on my face from where she bit me. and yet if i stopped petting her she would growl and whine for me to keep going and in her eyes i could see intelligence and love despite her aggressive growling. so today she was lethargic, couldnt even move from her side, and had been throwing up etc. she just wanted me to pet her chest, and wouldnt move otherwise except that one paw so i could scratch her chest, so thats what i did, all day, while we were trying to source antibiotics or something, i was just petting her chest. she did something i wont ever be able to explain, but i kissed her head, and she moved her head for another kiss and give me a look that was a combination of “i love you, goodbye” and it sent me, keep in mind i wasnt entirely sure she was dying as of this point but i started crying pretty hard when she did that. i filled a bottle with sugar water, and used a medicine dropper to drop some onto her dry mouth, and i even saw her drink a gulp of it, when she grunted to tell me “dont stop petting me” but when i started petting her again i could tell that her eyes were open but she was unconscious, her mouth opened and closed strangely i could tell she wasnt doing it voluntarily, i realized she was dying, my mother started sobbing quiet loudly, so i had my sister get her out of the room because i figured we were in for some hours of agonizing before she passed and i didnt want the last thing she heard to be her owner in agony, but by the time my sister had started getting her out of the room, i was petting pipers head and telling her she was a good girl, but she was already gone. her tongue lazily rolled out of her mouth and she was just gone. ive never seen an animal or person go better than that. 

[aberrantmind]

i think im just having a nightcore phase rn bc i didnt have one at the time most people do. catching up

[i-cant-sing]

Okay, Moon anon was able to contact me and I'm gonna post their chapters 3-6 here.

Daniel and YN 3 🌗🌗

Rainy days are crazy. Some of YN’s best and worst memories were on a rainy day. It was a rainy day when Daniel was born. His parents overjoyed when he decided to join the world early. The Sunny morning turned rainy when they saw something was wrong. The sky was so dark when the doctored explained that their baby didn’t get enough oxygen in the womb or when he came out. That his brain was impacted by the trauma. It took four years for Daniel’s mother to stop blaming herself, four years for her to understand that she couldn’t have known that something was wrong in her womb. Four years when they had their second child. It was a rainy day when YN and Daniel got lost. Holding each other’s hand, tightly they wandered the Kamino Ward. Hoping that their parents would be right down an alley or around the corner. That was a terrible 6th birthday for YN. The steps Daniel left in the dirt started to get deeper and more burnt. The boy slightly started to tremble. “Daniel.. it’s gonna be ok. Momma and Pop are going to find us we just have to-“ “Are you two lost?” A very tall man in a black suit asked. YN couldn’t remember his face, but his voice was eerily calm and smoothe. His head had snow white hair on it. A look at him would’ve left even the hero All Might scared. “ye…Yes. My brother and I can’t find our parents..” “Oh dear. Well I can help you. They couldn’t have gotten far.” He held his hand to Daniel. And he almost took it had YN not stepped in. “We’re not supposed to touch strangers.” “Oh yes, that’s a very good rule. Well my name is.. Shigaraki. Now what are yours?” “…yn.. and daniel..” “Now we aren’t strangers. Let’s get you two somewhere safe. Your brother’s quirk might level the neighborho-“ “YN! DANIEL!” The relieved voice of their father shouted out. And the two quickly turned away, toward his calls and open arms. Tears running down their faces, swearing to never wander off again. The day was saved. When YN went to turn to Mr Shigaraki to tell him it was fine, he had disappeared into the crowd. But one question lingered in her head. How did he know Daniel’s quirk could be dangerous? It was a sunny day at first when YN and Daniel went out to the park for their Day out. YN had already planned to tell her parents that she wanted to come back here for her 12th birthday in a few months. Daniel kept over-stimulating himself with every single thing that caught his eyes. The anthill, the trees, the way the wind carried the leaves, when he and YN jumped around over the hopscotch drawings. When the rain came down they didn’t want to leave. They wanted to splash in the wetness like a couple of ducks. But Momma was insistent it was time to go back to the apartment. Inside the car YN immediately put on her headphones to listen to nightcore covers of popular songs. It wasn’t until she noticed her mom’s terrified expression and felt her dad’s fear did she take them off. “-I DONT KNOW ITS NOT BREAKING!” “WE’RE GOING RIGHT INTO TRAFFIC! DO SOMETHING!” “..momma?..” “DANIEL! YN GET DOWN!” That was the last thing her mother said to her. The rain hit the car harder. Daniel was quick to cover his little sister as the car swerved towards a large truck. YN felt her brother shield over their bodies. The last thing she heard from her father was a yell. Before they crashed into the truck. Before YN and Daniel were flung out into the side of the road. Scratches beginning to litter their arms and cheeks. YN felt the rain on her face as she tried looking up. Tried finding her parents. It was a rainy day when the last image of her parents was the crushed front end of the car. 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN 4 🌗🌗

The incident at the cafe left a bigger mess then was intended. Of course the waitress didn’t say a word about who caused the mess, still terrified of the threat, but the manager still called the police. At the moment it was being investigated as a break in. It wasn’t until they started to bag the broken vases as evidence did they think to call a hero as they believed this was a terrorist villain trying to strike more fear. When the first cop touch the broken vases he immediately fell over and started seizing. Like someone had sent hundreds of volts up through his gloved fingers and into his blood stream. The second cop tried picking up the glass with prongs so that she wouldn’t get the same effect. But she still felt some pain and volts. Even the glass windows were giving off static. When they were examined no one could find a point of impact. It was almost like they spontaneously exploded. Worse and more confusing yet was the fact that the material seemed to give off radiation spikes. From a computer screen image, it was like a red glow was emanated from the glass. When the police tried to check the cameras, all the footage was either ruined, too melted to gather anything. It left them in a stump. So they had to make a plea to the hero society to get fresh eyes and help on the case. Not expecting any big response. Some heroes wanted to solve the mystery because it stumped them as well. This quirk residue was something unseen before. Calls and emails were left. All saying they would look into it. And it seemed like this would just be a mysterious case left forgotten. That is until the All Might showed up in the station one morning. Along with his protege Deku. They said they wanted to solve the case because if this person left such a dangerous residue after using their quirk, then they were a danger to themselves and others. No on saw the real intentions in their eyes. When they asked about the only other patron in the cafe the police said that they tried tracking them down, but they were gone into the wind. The only other patron at the cafe made their way into a compound. Holding treats meant for a little girl. But first he had to make a stop at his boss’s office. “Hey.. Kai. You won’t believe what Just saw.” Meanwhile in the station two separate rats made calls to two separate people. “Put me through to Shigaraki…. Hello. I have something interesting to tell you. Something that might please you and your Sensei.” “Oh hey there Aizawa. Detective Tsukauchi here. Look I you know about that cafe destruction a week ago? Yea well I think you outta here about this.” Indeed the cafe incident left a bigger mess than intended. 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN part 5 🌗🌗

They’d been gone for at least two months. YN’s feet hurt and Daniel missed his own bed. But they had to keep going, with no intended final destination but a goal to keep away from the previous home they ran from. After the morning at the cafe, YN and Daniel had kept to the shadows for the rest of the day. But they couldn’t keep going like this. They needed to eat today but not at a restaurant. There was only one dreaded… dreaded option. The grocery store. So after they checked in at the latest motel with kitchens in the rooms, the siblings ventured off to the store.YN couldn’t leave Daniel alone yet. He’d panic and probably have a fit. The store was minimally packed. Since it was still early in the day it seemed like they would zip in and out with relative ease. After grabbing the bare essentials, and what she could pack in a backpack without much drag, it was time to go to the candy aisle. It was a long journey thus far, a journey deserving of some sour candies. But of course there had to be another person there. Invading space and looking right at her favorites. She wanted to just grab and go. But her hand and the stranger's hand touched as they reached for the same one. “Sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going heh..” The tall redhead said. A small blush on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s fine. Lemme just grab and go here.” She looked back for Daniel, luckily he was close by staring at the varieties of pocky they had. Turning back she noticed his uniform. UA, that might prove to be a complication. But YN was desperate for some kind words and a brief moment to talk to someone her own age. “So you go to UA? Are you a general student or a hero course student?” “Oh hero course definitely! I even have my hero name chosen!” “Wow that’s great. I hope in a few years I get to be saved by…?” “Red Riot!” “Like Crimson Riot?” “Exactly! I really admire him and I hope I live up to his-“ “OI SH**TY HAIR! WE’RE GONNA BE LATE! GRAB YOUR CRAP AND LET’S GO!” A blonde kid shouted down the aisle, also wearing a UA outfit. YN couldn’t place why but she felt like she’d known him before. That volume felt very familiar, but it startled her brother who jumped in fear causing the pocky he saw to fall off the shelving. Time to go now. “I should go anyway. It was nice meeting you.” “Wait, we could walk you and your brother to your school if you guys want?” “We have to go.” The blonde got closer and she could tell something was perpetually up his ass. “Bye.” “Wait! My name’s Eijiro Kirishima. What’s yours?” “YN. Just YN. That’s my brother Daniel.” And before he or his companion could ask anything else the two siblings fast walked toward the checkout and were out the door before they got another chance to talk to them. “YN… huh she was pretty cool right bakubro!” “What ever. Let’s get going before we show up after Deku.” But that name was familiar to him. The girl had long since faded from his mind, but how could anyone forget the day when a quirkless kid tried bashing your head into the dirt. He planned on apologizing the next day for his comments but she was gone. Gone and almost forgotten. It could be possible that this was just someone who shared the same name. But maybe.. possibly.. the universe was giving him the chance to apologize. “YN.” 🌗🌗

Daniel and YN part 6 🌗🌗

YN never really liked her neighbors. She never outright loathed them, but she was uncomfortable with how Inko kept trying to be her mother, and how Izuku had this strange obsessive stare when he looked at her. As long as they stayed in their apartment and never bothered them it would all be fine. But their parents couldn’t watch them all the time. So on days when momma and pop went out Miss Midoryia would graciously watch them. YN never liked pity. So when Miss Midoryia tried to pity and feel sorry about YN’s quirkless status, that just made her dig her heels in longer. She didn’t need people to fuss over her like she was a glass doll. At least with Izuku she could’ve had a companion. She did try to get along with him. But he was so weird. Just because they both were quirkless didn’t mean they’d would be close. “So why are you homeschooled?” “I get into fights.” “Why?” “Because people are mean and they think they’ll have no consequences to their words. I proved them wrong.” “Were they mean because you’re quirkless or because Daniel is… different?” Now obviously he didn’t mean any harm by that. But an emotional 10 year old girl is not someone to mess with. So with a sharp glare to his face the conversation quickly died. In the dining room, Daniel would usually be coloring. Or playing with his legos. Something to stim and distract his mind. Sometimes he’d just pull out a old painting his dad got him, and he’d spend hours looking at the strokes and would mentally add a new feature. Twirling the hair on his head whilst sucking/biting his thumb. “Daniel? Would you like some water?” “No miss. I want momma.” “I know sweetie but she won’t be gone forever. And you call me Inko” Though she’d prefer him to call her something more affectionate. Throughout the night Inko kept trying to mother them. She hovered over YN’s neck and tried petting her head which resulted in a swipe from the little girl. By the time YN’s parents got back, she was relieved and spent the rest of the night complaining to her mom about how she didn’t want to go over to the neighbors anymore and how she felt uncomfortable. Across the hall the two greenettes were enamored with the two kids. Inko adored how sweet Daniel was, how shy he looked to her. Izuku was star struck at this girl without a quirk who was so quick to fight against the norms put in place by a society against them. They'd soon make it a habit to try to talk to the family in the hall, or bump into them on the street. One day, after the family had been gone for a couple weeks, they saw the two with several police officers and a social worker packing away all their belongings. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something terrible had happened. When Inko offered to watch them, the social worker confirmed the worst and took the children away. Three weeks later, as her son was at school Inko kept trying to find the legal way for her to gain custody of the kids when her door was knocked. Her husband, AFO, on the other side. She tried telling him to go away. Tried saying that he had no part in Izuku’s life anymore. But he had a bigger role than known. “How can you be so cruel my love? Especially now that I’ve opened the door for you to gain what you want?” “What do you mean?” “I’ll help you gain custody of the two children you are craving. I happen to have a fascination with them as well.” “I can’t ever guarantee that we’ll be a whole family ever again.” “Of course not. I wouldn’t expect you to. But let’s try something for now.” So Inko made a deal with the devil, to gain two angels. 🌗🌗

Now that AFO is in the story, I'm like so excited! Great work, Moon anon!

[slapkorsesbaldhead]

[Image ID: An edited version of the "Is this a pigeon?" meme. The man is labeled "motorbabies," butterfly is labeled "Bad Words," and the caption reads: "Is this good music?" / End ID]

[Image ID: an alignment chart with “edgy,” “depressed,” and “dumbass” along one edge, and “bitch,” “thot,” and “bastard” along the other edge. Edgy bitch: Mad gear and the missile kid

Edgy thot: The Cause and Effect.

Edgy bastard: The Love You Long Times.

Depressed bitch: Richard Ai Yai Yai.

Drepressed thot: Starving Mace Lizards.

Depressed bastard: Wizard Needs Food.

Dumbass bitch: Massive/Awesome.

Dumbass thot: Bad Words.

Dumbass Bastard: Vacation Adventure Society. / End ID.]

[Image ID: An edited version of the "are ya winning, son?" meme. A stick figure wearing a hat opens a door with dialogue reading: "Are you ok bro?" A stick figure kneels in the bottom right corner, almost obscured by messy black scribbles that cover the right side. Dialogue above them reads: "They wont stop playign Starving Mace Lizards". / End ID]

[Image ID: The "no fear/ one fear" meme. The first panel shows a man wearing sunglasses, a small smirk, and a shirt that reads: "No fear". A waving man approaches from the right. Panel two shows a close-up of the second man's shirt, which reads: "Richard Ai Yai Yai tries to make nightcore". In panel three, the man's expression has gone flat, and his shirt now reads: "One fear". / End ID]

[Image ID: The "I've had enough of this dude" meme from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Three men are standing in a room, with one pointing at a portrait of the Mad Gear and the Missile kid self titled album cover. The caption reads: "I've had enough of this dude." / End ID]

[Image ID: and edited version of the "first and second priority" meme. It shows words on a light grey background. The words read "Your bf/gf should be your 2nd priority. Your 1st priority should ALWAYS be keeping the electric accordians away from The Cause and Effect." / End image ID.]

[Image ID: two images side by side. The left image is of a hampster running on a keyboard, with the caption "I wonder what my hampster will type." The right image is of a computor screen with words on it. The words read "Stop fucking playing The Love You Long Times." / End ID.]

[ID: am edited four pannel comic. The first pannel shows two people at a bar, talking to two different people off screen. They are speaking into the same word bubble. The word bubble reads "salutations bum bum from a greater northwest alley And reservations every person goes to steak house 8 pm you got your rickety bones I got my rickety hands-" and gets cut off at the end.the second pannel shows the two people facing each other, still speaking into the same word bubble. The word bubble reads "aaAAAAAA ba ba ba ba a a a a a medication buh buh and the way your eyes look into me lubriCATION can you turn off all the lights so I can see". The third panmel is a close up of the two people staring at each other. The fourth pannel shows them making out. / End ID.}

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Hobbies and Holidays, Or The Halloween Fic

Yes, I know it’s June. I just like Halloween, man. Yuu’s quiet dedication to the finest of holidays sours when confronted with assholes who fuck around for clout.

Contains coarse language, attempted violence, sexuality and nerds being nerds. As always, if you enjoyed it or have any questions, let me know! I like talking with people.

~*~*~*~

"What's cooking?" Ace, cheery as could be, walked his way up towards your set up on the Ramshackle front lawn. "Is it curry? I hope it's curry."

"You might not want to stand downwind." You poked at the bubbling mess on the propane stove, sweat rolling down your back. A beautiful August day, perfect for your project. This sure as hell wasn't something you wanted to do indoors.

"Whaddya mean by that?" The breeze shifted towards him, and he turned an impressive shade of green, stumbling back with his nose covered. "What's in there?"

"Mice. I told you to keep upwind." You went in with a hand strainer, and scooped a pile of tiny bones onto a ratty towel.

"Why are you boiling mice?" 

You mirrored his are-you-goddamned-stupid-or-something face back at him. "I wanted the bones. I went to Sam, but he said he's not allowed to order in dermestid beetles after last time, so I gotta do it the old-fashioned way."

"That's absolutely disgusting,” her said, the disgust and disbelief plain on his face.

"Don't we all know. Grimm fucked right off when the ghosts showed me the mouse graveyard."

"And your first thought at a pile of rotten mice was 'ooo, free bones' like some kinda crazy necromancer?"

"Yup." You scooped out another pile of bones. If you left them in there too long, they'd simply dissolve like in a cooked fish. As it was, you'd have to find a way to strengthen them. Maybe dip them in resin?

"Why am I your friend, again?"

"Because you feel responsible for me."

"Yeah. And you're fun when you aren't being weird and doing shit like taking cemetery pictures."

"I'll stop taking the pictures when I stop finding good grave iconography."

"Yeah, weird. I'm going to leave you to be a gross little maggot by yourself today."

"I'm not eating them."

"They're stewing in a pot."

"To get the meat off!"

"Yeah, whatever. See you at supper. I hope you don't stink."

"We'll find out, won't we?" you muttered, sotto voce, but he was already gone.

~*~*~*~

It was a beautiful day in September, and you heard him far before he knew you had. When you turned to look at Idia, floss wound around your fingers, he started. "Is my stealth that bad?"

You gave him the ghost of a smile. "You're not as quiet as you think you are." He hasn't cottoned on that you can hear what's in his headphones, if they aren't set just right on his head, and you aren't about to tell him. The face he makes when you pick him out so easily was too good to lose.

He nodded, fidgeted, looked at the spread on the table. "What are you doing?"

"Well, she's got to dry. So I'm working on this pattern until the top coat goes on."

'She' was a currently eyeless, disembodied head, that you'd picked up along with her body in a second hand store for a pittance. You'd unstrung her, scrubbed her clean, and now were putting on a face to match her sweet if imperious expression, a bratty princess of a girl in miniature. You hadn't realized you'd liked dolls until you'd seen her. But, when you had, your breath fled your throat in the same way it had only once since coming here.

He looked, but knew better than to touch. He did a little bit of craft work himself, mostly model painting, and wasn't about to muss your hard work. "She's... nice?" He didn't quite get the appeal, despite having two vinyl dolls you knew of stowed carefully in their packages under his bed. When you'd asked, he just muttered that they were anime characters and didn't come out except for photos because something something collectibles something resale value. Boys.

"I could do better. But it's enough. Thank you for letting me borrow the painting set up."

"Y... welcome." He squinted at the embroidery, finally noticing something. "Are those bones?"

In the center of each withered, poisonous blossom in your embroidery hoop, you'd stitched a tiny vertebra to serve as the center. "Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Why not?"

He wasn't ready to push it any further. "If you want..." He hesitated, and stumbled, and you waited until he just brought out his tablet to tap it out on a screen instead. "You can come do that in Board Game Club, if you want. There's a window. Azul shouldn't mind."

"I'll join you after I gear up and put the sealant on her. Thank you for inviting me." You gave him your best, most dazzling smile. "You know how much I like when you include me in your stuff. I know it's not always easy for you; how shy you are and all."

He squeaked and looked away, and you continued. "I should be there in about an hour. Make sure Azul doesn't keep up trying to wager me in chess. I can't fucking play worth a damn and he knows it."

He smirked. "He likes easy marks. Maybe try and get goo-"

You flicked a bone at him, and it hit him square on the nose as he yelped.

~*~*~*~

Welcome, October. Coolness and colour, a certain something on the breeze that felt like a home you'd never let go. Even if it hadn't quite hit the dorms the same way as they main area of the school. (Those little fairies that ran the weather machine didn't seem to believe in seasons for the dorms, or perhaps Crowley gave them a chewing out after the spring?) In amongst the Heartslabyul roses, you'd think it was still summer, and you weren't one to let a day of warmth go.

"Oh, in this chapel of ritual, smells of dead human sacrifices from the altar..."

"Stop that."

You looked up at Riddle, who'd found you in your secluded corner. "Why?"

"You can't sing and the lyrics are awful."

"Is there a rule against that?"

He nodded. "The queen gets to approve all music."

"Ah, of course, mine rosen liege. My petaled monarch. Emperor Rosa." A collar appeared on your neck, and you did not slow down. "Cardiac Sovereign. Dauphine De la Coeur. I can do this all day, Riddle; that collar don't do shit cause I ain't magic."

The colour was high on his cheeks. "Is it your job to annoy me?"

"Oh, you got me. I wake up and spend every moment thinking 'How do I best piss off Riddle Roseheart? How about I stand outside his door and blast nightcore from a boombox?' "

He narrowed his eyes at you. "Stop joking."

You laughed. "Yeah. I only do that with Shoenheit."

That managed to get a bit of a smile out of him. "Why are you being a pest over here, and not at your own dorm?"

"I'm just doing crafts, man."

"While sitting on the grass."

"Yeah, man. Won't be any grass to sit on soon enough. Made sure to not be on the croquet grounds or anything."

He looked at the mess of foam and ribbon around you. "What are you even doing?"

You looked down, and back up at him. "Crafts?"

"More specifically, before I kick you out for being awful."

You held up a padded frame, that you were carefully wrapping a satin ribbon around the many bars of it. "What does that look like?"

He just glared instead of admitting he didn't know, so you got to your feet and held the frame over your chest, the shape clarifying by being pressed over what it mimicked. "It's ribs. It'll tie on with more ribbon. Might put beads and stuff on it too."

He looked for a beat before nodding. "For later this month?"

"Indeed."

"... Continue, then. But be quiet!" 

He was nice enough to remove the collar before he left, but not nice enough to leave it off as soon as you resumed singing to yourself once you'd assumed he was out of earshot.

~*~*~*~

"Hey, Lil?”

"Yeah?"

You looked over the riot of cheery pumpkins and Far East aesthetics that had sprung from your lawn. "You should've asked me, first."

Lil smiled at you. "But then you would have said no."

"I wouldn't have. But," you guestured to the papier mache dragon, "Really, my dude? This isn't what I would have picked at all. I'm not going to match."

"You're working on a costume? Already?" He lit up. "What's it going to be?"

"You'll see."

"Do I get a costume?"

You looked down at your not-cat. "Grimm, I didn't think you'd want one."

"I do now!" He scrambled to your shoulder and tugged at your hair, wailing. "Costume! Costume!"

You rolled your eyes. "Stop that, before I sell you to Lil to practice recipes on."

~*~*~*~

Grimm was no help. He changed his mind every few minutes on what he wanted. At least your incorporeal roommates were a sweet help, finally gearing him up with a hat by the beginning of the week.

"Do you still need one, Yuu?" The middling ghost, the one neither plump nor skeletal, seemed concerned.

"No, babe. I've been working on this since..." August, you think. "I'm good. I hope I can get a week out of it. I could at least do a different face each day."

Realization dawned across his face. "That's what that was for? I see. I guess you won't need..."

Oh, he made you a costume. Layers and layers of rotten gauze from the curtains, a spindrift take on the bedsheet ghost. 

"Hey, I can use this, don't worry. Can you stoke the fire? I've got to dye this to match, I'll need some water boiled."

~*~*~*~

There's too many fucking people. You don't know any of them, they're loud, and they cram in wherever you need to go. But their fussing over you, their asking for pictures is nice. If only...

"Hey, are you lost, kid?" You lean down and reach a hand out to a fearful-looking six-year-old. "I can help you find someone who can help?"

He promptly burst into tears and collided into Floyd as he ran away.

"Hey there itty bitty. You need an adult? Hold on." Even with Floyd... being Floyd, he was a hell of a more welcome sight to the kid, and soon had him balanced on a shoulder to yell for his parents. "Who's under all that?"

"Your favourite shrimp, you overgrown string bean."

Floyd make an o of surprise and flicked the veil up. "It is you under all that! See, kid, She's not scary. She's pretty."

The kid simply eyed him dubiously before going back to trying to wave his parents down to get away from these lunatics.

All your hard work paid off beautifully. A mass of bones, beads and decay, a beautifully jeweled skeleton crowned with a fine halo of gold-and-bone spines and dried flowers. You rattled gently with every step, eyes staring out from a painted skull. They only thing you regretted was Riddle catching you earlier. Even if he hadn't intentionally steered it that way himself, everyone would assume you'd intentionally went to match Heartslabyul. Even more, now that you'd turned those curtains into a veil, even if you'd stuck all the bone and garnet drops you could onto the edges.

"Thank you, Floyd." You leaned up towards the kid. "Didn't mean to scare you, little darling."

The kid just stared at you in fear, and fortunately his parents came along to claim him, leaving you and Floyd by yourself.

"Shrimpie~" He'd scooped you up to replace the kid in his arms before you could protest. "You're so cute like this! Let's go to the alchemy room."

"What's in the alchemy room, Floyd." At this point you were used to him just... hauling you wherever. And you’d found that if you went along with the lighter end of it, he took you seriously when you said no. Weirdo he was, he'd at least gathered that you'd hang out willingly if he didn't push it.

"Oh, well you look so nice! You'll look much nicer in the water tube than the dummy we have in there."

"There are several reasons that can't work, Floyd. Least of it is I only breathe air."

"You're a ghost right now, you don't breathe at all."

"This outfit would not survive a dunking. I'm not sure it'll last the week if I don't repair it every night."

He kept smiling at you. "Even better! Wearing nothing at all on Halloween! Everyone would take even more pictures."

"Yeah yeah, and you have nothing at all in your room if I want to speed that up." You flicked his nose. "Put me down and we can walk over and check how it's going."

"Excuse me?" A stranger. "Can I take a picture of you and your boyfriend like that."

"I'm not her boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend. Go ahead though."

~*~*~*~

"What are you working on?"

Idia's voice was slightly muffled under the pumpkin head. "People kept calling my projection 'cute'. Idiots! They don't know the true fear of Pumpkin Hollow. So I'm adjusting the projection mapping so it's less cute, and more accurate."

"Hm. It seems fine to me as it is."

"You would think that. You don't care if there is a cuteness to things that are scary."

"There's beauty and sweetness in even death." You thought for a moment. "This is for that series you sat me down for? You got mad when I played with the toys?"

"Those. Are. Collecta-" he stopped when he whirled on you, faltering into silence. You really wished you could see the face he was making, he made such sweet faces, especially when he looked at you. You craved them, wanted him to look only at you with those expressions.

You smiled at him. "There's no use in leaving a toy in a box! I don't buy anything I don't intend to play with."

"Ah. Errrrrrrrrghhhmmm." He turned back to his work, took a deep breath, and turned back around. "You watched them, would you give me feedback?"

"Sure. Could you lean down a little?"

He did, and you carefully pulled off the pumpkin, revealing - nothing. No head at all.

You laughed. "Turn that off."

"Why?"

"I just opened your box. Time to play."

He made a strangled noise and started back, looking this way and that. "Right now? Anyone could come in!"

"Just for a moment! How can I give you a kiss if I can't see where I'm aiming?"

His head flickered into view, with a face full of mischief. "... Just one?"

~*~*~*~

"What happened to your makeup?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, model boy." You looked Vil up and down. "You're actually pretty hot like that. It's a miracle."

"Of course you would only find me attractive when I look like a corpse." He rolled his eyes hard enough to sprain. "Do I need to go lie down in a glass coffin too? Stay very still while you actually work up the courage to touch me?"

You snorted. "You wish I would touch you, you overblown jackass."

"With you looking like that? I'd die."

"Bite me, asshole."

"You'd like it if I did."

Your tone grew playful. "Is that a promise for later?"

"Ugh." His shudder was too exaggerated to be anything but an act. "Go ask your ugly little playmate for a bite, we all know what gross shit you get up to."

"You're just mad it's not you."

He pointed a perfectly manicured nail at your painted nose. "You're just mad I want nothing to do with you."

"Then why are you even talking to me?"

"I- why am I talking to you. Go away."

You did, but not before pulling on his cape to wrinkle it.

~*~*~*~

You had a dreadful feeling things were about to get worse. Call it intuition, or paranoia. But with any luck, that would change after a good night's sleep.

(It did not.)

~*~*~*~ These fuckers were getting exhausting. What a grand idea, picking unknown flowers to stick in your hair for selfies! That wasn't an excellent way to come down with a hideous case of contact poisoning at all. You had to swat one girl's hand away from a bed of monkshood, reciting symptoms of aconite poisoning at her until she stalked off in a huff. 

And futzing around with the decorations! The only reason you didn't outwardly congratulate Leona on trying to rip apart a bunch of tourists was that murder is supposed to be bad, no matter how irritating and disrespectful the murder victims were. Even you knew better than to go around fondling random ears and tails! 

(That's why you'd made the anatomy books in the library your friends. Far more polite than going up to a fellow student and saying, "May I feel around your skull for a few hours to satisfy my scientific curiosity? No one at home has ears like that and I'm very curious about the underlying muscle structures." )

Better see what's going on everywhere else.

~*~*~*~

You got up in tiptoe and lightly touched his arm. "Hey, Floyd?"

"??? Yes, Shrimpie?" His face instantly brightening, he dropped the absolutely delighted Magicammer he'd had pressed to the shelf and turned to you, leaning in as you crooked your finger.

You whispered in his ear, "Why waste magic on them when you can do so much more with your fists?"

He shone like the sun as he pressed his cheek to yours in lieu of something more intimate. "You always know just what to do."

~*~*~*~

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE."

The crowd of idiots instead turned on you with flash photography. "Another ghost! This'll get so many likes!"

"I MEAN IT!" Blinking away the spots from your eyes and casting all good sense to the wind, you grabbed a fire poker from inside your bedroom door and started swinging. They laughed and clapped - and only stepped back when you got the damned thing stuck in the wall while taking a swing.

"What an excellent show!" And more. Fucking. Pictures. How in the fuck Vil deals with this shit without murdering everyone in a hundred-foot radius, you'd love to know.

"I SAID-" yank "GET THE FUCK-" yank "OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The force of finally pulling the poker from the wall sent you careening onto your ass, and Grimm only stopped long enough to laugh at you before resuming his own ineffective charge. You stumbled to your feet, muttering. "Stupid little mother fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking..."

"Oh, it's a chase game! Let's go!" And they all fucking scattered into different rooms as you watched them in disbelief.

"I am going to kill everyone in this building and then myself for good measure."

~*~*~*~

"Leave."

"Aren't you going to scare me, Miss Ghost?" This last idiot was joyfully skipping around a bedroom that you'd had the ghosts empty out, nattering into her phone. A livestream, you think.

You're in you goddamned pajamas. "Sure. We don't use this room because the floor's not sound. Get the fuck out and leave before you fall through to the next floor."

The girl instead started to hop in place. "Oooooo, so scary! You'll have to try better than that!"

You rushed her. You probably would have throttled her (and wound up with a new ghostly roommate in the process) but as she backed up, your leg went through the floor where she'd weakened it, which left her cackling. 

"You weren't kidding! Bye now!" And she just fucking left you there like the wretched asshole she was.

~*~*~*~

"I'm so sorry, Yuu."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Mal."

He rested his head on your bare knee and looked up at you. "If I hadn't picked your home as a stamp location, people wouldn't be invading this dorm, and you wouldn't have been injured."

"You fixed me up, didn't you?" He was the one who had pulled you rightways, and shut the scratches on your leg. Of course, he could have left your socks on to do that, but hey, those had been fixed too. You reached down and put your hand on his cheek, rubbing circles by his eye while he stared up at you like an adoring dog.

"This was supposed to be fun for you, so you could have a perfect Halloween."

"That's still a few days away yet. There's still time. And hey."

He blinked up at you as you leaned your face in close, flushing faintly as you did. "Any luck, we'll all make it to November without assault charges."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu?"

You subconsciously growled like a rabid animal as you turned to Lilia with your eye twitching.

"By all the queen's powers." He shrank back. "You alright?"

"Magimons broke the lock on our bedroom and shook her awake last night." Grimm was, by some miracle, in a better mood than you; content to be a comforting weight in your arms and be your anger translator.

"They took," you added, "my groceries."

Lil looked at you in blank shock. "What about the wards on your doors?"

"That's for magic, not fucking morons with no sense of personal space." If you made it through 'til November without actually biting someone's throat out and getting put down like a mad dog, you'd be sincerely surprised. "You of all people should know that."

"Hey, I put them back up after I drop in. You want to go sit with Malleus today? I think you need it."

"Nope. If I snap at him he'll take it to heart. Or just kill everyone who's not staff or student because they upset me."

"No he wouldn't."

"We both know he would."

"He would not because that would be bad press for the kingdom."

"... well, damned if I ever though I'd say this, but thank god for politics."

~*~*~*~

You stare at the empty plinths as everyone started yelling and scrambling. You look to the rubble of the statues, the bases, to Cater, and back to the rubble, nudging what may have once been a staff with you toe.

"And it's not even for a fucking political movement."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu, if we can get rid of the magicam monsters, we can have the party!" Grimm smiled up at you, all sharp teeth and blue eyes. "Aren't you happy?"

You didn't have the heart to tell him that at this point, you'd rather they'd just cancel everything and simply sleep through till All Saint's. Fuck your costume work. Fuck the party. Fuck everything. If you see another jack o lantern you will smash it. Fuck this holiday. You're so tired.

"Yuu, do you have ideas on how to drive the magicam monsters away?"

You stared past Cater's ear because you didn't feel like looking anyone in the face. "Tried to brain a few with a fire poker. Th'just thought it was funny."

This was met with the sound of air sucked through teeth, and a warm hand on your shoulder. "Come with me please!" And Ortho pulled you away with the force of a vaudeville hook.

"You're having a very bad time!" So sweet, so earnest. Right now he was the only person here who could be that chipper and you not want to put their nose out the back of their skull.

You gave him a weary smile. "What was your first clue, honey."

"She keeps kicking in her sleep. When she sleeps. And she's all snappy and horrible!"

You gave Grimm a single light warning shake. "Shut up, Grimm."

"Would you like to stay over so that you can rest properly?" He was hovering directly in front of your face. "Maybe if you're somewhere you won't be woken up, you'll feel better."

You raised an eyebrow and stared over at Idia, who was trying very hard to pay attention to both your conversation and his. "Shouldn't you clear that with someone first?"

Ortho rolled his eyes, the effect on his little boy face frankly hilarious. "Oh, he'd be so upset you have you over. Deeply so. He wouldn't get a wink of sleep with you there." He leaned in. "Except he would, because you wouldn't do anything to keep him up with me there, would you?"

You wheezed. "You think so little of me, Ortho."

"I like you very much even if what you both get up to is gross."

"Of every boy in this school, Yuu. You picked that one."

Ortho glared down at Grimm. "That is my brother you're talking about."

"Stop it. Can we check back in?"

~*~*~*~

"So we're going to run round and scare the piss out of them?"

Jade nodded. "That is the idea, yes."

"... Can I help?"

"Of course, Yuu." Jade smiled his smile that didn't reach more than a millimetre beneath his eyes. "But we've agreed you can't have any blunt objects. For everyone's safety. And the school's reputation, of course.."

"... Yeah, that's for the best."

~*~*~*~

"Can you guys watch Grimm for the evening?"

"Of course." Mal beamed at you from his seat on the Ramshackle steps. "Where will you be that he doesn't want to be?"

"I don't like the horse."

"You ride horses?" Idia was sitting between Mal's legs as Malleus carefully arranged the bright hair into a high ponytail.

"Epel taught me." You paused for a minute. "Do you?"

"Mother made me learn. I haven't in years."

"Makes sense." He didn't like the outdoors, after all. "Mal, how'd you convince him to let you touch his hair? He only lets me do that in private."

"It will look nicer coming out of his pumpkin helmet if arranged higher." Mal crooked his mouth and dragged his lacquered nails along Idia's scalp, making a soft noise when Idia gasped, shivered and abruptly stood up.

"Nope nope nope nope no more of that-"

"May I at least put the elastic in?" Mal held up a black band. "It's fireproof."

He instead snatched it and ran for the library as fast as he could without cracking the armour. You and Mal watched him leave.

"Hm."

"Mal?"

He was still watching the blue light vanish into the distance. "I think I can see the appeal." His dreamy smile gained a sharp edge. "What a delicious sound."

You snickered. "God, I know, right? You should hear some of the other ones I've got out of him."

"You're both disgusting."

~*~*~*~

You hadn't worked out an actual story for this one, just your ghostly roommates and Grimm telling everyone to leave the statues alone. But some asshole, wearing aviator shades and the ugliest piecemeal hoodie you'd ever seen, mounted a plinth to start taking selfies. And once that started, more got the idea, and joined him, trying to nudge the statue away to make room.

So, that's where you came in, pulling into sight at the end of the drive, in tarnished gilt and rotten splendor, jeweled Death on a pale horse.

Sunglasses looked at you and froze, before snapping another picture.

Fucking pictures. You're so sick of pictures.

You snapped the reins and nudged your heels, and who knew anyone on two legs could move that fast? Though potentially being run down by a warhorse was great motivation to move thine arse, as it were. And, thank god, everyone else booked it out the gate after him. 

It only took a little maneuvering to lock the gate while still up on a pale horse named Beans, and now? Time to take him to his stable and go the fuck to sleep. Maybe through past tomorrow. Fuck Halloween.

~*~*~*~

You were riding your merry way when a familiar voice called out to you. "You dropped some loot!"

"What did I lose, Idia?" His little speakers mimicking the clang of armour were working overtime as he jogged up beside you. Once he reached you, he held up... a shoe.

"Huh." You looked down, and you had indeed lost a shoe while charging down a bunch of Magicam-obsessed assholes on a warhorse. "Thank you." That's when you gave Idia a level gaze, and stuck you leg out at him.

He swallowed back his noise of shock, and shaking, took your stockinged foot and slid the shoe back into place. 

"Good boy."

He was turning from shell pink to a deep red that rivaled the roses in Heartslabyul. But that didn't mean he didn't know how to keep playing when emotions were high. Before letting go, he leaned down and kissed the top of your foot.

Now it was your turn to go red; a wonder the painted skull didn't simply melt off of your face.

~*~*~*~

"Shrimpie~"

You took a breath and prepared yourself. Scoopsies was inevitable.

True to form, Floyd had his whole conversation with you in a bridal carry. "We're gonna have the party!~ We chased them all away!~"

"That's..." Honestly, despite all the rage and pain this week had caused, you were rather happy about the news. "Nice."

"Ah - where'd your face go?" He leaned in, and you stopped him from getting too close with a finger pressed to his lips.

"I didn't feel up to wearing everything." Your embroidered gown and painted skull was replaced with a simple back veil and black dress. "I kind of hate this whole holiday right now and I'm ready to kick the next pumpkin I see."

He nodded, kissing your fingertip as he did. "I can help you after. But we need this all for the parade." He brightened. "You should paint up and get on the horse again for it!" He smiled, full of dreamy fondness and not a small amount of hunger. "I heard what you did to the magicam monsters... I wish I could have seen."

"Hey, I heard you didn't do too badly yourself." You leaned in conspiratorially. "Anyone pee themselves?"

He smiled like the sun post-eclipse. "Yup!"

~*~*~*~

Epel had been nice enough to help you kit out Beans in a fancy black harness, so in amongst the crowd of costumed students, you were both equally eye-catching. And hell, pictures weren't so bad right now. People were keeping a distance, murmuring to each other as they aimed their cameras. You thought you were getting a dirty look or two from Vil for stealing his thunder, but he had himself on the prow of a ship! It wasn't comparable.

"So," you said, leaning down a little, "How are you handling this?"

Idia looked up at you, you thought. "The mask makes it easy. They're looking at the costume, not me."

"I'm glad it helps. I wish you'd take it off, but you being comfortable is more important."

"What? You want me to ruin the effect by taking the mask off? Clearly you have no respect for the holiday." His voice had the sweet, bubbling quality that came when he was excited and happy, and it warmed you to hear it.

"Oh, no, of course not. But why would I want to taste a plastic kiss,” you said, reaching a hand down to run the trailing ribbon of his hair through your fingers, “when I could taste you instead?"

You had to give him credit, he only faltered for a moment before continuing. "Right now? In front of everyone?"

"I would if you'd let me, right now." You lowered your voice. "And worse."

He stifled a groan and only walked funny for another ten minutes.

~*~*~*~

"I thought you didn't like horses." The stables were in sight, but Idia had turned up, surprising you.

He rolled his eyes, and held his arms out. "Dismount, fair maiden."

What.

"I mean it. Your Pumpkin Knight awaits."

You shook your head, voice soft. "Baby, no."

"I'm trying to be romantic. Like your novels."

"Idia."

He stared back at you, sour-faced. "What."

"I outweigh you by at least sixty pounds."

"I can do this. I carry Ortho around all the time."

"Ortho's chassis is mostly fibreglass and aluminum. I can carry Ortho. I think Grim could carry Ortho."

He took a step forward. "Do you want me to leave you on the horse or not."

"His name is Beans." But, you managed to dismount into Idia's arms, where he stood stock-still and trembling.

"Kkc."

"Babe? Put me down before your back goes out."

His knees gave out first, and he crumpled beneath you as you both yelped.

"You alright?"

"hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

You crawled off his chest and he could actually breathe again.

"Better?"

After a few breaths, he managed a weak smile. "Maybe kiss it better."

Beans beat you to it, snuffling at Idia's face to make sure he wasn't dead.

~*~*~*~

You are not much of a party person. You like them, but the ideal party is a few friends hanging around in the same room, chatting at a reasonable volume and then going home to go the fuck to sleep. This was a little much.

But you know what this party had that you hadn't seen in what felt like years? Cute girls. In cute costumes! You've been flirting your ass off, with decent success; it turns out that the Magicam Live you did with Vil weeks ago had paid off in the form of smiles and fluttered eyelashes as girls crowded around you to hear tales of how fucking obnoxious you could be in this school and get away with it because you had friends in high places.

At least, until you caught something out of the corner of your eye, and you stopped. "Hey, I gotta check on someone - raise your hand if you like boys. Okay, you see -" You stopped and pointed at your poor, unsuspecting target. "With the blue-black hair and the painted spade? That's Deuce, he doesn't know how to talk to girls worth a damn, so give him some slack. But he's a sweetheart, you won't regret it."

"What about the redhead?"

"Ace is a prick but he's delightful. Chat him up too." With that, you went to check on Idia, huddled into a corner after an attempted force-feeding.

"You alright, babe?"

He nodded. "They're too much. But I'm alright now."

You leaned back against a nearby chair, looking him up and down. "You sure you aren't going to eat anything? I don't think anyone's going to care too much if you have your face out."

He remained completely still, and you realized you could hear a faint whirring.  "Idia. Have you been using the robot double all evening."

"... I swapped out ten minutes ago."

You made a noise and he flinched. "I was going to swap back in after it calmed down!"

"... No you weren't."

"Okay, no I wasn't. But I was there for a while. I have proof, I brought plates back with me."

"You could have just told me. It's been a hell of a lot for you, I know what you're like."

Idia - well, his robotic avatar - shrugged. "If you're going to lecture me... come by and do it here."

You stopped. "You really want me to yell at you in person?"

"I want you to come by. If you want. You can stay as long as you want... if you want. I have snacks, and movies, and games that even you could play."

You snorted. "Oh, the siren call of a fucking nerd trying so hard to woo his chosen..."

"I changed my mind actually, you can't come."

"Aww."

"... That's a lie." He paused. "You can even take the Yume Twins out."

Those vinyl dolls he never let you touch. You throw your veil back and kissed the stupid plastic pumpkin head. "It's a date."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu?"

You peered at Malleus from around a stack of Tupperware. "Mal?"

"You.. enjoyed it all, despite everything?"

"Despite everything." You hefted the stack towards him. "Would you like to help? I want to grab stuff from the party that'll keep at room temperature."

He absently flicked a finger, sending the dishes swirling around to settle in a stack in midair, before placing a hand on your shoulder. "I have a... request."

"Anything," you said, and you regretted saying it as his breath hitched.

"Would you..." His voice faltered, and instead he simply wrapped you in a tight embrace, leaning down to bury his nose in your hair. You could feel him, chest heaving, scenting your greased hair through tulle, murmuring something against your scalp.

"Malleus."

He stopped, but did not move.

"No spells."

"You would not forgive me if I tried." You could feel his smile against your hair.

"I would not." You pulled back enough to look at him, and nearly froze at his besotted gaze before he schooled it into his more usual face. "Mal, you know you only feel this strong because I'm your first friend, right?"

"Does it matter? It is sincere."

And that makes it so much worse. "You know I don't feel about you like that."

"..." The grief that flickered across his face was enough to shatter a stone heart. "To stand with you and hold you is enough."

And they said fairies can't lie. They could, they were just terrible at it.

"You said you were going to ask for something?"

"... Not anymore. I doubt you would give it."

He vanished into thin air in a swirl of wind, and the Tupperware clattered to the steps, the spell holding them gone.

~*~*~*~

The nice thing about Idia's room is that, being a prefect, he had an attached bathroom to scrub the paint off of your face. It was a monochrome murder in the sink, splatters of grey with the occasional pinprick of red where you'd disturbed the new bumper crop of pimples from painting up as a skull for a week. Thank fuck that was over with. Even if the day proper had been lovely, the events of the week had thoroughly soured you on Halloween.

"You alright?" Idia poked his head in, long since divested of armour.

"Yup. How'd you get that shit off so fast? You got a suiting-up machine hidden somewhere?"

"It's less complicated than you'd think. Cosplay magic."

"That's nice. Unbutton me."

"... wha."

You looked at him via the mirror, meeting his wide eyes and shimmying in place. "Unbutton me. I can't reach them all myself."

"How'd you get that on every day?" He hesitantly walked behind, eyeing the row down your back as though it would burn him at the touch.

"I have roommates, remember?"

"Mmh." He finally undid the first three, before flicking his gaze back to yours in the mirror. "A... Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't ask, otherwise." You kept looking, as he took a breath and resumed. "Idia."

He paused.

"Keep going, I'm just going to chat at you for a bit." Two more. "You know I..." How to phrase this. "I don't intend to stay mint on card forever, you know. You can take me out and play."

He twitched, but kept going. "Maybe I don't want to damage you. There's only one of you, after all."

"I'm not so breakable." You had one side of you face completely clear, the other still smeared grey in the creases. "Would you rather stay mint condition, yourself?"

"..." He took a moment to gather himself, staring at the exposed skin of your back. "Maybe I want to... admire a bit. Get to know my- your- Uh."

You waited with a soft smile, until he found the words. "No one said you have to play straight away when you take something out of the package. Right?" He placed an experimental hand on the expanse of flesh between bra band and waistband, and did not draw away.

"Right."

"... Maybe I just want to hold you a bit before we play."

What a sweet boy you had. "Take all the time you need to. Even if we never play like that, I like you. Spending time with you is what I want."

You could see the motes of pink flickering through his hair. "Can I hold you now?"

"Of course."

He slid his hands under your dress, around your waist - then grabbed your soft, flabby tummy in both hands and squeezed. "Soft~"

You squealed with laughter. "What are you doing?"

"It's bare skin that's neutral territory," he huffed, before hugging your back to him and resting his chin on your shoulder. "And it's warm, too."

"Not so much as you. Keep me warm, will you? It's getting so damned cold at night."

He buried his face in your hair. "I can do that."

~*~*~*~

You woke to someone banging at the door.

"Son of a bitch." You managed to free yourself from Idia's sleeping grasp and make it to the door as a familiar voice started up. "Shroud, your tin can brother's already helping with clean-up, if you skip out because of a stupid game I will-"

You opened the door and looked levelly into Vil's face, which twisted in surprise. He gave you a once over (unshaved legs, mussed hair, boxer briefs from the men's section and a blue-black striped shirt that was clearly not yours) and then peeked over your shoulder at Idia (dead asleep, smiling faintly, possibly naked under the blankets). He kept looking between the two of you with increasing disbelief and horror, until he stepped back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Good for you."

"Thanks." Your face still hadn't changed.

"It's twelve thirty. If you're not both out helping clean up by three, I'm telling everyone."

"That's not much of a threat."

"Maybe to you. Shroud!"

Idia shuddered awake, bleariness washed away by terror as he saw Vil in the door and covered himself in the blankets.

"Be out helping cleanup by three or I'm telling everyone exactly why you're late." With that, he stalked off and you shut the door, mirroring his nose pinch.

"Dramatic bastard, ain't he? Even when he's being nice."

"How is that nice?" He only stopped shivering when you sat back down on the bed.

"Two and a half hours, Idia."

He blinked at you.

"How much can we do in two and a half hours?"

Realization dawned, and he started snickering as he dragged you in close.