#pete & steph looking horrified

[lilacthebooklover]

only all the gosh dang time!

You ever get so desperate to stop your high school bully's murder spree you summon The Demonic Wiggles?

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

More of my favorite Prudes <3

Alright, left to right, top to bottom:

1. I just get the vibe that Grace has beef with Richie specifically but for no discernable reason ("Richie, the whole point is that it's in the dark!" + "No, this is where you GROW UP!") and the second the sentence popped into my head I had to draw it. Also consider how goddamn funny the image of Grace pulling bleach and gloves and a bone saw out of her backpack is because holy shit did she have a contingency plan

2. I think that Pete saw Ted as the coolest big brother in the world right up until the exact minute he introduced him to Steph and suddenly Ted had the power to be very embarrassing in front of Pete's friends. (He would be used to this, as this is standard older sibling shithead behavior, but he's never had friends for Ted to tease him in front of.) I do think the Spankoffski brothers are really interesting, especially with what an asshole Ted is. In Abstinence Camp Pete does seem to really look up to him. Ted does not hide the fact that he's a massive prick, so the fact that Pete sees him as a positive figure implies that he's one of the very few people that Ted actually tries to be a good person for. Makes a lot of sense too, the age gap between them is massive, so Pete has no way of knowing the kind of sleazy shit Ted does, he's just the cool older brother to him. Also heheheh I did the funny meme

3. All her brothers got one so I gave Webby a humansona. I don't know why she ended up looking like 90s Gwen Stacy but I kinda like it? I was going for classic straight-a student, not quite as frilly as Grace, but very academic and cute. I also think that Webby should be allowed to be a little cosmically horrifying as a treat (watching her casually fucking evaporate Willabella was so unnerving and cool, I would love more of that.) She lets herself be soft and gentle for Hannah's benefit, don't want to scare a little kid after all, but she exists far beyond those... Limitations.

4. Ok this one is highly inspired by a series of drawings by @samglyph , the concept of Ghost Ruth and Richie took my brain captive. So go show them some love!!!!!

[nobodysdaydreams]

Hatchetverse Theory: The Parallels Between Paul (TGWDLM) and Grace (NPMD):

More thoughts and parallel screenshots under the keep reading, part of my #hatchetverse theory posts. Sorry these are all awful screen shots, I'm bad at gifs, but I hope I made my point.

The screenshots are pretty self-explanatory, but the parallels between Paul and Grace, especially with what happens to their characters at the end of their respective musicals, has been living in my head rent free, and I want to talk about it.

I've seen a lot of posts that speculate that the reason Grace went crazy at the end of NPMD is because she's just that blood thirsty and willing to kill, and while her character (at least of what I've seen of her in NPMD and what I've seen of nightmare time) is certainly intense, I wouldn't quite go so far to say she's always been that willing to hurt others, even for what she believes.

In fact, after rewatching NPMD, I realized something. When the kids first go to the Waylon Place, the others are the ones suggesting ways they can violently hurt Max. Pete even calls Grace's plan "goofy" and Richie is the one who suggests beating Max up. Grace is the one who tells them that all she wants to do is teach him a lesson and scare him and rejects their more violent ideas.

But after Max dies? That's when Grace's intensity starts taking a darker turn, and it's not as noticeable as it might be in the other kids because "Grace has always been kinda weird and intense" and the show has been playing that up for laughs since the beginning. But when you look at what happens to Grace in terms of her character's choices, she's the one who suddenly pulls a "bury the bully" plan out of nowhere when she was against even beating him up just a few hours ago. She's the one who suggests lying to the cops and trying to cover up what happened. She's the one who has a prophetic nightmare after the incident at the Waylon Place. That's also the moment when she symbolically loses her WWJD bracelet (though others have already pointed that out).

And if the LIB could infect Paul with spores just because he happened to be in close proximity to the meteor, then they could probably do something similar to any of the kids in the Waylon Place (and you cannot convince me that they were not the ones who collapsed the floorboards in the Waylon Place and killed Max).

But why would they target Grace you ask? Why not one of the other kids? That's a good question. I have a few theories.

The first has to do with what I mentioned before about hatchetverse's history of Webby's powers seeming to favor kids, and the LIB powers struggling to work on kids. We don't know how old most of the kids in NPMD are exactly, but the musical makes a point to tell us several times that Grace is "only 18" (Shaprio says she's a legal adult and will be tried as an adult in court). The musical also makes a point to have this be the Homecoming Dance (not Prom), which is in the fall, so most of the senior students wouldn't have turned 18 yet. We can also make an educated guess that Stephanie has turned 18 and Pete hasn't because she sings "wake me up when you turn 18" during their song. You could combat this by asking why the LIB never address Grace during the summoning and targeted Steph instead, which is a fair point. But interestingly, if you watch Grace, Steph, and Pete during the Summoning, Grace is silent most of the song, but looks completely horrified (especially when they tell her that they want what she cherishes most), despite the fact that from our perspective, the LIB aren't talking to her. She also seems to know exactly what the LIB want from her, because the next scene she's in is when she shows up to save Steph and Pete. During the Summoning, Pete, on the other hand, seems to mostly be involved in the conversation the LIB are having with Stephanie, although Grace also seems to understand what the LIB want from Stephanie. It's possible that this was intentional on the LIB's part, since they can see every timeline (in the "Abstinence Camp" episode of Nightmare Time, Grace gets between Steph, Pete, and Lumberaxe, risking her own life so that Lumberaxe doesn't hurt them. Grace might be willing to lose her own life for what she believes, but she might not be willing to lose her friends' lives. If the LIB know this, they'd likely want to make sure Grace understands that Steph or Pete will die unless she's the one who pays the price).

They have a personal reason for wanting her. In TGWDLM, Pokey hates Paul because...well, Paul doesn't like musicals but bigger picture, Paul resists Pokey's hive mind. Why would the LIB hate Grace? Possibly because she hates evil, the devil, and sin to an extreme degree. It could be a point of pride for the LIB: "we got the guy who didn't like musicals to join our musical and brainwash the world, and we got the girl who didn't like sin to devour souls for us." I've also seen a theory that Paul has some sort of resistance to the LIB because he doesn't like musicals and in a way sort of serves as a "prophet" in TGWDLM by warning others that musicals are bad. Grace arguably serves a similar role to Max in NPMD. She suggests Max becomes a better person "before he ends up in hell", which is ironic because then Max goes on to beat up Pete, which turns the nerds against him, setting off the chain of events that eventually lead him to actually being sent to hell (the black) by Grace. I've also seen some other theories suggesting that the LIB getting Paul in TGWDLM was really about getting Emma (since she was the one who starred in a musical before), and following that logic, it's possible that the LIB killing Max at the Waylon Place was really about getting Grace, because she'd still actually be alive. The LIB might have known this would work if they knew Max and Grace liked each other, and as seen in nightmare time, Grace is willing to risk her own life for her friends, and this might be consistent across several timelines.

Speaking of sacrifice, I know I covered this with the gifs, but the fact that Paul's last act was giving up his life, and Grace's was giving up what was essentially her morality and who she was so they could save their friends, only to have themselves turned into the very monsters they tried to destroy? Absolute tragedy.

But what's also interesting to me is how this happens. The way Grace and Paul both seem to lose control of themselves. With Paul it happens in one song and is more noticeable, but with Grace, it's a lot slower, and the more bad and morally questionable stuff she does, the funnier it is, and her character has been intense and over the top from the beginning, so you almost don't notice the difference in her actions until you rewatch the show. But her and Paul asking "Who am I?" has a similar creepy vibe, the screenshots I found for those moments (pictured below) even ended up looking very similar, though with Paul, you can see more of the fight happening during the song, whereas with Grace, it's more drawn out over the course of the show with these little moments of clarity where she has a complete breakdown.

Then of course there's the whole: What do you want thing?

Why do the LIB want what Grace cherishes most? Why do they want Paul to want anything at all?

And why do they phrase it in the creepiest way possible, asking for "a peek at Paul's soul" and telling him to "give up his choice" and telling Grace that they'll get "whatever they want" and that she'll "be forever in their debt?"

Well, probably because that does seem to be what happens. The most obvious screenshot parallels are probably their final numbers in their shows, which I think speak for themselves. The only unknown is what exactly is happening with the LIB and their whole "what do you want" thing. By taking what someone wants, do they replace that "want" in the person with wanting to serve them? How does that work?

At this point, I'm not sure, and I'm too tired to continue the rant, but I'd be happy to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.

I hope you enjoy Starkid fandom. Thank you for listening to my rants!

[intheconflux]

Curious about what would have happened for the other choices during the Reese confrontation? Here's some rough sketches (redrawn from the even rougher sketches I had originally) of the two choices you didn't pick.

STRENGTH: Steph attacks Reese and shoves her away, knocking over Kyle and Brenda in the process. She turns back to the group and tells them to run. While Pete runs away and considers using the pocket watch, she fends off the glitches.

If this was chosen, they group would leave Steph behind, and she'd be missing from the walking gif in the following Game of Chance posts. She would get to the theatre after they'd already arrived, with a few bruises to show she'd been fighting.

SHIELD: Max jumps forward to protect his friends. Reese glitches him and the group watch, horrified, as he turns into his Roleswap AU counterpart. A moment later, he glitches back to normal. Everyone runs away, with Max following behind them.

Max would be at the end of the line in the walking animation in subsequent days, with the rest of the gang looking nervously at him instead of ahead at the hallway. Steph wouldn't glitch him at the theatre— it would happen on its own.

So yes, SPARK was the best choice (at least, in the moment)!

[thewickedblackcat]

Lautski Howl's Moving Castle AU!

I have had this idea for a while now and I know someone else had mention this idea as well a couple weeks back. (I forget who it was exactly though, sorry.) While this would mostly be close to the movie, this AU would not be a detail for detail as the movie. Somethings would be change in an attempt to fit with the characters. (Whether or not it's a good attempt is another story.)

Peter as Sophie Steph as Howl

(I don’t own anything.) Sources: 1 2 or 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

(Click on the "Keep Reading" to hear the main details about this AU)

Peter

Pete works in town as a hatmaker. He often tries to keep to himself in an attempt to keep from not getting bullied but that doesn't work. It doesn't help that he's not originally from here as he and his parents moved into town a few years back after his older brother, Ted, disappeared. It was supposedly to have a fresh start (but may had also been to keep Pete safe from whatever or who happened to Ted.) Between the bullying and not having many friends in a place that doesn’t feel like home, Pete has low self confidence.

Pete is saved from his bullies one day by a mystery girl with magic. Pete has never seen her before but she seemed to match the description of Stephanie Lauter, a witch with a reputation of mischief and trouble. After getting rid of Pete's bullies, the two have a run-in with a colorful bunch who seem to be after Steph. Pete and Steph are able to escape and Steph seems to drop Pete off at a safe area.

When Pete returns to the shop at night, he is approached by a strange man dressed all in yellow. (Man may not be the right word as he seemed to have goat horns and eyes.) At first, Pete tries to politely escort the man out of the shop. Until the man drops out how Pete may appear as a behaved boy, he's just a b*stard like his brother. As Pete realize who this man is, he tries to move away but the man quickly pulls out a small yellow box that instantly flashes a bright yellow light. Pete is immediately hit with the light and falls to the ground. When he opens his eyes again, the man is gone and the shop is back to what it was before. However, as Pete starts to get up, he notices he feels soar and slower. It isn't until he looks in to a nearby mirror that he realize why. He has been transformed into an old man. As he is horrified by this realization, he can hear the man's voice in his head. Say hi to Step-an-ie for me. Tick-tock, Petey, Tick-tock.

The next morning, after realizing it's not a dream, Pete travels out of town to find a cure for his curse. On his journey, he runs into a middle age homeless man. The homeless man seems to stare him, almost like he has seen Pete before. While first frightened by the homeless man, Pete does give him some change as he feels pity for him, being in a similar situation. In appreciation, the homeless man tells Pete to look for "the moving steel beast" in the hills for help with magic. Even though he is confused by this, Pete does head for the hills as it's his only lead so far. When he reaches the hills, he finds Steph's moving castle. He goes in as night falls even though he is unsure if he should see Steph again.

When he goes into the castle, he meets a small white spider by the fire place, who introduces herself as Webby. She seems to know that Pete is under a powerful curse and offers to break his curse under one condition: he helps Steph. After some debating, Pete agrees to the deal and starts to work at the castle as a cleaner.

Steph

Stephanie Lauter has never been strong with magic, despite come from a strong line of witches and wizards. She is often viewed as a disappointment by her father, the Head Sorcerer of the Kingdom, Solomon. Things changes when she is twelve. She overhears her father making a deal with the Lords in Black to heighten tensions between the fellow kingdom of Clivesdale to the point of a war. For Solomon, it’s to remain in power and to have the reputation of taking down Clivesdale. However, the Lords in Black to suck all of the magic out of both sides (soldier and civilian alike) so that they regain power and take over both kingdoms. After hearing this, Steph runs away.

After she escaped, Steph meets Webby in the woods. Webby, being low on power right now, offers to connect with Steph so that they both could stop Solomon and the Lords. However, she warns that since Steph isn’t a full magic user, Webby’s magic would over power and corrupt her. Steph, wanting to stop her father, takes the deal.

At first, Steph is able to slow down Solomon’s plan. But as the years go by, the Lords become more powerful and Steph is finding it harder to control her power. As Steph is starting to lose hope in herself, she runs away more. It doesn’t help at all that more damage from Solomon and the Lords, the more helpless she feels.

Fearing that Steph will lose herself to the magic soon, Webby decides that they need to find help to stop the Lords and free Steph from the magic.

Other Details to Know (In No Order)

Richie and Ruth would both be in at the castle as Steph’s apprentices/assistants. Richie always had an interest for magic and had asked (more like begged) Steph to be her apprentice. After seeing what his life was like, Steph decided to him up on his request. Webby questioned with Steph related to Richie’s life, while Steph said it was just stop his begging. Ruth was a different story though. Ruth was once a witch but Solomon had her magic drained out of her. He would claim it was because she selfishly used her magic. All she wanted to do was be an actress. Steph took her in out of guilt.

Steph would transform into a large spider, not a raven like in the movie.

Like in the movie, Pete can’t say anything about the curse.

As it’s pretty easy to tell, Ted/the Homeless Man is Turnip Head, popping in every so often. Spoilers: after the Lords are taken down in the end, Ted does somewhat get better. (A kind of happy ending for Ted!? What’s that?)

The rumors about Steph would mostly be Solomon’s creation to make people trust Steph less. Though, some of them were created by Steph because why not.

Steph wouldn't have a tantrum like in the movie. Instead, it would be a panic attack. Pete, being there before, helps her out of it. As Pete hold Steph to comfort her, Richie and Ruth swear for a brief moment, they see a young man holding Steph.

A running gag in the story is the group would state that they’re stopping the war to just save their kingdom, but not for Clivesdale. Because f-Clivesdale.

(Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.)

[notanerdyprude]

fun things i noticed rewatching npmd act 1:

sam sweetly was investigating richies death

richie messed with his fingers absentmindedly

everyone pronounces stephs last name correctly (law-ter) except the teacher (low-ter) because teachers cant pronounce peoples names correctly

pete is almost always curled into himself while steph is almost always sat more like. outward. i dont know how to describe it.

petes plaid on his suspenders and bowtie matches stephs flannel

stephanie wears a lot of jewellery

ruth and richie hold on to pete at the end of “literal monster”’s first chorus

the literal monster choreogrophy fucking SLAPS byw

richie is such a bitch “its LIPSCHITZ 🙄🙄” “i never intended to walk through your hallway”

richie keeps his hands under his armpits most of the time

graces little “mhm. mhm.” after she says “his name is jesus christ” >>>

max and grace nodding at eachother is never not going to be funny to me

kyle is max’s biggest hype-man. homosexual activity if you ask me.

ruth and the nerd in purple enter the stage hiding behind the bleachers during max’s verse

“next time youre going to cheat do it like a lauter and dont get caught” so solomon most likely got to his position illegally

“somebody WALKS to the office with STEPHANIE LAUTER 🙄” richie is a Bitch

ruth cares very deeply about library rules

she immediately stops caring about them as soon as stephanie lauter calls him

ruth rolls her eyes when richie starts his “aot > star wars shit”, so shes clearly heard this a shit ton before

petes jumper also matches stephanies foannel

pete is in the shadows for a good part of cooler than i think i am because he keeps walking through them

as soon as the bridge is done he goes from being in the light to beingbik the shadows again

peter can also be a bitch

max doesnt come from money

max started being a prick in 4th grade

jason seems to be an actually good dude.

max has a major god complex obviously but like. it is bad. it is BAD.

mark, despite being married to her, calls graces mom ‘mother’

graces mom also wears butterfly clips

richies side eye the second steph walks over im DECEASED.

richie looks so horrified by steph touching him

cooler than him tune plays when they walk into the boys bathroom

richie side-eyes people a lot

“steph-an-ie”

pete’s “grace 🙄” i love him hes so bitchy

hatchet town tune plays in the bg a lot

richie naruto runs into the waylon place

richie is VERY excited by the plan “WE’LL MAKE HIM SHIT HIS PANTS 😁”

petes a marvel nerd. he does both the hulk and spidermans gestures

richie is ruths wingman confirmed

richie fiddles with the little tassles on petes jacket

max is very good at puns

will is scarily good at sounding like blood is coming out of his mouth

pete has a very short temper

grace actively cheers for ruth after she cuts off max’s nips

stacy calls richie “mr. lipschitz”. for some reason.

THE HARMONIES IN GO GO NIGHTHAWKS ARE SO GOOD

richie calls jason jace :(( /pos

“theyre my bros for life” they said ONE nice thing to you get some standards i BEG

richies face immeidately dropping as soon as max says “richieee”

richies wearing 4 layers on top and a pair of shorts. transgender.

max’s blood is sparkly.

max shakes his hand after touching richie

max thinks people in the smoke club are cool

max locks the door on richie

he does the choreo from thriller by michael jackson

richies squeal after max makes him fall

max is heavy projecting onto richie

max seems genuinely pissed when richie says ‘im not a loser.’ he only chills when richie says ‘please don’t kill me’.

he taunts richie by calling him his actual name. he never called richie his real name, only shit-lips. false sense of security type shit.

[atty-goldstein]

Just finished watching NPMD and here are my observations:

Oh starting right away with Richie's death

OHHHH It's the first time we actually hear Lauren and Jon sing together, even for just a lil bit

The Watcher World callback with the hammer and the phone

Every Mariah character: MY PICTURES ON MY PHONE, Me: gurl back it up on Cloud

Awwww Ruth

That one person who cheered louder than anyone else when Pete stood up for himself

Everyone collectively going "awww" when Pete shows up with the black eye

The Chasitys have such a cute color scheme. Would wear. But like. Mark's outfit has such gay vibes tho. Like. Stereotypical gay outfit.

Pfft that one person who cackled the Loudest during the dinner scene

Max, climbing in the tub with his jeans on: *vine voice* He's washing him and his jeans. He's washing him and his jeans.

Oh Mark showing up after Dirty Girl is literally like that scene with Hanschen during My Junk in Spring Awakening.

LISTEN. About two years ago, I was watching SAF and my dad looked over my shoulder AND HE THOUGHT JOEY WAS LIN MANUEL MIRANDA

Max: I'm gonna kick your ass!, Me: *Ted voice* Not his head

Wait. But his reaction to the prank is so wholesome and precious actually.

Gurl. Just let it stay an accident and destroy the footage instead. Don't be stupid.

I remember saying Bryce as Brenda. Glad that it happened.

Hatchet Town is basically just "Your Fault" from Into the Woods huh

Pete and Ruth sound a lot like Scrags and Esther ngl

I love Kyle. Himbo dude.

The shift when Clivesdale is introduced.

The way everyone also awwed when Richie got appreciated. I don't think a show goes by without Jon's character being loved

It's interesting that the hs kids don't want to be mean and aren't inherently mean, they were just pressured into being mean

Ohhh. He got bedazzled. Like Edward Cullen.

I want the cast recording so I can hear Jon and Will sing at each other more clearly

Boy Jerry's a reporter? I mean sure, I assumed they have jobs when it's off-season for camp, but I didn't expect journalism

What does Bryce's character know about Boy Jerry's murder spree tho?

Everyone's talking about Boy Jerry throwing Girl Jeri under the bus, but not Dan agreeing with Boy Jerry in accusing Donna

Hatchet Town is just Your Fault from Into the Woods huh

Steph protecting Ruth parallels Steph looking after Hannah

hc that Joey's character in the bbq monologues is whoever played Joey's roles in the Hatchetfield production of TTO

Jon's delivery ohmygod lmaoooo

Oh and Mariah's character, Caitlyn/Kaitlin, feels like a mini Zoey

Ruth sweetieeee you are so brilliant

Ruth having a mushroom on her shirt like the "I'm a failure" meme

The way they pull off Max's teleportation is so so good

Kim is the queen of horrified screams now

YESSSS HE SAID THE MIRANDA RIGHTS he ain't got a warrant tho

Considering tgwdlm was 2018, and it's 2023 now, then it HAS been FIVE YEARS since Peter asked for his hot chocolate from Emma

GARY PUPPY PAID ATTENTION WHEN HE HEARD PAUL. Because of he still recognizes Jon.

Pfft Paul having more balls than Pete

Okay it's vague enough that it can be interpreted that Paul doesn't die. I didn't think Emma would do the Linda screech tho. It's always enough to startle and disorient tho.

THE COSTUMES THE COSTUMES I LOVE THE COSTUMES

Oh I have a theory behind what Tinky says. But it's going in a separate post

The LiBs going "WE DON'T WANT YOUR PHONE"

In Once Upon a Time, it is customary to give up "the thing you love most" in exchange for extremely powerful magic.

Ahahaha as a Catholic I can confirm that Grace's opinion on Catholicism is mostly correct

I feel like if Pete did die, it would prevent him from turning into a horny bastard like Ted tho. Which may potentially save him from Tinky

And Pete letting himself get shot to save the woman he loves, would parallel Ted's sacrifice in Ape Man

That one person who very audibly goes "WHAT THE FUCK" when Max takes the bullet for Pete

Grace saying her type is dudes who come back from the dead. And I'm like. "AND THEY'RE BOTH RIPPED AS FUCK"

Annnd now the tables have turned on Joey after eating Sally out in the choir room.

Aaaat least she can't get knocked up?

Where'd she get that cigarette tho

The hair flip that accompanied the spin

GARY PUPPY CUDDLED UP TO THE LAPTOP WHEN HE HEARD WIGGLY

Kim's teacher character is so cute

The "awwww" when Pete and Steph came to homecoming together. Also Pete's bow tie will always match whatever Steph's wearing

Are we all in agreement that Jon and Will's homecoming characters are dating?

Grace. YOU ASKED.

Hmm. A soul-sucking spell especially targeting guys? Sounds like what Sheila had.

"Guys who came before"? Who else did she hook up with between the ghost's death and homecoming?

It's the return of Angela's iconic witch laugh

But Grace how long is that gonna work out for you. You gonna eventually use contraception? Have magic contraception? Or eventually get knocked up? Just sayin'

[slautertm]

every time she dares to close her eyes, be it to sleep or even just to blink, she swears they come flashing before her eyes. their laughter haunts her, the way that they all looked at them, but the yellow one looked at and talked to pete. is it in her head? do they haunt her ( do they feel cheated of bloodshed? do they want something? are they now behind the people still going missing? why did her dad know about the book? what else would possibly be in that book- do pete and grace see them everywhere too? ) ? all the sole lauter knows is that she needs to do something, and she needs answers. she needs help. and she doesn’t know if running away from them and trying to live or downing shot after shot of far too expensive liquor from her cabinet is going to work. the very last thing she expects to find is her.

“ not… human? ” normally being called young one would piss her off, and it does, the rage and sting of being told she’s wrong by someone, anyone still stabbing into her, but this being, this not human has her stunned silent. it’s like she’s everything she imagined for herself after her father spun the likely true stories and warning of hatchetfield to comfort her and echo in her mind - ethereal. beautiful. horrifying. and steph does not know what to do other than try to listen to both herself and the entity. worse because she knows it’s ( - she? ) she was right. she shouldn’t be doing this… it just felt like there was no other choice.

lauter swallows her nerves, but she closes her eyes. “ i don’t know if i can. i summoned them. i almost made a deal with them. ” could have is the word that maybe she should have used, almost…she still feels the weight of the gun in her hands and her ears ring out the sound of the bullet firing whenever she’s right about to open her eyes. there’s no defiance in her voice, just bluntness. the only lie she tells is in her tone and posture, trying to appear still, steady, but in truth, she’s scared. it’s evident in her voice, but even if she is about to open up to this… thing she knows that she’s not about to admit that. not to anyone.

“ if they can make things better… wouldn’t it be worth it? ” she doesn’t have the damn book is the problem, and if she’s being honest, even if she had if she were hugging it so close, she would be scared she would mispronounce one of the names. but really… the issue is she doesn’t know what she wants other than to ask if it’s all over, if they can leave ( and if she can sacrifice herself to bring two people back, if she make this grief end ). “ i have to do something. i have to try, don’t i? no one else is… ”

“ don’t pretend like you understand. “ alternatively, steph on here to webby because im 👀 / @slautertm

❝ Do you mean humanity, young one ? You are not wrong - I am not human. But neither are the ones whose help you seek. ❞

Webby's connection with the human world has always been at least a little nebulous, but now it's as if she's reaching through a howling storm. Magic is alive and well, and burning at her webs - at the anchors that separate the realm of mortality from that of the Black and White, and her brothers - her brothers are restless.

This one's presence had not been as bright and beaconing as the Foster sisters', or those who've shared their gift of atunement with the Black and White - but now ? Now she burns like the only light in the dark, the kind of force that draws the insatiable hunger of those who seek a foothold in this world, and desperation claws up Webby's spine.

❝ Whatever help you want, you will not find it. Not without strings - not without your own demise. You seek the Lords in Black. They will consume you, Stephanie Lauter. Please - I beg you, sever this connection. Before it is too late. ❞

[hollyoaksloversx]

CleoJ, The End of Dancy and Mandy the Master Criminal...

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (28th August-1st September 2017)

Ah, Darren Osborne. A bigger mug you will not find. After handing himself in to the police at the end of last week, Darren hoped that he would be released without charge. After all, he's helped the police out and a little bit of drug dealing’s not that bad, right? Well, he was wrong and he’s now facing a prison sentence. Nancy told Darren that she couldn’t stand by him and announced that she was leaving. Luckily for Darren, Charlie was on his side and the youngster told Nancy that he didn’t want to be apart from the only Dad he’d ever known. Not wanting to upset her nephew, Nancy decided to stay put but later told Darren that this didn’t mean they were back together. She would stay until the trial, but their marriage was over...

Meanwhile, Mandy turned criminal mastermind this week. Not only did she kidnap Ella from her foster parents, but she robbed a couple of sandwiches from Price Slice.  Arriving in the village, Mandy was keen to see Tom, believing he could help her out (yeah, her kid brother, what’s he going to do?) Mandy obviously hasn’t kept in touch with either Tom or Cindy during her 6 years away from the village as she arrived at the house now occupied by Cindy and Dirk, believing that Tom and the Osborne’s still lived there. If they had kept in touch, you’d think a couple of house moves and Jack buying back and then selling The Dog may have been mentioned. Anyway, Cindy was in a right old state thanks to Yasmine’s pranks and attacked Mandy with a broom when she let herself in. Mandy was knocked to the floor and landed on some broken glass, leaving her with a nasty gash (*snigger*).  Mandy filled Cindy in on her situation but as the pair went outside to get Ella, they discovered that she’d vanished...

The pair searched for Ella themselves before getting Dirk involved and he nearly dropped Mandy right in it when he phoned the police. Luckily for Mandy, Cindy was able to cover for her, with a little help from Misbah, who’d arrived to see to Mandy’s cut. It was Milo who would eventually find Ella and he was made to feel most unreasonable when he admitted that he’d taken her to the police station. As Ella was taken back to her foster parents, Mandy was taken in for questioning but released with just a caution. Later in the week, Luke turned up at Cindy’s to speak with Mandy and attempted to win her back. However, Mandy was having none of it, and announced that she was moving in with Cindy.

Elsewhere, Cleo and Joel revelled in their new relationship, but not everyone was happy. The pair discussed how they were going to break the news to Myra, but it turned out that they didn’t have to, as she walked in on them kissing and was furious that Joel had been “seduced by sins of the flesh”. With Myra refusing to support the pair, Cleo announced that she was moving out. Joel clearly wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea and locked the pair in the bedroom until they sorted out their differences. Eventually, Myra came to see that Joel was the man for Cleo and gave the pair her blessing, but not before telling Joel that she would be doing God’s work and keeping an eye on him. “And I’m less forgiving”, she told him. Look out, Joel...

Also this week, Hunter was delighted when he was offered a place at an art college in Edinburgh. This was also excellent news for Neeta, who pointed out that this would be their opportunity to be together properly. However, their plan was brought to an abrupt end when Mac discovered the truth about their relationship. It all started when the police showed up to inform Mac that his car had been spotted speeding just outside a town some distance away. Not only that, but a speed camera had caught footage of the driver and passenger and Mac was asked to identify them. Mac was horrified to see that the culprits were Neeta and Hunter and after sneaking a look at her phone, realised they’d been having an affair. Mac later confronted Neeta but told her he wouldn’t go to the police as long as she broke things off with Hunter and came back to him, to which Neeta agreed.  Once again, this story is just falling flat with me. Mac’s an arse, but no amount of vile behaviour from him is going to make me root for Neeta and her schoolboy lover. 

Finally, Ste’s trial date was creeping ever closer and Harry was struggling to cope with the realisation that Ste could be found guilty of murdering Amy. Meanwhile, Tegan was horrified when Ry Ry informed her that James had set Ste up and insisted that they must report him. When Ry Ry refused, Tegan set about reporting James herself and recorded a confession from him, which James soon got his hands on and destroyed...

5 Things We Learnt This Week:

1. Staff in Price Slice will do sweet fuck all when they catch someone shoplifting. 

2. Napal isn’t a place. It’s a state of mind. 

3. Waving a tennis racket around during an argument will not help your case. 

4. Joel is most definitely not Jesus. 

5. A feather duster isn’t just for cleaning. It can also be used to break apart a couple you think shouldn’t be together. 

One Last Thing:

Forget “who killed Amy,” the big mystery intriguing me at the moment is “what the hell is the deal with Milo?” We’ve already seen his tattoo, which reads “numquam obliviscar”, meaning “I shall never forget” in Latin. This week, he displayed some more strange behaviour when he was shown looking at a collection of newspaper articles about the Cunningham’s and he seemed to know who Mandy was before he’d been introduced to her (something she later questioned him about). So, is he a secret family member who was given away as a baby? Did Mr C have another child he’d not told anyone about? Or is he not connected to them at all and is just trying to find out as much as he can about his landlady’s family? Hopefully all will be revealed soon! 

Characters Featured:

Alfie, Charlie, Cindy, Cleo, Damon, Darren, Dirk, DS Roxy Casaidy, Ella, Ellie, Harry, Holly, Hunter, Jack, James, Joel, Lily, Luke, Mac, Mandy, Milo, Misbah, Nancy, Neeta, Oscar, Prince, Ryan, Ste, Steph, Tegan, Tom, Tony and Yasmine.

Past Characters Mentioned:

Amy Barnes, Pete Buchanan, Gordon Cunningham, Helen Cunningham, Debbie Dean, Katy Fox, Kieron Hobbs, John Paul McQueen, Jason Roscoe, Nick Savage. 

[sunlitmcgee]

OKAY! Here it is :) very long so it is below read more

Intro:

-Gym is dark, only light source is moonlight through windows. Kids are gathered in a circle on the floor in front of the Black Book, which is open to a page depicting the Lords’ sense-based symbols. Camera slowly zooms in towards them from floor level.

Pokotho…

(singing being HEARD by the viewer represents Pokey’s association with sound.)

Bliklotep…

(Shot changes to a close up of Steph’s eyes. As she sings, her eyes and brow furrow in focus. Eyes to represent Blinky’s SIGHT.)

(Camera changes to a shot of the gym clock as the chorus begins to chant the Lords’ names. It inches closer as it ticks over to midnight. Yellow energy washes over the hour hand and flashes when the clock reaches 12. For a brief moment, Pete’s reflection is highlighted on the clockface.)

T'noy Karaxis…

Nibblenephim.

(Brief shot of Grace’s mouth moving, her lips curled back to show her teeth as she almost snarls, as if hungry while focusing on the book. Represents TASTE for Nibbly.)

(Wide shot of kids. As the chorus continues, a faint wind picks up around them and causes pages of the Book to turn. A faint green energy forms around them in a circle, which stretches out at five points that spread across the floor, forming a pentagram.)

Wiggog Wiggog Y'wrath.

(During the “wahoo, wahoo” part, the wind picks up. The book flips more rapidly. Different colored energies spill to fill out different points on the pentagram. The kids’ grow more stressed and fearful the more they sing. Eyes scrunched, heads bowed. As they sing Wiggly’s name, more energy pulses out suddenly from where their hands are TOUCHING the floor. The chorus reaches its climax and the light fades as faint wind whistles from outside.)

“Did it work?”

(Pause.)

“Hello, fwendy-wends.”

(Chaos is unleashed upon the trio. Harsh neon lights glare from all angles. The Lords’ first appear as monstrous silhouettes, their bodies towering over the children as they laugh with childish malice. Wiggly looks like a large green cephalopode with light green eyes. Blinky is a slim, fluffy purple creature with a singular orange eye that makes his eye appear round and bulbous. Pokey is a blue skeleton with ooze dripping down his sockets. Nibbly is a fluffy mouth of pink fur with a massive toothy grin. Tinky is a yellow goat standing on two legs. It is only until they all move and break into song that they fully appear humanoid in the forms they take in the show. Their movements are jerky, unnatural, and similar to a bunch of animatronics as they begin their demonic glee.)

Out of the depths of Hell and back,

Us spawn of the Black and White,

Cover our souls with robes of black,

And take up the arms of night!

Nibbly wants his sacrifice, and Wiggly wants his wrath!

We dance around the pentagram and take all our kingdoms back!

Babble the spell that gets it done! Babble it on command!

Won’t stop until all the blood is drawn,

The Lords in Black demand!

(The entire scene has the camera rotate between the trio’s fearful, confused faces and the Lords’ unleashed, maniacal delight. It is a scene out of an old book of witch’s tales and scary stories: a gang of youths surrounded by demons, dancing, circling like sharks, all by the light of the full moon.)

The devil has won, it can’t be undone, the book has all but closed on your life!

The Lords in Black, ah!

The Lords in Black, ah!  

(The camera’s movements slow down as the music relaxes and it focuses on Blinky. He leans forward, smiley innocently at Grace as he leans forward with a hand behind his back while the other adjusts his glasses.)

“We’ve been watching you, Gracie. Someone’s been a little…naughty…”

(Grace gasps, horrified, as Tinky giggles at Peter.)

“Oh boy, a Spankoffski! I’m gonna have the whole set in my toy box.”

(When Tinky speaks, the camera is focused on him with Pete’s face still visible in the lower left corner. We see him curl away from Tinky as the yellow demon leans towards him. Tinky holds out the Bastard’s Box in one hand, which briefly forms into a hooved claw as his eyes glow yellow and his eyes become those of a goat. For a second, a tiny humanoid being is seen inside the yellow cube. Tinky briefly glances at it when he says “toy box”, but Peter does not seem to notice the tiny figure pounding on the box’s walls, as if trying to get his attention.)

(Nibble looks at Steph, licks his rosy pink lips, and snaps his teeth together as he leans towards her.)

“Stephanie, yum yum!”

(Steph gathers herself. She glances between the five creatures before speaking.)

“Are you…the Lords in Black.)

(The flashing neons return.)

Out of the depths of Hell and back,

We travel very far!

Cover our souls with robes of black,

The Lords in Black we are!

(The camera finally settles into focus on Wiggly. He holds himself proudly, his hands in front of his chest, his chin tilted upwards, as he addresses the mortals that have summoned him.)

“Don’t be so formal, Stephie. We’re all paly-wals here! I mean look at us! We even hold court in your own form and tongue!”

(He holds his arm in gesture to his brothers. They all giggle when he lifts his hand in mock-salute.)

“Gooooo Nighthawks!”

“Our true forms would melt your mind.”

“Don’t frighten them, Pokey, you NASTY boy…”

(Peter looks vaguely uncomfortable at this exchange, but quickly shakes his head when Steph begins to speak.)

“We need to stop Max Jagerman. We heard…YOU can help us-”

(The Lords all look visibly annoyed by this human child’s stupidity. When they dance, the colored markings around their feet flash and dim in time with their song.)

The Lords in Black will help you, yes.

You stupid silly girl!

Why help you with the Jagerman when we can help the world?

(Wiggly is the focus once more. His hands return to his chest, and his hums as he tilts his head while twiddling with his fingers in a very tentacle-y way.)

“Hmm…we could. We could take hold of little Maxie and drag him right down to Drowsy Town!”

(A shot of Nibbly leaning forward also showns Wiggly’s deep green eye flickering towards him as he smiles. Nibbly is in the background on the left-hand side while Wiggly’s face is on the right side of the screen.)

“Swallow his soul, I wanna lick it…”

“But why?! Maxie-Poo’s about to get you! Tear you all to bloody bits!”

(This time, we see a mirror of the previous scene. Brinkley is in the background on the right and Wiggly’s eye is on the left in front of him. Blinky tilts his head and adjusts his glasses while he oogles the kids with intrigue.)

“I wanna see that…”

(Tinky bounces a bit as he giggles. He is completely focused on a once again very uncomfortable-looking Peter who quickly focuses back on Steph.)

“H-how about a bargain? We’ll give you whatever you want. Just get rid of Jagerman!”

(She’s said the magical, damning words. Wiggly’s smile is so big that it strains at the corners. His teeth are sharp, rows upon rows of fangs, as he breaks character and swells with anticipation of another dance.)

“WHATEVER WE WANT?!”

Whatever we want, we want, we want.

Whatever we want, we get!

Whatever you want, you want, you want.

Forever in our debt!

“Hmmm…what could you give to me? Let me check my Christmas list!”

(A scroll appears in Wiggly’s hands. It uncoils…and uncoils…and uncoils…and soon covers much of the floor around him and the kids, who look at it and each other, very very confused. He peers at it for a moment, then makes a very inhumane gasping noise as he pulls away with a smile. The list vanishes in a green blip.)

“AHHHH! There is…something.”

(Steph is shaking as she shouts at him.)

“What?! What do you want from us?!)

(Peter puts a hand on her shoulder while Grace clutches her arm.)

“Something…fun!”

(Tinky’s goat eyes gleam sickly yellow.)

“Something tasty…”

(Nibbly licks his lips. He takes a long lick of his lollipop while Wiggly waves his hands to ease her concerns.)

“Oh, you’ll hardly miss it. We just want what you cherish the most! That’s all.”

(The “the lords in black, the lords in black call us” chorus sings over several shots of Blinky laughing and playing with his hair, Tinky snickering, and Pokey rolling his eyes in Steph’s direction.)

“What we cherish the most? What do you mean?”

(Pokey’s eyes glow blue as he asks her-)

“What do you want, Steph?”

(camera goes between Wiggly and Pokey when they talk.)

“One of you must give up the thing you treasure above all else.”

“Do it, or die!”

(Steph is still lost. Wiggly, for the first time, steps away from his point on the pentagram towards her. When his feet touch the gym floor, inky green curls in the shape of crawling tendrils swim into the shadows.)

“Treasure above all else? I know what it is.”

(Wiggly pauses when she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell phone. The Lords all look incredibly confused as she holds it above her head.)

“My phone!”

(Pete and Grace instantly go to pull her arm back down.)

“My whole life’s on this thing! My contacts, my pictures! M-”

(The Lords turn back into the monstrous silhouettes. At the same time as they scream-sing her down, they swell and lunge forwards in a wave of neon malice and stop just barely short of ripping her in two. The five demons dwarf the human children when they’re this close. Teeth gnash. Claws swipe near cheeks and barely miss. Tendrils thrash while a thousand eyes glare from the purple void of Blinky’s form. Bones rattle in great annoyance at this little girl’s sheer nerve and utter stupidity.)

“WE DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PHONE!!!”

(Just as quickly, they step back. Wiggly resumes in a calm demeanor. He steps forward, leans down slowly, and runs a single finger through a dazed, confused Peter’s hair. Steph watches, horrified.)

“We want what you really want. You can’t lie to us, Steph. You can lie to yourself…but not to me. Think about it.”

(Realization dawns on Steph’s face.)

“Ahhh! There he is.”

(Peter, almost childishly innocent, looks at her with confusion.)

“Steph?”

(She backs against Grace and shakes her head.)

“No…no!”

“What’s in your pocket, Stephanie?”

(She continues to look between them as they sing.)

Stephanie has got a gun!

Tra-la-la-la, how fun!

Stephanie has got a gun!

She knows what must be done!

(Wiggly stops mid-dance to stare down at her. She looks at him, pleading, but he just smiles, all teeth and tendrils.)

“Put a bullet in his brain, and we’ll take Maxwell off your plate.”

“I…I can’t!”

(He steps back to his point, slinking back into the shadows.)

“Pay the price. Or fuck off!”

(His glowing eyes narrow into slits. The chorus sings as they break into song for the final verse.)

The Lords in Black, the Lords in Black call us.

Out of the depths of Hell and back,

Us spawn of the Black and White.

Cover our souls with robes of black,

And take up the arms of night!

You summon us once, you summon us twice!

You gamble it on the roll of the dice.

The devil has won! It can’t be undone!

The book has all but closed on your life!

(A final wideshot focused on the kids, who look fearfully into the shadows, where the Lords’ eyes linger before they fade. Their cackling laughter echoes…and then the lights go dark.)

about to be very autistic and write a script for the animatic of The Summoning that exists wholly within my brain because I don't know how to animate

[rocksanddeadflowers]

i have. MORE THOUGHTS. Bc I've been accidentally making a brain animatic (I don't draw but I can SEE IT and that's what matters to me)

- First of all I AM including "If I Loved You" and "As Cool as I Think I Am (Reprise)" in this. Well it's not mandatory but it's fun. Basically I mean- in "If I Loved You" I see Lyf as Pete and Marius as Steph, but in "The Summoning" and "As Cool as I Think I Am (Reprise)" I see it the other way around. This isn't like. A mandatory addition I just needed to ramble. Now onto the fun parts.

- There's this bit in the live version when Wiggly kinda messes with Pete's hair, almost a tucking it back motion to hint at Steph he knows what she really wants (bc they want her to sacrifice what she wants most). So I'm already picturing that but Marius has grown his hair out specifically so Lyf can braid it (like The Stars Claim Them. Not apologizing that's one of my favorite bits in that fic). Also there already is a tiny braid in his hair from Lyf, which this entity (I've been picturing the main speaker as either The End or The Web) is messing with.

- Also you have to picture Marius with confused and/or scared puppy eyes and also at Lyf's side holding their hand for mutual support for most of this song that is mandatory. That and Raph keeping her wings around the group in a protective stance from the side as much as possible. Ivy and Lyf are in the middle with the book which she is firmly protecting.

- I think they can all hear the entities, but Lyf is the only one who can really see them as well. The others might catch glimpses in their peripheral or spot evidence of their presence, but not much else. This is because, once again, I believe in Lyf eldritch powers supremacy. (Even then, they're not seeing their "true" form, just a horrifying humanoid version.)

- I have vague ideas of the entities human looks but I don't draw but just know they're literally so cool and terrifying for sure for sure

- "What do you want Steph?" The Eye !!!! And "Our true forms would melt your mind" The Stranger!!!! I don't have a firm decision on most entity/dark lords quotes they could interchange but so far those two I'm sticking with.

- I see Lyf looking at the entities very tired, pissed, and sensory overwhelmed all at once, until someone suggests Marius as the sacrifice, as Lyf using their powers to fully consume him, and Lyf suddenly looks panicked and yanks their hand from Marius's and scrambles away from the group.

- "As Cool As I Think I Am (Reprise)" where Marius is insisting they need to, that it's okay, Lyf backing away from him while he moves forward until they're cornered, and he puts his metal hand in both of theirs. I just!!!! That!!!! They're both crying!!!! My brain keeps putting depressing but pretty pictures in my head. Take them!!!!!

I'm..... Going off the rails with this one (funny drum sound.). OHB GLOB OH there's that line at the beginning of "If I Loved You" when Pete says "but I'm off that train" just so you know. Oh is that why you made Lyf Pete in that song? What? No! Shut up! Who said that???? No it's bc Pete's a nerd and Steph says she's a sapiosexual duh.

The Summoning from NPMD but it's the prison mechs + Lyf doing the summoning and the Lords in Black are the TMA entities personified thoughts on this also?