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saltyxtides · 4 months ago

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MONTGOMERY WARDEYN.

Sibling what? Code of conduct?

She sneered her nose at the wording. Bayden suddenly sounded like he was raised in Catholic school or maybe he’d been watching too much Brit tv. What the fuck?

She let that weirdness go when he asked to call him more.

“Okay? I know damn well you have a phone. I thought you didn’t like we couldn’t be completely honest there in case people were listening. But, okay. Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. You’re trying to check up on my dates again. You worry too much. I can take care of myself, but if it makes you feel better, I will.”

Celeste hit on one unknowingly with that one and scored big for Bayden. He might not know it yet, but if Monty followed through, he would be thankful later. Shocked and thankful.

When Bayden pointed to the cams she shook her head. “Stop foiling my dreams, Bay.” She crossed her arms and pouted when she realized she was wrong.

Then there came something to bring her back up.

“A surprise? For me? What are you talking about now?”

She looked around at the chinzy tackiness of it all.

“You are right about that. I do deserve better.”

Once they were talking about Janet and he was trying to steer her away from it Monty continued to be wow-ed and weirded out by the manner in which Bayden spoke. It was just so flowery. It seemed off, but funny.

“Why do you sound like a mashup of Star Wars, My Little Pony, and Friends with a dash of wannabe Deadpool only you’re not pulling any of them off?” She was laughing softly poking fun at how he spoke which was probably a good thing because it distracted her from the actual conversation’s topic more than what the fake Bayden was trying to do. Celeste’s flowery way of speaking was definitely catching her ear and seemed to over do it when trying to act like a don’t-care-boy, sort of like Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man. She just didn’t quite pull it off and if an audience was watching it would be pretty damn fun. It also wasn’t enough to make Monty jump to any crazy conclusions like it wasn’t her brother in that skin, but it certainly raised a brow.

“Oswald?” Monty shrieked shrill at Bayden’s analogy of himself in a suit because Monty knew something else Celeste didn’t know.

“And that’s a bad thing? I mean it is for me, maybe not for you, but I told you never to bring your obsession with him up again. Your celebrity crush on him got way too descriptive and TMI for even me of all things you wanted to do to that man, brother dear. You are out of hand, Bayden. You did that on purpose just to put all those images back in my head, didn’t you? Sneaky, sneaky. I’ll get you back for that.”

Sibling stories were spilling. Bayden’s secrets were too. Celebrity crush. Robin Lord Taylor. Now she knows. Rogue wasn’t the only comic book character brought to life on screen Bayden had an affinity for.

It seemed after that Bayden tried to save face after Monty’s mocking and speak about who he danced with in real life. Screw fake crushes. Something real happened to him? Monty lifted yet another brow.

“Shhh. Oh my gawd Bayden. We’re a little close to the house to be saying that place’s name out loud. Mom’ll gut you. You know she’s terrified of you loving him more than her. You and your daddy issues. AND don’t say that’s crazy because we both already know she’s crazy. But okaaaaaaaaay. Okay. I believe you. You danced with a girl. Your secrets are safe with me. Always are. You know that.”

She still sneered her nose up because there was no telling what Bayden got up to in the Hotel Cortez. It was the family’s weak spot when it came to Bayden. It was where they fucked up and let out his leash too far.

“But you are talking weird. You are just extra today, Bay. Did they change your meds again? You always get weird when they change your meds.”

Everything got light again with the tale of their childhood. It felt good to Monty to relive it. She parked in the garage and the door would close behind them. Once it down they were safe.

“Safe. It’s down. You can sit up. We’re home. We can act normal now. No more show for the hospital.”

She’d get out and head into the house through a side kitchen door. The house was as it always was.

“Mom. We’re home!” Monty called out and set the keys in dish on the counter.

The doctor’s voice would come from the bathroom way down a long wing in the hall.

“Thank you for bringing my boy on this day of love. My children are home at last.” Then a big splash was heard as she laughed kicking her feet around in her bubbles.

Monty’s eyes shifted over to Bayden, “Told ya and looky there, still alive. Not drowned yet. Worry wart.” “Now, what’s the surprise? And our dance before figures out how to get out of the tub or let me guess. You have to go help her first?” ( @montywonmom )

Today was shaping up to be more of a Valentine's DAYMARE than a s i b l i n g celebration.

Everything had turned out to be ROCKY at best && the weight of unresolved emotions hung heavily in themselves.

“ I KNOW, I k n o w. It’s just that I care, okay? You’re not just my little sister. You're my ONLY l i t t l e sister Monty. I can’t help but think about all the potential creeps out there. GOOD at l e a s t text once in a while if you can't call me. ”

Not that they believed in Montgomery to keep her word. Relying on her was more often a gamble or a risk more times than not ending in disappointment. There was no doubt Bayden countlessly had reached out only for his efforts to dissolve into the quicksand of her busy lifestyle/ignoring her big brother. Yet the urge to connect — to try was far stronger than the fear of not trying to help Bayden in the very end.

It honestly sucks to like someone, let alone care. They already learned what happens when you do. It never works out in the end.

They NEEDED to s t a y focused. They NEEDED to not s c r e w this up. But doubts lurked in the corners of the back of there mind whispering deceptive thoughts that threatened to unravel there focus. Each passing whisper fed off there anxiety only amplifying the sense of urgency that coursed through their veins.

Knowing the bond he had with his sister was significant to Bayden himself && rather than letting the day's LESS-than-g l a m o r o u s moments push && pull as they urgently were rushing Montgomery. They needed to make sure DR. W a r d e y n was ok.

" I'll stop foiling your DREAMS when you stop being i m p a t i e n t, " a faint smirk on Bayden's features as they continued to walk alongside Montgomery.

" SEE? You're being Impatient a g a i n! I guess I'll keep foiling your dreams when you least expect me to. " Knowing full well that Bayden himself would have relished in a little game with his sister like this priding on being the dream disruptor to his sister jokingly. Keeping her hopefully intrigued about her valentine surprise at least as they held a certain smugness && ignored her on purpose.

Not that the oddly oversized absurdity of cheesy Valentine decorations clinging to the white walls desperately trying to make something out of nothing. That ' CHINTZY t a c k i n e s s ' couldn’t be helped — neither could it overshadow how they felt about themselves being Bayden in the moment.

Desperately trying to make something out of nothing. Trying so desperately to be someone else — all over again.

Wow. More than anything they were slightly impressed Montgomery knew the words ' Star Wars ' let alone ' My Little Pony '.

" Did I just hear you say My Little Pony? Star Wars? I bet you secretly watch My Little Pony when no ones around, " Half in disbelief && half in shock && half joking for once.

" Maybe not that DRAMATIC, but a bit more — expressive && a tiny bit nervous than usual . . . " A tiny bit nervous was an understatement as they stared at the ceiling of Montgomery's car questioning when they were going to figure out they were a fake.

Only underneath the lightness in the moment was a level of anxiety that couldn't be comprehended in the kind of way that felt like they've done wrong.

" How dare you! I'm simply expressing my 50-s h a d e s-of love for Robin Lord Taylor!!! "

An ache flaring in there chest as they were learning things about Bayden from someone else && not exactly from himself hit very different. Each little detail shared felt like a knife — twisting with the realization that this felt invasive. That's not the way they wanted to know him. Shoving the thoughts from there mind as that's the least of there problems right now but a sharp ache still remained.

If she wants sneaky. They'll show Montgomery sneaky. Whipping Bayden's phone out so secretly && with a bit of heavy concentration to do what they wanted to do while Montgomery drove they sent her a text && an image from the backseat!

[ 📱 — text to Montgomery from Bayden ] Nothing freaky to see here at all. [ X ]

" You do know HOUSES can't hear r i g h t? Please seek professional help if you start hearing houses Monty. The crazy in our Mom doesn't fall to far from the crazy in us. We just make it lOoK gOoD. Minus your expert level on house whispering now! So rude of you keeping that from me. That's why you need to CALL me m o r e. But yea. Don't tell Mom. I'll also keep your HOUSE w h i s p e r i n g from Mom too. "

Joking into it more than trying to take what she said seriously or to heavy, because they know how Bayden felt about Hotel Cortez && at the same time they can't say they feel the same way as them. They've only been there once.

" Leave my meds out of this!!! I'm doing this MY w a y this year, " as if her big brother has had this moment in his mind for a while. Yet she's been questioning them ever since they arrived at Briarcliff. Being reminded of an pitbull that won't let go of it's toy.

Though in all trueness, they couldn't compare to the real Bayden. However, they did plan this in case of this happening. Only thing they wished they could change was there situation with Bayden prior. In the kind of way to prepare themselves to be the Bayden Montgomery expects to be would have helped more then trying to grasp into improv.

" Ha ha Monty VERY f u n n y. " They retorted not so amused. Now that they were actually in a parked car. Getting up slowly from the back seat of her car as soreness throbbed from there stomach.

Only the moment they open the car door to get out there was a familiar rancid smell overwhelming them.

The KIND of s m e l l that they knew wasn't existent but only in there mind. Casually stepping out of the car into the garage there ' IT ' was again.

On the cemented ground of the garage the visage of a dead girl again laid a few ways away from them, as they recall seeing her near the laundry room last time they visited. Her skin swollen about to split any moment. Once a beautiful young girl but now just a tangled decaying rot of a mess.

As that smell that filled the entire garage was like potted meat left in the sun. It doesn't help that the empty glassy appearance of it's eyes followed them like a Decayed-Mona-Lisa, as the veins around it's eyes appeared black making it much harder to pry there own attention away.

They knew she wasn't real, or actually there, but that didn't mean it didn't startle them.

Or was it? They question to themselves that there might be more to Bayden. With so many EYES on h i m, they couldn't investigate the matter on there own without the questions being raised if there was something wrong with him.

After all, if they ' SWAP b o d i e s ' why couldn't Bayden see thing's that other's can't? His family tree comes from a LINE of w i t c h e s/w i z a r d s.

Where the voices more than just voices && the things they see more than just that. Or where they projecting what they desire Bayden to be?

But why it had moved from the Laundry Room to the Garage? Did it move because ' IT ' followed them in the kind of way they spent some time in the garage back in Christmas? Or had it moved to lead them. In the kind of way that the dead girl was trying to show Bayden something.

It won't be solved standing around making Montgomery suspect something was wrong with them. They already had enough to actually worry about right now. Closing the car door gently as if everything was normal. No smell. No dead girl. Just them walking over to pick up something they hid during Christmas that they needed to use.

Following Montgomery into DR.W a r d e y n ' s home through the side kitchen door. It looked exactly the same when they visited.

But it was such a relief to hear DR.W a r d e y n ' s voice, to feel a burden weight lift from her shoulders.

Never had they ever felt so awkward && out of place standing there in an actual family unit. Dysfunctional. But still a family unit. Better then Rowan's && her own situation anyway.

The way there tongue felt thick && full of cotton suddenly. As if anything they wanted to say back in that moment wouldn't come out. Staring down the hallway where DR. W a r d e y n ' s voice came from.

“ ALRIGHT, a l r i g h t ! I won’t jump to help Mom just yet, ” they said, crossing there arms with playful mock sternness. “ But you’re RIGHT, we should probably dance like nobody’s w a t c h i n g before she sets sail on her bubble sea. ”

On that note they began walking past Montgomery with ease && little hesitation as if they've known this house all there life.

" Stay here for a second Monty I want to do something first — " they sounded more serious as they went to the living room && though they felt terribly stupid, in the kind of way that made them feel utterly embarrassed.

They put 5 sparklers In the shape of an ' M ' for Montgomery in a aluminum can they already put holes in to hold them. Finding them around Christmas when they where restless.

Turning off the living room lights leaving it nicely dark enough. Fiddling with Bayden's phone ready as they lowered the volume so it wasn't hella loud after lighting one sparkler after another until they were all lit, sparkling in that ' M ' for her to clearly see.

" You can come look now, " not so loud but just loud enough for Montgomery to catch.

lıllılı.ıllı.ılılıılıı.lllııılı. Now Playing [My Way] 0:07 ———♡——— 4:36 ◁◁ ▐ ▌ ▷▷

" — Montgomery Wardeyn will you do me the honor of having this dance with me? "

#montgomery wardeyn #montywonmom #━━ ✧ spilled ink. | interactions #━━ 🌊 saltyxtides. | ahv #// a lil rusty - as I don't hate it but I don't love it

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hospitalterrorizer · 8 months ago

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diary265

6/8-9/24

saturday - sunday

album is coming closer to being done...

worked on 5 songs today, one of them still needs work, leaving me at 4 more roughly completed and 3 more to go before this should be like, a touch closer to completion. excited about working more on the cover art. thinking about doing some extra collages for it though we'll see abt that.

throat still hurts very much. i hope it heals soon, whatever this is, it hurts to swallow right now, but speaking is okay, it's on the left side of my throat. i hope it's not like, something terribly wrong with a tonsil or something.

here's some pix i found, old photos of anime figs, i was listening to this song and the thumbnail made me want to go looking for more images like this, why, idk, some of the ones i found and am still looking for/at are old pics from some con in japan, called wonder-festival, they had people doing some cool looking garage figs as well:

youtube

here's the garage figs i really liked from wonder-festival:

plus,.,.,., check out this ggunnnn!!

this one's funny. idk what it's even from. i miss when guns in anime/games looked this bizarre. they need to do this again.

and here's some other pixx people took of their real figs:

and then here's an oddity i found, looking at a camera type used to take this pic:

which i sorted into a dif folder cuz it's a bjd, and it's a very pretty one and it's a very weird image, taken with the konica minolta dimage z1, i found this pic of flowers taken w/ that camera:

i like how fried and weird its color space seems to be.

and then this one:

i really want to figure out what she is from, sometimes i feel like that, whatever that is, a chest wound and thin, staring out at... idk. going #crazy. i guess.

anyway now i should play vtmb and get closer to finishing it... it's sad that the game gets less good as it goes on, like downright tragic. chinatown and then blehhh, tragic tragic, walking around santa monica is, as i said i think, perfect videogaming.

okay, i did the society of leopold stuff, which was fun, i used dominate magick (it feels cute / witchy to spell it that way... oh no... i really am like my mother) to make a bunch of the enemies in the level just kill themselves and then tranced them to suck their blood. it's crazy how easy that is. i need to finish out the thaumaturgy stuff to make it better. it's a fun zone, rather easy though, it feels like the start of the game is super tough and then difficulty kinda drops off. chinatown is like rather tough as well, and then,.. it goes easy on you with a bunch of human enemies without any potential for masquerade violation.

oh here's a pic from the other day, in the victoria's secret, it felt like, important, for some reason:

important as in descriptive of some kind of facile thing. idk, consumer-nightmare type thing, i love camera flash on wet drink straws, that always looks good and freakish to me.

anyway, i can't stay up too late, just for my own good. oh, but, today i did go walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes. i haven't done that since i was a kid, i think i should do that twice a week at least to keep my body, like this, i suppose. less about losing weight than maintaining weight... but if i get a little skinnier that would be cute.

anyway, for real this time:

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Youtube

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phoenixyfriend · 4 years ago

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Rey Gives No F*cks About the Grandfather Paradox

Okay so since nobody’s suggested a fic under these terms, I ended up expanding on this post on discord and things snowballed. We kept to the basics of the entire plot revolving around Rey really hating her grandad and leveraging her blood relation to not be unalived about it.

With contributions by @atagotiak, @dracothulhu, @thepallaspalace, and several others. The title comes from @gelpenss.

The basic thing I absolutely need is this: Rey gets thrown back to the middle of the clone wars, and the subsequent plot leans in really heavily on her being, genetically-via-clone-dad, the daughter of the guy running the entire galaxy.

Nobody knows what to do with her.

The timing is mid-TCW for the past (because I want Ahsoka there) and vaguely between Episodes 8 and 9 because I... never watched E9 and don’t want to worry about the timeline. The only things that matter is that Luke is dead (he can die as he did in canon) and that Rey knows she’s Palp’s granddaughter (not the way she does in canon).

We'll say Luke found out from Anakin's panicked force-ghost and just went "well, fuck, okay, I should tell her this before she ends up in a situation like mine and finds out mid-battle or something."

Luke, prior to time-travel: Okay, so, now that I'm dead I know some things I didn't before. Like who your parents were. In the interest of full disclosure because I was in a very similar situation and I don't want you learning the way I did, I'm just going to come right out and say that your father was a clone was Sheev Palpatine. Rey: ... Luke: Are you okay? Rey: I don't know who that is.

(She grew up on Jakku, the history education was a little subpar.)

Setting The Scene

Imagine Rey showing up during or immediately before the clone wars. There’s this phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater who tells you that if you ran a paternity test, it would probably pop up the Chancellor. She may or may not bring up cloning. She accuses said Chancellor of being a Sith Lord.

Your other phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater, who may not be a teenager anymore but only barely, is very offended by this because Palpatine’s a Very Nice Old Grandfather Figure, but also he’s a little full of side-eye because if the blood test comes back as proof, then Palpatine had a kid and didn’t even know about them, or lied to Anakin, and that’s! Bad! Family’s important!!!

Palpatine hears about this daughter he apparently? Has? And is very confused because the timing doesn’t match up with ANYTHING he was doing, so the kid isn’t natural, and he says as much. (There is an explanation! It’s not a correct explanation, but he does come up with one.)

Finn and Poe and BB-8 all get dragged along because why not have the gang there? Nobody that’s already born, because [handwave] conservation of souls or something, IDK, point is the only person dragged along that’s even remotely close to already existing is Luke’s Force Ghost, who mostly hangs around begging Rey to be less impulsive. Finn is good because he is a nice polite boy, but for actual useful information they need Poe. The unfortunate situation is that the three do not land together. They land at the same time, in completely different corners of the galaxy. This means that nobody is there to curb Rey being her most impulsive self.

Time travel Rey knows two things. Luke’s dad ends up evil. Palpatine has always been evil.

She can solve one of these problems by killing the other, yes?

Rey: Ready to Rumble

See, the initial idea was this: Rey tried to break into the senate to kill Palpatine, got arrested, and then used the "he's biologically my father" card to get out of jail free. (Force Ghost Luke follows her like “please take five seconds to think this through.”)

But.

It would be very, very, very funny if The Force just dumps her in a flash of light in the senate building and she just attacks Gramps on sight. Just a shouted "YOU!" and no-hesitation attempted murder.

Palpatine has no idea what's going on.

Rey took maybe two seconds to get identity confirmation and then started swinging.

[Image Description: An individual in a green metal helmet with an eye slit, holding a pistol. In the upper left, upper right, and lower middle are the phrases “I do not know who I am...” “I don’t know why I’m here” and “All I know is that I must kill.” End description.]

Of course, she gets arrested. There are Master Jedi in the Senate. There are Clone Troopers. Palpatine isn’t the weak old man he pretends to be. Of course she’s stopped.

But she isn’t executed in time for Palpatine to stop her from ruining his entire reputation.

Immediately after Rey fails to kill her Shitty Granddad, Luke's ghost shows up and begs her to not talk about the Sith thing because it will completely undermine everything she's trying to do. Pass off the attempted murder as something else!

Rey, panicking: "that fucker left me on a desert planet for 10 years!" "You owe me 19 years of child support you son of a Hutt!"

The Jedi have to do the investigation, because the girl showed up with a laser sword, and the conversation is, uh... interesting. (“Where did you get that lightsaber?” “I got it from a mysterious old pirate lady I never met before. I don't know, I was being shown around by a smuggler and a Wookie.”)

Interviewer: Why did you try to assassinate the Chancellor? Luke: Say it wasn't assassination. Rey: It wasn't assassination. Int: You weren't trying to kill him? Luke: Assassination has to be politically motivated. Rey: This was, um... not political. Assassination is political, right? Int: You mean this was personally motivated? Rey: Yes. Int: I see. What personal motivation? Luke: Jakku! Rey: He's my grandfather. Int: ... Rey: Possibly father. Nobody was very clear on that. Int: ... Luke: Tell them to run a paternity test. Rey: Oh hey, a blood test would tell us which, right? Int: ............ Rey: I spent ten years as an orphaned scrapdealer on Jakku. He's my father. I'm kind of a little angry. Int: ........... Luke: Good job, kid. You bought yourself some time. Int: I'm going to get a medic to see about that parternity test.

Obviously, it comes back positive. Congratulations, Sheev, you’re the father.

Rey comes with a ready-made built-in excuse for hating Palpatine that nobody can question or fault her for!

Rey, pouring Truth into the Force: I didn't even know I was related to the Chancellor until a few months ago, but it's his fault I grew up the way I did, and he should take some responsibility!

The entire thing is mostly kept hush hush but someone leaks it to the press and Palpatine's ratings tank.

"Chancellor, I think we'll need to waive family visitation until she wants you a little less dead." "I would like to find out why she wants me dead, and indeed, where she came from." "...sir, for your own safety--"

Who would win? A master plan years in the making spanning decades of manipulating and work? or One (1) paternity test

"Okay, so, Rey Palpat--" "Ew, no, I don't want his name." "You--okay. Sure, we can understand that. Is there a name you would prefer to put on the paperwork?" Rey, who would have gone by Skywalker in honor of Luke but can't do that when Anakin is right there and all: "Can I think about it?"

Rey: I don't know what I want my last name to be but I know I don't want his, and most of the people I’d want a name from have famous families like you... Luke's ghost, pointing out the Literal Nobody that she cares about a lot: How about Solo? Rey: ...Solo, then.

(A few months later she runs into Poe again and he offers for Finn and Rey to both take his name because honestly they need SOMETHING but at that point she’s already decided on Smuggler Dad.)

Backtrack a bit. We’ve got a bigger cast.

They all arrive separately. Poe, for one, does better than Rey, who is aiming for a murder, but not quite as well as Finn, who is currently being adopted and hidden like a secret cat by a bunch of Alpha Clones on Kamino. He vibes with the names-or-numbers thing. He doesn’t necessarily tell them where and when he’s from, but he’s very sweet and a great liar and they adopt him wholesale anyway.

The Finn situation is just... "Buir Ti, we need you to hide this man, we've decided he's our little brother but if Nala Se finds out she'll make him leave."

Of course, this leads into Shaak Ti teaching Finn how to Jedi.

Maybe consider Finn needing to almost be tricked into learning Jedi things because he willfully forgets it could apply to him. Finn does not like to think of himself as special, which is super valid, but frustrating for Shaak Ti when it comes to, you know, getting him to acquire knowledge. Finn's training at some point is "here, levitate objects with the Force to entertain the tubies." It’s a lot easier to convince him to practice when it involves the babies.

(Everyone on Kamino looked at Finn and went “oh I love him I’m keeping him and teaching him things.”)

(He’s just very lovable.)

Poe, meanwhile, buys the trust of Anakin Skywalker via R2D2 declaring BB-8 the absolute most baby of droids. R2D2 met BB-8 three hours ago but.

"Hey Obi-Wan this is Poe I met him like five days ago but R2D2 says he checks out because his droid is a baby." "That's nice, Anakin, did you know the Chancellor has a daughter who tried to assassinate him in broad daylight yesterday? Because guess who had to stop the Chancellor from getting assassinated by his daughter in broad daylight yesterday."

A summary so far:

Finn, on Kamino: Hey, um, I don't know where this is, but it's not where I was a few minutes ago. Do you think you could get me a comm? What's your name? Poe, on [dice roll] Denon: Oh, hey, you're General Skywalker? Nice to meet you, I'm so sorry about my droid, she's a little excitable and thought your R2 unit looked like a friend of hers-- Rey, on Coruscant: DIE, GRANDFATHER

Finn: [Peacefully vibing on Kamino, unaware of the chaos and bonding with the clones] Poe: [Trying to explain how he knows someone who tried to kill the chancellor and defend Rey] Rey: [Arrested for trying to kill the chancellor]

Just... just...

Anakin: Some guy ended up lost on base yesterday with his droid, how’s your day going? Obi-Wan: I had to stop someone who claims to be the chancellors daughter from murdering the chancellor after she seemingly blinked into existence in the Senate building. Poe: 😐

(Poe: Oh, so that's where Chaos^2 went.)

Poe: In her defense, she is his... well we don't know if she's his daughter or granddaughter, but she's definitely related to him, and she definitely grew up in a shitty situation that was his fault, so...

(Poe is trying very hard to explain this and not get arrested on the military base.)

As you’ve probably guessed, what's especially funny about all of this for me is the fact that Palpatine is fully aware that this girl shouldn't exist, but can't find a single piece of evidence about where she came from. He didn't start any experiments that could result in a female child, and he didn't have sex in that period of time, so where the hell--

Rey spends so much time in jail... BUT they do eventually assign her a Jedi Master. Possibly before she actually proves her evil grandfather is in fact evil. Most votes went to either Plo Koon or Obi-Wan. Plo, because he’s dad-shaped, and Obi...

"Obi-Wan, you already raised one feral desert child with implausible amounts of power, you handle this." Rey in return is very "Sweet, you vaguely remind me of Master Luke," and nobody knows who the hell she's talking about. Obi-Wan is NOT on board with this plan, she'd really be better off with Plo or like........ Mace.

Reunion Tour

What I need out of this is the eventual Finn and Rey reunion scene that is just excited screaming while someone in the background explains to Shaak Ti that yes this is apparently Palpatine's terrifyingly force-sensitive daughter who hates him.

(Finn senses Rey’s approach and just. Gathers the everyone to wait. He’s just :D REY MY FRIEND REY GUYS MY FRIEND REY IS COMING.)

Anakin shows up with Poe--just a guy who signed on to the military, no big deal--and then Poe and Rey are EXCITED and everyone's just like "Cool, how do you know this literal terrorist child?" And Poe has to scramble and "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh she saved my droid from a scrapheap once and BB-8 is basically my child so I owe her one."

Rey knows that Anakin ends up evil so she’s maybe not actively hostile but definitely very “I’m watching you.” That said, she vibes with him on a lot of things that he maybe doesn’t actively notice.

Rey picks up a snake, snaps off the head for venom avoidance, and starts biting off chunks. Obi-Wan's reaction: [undisguised horror] Anakin and Ahsoka: Ooh, where'd you find that? (Obi-Wan: And now I’m up to three feral children.)

What Does Palpatine Even Do?

OBVIOUSLY at a certain point, Palpatine is just phoning up every ally he has to figure out who broke protocol to synthesize a daughter for him.

So of course, Palpatine blame Plagueis.

She'd have been born five or so years before Naboo, just a few years younger than Anakin. It's such an EASY theory to build a conspiracy around. It is ENTIRELY WRONG, but it’s plausible! And anyone who might have been involved to say otherwise is probably dead!

A random bio-kid shows up you can’t possibly have contributed genes to? Maybe it’s the evil bio spark that did it.

Palpatine tries to placate her with the ‘my genes were stolen for an experiment and I didn’t know’ thing. It doesn’t work because her actual main complaint is he’s evil in her future but he tries.

It'd be a struggle to even get access to her, because of the aforementioned “maybe don’t try to talk to the daughter(?) that hates you” thing, but you know who Palpatine does have access to? The Chosen One.

Rey kind of decides on her favorites early on (she gravitates to Dad Energy and Sad Old Men so Plo and Obi-Wan are on her list, and that means decent time around Anakin and Ahsoka). It's really easy to talk Anakin into helping to some degree because "he'd like to connect to a daughter he never knew" and "a child of her power on a planet like that, you'd know her struggle, my dear boy" and so on. Anakin tries to connect! He tries to play up Sheev’s kind political work and how it can’t have really been his fault! It doesn’t work. Rey does not believe a word of it. Mostly she doesn’t even seem to hear him.

Rey's just like "...oh right, you're the melted mask that Kylo Ren was always ranting about," which means absolutely NOTHING to Anakin, but he mentions it to Palps, who loses his goddamn mind trying to figure out what she's talking about, because it also means absolutely nothing to him.

Here’s the thing: Rey’s already decided that Obi-Wan is cool, because Luke said so, and Plo Koon is dad-shaped, and she also gravitates towards earnest kindness in general, like she made friends with Finn real quick, so Ahsoka? Already getting along great.

She doesn’t dislike Anakin, really, he isn’t evil yet, he’s just... meh. She’s a little suspicious and she likes him less than the others but... Anakin.

Rey, to Anakin: You are my least favorite. Anakin, to Palpatine: YOUR DAUGHTER HATES ME???

And he goes from “she’s a lil standoffish” to “she doesn’t like me” to “she hates me” as is normal for Anakin.

It’s just an escalation of this one time Palpatine wants Anakin to not have rifts and trust issues with a person, at least not until later, because he needs information.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Rey is just like "huh, nobody here is listening to me about how make a sixth-hand carburetor work, where's Luke's dad?"

Anakin is venting to Palpatine about how hard it is to talk to Rey, and she's over in the Temple just like "Hey, that guy was useful last time, I should ask him," but also she only ever thinks of him as Luke's Dad.

(At one point, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break down, and then Anakin starts having a breakdown about that, meanwhile the clones are (badly) trying to hide Finn behind their backs, Rey is watching Ahsoka practice and being like "I want two lightsabers," and Poe is trying to keep R2 from stealing BB-8 and Force Ghost Luke is just face palming in the background.)

(Rey deserved a saber staff, maybe one that can detach and turn into a jar’kai set. Possibly a pike. Mostly I just wish she got more chances to whack things with a big stick.)

#Rey #Finn #Poe Dameron #Sheev Palpatine #Luke Skywalker #Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #Darth Sidious #Plo Koon #Shaak Ti #Ahsoka Tano #r2d2 #bb 8 #star wars #time travel #Rey and the Grandfather Paradox #Phoenix Posts

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crazybutgood · 3 years ago

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Origami fic rec (softlystarstruck)

Happy one year fandom anniversary @softlystarstruck !💖 Here's a smol thing I made, based on the fact that bee likes pink + mini cadbury eggs sold during Easter~ Thank you so so much to @corvuscrowned and @curlyy-hair-dont-care for your encouragement and feedback 💕

Please click on the images for better quality!

Images’ description: a pink origami Easter egg, closed on the left and opened on the right to reveal slips of ivory coloured paper inside it

Image description: the pink origami Easter egg next to the opened slips of paper. The papers all hold quotes from some of bee's lovely fics

Here are the fics that I took the quotes from! Do check them out and leave some love for bee:

the moon between my hands (M, 3782)

Malfoy sits in the common room late at night, and Harry joins her.

(They’re girls and they’re falling in love.)

Darling, You're Wiggling (T, 4769) (by @lou-isfake and @softlystarstruck)

Draco has a secret. Harry doesn’t have a secret, until he does. Then he goes to Claire’s.

tender is the night (G, 575)

for the microfic prompt "space song"

measure of affection (T, 329) (warnings for a small bit of panic)

for the drarry microfic prompt "wait"

take a chance on me

written for a tumblr prompt challenge! based on the ask "I'd love to read more from the universe of your "just right" kinktober fic" from anon.

this is the first meeting of harry and draco from just right, based off of this line: “…even though Draco’s been with him every step of the way, after Harry said it’s Harry, actually, and Draco repeated his name like it was a revelation and they ended up snogging in the dingy alley behind that too-loud club.”

content: clubs, jealousy, trans harry, trans draco, no misgendering, draco having Realizations

honey milk tea (T, 14322)

When Draco runs into Harry at his favorite boba tea shop and gets so flustered he orders the exact same thing, he has no idea how quickly his life is going to change.

A love story full of silly texts, blushing twenty-something-year-olds, a leather jacket, and of course: bubble tea dates.

if it is love (M, 700)

for the drarry microfic prompt “hope is a heartache”

home is wherever i'm with you (T, 6164)

“Okay, well when are you going to finish decorating your room then?”

“What?” Draco asks. “What do you mean?”

“I–” Harry blinks, looking bewildered. “I mean, I’ve only been in there a couple times, but don’t you need to unpack the rest of your boxes? It’s been a few months since you moved in.”

“I don’t have any more boxes,” Draco says, feeling as lost as Harry looks.

“But all you have is your bookshelf and your bed. Don’t you have knick knacks? Or– or plants?”

Draco slowly shakes his head.

A story about what it means to build a home.

you bring me home (E, 35191)

Harry is happy. He has his cat cafe and his hobbies. He has his friends, and Dolly Parton, and a shirt with a cowboy frog on it. It’s all a man needs, really.

He doesn’t need to obsess over a magic-less, anxious Draco Malfoy coming into his cafe after disappearing from the wizarding world years ago. He doesn’t. Not even if the cats like Malfoy. Not even if Malfoy is soft, and funny, and a little bit neurotic.

No matter how much he wants to obsess.

guide me home (T, 2.4k) (warnings for terminal illness w a happy ending and some blood imagery)

for the drarry microfic prompt “haunt me in the night”

#softlystarstruck #talented bean #cbg folds #cbg fic rec #origami #mine #super speedy reclist of sorts jfjfj #reference of all the fics i quoted

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twopoppies · 3 years ago

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Hi! I hope it’s not too annoying of a request but I was wondering if you or your followers can think of any fics that are kinda inspiring academically, especially regarding British literature, if that makes sense? I just finished rereading Come As You Are and every time I read it, it motivates me to read more and practice my writing because I want to be more like Harry from that fic hahaha and I’m looking for more fics which evoke this feeling since I’m starting my masters in October and I need all the help I can get. Thank you so much! (I absolutely love your master post and its my go to couple times a week!)

Hi sweetheart. Hmmm... I just reblogged my Dark Academia fic rec, but other than that I think it would be fics where one or the other are writers/poets etc. Not all of these are heavy on the writing/poetry, but they're all great fics.

Make Your Words A Weapon by @helloamhere (E, 36K) I recently read this a second time and it’s even better than I remembered. I love everything this author writes. This one just really hit me hard for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the way they explore Louis’ anxiety and coping mechanisms and pain and the way he pushes people away and protects himself, but also wants someone to push back just a bit and love him despite all of that. And the way Harry is the perfect foil for all of it, while also feeling like a fully developed character himself. Yeah, it’s probably all of that. Plus soul marks! (Musician Harry/Music Journalist Louis)

Our Lives, Non Fiction by @indiaalphawhiskey (E, 114K) this is, quite literally, the best fic I’ve read in years. It’s so well written, clever, funny, emotional, and sexy. Its draw you in immediately and you’ll end up falling in love with these characters before you know it. Don’t miss this one. Harry and Louis are both authors.

An Invincible Summer by Brooklyn_Babylon / @twopoppies (E, 45K) this one is mine, I hope you like it:

Never content to stay in one place for long, a few months down south researching for his novel seemed like an idyllic, slow-paced summer to Louis. He wasn’t ready for the blistering heat, the backbreaking work of watermelon picking, or how stifling the attitudes in rural Georgia would feel. And he definitely hadn’t anticipated falling in love with the farmer’s son.

The summer of 1946 would turn out to be everything worth writing about. Farmer Harry / author Louis

Mine Would Be You by @crinkle-eyed-boo (E, 115K) Beautifully written, flawed characters and an emotionally engaging and ANGSTY plot. Super hot smut that made me cry like a fool. Banter, OT5 friendship, and the gritty realness of New York as a backdrop. Loved this one. Artist Harry / Author Louis

where your lips land by BriaMaria / @briannamarguerite (E, 12K) Ok, I’ve recommended this one a few times and I really do love it. Anyway, I love fics where the two of them are both artists of some sort (Louis is a poet in this one, Harry is a photographer) because it allows for another layer of understanding and connection and support. I particularly love the way Louis’ tattoos are woven into this story with layered meaning. And, as always, just beautiful writing.

you’re writing lines about me by snazzyasalways (T, 4K) This is gorgeously written on that Dreamy, poetic style I happen to love. Louis is a blind poet, Harry is a baker, Harry falls in love with Louis’ words, then with him.

another hazy may by deLILah (M, 41K) Another author who writes great fic after great fic. This one has that dreamy quality I love and there’s also something about it that, at times, reminds me of a little bit of a Raymond Chandler novel. I know that’s weird...but, yeah, it does. Anyway, I love this one. Such a good read.

I would name the stars for you (I would take you there) by orphan_account (M, 91K) This is just beautifully written. Angst. Mutual pining. Dumb boys. Beautiful descriptions of art and creativity and fame and beautiful poetry.

Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow (M, 72K) This is truly one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever read and it is an absolutely travesty that it’s not being talked about every day. This fic is gorgeous and poetic and romantic and heartbreaking and an explosion of metaphoric images and everything I never knew I needed but now that I have it I want to read it over and over and over.

But If This Ends by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense (E, 107K) This author referred to this fic as their “depressed vampire” fic while they were writing, and it is that. But it’s also a unique story with beautifully fleshed out characters, plot twists, and super hot smut. Go check it out! Vampire Harry / Writer Louis

24K Magic by @justalittlelouislove (E, 33K) FINALLY a category in which I can rec this author! I love everything they write, but this was the first one I’d read and it’s just great. Smooth dialogue, sexy smut, great description of character growth…just a really fun fic.

the best part of me (was always you) by @moonshinelouis-archive (E, 6K) Gorgeous writing. The descriptions of heartbreak and missing someone and still loving them were really well done. And I cried. Of course.

'Sup by MediaWhore (GA, 7K) Divorced, awkward Harry pining for silver fox Louis is a trope I never knew I needed, but I love it so much.

I Will Never Rust by stylez (E, 38K) I must have read this at least 5 years ago and I honestly don’t remember details, but my notes say “gorgeous, sad, sexy” so... I’m crossing my fingers that old me knew what she was talking about. It’s frat boy Harry so that could go either way. LOL! Student/Poet Harry.

Loyal Knight and True by rainbowninja167 / (E, 52K) Really original story, mystery and magic, great characterizations. All around a very good read!

Turning Page by purpledaisy (M, 68K) This author does a wonderful job with their characterizations which makes their fics such a pleasure to read. This one really has you rooting for curmudgeonly Louis and skittish/secretive Harry to figure their shit out and fall in love. If you like this one, make time to read this author’s fic, Walk That Mile – it’s one of my all time favorites. Sports journalist Louis.

Black with Autumn Rain by Whimsicule (T, 93K) This author is a favorite. If you like intense, creative stories, with complex characters and tight dialogue, you should read all of their fics. This one has the flavor of a Daphne du Maurier novel – dark, creepy, and moodily romantic. Plus a supernatural edge. It’s so good. Journalist Harry.

That Sounds Fake But Okay by dancingontheceiling (E, 113K) This one has a little bit of everything: Enemies to lovers, fake relationship, famous/not famous... plus, really good writing and some sexy smut scenes. Actor Louis / journalist Harry.

Sing When You're Winning by hazmesentir (NR, 91K) another one I read ages ago, but I always like this author’s writing and the premise of newly out footballer Louis and journalist intern Harry who somehow snags the interview, is such a fun one. And I don’t know why it has an NR rating, there’s plenty of smut.

feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream by togetherwecouldbealright (M, 123K) I read this one so, so long ago that all I remember is that I loved it, that there’s some really romantic and sweet moments, and that my notes from way back when only say, “OMG this one is so good! And I’ve barely gotten to the smut!” HAHAHAHA! Journalist Harry/prince Louis (this fic has been deleted, so the link is to a download).

#writers and poets #my fic rec #larry fic rec

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monstrousproductions · 3 years ago

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She's here! She's finally here! Episode Fifty Seven is HERE!

[Image description: A black, green and yellow promotional image for Episode Fifty Seven of Monstrous Agonies. It reads, "All New... All Together! H.R. Owen presents, Monstrous Agonies Episode 57! Featuring special guests Elizabeth Plant, William A. Wellman, May Toudic, Naomi Clarke, Matty OK Smith, Jonathan Tilley. You know them from podcasts! 10 Feb. HauntedSwords.com. End description.]

This week, the Nightfolk Network is celebrating a shift in business model with a special double-length live show - four callers, live on air, with problems from across the liminal world...

Listen on our website, on Spotify, on iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Full transcript available online.

The first caller tonight was written and performed by Matty OK Smith, the creator of @neighbourlypod. Neighbourly is a brilliant wee podcast that is by turns deeply creepy, wickedly funny and surprisingly heart-warming. Find out more at neighbourlypod.carrd.co, or on Twitter @neighbourlypod. Also, it's Matty's birthday today! Happy birthday ✨🥳

Tonight's second caller was written by May Toudic, and performed by Jonathan Tilley, of @knovesstorytelling. Jonathan plays Drac in The Murray Mysteries, a queer modern retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula, written by May! Find out more at knovesstorytellingcollective.wordpress.com, or on Twitter @KnovesStory 🧛‍♂️🌈

Our third caller was written and performed by Naomi Clarke, writer of @thekilda. The Secret of St Kilda follows ridiculously charming con-man Lockie McGregor as he finds his way in a new community that is absolutely NOT a cult. Seriously - he's stupid charming. Sigh. Find out more at thesecretofstkilda.carrd.co, on Twitter @TheKilda! 🥰

William A. Wellman wrote and performed our fourth caller tonight. William is the creator of @hellofromthehallowoods, a surprisingly heart-warming horror podcast about a group of LGBTQ+ survivors in the forest at the end of the world. Find out more at hellofromthehallowoods.com, or on Twitter @TheHallowoods 🌲👻💖

Episode 57 also features the voice of Elizabeth Plant, who I hope you all know pretty well by now! See more of her work at her website, at www.elizabethplant.com, and find her on Twitter @CelestielleVA 🌸✨

Big thanks to Sophie B. for the promo image at the top of this post! Sophie also plays the Understudy, as heard in S01 and in the Episode Fifty Seven trailer. You can check out more of their work at their Instagram page! 🎉

Finally, huge thanks to our latest supporters on Patreon, Alix and Eleanor Is Fine. If you want to support the show, you can sign up for a monthly pledge or you can make a one-off donation at our Ko-Fi. Of course, the best way you can support Monstrous Agonies is to help us grow our audience. Spread the word! Tell your friends! Fight your landlord! Every little helps 🥰💖

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astralkoo · 4 years ago

Note

I love your work! Do you have any JJK or Jimin fanfics to recommend to us, besides yours? (I've read all of it at least 10x each lol)

First of all thank you so much, you’re an angel and I’m so so so so incredibly happy you enjoy my writing 🥺❤️ second of all do I ever!!!!!!! I’ve never made a fic rec list before so bear with me:

JJK

One Shots ;

Kiss it Better by @jincherie

(okay literally everything written by jincherie is amazing I am obsessed w her hybrid/supernatural fanfics, I’d definitely recommend you check those out but cheerleader jk wearing a FREAKING SKIRT just does something to me. And it’s so cute and funny and adorable and you just will absolutely love the all of the characters)

Bite Me by @jeonsweetpea

(where do I even begin? Vampire reader? Masochist Guk? How do I express my love for this one shot? I do not know. But I love it, very much and highly HIGHLY recommend. I’ve read it so many times it’s not even funny at this point. And it’s still one of my favorites ever.)

Euphoria by @jeonsweetpea

(I have a massive weak spot for anything android I think that is so freaking cool and this one shot was so good!!!!! Subby Android Jungkook is just heaven for me okay, like my wet dream. Sorry was that TMI? whatever, check out this one shot!!!)

Deal by @vinterjeon

Hopping Mad For You by @readyplayerhobi

(This is the fic that made me realize that all I needed in my life was bunny guk and I high highly recommend reading it (if you haven’t already) bc it is sososososoos adorable and guk is the most precious human/bunny ever to exist and I love it with all my heart)

Little Wolf, Pretty Wolf, Your Wolf by @readyplayerhobi

Knock Out by @gamerguk

(I remember seeing the teaser for this and being so excited and checking back every day for the full fic to be posted and then it was and all of my expectations were exceeded and I absolutely loved it oh my god it’s so funny and sexy and yes I recommend.)

Baby Boy by @gukptune

(this is one of the first guk fics I read on here so I have a soft spot for it :(( plus I love it and guk is adorable and sub guk is even cuter thank you and goodnight.)

Gold Rush by @nochugguk

Cardboard Castle by @kittae

(the image of jungkook sucking a popsicle has been burned into my head and haunting me ever since I’ve read this fic. and also I want to build a fort and cuddle w him in it. The perfect sexy cute combination.)

Dumbo by @cinnaminsvga

(this fic is wild bro, the reader is crazy bold and I love it and jk has nipple piercings and I can’t get that image out of my head it’s so sexy oh my god.)

Wintervale by @fantasybangtan

(ohhhhhhhhh my goddddddd I loved this one shot so muchhhhhhh it was so sexy and well written and ugh. Again, subby jk so I love it, thank you very much. It’s part of a series, and I’d definitely recommend you check out Taehyung’s pirate au too which is also phenomenal.)

Stay In Your Lane by @luxekook

(oh my goddddddd bratty kook is a big yes!!!!!! and this fic portrays that so well and I love love love it!!!)

Series/Multiple Parts ;

Freak-Quency by @gukslut [ Companion Piece : Boots ]

(he spits in your mouth and you punish him and it’s one of the sexiest things I’ve ever read and I love it and oh my god yes + plus rockstar!guk is just something else yum)

To Tame a God by @vinterjeon

(holy fcking shit, this series is just *chefs kiss* immaculate in words I can’t even begin to describe. I’m a btch for a good werewolf au and the fact that kookie is a bit of a sub? yessir thank you very much plz check this out it’s one of my favorite series ever)

Bunny Troubles by @appreciatethefoolishness

(this fic is so freaking cute I can’t handle it. Bunny!guk and Sub!guk tied into one is almost too much for me to handle on its own but wrapped up in this adorable fic is just UGH you know?)

Bitchin’ by @kinktae

Flesh & Blood by @kinktae

(okay jungkook is literally a freaking zombie how sick is that? I loved Warm Bodies (both the book and the movie) so I love this series!!! It’s cute, funny, smexy and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!)

The Doms Next Door by @tatertotthethot (ft. Tae)

(okay hear my out. I usually do not read dom!bts fanfic bc I prefer subby boys over dom boys, I don’t know why that’s just how my mama made me. But this fanfic— holy— oh my god how do I even— it’s so phenomenally written and so enrapturing and engaging that it just completely pulls you into the plot and you become invested and intrigued and holy fuck it’s so sexy and I really did like reading it a lot so even if you’re not so into dom!bts I’d say give this a chance and see what you think!)

Secrets of Silk by @nochugguk

(y’all wanna talk about camboy guk? Because I do. And this fic is freaking immaculate. I read it a while ago so I don’t remember too many specific details but dude, I remember just being hooked and absolutely loving it.”

Felicity by @nochugguk

For Science by @boymeetsweevil

(ugh I love love this series, it funny and cute and sexy and the perfect amount of messy and I def recommend checking it out!!!!)

If your into sub guk please check out @namsjunies fics, just all of them bro HERE is the link to their masterslist

PJM

One Shots ;

While You’re At It by @aureumjeon

(dudeeeee I remember seeing the teaser for this and getting hooked immediately!!! And then I read the actual fic and it was so freaking good!!!!! Pool Boy Jimin is something to behold, I must say.)

Florezco by @honeymoonjin

(this one shot is just so pretty. It is so freaking pretty. There is something so rhythmic and beautiful about the way it was written, the words and language used. The descriptions are beyond astounding. The plot as well is so amazing, you can see through every little interaction how their relationship grows and developed and it is so beautiful.)

Diary of a Bodyguard by @kernelmeow

Series/Mutiple Parts ;

Good Boy by @btssmutgalore

(if I’m going to talk about sub jimin, I’m going to talk about the Good Boy series, I mean come on that’s just a given. This series just— yes. The character development, the relationship growth, the ridiculously well written plot, just all of it. It’s an amazing read through and through and a definite must read!!!)

Handyman by @drquinzelharleen (ft. Tae)

(ohmygod I love this series so much. Jimin yum, reader is a boss bitch, the sex is right up my alley but it also has plot with ups and downs and I very much enjoyed reading it and perhaps (more than likely) you will too.)

Timid by @jincherie

(I melt every time. It’s so sweet, so cute, freaking tooth rotting. Jiminie is so precious and lovable and shy and I am so weak for him it’s actually not even funny. If you want cute hybrid jiminie, this is the fic to read, I swear you won’t regret it.)

Blood Rank by @gukptune

Baby, Baby by @hobiwonder (ft. Tae)

(bro, the relationship between Tae, Minnie, and the reader is just— wow. The development between the three is incredible and oh my goddd its amazing.)

Between Other Worldly Creatures by @btsjeonjazz (ft. Tae)

JJK + PJM

Humanity by @bts-trash-blog

(these hybrid babies are so precious bro I swearrrrr this fic gave me a roller coaster of emotions and I can’t wait for more parts to come out!!!)

Peach Blossoms by @pasteljeon

Abundance by @angelicyoongie

(okay, I know this is technically OT7 but oh my god, you wanna talk about one of the best hybrid fics I have ever read??????? It is so incredibly well written and the boys are a mess but an adorable lovable mess and guk is so cute and jiminie is a little shit but damnit I love it and I am so excited for when everything falls into place and they’re happy and lovey and sorry I am getting ahead of myself but if you haven’t read it already, it’s a must read.)

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puppyluver256 · 3 years ago

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[Image Description: Two fan-made Pokemon designs, a regional variant of Surskit and a new evolution based on a mud dauber.

The first Pokemon is the regional variant of the Pokemon Surskit. It resembles a water strider insect with four spindly legs holding up a round body that has an antennae sticking upward. It is mostly brown with yellow on top of its head, yellow tips to its legs, and yellow markings under its big red eyes. Lime green text outlined in dull brown to the right of the image reads "Surskit - Cantessy Regional Variant".

The second Pokemon is a wasp-like creature with large translucent wings. It has a brown head with large red eyes, dark purple antennae and legs, a brown body with a yellow stripe, and a yellow tail with brown stripes and a dark purple stinger, separated from the body by a spindly purple section. Its wings are mostly a pale blue, with orange, yellow, and green eye markings. Lime green text outlined in dull brown to the right of the image reads "Organdobb".

End ID.]

-----

Surskit (Cantessian regional variant) - Mud Skater Pokemon - bug/ground The Surskit found in Cantessy have turned brown in order to blend into muddy areas. They live near river beds, often staying in the muddy tubes produced by Organdobb for safety. / Living in and around muddy areas, they do not secrete the same oil that their Hoenn counterparts do and so cannot skate across clear water. Toys based on this variant have made it to Hoenn, where collectors who are not familiar with the variant are often convinced they’re bad bootlegs.

Organdobb - Mud Dauber Pokemon - bug/ground It builds nests out of collected globs of mud, in which it will lay its eggs. They sting other insects to paralyze them as food for their young’s first meal upon hatching. / Despite their frightening appearance, Organdobb are largely not aggressive unless provoked. Any attacks on humans, when examined in further detail, turned out to be the human’s fault as they had considered this Pokemon to be a pest and attempted to have it removed from the location.

More Cantessy Fakemon, and a regional variant with a funny origin story. So a while back my buddy @zootycutie shared with me a few bootleg Pokemon toys she'd found, and one of them was this poorly painted Surskit.

[Image Description: Three small bootleg Pokemon toys sitting on a table. The first one is the Pokemon Lugia, painted almost all white aside from some blue on its back and pink on its belly. Its eye mask growths are white as well, with little black dots for eyes. The second one is the Pokemon Surskit, which appears mostly normal aside from the blue parts of its body and its antenna being painted brown. The third one is Sableye, which appears normal aside from its gem eyes being sloppily applied. End ID.]

It was the one that looked more, erm, normal of the bunch, so I was inspired to turn it into a Fakemon if she wasn't going to hehe X3 The brown obviously was led into making it a ground type instead of a water, and other than coloration and typing there's not much difference with the initial form.

Organdobb is much less based on a joke than Surskit was, and is based on an actual bug called the mud dauber. It's a group of wasps that don't seem too terribly aggressive to humans unless provoked, and it's mainly known for its nest-making method, which is to clump mud into pipe-like structures, leading to one species in particular being called the organ pipe mud dauber (hence the "organ" in Organdobb's name). And they sting spiders to paralyze them and take them back to their nest, where they'll lay eggs on it and then the babies eat the spider. Hey, I'm not complaining :D Decided to keep some of Masquerain's eye motif in Organdobb's wings, it just felt right.

Reminder that if anyone wants to suggest moves for any Cantessy Fakemon to learn and some physical stats where I haven’t yet figured them out, feel free to throw ‘em at me :3 Links to their info pages will be provided in the replies!

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~If you like, please reblog to show your friends! Likes are appreciated, but reblogs let more people see my content! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Surskit (Hoennian form) and other Pokemon concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Cantessian Surskit, Organdobb, the Cantessy region, and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

#pokemon #fakemon #cantessy region #surskit #regional variant #organdobb #jess drew the thing #sfw #image description #long post #insects tw

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bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

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Okay haha I lied, whoops I do that. THIS is the last one. Again from various parts of ‘Kings of the Sky’ but since I was talking so much about Dick’s grandfather, why not some snippets of him from this series too. (For this AU I imagined what if Dick’s paternal grandparents lived into their eighties, like do we KNOW they couldn’t have? Hmm? Don’t answer that if we do, shh, let me have this. Anyway, so here Dick’s grandmother died when he was two and his grandfather when he was five.)

Dick is retelling this story about him and his grandfather to Jason and Cass.

************

“But there is no King of the Sky, Dickie,” he’d said to me then with a wink. “That’s the joke, you see? No one can claim the sky as theirs, no one can own it. Send your armies to seize it in your name and all you’d see is legions of empty-handed fools all grasping at air! There’s no way to draw your borders, no foundation on which you could build any walls. And where would you even put your throne?”

“He’d laughed then, mischievous and wheezing, as he recalled all the courts the circus had entertained back in its glory days, when Europe’s nobility would always each host some circus or troupe or performers at various festivals. All the kings and queens for whom he’d performed his signature feats, who’d show him off to their most important guests afterwards. The ones who had been invited specifically so they’d see that this court held only the grandest of celebrations, that they and their guests were entertained by only the very best of the best.”

“Oh, but they were always so eager to introduce me by title,” he’d said, rheumy eyes still somehow keeping their sparkle. “There they were, kings and crown princes, pushing me forward and telling their guests to come greet me, this commoner they were all too glad to proclaim royalty no different to them. After all, any king can present his guests with an entertaining spectacle, but how much grander is the king who hosts the spectacle of being entertained by another king? Ah, but they were always more than happy to elevate me if but for the night…in doing so, they elevated themselves as well. Up we all went, all without feet ever leaving the floor!”

“Names can be such a funny thing, don’t you think?” He’d sighed and sort of mused then, stroking his chin like he was pondering some great mystery. “Meaning nothing and everything all at the same time. That’s a powerful trick. Useful too, if you can master it.”

I know I started giggling then, just because as far back as I can remember, names were always kind of a…almost a passion of his, I guess you could say. It was just this thing he did, it was like he could never just let a name be. There was always some trick to a name, he’d insist. You just had to find it. Its why our family colors were red, yellow and green, as a matter of fact. All in only the brightest hues of each, combining to make us the complete opposite of the Gray in our name.

"The crowd comes in to see the acrobat named Grayson,” my grandfather would say, “and what do they expect from just the name? Drab, unremarkable, likely to be lost in the shadows, from just the sound of him. But then he dives off the platform in a burst of colors impossible to miss and the crowd gasps, expectations shattered in an instant….and from there, they think, what more surprises might possibly await? And already you have them at the edge of their seat, eyes caught by the colors of a costume its impossible to lose sight of. You command their attention, you’re unencumbered by their assumptions, and they’re yours from that moment on. And all of that from just a pop of color, a warning that you are not what they thought….and a name. A Flying Grayson, up above as expected, yet unexpectedly the brightest thing in the sky. An inherent contradiction. An impossible sight you can’t help but to see.”

“Anyway, so there I was,” Dick said, straightening up and shaking his head with a slightly rueful smile, as if to physically pull himself out of the undertow of memories tugging him further away from where he’d begun. “Already giggling just from his little chin-stroking act as he started talking about names, because I knew he was bound to say something silly next, just from that. And he’d jumped a little, and turned in his chair to face me directly and with his full focus, because Grandpa thrived off of an engaged audience like nothing else.”

“Yes, a powerful thing, a name,” he’d continued after a moment that was either a dramatic pause or me thinking anything longer than ten seconds might as well be the same as an hour, at that age. “But a tricky business, naming things, as you first have to know what a thing is, before you attempt to claim it by naming it what it is not. Because being named can just as easily be a powerful trap, of course. If a man doesn’t know himself well enough to know he is not what a name claims, he can wind up stuck in a cage that’s not sized to fit him. Simply because he doesn’t know he has more than enough room to slip free of it if he tried.”

“Then he leaned down close enough to me to whisper, and looked around as if checking we were alone before dropping into a raspy whisper like we were conspiring. “But a man who knows what he wants and knows what he’s capable of, and can put the right name to both….that’s where the real magic is. Do you know what kind of power your name has?”

“Richard means lion-hearted,” I remember reporting after some thought. And that he blew a raspberry right after that like he was the five year old of the two of us, but then, Grandpa was just like that sometimes. “Yes, yes, true enough,” he said, making a face like he’d tasted something sour, “But I don’t mean the one your father picked probably to spite me for naming him John in the first place. No matter how many times I tell him I had nothing to do with that, I lost the right to name him in a card game with your Grandmother. Although for the record, I still maintain I didn’t lose, she just cheated. But I still have no idea how she did it so I have to respect that, I suppose. But no. Not that name. The one your mother gave you.”

“And of course then I knew he meant Robin, and said so, and he asked what that meant to me. And I remember thinking long and hard about that one, because as I said, I knew even by that age what Grandpa was like on the subject of names, and so I was sure there was some kind of riddle or game in what he was asking, I just wasn’t sure where. So finally I just referred back to what my Mom always used to say, about me being born on the first day of spring, and being her little Robin. And he just nodded, and then he asked: And do you remember the first time you called yourself Robin to someone else, and why? What you said then?”

*******************

And then from the very last (intended) installment, ‘Its a Long, Long Way To Tipperary,’ again with Dick telling this to Jason and Cass and finishing a conversation started earlier in the series:

“Names have power,” Grandpa said to me, on one of the last days I remember with him before he passed away. We were sitting outside in folding chairs and watching the stars, until he got too cold and we had to go in. But while we were out there, so much of what he said…I didn’t really understand most of it at the time. Honestly, even what I thought I understood, I realized years later wasn’t really right. I could follow the words but so much of what he meant, I didn’t even begin to understand until I happened to look back to that night years later.

But for months I’d heard my parents talking when they thought I couldn’t hear. I’d seen him doubled over and coughing more and more frequently, how tightly he clutched a blanket around him when it wasn’t really all that cold. I may not have fully known what was coming but I think I knew on some level that something was coming to an end.

And I remember him talking so fast that night, words spilling out so quickly in a confusing mess like he couldn’t take the time to shape them properly and just had to get them out….I remember soaking it all in, as much as I could, knowing that it was important even if I didn’t know what it even was, or why. Like I was trying to just….absorb it, make it a part of me the way it almost felt like it was bleeding out of him. I don’t know that the thought, the image of him dying that summer, of soon being without him, I can’t say whether that actually ever occurred to me. I just know that I knew urgency, and I knew Grandpa was only urgent when it mattered, so I listened without understanding and somehow managed to store most of it away. And honestly, I don’t know that he was even trying to make sure he was understood, or even caring….so much as just trying to get it out of him, like what was most important was just that he said it and it was heard. Maybe just so he knew it wouldn’t die with him.

“But however it got there, however it was I managed to remember clearly enough, there it all was, and right when I most needed to hear what he’d said to me that night. The things nobody else could have told me because nobody else knew the secret language of names that he seemed to speak, that he’d spent his whole life learning all so that maybe he could somehow in that find his own name. Not the label he’d been left with, a description or title.....but a name, the one each child is supposed to get, something to say who they are, not merely what.”

“Names have power,” he said to me that night. “They can be magic in the right hands. A man who knows who he is knows his own name. And the things you can do with that, the doors that can be unlocked…oh, Dickie, my boy. There’s a door to anywhere if you can speak the right name when asked for a key. But its not enough to just say them and throw them around, its not the sounds, the words, its what they are. You can’t pretend to know a thing, to know yourself. You have to really, truly know. But once you know….for a boy as bright as you, there’s no end to the possibilities.”

“So here’s what you must always remember, the real trick of it all…..names have power. But the power isn’t in the name. The power is in what you put in that name. You can’t claim a name and therein take its power, you see….because you have to know first what you’re trying to take from it, what you see when you look at it. What you want it to be, want it to give to you, what you want it to make you when you say this is me and I am this. Your father named you Richard, though he calls you Dickie. You were born a Flying Grayson and thus you always will be. Your mother named you her little Robin, born on the first day of spring. And all of these can be you, because no one is just one thing. And yet none of them are you unless you claim them to be.

So if you are to be Robin, as your mother named you but is only you if you choose to say yes that is me…..before you claim it fully, before you truly make it yours, you have to look at Robin and what you want the mirror to show when you look in it and say I am Robin and this is me. You have to see Robin not as even your mother sees her Robin, but as you see your Robin.

That’s the danger and that’s the trick.

You can’t claim Robin while seeing only what someone else sees, and think that by claiming it you’ve claimed its power….instead you’ve just claimed a trap, donned a self that doesn’t suit you because it is not you, only something someone else thought could be you.

Because in claiming that, you claim everything that comes with it….and then you will never be free to be more than whatever they thought you could be. There is no power in that, no potential, no freedom…..just the limitations you’ve accepted as your own, because someone thought you limited by such things, and yet you agreed that they were right when you claimed the name….but only the name as they shaped and imagined it to be.

So who is Robin? What power do you see in that name? Don’t reach out and seize it the moment someone sets it forth in front of you, assuming that is all it can be, the highest it can ever take you. Never claim a name if you haven’t first looked at it as you first see it...and then imagined it bigger, and then imagined it deeper, and then imagined it greater...and then kept going until you can’t imagine any more. And only then will you know what that name is…..when you say this name is who I truly want to be.

Robin is a bird, yes, Robin Red-Breast, a creature of spring, of the air, of new life. You can claim that and make it yours but first…..what else could Robin be?

Can not Robin just as easily be Robin Hood or Robin Goodfellow? Couldn’t you be? And why even be just one, when you can be all three?

No man is ever just one thing, and any man who thinks that he is has more dreaming to do.

So be Robin, in as much as you imagine Robin to be. Be the bird that flies, or the champion of the poor, or the merry trickster whom even kings fear. Or be all of them in one….there’s power enough for all of that in just that one little name….so long as you put it there first.

Its that simple, and its that tricky. There is no in between. You are whatever you claim as you - but the good and the bad, for better and for worse. The space that name holds and the walls that hold it in.

So if you remember nothing more, Dickie, Richard, Robin times three or however many more Robins you might be…..if someday you say I taught you nothing else, there’s nothing else I gave you or left for you to take with you wherever you go, hear me now, and remember this:

No matter how well you might think it suits you at first, the name you claim because it fits you as you are....will never be more than a trap.

The power in names, the true power…..only comes from claiming the name that fits the you, that you would dream yourself to be.

You can always be more than you are. And any name that tells you otherwise is not truly anything but a lie.

Many kings of the earth have laughed as they introduced your family as Kings of the Sky throughout the years. But the jest they don’t get is for all their riches, they were the ones content to claim titles and deeds that leave them trapped on the ground, confined within borders of their own makings, sealed behind walls they chose to erect between them and everything that was not theirs and thus would never be. But a King of the Sky soars above all of that, needing none of that…..because the sky has no end, and is so much vaster than any of that could ever be.

So if you would someday choose a crown, my little Prince of the Sky, never seek yours on the ground. Reach for one bigger than the ground could ever hold….only that could ever fit all that you might someday be.”

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mangolover · 4 years ago

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Congrats on 50 followers! Can I please get “I wasn’t lying when I told you that I loved you.”With Dalim please? Maybe the two were talking at the tavern and drinking and fem reader ends up drunk?

Hey, thank you so much for all your support! ^^

Thank you for this request, I actually had a lot of fun while imaging Dalim to be a soft bean, making sure you get home safe after getting wasted in his bar.

I hope I did both Dalim and your idea a justice. I centered it around femeale reader ending up drunk confessing, but there’s just bit left to one’s imagination at the end.

So without any further ramblings, here is your request!

50 Followers Drabble Event, prompt #24 with Dalim “Dum” Tweedle

If you wish to check out the offical “50 Followers Drabble Event”, press here

Title: Drunk Confession

Prompt: “I wasn’t lying when I told you I loved you.

Fandom: Ikemen Revolution / Ikerev

Pairing: Dalim “Dum” Teweedle x fem! reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: consummation of alcohol, intoxication

Spoilers: We don’t know much about Dalim so I don’t think there are any spoilers. Only his secret identity if you haven’t found it out yet.

Word Count: 1100+ (once again, oopsie)

Description: You had just moved to your new hom in the Central Quarter and decided to go celebrate with drinks at Dalim’s bar. You however ended up mixing alcohol and ended up drunk so Dalim took you home and slep over on the couch. In the morning you admit that your drunk confession wasn’t just the alcohol talking.

If you’re a minor, please don’t consume alcohol, wait until you’re of the legal age.

Also, drink responsiblly! And don’t drink and drive!

Drunk Confession

„I wove you!” you slurred to the handsome owner of the Oasis, the bar where you were currently drinking some fruity and sweet cocktails, he asked you to test for him. You sit in front of him, leaning your elbows on the bar for support, you were clearly drunk after you decided to mix alcohol and quickly downed a mug of stout, shaking a bit and sticking your tongue out from the sudden bitterness after such sugary drinks. Dalim tried to stop you many times, but you decided to let loose tonight, after all you finally moved away from your parents’ place and got yourself a nice little home in Central Quarter.

Dalim just let out a small chuckle while polishing a glass, you were one of the last patrons for the night and he was slowly getting ready to close the bar head to Magic Tower. You were murmuring something no one could understand one minute and the next you were dozing off on the bar top, placing your head on top of your hands and letting out quiet snores, only to wake up after two minutes and flirt with the handsome blondie again, confessing your hidden (not so hidden anymore) feelings. He was sure it was just the alcohol talking, knowing where to set boundaries before he does something both of you might regret in the morning.

And so, when the last patron stumbled out into the dark night, you were the only one left, now finally resting for about half an hour. Dalim didn’t want to wake you up just yet, instead he cleaned the bar to let you sleep a little longer, maybe then you will be able to come back home. Fifteen minutes later, someone lightly shook your shoulder and you slowly opened your heavy eyelids with a groan, feeling groggy. Your gaze focused and you saw a glass of water in front of you.

“Drink up, Princess” Dalim’s voice sounded from behind you as he was putting on his jacket and grabbing yours for you. “I’m going to walk you home so you don’t do something stupid.”

You just turned and stared at him, clearly still intoxicated. Dalim just sighed and stretched your jacket for you, “put your hands through the holes, we’re going home.”

“No.” His eyes widened at your sudden protest. “I’m only going home if you will sleep over.” What in the hell is going on in your head right now? He couldn’t understand why you would want some random man to sleep over at your house, he admits that he’s known you for about two years now, but still you would only ever hang out in his bar when you came for a drink.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you need to go home and get some rest y/n.”

“No.” Dalim run his hand through his hair, messing it up, before letting out a long sigh.

“Fine.” You let a sound of excitement as you put on your jacket and almost fell of your seat when you tried to get up, you were wasted, there is no way you’ll remember anything in the morning.

And so Dalim basically carried you back to your house, he was lucky you told him your address earlier otherwise he would be screwed. He had to carefully search your pockets in hope of finding your keys as you dozed off on his shoulder, drooling slightly. The sight was really adorable to him and he felt himself blush, but quickly shook his head. Now is not the time for that, he needs to get you in bed and stay on the couch so you won’t do something stupid. Or in case you vomit, you could suffocate because of that and he wasn’t ready to risk it. He loved you after all, only if it may not’ve been visible at all, he only didn’t flirt with ladies in his bar that much anymore.

Regardless, he got you into your bed, only taking off your shoes and jacket, tucking the blanket completely around your bed so you were wrapped in your own cocoon. He settled with sleeping on the couch in your living room, a decorative pillow under his head, he only took off his shoes and soon he had drifted off himself.

He felt someone touch his shoulder lightly and he opened his eyes slowly, only to see you in some fresh clothes holding a glass of water in front of him, your crouched form bathed in the rays of morning sun peeking through a window.

“Good morning Dum” you said and smiled sweetly, “here drink up.”

“Thank you” he downed the water in two big gulps, lowering it on the coffee table while you slowly sat next to him on the couch, but still leaving a little gap just in case you did something you weren’t supposed to do last night. There was a silence between you as Dalim was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and you just stared at the same spot on the floor.

“So, uh… what happened last night?” you slowly turned your gaze only to see Dalim look at you with one eyebrow raised.

“You don’t remember?”

“Not in the slightest, I guess that beer was a mistake on my part, sorry for any trouble I have caused you.”

“Oh no, don’t worry. This couch is not even that bad” he tried to release some of the tension from his neck, only for it to crack loudly. “You did say some funny stuff though.”

“Oh gosh, what did I say?” you could already feel yourself getting embarrassed.

“You were hitting on me, saying you’re not drunk and that you love me, nothing too bad I assure you.” He smiled at you, trying to make you feel better.

“Well, you know” you looked him in the eyes and put your hand over his on the couch, Dalim looked down at them, and then back at you with slightly widened eyes. "I wasn’t lying when I told you that I loved you.”

There was an awkward silence between you two prompting you to remove your and and lower your gaze on the floor, your cheeks bright red and a dull ache slowly bubbling up in your chest, only to feel a small kiss on your cheek when Dalim had recovered from the initial surprise.

“I’m glad you feel the same Princess” Dalim said, the confident look in his eyes back and his sexy grin back on his face.

You both looked each other in the eyes, smiling and slowly leaning towards each other for the long-anticipated kiss.

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thekillerssluts · 4 years ago

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The Story Behind Every Song On Will Butler’s New Album Generations

Will Butler has a lot on his mind. It has, after all, been five years since his solo debut, Policy. A lot can happen in half a decade, and a lot has happened in this past half-decade — much of it quite dire. Butler was in his early 30s when Policy came out, and now he’s closing in on 40. He’s a husband and father. And he’s shaken by the state of the world, the idea of being an artist and a soon-to-be middle-aged man striving to guide his family through the chaos.

At least, that’s how it comes across through much of Generations, his sophomore outing that arrives today. Generations is a big, sprawling title by nature, and the album in turn grapples with all kinds of big picture anxieties. Mass shootings, the overarching darkness and anxiety of our time, trying to reckon with our surroundings but the system overload that occurs all too easily in the wake of it. Then there are more intimate songs, too, tales drawn from personal lives as people plug along just trying to navigate a tumultuous era.

Butler is, of course, no stranger to crafting music that seeks to parse the cultural moment and how it impacts in our daily lives. Ever since Arcade Fire ascended to true arena-rock status on The Suburbs 10 years ago, they have embarked on projects that explicitly try to make sense of our surroundings. (Not that their earlier work was bereft of heavy concepts — far from it — but Reflektor and Everything Now turned more of a specific eye towards contemporary ills and trials.) But as one voice amongst many in Arcade Fire, there is a cinematic scope to whatever Butler’s playing into there.

On Generations, he engages with a lot of similar concerns but all in his own voice — often yelping, desperate, frustrated then just trying to catch a breath. Butler leans on his trusty Korg MS-20 throughout Generations, often giving the album a synth-y indie backdrop that allows him to try on a few different selves. There are a handful of surging choruses, “la-la” refrains batting back against the darkness, slinking grooves maybe allowing someone the idea of brief physical release amidst ongoing strife.

Ahead of Generations’ arrival, Butler sent us some thoughts on the album, running from inspiration between the individual tracks to little details about the arrangement and composition of different songs. Now that you can hear the album for yourself, check it out and read along with Butler’s comments below.

1. “Outta Here”

I think this is the simplest song on the record. Just, like, get me out of here. Get me fucking out of here. I’m so tired of being here. No, I don’t have another answer, and I don’t expect anything to be better anywhere else. But, please, I would like to leave here.

I can play plenty of instruments, and can make interesting sounds on them, but kinda the only instrument I’m good at is a synth called the Korg MS-20. That’s the first sound on the record. It makes most of the bass you hear on the record. It’s a very aggressive, loud, versatile machine, and I wanted to start the record with it cause I’m good at playing it and it makes me happy.

2. “Bethlehem”

This song partly springs from “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats: “What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Like a lot of folks, I woke up after the election in 2016 mad and sad and scared and exhausted. This song is born of that emotion.

My bandmates Jenny Shore, Julie Shore, and Sara Dobbs sing the bridge, and it’s a corrective to my (appropriate?) freaking out — this isn’t the apocalypse. You’re misquoting Yeats. Get your fucking head on straight. History has not ruptured — this shit we’re in is contiguous with the shit we’ve been dealing with for a long, long time. But still, we sometimes do need an apocalyptic vision to make change. Even if it’s technically wrong. I dunno. It’s an ongoing conversation.

There’s a lot of interplay with backing vocals on this record — sometimes the narrator is the asshole, sometimes the backing vocals are the asshole. Sometimes they’re just trying their best to figure out the world. This song starts that conversation.

3. “Close My Eyes”

I tried to make these lyrics a straightforward and honest description of an emotion I feel often: “I’m tired of waiting for a better day. But I’m scared and I’m lazy and nothing’s gonna change.” Kind of a sad song. Trying to tap into some Smokey Robinson/Motown feeling — “I’ve got to dance to keep from crying.”

There’s a lot of Mellotron on this record, and a lot of MS-20. This song has a bunch of Mellotron strings/choirs processed through the MS-20. It’s a trick I started doing on the Arcade Fire song “Sprawl II,” and I love how it sounds and I try to do it on every song if I can.

4. “I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know”

This makes a pair with “Close My Eyes” — shit is obviously fucked, but “I don’t know what I don’t know what I don’t know what I can do.” I’m not a proponent of the attitude! Just trying to describe it, as I often feel it. In my head, I know some things that I can do — my wife Jenny, for instance, works really hard to get state legislatures out of Republican control. Cause it’s all these weirdo state legislative chambers that have enormous power over law enforcement, and civil rights, and Medicaid, and everything.

The image in the last verse was drawn from the protests in Ferguson in 2015: “Watch the bullets and the beaters as they move through the streets — grab your sister’s kids — hide next to the fire station…” It’s been horrifically disheartening to see the police riot across America as their power has been challenged. I’ve got a little seed of hope that we might change things, but, man, dark times.

More MS-20 bass on this one, chained to the drum machine. This one is supposed to be insanely bass heavy — if it comes on in a car, the windows should be rattling, and you should be asking, “What the heck is going on here?” Trying for a contemporary hip-hop bass sound but in a way less spare context. First song with woodwinds — rhythmic stuff and freaky squeals by Stuart Bogie and Matt Bauder.

5. “Surrender”

This song is masquerading as a love song, but it’s more about friendship. About the confusion that comes as people change: Didn’t you use to have a different ideal? Didn’t we have the same ideal at some point? Which of us changed? How did the world change? Relationships that we sometimes wish we could let go of, but that are stuck within us forever.

It��s also about trying to break from the first-person view of the world. “What can I do? What difference can I make?” It’s not about some singular effort — you have to give yourself over to another power. Give over to people who have gone before who’ve already built something — you don’t have to build something new! The world doesn’t always need a new idea, it doesn’t always need a new personality. What can you do with whatever power and money you’ve got? Surrender it over to something that’s already made. And then the song ends with an apology: I’m sorry I’ve been talking all night. Just talk talk talking, all night. Shut up, Will.

Going for “wall of sound” on this one — bass guitar and bass synth and double tracked piano bass plus another piano plus Mellotron piano. The “orchestra” is about a dozen different synth and Mellotron tracks individually detuned. And then run through additional processing.

6. “Hide It Away”

This song is about secrets. Both on an intimate, heartbreaking level — friends’ miscarriages, friends’ immigration status, shitty affairs coming to light — and on a grand, horrible level: New York lifting the statute of limitations on child abuse prosecutions, all the #MeToo reporting. There’s nothing you can do when your secret is revealed. Like, what can you do? You just have to let the response wash over you. If you’ve done something horrible, god-willing, you’ll have to pay for it in some way. If it’s something not horrible, but people will hate you anyway, goddammit, I wish there were some way to protect you.

This song has the least poetic line on the record, a real clunker: “It’s just money and power, money and power might set them free.” But it’s a clunky, shitty concept — the most surefire protection is being rich and knowing powerful people. But even then, shit just might come out. Even after you’re long dead.

Came from a 30-second guitar sample I recorded while messing around at the end of trying to track a different song. I liked the chords, looped them to make a demo. And the song was born from there. This is the one song I play drums on. Snare is chained to the MS-20, trying to play every frequency the ear can hear at the same time on some of those big hits.

7. “Hard Times”

[Laughs] I sat down and tried to write a Spotify charting electro-hit, and this is what came out: “Kill the rich, salt the earth.” Oh well. Written way before COVID-19, but my 8-year-old son turned to me this spring and asked, “Did you write the song ‘Hard Times’ about now, because we’re living through hard times?” No, I didn’t.

In Dostoevsky’s Notes From Underground, the narrator is a real son-of-a-bitch—contrarian, useless. Mad at the strong confident people who think they’ve got it figured out. And they don’t! And neither does the narrator — but he knows he doesn’t, and he at times yearns for some higher answer, and he’s funny, and too clever, but still knows he’s a piece of shit. I read Notes From Underground in high school and kinda forgot how it shaped my worldview until I sat down with it a couple years ago. The bridge on this song is basically smushed up quotes from Notes From Underground.

I was asking Shiftee, who mixed the record, if there are any vocal plug-ins I should be playing around with. He pointed me toward Little AlterBoy, which is basically a digital recreation of the kind of pedal the Knife use, for instance, on their vocal sound. It can shift the timbre/character of a voice without changing the pitch. Or change pitch without changing character. Very fun! Very much all over this track. Tried to make the bridge sound like a Sylvester song.

8. “Promised”

Another friend song masquerading as a love song. I’ve met a handful of extraordinary people in my life, who stopped doing extraordinary work because life is hard and it sucks. People who — I mean, it’s a lottery and random and who cares — could be great writers or artists, who kind of just disappeared. And it’s heartbreaking and frustrating. I don’t blame them. Maybe they weren’t made for this world. Maybe it’s just random. Maybe they’ll do amazing work in their 60s!

We tracked this song before it was written. Julie and Miles came over and we made up a structure and did a bunch of takes, found a groove. Which I then hacked up into what it is now! The bed tracks are lovely and loose. Maybe I’ll put out a jammier version of this song at some point. The other big synth on this record is the Oberheim OB-8, and that’s the bass on this one (triple tracked along with some MS-20).

9. “Not Gonna Die”

This song is about terrorism, and the response to terrorism. I wrote it a couple weeks after the Bataclan shooting in Paris in 2015. For some reason, a couple weeks after the shooting, I was in midtown Manhattan. I must have been Christmas shopping. I had to pop into the Sephora on 5th Avenue to pick up something specific — I think for my wife or her sister. I don’t remember. But I remember walking in, and the store was really crowded, and for just a split second I got really scared about what would happen if someone brought out a gun and started shooting up the crowd. And then I got so fucking mad at the people that made me feel that emotion. Like, I’m not gonna fucking die in the midtown Sephora, you fucking pieces of shit. Thanks for putting that thought in my head.

BUT ALSO, fuck all the fucking pieces of shit who are like, “We can’t accept refugees — what if they’re terrorists?” FUCK OFF. Some fucking terrified family driven from their home by a war isn’t going to kill me. Or anyone. Fuck off. Some woman from Central America fleeing from her husband who threatened to kill her isn’t going to fucking bomb Times Square. You fucking pieces of shit.

In November/December 2015, the Republican primary had already started — Trump had announced in June. And every single one of those pieces of shit running for president were talking about securing our borders, and keeping poor people out, and trying to justify it by security talk. FUCK OFF. You pieces of shit. Fuck right off. Anyway. Sorry for cursing.

I kind of think of the outro of this song as an angry “Everyday People.” Everyday people aren’t going to kill me. Lots of great saxes on this track from Matt Bauder and Stuart Bogie.

The intro of the song we recorded loud, full band, which I then ran through the MS-20 and filtered down till it was just a bass heart-pulse, and re-recorded solo piano and voice over that.

10. “Fine”

I kind of think that “Outta Here” to “Not Gonna Die” comprise the record, and “Fine” operates as the afterword and the prologue rolled into one. An author’s note, maybe. It was kind of inspired by high-period Kanye: I wanted to talk about something important in a profane, sometimes horribly stupid way, but have it be honest and ultimately transcendent.

In the song, I talk semi-accurately about where I come from. My mom’s dad was a guitar player who led bands throughout the ’30s and ’40s. In post-war LA, he had a band with Charles Mingus as the bass player. Charles Mingus! One of the greatest geniuses in all of American history. But this was the ’40s, and in order to travel with the band, to go in the same entrances, to eat dinner at the same table, he had to wear a Hawaiian shirt and everybody had to pretend he was Hawaiian. Because nobody was sure how racist they were supposed to be against Hawaiians.

Part of the reason I’m a musician is that my great-grandfather was a musician, and his kids were musicians, and their kids were musicians, and their kids are musicians. Part of the reason is vast generations of people working to make their kids’ lives better, down to my life. Part of the reason is that neither government nor mob has decided to destroy my family’s lives, wealth, and property for the last couple hundred years. I tried to write a song about that?

Generations is out now via Merge. Purchase it here.

https://www.stereogum.com/2098946/will-butler-generations-song-meanings/franchises/interview/footnotes-interview/

#Arcade Fire #will butler #generations #interview #hq

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kosmosguk · 5 years ago

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Insatiable| Yandere Vampire Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 2.7K

Fanfic Type: Fic; Angst and Thriller-ish

Description: You never would’ve thought that the boy you rarely talked to would harbor such a sinister secret, and that you’d be the one to suffer from it.

[Warnings: Death, blood, literally anything about vampires, some spooky themes, yandere themes, manipulation]

It's the night before Halloween, and instead of watching horror movies or baking pumpkin bread like you normally would've, you're stuck here, waving around a flashlight in an old clearing before a very large, very abandoned, and very, very haunted mansion.

You didn't want to be here, but when Taehyung flashed his boxy smile and made his eyes into that damned kicked puppy expression, no one could refuse without feeling like a monster. You, despite your many, many years of friendship with him, certainly couldn’t.

The building was old, dilapidated, and looked like it was going to fall apart into pieces if a strong enough wind gusted against it. The bricks’ color was faded, a washed-out shade of brown, and mold crusted its crevices, peeking out of the dark and clinging onto any bits of space in the open air that it could. It creaked, groaned, and protested under its own weight. And you were sure that if the supposed ghost didn’t kill you, something for sure would with the atmosphere of this place.

It was also an awfully cold night, the kind of cold where it sunk deep into your bones and left you miserably paralyzed. You wanted to go home, wanted to sink into your warm covers and feast on the slice of pie you had baked earlier that day. You would’ve done anything but this.

You heard a soft crunch of leaves underfoot, but when you turned the flashlight around to peer at the cracked gravestones lining the courtyard, there was nothing. You shook your head, burrowing your face deeper into your warm scarf. It must’ve been your imagination.

"You look a little dazed," a girl from one of your classes--what was her name again? Jiwoo? Ah, Jisoo--said, coming up from behind you.

"Just feeling a little tired from Professor Kim's boring lecture," you feigned a yawn for exaggeration. Jisoo nodded in agreement before her eyes became glazed, foggy.

"Hey, Y/n," she said next after a brief pause punctuated the air between the two of you, and her next words, ones that you could never ever forget until the day you died, chilled you to the very bone.

"Who do you think will die first?"

You sputtered out, unable to answer properly because what the absolute FUCK was that kind of question. You knew this wasn’t a good idea, and Jiwoo, Jisoo, whatever the fuck her name was was clearly out of her mind. Going into a haunted house with her was, you were completely sure, not going to end well.

"Hey! We're about to head in; don't fall behind!" Taehyung frantically waved from in front of the doorway, three other classmates by his side who you were fairly sure were named Seokjin, Jungkook, and Jennie.

They all turned to stare at you, with three of them including Taehyung smiling brightly down at you, but the new guy, Jungkook, didn’t smile in a friendly manner like they did, choosing instead to stare at you almost unnerved you more than Jisoo's words did. His eyes were intense, almost hypnotizing, and the stare lingered even when everyone's gaze shifted away. You shivered, though this time you were certain that it wasn’t from the cold.

"Coming!" Jisoo waved back before looking back at your frozen self, smiling in a way that could've been interpreted as friendly but, when you peered just a little closer, menacing, like she knew something you didn't.

You tried to calm down your rapid heartbeat as she left, heading up to join the rest of your group.

Taehyung noticed the distress you were in and leaned over, flinging an arm around your shaking--you didn't even know you had been shaking--shoulders and leaning close to you with an inquisitive look in your eyes.

"What's up? Are you scared?" Taehyung asked, his voice soft and full of worry.

"Yeah I'm fucking scared," you hissed out between clenched teeth," Why did we have to come here? Let's just go back, Tae. Forget this ever happened."

Taehyung's eyes flashed with an uncertain emotion before he said," Don't you know? We can never go back."

For a second, Taehyung didn't look like Taehyung, not the one you knew. It was like he was enchanted, spun under some delusional fantasy that he couldn't escape from. But you brushed that thought off. He was still Taehyung. Your Taehyung. Your best friend Taehyung who hogged too much of the blanket and tried to warm up his icy blocks of toes on you.

"What the fuck; that isn't even funny, you dickwad!" you grimaced, sharply shoving your elbow into his side, your lips twisted in a grimace-like frown.

‘’I was just kidding. Lighten up!’’ he laughed, though you noticed with building panic that the emotion didn't reach his eyes. "You can wait outside for us then! We'll be in and out before you know it!"

Your mind spun as you tried to think of an answer. You could stay out here, where at least your phone had a bit of service, or you could go in and possibly die at the hands of some ax-wielding maniac straight from a thriller.

"Fine, I'll stay out here. You better be out in 20 minutes or I'm calling the cops," you said, huffing.

Taehyung smiled at you, reaching to ruffle your head, and for a second, he looked just like your Taehyung," Thanks, Y/n/n."

You walked away, standing by the entrance of the courtyard as you watched them open the door before getting swallowed up by the darkness inside. A sharp chill ran up your skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

The door clicked shut. The chill never left.

You bundled tighter in your coat, teeth slightly chattering as you waited, each second feeling a minute and each minute feeling an hour. You heard the sound of creaking wood and flashed your flashlight in the direction. There was nothing that greeted you except for the scampering of a small rat across the boards. You felt your fear rise with every second and you itched to just go in, haul them out, and leave. One more minute, you thought to yourself, one more minute and I'm going in.

A scream shattered the night air, and you noticed that it sounded an awful lot like Seokjin with the way it flawlessly rang out. After all, there was a reason why he was the lead actor in the musical at your University. You just didn’t think that you were going to experience his full vocal capabilities in this kind of situation.

You dropped your flashlight in panic and scrambled to pick it up, taking out your phone and trying to dial in the emergency number.

The call didn't go through and with a look at your bars, you realized that the service had cut out.

What were you going to do? Try to run back and get someone to help but it might be too late or run inside and find out what was happening?

Your mind flashed with each thought as your panic built up in your throat, choking you. You saw images of Taehyung, small child Taehyung handing you a bandaid when you first met, Taehyung setting off the fire alarm because hell he couldn't cook, Taehyung when you had a nightmare and he had run to your side even though he lived an hour away and it was 3 in the morning. Hell, you had to go in. Not just for your own sanity, but for the boy you watched grow up, the boy who never left your side. You couldn’t leave his side now.

You got up, running towards the building, your shoes slapping against the cobblestones, and rushing inside the building.

Without you even needing to, the door swayed behind you and shut, sealing you inside.

"Taehyung?" You looked around, wandering in the direction that you were sure the scream came from. You felt a cool breath wisp against the back of your neck and fingertips slowly sliding up your side in a sensual sweep. You whirled around. There was no one behind you.

You pressed on, calling out Taehyung's name until you saw a brief glow of a flashlight. You exhaled in relief as you hurried towards the light.

You got closer and closer, your fingers shaking.

Taehyung, Jennie, and a shaking Seokjin greeted you, three out of the original five. You let out a breath you hadn't known you were holding at the sight of Taehyung, intact.

"Didn't mean to scare you!" Taehyung grinned, like you hadn't been sent to the ends of hell," Jisoo and Jungkook went missing and we went to find them but Seokjin got scared because there was a big spider in the doorway."

You sighed, smacking your forehead in a sign of complete exasperation and relief before your frustration set in, hot and melded with the intense fear you were suffocating in.

"God fucking dammit, Kim Taehyung. I thought something had happened!" you weren’t even fully aware of this but tears had built up in your eyes, threatening to drip down your cheeks," I thought something bad happened and I lost your dumb ass."

"Hey, hey," Taehyung panicked at the sight of your tears, reaching over to wipe them away," Don't cry! You won't lose me without a fight."

You sniffled before crossing your arms resolutely. "I better not, you asshole. Now let's find Jisoo and Jungkook and leave this shithole."

Taehyung's eyes shifted slightly at your words, a brief flash of intense emotions, fear and panic, glowing in them before his eyes cleared, and he was back to your easy-going, loving Taehyung.

"Let's check the hallways! Maybe Jisoo wanted to check out the rooms and wandered off!" Jennie said, pointing away.

Your group started to walk in that direction, getting closer and closer when a movement in the corner of your eye caught you off guard.

"What's that?" you whispered loudly," Did you see that?"

Everyone else looked at you, curiosity and confusion written all over their faces and you shook your head. "Nevermind, probably imagined it or something," you said, clearing your voice," It's probably my nerves."

You reached out for the doorknob of the nearest room and watched, in stupefied fear as it creakingly swung open. Jennie let out a bloodcurdling shriek as the door slammed against the molding wall, making a loud dull thud as it hit, before bolting.

"Jennie!" Seokjin's teeth practically chattered together in fear as he bolted after the girl," Stop!"

You called out Seokjin's name, turning around to call for Taehyung to follow you because everyone knew that you didn't want to get separated in a horror movie. And everyone also knew that getting yourself stuck in an old creepy clearly haunted house was also not the smartest idea. But clearly, your group wasn't the smartest and you were fucking stupid for going along with them.

And when you turned around, just like what would happen in a horror movie, Taehyung wasn't there.

"Taehyung?" Your voice was a soft gust at first, meek and trembling as the first wave of pure animalistic fear finally hit," Taehyung! TAEHYUNG!"

The only reply that greeted you was stone-cold silence. You didn't hear Seokjin calling after Jennie anymore or Jennie running frantically to the doorman. The only sound you could hear was the rushing of your blood through your veins and the rapid way your heart thudded against your ribcage. You sucked in a deep breath and pushed it out before scrambling after the direction Seokjin and Jennie went in. You were going to find them both, and then you were going to find Taehyung. You just had to.

You weren't expecting to find them like this though. You stumbled into the main hall and noticed two dark figures hidden in the shadowy dimness of the mansion, swinging your flashlight to whom you hoped were Seokjin and Jennie.

Jisoo greeted you, her eyes flashing crimson and she grinned, the kind where all her teeth showed, and you noticed how sharp and white and bloody they were. Her skin, which was already usually pale, glowed translucent under your flashlight's yellowy artificial light.

You noticed the second figure next, the one that had been tenderly scooped in Jisoo's arms. Jennie, still and pale, looked terrified, her mouth stretched open as if she had been prepared to scream when Jisoo attacked her. You noticed the two neat puncture marks, oozing a trail of vermillion, in the crook of Jennie's neck and felt like you were going to hurl.

Jisoo bared her teeth at you, dropping Jennie's body onto the ground, and your stomach turned and churned when you heard the dull thud.

Jisoo took a step forward, licking the blood trail dribbling from her mouth, and she met your eyes, the predatory glint that had been washed over them shining brilliantly.

"You know," Jisoo practically sneered, and she looked, illuminated by your flashlight, like an avenging angel, both beautiful but oh so terrible and merciless," If you weren't his beloved, you would be replacing her next. But he wouldn't mind if I had just a little taste, right?"

Your chest constricted as Jisoo took another step closer, looking like she was ready to launch herself at you, and you couldn't move, couldn't breathe as her body tensed and...

"Jisoo.”

Her neck snapped to look behind you, and your head slowly craned to look behind you, feeling almost robotic with the level of fear and panic that you were drowning in.

Jungkook stood behind you by the window, his beautiful features glowing underneath the waxy glow of the moon. Even when you had to squint to properly see him, he already mesmerized you. He had a sharp jaw, soft pink lips, and slightly round intense dark eyes. His features were inhumanely perfect, and even the steeper slope of his nose added to his allure. You were transfixed, your mind occupied with thoughts about Jungkook. His eyes wouldn't stop looking at you, their eyes burrowing deep into your soul as he waved dismissively. You heard a soft rustle of fabric behind you and when you dared to look back, Jisoo was gone. His voice was breathless as he shifted slightly, a blur of black, and then he was in front of you so uncomfortably close.

"You know," he cupped your cheek, his touch cold, lacking the warmth of life," I knew from the very moment that I saw you that you were my destiny."

You didn't move a hair despite how much you wanted to. You heard of the way vampires could enchant someone and force them to comply with their demands. You just never thought that vampires were real and that, if they were, you'd be a witness to them.

"I saw you in passing and the way I felt, that is the only way I could ever feel with my mate. I wanted to steal you away, take you away, but that's quite suspicious in the human world apparently. But it wouldn't be that suspicious if you went into a bad place and ended up gone, now would it?" Jungkook pressed you further against him, burying his nose into the crook of your neck," Taehyung was difficult to control, but humans are malleable, no matter how strong they think they are."

Your throat freed and you managed to finally speak, although you still couldn't move.

"Why did you have to kill Seokjin and Jennie and," you sobbed," What happened to Taehyung?!"

You couldn't see his smile, how innocent and bright it was like a little boy opening up a big present and finding out that it was exactly what he had wanted all along, but you could feel it pressing into your warm flesh, almost mocking.

"We got hungry," you felt his teeth prod at your flesh as he pressed even further against you," And with the way you're so close to me, I'm getting a little hungry too."

"You don't mind if I take a bite?" his voice was raspy, animalistic almost.

You didn't reply. You couldn't reply. Even as tears dribbled down your cheeks and splattered onto him, salty, you couldn't say a word.

Jungkook played with the hem of your jacket, gentle like a lover would, and then his teeth sunk in, sharp like needles.

Really, even if you could answer, with the way he desperately curled into your warmth, Jungkook would never take your refusal for an answer.

After all, Jungkook, the boy who barely spoke to you before except to ask for a pencil and the boy now who refused to let you go, was absolutely insatiable.

[HAPPY HALLOWEEN BABES! I wanted to release something for this spooktastic holiday so my writing is messy :( Be safe and take care of yourself on this spooky day! Part 2 of my reactions will be posted soon, but I wanted to focus on writing this today! Love you <3]

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thecostumeplot · 4 years ago

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Episode 15: What Happened to Monday & Tron: Legacy

Please consult these Instagram slideshows for accompanying images: What Happened to Monday Tron: Legacy

Sarah and Jojo: Welcome to the costume plot. Jojo Siu I'm Jojo Siu Sarah Timm and I'm Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description. Jojo Siu We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in the Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo Siu Hello, and welcome back. Sarah Timm Welcome back to the costume plot. Jojo Siu Second episode of the day. Sarah Timm We record these back to back so it's been two weeks for you guys, but it's been about five minutes for us Jojo Siu It's weird to think about that. Sarah Timm A little bit, huh? How's the future? Is it fun? Jojo Siu I know. Tell us. Tell us all about it. Sarah Timm Is Coronavirus over? Jojo Siu Finally. Oh man. Oh, yeah. Did you get your vaccine? Sarah Timm I did! Yeah. And by the time this episode comes out, I will be fully vaccinated meaning that the two weeks will have passed. I got it on the 29th of March. Jojo Siu Woohoo! I'm super excited. So excited! Then we'll both be fully vaccinated. Sarah Timm Yeah Jojo Siu And we can actually have a hang out! Without masks! Sarah Timm Imagine that. I know. Our friend Ramsey has gotten his vaccine and his boyfriend has, and we're planning to have dinner parties. And we're just so excited to finally DO stuff. Jojo Siu I know. I'm very excited. Matt's supposed to get his on Friday. Sarah Timm Exciting. Jojo Siu Yeah. All right. Well, I will I will get us started on our our next episode, Sarah Timm What's our theme today? Jojo Siu This one is not as scary as I last episode. Sci-fi is a little less creepy for me. Although, you know, it is also something very near and dear to us in the future. So that COULD be scary. Sarah Timm Sometimes, Sci-fi is scary. Jojo Siu It's true. But I'm very excited to talk about this movie. It's something that I watched a long time ago. And I will say the storyline is probably not the most new or interesting for a sci fi kind of thriller. But I also really just love the actors that are in this movie. And it's a pretty big all-star cast. So I will get started. Let me share my screen. Okay, so I will be covering the movie "What Happened to Monday. And this movie, it's probably not as well known. But again, it's something that I've really come to enjoy. And it's a very fun movie. So if you're looking for something kind of, I don't want to say on the lighter side. I guess there's some light parts of it, but it is kind of a darker movie. It's directed by Tommy Wirkola, who wrote and directed "Dead Snow" as well as "Dead Snow 2". You probably know him the best from the new "Hansel and Gretel" movie. So he did that action "Hansel and Gretel" . And then he also did--I wrote this down because no one knows what it is--but it's "Kill Buljo" which is a parody of "Kill Bill". Oh, and apparently, there's also a sequel for that. So I thought that was funny that, you know, that was on his list of things. So he hasn't done a ton of work. But the few things he's done--it looks like they were more in the sci-fi genre. So he tends to kind of lean towards that. And then the costume designer for this was Oana Paunescu. I hope I'm saying that correctly. She did several versions of "Dragonheart". And then she was also the wardrobe supervisor for a show called "Mirrors". And then she also did "Seed of Chucky", which is probably the one that most people know. But yeah, so this was an interesting kind of adventure for her, she talks a little bit about how she really had to figure out how to dress seven versions of the same person. And I should probably go back and tell you what the premise of the story is. So the idea is that we are in a kind of not-so-distant in the future. The setting is 2043. And I don't know what city it's supposed to be, because again, this is in the future. I think it's supposed to be kind of a representative of any urban city setting. But it's the idea that at this point, they've been doing all of these things to kind of solve all the environmental problems that we've had, that have been created by you know, world global warming and all those other things. But in order to do that, it's actually created a new defect, where humans when they get pregnant, are actually coming out with multiple births. So people regularly will have septuplets or you know, quintuplets or whatever. So basically this idea of overpopulation has now happened. And so in order to control that, the character Glenn Close, who is not necessarily a councilwoman but she's kind of representing this new age of science, where she is fighting for putting all the siblings or having one child in each family that exists in the world and then having all the rest of her siblings or his siblings put into cryogenic sleep until sometime in the future. So that's their way of kind of controlling the population and trying to keep that in control. And so of course, that means that you know, every sibling is supposed to be put into cryogenic sleep, but of course there is the main character is played by Noomi Rapace. Is that how you say her name? Sarah Timm I think it's "Rapas". I'm not 100% sure. Jojo Siu Noomi Rapace, who is infamously known for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Sarah Timm The Swedish one, not the American one. Jojo Siu Yeah, yes, Sarah Timm She's so good in that, Jojo Siu Yes, very good in that one. But she plays our leading lady. So basically, her mother died in childbirth, giving birth to her and her six other siblings. And Karen Settman is the name of the mother. And so the grandfather, father of this mother, who gave birth to these sevenchildren, he decides discreetly, he finds a hospital where she's allowed to deliver them safely and ends up keeping them. And so the grandfather ends up coming up with this whole system. Where because there's seven of them, he names each of the kids after a day of the week. And so he trains them and basically protects them, and actually builds a whole space custom made for them. So he teaches them to go out each day of their week, and only go out, but always as Karen Settman. So each of them has their persona inside the house. But when they leave the house, they are always representing one only child--Karen Settman. Sarah Timm So they each have their own day of the week where they get to leave the house. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. But you know, one of the things too, is that the grandfather recognizes that this is a very dangerous world. They actually COULD be taken by the police, and he doesn't want them to be put into cryogenic sleep, he wants them to be able to grow up together. But of course, because of that, he has to train them to realize that whatever happens to one of them outside on the streets, has to happen to all of them, because they all have to be Karen Settman--the ONE Karen Settman. So they kind of lose their own identity. He talks about them being able to be themselves at the house. And there's a lot of flashbacks to him, training them as kids. And what happens if they can't have two of them out on the street at the same time in case someone sees a second twin, or suddenly realizes they have seven of them in the same house. And then he also builds in basically a cry of a panic room. And has them train what'll happen in case the government comes to the door and they have to hide. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu So basically, that is the the starting premise of this story. And of course, we show the flashbacks of how they came to this place. But then the movie starts off with Sunday returning home. And she is basically you know, she's she's lived her life, she's come back from work. And they have a very specific dress for what she looks like everyday when she goes to work. And then when she comes back to her very kind of shoddy looking hotel, you finally realize she's got six other siblings and their practice is, at the end of every day, that she introduces, or sorry, they all have bracelets where they check in to each of the locations. And it actually--the bracelet goes to the government and tells them this is a one child only. So there's a lot of things that you know, the grandfather has clearly done to tamper with all of this technology that's in the future to make sure they're safe. So the movie is called "What Happened to Monday?" Because on Monday, "Monday" goes out she has this big presentation where she's supposed to get promoted at work. And she goes and is very worried about her job on Monday. And then she suddenly goes missing. Sarah Timm Oh! Jojo Siu ...and shortly before she goes missing, you find out that one of her co-workers is kind of threatening her and says "I know. I know your secret. You better. You better listen to me. You better give ME the promotion so that you don't get ousted" Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And then she just disappears so she never comes home. The rest of the sisters don't know what's happened. And that's kind of where we start the movie. So let me move on to our costumes. Sarah Timm Oh, wow. Jojo Siu So I'm going to start actually breaking this down by character because I've given you quite a lot of backstory. So I'm not going to necessarily go throughout the movie because they mostly stay in very similar costumes pretty much throughout the entire story. And again, this takes place pretty much over a week, because we go through each of the days. This is just a quick, quick close up of Glenn Close, I wanted to focus very briefly on all of her costumes. Because she, at least in this picture, she reminds me a lot of Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Timm Yes. Jojo Siu And sort of the new age of the future. She's kind of trying this changing of a lot of what's happening and trying to really do good for, for controlling this overpopulation problem. And so she's kind of the face of, of this overpopulation. It's called the... Collection--I should know this--Collection something Bureaucy. But it's called CAB for short. So she runs CAB. And basically, they're the people that collect the siblings, if they find out there are more than one. Sarah Timm This hair. Jojo Siu I know, it's crazy. Her hair isn't like that the whole time. That's just the introduction, we see her in at the very beginning of the movie. So then we go to the second image of her and this is when she's in her facility. So in the CAB facilities, and you see her kind of peeping into a room full of children. And these are children that they've collected, when they found out they were siblings of other parents. So she, she looks in the room, and it's just this group of small kids that are kind of playing around. And so she keeps talking about, "they're not going to be in pain, it'll be great." And so this--I just wanted to focus on how beautiful this coat is. She's in a lot of like blues and greens throughout the movie, kind of very earthy tones, which is very ironic, because she's kind of she's actually kind of our villain until the very end. But I love how clean cut her look is. And again, very, very, like Prime Minister; a very "Margaret Thatcher" look. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And then this is the final scene. So this is actually towards the end of the movie when she's about to run for council woman. So BIG SPOILER alert, you find out that she has not been cryogenically freezing any of these siblings. She puts them into this pod, and then gives them a shot to basically, either put them to sleep or make them unconscious or whatever the series is, and then they actually get burned to death. So they all get incinerated. So you find out that she's actually just been killing all of these siblings. Sarah Timm I mean, that's not surprising. But the mess is..... Jojo Siu Right, right. Right, exactly. So, you know, you find out that she has been lying about all this stuff, she has been the face of this cryogenic, you know, CAB thing for so long. And so she is trying to run for counselor. And she's made this deal with one of the sisters to let her live in order to help her. To give her a huge donation basically to become council woman. So this is that final scene where she's talking to the sister. And this is also just a quick show of whatall of the Karen segments were when they go to work. So this is the typical outfit, every single one of them has the same exact clothing, they wear their hair exactly the same way. And you'll see kind of when we go to some of the other characters, how different they are when they're back at home. But this is kind of the image. And Monday was the first one that was born out of the seven. So she is the one that kind of starts the week. And so, when she disappears, her outfit actually is the closest to what she wears inside the house in addition to outside the house. So I wanted to kind of show that, because that's basically what you see most of them in when they're out on the street. Okay, moving on. So this is just a quick family shot. And you can see how different each of the different family members are. Sunday is actually right at the end of the table Monday you see here is right on the...kind of right of center. And she you can see here she's got green on, but it's actually the same exact silhouette as the blue blazer that she's wearing in the previous scene. This one is Saturday, so she's kind of the party girl. Sarah Timm Basic, 'cause she's Saturday! Jojo Siu Exactly, exactly. And I'll talk a little bit more about how the costume designer decided to break up the days of the week too. Friday is right here so she's kind of got the beanie and the plaid flannel. Thursday is sort of our tomboy, skater girl, so she's kind of the one that always questions the system; doesn't understand why they have to do this; feels like she wants to break out and always wants to have her own voice. Wednesday is our kind of athletic gym rat. So she is the one that's always working out and you know, doing stuff, and then you can't really see your face, but we'll we'll get some close ups on her later. But Tuesday is kind of our hippie pot smoking nerd. So she's the one that's always smoking and always whatever--very chill. She's also the only one with red hair out of the... Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu Seven of them. Okay, moving on. So just another quick shot, this is just what she's wearing all the time when she goes out. So she's got that dress underneath with the blue, but then she always has this blue trench coat that she wears on top. And you see her in that all the time--she's always in the same earrings. So there's a whole scene where they have almost like a technology grid, and it actually will take a look at all the blemishes on their face to make sure that they look exactly the same. Sarah Timm Fancy! Jojo Siu ...whenever they go out, which is so crazy. So you have acne "here", or you're a little red "here", or your eyes are really red today or whatever it is. And then it helps them kind of figure out what they need to make up or cover up in order to look exactly the same. So again, this look is very, very contrived, every single one of them has to look exactly the same when they leave the house. The other big part is they have to tell each other what's happened in the day. Because if there's anything any conversations they had with another, you know, coworker, or they have to be consistent, they need to know exactly what the conversations were about, and all of that. So that part of their bracelet is that they actually have a little camera in there to kind of walk them through what's happened throughout the day. And Friday, who's the tech geek is the one that kind of helps them figure out all of that. Sarah Timm I was thinking how hard it would be to only get to go to work once a week and have to pretend like you've been there the whole time. That's a lot of work to keep up with! Jojo Siu It is. SO much. And I think you know, they all start kind of feeling that eventually, because they've been growing up in this system for so long. So losing that individuality anywhere outside the house can be really hard. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu So it was really hard to find pictures of of these costumes. So I pulled up all of these posters. So there actually won't be as many pictures for this one, Sarah, you'll be very excited. But I wanted to kind of just go through some of the costume designers' notes on what each of the days meant for her. So like we talked a little bit about Monday. So for her "Monday would wear something a little bit softer in color, and you wouldn't necessarily think that she's softer because of what her character does." And again, SPOILER alert, Monday actually sells her siblings out in order to try and stay alive. And she has good reasons at the end of the movie, but the way that it's portrayed in this movie, it makes it seem like she's the villain. When you find out at the very end that she's actually fallen in love with one of the CAB officers, who doesn't know that she's a sibling, but he and her basically have been together for months. She finally decides that she wants to just be free of this life and doesn't want to have siblings. And she's also pregnant with twins. So, in order to protect her twins, she signs this, you know agreement with Kaman who is played by Glenn Close. And so, in order to give her that huge donation to become the Councilwoman, she will be protected, her kids will be protected, and not taken. And so, in addition to that, she has to obviously reveal that she is one of seven, Sarah: Right. So they basically the the rest of the movie is Glenn Close and all of the agents that she sends to try and kill the rest of them. Because the fact that seven siblings have existed and have escaped her notice and not gone into cryogenic sleep, is really bad for her reputation. So rather than trying to like suddenly throw them into cryogenic sleep and make it okay, she just opts to send people to kill them. So, of course, when Monday disappears, then Tuesday tries to go in, but has no recollection of what's happened the day before because she wasn't there. And so she gets she's the first one to kind of get taken by CAB. And so, everything after that kind of trickles after that. So Mondays, you know, we talked about that--Tuesday comes after a Monday. So she said, "which means for example, you may need to smoke more." 'Cause Monday's always the hardest. She said Wednesday, "you're realizing you smoke too much and you have to work out." So again Wednesday, it's like our gym rats. On Thursday, she said "we reboot ourselves". So you find out it for this version of Thursday. She's almost kind of like the Butch femme. So she's always in black t-shirts or white t-shirts and skinny jeans and black combat boots and she's got the short pixie cut. So she's kind of our leading lady out of the seven, if you can really call it, that besides Monday, but she's the one that kind of leads the rest of the sisters in trying to find Monday and save everyone. So Thursday is the reboot day and then Friday. She said "Maybe we choose to study more". So again, Friday is our kind of tech nerd/geek nerd. And then Saturday, "Let's drink" and Sunday: "We choose to behave and go to church". So Sunday is actually the first one that dies. Sorry, SPOILER ALERT. But she also is the one that they talk about, that has to believe. She was always the believer, she always believed in better, she always believed in, you know, better hope for the future. And she's also always dressed in these kind of cardigans and sort of Sunday church dresses. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And so again, very--on the surface--very perfect and hopeful in her dress and in her costume. So when we first see her in the first scene with the sisters, she's always in these like floral prints, which I really love too. And I think the costume designer actually, I think she was the only one in really a print, everyone else was in kind of more geometric blocks or, or just plain tees. So the fact that Sunday is always our very floral and kind of natural and organic prints, this idea that she's sort of the the hopeful one. And I think that's reflected in her costume. So Monday, again, you know, this was really the only other close up that I could find where we don't see her in the blue, because again, the rest of the movie, she's pretty much missing. And at the very end, we'll see a picture of her back in kind of like a version of the dress that she normally wears. But the way that they differentiated is the costume designer blocked off different parts of the costume, which I really loved. But again, she's she's always kind of in the same type of silhouette each time, even when she's at home. So always this idea of needing to look perfect, always being perfect. And she talks a lot about that. She's the one that's the oldest. So she always sets the example for everyone else. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu This is another picture. And again, this is sort of the way that they differentiated, you know, Monday from Thursday later on, because Thursday also ends up in a dress very similar to this, but the different cut outs is how the costume designer was able to show difference. So, I think Thursday doesn't have the pink on top, it's just the the darker pink and fuchsia on the sides. Alright, so this is Tuesday. So again, kind of the very hippie dress, she's got a lot of off-the-shoulder kind of baggy sweaters, she's always wearing sort of the hippy skirts. It's a very boho look. And again, she always wears a ton of bracelets and a ton of rings. And her hair is always in two pigtails. And she's, again, the only one with red hair. Yeah, so this is just another kind of close-up picture of that soft draped sweater that she has. Okay, so Wednesday, again, is our workout girl, she's always in a black hoodie, and some sort of sports bra, and sweat pants. Most of her scenes are her jogging, or punching a punching bag in the apartment. And when she goes out, so this is after they found out that Tuesday has been taken. Tuesday's eye has been sent back to the house with... Sarah Timm Oh Jojo Siu ...agents to kill them. And so Wednesday is the first one who goes out on Wednesday and tries to escape in order to find out more information because this is when they find out that the co worker has some sort of blackmail on them. So she goes to try and find out what's happened. And of course, she's being chased around the city at this point. Because she knows that they're after her. A lot of agents have been sent after her to try and kill her. And so the other three sisters--it's Tuesday, Friday and Thursday--the tech nerd at home is basically helping her figure out where to go, how to escape all of this stuff. And she gets so close to escaping and she ends up obviously getting killed, but it's the saddest way to get killed. So all of it, of course is very athletic. She gets the most athletic time because you know, she's working out all the time. So she does the most punching and running. Sarah Timm You would think that if they have to make sure that they havethe same zits and stuff that one of them working out more than the others would be an issue. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. Sarah Timm Why does she have a bicep? Jojo Siu Yeah. The dress does hide a lot of their outfit. Sarah Timm I guess she's not in a midriff top when she goes to work. Jojo Siu Exactly. Most of the shape is hidden. But yeah, it's mostly face shape. You know, obviously after this scene, when she goes out on her day, she's kind of gone off the deep end. She's like, "I'm not even going to bother wearing the dress anymore", because she's got so gotten cut up at this point. They've somehow defeated the first round of agents. So her coming into this is just, "I just need to find out what's happened". And so she's kind of gone out and gone rogue a little bit. But at this point, they also know CAB realizes that there are seven of them and is trying to kill them. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu So she's kind of the first one out there. So this is just some other running shots. But again, you can see she's just, you know, her athletic day, I guess, of her just running everywhere. And there's another one. Again, just kind of showing all the T-shirts and hoodies that she wears. Alright, so Thursday, again, very much the rebel. They show some flashback scenes of her when she is a child. And she's the first one that actually kind of messes up the system. And she talks a lot about that when she kind of confronts Monday at the very end. But there's a big scene where, as a child, she actually escapes. When it's someone else's day, she goes out andskateboards, and then comes back after the dad has realized she's gone missing. She's out there and everyone else has returned. And she comes back with her finger hanging off because she got into a skateboarding accident. And so of course, because her fingers cut, hanging off, the grandfather ends up having to cut all the other siblings fingers off. So there's this whole like, you know, this big scene just talking about the seriousness of like, Whatever happens to one of you has to happen to everybody. And she's always the one that's like, :I want to get out of the system. Why are we doing this? None of us are living a real life". Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu But she is also the one that ends up...I thought I had more pictures of her. Unfortunately, I don't. There were very few pictures of her, but again, she's always the one in black. A lot of tech gear. And when I say tech gear, I mean theater tech wear: black t-shirt, black pants, black combat boots. Sarah Timm like she's a stagehand. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. So then Friday is our--like I said--tech geek nerd. And she's always in these kind of oversized sweaters or oversized flannels, and everything is very hidden about her. And she's she basically is the tech geek that gets everyone, you know, where they need to go at the very end. And she and Friday do end up lasting kind of the longest. Until Thursday finally escapes. So sorry, Thursday is our Pixie girl. And then she finally, in order to let Thursday escape, she actually sacrifices herself at the very end, which is really sad. But she talks about how she needed this family. "I'm not like the rest of you. You guys are all independent, and you could do your own thing. But I never thrived without you. And like I wouldn't survive without you". So she decides to sacrifice herself instead. And takes out some of the CAB agents with her. And then we get to Saturday. Sarah Timm I love her hair! Jojo Siu So cute. So Saturday--She's always kind of a schmoozer. So whenever she's at work, she's the one that's really great at networking. She's really great at going to parties. They have this whole thing in the very beginning where she comes back and pukes in one of the buckets and so the guy at the front desk is like, "how do you do it? You were puking yesterday, and today, you look so fresh". And that was Sunday walking out. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And so of course, it was this idea that she also didn't share all the information with everybody. But you actually find out that even though she talks big about sleeping with everyone, she actually is a virgin, because you find out she runs into the guy that Monday is in love with and has been sleeping with for months. And she doesn't realize that he doesn't know it's not her or that it's not "Monday". So she tries to also find out information about what's happened to "Monday" by pretending to be "Monday" from within. So anyways, it's this whole thing where all the sisters sacrifice for one another, which I just thought was really interesting. But again, she's always in some kind of pink hoodie or really bright red kind of bra or bralette and some kind of jeans. This is one of the last scenes and you can see here, this is Thursday, and this is Monday. And so this is where you find out that Monday has basically betrayed all of them. Thursday is trying to save everyone and get her out. But you find out that, obviously, she has signed off this contract to basically protect her babies. Okay, and then just a couple other shots. You can kind of see here again Thursday, she's always in black. She's also got a black hoodie, very similar to Wednesday. And then you can see the yellow kind of oversized cardigan, and the really bland colors on Friday. And then the pink, and she's always wearing some sort of denim and the red bra for Saturday. And then I believe this was the last one that I pulled, but I wanted to pull the last little quick image of the grandpa and then one of the kids when they're doing the training at the very beginning. And I just wanted to pull this image because again when they got into the street--so this is the first day that he finally lets the first kid go out into the street. So prior to this, he hasn't let any of them leave the house. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu They've all been confined to the home to try and learn, you know, what their skills are. And also make sure that, you know, they understand the system; that they only can go out one day at a time. And it's funny to me that they're still wearing that dark blue blazer. This idea that they belong to the masses. And I think that was something that the costume designer talked about, too, you know, "I picked a color that kind of blended into the mass and didn't stand out because they needed to kind of disappear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And also the fact that Willem DaFoe was in grandpa's comfort wear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu In all grays. So interestingly enough, when he's training them, there's quite a few shots with him in actually more vibrant colors. And at one point, he's actually wearing that yellow sweater that Friday's wearing, which I thought was really lovely. Sarah Timm That's cute. Jojo Siu But, you know, the rest of the time he's wearing these blacks and grays. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And you don't really ever find out what's happening to him either. So it's a little sad, but you know, they don't really go further into that side story. I think that was the last of it. So again, not too many photos for this one. But I just, you know, how do you make seven different characters with the same actress? And how do you make them all look different enough and have their own character? I mean, Noomi is pretty amazing. She was basically acting against herself for most of it. And she mentioned that this was one of the hardest products she's ever done, because she didn't have other actors to work off of or to bounce ideas off. She had to create who that other actor was going to be. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And that carried over, I think, into her conversations with a costume designer as well, right? Sarah Timm They probably use--lots of times when they're doing stuff like that they use like a body double, but it's not someone who's going to be acting and giving you the same energy that a fellow actor would give you. Jojo Siu Right, right. Yeah. And they did us a couple body doubles. But I think, you know, it definitely was like, "I had to figure out who all those characters were". And I think she said she actually secluded herself for five or six months, so that she could get into the headspace of who these characters were. She was like, "it was really hard because I couldn't talk to anybody for five or six months". And I was like... Sarah Timm Commitment. Jojo Siu "That's worse than quarantine! Sarah Timm I feel like we always hear about famous male actors who goes super method. Why aren't we talking about Noomi Rapace? Clearly she's... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Super method. She's committed. Wow. Jojo Siu But yeah, and you definitely see how different the little ticks are in each of her characters, even for this movie. So yes, I would highly suggest it. Again, the story plot--there's a lot of plot holes. So I think that's what a lot of critics have said about this movie. And again, it is very close to whatever the episode of "Black Mirror" was... Sarah Timm I was thinking it sounds like "Orphan Black". Jojo Siu Maybe that's what it is. Maybe they meant "Orphan Black". I could have...misquoted that. Sarah Timm "I've seen "Black Mirror", but it's been a long time since I've seen certain episodes. So it might be an older one that I don't remember. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's true. Sarah Timm Orphan Black is the one where Tatiana Maslany plays clones. Jojo Siu Oh, yes, then that's the one. Sorry, I misquoted that. So it's definitely "Orphan Black". But yeah, I know, they took it off with some other idea because that was one of the big criticisms that they got. They were like, "well, it's nothing new. And the storyline is kind of unfinished." Sarah Timm Interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Interesting concept. Jojo Siu Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely one of those movies that I kind of stumbled across and then I was like pleasantly surprised. Sarah Timm Cool. Well, great job! Jojo Siu Thank you! Sarah Timm Okay, are we ready for me? This was a request--my movie that I'm covering. My dear friend Christie messaged us and requested this movie, I think, over Instagram. I'm covering "Tron: Legacy", which is a movie I hadn't seen since it came out. And I forgot how fun it is. It's very fun. So, a little bit of background. It's this is a Disney movie. So take with that what you will. It's directed by Joseph Kosinski. And this movie is his directorial debut, which blew my brains. I could not believe that this high budget and big of a movie was somebody's directorial debut. And I I did a little googling because I was like, How on earth did he get the job, then... Jojo Siu Yeah! Sarah Timm ...if he's never directed anything? so I found a New York TimesNew York Times article that says, and this is a direct quote, "it sounds corny, but it all started back in 2007, with one guy who believed in him--Shawn Bailey, a Disney producer, who was trying to figure out how to reinvent Tron. Mr. Bailey had heard through the Hollywood grapevine about a director of commercials, which is Joseph Kosinski, who had an unusual visual style." And the article kind of went into how this happens sometimes with really big studios; they'll give a big budget movie to somebody who has only done a few commercials. And some people think it's because a first time director will be easier to control by a big studio, you know. A bigger name will come in with an artistic vision and be like, "Well, I'm not conforming to your corporate Disney whatever. I'm going to do what I want." But then also, like, the more optimistic view of that is, it doesn't matter, your resume if you have the right vision and the right, you know, artistic gumption to go and get it. But I will say that, like, I don't think that if he This might sound cynical, but I think that like, especially in 2010, when this movie came out, I don't think if he were non white, and not a man that he would have gotten this big of a chance. Jojo Siu Agreed. Sad, but true. Sarah Timm Yeah. When I've heard of that kind of thing happening, where it's like, oh, my god, he's only directed five music videos. And they gave him a superhero movies indirect like it's usually a white man that they're talking about, unfortunately. So yeah, that was an interesting thing to learn. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Yeah. The costumes were co-designed. So two people--Christine...Christine, Bieselin Clark. I'm just gonna say that's how you pronounce that, who has worked on "Star Trek Picard", "Maze Runner" and "Ender's Game". And then the other designer is Michael Wilkinson, whose name you might recognize because he did "Jingle Jangle". Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm So he's done a lot of Zack Snyder's like "Justice League" franchise movies, "Aladdin", "300" and "Garden State". Jojo Siu "Oh Garden State". I haven't seen that movie in so long. Sarah Timm That's a good one. So yeah, interesting. I think it kind of makes sense that like two people do the costumes. This is it's, it seems like a very collaborative design these costumes, because like, the visual style of the movie is so distinct that like the production design, and the costume design, and the special effects are all kind of hand-in-hand. So it's a real team effort. It seems just, that's just my view of it. So let's begin. This is... Yay! ...the beginning of the movie. Oh, I will say I have not seen the first "Tron". So Neither have I. So one of my first notes was, "I need someone to explain to me what the grid is, because I still don't quite really know." I don't know. Jojo Siu I am probably just as lost as you are. So I don't know that I'd be much help. Sarah Timm It's a virtual reality space. That's what I've, that's as far as I got. It's like a computer--digitized--but it's like a world you can enter, but it's in the computer. Jojo Siu That was a very good explanation, Sarah. Sarah Timm Thanks so much. So this is the opening. Basically, the basic plot is: Jeff Bridges who's in the first "Tron" was the founder of this, sort of, tech company. But he went missing in 1989. And his son is now technically the head of the company, but isn't involved at all, I think, and he's kind of like a rebel guy, he doesn't care about the company. And it seems like these people--the suits--are interested in making money and exploiting the technology. Whereas Jeff Bridges--his character, Flynn--was interested in open source software and making it available for everybody and sharing it. So that's kind of where we come in, is in this board meeting, where they're gonna release this program, I don't know, whatever computer thing. Jojo Siu We are so not sci-fi, tech nerds, Sarah Timm Computer thing, great. Jojo Siu Whatever that is. Sarah Timm So I this boardroom scene is interesting to me, because they're all wearing the same color, which is sort of like a slate gray, black. And it's funny to me, because, you would think that we would really want to differentiate this world--the real world--from the grid that we enter later, but the color scheme is kind of the same, which is kind of funny. And interesting that the corporate world doesn't look that different from the sci-fi computer world. I didn't realize that I would sound so dumb describing this movie. Jojo Siu It's okay, you and me both. I was like, I can't help you with any of those technology terms. Sarah Timm It doesn't really matter to my understanding, like costumes, I think, right? I don't feel too bad about it. Okay, so this is actually Killian Murphy who I was like, Killian Murphy's in this movie? Jojo Siu Jojo: I almost didn't recognize him. Sarah Timm Apparently he's uncredited, this is an uncredited cameo appearance. Yeah! Jojo Siu Uncredited? Sarah Timm I know Jojo Siu Did HE put that in or did someone else? Sarah Timm Did he wander by the set one day? How did this come about? He was just like walking by in the scene and said "Okay, I'll be that dude." But this look is interesting because he looks different from everybody else because he's like the young, hotshot guy. And this already looks very dated to me, even though it's only 10 years old, and I think it's the hair. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm It's very floppy Jojo Siu I was gonna say it's that very wind swept look for guys Sarah Timm Yeah. That sort of Justin Bieber, Zac Efron, late 2000s...*hand motion* Jojo Siu I love how THIS is, ...This is the hands motion Hand motion over the forehead to portray the bangs. Sarah Timm Yeah. And you can tell he's so cool because he's not wearing a blazer, unlike everyone else. He's so cool. Jojo Siu Less layers, equals cool. Sarah Timm My arms are out so I'm cool. Moving on. So, this is Alan and apparently he's in the first "Tron" as well. So he was like Flynn's right hand man, kind of guy. And he comes to Sam the son with his pager and he's like "I got a page from your dad". And it's like, what? First of all, you got a page in 2010? Okay. And I like his look because he's bringing with him sort of the old school, into the modern day, sort of like a rumpled trench coat, almost film noir because his collars up a little bit, Detective-y sort of land he brings an air of mystery right? Because he's like, "I got a page from your dad who's been missing since 1989. You should go to the arcade to see where the signal's coming from or whatever. So he basically gets the plot going, and I like that the person with the mystery looks like a Noir detective. I think that's kind of a fun little touch. Jojo Siu Yeah it was a lot of Noir in this movie, and I don't think I thought about that until you said that. Sarah Timm I think, yeah, ...is sci fi noir a thing because that could be Jojo Siu ...It could be, because they definitely bring in elements of that kind of Noir,like 1930s. I think of like the 1930s Film Noir. But yeah, I definitely feel like I don't know that I realized that until I was looking at this picture again. I was like "oh yeah!" Sarah Timm I think he is the most Noir out of the characters for sure. Jojo Siu Trench coat definitely says that, Sarah Timm Yes, yes. And I also like how he's less corporate, you know, but he's sort of--I don't know what color exactly this trench coat is; it looks brown in this picture, I'm not sure if it is--He looks a little bit earthier, you know, so he's not the corporate greed machine that everybody else at the company is. He's still got the original vision in his heart. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm so this is Sam, the son, before he goes into the grid. This is his everyday look. And I, I like it. I think it's a little bit generic, it's a little bit like Disney version of a bad boy. Which makes sense because it's a Disney movie. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm I wrote in my notes that I think if this movie was made today this outfit would have more personality than it does in this. I like the aging of the jacket, maybe it was his dad's, you know. It's old, but otherwise, he's just kind of wearing jeans and a hoodie and I feel like he could have something, you know, a little bit of pattern. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm ...little bit more texture to kind of, because I really don't know anything about him still after watching. Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm he doesn't have that much of a personality to speak of. So, I think he... Jojo Siu Does he wear this the whole time? Sarah Timm He wears it for the whole opening scene, but once it gets into the grid they put him into a light suit. Jojo Siu Right, right. Okay. Sarah Timm So this is all we get to see of like his own wardrobe. So Jojo Siu yeah, Sarah Timm This is it? And later in this shot, he's in the front right here. It's blurry, but he's just wearing a gray t shirt and I'm like, Jojo Siu very indistinct Sarah Timm You couldn't at least do like what transformers did and Shia LaBeouf was wearing like a "Strokes" t-shirt. Like it couldn't even be like a Rolling Stones t-shirt or something. It had to just be a solid gray--that makes me sad. Jojo Siu I wonder how much of this was budget too though, although it's...you know, it's Disney, so I don't really know. Because I know sometimes with other brand names, you have to be really careful that you're not stuck with a copyright but it's Disney. So you think they'd have a lot more budget Sarah Timm A stripe? or a Plaid? Jojo Siu Yeah, some kind of pattern. Sarah Timm A color? I don't know, maybe it's to communic-I mean, he's supposed to be like the rebel though, so hhe shouldn't fit in with the nondescript corporate-ness and he lives in this cool, under the bridge, apartment thing. So I think he could be cooler, his outfit could be cooler. That's all. Okay, so here we are in the grid. Welcome, Jojo Siu So different. Sarah Timm So this is him. He basically enters the grid by accident and then just kind of gets ferried along to different places and things happen to him and he's not he has no agency things are justbeing done to him. So this is them getting him ready to compete in some sort of games against other things on the light cycles and stuff. These characters--these female characters are called "sirens", which I was like, of course they are. Sure, Jojo Siu yeah. Sarah Timm And they basically are in charge of outfitting him for, for the games, and I feel a bit conflicted about the female characters in this movie, because they seem pretty over-sexualized in their appearance. But I had to remind myself that like this digital world was made by a man in the 80s, technically. So like... Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm ...if it's all this one guy his vision, and he's just a straight dude in the 80s Of course he's like "well, the girls and it all have to be super sexy, you know" Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm I don't know, I don't I'm still not sure how I feel about it because I was just like, why? what? You know, you can kind of see on the right here, this little shell thing. They basically come out of these little holes in the wall. And this little door closes over them and theyhibernate, until it's time again, and the shell that closes over them, has boobs on it, it's like molded to look like a lady's body. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm So it's things like that was like did we have to do that I don't think we did. Jojo Siu That part was unnecessary. Sarah Timm And even their, their outfits so they're unitard, you can see on this second-from-the-right girl. It has the outline of almost bikini underwear, and none of the men's costumes have an outline. Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm So it's...And then they're wearing these high heels and it's like why would that be a thing? Why do they need high heels? Is it because Flynn designed this world and was like, "the gotta be hot." I don't know. Jojo Siu Yeah, yeah, exactly. The 80s. Sarah Timm Yeah I mean it's is it like is it supposed to be like the 80s vision of a future and if so then yeah it makes sense. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And I have a shot of the high heeled too, which is very interesting--has a bar thing on it. Jojo Siu Yeah, it's crazy because I think on the one on the right it looks shorter, and then on the one on the left, it looks taller, and I don't understand. Yeah, 'cause her... yeah her heels are shorter! Sarah Timm Also hers looks like it doesn't have the... Jojo Siu Doesn't have the bar. Sarah Timm It doesn't look like the same girl... Jojo Siu Yeah, Sarah Timm That's weird. Maybe she was taller than the other one? Maybe they had to make them all the same height. And they were like nobody... Jojo Siu Oh yeah. Like at least in the image, they needed to look the same height. Sarah Timm Yeah, because I think they're supposed to be...you know, they're digitized, they're not real humans. They're digitized right programs or whatever they're called. So... Jojo Siu right, Sarah Timm they had to be the same. But, yeah, maybe that was to make them all the same height. Because that girl comes back later, she has a speaking role. Jojo Siu Oh, okay. Sarah Timm I don't know. Yeah. Interesting. Jojo Siu Interesting. Sarah Timm So here's Sam and his life suit, I have a couple shots of it. It's cool. These, I think that these costumes are very successful these light suits. It doesn't look new to us now, but I remember in 2010 thinking like how cool and futuristic it looked. Jojo Siu Yeah, I remember that too. Sarah Timm And I have some information about how they were made because I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Is the light, practical? And the answer is yes! Which blew my mind! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm All the light on all the costumes is practical. It's real; it's not added in CG. Yeah, Jojo Siu I love that it's like. Sarah Timm So I watched... Jojo Siu Was it like E-L wire? Sarah Timm Well I'll read to you! I watched some YouTube videos and I'll link the YouTube video that I watched because it's really interesting to see them sort of like building them, they had a couple shots of their shop. So, this is from Wikipedia, "the skin-tight suits are reminiscent of the outfits worn by the actors in the original film. They designed the lighting costumes, which used electro-luminescent lamps, derived from a flexible polymer film, and featured hexagonal patterns, the lights pass through the suit via light tape, says something about lamination and phosphorus I don't understand. To make it a different color, they put different colors of vinyl. Prior to lamination, so apparently... this kind of...I thought about this too was, nowadays you can get fiber optic fabric and lights can basically be fabric now, which is amazing. But in 2010, flexible light that you could use in costumes was a really new idea, so they basically....it was a very new invention and they had to kind of just like figure it out as they went along, because they didn't Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm they were talking in this behind the scenes thing about how they didn't know how they would make flexible lights and I was like, don't they make strips that you can put on whatever? And then I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah I was gonna say, LED tape is very available now. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that must be, you know like within the last 10 years that that has been so common and easy to get. So, it was just fascinating to me I was just thinking this is great! Jojo Siu Leave it up to Disney to be the first ones to figure it out though! Sarah Timm right. So, these suits were kind of like a collaboration between the special effects department and the costuming department, because, the shell part, especially the torsos, they're made out of foam latex, so they're basically sculpted. If you've ever watched "Face Off" the special effects makeup show where they sculpt, and then they mold foam latex, it's basically like that, where you pour it into a mold and peel it out and it's one piece, you know, and then they applied the lights and stuff, and then they would have fabric Jojo Siu Wow Sarah Timm ...suits underneath. I know can you believe? Jojo Siu So many layers! Sarah Timm Yes! Jojo Siu It's why you gotta have a big budget for this movie! Sarah Timm Good segue, because the blonde lady from that siren scene, who talks about her. Her character's name is Gem. She said, it showed her sort of getting dressed and she said that there was, they're basically wearing four layers, so their first layer is foundation garments so the women would be in sort of like a waist cincher and you know Spanx and stuff to hold you in. And then there was a, just a body suit over that. And then there was the electronics layer, and then there was sort of like a latex-y outer layer that felt sort of like balloon rubber, apparently on hers, and the sirens. Jojo Siu So....they're giant....condoms? Sarah Timm Well, it showed what behind-the-scenes and one of them was getting wiped down. Somebody was shining it with a cloth. Jojo Siu Oh gosh, that just sounds so crazy. I mean these look phenomenal, they don't look like they're wearing four layers of clothing, right. I can't imagine what that feels like. Sarah Timm I mean Beyonce literally wears three layers of tights doesn't she? So, you do you have to. Jojo Siu True, true. Sarah Timm So yeah! Jojo Siu That's funny. Sarah Timm I mean, it literally blew my mind to watch that. I would encourage everybody to watch the video. And the other important thing is that this is a digital world, so the clothes don't exist in a real way so they had to think about what clothes would look like if they weren't made like clothes. How does...What do clothes look like if they haven't been sewn together? If they've just been Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Created out of... Just been created out of pixels. Pixels...Yeah, so they tried to hide seams. There was no visible closures, no buttons and zippers, stuff like that, because, as you can see in the picture with the sirens it just materializes on to him, you know. He doesn't need to step into it, in the movie. Just...It's super fascinating. I learned a lot, Jojo Siu So cool. Sarah Timm ...On this, Jojo Siu I mean this is why we all thought it was so exciting when we saw this movie because it was just, it really was nothing we had ever seen. Sarah Timm Yes, yeah. Jojo Siu So yeah, it's pretty cool. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think cynically I was like well it's all probably CG, you know. And then I watched it and I was, I felt, you know, I felt so much excitement and wonder, like it wasn't just digital. So, moving on. Jojo Siu Sorry I side-tracked us. Sarah Timm This is "Clue". Yeah Clue, which is like a version of Jeff Bridges, but it's like a computer that just looks like him and I pulled this because I hate the young face that they did. It.... Even now... Jojo Siu It's sooo creepy. Sarah Timm Yes, it looks like a SIM and even now, when they do the aging down digitally, I've never seen that and been like, "well that's convincing and not creepy". It's ALWAYS creepy to me. So I pulled that just so everybody else can be creeped out as well together. I love this outfit, it's very Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, but Tron version it's like a cool asymmetrical cloak with...and he has yellow light, and I think that the colors of light had something to do with their ranks, you know. I didn't, super look into what was what. But you know, the regular programs have just white and then he and his right-hand man over here kind of have different colors. And then I got this of it on display, so that we can kind of see more what it looks like. Jojo Siu Yeah, I was curious was the other side of that jacket looked like. Sarah Timm Yeah, and it's funny because it looks... Jojo Siu It's so crazy it looks like paper. Sarah Timm I know it looks a little bit cheesy just, you know, it looks like masking tape or something. Jojo Siu Right, Sarah Timm but in the in the movie, it looks so rad, Jojo Siu so crazy. Sarah Timm Yeah, I want to wear one. Jojo Siu I know. Disney can you rent out some of your Tron outfits so that we can just have a dress up day? Sarah Timm Can I borrow it um....real quick, real quick, just like five minutes. Jojo Siu I just need like a selfie andthen and then I'll be good. Sarah Timm Did I read anything else I don't think I did. I just wrote he looks very evil. There's something about a long black coat that looks pretty evil. So this is Cora played by Olivia Wilde. Jojo Siu She's so pretty. Sarah Timm She's one of like, you know, five women that we see. Those are my feelings on that. She's one of two who speaks. Jojo Siu Let's pause and hesitate... for a moment of silence, Sarah Timm and I feel kind of the same about her as I do about the sexy siren girls, which is like...Yes, her outfit looks really good--she looks great--but did it have to be...you would think in a future world where gender doesn't really matter that outfits between men and women would look more similar, but like I said, if Flynn invented it, and he was a straight man and he wants to see sexy women then the women look sexy. So, here's the classic shot of her on the weird couch thing. And of course she's in a high heel. She has, you know what, what else do we expect? And then she has a cold shoulder and nobody else has a shoulder cut out. So I thought that was interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah, some differences. Sarah Timm I like her hair a lot, too. Jojo Siu I like the asymmetrical being. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think that haircut is really cute. And interestingly, she and Gem--the other woman--both wear really heavy, black eye makeup. And this is another thing, where if they made a "Tron" today, I think more of the men would be in makeup too, 'cause I think that today we're more free and open with gender expression in a way where, I think if we were inventing a cool sci-fi world where there was cool makeup, it would be on all genders of people, not just women. Jojo Siu It makes me think of...well, just because you were saying that, I was thinking of Aqua Man, because, he wears so much eye make-up. Sarah Timm I've heard that that's a fun sort of like campy movie. Jojo Siu It is...it...the storyline is like, whatever. I wouldn't watch it from that but, he's definitely got some dark eye makeup. It's very Egyptian-looking almost, 'cause he's got like the Kohl, you know, kind of outline of the eye. Sarah Timm Well Jason Momoa--him in a smoky eye , I'll take that all day long. Jojo Siu Yeah, it looks very good on him. But yeah, it made me think of that when you said, it's more acceptable across genders, Sarah Timm Yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm going to talk about Michael Sheen...well....no...in a second. When he wears makeup, but h e's also sort of like a flamboyant character so it's sort of, she was in this movie. Yeah, he's really good too. So this is Gem, the siren from before. And she kind of comes along to sort of help him get to his next destination or whatever and talk to the people he needs to talk to, to help his dad escape. Because he does find his dad, inside the grid. I feel like the details of the plot are not that important. We, you know Jojo Siu I don't remember much of this plot from this movie. Sarah Timm The plot is we're in the grid and we got to get out. That's basically it. Jojo Siu Yep. Sarah Timm I love. So where...did I pull--Yes. So this is how we see her approaching. She has this really cool clear umbrella. And this feels like a very direct "Blade Runner" reference for me, which I have not seen, but I know that they have light-up umbrellas in it. I know that It's been a very long time. We watched Blade Runner, at school. And I haven't seen the new one. But the old one messed me up so bad that I was like I don't know if I want to see the new one. It's just one of those--it's like--I don't know you feel very unsettled but in like a different way than a horror movie, you know what I mean. But yes, that was one of those movies that I walked out of that room being like, "I feel like my soul has been sucked from my body" Wow! I've seen some like feminist critique of it so it hasn't made me super excited to watch it just because I like watching feminist movies but I feel like as a reference point, it's kind of an important thing to know, you know to be familiar with. Jojo Siu yeah, there's a lot of film references that go back to Blade Runner. Yeah, which is why it was such a big deal, but yeah, it... Sarah Timm right Jojo Siu it makes you very sad at the very end. Sarah Timm I believe it. Jojo Siu 'Cause...everything is just sad in that movie. Sarah Timm Yeah, we'll get around to it eventually. Yeah so... Jojo Siu Maybe we'll make a movie night at that one. Sarah Timm That coud be fun! And then we can cover it... Jojo Siu If I watched it with someone else, maybe I would have like a redeeming something or other for that movie. Sarah Timm It would be one to watch it together as an activity for the podcast and then think about it. Jojo Siu yeah, absolutely. Sarah Timm Imagine. Jojo Siu Future podcast episode. Sarah Timm Future plans. Yeah so that that's...even though I haven't seen it, I know about the umbrella and the rain and Blade Runner so that feels like a little nod, a little homage. Yeah. And then she has this clear sort of rainbow thing which I thought was interesting, it's fun to see the play of light coming through it. And then there's her with her little bikini outline on her unitard Jojo Siu Of course. Sarah Timm Yeah. This is Michael Sheen. Jojo Siu Yes, I forgot about that. Now I remember his character. Sarah Timm Yeah, so his character name is Zeus, and he's kind of...He's a bad guy. He ends up being a bad guy, but at first we don't know he's a bad guy and he's kind of just at this party, at this sort of nightclub thing, where there's a Daft Punk cameo--very fun because they did the soundtrack--and he said that his character is sort of inspired by the MC from cabaret, or Dr Frankenfurter Jojo Siu I can see that. Sarah Timm Yeah, a little bit David Bowie, sort of flamboyant glam rock, sort of, circus-y guy, and I like how his outfit is obviously in the same world as everybody else's, but it's not exactly the same. He's got a unitard, but it's not as skin tight as everybody else's. It kind of looks more like what we know of as a tail coat. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm And see, like right there, it's got...It does have tails and then he's sort of wearing a flair. And a bit of a heel too, which is fun. Jojo Siu It's a little 1970s. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu But in.... Sarah Timm A little Ziggy Stardust, action. Jojo Siu Tech white. Sarah Timm Yeah. So I thought that was cool and apparently he could not really sit in his costume, which is interesting to me because it doesn't look like it's made out of something he couldn't sit in. Jojo Siu Skin tight. Sarah Timm But what do I know. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And then he has this lightup cane, which is really fun. It's, you can see right here, it's clear, and then it lights up and then he shoots lasers with it, which is kind of cool. So then this is a shot of his face, so you can see his got these crazy contacts and makeup and then, you know everybody is really pale, because there's a whole plot point with Cora where she's like, "what does the sun look like," you know, "I want to see the sun." Right, so they're all pale, Jojo Siu They don't know what it looks like. Sarah Timm They dont' know what the sun is. And then, this is my last costume I want to talk about. This is Flynn. So, I didn't talk about him much because I had to kind of edit myself down, I had too many pictures, but the costume designer said that he is more organic, whereas he's against this very tech non-organic backdrop. Everybody else looks very sci-fi and futuristic, and he looks a little bit earthier, and they said, "Eastern influence" I think and I can tell, kind of, because in this shot, this garment scene looks Asian, so that's interesting. Jojo Siu The double layering of the crossed...cross-body robe as well. Sarah Timm Yeah, but I love this cloak. So this cloak is just kind of a hooded cloak, but it has this facing of the light strip. So a facing is on the inside for those who don't know, it's sort of like this strip of fabric that folds to the inside of your garment. So here's a shot of just you know, with the hood so when he has his hood up, it just lights his face and I just think it's so freakin cool. I want one. Jojo Siu I feel like...there was a project that I wanted to do way back when, where I wanted a hood with just the inside lit up. Oh it was for "Into the Woods". Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu I was trying to create a hood for for my witch that just had lights on the inside, and I wasn't even thinking about this, but now that I think about it I was like, "oh, maybe that's what I got the inspiration from." Sarah Timm I mean, it's a new idea, but it's not. I really love Disneyland parades, and I love when a light for the actor's face is incorporated into their costume so if it's a nighttime parade like the "Electrical Parade", or "Paint the night", the fairies will have a little antenna, and then the antenna have tiny little spotlights so that you can see the performers face at night. I love something like that that is very...it's practical. It has a function, but it's also really cool looking. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's like intentional, they make it look like it's part of it. Sarah Timm Yeah, it's part of the costume but it also serves a purpose and it just looks really rad, so it's like, ding ding ding you got all the things you need. Jojo Siu Yep! Exactly. Sarah Timm And then this coat has sort of a split. It has different panels and all of them are sort of outlined in it, so when he swishes around, you can see the light fans out, and it just looks really rad. Jojo Siu That part is really cool. I mean, the hood too, is very cool, but I like that he's got all the, all the edges kind of lit up. Sarah Timm I saw it and I was just like, *gasp! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm Let's see. Did I say anything else about...I think I pretty much covered everything. Yeah, I did. It was fun to watch this movie and like I said the plot: I didn't really pay super attention to it and I was just like "okay we're in the grid, we got to get out of the grid, I'll just look now at the costumes. It's a fun, you know sci-fi adventure sort of movie and that tidbit about the light on all the costumes being practical really made me have a new respect for it. Jojo Siu Yeah, for sure. It shows you a lot, I mean it's, it's different. It doesn't mean that CGI isn't also a lot of work but it's, it's different when you know that it's actually working on the costume, built into the process, as opposed to an after effect. Sarah Timm Yes, and I respect CGI artists so much. I saw this whole Twitter thread recently about how so many directors nowadays are using it as a point of pride to use less CG and act like they're not using CG, where in reality like CG can be used for anything from getting rid of pit stains, to fixing the color or something so acting like movies don't have CG when they do is kind of insulting to the artists who spend hours doing their work. So, I do respect CGI artists and obviously this movie has a ton of that in it. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm But it is really exciting to know that there were other art types of artists who got to innovate and collaborate on this sort of new technology that ended up being used for the movie. Jojo Siu Yeah! Super exciting, and we should celebrate all that! Sarah Timm Yes, yeah, I mean everybody's role in the movie is really important, you know, down to the down to the grips and the PA's and stuff. Jojo Siu Absolutely! Sarah Timm That's the beauty of entertainment, is it really is always a group effort. Jojo Siu Yep, very true. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that's "Tron Legacy". Jojo Siu Yay! So exciting! We picked some good Sci-fi ones. Sarah Timm Yeah, this...this was a fun one! I liked both of these movies that we covered, Jojo Siu I have to rewatch this movie again it's been a while since I've seen it. Sarah Timm I was shook to find out that it is not on Disney plus, and the first one... Jojo Siu Really! Sarah Timm is, and then some animated Tron thing is also on there, and I was like "Excuse me! What?" Jojo Siu Theyr'e still under Disney right? Sarah Timm Yeah, so I watched it with a method I will not discuss. I did watch it. That's just being real there. Jojo Siu Thanks Sarah. Sarah Timm But it's not on Disney plus. I mean, at least it wasn't when I looked. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm You know, a few days ago, Jojo Siu Well, maybe someone will hear this podcast and put it on. Sarah Timm Disney plus if you're listening, put it back. Jojo Siu Give us back our Tron Legacy. Sarah Timm People need to see it and look at the costumes! Jojo Siu All right, thank you so much, Sarah. That was so fun. Sarah Timm Thank you Jojo. Jojo Siu I'm glad we covered some fun movies today. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu You know, even with the horror movie. Sarah Timm As always, get in touch. Let us know if you agree or disagree with us. Give us feedback, or requests: movies or TV shows or theater pieces, or even something else. I don't know SNL sketches, music videos, anything you Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm want us to talk about, let us know. I know eventually we'll cover some non-traditional things I'm excited. Hopefully we'll have time, yeah, to record another bonus episode soon. And maybe Jojo Siu Yeah, definitely. Sarah Timm we can do a smaller something, because I definitely would love the opportunity to talk about BTS. Jojo Siu Always! Always, Sarah, I expected nothing less. Sarah Timm Thank you so much. Jojo Siu Oh yes. Yeah, please, keep writing us and keep reviewing us and keep spreading the word to your friends, we are nothing without our listeners. So we love having people chime in and give us comments and notes and just tell us more information because we're always learning. Sarah Timm Oh yeah, that's that's the whole, the fun part of this and also I say this to my friends and people who listen all the time. I'm like, I think we have something really good, and there is an audience for this, we just need to find them. So if you have people in your life who you think would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them. Jojo Siu Yes. Sarah Timm Get us into their ear holes. We would really appreciate it. Jojo Siu Absolutely. Thanks again, and we look forward to talking with you guys in two weeks. Sarah Timm Yep, see you then. Bye. Jojo Siu Bye. Sarah Timm Oh, I guess I can stop sharing my screen.

[OUTRO]

Jojo:

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at [email protected].

Sarah:

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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iwritefanficion · 5 years ago

Note

Could you do another scenario for the fantasy au? Maybe the reader almost gets killed during a witch hunt?

Oh~ I love this!

Just so everyone knows, the reader isn’t in a romantic relationship with the sides just yet. I’m planning to save that for later~ However, this does move stuff along.

Warnings: Remus, swearing, descriptions of blood and violence

Roman

-True to his word, Roman came back to your cottage. Many, many times. Not that you complained, of course.

-The two of you talked for hours! Every time he visited, the two of you would have a great time. Just laughing and chatting. Within a week, you knew more about him than any of his other friends.

-With you, he could share everything. Secrets, insecurities, fears. You would listen, you would comfort him, you would be there. And he did the same for you.

-He loved watching you do magic and you enjoyed watching him use a sword. You would train together, even if you never really used your magic for combat. It was good to exercise those skills.

-You two also exchanged letters. You had an owl to bring letters back and forth, which was a great system. If he couldn’t get to see you in person, he adored seeing hearing from you in a letter.

-However, one day while he riding out to your cottage, he noticed that your door was wide open and there were many footprints in the ground surrounding your cottage.

-Panic set in immediately. Frantically he started shouting your name, hopping off his horse and running around, yelling and listening for any noises that would give off where you may be.

-He could feel his heart drumming in his chest and the rush of blood in his ears. Time seemed to slow down around him as he looked around. The forest was eerily silent, there was no rustling of the leaves nor any birds chirping. It was like the world could feel the frenzy he was feeling.

-Breathing ragged, he feared the worse. Were you alive? Were you okay? Where were you? Were you in trouble? Millions of questions ran through his mind.

-He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if you were hurt- or worse. You meant so much to him and knowing he could have stopped whatever happened made his stomach churn horribly.

-In the midst of shouting, he heard multiple voices deep in the forest. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, he didn’t even try to listen. As soon as he heard them, Roman dashed toward the source.

-As he got closer, he actually heard the voices more clearly and what they were saying. They were chanting, more than a dozen of them:

-”Kill the witch! Kill the witch!”

-All the blood drained from his face when he heard those words. He quickened his pace, getting hit in the face with branches and leaves but he couldn’t care less. He just had to get to you.

He could see you when he was near. You were panting hard, hair dishevelled with leaves and twigs sticking out from your head. Your clothes were ripped and your face was cut. Roman could also see your cheeks, stained in tears, and your eyes rimmed red.

-”Please,” you begged, pleaded, “I don’t want to hurt you. Please.” -The people chanting were all armed with swords, pitchforks and torches. You could have easily beat them, your spells and abilities were far superior but you were a pacifist. You didn’t like to hurt people.

-He loved that you were gentle but at this very moment, he wished you would have knocked them out. But, he knew it was only wishful thinking.

-You continued urging them not to hurt you. You kept saying you weren’t evil, you didn’t hurt people. You were sobbing in the mix, voice cracking. All you wanted was to live in peace.

-Drawing his sword, he Roman rushed in between you and the mob. His sword was pointed at them, eyes glaring fiercely. He swore to himself nothing would hurt you. He would make sure of it.

-You were surprised by his appearance. saying his name in awe and relief. You wanted to hug him but knew that you should wait until the group was dealt with.

-”I am Prince Roman, and you shall not harm a hair on this woman’s head,”

-The mob grew angry, spouting nonsense on the lines that you weren’t a woman, you were a monster. However, Roman didn’t back off, he made it clear anyone who tried to harm you would be punished severely.

-With the threat of punishment hanging over their heads, the mob retreated. They were still furious but they knew better than to mess with the royal family, especially Prince Roman.

-They disbanded, leaving the forest to you and the prince. As soon as you were sure you were out of danger, you lunged forward, bringing Roman into a hug.

-You held onto him tightly, crying into his shoulder, thanking him profusely. Your nails dug into the cloth of his shirt, your face burrowed into his shoulder.

-He hugged back, just as hard. He was so thankful you were safe. He hated the fact you were in trouble, that he couldn’t have gotten there sooner. If they had gotten to you…

-He wasn’t sure what he would do. He didn’t even want to think about it.

-Roman led you back home after that. The walk was silent as both your minds were still reeling from what just happened. Back at your home, you were both hesitant to part ways.

-”You should move closer to the castle,”

-He wanted you to be closer. He wanted to make sure you were protected. And he couldn’t do it from where you lived now. It was an odd request, coming from out of the blue. But, his eyes were so hopeful as they stared at you.

-Silence settled around you. You were contemplating the answer. But, with a smile, you nodded and agreed. Then with a wave of your hand, your home shrunk down low and you put it in your bag.

-Off the two of you went, heading to the castle.

Patton

-Patton never thought he’d see you again after that meeting in the woods.

-But days after the incident, you actually showed up to the little shop he ran for his practice. He hadn’t expected to see you but that didn’t mean he wasn’t ecstatic at your sudden appearance.

-The moment he saw you, he pulled you into a bone-crushing hug.

-After that day, it would be a common occurrence for the two of you to spend time together. Whether you were helping him with patients or the two of you were baking together, you seemed attached at the hip.

-You were easy to talk to and an absolute sweetheart. The two of you would make each other laugh with silly jokes and puns. Sometimes to make him laugh you would use your magic to do funny things with your face or create something out of thin air.

-The twp of you simply liked to be around one another.

-And with you around, antidotes, numbing agents, ointments and potions were made much more accurately. He could also count on you to help heal people, making his life much easier.

-It was odd when he didn’t see you for a day. Even if you couldn’t spend the day with him, you often would check upon him. Maybe drop something off he could use.

-But the day was coming to an end, the night sky rolling in. He closed up the shop later than he usually would, still hoping you would show up. His eyes would glance to the door or window, wanting to know if you were there.

-By the time the sky was illuminated by the stars, he was starting to get anxious. Worrying his bottom lip, he couldn’t help but think that something might be wrong.

-Patton wanted to check up on you, just to make sure nothing happened. The only problem was he didn’t know where you lived. You never mentioned it.

-He knew you could take care of yourself. You were a powerful being, a wide range of magical abilities in your arsenal. That didn’t stop his concerns.

-Back at the castle, he noticed it was unusually quiet and deserted. The only person that was still there was his other friend, the wizard, Logan. He was in the castle’s library, studying more ancient texts that Patton couldn’t decipher.

-Patton asked where everyone is.

-Logan blankly explained to him that Prince had organized a witch hunt for a woman who had been recognized for using magic, and was currently out. Logan also mentioned he didn’t want to be in the middle of nonsensical violence.

-Patton immediately felt the blood drain from his face, his body going numb. It couldn’t be you… could it?

-He asked the wizard where they were hunting the witch, and Logan told him. Logan also asked why he wanted to know but Patton was already gone.

-Taking a horse, Patton was thankful the hunt wasn’t far. He didn’t know if it was you but he had to make sure. Roman wouldn’t kill you, would he? Hot tears welled in his eyes as he thought about you dying. The image of your lifeless corpse crossed his mind for only a second but it was enough to draw a sob from his lips.

-When he spotted a mob and the light of torches, he made the horse go faster.

-”Back off, bastards!”

-It was your voice, he was sure of it. But it was said with a tone that made shivers run down his spine. It was angry, bitter, venomous. And right after the words were spoken, a wave of fire came from the middle of the mob, lighting the sky in its golden glory.

-The horse Patton was riding got spooked by the firey wave and bucked him off. He fell to the ground, pain flooding his senses but he ignored it, standing and pushing himself to the front of the hoard.

-The people and soldiers were all chanting, weapons and torches brandished. He felt nauseated, his stomach felt like he had been eating acid. When he saw you in the middle of the crowd, you looked furious but also frightened out of your mind.

-Magic surged over your hands and your eyes glowed. But even with all your power, you were exhausted. Sweat dripped down your face and your chest heaved. How long had you been avoiding this?

-”It’s time to die for your crimes, Evil Witch,”

-Roman had his sword pointed towards you, his soldiers mimicking his actions. You glared at him, glowing eyes making him wince slightly.

-Time seemed to slow. Patton could hear his heart pound in his ears. You hadn’t noticed him yet, your eyes were solely on Roman. You didn’t even try to argue with him.

-He could sense your power was dwindling. You had used up all of it and now you were out. You couldn’t defend yourself.

-Then Roman’s sword swung at you and slashed against your stomach.

-Patton let out a scream, catching your collapsing body in his arms as he lowered you both to the ground. His hand was over the wound, a golden shine radiating from his palm as he started to heal the wound. He ignored the blood on his hand and his clothes.

-He prayed and prayed and prayed. All his power and will went into saving you. He would not let you die. You couldn’t.

-His vision was blurring. Tears fell freely. All he could do was hold you close and hope his power was enough.

-Someone tried tugging him off but he was furiously and hysterically shouting ‘no’ at whoever tried to get him away from you. His grip on you tightened.

-He could hear the faint calling of his name from someone that wasn’t you but it was like whispering behind a wall. Barely there, hard to hear and so very quiet.

-”Y/N, please wake up, please,”

-He pleaded hoarsely, voice just above a whisper. His forehead was on yours, his tears dripping on your face.

-”Anything for you, darling,”

-Your voice was small but had a teasing edge to it. Patton’s eyes flew open, his body freezing as you stared up at him, exhaustion clear in your eyes.

-Patton started laughing, relief and joy flooding over him. He pulled you into a hug, arms so tight around you they could have left bruises. Your face was in the crook of his neck, hands loosely resting on your back.

-”What is the meaning of this?!”

-Roman’s voice cut through the happy moment like an axe to a tree. Patton looked at him, concern flashing through his eyes. Roman’s sword was at his side, dripping in your blood.

-Patton got angry, holding you protectively in his lap. His glare was fierce, lips curling into a scowl.

-”I won’t let you hurt her! She’s not evil! She sweet and funny and doesn’t deserve any of this! So leave her alone you- you- you butthole!”

-Roman was taken aback by the sudden outburst and the unbridled rage in Patton’s voice. The prince opened and closed his mouth, no words forming. Patton never got angry. Never.

-Roman must have believed Patton because he called off the mob. But, Patton wasn’t concerned with them any longer. The only thing he could focus on was you.

-Smoothing the hair stuck to your forehead back, Patton smiled down at you. Your gaze was soft as you stared up at him, a tired smile gracing your lips.

-”Thank you, Pat,” you muttered, “I’m…really tired.”

-”Hi, Tired, I’m Patton!”

-You laughed quietly at his joke, curling into him as your eyes shut. And soon, you were enjoying your much-deserved rest.

Logan

-Logan returned to your home after his mission was completed. It was just to let you know that he was finished and to let you in on how it went but it ended up delaying him another day.

-There was a comfort being around you. You had an aura that made all the tension leave his body. He found it natural to converse with you on a wide range of subjects.

-You were intelligent, that much he enjoyed about being around you, and you understood magic. He didn’t have to “dumb” things down for you like he would for Roman or Patton. Logan could discuss any topic with you and you would be able to understand- or ask relevant questions to better comprehend.

-So, it was no surprise that he came back as often as he could to your home. He was very busy, so sometimes it would be a while before the two of you could meet in person but because you were both well-versed in the study of magical arts, there were other ways to communicate, even when many miles apart.

-It was common knowledge that Logan didn’t like to talk about his feelings, or even admit he had them. Mild annoyance was not unusual, and neither were small bursts of anger. But, generally, he didn’t like to go on a tangent about his feelings.

-Except for you. He felt no pressure hiding how he felt and would rant about something that bothered him. You would listen, acknowledge him, and make him feel better. There was nothing to hide from you.

-It wasn’t odd to find your face staring back at him in the flames he summoned, his preferred method of long-distance communication that could find you no matter where you were. (Think Harry Potter and his conversation with Sirius in the Fireplace)

-What was odd was that you were terrified. Even if the fire wasn’t completely clear, he could still see your tears, your heavy breathing, your eyes glancing everywhere, and the way you were shaking. Fear was imprinted on every muscle of your face.

-His rants died in his throat as he asked, with more worry than he cared to admit, if you were alright. He’s seen you concerned, a little anxious, but not horrified like you were at the moment.

-”Logan? No- fuck- I’m not, Gods, Logan, I’m scared,” you admitted, your voice shaky, “they’re after me, they’re coming for me. I can’t talk, I’m sorry, I have to-”

-The flames disappeared. Logan was left in the silence of his room, stunned by what you just told him. Millions of questions raced through his mind. Were you okay? Who was chasing you? Why were they after you? Where were you?

-Getting over his shock, he raced through the castle. His best bet was that you were near your home. Portals were out of his magical abilities, so he had to rely on getting there by horse. He just hoped it would be quick enough.

-He might have used a spell or two to hurry the journey but it was well worth it. He needed to know you were safe, and if that meant tearing down anyone who dared to hurt you then so be it.

-He quickly examined his surroundings, trying to find any clues in a haste. He didn’t have time on his side, so he had to be swift. Your door was wide open, so it was most likely that you were forced from your home. So, it was either multiple people or one powerful person.

-There was no signs of blood or a fight besides the door, so he to assume you got away. The forest was the most likely place you’d go, it was familiar and provided ways to hide. There was a path leading into the forest with twigs snapped, bent branches and trambled ground.

-Following the disturbed path, he concentrated his magic to create invisible pulses to locate your magical signature. It was the only way to locate you without anyone else realizing what he was doing.

-Logan did manage to find you, you were standing with your back pressed against a tree. There were people around you- but he could only barely sense them so he wasn’t sure how many there were.

-Grinding his teeth, he started rushing to your location. Anything that dared to get in his way burned to ashes before it even touched him. Nothing was going to stop him- or slow him down- from helping you.

-You may be a great witch but he knew you were better at helping things live than destroying things. You weren’t aversed to violence you just weren’t greatly equipped with combat abilities because you never had to use them. Also, expanding your magic for long periods of time was tiring for anyone, especially if there are multiple opponents you don’t want to kill.

-Logan knew he was close as soon as he saw a hoard of people, exactly forty-two from what he could see. They were crowding around you, blocking you in.

-Threats were cast from all different mouths, boiling his blood. Magic burned in his veins, threatening to explode out. These people were trying to kill you. Why? What could you have possibly done?

-But as soon as someone mentioned that you were an evil witch, everything fell into place. Ah. That’s why. Prejudice and misinformation. Why are people so stupid? They probably didn’t even check their facts, they just assumed you were evil because you’re a witch and started this witch-hunt.

-He started pushing through the crowd, hoping that none of them had gotten to you. He felt a knot in his stomach as the thought of you hurt crossed his mind. What if he never saw you smile again? What if never heard your voice?

-He didn’t know if you were hurt, it was foolish to jump to conclusions yet. You could have been fine. You could be completely unharmed and been able to hold them off.

-When he could see you, you were alive but you were bleeding, one of your arms limp, and the other manipulating a plant to help you defend yourself. By the way you were panting and sweating, it appeared you had used up a lot of your magic. You couldn’t keep it up much longer.

-The others must have also noticed your weakened state because they all started charging at you, weapons ready.

-Logan leaped into action, casting a spell that knocked all of them back with a large gust of wind. He stood protectively in front of you, magic sparking between his fingers. -Logan leaped into action, casting a spell that knocked all of them back with a large gust of wind. He stood protectively in front of you, magic sparking between his fingers.

-His name came from your lips in a hushed whisper. It was nice to hear your voice, it was nice to know you were okay. He looked back at you, face calm but eyes raging like a storm. It the coolest voice he could muster, he told you everything was going to be copacetic.

-You smiled at him, gratitude shining in through your eyes. You let your back hit the tree behind you, eyes drooping. You exhausted your magic resources and tired yourself in the process. These people had been after you for what seemed like hours, and to defend yourself you had to use your abilities.

-”Under my orders, the High Wizard of Prince Roman, you will not damage this fair woman,”

-His status did give him more power than a normal person, and for once he was glad to use that authority. He stood straight, intimidation radiating off of him like light from the sun.

-The mob became still before whispers echoed in the forest, different opinions and views coming out in the open. Some believed, some different, but it was irrefutable. Logan wore the crest on his chest like a badge of honour.

-With a fierce glare, lightning sparked from his hands, eyes glowing devilishly. The mob let out sounds of terror and scattered from the forest, dropping their weapons in fright.

-After making sure they were all gone, Logan turned to you. You were so close to collapsing, your arm was coated in your own blood, and he could see the resemblance between you and death- though he had to admit, you looked much better than a corpse.

-He asked you if you were alright, carefully helping you up and muttering a small healing spell for your arm.

-You told him you were better now that he showed up, rubbing the arm that once was sore. You were smiling sweetly at him, and your arms wrapped around him. Burying your head into the crook of his neck, you thanked him profusely.

-He stiffened under your touch before relaxing, his own arms resting on your lower back. He shut his eyes, the warmth from your body causing goosebumps to rise on his arms. He felt like he was melting.

-”No need for gratitude, I’ll always be there for you in a time of need,”

Virgil

-Virgil stayed with you until his wings healed, and even when they healed, he had no other place to go. You offered your home to him more permanently. It got rather lonely where you lived and you didn’t mind his company.

-Virgil hated to admit it but he actually liked you. You were a gentle soul, so unlike the others up in Heaven. He found out quickly how comforting being around you really was.

-You really didn’t want anything from him, you didn’t ask for any kind of payment or favours for your kind deeds. And you treated him as if he was an old friend. You didn’t treat him like a demonic entity, and you didn’t treat him like an all-powerful angel.

-He was just Virgil to you. And that’s what he liked.

-Nightmares and panic attacks were almost a nightly occurrence with him but despite your lack of sleep, you would stay with him and comfort him. Soothing words and teas made his nerves relax, and you holding him close to your body was calming.

-You never complained, not with that stuff at least. You didn’t ask what it was about or told him off about his actions. You helped, and you hardly knew him. You offered your home to him, you consoled him, you fed and clothed him.

-He could count you as a friend, one day maybe something more.

-It was no surprise that Virgil didn’t like to go outside, he liked the safety of the little cottage he called home. You, on the other hand, had to go outside a lot of time for collecting supplies or going into town. You respected his wishes not to socialize with others and left him in the cottage.

-You always came back before dark. After he came into your life, you liked to be home before he went to bed so you could be there to help him. You often got home within an hour or two, well before the moon begins to rise,

-However, this night was different. The moon was at its peak in the night sky, and you hadn’t returned yet. You left in the afternoon, not planning to be very long. And yet, you aren’t back.

-Virgil started fiddling with his fingers, pacing around your living room. His heart pounded in his chest. Where were you? Why hadn’t you come back? Were you hurt? Dead? What??

-He was worried! He cared about and appreciated you, and your unexplainable absence made him concerned for your wellbeing. He tried to think up rational explanations but they were all clouded over by his anxiety coming up with obsurd- and possibly deadly- scenarios.

-Though he didn’t want to venture outside, your needs outweighed his desires. If you were in trouble, he needed to help you.

-Sometimes, when he needed to just focus on something, you would talk to him. Just telling him about your day. He was thankful you talked about the small village you went to, including where it was. That’s where you were headed, and that’s where he would start looking for you.

-Now that he had regained his strength, he could use his abilities to hide his wings. He didn’t do it in the home because he trusted you not to do anything with them.

-The town was silent as he ventured it, the only noises that could be heard were the sounds of crunching stones beneath his feet and the pounding of his heart. It was also incredibly dark, no lights shone in the houses and no torches lit the outside.

-He didn’t want to wake anyone, so he didn’t speak but he looked in every alley, every street up until a light caught his eye. It was coming from the center of the village, a wide open space that probably was filled with carts in the day.

-Concentrating on the light, voices began to drift to his ears. They were incoherent from where he stood. Could you be over there? Well, it was worth a shot.

-The voices got louder and the light became multiple lights. Torches held high by the hands of humen, a crowd formed around a particular spot. Weapons were brandished, swords, clubs and pitchforks.

-Virgil felt a heavy weight in his stomach, and all alarms in his mind screamed for him to go. But, he stayed put. If you were there, he could push on. And so he did.

-The people’s voices were just a buzz. So many voices, all varying in tone and pitch. All it did was give him a headache. He couldn’t even focus on the words they spoke, it was just white noise.

-One voice did cut through the others because of the familiarity of it. It as coated in anger and fear, and shook him to his very core:

-”Leave me alone! I don’t want to hurt you but make no mistake, I will if I must!”

-That was your voice. These people… they were trying to hurt you? Why? You kept to yourself, you were kind and generous. You lived alone, as far as they knew, and only came into town to get supplies you couldn’t grow or find on your own.

-He felt sick. Throwing caution to the wind, he rushed through the crowd. The voices made his head spin but he was able to discern some words like: burn, witch, kill.

-Well, at least he knew why these people were after you.

-Pushing it up to the front, he saw you, bruised and bleeding, clothing torn and hair askew. In your hand was a materialized sword created from your magic. He could feel the warmth of your magic in it, spreading through your body. It left a taste of something sweet in his mouth.

-He didn’t want to fight, he just wanted to get you out of there.

-You turned your back to him when another villager approached you with a weapon. He took the time to launch forward, wrapped his arms around you and materialising his wings so the two of you could shoot into the air.

-Pain shot down his spine and erupted through his back. His wings throbbed, like thousands of wounds were still healing. They trembled but he managed to keep them flapping so the two of you would stay in the air.

-You screamed, magical sword crumbling away. He positioned you so you were bridal-style in his arms. As soon as you realized who he was, your eyes lit up like a halo, and your arms wrapped around his neck.

-His name fell from your lips in awe as your face buried into his neck. You held onto him tightly.

-Below, the villagers screamed about the witch having summoned the devil and scattered into their homes for protection. Virgil wanted to burn them for hurting you and trying to kill you. But right now, he had to get you somewhere safe.

-”Virge, I can’t believe you’re here,” your voice trembled, “thank you.”

-You were shaking, and he could feel your tears soak his shoulder. His hold on you grew stronger. You were scared, that much was clear. You had been surrounded by people with weapons, people you knew and probably trusted, and each of them wanted you dead. That would be terrifying for anyone.

-He asked if you’re alright. You told him you were a little banged up but would survive.

-With glassy eyes, you gazed at him, asking in return if he was in pain. His wings were still healing, it must have not been pleasant to use them so early in his recovery.

-Virgil wanted to laugh, you almost died and here you were asking if he was okay. You were amazing, and he couldn’t believe he met someone like you. So, in response, he pressed a small kiss to the crown of your head- the same thing you do to him when he’s in distress- and whispered he’d be fine.

-He flew the two of you home. Back in the cottage, he helped you treat your wounds. Exhausted from the day you’ve had, you curled into him on your couch and fell asleep.

-Virgil watched you, wondering how he got so lucky to have someone so brave and kind in his life after he thought it was over. He lost everything, having fallen but he gained something with so much more value.

Deceit

-You came back to his cave again, unsuspecting, with a gentle smile lighting up your face. He hid in the shadows like he did when you first came, and this time he just watched. Were you after his treasure?

-You weren’t. You looked at the edges of the pools, probably for the same plant you came for the first time. Deceit figured you were telling the truth the entire time, not just because someone showed up.

-So he came from the shadows, becoming fully human.

-”Back so soon, little rabbit?”

-You jumped in the air, much like your first meeting. He chuckled at your jumpiness, finding it almost cute.

-”You’ve got to stop doing that to me!”

-The two of you talked, and when you asked about the naga, he simply said he hadn’t seen it nor had he found the treasure. You had mentioned something about being glad he was alive but also relieved he hadn’t found the treasure.

-After a while, you stopped coming for the plant and you started coming just to see him. The two of you would just hang out, talking and laughing. He would tell you about societies and governments and how the world was flawed.

-You told him about magic, the properties of plants and the beauty of the world. You would sit with him, take his hand, tell little jokes just to see him smile.

-He learned how incredible you. Though naive, you were gentle and warm but also intelligent and open-minded. He didn’t like humans but you… you were the exception. He didn’t want any harm to come to you, he didn’t want to deceive you.

-But he also didn’t want to tell you the truth. So he didn’t. He let you believe he was human, even if you weren’t secretive about your life, including the fact that you’re a witch.

-The two of you met up almost every night. If one of you couldn’t make it, you would let the other know somehow. But otherwise, you were both there.

-Deceit waited for you under the stars in front of the cave. The wind was howling, and it made shivers crawl up his spine. He liked when he had your body heat to sit next to, you were like a fireplace.

-You had never been late before, so he was starting to get concerned. Where could you be? Being late wasn’t your style, sometimes you even showed up early.

-Something was wrong. He could feel it gnawing at his stomach, crawling in his skin. You would have made some contact if you weren’t going to show up. He didn’t want to think about it but his best guess was that you were in trouble.

-Going into town was something he did only when he felt the urge to deceive people, and he tended to avoid it the rest of the time. Humans didn’t appeal to him, they were ugly creatures, bitter with hearts of ice. You were so different, so beautiful, even with all your faults. You could never have a heart like the bottom of the sea, not cold or sour like the salty ocean.

-His inner dilemma was quickly dealt with. If you need help, then he would be there. There was no chance in Hell he’d let anything happen to you. So, he set off for the town, figuring it was a good place to start.

-The town was empty, all of it. Every person had appeared to vacate it, even the children who usually would be sleeping in their beds. That wasn’t a good sign, where could they have gone?

-The next town was quite far, so it was unlikely you would have gone there, same with the villagers. However, he could smell a faint aroma of your scent, it was a mix of sage and sweets, very distinct. So, you had come here recently, the only question was where you were now.

-There was a trail, thankfully, but it was mostly masked by dozens of other scents that followed yours.

-He wasn’t one for running, he preferred to always look poised and liked to waltz or sauntered but there were a time and place for that. This wasn’t it. So he was sprinting, following the trail into a field.

-The grass was tall, coming to his waist, but there was a path of trampled grass. The scent was getting stronger, and he had to stop focusing on it because it made him dizzy.

-He did like your scent, it was fresh and relaxing. When he wanted, he could have a very strong sense of smell, and most humans and a horrid aroma to them but not you. Everything about you was lovely.

-”I’ve done nothing! Please, you must believe me!”

-Your voice startled the night. It trembled with fear, voice raspy from what appeared to be crying. He could hear the tears in your tone. What the Hell was going on?!

-He rushed over, seeing pitchforks, torches and swords. Panic spread through him like a wildfire. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. A witch hunt.

-Anger sparked in his veins. How dare they try to harm you. His body shook, quaked in rage. His eyes burned, scales bubbling to the surface of his arms. He hated getting angry- it meant losing hold on forms he had to control.

-He rushed through the crowd of people, legs melting together until he was no longer running- he was slithering to the front. Clothes melting away, his scales and skin prickled.

-His eyes locked on you, a shield made from magic in your hands that was shattering. He could taste your sweat, hear your heavy breaths, feel the heaving of your chest and the beat of your heart. Your other hand was on your stomach, stained in blood that kept oozing from the wound.

-Nostrils flaring, he shoved himself between you and the mob. He used his long tail to knock everyone back. Unhinging his jaw, he bared his fangs and let out a ferocious and inhuman sound.

-The mob was startled, screams echoed across the field, and at the sight at the angry naga, everyone fled. He didn’t even have to threaten them. When they all left, his fury evaporated from him. His shoulders hunched as he panted.

-Turning to face you, he froze the moment he saw your scared form. Your shield was nothing more, and all the colour in your face was drained. That’s when he realized what he’s done.

-You stuttered out the name he gave you, breathing sharply. He wanted to reach out to you but didn’t. This was too much for you.

-”Y/N, I’m ssssorry. I never wanted you to find out thisssss way,”

-He towered above you by about a foot because of his lower serpentine half. Slitted yellow eyes gazed down at you, guilt and nervousness swirling in his golden stare.

-Your terror faded, and you blinked slowly at him. A smile lit up on your face and you used your free hand to wrap around his waist and pulled him into a hug. It was loose but probably so you wouldn’t hurt yourself.

-Deceit melted into you, your warmth flooding through his body. A low grumbling rumbled from his throat, vibrating his chest as both arms coiled around you. You were safe. You were there. You weren’t frightened of him.

-”I’m not mad, you are my friend, Dee. I only wish you had told me sooner,”

-He beamed at your words. Then, he picked you up, cradling you to his chest, and said that he needed to bandage the wound.

-You nodded, muttering a small thank you, letting your eyes shut as he slithered back to his cave. There, you two could talk, and he would help you get better.

Remus

-You and Remus were an unusual pair in many aspects but the two of you also shared things in common. This lead to an… odd friendship with his eccentric and insane personality working alongside your cunning and cool one.

-After meeting in the woods, you made yourself at home in his lovely tower- which was more of a mansion than it looked from the outside. He didn’t mind, you caught onto the fact that he seemed… lonely. ‘

-The inside of the place was filthy, covered in dust, cobwebs and blood. Everything was worn and torn. So when you decorated your bedroom, you cleaned it and made everything look brand new (you did this with other parts of the home, much to Remus’ annoyance).

-The two of you grew close. In the past, you were only ever concerned about yourself. No one else mattered it was only you and your magic. At first, you figured you could use Remus to some end, much like you’ve done with others in the past.

-However, you weren’t expecting to actually care about him. It was no longer about using him, it was about just him. He was your friend, and you hated how he became a weakness but at the same time… you wouldn’t give him up for the world.

-He was affectionate with you, something you became accustomed to as time went on. He would cuddle up to you, surprise you with hugs from behind, plant wet kisses on your cheek or your forehead. It was something that was foreign to you but you accepted it and soon loved it.

-He felt the same. You, despite being cruel and manipulative, were sweet to him. You’d listen to his ideas, strange creations and plots of revenge. When he needed a break from anything, you were there to hold him and run your fingers through his hair. You gifted him with praise and kind words that no one else gave.

-You were different. Kind to him but ruthless to the world. You two could talk for hours on different ideas for revenge, or just adding onto his own. You two would laugh at silly concepts. His life brightened the day you waltzed into it, even if you did like to keep things clean.

-That didn’t mean the two of you always got along. Your personalities clashed as much as they worked together. Sometimes you were too cold and impersonal, and other times he was too irrational and hot-headed.

-This lead to bickering, which would lead to playful banter most of the time. The two of you would laugh it off and forget about it.

-That had not happened this time. This time the fight was brutal, yelling and screaming, you losing your cool with frustrated tears. Weapons were raised and magic erupted.

-It left with you storming out and him destroying his living room. An hour passed before he calmed down and by that time, he didn’t even remember what the fight was about. He just remembered you getting angry, angrier than he had ever seen you before, and the hurt expression on your face when he threatened you with his morningstar.

-It was burned into his mind and a pit settled in his stomach, the guilt overwhelming. He would never have hurt you, he couldn’t. You were too important, too precious to him.

-He just kept repeating one question in his mind over and over: I fucked up, didn’t I?

-Remus knew you wouldn’t stay away forever, you would calm down sooner or later and come back. And when you did, he would apologize (bleh, even the thought made him want to puke).

-However, hours passed, day turned to night, and you still hadn’t returned. Remus thought maybe you were just being stubborn… but what if you weren’t coming back? What if you left for good?

-No, no, you wouldn’t leave all your stuff. You had spell books and potions and other nicknacks that were important to you. You wouldn’t leave without them. So, where could you be?

-He knew you could take care of yourself, you were powerful. That didn’t help ease his concerns. What if you were in trouble? You were wanted by the kingdom, by his brother. Could they have gotten to you?

-It didn’t matter. Whether you were in trouble or not, he’d go looking for you. He wanted you back home, back with him and even if he had to throw you over his shoulder, he’d get it done (though he hoped it didn’t come to that because you might just kill him).

-Grabbing as many weapons as he could carry (which was an impressive amount for having no pockets), he set off to find you. His first instinct was out of the forest, as far away from the tower as you could be. You wouldn’t want to be close.

-The night provided cover so he wouldn’t be exposed for who he was, a wanted man with an extremely large bounty on his head. Grey clouds covered the only source of light in the sky, a sense of comfort coming with the darkness.

-He stalked the streets, his morningstar, caked in blood, dragged across the dirt ground as his eyes scanned any passerby for signs of your whereabouts. His face was eerily calm.

-Very few people were in town, even less of them paid him any mind. They mostly chattered to themselves. He didn’t focus on them, that is until he caught bits and pieces of the conversation. The first word that caught his attention was ‘witch’.

-It made him stop in his tracks. His entire body went stiff as he tried to listen to more. They couldn’t be talking about you, could they? Was there another witch? What could they be talking about?

-The next whispered word was ‘prince’. Anger burned in his body, itching his body. He hated the mention of his damned brother. What did a witch and the prince have to do with anything?

-The last word he heard was ‘hunt’, and that’s when the vein on his neck throbbed. With no impulse control, he rushed over to the young woman who was talking with her friend, getting right into her face, eyes crazed, teeth bared.

-”You’re going to tell me all about the witch, the prince and the hunt or I’ll invert your ribcage,”

-Terrified of Remus but not recognizing him, the woman and her friend told him all about how the prince had gotten word of a witch wanted by the kingdom that had been recognized in town. So he had gotten an army set up and were now currently on a witch hunt in the east of the village.

-Remus bolted as soon as he heard her explanation. There was only one witch that would warrant such a hunt, and that would be you. He ran towards the east, as she mentioned, hoping he got there before anything bad happened.

-He may have liked death and gore but not when it came to someone he cared about.

-The search didn’t take long, it was easy enough to find a huge mob, and there was a large white horse that lit up like glowing algae in the night. No doubt Roman was perched on that stupid horse and he’d really like to staple Roman’s eyes to his dick.

-”Leave me alone you ugly ballsacks before you lose breathing privileges!”

-He smiled when he heard your loud voice and when he realized that you had spent way too much time with him. At least you were okay.

-He waltzed right through the mob, all of whom were screaming for her death and not paying attention to the Duke whatsoever. So he just continued on his merry way, glad you hadn’t been bludgeoned or stabbed to death.

-His blood ran cold the minute he saw his brother pointing a sword at you. Bodies of dead people laid at your feet, their blood staining the grass in crimson. No one else dared to come near you, none except his brother.

-Remus would have loved the way you looked if had been under better circumstances. Your hair was a mess, blood stained your skin, whether yours or someone else’s, he couldn’t tell. Clothes were torn, face scarred and bruised. You looked delicious.

-Your hands were engulfed in green fire, and you met the prince head-on. Each swing of his sword was dodged, every punch sent his way was evaded. It was a back and forth with no clear winner.

-Remus could tell you were drained, which is why you weren’t incinerating the entire mob to a crisp. You had used up so much of your magic, those green flames were the most you could do. The flames were dying down until they were a dull spark, and Roman was going to finish the job with a final blow.

-Skipping up to the front, while all eyes were trained on you and his brother, he raised the morningstar and crashed it against the prince’s skull. Roman collapsed, still alive, but bleeding profusely.

-”Hey, Y/N! I can’t believe you’re having all the fun without me!”

-He’s never seen someone looked so shocked, relieved and exasperated at the same time. The fact that he was able to accomplish that with you made pride swell in his chest.

-”You’re an idiot,”

-You shook your head, fire leaving your hands and you pinched the bridge of your nose. He was confused by what you meant until he realized he was in the middle of a giant mob, helping out a witch, and knocking out the prince. Ah shit.

-You grabbed onto his sleeve dragging him close to you. You held onto his tightly, fingers digging into him painfully enough to made him shiver in pleasure. Squeezing your eyes shut, you concentrated whatever magic you had left into a transportation spell.

-A swirl of grey and black mist inclosed the two of you, and when it faded away, the two of you were back at the tower. He would have laughed in the face of victory but you collapsed into his arms, breathing laboured.

-Picking you up, he put you on the couch. You slumped against him, unusual vulnerability shining through your facade Your eyes were still closed but your body was much more relaxed.

-He looked over your injuries. They weren’t severe. Painful? Probably. But you wouldn’t die. You could heal yourself when you replenished your magic. So, he just curled next to you, an arm protectively over your waist.

-”I’m sorry,”

-”For what?”

-”The fight,”

-You were silent for a moment, turning around to face him on the couch where you both laid. Your face was blank but your eyes were drooping.

-”No need to apologize, I don’t even remember what the fight was about,”

-Well, at least he wasn’t alone in that regard. The fight was no longer important, what was important was they were both there, in one piece. You were safe, curled into his chest, sleeping soundly. No fight was worth the price of your life.

And it’s done! Wow, is it just me or is it long? No matter, I hope you all enjoyed reading this! It was extremely fun to write! Sorry it took me so long, I’ve been distracted with the sims.

#sanders sides #sanders sides x reader #x reader #fantasy au #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #remus sanders #witch hunt #sanders sides fic #violence #iwritefanfiction

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