#we went to a see a minor art installation today

[syvanna]

trying to convince myself things aren't becoming meaningless again

[juminsmysticmc]

Hey, it’s me, the one who request the moth headcanon, sorry about the trouble and if it’s okay, instead I would like to see an MC who’s major is digital arts and animation. If not, it’s fine, just have a great day.

RFA + Minor Trio with a Mc who's major is digital arts and animations

Hey! It was no trouble at all! I hope that it’s okay for you tho, I am happy that you could request something different! I hope you enjoy this one too! Have a nice day!

Jumin

Your husband observed you. Ever since he installed a room for you alone in his penthouse, you could finally work from home a bit more.

He hadn’t realized that even before you came into the RFA, he had already worked with you.

Your major, digital arts and animation, was often used for his advertising or other programs.

You often wanted to meet the CEO, but since he always thought that you would be just a gold digger, he always rejected you, just making Jaehee send emails with the things he wanted to have inserted.

Well, today he regretted his choice back then.

Instead, he observed you.

You were working on a new project.

,,How many years did you have to study? I mean, you have so many majors… Design Director, Storyboard Director, I didn’t know, you were multitalented, my love,’’ he praised you.

You even worked a lot with the audio.

You looked up and smiled at your husband.

,,Thank you, my love. I’m trying to make your latest project work. Wanna see?’’ you asked him.

However he knew that your work would be amazing and wanted to have it be a surprise rather than get spoiled.

Zen

Your boyfriend never understood how you could be such a good multitasker.

You could cook, set the table, chat with Jaehee, and even post something on your blog.

But once he saw you at work, he understood.

It had something to do with your job.

You had to work in different kinds of media at the same time.

,,This isn’t just one,’’ you told him and scrolled through your phone.

Your long hair was in your way so you put it away with one hand.

,,I have to work with the sound, video, and stop-motion graphics at the same time. I do this and much more, but I don’t want to annoy you,’’ you laughed as you looked up.

,,You don’t annoy me, Mrs. Director,’’ he laughed and kissed you.

You were even the director of a whole section and helped new students get into the job.

,,Okay, so, see this video?’’ you showed him an animated movie you just got via email.

,,This was made by my students, but she used the wrong program because the audio is slightly separated from the video itself,’’ you told him.

He hadn’t noticed anything at first, but after you told him, he saw it too.

,,And you noticed after a few seconds? You’re amazing!’’ he smiled and looked over your shoulders. You were still cooking.

Yoosung

Your husband wondered why he never saw you or met you since your college wasn’t that far away from his building.

But thank God both of you finally met thanks to the RFA.

He was also amazed by you because you were pretty famous among students.

You even had your own blog and of course you programmed everything yourself.

It looked amazing.

You had every single section working in there, but your point was the digital arts and animation.

,,Did you really have to submit a portfolio to be admitted?’’ he asked you when he read your latest blog.

You nodded at him as you typed something on your keyboard.

,,Mhm, especially to bachelor of fine arts,’’ you told him.

He didn’t quite understand, but he still nodded.

,,I didn’t have to,’’ he mumbled.

,,That’s why it’s written on there. The little word ,,may’’ says that you possibly have to, but not always,’’ you told him, making him sulk.

,,I know what ,,may’’ means… ah, and tell me. What are the admission requirements?’’ he asked you.

You turned your head and looked at him.

,,Can you maybe read the whole post instead of just the keywords? You need to check on the page itself for the requirements. Every university does it differently,’’ you told him and closed the page.

,,Ah. I just wanted to test you,’’ he smiled and looked at you.

He looked so up to you. You always knew what the latest LOLOL update changed in the game. You were amazing...

Jaehee

,,What? You went to Harvard University?’’ Zen asked you. He didn’t know that he was in a group with such an intelligent person and you were even Jaehee’s girlfriend.

You nodded.

,,She’s also very creative. Did you see our advertisement? She did it herself. Pretty amazing, right?!’’ Jaehee said proudly, no one had ever seen her that excited.

You changed her.

You and Jaehee also often went to different festivals to check the latest innovations. It was something even Jaehee was interested in.

And thanks to you, she even understood a few things since you were very good at explaining things.

,,Should we buy this new keyboard? It fits much better than the one you have now in your studio,’’ she told you and admired the keyboard in front of you.

She looked up to you since you were such a hard worker as a owner of a coffee shop and even a designer of word advertisements and 2d animation.

Saeyoung

,,You make pretty good money, huh?’’ he asked you as he looked around.

Your studio just looked so aesthetically pleasing in the middle of Seoul.

You shrugged your shoulders as you kept typing something.

Then you took your pen between your fingers and began to draw something.

You were a storyboard artist.

Saeyoung, your finacé, loved to watch you.

He sometimes even helped you when a program stopped working.

,,Look, which one do you like more?’’ you asked him as you turned your screen towards him to show him a park.

,,Mh, I don’t know. What’s the story? LIke, this one looks cute as if you’re in a fairy tale, but this one looks more realistic,’’ he answered, making you turn the display again.

You nodded and stood up, taking your jacket and facing your fiancé. ,,We are going to the park now,’’ you said and pulled him by the hand.

That’s what he loved about you.

He, too, was someone who would simply do his work, but you wanted to give your best, even at  that moment.

At the end of the day, you however, knew which one you would decide on and you were happy that Saeyoung opened your eyes.

Saeran

,,Mc! It’s so nice to see you here!’’ someone said and hugged you.

Saeran observed the person who was so happy to see you.

Both of you were in a foreign country and people still knew you?

You hugged the person who was apparently named Mira.

,,Saeran, this was my teacher, Mira,’’ you said and told Mira about your boyfriend.

She was so happy to see that you got a boyfriend.

,,Have fun here and go visit Josef! He will be happy to see you!’’ she said, meaning your other teacher.

You took Saeran and with him you walked through every department.

,,They try to motivate you to be creative, get started, start your own company, make your own shows, produce medical videos or animations, and they want you to learn things by doing,’’ you explained.

At some point, you arrived at a place that was lit by lights. Students had pencils in their hands and they began to draw something on their papers. This was something that amazed Saeran.

,,I thought it’s digital art,’’ he whispered.

You nodded. ,,They first try to make you get used to it. When you’re ready, you can move to the digital version,’’ you told him and observed the students.

It was a pretty good day and Saeran also enjoyed seeing you presentate something on a stage about your own work in South Korea.

He was proud of you.

Jihyun

Hand in hand, both of you walked into an institute to talk about digital art.

Jihyun also liked art a lot. However, he was a painter.

But your art was also something beautiful in his eyes.

He once tried it, but failed.

,,I remember back then, I also was unsure if digital art was real art, but after I saw it myself… I’m sorry I was like that back then… so don’t give up if people are the same here as in this art institute,’’ he told you.

You nodded.

Your goal was it to teach digital art in that institute and they first invited you to talk about it.

They first invited you in and then they were ready to listen to you.

,,Thank you for your words,’’ the older man said and nodded.

,,However, digital art is, itself, placed under the larger umbrella term new media art that doesn’t require any effort, Mrs. Kim. Digital art is not considered real art,’’ he said and closed his book with the notes.

,,Why did you invite my wife then?’’ Jihyun asked as you watched your dreams get crushed in front of your eyes.

No one dared to say anything. Were you just the laugh stock? Why did you even make the effort? You were ready to give up when Jihyun began to say something again. ,,I can understand you. At first we thought that digital art was easy. Why should we ask a teacher to teach us? I’m an artist myself and I thought like that too, but here too, just like the art with real pens and colors, you need to start with it gradually. I experienced it myself and I was surprised by how difficult it was. I beg you, try at least once to draw a forest in digital art,’’ Jihyun said, begging the person in front of him.

,,Very well, I have been an artist since my twenties and I am now sixty years old,’’ he laughed and took your tablet, ready to draw.

While he was drawing, you did the same on the second tablet and a bit later you all noticed the difference, making them all apologize to you.

,,I can’t thank you enough,’’ you sobbed as both of you walked out of the room, you overjoyed about the good news.

,,I told you not to give up on them. They were just like me,’’ he laughed and kissed your hand before you could both go and pick up Lucy at Jumin’s penthouse.

Vanderwood

When he first saw your room, not Rika’s, but your own home, he was kind of shocked to know that you were almost like Agent 707.

He quickly noticed that just like him, you loved your profession.

It was something that satisfied you immediately ever since you first learned how things worked.

Indeed, animation was attracting more and more people and you were one of them.

,,Back then, when we lived in Japan, we somehow won a sightseeing trip and I got to see the Ghibli studio. I think that that was the moment I fell in love with it,’’ you told him as he looked around.

,,And then? I mean, Japan is one of the best countries to study animation, right?’’ he asked you. Vanderwood was truly interested in it.

He wanted to know everything about you.

The brown haired man wanted to know what made your eyes shine so brightly and why you were so in love with your job.

,,Uhm, yeah. Spain is the best country to study animation, but I also expected it to be Japan. Back then and still today, living there was too expensive. My parents wanted to move back to Korea and so I went to Spain to study my dream,’’ you laughed.

,,I’m amazed. I expected you to go with your parents,’’ he laughed and observed you.

,,I was amazed by myself too, you know? It was a hard decision, but I never regretted what I did. I could fulfil my dream and it’s my life after all.

And knowing more languages is even better because there are so many more opportunities,’’ you laughed.

,,Please never lock the door in other languages like Agent 707,’’

You laughed at his comment. ,,I won’t… but maybe something animated?’’ you teased him.

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

17.04.2021// 00:18 MEST

[1234-angelika]

Teacher, Teacher

an: this is the final post of the week and the first installment in the Happily Ever After series for Matt. I'm excited to share with y'all, this has been in the works for a while. Hope you enjoy!

words:1.2 k warnings:Divorce, custody battle,

summary: "The best things in life are unexpected-because there were no expectations." -Eli Khamarov

masterpost|taglist|have an idea

At 18, you thought that you wanted to practice law. So, you went ahead and started on that journey.

You got your bachelor's degree in English with a minor in psychology. After that, you went on to write the LSAT and scored 170. With that impressive score, you applied to multiple programs and decided on the path of getting your J.D. at Columbia Law School in New York with a focus on family law. It took you three years, and then you moved to Virginia. You applied to a prep class before taking the bar, and that's where you met Kristy. Although you were taking different paths, you became fast friends, keeping in contact throughout the years. You passed the bar on your first try. It was a lot of work, but to you, it was worth it.

After a few years of working in family law, you saw a really rough case. It was a custody dispute. The case had started off pretty straightforward and then spiralled at an impeccable speed. After that case, you decided to take a break. You resigned and went back to school instead of getting your Certified Childcare Professional credential. And then you opened up a day-care in your neighbourhood where childcare was scarce. It didn't take long for business to pick up and for you to be busy all the time. You had two co-workers who were a tremendous help with the workload and genuinely good people.

Being a day-care teacher was such a rewarding job, shaping your minds to wonder and question everything, but man, was it exhausting.

To start your day, you slept in past your alarm. Way past, like 40 minutes, your busy week must have caught up to you. You had called your co-workers as soon as you woke up to apologize for being late and to tell them that they would have to start the day without you. You hopped in the shower and got ready for the day, not even grabbing a snack before rushing out the door. You headed to the nearest drive-through for a hot coffee and something to eat. The drive-through line was long, which didn't help your stress about the fact you were late. The only thing that made the lousy morning a little bit better was the fact it was Friday.

The sunshine provided the opportunity for a lot of outdoor exploration and independent play. We spent the morning doing math and science—which was really nature exploration—before going back in for a snack. After snack time, we went back outside for art which was drawing with chalk and water-colour painting. After lunch, we focused primarily on the idea of independent play.

For having such an abrupt start to your day, the rest of your workday seemed to pass quite slowly. By 4, almost all children had been picked up, your co-workers had left—all the children except the Simmons kids. From what you understood—from the small amount Kristy had told you—reminding you of your previous career. She and her husband were going through a divorce with an ugly custody battle happening. To add to that, apparently, their dad worked an insane job with unpredictable hours.

Today was the first day he was supposed to pick them up since the split. Kristy had warned you that he probably wouldn't be on time. So, you had prepared. You had snacks and drinks and a movie playing on the screen. You were working away at the paperwork, and the boys were playing on the carpet while Beauty and the Beast was streaming on the screen. By the time that movie had finished, you finished all the paperwork you had to do, and the boys became tired of playing on the floor, deciding to just focus on the movie instead.

Standing up, you said, "Alright, before we watch another movie, let's clean up our toys."

They were pretty quick in getting up and cleaning up their toys. When all the toys were put away, markers were cleaned up, and paper neatly stacked where it was supposed to be, you got ready for the next movie. Bean bag chairs were brought to the carpet while the boys grabbed some snacks and juice boxes.

"Get comfy!" You said with a smile as the boys ran to the bean bags. Each picking their favourite colour. "Now, what movie are we watching now?"

"Up!" David said, and you looked at Jake before putting it on. He nodded so, you went ahead with the movie.

About halfway into the movie, you heard a multitude of footsteps coming down the hallway, accompanied by voices. As quiet as possible so as not to disturb the boys, you got up from your bean bag and walked to the door to see what the noise was. If it was an intruder, you wanted to at least try and protect the kids. When you got to the door, you swung it open. There stood a tall, model-like man with his hand raised, ready to knock on the door. Beside him, two darling little girls who were absolutely adorable and very obviously twins.

"Hello, can I help you sir?" You asked the man, using your body to block the doorway as best you could.

"I'm Matthew Simmons—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the two boys ran into his legs shouting;

"Daddy!"

You nodded to yourself in understanding. Once each of the boys latched onto a leg, he continued, "—and I'm here to pick up my sons."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, their school teacher."

You lead him into the room.

"So Y/N, is there anything I need to do before I can take the boys home?"

"Matthew—"

"Please call me Matt,"

"—Matt, I need you to sign the sheet on my desk and the book by the door and then you can go."

Matt went over to your desk, signed the paper and, walked back over to the door and signed the book. Then he walked into the cubby area, kids trailing behind. You walked over and helped him pack his sons' things, he packed Jake's bag, and you packed David's. After the boys had put on their coats and outside shoes, you handed David his backpack. He swung it on, and Jake did the same.

As they walked out, Matt stopped in the doorway. Turning to look at you, he said;

"Bye Miss Y/L/N. See you Monday." And with a wink, he turned and walked away.

You stared after him, and then, you understood why Kristy never introduced you to her soon-to-be ex-husband. That dazzling smile and flirtatious demeanour were heart-stopping.

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums, we look at a surprisingly experimental album from a band who got royally screwed by their record label: Propaganda, with their arguable only LP, A Secret Wish. Oh, and did I mention that that record label was none other than Zang Tuum Tumb, run by none other than Trevor Horn? Find out the whole story in the video, or in the transcript below the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! In this installment, I’ll be looking at a relative sleeper of its era, with a unique sound that’s set it apart and won it a contingent of cult followers over the years: A Secret Wish, the first, and only, studio album from the classic lineup of Propaganda, first released in 1985.

First formed in Duesseldorf, West Germany by Ralf Doerper of Die Krupps, Propaganda soon relocated to Great Britain in the hopes of finding a wider audience for their music. Their lucky break came in the form of being signed to the record label Zang Tumb Tuum, headed by then-rising star, Trevor Horn. Fresh off his first major success as a producer, ABC’s The Lexicon of Love, Horn then lent his famous production chops to Propaganda’s first single, “Dr. Mabuse.”

Music: “Dr. Mabuse”

The first time I heard “Dr. Mabuse,” I wasn’t familiar with the titular character, and that might be true for you, too, if you’re from the Anglosphere like me. Dr. Mabuse was a literary villain invented by Norbert Jacques, and later made much more famous in a film adaptation of his tale directed by Fritz Lang, the mastermind behind Metropolis. A manipulative criminal kingpin, Mabuse wields strange powers like psychic possession and astral projection, which, despite their seemingly occult origins, often exploit modern technologies, like cinema screens that can hypnotize people. While he may sound like the perfect subject for a chilling, brooding synth-pop anthem, I can’t help but wonder if the character’s relative lack of recognition in the English-speaking world may have hampered this single’s success. While its ominous, gothic energy sets it apart from much of Horn’s other work, it still has some of his characteristic bombast behind its sinister hook, and has an evident “hit single” feel. Still, it performed significantly better in Continental Europe than elsewhere.

Much like ABC’s famous hit, “The Look of Love,” was expanded into a four-part suite that included an instrumental reprise on its LP, this version of “Dr. Mabuse” is listed on the album with the subtitle “First Life,” and assorted variants of it were available in different formats. It also received an arguable reprise with the album’s final track, titled “Strength to Dream / The Last Word.” The title is a bit more opaque than that of “The Look of Love (Part Four),” which made the relationship more obvious, but the synth sequences do bear a rather strong resemblance.

Music: “Strength to Dream / The Last Word”

Unfortunately for Propaganda, Trevor Horn quickly became a little too successful for his own good. Labelmates Frankie Goes to Hollywood achieved unprecedented success with Welcome to the Pleasuredome, and their famous singles “Relax” and “Two Tribes,” which led Zang Tumb Tuum to throw almost all of their promotional support behind their newfound golden child. The release of A Secret Wish was postponed, and Horn was no longer able to produce the rest of the album, besides “Dr. Mabuse.” But despite the fact that Horn isn’t actually here, there’s still a noticeable attempt to finish the album in an aesthetically similar, “in-the-style-of” fashion, and the end result is an LP that's surprisingly quite sonically cohesive!

Music: “Jewel”

With its abrasive textures, aggressive energy, and heavy emphasis on percussion, “Jewel” feels more like a track from the Art of Noise than it does Horn’s triumphant pop productions like “Relax.” “Jewel” also has an alter ego on the same album, and serves as a sort of evil doppelgaenger for the similarly-titled track, “Duel.” The two tracks feature the same lyrics, but vastly different treatments and moods.

Music: “Duel”

I like to think “Jewel” displays how a tumultuous relationship looks from outside, painful and unpredictable, whereas “Duel” is a bit like experiencing it yourself, and being so enraptured by the blissful pain that you don’t realize how frightening the lyrics actually are. Besides the much softer instrumentals, the lead vocal performance by Claudia Bruecken is also markedly different, and I think the contrast between the two is a testament to her vocal chops. Throughout the album, Bruecken��s voice is rich and full of character, setting her apart as one of the more distinctive vocalists in 80s synth-pop.

Overall, “Duel” is perhaps the most accessible and easy to like track on A Secret Wish, and it accordingly became the album’s biggest hit. But unlike most obvious singles, it arrives at the tail end of the album’s first side, after a slew of much more experimental tracks. Not only does “Jewel” arrive before “Duel” does, but the album’s opening track, “Dream Within a Dream,” is an eight-minute psychedelic opus based around a text by Edgar Allen Poe! “Duel” feels a bit like a break for refreshments after listening to the earlier parts of the album. It really is a surprisingly experimental work given its relative commercial success, reaching #16 on the UK albums chart. Still, despite that success, *A Secret Wish* doesn’t seem too strongly remembered today, which is something I’d certainly like to see change. Counterbalanced between pop and the avant-garde, this album sounds like a cross between the Eurythmics and Einstuerzende Neubauten--something I say with as much affection as possible!

At first glance, the cover of A Secret Wish almost appears abstract, an inky web of squiggles. But upon closer inspection, one can see that the object depicted on the cover is actually a dress form, a wireframe in the shape of a human torso, which might be used to display clothing in a retail setting, or in the design of clothing.

While this emblem may not sound particularly sinister, I’m tempted to compare it to Harry Harlow’s famous experiments on rhesus monkeys. Harlow took orphaned baby monkeys and offered them a “cloth mother” and a “wire mother.” Artificial effigies of monkey mothers dispensed food for the test subjects--one with a soft and cuddly body of cloth, and one with a cold and barren armature of wire. When distressed, Harlow’s monkeys sought shelter and comfort from the cloth mothers, regardless of which mother had dispensed food to them, suggesting that the comfort of their soft touch had a value of its own to the monkeys. The results of this research have often been used to suggest the importance of physical contact between children and their caregivers. Propaganda’s use of the cold, bare, female-coded wire frame, enshrined, alone, in the center of a drab-coloured composition, centers the idea of the inhospitable and the unloving. Perhaps it is a symbol of the inhumanity and alienation of modern life?

As I hinted at earlier, A Secret Wish ended up being the only album this version of Propaganda managed to put together, despite the tremendous promise that it shows. Feeling flagrantly under-compensated per the terms of their contract with Zang Tumb Tuum, the members of the band went to court, and eventually jumped ship to Virgin Records instead. That is, except for Claudia Bruecken, who decided to stick with Zang Tumb Tuum for several more years. Later in the 80s, she would team up with Thomas Leer to form the synth-pop duo Act, whose lone LP, Laughter, Tears, & Rage, is a worthwhile listen that I would consider the ideal follow-up to A Secret Wish--though it’s markedly less experimental and percussion-driven, sounding more like late 80s, post-Pet Shop Boys, baroque synth-pop.

Music: “Absolutely Immune”

My personal favourite track on A Secret Wish is the album’s final single, “p:Machinery.” With pounding percussion and buzzing synths, not to mention some dramatic and dystopian lyrics, this is definitely the track on the album that reminds me of Ralf Doerper’s industrial music roots! Apparently, parts of this track’s melody were composed by none other than Japan’s David Sylvian, who receives a minor thank-you in its liner notes. While I don’t think the finished track sounds terribly similar to anything of Sylvian’s, I can’t say I don’t find that pretty interesting. That’s everything for today--thanks for listening!

Music: “p:Machinery”

[bangtan-madi]

546 Days Without You — Nine: Day 264

Pairing — Seokjin x Reader

Tags — boyfriend!Seokjin, older brother!Yoongi, producer/songwriter!MC, military au (ish), idol au (ish)

Genre — fluff, angst

Word Count — 2.3k

Summary — Kim Seokjin is your entire world, and that world falls apart the moment he and your older brother Yoongi are conscripted into the South Korean military.

Part — 9 / 15

Warnings — minor language

A/N — Taglist is open! Comment or submit an ask if you want to be added :) Also sorry for the late post. Tumblr has been giving me issues.

Previous — Next

The day the album drops, the group is on edge the whole morning. It's been this way every comeback. The members are progressively moodier until the morning of, then they become eerily quiet.

The second the clock ticks past the release date, there's a group sigh of relief. Map of the Soul: Dream is out in the world, and people are streaming it by the millions. No more writing, no more recording, no more producing: the brainchild of Bangtan is out.

Finally.

The hour after the release, the interviews begin. The band is scheduled for events from the initial release panel in Seoul all the way to interviews across the world. The next few weeks are going to be packed with speaking engagements and travel. Normally, this is where you let the managers take over since it's not common for producers to travel for these kinds of things. On any other album, you'd wave to them as they left for the airport and scurry back to the safety and familiarity of the studio.

But you just had to have your name put on the album.

"Oh, no," Namjoon says, grasping the hood of your sweatshirt as you attempt to do just that. "Don't think you're getting out of this panel."

Turning towards the leader with a scowl, you retort, "I'm not a member, Joon. This isn't where I'm supposed to be. This is your guys' time to shine. I belong in a studio."

He shakes his head adamantly. "Your name's on the album, several times I might add. Writer, producer, and artist. They may have looked over the writing and producing rolls in the past, but now?"

"Not gonna happen," Taehyung snickers as he makes his way towards the Big Hit dressing room. 

"I think people are more intrigued by you then they are by us," Jimin agrees, coming out of the hair and makeup room looking picture-perfect. "This is year eight for us. You're something new in the mix."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. "The media likes anything new and shiny."

"I heard you talking to Seokjin about this yesterday," Namjoon replies. "What did he say?"

Narrowing your eyes, you pull your hood out of his grasp with a pout. "He said I should do it." 

This only causes Namjoon to smirk, knowing he's got you. He cups a hand next to his ear and leans down, as if trying to hear you. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"

Instead of dignifying his teasing with a response, you shove the leader a bit, earning a laugh from the gentle giant. "They'll get to see me on tour. Why isn't that enough?"

"Y'know, I like her point," Jungkook grins adjusting the tie around his neck. He, too, has been primed and ready for the panel. "We can just go straight to tour and skip all this."

Hoseok enters the room, followed closely by Manager Sejin. The two men are also ready for the day's events, and you realize you're not getting out of this.

"For what it's worth, these things are really fun if you ignore the cameras and pushy paps," he says, playfully linking his arm with yours. Smiling brightly at you, he turns and escorts you towards the dressing room, much to the awe and surprise of the others. "And that's why we have security: to keep those away. This is as much part of tour as actually performing."

Once out of earshot of the others, you turn to Hoseok and mumble, "Yeah...I guess I'm just a little nervous. I remember how the press treated you boys when you first debuted. It was less than kind."

"You're tough as nails, [Y/n]. You Mins are another breed altogether. Trust me, if Jimin can do it, you can, too."

"I heard that!"

Hoseok giggles and gestures towards the dressing room, where the stylist has picked out a few options for outfits. They're all pretty, and go perfectly with the boys' album-themed attire.

"You got this," he states, letting you go and giving you two, big thumbs up.

You sarcastically mirror both his expression and gestures. "I hope so!"

Once everyone is dressed to the nines and dolled up, you're escorted to a Big Hit vehicle and sent on your way to the panel. This is far from the first time that BTS as a group has done something like this. In fact, you've attended once before, for the Map of the Soul: Persona release. It was inside one of the largest conference halls in downtown Seoul, and the seats were packed with photographers, journalists, interviewers, and even Army. Everyone was ecstatic about the release, and you can feel that same energy in the air today, despite being two members short.

As the group piles in the building, you feel Jimin and Taehyung take both of your hands. Your best friend and oldest friends are the first to notice how out of place you feel. The lights, the cameras, the crowds; it's not that you're not used to them, but they've never been focused on you before. 

"You got this," Jimin murmurs, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek before he leads the trio through the auditorium doors. 

From backstage, you can easily see the ramp that leads to the stage, and the setup in the center. The backdrop is a large, lavender canvas, covered in a larger version of the white outline of the plum blossom album art for 'Dream.' The host of the panel is a well-known personality in the k-pop industry, and as he makes his introductions of the event to those gathered in the seats, you attempt to calm yourself by taking deep breaths.

In your pocket, your phone buzzes twice. Pulling it out, you swipe across the screen, seeing two texts from Seokjin.

"I know you're nervous, but just take those deep breaths like I told you. Hold it in, and then slowly let it out. Seven seconds in, hold, and out. And trust the boys. They won't let anyone ask you questions that are inappropriate or rude. They have your back, Jagiya." The second says, "You got this. I believe in you. If I can do it, you're going to knock it out of the park."

A relieved smile slips onto your face, and you shoulders relax as you text a swift, grateful reply. As you hit send, Jimin reaches once more for your hand and tugs you towards the stage.

"Time to shine," he says with a grin. "Are you good?"

You give a single, assured nod and walk proudly behind him onto the stage. The lights and sounds drown out into a single, mute note as you find yourself being guided to a seat between Hoseok and Jungkook, near the edge of the panel. You're farthest from Namjoon, for which you're grateful in a way; as the leader of the group, he ends up doing most of the talking. Physically distancing yourself from him might be the best idea to keep you from having to speak for the group.

Once the basic introductions are made, even though everyone already knows who everyone else is, the questions from the host begin. The first few are easy questions about the album itself, the making and inspiration and work that went into it. He asks about everyone's roles and the sub units, as well as how they've handled the comeback for the last installment of Map of the Soul. The boys, mostly Namjoon, answer in their usual fashion, both elegant and truthful in their dialogue.

Then, the inevitable questions start to slip in.

"How has it been preparing for an album and tour without two of your most senior members?"

"We'd be lying if we said it's been easy," Namjoon chuckles, trying to answer the host in the most graceful way possible. "Suga and Jin did a lot of work on 'Dream' before they left to do their service, so we still feel as if they're with us, in a way. Jin has his solo track on the album, and it's one he recorded before he left. Suga did much of the songwriting and producing, per usual. But it has been hard. It's been a struggle for all of us to adjust without them, especially when preparing for the tour."

The host nods to you next, and you feel your stomach drop. "But it seems you're not completely rid of a Min family influence. Ms. Min [Y/n], how has it been working with BTS so closely on this project?"

Namjoon gives a small nod of reassurance as you lean forward to speak into the microphone in front of you. "Well...I actually have always worked as a producer on BTS' albums, so this one wasn't so different."

"But this time you're featured on the album as well, is that right?"

Swallowing dryly, you shake your head in agreement. Hoseok places a calming hand on your knee under the table, and you force yourself to take a deep breath in like Seokjin instructed. 

"Yes, I am."

"What brought that about?"

"Well, I had released my track 'Silhouette' on Soundcloud a little bit before, and it had gained a lot of traction amongst Armys. When it came time to decide the final track lineup for 'Dream,' Bang Si-hyuk-nim brought up the idea to include it." You nod down towards Namjoon with a smile. "RM thought it was a great idea, and while I didn't agree at first, eventually I came around. The story 'Silhouette' tells fits in perfectly with the narrative in 'Dream.' We added the track, and the rest is history."

The host nods, listening to your answer intently. "So does this make you the eighth member of BTS, or a stand-in for your brother?"

While trying to remain respectful, you can't help but laugh at the question. "Not even close. Everyone knows that there's only one Suga, only one Min Yoongi, and no one will ever come close to replacing my brother. I'm not trying to become the eighth member of BTS, nor am I trying to replace Suga or Jin. I'm a new artist that's being featured on the next album, just like any previous collaboration. The only difference here is that I happen to be related to one of the members. Those artists...they're one-of-a-kind. If I'm a stand-in for either of them, I'd probably fire myself for doing such a sh—sloppy job."

Your last comment earns a chuckle from the host, as well as the audience behind him. "I see you're quite a lot like your brother in many ways, so it's comforting to know that the band still has a Min on their side, even while Suga and Jin are away at service."

Jimin leans forward to speak into his mic, turning his head so he can flash a wink in your direction. "Yeah, she's been like glue for us this past year."

"We're glad to have her on board," Namjoon agrees. "And both Jin and Suga approved all of this, both before and after they left, so there's that extra bit of encouragement."

"So will we expect to see you on the Dream Tour?" Both the host and the rest of the audience go silent, waited with bated breath for your response. 

Flashing a small smile, you attempt to hide your nerves when you reply, "You'll see me in a little over a month at the opening in Seoul...and every stop after that."

After the remaining hour of the launch event is over, and the press starts to slip out of the auditorium, the members are escorted backstage to the changing rooms. The announcements being made, from now until Tour begins, the six of you are going to spend the majority of your time traveling for events. You've looked at the calendar and have seen the stops planned. Busan is next, then Tokyo, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Macau, Los Angeles, and New York City. You even recall seeing a handful of stops in Europe, Australia, and South America, as the fanbase has grown exponentially on those continents. 

"That went perfectly," Sejin says as the members come off-stage. He nods to you with a proud expression. "You were amazing. All of you."

Jimin scurries over to you and wraps you in a tight hug. "I knew you could do it," he murmurs against your shoulder. "Proud of you, [Y/n]-ah."

Your heart swells at their reassurance, and you pat Jimin's shoulder as a silent thank you. "How can you be sweaty after two hours of sitting?" you tease, shoving him off you.

The blonde scoffs, feigning a hurt expression. "Those lights are bright! And I'm wearing Gucci!"

"Does money make you perspire?"

"Go get changed," Hoseok laughs, separating you two like a mother with her children. "We need to get on to Busan, and tomorrow we fly to Nagoya!"

"Ahhh, now I really miss Jin-hyung and his amazing Japanese skills," Taehyung groans. "I should've practiced more."

The group laughs at his self-inflicted banter and begins the process of changing into travel clothes for the short trip across South Korea. 

"How are we getting to Busan?" you ask.

"Can we vote?" Jungkook asks, raising his hand dramatically. "'Cause I vote train."

Sejin shakes his head. "We have a jet already reserved."

The youngest member extends his hand towards the manager, eyes intent and fist closed. "Rock-paper-scissors for it?"

Though amused, Sejin merely points to the dressing room. "Get changed, Jungkookie."

"But—" All Sejin has to do is look directly at the brunet, cock an eyebrow, and cross his arms, and the maknae is grinning apologetically and running for the dressing room. "Plane it is!"

Taglist — @joyful-jimin​​, @gracehiii​, @live-2-fangirl​, @rjsmochii​​, @btsnatalena​

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

Painful Death for the Lactose Intolerant - BCE (Before Cult Events) -

Words: 2,957 Warnings: (major) Implied attempted non-con, depression, alcohol, underage drinking, drunkenness, sickness, food, blood, (off-screen) violence Characters: Virgil, Remy, Remus, Roman Universe: Painful Death for the Lactose Intolerant Rating: T+ Genre: Angstbachery 

Sanders Sides Teenager AU - Friendship - Humor - Angst

Virgil and Remus and Remy have been drunk idiots who are barely coping for a long time. Do you want more Teenage Debauchery? Because you’re getting teenage debauchery and a little angst, as a treat.

Please read Painful Death for the Lactose Intolerant First if you haven’t already- there are minor spoilers for it! This piece of history is referenced in Chapter 13.

Chapter 9: Nothing Happens to Virgil

   Virgil had a complicated relationship with house parties. He hated people and hated being around people. But there was some sad, pitiful part of him that wanted to be accepted by people. He wanted to be liked and to fit in and not always be the odd one out. So when Remy wanted to go to one, probably because there was also an enormous part of him that just wanted to fit in for once, Virgil pre-gamed. And he pre-gamed hard. Virgil wouldn’t touch the alcohol at a party. Remus got him a flask and he drank his own alcohol. Today was trash whiskey. Warm & straight, which is not an ideal way to drink trash whiskey.

   He still wore the nail polish to check Remus and Remy’s drinks, which they both appreciated, even if Virgil hounded them about it often. Remus seemed to like this party stuff. He usually fell into the role of party bouncer, and people liked having him around for that. He wished people could see how cool Remus was in the daytime, but at least he tended to get along with people at these things. Virgil rarely did. Remus was off talking about his guerrilla art installation with a group of girls who were curious about all the crochet around town. Remy was playing spin the bottle. Virgil was interested in playing, but he wasn’t kissing-strangers drunk. He wasn’t actually sure if he could get kissing-strangers drunk because he was pretty fucking faced at this point. He did try, though.

   Virgil leaned against the wall because without the wall he wasn’t sure he could stand up straight and hitting is room-temperature garbage whiskey watching them play spin the bottle. He was getting a little dizzy and probably needed to dial it back. Virgil twisted back on the small cap and slid it in his hoodie pocket. He never trusted it in his back pocket while drunk. People could twist off the cap and do something.

   “Hey,” a very, very tall guy who was suddenly standing next to him said. Where did he come from and how is the tall so a thing?

   “You… are a mountain of a tall. I wanna climb you, I bet I can see the whole party up there,” Virgil said brightly. “Where did you come from Mr. Mountain-tall man?”

   “I’ve just been floating around. I saw you at a party last week with that big guy. You were wall-flowering with him like you are now,” He said smoothly, leaning back into the wall and sliding his hands into his jeans pockets.

   “Yeah, he’s talking about his art stuff with some girls… Why? You better not be here to insult him I’ll have you know-” Virgil held up his finger and rambled at him.

   “Woah, woah, tiny thunder, I didn’t say anything. So you’re here alone?” He asked casually and sipped his drink.

   “Fer now, yeah. You know who I really wanna climb? Bigfoot. That bitch is ta~all,” Virgil drawled and lolled his head back on the wall, he was feeling a little sick. He needed food. Remy said something about pancakes earlier and they were all he could think about food-wise. He was pretty certain there were chips in the other room but wall. Virgil rolled his head against it because it felt good.

   “So, you like tall guys?” He asked lazily, staring at Virgil while he rolled his head against the wall.

   “Do you see me? Everyone is tall. And I’m not gay,” Virgil growled and smacked his head against the wall trying to stand up straight, but he possibly was no longer capable. He needed water maybe but he finished his bottle of water and didn’t feel like refilling it. He’d have to hunt down a filter and yuck. Effort.

   “You are little,” The guy hummed.

   “Don’t fucking call me little, asshole,” Virgil hissed angrily. He managed to stand up straight with fury. The guy was laughing, but Virgil didn’t get why. Virgil looked at him incredulously for a moment and looked over to check on Remy. Remy was spinning the bottle and Virgil felt awful for some reason. He braced himself on the wall and swallowed hard. Remy got up and went off with Roman of all people and Virgil felt even sicker. He held his stomach and tried to breathe through the sickness against the wall.

   “You are absolutely trashed, huh?” He asked, sounding amused.

   “I am very much so, yes,” Virgil chuckled weakly. He didn’t want to think about what they were doing. “So, like, what do you think happens when you die? Do you think ghosts are real? I like the idea of there being ghosts,” Virgil said airily, still feeling absolutely sick to his stomach but mostly distracted from what he just saw. “I should really eat food,” He added and held his stomach.

   “I’ll come with you to get chips,” He said, looking at Virgil oddly.

   “No, I like the wall. I don’t want chips, I want pancakes. Or waffles. I hear the ingredients are similar, but they just hit different, right?” Virgil collapsed a little against the wall. Remy and Roman came back and he glared at Roman. Roman didn’t seem to notice him, though. He looked like he was on cloud nine. Fucker. He better not try to steal Remy away. He had to show Remy he was better somehow. Virgil glowered at him.

   “What are you mad about now, short stack?” He chuckled, looking at Virgil and reaching over to ruffle his hair. Virgil tried to knock his hand away, but Virgil was either too drunk or the mountain-tall man was really fucking strong because he had no effect.

   “My lack of pancakes,” Virgil grumbled and tried to fix his hair, but maybe he didn’t do that great of a job. He pulled up his hood instead of trying any further to fix it.

   “What’re you drinking, little guy? I’ll top you up,” The tall-tall dude offered. Maybe he wasn’t that tall. Maybe Remus was taller. Virgil was too drunk for spatial reasoning.

   “Nothing,” Virgil grumbled. “Too drunk. Wanna get pancakes for Remy,” Virgil said stoutly. “And a nap. I’m tired. I want pancakes and I wanna go to bed. Where’s Remus?” He whined petulantly and the guy laughed again, and it was kind of a weird laugh. “What’s so funny, bitch?”

   “Bitch, huh?” The guy said darkly and moved closer to Virgil. “How about you come with me and I’ll get you some pancakes?” He asked and tugged at Virgil’s hoodie string playfully.

   “You mean it?” Virgil looked up to him in excitement. Remy wanted pancakes! He wanted pancakes! Pancakes! “Uh, wait, how are we getting them?” Virgil asked, realizing he was talking to a stranger at a house party where drinking was involved. Very involved. So drunk. No pancakes here.

   “We’ll take my car,” He played with Virgil’s bangs now, and Virgil once again failed to smack his hand away, but it was whatever. His bangs were probably already a mess.

   “I don’t ride with drunk drivers,” Virgil said firmly, making a face at him.

   “I’m not drinking. See a cup in my hands?” The guy held out his hands and moved closer to Virgil. “No drinks. Does my breath smell like it?” The guy leaned down and exhaled in Virgil’s face. He didn’t back off after that. He was weirdly close for a stranger. People didn’t normally get that close to Virgil. There was probably a reason for that. Something in him was vibrating angrily. It was probably just the alcohol?

   “Uh, no, it’s weirdly minty, actually. Smells almost like a candy cane,” Virgil said, surprised. “Okay, then. Lemme get Remy so we can get pancakes! Remus doesn’t normally get to talk to people so I don’t wanna bug him. Will you bring us back here? He probably wants some, too,” Virgil smiled up at the guy happily.

   “We can bring back pancakes for both your friends, it’s fine,” The guy grinned.

   “No, Remy deserves them fresh!” Virgil whined, trying to get up off the wall, but the guy pushed him back down.

   “We’ll hurry back, they’ll still be hot,” He hissed and Virgil furrowed his brow at him.

   “Remy wants pancakes!” Virgil said loudly. Wow, when did this guy end up in his face?

   “We’ll get him pancakes. Come on, the sooner we go to get pancakes, the sooner you can bring them back to your friend,” The guy said, grabbing Virgil’s shoulder.

   “Ow! Don’t grab so hard, shithead,” Virgil said angrily and shoved off the guy’s hand. It took a lot of effort and the guy helped him stand back up straight. “Sorry. Just be fucking careful,” Virgil grumbled.

   “What, you don’t like it rough?” He cackled.

   “No! Does anybody like it that rough? You might have fucking bruised me,” Virgil muttered. “Sorry,” Virgil said weakly. “I don’t feel good,” Virgil rubbed his head and moved to hold his stomach again.

   “I’ll help you to the bathroom, how about that?” He offered, sounding annoyed.

   “It’s whatever, lemme just get Remy, pancakes’ll help,” Virgil said resolutely. “Um, we’re still getting pancakes, right?” Virgil looked up to him sheepishly.

   “Yeah, sure, whatever. Come on, I’ll show you to my car,” The guy grabbed Virgil’s arm.

   “Sweet,” Virgil cheered. “Remus! I’m heading out! Be back! Come on, Remy, pancakes!” Virgil called as the guy tugged at Virgil’s wrist.

   “Shit,” The guy hissed and started pulling Virgil along, but Virgil was thrown off balance and fell to the floor.

   He was really fucking dizzy now, and his nose hurt. He didn’t think he could get up and his head was swimming. There was some kind of muffled noises he couldn’t place around him because his ears were roaring with dizziness. He slowly moved to hold his head and try to stop the awful spinning. He felt Remus’s hand on his back for a moment, but it disappeared. He was just so fucking sick. He drank too much. He considered just sleeping right here. Floor was nice. Helped with the dizzy. Grounding. Hah. Virgil groaned into the hard floor.

   There was a new hand on his back this time. Remy. Remy’s hand. He liked Remy’s hand. Remy tapped at the hand over his ear and Virgil moved it for him, gripping the floor instead.

   “V, are you okay?” Remy asked, sounding freaked out. Was something happening?

   “I drank too much,” Virgil mumbled into the floor. “’Vrythin’ okay?” Virgil slurred.

   “Here, I’ll help you up,” Remy said, sounding concerned.

   “No, floor nice,” Virgil whined in objection.

   “V, this is a stranger’s floor at a house party,” Remy tapped at Virgil’s shoulder.

   “Oh. Okay,” Virgil conceded, and Remy reached under him to help him sit up against the wall. “Hey,” Virgil drawled and smiled when he saw Remy’s face.

   “Were you drinking anything?” Remy asked, sounding almost in a panic.

   “Nah, too drunk. Stopped drinkin-in-in-in’,” Virgil trilled. “I found a dude to take us to get pancakes,” Virgil said excitedly. “Pancakes!” He cheered. “Remember, you said you wanted them? I found a guy, we can pan the cake,” Virgil grinned widely.

   “Um,” Remy said, rubbing the back of his head.

   “Did he fucking touch you, V?” Remus sat down in front of Virgil, and he looked pissed.

   “Uh, who?” Virgil cocked his head. “Oh, Remus, you want pancakes? I was gonna go get them with Remy, didn’t want to distract you from arty-art-art,” Virgil said happily.

   “You can pull me away any time, dude,” Remus rubbed his head. “You’re okay, right?”

   “I’m too ducking frunk,” Virgil nodded. He processed what he said and cackled at his own words. “Pancakes will help. Where’s the pancake dude, anyway? He was right here a second ago,” Virgil slurred lightly, looking around, but he moved his head too quickly and had to hold his head. “Ugh,” Virgil groaned.

   “He, um, he left,” Remy said, looking around nervously, staring Remus in the eyes. Remus still looked really mad, but Remy glared and mouthed something at him and Remus softened. Virgil had absolutely no idea what was happening and rubbed his face instead.

   “How about some fresh air, V?” Remus asked, sounding upset. Was Remus okay? Remus smiled at Virgil and it was a good smile and maybe Virgil was overreacting. He tried to move his legs, but they didn’t seem to want to listen to him.

   “I think my legs are jelly,” Virgil giggled, poking at them.

   “Ro! We’re waiting in the car!” Remus called out.

   “What? Why?” Roman called back from across the room through the noise.

   “Virgil’s sick, fuckhead!” Remus shouted back angrily.

   “Ugh, fine,” Roman walked over across the room, around the couch and over to them. “When was your last drink?” He asked impatiently.

   “45 minutes ago, probably,” Remus said. “Been distracted and never got a refill,” He added offhandedly.

   “Fine, text me when you’re sober enough to drive. I was about 20 minutes ago, so you’re designated,” Roman said in a huff.

   “Gee, way to be sensitive,” Remy drawled. Roman jumped like he hadn’t noticed Remy there and turned bright red for some reason before he ran off. “Ha! Dork. It was just a kiss. Your brother is weird,” Remy rolled his eyes and Virgil’s stomach turned again. Virgil groaned and held it. 

   “He is fucking weird. Okay, V, I’m gonna carry you,” Remus said, slowly reaching out. Virgil didn't feel ready to be moved but also didn't want to stay here.

   “Ream, are you okay?” Virgil gasped when caught sight of some blood on Remus's knuckles.

   “It’s not mine. Come on,” Remus said and picked up Virgil off the floor, carrying him carefully in his arms, Virgil hanging limply with his head pressed against Remus’s chest while he carried him out. Remus was always so warm. “You holding up okay?” Remus asked carefully.

   “Yeah. I’m sad we don’t get pancakes,” Virgil grumbled.

   “You have toaster strudels, buddy, that’s even better,” Remus suggested quietly.

   “Oh, shit, really?” Virgil brightened. “Remy, do you want some toaster strudels?” Virgil asked excitedly.

   “Um, yeah… that sounds good, V,” Remy said awkwardly, looking away.

   “Are you okay? You’re acting weird,” Virgil said and yawned tiredly as Remus set him down in the back seat of Remus’s car.

   “Am I okay?” Remy shot, then shook his head for a moment, exhaling in frustration. “Yeah. I’m fine. How about you lie down?” He asked Remy climbed in on the other side and Virgil tiredly shifted to lay his head in Remy’s lap. “Are you comfy?”

   “Very. Want the radiator,” Virgil said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

   “I won’t fit back there with you, V, I’d rather you lie down,” Remus said, closing the car door to the driver’s side seat and sitting sideways by throwing his legs up on the bench.

   “You guys are acting funny,” Virgil sighed sadly. “Is it ‘cuz I drank too much? I’m sorry,” Virgil said weakly. “I wanted to join, but couldn’t work up the, uh, nerve,” Virgil muttered.

   “No, it’s fine,” Remy said softly, putting his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “It’s okay, I was sick of that party anyway. Maybe we should have stayed home tonight,” Remy sounded really upset.

   “Aw, you didn’t get to do the friend thing? Remus talked to some people! I saw, it was awesome,” Virgil said cheerily but was cut off by a yawn.

   “They were just trash people,” Remy said bitterly. “It’s whatever,” He waved his hand dismissively.

   “I’ll fight whoever hurt you!” Virgil shot, holding his fist in the air.

   “Woah, settle down, babe,” Remy said, slowly lowering Virgil’s arm. “Nobody hurt me,” He clarified. Remus was grumbling in the front seat. “You too,” Remy said pointedly to Remus.

   “It’s hard not to be pissed, Rem,” Remus grumbled, crossing his arms.

   “Did those fuckers say something mean?” Virgil narrowed his eyes in indignation.

   “No, buddy, it's all good now,” Remus rolled his eyes. “I can take care of myself and they liked my art installation. They weren’t down with the message. But I’ll take the win,” Remus said flippantly.

   “Aw, it’s a good message,” Virgil whined tiredly.

   “It is,” Remus nodded, looking much more pleased.

   “Which installation did they see?” Remy asked and Virgil blinked a few times, struggling to keep them open. Closing eyes while dizzy was usually bad, and he didn’t want to risk it.

   “The dragon one. I’m working on another part to it, but this one is bigger,” Remus explained, though he sounded weirdly distracted and was looking at Virgil. Virgil rubbed his eyes again. He was just so dizzy. Remy’s lap was nice, though. Having Remy’s hand on his shoulder was kind of grounding. It wasn’t as warm as Remus’s but it was just so strangely comforting. He never wanted it to leave.

   “Will the new installation have the same message?” Remy asked, rubbing Virgil’s arm slightly. The motion seemed like it would be an awful idea, but it felt so nice instead of bad.

   “Kinda. This one is more ‘life is short’ than the original,” Remus explained, but it seemed kind of distant.

   Virgil yawned again and closed his eyes. The world was spinning either way, so it didn’t seem like it would hurt to just rest his eyes a bit. Remy probably had him. Remy’s lap was so nice. He wanted to live there. Remy and Remus were still talking, but it was all just too far away to make out now. Maybe he was falling asleep. That would be nice. He wouldn’t have to be dizzy anymore if he was asleep. He still kind of felt Remy’s hand rubbing his arm, and he focused on that until he drifted off properly.

((note: I am not tagging on this chapter due to the major warning))

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Local Teen Unaware of how Weird Family is, Local Goth Decides To Go All In and Learn Magick, Exhausted Teens Do Fun Dumb Teen Stuff 

It was the day after they’d taken down Skulker, and Tucker had to collect up the armor.  Danny helped him, of course, and he flew home with some help from his favorite ghost boy.  They landed in Tucker’s room, and Tucker gave Danny a hug as soon as the suit was set down.  Danny returned to his warmer flesh and blood self and hugged him back before they got to work searching for a port to plug Tucker’s laptop into.  Thankfully even the dead respected the U in USB and they manage to connect. Before long, however, Tucker’s mind wanders from his code-breaking program that’s now hard at work with Skulker’s head and to his situation with Sam.  And considering what all he’d learned about Danny’s family so far, he might as well ask. “Danny do you have access to transparent solar panels?”

“Yeah, all the windows at Fenton Works are solar panels - I think they run at uh 50% efficiency.  Why?”

“Danny, that’s like, the exact last piece I need for my solar-powered car design.”  Tucker was tempted to inform Danny of how amazing that fact was, but he knew Danny wasn’t a fan of being extraordinary, so he’d let it slide for now.  “Now I just need some way of building it.”

“Well, you have the design itself saved right?”

“Yes…”  Tucker wasn’t sure where this was going, but he was hopeful that it’d be a place he liked.

“We can just print out the design at my house?”  Danny shrugged, as though that was obvious and the most simple thing in the world.  “We have like, a pretty big 3D printer, it’s uh modular, and we use scrapped metal from junkyards that we liquified as filament.  We can print a car pretty quickly.”

Danny was going to say something that made Tucker fall completely in love with him one of these days, the idiot.  “Danny I need you to take me to this 3D printer.  Now.” Skulker’s head was left where they’d put it on his desk, the rest of the suit stuffed in Tucker’s closet, and the pair flew off to Danny’s house.

When they arrived at Fentonworks, they turned to one of the other buildings on the block and set down there, Danny taking the time to unlock the door and everything.  “So this 3D printer you guys have…”

“Well, Dad calls it the Fenton Fabricator.   See, there's a theory that went around a while ago when 3D printers and fabricators first started, it was the Recursive Loop Theory. It goes like this. You buy a 3D printer. Mid-range, sorta useful, but with enough detail and strength that you like it. But then you need something a bit more detailed. So you look online and you find a set of 3D models for a second printer. This one you can build on your machine, and with only some minor parts you can make the more detailed printer for a tiny fraction of what it would cost.”  

Danny took them to a set of stairs and Tucker was so focused on his friend he nearly missed all the art Danny’s ever done hanging all over the walls.  

“So, you can make more detailed parts. And you find designs for a bigger printer. It's modular and sorta rough, but it needs those detailed parts. So you can then build massive somewhat detailed pieces… and so you do. And now, with your 3 printers, you find designs to a fourth. Bigger, better, more detailed, it's another generation, and you can print it off your current designs. Boom, bam, rinse and repeat.  Eventually, your diminishing returns drop till you can’t make a more detailed printer, but at that point, you have one hell of a machine, particularly if you have a couple of crazy hackers building your final design as a custom project. Course, it’s not quite that easy. We had to fabricate a lot of weird and unique bits for them in other ways - well, my folks and their friends in the Secret Scientists did anyway."

“So the Fenton Fabricator?”

“Is a massive, customized high detail 3D fabricator that can even print metal and glass, yes.”  Danny turned on the lights as they entered a large underground workspace. Tucker saw the fabricator and felt he might’ve gone to heaven.  It was a massive aquarium tank, easily twenty feet from corner to corner and at least eight feet tall. Above it, hanging like a mechanical spider on segmented green and red limbs with shiny metal joints and points, was a motorcycle sized 3D printing extruder. Tucker could see a set of lasers for dust printing, a pair of high-heat high-speed extruders for wires, several dozen smaller legs with colors and specific grades of wire, all of which fed up and around the room to spools of plastic and cylinders of dusted metal.

“There are hidden parts in the walls with directed gravity manipulators and some arms kept out of the way until needed for assembly-based stuff.  I think Mom and Dad built a car or something down here recently. The canisters are all refilled completely.” Danny shrugged, moving around the lab and grabbing up papers - notes about what feeds to use, hints for setting things up.  “I can help you connect up and plug in your stuff - though you’ll have to leave it here so that the thing can print. If you’re legit making a car here, it’ll take about 2 days to finish printing it out at all, let alone assemble.”

“Danny, after I finish with that, we are so using this place for other projects together, do you understand me?”  Tucker saw doors that likely lead off to other rooms in the lab and wondered just how Much of Fentonworks there was.  “This is too amazing.”

“If you say so, bro.  Here, let’s get started.  I can help with setting up the print file.”

Sam had to say, going through the bs of school was beyond irritating when both of her friends were barred from the school until they could get around the weapons the Fentons were installing.  Paulina’s gratingly loud personality was especially difficult to tune out that day, and Sam found herself feeling proud of her self control in not throwing something at the shallow cheerleading idiot when she started going on and on about the upcoming spirit week.

Once school was out, Sam grabbed the board that Danny apparently made for her after he finished Tucker’s, though she wasn’t sure how, and put on her helmet.  New, magnetic boots planted firmly on the board, Sam pulled out her phone, put in the address of the Skulk and Lurk, and activated the Nav AI that Tucker had managed to make an app for to download.  “One of these days Tucker is going to overwork himself into an early grave.” Shaking her head Sam took off into the sky, and no amount of gothic reputation could keep the smile off her face or prevent her from cheering.  “Woooohoooo!” Who could possibly blame her? She was flying .  There was nothing more awesome than this that she knew of.

When she arrived, Sam had her board hover itself up to the roof, where it was less likely to get snatched by someone who thought it’d be cool to snag a hoverboard.  Walking into the store, Sam took off her helmet and grinned. The Skulk n Lurk was one part book store, one part poetry reading area, and one part coffee shop. It had the gothic, occult theme down pat with black, blue, and shades of purple being the only colors to be found around the store.  Heading straight into the books section, Sam managed to flag down an employee and nudged him in the arm. “Nice mohawk, Chris, I see you’re branching out.”

Chris turned around, hair dyed a brilliant blue and his clothes all pastel shades of purple and grey with a bat-shaped nametag pinned on his chest.  He smiled and elbowed her right back. “Yeah, just got it done the other day. How’re you holdin up, Sam? Parents still trying to push you into being a prep?”

“Such is my curse.”  Sam sighed and leaned heavily on Chris while he laughed.  “But, that’s not what I’m here for today. Think you can help me find some books on magick?”

“Cursing people is wrong, and will always go wrong for you, I hope you know that.”

Sam rolled her eyes, standing up straight.  “It’s not for cursing anyone, Chris, it’s for something else.”

“Hitting that cheerleader with a love spell is not the way to go about getting over your crush on her.”  Chris smirked and turned away from her, walking steadily while Sam scoffed and scowled at him.

“That’s gross on two fronts.  A love spell sounds ridiculously creepy, and I don’t have a crush on Paulina of all people.”  Sam made a gagging noise and Chris laughed yet again.

Ludicrous notions about cheerleaders aside, Chris lead Sam to a section about magick and left to go help another customer while Sam browsed.  She held her hand up, letting her fingers brush over the spines of the books as she read their titles and stilled. There was a vibration, warm and far more humid than any bookstore should be and humming so much like Danny and Agatha and even that piece of trash Grovsner did when she was close.  It was a feeling that she hadn’t really noticed until now that all of the ghosts she’d encountered shared, however few of those there were. The tiny hairs all over her arms and the back of her neck stood on end and Sam grabbed the book.

Roots, stems, rain, warmth, leaves, petals, heat, crushing cold, withering emptiness, life granting rain and growth .  Sam dropped the book and just barely bit off a loud swear, staring at the cover.  Magick: The Life Blood of the Earth.  “Well.  Danny can see weird shit, I guess I can feel it.  Being that close to the portal must’ve done something to me.”  Picking up the book slowly, Sam waited for any weird feelings to hit her again.  When none did, she grinned slowly. “Let’s see what I can do with that.”

Danny takes some of the time after fighting Skulker to relax at home, get his schoolwork done that was emailed to him, and figure out a plan for working around the school's new anti-ghost security system.  It had been two days already and he was coming up blank. Of course, it's at dinner that Danny thinks to ask his parents. "Hey Mom, you said the Fenton Finder works by keeping track of a ghost's ectosignature, right?  What is that, exactly?" Jazz, as she standardly did when Danny instigated ghost-themed rants, looked as offended as one might have had their mother been described with every cuss word in the dictionary. She stabbed her chicken alfredo while holding this look for 5 continuous seconds without blinking.

Mom smiled wide and ecstatic.  "Well you see, Danny, an ectosignature is the frequency of electrical signals running throughout a ghost's body, shaping its form and directing its actions."

"Like brainwaves?"

“Exactly, hon!”  Mom reached into her pocket and pulled out a macaroon, which Danny devoured immediately.  “When a ghost manifests outside of the Ghost Zone, its ecto signature is a signal being broadcast from the Ghost Zone into our reality.  Since ghosts are 4-dimensional constructs made of exotic matter that of which exists beyond our standard perceptive abilities, a ghost can receive this ectosignature from just about anywhere on Earth or beyond.  Like the best cellular reception in the universe.”

“Like any signal though, an ectosignature can be tracked!  And that signal can be disrupted and blocked!” Dad only spoke in exclamation points Danny realized some time ago.  He waved his fork around in presentation at the blueprint that his mind had likely superimposed on the air next to him.  “The Fenton Thermos™ uses charged ectoplasm and what I’ve coined as Fentonite to isolate any ectoplasmic mass contained inside of it from its corresponding ectosignature by creating a four-dimensional enclosure!  The filthy ghost is still charged with the ectosignature though, there’s a centralized network of energy that allows the ghost to immediately take on its form after it’s released.”

“So the ghost is conscious within the thermos?”

Mom shrugged.  “As conscious as a ghost can be, sweety.  It’s not an actual person or anything, just a static imprint of what used to be a person’s thoughts.  Like an A.I.”

“The Fenton Finder™ used scanners specially made to detect ectosignatures that are on our satellites up in space!  It’s also how our security system works, though that works off of scanners here in the house!”

"So is there a way to track down ghosts by their specific ecto signatures?  If you can track the general signals maybe you can create a way to lock into a specific one."

"Mm, I suppose we could!  That'd be useful for tracking down that scum that attacked you and friends!  We've got the blueprints for the ecto signature scanner down in the lab somewhere if you wanna try the idea out, son!"

"Will do, Dad.  I'll tell ya how it goes."  Danny grinned around his chicken and pasta.  He had a game plan now. 

After dinner, Danny raced downstairs to print out the blueprint from the computer - his father stacked the blueprints in an infuriatingly chaotic way that Danny hadn't the patience to sort through - and then ran through the door on the left.  Behind it was a hallway into a tunnel, one that lead Danny to the alternative lab under the building right next to the house. Hopping into his wheely chair, Danny slid over the linoleum floor to his work table and laid down the blueprint.

"Alright, I can work with this.  A signal can be tracked, and it can be isolated.  Which means that My signal can be isolated and tracked specifically."  A smirk crossed his face. "Which means the scanners can be set to ignore my signal.  Perfect!"

Danny slid over to the laptop connected to a second Fenton Fabricator, glad that his parents were always thorough enough to make a back up of everything they did.  "This should be done in no time. Then Sam can help me test it and Tuck can- speak of the devil." Danny whipped out his phone and hummed, tilting his head at the simple message his best friend had sent him. 

FriarTuck: Hey Dan, almost fin breaking the security in Sklkr's suit.  Bout to crack this badboi open n make it mine. Muahahahaha! Hyd?

"Ugh, stars, I don't wanna think about that asshole."  Danny shot back a quick reply and set his phone down, finding a notebook he typically kept around.  Writing in a code only he, Tucker and Sam knew, Danny got everything down that he could. "Skulker has been a major set back in my plan to prove not all ghosts are evil to Mom and Dad, and a few other weird developments made themselves known.  I can now see everything in the lower intensity ultraviolet spectrum 24/7 instead of having to concentrate, as well as the electrical currents running through everything; I can somehow see my emotional connections with people I'm close with and use those connections to influence their emotions as well as read them clearer than other aurae."  He stopped, taking a breath and looking over what he'd just written. " Mierda , ain't that creepy?"  Danny pulled on his hair a bit while he wrote.

"Joining that on the list of creepy-ass things about Danny: I can reach across that link to everyone and pull on their love and affection and all that and use it to heal myself.  Stars, that's such a gross way to look at everyone's care for me. Just a fucking- a bandaid? A free trip to the nurse in a minute?"

Turning back to the parts being made, Danny huffed and dragged his nails against his scalp a touch too roughly.  "Physiological changes in my ghost occur when Tucker and Sam are in danger; Canines grow into fangs and according to Sam my voice starts to echo as though it's coming from everywhere.  Thankfully a check in Tucker's mirror proves that the changes are temporary. Reaction to my temperament? On that note: being a psychoreactive exotic material, the ectoplasm that makes up my ghostly body reasonably reacts instantaneously to my emotions, but it seems to be enhancing them as well.  It's either that or maybe puberty, but I have a feeling puberty doesn't make you violently angry at the slightest provocation and likely to turn any ghost you see into a splatter on the ground." Danny groaned, closing his notebook. "I fucking Executed Skulker. What the fuck? Why didn’t I just suck him into the thermos?"

A ding from his phone and Danny snorted.  

GardeningClaws: Hey Star boy, don't go angsting without us there to hug you.  We will know and you will pay the price.

"And what price is that, being buried in a pillow fort?"

GardeningClaws: do you know how many pillows I have in this house??  Do you think, like a fool, that I won't use them against you?

Danny laughed, sending a quick 'fair point' before heading to the door opposite the one into the house lab. Behind it was a room with rows of lockers, each holding three sets of suits.   Danny didn't need them though. At the far end, there was a large octagonal metal rim, blast doors sealed shut within.

Opening it up to just the right coordinates, Danny watched the doors pull back and felt the building charge of the portal's startup.  For a fraction of a second, Danny was filled with a bone-deep fear that gripped his entire body and held him stock still. With a thunderous crack, the fabric of space-time was folded around and torn, and Danny relaxed, staring out at an expanse of white and grey.  Opening the blast door, he let the void fill him up and spread outward to chill his bones and freeze his veins. Skin blue, eyes and freckles green and his fluffy hair snow-white, Danny flew past the event horizon and gasped silently at the sight before him.

The moon is so much more beautiful when you can look with your own eyes instead of through the lens of a helmet visor.

Sam, smartest of the group that she was, called Danny and Tucker both to head to her house for a horror movie marathon.  “After what we’ve been through, none of these B rate movies are gonna scare us.” It was so close to inarguably true that the boys both shrugged at their phones and headed on over.  Danny came down from the sky in that space where everything was heat and impossible colors, everything around him highlighted in a panorama view that almost made him dizzy. Landing in an alleyway, Danny checked to make sure he didn’t see anyone around him and took a deep breath.  He folded himself up, cold edges practically trapped within him tugged and bent until the brilliant moonlight that bled from his form retreated into the center of his chest, light and freezing cold as it hummed in an offbeat pulse next to his heart.

Pulling the hood of his jacket over his head, Danny jogged out of the alleyway and down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.  He looked around the neighborhood properly and hummed, wondering how he never put together that Sam was rich when the address she’d given them ages ago was very obviously in the rich part of town.  “Stars, we’re really just that oblivious aren’t we?” The stars in mind, Danny cast his gaze up and smiled at the full moon that greeted him, counting the tiny dots of the stars around it while he walked.  Thankfully, his odd kaleidoscopic vision seemed to extend to his human form a bit and his foot froze mid-step as a car drove past him at an intersection. “Sweet mother of the gods, why can rich people not drive right?”

When he got to the gates of Manson Manor, Tucker was there typing away at his phone.  When he looked up Danny waved and grinned, pointing a thumb at the huge mansion behind the gate.  “This is ridiculous.”

“It’s just so much .  Why does anyone need that much space?  How do they keep it clean?”

“If I meet some butler named Alfred I’m going to eat your hat.”

“Are you sure you wanna make that bet, Danny?  This is looking Batman-ish.”

The gate opened up before Danny could respond to that and instead, he nudged Tucker’s side before jogging toward the door.  Sam was there, opening it before Danny could trip on nothing and faceplant into the mahogany or whatever expensive wood the door was probably made from, and he instead landed on a soft carpet.  Tucker nudged his foot with his shoe and Danny groaned, resigned to simply laying there for the rest of his life. Two pairs of hands lifted him up from the ground however and Danny laughed, getting up properly.

“You can’t just let me wallow in my shame in peace, can you?”

“Of course not,” Sam scoffed.  “If you’re going to be ashamed, I have to be there to make sure it’s appropriate.  Now, c’mon!” Sam dragged Danny down a few halls, and up some stairs, followed closely by Tucker.

“I need to make a map of this place so we don’t get lost the next time we come to visit,” Tucker muttered, and Danny nodded.  When Sam opened the door she was headed for she let Danny go and grinned at them like a cat that’d eaten the canary. Walking in, Danny felt his jaw drop and took a moment to soak in what he was seeing.  “You have an entire movie theater in your house?”

“I know, it’s grossly excessive and we absolutely don’t need it, but-”

“Sam, what the heck are you talking about?”  Danny waved a hand in the goth’s face and snorted when she swatted at him.  “This is awesome! We can marathon every Dead Teacher movie here and it’ll be like when we went to see it in the actual theaters but better !”  Danny pulled down his hood and hopped over one of the chairs - of which there were two whole rows - and plopped himself into the soft cushioned seat with a laugh.  “The only thing that could make this room better would be if you had movie snacks.”

“Well, good thing I have a popcorn machine right back there full of fresh popcorn, a cotton candy machine, and ordered us pizzas.”  Sam grinned, sitting next to Danny with a bowl in hand full of greasy buttery popcorn, and Tucker sat on his right. “What should we watch first?”

Halfway into Dr. Sleep, the pizza arrived and three laughing teens had to pause the movie and pull themselves together from the heap of giggles that they’d become.  “Oh, oh stars, that hurt , laughing so much hurts!”  Danny leaned on Tucker while Sam leaned on him, the bowl of popcorn practically forgotten next to Tucker.  After a few minutes, Danny took a deep breath and patted his friends on the back. “I can grab the pizza - I can fly, so unlike you two I can actually go and be back before the things are cold.”  Before either friend could protest, Danny let the shimmering void of silvery dark cold spread out from the center of his chest to every hair on his body in a flash of light. He slipped through Sam and Tucker like water through the air and flew off toward the red aura of the pizza guy, diving to transform behind the front door when he appeared outside.  In just a moment he was back inside and setting three pizza boxes down on the snack table. “I see we got ourselves a meat-lovers for Tuck, a veggie everything for Sam, and-” Danny gasped. “A dragon’s tongue pizza for me! Aww, Sam~”

“Oh stuff it you goof,” Sam said as she and Tucker grabbed slices and plates.  “I just knew that you’d complain your pizza isn’t spicy enough unless it has ghost peppers, reaper peppers and every other kind of spice known to man and dolphin on it.”

Tucker rolled his eyes, already scarfing down his first slice.  “Dolphin? Really?”

“Dolphins are the closest animals to humans in behavior and observed intellect, Tucker.”  Danny took the time to go through three slices of pizza while Sam ranted about how dolphins might as well be classified as non-human people before pointing accusatorily at her.

“There is nothing wrong with my sense of taste, thank you.  Anyone with a strong enough tongue can handle this pizza, Sam.”  Danny took a bite to emphasize his point and smirked when he was flipped off.  “I’ve just got the strongest stomach here.”

“ Excuse you? ”

“Unlike you, I can eat veggies without my stomach declaring a mutiny.”

“Um, go fuck yourself?  That was the lowest of all low blows, I am utterly betrayed !”  Tucker covered his forehead with the back of his arm and half fell backward.  “Truly, my trust has been shattered by mine own brother, how could you? And I’ll have you know that the amount of capsaicin you consume is well beyond what any human being should have in their body.”

“Funny, I’m pretty sure I’m not human.”  Danny paused mid-chew, ignoring the look of disgust on Sam’s face over the two of them talking around their food.  “I wonder… what smaller changes like that might be going on because of my ghost? Like, regular puberty is already horrible enough but now I’ve got like, ghost puberty to deal with.”

“First of all, ghost wise, you’re baby.”  Danny pouted at Tucker, feeling mildly offended.  “You haven’t even been half-dead for a whole year yet, you’re baby.”

“Tucker, can you be reasonable for one moment?”  Danny nodded, gesturing to Sam, who was clearly the only one with her head on straight between them.  “Danny is always baby, not just because of his ghost.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Danny rose up in front of the movie screen, less crossed in the air as he frowned down at his friends.  “I am offended, I am revolted, I dedicate my life to our lord and savior Jesus Christ and this is the thanks I get?”

“I wonder,” Sam said loudly as she walked toward his pizza box.  “What it would taste like if I put cotton candy on your pizza?” Danny dove for his pizza box, nearly crashing into Sam as he grabbed it up and flew toward the ceiling.  He flipped upside down and stood with his feet to the ceiling, grinning down at his friends. Carefully opening his box he took out a slice and stopped.

“Sammy that is a wonderful question!”  Gravity shifted, reasserted itself in the correct direction, and Danny flipped with it, landing in front of the cotton candy machine.  He dipped his pizza slice into it and smirked at the despaired wail of his friend while he ran away from her, munching away at his unholy pizza slice.  “This is so sad, Alexa-”

“You don’t think I’d have Alexa in my home, do you?  First you defile my cotton candy, now you insult my common sense?  Do me a favor and parish.”

“Been there, done that.”

“As amazing as all that is, I was wondering something about you, Danny.”  Danny flew over to Tucker, landing on his shoulders with a snicker. “So like, can you do that thing from the movie?  Like, turn your head all the way around like an owl?”

A wide grin spread over Danny’s face and he set his food down on the table, before pulling the void up and out and around himself.  Bright silver light illuminated Tucker and cast odd shadows on his face. To think about later.   Danny turned his head slowly, cautious of being wrong, and almost stopped when he heard the pop of the joints in his neck.  Still, he kept going until he was looking at Sam’s gaping face right behind him.  He raised a hand to give her a thumbs up and winced at the sound of more popping joints - though, fascinatingly enough… “None of this hurts at all.”

“Well now I gotta see you spider-walk up the walls, that’s just the natural result of you showing off like this, Danno.”  Turning his head the rest of the way around, Danny saw Tucker’s phone pointed at him and snorted. “Dude this is wicked !”

“Oh my gods, we have to time you, hold on.”  And like that, Danny was doing laps around the walls and ceiling, reversed on all fours while Sam timed him and Tucker recorded.  When he dropped back down to the two rows of seats, Danny crossed his legs behind him with a hum.

“Anything else y’all wanna test?”  Tucker raised his hand and Danny let his gaze slide from Tucker himself to the brilliant yellow-gold-grek air around him.  “I’m going to regret hearing out this question, aren’t I?” Tucker nodded, his grin widening and the grek in his aura growing brighter.  Danny sighed and pointed at his brother.

“Can you possess people?  Cause that would be pretty fuckin cool.”  Tucker T posed as if that would help Danny with the wave of discomfort that crashed over him at the idea.  “How would you know? Go ahead, try me. See if you can like, take me over.”

Danny drew the darkness back into his chest, warmth and the beat of his heart and the weight of gravity tugging relentlessly against him like countless invisible chains made themselves known to him.  Digging in his pocket, Danny pulled out a coin, looking at Tucker with as much seriousness on his face as possible. “Heads I tell you to yeet your PDA into the cotton candy, tails I try to possess you.”  Danny flipped the quarter and caught it in his open palm. He took in a deep breath through his nose, and let it out the same way. “Shut.”

Slipping back into the void, Danny stared at his Tposing best friend and considered just how he was supposed to do what he had asked.  The only thing that made any sense, of course, was to slide even deeper into the void. Light and sound and even the air circulating through the room all faded away and the world shifted like a gradient scale from Xtreme Indigo to a deep dark blue sprinkled with green that lit up the empty world in bands, rivers, and threads that Danny could’ve stared at for the rest of his life and probably never grown tired of.  The only constants were the gold and green aurae at the ends of silver threads that shone like solid moonlight. Danny dove for the golden light and dipped a hand in where he guessed Tucker’s head was. The silver thread practically yanked him in, and Danny sank into a desert of yellow and glittering light.

In the next instant, he was blinking unfamiliar eyes, falling out of a dumb pose he hadn’t taken, stumbling on legs longer than he was used to and warmer than he’d been in months.  “Holy shit.” Danny held out his - Tucker’s hands and turning them over each other again and again. He took a few testing steps forward and back, turning and stretching every way he’d ever seen Tucker move, and felt a laugh bubble out of hi-Tuck’s mouth.  “Sam holy shit!”

Sam was staring at Tucker-Danny like he was the most out of this world thing she’d ever laid eyes on and she wasn’t sure how to react to him.  The cheer of figuring out yet another ability dimmed at the sight of her expression and what might’ve been horror was building itself up in his chest.  Then Sam schooled her expression and pointed at him. “You sound the way you do when the two of you are speaking in unison.”

“I feel like I’m wearing a costume that doesn’t fit right, I’ll be honest about that.  Stars, Tucker’s vision is horrible.”

“Alright, that voice thing is actually getting annoying, can you like, leave him now?”  A moment of silence passed, the room growing incredibly small and Sam stepped closer. “Danny, you can leave Tucker’s body now, right?”

“Gimme a second, Sam, I didn’t know I could go into him in the first place.”  Danny huffed and closed his eyes. He focused on what was different and wrong about being in Tucker’s body instead of his own, thought about floating upward to the surface of a large body of water, the moon coming to his mind’s eye and he reached for it.  There was a solid kick at the edge of his shadows, golden sands rising up and filling the empty space to push him up and out toward the moonlight and-

Danny flopped onto the ground face first, sensing a trend of him faceplanting on Sam’s floor, and Tucker let out a loud gasp.  “Holy balls, that was weird as fuck !”  Danny flipped around onto his back, letting his own familiar warmth and heartbeat fill his senses before he looked up at Tucker and found him wiggling his fingers and toes.  “It was like blacking out or something. I had the weirdest dream where I was like, I dunno, made of fire or something?”

“It was a lot of weird, hard to describe feelings on my end but mostly like a suit that doesn’t fit right.  Like, I know what my body feels like and that wasn’t mine, ya know?” Sam and Tucker nodded and while Danny knew they had absolutely no idea what he meant, it was relieving all the same.  Standing up, Danny reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the scanner he’d printed earlier. “By the way, I made something that’ll help me get back into school.”

Tucker, without missing a beat, said, “That sounds like a horrible evil device.”  Sam snorted and Danny nodded. “What does it do?”

Danny launched into an explanation of what he’d learned about ectosignatures and his idea for tricking the security system at school.  “Also,” Danny added when it came to mind, “the car should be done printing in my basement by now.”

“Wait, you not only finished designing it but also started making it?”  Sam looked between them with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean printing?”

“The Fenton Fabricator™ is a giant, modular, high detail 3D printer that can make complex metal technologies - like our hoverboards.  The first 3D printed car took a couple of days and it wasn’t as complicated as this so I guessed about 48 hours.” Danny shrugged. “Probably done by now.”

“Isn’t that cool?”  Tucker practically had stars in his eyes.  “We can build anything in there, Sam!”

“Before that, we gotta get this ecto signature of Danny’s recorded."  Sam held up the scanner and Danny nodded. Things had to happen in the right order or things would go wrong.

Danny reached inside of himself and pulled the dark, endless space between space that rested within him out to wrap around him like a cool, relaxing blanket.  The extreme indigo of the world rose to an even more brilliant blue and purple that blended together and unwove from each other and wrapped around everything. Tucker shone from within with gold that glittered like desert sands and Sam was wreathed in the viridian green of the forests.  The threads between them were silver and thick as though woven from many. "I never need to take drugs cause all I need to do to get a trip is go ghost. I swear."

"Yeah, well, I think I have the reading on you right here.  Tucker, can you make any sense of this?" Tucker rolled over and stared at the data on the Fenton Finder remake.   After a moment of silence, Tuck started tapping away at his PDA ferociously. "I'm gonna guess that means yes."

"I can record this signal and have a filter to keep the school's system from recognizing you as a threat by tonight.  Think we can break in and do it then?"

"Probably," Danny shrugged, flipping a few times in the air.   "Ishiyama probably had them set the security system to an activation button or lever or verbal input.  They wouldn't want them to make something automatic in case a ghost was too close to a student."

"Fair.  Tomorrow night then?"  Tucker grinned as Danny tucked that blanket of not so empty empty space back into the very center of his everything and flopped onto his seat.

"Sooner I can tell my family we beat Skulker the better.  I don't like worrying them like this." Ever since his Spirit Vision or whatever got turned permanently on, Danny could feel the undercurrent of anxiety that ran through his family.  It made his skin crawl with the itch to make them all feel better and left a bitter taste on his tongue.

"Agreed, I can only keep this info from my parents for so long."  Sam sighed, rolling her eyes. With a grin she handed the scanner fully over to Tucker and ran a hand through Danny's hair, messing it up as much as she could.

Danny swatted away Sam's hand after a moment and sank further into the soft cushiony seat.   "Your chair is eating me, Sammy."

"You've been getting a healthier amount of meat on you, so yeah it might be."  Tucker was steadily getting engrossed in his task and Danny knew they had precious few seconds before he was completely lost to them so he decided now was a good time to be a dick. 

“So like, when the first hoverboard exploded and I put up a forcefield on a reflex we completely skipped over that cause of hyper-focus but like.  Should we talk about that?"

"You have protective instincts," Tucker mumbled, "and ghost stuff reacts to the deeper parts of your mind right?   So it's just you defending someone you care about."

"Which reminds me."  Sam poked Danny in the sides until he was squirming and giggling to get away.   "You're keeping like, a journal of all the things you can do right?"

"Mostly notes on what I learned about ghosts in general, like a bullet point list of the stuff that happened with Agatha and Skulker, and stuff but yeah.  I need to add ‘owl neck’ and ‘possession’ to my list of Things I Can Do."

“And what, pray tell, is on that list?”

"I can turn intangible or invisible, defy- no, actually, with what happened at the zoo I guess I can influence gravity, I can see all the radiation in the world, which is a trip lemme tell ya, I can apparently make a wall of ectoplasm?"  Tucker and Sam were staring at him for a long beat of silence before both were tackling Danny and pulling him into a big group hug. “I know, I’m awesome, but so are you guys and you should celebrate it.”

“Yeah, I am pretty awesome,” Tucker said with a grin.  “You guys are lucky to know me. I feel I deserve a reward for the amazingness I bring to this group.”  Tucker was promptly dropped by Sam onto the floor and Danny laughed.

“Another cool thing you can do is heal yourself and other people.” Sam poked Danny in the side until he was squirming away from her in that unreal state of being, slipping through her fingers like the space between air and flopped onto Tucker’s lap before solidity came back to him.  “That’s probably one of the coolest powers you have.”

“One day, Tucker is going to copy everything I can do, but with technology.”  Danny poked Tucker a couple of times and got his hand swatted away for his trouble.  “He’s already copied my language-”

“Spanish doesn't belong to you just because your dad is Mexican, Danny, try again.”

“And now he’s tryna say what’s mine isn’t even mine, can you believe this guy?”  Danny didn’t even try to hold in his laughter now, waving a hand emphatically in Tucker’s face.  “Next he’ll say I’m not the greatest ghost fighter in the world-”

“Your Mom.”

“Or the first boy to step foot on the moon-”

“Neil Armstrong - also, did you just say you walked on the m-”

“Or the unthinkable, like I’m not the very first Fenton that’s gonna be built like a brick house.”

“No no, you can’t just talk your way out of this one, Danny, you were on the moon? ”  Ah, Danny loved riling up his friends.

[pasteljeon]

Chapter 1: Peach Blossoms

Peach Blossom - Prunus persica is a plant garnering most of its fame for its association with the peaches of immortality in Chinese mythos that only arrived once every three thousand years. It harkens in the wedding season of spring with its sweet scent and hues likened to the soft color of a girl’s cheeks. Peach trees are grown throughout China and many parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine. It has always been associated with the sweetness of life and the journey that one must go on to find it. It seems that for the boys, this journey has ended.

➟ Based off this request: I’d like to request a multi-part fic with the reader being a solo!idol and the bts boys perhaps being big fanboy of hers? I’d love to see your take on this. I’d love some down and dirty smut too please! from @/stxrlxghtsora

➟ Summary: He was just a fanboy, they got dragged into it, and so blooms your love story.

➟ Pairing: OT7/Reader, non-idol!BTS, idol!Reader

➟ Warnings: *takes a deep breath* dom!reader, sub!jungkook, sub!jimin, blindfolds, edging, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, oral (male receiving), light bondage, unprotected sex (please use condoms), basically a jikook sandwich & you’re the meat

➟ Length: 5.4k

➟ In collab with @/sugarcookiesandsins - please give her some love! ♡♡

➟ Notes: welcome back to the first instalment of the smut portion of this series haha, we truly hope you all enjoy and we’d love to take any feedback/thoughts you guys have on this chapter! Another reminder that this is a collab, meaning it is a dual effort. Next part will be posted next Wednesday!

Prev. Next (links are still broken, please refer to my masterlist)

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Since that first day of recording, the boys had successfully managed to infiltrate your life. It seemed like they were no longer contest winners, but artists themselves with the way they passed through the front doors of the company on a daily basis. It also didn’t helped that they had become very good friends with your staff. Both Namjoon and Yoongi had brainwashed the producers into a minor collab and you found yourself staring at their faces behind the glass window in the recording studio. It still felt surreal to them that they were contributing to your music like this. Every word that they came up with flowed out your lips like art they would never get tired of hearing.

On the other side of the spectrum, Jungkook was turning into a familiar face in the studio, always being called in to practice the choreography so that both the shooting and the live performances would go smoothly. In the end, seeing how well the raw footage of the first shoot turned out, the CEO had decided to put Kyungin on hold for the promotions of the mini-album. You had just smiled in response at the announcement, not letting more emotion show than was necessary. Turning to the boys who were also present, you grinned at the light in their eyes.

“I guess we’re gonna be spending a lot more time together.”

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“Jungkookie!” He froze, one foot in his Nike sneakers, the other halfway tugged on. Jimin came bounding over, eyeing him and the duffle bag slung over his shoulder suspiciously. “Are you going back to the studio?”

“Ah, yeah,” Jungkook scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Manager-nim called me in for one final run before tomorrow’s performance.”

“You’re ditching movie night again?” Taehyung called, padding over with one arm cradling a large tub of vanilla ice cream. Jungkook smiled apologetically but could only shrug. “It wasn’t much of a movie night anyway. Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung are both at Slow Rabbit’s studio working on that new song for Tiger.”

“Wait - in that case, I want to come too!” Jimin exclaimed. Jungkook watched helplessly as the boy pitter pattered around the room, pulling on a black sweatshirt - likely Tae’s, given how it hung over the older’s slimmer frame - and pocketing his phone before trotting to meet him at the door happily.

“I’ll pass today,” Taehyung waved off the youngest’s wordless inquiry. “I’m not feeling that great, to be honest. I think I’ll just binge some Game of Thrones and sleep.”

“Aw, Taehyungie,” Jimin said sympathetically. “Drink lots of warm water and rest up. Get better soon.” The said boy nodded, still spooning dessert into his mouth as he stood at the entrance, waiting until they were out of sight before closing the door behind them.

He draped a thick blanket over himself as he wandered by the living room, setting the tub down and rubbing his eyes wearily.

“Well fuck,” Taehyung sighed as he climbed into bed. “That was my chance to see ___, too.”

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Jungkook entered through the front doors of your company with Jimin beside him. He only sent a nod towards the secretary who smiled back, all too familiar with his presence. He walked past the lobby promptly ignoring those that he did not know as he made his way towards the elevator. Jimin hadn’t said a word either, still partially lost in a daze as the reality still hadn’t quite hit him yet. Excitement and trepidation swelled in his chest. Yes he had been here before, both with the boys and alone. Yes, he no longer needed any verification to pass through the doors. Still, this was the place he had been dreaming about. It would take more than a couple days for it to sink in.

“Hey Jungkook. Think she’ll let me practice some moves too?” It was not a secret to anyone that Jimin still felt off about the fact that he didn’t get the opportunity to dance with ___ on stage, but it had subdued, slightly.

“I don’t know, hyung. If we have a little time, then yeah.” Jungkook really didn’t think so, but he did not want to ruin his hyung’s mood. He had been at his mercy once before and would to anything to avoid being in that situation again.

The elevator door dinged, indicating they had arrived in the basement where the studios were. Your laughter was already discernible among the chatter as noise floated out of the open door of your dance studio. They took a deep breath and walked in fully prepared for -

You turned over your shoulder to greet the boys as they walked in, seeing their reflections in the studio mirrors.

“Hello boys.”

- everything but this. They were prepared for everything but this.

As customary before strenuous exercise, stretching was the first order of business whenever you entered the dance studio. Still, you were not an innocent as you thought and decided to take  advantage of the fact that the boys would be walking in from the door soon. With your back to the entrance,  you were stretching with another one of the female dancers. Legs in a split as she pulled you forward. You weren’t lying flat on the floor, but it was just enough for your t-shirt to ride up and expose your backside, clad in some illegally tight leggings.

Jimin and Jungkook shared a nervous glance and swallowed, as they attempted to drag their gaze away from your figure. One went to the locker rooms to drop his bag off and the other to find a sport with the perfect view of both the floor and the reflection in the mirror.

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“You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?” Jungkook felt himself flush under your gaze, still hot and sweaty from the intense session as he laid sprawled on his back, chest heaving. You were similarly collapsed, lying close to his side. His heart thrummed in his ribcage. He swore your tone was edged with something sweet.

“Looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” His lips barely moved, voice hoarse. Your eyes softened, amber irises glowing lightly under the setting rays of the afternoon sun piercing through the windows.

“Like … that.” God, it was a dream. It must’ve been, with the way you stretched your arms out to touch his face. He knew his skin probably felt gross under the grime and layers of sweat coating his bronzed complexion, but you thumbed his cheekbone, peering into him searchingly.

“I …,” his mouth felt dry. He jerked away from you abruptly, sitting up as he turned to stare at the ground. “Ah, I’m not sure … not sure what you mean.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” Jungkook felt your heat move away, hurt faintly lacing your tone. “I’m sorry.”

“Ah - noona, no!” His fingers circled your wrist loosely before you could stand. He tugged you back gently, rubbing his neck shyly. “That’s … that’s not it.” He gulped, his grip trembling and cold. “I - I like it. A lot. I like you, noona.” He closed his eyes, hardly daring to breathe at his whispered confession. It seemed to echo in the empty studio, though he knew they had no witnesses, he dimly wondered how pissed Jimin would be once he heard what the youngest had done.

“Jungkook …,” He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, slowly shaking his head as he let go of you. “Um - sorry. Sorry. I’m sorry. That was highly inappropriate of me,” he said hastily, rising to his feet as he bowed to you stiffly, already two feet to the door. “I can - I can ask Jimin to replace me tomorrow. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” You whirled him around and he dropped his gaze instantly, unable to withstand looking into those penetrative orbs that housed your goddamn soul.

“Hey, look at me.” You coaxed him softly, tipping his chin up, though he refused to comply. You rested your forehead against his.

“I like you very much, Jungkook,” you said honestly. He made a strangled sound, shoving you away. “You’re - you’re lying right? There’s no way,” he stammered. This was too cruel. He slipped from your hold, ducking and scrambling toward the exit once more, grabbing his bag as he passed it.

“Jungkook.” Your tone was firm, unwavering. He dropped his bag the moment you slammed him against the mirrors. “N - noona.” His body reacted instantly, your smoldering gold eyes, your unyielding grip on his arms as you pressed them above his head. He tensed as you smiled down at him.

He made no move to resist as you leaned in, your eyelashes tickling his skin. The first dip of your head was light, tentative and testing, lips barely grazing his. You pulled back to see Jungkook melting into your touch, cheeks pink as he murmured shyly, “Please, noona.”

You kissed him tenderly, releasing him so he could wrap a hesitant arm around your waist and pull you closer. His heart was fluttering in his throat and he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries - where was the line drawn, anyway? - but you quickly dismissed any of his reservations as the kiss grew heated, his tongue tracing the seam of your lower lip.

“W-what about Jimin?” He tore his lips from yours, already panting heavily as his head spun. God, he could barely think.

“What about him?” You tilted your head curiously.

“He - he likes you too.” Oh fuck, Jungkook was going to get his ass beat for admitting this. But he had a feeling you -

A startled squeak had the two of you whipping your heads to the door, where a horrified Jimin was holding an armful of water bottles.

“Oh, haha,” he laughed awkwardly, already beginning to back away as his eyes darted to the side. Jungkook cursed inwardly when he saw the tears pooling though the older boy tried in vain to blink them away.

“Hyung, wait!” Jimin dropped the bottles, desperately searching for an exit as he clasped a hand over his mouth. He skidded through the empty hallways, picking turns at random. His head throbbed, heart twisting. Nothing registered but his laboured breathing and hiccups.

But Jungkook was always faster.

“Let - go!” Jimin struggled as Jungkook dragged him back. Tears that had welled at the corners of his eyes fell freely now and he busied himself by using his free arm to swipe at them angrily.

“Jimin. Shh, it’s okay.” He relaxed slightly when he heard your voice, cooing sweetly into his ear. He felt your hands cup his cheeks delicately and he sniffled.

“Noona,” he blubbered. “I like you - I love you, p-please don’t leave me alone!”

“Jimin, baby, never.” He kissed you back hard, pulling you flush to his body as you tangled your fingers in his thick locks. You smiled affectionately at him as you parted, lifting the hem of your shirt to dry the remainder of his tears.

“I want you,” Jimin gasped, half delirious already, completely forgetting that moments ago he had been trying to escape the image of you and Jungkook. He felt unbelievably hot where your skin met his, and would be willing to do anything to get rid of it. He even seemed to forget that Jungkook was watching all this go down from his end of the hallway as you were shoved against the wall, mouths meeting in a clash of lip and teeth that would one day go down in history.

You allowed him this small mercy, before every cell in your body screamed at you to take control. So you did. Smirking at the odd sense of deja vu, you grabbed his hip and spun your bodies around before locking his wrists against the roughness of the wall and slipping a thigh between his, already feeling the heat from his core touch yours. Against the fabric of your leggings, you could feel the bulge at the front of his jeans.

The dark-haired man looked on from afar as he remembered being held by you in the same position and the way your eyes looked down into his before you stole his voice from his throat. Then the red hot crept up from behind him as his wide eyes began to glare at the image before him. It should be him in that position, not Jimin hyung. Deciding that it was time to bring your attention back to him, he crept up behind you and nibbled on the shell of your ear, causing your own moans to mix with that of Jimin’s.

“Noona hasn’t forgotten about me right?” His voice was a low whisper, the perfect image of a dejected, lonely pet. Freeing up a hand, you reached behind your head to tug gently at Jungkook's hair while pulling away from Jimin. Immediately, his empty mouth latched onto your neck, fulfilling that promise he made to himself the first day he saw you. You gasped out a sweet assurance.

“I’ll never forget you, baby boy.” Your eyes closed in ecstasy as the feeling of two mouths tasting your skin. Even without knowing who was in front or in behind, you could tell from their actions. Jungkook came at you hard and fast, with more teeth pulling at your flesh. On the other hand, there was something softer about Jimin, more reverent as he worshiped you with his plump lips, caressing sweet spots you didn’t even know you had.

In a flash, you remembered where you were: not in the privacy of your dance studio. Using your remaining strength to push them away, you ignored their faces of shock before grabbing both of them and dragging them back to the studio. Once you were inside, you turned quickly and locked the door behind you, extra precaution against any nosy workers.

The boys were still lost in the high that you gave them, much to distracted by the blossoming marks on your neck to care about their reputations. They shared small glance, a silent agreement that this was ok. All of it would be ok, as long as they got you.

They came at you again, this time taking their shirts off in the five strides it took to reach your position. Their blood was rushing through their veins and pounding in their ears, rationality far too gone to care at this point.

You ran a hand down their chests, marvelling at the hard planes of muscle that contracted beneath your touch. Their bodies were chiselled to perfection, lithe and toned from years of strenuous training. They were both trembling, senses heightened and anticipation twisting in their stomachs as they arched into your palm.

“Behave, boys,” you murmured, nails digging into their soft flesh. They gasped aloud, almost in unison. You trailed your hand up to palm their erections, tugging at their balls gently.

“Fuck,” Jimin whined, canting his hips against you as he struggled to obey. Next to him, Jungkook looked like he was barely breathing at all, skin flushed as he tossed his head back and forth. Ah. He was a sensitive one. You licked your lips. So many possibilities.

You tweaked his nipple playfully, Jungkook crying out deliciously. He squirmed, voice breaking as he pleaded, “Noona, d-don’t tease me!”

“But it’s so fun, baby,” you crooned, squeezing his length through his sweats. Jungkook moaned, unable to resist from grinding into your hand.

“I’ll be good, noona, please!” He was at his wits end. This was a side of you he had only dreamed about existing, let alone experiencing. He had seen that attitude you gave off on set and in the dance practice, but he thought that it was a persona you followed for the theme. Seeing you with your silken words and evil smile, playing his body with well-practiced fingers, he could do nothing but submit.

Jimin on the other hand, was too obsessed with the collar of your t-shirt. Your face had been flushed a soft pink when he had taken advantage of you in the hallway. The pastel color had dipped under the neckline of the thin material, and he was wondering silently if you let him follow the color as far as it took him. Impatient to see you, he made grabby hands at the edge of your top. You wasted no time in shutting him down.

“Tsk. Tsk. Does Jiminie want to get punished?” The look in your eyes promised many things as you continued to tease Jungkook over the fabric of his pants with one hand and grabbing at Jimin with the other, staring dead into his brown irises. This made Jimin stop. He didn’t want to risk angering you, so he just avoided your gaze. “No noona. Please don’t punish Jiminie. He only wanted to see you.”

On the other hand, Jungkook saw what you were promising and decided that if he died under you, then he would die a happy man, so why hesitate? Avoiding your hands that were still caressing his bulge, he too proceeded to tug on your shirt. In surprise, you turned to him, eyebrow raised.

Still, the look he gave you in return, a shy half smile, that said more than words ever could told you exactly what he wanted and you were all too happy to oblige.

“Noona doesn’t like it when her boys don’t listen.” You gently raked your nails down their abs one last time before getting up and making your way towards the costume stand. You could feel their stares on your back as your fingers riffled through ironed jackets to find what you were looking for. Turning quickly, you hid the object behind your back before they could take a peek at what you were bringing out. You returned to kneeling before the two of them, Jungkook on your right and Jimin on your left.

You wanted to continue, but there were rules to be established first. Though you were quite assured they would be up for anything with the trusting gleam in their eyes, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

“Rule 1. If, at anytime, you want me to stop, for any reason, say ‘microwave’. Are we clear?” You were firm in your tone. You wanted to make this just as pleasurable for them, but you were not so acquainted with them - not enough to have a thorough understanding of their likes and dislikes, particularly in the bedroom. All you knew was that they would look oh so pretty tied to the headboard of your bed.

Jimin and Jungkook nodded, unable to say anything as the tips of their cocks rubbed against the fabric of their boxers causing some precum to leak out and soak the cotton. Their bodies were tense when your soft hand caressed their cheeks lovingly, eyes showing quelled lust as you established the law of the jungle.

“Rule 2 and Rule 3. You call me noona and you don’t cum till I say you can.” Now you were getting into the territory that caused their hearts to pump blood faster through their system.

“Yes noona.” They barely moaned out an answer as they felt your slim fingers leave their cheeks to trail teasingly down their chests, painted nails not forgetting to graze their pebbled nipples.

Pushing them down, you felt yourself dampen at the sight of them sprawled on the ground, peering up at you though half-lidded eyes. Their silky locks were mussed and they looked fucked out, chests rising and a sheen of sweat glistening on golden, bare skin.

“Tell me if you’re not okay with this,” you whispered, crawling to them until you hovered over Jungkook, a black scarf dangling from one hand. You pinched his inner thigh when you felt his member twitch at the sight. His eyes fluttered closed in anticipation, a soft noise escaping his throat as he propped his head up slightly to allow you to wrap it around him firmly.

Jimin inhaled sharply when you smoothed back the hair at his temple. “Are you going to be good for me, baby?” You swallowed his ghost of a yes as it touched your lips. You checked both boys, ensuring both blindfolds were secure, before sitting back on your heels.

Tugging at the waistband of their sweatpants, you quickly shimmied them off. Swinging a leg over Jungkook’s leg, you settled yourself lightly over thighs. Smirking, you blew gently at his length, relishing in the choked moan that resulted. A wet patch had already pooled at his tip, though you took pity on the poor boy who had begun squirming under your grasp. You freed his erection from the confines of his boxers, and bit your lower lip as it slapped lewdly against his stomach, leaking profusely. It was surprisingly longer than you’d expected, curved at an angle you knew would later prove to be your undoing.  

Jimin, on the other hand, was slightly shorter, though quite girthy. “So pretty,” you cooed. He flushed scarlet, precum beading at his reddened tip at your words. You filed that information away for later, though you should have picked up on it from the start - praise is the way to go. Then again, that wouldn’t be hard. Compliments came easy when you looked upon his form, flushed, needy, and completely under your control.

Taking it to the next step, you wrapped your hand around the base, squeezing to test his reaction. “Noona,” he nearly screamed out from the sensation. It was too much between feeling your soft thighs against his legs and your hand encompassing his member. You released your hold on him as you got up to go get something else you had seen among the fabric of your stage outfits. As you walked, you quickly ditched your own top and pants, the sudden cold near your core indicating just how excited you were.

The next object to be retrieved from the costume area was a white feather, salvaged from a stage costume of a past album. It was smooth and silky to the touch, individual strands thinner than you ever thought possible slipping in between your fingers as you tested the item. Once the blindfolds were in position, the boys felt their other senses heighten, yet they were unable to make out anything other than the shuffling of your body against the floor.

The boys were alone in the silence, unable to prepare for what came next as their ears could only hear shallow breaths echoing off the walls of the studio. Jungkook was the first to writhe as he felt something soft trace the edge of one nipple, sending shockwaves up to his brain. “Please don’t tease Kookie, noona. He’ll be a good boy. He’ll be your good -.” His words were swallowed in a moan as you switched out the feather for your hands, rubbing his swollen nipple between the pads of your fingers.

“I know you’ll be good baby. You want to make noona happy, don’t you?” You allowed him one more caress before you transferred the feather to your other hand, intent on hearing the same beautiful music from the older boy.

Jimin could tell from the way Jungkook sounded that you were playing with the younger boy. This made Jimin a little annoyed as he felt his member twitch with excitement at the prospects of what you were doing. He wanted to feel that. Now.

“Jiminie will make you happy noona,“ he mewled out - a feeble attempt to bring your focus back on him.  

You smiled at his obvious desire to please and decided to reward him for it. You forgoed playing with Jimin’s chest and focused on his member standing to attention. A strangled mewl came from Jimin as you circled the base of his cock with the feather, enjoying as the owner squirmed at the sensation. You circled lower, just catching his balls with the soft sensation before circling back up.

Jimin let out a low curse, “fuck me.” You giggled, a soft sound that contradicted the ruthlessness with which you were playing their bodies. “That’s the idea sweetie,” you crooned out.

Alternating between the soft silk of the feather and the roughness of your nails, you played with boys, basking in the noises of pleasure that they made. You stretched their self control to the limits as you brought them to the edge of euphoria and back multiple times, causing their cheeks to be slick with tears as the sensations were too much.

Deciding that the wait had been long enough, you stripped out of your undergarments, setting them to the side before hitching a leg over Jimin’s waist. His body was wracked in tremors as he waited for you to please fucking sit on me.

Both of you moaned in tandem as you sank down on his length. You littered purple flowers over the expanse of his exposed neck as you adjusted to the slight stretch. “You look so beautiful like this,” you mused breathlessly. Jimin whimpered, already close from all your previous teasing.

“You’re not allowed to come, do you understand?” You rasped. “No, please, I c-can’t hold it!” He whined, and you stopped immediately. Large hands snaked up your torso to cup at your breasts, fondling them gently as a pair of lips suckled at your shoulder. Jungkook pressed his stiff length against your back, arms wound tightly around as he pressed himself closer. “Noona,” he murmured.

You reached back and ran your finger through his sweat-soaked locks. “Yes baby,” you questioned, as you slowly sank back down on Jimin, simultaneously rubbing your ass against Jungkook.

“Can I -?” You rose back on your knees, keeping only Jimin’s tip lodged in you as you used the other hand to reach behind you and rub down Jungkook’s length. His words were lost to the sensation and his sentence remained floating in the air between you.

“Did you say something baby?” His only response was to thrust helplessly in your hand as his fingers played with your breasts, gently pulling and tugging as the soft mounds.

Below you, you felt Jimin get closer and closer to his climax as you rode him faster and faster, lust beginning to cloud your senses as well. His words were incoherent at this point, saliva leaking out the sides of his mouth as he begged for release. “Please. Can I come? Please let me come.”

“So then come baby,” you hummed, clenching on him as Jimin choked, gasping as ropes of hot cum filled your pussy.

“No, Jungkook.” You could feel him panting heavily against you, length twitching. Jungkook whimpered softly; he was so close, the feeling of your ass and hands against his cock.

“Fuck, I’m sorry - !” You felt it drip down the sweaty expanse of your skin, trailing warmth in its path.

You sighed. Jungkook lowered his head, pressing his forehead against your spine. “Punish me … please.”

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You lost count of the number of orgasms you’d pulled from the boys. The studio was engulfed in the dying rays of the sun and any sense of time had disappeared in this bubble you’d created for the three of you.

“Noona - please, please!” Jungkook wailed loudly, head tossing side to side as he arched his back, fingers scrabbling for some kind of purchase from where they scratched at the air. His wrists were pinned above his head, bouncing on his cock as he cried.

“I-it’s too much, please,” Jimin’s hoarse voice pleaded from above you, his own hands tied to his back as your teeth scraped the delicate flesh of his length. His thighs trembled as he struggled to keep himself upright, barely registering the bruising of his knees, head spinning in delicious delirium. It was borderline painful, the way you sucked his balls, forcing his cherub cock into a state of half-hardness. “Noona,” Jimin sobbed, throwing his head back as you ran your tongue over his slit. Fuck, fuck! He moaned brokenly as he came. You licked your lips, swallowing the sad dribble of cum that he’d managed to produce.

His knees caved instantly, sending Jimin slumping onto the ground, skin on fire and cheeks coated in dried tears.

Jungkook, on the other hand, was fucking losing his mind. “Please, noona, Kookie’s b-been a g-good boy, please, noona, can I come?” He babbled senselessly, eyes rolling to the back of his head as his hips rose to meet your vicious thrusts.

“Come for me,” you breathed, digging your nails into his chest. Jungkook keened, writhing as he came, the feeling of your walls squeezing his deprived cock sending him careening over the edge as you fucked him through the height of his pleasure.

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After both boys hit their high, your name like a prayer on their lips, the three of you took a moment to come back down, not willing to let the memory of what just happened fade away too soon. They were both a verified mess, cum glistening on their skin, mixing with the sweat that resulted from your overstimulation. Both their eyes were half shut under the blindfolds, delirious from fatigue.

They looked absolutely divine.

Seeing as you were the one in most control of your faculties, you got up from the floor, looking down again at the two of them,both very close to falling asleep on the ground. Whispering softly, you promised them that you would be back soon. Walking to the door, you made sure it was locked before grabbing a towel and a water bottle from your backpack, as well as a large hoodie to cover your body.

Wetting the towel and taking off the eye cloth, you proceeded to wipe their bodies down, cleaning them off as you whispered praise. Jimin was first.

“You did so well, baby boy.” The towel passed down his chest around his pelvis, and down to his thighs. “Was that okay?” He could only hmm in response, much too tired to produce words.

Jungkook was next, and to your surprise, looking directly at you with his large eyes, soft demeanor contradicting the mess on his body. You smile softly and ran your fingers through his locks, slightly damp from sweat. “And what about you baby?”

He leaned his head into your touch and turned to kiss your palm, blushing as he spoke, “I-I liked it a lot __-noona.” You cooed in response as his face got redder before focusing all your attention on caring for their bodies. You shifted to grab the towel and exposing a clean section, traced his body again with the damp cloth. You then proceeded to toss the towel in the direction of your backpack so you didn’t accidentally leave it behind for an unsuspecting staff member to pick up. That would be cruel.

The water bottle was used next, as you lifted their heads up slightly to allow the water to wet their dry throats. Being vocal had its downsides too. Then you got them semi clothed, working with what little strength they had left to put on boxers and their t-shirt. Ensuring that the door was locked, you placed yourself between them. They would obviously have to go back to their home, but there was nothing stopping them from pretending that they did not have lives outside of the studio. That there was nothing stopping them spending eternity together.

You lost yourself in the warmth of the boys, half in desperation at the thoughts that clouded your mind. You had no idea how they would be able to interact with you after this. You had no idea what ‘this’ was, even.

As if sensing your panic, Jimin was the first to turn and wrap his arms around you, pulling up close and looking into the eyes that had captivated him for years. He could see the apprehension in your eyes, and it would be pretty idiotic for him to not understand the root cause. Still, for now he would enjoy this bliss with you. Jungkook turned as well, slipping an arm under your neck and slinging the other over your waist as he spooned you from behind.

Then until the sun set, three bodies lay in silence allowing time to slow in this immortal garden you had created.

[mobius-prime]

161. Sonic the Hedgehog #93

Crime 'N Punishment

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: FRY Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Sonic races back to Knothole after his fight with Ken, wracked with guilt both over the king's injuries from the previous day, and from losing the sword today. That said, he's still not ready to face the consequences of his actions, as he's completely outraged when he exits the Great Oak Slide straight into a net waiting to catch him.

That's one hell of a way to try to put someone under arrest, Geoffrey. Imagine if real life cops just slung a net over anyone they wanted to arrest. Sonic angrily insists he doesn't have to answer to Geoffrey, but then Elias shows up, saying he does have to answer to someone after all…

Within Robotropolis, Eggman welcomes the crowd of Overlanders into his city, though the little girl, Hope, finds herself feeling uneasy. As Eggman invites the members of his immediate family into the palace to offer them a "luxury suite," beneath the city streets, Kodos continues to celebrate his acquisition of the Sword of Acorns.

Might wanna be careful of what you say when you've got a sneaky ninja spider hanging around you, buddy boy. In Knothole, Sonic tries to insist to Elias that he wants to speak to Sally before anyone else, but Elias says that whatever he has to say to her can be said to him instead, since he's the acting ruler. Sonic thus imagines himself apologizing tenderly to Sally while holding her close, and, deciding that that is definitely not something he wants to do with Elias, races off, which angers Geoffrey, though Elias says to let him go for now. Sonic is caught up in his depressed thoughts as he runs, until Mina happily races toward him, shouting that she's glad he's not in jail. However, she finds herself unable to control her speed as she runs, and crashes straight into Sonic.

IS THIS A LOVE TRIANGLE I SMELL? Man, I'm sorry Mina, I love you, but I cannot stand love triangles. Y'all already know this. Apparently Mina was actually originally introduced to the comic with the intent to make her a romantic rival for Sonic's affections against Sally, and so for a little while, we're gonna be dealing with that, until Mina is able to get her own characterization apart from being a love interest. Anyway, at that moment Antoine and Bunnie show up, having just returned from their trip to Mercia with the High Sheriff in tow, bound in ropes, because damn, if high quality mechanical restraints designed by the most advanced race on the planet aren't enough to keep a violent and powerful Robian in check, surely some plain old cordage from Home Depot will do! They say they have to speak to the king at once concerning their new prisoner, but Nate arrives as well, explaining to them that the king is paralyzed and Elias is acting ruler for now. Sonic becomes guilt-ridden once again, and to his everlasting credit, Antoine immediately, without first finding out the story behind Sonic's mood, says that he doesn't believe any of this can be Sonic's fault. With the strong, almost hateful-at-times rivalry that these two were depicted having in the original SatAM cartoon, I absolutely love the respect and friendship between Sonic and Antoine in the comics. Antoine in particular is just a much more well-treated character by the writers, who give him proper character development and depth every chance they get, instead of just having him be the Cowardly Frenchman. (Don't get me wrong, Antoine in the show was hilarious, but he really gets the proper love he deserves in the comics.) Anyway, Sonic explains both the king's injuries and the loss of the sword to everyone present, and when Nate tries to reassure him that the king shouldn't have even gone into battle anyway, Sonic suddenly stands and races off, saying he's going to do what he should have done from the start. Meanwhile, back underneath Robotropolis…

You may have messed up big time, Kodos. Elias and Geoffrey approach the queen and Sally to inform them of what Sonic has done, and Sally is shocked to hear the news. She starts to ask what she should do to rectify the situation before catching herself and asking instead what Elias plans to do. Her mother tells her not to worry, and leads her away, while Geoffrey gets his chance to address Elias alone.

I've never agreed so much with such an asshole before. He's basically said exactly what I've been saying this entire time - Sally is the one who has the necessary leadership experience. She ran a whole freakin' rebellion on her own when she was a kid, for crying out loud. However, I draw the line at Geoffrey's plan to basically install himself as a shadow ruler from behind the scenes. Geoffrey is known to be far too harsh in situations which don't call for harshness, and though he has leadership experience of his own, leading the Rebel Underground during Robotnik's reign, he's far less qualified to handle the running of an entire kingdom than he is at leading a small squad of covert operatives.

Back in Robotropolis, Eggman welcomes Colin, Lady Agnes (the woman Sonic saved last issue), and Hope into his palace. Colin explains who the other two are, but it's a bit confusing so I'll give my own spin on things. Colin is Snively's father. We don’t yet know who the mother was, but she isn't in the picture as of now. While in space, he remarried to another woman which made Hope his step-daughter, but that wife died before they reached their home planet once more. Lady Agnes, Hope's grandmother, is his mother-in-law as a result of the marriage. And in all of this, remember that Eggman/Robotnik is Colin's brother, which would essentially make Hope his step-niece. Enough about their weird-ass family history, though - in Knothole, Sonic races back to Elias and admits his guilt in stealing the sword, presenting himself for arrest. Elias, however, instead of arresting him, strips him of his knighthood and tells him that from now on he's confined to Knothole as a minor, all while Geoffrey smirks in the background. Come on, Geoffrey, you were actually acting chill there for a while back when Sonic was actually knighted, why are you going back to your old asshole ways? Sigh…

Bagging the Big One

Writer/Pencils/Colors: Ken Penders

I think this is the first time we've ever had a story where all the work was done by one individual. Unfortunately, that individual happens to be Penders, who has decided to take the laziest approach to his work possible. Seriously - the backgrounds for the majority of the panels are photos of real world landscapes, onto which the comic characters are awkwardly superimposed, making them look incredibly out of place. It's all just… really, really bad. I went ahead and chose some choice panels that demonstrate just how bad it is so y'all can see for yourselves!

Anyway, remember Charmy the Bee? You might not, since he's been ignored by the comic for so long by now, but he still exists, I can assure you! You might also not remember that he's a freaking prince engaged to another bee called Saffron, because Ken Penders is insane. Charmy and Saffron are lounging in a photograph of a field talking about their future children (YES, REALLY) when a flash of light interrupts them and Green Knuckles approaches them. They're surprised at his color swap, and as Charmy introduces him to Saffron, we see the three of them through a set of crosshairs from afar. Yes, that's right, Nack and Nic have tracked Knuckles to this spot with the information the Albion council provided them. Nic wants to take Knuckles down immediately, but Nack admonishes her for not playing dirty enough, and leaves her to her sniper's perch as he approaches the trio. Knuckles, meanwhile, is explaining his new look, as well as the disappearance of the Floating Island.

This next part drives me nuts, because Nack concocts some story about his aircraft breaking down and needing help repairing it, and Knuckles does not suspect a thing, even though he first saw (and punched) him all the way back during the Sonic Triple Trouble special! Granted, it's not like he ever exchanged direct words with him, and I guess you could say it's been years and he's forgotten or something, but you'd think someone who's supposedly as smart as Knuckles would recognize the face of someone he punched off his island previously. Anyway, Knuckles tries to brush Nack off, saying he doesn't have time to help, and in response Nack makes the very smart decision to throw a knife into the grass at Knuckles' feet where he could easily grab it if he wants to. Knuckles does just that, but then listens as Nack informs him that his partner has Charmy and Saffron in her sights and that Knuckles will come with him if he wants his friends to live. Knuckles reluctantly does so, and as they walk over to Nic, Nack reveals that he knows that Knuckles is the Guardian. This shocks Knuckles, who wonders how he even knows about that in the first place, and then we come to perhaps one of my least favorite pages in the entire comic, for a variety of reasons.

First of all - stop with the photo backgrounds, Penders, they look horribly out of place and incredibly ugly. Second of all, the actual art is awkward-looking as hell - for one, Knuckles just looks like he's amiably offering up his wrists for the handcuffs instead of seeming shocked. Third of all, Gala-Na, instead of being reasonable about the whole thing, has again shown herself to be a horrible person. Again, if she just took the time to try to reason with Knuckles, talk to him, offer him advice and help him with his newfound powers, he would probably listen, because he's confused and scared and in want of guidance from people who know more about this stuff than he does! But no, instead she's decided to lock him into a Chaos Syphon against his will, acting like it's some difficult decision for her to make when she's not the one who has to deal with the consequences on her very life and being.

And finally, we come to Yanar. To the image of Yanar, whom Athair once considered so close as to be his own son, whom Knuckles trusted and helped to reach his final destination after generations of wandering without a purpose, who has acted as an ally and even a friend before this moment - Yanar, handing over payment to Nic and Nack the Weasels, in exchange for helping them capture Knuckles to drain him of his power for Gala-Na's own peace of mind. Handing over the payment and ignoring the shocked and betrayed Knuckles behind him, turning his back quite literally on the one person who helped him and all of his people find their home after so long. He's decided that he likes his new home so much that he'll even betray the one who helped him get there. This was the exact moment I realized I hated Yanar. Even more than Gala-Na, I hate him. At least Gala-Na has the excuse of not being attached to Knuckles personally. If you ask me, Knuckles doesn’t show nearly enough anger, hurt, and betrayal from this event. Way to follow in the footsteps of your adoptive father Athair, asshole. You know, the one who actually cares about his family even though so many of them have turned their backs on him? What a complete piece of garbage. Sorry, I know this isn't actually even commentary on the quality of the comic and it's just me personally being all salty at the actions of one character, but I feel really strongly about this one. Just… screw you, Yanar.

[spacegate]

20th century 2d art pieces

Oh goodness 2d art really restricts the wildness that came from the 20th century (1901-1999), mostly sculpture, installations, and art performances. I’ll do my best to give you guys a good list of some of my favorites and finally use my art history minor lol.

1.

Guernica - Pablo Picasso (1937)

Depicting the bombing of an Basque town by the Nazis during the Spanish civil war, this piece shows the suffering of innocent people trapped between two devastating wars. Before not many people even know about the Spanish civil war, but this piece brought some attention to it. Months after the Civil war ended, World war 2 started, bringing the same pain that the common people thought was finally over. War never rests. 

2.

Nighthawks - Edward Hopper (1942)

Everyone has seen this piece parodied over and over again. Still. It’s one of my favorites. A man sits alone as a group of three are in front of him. They are interacting but he is not. Is this a form of self isolation, or is it just something that comes with city life. 

3

The Treachery of Images -  René Magritte (1928-29)

"Ceci n'est pas une pipe." is French for "This is not a pipe." Of course it’s not a pipe, it’s a painting of a pipe. But by the act of being painted, does it make the pipe real? How do you define something is real or not? There’s a picture of a pipe and it’s telling you that it’s not a pipe. It asks questions that don’t really have an answer. To me, it’s not a pipe. But to someone else. It is a pipe. Art is in the eye of the beholder and cannot be restricted by firm boundaries.

4

The Problem We All Live With - Norman Rockwell. (1963)

When people think of Rockwell, they think of the illustration work he did of an ideal American life. His work was very white centrict, but there was a reason for it. Up until the early 60′s he was not able to have any depiction of a similar idealized black family be accepted by any type of publication. So once those legal shackles came off in the 60′s, he went hard. This painting is a depiction of Ruby Nell Bridges Hall (who is still alive today), and was printed with no commentary. It didn’t need one. Everyone knew what it was about. He used his art to fight and bring awareness to Americans that would just rather pretend that none of this was happening. Def one of the artists that has influenced me a lot.

5. 

Mother's pride - Henriette Ronner-Knip (1901)

Her paintings make me smile so it’s on the list. Sometimes you enjoy art for arts sake. 

6.

The Thing - Drew Struzan (1982)

If you ever saw a movie poster from the late 70′s to early 2000′s, you’ve likely seen Drew’s work. He carried the torch of hand painted movie posters all the way up to this era, where photoshop seemed to take over. His work is always an inspiration, and it was hard to pick just one. In the end, I chose The Thing due to how terrifying it is. It tells you nothing about the movie other than cold and fear, and that’s pretty much what you got. I want a poster of this.

7.

A page from the comic Uncle Sam - Alex Ross (1997)

It’s no joke about how much comics have influenced us. Art has always been used to tell a story, and Alex Ross is no exception. He’s well known for illustrating another graphic novel, Kingdom Come, but is also known for his work on Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam is about a homeless man, possibly the spirit of America, learning from the mistakes of the nation and confronting the huge, bloated, capitalistic spirit claiming to be America. Alex puts so much time and work into his paintings, and his ability to capture emotion is why I just bought and art book of his works!

8.

Return to the moon - Dr. Robert T. McCall (1991)

Dr. Robert T. McCall was a man who dreamed about the future. He has followed NASA for thirty years, painting of what has happened and what could be. He even designed some mission patches for some of the NASA missions. He has left behind a legacy that continues to inspire people to look to the stars, and dream of the future.

9. 

The Last Man on the Moon - Alan Bean (1980-99: I can’t find the exact date)

Can you tell i'm a little biased? I was actually incredibly lucky to see Alan’s work at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. Alan Bean is an actual astronaut, and was the fourth man to walk on the moon. He incorporates moon dust into his paints, working them in including bits of his suit fibers to make textures. He tends to ‘sign’ his work by putting a replica of his actual space boot onto the paint to leave an impression. Here is a moment of sadness, as Apollo 17 was the very last mission (As of 2019) to land on the moon. He recently passed away last year and I wish I could have told him how much his works have inspired me.

10.

727 - Takashi Murakami (1996)

Murakami has a special place in my heart, cause once upon a time when I was in college, a gaggle of my friends hopped on over to Brooklyn, NYC, to see the Murakami art exhibit. There, we made the guards hella nervous with how close we got, trying to see any brushstrokes. There wasn’t, because he’s known for his ‘super flat’ style of pop art. It was, really, really cool. His work is somehow cute and terrifying at the same time and you really gotta see it in person.

SO THERE some of my favorite art pieces. It took me, three goddamn hours because I wanted to actually research and talk a little bit about each painting and I hope you guys like it lol. XD

[pkmnjesus]

Appmon quick FINAL thoughts

Wow! What a 7 months that was...I know I could have finished this series waayy sooner (especially if my blog wouldn’t have taken a break in July-August), but I had a life and future to worry about outside this tumblr bubble and in the end I’m glad I was able to find time to watch this series whenever I wanted to relax. Overall I really thought Appmon was good! I never really found a problem wit the episode pacing for important plot points, and I didn’t really find the beginning to be that boring really. At least it was better than Xros Wars’s first arc in my opinion. I can understand why maybe some people didn’t get into this because of maybe the humor it presented, or how much “filler” plot it had in certain episodes. I didn’t really see any episode to be filler (well maybe except the clip show in episode 26) because each episode at least addressed the main plot and how they could get one step closer to Leviathan. The series definitely wasn’t perfect, and I wished they would have used more of Appmon they gained throughout the series. At least with Xros Wars, you saw multiple appearances from many of Taiki’s Digimon that he had in his Xros Loader. At the same time, it really took me a while to understand how evolution worked and why the super grade needed to have a link most of the time. I just went with the flow and enjoyed what was shown to me on the screen lol.

I also have a few picky questions that really isn’t that significant but left me wondering...was Dantemon ever freed from being stone? Poor fella. Did L-Corp really just dissolve like that? No repercussions from its employees like Yuujin’s “mom”. And speaking of Yuujin...was that final scene confirm him to be alive again? If so, then I don’t get it lol...but I think it seemed to be like a dream or a fantasy from Haru? And Knight Unryuji man...I was a bit disappointed they didn’t bring him back for the final arc besides that short cameo in the end. His character had so much potential from what I was saw in him

Anyway with my minor complaints being out of the way, I pretty much love everything what Appmon was about. The theme of artificial intelligence taking over our world is interesting itself, and by using modern smartphone applications to this story presents a good example of how we today really so much on our phone and the internet to do everyday tasks and even in relaxing outside school or work. Honestly you don’t even have to be a Digimon fan to get into this series, because Appmon can stand alone on its own for being that unique. Sure it has some Digimon references (like the buddy partnership), but if you compare this to previous installments from the franchise it really gives off a different vibe from the characters and humor alone. Any sci-fi enthusiast would love a concept like this, and could easily get into this series.

I pretty much loved everyone from the main cast! Unlike other Digimon series where it actually took me a while to get in to the characters, I was intrigued with each one from the start (excluding Yuujin since I thought he was a side character in the first half of the series). From Haru’s adorkableness to help others (probably the most kind-hearted goggle protag out there), Eri’s badassery with a spice of elderly respect, and Astra’s eccentric attitude filming himself doing funny things while trying to follow in his family’s footsteps. BUT REI OH MY GAWD, he’s probably my favorite character! Episode 42 has to be my favorite episode from the series hands down. From being this punk hacker kid that drinks jelly juice we get to see a caring brother who wants nothing but to be cook good food for him...that drinks jelly juice too lol. And of course the best character of them all in everyone’s book the NOOOOOOOOOOOO guy. Probably one of the funniest gags I’ve seen in a series in quite a while. Pokémon typically does this stuff, but I’m happy to see Toei trying to format that with this goofy character. Too bad we never knew his name :(

For the Appmon, everyone was great! At times I did find Dokamon a bit annoying, but in a funny way xD He always made me laugh trying to get Eri’s attention. Offmon has to be my hands down favorite...I mean who doesn’t like Offmon?! JUST LOOK AT IT :3 Too damn adorable for this show.

I also really do wanna try and play the 3DS game too...then I realized it was only realized in Japan and I would probably need a 3DS emulator to get like an English translation -_- Oh well...maybe one day. But by looking at the cover art from the game, all I recognize is Haru, Gatchmon, and Offmon and I’m like WHO ARE YOU ALL YOU PEOPLE???? Probably the game’s AU xD

Anyway I don’t want to ramble too much about this and make this post long as it already is, but man what series that was...a highlight of 2018 for sure! And even though I am done with this series, that doesn’t mean that I can’t bring it up on my blog from time to time 👀I CAN FINALLY REBLOG STUFF FROM THE TAG NOW YESSSS (and I already saw similar posts of mine that were already GIFed and I wasn’t aware of it lol...was expected). To my new followers that I gained from this series (or old ones that liked Appmon too), please feel free to ask me questions or send me messages if you’d like to chat about it since I won’t be talking about it that much anymore moving forward after today. I don’t want to mention names, but I’m sure some of you are aware of a certain user that isn’t too fond of Appmon based on the reblogs on some of my posts. To each their own opinions, but please if you want to be critical and do nothing but hate, bash, and pull up ignorant arguments, don’t even bother getting a serious conversation with me lol....just putting it out there :^) I don’t hate anyone here, but I will ignore the ignorance, and hey you should too!

I know that a few Digimon Elitists and certain other folks feel a bit indifferent with Appmon (and some just judging a book by its cover), but you shouldn’t let that get to what you enjoy! This same goes for the Pokémon fandom as well, so I know the feeling. I personally will be an ambassador for Appmon to help spread to others (especially Digimon fans who don’t even know of this yet) when I get the chance to talk about it. I think I’ll start with my friend from college who watched Adventure to Frontier only...let’s see how he likes it xD

Again, I want to thank the Appmon fandom for all their kind words especially to @latiwings who always chats with me after each episode. It’s amazing how you can make friends by watching something! There are countless others too I want to mention, but it could be a long list lol...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE <3 I am also grateful to have some of my posts being reblogged by @digi-egg who (if some of you didn’t know) is probably the biggest Digimon blog on the tumblr fandom. Basically the equivalent to @shelgon in the Pokémon tumblr side of things. Finally I want to thank Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters, for teaching me how to be a protagonist in my own life. I needed something like this because of the struggles I had to overcome this year. Haru and Gatchmon, thank you for my spiritual buddies! We all need a Yuujin in our lives.

[passionate-reply]

In this installment of Great Albums, we’re back to talking about albums nobody’s ever heard of! You might not know who Zaine Griff is, but you’ve probably heard of a guy called Hans Zimmer, and Zimmer is the real mastermind of this record: a masterpiece of New Romantic synth-pop made long before he made his name composing for the big screen! Not to mention contributions from Ultravox’s Warren Cann, YMO’s Yukihiro Takahashi, and even Kate Bush. Find out all about it by watching this video, or reading the full transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today’s installment is going to feature an album that is most definitely towards the obscure side--but, like most of the more obscure artists and albums I’ve talked about, I think this one is every bit as good as the classics. Zaine Griff’s Figures is not only a forgotten album that I think deserves more acclaim, but also an album that, in many ways, feels like it could have been a huge success in its own time.

Zaine Griff grew up in New Zealand, and moved to Great Britain in the 1970s in the hopes of pursuing a career in music. His debut LP, 1980’s Ashes & Diamonds, would mark him as one of the many artists straddling the musical landscape in the aftermath of glam, in the long shadow of David Bowie. With keen visual panache, a suave way of slurring when he sang, and the requisite killer cheekbones, Griff fit in perfectly with the so-called “New Romantics,” as stylish and sophisticated as Visage, Ultravox, or Japan.

Music: “Ashes & Diamonds”

The real turning point in Griff’s career was his being “discovered,” so to speak, by Hans Zimmer and Warren Cann. Cann had already become a figure of some renown, as the percussionist for the aforementioned Ultravox. Despite his tremendous fame today, Zimmer actually had much less to show for himself at this point, aside from a somewhat dodgy stint in the Buggles. While geniuses in their own ways, neither of them were necessarily natural frontmen, and Zaine Griff seemed like the perfect missing piece to fit into their pop ambitions.

Even setting aside Zimmer and Cann, Figures is actually full of recognizable talent, and I think it may have the single most stacked list of album credits I’ve ever seen in my life! You’ll also hear contributions from Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Yukihiro Takahashi, backing vocals from Linda Jardim, who was also the soprano on the Buggles’ famous “Video Killed the Radio Star,” and a guest appearance by none other than Kate Bush. That’s really a lot of clout going around, which is one of the reasons I’m so surprised this album went nowhere. Anyway, that aside, the most dominant sonic footprint on display here is certainly that of Hans Zimmer. Zimmer is credited with producing the album, and his dynamic, expressive, perhaps “cinematic” work with digital synthesisers is surely the driving force behind Figures’s sound.

Music: “Fahrenheit 451”

It’s easy to imagine “Fahrenheit 451” is the thumping theme to some delightfully 80s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel. Its theme of lustful but dangerous romance is a constant throughout the album, most notably on tracks like “Hot” and the haunting closer, “The Beating of Wings.” The song’s tense and dramatic mood is well bolstered by those soaring synths, courtesy of the Fairlight CMI. One of the most distinctive sounds of mid-80s synth-pop, the soft, breathy tones of the Fairlight hadn’t yet reached full saturation when Figures was made--Zimmer was an early adopter of this particular musical revolution. You might be surprised to learn that “Fahrenheit 451” only saw minor distribution as a single, exclusively for the French and Belgian markets. I think that sort of mismanagement on behalf of Polydor really shafted this album. Its lead single was actually its title track.

Music: “Figures”

The title track of Figures isn’t the worst song I’ve ever heard, but I do think it just might be the worst song on this album. With a strident, stabbing synth riff and a somewhat sparse and anemic soundstage, the title track is not particularly exciting, and also not particularly representative of what the rest of the album sounds like, with no indication of the lush and vibrant textures that dominate tracks like “Fahrenheit 451.” It also has less lyrics than the other tracks, and offers Griff little opportunity to demonstrate his pipes. Thematically, though, its imagery of wispy and mysterious personas, flitting in and out of substance in a world where appearance and identity are trifling and ephemeral, is something that resonates strongly with the album as a whole, as one might surmise from its title also being used for the album. “The Vanishing Men,” another song that easily feels like a better single than “Figures,” handles the same sort of subject in a more playful and upbeat manner.

Music: “The Vanishing Men”

The titular “vanishing men” are quite clearly the life of the party here, and in the world of this track, the insignificance of true identity is portrayed as an invitation to experiment and have fun with it--though not without a slight hint of danger as well. Perhaps it’s a good metaphor for the curated aestheticism of the New Romantic movement, decried by some as “style over substance.” New Romanticism really didn’t have much time left by the time *Figures* came out, being so strongly associated with trends in fashion that were on their way out by this point. Even Ultravox would find themselves pivoting towards more of a pop rock-oriented sound for their final classic lineup LP, 1984’s Lament. I can’t help but think that the changing landscape of musical trends is part of the poor reception of Figures, which is such a consummate New Romantic album, which basks in the full flush of the movement’s prior penetration into the mainstream. As stated above, “The Vanishing Men” is all about the glamour of mutable identity, but other tracks on the album seem to assign this theme a bit more weight, as in “The Stranger.”

Music: “The Stranger”

The titular character of “The Stranger” is described as “a stranger to himself,” but also “no stranger to anyone else.” This track seems to be more focused on the negative aspects of fashionable persona-play: losing the dignity and security of a true form, the people around you seeing through your charades, and becoming trapped in an existence defined by arbitrariness and artificiality. I’d also be remiss not to mention this track’s winsome pentatonic synth riff, which helps create a mercurial and ambiguous mood. It might be interpreted as a nod towards the rampant Orientalism of New Romantic music, which ran with the early 80s verve for all things Asian, and wasn’t shy about appropriating “Asiatic” musical motives like pentatonic scales to evoke mystery and wonder. Griff and friends’ use of such here is relatively subtle, though, and perhaps a bit more tactful than how many of their contemporaries approached other musical ideas associated with the East.

The unforgettable cover of Figures is as dramatic and infused with capital-R Romantic sentiment as the music contained within. Above the text relating the artist and title, which uses a V for a U for a touch of the classical, we see Griff splayed dramatically in a pond of lilies. With sharp makeup that emphasizes his lips, and a diaphanous, blousy top that turns translucent in the water, he seems to be the perfect tragic hero of some lost work of Shakespeare’s--complete with another flower stylishly pinned to his chest. As I mentioned before, Figures is an album that rides the wave of New Romanticism particularly hard, and I think its cover is yet another symptom of those sensibilities.

Speaking of Shakespeare, I can’t help but want to compare this image with a famous painting of one of Shakespeare’s best-known characters: Ophelia, by Sir John Everett Millais. Painted in the early 1850s, Millais’s Ophelia depicts the moment where Ophelia, driven mad by Hamlet’s romantic rejection of her, drowns herself in a river. It’s exactly the kind of story of wild, passionate, and doomed love portrayed on tracks like “Fahrenheit 451.” Ophelia is also associated strongly with flowers in the text, and features in a particularly memorable scene where she doles out various symbolic blossoms to members of the royal court. Besides the affinity of subject matter, even the composition of Millais’s work resembles the cover of Figures, contrasting its subject’s pale skin with the dark and murky natural surrounds, and emphasizing the drapery of their wettened attire. Ophelia is often considered the definitive masterpiece of the short-lived art movement, the “Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,” who, as their name implies, sought to recapture the intuitive, colourful, and emotive power of art created prior to the High Renaissance. Not unlike New Romanticism, the Pre-Raphaelite movement would crumble after only a few years, but not without leaving behind a trail of masterpieces that would continue to inspire future artists and admirers, far removed from their own time.

After the release of Figures, Zaine Griff remained involved with Hans Zimmer and Warren Cann, and, as the supergroup “Helden,” they embarked on an even more ambitious musical opus together: Spies, a sort of synth-pop oratorio about immortal Nazi super-spies falling in love in a futuristic dystopia. Spies is about as out-there as it sounds, and brings the flamboyant musical excess of Figures into a suitably theatrical setting. It’s also got nearly as star-studded of a cast as Figures, featuring not only Zimmer, Cann, and Jardim again, but also Eddie Maelov of Eddie & Sunshine as a mad scientist, and the enigmatic French electro-cabaret chanteuse Ronny, in the role of a super-computer with a sultry female voice. Griff portrays one of the titular immortal spies, known only as “The Stranger”--which, of course, begs comparison to the track of the same name on Figures, and prompts the question, to what extent was Spies already in the works when *Figures* was being written and recorded?

Music: “The Ball”

We all know the rest of the story for Hans Zimmer, who began working with music for film in the mid-1980s, such as the queer cult classic My Beautiful Laundrette. But Zaine Griff obviously never became a household name. Despite being finished in 1983, Spies never got to see an official release, as it was a bit too out there for a label to take a chance on at the time, and it would probably be lost media today if it weren’t for a vinyl bootleg that’s thankfully fairly easy to find online. Griff decided to retire from music shortly after this, and recounts a story of having walked past an extremely talented street musician, and having a sort of epiphany about just how hard it was to make it in music. After all, if a true virtuoso could end up busking on the street, how fair and rewarding could the industry possibly be? Disillusioned with the world of pop, Griff returned to his native New Zealand and got a day job as a golf instructor. More recently, though, he’s also released several new solo albums in the 2010s, surprisingly enough, and attempted to push forward into some very contemporary-sounding pop rock. The world is, of course, a very different place nowadays than it was in the 20th Century, and particularly in the world of music distribution, so perhaps it makes sense that our brave new world has room in it for someone like Zaine Griff to return.

My overall favourite track on Figures is probably “Time Stands Still,” which I think is perhaps the most accessible, pop-friendly track to be had on the album, and the one I would’ve released as the lead single had I worked for Polydor. With a big hook and simple, repetitive lyrics, it’s a true pop song through and through--though, if an artist releases a commercial-sounding album in the woods, and nobody is around to buy it, is it still really “pop?” Anyway, I also love this track’s delightful outro, imitating a skipping record to represent a freeze in the flow of time...though I admit it’s a lot less harrowing to hear when listening digitally! That’s all I have for today--thanks for listening.

Music: “Time Stands Still”

[thebookishgoddess]

#Project14Lists 2018: Bookish Ships

My first post for the #Project14Lists bookish event is a list of my bookish ships! I know, controversial. Not everyone ships the canon couple, or ships that one character with anyone at all. Nevertheless, we are all here to express our love for books and the couples that our favorite authors have written, not to throw shade or spill the tea on each other’s ships. We are all trash for something, and we must respect each other’s trash (if that makes any sense, haha!)

For today’s list, I will be putting up twelve of my favorite bookish ships and my favorite fanart of them (with credits to the brilliant artists, of course!). There are waaaay too many ships that I love, if I’m being realistic here. But I got lazy after the 12th graphic I had to edit up for this. I’ll be dabbling on my favorite quotes/scenes of the ships and a little reaction to said quote or scene.

Let the fangirling commence!

Cover photo credit: johannathemad

1. Thomas Creswell & Audrey Wadsworth from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco

Favorite Quote/Scene: “You are not mine to take.” He brushed his lips against mine. Softly, so softly I might have imagined them there. My eyes fluttered shut. He could persuade me to build a steamship to the moon when he kissed me. We could orbit the stars together. “You are yours to give.” --Hunting Prince Dracula

Are you bloody kidding me with that? Honestly, Thomas and Audrey is on the top ten of my favorite ships of all time simply because of that scene alone. This scene shows how much Thomas values Audrey as his equal and partner despite all the mayhem they went through. Also because Thomas Cresswell is every girl’s #bookboyfriendgoals because he’s suave af. I WILL SHIP IT TO MY GRAVE.

Art by phantomrin

2. Elias Veturius & Laia of Serra from the Ember Quartet by Sabaa Tahir

Favorite Quote/Scene: Laia is curled in a ball on the other, one hand on her armlet, fast asleep. 

"You are my temple", I murmur as I kneel beside her. "You are my priest. You are my prayer. You are my release." --A Torch Against the Night

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. Do men like Elias Veturius even exist in the 21st Century? Hells no. Well, maybe, but the probability of one existing is about 1 to a million, so there’s that. I have never been so moved by such a simple statement, especially since that mantra is supposed to be Elias’s mantra to like, what was it? His honor in fighting for the Empire? But when he said that to Laia, it’s the same level of honor and I’m just so emotional about that?? What even?? How dare Sabaa?? 

Art by gabriella.bujdoso

11. Draco Malfoy & Astoria Greengrass from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Favorite Quote/Scene: DRACO: Which is why you need this [time-turner]. I have been holding onto it, barely resisting using it, even though I would sell my soul for another minute with Astoria.

DRACO: You [speaking to his son, Scorpius] know what I loved most about your mother [Astoria]? She could always help me find light in the darkness. She made the world — my world, anyway — less — what was the word you used — “murky.”  

--Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT DRACO MALFOY FOR A HOT MINUTE? This man, who firmly believes himself hopeless soon after the Battle of Hogwarts ended, gets the happiest gift of all by having some girl named Astoria Greengrass see the good in him and love him for who he is. If that isn’t the best trope in a ship, I don’t know what is! We know nothing about Astoria other than the fact that she’s some obscure sister of yet another obscure classmate of Draco’s named Daphne. And yet, she seemed one of the most integral characters to me in Cursed Child when Draco said that he resisted using the time-turner to see his dead wife. 

Let’s not forget how when Scorpius time-traveled to a VoldemortWins!AU that Draco still ends up with Astoria. I think that’s what so beautiful about Draco and Astoria. They’re such a minor couple in the background of Hinny and Romione, but they carry so much history we’ve yet to know thanks to their darling cinnamon roll of a son, Scorpius. Anyone who truly knows me is already knowledgeable of the fact that I cry over this ship on a daily basis. And I’m sorry again that I had to cry and make one heck of a long description for this ship because they’re my ultimate fave *ugly sobs*.

Art by blvnk-art

4. Cress Darnell & Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Favorite Quote/Scene:

“Captain?“ “Cress.“ She couldn’t not say it, although she realized he was right. It was sort of scary. Much scarier than it had been the first time she’d told him, out in the desert. It was different now. It was real. "I’m in love with you.” He chuckled. “I should hope so, after all that.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her temple. “And I love you too.” --Winter

FIRST OF ALL, WHAT THE ACTUAL FORK I AM SCREECHING OVER THAT. That scene was probably one of the most memorable scenes I’ve read in the last installment of the Lunar Chronicles. Forget how Levana died and all was well. I cannot help but forget this very scene that sets every other couple in the series apart because of how well-written and developed these two were together. Right now, I am super tempted to re-read the Lunar Chronicles, just for the heck of rereading Cresswell (the ship name) all over again. 

Art by vvivaa

5. Tedros & Agatha from The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani

Favorite Quote/Scene: “But you are my queen. No one but you. And I like seeing you wear it. Because as long as you do, I know you still love me. And given our history of miscommunication, physical cues are helpful.” --The Last Ever After

I absolutely adore Tedros and Agatha. I have been rooting for them since day one of this series and I will never stop (even if Soman highkey tore them apart in Quests for Glory, for shame). They’re probably the most realistic couple to me, if there was a better word for it? Miscommunication definitely happens a lot between these two because Tedros can be pretty dense sometimes and Agatha can be quite arrogant. But I always love how they come together in the end to work it out because that’s what most couples do--they fight, but they don’t lose sight of what’s really important to them. Tedros and Agatha physically embodies those kind of relationships and I am absolutely here for it. Soman needs to stop hurting me after Quests for Glory though because Tedros and Agatha being apart up until Crystal of Time physically hurts me askhjsfkhja.

Art by thevioleteuphonia

6. Nina Zenik & Matthias Helvar from the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Favorite Quote/Scene:

“I am grateful you're alive", he said. "I am grateful that you're beside me. I am grateful that you're eating." 

She rested her head on his shoulder. 

"You're better than waffles, Matthias Helvar." 

A small smile curled the Fjerdan's lips. 

"Let's not say things we don't mean, my love.” --Crooked Kingdom

I AM STILL HIGHKEY MAD FOR WHAT LEIGH DID TO THIS SHIP. I won’t say more, but I will say that this is the most painful ship to have ever sailed and I will never get over it. But also the sweetest and well-crafted because of how much these two characters developed over the course of two books. Granted, Nina and Matthias had their history together before the Dregs, but even without it, Leigh wrote them in a way that makes you believe they really are meant for each other in the end despite all adversity. I’m happy Nina is likely going to get a female love interest in Leigh’s installment on Prince Nikolai’s story, though her being with Matthias will always have a special place in my heart.

Art by nilaffle

7. Lira & Elian Midas from To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Favorite Scene/Quote:

“If you get shot,” Lira says, “I’m going to treat you like you’re incapable of doing the simplest tasks.” 

She cradles her arms around her knees to keep out the cold. 

“See how you like it when I hold out my arm to help you walk, even though you’re not shot in the leg.” 

“I’d be flattered,” I say, “that you would look for an excuse just to hold my hand.” 

“Perhaps I’m just looking for an excuse to shoot you.” --To Kill a Kingdom

I love a good “do I want to kill you or kiss you, it’s interchangeable” trope between couples, and when it comes to Lira and Elian, they pretty much seal the deal on that kind. Lira, the princess siren, is pretty much a cray murderer that takes people’s hearts and Elian is a prince-pirate that’s set to destroy her and kill her for good. I mean, it can’t get any more angst and interesting than that. The way they slowly develop in this standalone is very intriguing because not a lot of authors can pull off a realistic romance fantasy the way Alexandra Christo did. I just absolutely love Lira and Elian, their funny banters and their angst. They’re the kind of ship I would sail forever, really.

Art by silketara

8. Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet. --Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

CONTROVERSY. But seriously, I absolutely adore and love Ron and Hermione together because of their balance as a couple. There are times where Ron will be street smart and there are times (but most of the time) where Hermione will be book smart. Plus, I definitely think they need each other at times to get off their own high horses because we all know Hermione can be a wee bit intense and Ron can be a wee bit ignorant, but that’s the beauty of them balancing each other out. And that particular favorite scene I just showed proved just how far their relationship as more than friends have come. I practically squealed the first time I read their first kiss scene!

Plus, have you seen them in Cursed Child? I know hardly anyone considers it canon, but adult Ron and Hermione are the cutest ship to squeal at in that book--which seems to be one of the very few good things that book had ever produced. 

Art by johannathemad

9. Elain Archeron & Lucien Vanserra from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Favorite Scene/Quote: Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate.” --A Court of Mist and Fury

Here we go, y’all. Another controversial ship. Let me just say that I want Elain to be happy, and whether it’s with Azriel or Lucien or by herself, I’m totally down for that. I just simply love the idea of Elain and Lucien together because of how actual smol beans they both are. Elain, our sweet flower girl and Seer with Lucien, our soft and loyal Fae--I mean, honestly. If I’m weak for ships that want to kill each other, I’m also weak for ships that have the softest hearts. I think they both have their own struggles and I definitely think they’ll grow from those struggles together. 

We all know what happened in ACOFAS and how Elain pretty much snubbed Lucien, but I still have high hopes for them. Maas has a plethora of novels coming out for the minor characters of the ACOTAR series, and I’m betting Elain and Lucien will get their moment in one of those novels. I haven’t lost hope yet! I mean, I bought magnetic bookmarks of these two, so it’s pretty clear I want these two to be endgame, haha!

Art by embaileyart

10. Nesta Archeron & Cassian from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Favorite Quote/Scene: Cassian grunted in pain, but lifted his bloodied hands - to cup her face. “I have no regrets in my life but this.” His voice shook with every word. “That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.”

She didn’t stop him as he leaned up and kissed her - lightly. As much as he could manage. --A Court of Wings and Ruin

I think the whole, if not all, of the ACOTAR fandom can agree that Nesta and Cassian are endgame through and through. Judging by that intense moment alone as per the scene presented above, I can pretty much say that while they both have a long way to go, the foundation has already been built from there. I mean, come on, people! They were willing to get killed by the King of Hybern if it meant protecting each other. If that isn’t squeal-fangirl factor trying to protect each other from some evil war lord, I don’t know what is!

Art by meabhd

11. America Singer & Maxon Schreave from The Selection series by Kiera Cass

Favorite Quote/Scene: “Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.” --The One

My high school fangirlish heart is exploding with memories of how much I loved America and Maxon back then, and I still do! This single sentence above said by Maxon says so much about how far he and America have come together through the adversities faced during the Selection and the rebellions that came with it from the people of Illea. Their love story is definitely one for the ages. While it’s your typical poor girl marries rich prince story, they’re definitely worth the remarkable development they’ve have over the course of three beautiful books.

Art by marimari999

12. Arin & Kestrel from the The Winner’s Curse trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

Favorite Quote/Scene: She turned to look at him, and he was already looking at her. 

“I’m going to miss you when I wake up,” she whispered, because she realized that she must have fallen asleep under the sun. Arin was too real for her imagination. He was a dream.

“Don’t wake up,” he said. --The Winner’s Crime

I’m in slight tears because I still remember this scene in the second book. The scene wasn’t actually real, but a dream that Kestrel had after months of being separated from Arin by some messed up duty to her country. Y’all have no idea the struggle these two had before they finally got their happily ever after (they did, just a little heads up for any hopefuls wanting to read the trilogy). This scene definitely gave me a sense of the impending tragedy of them being together (and yes, there’s also a forbidden love trope, sign me tf up, amiright), but it was a momentary bliss to everything that’s been happening during the course of when that scene happened. I absolutely adore Kestrel and Arin, and I’m so mad very few people have read of them or the series ahhhh.

Art by taylordraws

Phew! That was a lot of ships and hunting down for their quotes. Admittedly, I had some trouble with looking for scenes/quotes and that’s actually a perfect opportunity for me to start bookmarking my favorite parts of a book.

Aside from the struggles, though, I’d love to hear some of your favorite bookish ships, whether we ship the same thing or not. It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s point of view of ships, especially ones where our ships contradict. Feel free to sound off in the comments below!

[studentsofshield]

Marvel's Captain Marvel: A Legacy of Failed Relaunches

This piece is about the history of the Captain Marvel name in superhero comic books. First we have to start with the originator, then how it was shut down, then we can get to how it was stolen and how it's been handled since. I will not be getting in to Miracleman/Marvelman, since that is a whole other layer of convoluted.

Fawcett Publications was a publisher of magazines in the 1920s and 30s. They wanted to break into the comic book business after seeing the insane success of Superman starting in 1938. So in 1940 writer Bill Parker and artist CC Beck came up with a superhero for this purpose. The character was to be called Captain Thunder and debut in Flash Comics #1. However, All-American Periodicals beat them to the punch with their own Flash Comics #1 with a cover date of January 1940, debuting the Flash, Hawkman, and other characters. So Fawcett switched the title to Thrill Comics. Which they couldn't use either when Standard/Nedor launched Thrilling Comics #1 with a cover date of February 1940. I guess even the "ing" was too close for trademark comfort. January 1940 also saw the first issue of Fiction House's Jungle Comics, which had a minor backup feature starring Captain Terry Thunder. So when their character was finally unveiled to the public, he was Captain Marvel and appearing in WHIZ Comics #2.

The parallels to Superman were there off the bat and intentional. The first cover features Captain Marvel throwing a car, in reference to the iconic Action Comics #1, but one-upping it. Their powers, costumes, and adventures were somewhat similar. Captain Marvel arguably improved on the Superman formula. Instead of the grown, nerdy Clark Kent, Captain Marvel's secret identity was the child Billy Batson. Rather than looking up to Superman, kids could put their selves in Billy Batson's shoes. The art of CC Beck and others was also more cartoony and the stories more outlandish and fun. While Superman was dealing with corrupt politicians and domestic abusers, Captain Marvel was fighting the moon and hanging out with anthropomorphic tigers.

Captain Marvel replicated the success of Superman, and for a while even outsold the poster boy of comic books. The character's success led to Fawcett creating a whole line of comics and superheroes like Bulletman, Spy Smasher, Minute-Man, Ibis the Invincible and so on in the titles Nickel Comics, Wow Comics, Master Comics, etc. Captain Marvel started multiplying himself with spinoff characters Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel (before DC created Supergirl). The publisher experienced great success through the 1940s.

This success bothered some people, namely competitor National (today's DC Comics). They had success earlier shutting down Fox Feature Syndicate's character Wonder Man for being too close to Superman. They even did the same thing to Fawcett with their character Master Man. Starting in 1941 National took Fawcett to court over Captain Marvel. The lawsuit and all its subsequent appeals lasted all the way to 1951. Meanwhile Superman was ripping off elements of Captain Marvel along the way, like starting to actually fly, Lex Luthor becoming a bald mad scientist (like Dr. Sivana), and introducing the adventures of Superboy akin to Captain Marvel Jr. The long legal struggle and the waning superhero popularity of the 1950s led to Fawcett giving up on the case and shutting down their entire comics line in 1953.

Of course, having won, DC took the opportunity to pull over Fawcett's talent and put them to work on Superman. DC then ended up licensing Fawcett's characters in the 1970s. Captain Marvel has been fully integrated to the DC Universe through the years, for better or worse.

There is just one ironic hiccup though. While Captain Marvel lay dormant in the 1960s, the trademark lapsed. Another comic publisher by the name of Timely Comics had went through a few eras and name changes to Atlas Comics and then to Marvel Comics. Marvel was becoming a major force in the early 1960s thanks to Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko. Publisher Martin Goodman demanded that they snatch up the trademark to Captain Marvel. Fitting I suppose given the name of the company.

So in December 1967 Marvel's version of Captain Marvel debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes 12. Rather than a Superman-like character, this version was Mar-Vell, an alien warrior who was tasked to spy on Earth but then decided to protect humanity. The stories were light science fiction fare.

This Captain Marvel would not become a sales juggernaut like Fawcett's. Marvel has to maintain their right to the trademark at least every two years though. So this has lead to dozens of relaunches and different characters under the Captain Marvel name. 

This is their legacy of failure.

After two appearances in Marvel Super-Heroes (12-13) Captain Marvel received his own self-titled comic in May 1968. From the first appearance through the fourth issue of the series, Gene Colan drew the character and Roy Thomas wrote him. Then not even a year in new creative team Arnold Drake and Don Heck hop on. Other creators like Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers, and Archie Goodwin rotate through. The original green and white costume has a simplistic design that has become retroactively classic, but is really not too special.

With issue 17 in October 1969, Roy Thomas comes back and is joined this time by Gil Kane. The pair introduce a new costume and the unique dynamic of Captain Marvel playing switcheroo with perennial sidekick Rick Jones. The quality of the book vastly improves, but it only gets the chance to show it off for three issues.

After a six month hiatus, Captain Marvel resumes with issue 20 and the same creative team from before. This time they only get to pump out two issues. The book will now be bimonthly for the most part from here on out.

The character would feature prominently in the classic Kree/Skrull War storyline in Avengers, also written by Roy Thomas. This kept him relevant through 1971 even without a book.

And Mar-Vell is back again two years later in 1972 (recall the trademark rules). This time we have three uninspired issues written by three different writers. The only notable piece here is that they're drawn by Wayne Boring. Who was one of the definitive Superman artists of the 1940s and 50s in comic books and strips. In 1967 DC kicked him out, as they had done with most of their iconic Golden Age artists. Super fan and historian Roy Thomas hired him to do a few jobs for Marvel in the 70s. It's cool to see, but his style honestly was out of date by this point. The irony of these past two relaunches is that both returning issues use the cover text "the hero who wouldn't die!" The irony will become evident in a bit.

By this point DC has licensed the original Fawcett Captain Marvel. Due to Marvel's trademark usage, DC has to title the comic Shazam (the catchphrase Billy Batson uses to transform into the hero). Shazam runs from 1973 through 1978 and then the character moves to anthology backups. Superman even introduces the Big Red Cheese on the cover of the first issue. Within the pages of the comic, the character is still allowed to be called Captain Marvel. This alleged confusion has caused anxiety over the years for DC and with the New 52 reboot in 2011 they tried to officially change the icon's name to Shazam.

With issue 25 in 1973 Captain Marvel finally becomes a must-read comic when a young Jim Starlin jumps on board as artist. He had previously written and drawn fill-in issues of Iron Man that introduced the characters Thanos and Drax the Destroyer. He brought those characters with him and began writing as well, giving fans the iconic Thanos War arc. Starlin sticks around for less than a year. His final issue is 34, where Mar-Vell fights Nitro and the infamous cover text describes him as "the man who killed Captain Marvel." It's originally just supposed to be a sensational lie as is the tradition.

With Starlin gone, Captain Marvel still continues to issue 62 in 1979. Al Milgrom and Pat Broderick draw most of this run. Steve Englehart, Scott Edelman, and Doug Moench handle the writing. Nothing truly memorable or relevant happened, though by this point there were Mar-Vell fans who surely enjoyed it.

Supporting character Carol Danvers also got superpowers and got a spinoff title that ran two years. Mostly written by Chris Claremont. Ms. Marvel would have her own too-late creative reinvention in issue 20 thanks to artist Dave Cockrum. This book was arguably better than the book it spun out of at this point. Carol Danvers will become important again in this saga, but for the time being Claremont pulls her way to be an occasional presence in his vast X-Men run.

Captain Marvel was cancelled prematurely, so Marvel launched a new volume of Marvel Spotlight to pump out inventory issues. Captain Marvel appeared in Marvel Spotlight 1-4, and 8. Of curiosity is that Steve Ditko and Frank Miller drew the last two issues.

Outside of a few appearances, Mar-Vell doesn't make a major appearance between September 1980 and April 1982. When Jim Starlin was offered to write and draw the first installment of the Marvel Graphic Novel series and kill off a major character. One can presume he wasn't allowed to choose Spider-Man. He went with Captain Marvel, following up from his final issue on the series and revealing that the fight with Nitro gave him cancer. He died surrounded by all his fellow heroes and the book is a genuine emotional classic. It solidifies Mar-Vell as a legend, even if his original series never truly got him to deserve that reputation.

Mar-Vell would be featured in a reprint series titled The Life of Captain Marvel in 1985 focusing on the Starlin run. A three issue flashback series to his green and white era was published in 1997.

They need to maintain the trademark though, right? Enter Monica Rambeau in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 the same year. Her connection to Mar-Vell was nonexistent, but she took on the Captain Marvel name regardless. Creator Roger Stern carried her over to his legendary Avengers run and she even lead the team for a period. Monica has had tons of memorable appearances since, such as the brilliant Nextwave: Agents of HATE.

Monica would receive solo one-shots in 1989 and 1994. Both by the creative team of Dwayne McDuffie and M.D. Bright.

The third Marvel character to go by Captain Marvel was Genis-Vell. Originally introduced in Silver Surfer Annual #6 as Legacy, Genis is Mar-Vell's bastard child. Genis gets his father's Nega Bands and even is linked to Rick Jones. He got his own series written by Fabian Nicieza in late 1995 that was cancelled prematurely after six issues. In Avengers Unplugged #5 Genis officially takes the Captain Marvel name from Monica, who then suffers through several code names over the years.

After disappearing for about two years, Genis pops up again prominently in the Avengers Forever maxiseries. This launched a 2000 series written by Peter David and drawn by ChrissCross. The series was a critical darling and cult hit, but sales weren't perfect.

To try and boost sales, the book was relaunched in 2002 as part of the U-Decide Campaign. Which was a (marketing ploy) bet between David, Bill Jemas, and Joe Quesada. Fans helped to decide which of three books would survive. It helps that the other two books (Marville and Ultimate Adventures) were absolute trash, but Captain Marvel handily won. It lasted another 25 issues to bring the entire run to 60 issues. During the run, the fourth Captain Marvel Phyla-Vell is introduced as Genis' sister/clone. She uses the name briefly and then becomes Quasar and then Martyr in other stories. Genis eventually goes crazy, then dies.

In 2008 as part of the Secret Invasion crossover, Mar-Vell seems to come back to life in a self-titled miniseries. However, it's revealed that this character is a Skrull with fake memories.

The Skrull fake dies, but is able to pass on his wishes to the Kree hero Noh-Varr. Who was previously known as Marvel Boy, but then becomes Captain Marvel during the Dark Reign era. After discovering he's being manipulated, he abandons the Dark Avengers and takes on the Protector identity.

While the Avengers stock is rising in the 2000s thanks to Brian Michael Bendis, Carol Danvers is back as Ms. Marvel and her mission is to become the prominent hero she thinks she can be. To really promote her, in 2012 Marvel gives her the Captain Marvel name, redesigns her costume, and launches a new title. Kelly Sue DeConnick will shepard the character for the next few years. This series only lasts 17 issues.

By 2012 Marvel has now entered their relaunch trigger happy era. So in 2014 Captain Marvel is relaunched while keeping the same writer. This volume is even shorter at 15 issues.

As a tie-in to the alternate reality event Secret Wars in 2015, Carol Danvers gets her own miniseries still by KSD.

Coming out of Secret Wars, Captain Marvel gets another volume. This one lasts only 10 issues. Marvel brings in TV writers Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas. They leave halfway through and are replaced by Christos and Ruth Gage. The character is significantly entangled in the divisive crossover event Civil War II around this era.

In 2017 another relaunch is due and Carol gets the slight title change to The Mighty Captain Marvel. Prose writer Margaret Stohl is the writer. This series lasts nine issues before being renumbered/retitled as part of Marvel's Legacy initiative. Still with Stohl, renumbered for only five issues.

A soon to be released one-shot tie-in to Infinity Countdown promises Carol adventuring with Monica and possibly Mar-Vell. Marvel has been subtly teasing Mar-Vell's genuine return again recently.

With a Captain Marvel movie starring Carol Danvers just around the corner, Marvel obviously needs to relaunch again (SIGH). July 2018 will bring The Life of Captain Marvel #1. Still written by Stohl, the series promises to retell Carol Danver's origin. So maybe they'll decide to relaunch it again after the origin arc is over.

It's unclear whether DC would have been able to quickly grab the trademark back in the possibly free periods of 1984, 1987, 1992, 1998, and 2006. I don't know if the publication of collected editions fulfills the trademark requirements. If so, Masterworks and other collections could tick off some of those possible open spots.

To summarize, here are all of Marvel's Captain Marvel titles and relaunches:

Mar-Vell Marvel Super-Heroes 12-13 (December 1967-March 1968) Captain Marvel Vol 1 1-19 (May 1968-December 1969) Captain Marvel Vol 1 20-21 (June-August 1970) Captain Marvel Vol 1 22-62 (September 1972-May 1979) Marvel Spotlight 1-4, 8 (July 1979-September 1980) Death of Captain Marvel (April 1982) Life of Captain Marvel Vol 1 1-5 (August-December 1985) Untold Legend of Captain Marvel 1-3 (April-June 1997)

Monica Rambeau: Captain Marvel Vol 2 1 (November 1989) Captain Marvel Vol 2 1/2 (February 1994)

Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel Vol 3 1-6 (December 1995-May 1996) Captain Marvel Vol 4 0-35 (November 1999-October 2002) Captain Marvel Vol 5 1-25 (December 2002-September 2004)

Skrull Fake: Captain Marvel Vol 6 1-5 (January-June 2008)

Carol Danvers: Captain Marvel Vol 7 1-17 (September 2012-January 2014) Captain Marvel Vol 8 1-15 (May 2014-July 2015) Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps 1-4 (August-November 2015) Captain Marvel Vol 9 1-10 (March 2016-January 2017) Mighty Captain Marvel 0-9 (February-November 2017) Captain Marvel Vol 1 125-129 (December 2017-April 2018) Life of Captain Marvel Vol 2 1-? (September 2018-?)

*Dates used are cover dates.

[lindoig8]

Thursday-Saturday, 13-15 May

Thursday

We woke up to a very cold caravan. I had a really bad cramp during the night (have been suffering a lot more than usual in the past month or two with several cramps of greater or lesser pain every day) and I could hardly walk. Once I warmed up a bit, it improved, but I hobbled around most of the day. Of course, we both had a few aches and pains as a result of being bounced around and off hard objects on the bad roads yesterday so a quiet day was definitely in order.

One thing I did that was unusual for me was to sit outside in the sun like a good old crocodile and soak up some rays to thaw me out. I even read a bit more of my birthday book, Cricket Yarns, very light-hearted, but especially interesting to me because I can remember many of the players that are mentioned from my youth, even some quite obscure ones, from times when I was passionate and playing myself – albeit never above inter-church competition. I know many of the more recent players of course, have even met a few of them, but I have really had a trip down Memory Lane reading about the antics of 50-70 years ago.

Friday

Another cold start today, but having had a cramp in my right leg yesterday, I had another bad one in my left leg last night so I am now limping on both legs. Most of the day mirrored yesterday too except that I didn’t read much and we had a supermarket and fuel run late in the day – and bought fish and chips for dinner that night. (And did you hear about the signwriter who was criticised because he didn’t leave enough space between the Fish and and and and and Chips – not really, just a joke!)

The rest of both Thursday and Friday was spent on writing up our recent experiences and sorting and editing photos – we spend a great deal of time on that!!!

Saturday

We had a few things to do in the morning, but we then went to the Aboriginal Cultural Centre at the other end of town. It is a huge complex with all sorts of facilities, but the main public attractions are the Aboriginal Art Gallery and the Aviation Museum (both included on the one ticket) and the Museum of Natural History on a separate ticket (that we didn’t visit}. There is also a theatre and workshop there, a big studio and arts and craft shop, a café and another big area that was closed so I am not sure what was in it – although the staff mentioned that a group meditation class was going on somewhere in it. It has extensive grounds with a few art installations there as well as lots of native shrubs and trees.

I have to say that the Art Gallery didn’t grab me at all. I simply don’t understand art, at least very little of what was on display there. Why anyone would spend days of their lives splashing paint around in irregular nonsensical patterns (that weren’t even patterns) is beyond me. Dot paintings that are just meaningless random dots are meaningless to me. And most of them are titled ‘Untitled’ – if you are going to spend hours or days daubing paint on a bedsheet, wouldn’t you think you could give the viewer a hint of what you were intending to do – other than ruining a perfectly good bedsheet? There were a few Namatjiras that at least depicted a scene, but I reckon ‘modern art’ is nonsense at the best of times and calling it ‘modern indigenous art’ hardly justifies the absurd prices with which the pieces are tagged. I know I am a plebian with no artistic skill at all, but any 5-year-old could do as good as most of it – isn’t that what Pre-school is all about? There were a few craft items – weird 3D doll-looking things that were a bit cute and the very sparce ‘sculpture garden’ had some recognisable items, but most of it left me cold too. The best piece in my view was the hippopotamus in the foyer – not even part of the gallery – created, according to the blurb, to make people ask ‘why is he here’. This was intended to make people ask of the white man – ‘why is he here’?

I found the Aviation Museum much more to my liking. Only about half of it was open because it is run entirely by volunteers and one guy (half the rostered team) had just knocked off for the day. It was interesting to see a few old planes and bits of plane and read some of the stories (and tragedies) of the aviation pioneers in Australia, particularly the Northern Territory. We had a bit of trouble getting away from the remaining loquacious volunteer who was perhaps a tad bored (we were her only customers) but it was good to see someone as enthusiastic as she was about what she was doing.

We spent about 3 hours or so at the complex and ate our lunch in the car before heading to the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens where we spent another 2-3 hours. I really enjoyed that. Heather was obviously interested in the plants and was able to identify or confirm the identity of several she had been wondering about – but I was more interested in the birds. I think I saw 15 or 16 species there – more that I have seen anywhere else we have been recently. Three of them were new to us on this trip, the Yellow-throated Miner, the Western Bowerbird and the Grey-crowned Babbler. I really enjoyed our walk around the desert garden and seeing so many birds was a bonus.

When we returned to the caravan, we got stuck into preparing everything to move on tomorrow – packing up everything we could and taking down the awning, etc., to give us as early a start as possible tomorrow. But I think we both thought it had been a really great day – in advance of a biggish one tomorrow when we need to be ready to move on to Gemtree after getting our minor caravan repairs done – we hope!

[john-is-on-the-rails]

This post begun 09:17 03/05/18 in Berlin Central Station and finished 14:05 04/05/18 at Prague Metronome Park: 

I’m heading out of Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the main train station. Built in time for the 2006 world cup, surprisingly England went out on penalties to Portugal that time, it’s more like an airport than any rail station I’ve seen. A shopping mall trains go in and out of. I had a ‘super’ smoothie from a juice bar just off platform three. I think super means it has a banana in it. The term ‘superfood’ has always puzzled me. It appears to mean ‘anything that isn’t a burger with chips next to it’. Blueberries are a superfood apparently. I’ve always just thought of them as...well...food.

I began with the Jung quote because I was thinking about it yesterday after hearing a discussion on a podcast a few days ago. Side note: I ended up watching a Slavic jazz band at an Irish bar last night. There was a young guy sat opposite me, taking notes and drinking whiskey. Cool kid. I dropped my phone, smooth, and as he passed it back to me he said ‘I have put you in my notebook, I hope that’s OK’. I said it was and asked him what he was writing. Turned out he was a Sri Lankan student studying psychology in Amsterdam. We got chatting and I told him the Jung quote above, which he duly wrote down in my section of his notebook. I hope it gave him something to think about anyway! 

The podcast host used the Jung quote during the podcast to argue that when reading history you should imagine you are the perpetrator rather than the victim. Because statistically, it is much more likely that you would have been complicit than be one of the minority of people who truly rebel against the dominant ideology, often with mortal consequence's for them. It made me think about the history of Germany in a different way. I’ve always thought ‘of course I would have stood up to the Nazi’s, wouldn’t I?’ But, If you put yourself in a position where going against the state means almost certain death for you and your family, would you actually do it? It’s a difficult question to confront and you might not like the answer. With the luxury of hindsight, it is much easier to be courageous. Could you really have seen through the Goebells propaganda machine that was bombarding you with anti-Semitic rhetoric? That’s how terror states work. They make people complicit by weaponising fear and anxiety. Look at Stalinist Russia, dissenters did not last long there. 

Over the last couple of days, I've been reading Joseph Frankl’s account of his experiences in Auschwitz and Dacau concentration camps. It’s only a short read, 150 or so pages, but I would urge anyone to read it to get an honest insight into the psychology of the camp internee, as well as the prison guard. His account, as a psychologist by trade, focuses on how his and his fellow detainees' mental states changed when reduced to their most basic need, to survive. Dr. Frankl openly admits that the ‘best of them’ did not make it out alive. It's also interesting to hear that those whom you might naturally assume would survive, physically robust people, for example, can actually fare much worse in reality. Those of a more sensitive and cerebral nature, often with a less hardy physical stature, are sometimes more able to cope with such a harrowing experience by losing themselves in their heads. Detachment is key to surviving such horrors according to Frankl.

On Tuesday, I visited the monuments to the darker side of Berlin's history. The picture they paint of a city divided in hatred is difficult to reconcile with the multi-cultural, diverse and vibrant place that Berlin is today. It isn't the same city. The same as a person isn't the same person they were ten years ago. Time heals all and hope springs eternal, as they say. The possibility of change is what hope is. I would have been too embarrassed not many years ago to sit in this park on my laptop in bare feet, as I am doing whilst writing this. 

I'd have worried what people looking at me were thinking. Now I try only to worry about what is in my control. What other people think is not one of those things, when you try and control the thoughts of others, it ends badly. This is attested to by the Holocaust memorials, the topography of terror and the Jewish Museum in Berlin. I visited each of these sites in one day, and I'm not too proud to admit that it brings tears to my eyes now writing about it days later. There are two major holocaust memorials close to the Reichstag building and the Brandenburg Gate. A smaller, more intimate memorial to the Roma and Sinti who were persecuted by the Nazis. It is very peaceful and less physically impactful than the Jewish memorial further on past Brandenburg Tor. A slightly risen circular water feature trickles peacefully in the centre of a clearing surrounded by sycamores. A simple triangle is at the centre of the pool, upon which a fresh flower is placed daily. I didn't stay here long. An elderly couple were embracing and crying, maybe for a lost loved one. I felt like I was intruding so respectfully left them to grieve. 

The memorial to the millions of murdered Jews is a couple of minutes walk away. Comprised of around two thousand seven hundred stone blocks and pillars, the floor falls away and becomes more uneven as you move towards the centre, giving you an uneasy and slightly nauseous feeling. The pillars become larger and more and more light is filtered out. It becomes increasingly overwhelming as you move through the stone maze, as the sound of the city is muffled and your senses dulled. Now and then you'll see someone cross the path ahead, and then disappear again. I think the feeling of loneliness and a descent into chaos is a fitting memorial to the Holocaust. The quietness and stillness of the place perfectly represent the hole left by the erasing of millions of people from European society. 

Next stop was the Topography of Terror. Both indoor and outdoor exhibitions on the site of buildings which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the SS Reich Main Security Office, the headquarters of the Sicherheitspolizei, SD, Einsatzgruppen and Gestapo. Most of the buildings were destroyed by allied bombing or knocked down after the war, the site was forgotten about for decades. The visitor centre on site now is a glass and steel structure with wide open spaces and a timeline that takes you through the evolution of the Nazi state. It makes harrowing reading but I took my time and worked my way through the exhibit. The tour ends with a video reel of show trials after the attempted assassination of Hitler in 1944. An elderly priest, who had heard the confession of one of the would-be assassins nine months before and warned him against taking any action, was called in as a witness but left with a death sentence to be carried out the next day. It made tough watching. The outdoor exhibitions tell the story of 1933 and the Nazi’s rise to power. The displays are set in front of what is left of the basements and cellars of the original buildings. I thought it best not to dwell for too long on what happened in those spaces. 

My final stop was the Jewish Museum on the old East side of town. You can see the difference in architecture immediately when you move from West to East over the old line of the wall. It feels like there is still a divide of riches between the two sides of Berlin. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this museum as it was a last minute suggestion from google maps that sent me there. This place took my breath away and finally made me shed a tear after an emotional day. The building is set out as an art installation, as well as a museum. I was wandering through the building looking at a wall of artifacts, slowly moving my way down a corridor. I noticed a large door at the end with no signage on it but decided to give it a push anyway. I entered a vaulted room, towering walls all around making it feel claustrophobic. The walls were jet black. The door slammed behind me, sending an echo around the chamber, after that all noise from the outside was isolated. A single window in the roof was the only source of light. That was when I felt a rush of emotion for all I had seen and learned that day.

Despite the tough subject matter, I felt strangely alive when I left the museum and headed off back into Berlin centre. Perhaps I had realised how very lucky I am to live in the circumstances I do. I sat and had a drink near the Brandenburg Gate, where I was joined by some feathered friends. Hope springs eternal.