#the way ''i only listen to REAL music'' might actually mean something in a few years

[toxooz]

thought there was a new Korn song but it was just some fukkin loser that made a shitty ai "korn song"

[unclewaynemunson]

Pt2 to this post

'Is something wrong?' Nancy asks, not long after the two of them have taken their familiar spots on the hood of Steve's car. They're basking in what might be the last warm sunlight of the year, looking out over the quarry, at a safe distance from the edge.

It's become a tradition the two of them share, ever since they reconnected back in March. It calms them both, to just sit here and take in the view, no one around but each other. Nancy is one of the few people Steve can share a comfortable silence with: sometimes they sit here quietly for what feels like hours, side by side, listening to music or to nothing but the birds singing around them. But they also have their best conversations here: it's the place where Nancy entrusted him she wanted to break up with Jonathan; it's the place where they talked about their shared past and decided they would always love each other as friends; it's the place where they finally talked about Barbara in a way they couldn't when they were younger. It's where Nancy talked about the ghosts still haunting her and Steve talked about how lonely he sometimes felt.

Steve huffs. 'How did you guess?'

'When you frown, you always do it with your whole face,' Nancy notes. 'So it's hard to miss, really.'

Steve glances at her side profile. There's a serenity to her features that's still relatively new. It means she's healing, slowly learning how to be happy again. It means she stopped waiting for the end of the world and started believing in a real future again. It makes Steve proud of how far they both have come.

'I had a fight with Eddie,' he confesses. 'And with Dustin, I guess.'

'What happened?'

He sighs. 'It's complicated.'

'Wanna tell me about it?'

The look in her eyes is kind and inviting. Steve hesitates. He wants to, but he doesn't know if he can. It's a risk. It's scary.

But he can't imagine Nancy Wheeler ever being careless with his secrets. He can't imagine her judging him, can't imagine her being as small-minded as most people in this town.

He was planning on telling her anyway, because things had been going so well with Eddie lately and – no, he shouldn't think about that right now. But maybe it would actually be nice to talk about it with Nancy.

'So, um...' His throat feels tight and his hands are sweaty. 'I recently discovered some things about myself. I-' The words get stuck somewhere on the way to his mouth, and he clears his throat.

Nancy doesn't push, but only gives him an encouraging nod, waiting for him to find his voice again.

'I found out I like boys,' he finally manages to confess. 'And I need you to know that – that that doesn't mean that what I felt for you wasn't real. It was. I loved you, and now I fell in love with a boy. And-'

'Steve.' Nancy's hand suddenly covers his, causing him to finally jerk his head away from the view over the quarry, to focus on her face again instead.

Her eyes are wide, and she squeezes his hand.

'You don't have to explain yourself to me,' she tells him. 'We're good. But thank you for telling me. For trusting me with this.'

Steve heaves out a relieved sigh, and Nancy smiles; it's that genuine kind of smile which reveals all kinds of dimples and soft lines across her face.

'We might be more similar than you thought,' she tells him, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks.

'Really?' Her words make his breath catch in his throat. He squints at her, trying to see her in this new light. 'Are you saying what I think you're saying?'

She shrugs. 'I don't know. I'm not sure yet,' she admits. 'Still figuring things out.'

'Take your time, there's no rush,' he tells her. 'But...' He bumps his shoulder against hers. 'When you're done figuring it out, talk to me, okay?'

She nods. 'Okay.'

For a while, it's quiet between the two of them. Some kind of raptor circles high above them in the sky. They both follow it with their eyes until it disappears among the tree tops west of the quarry.

'Is it Eddie?'

Steve blinks dumbly a couple of times.

'Wha- what?'

'The guy you were talking about. The one you fell in love with. It's Eddie, isn't it?'

'Jesus, Wheeler, what kind of sorceress are you?' Steve exclaims.

Nancy laughs again. 'You're not being as subtle as you think,' she tells him. 'The two of you have been hooking up for a while now, haven't you?'

Steve huffs dramatically. 'This is unfair. You know everything; I can't even tell you my own secrets anymore!'

'So what happened?' Nancy asks. 'You said you had a fight with him?'

'It's fucking stupid,' he sighs. 'Dustin was getting way too excited about the fact that I was gonna be hanging out with you, so I told him I was seeing someone. Next thing I knew, he was telling Eddie all about how I was seeing a girl.' He waves his hands around to make annoyed air quotations. 'I wanted to tell Eddie it was a misunderstanding, but Dustin was there, so I couldn't out us just like that, and he looked so betrayed and heartbroken... He didn't wanna listen to me.'

Steve sighs; he still can't manage to forget that look in Eddie's eyes when Dustin delivered the big news. 'I wish I would've talked about what I felt for him earlier. I should've been honest when I had the chance, y'know. But I was afraid he wouldn't wanna label what we had, that he wouldn't feel the same way – and now we're in this whole mess. God, he must hate me right now, Nance.'

To his surprise, Nancy gives him an unexpected slap against his arm.

'Ouch, what the hell was that for?!'

'What are you even doing here with me, Steve? You should've gone after him, tell him how you feel!'

'I tried, obviously, but he didn't wanna listen to me!'

'So make him listen! You're in love with him, he obviously feels the same way about you, and you let him leave to wallow in a broken heart he doesn't even need to have!' She rolls her eyes and slides off the car, adding something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like an exasperated 'Boys!' before she pulls Steve off the car as well. 'C'mon, time to get your ass over to the trailer park. Right. Now,' she says through gritted teeth. And, well, Steve knows better than to argue with a determined - and truthfully quite terrifying - Nancy Wheeler.

Read the last part here Taglist: @withacapitalp @ultimatedreamer104 @irregular-child @jcmadgirl @estrellami-1 @myguiltyartpleasure @hallucinatedjosten @jaybren @thew1ldblueyonder @melodymeddler @alycatavatar @zoeweee @lolawonsstuff @fairy-princette @saramelaniemoon @phirex22 @krazyperson @xxsky-shockxx (I only put people on this list who explicitly asked to be tagged. That's really no problem, I love to do that so dw about asking, but I got a lot of relatively vague reactions to the previous post that i'm not gonna dissect and interpret, bc I don't wanna clog anyone's notes unwanted. So just to be clear: i consider it a huge compliment if anyone asks for a tag but please do it clearly if you do!)

[muzaktomyears]

Two of Us play notes/thoughts/Easter eggs I noticed

they played solo Beatles tracks as waiting music before the play began so I sat there listening to ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ with a theatreful of people which was great 

before Paul turns up John is baking(/burning) bread

John is wearing underwear under his dressing gown which obvs had to be but also my suspension of disbelief was CHALLENGED

when Paul rings up to be let in John does a little rhyme to make him prove he is who he says he is. this is not the exact wording but it went something like: "Five little boys in Hamburg did play/All through the night and all through the day/Ingrid the stripper would do anything/But who got the clap? Was it sexy Stu Sutcliffe - or the lead singer in Wings?" and then Paul has to admit it was him who got the clap

when Paul takes his shoes off he also takes his socks off - idk if this is an intentional barefoot Paul thing but it is hilarious later when they're fighting and Paul is about to leave and angrily putting his socks back on

John and Paul have Get Back era hair/beards, which is weird - presumably because they assume people going to see this will also have seen Get Back but might not know their 1976 looks as well?? idk

some of the dialogue and references have been made a bit more British - the skit they do at the piano is now set in a British greasy spoon instead (still with the American accents)

instead of fighting "like the Hatfields and McCoys" they're now fighting like "the Montagues and the Capulets" (👀)

'Sh-Boom' is played on the record player while they smoke weed (Paul uses the album cover to roll the joint)

George and Ringo both get more of a mention! Paul says that George is happy now (John replies that he's not happy, he's reincarnated). John tells Paul a story Ringo told him about going on a bus in NYC and being recognised.

"I'm the best fuck you ever had" is said by John during the fight (Paul replies "If that's your way of saying you were the real brains behind the Beatles-" etc. etc.)

"You should have married me when you had the chance" is said by John during the Yoko/losing my friend bit

"It's only me" as John's way to get Paul not to leave after the fight

when John goes out to get disguises for them Paul sits at the piano and starts playing some notes he finds there (he'd asked about them earlier and John had said they're nothing). we get a few notes of 'Now and Then' before John returns (ghjshgkhgkdshgksd who did this I HATE YOU)

the appearance of the I Love Paul badge!! John wears it on his disguise jacket and Paul asks what it says. John tells him and then Paul replies "Lucky Paul".......

they never go outside in this version - John says he'll go but then thinks better of it. this means that John comes across as even more locked away than he does in the film.

the police bit is sort of done when Paul puts on a leather hat from the disguises and pretends to be a policeman come to question John, who John then talks back at. he also yells out of the window at some police below at one point.

Paul realises they're never actually going to Luigi's, so John lays the table for him as if they're at a restaurant together (including calling him "Lady McCartney" and "my love")

the bit with the fan is sort of recreated but instead it's John asking Paul whether he truly thinks Wings at the Speed of Sound is the number 1 record in America (which obvs changes it quite a lot)

Julian is brought up - they're toasting to various people/things (ending with "Dr. Winston O'Boogie and Paul Ramon") and Paul says "to Julian" and sort of confronts John about him and how he treated him

during the toasting Paul also mentions "putting hair on a seagull's chest" which John questions and then Paul says it's something his dad used to say

I thought the lift scene/roof scene wouldn't be happening... BUT THEN a lift descended from the ceiling ❤️ the magic of theatre

the kiss still happens and idk but I thought the vibe was a bit different from the film version - less jokey (and no lines after about brushing his teeth/is my name Brian)

Paul: I bought into it that you and me didn't get along well (paraphrasing the Stephen Colbert interview)

they hug at the end of the roof conversation (I was sat very close to this since the actors come in front of the stage to do it and they were both crying and it WAS ALL TOO MUCH 😭😭)

John gets them two guitars to practice with before they go out and they sit opposite each other in chairs and Paul says “I know which one to begin with” and John says “What?” and they lean forward and then the phone rings

when Paul leaves John he’s crying and it’s like okay rip out my heart I guess

the play ends with Paul on the phone to Linda and John on the phone to Yoko, at opposite sides of the stage, and they say “I love you” to their wives but also to each other and it’s ridiculous????

yeah then ‘Give Peace a Chance’ plays which is such a bizarre choice idek

anyway who knows if it's a good play or what the actual people there thought about it because obvs I can have no rational reaction to it but I'm so glad I went to see it because someone on the writing team is one of us I SEE YOU

[waitmyturtles]

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 4 (“UHHH, IF I FEEL SOMETHING, DOES IT MEAN I HAVE FEELINGS, WOMP?”) EDITION

That’s how I felt after watching yesterday’s episode. I have NO BUSINESS writing meta in my current life-mental state, but I NEED to get a few words down. Just some list-y thoughts.

Shit’s starting to gel for me. The cast seems like they’ve warmed up to each other by way of actor-ly chemistry. (I know scenes are never shot in order, but there was maybe a little stiffness I felt at the start of the series? At this point, it might just be Lookjun carrying that, but I also don’t think she does “drunk” as well as the others.)

Such good meta that sustained me during my packing yesterday. @ranchthoughts on an ephemerality BREAKDOWN. @respectthepetty Senpai on sluts slutting — and HOW WE AUTOMATICALLY JUDGE AND LABEL SLUTS FOR SLUTTING (more on this in a BIT — go OFF, RTP Senpai). And @slayerkitty on nailing the narrative frameworks, which really struck me this episode, and this goes back to ephemerality again. Can’t believe I’m gonna meta, but let’s boogie, ‘cause I gotta.

@ranchthoughts — Ranch, I’m probably going to repeat some of what you wrote, so please forgive my stress-addled brain. I just lost it at Khaotung this episode, I thought he was just OVERFLOWING with BEST-NESS this episode — and the way we lived with Ray in his past in this episode. It was another play on time. And I love that @slayerkitty nailed that it was the flashbacks that were doing the talking this episode — because especially for Ray, the past is doing HIS talking. His mother didn’t love him in his past. Therefore, because of his past, he is unlovable in his present. (Interrrrgenerationalllll traumaaaa — the past affects your present. The opposite of ephemerality. That shit’ll STICK with you UNTIL you decide to face it head-on, like our beloved PatPran.)

Ooooh, baby. Gosh. The combination of the use of flashbacks, with Ray living in his past, only listening to music his parents listened to. And Sand — falling for Ray! — is holding Ray’s hand and bringing him to the present and the new. Sand’s a figure of change. Ray keeps toeing BACK to the past, to his memories, to his “love” for Mew, and Sand’s like, let me hold you down. (Ray going back and forth — like relapsing.) Ray STILL flashing back to Mew, holding that pendant (THAT LOOKS AN AWFUL LIKE AN ECLIPSE SYMBOL, AMIRITE AMIRITE) — and flashes again back and forward to the record store, where Sand found Ray’s hand.

What will Ray need for Sand to do to pull Ray even closer to the real-time present? How will Sand help Ray face his trauma? Will Sand really hold Ray down?

I am a big believer in the ships sinking, but goddamnit, First and Khao ATE this episode. GAAAHHHH.

Just musing: If Jojo and team started out this series having us think on ephemerality, the general lack of accountability, and the disappearance of time — are we entering the next act of the series where the characters grapple with the impacts of their pasts? That if you’re engaged emotionally and/or sexually with others, that not being accountable for your past and present is NOT an option? (That’s a kind of frame that speaks very closely to Jojo’s devotion to messages of sexual health in his past shows — especially regarding Nat in Gay OK Bangkok, who was HIV positive.)

Also musing: I saw some posts on my dash grappling with Top and Ray using coke. Drug use is obviously common on the partying circuit — their using coke doesn’t surprise me, especially considering that Top and Ray were both shown also being familiar with pills earlier. But I will note that the entire SE Asian region prosecutes the drug trade quite harshly, so to be honest, I was surprised to see Top actually snorting (but not surprised that that would be in a Jojo show). (Some passing links: when I Googled “drug use in Thailand,” this study shows that of a sample of vocational students in Thailand, LGBTQ+ students were more likely to use three or more drugs than heterosexual students, plus more findings. And this article briefly reviews the history of drug prosecution in Thailand.)

Also musing: really loved how Top’s demeanor was SO different with Nick and Sand. Maybe this indicates how much he’s “controlling” himself around Mew (@ranchthoughts , beep beep, control). Especially when Nick was talking with Top — it seemed like Top had been approached for money like this before. And the way he was so forward with Sand, confident to tell Sand that Sand wasn’t up for keeping Boeing — that was a totally different Top than who we see with Mew.

Okay, penultimate point. @respectthepetty says: sluts gonna slut. @bengiyo says: dudes gonna dude.

Cheum calls Boston a ho. Top says Boston is nasty. Nick calls himself nasty. Nick is Boston’s “favorite.” Jojo challenges the viewer to think that Top was gonna sleep with Beam, as RTP Senpai writes. Top’s already slept with Boston while dating Mew. On and on and on.

I wrote in my review of Theory of Love that I related to Khai, and now I relate somewhat to Top by the way that some of the viewership has judged Top. I was VERY often called the slut/ho of my friend groups in my younger years. OFTEN. And this was while I was in my twenties, exploring myself, my boundaries, my sexuality, all of it.

I relate to the struggle of trying to shed labels. Ray is a “burden.” Boston is “nasty.” Mew wants the truth from Top as to if Top has been with anyone else while they were dating. Therefore — Mew is assuming that Top IS sleeping with other people.

Call these people by their labels, and they’ll start believing them. It’s just another kind of trauma, similar to intergenerational trauma.

I wrote in my Theory of Love piece that as a global society — humans don’t really believe that our fellow humans can CHANGE. We don’t accept change well. (Cancel culture rarely allows for someone to be uncancelled — right?) If someone takes on a label — we tend to believe that label, and we have a hard time believing that someone has SHED that label after time. If Ray was called a burden by his mother — what work will it take for Ray to shed that label? And same for our sexually active guys, too.

Think about how you talk about your friends to others. Think about if you use labels to talk about them. Think about how old those labels are, and if they’re accurate in the present. And. Think about how you judge others by their pasts. (“Remember when so-and-so was sleeping around?”) Think about whether or not you use the past to judge and/or justify your FEELINGS about someone.

Now, I don’t even KNOW if these guys WANT to change these paradigms. We get the SLIGHTEST hint that maybe Boston wants to do so with Nick in next week’s preview.

But. I just fucking love that Jojo is playing around with this. If someone is HIV positive — that’s a label, a stigma. If someone is a ho — that’s a label, a stigma.

These dudes are burdened by what everyone else is thinking and saying about them.

And we have Sand, on the other hand, processing his feelings with Nick. We have Nick acting like a damn BASKETCASE, but at least he admitted the wiretapping to Sand (??? lol honey but you gotta stop this now, nervous giggles, put Boston’s phone down). We didn’t see Yo in this episode, but we know Yo believes in accountability.

There’s something about the Ray-Mew-Cheum-Boston friend group that allows things to both slide and fester. We’ll get ever more clarity in the following episodes on this, but — these young folks are having ish dealing with their labels, the labels of their pasts, and what are they gonna do in their presents and futures to deal with changing themselves?

FINALLY, and then I’m done rambling. Is that supposed to be a penis, or something penis-like?!

(What’s good, Ephemerality Squad? Wish me luck with moving today! @slayerkitty @ranchthoughts @lurkingshan @neuroticbookworm @clara-maybe-ontheroad @twig-tea @distant-screaming @chickenstrangers)

[endofradio]

TRUE ECOLOGY — CHAPTER 1: HOLIDAY IN BAVARIA

PROLOGUE |

WARNINGS: n/a

NOTES: see what i did there with the chapter title? (teehee holiday in cambodia by dead kennedys reference) anyways the next chapters will be much more interesting i promise 💀

also as far as faceclaims go, stephen’s is hamish linklater, louise’s is elizabeth debicki, and sabina’s is talia ryder yippee! for visuals i might insert some gifs here and there since tumblr is Perfect for that.

SUMMARY: recent college graduate salem travels with her stepmother louise and father stephen from new hampshire to the bavarian alps in germany, their destination being a luxurious place by the name of resort alpschatten. upon entering the lobby, salem notices something strange — one of the guests starts vomiting. she also encounters the enigmatic owner of the resort, herr könig.

WORD COUNT: 2,187

TAGLIST: @lokidoki9 @trelaney @kolcheksluver @samcrpnters @13th-floor-in-moonstone @starryrevelations @fran-tau @spookyspecterino @blackwolfstabs @actually-adambarrett @creelmalfoylaufeyson69 (shoot me a message if you’d like to be added to my taglist!)

reblogs and comments are heavily appreciated! don’t be shy!

“How much longer is this car ride gonna be?”

Salem let out a sigh as she stared out the window of the car, watching as lines of trees passed by. That was all that she could see right now — trees. Trees, and mountains. At this point, it felt like they had been driving for days. They had taken a plane from New Hampshire to Germany, which had been 8 hours long. Then, there was the 4-hour car ride from Frankfurt to Bavaria. Those 4 hours were almost over, and it felt like it had taken six days just to get here.

Salem was exhausted.

Her stepmother, seated in the front passenger’s seat, turned around to reassure Salem with a smile. "We're almost there, I promise," she said, checking her watch. “Just… a half-hour more of driving, and then we should be there, alright?”

Even though Louise was like a "mother" to her, Salem was annoyed by something about her. Whenever she spoke, it seemed insincere, and her smile appeared overly polite. Salem longed for her real mother, but as far as she knew, she was deceased. Within a few weeks of her mother's disappearance, her father met a younger woman who was blonde, pretty, rich, and tall.

“Thanks, Mom.”

God, just calling her “mom” made Salem’s skin crawl. The word just didn’t feel right on her tongue.

The vacation destination was Resort Alpschatten, where Salem's father had been working for the past couple of years as an assistant to the owner, Herr König. He thought it would be nice for Louise to bring Salem along to visit for a while, considering she hadn't seen her father in so long.

In all honesty, Salem hadn't missed him. Their relationship had never been perfect, but since his marriage to Louise, things had become more strained between the two.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Louise commented, turning around to look at Salem.

The car ride had certainly been awkward. Salem's father had picked up her and Louise from Frankfurt to drive them to Bavaria, and the whole time, Salem barely spoke a word to either of them. She had spent the majority of the car ride listening to music with her earbuds in and reading.

“I just… don’t have much to say. That’s all.” She quietly responded.

Louise slowly nodded. “That’s understandable, I mean… you’re probably tired.”

The Bavarian Alps were a stark contrast to Salem's hometown of Derry, New Hampshire. Derry was a fairly small and unremarkable town. Traveling all the way to Germany had been quite a shock but in a good way. The Alps were breathtaking, and Bavaria in general was stunning. It felt like a breath of fresh air, especially with it being spring.

The only problem was that Salem wasn't very fluent in German. In preparation for the trip, she had spent the past couple of months learning as much as she could. She understood some basic phrases, at least. Good enough, right?

Eventually, Salem noticed a large building up in the distance, assuming it to be Resort Alpschatten. If that was truly what it was, then Jesus Christ, it was beautiful. It was huge.

“Well, this is it!” Salem’s father confirmed with a smile. He turned around to look at Salem, his eager smile not fading. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s… big. Really nice place. Makes sense why you like it so much.”

I’d hate to get lost in there.

From how her father described it, Resort Alpschatten was an incredibly luxurious resort that provided all of the guests with five-star-worthy hospitality. The rooms and suites were impressive, the spa treatments were highly comfortable, and, surprisingly, the resort could even provide advanced medical treatments due to its previous history as a medical center. A resort with a hospital right on its grounds honestly seemed like a pretty smart idea. The whole place honestly sounded like heaven on earth.

A sudden German-accented voice then spoke up, unexpectedly startling everyone in the car.

“Ah, Stephen, my friend! I take it this is your family you’ve told me about, yes?”

Sure enough, a short-haired man was standing in front of the window, a polite smile on his face as he gently pushed down his round-framed sunglasses. Salem’s first impression of him was that he looked rather well-maintained, his outfit choice of a dark green jacket and a brown turtleneck proving a sense of fashionability. Honestly, the man looked like he could be a model.

“Herr König! Yes, you’d be correct. This is my wife, Louise, and my daughter, Salem.”

Louise, of course, gave König a polite wave and a smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Herr König. My husband has said plenty of great things about you.”

Stephen had said that König was a nice man, and so far, he seemed friendly enough. However, Salem still felt shy. Even at 24 years old, she still took the saying "Don't talk to strangers" to heart. She had always been the quiet one.

So, Salem just gave König a small and awkward wave. Something about his stare just made her feel more nervous. His eyes were quite a piercing shade of blue.

“Salem, aren’t you going to say hello?” Stephen asked with slight disapproval in his tone. “Come on, be polite. This is my boss.”

König didn’t seem to mind. “Ah, no worries.” He chuckled. “A person cannot be forced to talk. Perhaps she’ll feel much more comfortable when she’s… adjusted.”

Each word König spoke dripped with politeness; he sounded just as sophisticated as he appeared.

“You all must be very tired from such a long journey.” He then said, his smile never fading even slightly. “Come. I’ll lead you three inside. I’ll ensure your luggage is brought to your rooms.”

“So, you’re the quiet one, hm?”

Salem was unprepared to hear König speak to her, so when he did, she flinched just a little.

“Yeah, uh… I guess.” She answered, shrugging.

“Do you not like… talking to people?”

The way König spoke made it seem like he was interrogating Salem, which made her feel slightly nervous. It was as if he was trying to analyze her.

At his question, she simply just shrugged again. “I suppose it depends.”

“Depends?” König repeated, intrigued. “How so?”

“Well…” Salem turned to make sure Louise and Stephen weren’t paying attention before she spoke again. “I don’t like talking to certain people. Ask my parents. They’d know what I’m talking about.”

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THE GIF.

Of course, she was indirectly talking about them. König didn’t exactly seem to pick up on that. Maybe it was a good thing.

“Ah, so you’re picky, huh?” He asked, letting out a small chuckle of amusement.

“I guess.”

König opened the front door of the resort, stepping to the side to allow everyone through. Salem’s eyes immediately widened when she looked around the lobby. It looked so comfortable. Cozy furniture, potted plants, artwork on the walls… there was a bit of a vintage design to it, she thought. It reminded her of a hotel lobby from perhaps the 70s.

“Sabina’s the receptionist,” König explained. “She’ll give you your rooms.”

Louise and Stephen approached the reception desk first, leaving Salem in König’s presence again.

“Well, what do you think?” König asked. There was a sense of pride that he reflected as he surveyed the area. “Beautiful, isn’t it? The Alps provide the perfect scenery for a place such as this.”

Salem slowly nodded in agreement as she gawked at her surroundings. “Yeah… you’re right. It’s very pretty.”

“Has your father told you this all used to be a medical center?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Hm. Well, it’s true.” König smiled. “I took over around… twelve years ago or so, and started rebuilding it into the extravagant resort you’re now standing in.”

Just as König finished speaking, Louise and Stephen had obtained their room key. He glanced at the pair for a moment before his gaze fell on Salem again, watching as she quietly approached Sabina.

Sabina appeared to be the only receptionist working there and looked quite young, too. Younger than Salem, even. She felt some sense of almost pity for her.

Before she could even pause to think over her words, the first thing that came out of Salem’s mouth was, “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” Sabina answered. Her voice was nonchalant and monotone, her German accent subtle. “Why do you ask?”

Salem immediately felt embarrassed. “Isn’t that overwhelming, working in a place like this by yourself at your age?”

Sabina shrugged. “You get used to it.”

She brushed a lock of her long brown hair out of her face, blowing a bubble of pink bubblegum before it popped. “Well?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you here for a room?”

Before Salem could speak, there was suddenly the sound of retching. She quickly turned around, noticing a woman hunched over and vomiting while her very much concerned husband attempted to comfort her.

Sabina looked uncomfortable, slight concern flashing across her expression for a moment before it quickly faded. “Don’t… worry about that. It happens here sometimes. Think there’s been some kind of… sickness going around.”

Salem slowly nodded, awkwardly clearing her throat before she looked back at Sabina. She noticed that concerned look appear again, now with a hint of nervousness. She was staring in König’s direction as if she was wanting reassurance from him. He stepped closer to the reception desk, the polite smile that had previously been on his face returning rather quickly.

“Ah, yes. Not to worry. Illnesses come and go. Nothing out of the ordinary, I promise.”

Sabina appeared relieved at König’s response, looking back at Salem with a nonchalant expression once again. “So, what’s your name?”

“Salem Moriarty.”

Sabina took out a pen. “Well, we’ve got some, uh… private bungalows, rooms, suites… interested in any of those?”

“I’ll go with a suite.”

While Sabina was busy helping Salem, the same woman who had been vomiting earlier started retching again.

“Hey, hey… let’s get you out of here. You’re going to be okay.”

Salem noticed that Sabina was beginning to look nervous again, but she attempted to push it down.

“Ich werde nie Kinder bekommen. (I’m never having any children.)” Sabina muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” Salem quietly asked.

Sabina quickly snapped her head back up. “Oh, nothing. You don’t speak German, do you?”

“Just enough to get me by, I guess.”

“Ah.”

Eventually, after a few more minutes, Sabina gave Salem the key to her suite.

“Suite 144. Enjoy your stay here.” She spoke, now smiling kindly. “If you like going outside, Herr König takes the guests out on a nature walk every Wednesday. If you need some time to decompress, we also offer high-quality spa treatments. I really recommend them.”

Salem took her room key and offered Sabina an awkward smile. Her sudden switch-up in demeanor was honestly somewhat strange. Every so often, she’d glance back up at König, who was still standing in the lobby.

“Stimmt etwas nicht, Sabina? (Is something the matter, Sabina?)” König quietly asked, stepping closer to the reception desk. The smile he had worn had faded, replaced by a significantly more serious expression.

Sabina watched as Salem turned around to leave, clearly wanting to let them talk in peace. She looked back up at König, sighing.

“Ich möchte nicht mehr nachts arbeiten. (I don’t want to work at night anymore.)”

König raised an eyebrow at Sabina’s words, not speaking.

“Es gefällt mir nicht. (I don’t like it.)” Sabina continued.

Sabina could tell by the look in König’s eyes that he wasn’t pleased with her words in the slightest. It took him a while until he would finally speak, and that was something about him that scared Sabina — when he wouldn’t instantly respond. He was an intimidating figure.

“Das kann ich nicht zulassen. (I can’t let you.)” König eventually answered, his tone cold. “Sie sind der Einzige, der hier arbeitet. (You’re the only one who works here.)”

“Warum ist das wichtig? (Why does that matter?)” Sabina asked, narrowing her eyes. “Nach zehn Uhr ist es leer. Niemand Neues kommt herein. (It’s empty after ten o’clock. Nobody new comes in.)”

König didn’t bother listening to Sabina’s complaints. “M��ssen Sie immer mit mir streiten? (Do you always have to argue with me?)” He asked. “Tu einfach was ich sage. (Just do what I say.)”

Sabina gave the older man a reluctant look at first before sighing.

“Sie haben Glück, dass Sie überhaupt hier arbeiten. (You’re lucky to be working here at all.)” König continued. “Deine Eltern haben dir nie eine Chance gegeben, aber ich schon. (Your parents never gave you a chance, but I did.)”

“Fine.” Sabina finally muttered.

When she saw König turn to leave, she felt a sense of relief. In all honesty, she couldn’t help but worry for each new guest who chose to come here. There was something awfully sketchy about it, and she knew it. What exactly it was, Sabina was unsure, but she just couldn’t trust this place. She was especially worried about Salem.

She didn’t belong here.

[impishjesters]

Pomni x Reader who doesn't wanna leave

warning(s): implied panic/anxiety attacks, implied Reader's life prior to the Circus might've not been so great A/N: I'm not really good at words of comfort, so hopefully this isn't too bad... request: I have a request for actually pomni instead of jax- a reader x pomni sfw thing where the reader doesnt actually wanna leave the place but understands why pomni wants to leave so they just try to help her with anything and is very comforting to her. (basically a extremely sweet and calm reader with a nervous wreck pomni)

It’s easy to see why one would freak out about being permanently trapped in a digital hellscape in a body that doesn’t require sleep or food.

You feel for Pomni, you really do, but unlike her, you enjoy living here. There’s little to worry about compared to the struggles of living in the real world, the life you had before this was nothing but stress and exhaustion.

Though it’s easy to see why that might be the issue for some people, sure you lose out on all the things the real world can give you, but for every pro, there’s a con. Something you can accept, but not Pomni.

She’s such a sweet girl when she’s not on the verge of a panic attack, even if you don’t want to leave you continue to reassure her that there has to be an exit. “Can’t have an entrance without an exit.”

The best you can do is reassure her verbally and try to bring some sense of normalcy to the place. Just last week the two of you went for a walk outside the tent and did some nature gazing, it’s a little trippy how realistic the ambiance was. Though it seemed to do just the trick to help Pomni, the fake birds flew around and chirped, accompanied by the screams of obnoxious bugs.

Then there was just a few days ago when the two of you sat and listened to music while having a fake little tea date. The tea set was real—or as real as anything in this place could be—similar to a child’s play set it was just decoration as the two of you chatted over empty cups of tea.

It always seemed like talking and acting like everything was normal was a big help to her, you know if you get past the fact that the person across from you doesn’t look remotely normal.

Today, however, Pomni had been a wreck all day—the nature walk and tea time offers weren’t enough to distract her. Instead, you settled down nearby careful not to touch her, and simply took it one step at a time. Pomni disliked physical touch so you made do with talking her through it, through what was currently on her mind all while making sure to steer the mindset from sketchy abstraction territory.

“How are you so okay with this?” She looked over her knees in your general direction, not really looking at you or anything in particular.

“I mean to say I’m okay is an understatement. But it’s an improvement in some departments compared to my life before… I understand not everyone can see it that way though. But for me, I’m pretty okay with the whole situation.”

Nobody had really opened up about their lives prior, whether they could remember or not it just never came up. It felt almost taboo for some reason.

“Like I told you before, every entrance has an exit. And if I find one, you’ll be the first person I tell.”

It’s not an entire lie, you would tell her if you actually found one, but not every entrance had an exit. In some cases, the only “exit” so to speak would be death, but saying that would only make the situation worse.

“H-how do you know that though? Nobody’s seen one except for…well Kaufmo and me..” Pomni bit her lip, squeezing her legs tighter. “And i-it wasn’t even a real exist… Caine said—”

“Sweetie Caine’s about as smart as Jax is nice.” That gets a hesitant little giggle out of her, it’s rude but true. “There’s an exit I know it, that said there’s a chance Caine doesn’t know where it is or how to access it. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“I…I guess you are right…”

Pomni relaxes the death grip on her legs, letting them dangle off the couch. She’s still stuck in her head but it’s progress, and you are patient to work with her.

“Wanna go down to the kitchen and make something?”

Her head snaps in your direction so fast you swear she’d get whiplash if she could. “What?”

“You heard me.” You give her a weak shrug and lean on the armrest of your chair. “We can’t eat but that doesn’t mean we can’t cook—it’s not the same but we can still do it, sorta.”

Her expression is pure confusion, did she not know you could still cook or that there was a kitchen? Have those idiots shown her nothing??

“Mhm, maybe we could bake something for everyone. Again, can’t eat it but it’s the thought that counts yeah? I’m sure the others would enjoy that, we can all sit down with a slice and maybe have a nice chat.”

That sounded nice, domestic, and more importantly, normal. She can’t remember the last time she cooked or baked something, and while it would suck to not be able to eat it, enjoying the company of the others would be nice. Well, mostly nice.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

The two of you stood and you gave her a warm smile before gesturing her to follow. Before you made it to the door she called your name, giving a weak smile as she approached. “Thank you.”

“Any time Pompom.”

[studentbyday]

Hey guys 👋🏻 Lately even if I sleep well, I've been finding it harder and harder to get out of bed and do my work, even if I still can feel excited about certain topics in my field (if they're presented in a different enough, positive context like new research that's happening in my area). @zzzzzestforlife told me that means I'm burnt out and that if I feel like I'm so busy I can't take 5 minutes to do anything extra, I should take a hour to just rest and rejuvenate because you won't actually fall that far behind in just an hour. Proverbially speaking. She actually prescribed that I take the weekend off 😅 And I trust her judgment because she knows the pace I work at (read: slower than her) and she's burnt out enough times to recognize the symptoms quickly and take action against it before it gets really out of hand.

So this weekend, I'm just going to rest (with the exception of the little bit of pathology assignment I still have to finish before Monday and reviewing a bit more for the immunology midterm on Wednesday...and a few very light admin tasks...God, as I type this, it's really tempting to just not take a break and keep working this weekend out of fear but I really don't think I should. I should preserve the bit of passion and enthusiasm I still have for my studies and return to them on Monday feeling refreshed enough to keep going, resting each weekend, until the end of the semester because I need to build sustainable habits if I want to take 5 courses / semester next year and come out of it still whole).

And I've kind of forgotten what rest mode is like?? So I need to do a little brainstorm...again. because this list will be a bit smaller and thus less overwhelming (to me in this burnt out state) than the one I shared before and I'll only be picking the activities that will actually be helpful for my current state (e.g. i am not aiming to wake up really early at all this weekend. that just puts unnecessary pressure because i just find that really really hard to do these days as the days get shorter and recently meditating just makes all my anxious thoughts re-surface so I think I need to try more active forms of mindfulness so the full strength of the emotions don't have to hit me and drain me so much). (And I am under no pressure whatsoever to do all of these. Just whatever I feel my body and soul are most called to do in the moment. I've forgotten how to rest in the busy-ness it's so weird...like i actually had to be reminded that real rest is not something you have to try really hard to do and if you do that then it ceases to be real rest, even if you're engaging in a supposedly restful activity. Why did I have to be reminded of something so common sense. I mean, I do know, but still. It's strange, the effect that extended periods of work mode has on the brain...)

Physical movement (pilates/yoga and walking in nature are still my current faves but I only walked in nature and did yoga once this week and my body is starting to complain about it...)

Practice piano (even if I think I suck...the only reason for that would be because I'm out of practice, so the more I practice and the sooner I start practicing, the better I'll sound. I haven't played since summer ended...)

Reading fiction (Maisie Dobbs is reliably calm yet uplifting and it's what I've been reading most of this week so I might continue that, but this weekend I'm going to slow down and get cozy, i.e. away from my desk, while I read)

Yapping with those who are dearest to me

Listening to music that is stimulating in a calming way (rn I'm thinking like slow classical choir stuff haha because you've got the harmony together with occasional notes that sing out above the rest and it's just really satisfying in a calming way...there are also a couple of piano pieces that have that kind of calming vibe like träumerei... There's also slow jazz.)

Do mundane things like the laundry (I need to change my bedding anyway), sorting and folding said laundry (i don't usually like folding haha so Zesty usually does that [thankfully], but i think there will be something extra comforting about the folding patterns this time and there's just a lot still to fold...), washing my water bottle, and basically just cleaning house because the act of moving and seeing all the dirt get gone because of it is therapeutic and a surprisingly good de-stressor

I was also supposed to do my weekly hair mask this weekend which I almost completely forgot about

[prettygirlstothefloor]

Cowboy Carter Review

sorry if i write a lot. i like to yap lol

Ameriican Requiem- i'm a huge sucker for a sitar so i was gripped in from the beginning. i grew up on country music (mainly 90s/early 2000s) and so when she showed up at the CMAs and performed with the chicks it was a childhood dream. but as a person who liked country music around the time 9/11 happened, it's only become even more racist since. the way they treated her that night even though she was one of, if not THE, best performer of the night was so upsetting to watch. even as the best artist on the planet, at the top of her game, she's always going to work a million times harder than any of her peers. i'm so proud of her being able to make a song like to this to put her thoughts out on the whole night that night.

Blackbiird- obviously everyone has heard this song before. i was unaware of the actual backstory to the song since i don't follow the beatles too much (i like george harrison but that's about it lol). i was not aware that the song the song was written for black women during the civil rights movement. i assumed the song was mainly written by john lennon who to my knowledge was kind of a grifter when it came to his activism. having this song come right after ameriican requiem is so poetic.

16 Carriages- shockingly i was able to avoid hearing this song in full until tonight. i tend to only do one single per release and so texas hold em was the one. this song is so heartbreaking because i think about all the kids in the entertainment industry who can probably relate to this song all too well

Protector- these songs she makes for her kids... i'm gonna need her to stop. not because they're bad but i straight up can't listen to blue and probably this song because i want a mom like this 😭

My Rose- i hate that this is an interlude. it's so beautiful and not to be dramatic should've been 10 hours long

Smoke Hour • Willie Nelson- idk what to say about this one lol

Texas Hold 'Em- i love this song. the only problem i have with it is it sounds too clean. like the production sounds too clean. maybe it sounds better on the radio where the quality is lower than streaming but its definitely a song that needs to be played not so isolated.

Bodyguard- there's something in this song. she channeled carole king for this on or something. it's so good instantly a top 20 if not top 10 song of hers through her whole discography.

Dolly P- once again idk what to say about this one its too short to say anything

Jolene- i mean i think the same way about her version as i do about dolly's version. why are we getting mad at these women when we should be getting mad at the men?? take away that beyonce is beyonce for a second. if she was a normal lady and this girl was unaware her man was taken, isn't that more on him than anyone? he's letting it happen.

Daughter- her voice in this song is insanity. the control she has is unmatched truly.

Spaghettii- the beat omgggg. i know this would hit so hard in a mashup with "my house" i'm obsessed.

Alliigator Tears- just from hearing snippets of the country music that's on the radio nowadays, i think this might be one of the few songs from this album that they will eat up. i'm not saying that as a diss at all. i love this song alot especially after a second listen.

Smoke Hour II- i guess i can add on here a random tid bit. i made a country playlist in preperation for the album to come out. i made it on valentine's day. tell me why i named it KNTRY. i didn't even know the "radio station" she has on the album was called that lol.

Just for Fun- i don't listen to lana del rey anymore. i had a small time during last year where i did but then she got real messy again and signed that letter thanking joe biden. that being said this song sounds identical to "norman fucking rockwell". which is a compliment because both are good songs. keep jack antonoff away from beyonce though. that's the good thing about beyonce is she doesn't sound like everyone else which he makes everyone do (yes i am a fan of him but i'm critical of his production lol)

II Most Wanted- i'm sorry i've never been a fan of miley cyrus (except for the song she did for black mirror and that one EP she put out). i want to like this song because i like aspects of the song but it being a miley cyrus song with a beyonce feature is not want i want.

Levii's Jeans- this is also a collab i'm not a fan of. i actually enjoy post malone but i would've liked to see them in a more upbeat song.

Flamenco- idk how to take this song. it's stunning as usual. my thoughts on the lyrics though is she's kinda talking to fans maybe like the OG like destiny's child fans who have started to leave because she's starting to experiment more with her sound and they miss her old sound. i would love to know her take on this song in particular. because i know so many artists who decide to change their sound throughout each release are terrified of losing fans because they're so stuck on a certain sound.

The Linda Martell Show- another one i can't say much on since it's an interlude

Ya Ya- now.... remember what i said about bodyguard??? easily top 10. idk where on my ranking but it's there. the interpolation of "these boots were made for walking" and "good vibrations". there's something about that old soul rock sound that gets me every single time. i know that it doesn't sound anything alike but "freedom" has that same vibe, where it takes alot from old 60s blues soul rock. this is gonna hit so good on tour!

Oh Louisiana- i will say i really like this interlude. second favorite out of the ones with actual music

Desert Eagle- another song she chose to make extremely short when it should've been hours long... come on B

Riiverdance- its a fun and cute song. i think the beat is good but i think i like it more on my first listen.

II Hands II Heaven- i'm hoping this will finally click for me. im seeing everyone really love this song but idk whats not clicking for me. i'll definitely keep listening to it though maybe someday.

Tyrant- someone said this is the thique of cowboy carter and yeah i can definitely hear it. it's a sexy song and it's a fun song. definitely like it alot more after a second listen

Sweet • Honey • Buckiin'- her sampling "i fall to pieces" in this song is so special to me. i do want someone to take this "honey" and add it to the end of pure/honey though i wonder if it would sound any good. i think sweet and buckiin are the best songs out of the three of these.

Amen- i love how this really rounds out the album, calling back to the first song. it feels and is a very emotional song. don't know if i'll go back to it only because i think it could make me cry lol

overall, i think it's a solid album. if we're comparing the acts, which idk how you can because they're two distinctly different sounds, i would probably still go with renaissance but there's still so many solid songs on this album that are now some of my top faves. usually i rate out of 10 but it feels too low tbh, so i'm rating it out of 100. it will definitely grow on me just like renaissance did. 89/100.

[lemmilemura]

Dating Simon headcanons

If you know me, you know I literally made this account because Tumblr was the only soure of Simon screencaps etc I had. And, since I am writing what I believe to be the first ever Simon x reader fic on the entire internet over on AO3, I thought I’d feed you all some more. So, here’s some headcanons of what I think it’d be like to date Simon. Might also include NSFW if I feel like it/if anything comes to mind, but it will be marked with 🍋(real original, I know) so you can skip it if you want to. It is also currently 2 hours past when I’m supposed to go to bed and I haven’t gotten proper, 8 hours of sleep in like a month so yeah, apologies if there’s any grammar mistakes or anything similar.

They’re all kept gender neutral, and reader is referred to as ’you’.

Specifically book Simon, since book and show are pretty different I now realize

Emjoy.

TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM AND HE WILL MELT

Ok, sorry, I’ll calm down

But seriously, we know this kid hasn’t really gotten that much love or compassion from others, and probably was never even in a real relationship before you, so whenever you express that you genuinely like him and want to be with him, he kind of schort-circuits

He’s also kind of worried you’re only with him to get info on others, and once you’ve got enough you’ll leave him, and that it’s all a cruel joke

But, again, if you reassure him that no, you’re not just here for info and you do infact love him, he’ll slowly learn to not listen to the voice in his head, it will take a while tho, so get ready

Of course, since it’s Simon, if anyone ever messes with you, in any way shape or form, be that at school, online, strangers in public, whatever, he will have them on display on AboutThat the next morning, or even within a couple of hours, front and center. He doesn’t really care who it is, but if they mess with you, they mess with him too

🍋 Now we all know Simon likes to feel all high and mighty, untouchable, right? So, might I suggest, that Simon would probably enjoy power play? Of course he’s always the one with power, and I feel he’d get a reeeeeeal kick out of getting to use you however we wants (with your consent of course, he might be an ass who kinda ruins peoples lives but he’s not a monster). If you’re into it too then even better! Though he’d never push you too far, he doesn’t want to hurt and maybe even lose you! Call him something like Sir, Mister, Master or anything of the like and wheeeeeew you’ll be in for a ride. Most of the time literally xD

Simon is definitely terrified of losing you, I mean you’re one of, if not the, first people to really care for him. He’s always worried that he’ll say or do something wrong and that you’ll leave him. :( please do reassure him you won’t leave, it will probably end up with him crying, though.

At school, of course, he’s all cocky and confident, but I feel with you, in private, be that at yours or his place, he’d stop being so braggy, and actually be quite touchy and affectionate and quiet. I can imagine you two just sitting on whoever’s house you’re currently in’s bed, both sort of doing your own thing, but still leaning on another, maybe occasionally saying a few words, but mostly keeping quiet. Sometimes the Tv will be on in the background, playing whatever channel was last on, sometimes it’ll just be music, or maybe even nothing, only the sounds of both of you clicking away at laptops, phones, the sound of pages in a book turning, whatever.

I think we can all agree that Simon is probably pretty touch-starved, I mean lookatem! At school he’d probably not be that touchy, maybe just holding your hand or his arm around your waist, just small things people easily miss. He’d probably not be the biggest fan of PDA, but also probably would’t hate it. Sure he’s give you a quick kiss or two, but you wouldn’t get into full on makeout sessions in the middle of school. He hates when others do it, so he also won’t.

In private, however, it’s as if he’s superglued to you, always touching you in some way. Leaning on you when you’re both working, holding you when you watch Tv together, you sitting on his lap when he’s at his desk, whatever. He’s always hesitant to let go because his brain tells him that if he lets go, he’ll never get to hold you again, that you’ll disappear.

Maybe, just maybe, you’d even be enough for him to scrap his plan, to not actually kill himself. I doubt he just one random day decided to do it, he must have started planning ahead years before. And it will take a while for him to decide that no, he doesn’t want to do it anymore, because he has you. I feel the day it’s all officially cancelled, he’d probably sit down on his bed or desk and just, take it all in for a bit. Never had he felt this safe and happy with someone before, so much so that he doesn’t want to kill himself anymore. He definitely cries.

I feel you’d eventually find out. Maybe you do by accident, maybe he tells you, doesn’t really matter. Either way, a lot of crying happens. You crying because he wanted to kill himself, then because you are the reason he didn’t and then him crying because of all the emotions and how new this all is for him.

NEW

So we all probably know the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' right? Well, I just heard it on tiktok, the end part where she also sings to be precise, and I dunno why but I just thought of Simon and his S/O. Like he never thought they'd ever even acknowledge him, and when they do he's just like "Wot". I dunno, my brain just does stuff sometimes.

In conclusion: I fucking love Simon, I want him to be happy, healthy and loved and I will gladly give him that love. <33

If anything else pops into mind, I will add it, I’ll mark it too so you’ll see what’s new!

[wrongcaitlyn]

AHHHH I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I SEND YOU TOO MANY ASKSMHFJGXJC BUT ANYWAYS- the greatest of luxuries takes place around 2018, right? Which is also coincidentally around the time tiktok got popular so just like hear me out-

Nico is a chronic tiktok user and definitely makes tiktok dances (he was supposed to use it for promotional purposes and it's not until Apollo asks him about it that he actually does)

Nico and Will are those tiktok friends, the kind that you see videos of and it just looks like they came straight out of a coming of age movie- same goes for whenever Leo is featured in Nico's tiktoks like they are so iconic

Apollo definitely gets tiktok for the shits and giggles, only to go accidentally viral constantly- like he could make one silly random tiktok of freaking alley cat he found and it'd get like 50 million likes 😭😭 (bros tiktok account consists of his children and their silly friends)

ANYWAYS HAVE A GOOD DAY 🫶🫶🫶🫶

NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR TOO MANY ASKS I LITERALLY LIVE FOR THEM LIKE YES PLEASE ASK ME A MILLIION QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS AU THAT CONSUMES MY ENTIRE LIFELKSDF

and you are RIGHT OHMYGODSKLJF i keep thinking of a way to incorporate it bc rn they're in 2019, but i'm like, ahgsdf how do i bring in tiktok, do i make it a whole convo or just casually mention it orrrr

i do have quite a few tiktok headcanons in relation to them but i LOVE your ideas they're so real😭

these are the hc's that i had before reading this but tbh might have to go back to the drawing board on some of them becauseee i mean

(also i deleted tiktok a while back bc it was too addictive so tbh i have no idea what's going on over there anymore... nor was i there in the early daysSDLKF)

nico already strays away from social media quite a bit, and i think over the music industry changed, it's def encouraged for artists to like promote their music there and stuff. BUT. he has a bit of an addictive personality (relatable) and so when he eventually downloads it (because he would resist for a very long time) would get hooked. except he rarely posts, instead, he's that verified celeb account that you find in the most random comment sections and he spams all his friends with vids. he definitely gets a lot of pet videos i feel like, like the cute dogs and cats and he would send a vid of like yk YK WHAT VIDS IM TALKING ABOUT like two cats snuggling with each other or smth and send it to will with 'us' i just KNOW he would bc it's incredibly sappy but doesnt require too much descriptionsfkljs

he probably has 235829348 drafts and he mostly posts random stuff that's completely unrelated to his music. like i bet there would be a few people (when he occasionally says something related to his job) who didn't even know he released music despite definitely having heard it

i didn't really envision him doing tiktok dances eXCEPT maybe they all stay in his drafts. bc i dont think his vids would really be focused on *him* because he's not a huge fan of being on camera, so it'd more just be like those rants where you can only see his forehead or random studio vids oR TRAVEL VIDS WHILE ON TOUR. he would def do those. there's def some people who think he's a travel influencer and then find out he's a grammy award winning artist and are like ??? NICO?? FROM TIKTOK???

but he isn't called a "tiktok artist" despite some people knowing him from tiktok because he literally ALWAYS forgets to promote his own music in his vids. his fans are promoting it in the comment sections to try and get the people who think he's a travel influencer to listen to him😭

but his posting schedule is so very sporatic like he'll post ten vids in a day and then nothing for a month. it's fully based on vibes and is completely chaotic, just like everything else he does

will, like any other social media platform, has a private account. (nico also has a private spam) so will is that person who tags people in the comments like all the time (whereas nico sends it more often just bc he doesnt wanna risk being on the wrong account accidentally)

he appears a LOT on leo and lou ellen and cecil's tiktoks (and nico's) and every other week there's a huge internet search to find out who this guy is on a new famous person's tiktok account and then someone will be like "it's just will solace again HOW THE FUCK DOES HE ALWAYS FIND THESE PEOPLE"

like when he randomly shows up in taylor swift's getting ready for her nyu graduation post. like he's definitely there for a brief second in just like the reflection of a window or something and everyone goes CRAZY

before realizing it's this cryptid guy again who seems to be surrounded by every famous person to exist

he definitely posts a lot on his private account though and often it'll just be him rambling about something he's learned in class or him documenting every time he sees a cute animal in public

eventually he'll be dared to make a public account and he decides "haha that's funny okay sure it's not like anyone will find me"

WRONG. this guy is allergic to being not-famous. he will never be allowed to be a normal guy. his first video goes completely viral. he posts once in a blue moon, usually documenting his friends being crazy and every single time he does, it gets like a million views with people in his comments being "how does he know them???"

but you are DEFINITELY right about his account always seeming like it comes out of a coming of age story

and there are most definitely thousands of shippers in every single comment section with literally every friend. so he tries to have at least two other people in every single video so that people can't ship him with just one other person. but it's unavoidable. esp when he comes out as bi, people are just shipping him with ANYONE who shows up on his account

he also does those screaming lipsync vids to whenever a song by one of his favorite songs comes out he's a huge fanboy

OH and he gets to show off his vinyls there. he loves doing that. he's got so many and vinyl tiktok admires it.

also in every single video there's at least one comment that says "you look like apollo the singer"

EVERY SINGLE ONE

leo's the most active on tiktok, as he is with every other social media

it's either him building something, him setting something on fire, him with his friends, him talking to the camera while walking down the street (you know the genre of tiktok)

he is very similar to will in the aspect of "HOW DOES HE KNOW THEM??" but he's been a bit more public than will so people will know him more

he doesn't go viral as often as will (despite posting 132532x as much) but when he DOES it goes VIRAL viral. like tens of millions of views. it still happens quite often and he has the highest follower count of the friendgroup

and he's also the most active in comment sections like he's in every comment section you can't escape him and he replies to like every single one on his vids, usually with very cryptic responses that leave you with more questions than you started with

he ALSO tags will and nico in a bunch of videos, but not in a private account. he doesn't have a private account. he just tags them (obviously, avoiding any romance-related / stuff that could out them, in which he would send it to them) in EVERYTHING

and that's also the highest chance you have of will (on his public account) commenting on a video bc he's mostly on his priv

he also (when him and jason eventually come out) makes a million couple tiktoks and does all the trends

most recurring character in his vids are piper (and shel) (and will and nico over the summer when they're not so far apart)

apollo runs the account for delphi records

i know i haven't shared much of this BUT most people 100% assume that it's run by some intern or something bc of how casual it is but it's actually just him

he loves comment sections and hyping up all of his artists

oh BTW leo and will and apollo do all the promotion for nico because of how much he forgets about it

it's very common for nico to be posting a random ass video and then the top comment is Delphi Records ✓ Check out Nico's latest single, ______!

he also EVENTUALLY gets a tiktok for himself

that is just entirely his kids

as he should

aside from leo, i think kayla and piper are most active on tiktok

piper knows all the inner fandom details from shel (who has an editing account 100% bc i have an editing account and im projecting onto her)

piper's vids are mostly with leo they're such an iconic duo

idk why but all i can think of when thinking about piper is that her feed is like momona tamada?? like that's the vibe we're going for here

and ofc she promotes charities and other important topics there too!!!

and if there's a wlw trend going around yk that piper and shel are going to be on that first thing, probably the top video under whatever audio it is

and KAYLA. GOD. KAYLA'S TIKTOK IS SOOO ICONIC i think she's second to leo with most followers

the lip sync videos for sure, also out of all of them i think she'd def do tiktok dances she'd slay them all

and then some of them are just trends or her in the archery range

somewhat similarly to will, she often gets comments that say "how does she know them??"

but like a good 30% of people watching the archery events of the olympics are there just because of her tiktokSDLFKJS

she also happens to go viral. all. the fucking. time. like i swear apollo's kids just HAVE to go viral all the time they can't escape it they're made for fame and it's likeee kayla does love it (will not so muchKSDF and austin has avoided this problem by just not downloading tiktok at all! except apollo's video of him performing has gone viral. oh well.)

so those are my hc's feel free to add on to these!!! i would love to hear what y'all think bc AHGSDFL writing about these characters' social media is one of my favvv things to do - thank you for the ask!!!! sorry for the lengthy rambleKSDJF

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I definitely want to back up that anon who thinks jimin is still in the kitchen! In truth I think all the boys are and will be for a long time. I see chapter two as the introduction of their solo careers meaning "hey we are gonna be bts but also be ourselves sometimes too" I think every solo moment we've seen is the beginning which I'm for one super excited about. Imagine a wave of brilliant solo work one year and then phenomenal group work the next. Chapter two is barely a year in and it's already a visual and musical feast. I think jimin loves quietly preparing so he can wow us when he feels the time is right and while I too get tense with the constant radio silence I know it's cause he'll blow my mind the second he wants too. I hope people who feel as if Jimin didn't get a chance to show his true might feel comforted in that he will never ever stop wanting to gag tf out of us. And I think the sentiment holds the same for bts.

***

Exactly this. Up until a few months ago I thought this was well understood, seeing as how BTS has operated till now, but clearly I was mistaken.

For posterity’s sake, to beat this dead horse one final time:

Would it be nice for each member’s release to not have any of the issues they’ve had? Of course. But it’s possible to inform the company of said issues, address what we can for issues due to various platform errors not due to the company, while not losing sight of the fact this is only 2023. We’re still only in 2023. As in, we’re literally just one year into Chapter 2, none of the guys are older than 30, and they keep saying they’re in this for the long haul. And this is the same group that has shown over a decade that their plans are most often and best executed in multi-year stints.

It’s bizarre to think a member’s solo career is over or even damaged at all in any real way because of one or more problems that happened during their first solo release. It betrays such a myopic, winner-take-all mentality that you have to be in a very specific headspace to fully buy into.

Jimin is clearly happy and working. He’s not blind and is seeing what is working for other members and what isn’t. They’re all checking out each other’s solo endeavours from time to time, cheering each other on and I’d say making notes on what they too could try, what works and what doesn’t.

If there’s one thing that’s become clear to me over the years, and even more so in Chapter 2, it’s that BTS is a team. A real team. I’ve seen a lot of k-pop groups over the years and there is no group today, present or past, that would reach the heights BTS has if any of the members sought to harm or sabotage or lord shit over the rest, with or without help from the company. None of the BTS members would put up with that shit. Their egos are too big, they’re so obviously their own people, very ambitious and so aware of it that I really wonder if people actually listen to these men when they talk. They know exactly what they’re worth, and they trust that all the other members know it too. If BigHit showed any real favouritism, BTS is the last group to allow that if it’s not something they themselves have already agreed to.

They all know what they’re doing. And if they don’t, then they’re the only people with the tools to figure it out. All the angst and anguish over this or that happening in fan spaces, has no real effect on these men sitting somewhere in Seoul planning out everything they’d like to do as solo artists and as part of BTS.

That’s my takeaway after watching them for as long as I have. I could be wrong, but I’ve not seen anything to suggest that yet. I’m not sure how long you’ve been in the fandom Anon, or what you think about other issues, but it’s nice to see you and the other Anon share this perspective. It’s a view that’s widely accepted in the fan spaces I’m in outside of Tumblr, but one that is sorely lacking in this space right now.

For no reason at all, one Jimin that I hope one day shows up in Chapter 2, 3, or 4:

Sidebar - A friend (who isn’t religious) was asking another friend recently about religion, because she’s now desperate enough to seek divine intervention for Jimin to find blonde hair dye, and to love it again.

We all know his best hair colour is black, but it’s just as true that a solid case has been made for him being a natural blonde.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Okay, that’s it today from my gallery.

That colleague i mentioned the other day, the one that recently got into BTS and now biases Jimin, we’re meeting up this weekend with my other friend, the musician that watched the Grammys with me last year and fell in love with Jimin. That’s an example of two people still finding out about Jimin, falling in love with his music and him as a person, and starting to support him. None of the noise online actually has any real bearing on the impact of real life people still learning about Jimin through his solo music and through BTS, and becoming his fans maybe for life.

If anyone finds themselves feeling overwhelmed in fandom, please zoom out. Please take time away and get some perspective. Everything I’ve said is obvious, none of it is rocket science or gleaned from any special insight. The noise online can suck you in, to prevent that, please detach, go back to their recent and old interviews to hear what they each feel about Chapter 2 and their solo work, listen to all of what Jimin expressed during his promotions, the good and bad. You’d be left with fewer anxieties. At least, that’s the case for me.

Thanks for this, Anon.

[arthuluart]

Hiii - wanted to say first thing first I love your art style, it's so dynamic and fun and those color palettes? Stunning ^^

And second thing second, just some food for thought if you ever want to get angsty about Jerry and Dean, coffee by Chappell Roan sounds like it was written about their break up specifically and I can't stop thinking abt it dndnden

*Cue me losing my mind*

Hiii- they say flattery gets you everywhere and turns out with me, it gets you animatics- jkjk but I do appreciate the kind comments ^^

I’ll put up the animatic separately and take the opportunity to leave the preamble here to keep the video post neat bc until someone tells me to shut up and just post art- I’m gonna ramble… So here’s the commentary you didn’t ask for along with my favourite panels:

First off- You turned me into a big time Chappell Roan listener which is great bc I need music recs to fix my listening habits before Spotify wrapped drops. My roundup last year was shameful… Red Wine Supernova is my new dish washing song.

Even tho it’s not the song’s vibe I kept the content as silly as I could for my own sanity. I don’t love getting too deep into the serious/sad side of M+L for a few reasons but I do find it all very interesting. Point being this song was too good to pass up doing something a bit bigger for.

Ngl tho- this did have me pulling out hair at multiple points. I never colour animatics, rarely even tone them- but you mentioned colour palettes and I was determined to deliver so pardon the messy colouring but (that was the tradeoff) I did not have it in me to stay in the lines. I’m choosing to be kind to myself and opt to call it an artistic choice and not midway burnout. And nothing was gonna get me to open after effects/premiere not even the janky ass golf ball OML this only makes sense if u watch the video.

There are parts of this I’m SO happy with and others I hate. I think it’s really obvious which sections I started losing steam on but overall I lowkey like the end product. Nothing I make will ever be good/perfect- this was one hell of a practice in accepting that lmao- but I can still be ok with the work problems and all yknow? I very nearly shelved this completely bc I got so worked up about the maybe 5 panels I dislike out of 106 total. Counting them was eye opening to ask myself: you’re gonna let that small a ratio stop you from sharing this after putting in days and days of effort? The insecurity goes deep and TBH getting asks has been a nice way of working through it since I post the art I make for answers no matter what only bc I KNOW someone out there wants to see it. It might not sound it but it’s actually quite positive.

Also, although I feel I’ve done my fair share of reading, I’m no expert. So if anything is really off point- sorry my bad (I won’t fix it tho bc I cannot physically stand to look at this another second lol)

I tried to stick to real things found in articles/books/photos/interviews etc bc outside of obviously fictional AUs I’m not super into making stuff up about them (and who needs to I mean the legit stuff is already insane enough) Sure I framed the events in specific ways to suit the song and some aspects are fictionalized (mainly bc the referenced written accounts lacked detail to draw 100% faithfully from anyhow) but otherwise I got my sources cited.

ANYWAYS… sorry for hijacking this answer I need to learn to chill out. Irl I’m a pretty reserved talker so you can tell I’m in a comfy place when I let loose and blather on endlessly lmao brevity is not a skill I possess.

You were probably expecting illustrations or smth but I hope what I came up with is still somewhat alright AND please don’t let my complaining fool you, I genuinely loved making this.

One FINAL Relevant Note: the line “nowhere else is safe every place leads back to your place” is gut wrenching. You’re so right about this song perfectly describing the break up. They always came back to each other and there’s something so devastating about that kind of haunting human connection.

OkAY I’m done promise- I thought I’d implode if I didn’t get all that out

[laventadorn]

Hi music anon again 🤗

I know what you mean about never knowing what music Snape listens to. It's sort of tough, isn't it?

I feel like the instinct is for classical and I don't doubt that he enjoys classical music, but I also think his Muggle upbringing would surely play a role in his music taste no matter how much he rightfully despised his father and his crappy childhood in general.

Now this may way be controversial, but I sort of headcanon teenage Snape secretly listening to Fleetwood Mac or T-rex or The Stones with black painted finger nails and cigarette in hand and sort of think he probably never stopped? I mean the painted nails probably didn't hang around after he started teaching (or maybe he did and he just used a glamour though that might interfere with his potions lol) but I could still easily see Harriet's Snape listening to You can go your own way or Paint it black in his chambers when he thinks hes mostly certain he has a few private minutes to himself...of course, I now I have the image of Snape listening to angry girl indie music in my head i dont think that's leaving any time soon 😄

it certainly is rough! also it's very hard not to give him our own music taste in some way (that is, the taste of the person headcanoning about it), which is only natural, both because we like our own taste and because we interpret our blorbos through some prism of self.

also music, more than probably any other art form, seems to get tied up with this performance evaluation of our personal coolness. there can be a lot of "i don't listen to that" about music, and everyone shows off their spotify wrapped at the end of the year (some people apparently... put cooler songs on mute and play them to jazz up their list?? is that real????) so, going off what you said about his Muggle upbringing, and music as a form of teenage rebellion, this complicates the Snape Playlist because one would imagine him hearing Muggle music at home and, whether he liked it or not, rejecting it because it's Muggle. or maybe embracing it, at least on holiday, because his dad hates it and he hates his dad. or! maybe some of it reminds him of lily, so it likes it for that reason, at least for a while. (secret fourth option: i’m way overthinking it!)

the another complication is that we don't know what the heck kind of music wizards listen to. we only know the Weird Sisters, which is rock. are they the wizard Iron Maiden or Nirvana? or maybe Vivaldi was a wizard or something. then young, desperately-trying-to-not-be-too-Muggle Snape could listen to these safely.

but in the end, i just wonder if... snape wouldn't listen to anything? i wonder if the reason it's so hard to nail down something for him to listen to is because i can't imagine him actually... doing something for simple enjoyment? he's so uptight in this way and self hating in that way... the result of asking myself "what would snape enjoy" is really the answer "nothing!" he won't let himself. he can read depressing books and dry potions journals but for music you just have to relax and enjoy the noises and i just... have a hard time picturing him doing it. he can't relax. he can't enjoy himself. he can't appreciate a nice tune. not yet.

this tangled web of questions is the answer i've come up with for myself, so far :)

[oh-my-may]

Hey there

Hi, this is my reintroduction to tumblr (kinda).

I go by May on the internet, it's some weird nickname I made of my real name and goes back to my first gamer tag on minecraft...

I'm currently 22 years of age, which sometimes makes me feel incredibly old on the internet? At the same time I seem to come across many other people my age who go through very similar struggles as me lol

I curretnly work fulltime as a waitress. I'm European so I get paid a proper wage there, and the work with my coworkers is very fun and comforting. I'm not always the biggest fan of other people, but being a people pleaser and having the ability to hide my true personality behind a "nice" facade makes my job possible and bearable. (jk aside, I really like my job)

Hobbies include:

reading (I always say that, but I barely ever pick up a book. Just spent most of my early teen years absolutely ramming through a shit ton of books. I still really enjoy reading, but I barely find the time to do it. My tbr list is endless)

gaming (I'll dip my toes into anything that's not an ego-shooter, my PS5 is one of my most treasured possessions)

watching movies (last year I dragges either my sister or one of my friends to the theaters at least once a month. Doesn't mean I'm a movie critic or anything, but I really like watching movies and I might just share some takes on it on here)

anime (just a select few, the most famous ones. Life's busy when you have a fulltime job and still have other hobbies, but I'm currently on my first watchthrough of One Piece! Will definitely post about this from time to time)

listening to music (realizing I have very basic hobbies bc my parents never urged me to pursue anything specific when I was a child, but anyway: I will listen to almost a bit of anything, but Taylor Swift and Ghost were amongst my most streamed artists on Spotify last year. Do with that info what you will)

writing. I did start with writing fanfiction, first harry potter, then boybands, then kpop, then anime. Most important to me was always my original idea though. I know many people have things like this. A few years ago I thought I'd actually go with trying to publish something. Now I have revised and rethought the whole thing. I barely write, but it's still in the back of my head all the damn time. I always think about writing, but doing the actual thing rn seems impossible.

As I'm writing this I realize how pathetic I feel doing this, beacuse I have this awful feeling no one is gonna respond and I'll end up regretting this so much that I'll delete it. Thank God the internet gives me the opportunity to be anonymous.

Anyway, the previously mentioned hobbies lead to my (current) interests that I'll most likely post about, so if you're into one or more of these things as well, let's chat!

in terms of games: Currently playing through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and generally FF7 is probably a huge hyperfixation of mine and has been for years. I've just arrived in Gongaga on my playthrough and I'm loving all of it. The game caters to all the expectations and interests I have in games. It's just so insanely beautiful and makes me tear up every couple hours idk

on this note I'd like to mention that I dipped my toes into FF14 but since I only play on Playstaion now, all the commands are overwhelming to me. I'm definitely planning on playing FF15 and FF16

Kinda cringe but I swear I'm normal: Genshin Impact. Have been playing since early 2021, once had a pretty unhealthy relationship to this game, but I was mentally not doing well during that time. Having a fulltime job changed my perspective on the game. Now I'm a casual enjoyer bc I love the open world and characters, and I love to get into the lore, so I might post a few theories and stuff on here

On that note: Honkai Star Rail. Same company, but it took me way longer to get into the game. Really enjoying it now though, although I am struggling with a bunch of battles. Save to say, I am NOT playing the game for the meta lol

One Piece! As mentioned, I started my watch of it last year in summer just before the Netflix live action came out (work bestie talked me into it). I'm quite literally at episode 500 rn. Had to stop for a while at around Thriller Bark bc the first few episodes didn't quite do it for me. Now I try to watch a few episodes before sleep everyday :)

Other anime that I am different levels of unhinged about: Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Bungou Stray Dogs, Demon Slayer. The basics, I know. Just don't have the time to watch a lot while other life stuff happens, you know. OP is the main thing rn, and until I am kinda up-to-date with that, everything else will have to wait lol

In terms of book stuff I must admit I keep going back to communities and fandoms I was a part of when I was a teen lol. This largely refers to stuff like Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugho, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and All for the Game by Nora Sakavic

Right now though I am more interested in reading some classics and other stuff. Read Britney Spears' biography last year (within the span of one day, I wanna add), currently I'm reading a chapter of Crime and Punishment once in a blue moon. I'd like to read more stuff like that in the future, but everything at it's time ig

Other fictional universes I was once quite unhinged about: Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Both communities are kinda dead atm though. I'm still in the process of reading the books (which means I last picked them up over a year ago. But believe me, I'll get there, eventually.... someday)

In terms of music as I said I listen to almost anything. Not a lot of rap and techno, though. I like stuff with lyrics I can sing along to and feel deep within my bones. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" of any particular artist, I was very unhinged about musicians as a teen and I have learned my lesson. Now I just listen to the music without caring too much about the artist themselves. I used to really like 5 Seconds of Summer as a teen, then I moved to Kpop. Now I barely keep up with either but just listen to the stuff I did back then

I think that's basically it for now? The most important parts about myself. Stuff I like to talk about, so if you like some of this too, maybe come talk to me? I wanna get to know people here after all, and I have learned this is probably the best way to start.

I don't have many conditions for friends tbh. I'm 22, so anything between like 19 and 26 or so is fine as long as the vibes are good :) I don't care about genders and all that, personally going by she/her. I'm a Taurus, in case someone wants to know. Last time i took the test I was an infp-t (still think it's pretty accurate but it's been a few years nd I heard that test isn't as accurate? idk)

Other things you should maybe know is that English is not my native language, so excuse any mistakes you might come across lol. I dropped out of university. My profile picture kinda captures my most basic features.

Anyway, feel free to hit me up, I love talking to people on the internet and I really look forward to this reinvention of my account here and actually talking about my interests and reposting stuff I like :)

If you have any questions, just ask!

Until then,

May

[some-creep]

Tumblr doesn't let me @ you because it's the website ever. However.

--------

She closed her eyes, head resting on her hand as she let the smell of coffee do its best to try and wake her up. Her laptop sat open in front of her, the screen long since dimmed from lack of activity. Ten in the morning was just too early for Marie's brain to start working. Though, by now, it was closer to 10:30. She whined to herself, rubbing at her face to try and rouse herself before she dozed off at the kitchen table. She told herself if she did that, the coffee Callie had made for her would be cold, or worse, room temperature. She willed herself to take a drink before shivering at the overly sugary liquid. Callie insisted the sugar would help wake her up, but Marie was pretty sure she just wanted to steal a drink or two from her cup.

If Callie was here, Marie might have a better chance of staying awake. No such luck today. Callie had an early appointment with a photographer for a makeup advertisement she was in. This left Marie alone to try and get something done. By herself. So early. With no one to nudge her awake.

Marie figured she'd dozed off for real when she heard the front door opening. Callie was back early. Probably. She opened her eyes and tapped on her laptop's spacebar to turn the screen back on. It wasn't even eleven, meaning she hadn't slept for long. Maybe Callie had forgotten something? Marie yawned, listening to footsteps shuffling into the kitchen.

"Hey, you're home early, did something…happen-" it wasn't Callie, though it wasn't anyone she felt the need to straighten up for either.

She leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Hey, Four."

Agent 4 stood a few steps from the kitchen table, holding a folder in her hand. Her posture was straight and her expression unusually serious.

"Is Callie here?" She asked, glancing around the room.

"Uh. No? She's at a job. Why?" Marie paused. "How did you get in here anyway. Wasn't the door locked?"

"You gave me a spare key, remember?"

"Not really." She shrugged. Marie wasn't that concerned. She'd probably given it to her when Callie was missing and forgotten about it. It wasn't as if she was thinking clearly at the time.

Marie took a drink before speaking again, "so what did you need Callie for?"

Agent 4 shifted, looking at her feet before back in Marie's general direction but ultimately avoiding eye contact. "I didn't really want to talk business with just you."

"Business?" Marie repeated, grinning. "Since when do you talk 'business'?" She leaned forward, watching Four avert her gaze once again.

"Since now. Can I sit?"

Marie gestured at one of the empty kitchen chairs, leaning back. She tried to imagine what business Four wanted to discuss. Maybe she wanted free promotion on music she was working on. Did she even do that? Marie didn't really know, though most Inklings seemed to have some interest in music. Maybe she wanted to do work for them? Or just Callie? It made sense she'd want to look for work and connections as a student. Or had she graduated by now? Either way.

She placed her hands on her keyboard, looking at Four, amused by her nervousness still. "Alright. I'm ready for business time."

"This is serious, Marie."

"Serious business." She nodded.

"I mean it."

"Okay, okay, fine. What's up?"

Agent 4 placed the folder on the table, pressing her hands against it to keep Marie from grabbing it. Of course, this only piqued her interest. Four bit her lip, staring at the back of Marie's laptop. "I want you to pay me." She said, voice trembling.

Marie raised an eyebrow. "Pay you for?"

"For the work I did for you. For *Callie*."

"Huh? What work?"

"The work I did for Squidbeak. It's not cheap living in Inkopolis, y'know? I think my roommate has someone to help support her, but I don't, and it's hard to find work that actually pays enough to cover rent, let alone everything else and-"

"Nah. Agents don't get paid." She said, not giving it even a moment's thought. Four's rant was depressing, but it really wasn't her problem.

Four pressed her fingertips into the folder, still not looking at Marie. "I saved the Great Zapfish. I saved *Callie*. I risked my life for you guys. Isn't that worth anything to you?"

"You volunteered."

Four was silent for a while, hands balled into fists. Marie had told her already there were no parades for secret agents. She wasn't really sure what the point of all of this was. Four hadn't been this insistent after Callie came home, so why now?

"Was that all your serious business, Four?"

"I've got a real name, you know. Do you even know what my real name is?"

"Where's all this coming from?"

"You don't, do you. You act like you know everything about me but you don't actually know anything about me as a person! Was I just someone for you to take advantage of because it was convenient for you? Because you thought I didn't know any better?"

"I didn't 'take advantage of you', you volunteered, like I said."

Marie was sat straight up now, a stony expression on her face. She wasn't going to let Four sit there and accuse her of things that weren't true. She never made Four do anything. Not once.

"You really think this is the best way to beg for money?" She laughed humorlessly. "You thought you'd just come in here and yell at me because you're, what, late on rent? Car broke down?"

"I saw something I don't think I was supposed to." Four said, looking up at her. Marie backed down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dunno what that could be."

"Yes you do."

Marie couldn't be sure, but she thought that, ever so briefly, Agent 4 was looking at her in disgust. She was probably just imagining things. Four hadn't said anything concrete, and Marie wasn't going to give anything away.

"It's pretty sick if you ask me. I don't think I would have 'volunteered' like you keep saying if I knew."

"I don't know what you're even talking about anymore."

"I thought you guys were my friends. Callie at least. But after this? No. Still, I really didn't want to have to do this. I don't *want* to hate you guys but I can't even look at you after all of this. I gave you a chance to do things the easy way."

"Still don't know what this is about." She could feel herself trembling and held her breath to try and stop it. She did know. But she didn't know to what extent.

Four held up the folder keeping it pinched closed. "You. And Callie."

Marie felt her body go cold. She said nothing.

"After you used me it's the least you could do to help support me. Otherwise…" Four fanned the folder back and forth, as if taunting Marie.

"You're bluffing."

"Is that really what you think?"

Marie froze before she tried to speak, mouthing words with no sound and no meaning. She couldn't force a coherent thought, let alone a sentence.

"Are you gonna listen to me now?"

"What d… what's in…there."

"Are you going to listen to me?"

Marie nodded weakly, feeling distinctly as if her life was officially over.

Four opened the folder, pulling out a printed copy of an all too clear image of her and Callie at Tentakeel Outpost, hiding, or so they thought, next to the shack. Marie had her back pressed against it and Callie stood in front of her, kissing her. She felt herself crying, though she still didn't move.

"I have the -rest- of it, too."

"You can't…"

"Give me a reason I shouldn't."

"I… Four–"

"That *isn't* my name."

If she ever did know Agent 4's name, she had no chance of remembering it now. "I'm sorry."

Four pulled out another picture, seemingly just to torment her now, of Callie kneeling down in front of Marie to…

She couldn't look. She felt sick. She felt violated. "Please don't tell Callie about this."

"You're using her too, aren't you."

Marie's head shot up at the accusation. It was one she'd often grappled with herself. Sometimes she did feel like she was just using Callie, despite Callie insisting otherwise. But Callie depended on her so much that it wasn't hard to consider the idea that she only went along with Marie's perversions in order to be taken care of.

"Please don't say that. I'm… I'm not. I wouldn't do that."

"So you're above using people?"

"No– yes– I don't know. What do you want!"

"However much you think this little secret is worth."

Marie blurted out the first response she could think of, body in survival mode. "Ten. Ten percent. Of everything. From today on. Bank accounts. Sales. Appearance fees. All of it."

"Ten percent! Maybe ten percent can be what you keep. Unless, you really don't think this secret is life ruining and you're just being dramatic~." Four was enjoying her first taste of real power over someone a little too much. She seemed as if she'd already forgotten her original intentions for coming here. Things were getting out of hand.

"I - fine, fine fifty. That's my half of everything. The whole. The. The whole brand. The-"

"Aren't you retired? Can't imagine your brand carries much weight anymore. Especially not after this."

"After what? You didn't tell anyone did you? You won't tell if you get what you want, right? That's the deal. Four. This is serious. This is my life we're talking about, it's not just my brand. What do you want, just tell me."

She liked to hear Marie beg, that much was clear by her expression. But Marie was beginning to realize her begging was only spurring her on and making things worse.

"I want you to start by calling me my name."

"I don't know your name!" She said, slamming her hand down on the table, "I never knew your name because you didn't tell me and I. I didn't really see a reason to ask because I thought you were fine with Four. I thought it was. I thought it was just a nickname between us or. Or something I don't know. I thought you liked the agent thing. Three likes the agent thing."

"Bet you don't know Three's name either."

Marie shut up. She didn't know Three's name.

"You're really selfish, y'know that?"

She nodded.

"Everything has always gone right for you, hasn't it? Miss Superstar."

Marie nodded again. The accusation wasn't true, but now wasn't the time to argue or try and correct her.

"Maybe it's time something doesn't go your way. Money's only good for so long, and you have so much of it I'm not sure it'll even matter if you lost some to me."

"Please–" she begged. Maybe she'd wake up from this bad dream soon. "Do you really want to hurt Callie this way too?"

Four shrugged. "Can't be helped."

"Didn't you just say you thought of Callie as your friend? I know I'm not your friend but. But. There's gotta be something. You don't understand what'll happen if you tell people about us."

"Okay, okay, fine. Transfer me…say. 5,000g to start."

Marie only just fought back the urge to say, "that's it? all of this for that little money?" Instead, she fumbled to unlock her phone to give in to Four's demands. She considered doubling it but she feared offending her further by giving off the impression that money really didn't matter to her at such small amounts.

"It's done. Do you promise to stop now?"

Four set the folder down, taking her hands off of it. Marie grabbed it, clutching it to her chest like a stuffed toy, rocking gently with it in her arms to try and calm down.

Agent 4 stood up from the kitchen table, looking down at her with disgust. "Hey, Marie."

Marie didn't answer, seeming to no longer process what was going on around her. Four continued anyway.

"Should have bought the camera from me instead."

[justamessedupdisneyprincess]

Lost in labyrinth mall! An onward fanfic! This fic focuses on Izzyley, a SI x Canon ship!

Part 3!

Izzy and Barley happily chatted during the drive to the mall. Along the way they had exchanged music, which was a little activity they tend to do during any road trips. Barley may introduce Izzy to a song he likes whilst Izzy would do the same. The elf was quite surprised to learn about Izzy’s preferred genre. He didn’t know exactly what she might like but it certainly wasn’t something so loud and full of energy and melody. Her love of dubstep was quite ironic given how she tends to hate most loud noises around her. She even introduced him to a new type of genre he has come to really like, even purchasing some of those songs for himself! Metalstep. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Izzy enjoyed many of his songs as well, she liked rock and metal as well. But she has a weak spot for a “sick” drop. Which would be the last thing one would expect from her.

“So ummm…I’ve actually been having some weird dreams where I can make music.” Izzy started at some point in the conversation.

Barley laughed a little. “Pretty much anyone can make music if they pour their heart’s fire right into it.”

“Yeah, but I mean like with mind powers. Like I can make my own dubstep out of thin air.” Izzy added.

Barley laughed a bit harder, he can see what she meant by weird then. “Now that would be one heck of a skill! Y’know I would listen to anything you make.”

“Well they actually sounded super good! Which kind of makes me wonder if I could become a DJ or something…but then I try to make music and it’s so much that I don’t have any idea what to do.” Izzy sighs. “I can hear the drops perfectly in my head but I can’t figure out how to make them a reality. It gave me a newfound respect for musicians.” She sounded a bit frustrated. In some cases Izzy had dreams where she wished so hard for it to be real, these types of dreams were one of them. Of course there are ones she is grateful that are not only real but she hopes to never ever have again, such as anxiety dreams about her teeth falling out, those ones always unsettle her.

Barley shrugs a bit. “You might be able to one day with enough practice. Actually ya know what. I know you totally can do that.”

Izzy chuckles a bit. “I dunno, it all seems pretty complex to me. I guess one day I might try and learn more about it.”

Her creativity, that was just one of the many things Barley loves about her. She is talented with quite a few things, such a writing, drawing and even sculpting. But the main thing that made her stand out were her ideas. She had so many of them, so many it can get overwhelming for her at times. She would often describe how she doesn’t get art block or writers block, but rather she gets so many ideas she doesn’t know where to start. She calls her brain a factory for concepts and that it’s both a blessing and a curse. Because of how bizarre and unique her ideas are though, Barley has grown obsessed with hearing any stories she may come up with.

They finally arrived at the mall and managed to find a park as well. Izzy looked on ahead and noticed a large tree just in front of the entrance, but this was no ordinary tree…it was alive! But alive in the sense it was sentient and aware. She saw the movement but this was her first time seeing anything like this! “Barley…Is it just me or is that tree moving?” She says nervously, worried if it may be a sign the ancient mall was haunted. Then she thought…’wait…this place could totally be haunted if it was literally a bizarre labyrinth where hundreds of explorers died in horrific ways!’

Barley nodded her head and couldn’t help but giggle as he saw the unease on her face. “Yep, he sure is!” He says.

Izzy looked over at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “He?”

“Haven’t you ever met a whispering elm tree before?” Barley replied with a little teasing smirk.

The imp’s blue eyes shot wide open. “No, I haven’t met one before! I did see them in movies before though- to be honest I actually thought they were fictional.” Izzy says, clearly amazed.

“Yeah, they are actually pretty rare now. They were rare in the olden days but now…it’s like shiny Pokémon sorta rare.” He says, just to give Izzy a better idea.

The couple began to walk towards the entrance. “I…kinda feel sorry for them though. Do you think they ever get bored or lonely being stuck like that?” Izzy asks, as usual she was the type to overthink things but in this case she did have a good point.

The grin on Barley’s face grew larger, as he had more knowledge to share. “For saplings maybe.”

As he had expected, his inquisitive girlfriend cocked her head to the side like a puzzled dragon pup. “Eh?”

As usual, Barley was happy to enlighten her, after giving her a little teaser for it first though of course. He just lots to see her little reactions! “Old elm trees can pull themselves out of the earth and use their roots to walk around.” Barley stated. “However, they can’t walk too far for too long because of how big and heavy their bodies are. So basically, they prefer to be sitting in the soil but they are not bound to it…or at least most of them are not.” He looked a bit saddened as he said this. He then leaned down to Izzy and whispered into her large pink ear. “Don’t bring it up but…the stupid idiots who decided to modify the place built tiles all around this guy and now he can’t move anywhere at all…he is a bit touchy bout it…rightfully so…but best to keep quiet.”

Izzy’s blank expression changed into an extremely exaggerated look of utter rage. Little wrinkles could be seen around her frown and eyebrows, her scowl was that intense. “Those thoughtless, inconsiderate ****s…!” She says with a growl, she has a very dirty mouth and tends to curse without even releasing it.

It actually took Barley a while to get used to her unique language. “Ok, I think ****s is a bit much. But I pretty much do agree with ya.” He says, smiling as he came to admire her feisty personality. She had a real strong sense of right and wrong and he loved that about her as well.

Although upon arriving it seems like Izzy completely forgot about Barley’s warning to not speak of this topic around the old tree, she was just too worked up! The whispering elm looked over to her in shock as she suddenly asked him a question that came from the heart. “Ummm…excuse me? Are you feeling ok?” She asked, worried for the tree’s mental health.

Barley gulped as he immediately clings onto Izzy, almost protectively. “Haha…pssst…don’t provoke him…” he whispered.

The tree spoke in a loud and booming voice, which caused customers who came and go to stare intensely as they pass. “Well if it isn’t the poor excuse of a knight! Think you can whisper around a whispering elm, can you?” He says, sounding angry.

Barley smiled awkwardly. “Aha…so you remember that do ya?” Izzy looked puzzled as her head flung back and forth between the two.

The talking tree had not only a mouth but eyes and a nose as well! His little face scowled, like an angry bitter old man. “How could I forget the man who broke my favourite branch?!” He says bitterly.

“Aww, c’mon, buddy! That was just an accident!” Barley pleaded.

Izzy looked more and more puzzled but the negative energy was starting to make her anxious. She was desperate for answers but had been cut off by the furious old tree. “Um- what’s-“

“If I tore off an arm of yours will you say it’s an accident?” The tree swayed around, a few leaves fall down to the tiles that were placed over him, locking him in place forever.

“Well that depends. If you tore off my arm with the intent to do so that sure as heck won’t be any accident…but-“

“Don’t play games with me! I’ve had enough of you youngsters! Always treating us elm folk as if we were nothing more than mere objects.” The tree sways more, the creaking wood echos around the parking lot in an unsettling manner.

Poor Izzy’s head kept snapping between the two who seemed to have been arguing. She got more and more anxious as she is still left in the dark. Barley continued to defend himself as best he can. “Hey, I was the one trying to help you, remember?”

The whispering elm scoffs. “Some help you were.”

“What is going on?!” Izzy suddenly shouted out. Every living soul quickly glanced towards her, but she ignored the unwanted attention from strangers who passed by, she was just desperate to figure out what was happening.

That is when the whispering elm finally seemed to acknowledge her. “Well young lady, this man here decided to sit his fat rump on my favourite branch and he broke it right off!”

Barley frowns a bit. “I told you it was an accident! Besides…it’ll grow back.”

The tree laughed sarcastically. “Grow back you say? That branch has been part of me for over 50 years! Do you really think it will even grow back the same? It will look completely different! Not only that but for it to simply “grow back” would be decades worth of waiting! Might I remind you time feels even slower being stuck in this retched gloomy place forever?! Why, with the lack of sunlight I am surprised I haven’t even died by now from malnourishment.”

As the tree angrily went on a rant Barley grabbed ahold of Izzy and dragged her inside the mall. Izzy looked back at Barley, still confused. “What was that all about?” She asks, she knew there was more to the story than that. Barley may be reckless but she can’t imagine he would climb all over him and break branches without a valid cause for it.

Barley groans a bit, seemingly embarrassed. “It…wasn’t my finest moment. I was trying to dig out the tiles and help him escape but…the mall cop got to me and I tried to climb away from him and uh…you can probably imagine the rest….argh! I should have done it by nightfall!”

Izzy angrily glared back at the direction where the tree is. “You were just trying to help…Hey, when a whispering elm’s branch breaks off does it hurt them?”

Barley looked quite surprised to hear her ask more questions so soon. It was not like her to move on so quickly. “Erm…well it doesn’t not hurt, but it sure as heck isn’t like getting an arm torn off. From what I have studied it’s more like a small sting, like a paper cut if you will.” Barley says, he smiled a little at the little joke he made towards the end. After all, paper is made from trees.

“Did he need that branch as an arm to grab things?” Izzy asked next.

Barley thought for a moment. Whispering elms can use their branches to swat at things but they could hardly be used as extra limbs to assist them. “Eh…not really. I mean he can move it for a bit but he can’t actually use it for much of anything other than swatting enemies away in Quests of Yore.” Barley stated casually.

Izzy suddenly turned around and stomped her way back towards the grumpy tree. Barley quickly realised why she asked such questions, to try and figure out if he had any right to be angry or upset. She was already furious to see the way he spoke to her boyfriend, but she needed more answers to try and see his point of view. As she had suspected, the tree was just vain about the branch’s appearance, nothing more, nothing less. “Oh no…Izzy! C’mon, just leave it alone!”