Girl help I keep restarting my BG3 playthroughs the moment I reach act 3

Hi!! So I was listening to paper rings by Taylor Swift today and the lyric 'I like shiny things but I'd marry you with paper rings' made me think of coops and o'knutzy. Could you write a prompt about this?! <3

This song is so perfect for Coops and it’s the best way to start of the long-awaited wedding series! Yay! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

Combined with:

1. Domestic Coops

2. Remus making fun of Sirius’ initials

3. Sirius trying to make Remus moan while he’s on the phone with his folks

4. From @colored-rain: Taking Hattie to the vet

TW for mild smutty content, taking a pet to the vet, and the inherent stress of wedding planning

I: Six Weeks Before the Wedding

“Where are we even going to do this?” Sirius asked, running a hand through his hair.

Remus shook his head silently, pressing his forehead into the wooden edge of the table. “What if we elope?”

“Celeste would skin us both.”

“True. Oh, god, my dad would cry if we did that.” Remus slid down in his seat and stared up with sad eyes. “Can’t we just be married already?”

“I could get tinfoil from the kitchen and just…” Sirius mimed wrapping it around his ring finger and Remus snorted.

“Baby, I would marry you with paper rings, but I think we want them to last.”

“You like shiny things!”

“I do, that doesn’t mean I want tinfoil on my hand for the rest of my life,” Remus laughed, pulling him in for a quick kiss. “Alright, let’s go through our list again. We agreed on small, right?”

“Just the team and families. We still want it to be outside?”

“Yep.” Remus checked off two boxes on the piece of paper they had been grappling with for the past four days. “Rings have already been ordered?”

“I’m doing that this afternoon. What kind of cake do we want?”

“Uhhh…an edible one?” Remus shrugged. “I don’t have a huge preference. Chocolate is really good but all the ones from the store are spongy.”

“Wow, an edible cake, so original,” Sirius teased. “We can ask Celeste what she thinks.”

“Good plan.” He paused for a moment. “Where outside will we do it? We need an actual venue. I think people would be upset if we just had a wedding in a public park.”

“The media would be all over it, too.” Sirius scrunched his nose up in thought just as their timer went off and both sighed as they headed for the door. “It’s going to be hard to focus on practice when we know next to nothing about the wedding we’ve been planning for over six months.”

“We’re disasters.”

II: Four Weeks Before the Wedding

“We’re not putting that on the cards.”

“Why not?” Sirius frowned and looked down at the mock-up invitation. “It’s our initials. It’s cute.”

Remus blinked at him. “Sirius. Your initials.”

“Do you not want my initials on our joint wedding invitation?”

“I would love to have your initials on our joint wedding invitation, except for the part where it’s the same acronym as ‘son of a bitch’.”

Sirius paused, then groaned and put his hands over his face. “Fuck, I forgot about that.”

“You forgot your own initials?”

“I forgot the son of a bitch thing!”

“Okay, I clearly don’t tease you enough for that,” Remus snickered, wrapping an arm around his waist to kiss his cheek. “Alright, attempt number eight is a bust.”

III: Three Weeks Before the Wedding

Sirius ran his fingers gently through Remus’ hair, feeling him shift in the darkness. “What’s on your mind, mon amour?”

“Are we changing our last names?”

“Did we…not discuss that?” Sirius wracked his brain, but it was so exhausted from wedding topics that he came up empty.

“I don’t think so.” Remus scooted around so he was on his side, facing Sirius. “Both our names are super connected to our jobs. Plus, Lupin-Black might be a little long for jerseys.”

“I’d rather not go through the whole name-change process.” There was a beat of quiet. “Though I do like the sound of Sirius Lupin.”

Remus’ breath audibly caught and he leaned closer to Sirius, nuzzling against his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

IV: Eighteen Days Before the Wedding

Remus’ back hit the mattress with a soft bounce that was quickly stilled by Sirius’ weight pressing him down by the hips, his mouth skimming along all the right places on Remus’ neck. “Yes,” he hissed as Sirius ground down, their bare chests bumping together. He dipped his hands beneath the waistband of Sirius’ sweats and he shivered, nipping the hinge of his jaw.

“Wait,” Sirius gasped, pulling back to straddle Remus’ waist.

“What? Is this a flamingo moment?” Remus panted, still buzzing with arousal.

“Did we invite your parents to the wedding?”

Remus stared at him in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“I don’t think we did.”

“Sirius, you are literally about to—holy fuck, did we invite my parents?”

“I don’t know!”

Remus groaned and let his head fall back against the pillows before tapping Sirius’ hip and swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed his mother’s number, taking a few deep breaths to collect himself as it rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, mom, how’s it going?”

“Oh, it’s going fine out here. How’s wedding planning?” Hope asked. Remus could hear her smiling.

“That’s what I’m calling about, actually. Did you—” He bit his lip as Sirius’ fingertips trailed up his thigh. “Uh, did you get an invitation?”

Hope was silent for a moment, save for a few rustling sounds. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think so. Lyall! Honey, did Re send us a wedding invitation?” There was a low humming noise as his father responded. “He says we didn’t get one.”

Remus winced. “Sorry about that. I can text you the details, if you want.”

“Will you mail one as well? I want to put it in our memory box.”

Sirius’ hand slid further along Remus’ leg, growing closer to his inner thigh by the second and doing nothing to quell his frayed nerves. “Yeah—yeah, mom, we totally can.”

“Are you alright? You sound a bit out of breath.”

“Hattie was running around and being a little crazy.” Remus covered the speaker with his hand and turned to glare at Sirius, who grinned and kissed his cheekbone.

“Okay,” Hope sounded skeptical. “So you’re not getting sick or anything?”

“Nope. Healthy as a horse.” The last word came out a little breathless as Sirius licked a stripe up his neck and bit down on the junction to his shoulder, making Remus’ eyes flutter closed. He smacked Sirius’ hand halfheartedly and felt him grin.

“How’s Sirius doing?”

“Fine, he’s fine. We’re a little stressed with the wedding planning and everything, but things are good here.” Really good, he thought as the heel of Sirius’ hand pressed down just next to his dick. He swallowed down a moan and squeezed his eyes shut. “Alright, I’ll text the details to you this afternoon love you mom bye.”

“Love you t—”

A millisecond after the call ended, Remus slammed his phone into the nightstand and pushed Sirius into the sheets, bracketing his face with his elbows. “What the fuck was that?”

“I’m just keeping things interesting.” Sirius tugged his lower lip between his teeth and smirked, which really left Remus with only one option: kissing him senseless until he couldn’t even remember his own name.

V: Three Days Before the Wedding

Sirius’ leg bounced up and down nervously and he gripped Remus’ hand as they waited in the lobby of the vet’s office. “She’ll be okay.” His voice was noticeably higher than usual and he cleared his throat. “She’ll be fine. It’s just a cough.” A cough that’s been going on for four and a half days.

Remus hummed his agreement, though he hadn’t stopped twisting Hattie’s leash in his hands since they arrived. “Just a cough. Probably a cold, or—or something like that.”

The doors ahead opened and both of them stood as Hattie trotted out next to the vet tech, who looked rather amused. “What’s wrong with her?” Sirius asked, scanning her for any signs of illness. “Is she alright?”

“She is a very talented actress,” the vet said, rubbing Hattie behind the ears. She whined pitifully and cuddled into Sirius’ side. “Have you two been busy lately?”

“We’re planning for our wedding.” Remus looked as confused as Sirius felt. “Why?”

“Because Miss Hattie here is one of the healthiest, snuggliest dogs I’ve ever seen.”

“But she was coughing.”

“She was faking.” The vet knelt next to her and petted down her back, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t you, munchkin?”

“Hattie!” Sirius exclaimed, torn between relief and shock. “You little monster!”

Remus frowned and tapped her forehead lightly as he slid her leash on over her head. “We were so worried about you! Why would you do that?”

“She’s probably been sulking because you’re busy with wedding stuff,” the vet said with a smile. “Quite the drama queen you’ve got there.”

“Tell me about it,” Sirius huffed as he kissed her head. “Don’t ever do that again, young lady. You’re in big trouble when we get home.”

“Thank you for your help,” Remus said, shaking the vet’s hand. “We really appreciate it and we’re so sorry for wasting your time.”

“Are you kidding? She was the best part of my day,” he laughed. “All the other techs can’t stop talking about Hattie cuddles now. Have a good one, you three.”

+1: The Lions, the Media, and the Locker Room

Word spread like wildfire in media circles, and the rumor mill had never worked harder once news of the Black-Lupin wedding came out.

Naturally, the Lions decided to have a little fun with it.

“Pots! Pots, what can you tell us about Black and Lupin’s wedding?” Four different microphones were shoved into his personal space, but James put on his best confused face.

“What wedding?”

A wave of murmuring spread through the reporters. “So you weren’t invited to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin’s wedding?”

“There’s a wedding?”

Across the room, two other interviewers mobbed Thomas Walker in his stall. “Talker, do you know anything about Black and Lupin’s wedding?”

“Who?” he asked with a perfect act of innocence.

“Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.”

He bit his lip. “I don’t think I know them, sorry. Are they fans?”

“Talkie!” Remus tossed him a towel from the adjacent stall, and he caught it with a grin.

“Heads up, Loops!” Talker threw it right back and headed toward the ice baths with a wink to the cameras. “Good chat, guys.”

One of the interviewers muttered under their breath and hurried over to Pascal, who was still unlacing his skates. “Dumo, when is the wedding between Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?”

Dumo frowned. “Quoi?”

“The wedding. You were invited, yes?”

“Desole, je ne parle pas l’anglais,” he said regretfully. “C’est un…wedding?”

“Yes, the wedding between your teammates.”

“These words, I don’t know them.” His French accent was almost comically thick as he shook his head. “Desole.”

Out of view of the cameras, Sirius gave him a thumbs-up and reached over to high-five Pots.

first: WAHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭 I got so emotional!!! so emotional!!!! so much that I can’t even do this first second pattern bc I have SO MANY thoughts!!!!!!! I’m writing this in my notes instead of straight into the askbox so u know it’s serious business™

ok so debut night!!! I was like ahah yeah it’s a tragedy whatever it’ll be fun to start out with and then the voice acting was SO good that it knocked me out of the park and I almost cried haha. it’s crazy how good the voice acting in a3 is like I love how the dialogue and voice acting works well together bc like it’s limited but so effective!! u can so very clearly see and understand the style they’re going for. especially like tsumugi’s death scene... the Talent jumped out it really did... uh and ok so. I think I may be a littleeee confused abt the play bc I had always interpreted tasukus last lines as raphael to be like abt his being secretly in love with michael. but now that I’m actually reading the line that’s like oh don’t fall for a human it only ends in misery I know that all too well or whatever... ig the implication is that raphael was in love with another human / the same lady michael was in love with in the play. side note I had to go back and edit the proper names in instead of tasuku and tsumugi lol... but speaking of!! speaking of the voice acting and the play itself I 1) love how blatantly obvious it is when tsumugi goes for that grander, tasuku like style of delivery!! like u could just so easily feel the difference it was wild... and 2) tsuzuru is once again spot on with his writing, lol... I felt that like raphaels inability to save or help michael really parallels how tasuku feels abt tsumugi so well, and it’s wonderful that they r able to resolve things and tasuku can properly compliment him on his acting where the angels fail to do so. it’s very good. and I think the play rly highlights (for me at least) that like. to tasuku, it was tsumugi who was sort of an unreachable existence. like were he to idolize and respect someone’s acting, it would be tsumugi. and I think that like caring carries over into their roles really well, because I think in michael’s love for a human tasuku sees like... tsumugi’s style of acting. the heart that he’d lost while within the god troupe. mb I’m losing my mind a little but ah. the play rly works with their relationship so well!! im very excited to see the other winter ppl get main roles tho—same for all the troupes!!! now this ask is too long so I’ll have to do another part lol

going to start off this second part of the ask abt hisoka bc oh my GOD. hisoka. like I was just thinking “hm where r the winter troupe cgs anyways” and then BAM. hisoka CRYING???? especially since he doesn’t seem that emotional it was a really hard hit!!! and who tf is august.... ok well actually theory time!! skipping ahead to the end theres that note that like mentions December and April and. not to expose my friend but very many years ago (a couple years before a3 was launched, at the very least) she wrote this story where there were like 12 orphan assassins and they were all named after months. I remember the main dude was named dec lol. coupled with my “hisoka is capable of murder” bit? listen.... I’m not saying anything but I’m also not not saying anything if u feel me. also I feel like assassin / thief with mysterious background is a common trope!! that was silver from the pokémon adventures manga too... why is this my reference point lmao. anyways I’m unclear if assassins would make it into a3 but like.... if the yakuza and supernatural stuff makes it in...

okay moving away from conspiracy theories and into emotions!!! the quotes from like EVERY mankai actor before the final production made me SO emo... and yay!!! they won!!!! (though admittedly I almost had a heart attack when no one clapped) but they won!!!! that ending cg!!!! and I adore how sakyo immediately goes after god troupe man (I know his name is reni I just don’t feel like calling him that) for the money lol it’s just so sakyo-like. also I love the lil mixed troupe interactions!! I found the game night ch so fun.... ahh, now I wanna reread that ch since it was so good lol

all in all I was super satisfied ahh!! I am SO excited to start up spring troupe again (HELLO character development!!! and chikage) and I’m even MORE excited to get thru all the act 1 events!!!! as a final note, is there any way to reread or replay the flair conversations? I didn’t want any spoilers for the plays while I was doing the practices for them so I kinda sped thru the first time ahah...

HELLO FRIEND IM SO HAPPY TO GET SUCH A LENGHTY ASK ABOUT WINTER IM LKDJFLKDJFLKFD  Winter makes me feel shrimps emotions (i know the whole “shrimps can see more colors than humans can’t comprehend” thing has been disproved but i’m not letting go of that expression, i REALLY feel emotions humans can’t comprehend anymore and i’m going to make it everyone else’s problem)

1) First about the voice acting, rIGHT this is just so fascinating to me!!! I remember after act 2 i came back to reread the main act 1 chapter and i was so thrown out by how GOOD the voice acting was, especially for the first few troupes having to convince you they’re not comfortable or good at acting yet. Winter whole thing is that they’re more subtle and mature and you really feel that with their voice acting, Tsumugi’s voice especially knock it off the park anytime he’s on screen. 

2) Second: what does it say about me that i’ve never, ever considered your reading a possibility because i was so set on “oh Raphael you’re in love with Michael sooooo bad you see it as a tragedy already because you can see him throw his life away” i didn’t even consider “maybe Raphael went through that too”. Though i guess if we’re going with that reading i can totally see “The Woman” they let themselves consumed by easily be a representation of acting or even more the God Troupe, with Raphael/Tasuku knowing to step away before it consumes him completely while Michael/Tsumugi, by his love and passion, pushed himself until he broke, which fits and it hurtsssss god Winter plays hits so hard.

3) Third: oh god yeah when Tsumugi goes for Tasuku’s acting it’s just. It makes me SO uncomfortable, i’ve experienced this scene like three times by now and the third time i was just “can i skip it i can’t go through this again i can’t Tsumugi i love you i can’t do this”. It doesn’t match the play at all and it just throws everyone off balance, and Tsumu you could have told theM YOU WANTED TO DO THAT.... god

4) Fourth: I LOVE YOUR READING SO MUCH I LOVE IT I LOVE IT YES YOU’RE RIGHT!!! Just as we follow Tsumugi let his passion consumes him until he breaks, Tasuku’s character arc really jumps out in Raphael, like, everything you say!!!  The way Tasuku/Raphael knew how the feelings Tsumugi/Michael felt would hurt him on the long run but he didn’t know what to do about it until it was too late, the regrets and the way Raphael voices his frustrations.... Tasuku struggles to be honest without acting (Tasuku pls i love you) but having such a role really help him expressing all he feels about Tsumugi and i’m HHHH this is so good so so good!!! but yeah i also love that Tasuku finally manages to actually compliment Tsumugi naturally, that he understands he can’t let him destroys himself again and it’s just gnhhhhh Tasuku is so kind and considerate and i care about him so much....!!!

5) Fifth: “i’m losing my mind a little” winter mood, winter mood winter mood- (though every troupe’s mood tbh but Winter is gnhhhhh kdhd hdhjf??? you feel me) (i am BIASED i can’t help it TwT) but yeaH i’m looking forward to see how you react to the others plays because the roller coaster juST BEGUN!!!

Onto part 2... Winter Troupe Chapter Feels... 2!

6) Sixth: DLFJDFKLDF HISOKAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH. Hisoka crying fucked me up so bad!! so so bad!! Like on my first read i didn’t know what to think of him as he starts out very apathic to his troupe and then the more it goes on the more you can feel he starts to open up and i’m soft for this sort of slow burn, but then this whole scene happened and it HIT ME IN THE FACE, he was crying, i was crying, we were all crying, the Unopening Door opened a flood of emotions i can’t cope with. He sounds SO VULNERABLE during that scene and i know all of the Winter Troupe united on “taking care of him” but that’s really the moment i went “i care you and i will keep taking care of you” and look at me now. Thanks funky little scene for ruining my life. I’m glad you liked it i’m aldhjflkjdfkd Hisokaaaaa.....

7) Seventh: I am not commenting on the theory but 👀 that’s so highly specific your friend has a galaxy brain i love it. and i love the idea of “well we have yakuza and supernatural entity what’s an assassin adding himself to it” dLKFJDLKF i know everyone in Mankai calls Izumi out everytime someone joins but that’d be peak. I’m not going further about what December and August and April are all about but i love this plotline sO much, the few mentions of August when Hisoka regained his memories for a minute still haunts me, the guilt he seems to feel and this pain i’m just... godddd such a good set up. I love this plotline.

8) Eigth: EMOTIONS!!  Oh GOD YEAH THE ENDING WITH ALL THE OTHER ACTORS... I cried so hard it’s just. It really shows you it’s not just the culmination of the Winter chapter but of all the act 1 main plot and it really makes you feel how much of a journey you’ve been onto!! A3 is so good at showing you the growth of its characters that especially by the end of Winter you really saw how all of them grew in their respective chapters and how cozy they felt in their new home in the remaining chapters, and the fact this chap has those defining character arc’s lines really drive home “oh my god that was a journey” i love them sO MUCH.... 

9) Ninth: wE WOOOON!!! They’re all so good i just. i’m gonna cry just thinking about it dlfdjlfk i know like, the game has so many content so you know it can’t end at the end of Winter but the suspense really was there. BUT YEAH LMAO I LOVE SAKYO DOING THAT IMMEDIATLY, man sure has the eyes on the prize and we love him for that.  AND THE GAME NIGHT SCENE they are all sO CUTE and sWEET and they’re a family now and i’m hHHHHH i love a3 a normal healthy amount that isn’t just making me cry thinking about how all of them grew so close even through mixed troupes.

10) Tenth: I am SO happy you were satisfied with the plot so far!! I’m genuinely so happy that you decided to take that journey with us and that you shared all of this with me, and i’m so so happy you liked it!! There is still so much content and all of it is so worth it! 

11) Eleventh: Yes!! The flair conversations are all readable on the Mini-Chat tab! So they’re easily accessible and they’re sorted in a way that’s easy to read so you can feel comfortable skipping the flairs if you want until you have seen the stories the flairs are all about. They’re all kinda set during the rehearsals (except for some crosstroupe conversation that wouldn’t make sense if they were like how the Summer Troupe talks with the Spring Troupe in their Flairs DKLFJDF but it’s okay what is a timeline anyway) so some of them are set pre-development and it’s wild to get back to them. I love rereading Flairs i get emotional everytime.

ANND That’s it for this ask! i had a blast reading through your thoughts and i’m so happy and excited!! i’ll send you the drive now so you can start digging through it whenever you feel like it :3c good luck grinding for act 2, meanwhile i hope you’ll have fun with all the act 1 events i compiled for you!!

(side note i need to update the drive too but it’s mostly act 2 content anyway, the only two act 1 things i need to update on it is Sakuya’s birthday card i think?? i think Itaru’s is already in act 2 so i’ll try to get around to it eventually but it’s so far away anyway) (edit: i forgot that the three cards i got for the latest revival are from act 1 DLKJFD okay so i’m missing three cards -)

The drive has backstages and event stories and it may be a lot and overwhelming ahah. Focus on the event stories for the plot and go back to the backstages whenever you feel like it, no need to read them at the same time, unless you want to in which case everything is set up for you :3c and there’s a file with cards that aren’t associated to events too so... lots of goodies hanging around. I’ll send it to you in DM ;O 

Take care and thank you so much for all your thoughts! my inbox remains wide opened for any others thoughts you may have as you go further into it :3c

omg please write the angry dog harringrove au, I love it already!

Okayyy, so I finally wrote that drabble based off my tags for this wallpaper. I also took name inspiration from @little-noodle-curl‘s lovely piece of art ft. Billy and his dog Archie because it’s the most adorable name ever, and it fit. But uh, I hope I did my own prompt justice??? lmao. Hope you like it, anon.

Steve’s learned punctuality straight from his father, that a man on time is a man to be trusted. While he’s had qualms with that particular phrase in the past, it sticks to the back of Steve’s mind like gum under a desk – useless, a little gross, and painstakingly obvious.

Though there’s two parts to time Steve can’t quite escape. As mastered as being on time has entrusted his dependability, he’s never figured out how to avoid wrong place, wrong time situations.

Steve’s timing in that regard has always been an empty shell, left filled with echoed footsteps of his demise. He’s found himself in many a situation he shouldn’t be in, doesn’t want to be in, and another moment of ill chance shouldn’t surprise him.

Then again, he hadn’t expected this.

Additionally, Steve’s prided himself on taking advice from others, weighed the options, choosing what parts he should adhere to. Yes, he thought it quite strange that many of his new neighbors told him to avoid apartment 201B, glancing down the hall, glancing at the numbers on the mailbox that sits in the foyer as if it might sprout a head and eat them whole.

Thing is, none of them said why, gave no indication other than the fact that that boy in there… and then they’d go quiet, shake their head while leaving Steve confused, built in questions leading into the precipice of the stairs where his apartment door sits, where 201B resides.

So really, out of propriety he left it alone, heeded the advice full stop just this once because he’s never seen anyone come or go from the apartment.

Often, he thinks its empty, that everyone’s forgotten that the tenant inside left ages ago because Steve never hears anything. Which leaves him up for chow as all eyes are on him, resting inside of the insidious tone the carries over when gossip runs rampant.

Steve smiles, and he’s polite. He goes to work, and he comes back, and as time shifts, his stay grows welcomed, and he’s forgotten about the door, about the warning, about anything other than sweet old women and the college students he passes in the hall who don’t give him the time of day.

He forgets, but his timeliness doesn’t. Steve forgets, and his father’s words stick, but he doesn’t think it applies to this situation.

So, when Steve attempts to wrangle his keys from his pocket to insert them into the lock, grimacing at the heavy weight of the shopping bag in his arms, the last thing he expects is to end up on the floor of the hallway in front of his apartment, breathless and confused from no longer being upright.

Steve hits the floor with a thud after a solid weight knocks him down, the contents of his grocery bag spilling across the thin carpet; the brown paper sack he’d used rips right down the middle. The weight of something moving stays on top of Steve no matter how much he squirms, and when he finally blinks away the stars in his eyes, he comes face to face with a dog.

A large dog.

A very large doberman with teeth and beady brown eyes.

Steve shrinks back despite being on the floor, shuffles his feet across the carpet for leverage. It’s difficult to move from being pinned down, and then suddenly the dog, black and brown and so very intimidating, is licking Steve’s face instead of eating it.

“Oh god,” he gripes, feels saliva drying against his cheek. Steve holds up his hands as a deterrent but not even that tames the obnoxious enthusiasm the dog bestows. “Okay, okay.”

Steve resolves to being pinned under the animal until he grows bored, thinks maybe a new face won’t be so interesting when Steve isn’t doing anything to reciprocate the affection this dog clearly thinks he deserves. He also contemplates whose dog this is as Steve knows his neighbors, knows the other tenants that dwell in the building, and not once has Steve seen a dog - a fucking doberman - this large around the building.

“Archie.”

The dog perks at the voice, turning its head away from Steve, the reprieve welcome and long enough for Steve to slide away from the pet. His back hits the wall, keeps his eyes trained on the animal in case it might attempt a round two, and ignores the distant footfalls that grow louder, closer.

“Are you okay?”

Steve blinks, eyes swinging away from the dog and up, up up until he’s met with bright blue eyes and golden curls. “Uh.”

“Didn’t knock your head too hard, did he?”

There aren’t any words left in his throat, in Steve’s brain, and like a slow motion movie, the man above him gradually sinks down until he’s crouched in front of him. “Archie gets a little enthusiastic around new people.”

As soon as he does it, Steve mentally berates himself from nodding dumbly, mouth parted slightly.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Steve scrunches his brow like he’s finally registering the questions he’s been asked, heat creeping up his cheeks as he flushes from idiocy. The dog had occupied him long enough for him not to notice that it had an owner, a very pretty one, Steve thinks, as soon as his mind snaps back from the fuss.

He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to alleviate the silence that follows his reply, so he shrugs and attempts to stand up. Steve doesn’t wobble, nor does he catch himself agains the wall, but it doesn’t stop the stranger in front of him from reaching out to grab his elbow, gently helps Steve onto his feet, help he definitely doesn’t need but can’t be bothered to reject.

Steve doesn’t want to admit that his elbow, just like his face, is warm, sending a shiver down his spine and is only interrupted when the man lets him go in favor of hastily picking up Steve’s belongings. There’s a few apples that’ve run away from him, rolled down the hall, and Steve stares dumbly again before he can say anything remotely promising.

Instead, he says, “At least the groceries are safe.”

He’s met with a snort as the stranger sets Steve’s purchases in front of his front door. The paper bag lies on the carpet pathetically, not even enough to convert it into a makeshift brown basket that would, at the very least, hold all the fruits and vegetables Steve bought. So much for being an adult. So much for being healthy.

“And if they’re not, I’ll pay for them. I’m still really sorry.” The man glances behind him where Archie - the black and brown dog Steve now knows the name of - sits patiently waiting for his owner. Steve doesn’t think anything of it until his eyes pass over the front of the door.

201B

“Oh.”

It catches the stranger’s attention, brow arched and confused. Those blue eyes bore into Steve’s, puts him on the spot in a way he doesn’t like - or at least in a way he thinks he doesn’t like. They’re so tepid, bowls of ocean waves that remind Steve of the sun, of the water. “You live here?”

“Yes,” is the answer given, and then a nod down the hall, a glance at Archie who’s ears perk up. “M’name’s Billy.”

He doesn’t offer his hand, and that makes Steve sad, feels like maybe he lost the chance when his brain stalled because he’d been too busy looking instead talking. “Steve,” he gives in reply. “I didn’t think anyone lived there.”

Dipping his head to the side, a little movement that spurs the look of gears turning, Billy goes from thoughtful to mildly surprised to annoyed. “Right. I’ve lived her for four years.”

“Oh.”

“Are they telling you I died?”

“I-” Steve shuts his mouth, shakes his head until a strand of hair falls in front of his face. “They act it, though. I’ve never seen anyone come or go.”

Billy’s shoulders fall in exasperation, looking up at the ceiling like it might sprout a storm cloud with thunder and rain and a lighting bolt that might just burn him into a pile of ash. Steve feels guilty then, not even his fault for the way the tenants talked about a seemingly vacant apartment. Though, he guesses he probably should’ve taken the hint if they weren’t in a rush to lease the place out, and really, it’s not any of Steve’s business.

Well, until-

“I threaten the landlord once, and clearly that means I don’t exist anymore, fuck.”

“You what?” Steve doesn’t take a step back. He really doesn’t. He’s already leaning up against the wall, his groceries in a pile at this feet in front of his apartment, and Billy’s been nothing if not helpful. Really, it’s how bold Billy is, except Steve thinks like owner, like pet.

Billy’s lips thin, eyes falling to the ground as he realizes he’s said too much. “I might’ve suggested Archie would get ‘em, but that’s only because the asshole wouldn’t fix the heater. Or the sink. or the leak in the ceiling, or-”

“Gotcha,” Steve says waving Billy off with a slowly forming smile. “Probably deserved that, then.”

“Maybe,” Billy says sheepishly, shoulder in a half-raise. It’s his turn to fidget, it seems, as Steve notices the way he taps his fingers against his upper thigh, other hand running through his curls. They get stuck on knots along the way, little tangles from a day worn thin, and as unruly as they get the more Billy tries to busy himself, the frizzier they grow.

Steve knows he should excuse himself, thinks he should be the one to call their bluff and go about his day, but somewhere deep down a part of Steve still feels guilty for being so rude, hadn’t exactly hated the dog either. He’d just been caught off guard, and first impressions are clearly not his forte.

So, Steve makes a brash decision in the span of zero seconds because clearly his brain is still foggy from the tumble, and he sure as shit isn’t finding Billy cute or anything.

Steve’s not usually a liar; he knows that much.

“Would you help me bring these inside?” He sorta kicks at his things, not touching them with his foot because of germs - though he internally sorts because they’re already on the floor.

“Sure,” Billy says softly, a pause blooming across his face. He doesn’t move first; he allows Steve to grab a couple of things, hands them off to the other man before grabbing what’s left.

“Archie can come.”

And at the sound of his name, the big ole dog comes running at a gallop until Billy hisses under his breath for him to slow down.

“He doesn’t bite,” Billy says quickly, almost like he thinks the dog might tackle Steve again. He doesn’t, but he does bump his nose against Steve’s thigh, tail wagging as Steve pats him on the head as best as he can with his arms full of slowly warming food.

“That’s very good to know.” He fumbles for his keys in his pocket, produces them, unlocks the door, and stumbles inside with two new guests Steve hadn’t planned on having. “He’s just happy to have a new friend.”

“Is that so?”

Steve motions to the countertop in the kitchen. Small as it is, they set everything down until Billy steps back and lets Steve start putting things away. “He’s probably tired of being with you all day. Needs a reprieve.”

He’s met with a frown, pink lips unhappy until Steve meets Billy’s gaze. As best as he can, Steve holds back his smile, an effort of joking quickly turning sour until Billy catches on, smiling brightly in return. “He’s a pound puppy. Probably misses the attention.”

Archie, who clearly knows he’s being talked about, barks. It makes Steve jump because it’s loud, but he huffs out a laugh anyway. “I think he agrees.”

The silence this time isn’t stiffening nor filled with tension, and that’s maybe to do with Billy’s dog and how he clambers over to Steve like they’ve known each other for longer than ten minutes. Steve, who’s never owned a pet in his life because it’d ruin his parent’s house, quite surprisingly finds the doberman to be the sweetest animal he’s ever met.

“He could come around,” Steve suggests, scratching behind Archie’s ear. He’s a little dopey from the affection, and Billy doesn’t hide his grin, the love that spills across the lines of his face too pure. “To visit. If you want.”

Billy finally tears his eyes away from the dog, glancing up at Steve through the thick of his lashes. Steve would be damned to admit that Billy is soft, too, different than Archie, of course, but gentle in demeanor despite the ruckus he could ensue. “I-” he pauses, throat working for a reply.

It makes Steve hesitate, makes him think maybe he overstepped by asking, that he should learn not to be too friendly with people he does not know. Even if Steve’s a decent judge of character - or so he’d like to believe, and also has nothing to do with the fact that Billy is beautiful - he’d really like to see him again no matter what anyone in the building thinks about 201B.

“Yeah,” Billy says on an exhale, maybe reads something on Steve’s face, the genuine kindness, the lack of reproach at Billy’s insinuation that he’s not always the kindhearted type. “We’d like that.”

Steve doesn’t miss the pronoun. Doesn’t miss the way Billy smiles or how the creases by his eyes deepen. Steve isn’t sure whether he appreciated falling in front of his door if only because he’s sure he’ll feel the ache of it tomorrow, but he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he could fall again, only this time, for someone much better.

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26th May 2019 (Tyler the Creator, Halsey, DJ Khaled)

Top 10

“I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber sits at the top spot for a second week, and it seems pretty stable, even if the song itself is pretty lazy.

Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is also steady at the runner-up spot.

At number-three, Lewis Capaldi trumps Stormzy up one space with “Someone You Loved” thanks to the release of Capaldi’s probably dreadful album.

This of course means “Vossi Bop” by Stormzy has flailed down one spot to number-four.

“Hold Me While You Wait” by Lewis Capaldi gets a short album release boost up three positions to number-five.

Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” is still at number-six since last week.

MEDUZA’s “Piece of Your Heart” with Goodboys suffers thanks to Capaldi, down two spaces to number-seven.

As does the late Avicii’s posthumous release “SOS” featuring Aloe Blacc, down a spot to number-eight.

Also thanks to Lewis Capaldi’s album release, we have number-nine, which is up 19 spaces from last week after squandering in the top 40 for a while. It’s “Grace” by Lewis Capaldi, peaking this week and becoming his third top 10 hit in the UK. Great. I’m not all that upset though because this means we won’t be seeing any new Capaldi this week, since all three singles were the most popular songs and UK chart rules prevent any other songs from appearing on the chart if they’re not the big three.

Also entering the top 10 for the first time is the mediocre house track “All Day and Night” by Jax Jones and Martin Solveig – presenting EUROPA – featuring Madison Beer, up oe space to #10, becoming both EUROPA as a group act and Beer’s first ever Top 10, as well as Jax Jones’ fifth and Solveig’s second, his first since 2015.

Climbers

There’s not much at all here to talk about, neither will there be many fallers, however there are a handful. First of all, we have an unexpected and unwelcome rebound for “Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man up five spaces to #24. Also, thanks to some more exposure that was inspired by a Hardy Caprio cosign on “Guten Tag” (that also just entered the Top 20 this week, which is pretty epic), Digga D’s “No Diet” is up eight spots to #25. “Late Night Feelings” by Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li is also up six positions to #33 off of the debut.

Fallers

Going in reverse order, at #38, we have “Homicide” by Logic featuring Eminem absolutely collapsing down 12 spaces to #38. Oof. Speaking of collapses thanks to a lack of streaming after its first two weeks, “Greaze Mode” by Skepta featuring Nafe Smallz couldn’t even have that second week down 13 to #35, but it’ll rebound due to the album release in a few weeks’ time. “Just You and I” by Tom Walker might have had a streaming cut down 15 spaces to #29, but I think a lot of that is genuinely wavering popularity.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

Out of the top 75 completely is “i’m so tired...” by LAUV and Troye Sivan from #37, mostly due to streaming cuts and dumb UK chart rules, which have also affected “Don’t Feel Like Crying” by Sigrid out from #30. Otherwise, “Falling like the Stars” by James Arthur thankfully falters after people realised the song is absolute trite without the video, and it’s out from #34 off of the debut. Sadly, “Boasty” by Wiley featuring Sean Paul, Stefflon Don and Idris Elba has also had streaming cuts and is out from #17, because it’s a hip-hop song, and they are effectively streaming-exclusive. Also out are two not premature losses, in fact, these are very expected, as they’ve been in the last half of the top 40 for a while, and today was a big week, so, I feel like we can safely say “Good riddance” to “Don’t Call Me Up” by Mabel out from #36, and “Swervin” by A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring 6ix9ine out from #40; Mabel might rebound though. There are no returning entries this week.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “3 Nights” – Dominic Fike

Produced by Capi – Peaked at #3 in Australia

Now for the first time in a while, maybe since MEDUZA, I’m intrigued by this new artist’s debut on the charts, but I’ve seen his name buzzing up for a while... he only has six songs yet thanks to this massive worldwide smash, has 10 million monthly listeners, yet he’s completely passed me by. His Spotify bio is a yellow heart emoji, which is the worst heart emoji. I’m disgusted. Of course, I’m kidding, but I have heard him pop up on Kevin Abstract’s recent solo record ARIZONA BABY and he’s been an indie pop star for a while now, I imagine, I just haven’t cared enough to check his EP out, I suppose. Nevertheless, this is his first ever Top 40 hit in the UK, and I love it. It starts pretty abruptly with a bouncy clap beat and some stringy guitar that you can hear in a lot of vaguely indie pop nowadays, except unlike a LAUV, Dominic Fike has a soulful albeit somewhat reminiscent of pop-punk voice that backs up the acoustics (which may be a bit too much in the front of the mix than I’d like), as the bassline’s fun, energetic groove just kicks and kicks, Fike keeps going on with a fine-tuned, double-tracked vocal performance until he breaks down on the second verse, where he starts yell-rapping and I honestly start to think there was an uncredited Trippie Redd guest verse that made this blow up. Like I said, though, Fike is much more refined than a Trippie Redd, who just kind of belts relentlessly without any care for how it works musically. The falsetto backing vocals are cute, and the plucking guitar becomes a real driving force for the rhythm, especially when the first verse is mostly bare. Whilst most artists in this lane of indie-pop/singer-songwriter guy who’s actually pretty manufactured and generic would let the instrumental breathe in an airy, cloudy mess of synth, Fike is all over it, not letting the instrumental get a second of breathing room before he explodes on the track. The content matter is interesting, as well, as it paints imagery of street lights that have been such a familiar sight for Fike over the months of having a relationship, those three nights representing three stages, from not caring to being absolutely smitten in love, before they just drift apart and there’s nothing to do about it, and Fike is frustrated that he can’t repair this shattered relationship. Oh, yeah, and:

And she sent me naked pictures from her neck down to her waist

I feel this downplays the romance and emotion here a bit, though. I’ve personally always found it more compelling when it’s the man admitting he sent naked pictures, as that’s more rough and emotionally revealing than the inverse.

She found pictures in her e-mail / I sent this bitch a picture of my d*** - Kanye West, “Runaway”

I still absolutely love this song though. I’d say check it out, but everyone has. I’m late to the party.

#37 – “Jealous” – DJ Khaled featuring Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Big Sean

Produced by Tay Keith and Nova Wav – Peaked at #57 in the US

I feel I’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick here with these album cuts. With Tyler, the Creator instead of the fun introduction “IGOR’S THEME”, which is at #41, I get the much worse “I THINK” at #30. With DJ Khaled, instead of the beautiful Nipsey Hussle tribute “Higher” with John Legend at #43, I get Chris Brown. Thanks, I hate it. I don’t have to do any research, you know who these guys are, and I’m sure you don’t care, I’ll get through this quickly after turning on Private Session because my last.fm having Chris Brown scrobbles is a nightmare. Might as well list the insane amount of Top 40 hits these dudes have, DJ Khaled surprisingly having the least with five, with who I expected to have the least, Big Sean, racking up... also five, mostly because those sell-out features really pay off, Lil Wayne on the other hand having twenty-freaking-four, and Chris Brown trumping them all with about 38. What a delightful thought that is. Uh, so what’s happening here? DJ Khaled is pointless once again, as I doubt he had any element of involvement in this Tay Keith beat, who doesn’t even get to have his full producer tag play in the intro, which is insanely cluttered. His dated synth patterns and tones are still there with the rattling hi-hats, though, and there’s way too many Chris Brown on this song, because he sounds muddy and awful, with Auto-Tune that’d make a metalhead want to shoot a frog’s brains out. I like Lil Wayne’s verse, mostly because he actually has some well-constructed bars, but he drowns out into the chaotic pre-chorus and DJ Khaled ad-libs... and his flow is lacklustre, cut short by Chris Brown. Big Sean is fun and discusses Jhené Aiko, whilst interpolating the “In My Feelings” flow of all flows, but he also is cut short by Chris Brown. Please listen to CHVRCHES and stop collaborating with this pathetic abusive excuse for a human being. Seriously, why so much of that Chris Brown hook? Honestly, Big Sean can barely get a “Straight up” ad-lib in there. I hate this, actually, that hook has a falsetto Lil Wayne harmonising for some reason, and the bridge is multi-tracked with awful, low-fidelity chipmunk vocals, and yeah, this is awful, why did I consider this passable? I never want to hear this again, the instrumental’s so cluttered and over-polished so you can barely hear the vocalists except Chris Brown who is all over the place. DJ Khaled sounds like Quavo sometimes here, what is happening? I’m confused, who has played themselves? Why is Khaled just shouting over the outro? He’s supposed to only do this on the video skits, what the—

#36 – “Summer Days” – Martin Garrix, Macklemore and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy

Produced by Martin Garrix – Peaked at #4 in Belgium

And the Cactus Award for What the Ever-loving Frick Did I Just Read? goes to... Martin Garrix, Patrick Stump and Macklemore on the same song. This is the whitest thing I think has ever been produced and released, but besides that, we should be questioning why these guys thought it was okay to collaborate, and that this was going to go unnoticed. Should I care? Isn’t this just a pop singer-rapper collaboration and the connection to Fall Out Boy is what’s making me overreact? I mean, Fall Out Boy is a shill now too, especially with that disgusting Lil Peep collaboration. It’s weird to see Macklemore out of his natural habitat of being only barely existent but good to know he’s hopped out of his shell to collaborate with some EDM doofus and I’m sure who was his favourite emo singer as a teen. This is Garrix’s tenth UK Top 40 hit, Macklemore’s eighth and third without Ryan Lewis and Patrick Stump’s fourth as a solo act, his first since 2007. Is it good? Well, no. It isn’t, really. Patrick Stump essentially whispers through the first verse, but his oddly nasal tone at least in the first verse doesn’t fit EDM production, and he’s yet to realise this, as while he’s more soulful and bassy afterwards, he immediately goes to a falsetto... and it gets better. A lot better – in fact, the distant acoustic guitar strumming (that may be too front in the mix once again for my liking) and cute fake finger-snaps make a pretty good foundation for a beat that both Stump and Macklemore perform pretty well on, especially since that rough electric guitar comes in for Macklemore to spit about his fascination and close bond with this woman but who cares, that drop is epic. That drop is insanely good, and the electric guitar build-up within Macklemore’s verse is subtle but excellent. This is actually more of a rock song than EDM, when I think about it, and the drop perfectly crafts the acoustic guitar strumming and cloudy synths with the guitar line, chopping up Stump’s vocals and leaving him recognisable, whilst still sounding warm and summery, mostly because of how slick the guitar is and the finger-snaps do allow for some kind of bounce and groove. The touches of strings in the second build-up is a nice additional touch, and I love when Stump cracks out of his falsetto briefly to signify that the drop is coming, and it is crashing hard. A better music critic would call this a trainwreck, a disaster on all fronts, but I like it for what it is. God, I’m so dumb.

#30 – “I THINK” – Tyler, the Creator featuring uncredited vocals from Solange

Produced by Tyler, the Creator – Peaked at #51 in the US

I knew Tyler’s hype was growing immensely but I didn’t expect an album bomb from Tyler on the Hot 100, and this sudden boost of popularity seems to come out of nowhere, especially since the last time he was this big he was having threesomes with a triceratops and stabbing Bruno Mars in his goddamn oesophagus. Nevertheless, Tyler’s back in the UK as Theresa May leaves, as are his songs, as he has a second but we won’t be talking about it for reasons explained later. This is “I THINK” from his most recent effort IGOR and while I’ve been a pretty long-term and semi-diehard Tyler, the Creator fan for a while, I’d argue IGOR may be one of his worst efforts yet, not because it’s bad but I’m incredibly indifferent on a lot of the songs, mostly because of a lack of substance from both the lyrics and the aimless instrumentals. This in particular is one of my least favourite songs, next to “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” as pretty boring, dull listens, however it does differentiate itself from songs like that by being largely a hip house track, which is a genre you don’t see on charts anymore. This is Tyler’s first ever Top 40 hit in the UK and Solange’s second as a solo act as well, her first since 2008, and I don’t feel it that much as other tracks from the album. The groove is there, and the tribal house beat is fun, but Tyler’s Kanye-like droning delivery, with a bassline ripped from “Stronger” and fancy synths that cover Tyler’s nonexistent upper register that pitch-shifting can’t really fix or mask. Solange sounds beautiful here as well, but she’s relatively underused I feel, only having a chorus and refrain, but she’s very oddly mixed, as she’s much louder than Tyler for the most part, despite being a guest on the album, as the others are mostly quieter than Tyler due to the personal aspects of the album and how it wants to focus on Tyler, meaning it’s kind of inconsistent. The wonky 80s synths in the back-end of the track are very typical of Tyler and do add to the track in making it pretty fun, but it does get a bit too messy and cluttered in the final chorus, which is insanely catchy, may I add, and I do love the piano that ends the track, but overall, this feels very half-hearted. The aimless nature of the song is intentional, I’m sure, as it’s all about feeling that first spark of love and having no idea what’s going to come of it, but the pacing is dodgy here as it comes right after deeply saddened break-up song “EARFQUAKE”. Maybe I’m missing the point, but I’m not a fan of this one. Sorry.

#26 – “Nightmare” – Halsey

Produced by benny blanco, Cashmere Cat and Happy Perez – Peaked at #15 in the US and... #7 in Slovakia. Huh.

And now to ruin any potential credit given to me as a music critic, reviewer and enthusiast, especially right after that Tyler, the Creator review. Now, there’s a lot to hate about Halsey’s seventh UK Top 40 hit, trust me, I know that. The pointless prayer at the beginning that doesn’t add anything to the song or its content and is completely irrelevant, the abrupt drop into the belting chorus, the Billie Eilish rip-off in the first verse with the minimal, multi-tracked sing-rapping over a trap beat that she can’t flow over at all, especially in the second verse where she is sloppy as hell, the janky pre-chorus and the chorus as a whole being kind of pathetic and really short, the line “I’m no sweet dream, but a hell of a night” not working within the context of the song. However, let me give you this as a rebuttal. Those floaty, gliding guitars in the intro are absolutely beautiful and the prayer, whilst probably making more sense when the album comes out, is about giving the Lord her soul, essentially having to give men their all and get nothing back, which is implied by how it drops immediately to the rock-infused chorus, which attempts at being empowering at least but it is catchy as hell, especially with Halsey’s memorably raspy delivery. The sing-rapping works on the first verse, and is mostly about self-harm, actually, which is influenced by how men have lied to her, but it goes on a bit of a tangent that isn’t relevant to how the song is about empowering women, and that women don’t have to always smile for the camera, as mentioned in the pre-chorus. The main lyric as mentioned before makes sense now because like in the second verse, the media and/or G-Eazy is being dominant over her and she won’t stand for it, she won’t be patronised and the last line in the second verse exemplifies that with a line I really like:

I’m tired and angry, but somebody should be

Somebody SHOULD always be speaking out about society’s BS, and—wait, how the hell does this makes sense if it’s also about G-Eazy and/or break-ups in general? With this and “Bad at Love”, I’m actually really confused about Halsey’s songwriting. That song also had an obnoxious hook, huh. Hell, “Without Me” had all these problems as well... as did “Closer”, actually, and that’s not even her song. I stick by this being pretty okay though, especially by Halsey standards, even if it feels very mish-mash, and the distorted electric guitar being back in the mix does dampen the effectiveness of the chorus, which is still anthemic – or at least tries to be. Oh, yeah, and Halsey’s really attra—

#17 – “EARFQUAKE” – Tyler, the Creator featuring uncredited vocals from Playboi Carti, Charlie Wilson and Jessy Wilson

Produced by Tyler, the Creator – Peaked at #13 in the US

I love this song to death, it’s by far my favourite off of IGOR. As you can see by its US peak, however, this will probably be eligible for my best list by the end of the year and I’m planning in advance, it’s probably going to be very high on that list. I know this means I only give Tyler a negative write-up this episode, which saddens me too, but don’t worry, I’ll make up for it when December/January rolls around and it’s time for list season. This is Tyler’s second UK Top 40 hit, Carti’s first ever charting song in the UK (It surprised me too), as well as Jessy Wilson’s, and Charlie Wilson has a few but his discography page is messy as hell so I won’t try and count them, they’re all uncredited as well so that makes it harder. Imagine having more than three UK Top 40 hits as a solo act and you don’t get credit for any of them. Anyway, even though I can’t cover it...

Conclusion

Tyler, the Creator gets Best of the Week for “EARFQUAKE”, no contest. In fact, I’m hesitant to give “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike the Honourable Mention, just because “EARFQUAKE” is THAT good. Dishonourable Mention goes to Tyler, the Creator as well (Unfortunately), for the pretty dull “I THINK”, whilst Worst of the Week goes to DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Big Sean and Bowser Jr. for “Jealous”, what a trainwreck. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and Jonas Brothers content because that’s the Tweet they decided to push, and I’ll see you next week!

Clown Part 3

A small girl, her sandy blonde hair twisted into pigtails again, played quietly in her front yard. Having earned a scolding from her mother she was not so eager to leave the lush grass that connected her home to the sidewalk. Still she mourned the loss of her favorite toy as she halfheartedly jumped about the boring yard. “Oh! Hello again!” A sweet voice laughed from the side. She jumped at the intrusion and scrambled closer to the home, her scolding having included the stranger danger talk. Though her fear diminished when she saw it was the nice lady from the other day. “I-I’m sorry!” The young women stammered, having not thought of scaring the girl. She rummaged about her bag and pulled free a golden ball that called the girl closer. “Here! I wanted to return this!” The ball acted as her saving grace and the pigtail wearing girl stepped closer, cautiously reaching for her toy. Y/N smiled brightly and happily handed the ball over. Emily retuned her smile but retreated to the safety of her home. Y/N didn’t mind. On the contrary she was happy the girls parents had explained the dangers of talking to strangers. Emily watched her leave before moving back to the center of the grass, excited to begin a much more interesting game of bounce-the-ball. Unfortunately, much like yesterday, the ball rolled out of bounds and she was left standing on the edge of her territory with a forlorn look. After shooting a sneaky glance to her home she stepped onto the concrete. When no yell of anger called her back she looked left and right, squinting through the fog. No sign of anyone caused her to step into the road. An odd wind picked up and she watched with disdain as her toy blew a little further down the road. Biting her lip she cast one more glance at her home and set off after the run-away-toy. The fear gave away to joy as she began to realize how game like it was. The ball would stall just until she was in reach then the wind would pick up and it would race away. Giggling happily she chased it down the road, thoughts of her angry parents being spirited away until the ball stopped moving. She scooped it up and looked about, realizing how far she had gone. “Uh oh” She mumbled, turning in a slow circle in hopes of finding something familiar. Instead she spotted a colorful, yet slightly hidden, form. They stood beside a tall home, the fog obscuring everything but glowing amber eyes, light red balls, orange hair, and a red balloon. “Hyia!” Y/N bobbed her head to a tune, that had gotten caught in her brain, as she meandered down the sidewalk. Her good mood was put on pause as she neared the Neibolt home and was squashed when she noticed a golden ball, once again, tucked beneath the dead bushes by the stairs. Tilting her head in curiosity she shifted the weight of her bag and stepped off the path. She felt better about entering it’s fence but that didn’t mean she had ceased to feel threatened by the home’s looming stature. The young women ignored her fear and retrieved the ball, getting an odd sense of  Deja vu. When she turned back to the street she frowned at the spot where the girl had stood yesterday, but that was yesterday and today was today. She stuffed the ball into her bag and hurried home, intending on returning the ball, again, when she saw the girl. Y/N spotted the old women on her lawn and let out a slight curse. Ducking down she tried to hurry up her driveway but couldn’t ignored the lady’s calls “Miss L/N! Miss L/N!” After heaving a heavy sigh she turned and forced a smile “Yes Mrs. Wilkins?” She asked while patiently waiting for the old women to hobble across the small stretch of land that separated their homes. Once she was at her side she exclaimed “Well, as you know, Mr. Wilkins needs his rest and your music was so loud last night!” Y/N batted her eyes and tilted her head, choosing to play dumb “Was it?” Mrs. Wilkins nodded dramatically as she reminded the forgetful girl “You promised to keep it down after ten!” Y/N feigned a gasp and shook her head “I am so sorry Ma'am! Won’t happen again!” The old women gave her a smile and shuffled around. Not waiting for her to return to her side Y/N unlocked her door and closed it, scrunching her face in annoyance for she knew, as did everyone, that Mr. Wilkins might as well have had no ears. The poor man had gone deaf, probably from all his wife’s yelling. Rolling her eyes she dropped her bag to the side of the door and began un-buttoning her coat. She folded it over and placed it over the back of the couch before leaning over and grabbing the remote. The news came on as she was turning to the kitchen and she froze. What had stopped her was the picture of a familiar pigtail wearing, doe-eyed, little girl. She was smiling a huge smile, one tooth missing. It was a jarring sight that had her climbing over the couch and settled into it’s cushions. “Little Emily Eustes is the fifth to go missing and the second to not yet be found.” The news women spoke and Y/N was reminded of the small boy, Liam, that had gone missing a few weeks ago. “If you have any information please contact us” The picture disappeared and the women was there with a sting of numbers at the bottom of the T.V. “you may save a life” Y/N looked to her bag that lay discarded on the ground. An unsettled feeling weighed in her stomach as she moved to her hands and knees. Not bothering to be carful she climbed across the couch and over the arm, dropping to the ground like a clunky cat. She continued to crawl until the bag was in reach. Hastily she snatched it closer and dug through it’s contents. Note books of interviews she had had with the family’s of the deceased, pencils, papers, her computer. Wordlessly she freed the ball and twisted around so she could watch the T.V with the small toy clutched to her chest. “It is un-know when she went missing but it was sometime today, around mid-morning” Y/N felt sick, she had seen the girl that morning. If she had just spoke to the girl a little longer, or had told her to go inside. “The police are doing everything in their power to put an end to this string of events but any help would be greatly appreciated”  Shaking her head she scrambled to her feet and dove for the remote. “That goes for anyone that might have seen Liam ham-” She clicked the power button and the screen fell black. Silence washed over the home and she sat on the wooden floor. Her side pressed against the couch as her hand held the remote and her other held the golden ball in her lap. Y/N laid stretched out across her bed. Everything was quiet. Not a sound came from anything. She stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind racing with thoughts. The golden ball had found itself on her desk bedside her computer. Her work bag leaned against the desks legs but the note book containing information on the current scoop rested on her stomach, flipped open to the page she had just filled in. It stated Emily’s whole name, age, where she lived, when she was last seen, and the golden ball. Y/N didn’t want to say it out loud, or even think it, but that ball had ended up beneath those bushes somehow. Perhaps someone had watched her help the child and put it their to taunt her? Perhaps it had rolled there again when Emily was abducted, which would mean it happened near the cursed home. Her tired form shot up at the thought. If that where true she had to tell the cops. She had to hand over the ball. Before she could leave her bed her phone rang a shrill cry. She jumped at the sudden noise and quickly snatched it from the desk. Without checking the caller she answered and pressed it to her ear “Hello!?” Her voice sounded slightly panicked but she couldn’t help it. The callers voice was smooth and deep, delivering odd news. “What!?” The panic had been replaced with a higher tone of disbelief. “N-No, my brothers dead” Y/N felt years of repressed morning hit her like a tidal wave as she uttered those words but she had to say them. “You can’t just!” Her sentence was cut off by the annoyed caller and she wrapped her arms around her waist as she listened closely “No!” The cry left her before she meant to, the words that had been uttered sparking a knee-jerk reaction. “fine” The phone clicked, signaling the end of the conversation. Heaving an annoyed sigh she quickly dialed her bosses number. It answered on the third ring “Hi-” She tried to greet but her boss cut her off with the latest news, Emily had been found but not in one piece. “I-I, that’s awful but-but I need the week off” There was a pause and she felt her stomach drop. She had never taken the day off. She knew she had enough paid days to take the year off but she enjoyed her job to much to use them. “Ya, I know this-this is big but I need the week off Sir” She patiently listened to her bosses questions and answered, seeing no reason to hide it “Well, I just found out I have a nephew.”