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narcosfandomdiscord · 2 months ago

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Narcovember Prompt Roulette List

Saalud a mi gente! We in the Narcos Fandom Forever discord server are excited to bring another 30-day challenge: a multifandom event that we’re nevertheless calling Narcovember. Despite its name, this is open to ALL FANDOMS, NOT JUST NARCOS. Creators are encouraged to submit fanworks (fic, art, gifs, vids, op-eds) for any fandom your heart desires!

This event's format is a bit unconventional. Instead of a prompt for each day of the month, there's a Prompt Roulette Wheel and a Prompt Index (☟ below) featuring numbered items with three prompts each. Every day you'll spin the wheel. The number that comes up on the spin corresponds to a number on the index where you can then pick one of the three prompts.

So for example, say on day one, I spin the wheel and get number 8. I’d go to 8 on the index (titled These Damn Restraints). Of those three prompts, I like Yikes best so that's my day one prompt. Next day, I spin and get 14. I find 14 on the index (Decisions, Decisions, Decisions) and pick one of those for day two's prompt. And so on. Note: If, on Day 2, instead of 14 I got 8 again, I’d spin the wheel again to get a new number. If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to spin twice, you can choose another prompt from that "Book of" that you haven't used (e.g. Day 1, I chose Yikes. So Day 2, I’d go for, "Now you know why I never say anything.") Ideally, we think it’s more fun to not repeat index items, but ultimately it’s dealer’s choice. Aka we're not about to get real fascist policing, aint nobody got time for that.

Here's -> the roulette wheel. Or you can make your own! (Just make sure it has 30 slices.)

Use the hashtag #narcovember or tag us to submit your entries so we can reblog them! A note on the masterlist - bc of the Tumblr-imposed link limit, for now we'll only link the fic. BUT at the end of the month, there will be a comprehensive list with all the contributors’ blogs so ppl can find your other work easily.

Happy spinning, everybody!

❖ Prompt Index ❖

1 — Book of Genesis

Fanwork inspired by someone else’s fanwork (be sure to tag the creator of the OG work!)

“The fun begins here.”

Ghosts

2 — Book of Fuck-ups

Righteous indignation glo-up aka fanwork that corrects a plot misstep or writing blunder that bugs the shit outta you

“It’s not the what-ifs that fuck you up, so much as the what-might-have-beens.”

Bite

>>>>>>>>>> more prompts below the cut <<<<<<<<<<<<

3 - Book of Stuff That Goes in the Junk Drawer

Fanwork inspired by a song and include why the song sparked the idea (was it the lyrics, genre? something you thought a character would like? etc)

“It’s never too late to make history.”

Juice

4 — Book of the Uno-Card-Reverse

Fanwork based on your fav reverse/inverse trope**

“Evil isn’t always forever.”

Mirrors

5 — Book of Negative Spaces

Fanwork using a line from a diff show/movie as a prompt (e.g. line from Mad Men, “I don’t think of you at all” in a Narcos fic, line from Band of Brothers, “The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead,” in a Hannibal fic, etc etc)

“We gain more from our mistakes than our success, you know that?”

Pitch

6 — Book of (un)Consciousness

Fanwork inspired by a dream you’ve had (include 1-2 sentence summary of the dream at the beginning of the post)

“Just dream with me.”

Technicolor

7 — Book of Time-travel

Fanwork inspired by ancient mythology (Greek, Norse, aztec, celtic, etc. Bible counts as mythology, fuck it)

“It’s only a matter of time.”

Constellation

8 — Book of These Damn Restraints

Fanwork that ends with 2(+) characters trapped in a phone booth with no way out

“Now you know why I never say anything.”

Yikes

9 — Book of Fateful Conversations

Fanwork where the plot takes place entirely in the back of a cab OR where one character is the cab driver and the other is the passenger

“You'd be surprised what you can live with.”

Cursed

10 — Book of Nepo-baby Levels of Incompetence

Fanwork where character is in a profession they have no business being in with no prior training, so they fake knowing what they’re doing – like imposter syndrome except they’re just actually a fraud (e.g. Rust Cohle is a grief counselor, Richie Jerimovich is a hedge fund manager, Roman Roy is a beat cop)

“And who hasn’t believed a flattering lie?”

Evergreen

11 — Book of Pit Stops

Fanwork that starts with a character hitchhiking and getting picked up by another character(s)

“Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.”

Rush

12 — Book of Balancing In Between

Fanwork whose setting is a liminal space (e.g. empty swimming pool, bar or arcade after hours, airport terminal, church confessional, empty elevator, Twin Peaks black lodge, John Wick continental bar, etc)

“Good things come in threes.”

Wire

13 — Book of in Urgent Need of Assistance

Fanwork where a character wakes up on an empty submarine, 300ft underwater, thinking they’re the only person aboard until they run into another character(s)

“One day I’ll wake up and it won’t hurt so much.”

Desperate

14 - Book of Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Crossover for 2(+) fandoms you have used before but 2(+) characters you’ve never used or vice versa

“All we have are our choices.”

Crossroads

15 — Book of How tf Did We Get Here

Fanwork that starts off with 2(+) characters waiting in line at the DMV and ends in a completely different, totally unpredictable, why-and-how-tf-did-we-get-here place

“There’s a moon a mile from here and nobody home.”

Ambition

16 — Book of Locally Sourced

Fanwork that mimics a bottle episode, so the entirety of it takes place in a relatively mundane setting (e.g. the stockroom of a store, interrogation room, a hotel lobby, waiting room of a doctor’s office, etc etc)

“Make yourself comfortable while you can."

Notebook

17 — Book of Inception

Fanwork that provides an origin story for a character that doesn’t have one in canon

“It (he/she/they) made me who I am.”

Improvement

18 — Book of Mysteries

Fanwork where 2(+) characters have to escape a panic room. Depending on fandom, this can be like the innocent party version that you take your friends to for someone’s bday, or can be an actual doomsday shelter

“I thought they were with you!?"

Endurance

19 — Book of Near Misses

Fanwork with 2(+) characters from the same movie/show/book who’ve never met

“Looks like we missed our window.”

Rattled

20 — Book of Sleight of Hand

Fanwork of partners (romantic, profesh, or both) running into each other unexpectedly while both are doing something criminal/something they know they aren’t supposed to do (e.g. burying a body, carrying out a heist, meeting someone they shouldn’t)

“You can't ask the truth from someone who trades in lies.”

Brace

21— Book of Nerves of Steel

Fanwork where 2(+) characters do a B&E, but get stuck when the owner unexpectedly comes home, and they whisper-yell argue over how to get out

“You won't believe the day I just had.”

Cortisol

22 — Book of Identity Theft

Fanwork where 2(+) characters meet accidentally bc one has accidentally dialed the wrong number (e.g. Syd [The Bear] tries to call Carm to yell at him for Something Dumb He Did but ends up calling Cousin Greg [Succession] instead)

“I'm not the one.”

Brand

23 — Book of Just Chaos™️™️™️

Cracked crossover/ship with 2(+) characters from very diff genres (e.g. Dwight Schrute [The Office] & Tommy Shelby [Peaky Blinders], Frenchie [The Boys] x Penelope [Bridgerton], etc)

“You’re my idiot, forever.”

Untouchable

24 — Book of Revelation

Fanwork where 2(+) characters are stranded in the desert and in a sick twist, must decide which one of them to leave behind in order for the other(s) to be saved

“I like that I don't have to worry about you.”

Rapture

25 — Book of Reciprocity

Fanwork where 2(+) characters play poker (or any card game that has betting) but the chips are magic and the winner gets extra years of life instead of money (e.g. say, in poker, green chips = $500, blue chips = $1k, red chips = $2k, black chips = $5k. In this scenario, green chips = 6mos, blue chips = 1yr, red chips = 2yrs, black chips = 5yrs, etc)

“Fine, I'll do it myself.”

Quid-Pro-Quo

26 — Book of Abduction

Fanwork where 2(+) characters get kidnapped by a kooky cult, are thrown into the trunk of a car together and have to figure out how to escape

“Somebody has to be paying attention.”

Spiral

27 — Book of Caretaking

Fanwork where a character accidentally shoots/stabs/otherwise maims another character and has to perform first responder, triage levels of first aid to save them (dealer’s choice as to whether it's successful bc yolo)

“Don't make me take care of you.”

Ritual

28 — Book of Weaponized Passive Aggression

Fanwork where 2(+) characters attend a dinner party and witness that moment when a couple starts passive-aggressively arguing but not outright fighting in front of the whole table and it’s even more painfully awkward than if they just straight up fought OR the 2(+) characters are the ones arguing making everyone else uncomfortable asf

“I wish you the best and I hope you find it far from me.”

Attitude

29 — Book of the (un)Dead

Fanwork where a character dies and another character shepherds them to the afterlife like their own personal grim reaper

“We bury our dead alive.”

Siesta

30 — Book of There's No Place Like ...

Back from the dead: a character came back wrong or right, but either way, no one else knows how to handle it

“Even if you make it, you’ll never really go home.”

Homesick

**There will be a reverse trope list in another post for examples.

#narcovember #narcovember prompt roulette #narcos #narcos mexico #narcoctober #multifandom event #writing challenge

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aurae-rori · 7 months ago

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MESMERIZER ANALYSIS!

Hi guys, Aurae is back at it again at Krispy Kreme, this time with a voacloid song analysis (woah!). So, before we get into this, here's my usual disclaimer! I have been researching psychology for a WHILE and I plan to go into it professionally (:O). HOWEVER, that said, I am NOT a professional, so understand that everything I come to conclusions about has been analyzed with some personal judgement, personal interpretations, and this is just what I have concluded.

This also contains a lot of personal projecting onto this song as art is aways up to interpretations, and I see a lot of my childhood in this song. I will be touching on topics that are implied through lyrics, and you may not see this song the same way that I do, and that is perfectly okay! This is my take on deconstructing some of the messages that this song has.

A TW FOR THIS ANALYSIS INCLUDES: hypnotism, escapism, unhealthy coping mechanisms, suicide, self-harm, depictions of abusive environments (as that is how I interpret this song), manipulation, gaslighting, dehumanization, neon colours.

So, now let's get into the confetti and fun wonderland of MESMERIZER!

I'll be splitting this into three parts: The part where I talk about the song lyrics, the part where I talk about the animation itself, and then I'll explain a few theories I've seen, as well as my own, adding onto the story that I think it is telling.

PART 1: SONG LYRICS ANALYSIS

“No thinking about real feelings

Are you pretending to not notice?

The absolute truths and your own heart

That's how the safe zone is shrinking

Prostituting your wounds

You give a feeble cry, such shameful conduct”

Although the song itself is quite catchy, cheerful, and jubilant, the lyrics are far from those things. We immediately start off with the idea of disregarding one’s own feelings, Miku talking about how people pretend not to not notice their own feelings and the ‘truths’ of their own hearts. However, this is hard to avoid forever, and their ‘safe zones’ (escapism places) are shrinking as reality creeps up on them, so they ‘showcase’ their sorrow to others. I think this is definitely a metaphor for how some people overshare to others and tell others all about the ways that they’ve hurt, which can be used against them, as this gives others easy access to material that could be used to manipulate them. However, there are also undertones of self-shame (which comes with trauma), calling their cries for help ‘shameful’. It should also be noted that some abuse survivors, while being abused, have relatively clear cries for help through their actions that nobody else seems to pick up on, which is also a theme in this song as nobody answers Teto’s cries for help.

“I’ve got a recommendation for you, the ultimate escape

Eventually, you will be saved from being lured into sweet traps

Now that you can no longer live sanely in this world anymore

Perhaps pretending to know nothing

And surrendering yourself is the optimal solution”

This ‘ultimate escape’ that the song talks about is escapism, or imagination. Reality is too hard to deal with, so children turn to their own minds as a way to stop the pain from taking over. It’s much easier to live in a dreamworld rather than a reality where you’re being hurt, right? They say that ‘ignorance is bliss’, and they’re taking it to the next level here by repressing, ignoring, and denying their own true feelings in order to feel happiness. They escape to that ‘safe zone’ mentioned earlier within their minds. However, there is an irony in the second line where they talk about ‘sweet traps’, as it can be interpreted as the imaginary world being ‘sweet traps’, or maybe the harshness and certainty of reality can be considered a ‘sweet trap’ as well, depending on how you look at it.

“If a bunch of flowers dressed up with words

Can steal one's heart, are they real?

To an event where everything will be tainted

I give you an invitation”

This runs even further with the idea of imagination and escapism, because flowers cannot literally dress up and speak in the real world. This is talking about how maybe the characters feel like they can no longer distinguish fiction from reality, talking about how fictional things can make you feel things, so they must be real, too. It’s basically saying that because fiction has such an effect on us, then can fiction and imagination be considered to be another form of reality, as well? However, it is mentioned that the event will be ‘tainted’, possibly referencing the idea of fiction completely overtaking reality.

“Farewell

You're tailor-made for this era

With an appearance of vulnerability

Fooled by this truthful acting

Your heart beats so very loudly

Your extra lives are quickly being lost

Your durability worn away

Dodging matters right in front of you

You got your hands full just living”

This is where we go back to the idea of manipulation, and maybe even conditioning. ‘Tailor-made for this era’ implies that something turned these people into the kinds of people that would be easily manipulated. It is also implied that the two are hurting and explicitly stated that they’re vulnerable and easy to take advantage of. I would consider the theme of hypnosis and brainwashing to tie into this as well. They are more vulnerable to the idea of being manipulated and taken control of due to the fact that they are hurting and want to escape to another reality, and will believe anybody that says that they will make things better because they are hurt too much. They are fooled by the acting of the people that pretend to love them, who are really here to just control them. This is talking about the urge that people have to run away from reality, because just getting up and existing can be such a challenge.

“You’re getting sleepy, a shallow hypnosis

Your head, your body are becoming muddled

No way, so many tricks?

Swinging a coin before your eyes

You'll become completely still

"This is fine," even you can be coaxed into shut down”

This is Miku’s part, and the part where she is completely hypnotized and taken control of. She ‘shuts down’, completely rejecting reality and going into the ‘imagination world’. She does not want to feel pain any longer and takes the opportunity to run from it, turning into a puppet for others to control and manipulate.

“You're getting sleepy, a shallow hypnosis

Your head, your body are becoming muddled

No way, so many tricks?

Swinging a coin before your eyes

You'll become completely still

(coercion cancellation)”

Teto’s part however, in the middle of it, fades out, as she does not completely listen to what the people have to say. She resists the manipulation, and it’s explicitly stated with the part where it goes ‘coercion cancellation’. She is actively fighting the urge to run away into escapism, and resisting the manipulation of whatever is trying to do so to them.

“However you survive today, it's unrewarding everyday

You're already in a bot-like cycle

Continuing from the moment of inertia

If you have no luck, no hope, it's all the more pointless

If you haven't got it then give up

Playing with the leftovers is your fate”

This is just more stuff about giving up on the real world. Inertia means “the inherent property of a body that makes it oppose any force that would cause a change in its motion”, aka: refusing to move, even when force is put upon something. I would say ‘inertia’ is a synonym for birth or consciousness, because it’s talking about how even from the moment that you are born that you are stuck in a cycle of endless pain in reality. This part is basically talking about why you should give up on reality entirely and simply live in the worlds of your own creation, running away into escapism and disregarding the real world in favor of not feeling pain.

“You’re tailor-made for this era

With an appearance of vulnerability

Fooled by this truthful acting

Your heart beats so very loudly

Exaltation has already lost its meaning

A fake charisma

If you stare directly at reality, you’ll end up going blind

So do it in moderation”

Once again, talks about being perfect subjects of manipulation. However, Teto speaks of the fact that the rush of joy that you usually get after originally going into the escapism world has already been lost, and that it is fake. However, she also mentions that if you keep on living in the real world the entire time, it will not do you any good, so she advises everyone else to live in your imagination only sometimes, but to keep an eye on the real world.

PART 2: THE ANIMATION

This is just a lot of things that I have noticed other people saying, but some tidbits about the animation include:

This is a screenshot from the very start, showing how there are themes of hypnosis from the beginning.

I believe it is also mentioned that the 13-pointed star that is shown a lot represents immortality.

Also, can I mention that their outfits seem almost childish in nature? I believe that this is meant to represent that they are ‘vulnerable’, intensifying the idea that they are easily taken advantage of. However, these also look like worker outfits in the way, with the yellow rectangles almost looking like name tags. It almost seems like they’re workers for a children’s amusement park? Which would make the horror aspect of this even worse…

Miku’s shoes are rollerblades, which can be interpreted of her being more carefree and more willing to run away, because wheels are faster, and can also be interpreted of her being less connected to the ground/reality. It can also be shown in the idea that she is the more ‘childish’ of the two of them, being easier to manipulate, which is why she falls to hypnosis first.

In contrast, Teto’s shoes look rather normal. Probably a representation of her being more grounded?

I’ve seen people interpret Miku’s cuffs as like places for strings to hold onto during her later animations, which can tie into her being more of a puppet rather than a human?

Star pupils at the start for both of them when Teto talks about an escape. They are clearly both looking for one.

However, Teto pretty early on also does the ASL sign for “HELP”.

Also, Teto blinks in morse code for “SOS” during the first chorus.

The first letter of all of these spell out “help”, while the fourth letters spell out “SOS”.

“phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinic carboxamide” is something that helps with energy metabolism, as well as DNA synthesis. I believe this can be a reference to the fact that many abuse survivors go through dehumanization, or it could be a reference to the idea that neither of them feel “real” or “human”.

Also, at the end here, Teto makes another nonverbal sign for help with her hands.

Miku is hypnotized pretty easily, swaying from side to side like following the motions of a coin.

However...

Teto resists hypnosis for ten days, if you count the amount of times the sun rises and sets in this scene. Although, at the end…

Even she falls into hypnosis.

Also, their entire background is green here. Teto looks a little shocked, while Miku finds nothing wrong with this. This may be a green screen, which further emphasizes that the world that they are in is not real, and is only a product of escapism and/or imagination.

Miku has never done this pose before, until after she was hypnotized.

Also, it’s a good time to say that Miku’s movements here look robotic, or like she’s being puppeteered, with how jarring they are.

I didn’t point this out before, but this happens earlier too – they point at the star, and tell you to “focus”, before “MESMERIZER” is spelt out really quickly in the star, at the very start, but not at the second time.

As we start the next chorus, Miku’s face develops into this. It’s also noted that Teto stops bouncing for a few moments in pure shock. Also, I should mention that after you hang yourself, your tongue can protude from your mouth. There’s also a choker around her neck, and her skin seems to pale considerably, which points to the idea of a suicide. However, if she’s dead, what is puppeteering her?

Also, the star at this point is swirling. It’s outright trying to hypnotize you.

However, after this, Miku continues to dance, even after her part is over, and even goes off beat. The amount of confetti in this scene is increased considerably, as if whatever is trying to hypnotize them or control them is trying extra hard to make Teto give in.

At the end, she does.

PART 3: THEORIES

So, what the hell does this all mean?

Let’s recap–

Teto & Miku are going to the unhealthy coping mechanism of escapism to deal with their lives, through one form or another, to run from reality. This much is clear. However, it gets to be too much for them and they are inevitably hypnotized by something or someone, taken control of, and while Teto asks for help, Miku gives in early, leading to the ending. This is all we can take from surface level.

This is where I get into it with my theories.

I like to mention the fact that these two feel immensely like they’re being conditioned by something, or someone, that they are supposed to trust. Maybe an adult figure in their lives. They clearly have faced hard shit during their lives, which explains the need for escapism. Teto is the more grounded one, and Miku just wants to escape from the pain. The first way that I interpret this is:

Childhood abuse. Both of them are being manipulated and coerced by their own parents, and are finding solace in one another. Teto brings up escapism to Miku, and they do it together, creating worlds together and having fun at the start. Teto keeps on trying to ask for help to the people of the outside world in miniscule ways, but even when she directly asks for help dealing with her situation, she is still ignored and pushed aside. So, they then escape whenever they can because it gives them a feeling of control when in fact their own escapism mannerisms are a way to try and control their real lives but it doesn’t matter because it’s better this way. So all of her “SOS”s are for nothing.

However, the longer the abuse goes on, the more they fall into it as their only method to be saved, and Miku eventually cannot handle reality, falling into the imagination world forever – that is, killing herself so that she will never have to deal with reality again, being pushed over by the expectations she had to fulfill in reality. Teto stays afterwards, however, trying to handle life, but is eventually manipulated into being something that she’s not, and kills herself as well due to the pressure. However, this could also be interpreted as a “loss of the self” as they either drown themselves both in the imagination world, or could be interpreted as the fact that they eventually simply turned into the people their parents wanted them to be.

I can also interpret this in a completely opposite way – that the world that is full of colours and whimsy is actually a world that their parents have trapped them in. That they are being pressured to be happy all the time even though they don’t want to be, and that in front of everyone else they have to act like everything is fine even though it isn’t. Maybe they’re being coerced by their parents to never feel sadness, to leave all of those ridiculous things behind, to become perfect – almost like a Coraline situation. They’re pretending like everything is fine even though it isn’t. However, eventually, they get caught up in all of their lies and the fake reality they set up for themselves. They’d rather look at it rather than reality, but at the same time, they are being puppeteered by their surroundings in a harmful manner.

Escapism. :)

Second interpretation: they are working for some studio or something, which could be why there was a green screen at one point. They are promoting the idea of escapism to other people, but unwillingly. Miku falls into the ideals of their director and falls into the headspace entirely, agreeing with the ideals of others while they are forced to continue spreading this message in an almost dystopian manner. They are hypnotized by the person producing this message.

Third: Maybe this is a story about them working in some sort of childhood theme park in order to escape their realities as well, and be children forever? This ties the two previous ideas together. They are overworking themselves to the point where reality and fiction are indistinguishable. Unable to deal with everything that she has to do, Miku dies, and Teto follows suit.

Four: Literal hypnosis. Maybe some sort of horror story of becoming victims of some hypnosis monster? I like this one the most because it makes me think of a story where Mikuy and Teto were struggling, and perhaps made a deal with some eldritch being so that they can escape reality into their own fictional world. However, as more time goes on, the more the world that they’ve entered becomes twisted, and Miku falls to the being’s whims, turning into a mindless puppet in order to reject reality further. Teto, horrified at what has happened, tries to reach out to others, only to have nobody listen to her. She then gives up entirely and joins her friend.

There’s a lot of ways to interpret this, but the general message is that people want to escape from their harsh realities. This is natural, especially if you’re a victim of manipulation or abuse, but this is also a reminder that you can’t go too far from it, and that there are still people waiting for you.

TLDR: Escapism, slay! But don’t slay too hard, unless you want to end up like MESMERIZER Miku!! I love this song so much and I can and will elaborate on ideas. I’m really tired due to my exams so I am so sorry if something doesn’t sound coherent here, but thank you for reading!! <3

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munson-blurbs · 2 months ago

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How do you think a grumpy, slightly introverted (probably?) fluffy-haired, blue-eyed gremlin meets an outgoing, slightly naive but studious brown-eyed girl?

Annie in her college era (2006 specifically) had an amazing bartending job at a hole-in-the-wall bar, two a day practices for pole vault and a love-hate relationship with o-chem lab.

And maybe would blast Stone Temple Pilots and Seether until her ears bled while studying instead of partying, I dunno

you are the literal best I cannot wait

You meet Gareth while studying at your college library!

CW: college AU, lip ring Gareth specifically for you WC: 574 Divider credit to @hellfire--cult

Can you see just like a child? Can you see just what I want? Can I bring you back to life? Are you still alive?

You tapped your toe in time with the beat blasting through your headphones, your sneaker nearly silent against the library carpet. In your opinion, the best way to listen to music was loud enough to wake the fallen, even when you were studying. Badass guitar solos and angry lyrics always made preparing for Organic Chemistry tests less awful.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like chemistry; you actually loved it. When you were in high school, you opted for science electives over the music or art classes your friends preferred to take. It was just this class, with the sheer amount of work and the tragically boring professor who droned on and on like he got paid by the syllable.

Burn, burn, burn, burn, burn Burn your wicked garden down Burn, burn, burn, burn, burn Burn your wicked garden to the ground, yeah

A tap on your shoulder snapped you from your musical stupor and sent your heartbeat into overdrive. You slid your headphones down around your neck and looked behind you to find the cutest guy you’d ever seen in your life.

His eyebrows shot up to his mop of brown curls as he realized he’d startled you. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” His tongue brushed over the ring curled around his lower lip. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It–It’s okay.” Taking a deep breath, you steadied yourself and met his gaze as your heart rate accelerated to a normal level. “Do you need something?”

The guy cleared his throat. “I’m Gareth. I think we have o-chem together?” He gestured to your thoroughly highlighted and sticky-noted papers.

You hadn’t seen him before, but it was a big class. With a polite nod, you smiled at Gareth. “Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30 with Dr. Carr?”

Gareth’s face lit up. “Yup. God, that guy is…” He trailed off and waited for your reaction, in case you actually liked the professor for some unknown reason.

“Brutal,” you finished for him. “Are you also studying for next week’s test?” Dr. Carr had warned that no one ever passed it, which raised more questions than answers for you. Like, why give an exam that everyone fails? And what kind of sadistic asshole found joy in that?

“Trying to. But I feel like I’m just going in circles.” Gareth let out a reluctant laugh. “I was wondering if you were having better luck.”

You cocked your head towards an empty chair at a nearby table. “Grab a seat and I’ll help you.” Was this really happening? Was this super hot guy–with a goddamn lip ring–going to sit mere inches away from you and listen intently while you went full science geek? Or was this some sort of hallucination brought on by mid-semester exhaustion?

But it was very real–his cologne, his fingers brushing over yours to turn your notebook page, the way he eventually rested his chin on your shoulder as you explained different compound compositions and reactions. And when you yawned mid-sentence, the coffee he bought for you was also real–and much appreciated.

“We should meet up again tomorrow.” You suggested once you finished your drink and could barely keep your eyes open. “Maybe grab some Chinese food and study some more.”

Gareth ran his tongue over his lip ring once again. “It’s a date.”

#meet? cute.#gareth emerson #gareth x reader #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson fluff #gareth stranger things #stranger things fanfic #fanfic

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kquil · 1 year ago

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WHEN STARS ALIGN

PAIR. : Wolfstar x Lola (moot)

SUM. : soulmates only came in pairs right? so why does Lola have a matching soulmate mark to the guitarist and bassist of the rockband 'The Marauders'?

TAGS. : fluff ; rockstar guitarist sirius ; rockstar bassist remus ; they're in a band ; famous au ; soulmate au ; fan lola ; modern au ; muggle au ; hurt/comfort ; slow realisation ; hidden mark ; wolfstar!

LENGTH : 1.9k

DEDICATED TO @futurecorps3 (1k cake request)

EVENT : CLOSED

You've been a fan of the rock band ‘The Marauders’ for as long as you can remember. Their music – a blend of raw energy and lyrical depth – spoke to you in ways no other band has done before, and you weren’t the only one it seemed, considering their ever-growing fanbase. But it's not just their music that draws you in; it's the soulmate mark on your left wrist, identical to the ones Sirius Black and Remus Lupin openly display. Just the thought of it sends your heart aflutter. Quite the pessimistic grump, you didn’t want to believe it, especially because they were one of your favourite bands and your infatuation with them was getting to dangerous levels.

That wasn’t the only problem, however, soulmates are supposed to come in pairs. Never threes. At times, you wonder if your love for the band was the connection you felt to the guitarist and bassist – you didn’t want to consider yourself a pseudo-fan just for that; you truly appreciated the musical and lyrical art they produced.

Deceived into believing that it was all a coincidence or a mistake, you've kept your mark hidden beneath an array of bracelets and charms. And yet, as you stand in line for the meet and greet, hosted right after their exhilarating concert, your mark tingles, reacting to their closeness.

It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real…

The repeated phrases seems to be the only thing that’s been able to ground you tonight. Your heart is hammering in your ears as your teeth gnaw at your plump lips. Anxiously, your small hands can’t keep still and your fingers twist and coil around each other almost unnaturally, sometimes finding their way up to the longer strands of your mullet-style hair.

Your mind is a whirlwind of thoughts as you inch closer to the front of the line. Their voices become clearer and despite having just heard them sing their hearts out, your heart begins to ache again for them, it neither feels entirely bad nor good. It’s just a dull, squeezing ache that you’ve grown accustomed to experiencing every time you hear their voices in songs. Nevertheless, you've dreamed of this moment for so long. You can easily ignore that stubborn sting.

In your stomach, a precarious concoction of excitement and dread bubbles up. What if they see your mark? Looking down, you contemplate whether your bracelets cover it up enough? What if they realise you're connected to them somehow? Will they deny it like you did? The thought makes you chuckle humorlessly underneath your breath. Your only way of coping with that unbelievable revelation was to reject it all together and yet the thought of them rejecting you in return tears your heart apart.

Plagued by your thoughts, it takes you by surprise when it’s finally your turn. As you approach the table, Sirius's steel grey eyes lock onto yours immediately, sending an electrifying shiver down your spine. Next to him, Remus, with his soft, brown eyes, gives you a warm smile that makes your heart flutter. And suddenly, it’s hard to breathe. You exchange greetings and their voices are as mesmerising as their music.

“Good evening, Dollface,” Sirius winks playful, ever the flirt. Beside him, Remus chuckles and leans back in his chair, observing your curvaceous frame almost appreciatively? No, that can’t be true. You shake the thoughts away, “Did you enjoy the concert tonight?”

“Uh, yes!” you stutter subtly, starstruck but also battling your inner turmoil. Something in you wants to shout and scream and reveal your identical soulmate mark. You crave their validation over the circumstance. Will they accept you? Will they not? It’s a constant battle between which of the two potential reactions you’d rather receive from them.

“What was your favourite part?” Remus asks, his voice, warm and deep. He calms your racing thoughts and overactive nerves, his effect on you almost addictive. Sirius finishes signing off the poster you had brought for them to sign and hands it off with a ‘here you go, Moony,’, and is received by a ‘thanks, Pads,’ — if they knew, would they give you a nickname and call you fondly by it too?

“Be honest, it was my surprise guitar solo right?” Sirius teases, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he raises a curious brow at you, only to receive a light push on his shoulder by Remus. The interaction pulls a delighted giggle from your lips, which pulls their eyes to you like magnets. Between them they share a curious, bewildering and almost adrenalised look as you slowly open your dark brown eyes to meet theirs.

“That was very impressive, Siri,” it was a nickname their fandom commonly called him by but hearing you refer to him so familiarly made the dark haired, tattooed guitarist bristle up with elation. That’s never happened before with a fan… “But my favourite part was when you played Prankster’s Serenade,”

“Is that your favourite song?” Remus asks, already having finished his signing but was reluctant to hand you over to James and Peter.

“No, it’s one of my top five,” you shrug your shoulders, surprised at how easy it was to talk to them despite your racing heart — you wonder if they can hear it? — although that could have been because of your fated connection, “but I liked the dance performance the best,” the two share a laugh that makes your heart sing. It was routine for them to do a playful, unrehearsed dance every time the song’s bridge plays, it was always a fan favourite and the two soulmates loved doing it too.

“Now I’m curious,” Sirius speaks up, also not wanting to hand you over to James and Peter as he sees Remus begin to hand off your poster, “What are your top five favourite songs?”

“Hmmm…” they control their expressions as you write up the mental list of your favourite songs, but in their hearts a profound blossom of fondness blooms when they observe your adorable expression. That, and they wanted to respectfully keep away from admiring your ample bust and deliciously slim waist, “In no particular order, I like… ‘Whispers under the Willow’, ‘Prankster’s Serenade’, ‘Dance of the Stag and Wolf’, ‘Mischief Managed’ and ‘Unbreakable Vow’,” they smile at your choice of songs and regretfully hand you over to James and Peter but not before hurriedly asking for your name, apologising for their rudeness.

“I’m Lola,”

“Lola…” they repeat your name almost breathlessly and it takes everything in you to suppress the climbing heat from rising to your cheeks and exploding. Instead you smile sweetly and move on, lightly brushing Remus's fingers as you do so, sending a jolt of electricity through you. You catch the briefest flicker of surprise on his face, which was mirrored in Sirius's expression, who’s stare trailed down your arm. Hurriedly, you step forward and greet James, who gives you his signature million-watt smile.

The meet and greet goes on as normal, ending with the Marauders waving goodbye to their fans and wishing them all well collectively. They then move to the back and leave the fans to exit the venue orderly. You turn to follow the crowd but are stopped by security, who gently asks you to stay behind.

Panic sets in. You can't let them see your mark; it would change everything. Reflexively, you grip at your wrist, over your bracelets and try to calm your breathing as you wait. The crowd slowly disperses around you and leaves you alone for the security guard to finally lead you back to Sirius and Remus. They approach you with a mix of concern and curiosity on their faces.

"We felt something," Sirius begins, his voice a mixture of wonder and confusion. "When Moony touched you and when I saw your…” he pauses, eyeing your bracelets and bites his lip, choosing to not finish his sentence, “It's never happened before,”

Remus nods, his gaze intense. "It's like a piece of a puzzle clicking into place. But that's impossible, right? We're already soulmates," he gestures between him and Sirius.

Your heart simultaneously pounds in your chest and breaks apart. They felt the connection too. But were also denying it somehow… With a trembling hand, you reveal the mark on your wrist. Their reactions are a mirror of your own when you first realised it — a mix of shock and disbelief.

"This doesn't make sense," Remus whispers, his eyes not leaving your mark.

"We're supposed to be a pair," Sirius adds, his voice laced with a mix of awe and confusion.

Overwhelmed, you move your bracelets back to cover them, “That’s right…” you whisper, dejected and with tears in your eyes, “excuse me,” not meeting their eyes, you turn and hurriedly leave the venue. Behind you, you hear them call your name, but you don't stop. You need to escape. They gave you their answer — they don’t believe it, they don’t want to believe it. That’s fine. You’re fine. You already knew this would be the outcome anyway… but you hoped…you hoped that it wouldn’t be.

Once outside, the cool night air greets you, a refreshing, crisp feeling as you sprint away from the venue. You got there by bus so you just need to find the returning stop. Unknown to you, Sirius and Remus are quick to follow, Sirius on a motorcycle, and Remus, in his car. In no time at all, they catch up to you and block your path. They have you cornered with your back against a wall and your heart racing in your chest. But there's no threat in their eyes, only concern and a desire to understand.

"Lola, please," Sirius says softly, taking off his helmet and musing his hair further, "please don’t run away. Just hear us out, Doll,"

Remus's voice is gentle and calming, "we don't understand what's happening, but we want to try. Together,"

You look at them, really look at them. Sirius, with his rebellious charm and fierce loyalty, and Remus, with his quiet strength and thoughtful nature. They're more than just musicians; they're people who have somehow become a part of your life without even knowing it.

Sirius steps closer, his hand outstretched but not touching. "We've always felt something was missing, even with each other. Maybe it was you all along,"

Remus's hand joins his partner and bandmate, hovering in the space between you, "we don't have all the answers, but we want to figure this out, with you,"

Tears well in your eyes as you realise the truth in their words. You've always felt a connection to their music, to them, but you never dared to believe it could be more than the admiration of a fan. With a shaky breath, you reach out, placing your hand in theirs. The connection is immediate, a warmth spreads through you that feels like coming home.

"We'll navigate this together," Remus promises, his eyes meeting yours with a sincerity that disarms you and melts your heart.

Sirius's grip tightens around your hand, reassuring and strong, "please give us a chance, we didn’t mean to upset you,"

“We’re sorry,” Remus adds with utmost sincerity and presses a kiss to your hand. A gesture that Sirius repeats with your other. A silent apology; a promise to never hurt you again.

You have no words and all you could muster was a timid nod of your head as they pulled you into their strong, comforting embrace. The world around you fades away. And it's just you, Sirius and Remus, connected in a way you never thought possible.

A/N : out of all the storylines, i think yours was my most favourite, i honestly can't believe i came up with that plot. although, i don't think i would have been able to come up with it without your suggestions and particular, exquisite taste in tropes and au's! thank you so much for being patient with me darling, i hope this was to your liking! i really really hope it doesn't come across as too cheesy either. also, today was busier than i originally planned it to be so i don't think this piece is as well edited or proofread as my others but i promise to fix that up for you tomorrow my love! please enjoy it for now!

1K MILESTONE EVENT : CLOSED | NAVI.

1K MILESTONE MLIST

#wolfstar imagine #wolfstar x moot #wolfstar #wolfstar fic #☀︎ : 1k milestone #☀︎ : 1k #1k milestone #remus lupin #sirius black #🍰 : cake 1k #moot : lolita ❤️

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she-posts-nerdy-stuff · 3 months ago

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Literally not a single soul asked for more information about my idea for a Florence + the Machine jukebox musical of Shakespeare’s Othello (because, well, why would they?) but I have a lot of time on my hands so buckle up because you’re getting more information

(If you want to be able to better picture my mad rambling, I'd recommend playing the songs so you know what parts I'm referring to)

Opening number: 100 Years (from High As Hope)

We open on an almost empty stage with Desdemona slowly stepping into the spotlight as she sings the first few lines (I believe in you and in/our hearts we know the truth/And I believe in love and the/darker it gets the more I do); if we want to get super specific she’s wearing a white dress that’s a similar shape to the one Florence wears on the album art because just yes yes yes and also angel imagery for the win and ALSO over the course of the production her dress becomes pale pink or grey and then very gradually gets darker but in fact the nightdress she wears when she dies is back to white again. She does not bleed, people, she is the only character that dies without bleeding (!!!!!!!) and I will never shut up about that. Anyway, she sings up to the repetition of “and never, and never turn to night” with orchestral accompaniment and then when the “Then it’s just too much” line hits and the beat comes in things change. More lights come on and the chorus (wearing all black) move slowly into the stage; they’re tap dancing, creating the beat/ rhythm of the song. As they’re moving in Desdemona seems to show some level of fear towards them, constantly switching focus to see them approaching her on all sides; they represent the inescapability of her being the tragic hero. Notable: Desdemona is performing ballet and maybe some lyrical but I’m kind of imagining her en pointe for a lot of this; the chorus is performing tap. At natural breaks in the music and rhythm the tap dancers freeze in place for Desdemona to dance whilst she sings the next lines. On the second rendition of “then it’s just too much” vocal accompaniment to Desdemona’s melody begins and members of the chorus grab Desdemona’s shoulders and arms to pull her backwards, as she continues to sing she tries to break away from them and they follow her/she falls into other chorus members. They close in on her and she is completely covered until the rise in the music on the next rendition of “And then it’s just too much” when she reaches upwards and is lifted above the group, set down on the same line. The chorus continue to seemingly fight her through the next two lines. Then entrance of Othello comes on “I let him sleep, and as he does”. He does not sing yet. What we’re seeing here is more about Desdemona’s thoughts than it is actual events; Othello enters and takes Desdemona’s hand to briefly dance together, including him lowering her almost to the floor and then snatching her back to her feet again on “my heart bends and breaks so many, many times”. They stand opposite each other for “And is born again with each sunrise” and Desdemona reaches to touch his cheek. Othello catches her hand in the air and holds it so she walks with him as he begins to exit (he is walking backwards) and he sings the repeat of the line, but as they approach the wing he turns and exits alone, abandoning Desdemona on stage to be taken hold of by the chorus again in the following instrumental. For the final verse the chorus join Desdemona in singing but she is still the only main character on stage

Othello and Desdemona Duet: I’m Not Calling You A Liar (I should mention I’m not listing these in any particular order and also I do not have a copy of Othello with me rn to double check that I've got order right so I won't be trying just in case I get mixed up)

Gonna be so honest I feel like if you know the song then this one is self-explanatory, but I would also really love a quiet, sad, short reprise of it in the last scene with Desdemona on the bed reaching up to cup Othello's cheek and whispering "And I love you so much/I'm gonna let you kill me" before she dies

Emilia and Iago Duet: Back In Town

Iago and Emilia are alone on stage. The song begins after the exit of Desdemona at stage left and Emilia, who followed her almost to the wings, is subsequently standing alone at down or centre stage left and does not immediately know that Iago is standing somewhere behind her upstage right. Emilia steps slowly away from where she was been watching Desdemona leave and slowly starts to approach the audience as the music begins, and sings the first two lines believing she is still alone - Never really been alive before/I always lived in my head. Iago steps forward from the shadows and sings the next two lines (And sometimes it was easier/Hungover and half dead) taking Emilia by surprise, as though he is simply stating fact to her and she is forced to nod along and accept them . At this point Iago takes over the song and from now on sings most of it as a solo. He approaches Emilia across the stage and takes hold of her - notably by the wrist, not by the hand, to pull her in as he sings “I’m back in town why don’t we go out?” and on “spin” of the next line twirls her across the stage and straight into him so she falls against his chest and he is holding her up. The choreography continues in a relatively similar fashion as the song goes on; it is a slow dance, they are constantly close together, it is not entirely believable that Emilia wants to be there. To a casual eye it may appear that they are simply dancing together, but when you actually watch them you can see that her movements are always half a beat behind his, and always in the direction that he moves her. He never lets go of her for long, and in the brief moments of freedom that she catches she tries to move away as though it is part of the dance, as though she thinks she can hide her true intent beneath fluid motions that mimic his own, but every time he notices and forces her back. This is both a metaphor for their entire relationship and foreshadowing of her death. By the time he’s sing “And if you get spat on that’s just your big city baptism, you’re the star of the show” it is plainly evident that he is trying to convince her to do something for him. On this line Emilia finds herself with her back pressed against Iago’s chest as they both face out to the audience, his hand raised as though showing her a name is glowing lights, and she follows the movement of his hand with her head and with awe, eagerness, and the slightest edge of terror in her eyes. From here, as the lines continue, Iago turns and dips her slowly towards the floor. Emilia’s leg extends and he reaches his free arm to force her raised foot into pointe/demipointe; she is not committed to this dance, but he will force her to be. On the final lines Iago lifts her back to standing and pulls her close to him, moving her hands so she is clasping them together and he is clasping hers to his chest. He lifts her chin with his fingers so she is forced to look up at him as he sings “‘cause it’s always the same”. Still holding her chin, he looks out to the audience when he sings “I came for the pleasure but I stayed,” and it is Emilia who sings the echo “Yes, I stayed,” not at first looking at the audience but directly up to where his hand is now retracting from where he moved her to. She slowly turns her face towards the audience as they harmonise together for the final words: For the pain. On the final, low beats of the music Iago paces away and Emilia stumbles as she realises that he truly was the only thing holding her up. He exits stage right and Emilia sinks to her knees, watching him - a direct reflection of her watching Desdemona leave just three or four minutes ago on the other side.

Emilia Song 1: What Kind of Man

This will immediately follow on from the one above, thus beginning with Emilia knelt on the stage alone somewhere near centrestage right, looking out into the wings. She will sing the very opening lines exactly where she is, I envision only a very brief pause between these songs, and then slowly begin to stand and brush herself off so that she is ready to start walking towards centrestage by the time she is singing “I’d already had a sip, so I reasoned I was drunk enough to deal with it”. She sings alone at first; the stage is dark but for a spotlight on her, the orchestral accompaniment is relatively low to add emphasis to quite how complete her loneliness is in this moment - she is not safe, she does not know what to do, and the one person she can usually confide in and trust (Desdemona) is not only not here but also the very subject of the terrifying questions Emilia must now grapple with. On the higher background notes surrounding the line “and with one kiss” Emilia raises her hands and thrusts them towards her chest as though there is a blade between them, as though these hands belong to someone other than herself. She is both foreshadowing her own death with this movement, in the very pattern that her husband will commit it, and also presenting the image of her very first kiss with Iago being the thing that sealed her fate rather than anything within the content of the play: Emilia was doomed from the start, perhaps arguably doomed by the narrative, because her marriage is not one that she would have ever been able to survive. On that note I would really like to emphasise the youth of these characters so I would probably change “a fire of devotion that lasted 20 years” to “the fire of devotion that’s lasted all these years” so that we don’t get confused and tangled in the numbers of it. On this line (You inspired the fire of devotion/That’s lasted all these years) Emilia looks towards the wing where Iago exited with longing in her expression, but as she turns away her face hardens and her voice gains new vigour for the disgust and outrage with which she spits “What kind of man loves like this?”. And now we get the beat dropppppp. The music swells and gets louder; the lighting change is remarkable - lines spotlights running up and down stage, overlapping each other in places, and through them we can see the chorus moving into place. The slow, balletic movements of Emilia that have been the remnants of the control Iago instilled in her during Back In Town are abandoned completely in favour Contemporary as she paces backwards and the lights settle to illuminate the entire stage. The chorus are two lines of people all in black and Emilia, dressed in either red or grey I haven’t quite decided yet (maybe she is in grey and Bianca is in red??), is at the centre of the front line. The take up various positions with arms raised at strange angles and on the low notes of the background music turn their wrists until the beat hits - when they stamp their feet and snap their wrists into position. (Pls note I am not looking a score of anything I’m just listening to spotify so I might be badly screwing up musical terminology/details but I’m hoping you can gather which parts I mean) All participate in this until the lyrics begin. The “oohs” are sung by the chorus. When the lyrics begin Emilia steps forward to sing them, maintaining the same energy, and the chorus continue the same choreography until the repetition of “What kind of man” begins. As the repetition of these lines begins Emilia paces backwards and the two lines of chorus morph into a crowd that semi-circle close around her back. They grab Emilia on each beat, releasing her in between, and pull her in different directions as she sings (+the chorus are providing vocal accompaniment).At first it doesn’t particularly appear that she’s fighting them but as we exit the chorus to approach “You’re a holy fool all coloured blue” she does; she throws herself forwards on this line and the chorus are forced to relinquish her. She spreads her arms and the chorus are thrown backwards

Damn I just reached text block maximum whoops

The chorus are thrown backwards and spiral out to create a larger curve. Two chorus members take hold of Emilia’s arms to lift her and carry her a short distance upstage as she sings, raising and lowering her within the confines of the line “You do such damage how do you manage?” At the end of which Emilia is briefly lost in the crowd before she appears trying to force her way between two chorus members who are creating a wall in front of her, reaching out towards the audience as she sings “trynna crawl in back for more”. She gives in at the end of this line and sways sidewards as though fainting, caught by chorus members and lowered to her knees as she sings the repetition of the “and with one kiss” refrain. This time she remains on her knees for the first “What kind of man loves like this?” and then bound to her feet and continues to dance for the following. The chorus sing the following lines as Emilia dances I don’t have super specific moves in mind for this but continuing the same energy and the same style, I want everything about this to both vastly contrast and deeply reflect who she was in the previous song. Emilia begins to sing again for “But I can’t beat you/Cause I’m still with you” and the following verse, for which the chorus continue to provide vocal accompaniment. The chorus join her again when the What Kind Of Man chorus begins again. The dance and choreography continue in a similar fashion until the very last line; the chorus exit in a whirlwind and leave Emilia alone on stage as the music dies down to sing much quieter “What kind of man?” She has fallen still, her hands clutched closer to her stomach as though she is already holding the wound that will kill her

Ensemble song with Othello and other solos (maybe even to close act 1??): Howl

Starts with the stage empty except for Othello. The chorus slowly move in, all wearing flowy white costumes. The dance is one of slow, consistent movements during the intro music but on the accented notes they make sharper hand or leg motions before continues the same smooth line much slower as the music relaxes. Othello is mostly still during this but he does pace slowly into centre stage. Desdemona also slowly walks in during the intro, having returned to a long white dress instead of the pink or grey or something like that that she'll have been wearing in her previous scene. She moves very much like the chorus do, whilst Othello moves just as he usually does. Othello takes Desdemona's hands and pulls her in to dance with him as he sings the opening lines "If you could only see the beast you've made of me/I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free". It is very much that Othello is controlling the dance and Desdeoma is following him, an eerie parallel to Iago and Emilia during Back In Town. He spins her beneath his arm on the lines "Screaming in the dark/I howl when we're apart" and she leans back with her weight on one demi-pointe and in the arm he has around her, the othr leg extended. Othello sings "Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart" and leans into her, his other arm wrapping around her so the audience can barely see her. Desdemona drops into him and to her knees, now facing the audience kneeling directly in front of Othello, who takes tight hold of her shoulders and leans down towards her ear as he sings "my fingers claw your skin/try to tear my way in/you are the moon that breaks at night for which I have to howl". For most of this the chorus have been in pairs mimicking a similar dance to Othello and Desdemona, but now they have turned and are watching them, moving slowly closer. When Othello repeats the last two lines his voice is more desperate, clinging to Desdemona whilst she stares blankly out at the audience, barely seeming to notice his presence. On the rising repeat of "howl" the chorus closes in around them and pull the pair in opposite directions. Othello and the entire ensemble sing the word "howl" together. The following two lines are a repeat of this word, during which the dance becomes more rhythmic and Othello and Desdemona are moved to face each other on opposite sides of the stage. Though the chorus still appear to be attempting to separate them, they sing to each other across a gap that has formed down centrestage and are fighting to reach other. They exchange lines of the next verse as follows:

Desdemona: There's no holding back

Othello: I'm making to attack

Desdemona: My blood is singing with your voice

Othello: I want to pour it out

Desdemona: The Saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound

Othello: I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground

During this exchange they break free and meet in centre stage, taking up a dramatic dance that is mostly in hold. However, Desdemona pulls away from hold on her "The Saints can't help me now" line, and Othello draws her back in on his. Desdemona steps forwards, as though telling the audience, when she sings "like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins". Othello grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her in, leaning over her almost as though he would go to kiss her neck as he sings "I want to find you, tear out all your tenderness". Desdemona throws herself free as both of them sing the repeated "howl" lines, joined again by the chorus, but this time Desdemona's voice can distinctly be heard differently from the rest because she is not singing from any kind of power or passion but from genuine terror. By the end of this chorus Othello and Desdemon are in an almost violent dance together, half in hold and half out, big sweeping arm movements and I'm imagining that Desdemona's skirt would unpin to fan out and show a gorgeous wide black or dark red skirt that would properly like swish around whilst they were dancing and stuff (does that make sense???). They continue to dance without singing whilst the chorus, who are back in their pairs and dancing faster, more intense dances than before but none quite to the extent of the main couple, sing "Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers/Starts so soft and sweet and/turns them to hunters". I'm imagining that the chorus' skirts could also unpin in the same way so either Desdemona's would turn black and all of theirs would turn red or vice versa, but I want to kind of see some variety in the chorus outfits maybe (??) instead of them all being identical so I might have to put a bit of thought into that. Anyway the point is that after this line we get a big rhythmic chorus dancing moment and it looks super cool, they're singing the low "hunters" "howl into your heart" repetitions and moving their swishy skirts and dancing and then they part to show Othello and Desdemona again and Desdemona is now dressed in a super dramatic dress that is entirely the colour that was hidden inside her skirt and the skirt of this new dress is insane and Othello all but carries her to the front centre stage and he is all over her as he sings "the fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress/Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest/The Saints can't help me now" and everything kinda continues in a similar style with some gorgeous choreography. I'm kind of imagining there being a table on stage by the end because I want Othello to lift Desdemona onto it and her to lay down on it, don't ask me how the table got there I don't know, but this happens with the massive dramatic flowing over the sides of the table and onto the ground whilst the chorus sings "A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night/May still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright" and I'm picturing that they would sing these lines like they were a Church choir gathered around Othello and Desdemona, and they continue to sing the closing lines of the song as Desdemona stands up and Othello climbs onto to the table after her. He unpins the skirt and the fabric all falls away (removed from the stage by chorus members) like a waterfall so that he and Desdemona (who will be wearing trousers/leggings/a leoptard) beneath the skirt) can dance together on the table top whilst the chorus continue to sing, moving away from the choir-imagery and back to the earlier style. This continues right up until the very last line ("I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground") where Othello drops to his knees and clasps his arms around Desdemona's legs on the word "ground" and the curtain falls.

I am wondering if this would work for the act 1 closer????? But I'm not 100% sure where the interval would be

Emilia Song 2: Which Witch

If this isn't Emilia questioning herself for "betraying" Desdemona and whether or not she should give Iago the handkerchief then I don't know what is. I don't have loads to say about this one but the most potent lyrics for it in my opinion are these ones:

And it's my whole heart/deemed and delivered a crime/I'm on trial

Who's a heretic now/ am I making sense?

I'm miles away/He's on mind/I'm getting tired of crawling all the way

I'm not beaten by this yet/You can't tell me to regret/Been in the dark since the day we met/Fire help me to forget

And it's my whole heart/while tried and tested, it's mine

And it's my whole heart/burned but not buried this time

We'd have all of these lines (ie most of the song) whilst she's weighing up what she ought to do and she'd feeling really strong but then there's a small musical interlude where Iago comes on stage without her expecting him to, they speak briefly and she hands the handkerchief over; he walks away as she tries to ask him what he intends to do with it, chasing after him until he physically shoves her off and keeps walking. Emilia falls to the ground and as the music sweels again she sings the closing lines "Chained and shackles, oh/I'll unravel, oh/It's a pity, oh" [she gets to her feet] "Never to return/But I never learn/It's a pity, oh" and then repeats it with particular emphasis on the transition from "Never to return" to "Say I won't return". By the time she finishes the final rendition of "it's a pity, oh" the orchestra has almost completely died out and she wanders alone offstage humming the final few notes to herself

I could keep going...

Maybe I will at some point but I'm tired now

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divine-crows · 9 months ago

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Grimoire/Bos Prompts or Research Topics for the Witch that Doesn’t Know What To Do Next

(Pt. 2/4)

Another list with ideas, as always, these ideas and prompts by no means belong to me, and if you’d like, check out my first post for more prompt-type ideas (hopefully I’ll remember to link the first one before I post this.)

- What does each season mean to you and what are witchy activities, spells, and rituals you can do during these seasons? This one is pretty self-explanatory. A cool idea I had for it is dedicating a page to each season and including something from each season in it (like a pressed leaf for fall, pressed flower for spring, etc.) You can also include how plants or the weather usually looks during each season (An idea courtesy of Molly Roberts on YT).

- If you like fantasy novels-- how their magic differs from real magic, things you wish fantasy authors would incorporate or do, and any phrases that speak to you on a magical level. You could also write a sort of self-analysis about why you like the genre and any possible magical ties. (Ex. maybe you like fantasy novels because you realized it’s the only way you really see magic in media, or maybe it’s indulging the inner child in you that still wants to shoot fire out of your hands).

- Music, Art pieces, or general Artists that give you magical vibes. You can also put the lyrics, the art, or something pertaining to the artist in a page/use it to decorate empty space. This also can tie into pop magic.

- If you play an instrument and have something like a string that can’t be used anymore, write about it and find ways you can magically incorporate it, and if you want, you can find a way to decorate the page with said object. This can be extra fun if you use the instrument for magical workings, and it can also apply to things like old art supplies.

- Your heritage and how you can use it in your craft. This can range from a list of types of magical concepts that relate to your heritage, to whole practices and paths that were made that your far back ancestors would have used. You can list these types of magic and: 1) list the history of them 2) talk about how it’s connected to you [is it personal? Is it something you want to make personal?] 3) Are there factors about it that should be considered? [is it a part of a practice, did another group influence/use it?]. This can be useful because it gives you a way to connect further with your practice and to take a fun adventure where you can learn more about yourself. Always be aware of other cultural factors and don’t appropriate.

- How you prefer leaving offerings. Most likely, you’ve at some point learned how to leave offerings (whether it’s working with deities, or with nature in general), and you’ve found a way to leave offerings that work for you. Maybe you prefer praying/speaking before or after leaving an offering, maybe you just leave an offering with a brief couple of words, or maybe you prefer leaving art you’ve made from paintings to poems. Further, maybe you prefer having an outside altar versus an inside one and vice versa, or any of those things might vary depending on what you’re communicating with. Write about it, and why you do it for future use.

#grimoire inspiration #grimoire prompt #witchcraft #witch #witchblr #divination #book of shadows #bos inspiration #bos ideas #bos prompts #grimoire #witches of tumblr #magic research #magic #witchy #grimoire prompts #witch research

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alivingolive · 19 days ago

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First of all, whose idea was it for Billy Joel to be born so long before me? Now I’m stuck in a timeline where I’m frantically hoping he doesn’t call it quits before I can see him live (IT SUCKS 😣)

I’ll admit, there’s a certain charm in being late to the party—like finding a book everyone’s read and realizing it’s every bit as good as they said. That’s how his music feels to me: timeless.

So.. this leaves me with no choice but to dive headfirst into a very enthusiastic (and probably incoherent) rant about his music.

This is probably just me and my low-level understanding of music (i'm self-aware, okay?), but I’ve never experienced anything like his discography before.

Usually, I’ll find one or two songs I love, a few I like, and the rest are... there. But with his works? Well, I’m not saying every single track is a masterpiece (calm down, super fans), but liking almost 90% of someone’s work? That’s unheard of for me.

Maybe I just don’t “get” other artists, or maybe I’m just clueless about music. Either way, he’s different. I’m over here liking entire albums. Who does that? Is this what having standards feels like?

Now, after hours of unnecessary self-inflicted stress (and questioning whether I even understand what “favorites” mean), I’ve landed on a top three.

Is this ranking stable? Absolutely not. But for now, these are the songs I’m obsessively replaying while pretending this choice isn’t tearing my soul apart. Let’s unpack them while I still believe in my own decisions. (spoiler: i don’t)

Got to Begin Again is the first. This song doesn’t just ask you to feel; it demands it. And I’m not usually the type to be all lyric-driven, but this one? It kind of broke me.

The whole thing feels like it’s saying, “Look, life sucks, but it’s cool. You’re fine... Probably.” (notice the optimism dripping off that word) And the melody? It’s like the universe is both yelling at you and patting you on the back at the same time.

I don’t know how he managed to create the musical equivalent of a therapist with zero solutions but a really good playlist, but here we are.

And Going to Extremes? Don’t even get me started.

“And if I stand or I fall, it’s all or nothing at all.”

That line is so ridiculously good it makes me want to get up and do something dramatic—like, quit my job, burn a bridge or two, and then confidently walk into… I don’t know, the nearest cafe? Because I didn’t plan that far ahead.

For exactly four minutes and twenty-three seconds though, I’m convinced I’ve got life all figured out.

Then there’s 52nd Street. I’m not even going to try and pretend I understand what’s happening in the music (do me a favor and listen to the 1:02-1:19 part)

I don’t know why it works, I don’t know how it works, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel—but wow, does it work.

It’s so perfect it makes my brain short-circuit. It’s the musical equivalent of staring at a masterpiece in an art gallery and thinking, “I don’t get it, but I love it.”

And... it’s frustrating because I know just enough about music to know that I know nothing (cue existential dread) Like, how does someone even create something like this? It’s so good it feels unfair.

But here’s the thing: I’ve always loved music—it’s been a big part of my life—but now it feels different. For the first time, I feel like I want to do something with that love for music.

Like, he’s set some kind of invisible bar that I have no business trying to meet, and yet, here I am. It’s not about connecting with people or becoming the next big thing, though. Honestly, I don’t care if no one ever hears it (definitely a lie)

But.. I want to take all the messy, confusing, slightly chaotic parts of me and turn them into something that makes sense—something that sounds like me (no clue how to do that)

So yeah, he’s officially turned my interest in music into an existential crisis. I’m supposed to be figuring out how to do something with this inspiration, but instead, I’m writing yet another long-winded Tumblr post about him while procrastinating on literally everything else in my life.

#billy joel #motivated until the song ends #billysaidso #totallynotfangirling #Spotify

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yourforeverokay · 2 years ago

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The Meaning Behind the Song (Elvis Presley x Reader) pt. 1

word count: 1,4k

summary: A new life is waiting for you in Memphis, Tennessee as you take off with your car. You face some troubles on the way there, but luckily you meet a handsome boy insisting to help you.

a/n: Hey my loves! I've decided to start a new series and I'm very excited! This doesn't mean that I won't continue What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, this only means that I will post more for you guys. I hope you like the start of this series and accept it with open arms. And as always, you can imagine Elvis, Austin or Austin!Elvis as the character, it's all up to you! I hope you enjoy the start of a new beginning and a new story. Thank you <3

A new life - that's what you were going towards to. Chasing dreams were either going to get you on stage in front of shining lights and adoration from people who loved your art. It could also crush you and leave you for dead. You knew the risks of this field and you knew that you would have to deal with any kinds of consequences that you would face during your journey, but you were ready. Ready to take the next step, ready to take the leap and ready to do what you actually love. That's why you were currently on your way to Memphis, Tennessee. 'Let the story begin' You thought to yourself as you started the engine in your car and left your old life behind.

You couldn't believe it. You were on your way to a new city and to your new apartment which was located in a small and isolated town called Memphis. You had met Sam Phillips, the producer of Sun Records, in your home town when he was looking for new talents for his up-and-coming recording studio. It was the only chance for you to try to show your talents to the world, and you couldn't miss it. It was just you and your guitar, head filled with big dreams. Luckily Sam Phillips loved your song and performance so you immediately got signed in. He gave you one requirement though. "You need to move to Memphis or else the business won't work. You have two weeks." He said after shaking your hand.

So here you were, in your father's old car driving yourself to Memphis with only two bags, a guitar and a lot of hope. The car ride was going to be long but with the excitement bubbling in your stomach, you could not care less about it. The radio was blasting country songs and the volume was on the highest level. As you were arriving closer to Memphis, the radio started to play local songs from none other than the Sun Records. "And now let us hear the new single released by the Sun Records 'That's All Right'" Suddenly an old song you loved played through the radio but it wasn't what you were expecting it to be. It was different, but in a good way. A young boy sang the song with such passion and talent that you were immediately interested. You started tapping your finger against the steering wheel and sang the lyrics with the boy.

"That's all right now mama, anyway you do"

You put your sunglasses on and put your foot on the gas petal as the wind blew your hair back. You had your 2nd best clothes on (1st were reserved for the first official meeting with Sam Phillips) because you wanted to give a good first impression to your neighbors. You were wearing a white dress, red sunglasses that had thick frames and some red heels. You had your nails painted cherry red and you had also bought a new lipstick that you had on. The name of the lipstick was "The Kiss of Lust" which your mother did not approve but she let you buy it anyways. As the radio was playing, the wind blowing and the sun shining, suddenly a bump on the road took you off your thoughts. The car started to slow down and confusion took over your mind. 'What on earth was that' You thought to yourself. Your father's car completely stopped and as you tried to restart it, it wouldn't bug. You stepped out of the car and saw a flat tire. "Oh, no no no. This can't be happening to me!" You cried as you tried to look for housing close to by. You needed help from anybody but you didn't see no houses or anything close by. You sat back in your car and the tears started falling. 'Not today'

"Excuse me miss!"

You had cried so loudly for tens of minutes that you hadn't heard a car pull up next to you. You looked to your left and saw a truck that said Crown Electric CO. on the side of it. You then turned your head to look at the driver and my god, was he dreamy. A young man with dark hair and ocean blue eyes, was sitting on the driver's seat and his hand was resting on the opened window. "Miss, ya look like you're in some big trouble ther' ." His voice was deep, but smooth. His voice mesmerized you but also you couldn't help but to wonder why it sounded so familiar. You pushed the thought out of your mind since you were in a hurry. "Oh, yes! I seem to have a flat tire but I don't know how to fix it since I don't have a spare tire." You answered. You were lucky you had your sunglasses on since the crying probably made your eyes puffy. The man got out of his car and he was taller than you had expected. "Mind if I look at it, miss?" He asked very politely. He called you miss even though you both looked the same age, about 18. He looked and observed the tire for a minute, went back to his truck and took a brand new tire out of the trunk. He then rolled his sleeves and got to work. You were amazed. A handsome boy was changing your tire, with sweat dripping from his forehead. You couldn't help but bite your lower lip as you watched him fix your car. In minutes, the tire was changed and you were ready to continue your trip.

Before you did that, you had to get this boy's name, even though you were probably never going to meet again. "Thank you so much for helping me! But I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name?" You informed him as you stood up from the seat of your car. "My name is Elvis Presley and it was my pleasure to help you miss.." "Y/L/N, but just call me Y/N." You smiled at him sweetly and he returned the smile. He offered his hand for you to shake, but for your surprise, he kissed the top hand like a true gentleman. You cheeks turned as red as your sunglasses while he gave you a cheeky smile. You stood there for a second, lost in his eyes, while he was still holding your hand. "Could you wait for a second?" You asked Elvis as your hand left his and you turned to walk towards your car. "Oh I could wait all day for ya, sugar." He said with a smug look on his face as your head turned to look at him while your legs kept moving. You shook your head, dumbfounded, not knowing how to reply to that comment. You bent over the door of your car and grabbed some paper you could find and a pen from your purse. You then wrote your number and your name, with a heart, on a tiny piece of bubblegum wrapper and then you walked back over to him. "This is for you." You handed him the wrapper as he looked what was written on it. "As way of showing my gratitude, Elvis." You smiled at him and walked back over to your car, now to sit in it.

"I'm sorry, but I need to continue my trip now. " You said to him, with a hint of sadness in your voice. The uncertainty of not knowing if he would ever call you washed your thoughts but you did not let the boy see it. You wanted to seem confident...and sexy. As you started your engine, Elvis stopped you for a brief second by taking a hold of the car door. "I'll call ya, I promise. Until next time, honey." He then winked his eye at you and walked back to his truck. You were shocked, but incredibly pleased, with his flirting since the guys back home didn't do it as much (or as well). The red on your face couldn't get any worse so you left the scene, hoping to meet that boy again.

"Bye Elvis!" You yelled while waving your hand, not looking back, from your speeding car as you disappeared far into the distance.

#elvis presley #elvis film #austin butler elvis #elvis imagine #elvisaaronpresley #elvis x reader #elvis 2022 #austin elvis x reader #austin butler x reader #austin butler imagines #austin butler #austin!elvis x reader #elvis baz luhrmann #baz luhrmann elvis #elvis x y/n #elvis presley fluff #elvis x you #austin x reader #austin elvis imagine

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androgynousblackbox · 3 months ago

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How To Lose a Lucifer In 10 Days. 29 [Appleradio, Radioapple]

Step 29: Lose him

Truth be told, Alastor could be having a worst time. He could be the one that Heaven was making scrumbleg eggs out of his mind and memories just to keep him from being rightfully pissed off at them. He could be the one with his own magic restricted or not have any magic at all with which avoid feeling absolutely defenseless while being imprisoned.

Obviously there were a lot of thing he would rather change, his imprisonment being one of the first items on the list. Very close to it, the companion he had been imprisioned with. After a month since the last Extermination, they had finally managed to get their captors into giving them better accomodations and some ammenities to their cell. A chimney, library, his own radio and two actual beds that were still in opposite sides, Alastor was convinced it was mostly because of his own good behavior. The Lucifer of his own dimension could ask for the exact same thing whenever his siblings came around and nothing would happen, regardless of how "tame" he was. Alastor did and whatever change was required took only one day, if not less. Essentially giving to him all the control over what happened on their cells, which of course translated in the style of decoration heavily inclined to his own preferences.

It made it more comfortable, of course, as much it was still a cell from which neither of them could escape from. Whatever accomodation Lucifer wanted, had to go through him, putting the king on the not at all comfortable position to submit to his own mercy. The thing was, it happened so rarely already, and they were such small things, that Alastor didn't even find any satisfaction on pretending like he could refuse any of them. It didn't even seemed like if he did, Lucifer would care that much.

Just another thing to look sad and stay laying looking at the ceiling, or pace around the cell without saying a word, or to sigh continuesly like the wife of a sailor waiting for the boat of her love to appear on the horizon, always looking to the hallways for the next update on what their other versions were going through.

That part bothering him. It's like he didn't even care about the art supplies, the boardgames, the music or anything else that Alastor had manipulated his siblings into giving them, pretending it was all for himself, for the good of their supposed relationship. Whatever enjoyment the ex-king would take out of those distractions was soon covered up by his questions. How did he thought their other versions were doing. Where were they. How long was it going to take to be there.

Oh, and Charlie. One time of mentioning her name casually was all it took for Alastor to learn that was a bad idea, to never do that again. The man stayed two days straight in bed, refused to eat, refused to talk, refuse to engage him at all, and sure, on an purely intellectual abstract level Alastor could understand that. On a practical real one, though, he hated it on such a way he couldn't even explain it.

It wasn't supposed to happen like that. The other Lucifer was annoying because all of the attention he dedicated to him was merely a proxy for another Alastor, an entirely indedependent entity from himself. This Lucifer, on the other hand, was giving more attention and space to both that Alastor and his Lucifer to even notice any of the concesions that the radio demon was bothering to do for him. To try to make their forced cohabitation also somewhat tolerable, that is.

There were moments in which Lucifer was actually with him, though. In a couple of ocassions Alastor cranked up the puns in a row, one after another, in a chain of absolute hits that had Lucifer positively wheezing. When he managed to get him interested on the piano he brought on, he would play a silly circus theme song with made up lyrics that made no sense whatsoever. Something about ducks with machetes eating crepes in Wednesday. But the words ryhmed, it made them laugh and for a moment, for one singular, unique moment, Alastor thought they could have done something like that at the hotel already. Instead of pretending like they had nothing in common and it was worth it to treat each other like enemies. Exchange creative insults was all well and good, but those moment were not that bad either. It was a real pity that it took dimensional hopping and becoming prisoners of Heaven to start to see that. But no matter what they were doing, Lucifer's ever present melancholy because of whatever was happening outside, to other people, to another Alastor to top it all off, always came back.

Becuase of all of that, Alastor found himself trying to retain the attention of the not monarch as much as he could. It was like a sneeze that could kept attacking his nose whenever he just knew Lucifer was thinking of them, like a new six senth that had his ears twitching on top of his head. Someone had to care about not bringing the entire mood of the cell down the entire time, after all. Apparently that someone had to be him because Lucifer just couldn't stop worrying about his favorite Alastor. The one that, for all they knew, was never going to be allowed to see his ex-royal face again in case it could break the stupid spell, so there was even less of a point to dedicate him that much thought.

That day, especially, Alastor's patience was running thin. There he was, setting up a plate with sweet cookies, on the table he had gotten them, playing with the cards that he had asked for and he was being so uncharacteristically nice that Lucifer should be thanking him on his knees. He had only cheated one time and insulted Lucifer's performance with such soft curve balls that he should have easily returned them back to him. And yet, that still wasn't enough to have Lucifer stop tapping his hoove on the carpet he asked for, looking at the golden bars that made their confinment as if any minute now it was going to bring the solution to all of his worries, his mind forever from the game or anything related to him. It was enough to drive any man insane. Would it really kill him to at least look at him? To stop acting like he was merely another decoration in the cell?

As he glared at the the tiny devil, he noticed that he haven't even touched the damned cookies. Did he thought he asked those for himself? Who was going to eat them if not him? Barely containing the impulse to throw everything to the garbage, Alastor took a deep breath and tried for one last resource.

"How about we make this round more interesting with a bet?" proposed, tapping with his finger hard enough in the table for Lucifer took at him.

But it was so briefly before he was taken out again.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" asked, supporting his chin on his hand.

He wasn't even double checking his cards to see if he had more chances of winning or losing. He did not care about either. That was the last push that Alastor needed.

"How about something simple like a kiss?" let out, grinning when Lucifer finally, finally, turned his eyes back up to him. "Winner to the loser. Since neither of us can exchange goods here, a little challenge seems to be in order."

Lucifer blinked as if he haven't understood his words. Thinking about them or about his own confusion rather than in dwelling on every thing they couldn't change about their situation.

"Of course, if you have so little faith on your abilities as a player, your Majesty, I completely understand if you want to forfeit at once."

That, at least, seemed to bring Lucifer out of his daze and straighten up. His mouth opened up, either to reply with some teasing of his own, deny or suggest anything else entirely, it didn't matter at all which as long at least it was talking to him directly for once, when a voice cheerfully called from the other side of the bars.

"Knock knock" called Gabriel and Lucifer let his cards on the table, ignoring the cookies, not minding that Alastor could cheat so much more easily now, as he moved to face his sibling. "Oh, hi, Luci."

"So?" asked immediately. "Are we getting out? Are they getting out? Did the prophecy died down now? What is it now? What, Gabe?!" insisted when the archangel didn't respond as quickly as he was requiring.

Gabriel sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"Actually, I came to pick up Alastor" said, lifting his head until he could focus on the sinnner. "You are moving out of here."

"Out of here where exactly?" asked Alastor, now standing up from his own seat.

"Is he going back to Hell?" wanted to know Lucifer.

The preemptive hope in his voice at the idea did warmed up Alastor a little. He knew already that his own incarcelation was one of those things the man thought about, because of the whole feeling responsible for him, but it was nice to see it in real time all the same.

"N-no, not yet" Gabriel moved to a side of the cell and made a gesture. The hands of Lucifer attached to the bars, preventin any other movement from him, but he was expecting it at least.

"You are not going to just try to separate us by putting him in another cell, right?" tried Lucifer still, as if already panicking about it.

"It's not a cell" said, touching one of the golden bars until a space big enough for him to come in opened up. "Evelyn Morraine has been given especial permission to keep watch over him and the other Alastor. I need to take him to see her."

"Evelyn…?" Lucifer frowned for a moment. It didn't took long for the proverbial lightbulb to turn on at top of his head. "His mom?!"

His shock was almost as big as Alastor's was. So much that Alastor didn't even questioned from where did Lucifer heard the complete name of his mother. Gabriel nodded.

"Sera has just given the go ahead" said, turning to the radio demon. Alastor felt like he had been just turned into a mannekin, without the ability or knowledge of what to do with his limbs now. It wasn't the same woman who raised him, not really, but she had the same name and unless his own eyes had tricked him that day, she looked remarkably similar to the woman he knew in life. "As long you promise to behave yourself, not cause any trouble and, well, avoid certain topics around the other Alastor, then you can both stay with her at her house."

Alastor should be trotting down the hallways right at that moment, ready and willing to enjoy some relative freedom under those conditions, no questions asked. But instead he pointed at the ex-king with his staff.

"What about him?"

"Luci still has to stay" Gabriel, to his favor, had the decency of avoid looking at both as he said that. "Sorry, but even with the handcuffs on, people could get very nervous around him. You too, so that is why you and the fallen are getting spells to disguise yourselves."

Alastor for a moment stared at the archangel, almost wanting to ask how and why were they allowing him out then when he was supposed to be such a threat he was worth taking out from his own dimension. But he had never been a man that questioned his own luck and he wasn't about to start now. He did, however, threw a glance to the devil.

Lucifer should be able to walk away too. That just wasn't a question in his mind. The devil seemed to notice his hesitation and seemed surprised by it, but only for a second. He offered him up a smirk and Alastor did his absolute to not react to it, to pretend like he didn't felt at least a little reassured by it, because it made no sense whatsoever.

"It's fine, we can keep playing another time" said the devil with a slight shrug. "I am sure this bullshit is going to end sooner than later, right?" added with a harsh tone, lowerig his eyebrows when looking at the archangel.

"We may, actually" said Gabriel, perking up a little. "Right now the prophecy is weaker than ever before. If it becomes completely obsolete, both of you can go home."

Alastor noticed he wasn't including their other versions, but didn't ask for more clarification. Lucifer didn't, probably because he was already imagining they were going to still be harder on those two.

"Fingers crossed" said Lucifer, allowing a quick smile as Alastor started walking out. "Say to Evelyn hi from me!" yelled just when they were about to go down the stairs and Alastor turned his head, but the devil had already gone inside.

Gabriel took him for a path that he had never done before, one that Alastor was sure now that on his own probably wasn't een going to appear for him. At the end of it, there was a big door in front of which Jophiel was already waiting next to the other Alastor, casually examining his own claws. The archangel himself was keeping himself a good distance away. Upon hearing their steps coming closer, the other radio demon grinned without any of the hidden threat that Alastor had been used to when their first met. He

"Well, it has been a while, hasn't it?" greeted the man, perking up a little. "Nice to make your acquantance again, temporary brother of mine."

Alastor tried to avoid it, but his eyes did end up glozing over the abdomen of his other version. An ugly sensation ran through him at realizing he did look slightly plumper than his usual self. It wasn't that noticeable unless compared with his own completely flat stomach, and anyone would be forgiven for believing that he just had a huge meal, but it was there. The thought to wonder if his Lucifer had seen it or even knew about it did cross his mind before he pushed it away.

"Is that our cover story?" asked.

"Might as well" The fallen shrugged slightly. "Now, personally, I don't see the point as to why you should come in, but from what I have been told, my mother insisted. I imagine you know already what happens when Evelyn Morraine sets out to do anything if ours are anything similar to each other. Who I am to fight the inevitable?" Despite his words, the man was grinning with an evident proud twinkle in his eyes that Alastor could fully reflect back no problem.

Only his mother was going to be able to have Heaven doing her will rather than the other way around.

"Understandable position" agreed Alastor with a slight nod and for a moment, for the first time they met, they both smiled sincerely at recognizing each other as the son of the same kind of woman.

"Evelyn should tell you herself what you have to say to explain why you are there" said Gabriel. Alastor noticed that despite his other version being as calm as ever, he was still looked aprehensive to the fallen and also staying a few steps of distance. He walked calmly to Alastor and extended a hand to ask for his. Luckily for him, the angel didn't actually touch him as he draw a quick symbol over his palm. "Close your fist, please."

He did. As soon his hand opened up again, it was the warmth pinkish palm of a human looking hand and dark brown skin over his palm. Alastor looked that even his clothing had been changed for a white shirt and red trousers with grey suspenders. When Jophiel, very quickly, and jumping back as soon as he could, did the same for the fallen, he was wearing a similar outfit with dark blue pants. His face wasn't that far away from how they looked while alive, maybe with less of a pointy chin and hair pure black rather than the brown they sported before. A thin moustache on top of his lips completely the look.

That and the angel wings, for which the fallen looked not impressed at all. Alastor catched his own over his shoulder and something about that did feel so intrinsically, inherently wrong that he had to repress the impulse to try to rip them out.

"As you know, not a word of what we are trying to do here" warned Gabriel to both of them, but mainly talking to Alastor, as if already deciding he was going to be more receptive. "Not about the prophecy or anything. It could cause a panic between the winners and that is the last thing we want. We will keep watching just to make sure everything is fine" He waited for Alastor to nod before continueing. "Oh, and you can't actually fly so don't try to. Those wings are solid, but think of them as decorative. You won't be able to move them like real wings."

"Oh no" pretended to lament Alastor. As if he wanted to even attempt that. If Gabriel even as much noticed the sarcasm, he didn't make notice of it.

"Do mine really need to be out?" asked the fallen. His wings fluttered lightly behind him, which only caused him to grimace with disgust.

"If you want anyone to believe you are a winner staying with Evelyn Morraine, yes" Gabriel frowned slightly, like he couldn't understand what was so bad about them.

Just because of that gesture, the fallen was glad to inform him.

"They are gross, ugly and stupid" said simply, with almost childish delight when the two archangels were taken aback. "I would rather have them burn permanently, please. I don't mind a little bit of bleeding, as you both well know."

Jophiel took another step back. Gabriel stayed in place, looking a little bit sick but shaking his head with resolution. He was not going to deal with that.

"Just please behave" asked, directing them both through the door.

On a huge lobby they entered, Alastor noticed the door behind them dissapearing into the a wall. His ear twitched softly when he could hear some step running up to them. Before he could fully turn, the short woman that he saw on the heavenly meeting had already arrived to him to squeeze him together with the fallen. Alastor for a moment was stunned by the fact that he could recognize her perfume. She was clearly on a younger form that he remembered from his childhood, her hair was different, and obviously the halo was new, but there was no way to ever confuse her by anyone else. For one second he was again smaller than her and she was rocking him on the couch while the radio played on the corner, softly humming the tunes while tappig her feet on the floor. Her arms were soft, welcoming and nothing hurt.

Then she pulled back and her eyes sparkled, cupping his cheek with one hand while doing the same for the fallen.

"Oh, the only thing I am sorry about is that I don't get to see your pretty faces" she sighed, giving them a gentle pat before she smiled, looking between them. "I guess for one of you this is technically the first time we are together, isn't it?

"That would be me, maam" said Alastor.

"Oh, a polite one! At least I know now that your mother taught you some manners" Evelyn nodded, chuckling softly as she patted his arm. "Pleasure to be meeting you, sweetheart. I must warn you right now that, from another woman or not, you are going to be my baby boy under my roof and I expect nothing else but total compliance to that notion. Or else" added, lifting a finger to the air.

"I tremble with fear at the prospect" Alastor nodded his head, smiling wide. "I will correspond accordingly, if you don't mind."

"None at all!" Evelyn then looked over to her actual Alastor and cupped his cheek again, her smile suddenly heavier than a second before. "How are you, sweetie?"

The fallen relied against the contact of his mother, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Better now" said with a sigh.

"Poor baby" Evelyn cooed as she brushed her knuckles over the line of his jaw. She exhaled and grabbed the arms of both of them, holding them against against herself, firmly. "I already heard all the talk I need to know from you" said to the archangels, lifting her chin. "I know how to take care of my family. Do we have any other business to discuss? No? Then by all means, you are all welcome to pay us a visit later on until you all decide they had enough already."

Without waiting a response, Evelyn started walking down the lobby to the biggest entrance that took to the center of all of Heaven. The archangels didn't try to stop them either as Alastor came to know that part of his prison for the first time.

The hatred was almost instantaneus. Why did everything had to be so shiny and perfectly cleaned up? Where was the life, the wear, the tear, the color? Even the clean air that he was forced to breath was something his body wanted to reject, making it into a necesary effort those few first seconds. Looking to the man at the other side of his mom, he could see that the fallen wasn't especially glad to be part of that environment again either. Somehow that did brought a strange sense of comfort. At least they weren't unique on that aspect.

As the woman kept moving, she told him all about her favorite places to visit and to what to do. There is where she got her favorite tea ever. On that place you always got the best flowers to live up any place. That chocolate place has the nicest clerk ever, but don't mind his broken English. She wasn't treating them at all like they were prisoners or potential threats for anyone, and Alastor wouldn't have expected anything else from her. When they reached the building where she lived, a trip up the elevator later, they were on her apartment. Alastor had never see it before, but it didn't cost him a single thing to believe that was were his mother, or at least a woman remarkably similar to her, lived.

"Who are we supposed to be, mother?" was the first thing that the fallen asked, as soon the door was closed behind them.

"My cousins Eric and Leopold, dearie" said Evelyn, taking out her scarf to hang near the door and going to the kitchen. "You remember them, right? They brought the best christmas presents for all children. I always thought that they should have been here anyway."

Alastor and the fallen looked at each other, confirming that they both, indeed, had the same memories about those men.

"Mom, they were both working for the mob boss in town" informed her the fallen.

"They took care of the competition and exorted people to pay for their protection" added Alastor with a shrug. "Nice men otherwise."

"What" Evelyn peeked quickly from her kitchen, tea pot still in hand. "Are you not playing tricks on me, honey?"

"How do you think they got the money for all those presents? I thought everyone in the city knew already" the fallen couldn't help to chucke at the consternation of his mother.

"Well, apparently not!" Evelyn huffed, returning inside. "And to think I almost called you Eric on their honor! Really goes to show how much you get to know people."

"We can always avoid mentioning that detail about their past if anyone asks" commented Alastor, looking around the place. "We can go with the cover story they used."

"Humble shoemakers that did a bit of everything when there was the chance" agreed the fallen.

"So be it then!" A few minutes later Evelyn came out with a tray, shaking her head. She took the content to the small table in front of her couch and called them over. Two mugs of black coffee and one for her tea. "I still can't believe it. And they were so kind to the kids on the neighborhood."

"Well, the kids didn't had money for protection anyway" joked Alastor, earning himself a familiar pout from his mother.

"I see you have the same sense of humour too. Lucky me" Evelyn sighed and sat down, suddenly perking up to the fallen. "Now that is out of the way, tell me everything you know about my grandchild! They told me a little bit already, but I want to hear it from you!"

Alastor tensed up a little. How much meant a little bit? Have they told her about how she couldn't be asking him about the other parent? About how everything to do with Lucifer, Charlie and Emily as topics had to be avoided at all cost or else it could actually harm the mind of the fallen? Did she know about the whole magic transference issue and what it needed to happen so the baby could keep growing? In fact, he didn't know about that either. Have they found an alternative solution after all or were just going to send a donor to work on the fallen? But as much as he wanted to satiate his own curiosity, he stayed behind the couch as the fallen made a simple gesture of his hand, closing all the windows in the place.

Once they were completely isolated, the fallen made a fist two times. The illusion that made him into a wider man dissapeared, leaving behind his usual grey face and red hair. Alastor looked at his own hand and repeated the same gesture, finding his own hand a second later. He kept his face just as neutral as ever, as if he knew that was going to happen, even though he had no idea. Back to show his real face, the fallen smiled bigger as he sat down on the couch, patting his stomach.

"They had me seeing a doctor before coming here. The baby is currently at 9 weeks and everything is normal with them now. As long I keep taking care of them, they will be out sooner than later!" The fallen chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "I will admit, they were really not part of my plans originally, but I am nothing if not flexible. You don't have to worry, mother" assured, reaching over to pat the hand that Evelyn was pressing against her own knee. He was right to read her body language as worry, but didn't understand the extent of it. "I will provide for them to the best of my ability. I didn't came to have the position I enjoy by not being able to take care of myself. As far I am around, they will be safe and care for. They will never lack a single thing."

"Oh, sweetie, I know" Evelyn covered his hands with her, giving them a reassuring squeeze. She bended over slightly to leave a kiss on the back of his palm, almost hiding her watery eyes. "I fully trust you will be an amazing parent, sweetheart. I know you will."

The fallen nodded, directing a glance over to Alastor as he took one of the mugs of coffee. For once he was trying to be tactful and pretend the whole interaction had nothing to do with him, but he should have known that no good deed ever went unpunished, not even in Heaven.

"Did they tell you he is having a baby too?" asked the fallen with a slight tilt of his head. The reaction from Evelyn was immediate. She straigthen up on her seat and her head snapped to the other radio demon, who could only stare back at her as if frozen. "You have even less to worry from him, though" added casually, taking a sip from his mug. "His is from the Lucifer of his dimension. Having the king from Hell himself as a partner has to make a lot of things easier."

Alastor didn't miss the bitter note at the end of his words, despite the same neutral indifferent smile not changing one bit. Any other being could have missed it entirely, but not him, not when it was his own voice talking. Truth be told, the whole situation would have been highly hilarious looking from the ouside. Pure irony to have that response coming from the demon that was glad to brag about how his marriage would facilitate having a child in Hell, now dealing with someone else having that fate instead. But since he was living it from the inside, Alastor could only feel a wave of irritation towards those stupid angels who insisted on implanting that narrative on his other version. They were already taking away a big portion of the hellish life of the man, what did another chunk of information missing would do?

He even considered telling both right and then that it was all a lie that Lucifer made up at the last moment. No baby, no future grandchild, no relationship either. Just a stupid convenient lie. But doing so would form part of the whole breaking the sense of reality of the fallen and Lucifer had told him enough times already about how the consequences could be devastating. After they had already tried to rearrenge his mind before and it didn't stick, he was more susceptible than before. That was part of the reason why Lucifer remained so concerned about receivin updates on the pair.

Sure, he could say he didn't care and still spill the beans, see what happened. But somehow having a version of his mother staring back at him, made it impossible.

"Indeed" said, completely deadpan through gritted teeth. "We couldn't be happier."

Evelyn frowned softly, weirded out, but accepting the hand gesture of Alastor to leave it alone for now. After he gave a few more vague details, Evelyn showed told the fallen that he could use the same guest room tha he had during his redemption and Alastor was welcome to take the bed she put on her craft room. It wasn't much, but if he ever needed anything else then he better didn't hesitate once second into telling her and she would make sure it could be handled. Both of them had clothing waiting on the closet to the sizes she remembered, but they could always change it later on if they wanted to. She wanted both of them to be as comfortable as possible while they stayed there.

After the little tour, the fallen announced that he was going to take a shower and get changed into something else. That sounded like a great idea that Alastor was going to use as soon the bathroom was free. For now, Evelyn invited him to come dry up her dishes as she cleaned them up. The oldest excuse in the book to talk without fearing they could be heard.

"Sweetie…" started Evelyn, not sure of how to open the topic.

Alastor didn't mind giving her a helping hand.

"No, I am not really with child" said calmly, putting away a dried plate. "Your Majesty made that up so I could keep my magic. We also have no relationship whatsoever. But now they made that part of what that man believes so I can't contradict it."

"Oh thank goodness" sighed Evelyn, taking a hand to her chest. "No offense, dearie, but one surprise grandchild from one son is all my nerves can take. I was about to grow grey hairs again thinking on the poor Charlie of the other dimension."

Alastor thought for a moment about the wedding ring that Lucifer still had with him and, by easy associaton, on Lilith that should be with Charlie right as they were speaking.

"There is no need at all for concern, for me at least" commented, pushing the thought to a side. "All things considered, I think they favor me precisely because I don't have the same impulses that other me has regarding the Lucifer I know. Had, I should say."

Evelyn sighed again. She turned quickly to see over her shoulder, double checking that they could still talk in confidence, and then shook her head slightly.

"It's… so awful what they did to him" said finally. "I know that most mothers would be glad that their son isn't with the devil himself anymore, but I know that man and I know the family they made. They were fine as they were, back in Hell. I might not understand it all, but I don't need to in order to see that. It's frankly… inhumane to break them apart like that" commented, her hands furiously rubbing the cleaning rag over a plate that was already impeccable.

Alastor gently put a hand over hers before she could break it.

"I guess they can afford that since they aren't human" said, grabbing the plate instead to put with the rest after drying up. "I was meaning to ask" added softly, to change the topic and because he actually wanted to know "how exactly did you came in contact with Lucifer? I can't imagine the Heaven that was so strict about restricting us for this long, who is still imprisioning both Lucifer, would casually let the devil interact with a winner."

"You aren't wrong, dearie" Evelyn chuckle. "We made a way to contact each other. Lucifer was the one who set it up. First a casual reunion and now, we used to have weekly dinners before this mess happened" The face of the woman fell again. "I guess… he must have forgotten about that too. If they took everything else to do with them, it makes sense."

"I am surprised" commented, taking her mind away from things they couldn't change anyway, "that my Church going mother gets along with the devil. Where has gone the devoted woman I used to know? I can only imagine what our old pastor would say."

That effectively made her laugh, exactly as he hoped for.

"Oh, sweetie, I am a woman of many facets" she said, knocking him softly with the cleaning cloth in her hand. "My faith taught me to judge people by their own merits. The Lucifer I know not one time has done a single thing but to show how me much he loves my son, so I fully trust he won't stand for any of this. Your Lucifer too, regardless if you are having a baby or not."

Alastor hummed once, looking down as he pretended to work on another glass. For some reason he didn't doubt that either. But think about it made him feel weird in a way he didn't fully understand and therefore didn't want to cultivate.

"He is not mine" clarified. "He is old Lucifer for me, if anything."

Evelyn pursed her lips.

"Mmm, pity" commented after a beat. "We already kow you can make a cute match. Are you sure?"

"Positive" Alastor resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. It wasn't the first time that his mom tried to set him up with someone. He thought that after they both died the last one would be behind them, but he was obviously wrong. "He is still married to the Queen of our dimension. The other Lucifer never knew any Lilith in the first place."

"I didn't see any Queen trying to advocate for him to be freed" pointed out Evelyn casually. "Divorces can take such a long time and be so complicated. When we are talking about royalty of any kind, that must be even worse."

Alastor frowned slightly.

"There is no interest" said, giving her a side eye.

"Why not? Is he blind, deaf and allergic to good taste?"

He felt his smile twitch on the corner. Give it to this mother, no matter what version, to know what to say to cause a sincere smile. But she didn't know that Lucifer had already made it plenty clear that the Alastor he prefered was another. The same one that probably didn't even remember him or any of the time that they spend together in the same dimension.

"Might as well, I suppose" He shrugged.

"I didn't hear you say you were not interested, though" Evelyn completely ignored the record scratch that cracked through the air, as it were part of her usual environment. "You have never been shy to tell me before you didn't care for someone or didn't like them. Some would say to the point that it was impolite. I guess I am just surprised. Don't squint your eyes at me, young man. It's not my fault you can't admit you have a crush" warned, somehow knowing that was exactly what Alastor was doing with his face without even turning to see him. A mother always knew.

Alastor opened up his mouth to protest, to lie, say anything at all, but before any word would come out of him, the fallen's voice called their attention from the hallway.

"Mother, what is this?"

The man was just standing there, his hair still damp from the shower, dressed up with a black shirt with a design of white puppies all over.

"Oh, I am sorry" said Evelyn, turning with a hand over her hip. "Do you have an issue with the clothes your mother got you out of the goodness of her heart? I would hope you would know to forgive we don't have evil creepy clothing like the best designers of Hell, but at least is best than going naked around."

The fallen sighed.

"I will change them myself tomorrow" determined, returning to his room.

"That is right, you will" Evelyn exhaled through her nose. "Put your suit to a side to be cleaned up later!"

"Yes, mom" came out the automatic response.

"What was that, dearie?" insisted Evelyn.

"Thank you, dear mother."

Evelyn nodded.

"You are welcome, sweetie! I didn't raise a man without manners" commented to no one, cleaning up her hands and then drying them on her apron. "I try to get him dark stuff and comes out with that to me. Unbelievable" She shook her head slightly and looked at him. "You can go through your own clothing and see what you like or not. Tomorrow we will go to see what else we can get. You are all both lucky that we don't have to spend any money here" Alastor finished with the last glass he had on hand. He was about ready to go to the craft room, his temporary one, to do just that when Evelyn's voice reached him out again. "By the way, I was planning to make some jambalaya for dinner. Do you mind that, darling?"

Alastor stood still for a second until he could find his words and then make them go through his mouth.

"Not at all" said, turning to her, but she was already working on getting the pots she needed. He quite literally couldn't remember the last time that his mom prepared that dish. It had to have been before the diagnoses that changed everything. She was so sick and tired by the end that she couldn't cook for herself or anyone else, which was it's own kind of heartbreaking for a woman used to express her joy through her food. No matter how closely he followed her recipe, it was never the same. "I would love to."

Evelyn smiled to him over her shoulder.

"Then you better bring lose trousers, sweetie, because I am not letting any of you waste a single bite."

After a particularly filling dinner, the fallen retired early and Alastor stayed at the table while her mom made him know that, in fact, a lot of their shared memories were the same. Whatever differences there were between their experiences, were so insignificant that they could not have been there at all. Memories that Alastor haven't touched at all in more than a century, even before his death, came back to him just as easy as his own name, like they had never gone anywhere.

It took them hours of reminiscing before Evelyn declared that it was enough. She wanted to show around her cousins and she couldn't do it if she was too tired. Alastor couldn't argue with that logic. When she squeezed him between her arms, Alastor didn't mind about the bleat that came out of him and even less when Evelyn chuckled.

"Good night, sweetie" said, bringing him down to kiss both his cheeks. "If you need anything, don't doubt to tell me, alright? I don't care from which dimension you are from, I will always recognize my baby boy."

Alastor felt his ear flattering on top of his head. He nodded without a word, speechless for the first time in a long time, and squeeze the arm she used to hold him before letting her go. The idea that she was still going to be there in the morning warmed his chest as he went to his room.

As he was changing to a red pajama that Evelyn had put aside for him, there was a knock on his door. His hope that it would be his mother was crushed as soon his visitor spoke.

"Are you decent enough so we can have a talk?"

Alastor could not imagine what the fallen could want to talk with him, but couldn't think any reason to outright reject him. He haven't even threatened him once, which was its own kind of surprising. He would have expected that the fallen would have a negative reaction to him speaking to his mom, similar to how he acted with the prospect around Lucifer. During their dinners there was a few lingering looks or comments that made him narrow his eyes, but it was far more peaceful than what he would have expected.

"A second" said, finishing to button up the top of the pajama. Once done, he went to open the door and let the man enter. "What can I do for you, my friend?"

The fallen looked around the room for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. He had already plenty of time to do that until the dinner finished and he was away from Evelyn, but he still needed some more.

"You and I…" started, turning to him, "we are both in the exact same position when it comes to our situation in Heaven, right?"

"As far I am aware of" Alastor crossed his arms and tilted his head to a side. "Why?"

"Do you…" The fallen looked down at his hands. His eyes concentrated a moment in one of them before putting both at his back. "Did they take something from you?" asked finally.

"Besides my freedom, my rightful dimension and precious hours of my time I am never getting back?"

"Yes, besides that" The fallen frowned slightly, squinting his eyes, as if fighting a headache. "Something more important than that. Something that was yours and now is not there."

Alastor sighed. He had to thread carefully there. Not just because of Evelyn, but Lucifer too wouldn't like to know that he fucked over the mind of the fallen.

"Nothing that I can imagine" replied firmly. "Are you sure you aren't just tired, pal?"

The fallen shook his head.

"I had this weird sensation for days now. It's like they emptied out my guts and rearrenged them again, but it was sloppy work. Something that should be there is not. I just can't what remember what it is. Did I had an extra arm that is gone now? Did I had more fingers? An organ that I can't see?" The man looked at his hands again, sighning as his finger rubbed the anular one. "Surely they must have done something to you as well" ended, looking up.

The hope in his voice, to finally have someone validate the weird thoughts that plagued him and he couldn't justify, did made Alastor uncomfortable for a moment. This was sick. To put any of them in this situation it was sick. He could be a sadistict monster, but at this point he would have just killed the target already.

"I am afraid I have no idea what you mean" said after taking a breath. "I had nothing of the sort happen to me."

"I… see" The fallen rubbed his temple, squinting still.

"It's maybe for the better if you don't remember" added Alastor. "If it was so important, wouldn't you know already? Shouldn't be so obvious by now if you are truly missing something?" The fallen looked to a side, as if he could see his point and wanted to argue, but didn't know how. Alastor decided to take his chance now. "Isn't your life fine as it is just like it is now? You are visiting your mother. The child that who knows why you wanted is growing as it should. Of course neither of us would chose to be here right now or have anything to do with Heaven, but you are just fine given the circumstances. No body part has been taken from you. Can't be that enough?"

"But it was mine" protested the fallen, holding his head with a hand. "They stole it from me. I don't care if I need it or not, it was mine. Would you be okay with just knowing that?"

"You don't know that" pointed out Alastor, without answering. Because of course the idea of anyone taking that was meant to be his was unacceptable, but that wasn't the kind of answer that would disuade the fallen from keep wondering about it. There was probably no words capable of doing that, but he might as well could try. "It could be stress playing tricks on the mind. Have you been sleeping as much as you should?" He nodded knowingly when then the fallen frowned at him, giving him the answer. "Ah, there you have it then! I am sure that a few nights of uninterrupted sleep in a better bed will have you feeling as new in no time. No need to bash your head in for literally nothing wrong going on. Your baby wouldn't appreciate that."

The fallen stared at him for a moment and then around the room. But whatever he was looking for was still not there with them.

"I guess I should sleep regardless" said finally.

"Sound plan if I ever heard one" Alastor moved to the door and opened up again. "Once this whole situation is over, all those thought will go away, no doubt about it."

"Is that what you think?"

Alastor smiled. What else could he do? Anything else was only going to cause more trouble that it was worth and end up hurting the fallen one way or another. If it were only the fallen, he wouldn't mind that much, but way too many people now cared about him. People who he saw no benefit in upsetting or dissapointing. For as much he didn't like it, this was the best he could do.

"Naturally. Have a good night, my friend."

The fallen kept staring at him for a while longer, but end up leaving his room without replying him back.

Their shopping outing was going splendid. Evelyn was happy to brag to everyone about her cousins and how glad she was that they were finally joining her as they should. Not a word about their real jobs was ever said. Outfits in Heaven were, in fact, of a different style that any of them was used to, but it wasn't completely unwearable. The only actual good point about Heaven is that money was never an issue, so they could try and grab as much as they wanted without a single care. While Evelyn talked with the clerk, Alastor noticed the change on the fallen's face before anyone else did.

He was supposed to be trying a new jacket on top of his shirt, but instead the man was still in front of the mirror, not moving. Through the direction of the brown eyes over the surface of the reflection, Alastor realized the reason why. They were following a top of blonde hair walking down the street.

Before he could reach to the man and distract him somehow, the fallen had dropped the jacket and ran to the exit.

"I will get him" said Alastor to a surprised Evelyn, going after his other version. By the time he managed to find him again, he had already grabbed the arm of the one who had called his attention.

Saint Peter was smiling akwardly, without a single clue of how to read the expression of the one in front of him.

"Hi…?" offered up. "Wh-what can I do for you, friend?"

Alastor ran up to them and put his hand on the shoulder of the fallen. Only then did the man seemed to realize the mistake he had made and let the arm of the saint go from his hand. His eyes were still fixated on the top of his head, as if there he was going to be able to find the answers to a question he didn't dare to make.

"Apologies, good sir! My brother is still adapting to the afterlife and got a little confused" excused, trying to take away the fallen by the shoulders. After a little more forceful tugging, the fallen finally nodded to Saint Peter to confirm the words said.

"Ah, it's okay, don't worry about it!" Saint Peter turned around and started lifting himself in the air. "Welcome to Heaven and good luck with your little issue!"

"That is wrong" muttered the fallen.

Alastor took a deep breath and let go of the man now.

"What is it now?"

The fallen blinked and looked at him, as if it was the first time he register he was there.

"I don't know" said, pressing the cushion of his palm against his brow. After a few seconds, he pressed both his hands against his temple.

"Sweetie, there you are!" suddenly Evelyn jumped between them, taking the hands of the fallen between hers. "Come on, darling, come with me" cooed, pulling him over. The few people that had witnesses the grabbing of Saint Peter finally lost all interest and went back to their own business. "Let's go grab you something to eat, alright?"

"I don't think I am hungry" said the fallen, following her regardless.

Evelyn reached her hand up to the face of the man, pressing the back of her palm on his forehead and then the cheeks. She stayed there for a moment, her eyebrows going over her eyes with heavy concern.

"My, sweetie, you are burning" said gently, taking his hand again. "Let's just go home, dearie. Don't worry about the shirt, I talked with the clerk already."

Alastor wasn't sure of how much Evelyn have undertood what happened until she left him sleeping on his room. He was sitting on the couch of the living room when the woman bended forward the back of the seat, whispering as if her son could her hear still.

"He thought that was Lucifer, wasn't it?"

"He thought that was someone he recognized, yes" Alastor shrugged slightly. "But didn't know who. He can't make the connection."

Evelyn stared at him for a long while, as if struggling to come to a decision herself. In the end, no matter what side won inside of her, she moved over to the furniture under the window and opened up the first drawer. When she moved over to sit next to her, she was carrying a small velvetti bag on her lap.

"Darling, if you ask for it, do you think they will let you visit your Lucifer?"

This time Alastor didn't bother to clarify that it was his Lucifer. He instead stared at the little bag and then at the face of the woman.

"Maybe" said, because he wasn't entirely sure either. In theory the archangels would allow it for him, since they had shown they were invested in whatever relationship they assumed him to have with the devil, but there was no hard garantee. "Why?"

"Do you think he would be able to visit the other Lucifer? If they let my baby boy to see you, then I can only imagine that two Lucifers in the same room would be the same and not affect that awful spell they made."

"I suppose" Alastor frowned, waiting for her to clarify why she needed that.

Evelyn finally opened up the little bag she had, revealing a soft grey stone. The slight movement of the color inside made it pretty obvious to see that it wasn't like any other stone one could pick up from the ground. It was one made from Emily's falling.

"Charlie left this one with me during the meeting" explained Evelyn. "She didn't say anything, but I think it was pretty clear she was hoping I could do something with it. I have asked almost every wish I could think of and reworded them all at least a dozen of times to take all of you from here, but nothing works. The devil might be resourceful as he is, but I am personally tired of waiting for him to come save my son and grandchild. Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes" Evelyn sighed and took the hand of Alastor, putting the stone right at the center of his palm. "Could you… make sure Lucifer gets this? The right Lucifer? I don't ever want to see that look of dissapointment on my son's face ever again. I can't stand it."

Alastor looked down.

"I don't know what I could do" said, sincerely.

"Something has to be done" Evelyn scooched over and kissed his cheek. "You all need to get out of here. I knew that the first time he landed here and that hasn't changed now. You should have never being brought here."

One of Alastor's ears twitched at the familiar words. Lucifer had already said the same thing to him and meant it too.

"Please, could you try, dear?" asked Evelyn and her eyes were glistening, big, soft and just as warm as always. There was no way he could let her down.

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kaddyssammlung · 6 months ago

Text

I never thought about the level of authenticity in Vessel's art

I was listening to something yesterday and she talked about being authentic and how no one seems to be authentic. Especially in the era of social media.

It made me think about Vessel and how he seems so much more authentic then anyone. We don't even see his face yet I have the feeling that he is someone who is real with us. He does not hide his tears, he writes gut-wrenching lyrics that deal with a variety of painful emotions.

I never thought about the power that lies in this authenticity.

Let me quote Kerry (yes her again...I link you the course because I'm quoting her)

“It inspires everybody to get on board and go, oh, and I feel this, oh, and I've been hiding that, oh, and I do this, oh, and I feel that.”

Yes! I do take his what he does as an invitation to talk about my own pain.

“So what happens when we ditch the photographs of perfection and instead we just get real? Hey, here's my truth. Hey, here's my pain. Hey, here's my authenticity.

That is what inspires and liberates people, but to do that, and the only place you can do that from is outside the jail cell, inside the jail cell, what are you doing?

You are pretending the walls of your jail cell are made up with pretense and everyone's

jail is made of the same material, isn't that crazy?

Everyone is pretending to be more okay than the next person, but everybody feels in some way inadequate, in some way unworthy.

If we've got one thing in common that's going to bond humanity instantaneously, it's that realization.”

#sleep token #sleep token lyrics #sleep token lore

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notyouraryang0dd3ss · 7 months ago

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I am a firm believer that when it comes to music you can separate the art from the artist (to an extent). Sometimes even the worst people can actually create something good (although Taylors music is not even good to begin with imo) and by trying to stay away from problematic artists, you realize that some of the best musicians in history (not you Taylor) have done/said problematic things and you only end up depriving yourself of genuinely good music. HOWEVER, i also believe that once you have made the conscious decision to listen to a problematic singer, you also have the responsibility to hold them accountable for their actions by recognizing them & calling them out. This is why i can never get behind Taylor and the literal cult she has created. Usually i'd argue that celebrities are not responsible for their fanbase but in Taylor's case that's just not true. She has spend years cultivating and encouraging this cult-like mentality swifties have through snide comments and her own lyrics. She knows exactly how her fans behave and she loves it because she has basically created an army of people who are willing to kill/die for her. Sure, other artists have done so in the past but only when they were young themselves and thrusted into a world of fame. I've seen old clips of 1D and other huge popstars of that time, publicly call out their fans toxic behavior. They did that at 17 and Taylor is a 30+ year old woman and can't even do that. My point is, there's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying Taylor Swift's music (although i personally don't see the appeal). The problem is when you as a fan, have become so unhealthily obssessed that you are willing to attack anyone trying to rightfully criticize her actions. Pretending she's a good person won't actually make her one.

“(Not you Taylor)” is taking me OUTTTTTTTT LMFAO

“Pretending she’s a good person won’t actually make her one” all swifties just lost their reading comprehension 😭

what you’re calling out is stan culture in general and i think swifties are the most extreme manifestation of it. and by stan culture i mean her fostering and perfecting a parasocial relationship with her fans in a way we’ve never witnessed before that has led to her record breaking commercial success.

“she has spent years cultivating and encouraging this cult-like mentality that swifties have with her snide comments and lyricism” yupppp we can see with this with other stans as well, the barbz are ones that come immediately to mind

its really this ask in combination with ⏳’s ask fearing for their safety in the ts groupchat they were in that reinforces how cultish and next level dangerous swifties are. usually these types of fans are outliers in each stan base but for this to be the default attitude of swifties…they’re the alt right of stan culture with their extremism and jingoist behavior.

#anti taylor swift #ask #notyouraryang0dd3ss #anon #anti swifties #ts critical #stan culture #sorry this took me a while to respond this is literally a month old 😭

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bookishjules · 1 year ago

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sizzy slut! analysis, am begging <3

the song -> "slut!"

first of all, the contents of this song in contrast to its title perfectly reflect discrepancy between the confident, somewhat promiscuous, untouchable isabelle our girl presents herself as and the softer, more romantic, and even at times insecure izzy that simon knows her to be.

additionally, "slut" is most often used with an amount of disdain and disgust by people who don't approve of the sexual habits of a woman. as a shadowhunter, any time isabelle pursues a relationship with a downworlder, she no doubt receives looks and comments that express such distaste. we don't know for sure if she was with any mundanes before simon, but there's no doubt she would have received an equal, if not worse, response. a not small reason izzy does pursue these kinds of relationships is because of the shock value, but we see how, in dating simon, it became more than just about choosing him because he was someone her father wouldn't approve of, tho that fact remains the same. it's very much in line with the idea of this love and this relationship being hidden beneath a label given by people who don't understand the half of it.

now, for the lyrics themselves..

Flamingo pink, Sunrise Boulevard Clink, clink, being this young is art

these lines are giving so much personality in the casually unapologetic way that isabelle goes about life. and the "clink, clink" line, especially given its position at the beginning of the song, makes me think of magnus's party in cob. just vibes all around. dancing and probably kissing and accidentally being turned into an actual rat? art.

Aquamarine, moonlit swimmin' pool

the first line here uses two words that call to other sizzy-coded taylor songs. "moonlit" -> glitch's "blood moonlit" and "swimming pool" -> paper rings' "icy outdoor pool." there's this idea here of jumping in no matter the consequences, of seeking each other out in the night, which they do on multiple occasions. and of course, there's simon's nocturnal nature as a vampire. when you think of swimming, too, there's this idea of weightlessness, that's tied by the time or season to privacy as well. i've always seen simon and isabelle as being these very buoying sources in each other's lives. and maybe that's just relationships in general, but we see this recurring theme of them being the only ones who can talk to the other in hard moments. it's in cog after max dies, and in lbotw much later on. this, of course, ties into the next line.

What if all I need is you?

there are so many ways this question can be asked. introspective, accusatory, pleading, fearful.. it makes me think of the thoughts that must have been going through izzy's mind before she showed up at simon and jordan's apartment in cols, of the conversations simon has with himself when he's trying to figure out if he loves her (both in tmi and tfsa). with the push-and-pull nature of their relationship, with izzy's fears and simon's inexperience.. there's no way this question, or similar ones, didn't often filter through their heads.

Got love-struck, went straight to my head

if we take this to indicate a level of overconfidence, it fits well with simon in cofa, thinking he could continuously date two girls in the same friend group. it could also be something like the dizziness of a headrush, or like the high after drinking someone's blood, or having your own blood drunk? especially if you're attracted to that someone.. which of course calls straight to cols. there's also the idea of love going to someone's head in a spiraling about said love feelings way and/or taking them to Rational Jail, where they will be dissected. the way izzy does this push-and-pull with simon throughout the series is really an outward representation of what's going on in her head, as she starts to have these feelings and then tries to find someway around that weakness by sending them to her head rather than being confident with her heart.

Got lovesick all over my bed

again we have this image of izzy coming to terms with her feels for simon. i imagine her laying in bed wishing he was there and wanting to throw up because who is she?? and the first time she does reach out for him and tell him to come to her while she's in bed, she's drunk, which can, of course, lead to sickness (honestly i wouldn't be surprised if she actually did throw up some time between leaving simon's apartment and him arriving at magnus's, considering how much she'd drunk and how quickly)

Love to think you’ll never forget Handprints in wet cement

there's something so new and fresh and tentative about the metaphorical handprints being in wet cement, rather than cement that has already dried to form their shape. there's the possibility that someone will come and screw it up, that they won't be able to hold onto this time together. izzy herself is unforgettable; she's a force of nature. simon, on the other hand, may very well believe himself to be so, and i bet izzy wanted him to be forgettable after she found out about him and maia. but he wasn't. even so, as they press their palms into the wet cement, they know there's a waiting period, this "are we permanent?" question that perpetuates.

Adorned with smoke on my clothes Lovelorn and nobody knows

i imagine this as isabelle attending simon's shows, watching from the shadows, the smoke from other people's cigarettes getting on her, and she's just looking at him, a total goner. but no one there is gonna notice--she's too good at hiding her more vulnerable side for that. this could work in the cofa era, but also post-edom, when she may have gone to his concerts just to see him.

Love thorns all over this rose I'll pay the price, you won't

calling back what i said about the title, this could be referencing the idea that izzy is gonna be the one looked at negatively for dating simon, rather than the other way around, though simon does receive plenty of teasing for having so much love for his shadowhunters. i think more likely is the internal struggle i've mentioned before. there are love thorns that have grown around isabelle's rose.. because of her history with love, because of her parents.. and i think to a certain extent, she feels it would be a bigger price for her to pursue simon than the other way around. it hurts to hold her heart out to him in a way simon himself is unfamiliar with.

But if I’m all dressed up They might as well be lookin' at us

this line is so isabelle. just, like, the essence of her. she's always dressed up, and she has no problem with being the center of attention. so of course she'll be confident and proud and let people see her and simon together, even when she's not wholly sure of where her heart lies.

And if they call me a slut You know it might be worth it for once

see my initial rant about the title. i do think there's a little more here too, though, with the "might be worth it." might be worth izzy giving her heart up for realsies. might be worth taking their time.

And if I'm gonna be drunk Might as well be drunk in love

the fact that two very big moments in sizzy's relationship happened while one of them was drunk just makes this line that much sweeter. izzy drinking too much because she's coming to the realization that she really really likes simon, that night ending with them sleeping in the same bed together for the first time, and then simon calling up to isabelle while intoxicated and telling her he loves her for the first time. so it's not just drunk in love, but drunk and in love.

Send the code, he's waitin' there The sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air

as i said before, there's a recurring set up with sizzy where one comes to the other's aid or comfort, where they just know what the other needs. it's this idea of understanding the code the other is sending. beyond that, though, there's also something like a code in the name of simon's band in the epilogue of cohf. i just think of izzy looking down at the flyer, reading "the mortal instruments," then looking up at magnus, and then across the way, where simon is waiting in front of his school.. and the sense of hope and relief and anticipation that would have come over her. and maybe it's more prescriptive, but i do think there's a level of time-stoppage in those moments, of being careful where to step or else everything will come crashing down and she'll be left with the heart-breaking force of the previous six months slamming into her once again.

Everyone wants him, that was my crime The wrong place at the right time

yes, we can relate this to maia wanting simon as well in cofa, but i think it would be remiss not to mention the amount of people who want him for other reasons--raphael, camille, maureen, etc.--a vampire, a daylighter, bearer of the mark of cain.. immortal. asmodeus wanted his immortality. and simon gave it and his memories. i think when considering this a "crime," it would have been, to izzy, a crime against her herself, against her image, an infiltration of the walls she's built up. she put her heart on the line, put her faith in simon, not once, but twice--something she would chide herself for when the smoke cleared after edom

And I break down, then he's pullin' me in In a world of boys, he's a gentleman

it's the way simon can tell when she's breaking down, knows to be there for her when others would have just let her seclude herself or bear whatever weight silently. and he might have been a boy when they started off, but he also has a lot of gentlemanly qualities. he respects izzy. he appreciates her. he thinks she's beautiful in a way that goes deeper than the curves of her body. and izzy has dated enough boys to know the way simon sees her, the way he treats her, is something special.

Got love-struck, went straight to my head (Straight to my head) Got lovesick all over my bed (Over my bed) Love to think you’ll never forget We’ll pay the price, I guess

i know this is mostly a repeated line, but i want to reframe it in the context of simon actually losing his memories. the resignation in "i guess," and the recognition that they're both paying the price. simon has to forget. and izzy has to remember. and this time when izzy is love-struck, it's a headache, a pain that would leave her caught up in memories and what-ifs. and then the sickness comes. for simon, it's the absence of these memories that leaves him spinning. why does he feel the spot where love should be without knowing what it should be filled with?

Half asleep Takin’ your time in the tangerine Neon light, this is luxury

this makes me think a lot of their first time in angels twice descending when they have the whole night to just be with each other. there isn't a war going on, no danger right around the corner. they've fallen together again and they can finally take the time to appreciate that. it's a luxury, because it's something, during those first six months after edom, izzy would have thought was something they would never get to experience together at all. if we wind it back a bit, this also makes me think of the nights in magnus's apartment, when taking their time meant more.. in the grand scheme of their relationship. they were falling back into step still, after the fallout of cofa, and it was a luxury just to spend the night wrapped in each other's arms.

You're not sayin' you're in love with me But you're goin' to

because of the time sizzy did take to get on their feet as a bona fide couple, and because of izzy's realtionship with love, these words hold.. a lot of weight. there's a sense of expectancy here, an understanding from simon that isabelle is in love with him even though she can't quite say it yet. but there's also something cheeky about it, like izzy knows it's only a matter of time before simon says he's in love with her, because how couldn't be be?

Half awake Takin' your chance, it's a big mistake I said, "It might blow up in your pretty face" I'm not sayin', "Do it anyway" (Do it anyway) But you're going to

i can see isabelle having a conversation like this with herself. it's a mistake to keep hanging out with simon because she can feel him sneaking under her defenses. but that's not going to stop her. but there's also "you're a heartbreaker, isabelle lightwood." simon knows he's taking a risk by giving his whole heart to izzy. he's been told multiple times she would walk all over him or that she would break his heart, but again, he doesn't let that stop him. because he does love her. consequences be damned

#you asked for it ;)#sizzy #slut!#lyric analysis #becca 😎#asks #simon lewis #isabelle lightwood #tmi #tsc #taylor swift #1989 tv

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