#this became a lot darker than I originally imagined

[haztobegood]

The Kiss of Sleep by haztobegood

Pairing: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Rating: NR

Words: 666

Summary: Louis shook his head. “I’m proper knackered.” Too many nights on the road with the noise of the tyres rolling beneath them kicked Louis’ insomnia into high gear. He’d only been able to nip off for naps between soundcheck and their shows so he’d have enough energy to perform properly. But just barely. Now, with two days off and a plush king size bed calling his name for the first time in weeks, Louis needed to catch up on sleep.

Written for the @1dtrickortreatfest 2024

[thetxtdevil]

The Haunted House

~Chapter 1~

Ghost Beomgyu x You x Ghost Taehyun

summary: You move into a very obvious haunted house, but you're not running away since the house is cheap and you're not afraid of any ghosts. Only afraid of talking to them.

content: introduction, paranormal themes, human fem.reader, beomgyu and taehyun are implied but not truly introduced

word count: 1.6k

Chapter: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> ...

Dark cloudy skies loom over the old wood of the house before you. You could’ve sworn that creaking sounds came from the house almost tipping over. It was an original Victorian-style mansion not considered a mansion in these modern days but still big for you to live alone. The brick exterior made the building look taller than it was, with steep roofs that pointed sharp making birds awry to conjure about it. Its intense atmosphere however had some fun characteristics with rotted-away gold trimming, faded colors of stained glass windows, and the wooden porch steps indented in the middle as a sign of once frequent use. 

There was no doubt that this place was haunted. The place even contrasted with the neighbors’ bright green grass lawns and summer-colored houses. Never been on the market for its history, but of course, you had to blab your mouth to the real estate agent and say that you don’t have a lot to offer and you come from a long line of spirit mediums. The agent put two and two together and now you’re here, taking your first step the wood crumbles underneath your feet. Looking up in disgust at the agent the woman laughs and continues to show you around.

The front door creaks open revealing an even darker interior, coated with dust each step you take leaves a trail of footprints not to mention the suspicious footprints you see already made going into another room. Heading into the family room the space was cozy, your eye caught the grand fireplace walking towards it to take a better look. You imagine the crackling sounds of the fire and the warmth hitting your face. Looking up on the mantle the only decorations left in the house seemed to be two framed pictures of young men. Inquisitively picking up one photo surprised by the stark blond adorned on his dark hair, quite unusual at his time.

“This house does need a lot of fixing but it's been taking up a valuable lot so we would give you extra money to help renovate if you take it”

Putting the picture back on the mantle, you chuckle “So you’ll pay me if I move into this house.”

The lady nods, fear consuming her aura, eyes watering, eyebrows tilted, you can tell she wants to make a deal right away so she can leave the place. You lean your head up breathing in the dust almost reminding you of the scent of pages of a book. You continue to look around at the beauty that hides behind the vacancy. Going back to the two pictures of the men you suddenly feel an unexplainable warmth blanket you.

“I’ll buy the house.”

❈❈❈

You come from a long line of spirit mediums but your body and mind have yet given in to the gift of speaking to ghosts. Maybe your mother was wrong and you didn’t have the power or perhaps you secretly didn’t want to have any connections with the dead. You became tired of the constant tarot card readings depicting you as the fool, your mother constantly saying it’s telling you to embrace the tradition but you ignore it. Not making a life as a medium you went another route of becoming a nurse in the ICU. You’re still surrounded by death but at least you can cheat it and not have to see what comes after the heart monitor stops.

You have become accustomed to brushing sounds for the past few weeks. It was taking a lot of your time trying to scrub years of dust off the cracks and crevices of the house. The first thing to do is fix the porch stairs you broke through and the rest of the porch wood. Calling builders who were experts in renovating such things you divert your attention to other matters the molded torn wallpaper. The leftover burgundy wallpaper was faded, and some parts drooped down showing off a dirty cream wall. Tearing away the paper a domino effect happens, you jump at the sudden movements of all the wall coverings being torn down. Walls cleaned and primed you open a can of emerald green paint, dipping your roller brush, and you start covering the panels.

“Wow, do you need help?” a worker from the porch says. You look at him with disgust, you just started painting why would he judge so soon? Bending down to absorb more paint into the brush you straighten your posture to notice the walls already covered with the vern color. You spin around seeing the whole house was already poorly painted. Walking closer to an area of the wall that hasn’t been touched you study the way the paint has finger-like swipes running through the yet-to-dry pigment. Your head starts to feel heated a warmth consumes you making your vision falter, a green handprint materializes before you slowly streak down. Your mouth dry you decide to walk away, thinking the toxic fumes are already killing most of your brain cells.

❈❈❈

The Victorian house was restored to its former glory, it was less daunting than before but you kept its darker aesthetic to match the peculiar nature. The musky scent of mature wood was long gone and now had a fresh new car smell mixed with your vanilla candle enveloping the entire estate. The walls were cluttered with pictures, shelves as little trinkets, and cozy furniture that made the house seem a little smaller than it was. All is well except for one thing, you constantly have to vacuum up dust bunnies that trail around the house. Another thing that you have yet to renovate is a locked portion of the house. You would think the realtor would give you the key but that wasn’t the case. The dusted footprint trails to this mysterious room all the time, you were not excited to see how overgrown it looked behind the closed doors.

Rummaging through each closet, drawer, and corner of the house to find the key. A glimmer shines in your eye when you walk past the entertainment room. The wooden floors were sturdy and creaked every so often but the shine came from one tiny hole in a floorboard. Kneeling, you curl your finger in the hole opening the floor and there you see a key. Eyes widen in victory once you move your hand to grab it a sudden chill rushes through you the wood falls and slams on your hand. “OW” you hiss grabbing your hand and rubbing the pain away, “you really don’t want me to get in there do you?”

You were talking to yourself and the key, but after thinking over the unexpected motion of the woodboard you might be talking to someone else. Quickly reaching for the key, your suspicions came true when you watched the panel lift to drop down where your hand would have been. Someone doesn’t want you to go through the locked doors. Contemplating the consequences that might occur when you do go through those doors, you stare at the key in your hand the metal feels weird against your palm. One second the item felt warm and heavy pushing your hand down and another second the metal turned cold and light. 

You made up your mind, this is your house and you’re going to see everything you own. Snatching the key so the sensations stop, you get up to walk toward the double doors. The closer you get faint wispy sounds evolve into whispers however the conversation isn’t quiet it seems like an argument between two people that you couldn’t hear clearly. The voices stop when you push the key into the keyhole. The doors went flying open revealing an extraordinary library, walking in and spinning around to see the walls filled with books you felt like the beauty who was shown the beast’s castle library with high ceilings to fit the many bookshelves that shined from the tall windows. The curtains were outdated and probably held a family or two of spiders, and the books seemed in good condition compared to everything else in the room as if they were constantly opened and read. Turning around once more to see another fireplace in the house and above it a big painting of the two men from the mantle of the living room’s fireplace. As you walked closer, you couldn’t help but feel like their brown eyes were following you. Strangely alluded to the men, their beauty seemed more advanced almost touchable. How you would love to talk to them, play with the long strands of hair on the taller one, slice your finger against the other’s sharp jawline.

As your arm extends to touch the delicate colors of the painting a big smack awakens you. Looking around to find the cause of the sound you see an open book on the floor. Forgetting the two men’s painting you walk over to pick up the novel. Getting closer to the open page you’re hesitant at the illustration that is shown before you the book was a guide to tarot readings. The page shows Nine of Swords, from your memory of the meaning someone wants you to fear them, you felt sick instantly getting anxious as to what is to come. Looking back at the big painting you see the two men were gone, a painting of deep reds and black. An unexplainable gust of wind strikes you like a cold sharp dagger into your gut sweeping you off your feet.

You lay there unconscious shivering with closed eyes hiding your fears.

-> Chapter 2

A nuisance,

TxT's Devil

taglist: @inkigayocamman, @naoristerling

[yuri-is-online]

Okay so Trey in the Blotpocalypse timeline or where Yutu comes from also Overblotted right??

And I like to imagine he became an extreme sadist or really really evil once he overbloted, and his Yutu does NOT buy the stories of Trey being actually a very chill and “I don’t want problems, don’t involve me with whatever shenanigans you have” guy.

And when goes to the timeline of now he just.

“Wait, this guy fr??? I saw this guy overbloted and being a sadist maniac, the FUCK you mean he is just the son of the baker”

¬‿¬ you read my mind camrastuff. Overblot Trey is a sadistic bastard, and his children are three of his favorite people to pick on... because yeah the original idea for Trey! Yutu passed peer review, and Furubatsu was kind enough to give us the names Yutres and Yushi for the other two triplets. You will regret giving me this power because I am going to use it to hurt you ψ(｀∇´)ψ

notes: they/them used for Yuu, for context on the fyuuture kid au can be found here and here. This post is heavier on the angst than the other Yutu posts and contains references to gore, depression, and major character death. Please engage responsibly.

They grew up associating home with violets.

Yuu would always keep a few plants on their bedroom windowsill, but the violets spilled all over the house. "They remind me of your father." They would always say, with a gentle look in their eyes that turns sad when they reach for the memories that just aren't there. As the triplets grow, they take turns caring for them so Yuu can rest and wonder about what that man was like and how Yuu came to associate him with the flowers. Yutres is the one who brings up their association with newlyweds and wonders if they were planning a wedding.

"There would be a record of it if they got married." Yushi says it like she's searched for the license already, and knowing his sister like he does Yutu is pretty sure she has. Yutres pulls her blanket around herself in embarrassment and Yutu finds himself speaking up before she can feel any worse.

"She was just saying it's romantic." Yutu doesn't like fighting with his sisters. He likes it even less when they fight with each other, everyone who isn't the two of them says it's because he's the oldest. That he has an instinctive need to protect them as their big brother, . "A lot of the things they say about dad are very romantic." Yushi rolls her eyes, but doesn't disagree. Domestic is the word Yutu would prefer to use for how Yuu talks about his father. They think about him most when they're cooking or taking care of him and his siblings. It's not enough to give him a clear picture of the man, but it's enough to feel like he might have loved him. He's willing to go with what Yushi theorized after looking far harder than he or Yutres, that Yuu ran away from home and settled down with their dad, only for him to die and ruin the good future they were trying to build with each other. It does nothing to dissuade Yutres from seeing it as romantic, or Yushi from blaming him for all their problems. Yutu refuses to take sides, forever the peacemaker destined to drown his own opinion under the weight of not wanting to make anyone mad. Deep down though, he doesn't care about what his dad was like. He just wishes someone was there to help, to make things less financially strained so he could play a sport at school and maybe make some friends.

When he meets his father he takes it all back. He wishes he never met the man at all.

Yutu per tradition is the oldest sibling, Yutres is the second born and Yushi the third. I like to think they have darker colored hair since Trey's green hair is rather dark, their eyes are "normal" for Yuu's world but turn yellow when they arrive in Twisted Wonderland. Yutres inherits Trey's height and poor eyesight, and she's deeply insecure about both due to the large amount of bullying she received growing up. Yutu is also tall, just not as tall as his sister while Yushi is at least a half foot shorter than her siblings and enjoys complaining about it. She accuses her siblings of stealing her height in the womb, but says it's ok because she got all the brains.

The kids grew up extremely poor. Three kids on a single parent's salary is no joke, Yuu was deeply stressed for a lot of their younger years. None of the fyuuture kids like Yuu's home town but the triplets especially hated it there. They felt like animals in a zoo or cast members of a freak show with how acceptable it was to point and stare at them. When they moved away once Yuu managed to secure a place with a better middle school for them to attend they were ecstatic. It was a nice change of pace to just be bullied for being poor.

They spent a lot of time as children playing made up games with each other, a lot of them revolved around cooking since Yuu seemed to really like doing that. They used to run pretend restaurants, or ice cream parlors, or cafes, anything that served food really. They always colored the menus together and asked Yuu to give them good reviews (5 stars for the babies obviously, yuu has a bunch of them in a folder somewhere they look at when things get rough)

I really like the idea of Trey being with a Yuu who has a vague interest in candy making? Because it's a similar interest to baking but still very different and I really like the idea of one of the triplets being interested in it. As the three get older, Yutu and Yutres learn as much about cooking and baking as they can, from Yuu, from the internet and the local library while Yushi applies herself more to experimenting with making things like taffy and caramel. She convinces her siblings to sell their product on the down low at school to bring in some money they can hopefully use to start a business someday. She's the most business minded of the three of them, Yutu privately thinks she has the biggest personality in an effort to make up for being the shortest.

The three of them are obviously major sweet tooths, but they disagree about what desert is best. Yutu loves custards and ice creams, Yutres thinks cake is best especially if it's fluffy, and Yushi likes things made with jams and candied fruits. It made trying to do something for their birthday a nightmare until Yuu realized they all loved hot chocolate and was able to convince them to have a "tea party" for their birthday where they got copious amounts of hot chocolate and some homemade cookies. It's a memory they all treasure and recreate when they arrive in Twisted Wonderland.

That arrival is much easier on the three of them than it is on a lot of the other Yutus. It helps having two other siblings you're deeply connected to when learning you're from another world, your parent is dying from a curse, and that magic is real but only two of you have it. NRC has ceased to be a boys only or even a mage's only school at this point, but it's still hurts for Yutres to learn that her siblings have something special about them while she's still just her. Crewel takes her aside to speak with her as the ceremony goes on without him, asking her if she thinks poorly of Yuu for just being themselves and Yutres can't fathom why she would do that. "Because that's what you're doing to yourself. Your siblings won't love you any less and you won't be of any less help. You are your parent's child after all." Something that Crewel sees as being made all the more true when two first year Heartslabyul students burst through the door and start whining for their sister to do their make up.

Yutres draws a Spade on Yutu to represent a knight's spear, because she thinks of her brother as someone who wants to protect people, and she's deeply grateful for all of the times he's stuck up for her. Yushi gets a diamond because Yutres thinks her sister is very classy and well put together, "diamonds are a girl's best friend or something" is how she words it, but that trademark Clover smirk is there to suggest there's more to it than that. She settles in to Ramshackle almost immediately after meeting the ghosts, who are overjoyed to have another Yuu in their happy haunt.

Heartslabyul suits her siblings well enough. Yutu thinks all these rules are exhausting but he tries his best to do his best so as not to rock the boat. Yushi is more or less the same, but she sort of wants to become Dorm Leader so she can throw a bunch of Unbirthday Parties because those sound fun. The lack of fresh food available to cook with is a drag sure, but she's sure she can at least find some good teas to serve... she just feels like the people around her could use some hope and she drags Yutu into figuring out how to find it.

That journey is long, at the end of it are six known phantoms wreaking havoc on their father's world and one that so few people know about they aren't sure he exists. At some point, all three triplets join a mission to the Queendom and debriefed by S.T.Y.X. about the phantom that roams there.

"Your quest is not to kill the Queen or her mini boss level minions." Idia is a strange person, Yutu can tell he's on the same page as his sisters without bothering to look. "You're just there as support for the front line mages and to get a realistic idea of what they're fighting against." He lets his hands fall to his sides and drops eye contact, chewing on his lower lip as he hesitates. Finally he takes a deep breath and turns towards the display, flicking through footage of the various monsters he had been talking about earlier. "A phantom is a husk using what's left of an overblotted mage to find and feed off of new magic sources. They can get very creative in how they do that." He focuses on a video of the Phantom Hatter, enlarging it so the triplets can get an uncomfortable look at it's facial features and know why Idia was struggling to talk to them. The monster is tall, with glasses and a top hat that would be sort of comical if he wasn't overseeing a table filled with rotting cakes and pastires for a party attended by corpses in varying states of decay. "This one talks. Don't listen to a word it says."

Trey has lines during lessons and in various other places suggesting he could never obey the Queen, and since Riddle is more Queen now than himself Trey has a degree of independence when compared to the other card soldiers. The S.T.Y.X. staff classify him as a rogue phantom and highly dangerous. He can talk, he uses his unique magic to make people confused about their surroundings, to mimic the voices of their loved ones and lure them towards packs of monsters where he'll watch silently as they die. He's picky about who he "invites" to his mad tea party, it's difficult to get a drone close enough to his base to analyze who the victims are.

Idia was vehemently against sending the Clover triplets anywhere near an area that the Hatter could be. That's beyond cruel to them and extremely dangerous, he just knows that Trey will find them and that it won't go well. Phantoms corrupt the natural instinct of the person they're feeding off of, and while Idia thinks Trey was always a sketchy bastard he knows that he was a domestic one too. If there's enough of him left to recognize his children... his worries are soothed by Ortho promising to keep an eye on them and the fact the mission isn't in Trey's usual territory.

It doesn't help. A familiar sees the strange looking children and speeds off to fetch its master. The Phantom Hatter doesn't show himself immediately, he watches, waits for everyone to relax just a little bit before he strikes, chasing everyone into one of the Queendom's many hedge mazes and isolating them from one another. The stress causes Yushi to discover her unique magic as she desperately tries to feel for her siblings, she is able to form a brief telepathic connection with someone she knows and see things as they are. She can tell that Yutu and Yutres are in danger, and decides to run for her brother first. She's sure he'll be half way to their sister by the time she finds him, he's the oldest. He always knows what to do. And while she's right she's also wrong, by the time she finds Yutu he's already found Yutres, but someone else has too. The Hatter doesn't blink. He doesn't breathe either she notices, but her sister still shrinks back, pulling an injured Yutu closer to her.

"Well that's just rude." It's not a voice they've heard before, but he's somehow so familiar. Like they heard this voice before, sometime long ago, whispered into the warmth that existed before they were torn from this world to be born in another one. "I'm just trying to say hello." Yushi doesn't think he's noticed her yet, she focuses on holding her breath and looking for a way out. Yutres maintains eye contact with the monster as she applies a potion to Yutu's wound and prays, to who or what she doesn't know, that he heals. "Have we met before? You seem awfully familiar." The monster summons bones up from the ground, closing in around the triplets and knocking Yushi out of hiding as the phantom looks over his shoulder to tip his hat and wink. It's an opening Yutres immediately takes, throwing Yutu behind her and jumping to hit at the monster's rib cage, landing a blow that causes a sickening crunch.

"RUN!" Yushi screams, she thinks she grabs her sister and brother's hands and drags them on instinct and adrenaline back to the base camp until a senior smites down the phantom the Hatter had mimic her sister and takes an unconscious Yutu to the medical tent.

Ortho tries to track down Yutres, but he's unsuccessful. It's months later when Idia finally thinks to send drones to check what's left of the Clover family bakery and finally finds her body. She's been laid in a children's bed, covered with a blanket. He can't tell if what's left of Trey couldn't bear to look at his dead daughter or if the phantom thought he was just putting her to sleep. It's too much even for Idia, he personally retrieves her and helps the surviving kids plan the funeral. It's not the first time he's felt responsible for getting someone's child killed, but it's the most personal.

Yutu's numb. Yushi is looking to him for guidance, and he doesn't know what to say to comfort her or to make it better. They're missing a part of themselves and are much too quick to agree to Idia's plan to send them back in time, their parents are the last thing on their minds they just want their sister back. When Yushi arrives in the Queendom she's able to tell where everyone is and go searching for them. When Yutu arrives at NRC he's terrified he's lost his only remaining sister, and that's before he has to deal with his dad.

Trey is a freak, but he's a domesticated freak. A domesticated freak who is deeply in denial about being in love with you or anything other than normal. He appreciates that Riddle feels comfortable enough to invite you to Heartsabyul, whether it's for a casual tea or for an Unbirthday party since it saves him the trouble of having to do it himself and you're always so eager to help... but then Yutu arrives and suddenly your attentions are a bit split. You still come around for the parties, but casual teas are becoming less and less. He tries to tease you about it, asking where else you're going to get your cakes from and that's when you mention it. "Oh Yutu bakes a lot and he's really good at it. I always feel bad for bothering you so, it's nice to not have to do it so much anymore." Oh? Well isn't that just cute, Trey isn't bothered by this at all. He might not think there's a difference between something bought from a store or something "made with love" but he certainly thinks there's a difference between him and another guy. And he wants you to choose him.

Yutu is terrified of his father. He still has nightmares of what happened to Yutres, and he's afraid he's lost Yushi now too. No one had much to say about Trey in the future, most all of his friends were either dead or phantoms and while Grandpa Crewel was enthusiastic in describing his interest in science he didn't give them much backstory. Idia never spoke poorly of him, and tried to impress on him that what killed his sister was a monster using his dad's magic and not actually his dad but when that thing kills your sister...

He doesn't know what to make of him. Trey's extremely chill so long as no one is causing trouble, he convinces himself to keep an eye on the Phantom Hatter, but he doesn't see any signs of that. The guy is really weird about teeth, and definitely in denial about his feelings for his parent but he is, weirdly enough, closer to that word Yutu would have associated with him before he came to Twisted Wonderland than he is anything that would describe that monster. He's domestic, a guy who looks like he'd be more at home in socks and sandals than surrounded by corpses. He overworks himself and takes naps on the Guest Room couch, he confesses that he was hoping to join some sort of cooking club but settled for the science one, and the way he looks at Yuu when he thinks no one is looking is so soft Yutu wants to choke. Idia's original warning, that a phantom isn't a person anymore and that the monster will do anything to convince you otherwise. But what would his sisters think if he ever thought about forgiving him?

"Is there a specific reason you wanted to grow violets?" Trey tries to keep his voice down, but Yutu still starts when he hears him. He didn't jump 10 feet in the air this time, so he likes to think he's making progress, though towards what he doesn't know. Yutu looks at the flowers, Trey can't see his eyes, but his grip on the watering can is tense. "Not judging, just curious." He tries to soothe him in the same tone of voice he would one of his younger siblings, and it does seem to work somewhat. "I really like them myself."

"My sister..." Yutu chokes on what sounds like a half sob, and Trey immediately regrets trying to help. "My sister really liked them she... she always thought they were romantic." The past tense catches Trey's attention immediately and something in him aches, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose one of his own siblings and he does talk about them a lot... was he being insensitive? Did he hurt Yutu by reminding him of his sister?

"Are they?" He isolates a few particularly well tended blooms and snips them to add to his basket next to Riddle's strawberries. "I'm not really good with those sorts of things." Yutu snorts, and Trey can't help but feel slighted somehow. "To me they just taste good."

"They taste good?" Yutu squeaks. He sounds indignant and Trey just shrugs.

"Yeah, candied flowers are really popular in the Queendom of Roses. I really like candied violets, ha when I was a kid I didn't realize you needed to cook them first and my parents had to stop me from eating them off the ground." There's quiet for a moment, Trey wonders if he's pushed it too far but Yutu's mouth finally lets out a small noise before he breaks into loud peels of laughter that sound like a weight is lifting off of Yutu's shoulders.

The first thing Yutu thinks when he hears about his father eating flowers is how Yushi tried to do the same thing when she was little. The second is how funny Yutres had thought that was, how she had smiled and laughed and Yutu cannot keep himself from laughing as well. How did this man become that creature? Did the loss of his home hit him that hard? Yutu doesn't know, but he's not afraid anymore. Some of his tension lifts, Yuu tells Trey during one of their hang outs that he's started speaking about his sisters more and that they now know he's a triplet (trey: wow those poor parents yuu: i know right? i could never). He starts getting into lighthearted (from his perspective anyway) spats with Trey over who can bake better. Trey says he has no complaints because he doesn't have to make as much for Unbirthday Party's now but ooooooh he'll be so upset if you say you think Yutu is better than him. If that was the case why's the little shit so interested in listening to what he has to say huh? And how did he pick up on Trey's feelings enough to reassure him he's got nothing to worry about?

The truth about Yutu is revealed during another monster attack. It happens during a science club trip to Crane Port, the sky grows eerily dark, and Yutu tenses out of instinct. Everyone else is confused, is it going to rain? And why is Yutu sprinting away from the group like a bloodhound with a scent? Rook is the one to give chase, Trey tagging along begrudgingly determined to keep the two of them from causing more trouble. But a bunch of trouble is exactly what they find, a monster that resembles an undead, overblotted version of Yuu is thrashing about as a group of... mages they don't recognize attack them. Trey and Rook prepare to help when Yuu notices them and their eyes narrow onto Trey and two of the unfamiliar looking mages absolutely lose it.

Yutu's disguise is knocked off, and Yushi was never wearing one to begin with so it's difficult to deny the similarity between the two now that Trey has a look at them. It's the eyes that he notices first, yellow just like his but bereft of glasses. Yuu's story about Yutu being a triplet rings dully in his mind as the fake Yuu fades from view, banished back to wherever it came from and Trey closes his eyes to do some math.

"There's one of you missing." It's not the statement they're expecting clearly, all justifications for their existence die on their tongues as they exchange a painful glance. Yushi was able to use her magic to see some of what Yutu's life was like at NRC, and she warmed up to what she saw of her dad much faster than Yutu did. Yutu doesn't want to be the one to tell Trey he killed their sister, but he also doesn't want to push that burden onto Yushi so he steels himself, and explains his story. Trey listens and he thinks. He's silent, arms folded as Yutu stumbles through his story before he interrupts his grief by pulling both of his children into his arms. He's a big guy, but they're big kids and he can barely get his arms around them both but he still feels empty.

Trey hates doing work he isn't responsible for, but he loves his family and doesn't see them as constant work. Three children? That Yuu was forced to raise by themselves? Unacceptable, the closer he has been getting to Yuu the more plans he's made for the future he wants with them. He knows what he wanted for these kids, and none of it is what they're describing. Trey might not want to be the best of all time, but he still wants to be the best he can be. Changing the future sounds like a big ask, something that Trey Clover should see as none of his business and easy to ignore. But it's not, it's different when it's his own family. If Idia thinks he's scary now just wait until three Clovers show up on his doorstep demanding he get in their party and stop the apocalypse. Four technically if you count yourself, something they really hope you do.

[wilcze-kudly]

If worked for the team who made Avatar TloK. How would you rewrite TloK?

To be completely honest, rewriting tlok wouldn't fix all it's issues. Tlok just needed to have longer seasons, an actually established amount of seasons so they weren't pressured to make every single season a complete story for fear of not getting more time.

But let's say, hypothetically that I murdered mr Crabs or whoever is in charge of Nickelodeon and removed any studio meddling from the show.

My perfect world would include:

More filler episodes that focus on a singular character. Think Sokka's Master or the Painted Lady. The Krew are all fascinating characters with a lot of potential, however, due to the runtime of the show, their storylines are rushed... or completely nonexistent. Give me more details of Mako and Bolin's childhood. Show me emore of Asami struggling with her father's arrest.

I'd try to cut down on the westernisation of the show. I can see why these foreign aspects slipped in, since the closer the Avatarverse inches to our modern times, the more blurred the lines become. At least to my whiteass. I'd try to lean towards silkpunk, rather than the much more west based steampunk. It would be a fascinating endeavour to imagine what a world with mostly eastern influences would look like.

I'd make Vaatu the overarching villain/final boss of the story... it would require a bit of moving around of the timeline but I think I'd structure it as: Red Lotus> Kuvira> Amon> Vaatu. However I'd blur the timeline more. Make Amon a background threat in the eariler seasons, only for him to rise in popularity and power after people see what benders like Kuvira are capable of, for example.

This would also allow for certain villains to become redeemed or at least helpful in some way, later on. Mayhaps Amon and Kuvira team with the Krew to defeat Vaatu in some way.

Also, instead of destroying Vaatu completely, I'm leaning towards Korra absorbing him, in a way. Yes Vaatu is a dark spirit, but 'darker' urges are necessary for humans' survival and happiness. Korra embodies the duality of man very well. I think it would be a fascinating idea to see the Avatar become the embodiment of both light and darkness.

In general, making Vaatu and Raava more morally ambiguous, rather than the simple good spirit/bad spirit thing they had in the og show would be a fascinating concept.

I'd do my best to pull away from the show's original centerist narrative. Have Korra learn from the villains and make active changes to the world, showing her growth as an Avatar and person. Perhaps she's reluctant to see the Red Lotus' point of view at the beginning of the show, but sympathises with Amon at the tail end of the story.

Make the entire Krew queer. And talk about queerness more, in general. Have the characters have open conversations about queerness in their respective enviornments and cultures. Tlok already has a very queer undertone to it, even before korrasami became canon, but touching on this subject more overtly would provide great opportunity for characterisation and worldbuilding.

Have the story span several years. Watch the Krew grow up. Tlok works very well as a coming of age story even in its original form. Have Vaatu and his darkness and chaos symbolise the uncharted waters of maturity at the end of teenagedom. This especially works if Korra merges or accepts him like i suggested.

There... that's some basics. I think that most of my criticisms of the show could mostly be solved if the studio wasn't being a bitch but well. We can't have nice things, can we?

I took a while to answer this ask because it was genuinely such an interesting, but overwhelming question.

Also now I have wayy too many ideas about a potential tlok rewrite, so feel free to ask me about that if you want to hear me ramble.

[samasmith23]

Why Revenge of the Sith remains my personal favorite Star Wars movie

I think one of the main reasons I have such a fondness for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in particular amongst the entire saga (controversial opinion I know, but ROTS is my personal favorite Star Wars film period...) is because of the experience I had with this movie as a kid growing up!

This film came out in 2005 when I still would have been in the 3rd Grade, and I had already grown up loving the Star Wars franchise, watching the unaltered VHS copies of the Original Trilogy, as well as Episodes I & II on DVD constantly as a child. So when I started seeing tons of trailers and promotions for Episode III popping up, you'd better believe that I was incredibly huped about this film! I still remember seeing the initial teaser trailer for Revenge of the Sith when I first saw Pixar's The Incredibles back in 2004, and you'd better believe that little kid me was excited as all heck!

I personally remember the build-up and anticipation for Episode III being wild back in the day, since not only was this being promoted as the "final entry in the Star Wars saga" since George Lucas stated his intentions to not make an Episode VII at the time (hindsight can be funny sometimes... lol!), but this would be the film that finally answered the question of how exactly Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader! Episode III was also promoted as the darkest film in the entire franchise since it was the first to ever receive a PG-13 rating (all the previous movies were rated PG here in the US…). Heck, I remember the PG-13 rating causing a lot of caution and concern among both parents and teachers, since not only did one of my teachers state that my 3rd Grade class was "too young to watch Star Wars Episode III," but when my Dad and I finally saw in cinemas, he calmed my Mom down by telling her he would cover my eyes if any scene got overly violent. Fortunately, my Dad did not end up not having to shield my eyes... although funnily enough he almost did so during the scene when Anakin ignited his lightsaber in front of the younglings before it immediately cut away (so their deaths occurred offscreen...). It wasn't until I was much older that I later learned that the primary reason Episode III was given the PG-13 rating was that in addition to Lucas’ personal recommendation due to the film’s darker tone, the rating was specifically aimed at the immolation scene on Mustafar when Anakin is burned alive by the lava after losing his duel with Obi-Wan.

When I finally saw Revenge of the Sith in theaters in May of 2005, to say that I was completely blown away by the film would be a massive understatement! Not only was I completely immersed in the sheer epic scale of the space and lightsaber duels, but the aesthetics of the planets like Utapau & Mustafar, as well as creatures & droids like General Grievous, captured my imagination to entirely new levels that surpassed even the previous Star Wars films. Heck, General Grievous in particular was a character that I became completely obsessed with as a kid in a similar manner to how countless other Star Wars fans are completely enamored by Boba Fett (both for his badass character design, as well as his status as a Jedi-killing cyborg who wields 4 lightsabers simultaneously while also foreshadowing Anakin's similar future transformation into a being "more machine than man")!

However, the elements of Revenge of the Sith that especially captivated my young mind in the theater were the portrayal of Anakin Skywalker's turn to the Dark Side, as well as Chancellor Palpatine's rise to power as the Emperor. Before the movie's release, I would constantly speculate about what exactly would cause Anakin to become Darth Vader (little kid me came up with wild theories such as him being mind-controlled into being evil via Sith lightning or some such bullcrap... lol!) and the revelation that Anakin turned to the Dark Side primarily out of fear of his wife Padmé dying at childbirth was certainly not what I was expecting back then. At the same time though, this plot point made perfect sense to me and I couldn't help but be engrossed in the whole Greek/Shakespearean tragedy portrayal of Anakin's descent into darkness being motivated primarily out of love. Additionally, as I continued to rewatch Revenge of the Sith on DVD and Blu-Ray as I grew older, I began noticing more of Anakin's growing frustration and distrust with the Jedi council, and how it heavily correlated with the political themes about the corruption of democracy and the rise of fascism (which makes both the Order 66 montage and Padmé’s line, “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause,” hit even harder)! Furthermore, Palpatine himself made for such a phenomenal main antagonist & master manipulator, with scenes such as him telling Anakin the legend of Darth Plagueis story at the Coruscant opera house as well as his reveal as Darth Sidious being particularly chilling standouts for me!

While some of those more complex themes went over my head as a 3rd grader, Revenge of the Sith was probably one of my earliest exposures to darker forms of storytelling dealing with flawed characters & complex themes. Elements that I now actively search for in my consumption of media, ranging to films, comics, TV, and video games. Additionally, as a child these aforementioned elements made me rewatch Episodes I & II with an even greater appreciation and attention to Anakin’s gradual downfall and Palpatine’s manipulations which all culminated in Episode III. As a kid, I used to primarily focus on the action scenes in Star Wars films above all else, but as an adult elements such as the corruption of bureaucracy with the Jedi Order, the downfall of democracy & the rise of fascism with the Old Republic's devolving into the Galactic Empire, and the Shakespearean tragedy of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader are the elements of the Prequels that continue with stick with me!

It's for this reason that despite whatever flaws Revenge of the Sith might have along with the rest of the Prequel Trilogy, it honestly still remains my personal favorite Star Wars film in the entire saga, followed closely by both Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi (which means that my Top 3 Star Wars films include one from each trilogy! Lol!)! And for the longest time I thought that Episode III would have been the ONLY Star Wars movie I'd ever get the chance to see in theaters... thank goodness I was wrong with the release of the Sequel Trilogy a decade later! Still though... I will forever cherish that initial hype of Revenge of the Sith as my first-ever theatrical Star Wars experience!

[enbycrip]

ID: a Facebook post by Em Jay:

“Do any of you remember when I was posting about the recent scientific revelation that Cheddar Man was actually very dark-skinned and how pale skin is soooo much of a newer phenomenon (according to studies, pale skin began appearing in the human genome roughly 4,000 years ago as opposed to the previous assumption of 40,000 years ago) than originally surmised? A new genome sequencing study adds the famous 'Otzi the Iceman' to the list of incorrectly reconstructed (referring to the long-haired, pale-skinned rendering of him found in the Italian museum next to his real remains) ancient humans, as it has been revealed he was dark skinned and balding! The initial discovery of Otzi the Iceman in 1991 (on the Italian side of the Italian/Austrian border) was of enormous import for the scientific community for several reasons; Otzi is the oldest 'wet mummy' yet found and the clothes and equipment he was unearthed with are incomprehensibly unique as no other organic material from the Copper Age has survived. He also became popular for his 61 tattoos, which are the oldest preserved tattoos known to date. I absolutely love studies/revelations like this because (borrowing a lovely sentiment from co-author of the study Johannes Krause) they truly reflect our own biases in assuming what a person from that time looked like, and to use my own words, challenges many of us to re- examine the appearance of our ancient human ancestors in general. "The Iceman's new genome also reveals he had male-pattern baldness and much darker skin than artistic representations suggest. Genes conferring light skin tones didn't become prevalent until 4,000 to 3,000 years ago when early farmers started eating plant-based diets and didn't get as much vitamin D from fish and meat as hunter-gathers did, Krause says.

“As Ötzi and other ancient people's DNA illustrate, the skin color genetic changes took thousands of years to become commonplace in Europe. 'People that lived in Europe between 40,000 years ago and 8,000 years ago were as dark as people in Africa, which makes a lot of sense because [Africa is] where humans came from," he says. "We have always imagined that [Europeans] became light-skinned much faster. But now it seems that this happened actually quite late in human history!" (excerpt in quotations from Science News article by Tina Hesman Seay) Below are photos of Otzi, the first taken in 1991 shortly after he was discovered by 2 hikers, his naturally mummified body after he was carefully unearthed from the ice and his incorrect/false rendering with pale skin of 2011, and I hope to return to add a correct/more accurate rendering of him if/when a new one is made!”

Photos show 1) a pair of light-skinned, brown-haired hikers with brown beards, dressed in very 1980s clothing, with the exposed body of Otzi in situ in the ice where they found his body; 2) two photographs of Otzi’s preserved body from the top and back, 3) a close-up photo of Otzi’s preserved hand 4) an inaccurate reconstruction of Otzi in life, showing him as a light-skinned white man.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

It just randomly came to mind, because that's what my brain does.

I've been thinking about the twitter outrage towards INSIDE OUT 2 director Kelsey Mann stating that he and the filmmakers dropped the characters Guilt and Shame from the movie. Mann stated he felt what they were trying to do with that version of the story wasn't "fun", it was "too heavy", and it made it a kind of movie that you wouldn't want to watch again.

“I don’t want to make that movie. I want to make a movie that’s really meaningful and when you’re asked, ‘Do you want to see that movie again?’ You say, ‘Yes!’ Because those are my favorite movies. And those are the kinds of movies I want to make. And I did not want to return to that movie with that character. It’s not that funny.”

... While being as vague as possible, because this is an interview for a movie that isn't even completed nor out yet. I'm excited for the movie and I'm sure there's WAY more to Mann's comments than meets the eye, ditto the actual movie itself. Because I'm not gonna jump the gun and assume he or everyone at Pixar are a bunch of chickens trying to undermine their own strengths.

I sometimes like to imagine Twitter being a thing years and years ago...

Animated movies lose stuff all the time when being developed. Stuff that you see in the special features sections of DVDs, in the "Art Of" books, hear about in interviews, etc.... Stuff that sounds cool or stuff that you think "They should've kept that!"

Let's try one, huh?

Social media... Mid-1965. At the news of Walt Disney throwing out veteran story man Bill Peet's moodier, darker version of THE JUNGLE BOOK, the studio now moving forward with a more lighthearted, jazzy musical road trip-like approach...

"Betrayal! What has Disney come to! Have you seen THE SWORD IN THE STONE? Remember how they laid off all those animators and the whole Ink & Paint Department after SLEEPING BEAUTY flopped! They've all gone soft, I tell ya! This is going to be a DISASTER!"

THE JUNGLE BOOK was one of the highest-grossing films of 1967, a massive hit abroad, and recognized as one of the iconic Disney animated films. Would I love to travel to an alternate universe where Walt okayed Bill Peet's original take on the material? Absolutely, that movie sounded really, really cool! But I love the finished film so much, it's the reason I love animation and it's the reason why I even do what I do.

That's just one example... Could you imagine the collective moaning over the versions of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING that got thrown out? BEAUTY AND THE BEAST originally was supposed to be more like the 1946 adaptation directed by Jean Cocteau, ALADDIN was going to be more in the vein of a '30s Cab Calloway sort-of musical, and THE LION KING was aiming to be a straight-up animated National Geographic documentary with a lot of silence and lyrical storytelling. Jeffrey Katzenberg and other then-Disney execs razored into those versions and trashed them...

I'm sure there were a select few who noticed back then, but I digress.

Or how about a sequel, for that matter? THE RESCUERS sequel was originally supposed to be like a James Bond movie, complete with a Bond-esque mouse who accompanies Bernard and Miss Bianca on a mission involving the Soviet Union! But a little movie called CROCODILE DUNDEE happened, and there was a brief sort-of Aussie rage going on in America... So, those executives told the filmmakers to chuck the Bond-style RESCUERS 2, and have it be set in the land down under... Thus it became THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER.

I love that film, and it's a fan favorite of many... But that Bond-style movie also sounded really, really cool! Social media in 1988 or whatever would've been like "What??? They threw out that awesome-sounding movie so they can chase CROCODILE DUNDEE??? That movie will be irrelevant in a few years!"

But it happened...

The epic KINGDOM OF THE SUN becoming the goofy THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, oh yeah that wouldn't be greeted too kindly. I'll throw in a Pixar example, too: Social media would've probably salivated over the "Black Friday" version of TOY STORY.

I thought I'd just make the comparison, lol.

[gravemushrooms]

like a lot of people my early revelations about my own experience with gender were aided by media that proposed typologies outside of strict binaries or what we might call queer media (in some sense or another).

japanese 2d culture that has work that is woman-centered, even if it were originally intended strictly for a cis male straight audience, can be interesting insofar as the gender segregation or exclusion can create a setting or space that has the freedom (restriction) to express everything through that singular lens. one consequence of that is that it can become easier to see "woman" as essentially human, instead of essentially objectified as chattel, even in the shadow of patriarchy

maria-sama ga miteru (marimite; "the [virgin] mary is watching") is a series like that, where the characters are mainly japanese catholic school girls. it's a late addition to the 'class-S' genre of lesbian or girl-love fiction, where same-gender relationships between girls are allowed and encouraged to flourish in intensity so that they might avoid the scandal and complications (read: pregnancy) caused by other kinds of relationships. these girl-girl relationships are also intended to only be temporary and not involve lust or commitment beyond school or childhood. because mary is watching, we can't fully give in to our passions. this is a series written by a woman about women and girls, and it allowed me some insight into thinking about myself as something other than a being destined by biology towards the roles and functions prescribed by patriarchy.

as the title indicates, the story/ies are ultimately still bound by patriarchal supervision and limitations; it is not properly radical fiction. despite that, i went into it anyway with the expectations that it would be an intensely dramatic series in the style of onii-sama he or utena, but what i got instead was a relatively lighter romance (though with bittersweet notes and a few darker parts). i was also interested because i had my own experience with catholic school and i wanted to see how a japanese story centered on that setting would depict everything. again, whatever expectations i had about it in comparison to my own experience had little to do with what i found, where instead of the familiar rules and expectations of patriarchal catholic christianity i found something that seemed more like a japanese syncretized buddhism with the superficial details changed to accommodate yet another foreign influence that ran up against a kind of immovable japanese chauvinism.

what i ended up with, and what i wasn't prepared for at the time, was a series that placed women at the center, time and again, something i was unused to and hadn't engaged with before. when i was given this framework of seeing an imagined world that was woman-centered, it was easier for me to imagine being human as woman-by-default, against the opposite norm i find in patriarchal culture where women are treated as distaff or an alteration/alternation of the primary male experience. being able to imagine myself as a woman became closer than it had ever been before. i felt like i was allowed to think of myself or being itself in a way that had been denied to me until then. ultimately i didn't settle on thinking of myself as a woman, but it was an important first step in being allowed to consider my own issues with gender.

[houseofthewolves]

The Arrangement

Part I. Terms and Conditions

Jaime Lannister x OC

MC is Breena Baratheon. The little sister of King Robert and Stannis, the younger twin of Renly. I originally planned to write my Jon Snow story for her first, since I ship her both with Jaime and Jon 🤭 Buuuuut the Jaime story is a lot angstier, and I was in the mood for some angst.

Summary: Tyrion is sent to the wall for the murder of Joffrey. Jaime is released from the King's Gaurd per his agreement with Twyin. Tywin has made an arrangement with Breena so that she will willingly and comfortably marry Jaime. Breena and Jaime come to their own agreement as well.

"I have found you a wife," Tywin declared as he watched his eldest son and heir from across the Hand's chambers. Jaime was uninterested. Fiddling with any small knick knack he could find in his father's office.

"And who might that be?" The Kingslayer asked. His tone was flat and bored. He did not want a wife. Nor children. He did not want Casterly Rock. But these were the sacrifices he made to save his little brother's life. Now here he was, being mated like cattle.

"See for yourself," his father said as he motioned for the guard to open the door. In stepped a young woman with raven hair and eyes of lilac. Her full lips were closed in a line. He knew her. Breena Baratheon. King Robert's little sister. He had not seen her since the trip to Winterfell. Since then, she had been married off and sent to the Vale. She'd squeezed out a babe, and her husband had since died. Luckily for him.

She was beautiful. There was no denying that. Her raven hair was almost darker than the night. She'd inherited the almost hauntingly beautiful Valyarian eyes from her grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen. She had a naturally sweet looking complexion. Though, when she was angry, her face no longer looked so innocent. Such as this moment. She looked as though she wanted to skin Jaime alive.

To make matters more complicated, Cersei despised her. He did not know why. For years, Breena had been the little sister Cersei never had. Then, almost overnight, Breena became her worst enemy.

Breena looked as excited about this arrangement as Jaime did. Her violet eyes looked him over, clearly unimpressed. "Lady Breena," Jaime forced himself to speak, nodding to his intended respectfully.

"Ser Jaime." She replied as she too tipped her head forward at him.

"Lady Breena has agreed to this match under certain conditions," the Hand explained.

"Such as?" Jaime inquired, his eyes not leaving his intended bride. He did not remember her looking so womanly before. It was most likely because she had been hidden beneath layers of warm wool and furs in Winterfell. Robert had sent her North years before. He believed Ned Stark would have been a better example for her than he or his brothers ever could. It was so rare for him and Robert to agree on something.

"Such as Storm's End will be returned to Lady Breena. She will inherit the castle and carry out her duties as Lady of Storm's End from Casterly Rock until she has given you two sons," Tywin went on.

"Two?" He questioned.

"Our firstborn son will be a Lannister and will inherit Casterly Rock after you," Breena spoke up, stepping closer to Jaime. "Our second son will bear the name Baratheon and will inherit Storms End after me." She explained, her chin held high as she laid out her demands. "And I am free to leave Casterly Rock whenever I please after I've given you an heir. If I choose, I can return to Storm's End and remain there as long as I like."

"This sounds like quite the marriage. When can we start?" He asked as sarcasm laced his words. "I imagine you've already agreed to this?" The Kingslayer asked as he turned to face his father. Jaime felt powerless. Trapped like a pet in a cage.

The Hand nodded. "We need to reclaim the Stormlands after we've defeated Stannis Baratheon," he said as he nodded to their solution standing just before them.

"How do you know we can trust her? That she won't betray us?" Jaime asked.

"Because we'll have her son," Tywin said simply, his deep voice almost threatening as his eyes watched the Baratheon woman before him.

"And I'll have yours," Breena reminded Jaime, her arms folding across her chest as her violet eyes darkened.

The new Lord of Casterly Rock stared in silence. He was surprised she would use her child as a weapon against him. This was certainly no longer that innocent girl from Winterfell, he thought.

"You'll be married in a fortnight. I suggest you get to know one another," Tywin dismissed them.

[gamebunny-advance]

The Disappearance of Kul Fyra (Theory)

(Skip to the Read More to start the theory.)

This was originally a response to someone else's theory/headcanon that they left on one of my posts, but after what happened the last time I tried to engage someone in a theory, I've decided to just post my response on its own without tagging the person.

I'm just... tired of accidentally making people feel bad because they take me disagreeing with them too personally. But, I still like the theory/headcanons I made in the end, so I still want this out there.

I'm sure if that person really cares about my response, then they'll find this post on their own time, and those of you that care about what this is a response to will likewise just click the link and look through the reblogs.

So yeah, that's why this post is written like I'm talking to someone: because I originally was. But even if y'all don't wanna do the extra footwork of finding the original theory, I think you can figure out what I'm responding to through context.

---------------------------------------

Whoo, time for some good old' theory debating~ Haven't done one of those in a while.

This is an interesting theory, but you are jumping through some real hoops and over some sharks to get there friend, so I'm sorry to say that most of your points just aren't sticking for me. >A<;.

So, I'm gonna offer my counterarguments~

Firstly, I cannot ignore how you're just wrong about the characters' skin color.

I don't know where you're getting that Tatiana is a "slate gray" unless you're talking about a totally different color.

(DuckDuckGo search for "slate gray")

Tatiana is white. Maybe not a pure #FFFFFF, but certainly not "slate gray."

(Tatiana's Briefing Profile)

But, even if you don't want to say she's "white" because she isn't #FFFFFF, Kliff under NO circumstance has lighter skin than Tatiana.

I know that I just made a post joking about how he's "WHITE 🫵," but he still has *some* color to him.

(Tatiana, Kliff, and the photo desaturated)

He's still obviously light skinned, but he's still a little darker than the literally white Tatiana. The only reason she isn't pure white is that she would lose a lot of dimension and detail if she was, so she's shaded a little more harshly than other characters. But it's still just shadow, not her actual skin.

The point is: I cannot fathom how you can think the figure in the middle of the signed photo is too pale to be Tatiana, but somehow pale enough to be Kliff. It's just contradictory. But since your entire theory depends on the idea that the middle figure resembles Kliff more than Tatiana, I can't ignore it, and the entire theory falls apart for me.

However, if we put that to the side, there are still interesting things to talk about the theory.

I have also wondered how literally no one in the entire city besides Kliff seems to know that Tatiana was Kul Fyra. But, I propose that Tatiana used her power as NSR's CEO to erase that part of her history.

We witness first-hand how NSR uses propaganda and otherwise manipulates the media to be in their favor, so it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that Tatiana would have done everything in her power to erase her ties to The Goolings once she got into power. This would be especially easy to do if she already kept her private life and stage persona separate, like you suggested. (Though, I still don't think she'd be so secretive as to *never* appear in photos).

The way Barbara talks about Tatiana implies that she knows that Tatiana has had some experience in the music industry before NSR, but doesn't know the exact capacity. So, it would appear that Tatiana was mostly successful in burying her identity as Kul Fyra, but anyone who digs into it will find that the story isn't complete.

With that in mind, it's not unlikely that Mayday wouldn't make the connection either, simply because she doesn't have access to the information (and let's be honest, she's kinda stupid). She became a fan after The Goolings had already disbanded and after the hypothetical cover-up, so she wouldn't be able to learn anything that wasn't public knowledge.

It could also be that Tatiana has just changed so much since that time, that younger pictures of herself don't have an obvious resemblance to her current self. Mayday never saw The Goolings live, so she wouldn't know exactly what Kul Fyra looked like. It's even established early on that Mayday has a hard time recognizing people from photos in reality, given that she doesn't recognize Kliff when meeting him for the first time, despite him apparently sending a photo of himself with his message.

However, her first guess about Tatiana's identity is Kul Fyra's mom, so Mayday must see some resemblance, but can't fully believe that they would be the same person without direct confirmation.

For why Kliff knows about it, in his own words, "Everyone turned their backs on you when The Goolings disbanded, but I stood with you." This implies that he was close to Tatiana even after the breakup. It's very possible that this is the real reason she hates him: because he kept trying to drag her back to her past failures that she was trying to escape.

Additionally, none of the other characters we meet ever describe themselves as fans of rock. Most of B2J's supporters that aren't Kliff support them because they do something else to earn it: they give Zam a place to run his radio show, Gigi disagrees with the injustice at the Lights Up Auditions, and Robot appears to just be friendly. They do convince Yiruk to start a career in rock, but it's obvious that he didn't start with an appreciation for the genre. Also, given the additional evidence from the Ex-Jay poster in Akusuka that rock was already dying in Vinyl City before that point, it's clear that there just weren't that many fans or performers of rock left in the city. Thus, there weren't many people left who would care enough about The Goolings to know the truth, let alone people that were also in a position to reveal that information. So while at first, it might seem strange that only one person in the entire city seems to know the truth about Tatiana/Kul Fyra, there's actually a lot of evidence that Kliff truly is one of the last people in the city that could possibly have that information and use it against her.

As for the photo itself, I also don't think Tatiana really looks like the figure in the center, but none of the people in the photo look like the same people from the Goolings poster.

(The Goolings Poster and The Goolings Photo)

Granted, the photo appears to be in sepia and both are somewhat abstract, so the colors and designs probably aren't going to be 1:1. But just the style of the hair is what stands out the most as being inaccurate. That said, I've always interpreted the photo to be The Goolings "off-stage" where they're in more casual clothes/hair. We know that Tatiana can turn her fire off, so her natural skin color might have always been white, and later her hair started as another color (likely red) and turned white with age.

Then for whom the photo belongs to, it could just be Aunty's. If we follow the theory that the photo is of the "off-stage" Goolings, then it's possible that the photo was actually taken and signed in Aunty's shop when the band was having a lunch break or something. There are plenty of places that will take pictures of the famous people that visit and display them as a sign of prestige without actually being invested in the person.

This would explain why Aunty doesn't seem to have any special dialogue regarding The Goolings despite having a signed picture of them and (probably) knowing that Mayday is also a fan. Although she's genuinely nice and supportive, Aunty is also using B2J's popularity to increase sales by introducing new menu items named after them, so she's not above using the fame of her customers to boost her shop. She may have been a legit fan of The Goolings, but just not to the same extent as Mayday or Kliff. She might not have been invested enough to know what happened after the Goolings disbanded.

Finally, this post is very old. I posted it only 5 months after the game came out and information was still coming out from data miners and the devs. I know now that the signatures aren't supposed to be "real." I know that NSR has some pretty tight world building and lots of little extra details, but the signatures are officially not one of the things with a lot of thought behind them. They're just symbols designed to resemble a signature because if one of them is obviously a real character's name, then that opens up all the others for interpretation, and the devs wanted to leave that kind of thing open-ended. It's the same for the 1010 signatures: no "signature" in this game has a special meaning or is supposed to resemble a real word/name, and that is confirmed by the devs. So the signatures probably belong to Kul Fyra and the other 3 members, but it doesn't matter which one is which, and it would be impossible to figure it out.

Anyway, after all that, I think there being a secret 5th member of The Goolings that's actually Kliff's relative is cool, but I just don't think your theory as you've written it supports the idea strongly enough for me to personally believe it.

But, there's nothing wrong with having a headcanon that doesn't fit into the actual canon. Even everything I've said is just speculation based on my interpretation of the game. If what you said was your honest interpretation of things, then I can't really take that away from you or change your mind.

[manysmallhands]

My Favourite Songs of 2023 part 1: 40 - 31

The route to this post has not been the smoothest. I've been working on this list since the end of November but I got Covid a few weeks ago and so writing became impossible for a while. Given the amount of time that's passed between then and now, it's become clear to me that some of my choices would be different if i did them over again. However, I am sticking to my original version of the list, a few ups and downs notwithstanding. This is because of one reason and one reason only: I am lazy and I don't want to do it again. My apologies to Troye Sivan and Baby Queen, who i'd probably have found places for amongst others. I can only imagine the streams these artists will lose by not being covered in my blog posts and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

However! Every song here is still a banger and, even if I think there might be one or two that are better, surely that only adds to the fun of speculation: Which could it be? Which ones would I have left out? Don't imagine it's definitely the songs with the lowest numbers: my method of ranking is fairly haphazard and I might go so far as to say that these numbers are a load of old bollocks. Still, I've enjoyed myself writing this and, given the infinitesimal number of people who will read it, that is surely the thing that counts. I'm posting the songs in rounds of ten cos that's all that Tumblr will let me embed at a time. Let's go!

40. Girl Ray - Everybody’s Saying That

Girl Ray’s disco turn has in all truth been a bit ropey but Everybody’s Saying That is the best exception, all Nile Rogers shimmer and effortless Studio 54 cool. Poppy Hankin chimes in with the self confidence of the misfit (“Everybody’s saying that you could’ve done better but I really wanna end up with you!”), striking out with winningly frank charm against a backdrop of glittery nightlife

39. En Attendant Ana - Fools And Kings

En Attendant Ana’s third LP was a surprise critical hit but it was the more delicate songs which really stood out for me. Fools And Kings in particular ditches the jangly mathrock approach for a gentler, almost old style RnB feel, as Margaux moves to a more human level lyrically. I don’t think there’s another moment across the album nearly as touching as when she sings “Are you OK y’know?”, a question that we'd all benefit by hearing from time to time.

38. Cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada

This thumping remix of DBE and RAYE’s Ferrari Horses takes the original understated vocal performances and hammers at them with a full range of doofs, bleeps, icy synths and the general sense of being in the middle of a cocaine heart attack. The result was wedged in the top 3 for weeks this autumn and, while doomed never to top the charts, it still feels as bracing as the first time I heard it.

37. Maple Glider - Dinah

Maple Glider is one of the new breed of folky singer songwriters but Dinah in particular has the same light as air charm as the sweetest kind of indiepop. Lyrically though, the song tells a much darker story, a tale of sexual abuse in the church where the ingenuousness in her voice underlines the deeply uncomfortable places that it goes. There's an obvious sense of queasiness in that contrast but Dinah's tuneful charm manages to hold it all together.

36. Dimension - DJ Turn It Up

I’ve spent a lot of the last 6 months listening to Radio 1 and this sort of 90s style rave banger is the kind of thing they play a lot. DJ Turn It Up has stuck with me more than most though: maybe that's cos it was the one of the first that I heard, or possibly because of the way the vocal is used as a kind of rhythm track rather than the focal point, relying on the song's musical hooks and twitchy energy to wind up the listener. Whatever it is, DJ Turn It Up slaps: do as the lady says.

35. Talib Kweli/Madlib - Marathon Thru Babylon

Following on from last year’s excellent Black Star reunion (also produced by Madlib), Kweli’s solo project was just as good, with Marathon Thru Babylon providing one of the highlights. Madlib’s signature of grainy old soul samples and booming beats underpins Talib and Mechell Ndegeocello as they trade verses on the nature of time and its malcontents and throw in some conspiracy theory for good measure too. Mechell’s wake up sheeple ending may prompt me to crack a smile but in truth it all just adds to the song’s murky charm.

34. Charli XCX - Speed Drive

One could make the case that Speed Drive has been phoned in a bit - trashy lyrics, yet another interpolation - but every time Charli says “HOT!” it probably makes me happier than I’ve been during any other song this year. The general impression I get from Speed Drive is that, not only would Charli and Barbie be fantastic pals, but also that I will cheerfully listen to any old bollocks that she puts out these days.

33. Free Love - Open The Door

The Glasgow duo probably have fewer listeners than anyone in this list but they sounded like the band who were enjoying themselves the most in 2023. While their Insides album was a more eclectic mix overall, Open the Door sticks close to a Jean Michel Jarre-like template of the future, all laser shots and weird analogue FX, while Suzi Cook’s smartly accented vocals managed to keep an indie vibe within its razor sharp pop hooks.

32. Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young

Miley doing this kind of “looking back at my misspent youth” song aged 30 feels enjoyably transgressive in its own right but Used To Be Young is so much more than just its brilliant concept. A melodramatic power ballad with some fine turns of phrase, Miley stick two fingers up at the finger waggers and nails some genuinely colossal moments (her yelling of the title at 2.37 must surely become a karaoke staple) as the idea of Miley as ageing rock legend comes off as a surprisingly viable concept. 

31. Lana Del Rey - The Grants

There’s a gospel feel to the opener on Lana’s excellent Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard album, switching between a gloomy tone and something more redemptive as she contemplates reaching across the great divide. The effect is as uplifting as anything she's ever done, capturing that classic Lana space between the heartfelt and theatrical to create a secret third emotion that intensifies the whole idea. It’s another variation on her standard trick but what can I say, I remain easily pleased.

More tomorrow, if i get my act together.

[justcallmealt]

So. As I promised, an analysis of Fau and Alt, in particular how their stories intertwine and how they influenced each other over time.

Warning: a lot of triggering themes

Alt's story

Let's start with Alt, and skipping most of their (Alt use any pronouns other than she/her) stories, Alt was famous for creating artifacts (in magic understanding artifacts, not other) in their first life, and this spark was passed on, which allowed them to save memory during rebirths (explanation: into an artifact (pendant) at the death of the owner (connected with the help of blood and a unique signature), a part of the soul with memory is locked, after which the body disappears, the owner is reborn and at a conscious age the memories and part of the soul returns back).

Next, the story takes place in the much darker world of Katekyo hitman Reborn. If you do not understand what fandom is, then briefly this is a comedy about the mafia with the magic of the Flame. But the world is already different, which is not so carelessly reflected in Alt's mind. And the fact that this experimental artifact (subsequently refined), although it brought back memories, but the impressions were like from the first life, that is, almost from scratch.

So, we have a child with talent and impulsiveness, and there is a mafia family in which, through rumors, this child found out that he was a bastard (in the original sense of the word as an illegitimate child) and unwanted. And this not quite a child, having become mad, runs away, BUT. Since this world is much worse, and the child cannot do much, he is kidnapped. And this kidnapping was in order to find test subjects for experiments on the development of a more powerful, unique Flame, a living weapon.

Let's skip the not very pleasant details and injuries, but in the end there were three very traumatized children with tattoos of their numbers (Alt's tattoo did not go away even after rebirth, even after removing the skin on the back many times), after which this laboratory, along with scientists, was destroyed by the arriving punitive group. The children were saved (not just like that, do not forget that this is still a dark world) and taken to different Families. Alt (although by then he had a different name) was adopted into the Innagamorte Family, headed by a young twenty-year-old Fausto Innagamorte, specializing in the collection and usage of information.

But this new Flame (called through time as Flame of the Wind) secured the aspect of Loyalty, and the child took on a new name - Renato. Over time, this Flame became stronger, but at the same time began to cause pain, as it used strong emotions as fuel, leaving only faint echoes of feelings, and if the emotions were not so strong, it began to burn the flesh, mainly on the palms or under eyes, giving those scale-like scars and impairing vision.

Over time, Renato wanted to find his meta-form (a popular activity in the past world and not very energy-intensive, if briefly this is a test for Uquizz (? Is this site called that?) what kind of animal / bird / reptile / fish and so on, but accurate) . BUT. Since the Flame intervened, the shape was distorted, and instead of a starling, we got a bird-like dinosaur with a starling color and burnt and sharply sharp feathers on the wings. Oh, and did I mention the beak with teeth?

(mostly colourless bc I use watercolor which I can't access now and next month, sorry, pencils aren't that good for me)

The first reaction to this was, of course, "Wtf is this?", except for the fact that this creature cannot fly normally due to scorched wings.

But here help from the world earlier came into force - clay figurines (if you can imagine, these are those that are professionally molded and baked several times for details), which gained life (let’s say, a beginner’s mistake without a mentor is to give creations a part of the soul that can, let's say like this bc it's hard to choose right word, grow back through many, many years) and independent characters. And in this case it was possible to call Ria (yeah, then and now I had a little trouble with names, so don't swear too much at the pun) (they/them by the way), which could help with this problem... Through the indefinite the amount of time, because in different worlds time can flow in completely different ways.

Let's skip the training (and at the time creating the most powerful Alt artifact of all time - a multi-functional double-ended scythe and how they started training in the element of air) and jump to 10 years later.

That Fausto had a family and a child, and in their environment quiet whispers began to spread that the Main Family was quietly getting rid of useful and faithful people. And when Renato was returning from a mission and found not only a bloody message about how they deal with traitors, but also the remains of the corpses of his Family (they saved and allowed to take their surname + loyalty). The flames got stronger, but the hatred was strong enough, giving them the mission to get revenge at any cost before the flames went completely out of control. Regret that his Sky (even though that Fausto was a Lightning) didn't accept his artifacts even one as protection, even a disposable shield.

For five years they had to lay low, learning the details and preparing for revenge, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Their second life ended in a grenade explosion, trying to take at least someone with them (spoiler: it did not work out very well), not considering themselves worthy of the name Renato or the Last name Innagamorte anymore.

The third life was due to the habit of carrying the pendant with them always, without taking it off. This was followed by a short second life (where they acquired a second pair of wings due to the local flora and fauna), the understanding that they can take revenge in any life to appease this rage ... And the returned Flame.

I will not paint the arch of the formation of Alt and the creation of the found family, I will note that 800 years have passed for this. Their eyesight gradually deteriorated due to the Flame until Alt became blind. But the main point: at the moment when Alt found out that their Family was the traitors, his Flame began to devour itself and Alt. And if not for the fact that Alt was able to transfer Loyalty to his found family, then he would not have been able to survive this event.

Story between this two in the world of Worm

And now we proceed to the analysis of the relationship between Fau and Alt.

The first meeting took place some time after the Leviathan attack. Fau lost his house and his (rather abusive) mother, and due to the large number of people who had also lost their house, he decided to leave for a while and clear out, finding a place in the ruins that he could squeeze through. Since this was happening far away from people, Fau was able to hear the song (as you might guess, this is Alt), and could not resist, went out to explore the source. But, he was seen and overall the meeting was neutral, but Fausto didn't use his abilities to make connections (he forgot his glasses), but reminded Alt because of the similar name and appearance (Alt can't see, but he has an alternate vision with air, if it's a silhouette for short, and whether it's a little light or dark, but that doesn't work that well, which is why Alt avoids color names in normal conversation), although the latter isn't as pronounced. As a result, Fausto believed that he saw a cape without a mask.

Their second meeting took place after the attack by Slaughterhouse 9, or rather the mass attack of Shatterbird (Fausto at that time began working for Coil, albeit not entirely voluntarily).

So, since the power of the Fau is associated with glass, he suffered a lot (especially when implementing WHO attacks), and the pain shock and blood loss (as well as the fact that a piece of glass got into his eye) made him lose consciousness (you know, when the fingertips are already very slowly, but noticeably, they become icy, it becomes almost impossible to move them due to heaviness and cold, and darkness slowly grows at the edge of peripheral vision and it becomes harder to breathe. But I hope that no one who reads this knows), as well as the thought "I‌ ‌ d‌o‌n‌'҈‌t‌ w‌ ‌a‌n‌t҉҇‌ ‌ t‌o‌ ‌ d‌i‌҇‌e‌ l‌i‌k‌e‌҇‌ t҉‌h ‌i‌s‌ a‌ g‌a‌i‌n҈‌ , which didn't make sense.

But. Fausto woke up (and also the last thought in his mind was forgotten), although he was bandaged and could not see anything because of the blindfold (even if one was injured, both eyes were blindfolded for safety), and he had a panic attack ( they started after the Leviathan attack, but were also in childhood, it's just that Fau doesn't remember it. Yeah, it's because of the family before, I had a thing abt that, sorry). But the melody helped Fau (the conversation didn’t work, because it’s like cotton wool in your ears and you can’t perceive anything because of running thoughts, heavy breathing, sorry I shouldn’t go into details again or I’ll never write it. Fau is a severe reaction, so had to try other methods). And when Fau recovered enough from him and Alt, a conversation began, from which Fau found out that Alt felt indebted for salvation (although he did not fully understand because rebirths and parallel universes), and Alt found out who Fau is as a person in general.

After that, there is a canon time skip for 2 years, where none of these two interacted with each other.

Also. There's Fau's costume mostly (maybe I should redesign goggles)

After these two years (also the development of Fau as a character in general) their last encounter in the world of Worm takes place after the Golden Morning. Fau in a sense used his power for too long and couldn't see due to the side effect. And because of this, at the moment when the others were distracted by the victory... Let's just say that another trauma in the form of a firearm is too close, but thanks to Alt's intervention, everything worked out. The rest I have described before (if only I find that post...)

Next world

And now, finally, let's move on to the world of PM.

In LoR, after being distorted due to the collapse of the idea of at least some safety due to Fau from another world ("what is the price for the fact that I will be safe and no one else will hurt me?" -"it's up to you to decide this price, Fausto"-) and a little hasty reaction to the fact that his colleagues before whom he made a reservation so many times found him, all the adrenaline and the conversation with Carmen on the verge led to distortion (unfortunately I didn’t have the strength to draw his distortion. Or search in the depths of my account without a tag. ..rip).

The distortion itself didn't act aggressively, rather it was defended by the shard swarm, making being abandoned ("let me stay" and "I'd rather be left with the others" referring to the Leviathan attack where Fau first saw people die) and injuring Cosmo for trying to talk ( all-consuming fear because of the familiar pose, so similar to the pose of that woman with whom he had to live all his childhood and up to the age of sixteen, afraid of every rustle and afraid of every new man as an attempt to replace his father who left before he was born ... I'm sorry, this the flow of words is difficult to stop).

And after that, Alt (an artifact ring with a teleportation function by tearing the fabric of reality when you know where you need to and later the disappearance of the portal without a trace) enters the scene, dodging the glass and trying to have a conversation (Cosmo and Adam were somewhat in a daze due to for the distorted and acting on consciousness in the form of a headache voice Fau). But. When the fragments got stuck in densified air (this is an condensed air like aerogel), and then the distortion jerked out of a state of indifference, showing visible fear and forcing Alt to change tactics, removing shields and solving the distortion with a hug, although it cost wounds and blood (Fau very touch starved, even if he doesn't admit it, also with his bad childhood the Fau was sorely lacking in kindness and warmth, but is this from a person he trusts?it makes things easier, allowing Alt to walk in the fau's door and talk, calming the panic attack again, and giving a feeling of warmth and support, removing the cause of fear, even temporarily, solving the problem and distortion).

Next, Fau had a long conversation with Angela, his team, and Chesed, as Alt made a meme after advising Fau to speak your mind next time, and not act under the stress of circumstances:

(yeah, Alt can do this.)

Ahem, after a brief pause for the meme, let's continue as the Fau got the E.G.O. after these events and acceptance of the problem and himself.

(sorry, don't have enough energy to colour all of this)

E.G.O. analysis

Now let's move on to ego analysis. As you can see, there are 5 crystals floating above the Fau's head. And each crystal is an image of a weapon and an emotion that, along with the glass, represents each weapon, giving access to different tactics. Pretty handy considering the Fau's ability to see through the tinted glass links. And also limited interaction with them after the second trigger on the day 50.

Let's start with the first weapon, the guan dao (called falchion in lobcorp, grrrrr wrong name), embodying the Fau as volatility and its main power, the Shard, and the will to fight left with it. And also this is in some way the first weapon of the Fau, what he is used to and has grown into like a second skin. But it's also what locks the Fau in this repetitive, cycle-like battle (resemblance to Yin and ego's description of this anomaly's weapons and armor). Cutting and piercing attack, in some cases a flat blow, but at the same time the speed of the blow is noticeably reduced. It is represented by a crystal in the form of a hexagon.

The second weapon is a hammer, used as a mass attack (glass inside) or just as a hammer attack (I forgot the word, sorry). Represents the Fau's will to get out of a deadly situation on the edge to show the middle finger (and only after losing consciousness), anger directed in spite of everything. It is represented by a crystal in the form of a yellow rhombus.

The third weapon is a sword, the structure of the collection of fragments of which is clearly expressed. In some ways, this is one of the most inconspicuous weapons of the Fau. But at the same time, it is one of the most influential colors. Fau sees connections, and black threads are hate. Threads polluted (? English in my head, elaborate pls) with a thick, caustic, sticky liquid, similar to tar, which sticks to everything and destroys the previous color of the thread, or makes it (color) unrecognizable, which Fau saw in the battle with Roland. But. In the case of the Fau weapon, it is more of a caustic bitterness directed at the events of the past and oneself, and therefore the sword is not dyed light-absorbing black and does not have threads with such a texture. Represented by a crystal in the form of a gray-black triangle.

The fourth weapon is a pair of gloves. And although Fau already has gloves in the original ego, these same ones represent weapons, and not protection of hands when interacting with the threads of connections (most of them are sharp, and if these threads represent attacks or defenses in battles, then doubly and even with the protection of gloves leave cuts and trembling hands from pain). This is a close combat weapon when the situation gets really bad and time and action are needed to secure freedom or indoors. The extra glass provides protection, but it's much more painful to use, as they represent Fau's fear and indecision, those moments when he used to freeze with nothing but fear, unable to break free. Represented by a light green crystal in the form of a pentagon.

And finally, the last weapon is the shield. And although it is one of the rarest weapons in tactics against opponents, it is an important one. This is the protection of others in the first place, referring to work in lobcorp, junior agents, and in the Library - his colleagues, to whom he became attached even feeling like a stranger, when he could not join the team for fear of saying something wrong, giving himself away . Presented as a dark purple crystal in the form of an irregular heptagon.

The ending (I guess)

This concludes my analysis (if you can call it that). If you have questions feel free to ask as I may have missed details in an attempt to explain too much and forget about things which unfortunately happens a lot.

[13curses]

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reader is generally described as afab!, shorter/smaller than their partner & submissive. i do not describe body parts or features thoroughly as they’re imagined by you, but if there’s a specific thing i’m featuring on purpose (ex. big breasts, thick thighs, piercings etc.) i’ll warn them ! requests regarding this are welcome — but race is never specified.

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i'll most likely note on an original piece if i intend on writing a part 2

oh yea, english is not my native language

[drewoclock]

Apocalypse Time in Happy World

Originally published December 6th, 2018

In hindsight, Happy World was always due for an apocalypse.

To put it as plainly as I can, Happy World is a world where you're always happy.  The name honestly does an exceptional job of conveying this.  In Happy World, you can dream as big as you want to, and you'll get what you want.  Loss, doubt, and other hardships just don't happen.

In the beginning, Happy World was as great as you would imagine.  I was a young kid with a loving family, great friends, extracurriculars, and creative projects to my name.  And I dreamed of an even more remarkable future.  Making big Hollywood movies, being rich and famous, having my dream girl...  Oh, it would be an exceptionally happy future.

The first time Happy World let me down was when I graduated fifth grade.  I was never happy to graduate out of a grade because I would think "I'll never get to be in this grade again.  I've lost this time.  That's not happy."  It was something I was mostly able to ignore, but graduating from fifth grade meant all of elementary school was now over for me.  This wasn't happy.  There were a lot of other things that were slipping away as time went by, too.  But Happy World was very accommodating.  I still had all the great things I had, and things that were lost were more or less replaced with other wonderful things.  And my future still looked as bright as ever.

In high school, loss was joined by a new unhappy thing: Doubt.  I found myself succeeding less as a student because the schoolwork annoyed me and didn't make me happy, so I spent less time on it.  I also found myself in a dream relationship, but this dream girl found a lot of things wrong with me that I had never noticed before.  I found myself thinking "What if my grades aren't good enough to get into a good college?  What if my future isn't as bright?  What if my shortcomings make me less valuable as a person and I get dumped?"  Graduating high school didn't help.  I felt the great loss of a community I had known for a long time, as well as extracurriculars like drama club that had meant so much to me.  I was also dumped the very same weekend I graduated.

Happy World was appearing to crumble as I was certainly very upset over loss and doubt, but I tried telling myself it was fine.  I wasn't in the most prestigious college, but it wouldn't matter to my future.  Meeting people and getting involved wasn't happening nearly as easily as it did in high school, but those things would happen by tomorrow.  I was spending more time alone than I wanted to, but I'd have another girlfriend and way more friends in an hour or so.  Also, I still had my family and my best friends from grade school.  And I was in college, so I was on track to the awesome future I wanted.

Soon enough, I was two years out of college and I was still waiting for things to get better.  Happy World was supposed to deliver, but it was getting harder to ignore that it wasn't.  But Happy World clearly hadn't forgotten about me, because it moved me to New York City.  It was perfect.  I would be right near the entertainment industry and become a Hollywood movie man that way, but I was only four hours away from my family and friends in upstate New York and I could see them constantly.  This was it.  Sure, I had loss and doubt.  Sure, all it seemed I had left were family, friends, and a bright future.  But this bright future was going to change all of that.  Happy World was going to live up to its name.

This is when the apocalypse started.

It's hard to describe but, suddenly everything was a lot darker and on fire.  I heard evil cackling and screams just about everywhere I went.  Things weren't good.  A great job in the entertainment industry didn't come in NYC.  I struggled to pay rent.  It became clear that with the hours I would have to work, I would not be able to see my family and friends with nearly the frequency I had imagined.  It seemed the only thing I had left was the idea of a bright future.  The idea that at some point, everything would be better.  But as I looked around the hellscape that Happy World had become, a harrowing thought occurred to me: I think Happy World is doomed.  And without Happy World, the comfort of a better tomorrow burned away.  I had nothing left.

The world that I had been depending on for my entire life was gone.  Things weren't just going to be happy for me.  I was stuck with things like loss, and doubt, and conflict--hardships I kept thinking I wouldn't have to deal with because Happy World would change things for me.  But Happy World was on fire now, and nothing was going to take these hardships away.  People will die, like my terminally-ill dad.  Friends may not be around forever.  You'll have to move out of your parents' house.  You'll have to get a job you don't like to pay the bills.  You'll have to ask out girls to be with girls.  You'll have to put in unpleasant hours to make your creative projects better.  And you could have to move to LA and leave your family, your friends, and your longtime hometown behind.

It's a disturbing reality that I still haven't adjusted to.  I'm still mourning Happy World and the idea of an entirely happy life.  I've currently moved back home so I can try to make sense of all this and be closer to my family and friends as I do, and I'm working a temp job while I'm here.  Things are still a lot darker and on fire.  I look at everything and can't help thinking "How much longer will this last?"  And the worst part is, those demonic voices from the apocalypse sometimes talk to me.

"Hey Drew, I notice you're at work.  Why don't you not do work and write a blog post instead?" "Okay..." "Isn't this wonderful, Drew?  Now you don't have to do awful, unhappy work." "But I have to do that awful, unhappy work so things don't become even more unhappy." "No you don't.  This is Happy World, Drew.  Just look around." "Everything is on fire." "It's happy fire." "I have to do my job right now." "Just keep, writing, Drew." "I have to work." "Write away, Drew." "I have, to, work!" (Drew punches the demon right in the face.) "What are you doing?!" "You need to shut up so I can work." "But work sucks!" (Drew punches the demon right in the face again.)  "Ow, stop that!" "No, you stop.  I'm going to do this." "For now.  But you'll want to stop working in like, two minutes."  (Drew kicks the demon in the face, knocking the demon over.)  "Stop fighting this, Drew.  This is the way things were always meant to be.  You're going to be unhappy, no matter what.  Because this isn't Happy World anymore.  It's the apocalypse." "You're wrong." (Drew kicks the demon so hard that the demon launches into the gray sky.)  "It's both." 

[raitou-otcha]

What if the universe resetted and every spirit has existed before? Sure there will be some new spirits joining or some leaving but still most of the original spirits are still there, what I'd one remembers all the time the universe has existed? Has resetted itself?

Of course it's going to be the one and only Pitch black, maybe he was a dream weaver like Sandy but started to loose himself with all the times the universe was destroyed and recreated? I imagine him with a lot of shiny things and slowly the shiny items become duller and duller until its completely black.

With how Pitch Black turns dream sand into dark sand. Maybe that's how his body reacted? It's became darker and darker until it was just dark sand?

I'd like to think that even in the beginning he was still the personification of fear, he just reacted to it differently than what is shown now.

[kingofthewebxxx]

For the HCs inbox call!

If Jim hadn't been as twisted as he is, but would have decided to use his smarts to either help people or at least pursue a career that could satisfy him without damaging others (like Sherlock), what do you think he would have picked? How different would he be in terms of personality, lifestyle, relations? And what would have been the motivation(s) that could have pushed him to make this sort of choice?

Of all his past experiences, is there a specific event that marks the birth of Moriarty as the criminal world has come to know him? Any specific circumstances that have led Jim to become the most feared criminal mastermind of history? And was it just something that happened, or was there one person (or more) who can be considered somehow responsible for helping to create Moriarty?

A very difficult question! What I will do is first explain my thought process so you can see how I came to the conclusion that I have. Throughout the show, we soon learn how Moriarty has a slight fascination with narrative particularly, writing his own. Not only has he built his reputation up to suit his own needs and desires. He had a particular way he wanted Sherlock to die and it soon became clear how much thought he put into it with so many details, including the links to fairytales as it got closer to the main event. If Moriarty thought so little and thought about connecting it all to fairytales merely to get at Sherlock then it wouldn't have been so grandiose as it was and besides, wasn't what happened with Eurus and Moriarty, the big story of getting Sherlock and the others to ‘save’ the girl on the plane one big narrative? Therefore, I have concluded he would perhaps be a writer, trying to help the world understand itself better through enveloping emotions and feelings in words to make people less frightened of themselves or perhaps a teacher (as we see in the original), the same reason for this would also apply to a support worker, wanting to help people change their narrative. He would likely be a lot more open and have a sense of empathy or at least be trying to ease the pain within himself by helping others instead of more destructive means. He would likely have gotten on with his Co-workers, not super close but working relationships nevertheless, he may have had one or two friends perhaps but it would still be a small number since he would most likely close off darker parts of himself and may come across as shy, he may not be bad but that does not mean there wouldn't be an internal struggle. I would imagine that he would likely be closer to his parents and brother, although I would say the closest of any potential relationship would be with his partner whom he would be capable of loving, a chance that he never got. Most likely he would have had a less lavish lifestyle but he would likely have been slightly more laid back and valued people a lot more over other things. His main driving force would be to help those who had also suffered pain and to show them that it's worth fighting for who you are and not giving up by leaning into the darkness.

Out of everything that happened to James growing up, many aspects contributed to how he developed, some much darker than others. Considering how much pain this character carries and how it manifests which I think is something some people may not associate with him, yes he inflicts pain but he has suffered so much. At this time I will not be going into the darkest of headcanons, if anyone truly wants more details please DM me, I'm still testing the waters with Tumblr. One such occurrence that led to him becoming ‘Moriarty’ was how he was treated differently by his family. Growing up it was clear he was different, being quicker at learning new things and getting higher marks, yet he would have more frequent angry outbursts and become frustrated much easier than others. His slightly older brother had many more friends than James had growing up and seemed to get into significantly fewer fights, his parents thought that he had gotten into fights, and the reason he had gotten into fights was that after reporting the bullying it had not stopped, he did whatever was necessary to make it stop. His parents always favoured their older son and struggled to understand their younger child, often favouring one before the other. Feeling misunderstood and also almost a second priority distanced him from his parents and with time he started to resent them, leaving home at 16. Leaving him feeling unable to talk to his family when he needed them the most.

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I always encourage those who suffer bullying to report it, as someone who suffered it themselves a lot through life, you deserve to be happy.